The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

May 21, 1993

The Hockey News May 21, 1993

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>Who knew, outside of a few in Missouri, that Curtis Joseph had become the league&rsquo;s dominant goalie?Did anyone suspect Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; center Doug Gilmour could lift his game even higher than the splendid heights reached in the regular season?Or that Ray Ferraro would rebound so vigorously after missing the regular season with a broken leg?Who could have predicted Wayne Gretzky, suddenly 32 and largely ineffective after returning from upper back problems, would yet again prove his critics wrong.The Hockey News/Sherwood Playoff Performer of the Year commemorates those post-season feats.The award is the latest addition to the list of THN hardware. It will be presented at the Hockey News Awards Luncheon June 18.Award organizers thought it was time to salute the most valuable performers in the most important time of the season.The award is determined by a weighted vote of 25 panel members. The board is made up of players, coaches, general managers, scouts and media representatives.Midway into the second playoff round, Joseph, 26, established himself as the early favorite.Superlatives fail to describe his play in the first playoff round, a four-game sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks. Joseph shut out the Hawks in two of those games and stopped 105 consecutive shots along the way. Against the Hawks, he compiled a 1.44 goals against average and a jarring .957 save percentage.He was, if possible, even better against the Leafs. The Leafs outshot St. Louis 122-74 but after a pair of double-overtime games, they could do no better than a split.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen anything like it in my life,&rdquo; said Leafs&rsquo; defenseman Dave Ellett. &ldquo;When I was in Winnipeg, we always played against Grant Fuhr in his prime but it was nothing like this.&rdquo;Gilmour, meanwhile, dominated where bigger and stronger players weakened. He scored the tying goal in the dying seconds of Game 7 of the Norris semifinal and the Leafs eventually defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime. Gilmour, 29, had a hand in all four Maple Leafs&rsquo; goals.Like Joseph, he continued to excel in the second round. Gilmour scored the winner in a 2-1 Game 1 victory on a brilliant wraparound and was the dominant positional player through the first half of the series.Ferraro, meanwhile, all but singlehandedly ousted the Washington Capitals in the six-game Patrick Division semifinal. Ferraro, who played only 46 games during the regular season because of a broken leg, owned 10 goals midway through the second round. The 28-year-old had only 14 through the regular season.Gretzky who went 16 games without a goal after returning to the lineup, was The Great One of old in the post season with 14 points in eight games.&ldquo;This is the best hockey I&rsquo;ve played in a long time,&rdquo; said Gretzky, &ldquo;maybe since the 1991 Canada Cup when I got hurt.&rdquo;Meanwhile, back troubles loomed as the greatest obstacle between Mario Lemieux and the new award. Lemieux had 10 points in six post season games but back spasms made his status day-day-day for the duration of the playoffs.Also positioned to figure prominently in the race are Montreal goalie Patrick Roy, Canadiens&rsquo; forwards Vince Damphousse and Kirk Muller, Pittsburgh center Ron Francis and Penguins&rsquo; goal tender To Barrasso.Longshots include Maple Leaf goalie Felix Potvin, Vancouver netminder Kirk McLean, and Canuck winger Pavel Bure. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Thrilling race for top playoff performer award

<div class="byline">By Rand Simon</div>In a season that will go down in history as boasting the best NHL rookie class ever, record-breaking rookies Teemu Selanne and Joe Juneau were the cream of the crop.The Finnish Flash and the rocket scientist from Pont-Rouge, Que., stood above all other first-year players in the NHL this past season to emerge as the finalists for the THN/Gillette Rookie of the Year Award.The Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; Selanne set NHL records for goals (76, which tied the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; Alexander Mogilny for the league lead) and points (132) by a rookie. It was the first time in league history a first-year player either led or tied for the lead in goals.Juneau, of the Boston Bruins, tied the NHL mark for rookie assists with 70, which established a new high for left wingers. He also added 32 goals to become just the fourth rookie in NHL history to record more than 100 points.While both Selanne and Juneau were highly touted coming into the league, their superlative performances exceeded expectations.&ldquo;We expected something, but nothing like what happened,&rdquo; said Jets&rsquo; assistant coach Glen Williamson.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just unbelievable. He has got turbo speed-Porsche speed. He gets down low and explodes past defense men, even when he starts from a standstill.&rdquo;Selanne&rsquo;s arrival in Winnipeg ended years of waiting for the Jets, who drafted the 6-foot, 181-pounder with the 10th overall pick in the 1988 entry draft. He suffered a setback in 1989-90 when he missed most of the season with a broken leg. But he came back better than ever and recorded 72 goals in his final 86 games with Jokerit.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01916/6698463-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="549" height="745"><figcaption class="caption-body">Teemu Selanne flashed and dashed his way to 76 goals.</figcaption></div>Selanne&rsquo;s season was all the more remarkable when you consider he spent the year playing with several different centers. By season&rsquo;s end, he was most often paired with Russian rookie Alexei Zhamnov, who finished fourth in freshman scoring with 72 points in 68 games.Juneau, who received his degree in aeronautical engineering from RPI, actually joined the Bruins last season following the Olympics. In his brief trial in 1991-92, Juneau recorded five goals and 19 points in just 14 games. He added four goals and 12 points in 15 post-season contests.While Selanne excelled playing with several different linemates, Juneau&rsquo;s outstanding performance came while playing a position-left wing-he never played before. Juneau had been a center throughout his career.&ldquo;Skill-wise, he&rsquo;s at the top of the class in the NHL- and I don&rsquo;t mean just among rookies,&rdquo; said Bruins&rsquo; coach Brian Sutter. &ldquo;He plays as well away from the puck as any player in the league.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s every bit as exciting as Selanne is. If Joey had a fault it was that he didn&rsquo;t shoot enough. But he&rsquo;s going to get a lot better. He&rsquo;s just getting his feet wet in the NHL.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Explosive rookies rocket to NHL stardom

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>They won fewer games in this year&rsquo;s playoffs then last season, but the Winnipeg Jets were a lot closer to a first-round victory.A year ago, they were powerless against the Vancouver Canucks, even though they won three of the first four games.In this year&rsquo;s version of the postseason, the Jets won only twice in the first-round series against Vancouver, but were never far from the fine line that separates winners from losers.&ldquo;Experience was certainly a key factor,&rdquo; said coach John Paddock. &ldquo;You look at how we played after the first two games and you&rsquo;ll find we did a lot of adapting to playoff style and intensity.&rdquo;The overhauled Jets, five rookies in tow, were tentative in the first two games. They lost both, despite having tied both in the third period.The series was extremely tight after that, including the first-ever Winnipeg victory when facing elimination-on Teemu Selanne&rsquo;s overtime goal in Game 5 in Vancouver-but the Jets never got out of the hole.&ldquo;Everybody wrote us off after two games and that was frustrating,&rdquo; Tie Domi said. &ldquo;It was disappointing the media wrote us off. I think we proved a point to a lot of people that we&rsquo;re not a phony team. But would&rsquo;ve and could&rsquo;ve are two different things.&rdquo;Paddock said there is no substitution for Stanley Cup playoff games on one&rsquo;s resume-a factor for several of the team&rsquo;s young guns.&ldquo;You can talk all you want but you just have to be in it,&rdquo; Paddock said. &ldquo;I know Igor (Ulanov) and Gene (Davydov) told Alex (Zhamnov) what it was all about but it didn&rsquo;t help a whole lot.&rdquo;The final game of the series featured disallowed goals and video replays, including a review taking 10 minutes at the end of regulation time that wiped out an apparent winning goal by Sergio Momesso. Then in overtime, when Adams bowled goalie Bob Essensa and the puck into the net, referee Paul Stewart declined to use video replay and allowed the goal.CENTRAL BOUND: The Jets-Canucks&rsquo; playoff series was in some ways a revelation about Winnipeg&rsquo;s move to the Central Division next season.&ldquo;I think one thing the series showed, something that many people didn&rsquo;t expect, was we can hit and grind like we&rsquo;ll have to in the Central Division,&rdquo; general manager Mike Smith said.Coach John Paddock agreed, but both men have said repeatedly the Jets will have to be bigger to be effective in their new division.NOTEBOOK: The Jets don&rsquo;t figure to be in a jam when the expansion draft rolls around. In addition to their protected list of 14 skaters and one goalie, they have exemptions for rookies Teemu Selanne. Alexei Zhamnov and Sergei Bautin.<h2>WINNIPEG</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 27: Mark Richards G, Rod Cowie, O, Steve Bancroft, D. Rob Murray, C, Russ Romaniuk, LW, Andy Brickley. LW, Scott Lewis. HW, and John LeBlanc, C. recalled from Moncton (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Aloxoi Zhamnov Thomas Steen Stu Barnes. Luciano Borsato, Mike Eagles. Rob Murray. John Leblanc.LW&mdash;Keith Tkachuk Darrin Shannon Kris King, John Druce, Andy Brickley, Russ RornaniukRW&mdash;Teemu Selanne, Evgeny Davydov. Tie Domi, Bryan Erickson. Scott Levins.LD&mdash;Teppo Numminen, Sergei Bautin. Mike Lalor. Igor Ulanov. Randy Carlyie. Dean Kennedy, Dallas Eakins. Rob Cowie.G&mdash;Bob Essensa. Jim Hrivnak, Mark Richards.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mike O&rsquo;Neill, G. surgery on dislocated right shoulder. &#9632;

Spirited performance sabotaged by inexperience

KEY TO ABBREVIATIONSStatistics provided by National Hockey League; GP-games played; MIN-minutes played; GAA-goals-against average; W-wins; L-losses; ENG-empty-net goals; SO-shutouts; GA-goals against; SA-shots against; SV%-save percentage. Players indicated by an asterisk (*) are eligible for the Calder Trophy.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-10205/6699021-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="946" height="559"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-11180/6699014-1-eng-US/f0035-112.jpg" title="f0035-11" width="958" height="833"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-12159/6699007-1-eng-US/f0035-122.jpg" title="f0035-12" width="942" height="316"></div><h2>LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-13141/6699000-1-eng-US/f0035-132.jpg" title="f0035-13" width="941" height="404"></div> &#9632;

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NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

&ldquo;I never followed the Kings much. They had bad uniforms. All I knew about LA. is that&rsquo;s where the Clampetts were from. You know, the Beverly Hillbillies.&rdquo;L.A.&rsquo;s Barry Melrose when asked if he remembered the last time the Kings were ahead in a playoff series (1976. Page 17.&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be like Family Feud Whatever the last remaining answer is, I&mdash;ll take it.&rdquo;Whalers&rsquo; GM Brian Burke on his drafting strategy for the June entry draft. Page 44. &#9632;

QUOTABLE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011476/6697324-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="333" height="331"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021216/6697317-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="74" height="79"></div>Russian national team. The once-powerful Red Machine has been stripped of a good deal of its talent, but it still managed to capture the gold medal at the World Championships over Sweden.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03900/6697310-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="74" height="79"></div>Dale Hunter. His vicious hit on Pierre Turgeon in Game 6 of their series was horrible; denying he did it intentionally was despicable. Kudos to Gary Bettman for administering appropriate punishment.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04671/6697303-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="333" height="331"></div> &#9632;

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CHEERS & JEERS

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05487/6697355-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="355" height="456"></div>Now that the NHL has treated the symptom, it must address the disease.Gary Bettman handed Dale Hunter the most severe punishment in league history for the center&rsquo;s cowardly hit on Pierre Turgeon. The new commissioner deserves praise, but just as important is the next step. Bettman must insist league referees be vigilant in penalizing players who foul others after stoppages in play.It&rsquo;s most obvious following goals when defensive players atone for getting beaten by beating on the scorers. That&rsquo;s standard practice in the NHL. The Hunter attack was not an isolated incident. It was more flagrant than most, but it was only one example of a crime that almost always goes unpunished.Hitting a player when he&rsquo;s at his most vulnerable-in the act of celebration-was not invented by the despicable Hunter. He just did it better (or is that worse?) than most when he rammed Turgeon into the boards. In too many instances, players are better-advised to raise their fists than arms after scoring goals. It&rsquo;s all part of that silly, macho hockey thing called making people pay the price.The price could one day be a steep one.Don&rsquo;t be surprised when the next lawsuit results from gratuitous on-ice violence. It has happened before and it will happen again. At least 10 civil or legal actions have been launched over the past 25 years in the wake of violent acts committed in the NHL and World Hockey Association.Countless others have been avoided because players generally observe one of hockey&rsquo;s most cherished commandments: Thou shalt not redress grievances outside the league. Most cases that have gone before the courts were initiated by law enforcement agencies-not the players themselves.Pierre Lacroix, Turgeon&rsquo;s agent, said no decision has been made on whether to proceed with a civil suit. A New York state senator has talked about prosecuting Hunter. Usually, the hockey world is content with persecuting a perpetrator.But the NHL knows it is skating on thin ice in this matter. Bettman wouldn&rsquo;t admit this, but one reason he enacted such harsh punishment upon Hunter could be that he was distancing the league from a potential lawsuit.Was he cutting the umbilical cord to potential liability costs?Bettman not only sent a message to players and teams, but to outside forces that might try to hold the NHL financially accountable for crimes committed in the name of bloodsport. Teams and players may not be able to escape responsibility, but with his decision Bettman could argue the league does not condone violence.There is ample precedence to form a strong foundation for future civil suits that might arise. Basketball player Rudy Tomjanovich was awarded $3.25 million- and settled for $750,000-after being punched in the face during a National Basketball Association game. An amateur hockey player in British Columbia received an award of $3.7 million when he was rendered paraplegic as the result of a hit from behind.Dimunition of earning power or the cost of future care are sound legal concepts on which to base lawsuits.Every athlete in a body-contact sport consents to a certain level of risk, but the courts have made it clear players who commit acts outside the rules of the games are accountable for their actions. Athletes are not beyond the reach of the long arm of the law.Nor should they be. &#9632;

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Advice to the NHL: Beware long arm of law

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011631/6697417-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bruce Bennett/BBS</figcaption></div>NEW YORK-If Gary Bettman allowed himself a moment of reflection May 11, his 100th day in office as NHL commissioner, it would have been better-spent on strategy than self-congratulations.The first 100 days of the Bettman administration could scarcely have been more eventful. But the next 100 promise to be more significant. Bettman is faced with a host of difficult issues as the NHL charts its course in the North American sports and entertainment industry.How he guides the league through franchise instability, collective bargaining with its players and officials, continued administrative re-organization and rule changes will have considerable impact on the NHL&rsquo;s future.The league can find comfort in the fact its first commissioner has earned better reviews for his performance during the past three-plus months than another leader, Bill Clinton of Team USA.&ldquo;Thus far, he has done an extraordinarily good job and he has already made a number of tough decisions,&rdquo; says Pitts-burgh Penguins&rsquo; president Howard Baldwin.&ldquo;If I were grading him, I&rsquo;d give him an A-plus.&rdquo;Baldwin may be an easy marker, but Bettman has undeniably made his mark as the NHL&rsquo;s sixth leader. He is a hands-on commissioner whose commitment to detail and preparation has upgraded the league&rsquo;s level of professionalism.A thorough, businesslike approach enabled the Bettman administration to settle realignment in a remark-ably mature and efficient fashion, implement regionalized network telecasts of playoff games, deal responsibly with the Dale Hunter-Pierre Turgeon incident and enhance the league&rsquo;s image and visibility.There have been awkward moments, too.Bettman cannot be blamed for the Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; messy move to Dallas, but his part in trying to keep the team in place was panned by some in Minneapolis. He was also confronted with an embarrassing Hall-of-Fame controversy when it was learned president Gil Stein changed the rules of enshrinement in a manner that benefited him. Bettman asked for an independent investigation that has yet to be completed.Characteristic of Bettman&rsquo;s style has been centralization of league activities at league head-quarters-both spiritually and spacially.He disbanded the board of governors&rsquo; committee system, funnelling owner input, instead, through a single executive committee. Bettman is in the midst of consolidating two downtown New York City offices.The 40-year-old says he is &ldquo;comfortable&rdquo; with what the league has accomplished since he took over Feb. 1. Team owners have little reason to be unhappy with his efforts, but the real test will come when the honeymoon is over-when league power-brokers find reason to challenge him.Those occasions will most assuredly arise. Upcoming collective bargaining agreement talks will be tense-just ask deposed president John Ziegler-as owners and players attempt to forge a meaningful partnership.NHL Players&rsquo; Association executive director Bob Goodenow, who had a poor relationship with Ziegler and is seldom generous with his praise, has this to say about Bettman: &ldquo;Gary has proven to me he can be very effective and when an issue arises he works at it to a conclusion. He certainly tries to get right at things.&rdquo;Franchise instability could also be a flashpoint for the league. The Hartford Whalers are fighting for their life and Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington gave the city of Edmonton a May 14 deadline to come up with an offer commensurate with that of Hamilton, Ont. (See Page 7)The NHL has guidelines spelling out what conditions must be met for a team to leave a city, but how enforceable they are remains to be seen. With substantial economic pressures now being exerted on NHL teams, the question of what constitutes reasonable cause to move is a vexing one.&ldquo;I think every franchise has to at least be able to break even,&rdquo; Bettman says. &ldquo;Some people decide for other reasons that they&rsquo;re prepared to make less money in a market because it&rsquo;s important for them to be there.&rdquo;Bettman and the board of governors are seeking alternate revenue streams (primarily television) to broaden their base of financial support. Gate receipts account for about 70 per cent of revenues, the highest such number of the four major professional leagues.There will be change on the ice as well as off it. Some have expressed fears that Bettman, a product of the National Basketball Association, will have no regard for the game&rsquo;s heritage and make changes that pander to the U.S. television market. Bettman says that won&rsquo;t happen.He is clearly a commissioner concerned with law and order. The 21-game Hunter suspension makes clear the Stein system of allocating vacation days as punishment is over. Another area Bettman wants overhauled is on-ice officiating. He visits officials at virtually every game he attends-35 in 22 cities at last count.But he wants to consider change to the one-referee, two-linesmen system. Bettman authorized a minor-league experiment this season in which an official was seated in the stands.&ldquo;The more games I go to the more I decide that it&rsquo;s a high priority (to look at officiating),&rdquo; Bettman says. &ldquo;I think (they are) doing the best job possible. I think they&rsquo;re terrific. The question is, can we help them do an even better job?&rdquo;Bettman says he hasn&rsquo;t decided what place, if any, fighting has in the game and wants to research the issue. His opinion will be revealing, in part because it will hint at what hockey people have influence with him: those rooted in the past or those committed to the future? It doesn&rsquo;t take Alvin Toffler to figure out fighting has no place in the future of the game.Bettman has hired TV (Stephen Solomon) and legal (Jeff Pash) gurus, but he has yet to get a senior vice president of hockey. Given the fact Bettman&rsquo;s hirings to date have had little or no experience in hockey, it is crucial a strong, independent voice serve as one of the game&rsquo;s guiding forces.That man will undoubtedly initiate and execute change in conjunction with Bettman. Likely to be repealed, for instance, is the silly rule that gives players the option not to wear a helmet.In the months to come, expect Bettman to introduce a draft lottery, try to bring meaning to the NHL All-Star Game and, maybe even suggest a change in colors of the NHL logo-perhaps replacing the orange piping with silver.The latter would be appropriate. This a new age in the NHL and league executives believe it can be a lucrative one if the right moves are made in North America and overseas.Never before has the game been played at so fast a pace or high a level. Will the Bettman administration be able to keep up? Early indications are good, but we&rsquo;ll know better in five years when the commissioner&rsquo;s first term comes to an end.One thing is certain: he will be measured against high standards-both his and those of others. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a challenge,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I welcome the challenge. That&rsquo;s why I took the job.&rdquo;<h2>CRUCIAL TIME IN CBA TALKS</h2>Informal talks on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) have begun-but towards what end?The NHL and NHL Players&rsquo; Association met twice in private get-acquainted sessions prior to a league board of governors meeting May 10 in New York.No substantive issues were discussed at the labor-management gatherings.More important was a May 15 deadline, by which time either the NHL or NHLPA had to notify the other if it wanted to negotiate a new contractThe current deal expires Sept. 15, but if neither side gives notice, the contract could roll over for an additional year. That would give the owners and the union additional time to negotiate what could be a landmark CBA.NHL board members met to discuss then options as the deadline approached. NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow would not disclose union plans, but it given by the union.-Steve Dryden &#9632;

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THE FIRST IMPRESSIONS

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011576/6697455-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Islanders lost their best player when Pierre Turgeon was injured in the clinchinq qame against the Washington Capitals in the first round.Bruce Bennett/BBS</figcaption></div>NHL players have every reason to be confused about what to expect as punishment for on-ice crimes.The league sent out a mixed message with its handling of two recent acts of violence during games.For injuring Pierre Turgeon of the New York Islanders April 26 with a cowardly hit from behind following a stoppage in play. Dale Hunter of the Washington Capitals was slapped with the stiffest suspension for an on-ice incident in NHL history.For his attempt to stab St. Louis Blues&rsquo; forward Basil McRae in the face with his stick May 3, Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; left winger Glenn Anderson received a spearing major and game misconduct, but no supplementary punishment.The NHL claims it is attempting to clean up its act and commissioner Gary Bettman&rsquo;s swift and stem handing of the Hunter-Turgeon case indicated that.Hunter, who has 2,874 penalty minutes in 1,002 career games, drilled the gentlemanly Turgeon (161 PIM in 474 games) into the boards from behind after Turgeon scored a goal against the Capitals. The assailant presented a weak defense-claiming he didn&rsquo;t realize Turgeon had scored.The Islanders&rsquo; best player suffered a shoulder injury, knocking him out of the lineup, instantly diminishing his team&rsquo;s chance in the next round of playoffs against the favored Pittsburgh Penguins.This was as much a test case for the new commissioner as it was a chance for the NHL to take a further stance on violence.In his first dealing with an incident calling for player discipline, Bettman made his mark.He immediately suspended Hunter indefinitely and then brought the axe down on May 4.Hunter is banned from taking part in Washington&rsquo;s training camp next season, can&rsquo;t play in the team&rsquo;s nine exhibition games, is suspended for the first 21 regular season games (one-quarter of the season), cannot work out with teammates on or off the ice until two weeks before his return and won&rsquo;t be paid during that period, amounting to approximately a $150,000 fine.Instead of paying Hunter, the Capitals will send $150,000 of next season&rsquo;s salary to the league, with the money going to the league&rsquo;s Emergency Assistance Fund.Hunter&rsquo;s punishment represents a return to game suspensions for NHL players. Bettman&rsquo;s predecessor, Gil Stein, drew criticism for his system of suspending players on non-game, nontravel days for many crimes. Stein, who took over as NHL president on an interim basis from John Ziegler, handed out 67 days and $157,631 in fines during his term. He did, however, reserve the right to suspend players for games. No doubt this would have been one of those cases.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to comment on what has gone on historically,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;Under my watch, this is the way I&rsquo;m going to deal with these types on incidents. I&rsquo;m not going to and the league is not going to tolerate this type of incident and if this isn&rsquo;t enough of a deterrent effect, then we&rsquo;ll find something that is.&rdquo;Not surprisingly, Hunter wasn&rsquo;t pleased with his suspension and fine.&ldquo;While I am unhappy with it, I will accept his judgement.&rdquo; Hunter said.Bettman said an injury does not have to occur for punishment to be administered.It makes you wonder, though.Anderson&rsquo;s attempt to spear McRae in the face went unpunished. Apparently a player does have to injure an opponent before justice is served.Jim Gregory, the NHL&rsquo;s vice-president, hockey operations, said he took into account McRae was able to block Anderson&rsquo;s stick. He said Bettman was consulted before the decision not to further punish Anderson was made.Some players were left puzzled.&ldquo;What Anderson did to McRae is worse than what Hunter did to Turgeon,&rdquo; said Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; defenseman Larry Murphy. &ldquo;Fighting is not an issue with the players. It&rsquo;s stick-work and cheap shots at the knees that concerns us the most.&rdquo;Steve Thomas of the Islanders added: &ldquo;The guys who scare me the most are those who get goofy with their sticks.In the playoffs, stickwork and cheap shots become more of an issue with a decrease in fighting.Fighting dropped 29 per cent this season from a year ago-1,257 fighting majors in 1,008 games compared to 1,544 in 880. There were 97 instigating penalties carrying with them automatic game misconducts called this season. Last season, when instigators drew a minor penalty, there were 203.Through two games in each series in the second round this season&rsquo;s playoffs, only 11 fighting majors were called while nine players were ejected for stick fouls. Last season, 33 fighting majors were called with 14 players ejected for high sticking in 86 playoff games.&ldquo;The level of acceptance by referees goes up in playoffs,&rdquo; said Dallas Stars&rsquo; coach and general manager Bob Gainey. "That&rsquo;s why you see such great bodychecking and also why there tends to be more stickwork.&rdquo;&ldquo;Because the games are so much more intense, players will do anything to prevent an opponent from getting into scoring position,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not done on purpose and I don&rsquo;t think players intend to injure others, but sticks do tend to come up more in the playoffs.&rdquo;<h2>NHL&rsquo;S LONGEST SENTENCES</h2>Dale Hunter&rsquo;s 21-game suspension is the longest for an on-ice incident. The following list illustrates previous severe suspensions for onice actions<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03741/6697448-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="691" height="304"></div> &#9632;

f0005-01

To injure or not to injure

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>Canada will never win another gold medal at the Worl3 Championships.Not if this year&rsquo;s collection of NHLers from non-playoff teams, college and Olympic players only finished fourth. Canada won six straight games but bombed out in the semifinal and didn&rsquo;t show up for the bronze medal game.Can&rsquo;t say they didn&rsquo;t try though. Mike Keenan and Roger Neilson on the coaching/managing staff. Eric Lindros as the No. 1 center and Bill Ranford in net. It doesn&rsquo;t get much better than that.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021134/6697486-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="277" height="361"></div>(While we&rsquo;re on the subject. I suggested Edmonton Oilers Dave Manson and Shayne Corson were bad selections for the team. They proved me wrong.)Canadians haven&rsquo;t grasped the importance of the event to the Europeans. It&rsquo;s their Stanley Cup and a chance to cash in. According to a source, the Russian players shared in half of the $240,000 (U.S.) the team received for making it to the final four as a reward for beating Canada.Nor have they realized the relative unimportance of the preliminary round, where only two teams are eliminated.&ldquo;We try our hardest to win every game,&rdquo; Neilson said &ldquo;Good European teams sit in the bush during the preliminary round.&rdquo;If Canada can&rsquo;t win this event, it should be used for future Olympians to gain international experience. And let our national team coaches handle the squad. Tom Renney and Dany Dube were relegated to assistants in Germany.&ldquo;Dany and I felt with our international experience, we could have made a difference in the outcome,&rdquo; Renney said.Maybe next year guys. &#9632;

f0005-02

World woes for Canada

I would like to comment on the embarrassment the NHL suffered April 28 in Game 6 of the Patrick Division semifinal between the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals.Dale Hunter&rsquo;s blatant foul on Pierre Turgeon was something somebody might expect to see in a bush-league industrial game, not an NHL match.Turgeon is one of the most gentlemanly players in the league. His is usually one of the first names mentioned when talk of the Lady Byng Trophy arises and his performance on and off the ice is something of which the league should be proud.As for Hunter, he has a long way to go before he gets rid of the stickswinger label he has carried since his minor hockey days.It&rsquo;s time the NHL cracked down and cracked down hard, not just on Hunter, but on all the culprits who pull ridiculous stunts like that.The NHL wants to be accepted and respected by fans in the United States. Allowing cheap-shot artists such as Hunter to run rampant without substantial penalty certainly won&rsquo;t help in this capacity.Paul Norris, Woodstock, Ont.<h2>Sutter blows it</h2>The departure of the Chicago I Blackhawks from the Stanley Cup I playoffs-their second unexpected I early exit in three years-can be squarely placed on the shoulders of I coach Darryl Sutter.With skilled defensemen in Chris Chelios, Steve Smith, Craig Muni and Brian Marchment, the Hawks do not need three lines made up primarily of grinders.Sutter refused to dip into the minor leagues for players who have proved they can score. Tndianapolis Ice center Tony Hrkac, for example, was named International League player of the year for scoring 45 goals and 132 points in 80 games. Brad Lauer scored 50 goals in 62 games at Indy, while Rob Brown-who sat out-has proven he can score at the NHL level. Sutter&rsquo;s crew of grinders made St. Louis Blues&rsquo; goalie Curtis Joseph look good by shooting the puck right at him on several occasions.The Blackhawks&rsquo; coach failed to realize the team&rsquo;s deficiencies when it mattered most- and it cost Chicago big time.Craig Nigrelli, Tonawanda, N. Y.<h2>Missed mark</h2>I have been a subscriber to THN or a long time, but after reading Mike Brophy&rsquo;s comments in the April. 30 issue, I have had serious thoughts about cancelling my subscription.In his Stops &rsquo;N&rsquo; Starts column, Brophy states that &ldquo;Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s return from Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease has been well chronicled, but, in retrospect, he came back from something that was no more serious than any other injury.&rdquo;Such a comment shows complete ignorance on Brophy&rsquo;s part. Hodgkin&rsquo;s is a form of cancer which affects the lymph nodes. Having a family member afflicted with the disease has made me very familiar with the effects radiation treatments and the disease itself have on a person.The last 1 heard, a sprained knee or broken limb was not life threatening. Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease is. To compare the two is ludicrous.George Timmons. Pittsburgh. Pa.<h2>Analysis bang on</h2>An article by Michael Ulmer on the Pittsburgh Penguins analyzing the team&rsquo;s strengths and weaknesses and what an opposing team needs to do to counter it (THN, April 23), showed me what is too often missing in your fine publication.I&rsquo;d like to see more analysis such as Ulmer&rsquo;s-what a team is doing right, what it is doing wrong, how a team can successfully play against that team. Ulmer&rsquo;s was a terrific article. I hope more will follow.As someone who now lives in an area without pro hockey, I look forward to more articles such as Ulmer&rsquo;s on all teams.Bob Epstein, Minneapolis, Minn.<h2>Poor sports</h2>After watching Ed Belfour attempt to break his stick over the crossbar after the Chicago Blackhawks were swept by the St. Louis Blues, I had seen enough.It is a long time overdue for the NHL to start taking disciplinary action against players who exhibit their flagrant displays of poor sportsmanship when things don&rsquo;t go their way.I am tired of seeing pro hockey players swing their sticks against goal nets, zamboni headlights or anything else that crosses their path.Kids are watching their heroes act this way. What kind of values does it teach them?Peter Thomas, Faro, YukonMake your feelings known. Fax us your comments at&nbsp;(416) 445-2501 or write to Letters, The Hockey News, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont., M3B 2R2&nbsp;in Canada. In the U.S., write to&nbsp;Letters, The Hockey News, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y., 14240-9947.&nbsp;Include home and business phone numbers. THN reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

Hunter’s mugging simply atrocious

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011751/6697541-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0006-01

THE DRAW

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello</div><h2>Beaton still hasn&rsquo;t played</h2>Jason Beaton&rsquo;s lifetime suspension from the Ontario League no longer applies, but he hasn&rsquo;t played since.The Kingston defenseman was suspended Jan. 10, 1992 for hitting North Bay&rsquo;s James Sheehan over the head with his stick. Sheehan was not hurt. Beaton spent the rest of the season as an assistant coach of a Tier II team in Antigonish, N.S.The suspension ended when Beaton&rsquo;s junior career did last season. He didn&rsquo;t play hockey while completing his high school in Antigonish.&ldquo;I want to get back into hockey again,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been accepted at St. Francis Xavier University.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021191/6697572-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="553" height="733"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vince Damphousse</figcaption></div><h2>Refs putting whistles away</h2>Overtime has become the fashion statement of the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, but calling penalties in sudden-death action is still a lost art.There have been no power plays in the last 12 overtimes since Vince Damphousse scored on a Curtis Leschyshyn penalty. The accumulated penalty-free overtime is 122:33. Eighteen games had gone into overtime by May 7, exceeding the previous high of 16, set in &rsquo;82 and &rsquo;91.Referees have called an average of 1.2 power plays per 60 minutes of overtime this season, compared to 2.3 and 2.0 the past two years. The pergame average in regulation time is 10. &#9632;

f0006-02

UPDATE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011591/6697603-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"></div>The goaltending standardbearers for the 1980s and 1990s met in the division finals of the playoffs.Patrick Roy outplayed Grant Fuhr in a battle featuring two of the top goaltenders of the 1980s as the Montreal Canadiens swept the Buffalo Sabres to advance to the conference final for the first time in four years.The pair met after Buffalo routed the Boston Bruins 4-0 and the Canadiens dispatched the Quebec Nordiques in six.Roy was solid as the Canadiens won all four games by scores of 4-3.Meanwhile, the goalies of the 1990s squared off in the Norris final. Curtis Joseph, marvellous as the St. Louis Blues swept the Chicago Blackhawks, met Felix Potvin, who was effective in the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; seven-game elimination of the Detroit Red Wings.With Mario Lemieux able to play only one full game because of back trouble, the Pittsburgh Penguins struggled to handle a New York Islanders&rsquo; team playing without star center Pierre Turgeon.Highlights and lowlights from the end of the first round and first four games of the second:Highlights: Joseph stopped 118 of 121 shots as the Leafs and Blues split two double overtime games.&#9633; Doug Gilmour had a hand in all four goals and scored the tying marker in the Maple Leafs&rsquo; 4-3 overtime elimination of Detroit in Game 7.Lowlights: Dale Hunter&rsquo;s cheap shot on Turgeon knocked the Islanders&rsquo; star out of the playoffs. Hunter received a 21-game suspension.&#9633; Fuhr, great against the Bruins, played poorly in the Montreal loss. &#9632;

f0007-01

Two eras meet in goal

<div class="byline">By THN staff</div>Despite flagging ratings, the NHL insists its five-week stint on ABC is going along as planned.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re satisfied&rdquo; said Bernadette Mansur, a spokesperson for the league. &ldquo;We had no illusions. We knew it would be a tough process.&rdquo;After a promising start of a 2.8 overnight rating for week one and a 3.0 in week two, the broadcasts have been in a ratings freefall.Week three drew a 1.8 and the May 9 Toronto at St. Louis game attracted a 1.7 rating. If final figures are consistent with the overnight ratings, that parlays into approximately 1.58 million households.The CBS offering of the Bell Southern Golf Tournament also drew a 1.7 overnight rating. NBC, meanwhile, cleaned up with an National Basketball Association playoff tripleheader that peaked with a 10.6 rating for a game pitting Los Angeles and Phoenix.TWO DEBUTS: Phase I of the NHL expansion draft is scheduled for June 24 in Quebec City. The Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim will make player selections from the 24 established teams that day.One day later, Phase II is expected to take place. That&rsquo;s when Florida, Anaheim and the league&rsquo;s three newest teams- the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning-will participate in a draft among themselves.The entry draft is June 24.BAARON BOWS OUT: USA Hockey executive director Baaron Pittenger announced his resignation May 8, but will remain with the national governing body through the organization&rsquo;s annual meeting June 8-13. The group hopes to have a replacement by mid-June. &#9632;

Playoff ratings decline

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021073/6697672-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="549" height="795"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Gilmour</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03689/6697665-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="549" height="795"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat LaFontaine</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-04459/6697658-1-eng-US/f0007-042.jpg" title="f0007-04" width="549" height="795"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario Lemieux</figcaption></div>Mario Lemieux is the favorite for the Hart Trophy, but his two rivals each have a shot at a consolation prize.Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; center Doug Gilmour is also a nominee for the Selke Trophy as top defensive forward. Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; center Pat LaFontaine is one of the three finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy for most gentlemanly player.Finalists for the awards, which are presented June 17 in Toronto, were announced by the NHL May 11.&#9633; Gilmour&rsquo;s competition for the Selke comes from centers Dave Poulin of the Boston Bruins and Joel Otto of the Calgary Hames.&#9633; LaFontaine, centers Adam Oates of the Bruins and Pierre Turgeon of the New York Islanders are the finalists for the Lady Byng.&#9633; Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; sensation Teemu Selanne heads the list of nominees for the Calder Trophy as top rookie. Boston left winger Joe Juneau and Toronto goaltender Felix Potvin were also nominated were.&#9633; Kevin Hatcher&rsquo;s 34 goals and Phil Housley&rsquo;s 97 points weren&rsquo;t enough to earn them nominations for the Norris Trophy. The three nominees for best defenseman are Boston&rsquo;s Ray Bourque, Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; Larry Murphy and Chicago Blackhawks Chris Chehos.&#9633; Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Tom Barrasso, Chicago&rsquo;s Ed Belfour and St. Louis Blues&rsquo; Curtis Joseph are nominated for the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender.&#9633; Finalists for the Jack Adams Trophy as top coach are Toronto&rsquo;s Pat Bums, Boston&rsquo;s Brian Sutter and Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; Pierre Page.All awards are voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association, except for the Vezina which is selected by NHL general managers and the Adams which is chosen by members of the NHL Broadcasters&rsquo; Association.<h2>HOCKEY WEEKS: APRIL 26-MAY 9</h2>A compendium of significant events and developments.April 26:Pittsburgh Penguins defeat New Jersey Devils 5-3 to win Patrick Division semifinal series 4-1.April 28:Montreal Canadiens defeat Quebec Nordiques 6-2 to win Adams Division semifinal series 4-2.New York Islanders defeat Washington Capitals 5-3 to win Patrick Division semifinal series 4-2.April 29:Vancouver Canucks defeat Winnipeg Jets 4-3 to win Smythe Division semifinal 4-2.Los Angeles Kings defeat Calgary Hames 9-6 to win Smythe Division semifinal 4-2.May 1:Toronto Maple Leafs defeat Detroit Red Wings 4-3 to win Norris Division semifinal series 4-3.Czech Republic defeats Canada 51 to win bronze medal at World Championships.May 2:Russia defeats Sweden 3-1 to win gold medal at World Championships.May 3:Washington center Dale Hunter suspended 21 games for late hit on Islanders&rsquo; center Pierre Turgeon April 28.May 8:Montreal defeats Buffalo Sabres 4-3 to win Adams Division final 4-0. &#9632;

f0007-02

Lemieux leads way as NHL announces award finalists

The NHL turned up the heat on Edmonton city officials on the eve of a crucial deadline set by Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington.League commissioner Gary Bettman endorsed Pocklington&rsquo;s intention to move the five-time Stanley Cup champions from Edmonton if he could not get a more favorable lease agreement from Northlands Coliseum.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m hopeful that your current, negotiations in Edmonton will result in improved lease terms that both resolve the Oilers&rsquo; current difficulties and provide a model for resolving similar problems faced by other clubs,&rdquo; Bettman said in a letter to Pocklington May 10.&ldquo;If those efforts fail. I&rsquo;m prepared to support a request by you to relocate the Oilers from Edmonton.&rdquo;Pocklington has been in a heated battle with city and Oliseum officials to secure a better lease. He has threatened to move the team- to Hamilton, Ont., if a new deal cannot be worked out by May 14. (See story on page 19.)Bettman said that Edmonton city officials would be mistaken if they believed Northlands could attract another tenant by offering better terms should Pocklington leave.&ldquo;I have no reason to believe that the member clubs would look favorably on a request by Edmonton for a replacement team.&rdquo; Bettman said.Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; owner Marcel Aubut told viewers of the Inside Sports television show that the NHL is interested in big markets and Edmonton should not squander a &ldquo;golden asset.&rdquo;Bettman said that Edmonton and other small-market teams are hindered by lease terms that make it difficult for them to be profitable. &#9632;

Bettman supports owner

<div class="byline">By Stan Flschler</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011648/6697727-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cam Neely is no role player on the ice, but he was in a recent movie. Unfortunately, his cameo appearance was edited out.Tim Parkar</figcaption></div>The San Jose Sharks set several futility marks on the ice this season, but their fans don&rsquo;t seem to be concerned. All of the team&rsquo;s 64 luxury boxes, priced at between $62,000 and $125,000 a year at the new San Jose Arena, have been sold out. The Sharks are also selling $150 million a year in merchandise, which totals one-quarter of the league&rsquo;s entire merchandising revenue. The team has targeted 2001 as the year it hopes to produce a Northern California-bred NHL player from its sponsored youth hockey program&hellip;Boston Bruin sharpshooter Cam Neely had a cameo appearance in the movie Indecent Proposal, starring Demi Moore, Robert Redford and Woody Harrelson, but Neely&rsquo;s appearance was edited out of the final version. Neely has teamed up with top Boston chef Todd English to open a new restaurant in Martha&rsquo;s Vineyard, called Olives on the Vineyard. Hollywood&rsquo;s Glenn Close and Michael J. Fox, good friends of Neely&rsquo;s, are partners in the project.<h2>Torrey&rsquo;s task</h2>Bill Torrey, who built the New York Islanders into a four-time Stanley Cup winner, said his expansion Florida Panthers&rsquo; team will take the same approach to building the Islanders did. The Panthers&rsquo; president said his team will build through the draft rather than spend heavily on retreads. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll get a good season-ticket response and have many fans who have come down from the North whether they come to observe their own team or ours,&rdquo; Torrey said. &ldquo;We have the ability to draw fan support that will allow us to try to develop a team so that it&rsquo;s not necessary to go for older players now. Our team will be a young, aggressive and hardworking team. We&rsquo;ll try to take the players with the greatest potential, whether they&rsquo;re the best player now or not.&rdquo;<h2>Oh, Canada</h2>NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told Bluelines the league will not close its offices in Toronto and Montreal, but he wants them to run more efficiently. &ldquo;I want to consolidate some of the operations in Montreal and Toronto,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;Since I believe I am going to need to retain a presence in both Quebec and Ontario, 1 don&rsquo;t envision closing I those offices. However, I will look for ways to be more efficient in running all our offices.&rdquo; To that end, the league is looking for a new office in New York to unite its administration and NHL Enterprises. &ldquo;Ultimately my goal is to combine the Enterprises and the commissioner&rsquo;s office in New York,&rdquo; Bettman said&hellip;Veteran defenseman Randy Carlyle is expected to retire this summer after 17 NHL seasons. Carlyle scoffs at the notion he&rsquo;s bitter, despite the fact he was used sparingly by the Winnipeg Jets this season and didn&rsquo;t dress in the playoffs. &ldquo;Why would I be biter?&rdquo; Carlyle asked. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had 17 seasons of good times.&rdquo;<h2>Wild about Pitt</h2>Scotty Bowman&rsquo;s agent Don Meehan, told Bluelines that although his client has an unsigned contract, he will remain in Pittsburgh. &ldquo;We do have an agreement with the Penguins,&rdquo; Meehan said. &ldquo;The Penguins&rsquo; corporate counsel has gone through the drafts. I don&rsquo;t attribute any significance to the fact that the contract has not been signed.&rdquo; Bowman had been rumored to be a candidate for the vacant San Jose Sharks&rsquo; coaching job&hellip;Phil Esposito minces no words about the areas where the Tampa Bay Lightning needs to improve. &ldquo;Our power play absolutely sucks,&rdquo; said the Lightning general manager. &ldquo;I hate it. I&rsquo;d like to get a real good offensive defenseman for our power play&rdquo;<h2>Hoops over hockey</h2>The National Basketball Association playoffs on NBC clobbered the NHL on ABC when they went head-to-head in Sunday afternoon games May 3. &ldquo;We got schlumped,&rdquo; one NHL official told Bluelines, &ldquo;but it was to be expected.&rdquo; One rating scale had the NHL losing in the ratings by a count of 7.5 to 1.8&hellip;The expansion Florida Panthers want out of the Miami Arena as soon as possible. &ldquo;The National Hockey League has told us we can&rsquo;t stay there,&rdquo; said James Blosser, an aide and lawyer for team owner Wayne Huizenga. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not economically feasible.&rdquo; A chief reason is that the NBA&rsquo;s Miami Heat is the primary tenant and the team controls luxury box and advertising revenue in the building. The team has received attractive arena site proposals from Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties. &#9632;

f0008-01

San Jose fans still nuts about dismal Sharks

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021282/6697758-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="364" height="520"></div>Even those critics of hockey who say they would draw the shades if the Stanley Cup playoffs were held in their backyard have to admit they would peek through those shades when there&rsquo;s sudden-death overtime.There is nothing quite like it in the world of professionals sports, and the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs were blessed with a record 19 overtime games half way into the second round.The drama is much better than basketball, where the teams are given opportunity after opportunity to tie the game; certainly not baseball, where each teams gets its half inning, and the home team always gets a final crack; and the NFL has a preposterous overtime policy in which a coin flip is often the deciding factor and the games are usually won by a guy no bigger than the equipment bag, but he has a great foot.Hockey?It&rsquo;s literally sudden death, with the teams skating frantically until the killer goal is scored. You can see the drama in the player&rsquo;s faces; feel the drama in the arena; and for those who are convinced nothing exists unless it is on television from sea to shining sea- the energy and drama are easily carried into your living room.It is the most intriguing scenario in the sport, among the most engaging scenarios in any sport, and the NHL does not take full advantage.All right, you can&rsquo;t have any gripes about the playoffs. Year after year overtime presents us with those classic encounters and games for the ages. Games which range from that four-overtime thriller between the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals back in 1987, right through the back-to-back double overtime games between the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues in the Norris Division finals this season.But what about the regular season?Give the NHL high marks for reintroducing overtime for the 1984-85 season (it had been missing since the &ldquo;War rules&rdquo; of 1942 which were introduced to accommodate train schedules during World War &#8851;). It was a great idea and it was supposed to provide fans with a little bit of the drama of the playoffs.Note the phrase &ldquo;a little bit.&rdquo;The problem is the five-minute overtime period is hardly enough to put a team in the full panic mode which makes the playoffs so much fun. All right, you can not draw any fair comparison between the emotional level of the playoffs and the drone of 84 regular-season games. but you can point out that a five-minute overtime is hardly enough to get the adrenaline flowing.Five minutes is just too short a period to force a team into a win-at-all-costs mode. A road team figures it can hang on for a tie, which is usually a moral victory in the other guy&rsquo;s place and the home team is often more than willing to play that game.Want proof? How about a &ldquo;success rate&rdquo; of less than 30 per cent since the introduction of overtime in the 198485 season. Over the past nine seasons, a total of 1,385 games have gone into overtime and 464 have resulted in a winner and a loser.That&rsquo;s a success rate of 33.5 per cent. We can call this a &ldquo;success&rdquo; rate because-presumably, the NHL wanted to introduce overtime so it could eliminate some of the tie games.Look, the reason they even have a scoreboard is to see which team is winning, so if you leave the arena and both teams have the same number of goals, what was the point?The five-minute overtime was called into play for 165 games last season, with only 65 games ending with a winner. That&rsquo;s a success rate of .394, very high by the standards of the previous eight seasons, but hardly good enough.When a regular season game goes into overtime, we have come to expect a tie. One columnist in this paper recommended shootouts as a means to ease the glut of ties. But I have a suggestion that won&rsquo;t even offend hockey purists. Why not increase the overtime period to 10 minutes?Look, we&rsquo;re not in a war situation here. There are no trains to catch, so what&rsquo;s the problem with an extra five minutes, maximum? In real time, that might amount to 10 minutes.And don&rsquo;t tell me about TV costs. If the NHL could go the extra five, it can go another five. And don&rsquo;t bother to tell me about the bad ice and the exhaustion factor.In simple terms, if you add another five minutes to the overtime you will find two results: First, you will get a decision on more games, which is the basic premise of overtime. Second, you might find that the games end well within the original format of a five-minute overtime.With the specter of a 10-minute extra period on front of them, the players are less likely to hold back and the result will be more offense. And more games with the drama of the playoffs.Not a bad result for five minutes extra work. &#9632;

f0008-02

NHL should double its overtime pleasure

<div class="byline">By Dave Sell</div>Did someone mention Dale Hunter?The focus of much discussion concerning his check on Pierre Turgeon following Turgeon&rsquo;s goal in Game 6 of the Patrick Division semifinal, Hunter was disappointed to learn commissioner Gary Bettman suspended him 21 games next season.Hunter said in a statement he thought the punishment was &ldquo;unwarranted,&rdquo; and later in a phone conversation from his off-season home in Petrolia, Ont., expressed disappointment.&ldquo;I could be better,&rdquo; Hunter said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m disappointed I got 21 games.&rdquo;When asked if he thought the punishment was fair, he said, &ldquo;Well, that is their decision. It&rsquo;s more than what was done in the past. When (Dave) Brown broke (Tomas) Sandstrom&rsquo;s jaw with a cross check, it was 15 games. It&rsquo;s a different era, I guess.&rdquo;It will be difficult for Hunter not to be able to practise or work out with the team-he can use facilities on his own-until late November.&ldquo;Hockey is a big part of my life and that&rsquo;s the hard part,&rdquo; Hunter said. &ldquo;1 will miss much of it. It hurts.&rdquo;When you are the active leader and third on the list for career penalty minutes, you&rsquo;ve been called some unflattering things. Hunter is used to that, but there have been few times in the past 13 seasons like what he experienced after the hit on Turgeon.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough on the family,&rdquo; Hunter said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got kids old enough to understand. They don&rsquo;t come out and say anything, but it&rsquo;s hard.&rdquo;The Capitals were disappointed the penalty was so severe. They proposed Hunter miss the five games against the Islanders and perhaps the exhibition season.&ldquo;I thought it was kind of harsh, but I guess the league is trying to clean its image,&rdquo; Alan May said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if anybody&rsquo;s going to change. It also depends on what proportions the media bring it up. That game was on ESPN and TSN. When it&rsquo;s prime time, everybody has an opinion.&ldquo;What bothers me is that he&rsquo;s getting more ink than David Koresh. Those (state) senators in New York who want to file charges ought to worry about other things. I&rsquo;d be more afraid of things like Joey Buttafuoco and Amy Fisher. Next thing you know, football players can&rsquo;t hit and hockey players can&rsquo;t hit.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Capitals had a drop in attendance of 735 per game this season (to 15,855) and the playoff attendance dropped slightly further to an average of 15,842&hellip;Kelly Miller, Randy Burridge and Shawn Anderson are Capitals who will be free agents this summer.<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>May 5: Dale Hunter. C. suspended 21 games by NHL tor infraction on islander Pierre Turgeon.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Oale Hunter, Mike Ridley, Michal Pivonka, Alan May, Steve Konowal-chuk.LW&mdash;Todd Krygier, Bob Carpenter, Dimitri Khrlstich, Randy Burridge.RW&mdash;Pat Elynuik, Kelly Miller, Peter Bondra, Keith Jones, Paul MacDermid, Reggie Savage.LD&mdash;CaHe Johansson, Al lafrate, Shawn Anderson, Jason Woolley.RD&mdash;Kevin Hatcher, Sylvain Cote, Paul Cavallinl.G&mdash;Rick Tabaracci, Don Beaupre.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

Hunter dismayed with suspension

<div class="byline">By Frank Brown</div>Phil Bourque was a spectator a lot more than he wanted to be this past season. The number of games he missed also was the number on his sweater.While 29 is a reasonably dashing number for a jersey, it is a disturbingly high figure of games watched for a relatively healthy player.The New York Rangers&rsquo; failure to make the playoffs left Bourque a spectator again. When he left the Pittsburgh Penguins and signed a free-agent contract in New York last summer, the left winger said it was because he wanted a chance to be part of a third Stanley Cup winner.That still could happen, of course. But after a season to forget, his TV set is about the closest Bourque is going to get to this season&rsquo;s champ.&ldquo;When I&rsquo;m watching playoff games, I&rsquo;m making mental notes about what not to let happen next year,&rdquo; said Bourque, who had six goals and 20 points in 55 games. &ldquo;The games I&rsquo;ve been watching got me thinking about what happened to our team.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m watching guys on the bench not taking things for granted in these games. I&rsquo;m watching teams protect a one-goal lead for the last 12 or 15 minutes of a game and thinking how they did it.&rdquo;One of the trademarks of the Rangers&rsquo; season was their inability to protect leads. Their collapse down the stretch was littered with two-goal leads blown all over the NHL map-home, road, it made no difference.For the first time in three years, Bourque is discovering what it means to watch the playoffs from the sidelines.&ldquo;I took a week off, but now I&rsquo;m training two or three hours a day,&rdquo; the 30-year-old said. &ldquo;The only bonus about getting knocked out is you have more time to get in better shape, physically and mentally, for next season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not killing myself in the gym yet, but I&rsquo;m building up gradually. I&rsquo;m looking forward to next year.&rdquo;What&rsquo;s this? Somebody looking forward to a Mike Keenan training camp?&ldquo;If you could put your finger on one thing this team needs, it&rsquo;s a disciplinarian who brings a work ethic,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;Mike Keenan breeds a work ethic and you&rsquo;ve got to look at that as a bright side.&rdquo;While we&rsquo;re at it, we should look at the left side. Bourque often made the lineup because he could play left wing or slide back to the odd shift on defense.Although Jan Erixon is not expected back and Adam Graves might be shifted to center, the depth chart suggests once the training camp starts, Bourque will be battling Graves, Ed Olczyk and Esa Tikkanen for ice time.NOTEBOOK: The Rangers traded the rights to right winger Robert Burakowski to the Ottawa Senators May 7 for future considerations. Burakowski, chosen 217th overall in the 1985 entry draft, was playing for Malmo in Sweden.Defenseman Peter Andersson, a 1983 draft pick who finally joined the Rangers this past season 1992-93, is signed through next season, but might not return.The Rangers won 34 games and Mark Messier participated in 15 of the game-winning goals (two goals and 13 assists). Of Messier&rsquo;s 91 points, 15 tied the score and 21 provided Ranger leads. &#9632;

Watching from sidelines worse than from press box for Bourque

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div>What began with such promise ended in disappointment. For Eric Lindros, it was frustration all over again.His two-week tenure with Team Canada at the World Championships in Germany reflected his recently completed first season with the Philadelphia Flyers.There was a lot of pre-toumament publicity about Canada turning it around this year and possibly winning it all for the first time since 1961. Much of the optimism centered around Lindros.And he didn&rsquo;t disappoint anyone, leading the tournament in scoring through the preliminary round with 10 goals and six assists for 16 points in just six games. He scored five of his goals in an 11-2 drubbing of Italy.But as was the case with the Flyers during their regular season, Lindros and his teammates came up short when Canada reached the playoff round.He scored one goal but it wasn&rsquo;t enough to prevent a 7-4 loss to Russia in the semifinals April 30.A night later. Team Canada suffered its second setback of the tournament in a 5-1 defeat to the Czech Republic in the bronze-medal game.Despite coming home empty-handed, Lindros said it was a good learning experience.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re disappointed,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But it has been fun here. It&rsquo;s a good tournament, but I won&rsquo;t be back next year. Hopefully, we&rsquo;ll make the playoffs.&rdquo;Lindros had a pair of six-point games as Canada breezed to a 5-0-0 record in preliminary round play. He added an assist in the Italy game and had a six-point effort in an 11-0 win over Austria.PROSPECTS SHINE: While Team Canada&rsquo;s Eric Lindros, Mark Recchi, Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, Kevin Dineen, Terry Carkner and Garry Galley were denied medals at the World Championships, several other Flyers were more fortunate.Dimitri Yushkevich and Via-cheslav Butsayev picked up gold medals for Russia. Yushkevich had a goal and two assists in Russia&rsquo;s 7-4 semifinal win over Canada.Mikael Renberg had Sweden&rsquo;s only goal in his team&rsquo;s 3-1 loss to Russia in the gold-medal game. Renberg, who is expected to earn a starting spot with the Flyers next year, led the silver medalists in scoring with five goals and eight points.Tommy Soderstrom played in goal in seven of Sweden&rsquo;s nine games and finished with a 3-3-0 record and 3.11 goals-against average.Prospect Patrik Juhlin (two goals, three points) also played for Sweden.The bronze medalist Czech Republic picked up a big goal from Josef Beranek in the bronze medal win over Canada.Another Flyer prospect. University of North Dakota graduate Greg Johnson, played all eight games for Canada. The Flyers hope to have him in training camp this September, but he will likely play for Canada&rsquo;s Olympic team.NOTEBOOK: Spectacor, the parent company of the Flyers, has changed investment firms in an attempt to revive its proposed construction of a new arena, Spectrum II. The project, originally scheduled for completion in 1994, has been delayed because financing cannot be secured. Spectacor dropped Goldman-Sachs Inc., and hired a Philadelphia-based firm, Public Financial Management. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m disappointed but not discouraged,&rdquo; said Flyers&rsquo; president Jay Snider. &ldquo;I had hoped to be there by now. It&rsquo;s a good program and a beautiful building. We don&rsquo;t have the financing right now.&rdquo; The Flyers are still hoping for a 1995 opening, but experts say if groundbreaking isn&rsquo;t started by summer, the date would be pushed back to 1996&hellip;The Flyers finished 14-20-3 in the Patrick Division this season, up from their 1020-5 mark of 1991-92. &#9632;

Lindros impresses in Munich

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div>History had one lesson for the Pittsburgh Penguins when the playoffs began: Beware the first round, when they received their most serious scare in each of the past two springs.It turns out history had the wrong idea. Pittsburgh was having more trouble with the New York Islanders than the New Jersey Devils gave them in the first round.The Penguins and Islanders split the first four games of the Patrick Division final. With Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s availability uncertain from day-to-day because of back pain, Pittsburgh was far from assured of making it to the Wales Conference final against the Montreal Canadiens.Back pain held Lemieux to one shift in Game 1 of the New York series, forced him to sit out Game 2 and limited him to playing on the power play in Game 4.Lemieux said his back problems were &ldquo;pretty much&rdquo; like those he has endured in recent seasons. He added that he usually could not determine whether he would be able to play until shortly before the opening faceoff.That caused obvious complications for the Penguins, considering Lemieux is usually good for 30 minutes of ice time. Special teams, as well as forward lines, must be shuffled when he can&rsquo;t play.But the Penguins were reluctant to attribute their largely lackluster performance during the early part of the second round to Lemieux&rsquo;s back. The dressing-room consensus was they&rsquo;ve learned to live with the uncertainty.&ldquo;Guys on our team have learned to deal with it, whether he&rsquo;s there or not,&rdquo; forward Dave Tippett said. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s there, great, it&rsquo;s a positive. But they deal with it when he&rsquo;s not.&rdquo;The Penguins&rsquo; power play, which was struggling under the best of circumstances, had even more problems when Lemieux wasn&rsquo;t playing.Pittsburgh got one power-play goal in 15 chances during the first four games against the Islanders.CHANGE OF STYLE: Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s back trouble prompted the Penguins to adopt a more conservative style that put extra pressure on goalie Tom Barrasso.His personal statistics were savaged by the Penguins&rsquo; 6-5 loss in Game 4 against the Islanders, but Barrasso still ranked among the league leaders in every playoff goaltending statistic.&ldquo;Tommy&rsquo;s a key for us,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best in the league when it comes to making saves at the right time.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Mario Lemieux wasn&rsquo;t the only Penguin trying to cope with back problems. Peter Taglianetti had to sit out Game 4 of the Islanders series because of back spasms. His absence gave Paul Stanton his first playoff action.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Mike Stapleton, Martin Straka,LW&mdash;Kevin Stevens, Shawn McEachern, Troy Loney, Gave Tippett, Jett Daniels.RW&mdash;Rick Tocchet, Joe Mullen, Jaromir Jagr, Mike Needham, Jay Canfield.LD&mdash;Ulf Samuelsson. Mike Ramsey, Jim Peek. Grant Jennings,RD&mdash;Larry Murphy, Peter Taglianetti, Kjell Samuelsson, Paul Stanton.G&mdash;Tom Barrasso, Ken Wregget.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

Lemieux’s uncertain status reflected in his team’s play

<div class="byline">By Jeff Williams</div>Al Arbour could barely control his anger. The night of April 28 saw the biggest New York Islanders&rsquo; victory in five years and Arbour was furious.The Islanders had just beaten the Washington Capitals 5-3 to win their Patrick Division semifinal series 4-2, but star center Pierre Turgeon was mugged by Dale Hunter after he scored the Islanders&rsquo; insurance goal.A slug in the back of the head a few seconds after he scored led to a separation of the right shoulder. The hit sidelined Turgeon for the Patrick final against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.&ldquo;This disgraceful and distasteful thing takes the luster out of our game,&rdquo; Arbour said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always respected Hunter for his style of play, where he worked hard and was in there gutting it out. But to do something like he did tonight, I totally lost all respect for him.&rdquo;Commissioner Gary Bettman gave Hunter a 21-game regular season suspension, a penalty that did not sit well with Islander management.&ldquo;We respect the decision of Gary Bettman,&rdquo; said general manager Don Maloney. &ldquo;We are disappointed a stronger message wasn&rsquo;t sent that this kind of play will not be tolerated.&rdquo;The night of the deed, Maloney said, &ldquo;it is my job to see Hunter does not play in this league again.&rdquo; Obviously, the penalty fell short of fulfilling Maloney&rsquo;s vow.Hunter called Turgeon to apologize and told Turgeon, as he told Bettman and the media, he did not know Turgeon had scored. Turgeon said he thanked Hunter for the call but did not believe Hunter did not know he scored.Islander players were not upset about the the nature of Hunter&rsquo;s suspension but they continued to be angry at the act. Most said there is an acceptable though lamentable level of violence in the league and Hunter had stepped well clear of the boundary to that violence.&ldquo;It was the cheapest thing I have ever seen in my experience,&rdquo; said captain Pat Flatley.&ldquo;Hunter deserved every game he got, and he could have gotten more,&rdquo; said right winger Steve Thomas.NO MORE CDI: The Islanders did not renew their deal with their American League affiliate, the Capital District Islanders.In a cost-cutting move, the Islanders wanted a deal that would have meant they need only provide two goalies, 10 skaters and a coach and CDI would be responsible for all other acquisitions and the payroll.The Islanders have had talks with groups in Las Vegas, Denver, Halifax and Syracuse. Capital District management signed a working agreement with the New Jersey Devils.NOTEBOOK: Without Pierre Turgeon, the Islanders split the first four games of their Patrick Division final against the Penguins. Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Mario Lemieux, bothered by back spasms, only played one full game. The Islanders won Game 4 May 8 when Derek King scored twice, including the winner, in a 6-5 victory. They were the first goals of King&rsquo;s playoff career, spanning 19 games.<h2>H.Y. ISLANDERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>May 3: Jeff Finley, D, recalled from Capital District (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ray Ferraro, Travis Green, Tom Fitzgerald, Claude Loiselle, Greg Parks.LW&mdash;Derek King, Benoit Hogue, BrianRW&mdash;Steve Thomas, Pat Flatley, Brad Dalgamo, Mick Vukota.LD&mdash;Jeff Norton. Dennis Vaske, Tom Kurvers, Jeff Finley.RD&mdash;Darius Kasparaltis, Vladimir Malakhov, Uwe Krupp, Rich Pilon.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Scott Lachance, D. surgery on left wrist, out for season. Marty Mclnnis, LW, broken left kneecap, day-to-day. Gary Nylund, D, strained right knee ligaments. indefinite. Pierre Turgeon, C, separated right shoulder, indefinite. &#9632;

Hit ends Turgeon’s season

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div>The axe appeared ready to fall on New Jersey Devils&rsquo; coach Herb Brooks following just one season behind the team&rsquo;s bench.After information of Brooks&rsquo; impending dismissal was leaked by a high-ranking team official, neither owner John McMullen nor general manager Lou Lamoriello were willing to give Brooks a vote of confidence.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll review the coaching situation very carefully,&rdquo; McMullen said. &ldquo;The postmortems will go on for a month. Being a manager or coach is probably the most difficult job in the world. You have to have technical skills, leadership and support skills.&rdquo;Lamoriello added: &ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t even given it any thought. We want to determine what went wrong, or did something go wrong? It&rsquo;s an evaluation period.&rdquo;Those were virtually the same words Lamoriello used to describe Tom McVie&rsquo;s status one year earlier.Although Brooks was signed to a three-year contract on June 5, 1992 when he replaced McVie, it was not clear whether the final two years were guaranteed.&ldquo;I have no concerns about that,&rdquo; Brooks said of his coaching future. &ldquo;I think sitting down with upper management will be part of the plan in the near future.&rdquo;The Devils won more games (40) than ever before, but Lamoriello was said to be very unhappy about Brooks&rsquo; off-ice approach. He did not care for the coach&rsquo;s aloofness, nor his willingness to speak frankly with the media.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011587/6697909-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="553" height="833"><figcaption class="caption-body">Coach Herb Brooks is getting mixed reviews from management.</figcaption></div>McMullen, on the other hand, was reportedly upset when Brooks called Claude Lemieux &ldquo;a cancer&rdquo; and referred to Peter Stastny&rsquo;s $700,000 contract as &ldquo;the biggest heist since the Brinks robbery.&rdquo;&ldquo;You wouldn&rsquo;t want a better man on your team. I applaud him,&rdquo; McMullen said of Lemieux. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a real talent in my judgement.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s fair to talk about Peter Stastny&rsquo;s contract. I think Peter Stastny is a first-class individual.&rdquo;Despite his negative comments about Brooks, McMullen quickly backed Lamoriello and said the GMs&rsquo; job was very safe.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a question I answer every year,&rdquo; the owner noted. &ldquo;I consider Lou one of the premier GMs in the business. He&rsquo;s admired throughout hockey. You won&rsquo;t find someone who works harder. He works like a dog. I can&rsquo;t imagine anybody who would do a better job.&rdquo;McMullen offered no such praise for Brooks.WAITING GAME: Claude Lemieux said he had not decided whether to ask Lou Lamoriello for a trade, but hinted his decision will hinge on whether Brooks returns.&ldquo;There has been enough said so you can picture what&rsquo;s in the back of my mind,&rdquo; said Lemieux, who led the Devils in scoring.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to sit down, relax and think about it. I have ideas. I just want to make sure I make the right decision. It&rsquo;s mostly because of what happened this year and what happened at the (trading) deadline. I can&rsquo;t get it out of the back of my mind. This was a tough year for me. I&rsquo;ve got to look at the whole picture and that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to do.&rdquo;Brooks said of his problems with Lemieux: &ldquo;That&rsquo;s over and done. I have no problem with Claude. We had the problem in early December. He came back after that and didn&rsquo;t miss a beat. I even played him in some games when you people (the media) thought he should&rsquo;ve sat out.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Lou Lamoriello denied the team was being wooed by officials at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Those officials claimed the Devils and Hartford Whalers would visit the facility&hellip;The Devils averaged 13,400 per game at Meadowlands Arena this season.Left winger Stephane Richer was hopeful of remaining with the Devils and signing a multi-year contract.<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Alexander Semak, Bernie Nicholls. Peter Stastny. Dave Barr, Janne Ojanen.LW&mdash;Valeri Zelepukin, Bobby Holik. Tom Chorske. Randy McKay.RW&mdash;Claude Lemieux. John MacLean, Bill Guerin. Doug Brown.LD&mdash;Bruce Driver. Scott Stevens. Viacheslav Fetisov.RD&mdash;Ken Daneyko, Scott Niedermayer. Tommy Albelin, Alexei Kasatonov. Myles O&rsquo;Connor.G&mdash;Chrins Terreri, Craig Billington.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Stephane Richer, LW. stiff neck. &#9632;

f0012-01

Brooks’ future cloudy, but he’s not worried

<div class="byline">By Rand Simon</div>Saying good-bye is never easy, but the time has come to part ways with one of our original class members from 1990.The principal has decided Pro Set won&rsquo;t be back next year-something about owing the school too much money.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011488/6697947-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="553" height="767"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fleer was everything other teachers said it would be.</figcaption></div>Leaf, which I&rsquo;m sure many of you know from baseball card class, will be taking Pro Set&rsquo;s place.So, before 1 get too emotional here, let&rsquo;s get down to business and pass out the grades Once again, I&rsquo;m proud to say none of you failed.Have a great summer and I hope to see you all at the draft seminars in Quebec City.UPPER DECK: Once again, another consistently fine effort with some spectacular moments and as close to perfection as possible.I was glad to see you had caught up, and in fact surpassed, your classmates in terms of submitting bonus work. It was much appreciated and overdue.You continued to have a knack for coming up with information no one else has and presenting it in a professional manner.Keep up the good work.Grade: A.FLEER: It was a pleasure having you join the class this year.The presentation of your work was superior to that of any of your more experienced classmates. Now I know why your other teachers had so many good things to say about you.I would have liked to have seen a few more details in your work, but you generally covered all the bases in your rookie season.I know you got a late start this year, but I hope next year you&rsquo;ll submit two separate projects.Grade: B+.PRO SET: I&rsquo;m sorry to hear you won&rsquo;t be back next year because no one in the class has shown more improvement over the years than you have.Hopefully one of your classmates will complete the Parkhurst project in your absence.You&rsquo;ve taken a lot of criticism over the years-much of it undeserved-but weathered the storm with a fine effort this year.Grade: B.SCORE: Thank you very much for listening to my comments from last year and limiting your work to a more manageable amount.You still have some work to do to regain your former head-of-the-class status, but you definitely are headed in the right direction. Try to include a few more bonuses with your work next year and your grade will improve.Grade: B.TOPPS: Your Bowman project was the talk of the lunchroom-once we could find it, that is.Don&rsquo;t be so concerned about handing in your work so early next year. Your eagerness caused you to miss out on some valuable information which your competitors included in their projects. We&rsquo;re pretty flexible on due dates around here.You&rsquo;re still doing something wrong with your Stadium Club project, which makes it difficult to read and there was some misinformation in there you&rsquo;d better clean up.Grade: C+.O-PEE-CHEE: Just because you&rsquo;ve been doing this longer than anyone else doesn&rsquo;t mean you have all the answers.You need some help from experts to improve your product. Some oversights in your work are unacceptable for someone with your experience in this subject.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021053/6697940-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="495" height="715"><figcaption class="caption-body">Old dog O-Pee-Chee should learn some new tricks.</figcaption></div>That said, your efforts are showing more creativity than in the past and revising some of your former projects from before my time caught my attention.Grade: C. &#9632;

f0013-01

Upper Deck earns head-of-class honors

<div class="byline">By Matt Nicholls</div>One of the most successful players in the baseball card market is branching into the hockey world.Leaf/Donruss Inc. of Bannockburn, Ill., was awarded one of five new trading card licenses by the NHL Players&rsquo; Association April 20. Fleer, Score, Topps and Upper Deck also received licenses.The NHLPA reviewed marketing plans from several companies before handing out the new agreements. Existing trading card contracts for Fleer, O-Pee-Chee, Pro Set, Score, Topps and Upper Deck expire June 30.Most of those contracts were negotiated between the companies and Time Warner, the league&rsquo;s former licensing agency before the start of the 1990-91 season.&ldquo;We undertook a comprehensive review of applications starting in December that required a full business plan, detail on the company&rsquo;s background and a detailed marketing plan of their intentions,&rdquo; said Chris Malone, the NHLPA&rsquo;s associate director of licensing and business development.&ldquo;On that basis, Leaf graded out to be managerially and financially sound. We were impressed with their approach to business, the size of the company, the fact they have a strong confection business and the fact they have a Canadian subsidiary (in Scarborough, Ont.). We felt comfortable they had useful and substantial experience in the trading card market.&rdquo;The Leaf Gum company has been in the confectionary business since 1948. Leaf got its first baseball license in 1981 and amalgamated with Donruss Inc. in 1983.Leaf/Donruss has never produced a hockey set, but hockey brand manager Jeff Burdeen maintains developing a hockey product won&rsquo;t be a problem considering the company&rsquo;s background in the baseball market.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011574/6697978-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="565" height="756"><figcaption class="caption-body">New Leaf hockey cards will be similar to their baseball set.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big step, but we have a solid background producing top quality baseball cards,&rdquo; Burdeen said. &ldquo;We leapfrogged ahead of the competition (with baseball sets) and they&rsquo;re getting great reviews. We&rsquo;ll do the same thing with hockey.&rdquo;The details concerning the company&rsquo;s hockey product-which will carry the Leaf brand name-won&rsquo;t be released until sometime in June, but Burdeen hinted it will be similar to Leaf baseball.The Leaf hockey card set will contain roughly 440 cards with a minimum of 10 insert sets spread among different pack types, whether they are sold in Canada or the United States.Leaf baseball cards show city scapes with action pictures of players in the front. A similar approach could be used with the hockey set.Burdeen believes the company&rsquo;s commitment to the future of the game was one of the main reasons it was awarded a hockey license.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not just in this to make money,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Our goal is to help the NHL grow, to increase the interest of the sport. The one way we can help the league is to bring collectors to hockey cards.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0014-01

Budding Leaf looks to take hockey market by storm

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011458/6698009-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="368" height="523"></div>For nine years, I believed if I stood up on the Buffalo Sabres long enough, eventually a playoff victory would hit me. The first April I didn&rsquo;t pick Buffalo to win would be the one when it finally did. Knowing the unpredictable nature of the first round, all I had to do was stay on my skates and play the angles.It was easy enough to move out to the top of the crease in 1990, when the Sabres were favored over the Montreal Canadiens. But even in all those years it was obvious to everyone but me they couldn&rsquo;t win, I never went for the deke.I picked the Sabres even when they were counting on Ken Priestlay. Deep down, I always suspected Claude Verret was saving something for the playoffs. I thought it was only a matter of time until Doug Smith got over his playoff jitters.But the Sabres kept going down. Whether they were carried out on their shields in Game 7 or died like dogs in three straight, the ridicule was the same. So many years went by that even the Washington Capitals started to win the odd series. I believe the Atlanta Flames did, too. The New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, Minnesota North Stars and St. Louis Blues all had runs. John Carter had a good round or two. But the Sabres never did.I hung in there, however. I knew that if I leaned off the post just once, the Sabres would get one by me on the short side. Ray Bourque, Cam Neely, Guy Carbonneau and Stephane Richer flashed through the slot in an annual April parade, firing heartbreakers into the top comer in sixth and seventh games, but I refused to concede. Unless the law of averages had been repealed, the percentages had to be shifting in my favor.I&rsquo;m not proud of what I have to tell you now. Three weeks ago, I went down like Jacques Cloutier. Sick of being wrong, I faced facts and picked the Boston Bruins. Sure enough, the Sabres finally got to a rebound and went upstairs to the second round.How, I have no clue. Sure, they had acquired Pat LaFontaine, Alexander Mogilny and Grant Fuhr, but they also had Ken Sutton. Maybe it was the smell of Richard Smehlik that finally put me on my rear end, but I saw those Sabres three times in the last two weeks of the season. And there was just no way they were going to beat the Bruins.Dale Hawerchuk had that &ldquo;it&rsquo;s April and I&rsquo;m Eddie Olczyk&rdquo; look about him. The Sabres were*not getting any scoring from a second line. Without Petr Svoboda, that defense was looking so bad and Boston was looking so good. How could Buffalo ever stand up to the Bruins&rsquo; forechecking?I did not see much of the series. Occasionally, between the vichyssoise and the salmon in raspberry vinaigrette, there was time to look up at the television in Le Colisee&rsquo;s pressroom. There, I would catch a glimpse of Mogilny going back and forth and Fuhr juggling balls and saucers while balancing a torch on his nose. I heard the scores and read the summaries and I see Buffalo advanced to play Montreal, so I guess the Sabres really did win, but I do not understand how.Perhaps, with Rob Ray out of the lineup, the Buffalo fans finally thought it was safe to come into the building and get behind their team. Maybe that Khymyhymhmy or what-ever-his-name-is has turned out to be a better player that I thought.In any event, the Sabres&rsquo; victory and Detroit Red Wing and Chicago Blackhawk defeats made me take a long, hard look at my first-round record. It was worse than Slava Fetisov&rsquo;s. Perhaps it is finally time to change my approach. Here are some guidelines that give you the benefit of my sour experiences. Don&rsquo;t wind up like me, waiting for Fredrik Olausson to take charge. Instead, take heed:1) Never pick the club that appears to have more talent. Having better players only makes a team nervous when it doesn&rsquo;t win the the first two games at home. The whole season starts flashing before its eyes. Suddenly, it thinks it&rsquo;s in Winnipeg in January and becomes depressed.2) Stay away from teams that haven&rsquo;t been behind much all year long. If they get in trouble, they won&rsquo;t know anything else to do but try to hurt the goalie. Pick a team that practised at being behind, like St. Louis. The biggest factor in first-round upsets is self-destruction and nobody blows up better than Chicago.3) Never, ever, pick a team that has Phil Housley on it.4) Don&rsquo;t select an inexperienced team, even when the regular season standings insist it should be the favorite. The Canadiens knew what to do. The Quebec Nordiques didn&rsquo;t.5) Eschew coaches who are going to panic after a few marginal goals and pull a proven goalie when the only alternative is John Blue. Go with coaches with silver heads. They got those grey hairs blowing playoff series in their youth. They learned, the hard way, what not to do. Like I have. &#9632;

f0015-01

Never pick team with more talent

<div class="byline">By Bruce Cheadle</div>GERMANY-It wasn&rsquo;t the first time it had happened: Canadian and Russian hockey players conspiring to leave a lot of knowledgeable hockey people in the dark.Only this year at the World Championships, the players may have surprised even themselves with the outcome.Russia finished first and Canada fourth at the tournament in what most observers considered a reversal of fortunes.Check out the following mid-tournament comments:&ldquo;The Russian Ice Hockey Federation is in a state of shock,&rdquo; said Christer Rockstrom, European scout for the New York Rangers. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like a new situation here for them and they have to learn to adjust. They haven&rsquo;t done that.&rdquo;And, from the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; European scout J.C. Tremblay: &ldquo;This is the worst Russian team I&rsquo;ve ever seen.&rdquo;On the other side of the ledger, Canada&rsquo;s entry was, &ldquo;more disciplined, they&rsquo;re playing a system,&rdquo; Rockstrom said.&ldquo;They seem to want to win more than some years,&rdquo; Tremblay said. &ldquo;Some years they go 6-0 and then stop playing.&rdquo;Their comments, deadly accurate for Week 1 of the 12-team round-robin, unravelled with stunning speed in the playoff round.An inspired team of youngsters, led by Calgary Flames&rsquo; netminding prospect Andrei Trefilov, defeated Canada and then edged defending champion Sweden to earn the country&rsquo;s first gold medal since the dissolution of the former Soviet Union.Canada, which finished first in Group A with a perfect 5-0-0 record, lost two playoff games in a row to stumble out of the medals for the second straight year.Canada lost 7-4 to the Russians in the semifinal April 30 and then 5-1 to the Czech Republic in the bronze medal game the next day.The team was comprised of a sterling cast of NHLers-led by Eric Lindros, Mark Recchi and Bill Ran-ford-plus a handful of national team hopefuls. The coaching staff of Mike Keenan, Roger Neilson, Tom Renney and Dan Dube is knowledgeable and respected.There was little time to prepare- the team practised once before its first game-but there was no mid-tournament airlift to disrupt the learning and bonding process. The team jelled quickly and built momentum through the opening week, concluding with 11-0 and 11-2 wins over Austria and Italy and a convincing 31 victory against Russia.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021013/6698040-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="922" height="2020"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kelly Buchberger showed his dismay at not winning a medal.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We thought we had the best group of players we&rsquo;ve ever had at this tournament,&rdquo; said Hockey Canada president Ron Robison.Lindros led the tournament in scoring with six goals and 17 points in seven games and was named top forward. Philadelphia Flyer defenseman Dmitri Yushkevich of Russia was the top defenseman the best goalie was Petr Briza of the Czech Republic.As for Canada&rsquo;s competition, no one impressed.The Swedes were solid defensively, but lacked offense. The Czech Republic was also tight on defense, but even weaker on the attack. The United States didn&rsquo;t beat any of the top five teams and finished with a 2-1-2 record in Group B before losing 52 to Sweden in the quarterfinal.Meanwhile, Russia finished third in Group A with a 2-1-2 record. The Russian low point was an opening day 2-2 tie against Italy. Sweden finished with a 3-2-0 mark while the Czech Republic led Group B with a 4-0-1 record.&ldquo;We thought this year we had a better chance than Canadian teams had in the past because the teams over here are not as strong, particularly the Russians and the Czechs," Neilson said.There were some suggestions that Russian coach Boris Mikhailov conditioned his team to the point of exhaustion before the tournament, leaving the Russians plodding through the first week of the tournament and sprinting through the second.&ldquo;We told the players the good teams here don&rsquo;t consider the preliminary round that important.&rdquo; Neilson said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re somehow able to raise then level of play when they hit those sudden-death games.&rdquo;Canada was the least penalized team in the round-robin. But in the playoffs, they took a slew of penalties. Dave Manson, the team&rsquo;s best defenseman, took himself out midway through the third period in the semifinal against Russia with a 10minute misconduct after he yapped at the referee. &#9632;

f0015-02

Reversal of fortunes

<div class="byline">By Rick Sadowski</div>When it comes to revealing injuries, the Los Angeles Kings turn into the masters of misinformation. They become as secretive as the CIA.A cracked rib becomes a charley horse.&ldquo;The only thing I&rsquo;ll ever lie to you about is injuries,&rdquo; coach Barry Melrose said after Wayne Gretzky revealed to ESPN analyst John Davidson the charley horse he sustained in the Smythe Division semifinal was actually a cracked rib.Gretzky was injured April 18 in the first period of the opening game against the Calgary Flames. He discussed the cover-up May 5, after the Kings&rsquo; 6-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 2 of the division final.The Kings withheld the truth to protect Gretzky from cheap shots.&ldquo;I hurt my leg, too, but if anybody would have known (about the rib), I wouldn&rsquo;t have been able to play,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;I cracked it and now I&rsquo;m at a point where it has pretty much healed. We freeze it before the games. It&rsquo;s not going to affect me if I get hit there.&rdquo;Gretzky wore a flak jacket for Games 2 and 3 of the Calgary series. He had two assists and three shots in consecutive Kings&rsquo; losses. He said he was receiving a pain-killing injection before games.When suspicions arose Gretzky was suffering from a more severe injury-remember. he missed 39 games with a herniated thoracic disc in his back-the Kings wondered how anyone could question their credibility.Kings&rsquo; physician Dr. Ronald Kvitne said Gretzky had a &ldquo;significant injury to his left side,&rdquo; but X-rays were never taken because &ldquo;if he was taken to the hospital, that would have increased the chances of the news leaking out.&ldquo;We were trying to protect the doctor-patient relationship with Gretzky, to protect him and allow him to play,&rdquo; said Kvitne, who maintained Gretzky also sustained a charley horse against Calgary.NOTEBOOK: When the Kings took a 2-1 series lead over the Vancouver Canucks with a 7-4 win in Game 3 May 7, it was only the second time in club history they led a second-round series. A 6-4 win over the Boston Bruins on April 15, 1976 gave them a 2-1 lead in a quarterfinal series they eventually lost in seven games. &ldquo;I was probably on a tractor in Kelvington (Sask.) seeding the wheat,&rdquo; said coach Barry Melrose, who was 19 at the time. &ldquo;I never really followed the Kings much. They had bad uniforms. All I knew about L.A. is that&rsquo;s where the Clampetts were from. You know, the Beverly Hillbillies.&rdquo;<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Wayne Gretzky, Jimmy Carson, Corey Millen, Pat Conacher. Guy Leveque.LW&mdash;Warren Rychel, Luc Robitaille, Mike Donnelly, Gary Shuchuk, Lonnie Loach.RW&mdash;Tomas Sandstrom, Jan Kurri, Tony Granato, Dave Taylor, Marc Potvin, Brandy Semchuk, Jim Thomson.LD&mdash;Alexel Zhitnik, Darryl Sydor. Mark Hardy, Tim Watters.RD&mdash;Rob Blake, Charlie Huddy, Marty McSorley, Brent Thompson.G&mdash;Kelly Hrudey, Robb Stauber, Rick Knickle.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

Cracked rib equals Charley horse in misinformation campaign

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div>Call it poetic justice or call it revenge, but Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; left winger Greg Adams finally evened the score with Mike Lalor and the Winnipeg Jets.A year ago, the Jet defenseman put Adams out of the playoffs with a slash that broke his wrist.This season, Adams put Lalor and the entire Jet team out of the playoffs with a controversial overtime goal that completed Vancouver&rsquo;s six-game Smythe Division semifinal victory over Winnipeg.&ldquo;Yeah, I guess it worked out,&rdquo; said the soft-spoken Adams, who was hauled down by Lalor as he was streaking in on Jets&rsquo; goalie Bob Essensa.Adams&rsquo; initial shot was stopped by Essensa but the Lalor hook sent Adams crashing into the Jets&rsquo; goalie, with the puck hitting his right skate and entering the net.&ldquo;It was nice to be part of the win and contributing,&rdquo; Adams said. &ldquo;It has been tough for me with all the injuries I&rsquo;ve had.&rdquo;The 29-year-old Nelson, B.C., native missed 31 games this season with a severe charley horse. He was on pace for a career year when he went down, but still finished with 25 goals and 56 points in 53 games.Adams is making up for lost time in the playoffs, however. He collected at least one point in the Canucks&rsquo; first 10 playoff games, establishing a team record. His seven goals through May 9 were more than triple his career playoff total.&ldquo;One of Greg&rsquo;s great assets is he takes the puck and goes to the net with it,&rdquo; said Canuck coach-general manager Pat Quinn. &ldquo;We missed him a lot when he was out.&rdquo;Adams remains a fearless player despite his incredible string of injuries the past five seasons. Most of his playoff goals this spring have come from within five feet of the opposition crease. One nearly hit him in the face but deflected in off the handle of his stick. And his series winner against the Jets came while he was fiat on the ice.&ldquo;You would think with all my injuries I would have learned (to stay away from danger) by now,&rdquo; chuckled Adams, whose instincts seem to overrule any thought of personal safety.PLAYOFF BUST: Third-year center Petr Nedved was a dud in the playoffs after scoring 38 goals during the regular season.The slender Czech had just one assist in his first eight post-season games and saw his ice time severely curtailed by Pat Quinn. Nedved finally added another assist and his first goal when the Smythe Division final moved to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4. The goal was only the second one scored by Nedved in 26 career playoff games.NOTEBOOK: Goalie Kirk McLean became the Canucks&rsquo; all-time leader in playoff victories when he passed Richard Brodeur. The King, as Brodeur was called, had 12 wins, 11 of them coming in 1982 when the Canucks reached the Stanley Cup final. McLean picked up his 13th win in a 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of the Smythe Final May 9.<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Cliff Ronning, Murray Craven, Anatoll Semenov, Petr Nedved, Tom Fergus, Ryan Walter, Stephane Morin.LW&mdash;Greg Adams, Geoff Courtnail, Sergio Momesso, Dixon Ward, Gino Odjick.RW&mdash;Trevor Linden. Pavel Bure. Jim Sandiak. Garry Valk, Tim Hunter.LD&mdash;Dana Murzyn, Adrien Plavsic, Dave Babych, Robert Dirk, Jassen Culllmore.RD&mdash;Gerald Diduck, Jyrki Lumme, Jiri Slegr. Doug Lidster, Dan Ratushny.G&mdash;Kirk McLean, Kay Whitmore, Jason Fitzsimmons.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

Sweet revenge for Adams

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div>Next season began a month sooner than Calgary Flames&rsquo; general manager Doug Risebrough thought it would.For the third time in four years, the Flames made a premature playoff exit, this time losing in six games to the Los Angeles Kings in the Smythe Division semifinal.&ldquo;The feeling you have now, you wish you could taste a little earlier because it adds to the motivation,&rdquo; Risebrough said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just not a good feeling.&rdquo;It didn&rsquo;t get better in the days that followed the elimination. Two Calgary newspapers published extensive fan reaction stories to the loss. Many people blamed Risebrough for the team&rsquo;s struggles, in part because he engineered the ill-fated Doug Gilmour trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 2, 1992.Captain Joe Nieuwendyk and defenseman Al Maclnnis also took it on the chin from the fans.Risebrough made it clear he too was unhappy with some of the player performances he saw.&ldquo;This is a team sport,&rdquo; Risebrough said. &ldquo;Some teams have to play a more team-oriented style and we&rsquo;re one of them. If the players are only motivated to make changes when they become vulnerable or something disastrous happens, then you have a problem.&rdquo;WILL MAK BE BACK?: Sergei Makarov was not dressed against the Kings. So the Flames were left to consider their options.Do they trade him? The market value for soon-to-be 35-year-olds is not good. Do they pay him off? It will cost them $1 million spread over six years to do so. Do they loan him to a team in Europe and perhaps split the cost of his salary? Maybe. Or do they bring him back for another season?&ldquo;I think Makarov has to realize the team is evolving a new identity, an identity (coach) Dave King wants,&rdquo; Doug Risebrough said. &ldquo;He has to understand we were unhappy with the way he played. This team is not going to allow one or two players to decide when and when not to do things."<h2>CALGARY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Joel Otto, Joe Nieuwendyk, Robert Reichel. Brian Skrudland. Todd Harkins, Patrick Lebeau.LW&mdash;Paul Ranheim, Gary Roberts, Brent Ashton. Roger Johansson, Paul Kruse, Chris Lindberg.RW&mdash;Theo Fleury, Ron Stem. Greg Paslawski, Craig Berube, Sergei Makarov, Sandy McCarthy.LD&mdash;Gary Suter, Frank Musil, Trent Yawney, Alexander Godynyuk.RD&mdash;AJ Maclnnis, Kevin DaN, Chris Dahlquist, Michel Petit, Greg Smyth.G&mdash;Jeff Reese, Mike Vernon, Jason Muzzatti.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Carey Wilson, C, tom left knee tendon. &#9632;

Risebrough, stars take it on chin

<div class="byline">By Mike Weaver</div>The San Jose Sharks signed Mike Rathje to a contract that could earn him about $1.5 million over the next four seasons.The 6-foot-5, 205-pound defenseman was the No. 3 pick overall in the 1992 entry draft. He played junior hockey for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western League this past season.Rathje agreed to contract terms with the Sharks on April 26, in time to join the Kansas City Blades for the second round of the International League playoffs.The defenseman&rsquo;s deal, which is four years, includes a signing bonus of about $300,000. The Mannville, Alta., native agreed to a two-way contract, which means his salary will be substantially reduced for any time he spends in the minor leagues.Rathje, 19, is a rugged, stay-at-home blueliner. He was named the best defensive defenseman in the WHL this season.&ldquo;If his commitment matches his potential, he could become a force in the NHL,&rdquo; said director of hockey operations Dean Lombardi.If he doesn&rsquo;t make the big-league roster in training camp next season, he&rsquo;ll return to Medicine Hat again.COACH SEARCH: The Sharks were no closer to hiring a new coach in May than they were when they fired George Kingston.Team president Art Savage maintains no movement is imminent. Savage said no candidates have been contacted for interviews.An opening for a coach was created April 19 when Kingston, who guided the team to a 28129-7 record the past two seasons, was fired.San Jose is expected to trim a preliminary list of 18-20 candidates by mid-May. The process was on hold because Dean Lombardi was on vacation and director of player personnel Chuck Grillo was attending the World Championships in Germany.NOTEBOOK: The Sharks hired Vasily Tikhonov as a consultant. Tikhonov, who turns 35 in June, is the son of legendary Central Red Army and Russian national team coach Viktor Tikhonov. His primary duties will include helping the Sharks evaluate European talent eligible for the draft, assisting with the acclimatization and development of Russian and Latvian players and helping to negotiate the release of European players under contract abroad. Tikhonov, who speaks four languages, has been coaching Assat Porri in the Finnish Elite League and will continue to be based in Europe.<h2>SAN JOSE</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 26: Mike Rathje, O. signed four-year contract. &#9632;

Top draft pick Rathje signs long-term deal

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div>Edmonton was a city held hostage this spring, its sports fans fixated on a May 14 deadline to decide the future of the Oilers.It was a date set by owner Peter Pocklington, who told the fans of Edmonton to buy season tickets during the same news conference he used to tell the city of Hamilton he was coming to Copps Coliseum if he didn&rsquo;t get a better deal from Northlands Coliseum. (For more information on the story, see page 7.)He stood up at that conference and pointed a gun at the heads of the City of Edmonton and the 31-member board of Northlands.Pocklington reiterated his opinion that without a new lease he cannot operate at a profit and he will not tolerate losing money. But he did not provide financial statements to support his claims.He suggested a move to Copps would change a net loss of $800,000 on his Northlands&rsquo; lease into an $18million profit, then heard Hamilton city councillors say no such deal had been extended to him.Pocklington suggested the City of Edmonton join him in purchasing the Coliseum from Northlands and let him manage the building and reap its revenue, then heard later the building isn&rsquo;t for sale.He offered to sell the team to Northlands for $105 million, then heard days later Northlands&rsquo; offer of $65 million still stands.And he said there must be a deal of some sort by May 14 or he is gone to the Steel City. Northlands answered with its own defiant news conference.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;re prepared to negotiate with a gun to our head,&rdquo; said Northlands&rsquo; general manager Colin Forbes, who received a death threat a couple of days later.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re willing to renegotiate any terms except this; we are not prepared to turn the building over to a third party to operate. We are prepared to discuss alternatives to some clauses.&rdquo;But Northlands isn&rsquo;t interested in selling the Coliseum, which the Oilers have called home since 1974 in their World Hockey Association days.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011154/6698191-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="556" height="629"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Pocklington is threatening to move the Oilers to Hamilton.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not for sale. It hasn&rsquo;t been for sale and it won&rsquo;t be for sale in the future,&rdquo; Forbes said.It looked like a standoff if he and Pocklington were to be negotiating before the deadline. Forbes refused to use Pocklington&rsquo;s name during the conference, referring to him as the owner of the Oilers&rsquo; Hockey Club. He slipped once and the distaste at having the name on his lips was obvious.&ldquo;If he wants to play hardball, I&rsquo;m ready to go right now,&rdquo; Forbes said. &ldquo;At what cost do we succumb to the demands put on the city? I don&rsquo;t think anyone should hold a city hostage.&rdquo;Forbes had already sent Hamilton mayor Bob Morrow a letter, advising him Northlands had a lease with Pocklington. Forbes said the letter was not threatening. But the tone was obvious. And Forbes made it obvious Northlands would seek legal means to keep Pocklington from breaking the lease.&ldquo;We will continue to use all the legalities available to maintain the Oilers as a part of the fabric of this city," Forbes said.What was more important was getting the three sides-Northlands, Pocklington and the City-to negotiate some grain of a settlement before the May 14 deadline. And if that was left to Forbes and Pocklington, nothing would get accomplished as the two can&rsquo;t stand to be in the same room.Forbes was part of a five-man Northlands&rsquo; committee that began talking with Pocklington&rsquo;s economic advisor, Ed Lumley, and mediator, Rick LeLacheur. No one would say if any progress was being made.But while the talks were going on, Pocklington was in Hamilton, touring Copps Coliseum with Morrow and Coliseum official Gabe Macaluso.&ldquo;It was a one-hour tour and it was most enjoyable,&rdquo; Morrow said. &ldquo;But that&rsquo;s all I can say.&rdquo;Pocklington went to Hamilton to show officials where to put skyboxes he said they promised should he bring the Oilers to Hamilton.Pocklington later had to quash a report from a Vancouver radio station that Compuware had purchased the Oilers for $71 million and would move them to Hamilton.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not true. I&rsquo;ve never talked to anybody from Compuware in all my years.&rdquo; Pocklington said. &#9632;

f0019-01

Pocklington, Northlands set to play hardball

<div class="byline">By Bandy Russon</div>The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds have experience on their side. It is painful experience, but it is experience, nonetheless.The Greyhounds have gone to the Memorial Cup tournament the last two years and have come home emptyhanded. The first year, they were inexperienced, the second unlucky.Now they&rsquo;re experienced and you know what they say about three times. But are they good enough to avoid coming away empty at a third-successive Memorial Cup?Nine Greyhound players, plus coaches Ted Nolan and Danny Flynn, will make their third Straight-Memorial Cup appearance. Sault Ste. Marie plays host to the Canadian Hockey League classic May 15-23.The Laval Titan will represent the Quebec League and the Peterborough Petes will be the Ontario League representative. The Greyhounds, who beat the Petes 4-0 in the league&rsquo;s Super Series, earned the right to host the tournament. The Western League finalist was decided May 11 when the Portland Winter Hawks and Swift Current Broncos played the seventh and deciding game of their league championship.The Greyhounds will try to do on home ice what they have failed to do out of province the last two seasons.Two years ago in Quebec, the Hounds went 0-3 in the round-robin preliminary. Last season in Seattle, the Soo went 3-0 in the round-robin only to lose 5-4 to the Kamloops Blazers in the championship game. The Blazers scored the winner with 15 seconds remaining.The Greyhounds are hoping their experience, plus a healthy dose of homecooking, provides the margin of victory this season. To be sure, the fans at Memorial Gardens will be firmly behind them. The team has been jamming 4,000 locals into the 3,800-seat rink throughout the postseason. But the only problem with the great fan support is that it is accompanied by greater expectations.While the Greyhounds easily defeated the Petes in the Super Series, the Petes cruised to the league championship in five games over the Soo. The Greyhounds maintained that it was difficult for the team to focus after knowing it was already in the Memorial Cup. The Greyhounds also lost veteran goalie Kevin Hodson with a shoulder injury two games into the final, but he&rsquo;ll be back for the tournament.&ldquo;Now it&rsquo;s 1-1 and we&rsquo;ll see if it can be decided in the Memorial Cup,&rdquo; said Jarret Reid, one of the three-time players. &ldquo;It was disappointing not to win the OHL championship but ask (the Petes) if they would rather change the Super Series and have a chance to host the Cup and they would.&rdquo;Reid, Hodson, captain Rick Kowalsky, David Matsos, Drew Bannister, Tom MacDonald, Perry Pappas, Mark Matier and Ralph Intranuovo are the players who are looking for success on their third try.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got experience with us, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;The first time we were happy to be there. Last year we could have easily won. Now we&rsquo;ve got another shot.&rdquo;The Greyhounds are a club that prides itself on balance. Not one Greyhound had 100 points and ng one scored 50 goals. Reid was the point-leader with 96 while Aaron Gavey led goalscorers with 43. But six Hounds scored more than 30 goals.&ldquo;Last season both Jarret and Ralphie scored 50 goals and 100 points,&rdquo; Nolan said. &ldquo;But this year with the younger guys pressing for more ice time, things balanced out. We have a lot of guys who can break open a close game.&rdquo;The Greyhounds finished first in the Emms Division thanks to an 8-01 finish. Hodson, 18-5-2 after returning to the Soo as an overage from the International League&rsquo;s Indianapolis Ice, is the OHL&rsquo;s top goalie.&ldquo;We want to make the best of it,&rdquo; said left winger Chad Penney. &ldquo;This team has character and discipline and we&rsquo;re pretty close.&rdquo;<h2>The Contenders</h2>Here are profiles of teams In contention for the Memorial Cup. Sault Ste. Marie. Peterborough and Laval join the winner of the Portland-Swift Current series.Soo GreyhoundsGM: Sherry Bassin. Coach: Ted Nolan.Key players: Jarret Reid (36-60-96), Ralph Intranuovo (31-47-78), Kevin Hod-son (18-5-2, 3,10 GAA).Notable draft-eligibles: Briarne Thompson. D; Gary Roach, 0.Strengths: Balance and depth. Team has six 30-goal scorers. Defense is experienced and solid. Weaknesses: No offensively dominant player who can break game open. Team is not very tough.You should know: Have nine NHL draftees, most in tournament.Peterborough PetesGM-coach: Dick Todd.Key players: Chris (15-62-77), Mike Harding (54-82-136), Jason Dawe (58-68-126).Notable draft-eligibles: Pronger, D; Dave Roche, LW; Chad Lang, G.Strengths: Allowed league-low 239 goals with experienced defense corps. Power play is lethal. Weaknesses: Lang, 18, is Inexperienced and has come under fire all season. Team has tendency to take bad penalties.You should know: Petes have been to Memorial Cup seven times, but have won only once.Swift Current BroncosGM-coach Graham JamesKey players: Jason Krywulak (81-81-162). Rick Girard (71-71-141), Dean McCammond (29-42-71).Notable draft-eligibles: Ashley Buckberger, RW; Todd Holt, RW; Girard, C.Strengths: Have four lines that can score. Scored league-high 384 goals and had best power play. Weaknesses: Goalie Milan Hnlicka has been inconsistent. Defense corps not mobile.You should know: Drew most penalties in WHL and were least-penalized.Portland Winter HawksGM-coach: Ken HodgeKey players: Colin Foley (46-60-106), Nick Vachon (33-58-91), Brandon Smith (20-54-74).Notable draft-eligibles: Adam Deadmarsh, RW; Foley, C; Smith, D; Scott Langkow, G.Strengths: Three strong lines, great team work ethic. Transition game is best in league. Weaknesses: Goalscorers sometimes go dry and team struggles for offense. Goaltending has been inconsistent.You should know: Hodge is winningest coach in CHL history with 741 victories.Laval TitanGM-coach: Bob HartleyKey players: Martin Lapointe (38-51-91), Eric Veilleux (55-70-125), Phillippe Boucher (12-15-27 in 16 games).Notable draft-eligibles: Benoit Larose, D; Jean Roberge, RW: Marc Beaucage, C.Strengths: Great team speed, move puck well in offensive zone. Aggressive forechecking creates numerous turnovers. Weaknesses: Most-penalized team in the QMJHL is undisciplined. The defense is weak, especially without injured star blueliner Larose.You should know: No Quebec-based team has won Memorial Cup since Quebec Remparts in 1971, &#9632;

Three times lucky?

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div>The Quebec League made a conscious effort to ensure its representative at this year&rsquo;s Memorial Cup won&rsquo;t be as beaten up as Verdun&rsquo;s College Francais was last year after winning the league championship.College Francais won the QMJHL title last season after a gruelling seven-game series with the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs. What made the series especially tiring was the seven games were played in 10 days.A tired College Francais team failed to win a game at the Memorial Cup, losing to the Seattle Thunderbirds, Kamloops Blazers and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the round-robin portion of the tournament.&ldquo;That schedule didn&rsquo;t help us at the Memorial Cup,&rdquo; said Claude Therrien, who coached College Francais last season. &ldquo;Everyone was tired physically and mentally. We had injuries and had no time to get ready. It would have been nice to have the schedule they have this year.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01813/6698253-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="574" height="660"><figcaption class="caption-body">Carl Fleury&rsquo;s overtime goal ended Laval&rsquo;s 10-game winning streak.</figcaption></div>This year the league decided to make sure its best team can still stand once the Memorial Cup begins May 15 in Sault Ste. Marie.The Laval Titan won the championship over the Sherbrooke Faucons in five days games and 11 days this season. There were no games scheduled on back-to-back days. The Titan would have a full week&rsquo;s rest before the start of the Memorial Cup.Both teams were well rested coming into the series. Laval, which swept its quarterfinal and semifinal series, hadn&rsquo;t played in eight days prior to the start of the final, while Sherbrooke had a four-day rest after eliminating the Hull Olympiques.Therrien, who took over behind the College Francais bench late last season, stepped down as coach after the Memorial Cup due to his work commitment as a mailman with Canada Post. He said several teams approached him to take over as coach after the midway point of this season but he turned down the offers.Therrien, 49, said he will coach the Richelieu Riverains midget AAA team next season.LAROSE RECOVERING: Laval defenseman Benoit Larose is recovering from a burst blood vessel in his neck sustained during a game April 18. Coach Robert Hartley is optimistic Larose will play again next season.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s doing well,&rdquo; Hartley said. &ldquo;He won&rsquo;t play this season because he&rsquo;s taking medication to keep his blood clean and if he got cut could bleed to death. But I expect him to play next year.&rdquo;Larose collapsed on the Titan bench after the vessel burst. He lost feeling in his limbs and had trouble speaking, but has recovered. The 19-year-old was the QMJHL&rsquo;s top defenseman this season after posting 16-62-78 totals and a plus-43 in 63 games.STREAK ENDS: Laval saw its 10-game playoff winning streak come to an end with a 6-5 overtime loss to Sherbrooke in Game 3 May 3. Carl Fleury scored the overtime winner for Sherbrooke.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03248/6698246-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="928" height="323"></div>HLIGHTS (APRIL 26 TO MAY 9). The Laval Titan are off to the Memorial Cup for the third time in five years. Laval&rsquo;s 4-3 overtime win over the regular-season champion Sherbrooke in Game 5 was decisive. Dave Whittom scored at 9:16 of overtime. It was the third straight game which went to overtime. Laval goalie Manny Fernandez, who allowed 18 goals in the five games, was the series MVP. &#9632;

f0021-01

New schedule gives champ better chance

<div class="byline">By Vance Oliver</div>It isn&rsquo;t Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., but San Jeronimo, Mexico, will have to suffice.Saskatoon Blades&rsquo; center Ryan Fujita, who had his Memorial Cup aspirations dashed in the Western League playoffs, was selected to a Canadian team participating at the Mexico SummerOlympic Festival May 10-16. Hockey is offered as a demonstration sport.&ldquo;It will be a lot warmer I imagine,&rdquo; Fujita said. &ldquo;But it would have been nice to play in the Memorial Cup.&rdquo;Fujita, 20, is joined by six other WHL players: Brandon Wheat Kings&rsquo; goalie Trevor Robins. Red Deer Rebels&rsquo; defenseman Darren Van Impe, Lethbridge Hurricanes&rsquo; defenseman Shane Peacock, Regina Pats&rsquo; center Louis Dumont and Tacoma Rockets&rsquo; forwards Allan Egeland and Jamie Black.The rest of the team, consisting of 19- and 20-year-old juniors come from the Ontario and Quebec Leagues.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great opportunity for kids who haven&rsquo;t signed contracts and are looking for other options,&rdquo; said Moose Jaw Warriors&rsquo; coach-GM Mike Babcock, selected as bench boss of the Canadian team.Babcock will be assisted by Larry Marson of the OHL&rsquo;s Niagara Falls Thunder and Blair MacKasey, coach with the Lac St-Louis Lions of the Quebec midget AAA League.FEDORKO DISMISSED: The Prince Albert Raiders did not renew the contract of coach Mike Fedorko.Fedorko, who guided the Raiders to a 7562-7 record in two seasons, was informed of the decision April 30. It was clear earlier, however, that Fedorko and Raiders&rsquo; GM Dale Engel rarely saw eye-to-eye.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve told him to look around,&rdquo; Engel said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to put the best guy on the spot for the team we have.&rdquo;Engel was granted a two-year contract extension by the Raiders&rsquo; board of governors April 6. The Raiders finished last in the East Division with a 25-42-5 record.FOR SALE BY OWNER: The Portland Winter Hawks have yet to be sold.Earlier this year, Winter Hawks&rsquo; majority owner Brian Shaw reached a tentative agreement to sell the club to Portland businessman Chris Bentley for a reported $4.2 million (U.S.). But Bentley failed to conclude the deal by April 1, the date of exclusivity the Winter Hawks had allowed Bentley.&ldquo;Negotiations are on-going,&rdquo; said Ken Hodge, coach-GM and part owner of the Winter Hawks. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s a number of groups that are very interested.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02444/6698291-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="572" height="655"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Fedorko was fired despite a .545 winning percentage.</figcaption></div><h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04177/6698284-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="925" height="473"></div>HIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 26 TO MAY 9): The Broncos won 7-5 in Portland in Game 6 to force a deciding game in Swift Current May 11. &#9632;

f0021-02

Veteran stars get last gasp in Mexico

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>The Ontario League final between the Peterborough Petes a Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds turned into a war of words.The Petes won the series in five games, but things heated after Greyhounds&rsquo; goalie Kevin Hodson was involved in a Colorado with Petes&rsquo; center Mike Harding in the second game Apirl 30 in Peterborough.Hodson, who had a league-leading 3.10 goals-against average missed the three remaining games in the series with an injuries right shoulder, but would be back for the Memorial Cup.Sherry Bassin, the Greyhounds&rsquo; director of hockey operations, accused Harding of deliberately running into Hodson the two raced for a loose puck outside the goal crease. No suspension was assessed and Bassin demanded a suspension. OHL co missioner Dave Branch said none was required.Bassin also called for a suspension to Detroit Jr. Red Win; center Todd Harvey after he collided with Hodson in an earl series. Harvey got a game misconduct but Branch said no suspension was warranted. He said Hodson actually appeared place himself in a position to be hit by Harvey.&ldquo;Each manager or coach looks for an edge and it&rsquo;s unfortunately that after the first two games (which the Petes won), Bassin reverting to these tactics,&rdquo; said Petes&rsquo; coach-GM Dick Tot &ldquo;We have on video of players on our team with some broke bones. We have shots of blatant spears and you don&rsquo;t see complaining to the commissioner or the press. If he wants to; into a war of words, then he&rsquo;s bringing down the level of i game and we&rsquo;re disappointed about that.&rdquo;Bassin got right to the point with his reply.&ldquo;Who cares what Mr. Goody Two Shoes thinks?&rdquo; Bassin said &ldquo;I remember when Niagara Falls, coached by Bill LaForge. I his goalie (in the 1989 OHL final) and was just as livid about it. He complain about Bill LaForge all the time but all he is a disguised Bill LaForge.&rdquo;Greyhounds&rsquo; rookie backup goalie D Cloutier, who just turned 17, was press into service for Game 3 May 3 in Sault S Marie and responded with a 4-3 victory.Cloutier also played Game 4 and 5 ahead of regular backup Dan Tanevski. Hodge, was back practising with the team May and will start when the Memorial C begins May 15.MOVING ON UP: Two OHL assist GMs have moved on.Alan Millar left the Guelph Storm become director of operations for the Saint John, N.B., Blue Flames of the Amt can League. The Calgary Flames are Washington their International League franchise from Salt Lake City New Brunswick next season.Russ Gregory left the Jr. Red Wings to join a Detroit Riverains station. Dave Greeley was promoted to assistant GM from marketing and public relations.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-05141/6698322-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg" title="f0021-05" width="903" height="471"></div>HIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 26 TO MAY 9): Peterborough needed five games to win their seventh OHL title. Oshawa holds the record of 11 league titles. &#9632;

f0021-05

Petes, Hounds also exchange verbal shots

<div class="byline">By Dave Eminian</div>The San Diego Gulls and Milwaukee Admirals lacked down April 21 from plans to leave the intemational League and start their own major league.A Denver investment group, meanwhile, was entatively approved for an expansion franchise ext season by the IHL board of governors at an emergency meeting in Denver&rsquo;s Stapleton Aiport.The league is also looking at expansion to Ian Francisco, Sacramento and Minneapolis-St. paul, although groups from those cities have not get shown the IHL any cash.San Diego ownr Fred Comrie said his team was comfortable with decision to remain in the IHL.Comrie has been outspoken this seaan in opposition the salary cap nd critical of what perceived as te IHL&rsquo;s willingess to let the NHL rm-twist policy.IHL commisoner lorn Tom Berry has said a proposed salary ip on player payrolls was one of the catalysts ir San Diego&rsquo;s interests in leaving.The cap is still being studied-league sources ly the Gulls want a $1.5 million ceiling-but ifficulty in gaining ownership consensus and layers&rsquo; union approval has stalled the plan inefmitely.The Denver investors paid the first of four 500,000 installments toward an expansion fee. at told the league they would withdraw their itry if they could not secure an NHL parent ub for next season.The group has two primary owners: Donna F. Tuttle, former U.S. deputy secretary of commerce in 1988 in the Ronald Reagan administration, and attorney David G. Elmore.Elmore heads a sports investment group that controls five minor-league baseball teams, including the Class AAA Colorado Springs Sky Sox, primary affiliate of the National League expansion Colorado Rockies.One of the principles in attempting to get the Gulls and Admirals to join the new league was Bill Hunter, a minority owner of the Gulls.Hunter is well-known for his past attempts at starting new leagues-the Global and Continental League never got off the ground and the World Hockey Association forced a limited merger with the NHL.I-OPENERS:Fort Wayne goaltender Pokey Reddick was 6-0 with a .939 save percentage in six playoff games, including a leaguebest GAA of 1.67&hellip;The IHL named San Diego defenseman Bill Houlder-who was playing with the Buffalo Sabres in their Adams Division final against the Montreal Canadiens-its Governors&rsquo; Trophy winner as defenseman of the year.Kansas City&rsquo;s Gary Emmons scored two goals, including the winner, to help the defending champion Blades oust Milwaukee in Game 6 of their quarterfinal series. The Admirals have escaped the first round of the playoffs just twice in 17 years.IHL sources say San Diego is close to signing an affiliation deal with Anaheim. Don&rsquo;t be surprised if the expansion Florida Panthers sign with Cincinnati.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01937/6698353-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="821" height="251"></div>PLAYOFF HIGHLIGHTS (MAY 2 TO MAY 9): Fort Wayne got game-winning goals from Jean-Marc Richard in Games 3 and 4 to complete a sweep of their Eastern Conference final with Atlanta. Komets&rsquo; goalie Pokey Reddick ran his winning streak to 18 games. Richard scored five goals for Fort Wayne in the series, which equaled Atlanta&rsquo;s total&hellip;The Komets play the winner of the Western Conference final (San Diego-Kansas City) in the Turner Cup. &#9632;

f0022-01

New league fizzles out, Gulls, Admirals stay put

<div class="byline">By Nick Gates</div>Nine months ago, Phil Roberto joined the Birmingham Bulls as director of sales and marketing.By the time the puck dropped for the first game, he was behind the expansion team&rsquo;s bench as an assistant coach.And when coach Bruce Garber was let go in March after a 30-29-5 season in which Birmingham missed the playoffs, Roberto was named the team&rsquo;s director of hockey operations.So it came as no surprise April 26 when team president Art Clarkson announced Roberto had been named coach for the 1993-94 season.&ldquo;Phil has been a proven winner at every level,&rdquo; Clarkson said. &ldquo;He is one of the few players who has won both the Memorial and Stanley Cups. It is this type of winning tradition that we want to establish with the Bulls. He is our man.&rdquo;Roberto. 44, spent seven NHL seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings, Kansas City Scouts, Colorado Rockies and Cleveland Barons and one with the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association.He was a member of the Canadiens&rsquo; 1970-71 Stanley Cup championship team and played for the 1967-68 Ontario League champion Niagara Falls Flyers. He has no previous head coaching experience.In other front-office moves, Clarkson became the principal owner of the team, although Bob Polk and Doug Kirchhofer retain part ownership. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just reshuffled the deck,&rdquo; Clarkson said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all still together.&rdquo;Steve Chapman was named assistant general manager and Ed Krayer was named assistant director of hockey operations.FOR THE BOOKS: Aside from Trevor Jobe of the Nashville Knights, who set the single-season record for goals (85) and points (161), several other individual marks fell in the East Coast League this season.Knoxville&rsquo;s Grant Chorney accumulated 443 penalty minutes to eclipse the two-year-old record of 407, set by Greg Spenrath of the Erie Blades.Jack Williams of the Roanoke Valley Rampage and Bruce Coles of the Johnstown Chiefs scored seven shorthanded goals, breaking the league record of six shared by several players. What made Coles&rsquo; performance remarkable was he accomplished the feat in fewer than 25 games.On the dubious side, Roanoke Valley allowed the most goals (387), lost a record 13 consecutive games and recorded the fewest wins (14) and most losses (49).WEARING TWO HATS: Nashville Knights&rsquo; president Godfrey Wood will take over as president of the Portland (Me.) team in the American League.&ldquo;It will cause no conflict of interest,&rdquo; Wood said, &ldquo;because the cities are not even in the same league. In fact, it will benefit us because I can keep an eye out for talent the Knights might be able to obtain.&rdquo;Wood dispelled rumors the Knights will be moving to another city in the off-season.&ldquo;We have started a strong season-ticket drive,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There is more interest in the Knights now than at any time in four years.&rdquo;Wood made it clear he is interested in retaining coach Nick Fotiu.&ldquo;Nick and I will sit down and discuss the situation,&rdquo; Wood said. &ldquo;Nick has done a great job here and obviously he would be high on the list to coach a team in a higher league next season.&rdquo;The Knights were 36-25-3 and were eliminated in the Western Division final by the Toledo Storm.VICTORY RIDE: The East Coast League champion Toledo Storm was treated to a victory parade in Toledo April 20. Mayor John McHugh delivered a proclamation honoring general manager Barry Soskin, coach Chris McSorley and the players. &#9632;

Roberto Bulls way to top, named Birmingham coach

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02646/6698408-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg"></div>Late in the American League season, group of Utica businessmen, fearful losing the Devils to another city, organized Pro Hockey and Proud.Their intention was to sell 2,000: season tickets and prove to parent new Jersey the city would support HL hockey. But the efforts weren&rsquo;t tough and now Utica has no hockey am and isn&rsquo;t so proud.New Jersey Devils&rsquo; general manager Lou Lamoriello announced May 5 is transferring minor-league operaions to the privately-owned Capital istrict franchise in Troy, N.Y. The: all is for three years. New Jersey ill sell its AHL franchise, most like-to the Calgary Flames.Capital District owner Albert W. awrence, a Schenectady, N.Y., busessman, is considering a name change to the Mudhaw Valley River Rats, a combo play off the neighboring Hudson and Mohawk river valleys.The New York Islanders were the parent team of Capital District for the past three seasons. But they averaged only 2,073 fans in RPI&rsquo;s Houston Fieldhouse this year and lost approximately $360,000.No decision on a home rink has been made. CDI played in RP1 Houston fieldhouse (5,400 capacity). But Lawrence is considering a move to the 15,000-seat Knickerbocker Arena in Albany.In late April, Lawrence broke off negotiations to keep the New York Islanders as his parent team and approached Lamoriello, whose team averaged only 2,728 fans in Utica.&ldquo;We did not initiate any action, other groups came to us," Lamoriello said. &ldquo;Our situation in Utica has been positive. But we lost a considerable amount of money (in six seasons).&rdquo;The Devils pick up quick cash in the deal. They will sell their AHL franchise to Calgary for between $800,000 and $900,000. Lawrence will pay a reported $500,000 to $600,000 to be New Jersey&rsquo;s minor league team.By buying the Utica franchise, Calgarv actually saves money. The Flames would have had to pay the $1 million expansion fee for the team they will operate next season in Saint John, N.B.BIG MAC ATTACK: Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; GM Glen Sather thought he could force Bill McDougall&rsquo;s hand by playing hardball with a contract threat.Sign the contract, the fourth-year center was told during a late-season recall, or go back to Sydney, N.S., to play for the Cape Breton Oilers.McDougall. 26, an unrestricted free agent after the season, chose the latter. He wanted a chance to showcase his talents in the playoffs and he has done just that. He led Cape Breton to a five-game first-round victory over Fredericton, then paced the Oilers to an upset sweep of Atlantic Division-champion St. John&rsquo;s.He broke records for most goals in a playoff game (five) and in a playoff season (17). He also tied the AHL record for most points in one playoff season (31). He did it in nine games.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2>PLAYOFF HIGHLIGHTS (MAY 2 TO 9): Rochester&rsquo;s Jody Gage became the AHL&rsquo;s all-time leader in playoff goals when he scored his 49th in Game 1 of the Southern Division final. He passed Willie Marshall and Fred Glover&hellip;Binghamton survived a first-round scare against Baltimore, the Rangers&rsquo; lesser by 56 points in the regular season. The Rangers won Game 7 at home 5-3&hellip;Springfield goalie Corrie D&rsquo;Alessio relieved starter George Maneluk in the second period of Game 6 against Adirondack and posted a 2-1 victory&hellip;Cape Breton and the Adirondack/Springfield winner meet in the best-of-three mini-round semifinal, with the Binghamton/Rochester winner having a bye to the finals. &#9632;

f0022-02

Utica’s pact with Devils ends as New Jersey departs

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>The two finalists for The Hockey News/Black Velvet Player of the Year are as dissimilar as two players can be.THN readers selected Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; center Mario Lemieux and Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; center Doug Gilmour finalists for the player of the year award.Lemieux is six inches taller and 60 pounds heavier. In fact, the one thing they have in common is the size of their hearts.The latest chapter in Lemieux&rsquo;s fame is his recovery from Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease. Ninety five per cent of people treated for the disease at the early stage recover but Lemieux, whose back woes forced him to confront the possible end of his career, had to grapple with a mortality far more serious than that of his career.On Feb. 1, Lemieux underwent the first of 22 radiation treatments and he returned to a standing ovation in Philadelphia a month later.Lemieux roared past Buffalo&rsquo;s Pat Lafontaine to claim his fourth scoring title, winning it by playing just 60 games and recording 160 points. In the Penguins final 20 games, Lemieux scored 30 goals and 26 assists. Included in the barrage was a five-goal game against the New York Rangers.In the end, he would outdistance Lafontaine by 12 points, despite spotting him 24 games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m beyond being surprised by anything he does,&rdquo; said teammate Rick Tocchet. &ldquo;Each goal gets better. Each game gets better.&rdquo;While lauded as an icon, Lemieux has been typically low-key about the speed of his recovery.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always been pretty successful with whatever has to be done down on the ice,&rdquo; he said.That hurdle overcome, Lemieux, naturally enough, was presented with more. Back spasms threatened to keep Lemieux out of the playoffs but even if he misses the Penguins&rsquo; postseason, he has authored one of the most memorable seasons in NHL history.Gilmour, meanwhile, was the main contributor to a stunning Maple Leafs&rsquo; resurgence. Gilmour played all but one of the Leafs&rsquo; 84 games, recorded 127 points and set a club scoring standard, besting Darryl Sittler&rsquo;s mark of 117.He also helped instill a relentless work ethic in what had been ground zero for underachievement. In his first full season in Toronto, the 29-year-old Gilmour was both the team&rsquo;s best offensive and defensive player and anchored the specialty teams.Just as importantly, he relentlessly challenged bigger opponents regardless of where or when he played. Gilmour played with a passion and intelligence gone from Maple Leaf Gardens for the last decade.The addition of Dave Andreychuk in a trade with Buffalo gave Gilmour the first bona-fide sniper he could utilize in Toronto and the pair were instrumental in the seven-game Norris Division semi-final elimination of Detroit. Gilmour sent Game 7 into overtime with a goal in the dying moments and Nikolai Borschevsky won it in overtime. Gilmour dominated Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov and had a hand in every Leafs&rsquo; goal in the 4-3 win.Gilmour finished the series with four goals and nine assists and Game 1 of the Norris Division final brought more of the same. He finally solved St. Louis Blues&rsquo; goaltender Curtis Joseph with a dazzling wraparound goal. He played 43 minutes of the 83minute marathon and his goal was enough to induce admiration from an unlikely source.&ldquo;That winning goal, as much as you hate to see it,&rdquo; said Blues&rsquo; coach Bob Berry, &ldquo;was one of the finest you&rsquo;ll ever see from one of the finest players in the league.&rdquo; &#9632;

Top players show abundance of heart and talent

<div class="byline">By Rand Simon</div>You&rsquo;d be hard pressed to come up with two more different goaltenders than Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; Tom Barrasso and Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; Ed Belfour.Barrasso is a 6-foot-3, 211-pounder from Boston who was drafted in the first round of the 1983 NHL entry draft by the Buffalo Sabres. He has been his team&rsquo;s No. 1 goaltender nine straight seasons and has played just five minor-pro games in his career.Belfour is a 5-foot-11, 182-pounder from Carman, Man., who was never drafted. The Blackhawks signed him as a free agent in September of 1987, but it wasn&rsquo;t until the 1990) 1 season that he became a No. 1 goalie. He has 3layed 80 minor pro games and even spent a full season with the Canadian national team.But as divergent as their backgrounds have seen, their greatest difference is in the way they perform their jobs.Barrasso is a classic, stand-up goaltender who arely flops to the ice and leaves little room for opposing shooters.Belfour&rsquo;s flopping style forces him to rely on butstanding reflexes and makes him a target for critics.&ldquo;I guess you could say Belfour&rsquo;s style is unorthodox, but it&rsquo;s effective,&rdquo; said Penguins&rsquo; defenseman Larry Murphy. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t matter low you look, as long as you stop the puck.&ldquo;But if you wanted to make a video on goal-ending, you use Tommy over any goalie in the league. He&rsquo;s a textbook goalie, stands up well, doesn&rsquo;t go down too soon and he handles the puck better than all but one or two goalies in the league.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01894/6698525-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="706" height="1116"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Belfour led the Chicago Blackhawks to the Jennings Trophy.</figcaption></div>One thing they do have in common is that they are both finalists for the THN/Upper Deck Goalie of the Year Award. The award is voted on by readers and the winner will be announced at THN&rsquo;s annual Awards Luncheon June 18 in Toronto.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02589/6698518-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="706" height="1116"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tom Barrasso is key to the Penguins winning their third straight Stanley Cup.</figcaption></div>Belfour, who won the award in 1991, wasn&rsquo;t even considered to be among the league&rsquo;s top 10 goalies in a THN survey of pro scouts this season. But fans obviously beg to differ.The other thing Barrasso (who finished third in the voting by NHL pro scouts) and Belfour have in common is they enjoyed outstanding seasons in a year dominated by the game&rsquo;s best offensive players.Barrasso posted the fourth-best goals-against average (3.01) and save percentage (.901) in the league while leading the way with 43 wins. He also posted four shutouts to finish tied for third in that category with New York Rangers&rsquo; John Vanbiesbrouck and Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; Tim Cheveldae.Belfour was second in the league in GAA (2.59, behind Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; Felix Potvin) and wins (41). He finished third in the league with a .906 save percentage and led the NHL with seven shutouts.Belfour will also get his name on the Jennings Trophy as the Blackhawks allowed a league-best 2.70 goals per game. He was the only goaltender on the team to play in the minimum 25 games required for a netminder to get his name on the trophy.In addition to vying for THN&rsquo;s goaltender award, Barrasso and Belfour are shooting for their second Vezina Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s top goalie. Barrasso won the award as a rookie in 1984 while Belfour won it in his rookie year in 1991.Now Barrasso and Belfour have returned to the position of being the goaltending elite of the NHL. Each in his own unique style. &#9632;

f0026-01

Killer B’s Belfour and Barrasso gun for award

<div class="byline">By THN Staff</div>Think of the NHL&rsquo;s top general manager as a gardener. Even if he is gone, what he has planted often flowers in his absence.In selecting the THN NHL Executive of the Year Award winner, a panel of 25 players, coaches, general managers and media members were asked to consider the results of a general manager&rsquo;s handy work often aren&rsquo;t clear for several years.This is the first year THN has so extensively polled people in the hockey community for the award.One potential candidate is former New York Islanders&rsquo; GM Bill Torrey, now the GM of the expansion Miami Panthers.Torrey acquired Pierre Turgeon, emerging star Benoit Hogue and defensive kingpin Uwe Krupp from the Buffalo Sabres in October of 1991 for unhappy superstar Pat LaFontaine.Torrey also traded with the Toronto Maple Leafs to move up in last year&rsquo;s draft and acquire rugged Latvian defenseman Darius Kasparaitis. Kas-paraitis, along with Vladimir Malakhov and former U.S. Olympian Scott Lachance, all Torrey picks, gives the Islanders the nucleus of the defense of the 90s.Maple Leafs&rsquo; GM Cliff Fletcher enjoyed the fruits of his 1991-92 campaign this season. The trade with the Calgary Flames for Doug Gilmour gave the Leafs a franchise player.In what has become a rite of spring, Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; GM Craig Patrick improved his hockey team with deadline deals by acquiring Peter Taglianetti from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Mike Ramsey from Buffalo to shore up the Penguins&rsquo; defensive corps.The results were immediate, the Penguins rolled to a 17-game winning streak and dominated with defense in the post-season. Ramsey in particular, was a key contributor to the Penguins&rsquo; defensive success.Corey Hirsch is becoming a regular at the annual THN Awards Luncheon.The 20-year-old goalie won the THN/Cooper Junior Player of the Year Award last season after leading the Western League&rsquo;s Kamloops Blazers to a Memorial Cup championship.Hirsch moved up to the professional ranks this season with the American League&rsquo;s Binghamton Rangers and played well enough to be considered a candidate for THN NHL Minor Pro Prospect of the Year Award, along with Providence Bruins&rsquo; right winger Jozef Stumpel.Next year? Hirsch may have his sights set on THN&rsquo;s NHL rookie, goalie or even player of the year awards.&ldquo;The sky is the limit for him,&rdquo; one scout said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll definitely be in the NHL next season.The parameters for prospect of the year award changed this season. In the past, the award went to the individual who had the best season in the AHL or International League. Starting this year, the award is presented to the prospect who had the best season. It is designed to identify future NHL stars. A committee of 10 NHL scouts voted on the award.Hirsch led minor pro goalies with a 35-4-5 record, a 2.75 goals-against average and tied Darrin Madeley of the New Haven Senators with the best save percentage at .905.Stumpel is a rookie to the North American game, but you wouldn&rsquo;t know it. The second-round choice of the Boston Bruins in 1991 led the farm team in scoring with 31 goals and 92 points in 56 games.Stumpel, 20, also played in 13 games with the Bruins and managed one goal and four points. The native of Nitra, Slovakia came to North America late last season from Koln of the German League with a reputation for being a natural goalscorer.&ldquo;The idea was he would need a season in the minors to adjust to the North American game,&rdquo; one scout said. &ldquo;It took him about a month and then he started to dominate. 1 don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;ll see Boston keep him there another year.&rdquo;The two finalists for THN Minor Pro Coach of the Year Award had seasons that were miles apart-both geographically and metaphorically.Rick Dudley and the IHL&rsquo;s San Diego Gulls could do no wrong on the Pacific coast. Marc Crawford, 32, and the AHL&rsquo;s St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs didn&rsquo;t have a place to play for much of the season because of an arena strike, but managed to put together an excellent season.The Maple Leafs played all over Canada before the strike was settled in May. The four-month road trip played havoc with the players&rsquo; lives both on and off the ice, but the team actually played better and finished the season with a 41-26-13 record.In San Diego, Dudley was blessed with a roster that included at least 20 players with NHL experience. The veteran Gulls led the IHL in virtually every category, including best record (62-12-8), most goals for (381), fewest goals against (229).Dudley, 44, is credited with piecing together an outstanding cast.&ldquo;Some people think it&rsquo;s easy to coach a team that has so many quality players,&rdquo; one scout said. &ldquo;But there are egos to deal with and it takes just the right approach.&rdquo;<h2>THN honors youngsters with award</h2>To recognize excellence in minor hockey, THN presents its Minor Hockey Player of the Year Award.Youngsters who have submitted entries to be selected THN&rsquo;s Player of the Week are eligible for the award and the winner will be invited to Toronto for THN Awards Luncheon June 18.The award is given to a youngster who best exemplifies the objectives of minor hockey in North America. &#9632;

Past comes into play for NHL executives

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>They are the most disparate of groups, the cop, the teacher and the tactician.Pat Bums, Dave King and Scotty Bowman were projected as frontrunners in the voting for The Hockey News/CCM Coach of the Year Award.This year&rsquo;s award is being determined by a 25-person panel of players, coaches, scouts and reporters who will cast their vote the day after the Stanley Cup is awarded.The award will take playoff as well as regular season performances into account.Bums, a former Montreal policeman, molded the league&rsquo;s oldest team into the one of the NHL&rsquo;s premier surprises.The Leafs, using a similar lineup to the one used last season, improved their point total by 22.Often annoyed by the label of a defensive coach he earned over four seasons in Montreal, Bums proved you can score more goals while surrendering fewer chances.The Leafs scored 54 more goals than the previous campaign and surrendered 53 fewer.Bums rallied the Leafs, given up for dead after badly losing the opening two games of their Norris Division final against Detroit. The Leafs prevailed in seven on the strength of an overtime marker by Nikolai Borschevsky.While Bums breathed life into a moribund franchise, it was left to King, a former Saskatoon school teacher, to rebuild the shattered psyche of the Calgary Flames.As King took the team into training camp, the Flames were fresh off a season where they had failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 17 seasons.The Flames prospered despite devastating injuries to key players. Star defenseman Al Maclnnis missed a third of the season with a hip injury. Gary Roberts, one of the elite power forwards in the league, was sidelined 26 games with a leg injury.King brought discipline to what had become one of the league&rsquo;s most undisciplined teams. The Flames went from an average of 33.2 penalty minutes per game to 23.2. Only the Buffalo Sabres boasted a similar improvement.King, one of the best teachers in the game, brought improvement to the special teams as well. The Flames finished fifth in the league in penalty killing, up 13 spots from the year! before.Under his tutelage, Joel Otto reestablished himself as a dominant penalty killer, Robert Reichel blossomed into a 40-goal scorer and Gary Suter re-emerged as an elite level defenseman. The Flames battled the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings for first place in the Smythe for most of the season but lost in the first round to the Kings.Scotty Bowman guided the Penguins to their best-ever regular season mark. The Penguins finished with an astounding 119 points, despite the loss of Mario Lemieux for 24 games, first with back problems, then with Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease.Only the Maple Leafs and Blackhawks surrendered fewer goals and only one team, the Detroit Red Wings, scored more. No coach kept checkers off his star, worked referees or devoted himself to the subtleties of the game like Bowman.Bowman, 59, the winningest coach in NHL history with a record of 834-380-226 and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, was in the hunt for his seventh Stanley Cup as the Penguins steamed toward the Stanley Cup final.Only New York Islanders&rsquo; coach Al Arbour, with 1,522, has coached more games than Bowman&rsquo;s 1,440. &#9632;

Bowman, Bums, King head coach nominees

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello</div>To say the Detroit Jr. Red Wings rode the peak of a wave this season would be fairly accurate.The peak was Pat Peake and the wave was one of the most prolific offensive seasons ever in the Ontario League.Peake, 19, played on Detroit&rsquo;s top scoring line with Kevin Brown and Bob Wren and was the first OHL player this season to score 50 goals. He did it in 33 games, the fastest in league history.He finished the season with 58 goals and 136 points in 46 games, a pace that would have eclipsed by three points Bobby Smith&rsquo;s single-season point record of 192 had Peake not missed 20 games with injury, training camp with the Washington Capitals and the World Junior Championships.&ldquo;He has always been good, but this season he showed the ability to dominate games,&rdquo; one scout said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something no one can ever teach a player.&rdquo;Peake&rsquo;s performance has made him a nominee for the THN/Cooper Major Junior Player of the Year Award. Another top-level performer, Alexandre Daigle of the Quebec League&rsquo;s Victoriaville Tigres, was also named a nominee.A committee of 10 NHL scouts did the voting. The winner will be announced at THN&rsquo;s annual Awards Luncheon June 18 in Toronto.The best indicator of Peake&rsquo;s value to the Jr. Red Wings is their record without him in the lineup. In the 20 games Peake missed, Detroit was 8-93. With Peake in the lineup, the Jr. Red Wings were 28-13-4.When Peake went down with a broken ankle in the first round of the playoffs, the Wings won two rounds before losing in the Emms Division final to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.Peake was the 14th choice overall by the Capitals in 1991 and was rated Washington&rsquo;s No. 1 prospect in THN&rsquo;s Future Watch issue. Peake had 138 goals and 319 points in three seasons with the Jr. Wings.Daigle was the most talked-about player in junior hockey this season. With good reason. The favorite to go No. 1 in the entry draft this June, he was under scrutiny all season.The Ottawa Senators finished in last place overall and will almost certainly select the most exciting player to come out of the QMJHL since Mario Lemieux. They&rsquo;ll be getting a player who has the ability to control the tempo of a game, but not necessarily his own temper.&ldquo;Not only is he an outstanding skater and playmaker, but he also has that feistiness,&rdquo; a scout said. &ldquo;He reminds me a lot of Jeremy Roenick. He doesn&rsquo;t mind putting someone through the glass.&rdquo;Sometimes Daigle can be too rambunctious. He had two separate suspensions this season for flagrant stick fouls that totalled 10 games. In the WJC, he received a game misconduct for a hit from behind on Peter Forsberg of Sweden.The 18-year-old Laval, Que., native was on pace to break QMJHL scoring records had his temper not got in the way. He finished the season with 45 goals and 137 points in 53 games.&ldquo;I like him for what he did for the Quebec League this season,&rdquo; a scout said. &ldquo;A player like him comes along every so often.&rdquo;After returning from a gold-medal performance at the WJC, Daigle stole the show at the Canadian Hockey League All-Star Challenge, assisting on four goals in a 7-5 loss to a Western League/OHL team.Led by Daigle, the Tigres had an outstanding season, compiling a 4326-1 record before losing to the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the first round of the playoffs. &#9632;

Major junior gives fans Peake at great players

<div class="byline">By Matt Nicholls</div>The highest scoring players in U.S. college hockey this season will shoot it out for the THN-Bauer U.S. College Player of the Year Award.Maine Black Bear Paul Kariya and University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldog Derek Plante are the finalists for the honor, to be presented in Toronto June 18. A panel of 10 NHL scouts voted on the award.Kariya, the Hobey Baker Award winner as the most outstanding player in U.S. college hockey, led the Black Bears to a 41-1-2 record overall and the school&rsquo;s first national title.The 18-year-old left winger finished with 25 goals and 100 points in 39 games. He became the first freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award.Kariya is certain to to be selected in the top five players overall at the entry draft in Quebec City June 26.&ldquo;He had a major impact on the college hockey world,&rdquo; said Maine coach Shawn Walsh. &ldquo;He works on a higher level cerebrally than other players. His ability to take control when a game is on the line-like he did at the NCAA championships-was remarkable.&rdquo;While Kariya established himself as a top player in the east, Plante was the best from the west. The smooth-skating senior center from Cloquet, Minn., finished the year with 36 goals and 92 points in 37 games.A Hobey Baker finalist, Plante helped the Bulldogs to first place in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; draft pick was named WCHA player of the&rsquo; year for his effort.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01884/6698628-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="547" height="757"><figcaption class="caption-body">George Dupont was MVP of the Canadian university title game.</figcaption></div><h2>CIAU</h2>The Acadia Axemen were the class of Canadian university hockey this year and George Dupont was one of the main reasons why.The 26-year-old center from Nepean, Ont., led the Axemen to their first Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union title with a 12-1 pasting of the University of Toronto Blues.Dupont finished with 13 goals and 57 points in 26 games, earning Atlantic Universities Athletic Association most valuable player honors.He was also named the player of the game in the championship final against the Blues, scoring a goal and adding two assists.With such impressive credentials, it comes as no surprise that Dupont is a finalist-along with Toronto Blues&rsquo; goaltender Paul Henriques-for the THN-Bauer Canadian University Player of the Year Award.The finalists were chosen by a panel of nine CIAU coaches.&ldquo;George proved to everyone at The Nationals what everybody in the Atlantic Conference knew all along-that he is one of the best players in the nation,&rdquo; said Acadia coach Tom Coolen.Henriques led the Blues to a second-place finish in the Ontario Universities Athletic Association&rsquo;s East Division and a berth in the national championships.He was one of the best goalies in Ontario, finishing with a 2.95 goals-against average and 14-6-1 record. &#9632;

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College hotshots lock horns for top awards

<div class="byline">By Matt Nicholls</div>The NHL has undergone significant change the past few seasons and it certainly won&rsquo;t stagnate under new commissioner Gary Bettman.One thing that will remain a constant, however, is the exceptional level of athleticism exhibited by the league&rsquo;s top players.The NHL is blessed with some of the greatest athletes in the world and it will continue to attract the best talent from around the globe.And while today&rsquo;s players are bigger, faster and more skilled than their predecessors, the accomplishments of retired stars aren&rsquo;t lost among the exploits of players such as Mario Lemieux, Doug Gilmour and Patrick Roy.Previous NHL stars such as Gordie Howe, Johnny Bower, Toe Blake, Johnny Bucyk and Jean Beliveau will never be forgotten by true fans.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01817/6698659-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="529" height="775"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean Beliveau was a star in Montreal for 20 seasons.</figcaption></div>To recognize the achievements of the legendary greats who continue to contribute to the game, THN annually presents the THN/Itech King Clancy Memorial Award.The award was named after the first recipient in 1986. This year&rsquo;s award will be announced at THN&rsquo;s annual Awards Luncheon June 18 in Toronto.While Howe&rsquo;s exploits are well I documented, other former winners nave also made indelible marks on the game.Beliveau, who won the award in 1992, was one of the best playmakers- and most gentlemanly players-to don a Canadiens&rsquo; jersey.The 6-foot-3, 205-pound center from Trois Rivieres, Que., spent two decades with the Canadiens from 1951 to 1971. He finished his career as the team&rsquo;s most productive center ever with 507 goals and 1,219 points and still works with the team as the vice-president, corporate affairs.Maurice (Rocket) Richard finished his career with Montreal as one of the most prolific scorers in team history.He was a co-winner of the award in 1988 along with former Montreal greats Toe Blake and Elmer Lach.The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Richard was one of the league&rsquo;s most feared scorers for 18 seasons from 1943 to 1960.The older brother of former Canadien Henri Richard amassed 544 goals and 965 points in 978 games and was one of the most intense playoff performers of his day.Other THN award winners had a greater impact off the ice. Former Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Danny Gallivan and current hockey analyst Howie Meeker of The Sports Network spent their careers educating fans about the game.Gallivan, who passed away Feb. 26, spent 32 years as the play-by-play voice of the Canadiens. He began his HNIC career in 1952 and retired in 1984, but remained active in the community by working for various charities. He won the award in 1991.Since retiring as a player in 1954, Meeker, 68, has worked as a hockey analyst for HNIC and TSN. He won the honor in 1989. &#9632;

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NHL’s greatest players will never be forgotten

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02535/6698690-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg"></div>The development of Itech&rsquo;s revolutionary face shields has led our research and development team to the next area needing Itech&rsquo;s expertise&hellip; the head.Our new 1-90 helmet is more than an evolution of someone else&rsquo;s bad ideas. Its a fresh look at how hockey helmets need to be designed and built.Protection is the name of the game and protection starts with excellent fit. Itech&rsquo;s designers have developed a system of &ldquo;head belts&rdquo; that holds your helmet in a perfect position away from your head and absorbs shocks without transmitting the blow to your vulnerable skull. A This patented &ldquo;Dial-a-Fit&reg;&rdquo; system uses dials on either side of the helmet and a sliding system of straps to snugly adjust the helmet to your head-whether you&rsquo;re a size 6 1/2 or 8 1/2!The next challenge was to design a helmet that uses modem materials and construction to soak up the hard knocks of hockey. The ITECH&reg; 1-90 incorporates multi-impact polypropylene foam B in the top of the helmet bonded to an exterior shell of high impact polycarbonate. C The vulnerable area on the back of the neck and side of the head incorporates a more resilient foam called high density trocellen&reg; D and a shock absorbing band of softer trocellen&reg; E covers the forehead and temples.Most helmets on the market today incorporate angles and ridges into their design in order to make the outer shell reasonably rigid. These ridges can catch a wayward stick, the edge of the board or a goal post and may cause serious injuries. ITECH&reg; 1-90&rsquo;s superior material and construction allows us to produce a sleek aerodynamic shape that deflects hard objects smoothly over the surface and creates excellent protection.Our 1-90 is the last word in ventilation because the &ldquo;Dial-a-Fit&reg;&rdquo; system suspends the protective shell away from the top and sides of your head allowing a proper circulation of air. In addition the aerodynamic design coupled with large and properly positioned air scoops sucks in and vents out fresh air as you skate.The end result of all this thinking by our eggheads in R&D? The most advanced CSA and HECC approved protection, the sleekest look, superior ventilation and a hockey helmet that you can count on. ITECH&reg; 1-90!<h2>The &ldquo;Dial-a-Fit&reg;&ldquo;system &#9632;</h2>

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The protection you deserve is at your fingertips. The new Itech® 1-90 with “Dial-a-Fit®”.

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>The Pittsburgh Penguins dominated nominations for the THN/Easton NHL all-star teams.The all-stars were chosen by THN readers and will be announced June 18 at the THN Awards Luncheon in Toronto. The following are the finalists, listed in alphabetical order:<h2>Goaltender</h2>Tom Barrasso, Pittsburgh: Led NHL in victories with 43. His 3.01 goals-against average was third best in the NHL. Had four shutouts.Ed Belfour, Chicago: Led all NHL goalies with seven shutouts. Was second in GAA (2.59) and victories (41). in regular season.Felix Potvin, Toronto: Super Leaf rookie had best GAA in NHL (2.50) and second best save percentage (.910).<h2>Defensemen</h2>Ray Bourque, Boston: Tied for fourth among NHL defensemen in scoring with 19 goals 82 points. Was Bruins&rsquo; best defenseman once again.Chris Chelios, Chicago: Norris Trophy favorite matched single-season high of 1988-89 with 15 goals, 581 assists and 73 points.Paul Coffey, Detroit: Two-time I Norris Trophy winner had 30 points I in 30 games with Red Wings and 871 overall.Phil Housley, Winnipeg: Led all defensemen with 97 points despite failing to hit the 20-goal plateau for first time in seven seasons.Al Iafrate, Washington: Used his booming slapshot-he won slapshot competition at All-Star Games score a single-season high 25 goals.Larry Murphy, Pittsburgh: His 13 th NHL season was his best. Scored a single-season high 85 points and posted plus-45.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01876/6698721-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="508" height="640"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Chelios matched his single-season high in points.</figcaption></div><h2>Center</h2>Doug Gilmour. Toronto: Feisty Leaf leader set team record for point in a season (127) and propelled Leafs into playoffs.Mario Lemieux. Pittsburgh: Won his fourth scoring title with 160 points despite missing 24 games. Led NHL with plus-55.Pat LaFontaine, Buffalo: Second in league scoring with 148 points, including 95 assists. Big reason why Alexander Mogilny scored 76 goals.<h2>Left Wing</h2>Dave Andreychuk, Toronto: Right-shooting left winger scored 25 goals and 38 points in 31 games with Maple Leafs after trade from Buffalo.Luc Robitaille. Los Angeles: Four-time NHL first team all-star had career highs in goals (63) and points (125).Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh: NHL&rsquo;s quintessential power forward was second in team scoring with 55 goals and 111 points in 72 games.<h2>Right Wing</h2>Pavel Bure, Vancouver: Russian Rocket led Canucks with 110 points-50 more than last season when he won Calder Trophy.Alexander Mogilny. Buffalo: Tied for league lead in goals (76) while scoring 127 points-43 more than previous single-season high.Teemu Selanne, Winnipeg: Finnish Flash shattered NHL rookie records for goals (76) and points (132) in season. &#9632;

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Mario and Co., fans’ choices for all-star teams

call 1-800-268-7793NHL STATISTICS THROUGH GAMES OF SUNDAY. MAY 9/93.<h2>PRINCE OF WALES CONFERENCE</h2><h3>ADAMS DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01794/6698969-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="719" height="743"></div><h3>PATRICK DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02543/6698962-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="724" height="889"></div><h3>TOP SCORERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03403/6698955-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="478" height="613"></div><h3>TOP DEFENSEMEN</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04316/6698948-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="467" height="299"></div><h3>TOP ROOKIES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05264/6698941-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="469" height="219"></div><h3>LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06228/6698934-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="859" height="607"></div><h2>CLARENCE CAMPBELL CONFERENCE</h2><h3>NORRIS DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07208/6698927-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="711" height="842"></div><h3>SMYTHE DIVISION</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-08172/6698920-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="716" height="910"></div><h3>TEAM PENALTIES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-09150/6698913-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="332" height="567"></div><h3>POWER PLAY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-10134/6698906-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="353" height="566"></div><h3>PENALTY KILLING</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-11124/6698899-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="356" height="567"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-12116/6698892-1-eng-US/f0033-122.jpg" title="f0033-12" width="1428" height="2030"><figcaption class="caption-body">Patrick Roy is riding an eight-game winning streak, five of which were decided in overtime.</figcaption></div>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONSStatistics provided by National Hockey League; NO.-uniform number; GP-games played; G-goals; A-assists; P-points; +/&mdash;plus-minus; PM-penalties in minutes; PP-power-play goals; SH-short-hand goals; GW-game-winning goals; OT-overtime goals; S-shots on goal; PCT-shooting percentage. Players indicated by an asterisk (*) are eligible for the Calder Trophy.<h3>BOSTON BRUINS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01884/6698885-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="937" height="625"></div><h3>BUFFALO SABRES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02622/6698878-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="940" height="620"></div><h3>CALGARY FLAMES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03486/6698871-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="930" height="325"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04377/6698864-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="929" height="272"></div><h3>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05305/6698857-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="937" height="594"></div><h3>DETROIT RED WINGS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06271/6698850-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="932" height="620"></div><h3>LOS ANGELES KINGS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-07248/6698843-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="931" height="378"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-08229/6698836-1-eng-US/f0034-082.jpg" title="f0034-08" width="930" height="221"></div><h3>MONTREAL CANADIENS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-09206/6698829-1-eng-US/f0034-092.jpg" title="f0034-09" width="941" height="770"></div><h3>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-10198/6698822-1-eng-US/f0034-102.jpg" title="f0034-10" width="939" height="589"></div><h3>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-11185/6698815-1-eng-US/f0034-112.jpg" title="f0034-11" width="933" height="299"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01844/6698808-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="940" height="359"></div><h3>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02616/6698801-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="947" height="595"></div><h3>QUEBEC NORDIQUES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03500/6698794-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="948" height="650"></div><h3>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04401/6698787-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="947" height="570"></div><h3>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05338/6698780-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="944" height="678"></div><h3>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06308/6698773-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="942" height="251"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07284/6698766-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="948" height="357"></div><h3>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08253/6698759-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="948" height="599"></div><h3>WINNIPEG JETS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-09233/6698752-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="951" height="646"></div> &#9632;

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NHL STATISTICAL REPORT CALL TOLL FREE NOW TO SUBSCRIBE The Hockey News

The Pittsburgh Penguins were supposed to cruise to their third Stanley Cup championship in as many years, but the New York Islanders proved to be a formidable opponent in the Patrick Division final. The play of goalie Glenn Healy was a big reason for New York&rsquo;s success. The 30-year-old from Pickering, Ont., has been superb, sporting a 6-3 record and 2.99 goals-against average in 10 post-season games. Healy spent most of the season splitting time with Mark Fitz-Patrick. He finished the year with a 22-20-2 record and 3.30 GAA in 47 games. &ldquo;You need to pick it up in the playoffs and that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m doing,&rdquo; Healy said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-14120/6699059-1-eng-US/f0035-142.jpg" title="f0035-14" width="316" height="272"></div>Official Sponsor of The Hockey News &ldquo;NHL Goalie of the Year Award&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-15106/6699052-1-eng-US/f0035-152.jpg" title="f0035-15" width="579" height="572"></div> &#9632;

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THE UPPER DECK COMPANY™ PRESENTS GOALIE PROHIE OF THE WEEK:

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NHL SUMMARIES

<h2>CSB RANKINGS</h2>HERE ARE THE FIRST FOUR ROUNDS AND TOP GOALTENDERS ACCORDING TO THE FINAL CENTRAL SCOUTING BUREAU RANKINGS OF NORTH AMERICAN PLAYERS ELIGIBLE FOR THE 1993 ENTRY DRAFT TO BE HELD JUNE 26 IN QUEBEC CITY.ROUND ONE1.ALEXANDRE DAIGLE, C, VICTORIAVILLE (QMJHL); 2.CHRIS PRONGER, D, PETERBOROUGH (OHL); 3. CHRIS GRATTON. C, KINGSTON (OHL); 4. ROB NIEDERMAYER. C, MEDICINE HAT (WHL); 5. PAUL KARIYA, C/RW. MAINE (HOCKEY EAST); 6. JASON ARNOTT, C.OSHAWA (OHL): 7. DENIS PEDERSON, C, PRINCE ALBERT (WHL), 8. TODD HARVEY, C.DETROIT (OHL); 9. BRENDAN WITT, D, SEATTLE (WHL); 10. ERIC LACOMPTE, LW, HULL (QMJHL); 11. NICK STAJDUHAR, D, LONDON (OHL); 12. TODD BERTUZZI, C, GUELPH (OHL); 13. MIKE WILSON. D. SUDBURY (OHL); 14. MAXIM BETS. LW. SPOKANE (WHL); 15. LANDON WILSON. RW, DUBUQUE (USHL); 16. JASON ALLISON. C/RW. LONDON (OHL): 17. BRYAN MCCABE, D. SPOKANE (WHL); 18. SHEAN DONOVAN, RW, OTTAWA (OHL); 19. ADAM DEADMARSH, C/RW. PORTLAND (WHL); 20. STEVE WASHBURN, C, OTTAWA (OHL); 21. JON COLEMAN, D, ANDOVER ACADEMY (MASS.) (USHS); 22. JAY PANDOLFO, LW, BOSTON UNIVERSITY (HOCKEY EAST); 23. ASHLEY BUCKBERGER, RW, SWIFT CURRENT (WHL); 24. SHAYNE TOPOROWSKI RW. PRINCE ALBERT (WHL); 25. JAMIE ALLISON, D. DETROIT (OHL); 26. RORY FITZPATRICK. D. SUDBURY (OHL).SECOND ROUND27. DAVE ROCHE, LW. PETERBOROUGH (OHL); 28. BOGDAN SAVENKO. RW. NIAGARA FALLS (OHL): 29. CHRIS ARMSTRONG, D. MOOSE JAW (WHL); 30. JAMIE RIVERS. D, SUDBURY (OHL); 31. ETHAN PHILPOTT. RW. ANOOVER ACADEMY (MASS.) (USHS); 32. BOB WREN, LW. DETROIT (OHL); 33. SHAWN BATES, C. MEDFORD H.S. (MASS.) (USHS); 34. JEFF LANK, D, PRINCE ALBERT (WHL); 35. DOMENIC PITHS, C, LETHBRIDGE (WHL); 36. RICK GIRARD. C, SWIFT CURRENT (WHL); 37. ERIC MANLOW. C, KITCHENER (OHL); 38. LEE SOROCHAN, D, LETHBRIDGE (WHL); 39. BILL MCCAULEY. C, DETROIT (OHL); 40. KEVYN ADAMS, C. MIAMI-OHIO (CCHA): 41. ALAIN NASREDDINE, D, DRUMMONDVILLE (QMJHL); 42. LARRY COURVILLE. LW, NEWMARKET (OHL); 43. MARIAN KACIR, RW, OWEN SOUND (OHL); 44. NOLAN PRATT, D. PORTLAND (WHL); 45. DAN TOMPKINS, LW. OMAHA (USHL); 46. JEFF MITCHELL, C/RW, DETROIT (OHL); 47. JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER, C. CLOQUET (MINN.) (USHS); 48. KEVIN PADEN, C/LW, DETROIT (OHL); 49. RYAN HUSKA, LW, KAMLOOPS (WHL); 50. DION DARLING, D, SPOKANE (WHL); 51. TREVOR ROENICK, RW, JR. BRUINS (NEJHL); 52. JOHN EMMONS. C, YALE (ECAC).ROUND THREE53. COSMO DUPAUL, C, VICTORIAVILLE (QMJHL): 54. STEVE BRULE, C/RW. ST. JEAN (QMJHL): 55. RYAN BROWN. D, SWIFT CURRENT (WHL); 56. JASON SMITH, D, PRINCETON (ECAC); 57. SEBASTIEN BORDELEAU. C/RW. HULL (QMJHL); 58. ALAN LATANG, D, NEWMARKET (OHL); 59. JEFF VIITANEN, D, COLLEGE FRANCAIS (QMJHL); 60. TRAVIS STEVENSON, D, MOOSE JAW (WHL); 61. TREVOR HANAS, C, REGINA (WHL); 62. PATRICK BOILEAU, D, LAVAL (QMJHL): 63. GARY ROACH, D, SAULT STE. MARIE (OHL); 64. CHRIS KELLEHER. D, ST. SEBASTIAN S (MASS.) (USHS); 65. KEVIN POZZO, D, MOOSE JAW (WHL); 66. JOEL POIRIER. LW. SUDBURY (OHL); 67. SERGE AUBIN, C. DRUMMONDVILLE (QMJHL); 68. BARRIE MOORE, LW. SUDBURY (OHL); 69. CHAD CABANA, LW. TRI-CITIES (WHL): 70. BILL PIERCE, C. LAWRENCE ACADEMY (MASS.) (USHS); 71. MILTON MASTAD, D, SEATTLE (WHL); 72. CHARLES PAQUETTE. D. SHEBROOKE (QMJHL); 73. MIKHAIL LAPIN, D, W. MICHIGAN (CCHA); 74. JEFF ANDREWS, LW, NORTH BAY (OHL): 75. BRENDAN MORRISON, C, PENTICTON (BCJHL); 76. JARNAL MAYERS, C, W. MICHIGAN (CCHA); 77. ERIC DAZE, LW. HULL (QMJHL); 78. PAUL VINCENT, CUSHING ACADEMY (MASS.) (USHS).ROUND FOUR79. RUSS HEWSON, LW, SWIFT CURRENT (WHL); 80. NICHOLAS CHECCO, C. BLOOMINGTON-JEFFERSON (MINN.) (USHS); 81. KOREY MILLEN, D, TRI-CITIES (WHL); 82. JEFF STAPLES, D, BRANDON (WHL); 83. MIKE RUSK, D, GUELPH (OHL); 84. WARREN LUHNING, RW, CALGARY ROYALS (AJHL); 85. JEREMY STASIUK, RW, SPOKANE (WHL); 86. RYAN TOCHER, D, NIAGARA FALLS (OHL); 87. KRZYSZTOF OLIWA, LW, WELLAND (JR. B); 88. MATT ALVEY, RW, SPRINGFIELD OLYMPIC; 89. J.C. RUID, LW. HOTCHKISS (CONN.) (USHS); 90. KEVIN HILTON, C. MICHIGAN (CCHA); 91. DARYL LAFRANCE, C, OSHAWA (OHL); 92. JOHN JAKOPIN. D. ST. MICHAEL&rsquo;S (MTJHL); 93. JOHN DEMARCO. D. ARCHBISHOP WILLIAMS (MASS.) (USHS); 94. TOM WHITE, C, WESTMINSTER (CONN.) (USHS); 95. TIM HARBERTS, C, WAYZATA (MINN.) (USHS); 96. ERIC MONTREUIL. C, CHICOUTIMI (QMJHL); 97. MIKE RAY, RW, GOVERNOR DUMMER ACADEMY (MASS.) (USHS); 98. MIKE LEGG, RW. LONDON (JR. B); 99. PETER LEBOUTILLIER, RW, RED DEER (WHL); 100. RYAN SHANAHA, RW. SUDBURY (OHL); 101. JASON GLADNEY, D, KITCHENER (OHL); 102. BRIAN MCCARTHY. LW. ST. SEBASTIAN&rsquo;S (MASS.) (USHS); 103. TIM MURRAY. D. NOTRE DAME (SJHL); 104. CHAD GRILLS. C. PETERBOROUGH (OHL).GOALIES1. JOCELYN THIBAULT, SHERBROOKE (QMJHL); 2. KEVIN WEEKES, OWEN SOUNO (OHL); 3. SCOTT LANGKOW, PORTLAND (WHL); 4. CHAD LANG, PETERBOROUGH (OHL): 5. TYLER MOSS, KINGSTON (OHL); 6. JOEL GAGNON, OSHAWA (OHL); 7. DAVID BRUMBY. TRI-CITIES (WHL); 8. TOOD MACDONALD, TACOMA (WHL); 9. GREG HAMPTON. MILTON ACADAMY (MASS.) (USHS); 10. PATRICK CHARBONNEAU, VICTORIAVILLE (QMJHL).MEMORIAL CUPTHE 1993 MEMORIAL CUP SCHEDULE, TO BE HOSTED BY SAULT STE. MARIE. ONT., FOLLOWSSAT., MAY 15: LAVAL VS. SAULT STE. MARIESUN., MAY 16: WHL CHAMP VS. SAULT STE. MARIE LAVAL VS. PETERBOROUGHTUES., MAY 18: WHL CHAMP VS. PETERBOROUGHWED.. MAY 19: WHL CHAMP VS. LAVALTHUR., MAY 20: PETERBOROUGH VS. SAULT STE. MARIEFRI., MAY 21: TIEBREAKER GAME, IF NECESSARYSAT., MAY22: SEMIFINALSUN.. MAY 23: FINAL<h2>WHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01779/6699611-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="388" height="523"></div><h2>OHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02572/6699604-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="579" height="900"></div><h2>QMJHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03462/6699597-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="581" height="915"></div><h2>WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04362/6699590-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="554" height="2124"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01745/6699583-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="560" height="3246"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02504/6699576-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="563" height="3251"></div> &#9632;

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SCOREBOARD

<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03380/6699712-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="571" height="2599"></div><h2>TEAM-BY-TEAM</h2><h3>ATLANTA</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04308/6699705-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="554" height="387"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05256/6699698-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="552" height="308"></div><h3>CLEVELAND</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06217/6699691-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="553" height="688"></div><h3>FORT WAYNE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07195/6699684-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="554" height="663"></div><h3>INDIANAPOLIS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-08172/6699677-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="558" height="609"></div><h3>KANSAS CITY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-09150/6699670-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="556" height="685"></div><h3>MILWAUKEE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-10132/6699663-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="554" height="672"></div><h3>PEORIA</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-11116/6699656-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="549" height="570"></div><h3>SAN DIEGO</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-12106/6699649-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="553" height="621"></div><h2>GOALTENDING</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-1395/6699642-1-eng-US/f0039-132.jpg" title="f0039-13" width="544" height="1060"></div> &#9632;

f0039-03

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01445/6699848-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="559" height="1852"></div><h2>TEAM-BY-TEAM</h2><h3>ADIRONDACK</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02289/6699841-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="557" height="265"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03207/6699834-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="555" height="361"></div><h3>BALTIMORE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04164/6699827-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="561" height="599"></div><h3>BINGHAMTON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05141/6699820-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="557" height="648"></div><h3>CAPE BRETON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06123/6699813-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="561" height="604"></div><h3>CAPITAL DISTRICT</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07111/6699806-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="561" height="587"></div><h3>FREDERICTON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0899/6699799-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="555" height="613"></div><h3>MONCTON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0980/6699792-1-eng-US/f0040-092.jpg" title="f0040-09" width="566" height="614"></div><h3>PROVIDENCE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-1077/6699785-1-eng-US/f0040-102.jpg" title="f0040-10" width="554" height="305"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-1173/6699778-1-eng-US/f0040-112.jpg" title="f0040-11" width="561" height="307"></div><h3>ROCHESTER</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-1269/6699771-1-eng-US/f0040-122.jpg" title="f0040-12" width="564" height="624"></div><h3>SPRINGFIELD</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-1366/6699764-1-eng-US/f0040-132.jpg" title="f0040-13" width="556" height="642"></div><h3>ST. JOHN&rsquo;S</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-1456/6699757-1-eng-US/f0040-142.jpg" title="f0040-14" width="568" height="642"></div><h3>UTICA</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-1554/6699750-1-eng-US/f0040-152.jpg" title="f0040-15" width="564" height="640"></div><h2>GOALTENDING</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-1651/6699743-1-eng-US/f0040-162.jpg" title="f0040-16" width="559" height="1600"></div> &#9632;

f0040-01

AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">By Philippe Cantin</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01396/6699879-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="361" height="517"></div>It was in the middle of the last game of the Battle of Quebec that Pierre Page lost his head. The Montreal Canadiens had just scored two goals in quick succession and more than ever in the Montreal Forum, elimination for the Quebec Nordiques hung heavily in the air.While Stephane Fiset was replacing Ron Hextall in goal, the Nordiques&rsquo; coach settled a score or two with his players. Most coaches wait until they&rsquo;re in the dressing room to vent their spleens, but page blew up in front of two million television viewers.Frothing at the mouth, he spit out his venom at Mats Sundin, Andrei Kovalenko and others. It was an astonishing scene, replayed on every sportscast and a striking reminder of the Nordiques&rsquo; complete disarray in the face of unfolding events.The series had gotten off to a good start for the Nordiques, winners of the first two games in Quebec City. However, their arrogance caught up with them. The Canadiens, a team that was going downhill in the home stretch, pulled itself together in time to snatch victory from their rivals.The Nordiques&rsquo; arrogance was apparent the minute the team arrived in Montreal for Game 3. Overconfident, they already saw themselves in the division final. &ldquo;Many people said the New Jersey Devils were incapable of winning because they relied too heavily on European players,&rdquo; a Nordiques&rsquo; player said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re proving them wrong.&rdquo;That conclusion was premature. Indeed, it was rather astonishing, coming from a team that had not made the playoffs in five seasons.Arrogance was also apparent in a shock statement by assistant coach Daniel Bouchard, a former Quebec goalie, who claimed to have discovered a flaw in Patrick Roy. Of course, he wasn&rsquo;t at liberty to reveal it.The remark, made by one of his childhood idols, irked Roy. During the rest of the series, he was outstanding. The Canadiens&rsquo; goalie also displayed leadership in the dressing room. On the eve of Game 3, at a time when everybody in Montreal was prepared to concede victory to the Nordiques, Roy told his teammates: &ldquo;We show them too much respect. If we keep repeating they&rsquo;re the best, we&rsquo;ll end up believing it. It has got to stop.&rdquo;Montreal then won four straight. Game, set, match.The series has left several people badly bruised, starting with Page. Will the players forgive him for his outburst? Sundin didn&rsquo;t appreciate being humiliated by Page&rsquo;s stinging remarks. Because he lost his head, Page will have trouble next season trying to convince his players to keep their emotions under control.Bouchard also got burned. Even Page criticized his remark about Roy, which does not bode well for Bouchard&rsquo;s future with Quebec.Joe Sakic was more or less invisible during the series. Were the Nordiques right to grant him $2 million a season? When the pressure mounts, Sakic is not always there. By allowing four easy goals during the last two games, Ron Hextall has lost a lot of the goodwill Quebec City fans reserved him.The Nordiques have taken a beating and we&rsquo;ll soon see whether or not they get over it.What about the Canadiens? They&rsquo;re overjoyed. Managing director Serge Savard went through hell after the Boston Bruins eliminated his team last spring. Defeat at the hands of the Nordiques would have been more painful. It&rsquo;s hardly surprising this strapping fellow, who&rsquo;s usually careful to hide his emotions, gave Jacques Demers a hug after the Canadiens&rsquo; victory. As for Demers, he let out a huge sigh of relief.Last June, after he had accepted the job as Pat Bums&rsquo; replacement, Demers clearly pinpointed his objective: to lead the Canadiens past the Nordiques. Page and Demers are not the best of friends.In November 1991, when Page fired coach Dave Chambers, Demers hoped to get the job. At the time, he was an analyst on the Nordiques&rsquo; radio network. However, Page decided to assume the post himself.To get an idea of relations between the two men, think back to Page&rsquo;s comment during the series: &ldquo;Demers should run a flower shop. When he&rsquo;s not doling them out, he&rsquo;s expecting to receive them.&rdquo;Demers doesn&rsquo;t take kindly to comparisons with Page. He hates being regarded simply as a motivator, while his rival has the reputation of being a great tactician. &ldquo;I, too, am capable of drawing up a game plan,&rdquo; he noted at the end of the series.When all is said and done, the Battle of Quebec was something to remember. The fast, spectacular hockey overshadowed the madcap rivalry between the two teams in the 1980s.Phillipe Cantin is a hockey writer for La Presse in Montreal. &#9632;

f0043-01

Arrogance killed Nordiques in playoffs

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02277/6699910-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kirk Muller scored the series-clinching goal and anchored the special teams in the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; 4-0 sweep of Buffalo. (Tim parker)</figcaption></div>Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; center Kirk Muller sported the red, white and blue, but the colors were clustered under his right eye.The shiner, a remnant of a first-round tumble into the boards against the Quebec Nordiques, was spectacular. But it still finished runner-up to Muller&rsquo;s grin, a smile that surfaced through scores of interviews in the Canadiens&rsquo; dressing room at the Buffalo Auditorium May 8.Montreal had just swept the Sabres 4-0 in their Adams Division final series.The grin and the black eye are both Muller staples. He is one of hockey&rsquo;s friendliest ambassadors, except on the ice, where he is relentless in pursuit of the puck.In the final seconds of Game 4, the Canadiens held a 3-2 lead and Muller found himself churning toward the red line with the puck on his stick and an easy insurance goal in his sights.Only Muller passed to a wide-open Guy Carbonneau. Good plan, but the pass missed by five feet.Thus reprieved, the Sabres&rsquo; Yuri Khmylev scored with 10 seconds left to send the game into overtime.The botched play was typical and atypical of Kirk Muller.Typical because it was unselfish, atypical because it didn&rsquo;t work.&ldquo;I was just trying to get to center and I saw Carbo was a few steps ahead,&rdquo; Muller explained sheepishly. &ldquo;He was over center but I made a bad pass.&rdquo;At 11:37 of overtime, Muller scored the winner against Buffalo goalie Grant Fuhr. It was assistant captain Kirk&rsquo;s second overtime goal of the playoffs and propelled Montreal into the Wales Conference final.The goal also increased Muller&rsquo;s point total to 10 and extended his goal-scoring streak to six games, best in the league. And while Vince Damphousse led the team with 12 points, Muller was the catalyst of Montreal&rsquo;s post-season roll.It was Muller who held Buffalo superstar Pat LaFontaine to one goal and four assists in three games. When the Canadiens needed to hold a lead, coach Jacques Demers used Muller. When they needed one, he used Muller.&ldquo;There is no situation, I mean none, where Jacques Demers doesn&rsquo;t automatically call on Kirk Muller,&rdquo; said Hockey Night in Canada analyst Steve Shutt.Muller, who has averaged about one point per game during his nine-year NHL career, had just nine goals and 24 points in 44 career post-season games going into this year&rsquo;s playoffs.&ldquo;This is really the first playoff where I&rsquo;ve come in feeling fresh,&rdquo; Muller said. &ldquo;In New Jersey, it seemed we were always fighting up to the last to make the playoffs.&rdquo;Muller&rsquo;s post-season difficulties mirror those endured by left winger Vincent Damphousse. Damphousse had just seven goals and 16 assists in 39 playoff games prior to this postseason.&ldquo;The first year, I was an 18-year-old kid,&rdquo; Damphousse said. &ldquo;The other times in Toronto I was on the third or fourth line. Last year in Edmonton (14 points in 16 games), I think I had a good playoff.&rdquo;After playing sluggishly in two losses to Quebec, Damphousse was brilliant as the Canadiens won their next eight. He scored in every victory. Damphousse had eight goals and 12 points in 10 games and solidified his position as the Canadiens&rsquo; go-to player.Between them, Damphousse and Muller had four of Montreal&rsquo;s eight game-winning goals, three coming in overtime.They had been dynamite on the power play. Lost in the excitement of three straight overtime wins in the Buffalo sweep was a Canadiens&rsquo; power play that clicked at 43 per cent in the second round. Muller and Damphousse combined for seven of Montreal&rsquo;s 10 playoff power-play goals.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a terrific combination,&rdquo; said Ottawa Senators&rsquo; assistant coach E.J. MacGuire. &ldquo;Muller is a Bobby Clarke-type player. Damphousse is like a (Bill) Barber or a (Reggie) Leach, a player who can finish.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0043-02

Playoff Redemption

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div>The Boston Bruins&rsquo; long-term offseason objective is to make certain their first-round playoff exit doesn&rsquo;t happen again next year.In the short term, the Bruins are trying desperately to find something positive about their quickest post-season departure since 1987.Right winger Cam Neely&rsquo;s status is about the only thing that fits into the positive category.&ldquo;As I always say, there&rsquo;s something good out of something bad.&rdquo; Neely said. &ldquo;The good thing out of this for me is I&rsquo;ll have four months to concentrate on getting the strength back in my leg and let my knee calm down.&rdquo;After almost two years and numerous setbacks, Neely is on the verge of resurrecting a brilliant career that saw him produce 50-goal seasons in 1989-90 and &rsquo;90-91.He played 13 regular-season games near the end of the campaign and scored 11 goals. He was one of the Bruins&rsquo; best performers in the Adams Division semifinal loss to the Buffalo Sabres. He led the team with four goals.The key to Neely&rsquo;s recovery from career-threatening thigh and knee injuries has been an exhaustive weightlifting program.The program was developed last October, after Neely sought additional opinions from several prominent orthopedic specialists when it looked as if he&rsquo;d need additional knee surgery.Neely had trouble maintaining the program, designed to build the muscles surrounding his knee, once he started playing in late February.He was able to train during breaks in the schedule and often went to the weight room immediately after games, but the every-other-night playoff grind made it difficult.Now, he has time to stay off skates and stay with the weights.&ldquo;This summer, I&rsquo;m going to gear toward getting as strong as I possibly can,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to getting a break first; it has been a tough grind for me mentally. But I feel I shouldn&rsquo;t have any problems next season.&rdquo;Neely was encouraged by the way his knee responded to the four playoff games in seven nights.&ldquo;The knee was good,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t having much of a problem with it at all. I&rsquo;ll be able to play a lot more next year, barring anything ridiculous happening.&rdquo;VIDEO GAMES: Assistant general manager Mike Milbury returned May 1 from a scouting trip that included the World Championships and a visit to Russia.He immediately locked himself away with tapes of Boston&rsquo;s four straight first-round losses to Buffalo. 4He then met with the rest of Boston&rsquo;s brass and coaching staff about deciding which players will be back next season and which ones probably won&rsquo;t return.&ldquo;We want to evaluate who can help us and who can&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Milbury said.NOTEBOOK: President/GM Harry Sinden indicated the Bruins would open contract talks with affected players as soon as possible&hellip;Talks have already begun with veteran center Dave Poulin, who played out his option, and with backup goalie John Blue, who becomes an unrestricted free agent after his deal expires this summer. The Bruins and Blue talked about a contract late in the regular season, but weren&rsquo;t able to agree on one. &#9632;

Neely’s successful recovery lone bright spot down stretch

<div class="byline">By Jeff Jacobs</div>Jeff Jackson didn&rsquo;t always dream about coaching in the NHL. The dream just sort of jumped out and grabbed him in June of 1991.Jackson, who was named Hartford Whalers&rsquo; assistant coach May 5 after a successful three-year run as coach of the Lake Superior State Lakers (Central Collegiate Hockey Association), was walking through the hallway of a Buffalo hotel the evening of the NHL draft.An arm reached out and pulled Jackson into an empty hospitality suite.It was the Badger; Bob Johnson, who died later that year.&ldquo;1 don&rsquo;t even think he remembered my name,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;But he had this big smile on his face. He said, &lsquo;Coach, come see this.&rsquo; There&rsquo;s the Stanley Cup sitting there. He pointed his finger at it. There was his name. He was so proud. That was his memorial. It struck me. That is the ultimate in this business.&rdquo;Jackson didn&rsquo;t know coach Paul Holmgren until the time of his hiring. But he has known general manager Brian Burke many years, dating to when Burke was a player agent. Jackson coached three players Vancouver drafted when Burke worked for the Canucks. Burke sent him letters praising him for doing a strong job. Jackson, in turn, said Burke is an integral part of why the Canucks are a top organization.After Jackson won the NCAA title in 1992 and went to the finals before losing to Maine this season, Burke called him and Maine coach Shawn Walsh the hottest properties in college.&ldquo;The main reason I took the job is an opportunity to work for Brian Burke,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;I probably have more respect for him than anybody in the NHL.&rdquo;Jackson, an assistant for four years before becoming head coach at Lake Superior, said it&rsquo;s difficult to leave the Lakers&rsquo; staff and the players. But he was critical of the NCAA.&ldquo;Unfortunately, the NCAA is taking away the opportunity to be an educator,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re cutting back scholarships. They&rsquo;re cutting back the amount of time you can spend with a player. They&rsquo;re cutting back coaches, so a lot of good, young coaches are being pushed out of the game.&rdquo;Burke said Jackson&rsquo;s strength lies in videotape analysis, X&rsquo;s and O&rsquo;s and on-ice preparation. He said the idea of hiring Jackson was endorsed by Holmgren. The roles of assistants Pierre McGuire and Kevin McCarthy and Springfield coach Jay Leach will be re-evaluated before the June draft.Jackson, who grew up in the Detroit area and was a backup goalie for Michigan State, said University of Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight is his coaching hero.&ldquo;My demeanor is totally opposite. But I really respect his ethics, his honesty, his commitment,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;Always striving for perfection and excellence will be tolerated.&rdquo;DRAFT TALK: Burke said he may well be looking at Moscow Dynamo winger Viktor Kozlov as the player the Whalers can draft sixth overall.The way Burke sees it, the Ottawa Senators will take Alexandre Daigle No. 1. He thinks the San Jose Sharks are leaning toward Rob Niedermayer No. 2 and the Tampa Bay Lightning should grab defenseman Chris Pronger third. Depending on the coin flip, Burke sees the Florida Panthers going for Chris Gratton and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim choosing Paul Kariya.&ldquo;Whatever way it works out. I&rsquo;ll take one of those six,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be like Family Feud. Whatever the last remaining answer is, I&rsquo;ll take it. But I will take a time out, so teams who really value that pick can talk trade.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Whalers will move their East Coast League affiliation from Louisville to Raleigh for next season. &#9632;

Jackson’s dream a reality

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div>Gilbert Dionne&rsquo;s career has been brief, but it sure hasn&rsquo;t been short or color or controversy.Dionne has a gift for scoring, as he has displayed during his 1 1/2 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. Now if only he could learn to keep his mouth shut, act more professionally and control his emotions.Dionne displayed his giant ego and disregard for the team when he scored the winning goal in overtime in Game 3 of the Adams Division final against the Buffalo Sabres May 6.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01241/6699989-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="555" height="701"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gilbert Dionne made sure everyone knew he scored the winner.</figcaption></div>Dionne deflected Patrice Brisebois&rsquo; shot from the blueline and just to make sure there was no confusion about who should be credited with the goal, the left winger pointed to himself and tapped himself on the shoulder. The display was an ill-conceived celebration, especially in light of the possibility Brisebois&rsquo; shot was deflected by the Sabres&rsquo; Pat LaFontaine.&ldquo;I shouldn&rsquo;t have done that,&rdquo; said Dionne, who refers to himself as the King because of his impersonation of Elvis Presley. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s done. I did score. And players do things like that all the time. In the Boston series I saw LaFontaine score on a deflection and skate right over to the referee to let him know he scored.&ldquo;I scored the goal and I deserved it and I was so excited I pointed at myself. If you deserve the goal you should get it. Otherwise it won&rsquo;t show in the stats.&rdquo;It marked the second time in nine games Dionne had made a knucklehead move. In Game 1 of the division semifinal, with the Canadiens up 2-0 in the third period, Dionne elbowed Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; defenseman Alexei Gusarov and was penalized. The Nordiques scored while Dionne was off, tied the game before regulation time elapsed and won in overtime.The incidents aside, Dionne was having a strong post-season, with four goals and eight points in 10 games.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good kid,&rdquo; coach Jacques Demers said. &ldquo;I interpret (his reaction to scoring against Buffalo) as emotion. I didn&rsquo;t like the gesture, but I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s egotistical. At times he&rsquo;s just immature. I&rsquo;m giving him the benefit of the doubt.&rdquo;Dionne, the younger brother of Hall-of-Famer Marcel Dionne, burst onto the scene in December, 1991, following more than one full season playing with Montreal&rsquo;s American League affiliate in Fredericton.He scored 21 goals in 39 games last season and was acclaimed a hero, being named to the all-rookie team. He was rewarded with a multi-year contract calling for $450,000 and displayed his appreciation by reporting to training camp out of shape.The 22-year-old never got on track this season and finished with 20 goals and 48 points in 75 games. He was demoted to Fredericton for nine days in December.NOTEBOOK: Injured defenseman Mathieu Schneider made a quick recovery from his separated right shoulder. When he sustained the injury during Game 1 of the Quebec series, it was suggested Schneider&rsquo;s season was over. Instead, he was expected to return in time for the Wales Conference final.Right winger Brian Bellows sustained a cracked rib in Game 6 against Quebec April 28 and was expected to be sidelined until late May. But he returned eight days later.Defenseman Eric Desjardins is off the hook for an apparent high-sticking infraction against Buffalo&rsquo;s Bob Sweeney in Game 2. Desjardins, who received a major and game misconduct, said Sweeney accidentally directed Desjardins&rsquo; stick into his face with his arm. Supervisor of officials John D&rsquo;Amico, after watching a tape of the incident, agreed with Desjardins and had the game misconduct annulled. Any player assessed two game misconducts in the playoffs is suspended one game.<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 30: Craig Darby, C, signed four-year contract.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Kirk Muller, Paul DiPietro. Jesse Belanger, Guy Carbonneau, Denis Savard.LW&mdash;John LeClair, Vincent Damp-housse. Gitoert Dionne, Mario Roberge.RW&mdash;Brian BeBows, Mike Keane, Beno# Brunet, Ed Ronan. Gary Leeman. Todd Ewen.LD&mdash;Eric Desjardins, Kevin Haller. Jean-Jacques Daigneau#, Donald Dufresne.RD&mdash;Lyle Odelein, Patrice Brisebois, Sean Hi#, Rob Ramage.G&mdash;Patrick Roy, Andre Racicot.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Stephan Lebeau, C, sprained right ankle, Indefinite. Mathieu Schneider, D, separated right shoulder, day-to-day. &#9632;

f0045-01

The King looks out for himself

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div>It was a marriage of convenience that resulted in a one-year honeymoon. And in the space of a 15-minute meeting, it turned into an ugly, public divorce.The Ottawa Senators and veteran defenseman Brad Marsh had a nasty public exchange after he was told he was no longer needed as a player next season.The Senators said in a news release he was offered a front-office position with the club; he said there was no concrete offer on the table.The conflict turned into yet another public relations disaster for the Senators with fans rising up to defend the immensely popular Marsh, a man who sparked a 2,200-member fan club and an almost cult-like following in the Ottawa Valley.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very disappointed,&rdquo; Marsh said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very discouraged. I&rsquo;m very shocked I&rsquo;m no longer a member of the Ottawa Senators. They didn&rsquo;t offer me any front office position.&rdquo;The 15-year veteran said Senators&rsquo; president, chief operating officer and general manager Randy Sexton told him to look for other opportunities.&ldquo;I was shocked when I heard the release has them saying that,&rdquo; Marsh said. &ldquo;My wife and I couldn&rsquo;t believe it. There wasn&rsquo;t anything substantial on the table. If an organization really wants to have you around they should have something concrete on the table. They don&rsquo;t tell you to shop around.&rdquo;Sexton said the club wants to keep Marsh in the organization.&ldquo;As a person, he stands for everything we want the Senators to be,&rdquo; he said.Sexton added Marsh was upset in their meeting and might not have understood the club&rsquo;s position.&ldquo;He can have just about any job he wants with the Senators except general manager or head coach,&rdquo; joked Sexton. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an open invitation. I told him to go away and think about what he wants to do. He was understandably upset.&ldquo;If he wants to be in coaching, fine. If he wants to be in scouting, fine. If he wants to be in marketing and sales, fine. Rather than pigeon hole him, we want to give him time to think about what he wants to do.&rdquo;Marsh was to take a few days to ponder his future and meet again with Sexton.Marsh, 35, was living on borrowed time when he was traded to the Senators by the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer. He had been traded to the Leafs by the Detroit Red Wings just before the expansion draft.He played for six teams in a 15year career that spanned 1,086 games and included 23 goals and 198 points. His most memorable goal came in this season&rsquo;s All-Star Game in Montreal.The combination of his awkward skating style, hard work and unassuming personality struck a chord with Ottawa fans and he quickly became the most popular member of the team.His legion of fans quickly rose up to come to his aid when his falling out with the team became public. Local newspapers fielded several calls from irate fans criticizing the team&rsquo;s decision.NOTEBOOK: The Senators are expected to make captain Laurie Boschman-who has one season left on his contract-available in the June 24 expansion draft. If he&rsquo;s not picked up by Anaheim or Florida, the Senators will likely buy him out of the final year of his deal. &#9632;

Cutting popular Marsh adrift angers Valley’s devoted fans

<div class="byline">By Kevin Johnston</div>The youthful Quebec Nordiques learned an important lesson in their first-round playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens: if you get overconfident, you lose.It was a painful lesson to learn.Quebec finished the year fourth overall with 104 points, after sputtering to the gate with 52 a year ago. It was the largest turnaround in NHL history.The Nordiques made it to the postseason for the first time in five seasons, but the loss to Montreal clouded the team&rsquo;s accomplishments.What makes me the most sad,&rdquo; said Owen Nolan, &ldquo;is the fact the fans will forget about our 104 points, about the good work we did during the regular season. They have to keep in mind that we made quite a turnaround in a short while.&rdquo;Nolan was banged up down the stretch and couldn&rsquo;t play up to the level that saw him score 36 goals and record 77 points in 73 games during the season.&ldquo;It was very frustrating,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ll look at another hockey game this season. It&rsquo;s too maddening when you know you should still be on the ice.&rdquo;Captain Joe Sakic, who struggled in the series, echoed Nolan&rsquo;s sentiment. He felt the Nordiques didn&rsquo;t play like a team, especially when they went up 2-0 in the series.&ldquo;Hockey is a team concept,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Montreal played as a unit, we didn&rsquo;t. After our second win, most of us thought that it wouldn&rsquo;t be so difficult after all. That was our greatest mistake.&rdquo;Russian winger Valeri Kamensky, virtually invisible during the series, agreed the team got overconfident. But he reminded fans the best is yet to come.&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t get too depressed,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This team will accomplish great things. The younger guys now know playoff hockey is different. They&rsquo;ll know what to do next year.&rdquo;TOUGH DECISION: The Nordiques were thrilled when they got goalie Ron Hextali in the Eric Lindros trade last season. But one year later, they aren&rsquo;t sure if he&rsquo;ll even be around next season.The Nordiques must protect one goalie in the NHL expansion draft in June and it&rsquo;s not clear whether 29-year-old Hextali or emerging star Stephane Fiset, 23, will be kept.Hextall was a key reason for the Nordiques&rsquo; turnaround, but as the season went on, he was injured and Fiset impressed in his absence.Hextali wants to stay in Quebec.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t appreciate not beina protected,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m comfortab&equiv; in my new surroundings, this is a great city with a great team. But on the other hand, why should I worry myself over it when I&rsquo;m not the one who has last say?&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Members of the Quebec City media have hinted Quebec could be poised to enter the Alexandre Daigle sweepstakes. The highly touted Victoriaville Tigres&rsquo; center will likely be drafted first overall by the Ottawa Senators at the entry draft June 26 at Le Colisee. Rumor has it the Nordiques would offer Ottawa a package that includes center Joe Sakic for Daigle.<h2>QUEBEC</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Mike Ricci, Claude Lapointe.LW&mdash;Mike Hough, Valeri Kamensky, Chris Simon, Scott Pearson, Grno Cavallini, Tony Twist, Niklas Andersson, Rene Corbet.RW&mdash;Owen Nolan, Andrei Kovalenko. Scott Young, Dwayne Norris.LD&mdash;Steven Finn, Curtis Leschyshyn, Alexei Gusarov, Len Esau.RD&mdash;Steve Duchesne. Adam Foote, Craig Wolanln. Mikhail Tatarinov, Kerry Huffman.G&mdash;Ron Hextall, Stephane Fiset. Jacques Cloutier.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

Playoffs definite downer

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div>The euphoria that followed the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; first series victory in the first round in 10 years didn&rsquo;t last long.Four games to be exact. But at least three of them were overtime games.The Sabres lost four straight games-all by one goal-to the Montreal Canadiens in the Adams Division final, ending a season that saw the Sabres make it past the first-round for the first time since 1982-83.&ldquo;We played well enough to win four games,&rdquo; Grant Fuhr said. &ldquo;It could well have gone the other way.&rdquo;Fuhr, who provided the margin of victory in the Sabres&rsquo; four-game sweep of the Boston Bruins in the first round, was not sharp against Montreal. He allowed one bad goal in each game, including Kirk Muller&rsquo;s overtime goal in Game 4 that clinched the series for Montreal. The Sabres outshot Montreal in each game of the series, but couldn&rsquo;t solve Canadiens&rsquo; goalie Patrick Roy.Along the way, they also lost bodies. Right winger Alexander Mogilny broke his right leg in Game 3 and Pat LaFontaine re-injured a knee in that game and was lost to the team in Game 4.In addition, defenseman Doug Bodger injured his knee just prior to overtime in Game 4. Defenseman Keith Carney broke his right wrist in overtime the same night.The injury to Mogilny was the most serious. He snapped the fibula, the smaller of the two bones in his leg, at mid-calf when caught in a pileup in front of the Canadiens&rsquo; net. He is also being tested for ankle ligament damage.Mogilny fell backward with his leg underneath him after being caught in a pileup with Brian Bellows, LaFontaine and Bodger. LaFontaine later left the game, came back, but could not play in Game 4 after reinjuring his right knee. The injury had been affecting him since Game 1 against Boston.&ldquo;I have to congratulate the Montreal Canadiens,&rdquo; said Sabres&rsquo; coach John Muckier. &ldquo;They played a great series, but I&rsquo;m proud of our hockey club. When you lose the likes of a Mogilny and a Pat LaFontaine, it&rsquo;s easy to quit. When you&rsquo;re down 3-0 and have the fact that they&rsquo;re not going to play thrown at you and then you have to play the Montreal Canadiens, well, we played a gutsy series.&rdquo;JUST DUCKY: Dale Hawerchuk was the Sabres&rsquo; best performer in the post-season. The 30-year-old center finished with five goals in eight games, almost a third of his goal total in the regular season.He scored just 16 times in 81 regular-season games.Russian winger Yuri Khymlev also had a strong playoff run. He scored the overtime goal (a deflection of a shot by Hawerchuk) to beat the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of the Adams Division semifinal and had a goal with 9.2 seconds remaining to send Game 4 against Montreal into overtime. He had seven points in eight games.NOTEBOOK: Pat LaFontaine missed his first game of the season when he sat out Game 4 against Montreal. He was the only Sabre player to play in all 84 regular-season games for the team.<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Dale Hawerchuk, Bob Sweeney, Dave Hannan, Bob Corkum.LW&mdash;Yuri khymlev, Brad May, Randy Wood, Bob Errey.RW&mdash;Donald Audette, Wayne Presley Colin Patterson.LD&mdash;Richard Smehik, Gord Donnelly.RD&mdash;Ken Sutton, Grant Ledyard, Bill Houlder.G&mdash;Grant Fuhr, Dominik Hasek, Tom Draper.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Douh Bodger, D, sprained left knee. Keith Carney, D, broken right wrist. Pat LaFontaine, C, sprained right knee. Alexander Mogilny, RW, broken right leg, Randy Moller, D, back spasms. Rob Ray, LW, tom right knee ligaments. Petr syoboda, D, reconstructive right knee surgery. &#9632;

Successful playoff comes to crashing halt

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0048-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01183/6700099-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Kariya of Maine is ranked fifth overall, but the main man on draft day may be Chris Pronger (inset).Scott D&rsquo; Errico</figcaption></div>It was a photo finish, but in the end, the winner was Alexandre Daigle of the Quebec League&rsquo;s Victoriaville Tigres.Daigle, the flashy 6-foot, 170-pound center whose intensity and drive is reminiscent of the legendary Rocket Richard, is the top rated North American prospect for the June entry draft according to the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Bureau&rsquo;s final rankings. (For a listing of the first four rounds and top goalies, see page 38.)Daigle edged out 6-foot-6, 192-pound defenseman Chris Pronger of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Peterborough Petes.Daigle is the top-rated pick, but will the Ottawa Senators make him the first one?The Senators are said to be listening to trade offers for the No. 1 pick. Ottawa is intrigued by the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; meteoric rise from worst to first by virtue of the blockbuster trade of Eric Lindros to the Philadelphia Flyers for six players, two first-round draft picks and $15 million.Daigle won&rsquo;t command nearly as much as Lindros did, but his stock is high enough in Quebec and Montreal that the Senators could swing a deal with the Nordiques or Canadiens for proven talent and still select a decent first rounder out of this year&rsquo;s talented crop of prospects.John Ferguson, the Senators&rsquo; director of player personnel, has been outspoken concerning Ottawas intention to draft Daigle. He denied a published report suggesting Ottawa would only pick Daigle to trade him and that the Senators really covet Pronger.&ldquo;I can assure you, there&rsquo;s no chance we&rsquo;ll trade this pick,&rdquo; said Ferguson. &ldquo;The odds are 99.9 to one we&rsquo;ll take Daigle. My mind has not changed.&rdquo;Ferguson&rsquo;s numbers may be a little off, but Daigle&rsquo;s weren&rsquo;t this past season. He scored 45 goals and 137 points in 53 games. However, Daigle didn&rsquo;t perform well at the World Junior Championships, was suspended repeatedly for fits of temper and his team was eliminated from the playoffs in the opening round.Pronger, meanwhile, had a strong WJC, was named his league&rsquo;s best defenseman. matched his regular season total of 15 goals in just 20 play off games and was the driving force in leading Peterborough to the OHL championship. He is the only non-center among CSB&rsquo;s top eight rated prospects.&ldquo;Pronger is clearly the better player but he doesn&rsquo;t have the same marquee value as Daigle,&rdquo; said one NHL scout.One NHL executive suggested Ottawa would be better off to pass on Daigle.&ldquo;They&rsquo;d be nuts to take Daigle,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They have (Alexei) Yashin and Pronger is sitting there for the taking.&rdquo;The CSB list doesn&rsquo;t include European prospects. THN sources suggest between six and 11 Europeans could be selected in the first round. Last year, 11 Europeans were chosen in the first round.&ldquo;Europeans don&rsquo;t push their underage kids into tournaments so we don&rsquo;t get to see many of them until their draft year,&rdquo; said David Conte, assistant director of player personnel with the New Jersey Devils.Most likely first rounders from Europe include: centers Niklas Sund-strom and Mats Lindgren, right winger Jesper Mattsson and defensemen Kenny Jonsson, Stefan Bergqvist and Anders Eriksson from Sweden; left winger Viktor Kozlov and defenseman Nikolai Tsuligin of Russia; center Saku Koivu of Finland and center David Vyborny of the Czech Republic.Sundstrom was the top prospect in CSB&rsquo;s European rankings in February. Jonsson was second and Kozlov was third.Jocelyn Thibault of the Quebec League&rsquo;s Sherbrooke Faucons is the top rated goalie. Manny Legace, who led Canada to a gold medal at the WJC, ranked 13th among stoppers.<h2>FINAL WORD ON &rsquo;93 DRAFT</h2>The following is the NHL Central Scouting Bureau&rsquo;s first-round ranking of North Americans.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0380/6700092-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="503" height="866"></div> &#9632;

f0048-01

Capital Investment

<div class="byline">By Ken Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02120/6700130-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="361" height="521"></div>Pat Bums of the Toronto Maple Leafs may be the best coach in the NHL, but he&rsquo;s a lousy negotiator. That&rsquo;s why he hired agent Don Meehan last summer to do the contract that made him the highest paid coach in the NHL at the time.The same went for Jacques Demers in Montreal, Brian Sutter in Boston, Darryl Sutter in Chicago, Scotty Bowman in Pittsburgh and Terry Crisp in Tampa Bay.And when Leafs&rsquo; general manager Cliff Fletcher left the Calgary Flames two seasons ago, hockey&rsquo;s super agent was a key player in bringing him to Toronto. Although Meehan didn&rsquo;t negotiate Fletcher&rsquo;s deal, he did act as a liason between the Leafs and Fletcher.Meehan&rsquo;s company, Newport Sports Management, also represents about 60 NHL players. Meehan doesn&rsquo;t see a conflict of interest in his representation of both coaches and players. But the executive board of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association does and now it wants double agents such as Meehan to formally declare it.As part of its voluntary registration program, the NHLPA adopted a policy statement that will require agents to disclose the names of any coaches, GMs or team personnel they represent. The registration program is voluntary, but many agents feel it is the first step toward agent certification with the NHLPA and an all-out ban on agents representing both players and members of management.As it stands now, if an agent wants to be part of the voluntary registration program, he must report any potential conflicts.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t have people on both sides,&rdquo; said NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow. &ldquo;The potential for conflict is enormous.&rdquo;Both the National Basketball Players&rsquo; Association and Major League Baseball Players&rsquo; Association have certification programs that prohibit agents from representing people on both sides. Only registered agents are allowed to negotiate contracts.Some agents are referring to the policy statement as the anti-Newport rule. Goodenow denied that and said the association adopted the policy in response to player concerns.No matter what the impetus, the NHLPA must be concerned with conflicts of interest. Former executive director Alan Eagleson&rsquo;s 24-year tenure with the association was rife with allegations of conflicts.Meehan maintains his relationship with coaches he represents extends only to doing their contracts and helping them find jobs. Meehan resents the fact some people think that represents a conflict of interest.&ldquo;First of all, the players&rsquo; association doesn&rsquo;t have a mandate to tell me anything,&rdquo; said Meehan, who will also represent the NHL Officials&rsquo; Association in collective bargaining negotiations with the league this summer.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m prepared to listen to players&rsquo; concerns, but if they are concerned, it has never been relayed to me. And if it&rsquo;s not from the players, who is it coming from?&ldquo;In 13 years, I think I&rsquo;ve helped more people than hindered in this business. The association should concern itself with other flagrant abuses in the industry. Maybe they should put greater importance on agents who solicit and steal clients from other agents.&rdquo;Meehan maintains his record speaks for itself and &ldquo;if there are any abuses, please bring them to my attention.&rdquo;He also maintained he should be free to represent whomever he wants.&ldquo;I grew up one block away from Scotty Bowman and my parents have known Scotty&rsquo;s parents for years,&rdquo; Meehan said. &ldquo;If anyone wants to tell me I can&rsquo;t act for Scotty Bowman, they can go to hell.&rdquo;If any people in hockey need good agents, it&rsquo;s NHL coaches, they just shouldn&rsquo;t be the same ones who represent the players. No job in hockey is less stable and more stressful than coaching. Coaches are often fired because of circumstances beyond their control and they don&rsquo;t have an association to protect them.General managers, however, are a different story. One agent said representing a GM is like being a union negotiator for auto workers while having a business relationship with the guy sitting across the table.&ldquo;With coaches, I don&rsquo;t see it as a conflict,&rdquo; said Steve Bartlett, who represents Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; coach John Paddock. "But it doesn&rsquo;t matter what I think. If the players have spoken, I&rsquo;ll listen. I&rsquo;m working for them.&rdquo;Herb Pinder, who advised coach-GM Bryan Murray on his first contract with the Detroit Red Wings, agrees with a prohibition on representing both sides.&ldquo;Even if you disclose, does that take away the conflict?&rdquo; Pinder said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like me telling you I&rsquo;m going to drive over you with a bus before I do it. Does that make it any less painful?&rdquo; &#9632;

f0048-02

Will NHLPA eliminate double agents?

<div class="byline">By Gary Olson</div>The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission isn&rsquo;t through fighting with Stars&rsquo; owner Norm Green and it may be ready to join-or lead-the effort to bring the NHL back to Minnesota.&ldquo;The commissioners like the idea,&rdquo; said Bill Lester, executive director of the commission. But at the same time, we have to be certain that any money we might spend is in the public&rsquo;s best interest.&rdquo;Minneapolis city councilman Walt Dziedzic recently suggested the Sports Facilities Commission take the $250,000 that Green paid in rent as owner of the North Stars and use it to find a team to replace the Stars.It has also been suggested Met Center be sold to eliminate competition with the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.&ldquo;The public owns an asset in Met Center,&rdquo; Lester said. &ldquo;There will have to be an analysis done before there can be any disposition of that property. I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;re interested in getting into competition for events with the Target Center or Civic Center (downtown St. Paul) but we want to be sure we do what&rsquo;s best for the area.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve taken the first steps toward becoming more active in the process of replacing the North Stars. We want to do what we can to facilitate the NHL coming back.&rdquo;Currently, the Sports Facilities Commission is conducting an inventory at Met Center. A hearing in Hennepin County District Court on May 11 was scheduled to determine who owns what-the two Zambonis and the scoreboard are among the items in dispute- and the length of Green&rsquo;s lease Met Center.The Stars want to stay at Met Center until July 31, a month beyond the end of their fiscal year and enough time to finish business in Minnesota before moving to Dallas.The Sports Facilities Commission wants to be certain that if Met Center is being used for events, that they get their share of the proceeds.Efforts to bring a new hockey league to the Twin Cities-at any of the three arenas-has been temporarily put on hold. The council is waiting to see if the NHL can be lured back, perhaps as soon as the 1994-95 season. Until then, the league has reportedly promised a variety of preseason and neutral-site games, most likely at Target Center.NOTEBOOK: Setting up shop in another city isn&rsquo;t always wonderful. Callers to at least one Met Center telephone number were told-by voice mail-to call the Dallas Stars and gave a number that had since been disconnected. Directory service in Dallas then said there was no listing for the Dallas Stars. The team&rsquo;s telephone number in Dallas: 1-214-GO STARS.Norm Green has promised new seats at Reunion Arena-this should sound familiar to fans in Minnesota-by opening night. &#9632;

Minnesota may still get pro team

<div class="byline">By Roy Cummings</div>Two days before the Tampa Bay Lightning opened its first training camp, Phil Esposito wrote down a few names on a sheet of paper.The Lightning president-general manager listed 14 players he planned to trade before the Lightning embarked on its second season.Shawn Chambers&rsquo; name was- and still is-on the top of that list, but the 6-foot-2, 200 pound defenseman needn&rsquo;t worry about being dealt to another team.Esposito is just holding on to the list to remind himself of how great a comeback Chambers has made.After spending the better part of the two seasons trying to rebuild a wonky left knee that nearly ended his career. Chambers has emerged as one of the most promising defensemen in the league. His value has increased considerably since he was drafted by the Lightning seventh overall in last summer&rsquo;s expansion draft from the Washington Capitals.&ldquo;When we took Shawn, our game plan all along was to get him healthy, then turn around and trade him,&rdquo; Esposito said. &ldquo;1 mean, his knee was just so bad we didn&rsquo;t know if he&rsquo;d really ever play again. So we were just going to use him to help us build for the future.&ldquo;But not anymore. Shawn changed our minds, and right now he is our future.&rdquo;Chambers changed Esposito&rsquo;s mind by working diligently in his attempt to come back from a fourth knee operation. The operation was performed just one week into the season and at the time, there was no guarantee he&rsquo;d return either this season or at all.But thanks to sweat and sacrifice, he was back in the Tampa Bay lineup in just 32 days.&ldquo;I knew they&rsquo;d taken a chance drafting me and I wanted to show them they didn&rsquo;t make a mistake,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A lot of people weren&rsquo;t sure that I would make it back, but I was always sure. I knew it was just a matter of time.&rdquo;Chambers played his first game for the Lightning on Nov. 11 in St. Louis. It was his first NHL game in almost a year.He finished the year with a career high 10 goals and 39 points in 54 games.NOTEBOOK: Phil Esposito, who makes a living buying hockey players from rival general managers, spent a couple days buying vowels from Pat Sajak recently. While his players began a relaxing summer vacation, Esposito was hard at work, spinning the big wheel and solving word puzzles during a special taping of the popular television game show Wheel of Fortune. The special segments had sports celebrities solving puzzles and for charity. Esposito played in two segments and won a total of $10,000 for AIDS research. The programs aired May 6 and 7. &#9632;

Chamber of horrors over; Shawn realizing potential

<div class="byline">By Keith Gave</div>The Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; players came to the aid of embattled coach-general manager Bryan Murray after yet another disappointing playoff loss.More than anyone else, Murray was blamed by the media and fans for the Wings&rsquo; first-round exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs after losing the Norris Division semifinal to the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games.The criticism is unfair and misguided and as a result, Murray is considering hiring a new coach for next season so he can concentrate on his GM duties.His players, however, want him to stay behind the bench.&ldquo;I wish everybody would just once cut him a little slack,&rdquo; captain Steve Yzerman said. &ldquo;The players, myself included, have to take the responsibility. It&rsquo;s time for us to accept it.&rdquo;Added goaltender Vince Riendeau: &ldquo;A coach&rsquo;s dream is to win, too. This can&rsquo;t be an easy decision and I&rsquo;m sure if he really had the choice, he would stay as coach. It&rsquo;s not fun to leave like this.&rdquo;Despite owning one of the best regular-season winning percentages in NHL history (.571, based on a 467-337-115 record), Murray is dogged by the reputation that his teams don&rsquo;t win the playoffs.He is 4-10 in playoff series as a coach with Detroit and the Washington Capitals.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Paul Coffey sustained a bad sprain of his left wrist in Game 7 against Toronto. The injury will be monitored closely and if it doesn&rsquo;t heal properly, it may require surgery.Center Steve Yzerman had the last two of five stitches removed from his left cheek two days after the season ended. It was healing nicely, but he said he could use about 70 stitches to repair his aching heart. &ldquo;You win (the Stanley Cup) once and all the disappointments are forgotten,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Right now, there&rsquo;s a big hole in there.&rdquo;<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>May 2: Slava Kozlov. C, assigned to Adirondack (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Steve Yzerman. Sergei Fedorov. Dallas Drake, Shawn BumLW&mdash;Gerard Gallant. Keith Prfmeau, Bob Probert, Ray Sheppard, John Ogrodnick.RW&mdash;Dino Ciccarelli, Paul Ysebaert, Sheldon Kennedy. Jim Hater.LD&mdash;Paul Coffey, Steve Chiasson, Steve Konroyd, Brad McCrimmon.RD&mdash;Nicklas Lidstrom, Vladimir Konstantinov, Yves RacineG&mdash;Tim Cheveldae, Vince Riendeau.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

Players support Murray

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div>Let the fallout begin.The Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; humiliating first-round playoff loss to the St. Louis Blues will likely bring about personnel changes for next season, although general manager Bob Pulford isn&rsquo;t ready to spell out what they might be.One thing is certain: There will be more emphasis on youth.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get younger,&rdquo; Pulford said. &ldquo;If we had gone on (in the playoffs) or not, we felt there were some things we had to do in the offseason. And we knew it long before the end came in the playoffs.&rdquo;Four players who may be on the outs are veteran forwards Michel Goulet, Greg Gilbert and Dave Christian and defenseman Keith Brown. Pulford said it was a definite possibility Goulet and Christian could have their contracts bought out if neither can be traded. Goulet has two years remaining on his contract and Christian one.Brown has two years left on his deal while Gilbert&rsquo;s contract is up. Pulford said neither Brown nor Craig Muni will be protected in the expansion draft.&ldquo;I think Keith Brown can still play, but he&rsquo;s in an area where we know we have to bring in another defenseman,&rdquo; Pulford said.Make that a younger defenseman. Part of the turnover for next year, according to Pulford, will likely include giving prospects such as defensemen Adam Bennett, Milan Tichy, Ivan Droppa and forwards Sergei Krivokrasov and Jeff Shantz a long look at training camp.Pulford listed six players he considered untouchables.&ldquo;Jeremy Roenick and Chris Chelios are the obvious ones,&rdquo; Pulford said. &ldquo;Then probably Steve Smith, Brent Sutter, Dirk Graham and Joe Murphy. I would think all of them will be here next year."What about Ed Belfour?&ldquo;Belfour, too,&rdquo; said Pulford, who later sounded like a man who would deal his No. 1 goalie if the price was right. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to explore what we can get for Belfour and Jimmy Waite. I&rsquo;m not saying we&rsquo;re going to trade (Belfour). I&rsquo;m saying I&rsquo;m exploring what he would bring.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Ed Belfour said St. Louis goalie Curtis Joseph deserves an Academy Award for the way he dives to draw penalties. &ldquo;He falls down and makes a big act every time and gets the call,&rdquo; Belfour said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see the fairness in guys who takes dives to get the call. I&rsquo;m never going to be that way. Even if I&rsquo;m hurt, I&rsquo;m not going to just lay there.&rdquo;Defenseman Chris Chelios made a public apology to the fans for the Blackhawks&rsquo; first round flop. &#9632;

Summer makeover likely following playoff debacle

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div>For the Toronto Maple Leafs, already thin in young blueline talent, it was an unfortunate blow. For Drake Bere-howsky, it was even worse.The 21-year-old defenseman underwent surgery April 29 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.Doctors remain hopeful Bere-howsky will be ready for the beginning of next season.&ldquo;The surgery went well and we&rsquo;ve been told there&rsquo;s no reason he shouldn&rsquo;t have a normal career,&rdquo; said Leaf general manager Cliff Fletcher.Berehowsky injured the knee April 15 in Chicago in the Leafs&rsquo; final regular season game when he was taken into the boards by Blackhawk left winger Greg Gilbert. The original diagnosis was a mild sprain.&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t hurt that much, so 1 didn&rsquo;t think it was that serious,&rdquo; Berehowsky said.Doctors examined the knee five days later and found the tom ligament. Berehowsky has already had major surgery on his left knee following an injury four years ago in his first year of junior hockey.The Leafs have very few defense prospects. Aside from Berehowsky, the only top-flight player in the organization is Maine (Hockey East) graduate Matt Martin, who joined the Leafs for the playoffs May 6.ON THE FENCE: Veteran goalie Rick Wamsley hasn&rsquo;t decided whether to officially retire since signing on as the Leafs&rsquo; goaltending instructor March 14.But he was almost forced to come out of his semi-retired state to backup Felix Potvin in Game 5 of Toronto&rsquo;s Norris Division semifinal against the Detroit Red Wings.Wamsley, who had played in only three games all season before putting the pads away, was told to be ready to suit up when backup Daren Puppa took a shot on the knee in the morning skate.Wamsley&rsquo;s equipment was rushed down from Toronto on team chairman Steve Stavro&rsquo;s private plane, but Puppa ended up being fit enough to dress.NOTEBOOK: Russian winger Nikolai Borschevsky returned from a broken orbital bone to score the overtime winner in Game 7 of the Norris semifinal against Detroit. Borschevsky was injured in Game 1 of the series when he collided with Detroit defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and fell into the side boards. He is now wearing a visor.Damien Cox is a hockey writer for The Toronto Star.<h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>May 6: Damian Rhodes, G, Matt Martin. D, Rob Cimetta, C. Joe Sacco, LW. and Eric Lacroix, LW. recalled from St. John (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Doug Gilmour, John Cullen. Peter Zezel, Mike Krushelnyski. Mike Eastwood, Dave McLlwaln. Rob Cimetta.LW&mdash;Dave Andreychuk. Wendel Clark. Bill Berg. Ken Baumgartner Kent Man-dervllle, Joe Sacco, Eric Lacroix.RW&mdash;Nikolai Borschevsky, Glenn Anderson, Mark Osborne, Rob Pearson, Mike Foligno.LD&mdash;Dave Ellett, Sylvain Lefebvre, Jamie Macoun. Darryl Shannon, Matt Martin.RD&mdash;Todd Gill, Bob Rouse, Dmitri Mironov, Bob McGill.G&mdash;Felix Potvin. Daren Puppa, Damian Rhodes, Rick Wamsley.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Drake Berehowsky, D, tom anterior cruciate ligament in right knee, out tor season. &#9632;

Berehowsky’s serious injury underscores need for rearguards

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div>After Game 1 of the Norris Division final, a Toronto sportswriter suggested St. Louis Blues&rsquo; center Craig Janney carries &ldquo;a little excess padding around the midsection.&rdquo;He wondered whether Janney is a &ldquo;soft touch.&rdquo;Well, Mr. Softie answered his crit-by assisting on five of the six goals in back-to-back one-goal victories in Game 2 and 3.Janney assisted on Brett Hull&rsquo;s goal and Jeff Brown&rsquo;s game-winner at 3:03 of double overtime in the Blues&rsquo; 2-1 victory May 5.He assisted on another goal by Hull and two by Brendan Shanahan in a 4-3 victory May 7.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re not soft assists, either,&rdquo; Shanahan said. &ldquo;Look at the assist on Hullie&rsquo;s goal in Toronto. Our little soft, playmaking center held off a defenseman and made a cross-ice pass with one hand. I think he deserves more attention and respect.&rdquo;Janney, 25, has been one of the flues&rsquo; best players all season. He led the team with a career-high 106 points and also led the Blues with two goals and 11 points in eight playoff games.Both his goals were game-winners in the team&rsquo;s first-round sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks, but his contribution to the cause was largely overlooked.Goalie Curtis Joseph, captain Brett Hull and Shanahan have overshadowed Janney all season.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got the goaltender, the scorer, the strapping, good-looking guy,&rdquo; Shanahan said, pausing. &ldquo;Well, I&rsquo;m the goalscorer. Hullie&rsquo;s the strapping, good-looking guy, with the dimples.&rdquo;Seriously, though.&ldquo;Everybody on the team is overshadowed to a certain degree, but Craig has had an unbelievable year. 1 think he has been our MVP. He has been consistent all year long.&rdquo;CUJO LIVES: Curtis Joseph&rsquo;s life flashed before his eyes during the first overtime of Game 1 against Toronto.The skate blade of Toronto&rsquo;s Mike Foligno sliced a one-inch cut on the right side of Joseph&rsquo;s neck, just below the jaw.It was not serious, but the incident brought back memories of the horrifying skate cut sustained by former Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; goalie Clint Malar-chuk in a game against the Blues four years ago.Malarchuk sustained a partially severed jugular vein, leaving a pool of blood on the ice before he was ushered to the training room for lifesaving care.Joseph was lucky by comparison. He was dazed and left the ice holding the right side of his face, but returned after only 2 minutes and 16 seconds on the bench.NOTEBOOK: The Blues complained bitterly about Glenn Anderson&rsquo;s attempted spear on Basil McRae in Game 1 and appealed to the league to review the incident for possible suspension. Anderson was not suspended&hellip;Blues&rsquo; chairman Mike Shanahan dubbed Garth Butcher &ldquo;The Golden Butch&rdquo; after Butcher scored the game-winner in Game 3.<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Craig Janney, Ron Wilson. Bob Bassen. Igor Korolev, Kevin Miehm.LW&mdash;Brendan Shanahan, Basil McRae, Kevin Miller, Dave Lowry. Philippe Bozon.RW&mdash;Nelson Emerson. Brett Hull, Rich Sutter, Denny Felsner, Kelly Chase.LD&mdash;Jeft Brown, Bret Hedican. Murray Baron. Doug Crossman. Lee Norwood.RD&mdash;Garth Butcher. Rick Zombo, Stephane Quintal, Curt Giles, Jason Marshall.G&mdash;Curtis Joseph. Guy Hebert. Geoff Serjeant.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Vitali Prokhorov, LW, right shoulder surgery, out for season. Ron Sutter, C. separated right shoulder, indefinite. &#9632;

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May 21, 1993

Thrilling race for top playoff performer award

Explosive rookies rocket to NHL stardom

Spirited performance sabotaged by inexperience

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS