Lights go out on Watt

Twenty-three men have coached the Toronto Maple Leafs in the team’s history. So who will be the 24th? That was the biggest question of the spring in Toronto after Tom Watt was relieved of his duties as Maple Leaf coach May 4 and re-assigned to director of player development. Toronto being Toronto, Watt was barely out of the dressing room when speculation as to his replacement was in high gear. Topping the list were Leaf assistant coach Mike Murphy and Canadian national team coach Dave King, both of whom indicated serious interest in the job. And while some other names popped up initially-former St. Louis coach Brian Sutter, for one-it quickly became evident King and Murphy were the only two candidates. Leaf assistant general manager Bill Watters said he favors Murphy because he’s already with…

THE BEST JUNIOR CARD PRICE GUIDE AVAILABLE

Collectors World is pleased to present the premier listing of junior and draft pick hockey cards. In this issue you’ll find Part 1 of our special junior and minor league Price Guide. Coming next month in the July issue we’ll list the junior cards from Seventh Inning Sketch (1989-90 to the present) and the minor league cards from Pro Cards (1988-89 to the present). All prices in this Price Guide are for cards in excellent condition-except for the 1983-84 Canadian National Junior Team set and the 1991 Draft Pick sets, which are listed with near-mint prices. Among the noteworthy players who appear in these sets at least one year before appearing on an NHL card are Jean Beliveau (1951-52 Laval Dairy Quebec Senior League), Jacques Plante (’51-52 Laval Dairy QSHL Subset), Don Cherry, Henri…

ELSTON

Chelios, Smith, Belfour last line of tight defense

Chris Chelios, snubbed as a finalist in balloting for the Norris Trophy, is doing his best to show voters they made a big mistake. The Chicago Blackhawks’ defenseman has been dominant in the playoffs, teaming with Steve Smith to help Chicago to the Campbell Conference finals for die third time in four years. Chelios and Smith were the best players in the Hawks’ four-game sweep of Detroit in the Norris Division finals. They spearheaded a defensive effort that limited the Red Wings’ to six goals in the series. Four of them came in one game. “What was the difference in the series?” defenseman Keith Brown was asked. “Steve Smith and Chris Chelios were. They were incredible.” “In my opinion, he has been the best player in the playoffs, and I’ve seen a lot of…