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.

June 11, 1993

The Hockey News June 11, 1993

<div class="byline">By Keith Gave</div>Bryan Murray hasn&rsquo;t made it official he is stepping aside as coach of the Detroit Red Wings, but the rumor mill is in overdrive suggesting possible successors.The name that keeps coming up was the win-ningest coach in NHL history-Scotty Bowman of the Pittsburgh Penguins.Will he be the next coach of the Wings? Only owner Mike IIitch knows for sure and he isn&rsquo;t talking. Since the season ended with a seven-game loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs, Hitch attended a week-long convention of Little Caesers-the pizza corporation he founded-then vacationed for two weeks in Florida.Hitch was expected to meet with Murray in late May to discuss the team&rsquo;s future. Murray was then expected to step aside as coach to concentrate on general manager&rsquo;s duties.Bowman wasn&rsquo;t saying much other than he plans to coach somewhere next season, either back in Pittsburgh or elsewhere to get the 31 victories needed to reach 1,000 in a career that includes six Stanley Cup titles.&ldquo;He has the opportunity at the end of each year to take a position with another club,&rdquo; said Don Meehan, Bowman&rsquo;s agent. &ldquo;He has a complete window in that regard&hellip;But I haven&rsquo;t had any contact with anybody.&rdquo;Is it that far-fetched to paint a scenario involving Bowman coaching the Wings next season at a salary comparable or better than the deal Mike Keenan signed with the New York Rangers?&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have a clue,&rdquo; Meehan said. &ldquo;But the first thing I would do is sit down with Scotty and talk with him, and with (Penguins&rsquo; GM) Craig Patrick about his plans. Then, based on what Scotty&rsquo;s intentions and desires might be, I flight explore other opportunities. But there are ya lot of ifs involved here.&rdquo;One thing is certain: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d have to go out and sell Scotty Bowman,&rdquo; Meehan said.CRYSTAL BALL: If Bryan Murray has time on his hands with only GM duties, he can always hang a shingle and read fortunes.Two days after his team was eliminated, Murray correctly predicted the Pittsburgh Penguins wouldn&rsquo;t win the Stanley Cup again when virtually everybody else had conceded the Penguins a third straight championship.Why? Because skill teams like the Penguins, his own Red Wings, Quebec Nordiques, Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres stood little chance in the post-season because new rules aimed at reducing hooking, holding and stick fouls have been ignored.&ldquo;The tolerance level is right back to square one,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;The teams that were the best-scoring teams have been eliminated. And the Islanders, because of the way they work, the size of their defense and the way they put the stick to you, had a hell of a chance to win.&ldquo;It seems like what we&rsquo;re allowing to have happen here is that the more talented guys are being shadowed, held, hooked and pushed around a bit. The stars are all gone now except for (Los Angeles) Wayne Gretzky, and nobody&rsquo;s doing anything to him. But the Islanders were running at (Mario) Lemieux with no respect at all.&ldquo;The way restraining is back in the league&hellip;there&rsquo;s not a first or second-place team left. The teams with the grinders or the real outstanding goaltenders are the ones left.&ldquo;The new rules didn&rsquo;t change a thing in the end. How are we going to call this game? There&rsquo;s got to be some guidelines.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Bryan Murray and assistant GM Doug MacLean scouted the Memorial Cup tournament in Sault Ste. Marie and returned with a goalie. The Wings signed Sault Ste. Marie Greyhound goalie Kevin Hodson to a free-agent contract, terms not announced. The undrafted Hodson attended the Chicago&rsquo;s Blackhawks&rsquo; training camp last season but returned to junior for his overage season. &ldquo;He has a different style. He&rsquo;s a reaction goalie, like Curtis Joseph.&rdquo;<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>May 17: Kevin Hodson. G. signed contract. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Coaching situation up in air

<div class="byline">By Rick Sadowski</div>The most harried man in California could have been Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; captain Wayne Gretzky, who was getting little room to maneuver in the Campbell Conference final against the Toronto Maple Leafs.But it was team owner Bruce McNall who was being hounded for a precious and rare commodity.No, not a coin or baseball card. Would you believe playoff tickets?With the National Basketball Association&rsquo;s Lakers and Clippers finished for the year and baseball&rsquo;s Dodgers barely visible in the National League standings, the Kings-for the first time in their 26-year history-were receiving the lion&rsquo;s share of attention.For McNall, this was both good and bad news.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unbelievable what is happening,&rdquo; McNall said. &ldquo;Everybody wants a ticket, everybody in town. Honest, it&rsquo;s a mob scene. It&rsquo;s wild, just wild.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to have to change all my phone numbers. You think I&rsquo;m kidding? Really, we&rsquo;re going to have to sneak out of the house, pick up and go, pitch a tent someplace and hide out for a while.&rdquo;Seven years ago, when he bought into the team, McNall handed Jerry Buss $5 million for a one-quarter share. The Kings were coming off a fifth-place, 54-point season and skating on thin ice before 6,000 empty seats every game. Now, with the Kings participating in the third round of the playoffs for the first time, McNall could use an extra 6,000 seats in the 16,005-seat Great Western Forum.The Lakers had previously dominated the winter sports scene in Los Angeles, but the Kings attracted more sellouts this season than their more-heralded neighbors-34 in 41 games to only seven for the Lakers.And, however far the Kings advance in the playoffs, every game is a guaranteed sellout, which included eight dates through Game 4 of the conference final, a 4-2 loss May 23 that left the series tied 2-2.&ldquo;This is our opportunity to shine,&rdquo; McNall said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the moment we&rsquo;ve all been dreaming about. Those chances don&rsquo;t come along very often.&rdquo;VILLAIN TO HERO: Kings&rsquo; fans voted Marty McSorley their favorite player in three of the past four years and he was roundly cheered May 21 in Game 3 of the conference final.It was the Kings&rsquo; first game at home since McSorley&rsquo;s well-publicized hit on Doug Gilmour and subsequent fight with Wendel Clark in the May 17 series opener.McSorley, viewed as a villain in Toronto, appreciated the crowd&rsquo;s response to a picture of his bruised face being shown on the Forum scoreboard&rsquo;s jumbo screens.&ldquo;That was nice,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I would be lying if I said the days in Toronto weren&rsquo;t a little bit taxing. I just want to play the game and so much was made out of something that I didn&rsquo;t think was anything at all.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s goal May 23 tied him with Gordie Howe for the most combined regular-season and playoff goals in NHL history, 869. Gretzky is the career leader for playoff goals with 104 and second to Howe for regular-season goals with 765. Howe scored 801 regular-season goals and 68 in the playoffs.<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, Jarl Kurd, Tony Granato, Dave Taylor, Marc Potvin, Brandy Semchuk, Jim Thomson.LD&mdash;Tim Watters. Alexei Zhltnlk, Darryl Sydor, Mark Hardy.RD&mdash;Marty McSorley, Rob Blake, Charlie Huddy, Brent Thompson.G&mdash;Kelly Hrudey. Robb Stauber. Rick Knickle.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

McNall gets his day in the sun

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/f0026-13117/6131603-1-eng-US/f0026-132.jpg" title="f0026-13" width="634" height="378"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-14108/6131596-1-eng-US/f0026-142.jpg" title="f0026-14" width="633" height="564"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-15100/6131589-1-eng-US/f0026-152.jpg" title="f0026-15" width="641" height="218"></div><h2>LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1690/6131582-1-eng-US/f0026-162.jpg" title="f0026-16" width="638" height="279"></div> &#9632;

f0026-13

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

<div class="byline">By EPIC Duhatschek</div>Coach Dave King and the rest of the Calgary Flames&rsquo; front office spent the week after the season ended locked in a local hotel room, grading every player in the NHL.First they assessed their own players. Then they rated everybody else&rsquo;s. The idea was to assign a numerical grade to every player in the league, so that if a potential trade came up in the off-season, there would be hard statistical data to support the organization&rsquo;s gut feelings on that player.In reviewing the past season, his first in the NHL, King made one thing clear: he wants to see changes made between now and training camp in September.&ldquo;We saw progress, but we need to see more progress,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;To get to the next step, there&rsquo;s going to have to be changes made. I&rsquo;m not trying to threaten anyone or criticize anybody, because obviously, the team did achieve some things.&rdquo;The major off-season question in Calgary: Do you make changes to the team&rsquo;s core or do you continue tinkering around the edges as it has done the past four years?From his perspective, King said the coaches and key players must accept the major part of the responsibility for the Flames&rsquo; first-round demise.&ldquo;When you have a season like we&rsquo;ve had, you&rsquo;re always going to look at the coaches. That&rsquo;s No. 1. Then you always look at your top people. That&rsquo;s No. 2.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just the nature of the beast. You look to your coaching staff and your top players as the people who are supposed to make the difference when the crunch occurs. We&rsquo;re the ones who&rsquo;ll get the most attention. That&rsquo;s a fact of life.&rdquo;King described his baptism into the NHL as an important learning experience. If you believe an NHL coach is like a school teacher, then the first year is always the hardest because you don&rsquo;t always have a sheaf of lesson plans. It gets easier every year.Ultimately, you have to guard against complacency because after 10 years, if you want to, you can do it in your sleep.Did King think the second year will be easier than first just because of what he&rsquo;d seen?&ldquo;In the second year, a person should be able to focus his drive and his effort in more productive directions. This year, I&rsquo;ve come away with a real good idea of what it takes for a team to play in the league.&ldquo;I know next year, in terms of practices, what areas need more time. There were things I spent a lot of time on this year that I could probably spend less time on next year because it wasn&rsquo;t as high a priority as I thought it would be. I think we&rsquo;ll be able to direct our efforts more accurately.&rdquo;King also developed a clearer image of the type of team he wants. Talent is a primary consideration, but there&rsquo;s more to winning than talent alone.&ldquo;I found out how much drive you have to have within your team,&rdquo; King said. &ldquo;I learned about the depth of character you have to have. We had drive this year, but it was too up-and-down.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Veteran left winger Brent Ashton will become a free agent without compensation if the Flames do not offer him a 15 per-cent raise on his $285,000 (U.S.) salary. Given a choice, Ashton said he would prefer to return to the Flames next season. &#9632;

King plans to make changes following poor post-season

&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a celebrity and 1 never will be. I go to the rink, my job and go home.&rdquo;&nbsp;-Montreal center Paul DiPietro&rsquo;s humble approach to recognition. Page 8.&ldquo;I&nbsp;remember one game where I made the incorrect call and the head of officiating was in the crowd. If he could have thrown a rock to center ice with a note on it telling me to change my call, I would have welcomed it.&rdquo;&nbsp;-NHL director of officiating Bryan Lewis, commenting on the use of replays. Page 33. &#9632;

QUOTABLE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04571/6130065-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="342" height="342"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05413/6130058-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="69" height="77"></div>Fort Wayne Komets. Former NHLer Pokey Reddick went 12-0 in the playoffs, leading the Komets past the formerly unbeatable San Diego Gulls and straight to the International League championship.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06300/6130051-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="69" height="75"></div>Peter Nedved. The Vancouver Canuck center showed embarrassing immaturity by running after Wayne Gretzky for auto-graphs and a hockey stick after his team was eliminated by the Los Angeles Kings.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-07194/6130044-1-eng-US/f0002-072.jpg" title="f0002-07" width="340" height="341"></div> &#9632;

f0002-04

CHEERS & JEERS

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div>The fate of owner-player relations in the NHL rests in the hands of two men whose similarities outnumber their differences.Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow are remarkably alike.Whether that works to the league&rsquo;s advantage remains to be seen, but it can do no worse than last spring when opposites did not attract and a strike resulted.John Ziegler, fifty something and imperious, and Goodenow, thirtysomething and impertinent, neither resembled nor respected one another.Bettman, 41 on June 2, and Goodenow, 40, are better-suited to getting a deal done without resorting to lockout or strike tactics than Ziegler and Goodenow ever were.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-0899/6130096-1-eng-US/f0002-082.jpg" title="f0002-08" width="363" height="463"></div>The two leaders (Bettman and Goodenow) share a common age group, background, sense of commitment and vision of the game&rsquo;s future.Both are U.S.-trained lawyers with young families and a tenacious approach to work: one best-described as obsessive, hands-on and detail-oriented. The potential exists for prodigious battles of wills, but the hope is Bettman and Goodenow will meet on common ground, not just the battleground.The NHL Players&rsquo; Association gave notice it seeks to re-open negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The current deal expires Sept. 15.While there is virtually no chance a full-fledged new deal will be struck by then, early expectations are that owner-player differences will not stand in the way of a full 1993-94 season.There are many reasons for increased optimism this time around, but none is more significant than the prospect of substantial 1-on-l negotiations between Bettman and Goodenow.They have established themselves as like-minded businessmen.Among the first things Goodenow did as union leader was expand the NHL Players&rsquo; Association staff and seek new quarters in Toronto. Bettman&rsquo;s first objectives included bulking up the league staff and looking for new offices in New York.Further, Bettman and Goodenow are both workaholics who understand their strength resides in constituent support. The commissioner has worked and travelled non-stop to ensure high visibility among management, players and fans.Goodenow has engendered an unprecedented sense of player solidarity and is on pace to travel every flight path in North America. Before negotiations can take off, though, there must be agreement on a departure point.Just what is the health of the business?It can&rsquo;t be that bad if the NHL wanted to let terms of the current CBA (&ldquo;notwithstanding unhappiness with numerous aspects of the agreement,&rdquo; said Bettman) carry over for another season.The NHL and NHLPA are endeavoring to compile a body of economic data that will serve as a base line for talks.Senior editor Rand Simon has left The Hockey News after four years of excellent service, principally as the driving force behind Collectors World.Rand, 25, has chosen to become a player agent. He will be missed for his intelligence and devotion to THN. Collectors World has achieved much success due largely to his leadership.We intend to maintain the high standards Rand established. &#9632;

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Is common ground more likely than battleground?

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011520/6130151-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">1991 Conn Smythe winner Mario Lemieux (Brian Miller/BBS)</figcaption></div>One hundred years of Stanley Cup competition has provided millions of hockey fans with thousands of memories.In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup, The Hockey News has selected 100 (take our word on the number, or count yourself) people, places and oddball occurrences that make the trophy special and unique.Noel Picard. Trips Bobby Orr to provide most vivid, everlasting memory in hockey.Mel (Sudden-death) Hill Scores three overtime goals for Boston Bruins in 1939.Ken Dryden. Leans on goal stick and stands Bruins on their ears in &rsquo;71.Steve Smith. Proudly hoists Stanley Cup one year after scoring in own net.X marks the spot. Peter Pocklington puts dad&rsquo;s name on Cup; NHL X&rsquo;s it out.Kate Smith. God bless Kate for singing Goa Bless America at Philadelphia Flyer games.Henri Richard. Pocket Rocket won more Stanley Cups than any other player-11.Vic Hadfield. Tosses Bernie Parent&rsquo;s mask into crowd in New York.Montreal&rsquo;s Cup winners. Canadiens, Wan derers, A.A.A., Shamrocks, Victorias. Maroons.Red Kelly. Pyramid Power.Conn Kelly. Red&rsquo;s baby boy baptizes Stanley Cup peeing in it in 1964.Bernie Parent. Consecutive Conn Smythe Trophies.King Clancy. Plays, referees and coaches in playoffs.Clarence Campbell. Suspends Rocket Richard for 1955 post-season.G. Bettex. Name&rsquo;s on the Cup (1956 Canadiens), no one knows who he is. Or was.Lester, Craig, Lynn, Muzz, Frank Five Patrick family members on Cup.Harry Howell. Plays 1,411 games-none in the final. Wins Cup as scout for Edmonton Oilers.(Sugar) Jim Henry. Black-eyed goalie shaking hands with bloody Maurice Richard.Yellow jerseys. Worn by replacement officials in 1988 playoffs.Fog. They played through it at Buffalo Auditorium in 1975 playoffs.Freddie the Fog. Fred Shero, cerebral Philly boss unleashes NHL&rsquo;s most aggressive team.Macho Man. Bob Baun gets OT winner in Game 6, plays Game 7 on broken ankle in 1964.Sea of white. Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; fans supply a great background dressed in playoff whites.We surrender. Roger Neilson waves white towel on stick protesting Bob Myers&rsquo; call.Bobby Clarke. His toothless smile leading Broad Street Bullies.Ken Morrow. Only player to win Olympic gold and Stanley Cup in same year-1980.Pete Cusimano. First to toss octopus on ice in Detroit, April 15, 1952.Wayne Gretzky. Supreme playoff being. Enough said.Lanny McDonald. Timely goals lift Toronto Maple Leafs to upset over New York Islanders.Ron Hextall. Attack on Chris Chelios in low point of 1989 playoffs.853. Number of different players&rsquo; names on Stanley Cup.The other Stanley Cup. A car racing trophy awarded annually in England.Scotty Bowman. Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo;-Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; coach earns six titles.Doughnuts. Suggested playoff snack for Don Koharski and Pat Bums.Philadelphia Flyers. First expansion team to win Stanley Cup.Cherry bomb. Bruins nabbed for too many men in Game 7 of 1979 semifinals.Flower Power. Guy Lafleur makes them pay with tying goal. Montreal wins in overtime.Burn baby bum. John Kilpatrick bums Madison Square Garden mortgage in Cup in &rsquo;41.Bob NyStrom. Overtime goal ends thuggery era, kicks Islander four-year Cup run into gear.Lester Patrick. Forty-five-year-old Ranger coach replaces goalie in 1928 playoffs.John Druce. Enjoys 15 minutes of fame in 1990 with 14 goals.John Ziegler. NHL president disappears during 1988 playoffs.Sam Pollock. Montreal mastermind behind eight Cup winners.May Day! Brad May&rsquo;s overtime goal shoots Sabres into second round after nine tries.Can we talk? Montreal rookie goalie Patrick Roy chats to goal posts en route to &rsquo;86 title.Bobby Orr. Superstar&rsquo;s game winner in &rsquo;70 gives Boston first Cup in 29 years.Frederick Arthur Stanley Trophy bears his name; returns to England before first Cup game.Down but not out. 1942 Maple Leafs only team to overcome 3-0 deficit in final to win.Frank McCool. Toronto goalie sets playoff standard with 188 shutout minutes.Dale Hunter. Cheap shot in 1993 playoff earns record 21-game suspension in 1993-94.King Richard. Goalie Richard Brodeur leads Vancouver Canucks to Cup final.The Sign Man. Dave Leonardi. Put words to cardboard during Flyers&rsquo; glory years.Five Straight Cups Montreal&rsquo;s Cups between 1956-60 set standard for dynasty status.Forbes Kennedy. Leaf blows fuse-eight penalties, 38 minutes-in 1969 quarterfinal game.Danny Grant, Tony Esposito Win Cup then Calder Trophy-with different teams.Big Bird. Playing peacekeeper, Larry Robin son thumps Dave (Hammer) Schultz.Ron Hextall, Reg Leach, Glenn Hall Roger Crozier. Lose Cup, win playoff MVP.Garden party. Boston blackout forces sus pension of 1988 Stanley Cup final game.Marguerite Norris, Sonia Scurfield Maria DeBartolo-York. Only women on Cup.Pete Babando. Scores first overtime Stan ley Cup-winning goal with Detroit Red Wings.Montreal Canadiens. Twenty-three cham pionships is Stanley Cup benchmark.Al MacNeil. Pink slip his reward for coach ing 1970-71 Canadiens to Cup.Jean Beliveau. Le Gros Bil was first Conn Smythe Trophy winner.Biggest upset ever L. A. Kings (63 points) knock off Oilers (111) in first round.One-eyed-Frank McGee Ottawa Silver Seven star scores 14 goals in one game.Mario Lemieux. His 1991 playoff was best individual performance of modem era.June 1, 1992. Latest Stanley Cup was ever awarded. Will be extended this season.Terry Sawchuk. Backstops over-the-hill Leafs to 1967 Cup.Bill Barilko. Scores Cup winner in 1951. Dies in plane crash that summer.Glenn Hall. One of greatest goalies gives magnificent performance in 1968 final.Billy Smith. Battlin&rsquo;.Billy breaks opponents&rsquo; limbs and hearts.Bob Johnson. Inspirational coach leads Penguins to Cup in &rsquo;91.Dick Irvin. Only man to coach the Leafs and Canadiens to Cup wins.Tragedy. Stanley Cup series cancelled in 1919 due to death of Joe Hall and flu epidemic.Pat LaFontaine. Goal in fourth overtime hits Islanders past Washington Capitals in 1987.Doug Gilmour. Scores on spin-a-rama move coming from behind St. Louis Blues net.George Armstrong. Chiefs empty-netter clinches Cup for Leafs in 1967.March 22, 1894. First Stanley Cup match played between A.A.A. and Ottawa Generals.Maurice Richard. Ultimate playoff player holds record for career overtime goals-six.Kenora Thistles. Only Northern Ontario team to win the Cup.Phil Esposito. Controls slot when Bruins won Cups in 1970 and 1972.Golden Jet. Bobby Hull wins duel against Gordie Howe in 1961 final.Oops. Jacques Lemaire&rsquo;s long shot flies over Tony Esposito&rsquo;s shoulder in 1971.Jacques Demers. Mid-ice jig immortalized after St. Louis Blues&rsquo; victory.Musical goalies. Chicago goalies wear out path between bench and net in 1991.Dino the dinosaur. Minnesota North Star salute Dino Ciccarelli with inflatable dinosaurs.Men overboard. Toe Blake waves players over boards after Henri Richard&rsquo;s gloved goal.Tiger Williams. Clocks Buffalo coach Scotty Bowman over head with stick.Working overtime. Detroit beats Montreal 1-0 in sixth extra period March 24-25,1936.Chris who? Kontos scores six power-play goals for Kings against Edmonton in 1989.Mark Messier. MVP in Oilers&rsquo; first-ever Cup win.Overkill. Don Cherry&rsquo;s mouth runneth over nightly in Coach&rsquo;s Comer.Heads Up! Pat Quinn nails Bobby Orr to I boards in Boston Garden.Orval Tessier. &ldquo;Team needs a heart transplant&rdquo; remark did in Chicago Blackhawks.Ouch! Adam Graves&rsquo; slash on Mario Lemieux in 1992.Kid Line. Busher Jackson, Charlie Conacher, Joe Primeau pace Leafs to 1932 Cup.Bryan Trottier. Kid at heart, goes out on top with Penguins.Grant Fuhr. One of greatest money goalies of all-time.Loser&rsquo;s lament. Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey hey, Goodbye. &#9632;

f0003-01

THE CENTURY CLUB

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>There has been plenty to enjoy about this year&rsquo;s playoffs. Upsets, overtime and unlikely playoff heroes-David Volek of the New York Islanders and Paul DiPietro of the Montreal Canadiens to name just two.But there are also some things that are sticking in my craw. Such as:&#9633; Double standards: Marty McSorley of the Los Angeles Kings catches Toronto Maple Leafs star Doug Gilmour with an everyday elbow and receives a major penalty. The hit deserved a minor penalty. Gilmour head butts McSorley and gets a roughing minor, proving it&rsquo;s not how you hit, but whom.&#9633; Goon goalies: Like quarterbacks, goaltenders receive and deserve special protection. So why would Felix Potvin mug Dino Ciccarelli or Kelly Hrudey slash Kent Manderville when both victims were standing outside the crease? If goalies are to retain their special standing, the NHL must crack down on this type of behavior.&#9633; Ron Caron: See cartoon on page 6.&#9633; Playoff beards: Some men were meant to wear beards. Others born to shave. That&rsquo;s obvious each spring when the NHL playoffs begin. Are you listening, J.J. Daigneault?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011524/6130196-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="283" height="362"></div>&#9633; Diving: This one isn&rsquo;t new, but that doesn&rsquo;t make it any less annoying. I can&rsquo;t believe referees still fall for it. The NHL should institute a minor penalty for diving. Oops. I forgot, it did. It&rsquo;s just never called.&#9633; Press-box cheerleaders: NHL press boxes are flooded during the playoffs. They wouldn&rsquo;t be if the fans stayed in the stands.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021366/6130189-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="977" height="1613"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kelly Hrudey became quite a hacker when things heated up. (Lim Leary/BBS)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031149/6130182-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="972" height="1612"><figcaption class="caption-body">Russ Courtnail was a pleasant I surprise for the North Stars this season. (Marco Campanelli/BBS)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

If I see one more dive…

Hockeys men in stripes have the toughest job of all officials in professional sports. At least that&rsquo;s what they say.We&rsquo;ll see if the NHL agrees when talks for a new collective bargaining agreement begin after the season. That&rsquo;s when the 1988 deal between the league and the NHL Officials&rsquo; Association expires.Officials are seeking higher wages, an improved pension plan, alteration to their current rating system and a better severance package.Referees currently earn between $50,000-$125,000 per season, including playoffs. Linesmen start at $33,000.&ldquo;The current agreement needs a complete overhaul, major surgery,&rdquo; said Don Meehan, a Toronto-based player agent who is representing the officials in their CBA talks.Meehan said his goal is to &ldquo;dramatically increase the starting wage.&rdquo; He said both sides have agreed not to discuss specifics on the talks.He&rsquo;ll negotiate with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Jeff Pash, general counsel for the league.Although the two sides won&rsquo;t meet face-to-face until after the season, the officials made submissions to the NHL in January and March. A third, dealing with the pension issue, will be made soon.In the past, negotiations took place in August with little time to work on a deal before the opening of the season. By starting work on the new deal earner, it is hoped an agreement can be reached before next season.Meehan said he is confident a deal can be reached. He did not say what the officials would do if they go into next season without an agreement.Bettman has made it clear he expects more consistent performances from his officials.It has become abundantly clear in this year&rsquo;s playoffs that is necessary. Some nights games are called by the book; other times obvious fouls are ignored.Officials say they are victims of a weak system. They say their 11 supervisors are not consistent with their expectations or their ratings system.Only the top-rated officials work the playoffs and collect the bonus money that is so important to officials. Those who fall to the bottom third in the rankings can be fired.&ldquo;Pay me a decent dollar and then rate me wherever you want,&rdquo; one referee said. &ldquo;They thought holding this carrot (playoff bonus money) in front of us would make us work harder but it doesn&rsquo;t work that way. It just caused dissension.&rdquo;Bettman said his only concern is for better officiating in the NHL.&ldquo;Officiating, as good as it is, is imperfect just as is the rating system,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;If we put one guy in charge of doing the ratings, then they&rsquo;d want a group.&rdquo; &#9632;

Officials bucking for big raise

For Dallas Stars&rsquo; forward Russ Courtnall, the proof is in the performance.Courtnall was one player identified in THN at the beginning of the season as someone with some thing to prove. He did.Here&rsquo;s a look at how the 24, one from each team, made out&hellip;Getting the last laughDmitri Kvartalnov: Top draft choice had 30 goals, 72 points.Daren Puppa: Two shutouts, six wins in eight Toronto starts.Jari Kurri: Great comeback season with 87 points.Ed Belfour: Critics be damned, Eagle has landed.Russ Courtnall: Career highs in goals (36) and points (79).Stephan Lebeau: Fourth in team scoring with 31 goals, 80 points.John MacLean: Slow start, great finish; 24 goals, 48 points.Sylvain Turgeon: Answered doubts about big-league ability.Derek King: Dependable scorer for young team on rise.Joey Mullen: May this golden oldie go on forever.Phil Esposito: Made all right moves in Tampa Bay.Dominic Roussel: Didn&rsquo;t matter; Tommy S&ouml;derstr&ouml;m emerged.Petr Nedved: Took next step with breakthrough regular season.Mike Smith: Improved talent level of Jets.Wendel Clark: New role with the Leafs, but still team leader.Kevin Hatcher: Led all NHL defensemen with 34 goals.Ron Hextall: Turned in solid campaign in La Belle Province.Back on list for 1993-94Gary Leeman: Injury snuffed out apparent return to form.Keith Primeau: Still black sheep from draft class of 1990.Peter Pocklington: Pass the puck Peter and step aside.Mike Richter: How long can one long-shot goal haunt him?Bob Plager: Wasn&rsquo;t right for^ Blues&rsquo; coaching job in first place.Sean Burke: Hartford&rsquo;s No. 1 goalie decent, but not outstanding.Pat Falloon: Injury, lousy team gave him little chance at success. &#9632;

How did they do in ‘92-93?

I am Fuhr-ious. For years, I have seen Grant Fuhr receive incredible amounts of unearned credit.The time has come to speak up.Fuhr did win five Stanley Cups while he was a member of the Edmonton Oilers and must be credited for that feat. Although, he didn&rsquo;t play at all in the 1990 playoffs.But there is no doubt in my mind there are a dozen other NHL goalies that would have done the same thing playing behind the likes of Wayne Gretzky. Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey.The Oilers did not play a defensive style, but neither do the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tom Barrasso&rsquo;s playoff numbers are comparable to Fuhr&rsquo;s.The comment that irked me most was made by Don Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada during the Adams Division final. Cherry called Fuhr &ldquo;the best goalie in the world,&rdquo; which simply isn&rsquo;t true.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011437/6130275-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="546" height="772"><figcaption class="caption-body">Grant Fuhr is good, but he&rsquo;s not the best according to a fan.</figcaption></div>Cherry said Fuhr &ldquo;never gives up the big goal.&rdquo; Well, he gave up a whole bunch of &ldquo;little&rdquo; ones against the Montreal Canadiens and it cost the Buffalo Sabres big-time.Fuhr the best? Get real.Brian van Vliet,&nbsp;Burnaby, B.C.<h2>Skipping town</h2>As a loyal follower of the Baltimore Skipjacks. I was upset when your magazine picked them to finish last in the American League&rsquo;s Southern Division.Not only did they finish fourth, but they gave the mighty Binghamton Rangers a tough time in the American League playoffs.There never seemed to many people in Baltimore Arena, but I want the players to know their loyal followers were there. 1 would like to personally thank the Skipjacks for providing years of great hockey in Baltimore and I would like to wish them good luck next year in Portland, Me.Katrina Schmidt.&nbsp;Lutherville, Md.<h2>Shootouts great</h2>Ken Campbell&rsquo;s article on introducing shootouts to the NHL hit the nail right on the head.In Columbus we have the East Coast League&rsquo;s Chill and although Campbell calls this brand of hockey third rate, it&rsquo;s still exciting to us.We don&rsquo;t ever have to settle for boring ties and uninspired overtimes. The winner gets two points, the loser one and it&rsquo;s very exciting watching the one-on-one confrontations.Wake up, NHL.Nick Mascari.&nbsp;Columbus, Ohio<h2>Good show</h2>Cheers to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for the 21-game suspension levied against Washington Capitals&rsquo; goon Dale Hunter.There is no question Hunter is a gritty, intense competitor and has displayed those skills throughout his career.But his cheap shot on Pierre Turgeon of the New York Islander merited such a suspension. Don&rsquo;t forget, it was also Hunter who delivered a cheap shot on Toronto&rsquo;s Dave Ellett in February that caused the Maple Leafs&rsquo; defenseman to miss a dozen games or so.Dean T. Hawkins.&nbsp;Goshen, Ind.<h2>Blame it on Lou</h2>Thank you, Lou Lamoriello. Thanks for trading away a multitude of talent, including players such as Kirk McLean, Paul Ysebaert, Kirk Muller, Kevin Todd, Zdeno Ciger and Pat Conacher.Your dumbest moves, however, were pulling the Devils&rsquo; AHL farm team out of Utica and increasing season ticket prices.There were thousands of empty seats in New Jersey during the fist round of the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins.Oh, well. The talent that was developed and refined in Utica will be appreciated elsewhere.Don Skermont.&nbsp;Deerfield, N.Y.<h2>Truth or Darius</h2>I have a bone to pick with ESPN/ABC broadcaster Bill Clement.As articulate and knowledgeable Mr. Clement is about the game of hockey, he sometimes lacks in the nationality department.He continually refers to New York Islanders&rsquo; defenseman Darius Kasparaitis as a Russian.If Mr. Clement did his homework, he would find out that Kasparaitis is Lithuanian, not Russian.Stan Bartasius.&nbsp;Williamstown, N.J.<h2>Bob&rsquo;s revenge?</h2>Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; forward Bob Sweeney savored &ldquo;the ultimate revenge.&rdquo; (THN, May 7) after his Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins in the Adams Division semifinal.But maybe he should consider that had he played his last two seasons in Boston the way he did in Buffalo, his name would not have turned up on the waiver wire.He was given the opportunity to perform in Boston, but demonstrated minor-league skill at best. Any hard feelings of Sweeney&rsquo;s are unfounded.Christopher Holm,&nbsp;Old Town, Me.<h2>Shan the man</h2>Michael Ulmer&rsquo;s feature article on Brendan Shanahan in the April 30 issue of THN was right on the money.It&rsquo;s true that Shanahan is a dominant force on the ice as well as in the dressing room.I must take exception to one point, however. Brendan had an exceptional season offensively, but he was not the team&rsquo;s MVP. That honor goes to Curtis Joseph, who almost singlehandedly led the Blues deep into the Stanley Cup tournament.Robert Foley,&nbsp;Longwood, Fla.<h2>Shafted, eh?</h2>I&rsquo;m sick and tired of reading how Canada has been shafted by the NHL&rsquo;s expansion into South Florida.First, the population of Hamilton and Saskatoon is 1/20th that of South Florida&rsquo;s.Second. Canada should be honored that so many Americans are enthralled with its game. And third, half of Hamilton&rsquo;s population spends winters in Florida, anyway.It takes more than a sold-out arena to make hockey profitable (i.e. TV revenue). South Florida has approximately five million people from which to draw. So stop your whining and support expansion wherever and whenever it occurs. Mark my words: the NHL will have no trouble succeeding in Florida.Dan Santaniello,&nbsp; Miami, Fla.Make your feelings known. Fax us your comments at&nbsp;(416) 445-2501&nbsp;or write to&nbsp;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.&nbsp;THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

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Goalie overrated, Fuhr-ious fan says

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021038/6130306-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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THE DRAW

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011617/6130337-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div>The New York Islanders pulled off the greatest in what has been a playoff chock full of upsets in beating Pittsburgh 4-3 and ending the Penguins&rsquo; Stanley Cup run at two.David Volek&rsquo;s Game 7 overtime goal lifted the Isles, who finished 32-points behind Pittsburgh this season, into the Wales final. (See story on page 16.) Based on regular-season point totals, eight of the first 12 playoff series were won by underdogs.The Los Angeles Kings also pulled off a second round upset. Wayne Gretzky scored once and added two assists as the Kings eliminated the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 on May 13 to win the Smythe championship in six games.A 6-0 loss in Toronto on May 15 ended a remarkable playoff run by Curtis Joseph and the St. Louis Blues. The Blues, who swept the Chicago Blackhawks in Round 1, fell in seven games to the the Toronto Maple Leafs.Highlights and lowlights from the division finals and the first games of the conference finals.Highlights: Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; goalie Patrick Roy flashed 1986 form as the Canadiens grabbed a 3-1 lead in their series with the Islanders.&#9633; Pierre Turgeon returned from a shoulder separation in Game 2 of the Wales final. Turgeon was injured by Dale Hunter of the Washington Capitals, who received a 21-game suspension for hitting Turgeon from behind.Lowlights: After a valiant playoff, St. Louis was steamrolled in Game 7 of the Norris championship.&#9633; Spring means the start of diving season, but Brad Dalgamo&rsquo;s fake injury paved the way for a Montreal goal in Game 2 of the Wales final. &#9632;

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Isles end Penguins’ run

<div class="byline">By Matt Nicholls</div>Students and faculty at the University of Maine are pooling their resources to help a fallen hockey hero.Former defenseman Andre Au-but, 33, was seriously hurt in a recreational game in Montreal April 17, just two weeks after the Black Bears captured their first national title.The Montreal native sustained a broken neck after slipping on the puck and crashing into the boards. He is now a quadriplegic and has limited movement in his left arm.Aubut is also having trouble breathing due to fluid buildup in his lung and may have to undergo a tracheostomy to facilitate breathing. He is currently in Sacre Coeur Hospital in Montreal.&ldquo;The worst part for me is the fact I&rsquo;m helpless, I can&rsquo;t do anything,&rdquo; said Robert Lafleur, Aubut&rsquo;s best friend and former teammate at Maine. &ldquo;When he got in a fight on the ice, I could go in and help. When we played beside each other I could feel him with me. I see him more like a brother than a friend. I could tell him things I couldn&rsquo;t tell my family.&rdquo;Aubut was one of the best players ever to play for the Black Bears. He finished his career-which spanned the years 1978 to 82-with 32 goals and 135 points in 127 games-both school records for a defenseman. He was also the school&rsquo;s first ever all-America, earning the honor in 1980.He spent the past decade operating his own construction business in Montreal. He is married and has two children.The school will donate proceeds from its annual alumni game July 17 to help cover Aubut&rsquo;s medical costs. &#9632;

Tragedy shocks Maine

<div class="byline">By THN staff</div>Perry Pearn&rsquo;s greatest achievement in hockey came on European ice, so maybe it&rsquo;s fate that made him return there to begin his professional coaching career.The coach of Canada&rsquo;s 1993 gold-medal winning junior team in the World Junior Championships has agreed to a two-year deal worth $115,000 to coach Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss A league.&ldquo;I see this as a positive move in my growth as a coach,&rdquo; Pearn said. &ldquo;The thing I like the best is I can make myself financially stable by the time 1 move on to the pro game in North America.&rdquo;Pearn, 41, gained notoriety for Canada&rsquo;s success at the WJC in Sweden and spent 14 years coaching the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Ookpiks in Edmonton.Pearn said he had interest from major junior and minor pro teams in North America, but chose Europe for career and financial reasons.TROUBLE BREWING?: New York Islander coach Al Arbour&rsquo;s comments about a league-wide attempt to Canadianize the Stanley Cup final may land him in hot water with the league.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021102/6130392-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="551" height="657"><figcaption class="caption-body">Remarks by Islanders&rsquo; coach Al Arbour could get him in trouble.</figcaption></div>After the Montreal Canadiens scored in overtime with too many men on the ice in Game 3 of the Wales Conference final May 20, Arbour recited a familiar litany about two sets of rules, one for the Montreal Canadiens and another for their opponents.But this time Arbour went one step further. &ldquo;You know what it looks like to me? They&rsquo;re trying to get a final with two Canadian teams,&rdquo; he said.NHL spokesman Arthur Pincus said Arbour&rsquo;s comments are &ldquo;under review.&rdquo;Arbour may have one thing going for him. The idea that the league would prefer a Toronto Maple Leafs-Montreal match-up over a New York-Los Angeles Kings pairing may be too ludicrous to warrant a penalty.There is no action pending against St. Louis Blues&rsquo; general manager Ron Caron who made several offensive gestures from a private box during St. Louis&rsquo; seven game Norris Division loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.STAGE SET: Final dates have been set for the Stanley Cup finals.The series will begin June 1 at the rink of the surviving team with the higher point total. During the regular season, Montreal collected 102 points, Toronto had 99, the Islanders finished with 88 and Los Angeles finished with 87.The dates for the series are: Game 1 Tuesday, June 1; Game 2 Thursday, June 3; Game 3 Saturday, June 5; Game 4 Monday, June 7; Game 5 Wednesday June 9; Game 6 Saturday, June 12; and Game 7 Tuesday June 15.NEW POST: Larry Landon was named executive director of the Professional Hockey Players&rsquo; Association May 11.Landon has been involved with the organization for 11 years. The association represents minor pro players. &#9632;

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Pearn heads back to Europe to coach in Swiss pro league

May 13: Los Angeles Kings defeat Vancouver Canucks 5-3 to win Smythe Division final 4-2.May 14: New York Islanders defeat Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 to win Patrick Division final 4-3.Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington signs lease agreement with Northlands Edmonton. Pocklington threatened to move team if deal was not reached.May 15: Toronto Maple Leafs beat St. Louis Blues 6-0 to win Norris Division final 4-3.May 18: NHLPA decides not to exercise option on extending current Collective Bargaining Agreement reached in April, 1992 with NHL owners. Agreement expires Sept. 15.Vancouver Canucks send right winger Jim Sandlak to Hartford Whalers to complete March 22 deal for center Murray Craven.May 20: Montreal Canadiens win 11th straight playoff game to tie NHL record for consecutive playoff wins. Streak ends May 22 as New York Islanders win 4-1.International League&rsquo;s Fort Wayne Komets beat San Diego Gulls 6-1 to sweep best-of-seven Turner Cup final.May 23: Ontario League&rsquo;s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds beat Peterborough Petes 4-2 to win Memorial Cup.May 24: Philadelphia Flyers hire former Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; assistant coach Terry Simpson as coach. &#9632;

HOCKEY WEEKS: MAY 10-24

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>NHL players may soon have access to their pension fund, whether the league likes it or not.Ontario finance minister Floyd Laughren is moving to end the exemption which has allowed the league to administer the fund without player representation.The NHL established the pension fund in 1947. Since that time it has been controlled by the NHL Pension Society.That body was a joint player-management board until 1969, when then-NHL Players&rsquo; Association executive director Alan Eagle-son supported an NHL plan to remove player representation. The exemption was granted by the Ontario government.Several players have since said they were not informed of the move. The NHLPA, under Eagle-son&rsquo;s successor Boo Goodenow, requested representation on the pension board.Under Ontario law, there must be employee representation on pension boards.Eagleson reportedly supported a league application to extend the exemption in August, 1991.If restored to the board, players are expected to challenge an NHL decision to appeal a court judgement granting damages to veteran players.Meanwhile, the Boston-based grand jury investigating Eagleson continues.The May 7 issue of THN reported the jury was suspended while prosecutor Paul Kelly worked on an investigation of the death of a Boston police officer.While Kelly was unavailable for the Eagleson case, the inquiry nonetheless remained open. &#9632;

Players want say on board

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011464/6130478-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="359" height="519"></div>I had presumed any league where Craig Janney could score 106 points must have been cleaned up by now. Paul Stewart and Kevin Maguire have become referees, Dave Schultz has confessed the Philadelphia Flyers made him do it and Paul Holmgren is now a coach who preaches discipline Maybe it was safe for Gaston Gingras to make a comeback.Apparently not. The other day, I was watching my Ottawa Senators&rsquo; highlight video, smoking my bong, and remembering Peter Ihnacek fondly when my good karma was interrupted by a pounding at my door. It was the mailman. He looked like Basil McRae. &ldquo;Sign for this, buttface,&rdquo; he said. When my jaw dropped the way Keith Magnuson&rsquo;s used to after one punch, the postman glared at me the way John Wensink once die at Jack Mcllhargey. &ldquo;What are you lookin&rsquo; at, man?&rdquo; he said.Whoa. I signed for the package and closed that door faster than Ed Olczyk gets out of a comer. On the plain brown wrapper was either a skull and crossbones or a picture of Dave Semenko. I couldn&rsquo;t tell which.When I broke the seal, a Ken Linseman model glove popped out and rubbed my face. Inside was a periodical called The Aggressive Hockey Report. Termed the &ldquo;international hockey fight paper,&rdquo; it contained 35 pages of blood-soaked mayhem.The Aggressive Hockey Report had a record of every fight in February. It had the life story of Billy Goldthorpe. It had a feature called &ldquo;Ask Dr. Fight.&rdquo; It advertised videos of fights, including footage of some Pat Bums&rsquo; Montreal press conferences. It had shocking photos of Lady Byng taking on the Hunters.I was appalled. I live in Canada now, where people even more righteous than Tom Watt try to hold up books in customs to make sure they are not obscene or violent. Of course, having read Garry Unger and the Battling Blues, I would agree we should be vigilant about maintaining community standards. But I believe in first amendment rights, as long as we are careful to look out for Wendel Clark&rsquo;s lefts. Therefore, I will defend to the death the rights of the publishers of this kind of publication, even if I wind up looking like Dale Rolfe once did after a playoff game at the Spectrum.I don&rsquo;t mind a good fight every once in a while. A little hair-pulling doesn&rsquo;t bother me and in Barry Melrose&rsquo;s case may even be unavoidable. But I do believe we need an alternative publication for people who condemn what Keith Allen, the architect of the Broad Street Bullies, once euphemistically referred to as &ldquo;that certain element.&rdquo; You know, something for politically-correct fans whose ideal player is Tom Fergus.Therefore, we are offering The Passive Hockey Report, the magazine for wimps. Ten actionless issues a year, advocating helmets, shields, obsessive officiating and the kind of hockey that has made the World Championships boring and obsolete.The PHR will be as hard hitting as Martin Gelinas. Every month, we will offer page after page of boring antiviolence rhetoric, including some of Mike Bossy&rsquo;s greatest snits.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02980/6130471-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="549" height="724"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Kelly</figcaption></div>Our premier issue has a shocking Mario Lemieux story: &ldquo;How Dare They Touch Me. It&rsquo;s Ruining the Game.&rdquo; We rank the greatest snowthrowers in the game&rsquo;s history. Our regular feature, &ldquo;Where Are They Hiding Now?&rdquo; tracks Pierre Jarry to his Northern Quebec cabin, where to this day he lives in fear of a visit by Bob (Battleship) Kelly.We delve deeper than just the surface goosebumps, trembles and cold sweats suffered by Mike McEwen when he thought his coach, Don Cherry, was going to beat the crap out of him in practice. In our first Q & A, George Kingston tells: &ldquo;How I won my fight with the wild man inside of me.&rdquo; We also have the shocking confessions of Mike Bullard, who admits: &ldquo;I tried in vain to hide my claustrophobia.&rdquo;Our subscribers receive a discount on our video of Paul Baxter&rsquo;s Greatest Turtles. As a bonus, we will throw in a tape of Paul Mulvey going and dancing. Act quickly and your first year of PHR will be delivered to you free. It&rsquo;s the very least we can do for all those who refuse to pay the price. &#9632;

f0007-01

Why not a Passive Hockey Report?

<div class="byline">By Stan Flschler</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03649/6130509-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">With Dominic Roussel, above, and Tommy Soderstrom in the nets, Philadelphia&rsquo;s Mark Recchi thinks his team will contend for the Cup. (Tim Parker)</figcaption></div>Despite low numbers on their weekly ratings, ABC network executives have found some source of optimism in the exceptionally high demographic ratings for the five Sunday after-noon playoff telecasts. Inside sources told Bluelines that the network is pleased enough about the NHL&rsquo;s future on the network that it is seriously considering a Game of the Week every Sunday starting next season, immediately after Christmas and running through the finals. The playoffs received ratings of 2.0, 2.3. 1.7, 1.3 and 1.4 for the five telecasts. One NHL official told Bluelines there are several reasons for the disappointing numbers. &ldquo;For one thing, hockey on the network is new and for another, the afternoon matches were dog games,&rdquo; the executive said. &ldquo;On top of that, the weather was gorgeous so people were inclined to be outside.&rdquo;<h2>Jagr for Forsberg?</h2>Jaromir Jagr may have talked himself out of the untouchable category in Pittsburgh. Sources said that during the New York Islanders-Pitts-burgh Penguins playoff series, Jagr whispered he expects to be dealt out of Pittsburgh and wouldn&rsquo;t mind a move to another team. There are rumors that he could be dealt to the Quebec Nordiques for Swedish star Peter Forsberg, who could then team up with MoDo teammate and Penguin prospect Markus Naslund. Penguin observers maintain that Jagr hasn&rsquo;t developed the way the organization expected him to and if the team makes an off-season move, Jagr is the most likely to go.<h2>Holy hockey</h2>Ken Untener, the 55-year-old Roman Catholic bishop of Saginaw, Mich., is a unique hockey character. The bishop, who has garnered national attention for his suggestion that married men and women be allowed into the priesthood, plays hockey once a week on an artificial right leg. Bishop Untener was born with a congenital defect and had the leg amputated below the knee when he was in his teens. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a chance to be un-Christian for an hour,&rdquo; said Bishop Untener of his hockey, &ldquo;and I just can&rsquo;t give that up.&rdquo;&hellip; Pittsburgh coach Scotty Bowman has the ideal solution for utilizing Minnesota as an NHL site. &ldquo;The league should have every team play its neutral-site games there, Bowman told Bluelines. &ldquo;They&rsquo;d probably sell out every game.&rdquo;<h2>Russian German?</h2>At least a couple of NHL clubs are checking out German Titov, a 27-year-old Russian center who is currently under contract to the Finnish TPS team. The undrafted 6-2, 195 pounder impressed many scouts at the recent World Championships in Germany, helping lead the Russians to an unlikely gold medal. Titov had four goals and six points in eight games, including two goals in a pivotal playoff win over Canada. Look for Titov to go in the draft June 26 in Quebec City.<h2>Leetch loves N.Y.</h2>Brian Leetch&rsquo;s agent Jay Grossman told Bluelines there&rsquo;s absolutely nothing to a Florida-based rumor that the defenseman wants out of New York. &ldquo;Brian is delighted playing for the Rangers,&rdquo; Grossman said, &ldquo;and has no intentions of leaving.&rdquo;&hellip;Glenn Healy&rsquo;s agent Larry Rauch told Bluelines he&rsquo;s eager to meet New York Islanders&rsquo; general manager Don Maloney about a new contract for his goalie client. Healy, who earned $250,000 this season, becomes a free agent this summer, but the Islanders have the right to match offers from other teams. &ldquo;Glenn is happy on the Island,&rdquo; Rauch said, &ldquo;but there&rsquo;s no question that he has to take a businessman&rsquo;s look at the situation, and we have to talk to other teams.&rdquo;<h2>Goal oriented</h2>Mark Recchi of the Philadelphia Flyers told Bluelines he&rsquo;s optimistic about his team&rsquo;s future, mainly because of the men in goal. &ldquo;Our goaltending is young and makes us secure for the next six or seven years,&rdquo; Recchi said. &ldquo;At first, when Dominic Roussel lost the starting job, he didn&rsquo;t know how to handle it. He went through a period of being confused and sorry for himself. But since then Dominic got on track. Early last season Tommy Soderstrom was dogging and wasn&rsquo;t working on his game. But in the stretch his work habits in practice improved and he looks ready for stardom. With a few changes here and there, we&rsquo;ll be contenders for the Cup within the next two or three years.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0007-03

Getting on TV weekly maybe as simple as ABC

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div>It hasn&rsquo;t been determined how large or small the Boston Bruins&rsquo; housecleaning will be, but it has claimed its first victim.The Bruins made a surprise move in early May when they told forward Vladimir Ruzicka he is free to explore other employment opportunities.Ruzicka, Boston&rsquo;s leading goalscorer in 1991-92 with 39, played out his option this season but slumped to 19 goals. As of mid-May, the Bruins didn&rsquo;t intend to offer Ruzicka a contract for next season.The move prompted a brief war of words in the local media, with Petr Svoboda, Ruzicka&rsquo;s Edmonton-based agent, claiming Bruin coach Brian Sutter hadn&rsquo;t given his client a fair chance.Sutter and assistant general manager Mike Milbury disagreed, pointing to Ruzicka&rsquo;s series of nagging injuries and inconsistent production when he was healthy. Sutter reduced Ruzicka&rsquo;s ice time drastically at several points.&ldquo;Everyone had questions about Rosie going into the season,&rdquo; Milbury said. &ldquo;What we wanted was for him to be consistent.&rdquo;Some believe Ruzicka&rsquo;s problems began when the Bruins hired Sutter last summer to replace the fired Rick Bowness. Ruzicka completed 199192 on a sour note and may have had trouble even if Bowness stayed.Ruzicka peaked Feb. 9, 1992, when he scored four goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He scored only five more in his last 22 games, then two goals in 13 playoff games. He nursed a leg injury during Boston&rsquo;s four-game sweep of Montreal but Bowness, apparently convinced Ruzicka was healthy, ordered Ruzicka back onto the ice after he left one practice session early.This season closely resembled last, only the brilliant bursts were shorter. Ruzicka followed a tremendous training camp (6-7-13 in seven games on a line centered by rookie Joe Juneau) with a solid start. He scored seven goals in 10 games, but a slump and injuries ensued. He played only 60 games because of various leg and ankle injuries, including a groin strain. He didn&rsquo;t make a post-season appearance.Svoboda told Milbury he would test the European market for his client. Ruzicka, 30, is an unrestricted free agent, so the Bruins won&rsquo;t be compensated if he finds a new team.NAME GAMES: The Bruins&rsquo; new arena, scheduled to be ready in 199596, will sport a corporate name-Shawmut Center. Shawmut, one of several banks involved in financing the building, reached an agreement with Bruins&rsquo; owner Jeremy Jacobs to pay for the right to put its name of the rinkTerms weren&rsquo;t announced, but reports said the bank would pay developers of the $l6O-million arena $30 million over the life of the deal.NOTEBOOK: The Bruins stepped into contract negotiating season by opening talks with Steve Mountain, representative for veteran center Dave Poulin, who played every game last year and had his best year (49 points, plus-29) since a 51-point campaign with the Philadelphia Flyers in 198788. Poulin played out his option this season. &#9632;

Things not looking Rosie for Ruzicka these days

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div>He is a relative newcomer to the Montreal sports scene, but he has quickly become one of the Canadiens&rsquo; most popular players.Meet Paul DiPietro, the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; reluctant hero.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a celebrity and I never will be,&rdquo; DiPietro said. &ldquo;I go to the rink, do my job and go home. I&rsquo;m not a hero.&rdquo;Perhaps the 22-year-old DiPietro is wise beyond his years. Perhaps he has heard of the toll publicity has extracted from so many others before him. Or perhaps he&rsquo;s just too innocent and naive to know better.Whatever, DiPietro has been one of the more pleasant, and unexpected, stories of the 1993 playoffs. He is quickly becoming a fan favorite at the Forum because he is scoring goals and making plays at an unexpected rate.The stocky 5-foot-9, 181-pound center played in 11 of Montreal&rsquo;s first 14 playoff games and scored at a point-per-game pace, registering six goals and five assists.Coach Jacques Demers said DiPietro gives the Canadiens a dimension they&rsquo;ve never had. He is another small center, much like Stephan Lebeau, but DiPietro goes to the net and plays a more physical game than Lebeau.DiPietro has a knack for scoring key goals. His three-goal game in Game 6 eliminated the Quebec Nordiques from the Adams Division semifinal. He scored one goal and added an assist on Montreal&rsquo;s winning goal in the opening game of the division final against the Buffalo Sabres, and scored the goal that sent Game 2 of the Wales Conference final against the New York Islanders into overtime.Montreal fans first saw him in the 1991-92 season. He played 33 games, scoring four goals and 10 points. He likely would have started this season with Montreal but developed mononucleosis over the summer. He was sidelined until early December, began the season with Montreal&rsquo;s American League affiliate in Fredericton and was recalled in late January.The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native was the 102nd overall pick at the 1990 entry draft.NOTEBOOK: Kirk Muller had his collarbone area frozen for the Canadiens&rsquo; opening eight playoff games because of an injury to the area. During that time he scored two overtime goals, three power-play goals and two even-strength goals. He sustained the injury on the first shift of the Quebec series.<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Kirk Muller, Paul DiPietro. Guy Carbonneau, Jesse Belanger.LW&mdash;John LeClair, Vincent Damp&#322;iousse, Benoit Brunet. Gilbert Dionne, Mario Roberge.RW&mdash;Brian Bellows, Mike Keane, Ed Ronan, Denis Savard, Gary Leeman. Todd Ewen.LD&mdash;Mathieu Schneider. Jean&mdash; Jacques Daigneault, Kevin Haller, Donald Dufresne.RD&mdash;Lyte Odelein. Patrice Bnsebois, Eric Desjardins, Rob Ramage. Sean Hill.G&mdash;Patrick Roy. Andre Radcot.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Stephan Lebeau, C, sprained right ankle, day-to-day. &#9632;

Maintaining a low profile now impossible for DiPietro

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div>The summer of 1993 isn&rsquo;t going to be much fun for Alexander Mogilny.The Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; 24-year-old right winger is facing three months of intense rehabilitation after sustaining a broken right leg and ligament damage in his ankle in Game 3 of the Adams Division final against the Montreal Canadiens.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been hurt before,&rdquo; Mogilny said. &ldquo;I broke a bone in my arm. I know what that feels like, but it&rsquo;s nothing like this.&rdquo;Just about everyone has seen how the injury occurred. So has Mogilny. He had to see the replay to understand exactly what happened. The pain blocked out the details of the incident.Mogilny goes in deep, deeper than he normally would go on a play in the Buffalo zone. He moves toward the net from the left side, picking up Brian Bellows at the same time the Montreal forward is hit by Sabres&rsquo; defenseman Doug Bodger and center Pat LaFontaine.The 5-foot-11 200-pound Bellows falls over Mogilny and the full weight of all three players comes down on him as he starts to fall backward. His right leg doesn&rsquo;t move, not until the fibula bone snaps. At the same time, his ankle twists horribly, almost 180 degrees.&ldquo;I remember Bodger and Patty coming up to hit him (Bellows) and I remember feeling my leg turning,&rdquo; Mogilny said. &ldquo;There was so much pressure and then I heard a snap, like a branch on a tree. I knew it was my leg, but 1 was worried about my ankle. It was twisting and at the same time, it (the skate blade) won&rsquo;t give. Like it was caught in a rut or something. There was just nothing you could do.&rdquo;Mogilny underwent surgery in Toronto immediately after the incident. His right leg is in a cast that runs from his toes to just below his knee.Surgical screws were inserted into the ankle and they are designed to pull the injured ligaments back to the bone. Mogilny said doctors told him it isn&rsquo;t a career-threatening injury. He should be ready to return for the beginning of training camp next season.Most of the pain has subsided, Mogilny said, and he&rsquo;s ready to start his rehabilitation program.&ldquo;At first you think &lsquo;Why me&rsquo; but then you tell yourself that&rsquo;s life. It&rsquo;s like a slap in the face, it forces you to wake up and face reality.&ldquo;Almost every player has a major injury at some point in his career. I&rsquo;ve never had one like this, but I have to look at this as a challenge.&rdquo;WAITING GAME: The Sabres&rsquo; front-office situation is in a state of flux.Both general manager Gerry Meehan and coach John Muckler will discuss their futures with team president Seymour H. Knox III before having anything definitive to say regarding next season.Meehan is under consideration for a job at the league level and under some pressure in Buffalo for his tenure with the Sabres.Muckler came to Buffalo from the Edmonton Oilers two seasons ago for a front-office job, but returned behind the bench when coach Rick Dudley was fired early in the 1991-92 season.NOTEBOOK: Center Pat LaFontaine is a finalist for the Hart and Lady Byng Trophies and will be on hand for the televised announcement in June. No Sabre has ever won the Hart Trophy. &#9632;

Summer of intense rehabilitation ultimate test for injured Mogilny

<div class="byline">By Kevin Johnston</div>Pierre Page didn&rsquo;t say much after his Quebec Nordiques were bounced from the NHL playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens.But after a brief vacation, the Nordiques&rsquo; coach-general manager was more than happy to let his feelings be known.&ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;d have to say I&rsquo;m satisfied with our regular season,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The more a team improves, the more it gets motivated. Our team has many young athletes who will learn to lead. But we&rsquo;ll have to surround these young players with veterans. It&rsquo;s clear that when the going gets tough, they still need guidance.&rdquo;Page maintains a lack of confidence was the main reason the Nordiques were toppled by the Canadiens in the Adams Division semifinal.&ldquo;Our young players seemed overwhelmed after winning the first two games of the series,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I felt like a father who warns his sons of everything dangerous out in the world. But in a way, they have to live through a few bad experiences before they know how to deal with them. I don&rsquo;t like to hear people use the expression &lsquo;You have to lose to learn,&rsquo; but in our case I think it is a reality. We can&rsquo;t accept defeat, but we can build something better in adversity.&rdquo;Page toyed with the idea of giving up coaching a year ago to concentrate on his GM duties, but that&rsquo;s not the case this year. He will return behind the bench in September.&ldquo;I never thought about leaving my coaching duties. 1&rsquo;11 be back-along with all my assistants, if they want to come back,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We picked up 104 points. I can&rsquo;t be all that bad.&rdquo;One of Page&rsquo;s goals next season will be to improve the team&rsquo;s defense. Quebec allowed 300 goals this past season, the worst mark among Adams Division playoff teams.The Quebec coach-GM will also be looking to sign veterans in the offseason who can provide leadership.Signing a few francophone players is also a must. Page has received considerable heat from the Quebec City media who like to compare the Montreal Canadiens to the Nordiques.Several of the Canadiens&rsquo; young players are French Canadian.GOOD LUCK, J.D.: Jean D. Legault, vice-president, corporate development and communications of the Nordiques over the past .11 years, has retired.Legault was one of the premier promoters in the NHL and he will be sorely missed by team president Marcel Aubut, his long-time friend.Legault, 48, did a marvelous job of keeping Le Colisee filled over the past five years, even though the team was one of the worst in the NHL.The Nordiques have not named a replacement.NOTEBOOK: Quebec has until June 30 to sign 19-year-old Swedish star Peter Forsberg to a contract or he&rsquo;ll become a defected free agent. That would leave him free to sign with any other team, but the Nordiques retain the right to match any offer. Forsberg played for MoDo in the Swedish Elite League this past season and finished with 23 goals and 47 points in 39 games, second in the league behind Hakan Loob of Farjestad.Finnish defenseman Janne Laukkanen will sign with the Nordiques in the near future. Management wanted him in the lineup last season, but he wanted to play out his contract at home. The 6-foot, 180-pound defenseman is a strong two-way player.Pierre Page will work diligently to improve his team&rsquo;s position at the entry draft in June. The Nordiques have the 10th and 23rd picks overall.Rumors in New Jersey suggest Quebec is interested in trading for Devils&rsquo; right winger Claude Lemieux. But Pierre Page insists he hasn&rsquo;t spoken to the Devils about a possible deal for New Jersey&rsquo;s leading scorer this past season. &#9632;

Page ponders next move

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div>The Ottawa Senators aren&rsquo;t interested in talking about trading the first pick in June&rsquo;s NHL draft.They&rsquo;re not even interested in listening to offers for the premier selection, a pick they&rsquo;ve left little doubt they&rsquo;ll use to select Quebec League sensation Alexandre Daigle.&ldquo;We will not listen to offers,&rdquo; Senators&rsquo; chairman and governor Bruce Firestone said. &ldquo;We will not encourage them. (Daigle) certainly appears to be the kind of guy we would want.&rdquo;That message has already been sent out to the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens, two teams reportedly interested in getting a shot at the player many think will be the next French-Canadian superstar.Daigle, a native of the Montreal suburb of Laval, is the top-rated North American prospect for the draft according to the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Bureau.The Senators said they feel Daigle has great marquee value and will help make their home of the future-the Ottawa Palladium-a success. Construction has not yet begun on the building because financing has not been finalized. Having an asset such as Daigle, the Senators believe, will help make the Palladium a reality.The Canadiens have apparently twice inquired about the availability of Ottawa&rsquo;s pick. The answer each time was a polite, but firm &ldquo;no.&rdquo;Nordiques&rsquo; governor Marcel Aubut visited Ottawa May 11, but Firestone said the topic of Daigle and the first pick didn&rsquo;t come up.&ldquo;Even before we got the franchise we decided if we were ever in a position to draft first, we would,&rdquo; Firestone said. &ldquo;This is a good test and we&rsquo;re going to stick to that.&rdquo;SHERO ON BOARD: Acting general manager Randy Sexton took a step towards putting his own stamp on the team when he hired former player agent Ray Shero as assistant GM and handed out several contract extensions May 12.Shero, the son of Stanley Cup winning-coach Fred Shero, has worked as a player representative the last seven years. He signed a three-year deal with the Senators and will concentrate on contract negotiations.Sexton, who was given the acting GM&rsquo;s job in addition to his president and chief operating officer duties when Mel Bridgman was fired after the regular season, also gave one-year contract extensions to director of player personnel John Ferguson and coach Rick Bowness. Ferguson now has four years remaining on his deal and Bowness has three.&ldquo;Yes, everybody got raises. They deserved them,&rdquo; Sexton said. &ldquo;These steps we&rsquo;ve taken are all aimed at our objective: winning the Stanley Cup in six to 11 years.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The future of defenseman Brad Marsh was expected to be decided in late May. Marsh was told the club does not want him back as a player, but will leave the door open to whatever front office job interests Marsh&hellip;Laurie Boschman is waiting to find out about his future. He&rsquo;ll likely be left unprotected in the expansion draft and a buyout of the final year of his contract is a possibility.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>May 12: Ray Shero signed three-year contract as assistant general manager. John Ferguson, director of player personnel, and Rick Bowness, coach, received one-year contract extensions. &#9632;

Might as well write it in stone; Daigle will preside in Ottawa

<div class="byline">By Viv Bernstein</div>The Minnesota Whalers?That&rsquo;s what Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson said he was hoping for after meeting with Hartford Whalers&rsquo; owner Richard Gordon May 12.&ldquo;Mr. Gordon is one of those people we&rsquo;ll be courting,&rdquo; said Carlson, who lost the Minnesota North Stars when owner Norm Green moved the team to Dallas. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to have the Minnesota Whalers here. We&rsquo;ll know sometime in the fall if there&rsquo;s a possibility of that. I don&rsquo;t want to raise false expectations.&rdquo;Gordon wants a better lease arrangement at the city-owned Civic Center to keep the team in Hartford. With little chance the city will make substantial changes in the lease, the state is now trying to buy or lease the Civic Center from the city in order to give Gordon a new lease.While in Minnesota, Gordon met with the governor, Minneapolis mayor Don Fraser and the Downtown Council, owners of the National Basketball Association&rsquo;s Minnesota Timberwolves and an official from the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He also talked to corporate officials from the Pillsbury Co., and the Gillette Co., and toured the Target Center.Gordon is laying the groundwork for Whalers&rsquo; pre-season and neutral-site games in Minnesota next season, as well as advising officials there on how to attract another team.&ldquo;There was no discussion of a sale, any move or any deal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Nothing at all. I made it very clear I&rsquo;m not leveraging Hartford.&rdquo;But that&rsquo;s not how Hartford mayor Carrie Saxon Perry saw it. Gordon&rsquo;s visit coincides with the delicate negotiations between Connecticut state officials and the city of Hartford.&ldquo;The words say one thing, the actions say another,&rdquo; Perry said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s sending mixed messages. That makes folks uneasy. It&rsquo;s like what the Native Americans say: speaking with a forked tongue.&rdquo;EASY COME EASY GO: Jeff Jackson&rsquo;s tenure as assistant coach of the Whalers lasted barely two weeks before he had a change of heart and returned to Lake Superior State.Jackson accepted the Hartford job May 5, but the Central Collegiate Hockey Association club upped the ante and lured Jackson back May 21.&ldquo;The additional responsibilities offered by the university made their offer too good to pass up,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;I appreciate (the Whalers&rsquo;) support and the class they showed as this situation unfolded.&rdquo;Jackson accepted his former position plus that of athletic director at Lake Superior State. He led the Lakers to the NCAA title in 1992 and lost to Maine in the finals this season.NOTEBOOK: The Whalers completed the future considerations portion of their March 22 deal with the Vancouver Canucks with the acquisition of right winger Jim Sandlak. The Whalers received forward Robert Kron and a third-round pick in exchange for center/left winger Murray Craven and the return of a fifth-round pick previously acquired from the Canucks. Sandlak has been assured by management he will receive more ice time next season.The Whalers held a fan forum May 11 and about 475 fans showed up to ask questions of Richard Gordon, general manager Brian Burke, coach Paul Holmgren, goalie Sean Burke and vice-president, sales and marketing Rick Francis. When asked if he thought the team would make the playoffs next year, Brian Burke said: &ldquo;I think the chances of making the playoffs will be tough. For us to improve 15 to 20 points would be admirable. But I don&rsquo;t know if that will be enough.&rdquo;<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>May 17: Jim Sandlak, RW, acquired from Vancouver to complete March 22 trade tor Murray Craven, C. May 21: Jeff Jackson, assistant coach, left team to rejoin Lake Superior State. &#9632;

Minny courts Gordon

<div class="byline">By Kevin Dupont</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011496/6130684-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="363" height="519"></div>If Peter Pocklington is to be believed-and, hey, why not, let&rsquo;s show at least a little faith-then the Edmonton Oilers were ready to pack up for Hamilton or Phoenix or any-where this side of Tranquility Lake unless he got a better deal to stay in Edmonton.With the stroke of an accountant&rsquo;s pen. the good folk of Edmonton would have been left with an empty Northlands Coliseum, fronted by a life-sized statue of Wayne Gretzky. For all their years and support, not without some initial suffering, they would have been left with a vacated building and the bronzed likeness of their Babe Ruth. Now there&rsquo;s a reward for rooting for the home team.I know. It&rsquo;s a cruel world. Faith doesn&rsquo;t always beget loyalty. The Great One was sold to the highest bidder and Pocklington is free to make a buck however and wherever he sees fit. That&rsquo;s free enterprise. That&rsquo;s the North American way.Pocklington got nearly everything he wanted, of course, in the form of an improved license to print even more money and, for now, the Oilers will stay put at Northlands. No one should forget, either, that being a fan is not indentured servitude. The public is free to save the $75-$9O charge for a pair of tickets and blow it all on, say, a wild and raucous night at the opera-where they allegedly were the first to say it&rsquo;s never over til the fat lady sings.Then there&rsquo;s Norm &ldquo;Dallas&rdquo; Green. Never met a Texas Barbecue he didn&rsquo;t like. The bucks weren&rsquo;t flowing fast enough in Bloomington, Minn., and Norm hit the highway for Texas.Some guy, that Norm &ldquo;Dallas&rdquo; Green. When the time came for him to say adios to Minnesota, his North Stars were packing the Met Center to near capacity. Not good enough, he said. Without enough luxury boxes and enough up-front money in the form of season tickets, well it just wasn&rsquo;t good business.In their 26 years, the North Stars never won a Cup. They made it to the finals twice. Nine times, including 1992-93, they never made it to the playoffs. It wasn&rsquo;t so much a legacy they left behind as it was a cult following, a cult that would be justified now in having a bitter taste for the NHL. The league can thank Norm &ldquo;Dallas&rdquo; Green, one of its proud members, for that.Wake up, boys. This is no way to run a league. Is this the NHL&rsquo;s future, franchises of fortune?The Hartford Whalers could be next. Richard Gordon, owner of the Forever .500 Whalers, recently made what could best be depicted as an exploratory visit to Minnesota.Maybe Gordon is going, maybe he&rsquo;s not. In the meantime, Forever .500 fans can sit on their hands and wallets and wonder if the next wind that blows westerly across downtown will carry their team halfway across the continent. Now there&rsquo;s a way to enlist season-ticket holders. Nothing like being asked to crack down a couple of thousand dollars for a team that may have its logo attached with Velcro in 1993-94.There oughta be a law, or at least an amendment to the NHL&rsquo;s by-laws. If a team has lost money, sizable money, for three-to-five years, then let the owner lift up his assets and find a workable, more profitable deal somewhere else. If over a reasonable time frame-and three-to-five years is only offered as a possible bench-mark-it is proven that the fans aren&rsquo;t there, the corporate sponsorship isn&rsquo;t there, then fold the show and see if the thing will play in Peoria, or Memphis or San Antonio.A prettier girl is always going to walk into the dance. That is to say, there will always be any number of North American cities, desperate for the dollars a professional sports team can attract, that will try and pirate teams away from their &ldquo;home&rdquo; cities with sweetheart financial deals.But the league should be bigger than that. It shouldn&rsquo;t allow it. The NHL is essentially a club and it can run itself however it sees fit.If Norm Green was making a buck in Bloomington-and by all reports he was-then he should have been given one of two options when Dallas came calling: 1) shut up and stay put; or, 2) sell it to someone, at a price established by the league, who will keep the team in Bloomington.As for Pocklington, ditto. As for Gordon, he&rsquo;s probably close to that three-to-five year spread where he could be allowed to cut losses and try to do better somewhere else. If he&rsquo;s losing, fine, let him go, as hard as that may be for some locals to accept.Now is the time for the league to act and define the conditions of defection. If not, it won&rsquo;t be a league of 26 cities, but rather a spinning roulette wheel of 26 teams that each year will see one or two members land like white, nomadic marbles in different addresses. Play that game too long and eventually the fan walks away from the table. &#9632;

f0012-01

This is no way to run a league

<div class="byline">By Brent Hurst</div>Despite warnings of impending financial disaster, NHL owners spent more money than ever in 1992-93.The average NHL salary was $412,152 for players who played at least 10 games or spent 20 days on team&rsquo;s roster, according to confidential documents released to agents by the NHL Players&rsquo; Association and obtained by THN.(For the complete list of NHL salaries, see page 28.)That is a 17 per cent increase from the 1991-92 average salary which according to the NHLPA, was $340,000. (The NHL said the average salary was $379,000 last season.)During last year&rsquo;s playoff strike the NHL had projected a loss of $52 million for the 1992-93 season and $102 million in 1993-94. Those figures-which didn&rsquo;t include the revenue from expansion levies-were disputed by the NHLPA.Centers playing in the United States were the big winners at the bank last season, taking the top five spots on the NHL&rsquo;s pay scale.Eric Lindros of the Philadelphia Flyers, Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings, Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mark Messier of the New York Rangers and Mike Modano of the Minnesota North Stars were the league&rsquo;s five highest-paid players. All salaries include personal bonuses and deferred payments.The salary figures are in the currency of the country where the athlete played. Players on Canadian teams with an asterisk in front of their names were paid in U.S. funds.Lindros topped the NHL&rsquo;s payroll with a salary of $3.5 million. Forty-four players made $1 million or more this past season. Some arbitration cases have yet to be heard.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021223/6130722-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="552" height="777"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rookie phenom Eric Lindros led the NHL in salaries this season.</figcaption></div>The average NHL salary for centers was $450,359. Goaltenders made an average of $502,677, right wingers averaged $412,574. defensemen averaged $387,914 and left wingers averaged $362,757.This year&rsquo;s increase in the NHL&rsquo;s average salary continues a dramatic upward trend. The NHL said salaries and benefits rose 56 per cent in the two years prior to the start of this season.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t see the (salary) numbers continuing (to increase) at this rate forever,&rdquo; said Ken Baumgartner, a member of the players&rsquo; negotiation committee, told THN during last year&rsquo;s 10-day walkout. &ldquo;That would not be in hockey&rsquo;s best interests.&rdquo;But salary figures continued to rise this season to the extent the average NHL salary is comparable to the average 1992 National Football League of $496,000.It&rsquo;s much easier for the NFL, reaping the benefits of a four-year, $3.6billion television contract, to pay those dollars. The five-year, $8O-million contract the NHL signed with ESPN gives each team about $660,000, not even enough to pay two average players&rsquo; salaries.Higher salaries and the lack of revenue has left the NHL in the most financial trouble since the late 1970s and early 1980s.Unable to work out an acceptable lease agreement in Minnesota and stung from having to sell tickets at an average price of $21.50 to attract fans, Norm Green moved his team from Minnesota, the 18th largest market in the United States, to Dallas, the fifth-largest.It was one of the few cases in the history of professional sports where a team moved despite drawing well.<h2>Who makes what in NHL</h2>Salaries are in the currency of the team&rsquo;s country. Asterisks indicate Canadian-based players are paid in U.S. funds.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03803/6130715-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="1656" height="1032"></div> &#9632;

f0012-02

The price of success

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>Barry Shenkarow and Mike Smith circled the wagons against a barrage of questions about their relationship in the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; front office.Shenkarow, the Jets&rsquo; president, and Smith, the team&rsquo;s general manager, met May 17 and several more times that week to discuss point-blank a variety of thorny issues about the way Smith operates the hockey department.The issues and the head-to-head summit were the subjects of much publicity, all of which touched off a flurry of denials from both men.Sources insist Shenkarow is adamant that his GM change certain disturbing trends in his track record, including alienating key members of the organization-especially players-that he reduce his travel to spend more time in Winnipeg and back off from his intent to impose Dynamo&rsquo;s Zinetula Bilyaletdinov as an assistant coach on John Paddock&rsquo;s staff. The &ldquo;or else&rdquo; part of Shenkarow&rsquo;s reported ultimatum would be Smith&rsquo;s dismissal.A couple of possible, but not confirmed options for Smith-a move to the San Jose Sharks to be GM or taking the job as NHL vice-president-seemed to cloud matters.Smith denied he has been approached by anybody outside the organization and steadfastly refused to comment on any discussions he has had with Shenkarow. He assembled local reporters May 18 and held a two-minute news conference, at which he said he would not comment on the situation.Shenkarow dismissed the matter.&ldquo;These issues have been raised attempting to create a friction where there isn&rsquo;t one,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no story here.&rdquo;Shenkarow was likely more upset with the timing of the publicity than the matter of its accuracy&rsquo; Not only had he been trying to effect some changes in his GM, but he was trying to smooth over a series of deeply bitter feelings and confrontations involving Smith that go well into the past.That had been brewing for weeks and months, but was set aside during the Smythe Division semifinal against the Vancouver Canucks, when Shenkarow and Smith were in a conciliation period with various team factions quietly trying to promote more communication between the two.Contractual hassles with some key players such as Bob Essensa Phil Housley, Alexei Zhamnov, Teppo Numminen and Teemu Selanne are matters of record. It&rsquo;s also accurate that Selanne took a joke from Smith the wrong way in the season&rsquo;s second half, when the GM said he was going to send the rookie to Moncton because he failed to score in two games against the Ottawa Senators.SIMPSON DEPARTS: Terry Simpson, who had been an assistant coach with the Jets for three seasons, left to become head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers May 23.The Jets had granted permission to the Flyers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to discuss job possibilities with Simpson, the former coach of the New York Islanders.Simpson&rsquo;s departure leaves the Jets with a big hole in John Paddock&rsquo;s staff. Paddock may be forced on a major search for at least one assistant with some NHL experience.Alpo Suhonen left the team in May to become the head coach of Jokerit Helsinki in Finland.While the Jets aren&rsquo;t certain who will be a possible replacement, they are considering Randy Carlyle, who hasn&rsquo;t formally announced his retirement from the Jets&rsquo; defense, but is expected to do so soon.NOTEBOOK: Rearguard Mike Lalor becomes a Group V free agent (10 years of service, not making the average salary) after the season and isn&rsquo;t likely to be offered a contract.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>May 12: Mark Richards, 13. signed contract May 21: Mike Muller. D. signed contract. May 23: Terry Simpson, assistant coach, named head each of Philadelphia Flyers. &#9632;

Team denies squabble in front office

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div>From the moment he defected at age 17, Czech Petr Nedved showed the hockey world he was a different sort of a cat, one who marched to the beat of his own percussionist.Scouts were keen to interpret his defection as a sign he was willing to do whatever it took to play in the NHL. But four years later, there seems no end to Nedved&rsquo;s impetuosity.Last season, he stunned everyone by asking Vancouver Canuck boss Pat Quinn for a trade because he wasn&rsquo;t receiving the ice time he wanted.This season, on the day Vancouver was eliminated by the Los Angeles Kings in the Smythe Division final, Nedved was busy collecting autographs from his hero. Kings&rsquo; captain Wayne Gretzky. The 21-year-old center literally ran after Gretzky following the Kings&rsquo; morning skate and presented the Great One with a number of hockey cards to sign.Then, after the Canucks&rsquo; season-ending 5-3 loss, Nedved asked Gretzky for his stick and left the ice smiling when Gretzky obligingly turned it over.Nedved didn&rsquo;t impress many people with his apparent misplaced set of priorities.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s unbelievable,&rdquo; said Canuck captain Trevor Linden.&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t sit well with me,&rdquo; added assistant coach Stan Smyl, the former captain.Nedved also drew criticism for his uninspired play during the post season. He was unable to elevate his game and because of that, spent a lot of time on the bench.When the ill-timed souvenir-hunting became an issue, Nedved told people to butt out of his affairs.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s better things to talk about in the series than my asking for a stick,&rdquo; said Nedved, who becomes a Group I free agent this summer. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of disappointing. The big thing is we lost the series, not that I got Gretzky&rsquo;s stick. I think he&rsquo;s a great player and everybody knows that I collect things from him. I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s anybody&rsquo;s business.&rdquo;Nedved said &ldquo;it was stupid to think&rdquo; he wasn&rsquo;t giving his all just because he admires Gretzky. But Nedved left the distinct impression his mind was elsewhere on what turned out to be Vancouver&rsquo;s last game of 1992-93.SANDLAK MOVED: In a move that surprised nobody, Pat Quinn sent Jim Sandlak to the Hartford Whalers to complete the Murray Craven trade. Craven was obtained from the Hartford Whalers on March 22-along with a fifth-round draft pick-for Robert Kron and a third-round draft pick.The 26-year-old Sandlak, picked fourth overall in 1985, never became an impact player in his eight seasons with the Canucks. He struggled to become a regular and finally became a third-line player in 1991-92. He scored 20 goals just once in his career. He scored a career-high 40 points twice.NOTEBOOK: Trevor Linden established a franchise record for career playoff points as he passed Thomas Gradin&rsquo;s mark of 38 on Vancouver&rsquo;s last goal of the season.<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>May 17: Jim Sandlak, RW, sent to Hartford Whalers to complete March 22 deaf tor Murray Craven.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Cliff Ronning, Murray Craven. Anatoli Semenov, Petr Nedved, Tom Fergus, Ryan Waiter, Stephane Morin.LW&mdash;Greg Adams, Geoff Courtnall, Sergio Momesso, Dixon Ward, Gino Orrick.RW&mdash;Travor Linden, Pavet Bure, Gariy Valk, Tim Hunter.LD&mdash;Dana Murzyn, Adrien Plavsic, Dave Babych, Robert Dirk, Jassen Cullimore.RD&mdash;Gerald Dlduck, Jyrki Lumme, Jiri Stegr, Doug Lidster, Dan Ratushny.G&mdash;Kirk McLean, Kay Whitmore, Jason Fitzsimmons.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

Controversial Nedved grabs headlines again

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div>It took a slick bit of negotiating under deadline pressure, but Oils well that ends well.The Edmonton Oilers are staying put; likely forever, possibly just for 10 years, maybe for 20, and definitely at the discretion of a city-funded organization.Confused? Join the rest of Edmonton&rsquo;s sports fans who were put through an emotional wringer by Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington-who threatened to take his team to Hamilton if he didn&rsquo;t get a better lease deal-and Edmonton Northlands&rsquo; general manager Colin Forbes, who let his personal dislike of Pocklington cloud his business judgment and nearly forced the team out of town.The two men squared off in a bitter fight over the Oilers&rsquo; lease with Northlands Coliseum. But the dispute was resolved May 13 and the deal that would have run until 1999 was replaced by a 10-year lease with an option for another 10.Unofficial mediator Rick LeLacheur of Economic Development Edmonton was a key player in the negotiation process.The city-backed EDE will lease the Coliseum from Northlands for a rumored $3 million per year and in turn sub-lease it to Pocklington for a rumored $1.5 million. Pocklington, or a subsidiary company of his, will manage the Coliseum and reap most of its revenues, estimated by some to total about $9 million per year. Pocklington claimed his old lease left him with an $800,000 deficit.Under the old lease, Pocklington received only 50 per cent of the revenue from the arena&rsquo;s 16 luxury-boxes and about $1 million from board advertising. Northlands retained all revenue from concessions, parking and other advertising and collected 12.5 per cent of ticket sales from regular-season games and 15 per cent from playoff games.The new deal may be profitable for all parties if Pocklington can squeeze enough revenue out of the building. But even if it isn&rsquo;t as rosy as Pocklington would have liked, he will not be allowed to move the team without EDE&rsquo;s approval.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve all worked very hard and very long but I guess the best part is we really worked together to make sure the Edmonton Oilers stay in Edmonton,&rdquo; said LeLacheur, who was only part of the group that brought a successful end to Pocklington&rsquo;s 18-day hostage-taking of the city&rsquo;s loyalties.LeLacheur&rsquo;s EDE boss John Ramsey, mayor Jan Reimer, Northlands&rsquo; president Gerry Yuen and Pocklington were all on the dais at an Edmonton hotel to announce the tentative deal. All parties negotiated long and hard to get the framework for the agreement in place.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to think Northlands gained an understanding of the economics of hockey,&rdquo; Pocklington said. &ldquo;I believe we both moved toward the middle. I believe we have a sophisticated free-market lease.&rdquo;Pocklington believes there will be up to 18 new luxury boxes built for his use and financial gain. He also believes he&rsquo;s entitled to sell the name of the Coliseum to a corporate entity for &ldquo;up to $1 million.&rdquo;That was news to Yuen. But it&rsquo;s only a small point. The bigger question is how the taxpayers will escape contributing to the deal.City aidermen said the difference between what EDE pays Northlands and what they receive from Pocklington will be made up with EDE&rsquo;s cut of rink revenues.&ldquo;Not everything is settled,&rdquo; LeLacheur said May 20, the day that the EDE board of directors unanimously approved the deal. The Northlands board did the same thing the day before.&ldquo;There are fees involved and there are percentages of various revenues-upside, down-side-those are still being worked through.&rdquo;But the existence of a deal was enough to keep the team in Edmonton.&ldquo;It sounds great,&rdquo; said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. &ldquo;It sounds like the needs of the Oilers have been addressed. Hopefully, things will move forward and ensure the Oilers stay in Edmonton, which was the goal all along.&rdquo; &#9632;

Forget about Hamilton, team will stay in Edmonton

Andrew Budge started his organized hockey career with a characteristic most players strive for their entire careers: consistency.The six-year-old Winnipeg resident managed to score at least a goal in each of his first 15 games during his first season at the competitive level.Andrew has maintained this consistency despite not having a regular position. His coaches on the Fort Garry tyke North Stars move players around from one position to the next each game.The 3-foot-3, 55-pounder is in Grade 1 French immersion at Van Wallegham school and is a huge fan of the Winnipeg Jets. His favorite player is fellow rookie Teemu Selanne.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011495/6130825-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="513" height="873"><figcaption class="caption-body">Andrew Budge</figcaption></div>You or someone you know can be a part of The Hockey News Minor Hockey Showcase. Send a photograph (non-returnable), along with biographical information (age. height, weight, team, statistics, coach&rsquo;s name, school and grade, favorite NHL team and player) to The Hockey News, attention: Player of the Week, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills. Ont., M3B 2R2. All entries submitted will be eligible for selection as The Hockey News Minor Hockey Player of the Year. &#9632;

f0014-01

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">By Mike Weaver</div>The San Jose Sharks have begun to contact candidates for the team&rsquo;s coaching position and plan to start interviewing applicants June 1.Dean Lombardi, the team&rsquo;s director of operations, said management plans to schedule meetings with six candidates for the job created when George Kingston was fired April 19.Sharks&rsquo; associate coach Bob Murdoch and minor-league coach Kevin Constantine of the International League&rsquo;s Kansas City Blades (San Jose&rsquo;s top minor-league affiliate) are among the candidates.The Sharks also sought permission to contact St. Louis Blues&rsquo; assistant Wayne Thomas, New Jersey Devils&rsquo; scout John Cunniff and junior coaches Ted Nolan of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Bryan Maxwell of the Western League&rsquo;s Spokane Chiefs.&#9633; Constantine has coached Kansas City the past two seasons and led the Blades to the IHL title last year. The Blades are regarded as a highly disciplined team under the fiery Constantine, who stresses hard work and motivation as keys to success.&ldquo;All the teams I&rsquo;ve coached have played with a mission,&rdquo; Constantine said. &ldquo;You have to play with life with emotion, play hard and play with a sense of purpose every night.&rdquo;&#9633; Murdoch, the NHL coach of the year when he led the Winnipeg Jets to a 37-32-11 record in 1989-90, has been an associate coach with the Sharks their first two seasons. The Sharks were 28-129-7 in two seasons under Kingston and Murdoch, but Murdoch has a working knowledge of the organization&rsquo;s talent pool, which gives him an advantage over his competitors.&#9633; Thomas, a former NHL goalie, has been an assistant with the Blues for three seasons. He runs the St. Louis power play, which was the sixth-best in the NHL this past season, and is well-liked by the players.&#9633; Cunniff&rsquo;s experience includes short coaching stints with the Devils and Hartford Whalers. Aside from scouting for the Devils, Cunniff also is an assistant coach for the U.S. national team. He has a reputation for being a good teacher and tactician.&#9633; Maxwell coached right winger Pat Falloon and center Ray Whitney in Spokane before the Sharks took the two with their first two picks in the 1991 entry draft. Maxwell guided Spokane to the Memorial Cup title in 1991 and the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1987.&#9633; Nolan completed his fifth full season coaching Sault Ste. Marie, compiling a 160-148-22 regular-season record and leading the Greyhounds to the Memorial Cup tournament the past three seasons.Nolan and Maxwell aren&rsquo;t regarded as front-runners for the job, but either could be considered as an assistant or for the head job in Kansas City if Constantine wins the No. 1 job in San Jose.Sharks&rsquo; president Art Savage said hiring a coach in time for the June 26 draft in Quebec City is not the top priority, but Lombardi is pushing to have the coach in place by then.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to get going on this,&rdquo; Lombardi said. &ldquo;We should try to get a handle on it as soon as we can.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Sharks are attempting to sign center Igor Larionov to a contract that would allow him to play for San Jose next season. Larionov, a former star with Russia&rsquo;s Central Red Army team, played three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks before signing with a team in Switzerland last summer. The Sharks claimed Larionov&rsquo;s rights in the NHL waiver draft last October.The Sharks are on pace to sell 12,500 season tickets for their first season in the new 18,000-seat arena that is soon to be completed in San Jose. The Sharks played their first two seasons at the Cow Palace in Daly City, where capacity is 11,100. &#9632;

Coaching field cut to six

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>All right hockey gumshoes, you&rsquo;ve had a long time to look at the corpse. Now solve the mystery.How did the New York Islanders, a team 32 points poorer than the Pittsburgh Penguins, eliminate the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs in the Patrick Division final?The world saw the fatal blow delivered by David Volek at 5:16 of overtime as the Islanders prevailed 4-3 in Game 7. But what was the real cause of death?Like any good mystery, there&rsquo;s a secret map. We modestly suggest it was contained in the pages of the April 23 edition of THN, in a story appropriately titled, &ldquo;To kill a walking bird.&rdquo;Here&rsquo;s a recap of the elements of that story and a look at how the Islanders followed or ventured from the script to stage one of hockey history&rsquo;s biggest upsets.&#9633; Forecheck the defense aggressively. Larry Murphy is the Penguins&rsquo; only superior puckhandling defenseman. Instead of shooting the puck into Murphy&rsquo;s zone, the Islanders consistently dumped the puck into the other comer and hit whoever was teamed with Murphy. Most often ground zero was Ulf Samuelsson.&ldquo;We were depending on Murph to carry the puck for most if not all of our offensive thrust,&rdquo; said Penguins&rsquo; assistant coach Rick Paterson. &ldquo;That was the story of the series. That was the story of the season.&rdquo;Murphy scored once and assisted on seven others, but was not the lvnchpin of the offtense he had been all season.&#9633; Mind the middle. The idea was to make the Penguins use the boards and outside lanes instead of quick passes up the center of the ice. The Islanders did this, but it was not an important factor.&#9633; Forget the dump-in on the power play. Tom Barrasso&rsquo;s exceptional passing skills allow him to start a counter-attack. &ldquo;In some games, Tom handles the puck as much as our defensemen,&rdquo; Paterson said.The Islanders still played some dump-and-chase, both on the power play and at even strength, but they were careful to shoot the puck high into the comer where Barrasso could not shoot it back out.&ldquo;That was something we concentrated on,&rdquo; said Islanders&rsquo; assistant coach Lome Henning. &ldquo;Keep the shoot-ins away from him.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011272/6130928-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="925" height="1923"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Murphy was limited to one goal against the Islanders.</figcaption></div>&#9633; Don&rsquo;t line up at the blueline to force the Penguins to use shoot-ins. The Islanders threw out the book here. They dared Pittsburgh to dump and chase but the Penguins would or could not.&ldquo;We have some big players,&rdquo; Paterson said. &ldquo;If you play the dump and chase and punish your opponent, eventually your opponent will start backing off at the blueline. It&rsquo;s human nature.&rdquo;The Penguins, however, refused. &ldquo;We all knew we had to do it,&rdquo; Paterson said. &ldquo;We talked about it before every game.&rdquo;But they didn&rsquo;t do it. And it cost them big-time.&#9633; Take a page out of Ulf Samuelsson&rsquo;s book and drive the forwards crazy. Thanks to a physical Islanders&rsquo; defense, neither Kevin Stevens (three goals, nine points) or Jaromir Jagr (three goals, five points) were able to get completely untracked. Rich Pilon played effectively and Darius Kasparaitis&rsquo; manhandling of Mario Lemieux in Game 6 became the defining image of the series.&#9633; Be aggressive on the penalty kill. Pittsburgh&rsquo;s system of keeping only one player at the point allows them to exploit Lemieux&rsquo;s wonderful passing down low, but a turnover by the point man, be he Murphy or Ron Francis, leaves Barrasso on his own. The Penguins clicked on five of 25 opportunities for a respectable success rate of 20 per cent, but they surrendered four shorthanded goals. In all, the Pittsburgh special teams were outscored 9-6.&ldquo;We talked a lot about going back to two point men, we even tried it for part of Game 3,&rdquo; Paterson said. But with Lemieux&rsquo;s status cloudy because of back woes, Pittsburgh coach Scotty Bowman was unwilling to confuse his power-play unit even more by imposing a new set-up.&#9633; Get a whistle and beat them in the faceoff circle. While Francis helped the Penguins win their share of faceoffs in the defensive zone, the Penguins lost about 75 per cent of the faceoffs.One final thought. It took all those factors plus phenomenal goaltending from Glenn Healy, ill-timed injuries to Lemieux and Stevens and an untimely bad game from Barrasso to put the champs down. There was, as the gumshoes like to say, evidence of a struggle. &#9632;

f0016-01

Third time unlucky

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02997/6130966-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="361" height="516"></div>Claude Loiselle was leaning against a wall at LaGuardia Airport in New York, trying to decide which miracle was more miraculous. Was it the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; 1988 dash to the Wales Conference finals or the 1993 New York Islanders&rsquo; playoff triumphs over the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins?&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a toss-up,&rdquo; said Loiselle, who has had the pleasure of playing for both the Islanders and Devils. &ldquo;The difference is that in &rsquo;88 we beat the Islanders and Capitals in the first two rounds. This year we beat the Caps and the champs. Beating Pittsburgh was unreal.&rdquo;Nothing has been more unreal than the resurrection of the Islanders, a team which appeared to be on the ropes more often than a punch-drunk heavyweight this season yet, somehow, found the resiliency to rebound.Defenseman Tom Kurvers, who shared the 1988 Devils&rsquo; joyride with Loiselle, said there are many reasons for the Isles&rsquo; renaissance but only one bottom line, coach Al Arbour.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played for a lot of coaches,&rdquo; Kurvers said, &ldquo;but Al is head-and-shoulders above them all.&rdquo;Without Arbour&rsquo;s cool under fire, it is a given that the Isles never would have made the playoffs, let alone climbed to the Wales championship against the Montreal Canadiens. Looking backward, one can find a single game that saved a season.It was Jan. 16,1993, the Isles at Brendan Byrne Arena for a game against the Devils. A spate of injuries had crippled Arbour&rsquo;s club, which then was buried in fifth place. Moments before the opening faceoff an Islander official walked into the press room with word that Benoit Hogue, the club&rsquo;s best forward at the time, was out with a leg injury.Upon hearing that, Barry Landers, the Islanders&rsquo; radio play-by-play broadcaster, turned to someone in the room and said, &ldquo;They lose this one, they go down the tubes for the year.&rdquo;Nobody disagreed. No. 1 goalie Glenn Healy was out with an injury. Mark Fitzpatrick, who had been disappointingly erratic, was forced to fill the breach. The Isles seemed hellbent for disaster.So, what did they do? Fitzpatrick turned in an unbelievable performance, Pierre Turgeon scored a hat trick and the Isles exited with a 5-3 win. From that point on, rookie general manager Don Maloney knew that he had a winner.&ldquo;There had been a lot of pressure to make a trade before the deadline,&rdquo; Maloney said, &ldquo;but I decided not to and said all along that we had the right lineup and the right chemistry. There was a lot of character in that room.&rdquo;You can start with Rich Pilon, who lost sight in his right eye after it was struck by a puck shot by Brent Fedyk in 1989 and essentially has played gutsy defense with only one good optic ever since.Go from there to Brad Dalgamo whose face was caved in by a Joe Kocur punch that same year but who has emerged as one of the NHL&rsquo;s more honorable checking forwards.&ldquo;As a team,&rdquo; Dalgamo said, &ldquo;we had something inside of us that made us do the little things right. Maybe that&rsquo;s why we played better as an underdog.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03742/6130959-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="554" height="829"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ray Ferraro</figcaption></div>Any talk of underdogs cannot be held without including Ray Ferraro. Rejected by the Hartford Whalers because he lost his scoring touch, Ferraro led all goalscorers through the first two rounds. Or captain Patrick Flatley whose gimpy knees have more foreign elements than the Balkans. Or Healy, who had been called second-string so often he began to believe he was old kite twine.Nassau Coliseum was jumping as it had in the halcyon days of the early 1980s and management believes it will continue to next fall.&ldquo;Enthusiasm for the team has regenerated on Long Island,&rdquo; said Isles&rsquo; governor Jack Krumpe. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s significant is that people on our ticket lines were 25-year-olds and under; a whole new generation who had not been exposed before. In that sense we&rsquo;re fresh, like an expansion franchise and that bodes well for the future.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0016-02

Teamwork proves no man an Islander

<div class="byline">By Frank Brown</div>It was declared an upset when the New York Rangers failed to earn a Stanley Cup playoff berth this season.It was an even greater upset when their American League farm team in Binghamton-which amassed 124 points in the regular season-was ousted from the Calder Cup tournament in the second round of the playoffs.But perhaps the biggest upset of all was the fact rookie forward Alexei Kovalev was scratched from the lineup in the decisive seventh game against the Rochester Americans.Binghamton Rangers&rsquo; coach Colin Campbell felt he had to prove a point to the gifted 20-year-old right winger, who was also scratched from Game 7 of the first-round series against the Baltimore Skipjacks.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t enjoy doing this. It&rsquo;s awful,&rdquo; Campbell said. &ldquo;There are sleepless nights. I keep saying to myself, &lsquo;What am I doing? This is not right. A player with this talent should be playing and developing.&rsquo;&ldquo;But what is development? Is it the understanding that you have to play within a system? He&rsquo;ll find that out soon enough (with Mike Keenan) next year.&rdquo;Kovalev was the team&rsquo;s first pick at the 1992 entry draft, the first Russian ever claimed by the Rangers in the first round. He had 20 goals in 64 NHL games this past season, 13 goals in 13 regular-season games at Binghamton. But his work habits caused problems all year.Ron Smith, who replaced Roger Neilson as coach during the season, often complained about Kovalev&rsquo;s work ethic. Campbell, who replaced Smith as Binghamton&rsquo;s coach, noticed the same trouble. And Rangers&rsquo; president Neil Smith, who watched every Binghamton playoff game, supported Campbell&rsquo;s decision.&ldquo;We feel strongly his sitting out is just as much a part of development as him going ou every third shift,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all part of the lessons you have to leant.&rdquo;Some players take longer than others to lean such lessons. Kovalev started the regular seaso ended the regular season nwith a contract dispute, rode the bus betweer Binghamton and New York throughout the course of the Rangers&rsquo; absurd campaign, then ended the regular season in a sour mood because he and defenseman Sergei Zubov initially were denied permission to compete for their Russian homeland in the World Championships. Kovalev&rsquo;s deletion from the Binghamton lineup merely capped things off.The Rangers aren&rsquo;t considering giving up on Kovalev just because of a rocky first season, however.&ldquo;A player like Alex commands about one hour of your attention a day-whether it&rsquo;s with him or with other people, talking about Alex, trying to figure out how to get him to come around,&rdquo; Campbell said. &ldquo;Never is a trade ever mentioned. We&rsquo;ve got to find a way to bring him around.&rdquo;Campbell said his various attempts to communicate with Kovalev failed. When Kovalev stopped in Campbell&rsquo;s office to make sure he wasn&rsquo;t playing in Game 7 May 17, it was the first time the two had spoken in a long while.&ldquo;Alex seems to build a wall,&rdquo; Campbell said. &ldquo;I try to talk to him. Language isn&rsquo;t the issue. I had Sergei Nemchinov call him in Rochester and tell him, in Russian, exactly what we expect.&ldquo;Once, Alex came to me this year, when he was going back up to New York,&rdquo; Campbell recalled. &ldquo;He came in, sat down and looked at me with some frustration about what to do. I tried to explain to him about practice habits and what he had to do technically to be part of the system. I said corny things like &lsquo;teamwork&rsquo; and &lsquo;execution.&rsquo; He doesn&rsquo;t believe in that yet.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not sacrificing Alex, but he has to learn the way to play is our way, not some other way. The only thing that will do it is time; he&rsquo;s going to have to mature.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Ron Smith, who had been interim coach in New York, will return behind the Binghamton Rangers&rsquo; bench next season. Colin Campbell is likely to return as an assistant to Mike Keenan. &#9632;

Kovalev struggling to adjust

<div class="byline">By Dave Sell</div>Kelly Miller&rsquo;s presence in the Washington Capitals&rsquo; lineup and on the normally lethal penalty-killing unit was one of the few safe assumptions about the past several seasons.But no more.Miller will be a free agent June 30 and given his reputation for hard work-an average of 18 goals per season and great defensive ability-it would not be shocking to see him draw interest elsewhere.In fact, Miller is fully prepared to walk, especially since he wants to avoid the same sort of contract hassles he had last off-season.That round of negotiations left a bitter taste with Miller. After fruitless talks, he decided to play out his option at $440,000. Now he wants to know how interested the Capitals are in retaining him. There are no ties in Washington-he rents his Maryland home.Miller probably would be looking for something in the $600,000 to $800,000 range.As a representative for the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, Miller looked after his own deal last year. This season, he hired agent Tom Reich, whose biggest deal was the seven-year $42-million Mario Lemieux contract.&ldquo;There was a lot of confrontation last time,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;If it goes that route again, we&rsquo;ll look somewhere else. But hopefully things will work out. I&rsquo;m just looking for a fair deal. It&rsquo;s just business.&rdquo;Because he&rsquo;s 30, Miller will be a Group III free agent. That means he has a choice about whether to let the Capitals match any offer or have a new team negotiate (or arbitrate) with the Capitals over compensation.Miller is four classes shy of a master&rsquo;s degree in business administration at Michigan State, but found handling the prior negotiations problematic during training camp.He has missed only four games in six seasons with the Capitals. In 1990-91, his career-high 24 goals tied Hatcher for the team lead. In 1991-92, he had a career-high with 52 points and was a finalist for the Selke Trophy, given to the top defensive forward in the NHL.MONEY TALKS: Several other Capitals will be talking dollars and sense with general manager David Poile this summer.Randy Burridge and Rod Langway are two veterans whose contracts expire in June.Langway went into semi-retirement late in the season and said he will make a decision about his playing future some time in the summer. Burridge&rsquo;s future is still clouded by knee surgery. He came back from operations on both knees to play the final four regular-season games and four playoff games.Kevin Hatcher, Mike Ridley, Alan May, Pat Elynuik and Sylvain Cote are entering their option years and will require negotiations.&ldquo;There is a premium on two-way players,&rdquo; said Rob Ingraham, who represents Ridley.If Kelly Miller is the Capitals&rsquo; best defensive forward, Ridley is next. Ridley-who was the team&rsquo;s second-leading scorer with 82 points-will be entering the option year of his contract and will make $625,000.Though Ingraham declined to say what he&rsquo;s looking for, Michal Pivonka&rsquo;s $900,000 income this past season will come up in discussion.Pivonka was the highest-paid forward, but Hatcher&rsquo;s base salary of $975,000 (excluding bonuses) topped the list. With revisions, next season Hatcher will become the first Cap with a $1 million-plus salary.NOTEBOOK: Pat Peake, the Capitals&rsquo; first-round pick in 1991, was selected the Canadian Hockey League player of the year after compiling 58 goals and 136 points in 46 games with the Detroit Jr. Wings of the Ontario League.&ldquo;I was a lot stronger and better prepared for this year,&rdquo; Peake said. Peake broke his ankle March 24 and was in Washington getting it examined by team physician Dr. Stephen Haas. &ldquo;The fracture is not completely healed,&rdquo; Peake said. There was no extensive ligament damage however. &#9632;

Miller prepared to walk if team considers balk

<div class="byline">By Jen williams</div>David Volek wasn&rsquo;t a tower of strength for the New York Islanders during the regular season but he has emerged as an unlikely post-season hero.The 26-year-old Czech left winger played 56 games this year and was benched for 18 straight at one stage. He scored eight goals and 21 points. He didn&rsquo;t play against the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs and missed the first two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the division final.Coach Al Arbour used center Greg Parks instead of Volek in the absence of injured center Pierre Turgeon.Volek dressed for Game 3 against Pittsburgh, however, and played well. He got stronger with each game and became a hero in Game 7. He scored twice, including the game-winner in overtime, as the Islanders bounced the defending Stanley Cup champions from the playoffs in an incredible upset.Turgeon returned from a separated right shoulder to the lineup in that game, but produced little more than inspiration. Volek produced results.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m probably not David&rsquo;s best friend,&rdquo; Arbour said. &ldquo;He was sort of in the doghouse this year. But he kept working hard and I&rsquo;m proud of him.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really, really happy for David to salvage something out of this year,&rdquo; said general manager Don Maloney. &ldquo;David Volek is a hell of a player. It would have been easy for him to turn his back on us and eat cheeseburgers all winter. He didn&rsquo;t quit. It&rsquo;s very gratifying to see a player get something out of all his hard work.&rdquo;Volek&rsquo;s contributions didn&rsquo;t stop in the Pittsburgh series. He had two goals in the first four games against the Montreal Canadiens in the Wales Conference final.It wasn&rsquo;t long ago that Volek wanted out of the Islanders&rsquo; organization. After a sluggish start, he was scratched from the lineup for two straight games in late October and asked to be traded.He has always been a moody player, a player who loses his focus when things don&rsquo;t go his way. The Islanders&rsquo; 11th choice in the 1984 entry draft had his poorest season in five years this year and there was no reason to believe he would be an Islander next season.But that situation may have changed. It will depend on whether Volek wants to stay and whether Maloney thinks the Volek that showed up for the Islanders in the playoffs will be the player that shows up a majority of the time in the regular season.NOTEBOOK: Rookie center Travis Green was sidelined indefinitely after he was accidentally highsticked in the eye by Pittsburgh Penguin Ron Francis in Game 6 of the Patrick final. Green was suffering from bleeding behind the eyeball and was ordered not to participate in my physical activity. The Islanders miss his prowess on faceoffs.Goalie Glenn Healy has been superb in the playoffs, starting every game. He will be a free agent without compensation at the end of the season. Healy is the NHL&rsquo;s lowest paid goalie at $250,000.<h2>N.Y. ISLANDERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pierre Turgeon, Ray Ferraro, Tom Fitzgerald. Claude Lolseslle, Greg Parks.LW&mdash;Derek King, Benoit Hogue, Brian Multan. David Volek.RW&mdash;Steve Thomas, Pat Flatley, Brad Dalgamo. Mick Vukota.LD&mdash;Jeff Norton, Dennis Vaske, Tom Kurvers, Jett Finley.RD&mdash;Vladmnir Malakhov. Darius Kasparaitis, Uwe Krupp, Rich Pilon.G&mdash;Glenn Healy. Mark Fitzpatrick.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Travis Green, C, Weeding behind eyeball, indefinite. Scott Lachance, D. sprained left wrist, out for season. Gary Nylund D, strained right knee ligaments, indefinite. &#9632;

Volek’s playoff prowess greatly enhances his stock

<div class="byline">By Dave Mollnari</div>The Pittsburgh Penguins didn&rsquo;t just lose a playoff series when the New York Islanders beat them in Game 7 of the Patrick Division final.They lost a chance to challenge for their third consecutive Stanley Cup and an opportunity to move closer to the truly elite teams that have passed through the NHL.And they recognized everything that had slipped by them even before David Volek&rsquo;s shot hit the net behind Tom Barrasso at 5:16 of overtime in Game 7-that a championship was pulled beyond their reach forever.&ldquo;You only get so many years to play with good team,&rdquo; Barrasso said. &ldquo;This is an opportunity passed.&rdquo;Many of the players said they have little interest in watching the rest of the playoffs on television and all had trouble escaping the dull ache of defeat in the days following.&ldquo;The more you think about it, the more depressed you get,&rdquo; Larry Murphy said.&ldquo;Winning is a tremendous feeling and once you start doing it, you never want to stop,&rdquo; Barrasso said. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re on top, you feel invincible. We&rsquo;re obviously not there anymore.&rdquo;The inevitable questions began. Can they rebound the way the Edmonton Oilers did after being upset in 1986 and win more titles? Will it be possible for a small-market franchise to keep a team with a large payroll together?Team president Howard Baldwin was adamant Pittsburgh&rsquo;s players will be given that opportunity.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just as disappointed as every fan on the street, but does that mean we&rsquo;re going to rip this team apart and do stupid things?&rdquo; Baldwin said. &ldquo;I think the best team is the Penguins. I think we proved that over 84 games. We messed up against the Islanders, but we&rsquo;ll be back next year.&rdquo;SCOTTY WATCH: Scotty Bowman plans to coach in the NHL next season, but there&rsquo;s no guarantee he&rsquo;ll do it in Pittsburgh.General manager Craig Patrick invited Bowman to return for a third season, but Bowman did not accept immediately and said he needed some time to assess his options.&ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t coach the Penguins, I&rsquo;ll coach somewhere,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not looking to be a (general) manager or to be a scout.&rdquo;Bowman has four years left on an agreement with Pittsburgh, but that contract has not been signed and the Penguins apparently would allow Bowman to leave if he wants to.NOTEBOOK: Eddie Johnston, the Penguins&rsquo; GM when they began the rebuilding process that produced two Stanley Cups, is in line to rejoin the organization. Craig Patrick acknowledged he has discussed a front-office job with Johnston, but declined to identify the position.Left winger Kevin Stevens underwent 4 1/2 hours of surgery to repair a broken sinus bone and fractured nose he received in Game 7 of the Patrick Division final. Stevens was hurt after a collision with Islanders&rsquo; defenseman Richard Pilon. He appeared to be knocked unconscious by Pilon&rsquo;s visor, then fell face-first to the ice. Stevens also sustained a concussion and gash over his right eye, but doctors anticipate a complete recovery.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Mike Stapleton, Martin Straka.LW&mdash;Shawn McEachern, Troy Laney, Dave Tippett, Jett Daniels.RW&mdash;Rick Tocchet, Joe Mullen, Jaromir Jagr, Mike Needham, Jay CaufieidLD&mdash;Ulf Samuelsson, Mike Ramsey, Jan Paek, Grant Jennings.RD&mdash;Larry Murphy, Peter Taglianetti, Kjett Samuelsson, Paul Stanton.G&mdash;Tom Barrasso, Ken Wregget.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Kevin Stevens, LW, facia) surgery. &#9632;

Playoff shocker ends aspirations of becoming dynasty

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div>The official word from New Jersey Devils&rsquo; general manager Lou Lamoriello is the organization is &ldquo;evaluating&rdquo; the status of coach Herb Brooks.Team sources, however, maintain the only post-playoff evaluating Lamoriello is concentrating on is finding a replacement for Brooks.Robbie Ftorek, who coached the Devils&rsquo; American League affiliate in Utica this past season, is the leading candidate to become the Devils&rsquo; sixth coach in six seasons.Why have the Devils refused to give Brooks a vote of confidence for next season?&ldquo;Simply because of the way the season went and the amount of distractions that were there,&rdquo; Lamoriello explained. &ldquo;A lot of questions have to be answered. We weren&rsquo;t happy with the way things transpired and we have to find out why.&rdquo;The relationship between Brooks and Lamoriello broke down during the season. Lamoriello stopped traveling with the team and he did not approve of the way Brooks handled his players or the media late in the season.Brooks kept a low profile after the Devils were eliminated from the playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins, but there was one report that he planned to resign as coach.&ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t spoken to me about that,&rdquo; Lamoriello said of Brooks&rsquo; possible resignation. &ldquo;Nothing would surprise me, however.&rdquo;Among the candidates mentioned to replace Brooks were former Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; coach Bob McCammon, Devils&rsquo; assistant coach Dave Farrish and University of North Dakota coach Gino Gasparini.The 41-year-old Ftorek is a native of Needham, Mass., and was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic hockey team. He played 13 seasons in the NHL and World Hockey Association with the Detroit Red Wings, Quebec Nordiques and the New York Rangers.His coaching career began in 1985 in the American League, where he posted a two-year record of 96-70-21 at New Haven. He was named coach of the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 9, 1987, and guided the team to a 23-25-4 finish. He was 42-31-7 the following season, but was let go.Ftorek spent two years in the Quebec organization and signed with the Devils on July 9, 1991 as an assistant coach under John Cunniff and later Tom McVie.When McVie was not rehired for last season, the Devils promoted Brooks from Utica and assigned Ftorek to coach their minor league affiliate.Utica finished third in the Southern Division this past season with a 3336-11 record.They lost 4-1 to the Rochester Americans in the first-round of the AHL playoffs.A NOTE OF PEACE: Lou Lamoriello, who criticized St. Louis Blues&rsquo; goalie Curtis Joseph during the 1991 Brendan Shanahan free agency hearing with Judge Edward Houston, sent Joseph a note saying he meant nothing personal.Lamoriello downplayed Joseph&rsquo;s talents in an effort to get Scott Stevens as compensation for Shanahan and his plan worked.&ldquo;Curtis Joseph knows the respect I have for him,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;What seems to have escaped mention is that at the time, St. Louis was the team that left him available and wanted him out. It wasn&rsquo;t that we didn&rsquo;t want Curtis Joseph. At the time we didn&rsquo;t need a goaltender. St. Louis didn&rsquo;t want him, which no one has mentioned.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Free agent center Peter Stastny&rsquo;s fate remains unsettled, but he likely won&rsquo;t return next season. &#9632;

Ftorek leading candidate to take over coaching job

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div>Terry Simpson believes coaching in the NHL can be better the second time around.Simpson, named the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; new coach May 24, has had more than four years to think about what didn&rsquo;t go right during his first stint in the NHL with the New York Islanders.In reality, Simpson walked into a virtual no-win situation when he went to the Island in 1986. He was taking over for a coaching legend, Al Arbour, and inheriting a team on which most of the superstars from the four-time Stanley Cup champions were on the downsides of their careers.The Flyers&rsquo; position promises to be a lot different. Philadelphia is a team with a bright future, led by young stars Eric Lindros, Tommy Soderstrom and Dimitri Yushkevich.Simpson, who spent the past three seasons as a Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; assistant coach, looks forward to the challenge and the opportunity to coach a contender on his own terms, something he really didn&rsquo;t have in New York.&ldquo;In the Islander situation, the team had been through their glory years and was at the opposite stage to this team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This team has almost been re-programmed. They have a lot of exciting, young talent and that&rsquo;s the difference in the two situations.&rdquo;Simpson, 49, becomes the Flyers&rsquo; ninth coach, succeeding Bill Dineen, 60, who had coached the team since taking over for Paul Holmgren on Dec. 4, 1991. flDineen finished with a 70-70-15 mark, but the Flyers missed the playoffs both years he coached. He will return to scouting. General manager Russ Farwell said it was a difficult decision to replace Dineen.&ldquo;It was necessary to weigh not only the way we finished up (an eight-game winning streak at the end of the 1992-93 season) but where we were going. After weighing it all out, I felt the time was right for me to act,&rdquo; Farwell said.There were several common criticisms of the Flyers this past season. Some felt they didn&rsquo;t have enough discipline, that they weren&rsquo;t always that well prepared for games and that they didn&rsquo;t work enough on specific areas in practice, such as power plays and penalty killing.Simpson worked with special teams and defensemen the past two seasons under Winnipeg coach John Paddock and his players describe him as a no-nonsense coach. flFarwell didn&rsquo;t want to draw comparisons between Dineen and Simpson, but admitted the latter is definitely a coach with a plan.&ldquo;I think the match and the style fits the Flyers to a tee,&rdquo; Farwell said. &ldquo;I can tell you a Simpson-coached team has a style and it&rsquo;s a pretty good match with the Flyers today and where we&rsquo;re headed.&rdquo;In two-plus seasons with New York, Simpson recorded records of 35-33-12 (1986-87) and 39-31-10 (1987-88), winning the Patrick Division title his second year. But he was fired after the Islanders got off to a 718-2 mark in 1988-89. Now he gets a second chance in Philadelphia.&ldquo;I want our team to be aggressive,&rdquo; Simpson said. &ldquo;I want them to work very hard-work ethic is something the Flyers take pride in.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Flyers signed Swedish right winger Mikael Renberg, 20, to a contract. Renberg, a second-round pick (40th overall) in the 1990 draft, led silver-medalist Sweden in scoring with five goals and eight points in the recent World Championships in Germanv.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>May 20: Mikael Renberg. RW, signed multi-year contract. May 24: Terry Simpson named head coach. &#9632;

Summer changes begin as Simpson replaces Dineen

<div class="byline">By Ken Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01726/6131141-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Greyhound veterans celebrate after getting it right the third time.</figcaption></div>SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont.-They sang, they danced, they smoked big stinky cigars and they shaved off their dreadful playoff beards.The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds waited three years for this party and they wanted to make sure it was the social event of the season. Greyhounds&rsquo; coach Ted Nolan hugged the Memorial Cup and kept pointing at the 1992-93 nameplate, which now bears his team&rsquo;s name.Team captain Rick Kowalsky kept asking what Zac Boyer was doing. It was Boyer&rsquo;s goal with 14 seconds left in last year&rsquo;s final that sent the Greyhounds home for a long summer and provided them with motivation this season. Kowalsky, who made a blind pass that led to the deciding goal last year, got the Hounds&rsquo; first goal in their 4-2 win over the Peterborough Petes in the final May 23.&ldquo;Watching Kamloops carry that Cup around last year made me feel like dying,&rdquo; Kowalsky said. &ldquo;Now to see us get over that great big mountain and stand on top is unbelievable. Life is great.&rdquo;And so were the Greyhounds in the Memorial Cup tournament that decides the best junior team in the Canadian Hockey League. They won two of their three round-robin games, including a 7-3 dismantling of the Ontario League champion Petes that ensured the Greyhounds a trip to the final. The Petes, on the other hand, had to battle through a semifinal game against the Laval Titan the night before and looked weary.The Hounds&rsquo; win was a classic story of agony and X-tasy. Ralph Intranuovo, who scored the Greyhounds&rsquo; second goal of the game, provided the agony when he passed a kidney stone the night before. &ldquo;I was sitting in my hotel room and all of the sudden, I could hardly move,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So I went to the hospital and they gave me a couple of pills and everything was fine. I was in pain, but I think now you could run over me with a truck and it wouldn&rsquo;t hurt.&rdquo;The X-tasy came when the Greyhounds conducted a mini-camp five days before the tournament. On the first day, each player took a marker and drew an X on a teammate&rsquo;s hand as a sign of unity. Whenever the mark faded away, they had to go to captain Kowalsky and have it replaced.Hokey, maybe, but the Hounds put an enormous amount of faith in it.The Greyhounds won the right to host the Memorial Cup at Chicago Stadium Jr.-otherwise known as the Sault Memorial Gardens-when they swept the Petes in a best-of-seven Super Series. And even though the Petes won the final in five games over the Greyhounds, most conceded the Hounds were a better team.With nine players back for their third Memorial Cup tournament, they had experience. With Kevin Hodson, they had the best goaltending. Their three lines were as strong and balanced as any team in the country. The Petes had tremendous players in Chris Pronger, Jason Dawe, Mike Harding and Brent Tully, but their talent level fell off after that.&ldquo;We were a quality team, but I looked at the experience and scoring they had on their three lines and it concerned me,&rdquo; Petes&rsquo; coach Dick Todd said. &ldquo;We got off to a great start (11-0-0 to begin the season) but from the second half on we were on par with the rest of the league. It would have been foolish for us to think we could come in and clean up.&rdquo;While the Petes stumbled down the stretch, the Hounds claimed first place in their division thanks to a seven-game winning streak and 18-11 record to end the season. When they showed up for Game 1 of the Super Series in Peterborough, they smelled paint in their dressing room. It turns out renovations were being made at the Peterborough Memorial Centre for the Petes to host the tournament.&ldquo;You bet that inspired us,&rdquo; Kowalsky said. &ldquo;We knew how important it would be to win that series and get home ice. After that, we didn&rsquo;t really care about the finals because we were ready.&rdquo;Hounds&rsquo; director of operations Sherry Bassin, who had been to the Cup four times without winning, was at his philosophical best afterwards.&ldquo;When you lose, there should be 100 per-cent resolution to study where you lost,&rdquo; Bassin said. &ldquo;And when you win there should be 100 per cent fun and we&rsquo;re going to have a lot of fun tonight.&rdquo;Going into the game, Bassin had been known as the best junior operator who hadn&rsquo;t won a Cup. After taking over a last-place team four years ago, Bassin built the Hounds into a powerhouse with excellent drafting, shrewd trades and a keen eye for talent.Of the 20 players who suited up for the final, 14 were original Greyhound draft picks. He picked up two key players-defenseman Wade Gibson and left winger Chad Penney-in a trade with the North Bay Centennials. He picked up defensemen Jodi Murphy and Sean Gagnon on waivers from last-place teams. He gave a try-out to Steve Sullivan-a 5-foot-7 dynamo who was often mistaken for the stick boy-but still led rookies with 36 goals despite the fact he played on the fourth line. It was Sullivan&rsquo;s goal that put the Greyhounds up 4-0 and on the road to the championship.Bassin&rsquo;s best move was convincing Hodson to leave the Indianapolis Ice of the International League and come back as an overage player. Hodson backstopped the drive through the playoffs and turned aside 45 shots in the final.&ldquo;Having Kevin Hodson was like having an 80-goal scorer,&rdquo; Nolan said, &ldquo;because he stops 80 goals that other goalies would let in.&rdquo;Hodson was one of nine Hounds who posed for publicity shots with the Cup before the tournament. The players reluctantly agreed to the shoot, but were under strict orders from Kowalsky not to touch the trophy.&ldquo;(The photographer) tried hard to get us to hold it and we wouldn&rsquo;t. He even had to move it around himself,&rdquo; Kowalsky said. &ldquo;We just looked at it and saw all the names on there. We hadn&rsquo;t earned the right to touch it.&rdquo;Which explains why after the Memorial Cup was awarded, they couldn&rsquo;t keep their hands off of it.NOTEBOOK: After losing their first two games, the Quebec League champion Laval Titan very nearly gained a berth in the final. Despite the fact they outplayed the Petes in the semifinal, they lost 3-1. It would have been an overtime game had referee Dave Lynch not blown the whistle early on a clear goal by Laval&rsquo;s Martin Lapointe. Laval coach Bob Hartley was livid, but did not want to get in a war with the officials. &ldquo;It was an excellent game if you&rsquo;re talking about the players,&rdquo; he said. Still the Titan gained a measure of respect for the league, which traditionally has been a pushover at the Cup&hellip;The Western League representative, the Swift Current Broncos, had a 1-2-0 record and lost a tie-breaker game to Laval.Ralph Intranuovo of the Hounds was MVP with three goals and seven points in four games. Jason Dawe of the Petes was most sportsmanlike player and Kevin Hodson of the Hounds was top goalie&hellip;The Hounds dominated the tournament all-star team with four players. Hodson was named in goal. Drew Bannister on defense, Intranuovo at center and Chad Penney at left wing. Laval&rsquo;s Lapointe was the all-star right winger and Michael Gaul all-star defenseman. Conspicuous by his absence was Petes&rsquo; defenseman Chris Pronger, who did not play well in the final. &#9632;

f0021-01

GREYHOUND EXPRESS

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>Ottawa 67&rsquo;s coach-general manager Brian Kilrea will step to the microphone at the London Gardens June 5 and open the 1993 Ontario League draft by saying something like this:&ldquo;The Ottawa 67&rsquo;s are pleased to select, from the Kingston Voyageurs of the Metro Junior A League, center Alyn McCauley.&rdquo;McCauley, 16, is rated No. 1 by OHL Central Scouting and the 67&rsquo;s concur with the evaluation. He will be the first player selected. Ottawa, which finished last overall this past season, gets that pick.&ldquo;Not to take anything away from the suspense of the draft, but there&rsquo;s no reason to put the McCauley family through the old routine of saying &lsquo;We&rsquo;re not sure&rsquo;,&rdquo; Kilrea said. &ldquo;We wanted the family to know what&rsquo;s coming up and we wanted to help (the Spitfires, who pick second). We didn&rsquo;t want them to have to wait until draft day to pursue who they wanted.&rdquo;McCauley, 5-foot-11 (he grew two inches this past winter) and 187 pounds, was playing Jr. A at 14. This season he led his team with 31 goals and 60 points. Kilrea gets excited when he talks about the youngster who lives in Gananoque, a 90-minute drive from Ottawa.&ldquo;My comparison is to Andrew Cassels and what he did for us,&rdquo; Kilrea said of the Hartford Whaler who was the OHL&rsquo;s scoring champion with Ottawa in 1987-88.&ldquo;McCauley moves the puck like Andrew. The puck follows him around. He&rsquo;s also a tremendous passer. We&rsquo;ve got a couple of great scorers coming back in Mike Peca and Curtis Bowen and we need somebody to get them the puck.&rdquo;Kilrea said the first thing that struck him about McCauley when they met was his maturity for a 15 year old. He&rsquo;s in Grade 10 and maintains a 75 per-cent average, a must when your mother is a teacher.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a grown-up kid and there&rsquo;s no doubt he has his head on straight,&rdquo; Kilrea said. &ldquo;He wants to play and he wants to get to the NHL.&rdquo;Here&rsquo;s the OHL Central Scouting first round list: 1. McCauley; 2. Mike Watt, LW-C, Stratford Jr. B; 3. Ed Jovanovski, D, Windsor Jr. B; 4. Andrew Dale, C, Stratford Jr. B; 5. Scott Cherrey, C-LW, Listowel Jr. B; 6. Jeff Williams. C, Newmarket Jr. B; 7. Jonathan Murphy, D, Charlottetown Jr. A; 8. Jamie Wright, C-LW, Elmira Jr. B; 9. Chad Kilger, C, Cornwall Jr. A; 10. Sean Haggerty, LW, Boston Bruins Jr. B; 11. Travis Riggin, C, Milton Jr. B; 12. Steve Nimigon. LW, Oshawa Jr. A; 13. Steve Zoryk, LW-C, Cumberland Jr. A; 14. Geordie Hyland, D, Wexford midget; 15. Matt Dandenault. RW-C, Gloucester Jr. A; 16. Adam Copeland, RW, Burlington Jr. B.SPITS HIRE GM: Mike Awender, former GM of the Windsor Jr. B Bulldogs, has been named GM of the Spitfires. He succeeds Wayne Maxner, who resigned in January.Awender is dean of the faculty of education at the University of Windsor and holds two masters degrees, one from the University of Toronto in educational administration, the other from the University of Windsor in political science.He has scouted for the New York Rangers since 1989 and prior to that was with the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks.&ldquo;We have to restore credibility and stability,&rdquo; said Awender, who wants to name a coach soon.The Spitfires&rsquo; ownership has also been solidified with Steve Riolo and Vic Gabrielle buying out their three partners. This ends speculation the team is moving to Toronto.A decision on the future of interim coach Kevin McIntosh will be made this summer. &#9632;

67’s not secretive about hankering for McCauley

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div>Establishing a dynasty in junior hockey is more than hard, it&rsquo;s downright improbable.The very nature of players graduating after two or three seasons prevents any powerhouse team from staying together as a unit to rattle of five consecutive championships.The Quebec League&rsquo;s Laval Titan has corn, as close as any team to putting together a dynasty. A better phrase for what the Titan has done is winning tradition.Laval won the QMJHL title and participated in the Memorial Cup for the third time in five years. That&rsquo;s about as impressive a run pur together in the Canadian Hockey League during the past 15 seasons.The Western League&rsquo;s New Westminste Bruins won four straight championships in the late 1970s. The Ontario League&rsquo;s Peterborougt Petes won three consecutive titles from 1978 80. The QMJHL&rsquo;s Quebec Remparts capture four titles in five years in the early 1970s.The Titan has gone about establishing a winning tradition in an unorthodox way: the coach&rsquo;s job depends upon winning.The organization has a reputation for having a revolving door behind its bench, after going through six coaches in five years. Each of the latest three QMJHL titles by the Titan wen guided by a different bench boss.&ldquo;As far as I&rsquo;m concerned we&rsquo;re going to have a winning team with a winning coach or we&rsquo;n going to have a new coach,&rdquo; general manage Jean-Claude Morissette said. &ldquo;Stability in the (dressing) room comes from winning.&rdquo;When the Titan went to the 1989 Memorial Cup in Saskatchewan, Paulin Bordeleau was behind the bench. In 1990, Pierre Creamer was at the helm in Hamilton.Robert Hartley is in his second season which is quite an accomplishment. The year before he arrived in Laval (1990-91), the Titan went through three coaches-Jean-Maurice Cool Francois Lacombe and Claude Therrien.Hartley coached the Hawkesbury Hawks of the Central Ontario Jr. A League for four years, winning the regular-season and playoff titles the last two seasons. He still lives in Hawkesbury and commutes to Laval.In his first season with Laval, Hartley led the Titan to a 38-27-5 record before being swept by the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs in the semifinals. This year the Titan won the Lebel Division title with a 43-25-2 record and won 12 of 13 playoff games en route to the league championship.However, the Titan got off to a poor start this season, going 13-15-2 in its first 30 games.&ldquo;I was never worried (about my job),&rdquo; said Hartley, who has another year on his contract. &ldquo;When you get in the coaching business you know one day your turn will come. The Morissettes are like any other owner. If the coach is getting good results his job is safe. With the tools I had I felt I was getting the job done.&rdquo;Hartley&rsquo;s two biggest tools were captain Martin Lapointe and goalie Manny Fernandez. Lapointe won the playoff scoring title with 13 goals and 30 points in 13 games, while Fernandez was named the MVP of the final against the Sherbrooke Faucons, which the Titan won 4-1.LONG RECOVERY: Hull Olympiques&rsquo; right winger Paul Brousseau, the first QMJHL player selected at last year&rsquo;s NHL draft, said his recovery from a knee injury is complete.The problem wasn&rsquo;t so much getting back into game shape, it was getting back his mental approach to the game.&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t bother me now,&rdquo; Brousseau said. &ldquo;It affected me more psychologically than physically. I have a new approach now. I just go out and have fun.&rdquo;Brousseau wasn&rsquo;t expected to crack the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; lineup this past season, but straining ligaments in his right knee while at Quebec&rsquo;s camp set back his progression.The 6-foot-2, 212-pounder missed the first 13 games and struggled most of the season to regain the form that led to 96 points each of the last two seasons. He finished the season with 27 goals and 75 points in 57 games and had a strong playoff with 15 points in nine games.Brousseau, 19, wants to make the Nordiques next season, but may be relegated to the farm club because of Quebec&rsquo;s abundance of talent.&ldquo;They don&rsquo;t have much depth on right wing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got a lot of guys playing right wing now who shoot left.&rdquo; &#9632;

Titan has unique tradition

<div class="byline">By Vance Oliver</div>The Prince Albert Raiders got their man.One week after announcing Mike Fedorko&rsquo;s contract wouldn&rsquo;t be renewed, the Raiders hired Donn Clark to a two-year deal as coach May 7. &raquo;.Clark, the older brother of Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; captain Wendel Clark, has been coaching for 10 years, including the last two as an assistant with the Western League&rsquo;s Tacoma Rockets.Clark was previously coach of the Saskatchewan Junior League&rsquo;s Melfort Mustangs for a year, the Humboldt Broncos of the SJHL for two years and served five years as an assistant in Humboldt prior to his coaching stints. His overall head coaching record in the SJHL is 129-49-6.&ldquo;We know we&rsquo;re landing a good coach,&rdquo; Raiders&rsquo; general manager Dale Engel said. &ldquo;Donn was our first choice from the start. We&rsquo;re happy to be getting the guy we wanted. He&rsquo;ll be great for the sport here. He knows what he wants and he knows how to do it.&rdquo;Clark, who played one season for the old SJHL Raiders during his junior career, inherits a club that underwent a major rebuilding process in 1992-93.The Raiders finished last in the East Division with a 25-42-5 record, but should be noticeably stronger in future years due to the Dean McAmmond trade.Prince Albert traded McAmmond and defenseman Darren Perkins to the Swift Current Broncos just prior to the Jan. 23 trade deadline for 17-year-old defenseman Shane Hnidy and three listed players: 16-year-old left winger Brad Church, 15-year-old right winger Shane Willis and 15-year-old defenseman Rob Heg-berg&ldquo;I&rsquo;m certainly excited about the opportunity here,&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;I think we have the opportunity to do some good things in the next few years.&rdquo;DEALING TIME: The Red Deer Rebels traded goals for grit.The Rebels, who completed their first season in the WHL with an impressive 31-39-2 record, shipped 19-year-old center Dean Tiltgen and 18-year-old right winger Cam MacGregor to the Victoria Cougars May 5 for 19-year-old center Mike Barrie and 17-year-old defenseman Byron Briske.Without doubt, the keys to the trade are Tiltgen and Barrie.Tiltgen finished eighth in league scoring last season with 50 goals and 111 points in 72 games, while Barrie, regarded as more of a two-way player, recorded 31 goals and 70 points in 70 games.&ldquo;In giving up a player with the offensive capabilities of Dean Tiltgen, it was imperative we receive a quality player in return,&rdquo; Rebels&rsquo; GM Wayne Simpson said. &ldquo;We feel Mike Barrie is that type of player.&ldquo;He is a solid two-way performer who is not afraid to get his nose dirty.&rdquo;Tiltgen was an eighth-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 1992, while Barrie remains undrafted.PROSPECTS SIGN: The San Jose Sharks have signed a couple of WHL all-star defensemen.Medicine Hat Tigers&rsquo; defenseman Mike Rathje, the third overall pick at the 1992 NHL draft by the Sharks, agreed to multi-year deal worth a reported $2 million.Rathje&rsquo;s is one of the largest first-time contracts ever negotiated for a major junior player, according to his agent, the Calgary-based Art Breeze.Rathje, a rugged, stay-at-home defenseman, recorded 12 goals, 49 points and 103 penalty minutes in 59 games this past season for the Tigers.He was also a member of the Canadian team that captured a gold medal at the World Junior Championships in Gavle, Sweden in January.Tacoma Rockets&rsquo; defenseman Michal Sykora, meanwhile, inked a four-year deal with the Sharks worth about $1 million.The Czech defender, a sixth-round pick by San Jose in 1992, had 23 goals and 73 points in 70 games this past season. He was named the top defenseman in the West Division. &#9632;

Clark replaces Fedorko at helm of the Raiders

<div class="byline">By Dave Eminian</div>Pokey Reddick was as perfect as possible as the Fort Wayne Komets won the International League&rsquo;s Turner Cup.The former Winnipeg Jet and Edmonton Oiler goaltender rattled off a stunning regular-season and playoff winning streak while his teammates amassed similarly impressive numbers as they roared to the league championship.The Komets wiped out the record-setting, powerhouse San Diego Gulls in four straight games, drilling them 7-1 May 14, 5-1 May 16, 3-2 in overtime May 19 and 6-1 May 21 to capture their fourth Turner Cup.Reddick was the shining star for the Komets during their incredible playoff drive, posting a 12-0 record, a 1.49 goals-against average and .945 save percentage.He captured the N.R. Bud Poile Trophy as the playoff MVP for his effort, becoming the first goaltender to win the award.Reddick&rsquo;s winning streak-including the final days of the regular season-was 15 and his record over the previous 25 games was 24-0-1.&ldquo;If I&rsquo;d won five or six games in a row it would have been a fluke,&rdquo; Reddick said. &ldquo;But you can&rsquo;t win 13 or 14 games on a fluke.&rdquo;The Komets put together a 17-game winning streak to win their first Turner Cup since 1973.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a lot of games,&rdquo; said Reddick, whose last regulation loss came against Peoria at home March 7.&ldquo;You just try to go out and play the same way every time. People forget that twice this season we won something like 10 straight, and we won 10 straight on the road (tying the IHL record).&rdquo;The Komets&rsquo; road success certainly held up in the playoffs. Fort Wayne was 6-0-0 away from home and outscored its opponents 25-9. Reddick, 28, led the way while playing like a man on a mission.&ldquo;We started playing like this toward the end of the regular season,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Then in the playoffs we drew San Diego, a team we didn&rsquo;t beat all year (0-5). We wanted to prove to ourselves we could do it.&rdquo;Matching up with the Gulls was something Reddick had looked forward to. The former NHLer had plenty of major-league adversaries and teammates to face on the veteran San Diego squad, which had 17 players with NHL experience.&ldquo;I played with (winger) Doug Smail in Winnipeg and with (goalie) Peter Ing in Edmonton,&rdquo; Reddick said. &ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t really had much to say to each other so far. but I&rsquo;m sure we&rsquo;ll talk when this is all over.&ldquo;One thing about playing the Gulls, they all knew how I play. And I knew how they played, too which definitely helped.&rdquo;Reddick appears to have his career back on track, so the question now is will he return for an encore in Fort Wayne next season or will his playoff performance earn him another shot at the NHL?&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really not worried about getting back to the NHL,&rdquo; Reddick said. &ldquo;I wanted to go out and have a good year this season, prove some things to myself. At my age, I&rsquo;m just looking to have some fun.STREAKING KOMETS: Fort Wayne put together the most impressive streak ever en route to its Turner Cup championship.The Komets rolled unbeaten through the post-season to become only the second team in IHL history to go undefeated in the playoffs.The only other team to turn that trick was the 1968-69 Dayton Gems, who won the Turner Cup with a three-round record of 9-0.The nine straight wins for the Gems set an IHL record for consecutive playoff victories. Fort Wayne finished the post-season at 12-0.WAR OF INDEPENDENTS: The Komets became the first truly independent team to win the Turner Cup since the Flint Generals in 198384.The accepted definition of a &ldquo;true&rdquo; independent is a team that does not serve as a primary affiliate of an NHL parent and has less than half its roster comprised of NHL contractees from secondary agreements.When Fort Wayne captured the Turner Cup, it marked the fifth consecutive year the title has landed in the midwest, despite the league&rsquo;s geographic expansion west and east.Salt Lake (1987-88) is the last non-midwest team to win the title.I-OPENERS: There is historical precedence I to an IHL powerhouse such as the Gulls failing to win the league title. Muskegon blitzed the league for a record 58 wins and a record 126 points in 1987-88-marks the Gulls beat this season-then was upset by Flint in the first round of the playoffs. Flint&rsquo;s coach that year was Rick Dudley, now coach of the Gulls.San Diego reached the Turner Cup final by eliminating the defending champion Kansas City Blades with a 5-2 victory May 10. Right winger Larry Floyd scored two second-period goals, including the game-winner, as the Gulls won the series in six games.The IHL&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer will finish his career a winner. Fort Wayne left winger Scott Gruhl said he would retire after 12 seasons in the league. The respected veteran finished with 570 goals and 1,237 points in 989 games.Attendance for the four-game final was 32, 812. Overall, the league drew 183,791 fans for 33 post-season games-an average of 5,569 per game.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01764/6131244-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="812" height="334"></div>PLAYOFF HIGHLIGHTS (MAY 10 TO MAY 21): Fort Wayne&rsquo;s Igor Chibirev had a terrific post-season for the Komets. The Russian had seven goals and 20 points In 12 games to lead all scorers. Komets&rsquo; defenseman Jean-Marc Richard was second with six goals and 17 points&hellip;The Komets appeared in three finals since 1973, losing in 1980,1986 and 1991. &#9632;

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Perfect Pokey leads Komets to title

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02486/6131275-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg"></div>Bill McDougall is making a mockery of the Calder Cup playoffs.The fourth-year center, who was playing in the East Coast League four years ago, is scoring goals and point: at a pace never before seen in the American League post season.In leading the Cape Breton Oiler; to series victories over the Frederictor Canadiens (4-1), St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs (4-0) and Springfield Indian; (2-0 in the best-of-three mini-round) the 26-year-old had 23 goals and 4(points in just 11 games.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s as close to a superstar a; there has ever been in the American Hockey League.&rdquo; St. John&rsquo;s coach Marc Crawford said.McDougall broke records for the most goals in a playoff season (14) set in 1983 by Sean McKenna of the Rochester Americans and equalled in 1987 by Rochester&rsquo;s Jody Gage.He also shattered the record for points in a series (31) set by Hubie McDonough of the New Haven Nighthawks in 1989.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;m doing differently, I just think it has to do with the whole team playing well and I&rsquo;m getting the bounces,&rdquo; McDougall said. So much for tighter checking in the playoffs.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing at a level higher than the checking level,&rdquo; said teammate Shaun Van Allen, whose once-dominant line with Dan Currie and Steven Rice is now the Oilers&rsquo; No. 2 unit.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s great.&rdquo; Van Allen said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no pressure on our line. We go out, chip in a few goals and play good defense. I&rsquo;m more than happy to let him take the reins and go&rdquo;McDougall didn&rsquo;t get that freedom during a late-season recall by the parent Edmonton Oilers. General manager Glen Sather wanted him to sign a contract for next season and forego the chance to become an unrestricted free agent.&ldquo;Glen said, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re not going to make the playoffs so if you don&rsquo;t sign the contract. I might as well have some kid up here, someone who will be here next year,&rsquo;&rdquo; McDougall said. &ldquo;I said. &lsquo;Fine. I understand.&rsquo;&rdquo;Edmonton now understands, too.&ldquo;Our team&rsquo;s playing the best I&rsquo;ve ever seen a team play,&rdquo; McDougall said. &ldquo;Everyone has picked it up about 10 notches. When the team&rsquo;s playing well, things go well for me.&rdquo;St. John&rsquo;s finished 11 points ahead of third-place Cape Breton. But the Maple Leafs lost 5-3 and 4-3 at Municipal Stadium-their first games at their home rink since early February-then bowed out with 5-4 and 8-2 losses in Sydney.Since NHL scouts watch the AHL closely, McDougall may get his break for next season. If not, he&rsquo;ll head to Europe.&ldquo;My goal is to play in the NHL. I&rsquo;d like to play in Edmonton and hopefully they can come up with an offer that can make me stay in North America.&rdquo;RANGERS OUT: The greatest regular-season team in AHL history wasn&rsquo;t so great in the playoffs.The Binghamton Rangers set league records for most victories (57) and points (124) in romping to the Southern Division title by 37 points over Rochester.But after stumbling and needing seven games to oust the Baltimore Skip-jacks in the first round, the Rangers were bounced by the Americans in seven games in Round 2.It is the third consecutive season Binghamton has been eliminated by Rochester in the Southern Division finals and the second straight year the Rangers lost Game 7 at home.&ldquo;I feel bitter. I feel empty; most of all, I&rsquo;m mad,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; coach Colin Campbell. &ldquo;I feel like crying.&rdquo;The Americans, who advanced to the Calder Cup final, shed no tears for the Rangers.&ldquo;This just goes to prove if you have no heart and no hustle, you&rsquo;re not going anywhere.&rdquo; said Rochester goalie Olaf Kolzig. &ldquo;Their coach never gave us credit. It was always, &lsquo;They shot themselves in the foot.&rsquo; We outworked them.&rdquo;ALL SYSTEMS GO: There were rumors the Ottawa Senators were upset the Quebec Nordiques chose to invade their territorial rights by placing their AHL team in neighboring Cornwall, Ont., but all is fine and the franchise is a go for 1993-94.The Nordiques pulled out of Halifax and will operate Cornwall&rsquo;s first AHL team.&ldquo;Permission had to be asked and it was. that was our only concern.&rdquo; said Laurent Benoit. Ottawa&rsquo;s director of media relations. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re conscious of the importance of getting an AHL team to Cornwall. Cornwall is a city that has been hit hard by the recession and our preoccupation is to keep the Nordiques there. We had to make sure our territorial integrity is ensured. It has been.&rdquo;<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2>PLAYOFF HIGHLIGHTS (MAY 10 TO 24): Rochester opened the finals with a 5-4 overtime victory in Game 1 on Viktor Gordijuk&rsquo;s second goal of the game at 10:13 of the extra period&hellip;Cape Breton rebounded to win 6-1 in a brawl-filled Game 2. A pair of power-play goals by David Haas triggered the victory. &#9632;

f0023-02

Mighty McDougall in class by himself

CALL TOLL FREE NOW TO SUBSCRIBEThe Hockey News CALL 1-800-268-7793NHL STATISTICS THROUGH GAMES OF SUNDAY, MAY 23/93<h2>ADAMS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01833/6131551-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="750" height="664"></div><h2>PATRICK DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02561/6131544-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="750" height="760"></div><h2>PRINCE OF WALES CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03360/6131537-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="750" height="300"></div><h2>TOP SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04224/6131530-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="483" height="617"></div><h2>TOP DEFENSEMEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05163/6131523-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="486" height="283"></div><h2>TOP ROOKIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06135/6131516-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="471" height="235"></div><h2>LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-07113/6131509-1-eng-US/f0024-072.jpg" title="f0024-07" width="860" height="613"></div><h2>TEAM PENALTIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-08106/6131502-1-eng-US/f0024-082.jpg" title="f0024-08" width="339" height="567"></div><h2>POWER PLAY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-0997/6131495-1-eng-US/f0024-092.jpg" title="f0024-09" width="369" height="567"></div><h2>PENALTY KILLING</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1089/6131488-1-eng-US/f0024-102.jpg" title="f0024-10" width="360" height="567"></div><h2>NORRIS DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1187/6131481-1-eng-US/f0024-112.jpg" title="f0024-11" width="740" height="716"></div><h2>SMYTHE DIVISION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1279/6131474-1-eng-US/f0024-122.jpg" title="f0024-12" width="740" height="747"></div><h2>CLARENCE CAMPBELL CONFERENCE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1366/6131467-1-eng-US/f0024-132.jpg" title="f0024-13" width="740" height="310"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1457/6131460-1-eng-US/f0024-142.jpg" title="f0024-14" width="1450" height="2052"><figcaption class="caption-body">David Volek scored in overtime of game seven as the Isles eliminated Pittsburgh May 14.</figcaption></div>KEY TO ARRREVIATIONSStatistics provided by National Hockey League; NO.-uniform number; GP-games played; G-goals; A-assists; P-points; +/--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.<h2>BOSTON BRUINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01739/6131453-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="646" height="418"></div><h2>BUFFALO SABRES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02469/6131446-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="646" height="411"></div><h2>CALGARY FLAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03298/6131439-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="646" height="257"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04186/6131432-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="652" height="153"></div><h2>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-05147/6131425-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg" title="f0025-05" width="656" height="114"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-06123/6131418-1-eng-US/f0025-062.jpg" title="f0025-06" width="635" height="299"></div><h2>DETROIT RED WINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-07112/6131411-1-eng-US/f0025-072.jpg" title="f0025-07" width="637" height="415"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES KINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-08100/6131404-1-eng-US/f0025-082.jpg" title="f0025-08" width="637" height="413"></div><h2>MONTREAL CANADIENS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-0988/6131397-1-eng-US/f0025-092.jpg" title="f0025-09" width="637" height="171"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-1071/6131390-1-eng-US/f0025-102.jpg" title="f0025-10" width="629" height="1081"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Gilmour is trying to become the first Maple Leaf to lead playoff scorers since Jim Pappin in 1967.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01801/6131383-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="972" height="536"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02529/6131376-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="966" height="589"></div><h2>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03420/6131369-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="962" height="717"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04304/6131362-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="956" height="252"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05233/6131355-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="996" height="360"></div><h2>QUEBEC NORDIQUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-06192/6131348-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="957" height="646"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-07167/6131341-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="963" height="638"></div><h2>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-08154/6131334-1-eng-US/f0026-082.jpg" title="f0026-08" width="968" height="460"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-09141/6131327-1-eng-US/f0026-092.jpg" title="f0026-09" width="959" height="236"></div><h2>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-10134/6131320-1-eng-US/f0026-102.jpg" title="f0026-10" width="951" height="625"></div><h2>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-11129/6131313-1-eng-US/f0026-112.jpg" title="f0026-11" width="957" height="590"></div><h2>WINNIPEG JETS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-12120/6131306-1-eng-US/f0026-122.jpg" title="f0026-12" width="958" height="652"></div> &#9632;

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NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

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NHL SUMMARIES

THE NHL PLAYERS&rsquo; ASSOCIATION RELEASED A CONFIDENTIAL RANKING OF PLAYER SALARIES, I DATED MAY 6. THE HOCKEY NEWS OBTAINED A COPY WHAT FOLLOWS IS THE NHLPA LISTING. SOME ADDITIONS HAVE BEEN MADE TO PROVIDE THE MOST ACCURATE LISTING POSSIBLE. ALL SALARIES ARE IN THE TEAM&rsquo;S NATIONAL CURRENCY. ASTERISKS INDICATE PLAYERS ON CANADIAN TEAMS WHO ARE PAID IN U.S. DOLLARS. SALARIES REPRESENT TOTAL MONIES (BASE SALARY. BONUSES AND DEFERRED COMPENSATION) ALLOCATED TO THE 1992-93 SEASON LISTED ARE PLAYERS&rsquo; NHL SALARIES, ALTHOUGH SOME PLAYERS ARE ON TWO-WAY CONTRACTS AND WILL NOT QUALIFY FOR FULL NHL SALARIES.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01785/6131910-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="577" height="2877"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02529/6131903-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="1752" height="3275"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03373/6131896-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="1737" height="3285"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01684/6131889-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="1749" height="3319"></div><h2>MEMORIAL CUP</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01781/6131882-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="1164" height="3304"></div> &#9632;

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NHL SALARY SURVEY

<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02529/6132025-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="582" height="1632"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03358/6132018-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="560" height="333"></div><h2>TEAM-BY-TEAM</h2><h3>ATLANTA</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04250/6132011-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="566" height="275"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05178/6132004-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="567" height="405"></div><h3>CLEVELAND</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06141/6131997-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="572" height="667"></div><h3>FORT WAYNE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-07117/6131990-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="573" height="692"></div><h3>INDIANAPOLIS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-08107/6131983-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="565" height="591"></div><h3>KANSAS CITY</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0995/6131976-1-eng-US/f0030-092.jpg" title="f0030-09" width="578" height="664"></div><h3>MILWAUKEE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1084/6131969-1-eng-US/f0030-102.jpg" title="f0030-10" width="572" height="675"></div><h3>PEORIA</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1177/6131962-1-eng-US/f0030-112.jpg" title="f0030-11" width="575" height="576"></div><h3>SAN DIEGO</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1271/6131955-1-eng-US/f0030-122.jpg" title="f0030-12" width="570" height="675"></div><h2>GOALTENDING</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1367/6131948-1-eng-US/f0030-132.jpg" title="f0030-13" width="572" height="1038"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-1462/6131941-1-eng-US/f0030-142.jpg" title="f0030-14" width="542" height="718"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean-Marc Richard</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01719/6132189-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="372" height="471"></div>THIS MONTH IN INSIDE HOCKEY:&#8902;THE BEST: A CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE&#8902;&#8902;MONTREAL&rsquo;S MATT SCHNEIDER COMES OF AGE&#8902;&#8902;MIKE UERNON: IS HE FINALLY SAFE AT HOME?&#8902;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02475/6132182-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="343" height="443"></div><h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03339/6132175-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="597" height="2650"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04255/6132168-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="552" height="137"></div><h2>TEAM-BY-TEAM</h2><h3>ADIRONDACK</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05205/6132161-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="565" height="635"></div><h3>BALTIMORE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06169/6132154-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="570" height="636"></div><h3>BINGHAMTON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-07146/6132147-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="567" height="686"></div><h3>CAPE BRETON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-08128/6132140-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="557" height="169"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-09112/6132133-1-eng-US/f0031-092.jpg" title="f0031-09" width="565" height="456"></div><h3>CAPITAL DISTRICT</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1096/6132126-1-eng-US/f0031-102.jpg" title="f0031-10" width="567" height="620"></div><h3>FREDERICTON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1181/6132119-1-eng-US/f0031-112.jpg" title="f0031-11" width="563" height="641"></div><h3>MONCTON</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1257/6132112-1-eng-US/f0031-122.jpg" title="f0031-12" width="565" height="612"></div><h3>PROVIDENCE</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1346/6132105-1-eng-US/f0031-132.jpg" title="f0031-13" width="559" height="85"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1442/6132098-1-eng-US/f0031-142.jpg" title="f0031-14" width="572" height="582"></div><h3>ROCHESTER</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1538/6132091-1-eng-US/f0031-152.jpg" title="f0031-15" width="564" height="717"></div><h3>SPRINGFIELD</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1634/6132084-1-eng-US/f0031-162.jpg" title="f0031-16" width="570" height="716"></div><h3>ST. JOHN&rsquo;S</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1731/6132077-1-eng-US/f0031-172.jpg" title="f0031-17" width="563" height="467"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1830/6132070-1-eng-US/f0031-182.jpg" title="f0031-18" width="561" height="226"></div><h3>UTICA</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-1926/6132063-1-eng-US/f0031-192.jpg" title="f0031-19" width="559" height="680"></div><h3>GOALTENDING</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-2024/6132056-1-eng-US/f0031-202.jpg" title="f0031-20" width="577" height="1636"></div> &#9632;

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01685/6132220-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="362" height="514"></div>Football ran with it and eventually punted. In baseball, it would mean an umpire&rsquo;s strike and no ball.The National Basketball Association, which is to sports leagues what Disney is to theme parks, has considered it, but stays frozen at the switch.Only the NHL had the smarts to prove the instant replay can be a useful and even essential officiating tool.Through shrewd management, the NHL has incorporated a new degree of accuracy into the game without sacrificing pace, tradition or labor peace.The use of replay, invoked at the beginning of the 1991-92 season, has gone from flight of fancy to standard operating procedure with barely a whisper of protest.In the first 86 playoff games this season, 20 replays were used, up from last year&rsquo;s total of 11 in 73-games. Regular-season replays are also up, from last year&rsquo;s total of 134 to this year&rsquo;s 169.The use of replay was validated, probably forever, in last season&rsquo;s Norris Division semifinal. An overtime goal by Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; center Sergei Fedorov was missed by the niaked eye but captured by the electronic one. The Wings were awarded the goal in double-overtime victory and won Game 7 over the Minnesota North Stars two nights later.NHL referees should be credited for their common-sense approach to replays. To them, making good is more important than looking good.&ldquo;Put yourself in my situation,&rdquo; said NHL referee Don Koharski. &ldquo;If you can go upstairs and get help on a critical goal and you can be 100 percent sure that the right call is made, wouldn&rsquo;t you do it?&rdquo;&ldquo;I remember one game where I made the incorrect call on a goal in New Jersey and the head of officiating was in the crowd,&rdquo; said Bryan Lewis, the NHL&rsquo;s current director of officiating. &ldquo;If he could have thrown a rock to center ice with a note on it telling me to change my call, I would have welcomed it.&rdquo;Toronto Blue Jays&rsquo; general manager Pat Gillick is openly covetous of the NHL&rsquo;s system. Last year the Jays were denied the first World Series triple play because of a missed call.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to see it used once or twice a game in baseball,&rdquo; said Gillick, a member of baseball&rsquo;s nine-member rules committee.But baseball hasn&rsquo;t considered it, not because owners don&rsquo;t think it has merit but because they fear reprisals I from the umpires&rsquo; union.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the major problem,&rdquo; Gillick said. &ldquo;For the umpires, it would definitely be a strike issue.&rdquo;The National Football League ended a stormy six-year tenure of the instant replay in 1991 when owners failed to muster the 75 per cent approval necessary to retain it. Critic: said the replays destroyed the flow of the game and cowed officials.&ldquo;In theory, instant replay is great, said Norman Braman, owner of the Philadelphia Eagles and a member of the league&rsquo;s competition (rules) committee. &ldquo;But in practice it stinks.&rdquo;Part of the NFL&rsquo;s problem was technological. Improvements over the last few years in the speed and flexibility of replay machines mean most delays are resolved within two minutes. In the first few years of the replay in football, the delays were often much longer.The NHL, by contrast, waited until the technology caught up with the league&rsquo;s good intentions. Then, seeing the chaos it brought to the NFL, the league limited the focus of the replay.Instant replay is used in about one in six NHL games. In the final year of replays, the NFL was averaging three a game.In hockey, replays can only be used to show whether a goal has been scored. The replay is used determine whether the puck crossed the line or crossed the line before the net was moved, whether it was kicked in, knocked in after the buzzer, gloved in, knocked in with a high stick or bounced in off an official.Replay officials routinely review goals, even those that seem legitimate to players and referees. If the replay official catches an on-ice error, a call is quickly made to the timekeepers&rsquo; bench and the game is halted.On-ice officials can ask for a vide confirmation, but only if there is some uncertainty among the officials surrounding a goal.Of the 20 replay investigations conducted so far in the post-season, only four were instigated by the replay officials. Eight of the replays concerned whether the puck crossed the line. Seven more dealt with whether the puck was kicked or gloved over the goal line.Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; general manager Nick Beverley said the replay saves more time than it wastes.&ldquo;Once a decision comes down from upstairs, everybody accepts it. Rarely, if ever do you see any more argument. The game continues&rdquo; &#9632;

f0033-01

Another reason why hockey is best

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>It&rsquo;s game day and Wendel Clark is on pins and needles.It&rsquo;s all part of a daily ritual. Clark lying on the trainer&rsquo;s table with a variety of needles sticking in different parts of his body.Some days it&rsquo;s his sternum. Others his buttocks. Others his back. Different ache, different placement of the needle.That&rsquo;s the way it has been for four years, ever since me e Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; I captain began taking acupuncture treatments to I ease the constant pain in a I body that treats every game like a war.Considered an unorthodox form of therapy in the hockey world, it has been Clark&rsquo;s savior. Acupuncture-and a better understanding of how to treat his body-has allowed Clark to continue playing when a nagging back injury threatened to force him into premature retirement.Various injuries, mostly his back, limited him to playing 28 games in the 1987-88 season, just 15 in 1988-89 and 38 in 198990.Maple Leafs&rsquo; athletic therapist Chris Broadhurst said some people are too squeamish to try I acupuncture, but Clark I didn&rsquo;t hesitate when he I was approached.Broadhurst, who administers the acupuncture, stresses it is only part of the reason Clark has bounced back from a career that was on the ropes. He offered Clark no guarantees before they began.&ldquo;People were wondering if I&rsquo;d ever play hockey again,&rdquo; said Clark, a 26-year-old native of Kelvington, Sask. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d been through so much frustration, I was willing to do anything so 1 could continue playing.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a miracle cure,&rdquo; Broadhurst said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very good way of treating soft tissue problems, but there&rsquo;s no instant relief. Over a couple of month period we started seeing positive results through acupuncture and also because Wendel learned how to take care of his body. It has gotten to the point now where Wendel is so in tune with his body, he tells me most days when acupuncture is necessary.&rdquo;Clark hasn&rsquo;t missed a game because of his back in two seasons.Through all his rehabilitation for his back, knees and a variety of other aches and pains (he missed 18 games with rib and groin injuries this season), Clark&rsquo;s game has suffered. He is no longer the consistent physical force he was when he joined the Leafs as the first overall pick in the 1985 entry draft.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02469/6132251-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="937" height="1503"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wendel Clark subjects himself to acupuncture almost every day. (Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>Continuing injuries were responsible for his contract being structured so his pay reflects the number of games he plays. His base salary this season started at $600,000 but rose to $825,000 after he played his 65th game. There were intermittent raises after 45 and 55 games.Clark still wears the captain&rsquo;s &lsquo;C&rsquo;, but anyone who has watched the Leafs play this season knows that this is now Doug Gilmour&rsquo;s team. Clark is not the force he was, but has found his niche as an effective performer who can inspire his team with a big hit or big goal.In the days when the Leafs were awful (read every season before this season), Clark was their only marquee player. Those were the days when he was expected to be Mr. Everything for the Leafs.Now Gilmour, Dave Andreychuk and Nikolai Borschevsky provide the offense. Many times this season, Clark was relegated to third-line status.Accordingly, his offensive output suffered. He scored 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points with 193 penalty minutes in 66 games this season.There were extended periods this season when Clark was ineffective, like the first two games of the Norris Division semifinal against the Detroit Red I Wings. Fans, who once would have voted him mayor of Toronto, demanded the Leafs to trade him. They suggested he had lost his heart. Even worse, his courage.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s so stupid.&rdquo; said teammate Dave McLlwain, who shares a home with Clark. &ldquo;If people knew what Wendel goes through just to play, they would never suggest something so dumb.&rdquo;Leafs&rsquo; general manager Cliff Fletcher fielded trade offers-Clarke was very nearly traded to the Edmonton Oilers this season-but didn&rsquo;t make a move. It&rsquo;s a good thing; in games of utter importance, the Clark of old often emerges to save the day.Against the Detroit Red Wings, Clark had a goal and an assist, leading his team to a win in Game 3. He duplicated I that feat in Game 5 when Toronto took the series lead and set up two goals in Game 7 in Detroit.In the next round against St. Louis, he again came through in Game 7 scoring two goals in a 6-0 Leaf victory.Late in Game 1 of the Campbell Conference final, he took on Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; tough guy Marty McSorley after McSorley elbowed Gilmour late in the game. He lost the decision, but left McSorley with a black eye.Clark had five goals and 12 points in the Leafs&rsquo; first 16 playoff games, placing him fourth in team scoring.&ldquo;Wendel is the heart and soul of this team,&rdquo; insisted Gilmour. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been through a lot but he&rsquo;s still the leader of the Maple Leafs.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0033-02

Commander Clark

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div>General manager Bob Pulford won&rsquo;t come out and tell you who the Chicago Blackhawks will protect in June&rsquo;s expansion draft, but he doesn&rsquo;t have to.It&rsquo;s not difficult to figure out.The Hawks will protect Ed Belfour as their goalie, if they don&rsquo;t deal him first, but they don&rsquo;t want to lose backup Jimmy Waite either. Pulford has been spending a lot of time on his goaltending situation, looking for a loophole where he might be able to trade Waite and somehow get him back.The Hawks love Waite&rsquo;s potential, probably moreso than most other clubs around the league, and are skeptical they can get something satisfactory for him in return. That&rsquo;s all the more reason for Pulford to trade Waite, then reacquire him.&ldquo;But the league is going to be watching any deals involving goaltenders very closely,&rsquo; warns Pulford.It&rsquo;s pretty cut and dried which nine forwards the Hawks will protect. They are: Jeremy Roenick, Joe Murphy, Steve Larmer, Dirk Graham, Brent Sutter, Brian Noonan, Stephane Matteau, Christian Ruuttu and Jocelyr Lemieux.That will leave unprotected: Stu Grimson Michel Goulet, Greg Gilbert, Troy Murray Dave Christian, plus minor leaguers Tony Hrkac, Brad Lauer, Rob Brown and Tony Horacek.The most difficult decision may be the one to leave Grimson unprotected. The Hawks left enforcer Mike Peluso off their protected list last year and lost him to the Ottawa Senators.&ldquo;Stu&rsquo;s on the bubble,&rdquo; Pulford said. &ldquo;But we have a lot bigger problems than that. Stu&rsquo;s a fine guy, but you may see rosters down to 17 (skaters) and two (goalies) in the next collective bar gaining agreement. If that happens, you&rsquo;re going to see a lot of that type of player available.&rdquo;Pulford said neither Keith Brown nor Craig Muni will be among the five protected defensemen as the Hawks try to guard their prospects.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a given,&rdquo; Pulford said.One thing the Hawks have in their favor is they can&rsquo;t lose a defenseman and a goaltender under the rules of the draft. That means if they lose Waite they can keep all of their young defensemen.Chris Chelios, Steve Smith and Bryan Marchment are the three veterans who will be protected. The other two will come from the group of Adam Bennett, Milan Tichy, Cam Russell and Frank Kucera, with the likely protected pair being Bennett and Tichy.Prospects Karl Dykhuis and Ivan Droppa do not have to be protected since neither has been a pro for more than a year.&ldquo;You&rsquo;re going to lose two players from your roster, that&rsquo;s a given,&rdquo; said coach Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re not going to take anyone from the minors. That&rsquo;s why we still have some tough decisions to make.&rdquo;BELFOUR ANSWERS: Ed Belfour may be the favorite to win his second Vezina Trophy as the league&rsquo;s top goaltender, but most of his critics will point to the fact his Chicago teams have been eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in two of the last three seasons.&ldquo;All I can say is I give 100 per cent whenever I play,&rdquo; Belfour said. &ldquo;If that isn&rsquo;t enough, then I don&rsquo;t know what to say to those people. Anyone who knows me, like my friends and my teammates, knows what I can do. That&rsquo;s all that matters to me.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Hawks will look hard this off-season for a defenseman who can quarterback the power play. Jeff Norton of the New York Islanders is someone who interests the Hawks and may be available.Center Christian Ruuttu signed a two-year deal (one year plus an option) May 19 for $550 000 a season.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>May 19: Christian Ruuttu, C, signed two-year contract. &#9632;

Goalie situation unresolved

<div class="byline">By Gary Olson</div>There has been speculation in Minnesota that center Mike Modano may not follow the Stars to Texas.Same with goaltender Jon Casey.Expecting Stars&rsquo; general manager Bob Gainey to confirm or deny any such talks would be like waiting for the Sphynx to speak. He has said &ldquo;evaluations will be made&rdquo; and he will say &ldquo;everybody&rsquo;s talking&rdquo; but he&rsquo;s not likely to show his cards before his hand is played.If the Stars were to move either Modano or Casey, the economics of sports-production per dollar spent-would contribute to the change. Modano will be paid $1.4 million next season in the second year of a four-year contract that escalates by at least $200,000 annually. Casey is scheduled to be paid at least $ 1 million in each of the next two seasons.With the abundance of goaltenders vulnerable at this summer&rsquo;s expansion draft, making a deal for a quality goaltender may be easier than it has ever been before.Every team looking to upgrade in goal seems to be looking to the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, teams with goalies too good to cast one onto another wave of expansion without getting anything in return from the Florida Panthers or Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Hawks aren&rsquo;t likely to make a deal that could make the Stars stronger, so Gainey may focus his efforts on the Rangers&rsquo; John Van-biesbrouck or Mike Richter.This may be the spring to deal with the Rangers. Like the Stars, they missed the playoffs and that enhances the desire for change. New York can certainly afford a couple highly paid players and have enough quality players to attempt to lure Modano from the Stars&rsquo; grasp.Modano has been called a cornerstone of the Stars&rsquo; future. However, it&rsquo;s no secret that he&rsquo;s reluctant to accommodate Gainey&rsquo;s way of doing things and the frustration level has increased for both.Modano did himself no favors down the stretch. He scored just four goals and nine points in the 16 games against teams from the Norris Division that followed the all-star break. He didn&rsquo;t score a goal in the last nine games of the season and didn&rsquo;t score a point in the final five games.He scored 93 points in 82 games, but seven more would have netted him about $400,000 more in bonuses.PROPERTY ON HOLD: Stars&rsquo; owner Norm Green isn&rsquo;t going to be able to drive the two Met Center Zambonis down 1-35 anytime soon.Hennepin County Judge Robert Lynn issued a temporary restraining order at a hearing May 12 that barred moving any property contested by Green or the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, his landlord.The Stars had filed suit to get a ruling on the personal property issue, claiming the Zambonis and the scoreboard were among the items purchased when Green bought the North Stars&rsquo; franchise.Judge Lynn scheduled a trial by jury-it won&rsquo;t be easy to find a panel of jurists in Minnesota without an opinion about Green-for June 22. The team can continue to move property that isn&rsquo;t under dispute.The jury is also expected to consider another issue arising from a countersuit by the commission-whether the North Stars breached their contract by not maintaining the property. It claims the Stars owe at least $200,000 for parking-lot repairs and $20,000 to repair the roof.NOTEBOOK: Among the reasons Norm Green gave for moving the Stars were the rich radio and television contracts that awaited him in Dallas. &ldquo;Easily, three to four times as much,&rdquo; he said. Interestingly, one of the reasons Stars&rsquo; executives gave when trying to reduce the pay to the new radio and television people in Dallas was they weren&rsquo;t getting as much revenue as they had in Minnesota. &#9632;

Veterans Casey, Modano may be on trading block

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div>Playoff hockey is often about surprise heroes.To no one&rsquo;s surprise then, the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; magical ride to the NHL&rsquo;s final four has included more than one such individual.None have shone brighter than defenseman Bob Rouse, who has stepped forward as the club&rsquo;s best rearguard in the post-season.Even more surprisingly, Rouse has supplied some key offense. In Game 7 of the Norris Division semifinal against the Detroit Red Wings, he scored once and set up the overtime winner by Nikolai Borschevsky. In Game 5 of the Norris final against the St. Louis Blues, he scored the winning goal.In Game 4 of the conference final against the Los Angeles Kings, Rouse scored the first goal of the game to quiet the Great Western Forum crowd. The Leafs won 4-2 and tied the series at two.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been struggling a bit as far as numbers of goals, so when the time&rsquo;s right I&rsquo;ll take a chance, Rouse said. Anytime I can contritbute offensively, it&rsquo;s a bonus.&rdquo;The three post-season goals tied Rouse&rsquo;s offensive output in 82 regular-season games.Meanwhile, Doug Gilmour&rsquo;s second-period goal in Game 7 of the Norris final against the Blues gave him 22 points in the playoffs, breaking Darryl Sittier&rsquo;s 1978 team record.&ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t think about that stuff,&rdquo; said Gilmour, who earns $20,000 in bonuses for each playoff round the Leafs win. &ldquo;All I think about is the next series.&rdquo;AWARDS BONANZA: Just inside the home team&rsquo;s dressing room at Maple Leaf Gardens, an honor roll lists the names of all the Leaf players to win individual NHL awards.While the list is substantial, it has sat untouched since Dave Keon won the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the most valuable player in the 1967 playoffs.This year&rsquo;s Leaf team may break the drought. Three Leafs are among finalists for four major individual awards this season.Doug Gilmour is a contender for the Hart Trophy as league MVP and is the favorite to win the Selke Trophy as the top defensive player.Felix Potvin is a finalist for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, but in a bit of a surprise was not among the final three names for the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie, despite having the best goals-against average.Pat Bums, meanwhile, is a finalist for the third time in five years for the Jack Adams Award as top coach. Bums won the trophy in 1989, but no Leaf coach has ever won. Gilmour would be the first Leaf to win a regular-season award since Brit Selby won the Calder in 1966.NOTEBOOK: Dave Andreychuk broke Lanny McDonald&rsquo;s 1977 team playoff record when he scored his 11th goal of the post-season in Game 6 against St: Louis&hellip;Defenseman Bob McGill lost 18 pounds during the four weeks he had his jaw wired shut due to a broken bone.John Cullen returned to the lineup for Game 7 against St. Louis after missing three games. He played two games in the conference final, then was shelved again with recurring neck disk problems.Damien Cox is a hockey writer for The Toronto Star.<h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Doug Gilmour. Peter Zezel, Mike Krushelnyski, Mike Eastwood, Dave McUwaln, Rob Cimette.LW&mdash;Dave Andreychuk, Wendel Clark, Bill Berg, Ken Baumgartner. Kent Manderville. Joe Sacco, Eric Eecroix.RW&mdash;Nikolal Borschevsky, Glenn Anderson, Rob Pearson. Mark Osborne. Mike Foligno.LD&mdash;Dave Ellett, Sylvain Lefebvre. Jamte Macoun, Darryl Shannon, Malt 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. O. tom anterior cruciate ligament in right knee, out for season. John Cullen. C, disk damage In neck, day-to-day. &#9632;

Rouse latest hero to shine in playoff spotlight

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div>St. Louis Blues&rsquo; coach Bob Berry has received ringing endorsements from his players and management for his performance this season.They all want him to return behind the bench, but he hasn&rsquo;t confirmed he will.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m still caught mentally in the whirlwind of the season and haven&rsquo;t had the opportunity to evaluate it in depth,&rdquo; Berry said after the Blues lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Norris Division final. &ldquo;I think at this point, I&rsquo;d like to coach. When I took the (coaching) job, people said, &lsquo;You had a nice job working as Ron Caron&rsquo;s assistant, why would you ever go back into coaching?&rsquo; Well, for four years, they treated me pretty nice here. If they thought I could help, then that was the least I could do, come back and help.&rdquo;Berry did precisely that. The Blues were 4-61 and in complete disarray when he replaced Bob Plager Oct. 29, less than a month into the season. He stabilized a foundering team and turned it into a playoff contender.The Blues waited until the final regular-season game to make the playoffs, but swept the Chicago Blackhawks in four games in the first round and took Toronto to seven games.&ldquo;I have no qualms at all about having him back,&rdquo; captain Brett Hull said. &ldquo;He was awesome. He gave us some direction. I give him all the credit.&rdquo;That seemed to be the consensus among management and players.&ldquo;Everyone is happy with the very good job Bob Berry did,&rdquo; president Jack Quinn said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very well respected around the NHL and by his players.&rdquo;Berry has one more year on the contract extension he signed at the start of the season. It gives him the option of coaching or returning to his post as assistant general manager next season. Either way, the contract specifies that he will become GM after the contract.The Blues want to extend the contract a year, delaying Caron&rsquo;s movement into a consulting role by one year.FUTURE WATCH: When asked what areas the Blues need to improve next season, Bob Berry said: &ldquo;We need to be stronger, bigger, faster and more skilled, but I don&rsquo;t know specifics. We have to make some adjustments.&rdquo;Don&rsquo;t expect them to make major changes.The Blues have a strong nucleus of players in Brett Hull, Craig Janney, Brendan Shanahan, Nelson Emerson, Kevin Miller, Jeff Brown and Curtis Joseph. Checkers Rich Sutter, Ron Sutter and Bob Bassen still can play key roles and veterans Garth Butcher and Rick Zombo can be a stabilizing force on defense.They have promising youngsters in winger Denny Felsner and defenseman Bret Hedican, who may appear ready for prime roles next season. Russian Igor Korolev also is seen as a player of the future, even though he played little down the stretch or in the playoffs.NOTEBOOK: The San Jose Sharks asked for and received permission from the Blues&rsquo; front office to approach Blues&rsquo; assistant coach Wayne Thomas about their vacant head-coaching job.<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;Brondan Shanahan, Basil McRae, Kevin Miller, Dave Lowry, Philippe Bozon.RW&mdash;Neison Emerson. Brett Hull, Rich Sutter. Denny Felsner, Kelly Chase.LD&mdash;Jetf 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 Sarjeant.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Vitall Prokhorov, LW, right shoulder surgery. Ron Sutter. C, separated right shoulder. &#9632;

If Berry wants to return, team will roll out red carpet

<div class="byline">By Roy Cummings</div>The Tampa Bay Lightning still don&rsquo;t know just who it should take with the third pick overall in the entry draft.About all the Lightning do know is Alexander Daigle is the best player available and he&rsquo;ll be posing for pictures in some other team&rsquo;s sweater at the draft June 26.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a franchise player and maybe the best to come along since Mario Lemieux,&rdquo; scout Richard Rose said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to get a shot at him.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s a foregone conclusion the Ottawa Senators will take the Victoriaville forward with the first pick or somebody else will after making a trade with the Senators for the rights to the first choice.Normally that would make the Lightning&rsquo;s work a little easier, but it hasn&rsquo;t this year because nobody knows what the San Jose Sharks are going to do with the second pick.The Sharks have spent a lot of time tracking the progress of speedy center Rob Niedermayer, bringing him in for interviews and tryouts. It is believed he&rsquo;s at the top of their wish list.Clearly, the Sharks hold the key to Tampa Bay&rsquo;s decision. But Lightning officials say they are confident they&rsquo;ll come away with a quality player, no matter who is taken first and second.&ldquo;This is the best draft in the last four or five years,&rdquo; director of player personnel Tony Esposito said. &ldquo;The quality players are there and the depth is there.&rdquo;The draft is so deep, in fact, the Lightning has talked-casually-about trading its pick for veterans and a lower first-round choice.&ldquo;If the right offer comes along, you never know what we&rsquo;ll do,&rdquo; general manager Phil Esposito said. &ldquo;A couple teams would be interested in our pick if the right player falls to us.&rdquo;The player the Lightning would probably have the easiest time dealing would be defenseman Chris Pronger. After taking rearguard Roman Hamrlik first overall last year, the Lightning is planning to concentrate on offense this draft and Esposito said he would listen to offers should Pronger still be on the board when Tampa Bay&rsquo;s turn comes.Of course, the Lightning won&rsquo;t hesitate to use the third pick.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re probably going to be looking for a goalscorer and there are a few available,&rdquo; Esposito said.The scorer the Lightning seems to like the most-other than Daigle-is Kingston Frontenac Chris Gratton. The team has also begun to show more interest in University of Maine left winger Paul Kariya and less in Russian right winger Viktor Kozlov.&ldquo;(Kozlov) can skate and has hands like Mario Lemieux, but he just hasn&rsquo;t come to the forefront like he was expected to,&rdquo; head scout John Chapman said.&ldquo;And as far as Kariya is concerned, I think he&rsquo;s the smartest player in the draft,&rdquo; scout Don Murdoch said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying he&rsquo;s as smart as (Wayne) Gretzky, but he thinks like Gretzky. This kid is going to make an impact in this league.&rdquo;REEKING HAVOC: Defenseman Joe Reekie was among several players recently named in a national magazine article titled &ldquo;The Flake Patrol.&rdquo;Reekie earned the dubious honor because of his penchant for talking. He talks non-stop, before, during and after games, and is never afraid to throw a verbal jab at a teammate.His manner once led former teammate Don Maloney to say he has two ambitions in life: &ldquo;to win the Stanley Cup and see Joe Reekie quiet for five minutes.&rdquo;In his defense, Reekie said, &ldquo;When I don&rsquo;t talk, they say, &lsquo;What&rsquo;s the matter?&rsquo; When I do talk, they tell me to shut up.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Lightning finished its first season with victories against all but seven of the 23 other teams. Teams Tampa Bay did not win against were the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. &#9632;

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June 11, 1993

Coaching situation up in air

McNall gets his day in the sun

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

King plans to make changes following poor post-season