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.

September 3, 1993

The Hockey News September 3, 1993

<h2>October</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-01968/6160481-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="413" height="3379"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02644/6160474-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="437" height="1692"></div><h2>November</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03433/6160467-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="434" height="1702"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04271/6160460-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="440" height="3505"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05147/6160453-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="418" height="301"></div><h2>December</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-06117/6160446-1-eng-US/f0020-062.jpg" title="f0020-06" width="418" height="3080"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-07104/6160439-1-eng-US/f0020-072.jpg" title="f0020-07" width="467" height="2621"></div><h2>January</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0892/6160432-1-eng-US/f0020-082.jpg" title="f0020-08" width="452" height="771"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0970/6160425-1-eng-US/f0020-092.jpg" title="f0020-09" width="438" height="3505"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01732/6160418-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="432" height="1309"></div><h2>February</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02395/6160411-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="426" height="1290"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03210/6160404-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="445" height="2694"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04149/6160397-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="451" height="1523"></div><h2>March</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-05123/6160390-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg" title="f0021-05" width="416" height="1066"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-06104/6160383-1-eng-US/f0021-062.jpg" title="f0021-06" width="431" height="2698"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0788/6160376-1-eng-US/f0021-072.jpg" title="f0021-07" width="430" height="2377"></div><h2>April</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0880/6160369-1-eng-US/f0021-082.jpg" title="f0021-08" width="424" height="207"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0965/6160362-1-eng-US/f0021-092.jpg" title="f0021-09" width="450" height="2694"></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

1993-94 NHL SCHEDULE

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02984/6159782-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bad boy Dale Hunter wonders whether his 21-game suspension will be the measuring stick for future league disciplinary action. (Jim Leary/BBS)</figcaption></div>The NHL has eliminated fighting from hockey-sort of. Electronic Arts, makers of the video game, &ldquo;NHL &rsquo;94,&rdquo; was told it wouldn&rsquo;t receive an NHL sanction unless it removed fisticuffs from the product. &ldquo;We thought it was unnecessary and detracted from the game.&rdquo; says NHL vice-president of corporate public relations, Bernadette Mansur. &ldquo;Fighting does not occur all that often and this past playoffs is a clear example of that. We&rsquo;ve seen over a 30 per-cent decrease in fighting over the past 12 months.&rdquo; Don Transeth, director of sports marketing for Electronic Arts, tells Bluelines his company was pressured to make the change. &ldquo;Our position on fighting is that we should have it in the game as much as it is on the ice,&rdquo; Transeth says. &ldquo;But that was not a negotiable point with the NHL.&rdquo;<h2>Gentleman Jim</h2>New Philadelphia Flyer tough guy Jim Cummins has been training for NHL fights this summer in a Detroit-area boxing gym. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m training as a boxer,&rdquo; Cummins says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m picking up how to slip punches, hand speed, how to throw a punch.&rdquo;&hellip;Tired of ducking punches. Stars&rsquo; owner Norman Green accuses the Minnesota media of distorting the facts on his move to Dallas. &lsquo;The Minnesota fans were misinformed,&rdquo; Green tells Bluelines. &ldquo;One TV station said we had more revenue than the Boston Bruins, but I&rsquo;m sure they had at least double, maybe triple, what Minnesota had. I lost more in Minnesota than anyone has ever lost in the history of hockey. My reputation was damaged by the press in Minnesota, but I don&rsquo;t think it affected my reputation around the league. The other governors understood my effort.&rdquo; Still, Green believes &ldquo;there&rsquo;s a very good possibility&rdquo; the NHL will eventually have a team at Target Center in Minneapolis.<h2>Justice for all</h2>Still chafing over his 21-game suspension for a behind-the-back playoff clout that sidelined Lady Byng winner Pierre Turgeon for five games, Dale Hunter wonders whether commissioner Gary Bettman will use that equation on other suspensions. &ldquo;If a guy breaks another guy&rsquo;s thumb and that player is out for 10 games, will the other guy get 42 games?&rdquo; Hunter asks. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s only fair, but we&rsquo;ll have to see if he keeps that up.&rdquo;&hellip;The Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; revolutionary alliance with Russia&rsquo;s Central Red Army team has spurred other NHL clubs to make inquiries about similar farm club deals with European clubs. Penguins&rsquo; owner Howard Baldwin says he has received calls from four NHL clubs. &ldquo;One is interested in making a deal with the Czechs,&rdquo; says Baldwin, &ldquo;and others are looking at Moscow Dynamo and Soviet Wings.&rdquo;<h2>Face of netminding</h2>Hall of Famer Ken Dryden says the new high-tech, bigger face masks have revolutionized goaltending. &ldquo;Goalies used to have to make compromises in making saves,&rdquo; Dryden says, &ldquo;but with the new face masks they can actually make saves with the mask and this has changed the style. We used to say you had to stand up to survive. The stand-up myth remains, but it no longer is true.&rdquo;&hellip;The most controversial team nickname since the Mighty Ducks is the River Rats. Al Lawrence, owner of the new American League entry in Albany, N.Y., tells Bluelines the river rat is indigenous to the Hudson River on which Albany has a port. &ldquo;I thought River Rats was a disgusting name at first,&rdquo; Lawrence admits. &ldquo;It was scuzzy and yucky, but we did a marketing survey and the people loved it.&rdquo; River Rats&rsquo; coach Robbie Ftorek endorses the name but notes, &lsquo;The only thing is we need Ken Linseman.&rdquo; The former NHLer was nicknamed The Rat. Ftorek chuckles over the River Rats&rsquo; logo, &ldquo;looks like a lot of guys I played against, but not Linseman. Kenny looked worse.&rdquo;<h2>As good as Daigle</h2>Chris Gratton won&rsquo;t get anywhere near as much money as Alexandre Daigle, although agent Pat Morris says, &ldquo;Chris is every bit as good as Daigle.&rdquo; Funny thing is, scouts are saying the same thing. Morris is currently negotiating with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After signing, Gratton will be given a shot at the big club, but Tampa Bay is just as likely to send him back to Kingston of the Ontario League or the Canadian Olympic program. &#9632;

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Fighting eliminated from game …at NHL’s request

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>Dave Andrews won&rsquo;t change the priorities of the American League when he succeeds Jack Butterfield as president following the 1993-94 season.While the International League continues to expand to large U.S. cities and lures big-money free agents to its teams, the AHL will continue to place emphasis on development, according to Andrews.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not trying to keep up with the Jones&rsquo;. Our claim to fame is that we have 16 No. 1 affiliates in our league and I think we&rsquo;re quite stable,&rdquo; said Andrews, who was named Butterfield&rsquo;s successor July 20.Butterfield announced before last season that he would retire in two years.&ldquo;The &lsquo;I&rsquo; may find their part of the pro hockey puzzle and we&rsquo;ll keep the same one we have as the top development league,&rdquo; Andrews said. &ldquo;Our teams will get younger and I would expect NHL teams will be happy with that.&rdquo;The 16-team AHL has eight teams based in Canada and eight in the U.S. The largest markets are Hamilton, Ont., and Rochester, N.Y. That&rsquo;s the major reason teams won&rsquo;t get into bidding wars with IHL teams.&ldquo;If we started trying to match the kind of salaries the IHL is paying, we&rsquo;d be in trouble,&rdquo; said Andrews, 44, general manager of the Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; AHL affiliates in Halifax and Cape Breton since 1987.&ldquo;With our size of markets, we can&rsquo;t spend that kind of money,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It would be really difficult for teams in Canadian cities to compete. We have to add 27 per cent to what we&rsquo;re paying to make it an even deal because of the exchange rate.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think guys can make $70,000 to $80,000 in the minors,&rdquo; said Andrews. &ldquo;Even in large markets, that becomes awfully expensive. And I don&rsquo;t know if the quality of play is that much better.&rdquo;Andrews said the AHL will continue to serve as the base for NHL player development.&ldquo;I assume we&rsquo;re moving in a younger direction. But I think the product will be just as good,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You just have to look at what Montreal has done in Fredericton. Fredericton has been able to be competitive every year with a team of players that are almost all rookies or in their second or third year.&rdquo;Butterfield has been AHL president since 1966. A member of the NHL Hall of Fame, he received the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1985 for outstanding service to hockey in the U.S.BEARS HIRE LEACH: Jay Leach remained an unemployed hockey coach for only three months.Fired after two seasons as coach of the Springfield Indians, Leach signed a two-year contract as coach of the Hershey Bears.&ldquo;If I didn&rsquo;t think this was the right job, the right plan, I never would have taken it,&rdquo; said Leach, who had a 68-70-22 record with Springfield.Leach, 40, becomes the 17th coach in Hershey history.The Bears struggled through a 27-41-12 season in 1992-93, missing the playoffs. They haven&rsquo;t won a division title since 1987-88, their last Calder Cup season.&ldquo;Your No. 1 priority is to develop players for the organization,&rdquo; said Leach, brother of Boston forward Steve Leach. &ldquo;I guess No. 1A is that you&rsquo;d like your team to be a strong, aggressive, winning team. The goal is to get to the Calder Cup and that&rsquo;s it. I firmly believe you cannot develop players without a winning feeling.&rdquo;Mike Eaves, who coached the Bears the past three seasons, returned to the parent Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant coach.NEW CHIEF: Joel Quenneville, assistant coach of the St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs the past two seasons, was named coach of the Springfield Indians in July.Quenneville, 34, played 13 NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies, New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers and Washington Capitals before becoming a player/assistant coach for St. John&rsquo;s in 1991-92. He was a second-team AHL all-star. &#9632;

Andrews won’t alter philosophy

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div>The harvest continues for NHL coaches.The latest to reap the benefits is Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; bench boss Jacques Demers.Demers, who led the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup his first year in Montreal, signed a four-year contract Aug. 11.Terms of the deal weren&rsquo;t released, but Demers is expected to earn between $650,000 and $700,000 this season and about $3 million over the duration of the contract.Demers would only say he was among the NHL&rsquo;s highest-paid coaches. That puts him somewhere in the range of the New York Rangers&rsquo; Mike Keenan ($6 million for five years); Detroit Red Wing Scotty Bowman ($2 million for two years); New Jersey Devil Jacques Lemaire ($650,000) and Los Angeles King Barry Melrose ($600,000).&ldquo;If I&rsquo;m among the best-paid coaches it&rsquo;s not because I created the market,&rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great deal. I&rsquo;m happy and fortunate.&rdquo;Demers, 49, earned a base salary of $250,000 and slightly more than $300,000 in total, including bonuses, last year.The former Quebec Nordique, St. Louis Blue and Detroit coach was out of hockey for two years before being hired in June, 1992 to replace Pat Bums. He was originally signed to a three-year contract.He became the fifth coach in team history to lead the Canadiens to the Cup in his first season, joining Toe Blake, Claude Ruel, Al McNeil and Jean Perron.SHUTT SIGNS: Figuring you never can have enough offense or, for that matter, coaches, Steve Shutt was named an assistant coach Aug. 2. He signed a three-year contract.And, as Shutt said, he certainly wasn&rsquo;t hired to teach backchecking. The former star left winger, who spent the majority of his 13-year career with Montreal, will work with the power play and teach players to score.&lsquo;I think I can teach someone to score goals,&rdquo; Shutt said, who tallied 424 times in 930 career games. &ldquo;There are some players who are natural goal-scorers, but there are things you can teach to make someone a better scorer. You can teach them how to be in the right place at the right time.&rdquo;Shutt, 41, has been a color commentator the last three seasons on Canadiens&rsquo; English-language radio broadcasts.NOTEBOOK: Center Denis Savard, 32, won&rsquo;t be back with the Canadiens this season. He signed a three-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning July 31. Savard will make $1.25 million this season, which was to have been his option year with Montreal, but the Canadiens will pay $700,000 of that total. He&rsquo;ll then receive $600,000 annually for the next two years from the Lightning. Savard, who played three seasons for the Canadiens following his trade from the Chicago Blackhawks, scored 16 goals and 34 assists in 63 games last year.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Aug. 2: Steve Shutt named assistant coach. Aug. 3: Mario Roberge. LW, signed three-year contract Aug. 10: Todd Ewen, RW, and Patrik Camback, LW, traded to Anaheim for third-round draft choice in 1994. Aug. 11: Jacques Demers, coach, signed four-year contract. &#9632;

Winning league championship pays off handsomely for Demers

&lsquo;We&rsquo;re looking for Utopia. If there is an oar not going in the same direction. that oar is going lobe palled out pretty dam quick.&rdquo;-New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello on the team&rsquo;s new philosophy. Page 11.&ldquo;if I was a star player on the team, I would have been looked after in a better manner. I&rsquo;m not afraid to say that.&rdquo;-St Louis center Ron Sutter, struggling to come back from injuries. Page 27. &#9632;

QUOTABLE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011367/6159366-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="352" height="355"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021109/6159359-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="71" height="77"></div>Gil Stein and Ottawa Senators. Stein arranged his own election to the Hockey Hall of Fame and there is speculation the Senators arranged to secure the first draft choice by throwing their last game.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03801/6159352-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="70" height="76"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04578/6159345-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="353" height="355"></div>Murray Costello. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president emerged from the Stein mess with his dignity intact. He resigned from the Hall of Fame&rsquo;s board of directors after the vote to induct Stein. &#9632;

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CHEERS AND JEERS

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05420/6159397-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="379" height="487"></div>Only one thing runs deeper than the pockets of lawyers benefiting from the lawsuit recently launched by the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.Emotions.The players are contesting commissioner Gary Bettman&rsquo;s right to rule on the validity of contract offers made to Craig Simpson (see page 29) and Kelly Miller (see page 8) by the San Jose Sharks.At issue are jurisdiction and process: Has Bettman overstepped his powers and what recourse do the players have at their disposal?&ldquo;The position of commissioner did not exist at the time the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was entered into,&rdquo; the NHLPA said in a release, &ldquo;and the NHL players did not agree&hellip;to grant the commissioner, who has a bias in favor of the owners who employ him, the authority to issue binding decisions interpreting the free agency rights of players.&rdquo;Union chief Bob Goodenow said the CBA provides for player rights involving free agency to be determined by an impartial arbitrator.The lawsuit, which was launched Aug. 18, will be heard by Judge Kimba Wood in a New York City federal district court. No date has been set. Already heard, though, have been angry voices belonging to NHL executives, who believe San Jose has tried to defraud the league&rsquo;s free-agent system.San Jose incorporated a huge and unprecedented reporting bonus as part of its payment package for Simpson. The contract was fashioned so that Simpson&rsquo;s old team, the Edmonton Oilers, would not be entitled to compensation.Many general managers were enraged that the Sharks tried to circumnavigate the system. Only one, though, went beyond the spoken word. Mike Smith of the Winnipeg Jets sent a letter of condemnation to the Sharks and copied other NHL teams. Bettman quickly sent out a memo telling teams he did not approve of the communication.But the damage was already done in San Jose, where Chuck Grillo, an ex-marine and Sharks&rsquo; director of player personnel, opened fire on Smith.&ldquo;I think he needs a good kick in the ass,&rdquo; said Grillo, who offered to settle the matter at a place of Smith&rsquo;s choosing.Director of hockey operations Dean Lombardi said Smith called the Sharks&rsquo; conduct disgraceful, argued it could lead to a feeding frenzy that would destroy the league and informed San Jose he would no longer talk to the team.&ldquo;What he wrote made no sense,&rdquo; Grillo said. &ldquo;As far as I&rsquo;m concerned, it was a brain-dead letter.&rdquo; Smith had no response to Grillo&rsquo;s comments when contacted in Santa Fe, N.M., but it&rsquo;s probable he regrets sending the letter-if not the sentiments.Meanwhile, negotiations continue on a new collective bargaining agreement. The current deal expires Sept 15, but don&rsquo;t expect a work stoppage when no new accord is reached. The regular season opens Oct. 5 and, barring a major collapse, it should proceed as scheduled.&ldquo;We have no intention of locking the players out,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a deal-maker. My goal is to make a deal. I don&rsquo;t believe we&rsquo;re going to have one by Sept. 15, but I believe in the course of the season we&rsquo;ll make a deal.&rdquo;The players will have the right to strike in the absence of a deal. But the owners could potentially convince them not to exercise that option this season by agreeing to keep rosters at 18 skaters and two goalies and not reduce them to 17 and two. &#9632;

f0002-05

GM accused of sending ‘brain-dead’ letter

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>Gil Stein&rsquo;s final grab for hockey immortality has landed him a place of infamy.The former NHL president orchestrated his March 30, 1993 election to the Hockey Hall of Fame, according to an independent report unveiled Aug. 17 in Toronto.It concludes Stein abused his position as NHL president, right down to surreptitiously writing his own nomination letter. The final words of that communication, under which NHL board of governors&rsquo; chairman Bruce McNall&rsquo;s signature appears, read:&ldquo;Throughout his long and distinguished career in the league, Mr. Stein has been the epitome of a team player, achieving many honors for his team, not himself. It is time for his team to honor him.&rdquo;Instead, there is only shame for Stein.The 65-year-old league executive informed commissioner Gary Bettman of his intention to withdraw from the Hall before the report was tabled by two of North America&rsquo;s most prominent lawyers, Yves Fortier of Montreal and Arnold Bums of New York City.Stein refused all interview requests on the subject, but issued a brief press release. He said the four-month investigation showed he broke no league or Hall of Fame rules.He also pointed out the report confirmed his election to the Hall was not part of a negotiated severance package and rejected the independent lawyers&rsquo; contention he rigged his own election.The report found Stein bullied his way into the Hall, in part, by orchestrating two changes to voting procedure. The board of directors, which votes on enshrinement for builders and on-ice officials, abandoned the traditional secret ballot in favor of an open vote and lowered the necessary majority for induction from 75 to 51 per cent.More significant, though, was board adoption of a motion proposed by former Canadian prime minister John Turner, one of Stein&rsquo;s five NHL appointees.Turner recommended the board take the unprecedented step of voting on all four 1993 nominees-Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; owner Frank Griffiths, Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; president Seymour Knox and longtime Canadian Amateur Hockey Association official Fred Page were the others-as a slate.That linked the Hall of Fame fates of all four men.&ldquo;A vote against the slate,&rdquo; said Hall chairman Scotty Morrison, &ldquo;was also a vote against Frank Griffiths, Fred Page and Seymour Knox, all deserving candidates.&rdquo;The group passed the motion, but the exact vote isn&rsquo;t known because there are no minutes from the meeting.Mario Gentile, a board member representing the municipality of Metro Toronto, said it was pointless to debate the issue when Turner moved the entire slate be elected.&ldquo;When a former prime minister, with more knowledge and experience in government and professional life than you have, makes a motion and that person is appointed by the NHL, you figure they should know,&rdquo; Gentile said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011525/6159459-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="729" height="1162"><figcaption class="caption-body">Yves Fortier</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021238/6159452-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="734" height="1165"><figcaption class="caption-body">Arnold Burns</figcaption></div>Turner would not comment on the independent report, but Bums said &ldquo;there was nothing at all improper&rdquo; in Turner proposing the board be endorsed as a group for the March 30 vote in Toronto.Stein&rsquo;s election to the Hall became an issue one day later when Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president Murray Costello resigned his seat on the board of directors after participating in the balloting.&ldquo;(The vote) was not a pleasant scene,&rdquo; Costello said, &ldquo;and I did not want to be a part of it.&rdquo;Costello did not attend a meeting the morning of March 30 when Stein hinted the NHL appointees would lose their seats if support for his initiatives was not forthcoming.Other NHL appointees were Toronto lawyer Larry Bertuzzi, NHL vice-president of operations Jim Gregory, Washington lawyer Lawrence Meyer and Philadelphia businessman Leslie Kaplan.Stein also pushed through a change calling for a &ldquo;cooliftg-off period&rdquo; that prevents board members from being elected to the Hall for two years.That change had the desired effect of making Brian O&rsquo;Neill, a former NHL vice-president and Hall of Fame nominee, ineligible for consideration. He had recently been replaced on the board of directors.Stein and O&rsquo;Neill both served under former NHL president John Ziegler, but were more rivals than colleagues. &ldquo;There was never that much love lost between us,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Neill said.Although Stein viewed current or recent directors as facing a conflict of interest, he did not consider himself in the same situation. Others feared, however, that would be the public perception and urged him to step aside.Bettman asked Stein to decline the nomination three times before a public outcry and NHL internal unrest led to the investigation.Fortier, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations and Bums, one-time deputy U.S. attorney general, were commissioned by Bettman to probe allegations Stein manipulated the process and was offered Hall membership as part of a severance package with the NHL.Among the report&rsquo;s eight recommendations was Stein not be inducted &ldquo;at this time.&rdquo;Unknown to the authors was Stein had already withdrawn his name, becoming the first of 871 inductees to North American professional baseball, football, basketball and hockey Halls of Fame to turn down their sport&rsquo;s highest honor.Stein&rsquo;s position as special advisor to Bettman is also in peril.Bettman said he and Stein would discuss Stein&rsquo;s future with the league. It&rsquo;s conceivable Stein will be retained through current negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement between NHL owners and players.The commissioner said, in hindsight, he would have done things differently. Among the warning signs Bettman chose not to act on was a call from Gregory saying he felt he was being forced to support Stein&rsquo;s initiatives.&ldquo;You always learn from experience and you can always second-guess the things you&rsquo;ve done,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;This was something that was unfortunate, but when it came to my attention, I dealt with it the best I could.&rdquo;Morrison, an NHL employee, and Hall president David Taylor, an employee of NHL Enterprises, both said they considered quitting the board because they were so offended by Stein&rsquo;s maneuvering.&ldquo;In a weak moment, maybe I thought about it,&rdquo; Morrison said. &ldquo;But we had worked our butts off to get this new Hall going and overall, the big picture was the far more important one.&rdquo;The new Hall opened June 18.Other report recommendations include formation of a separate committee to choose builders. It further recommends the number of NHL board appointees be reduced from seven to five or fewer, reducing NHL delegates to a minority.Also recommended were a code of conduct, the use of lawyers unaffiliated with the NHL and a rule that the chairman of the board not be an employee of the Hall.Morrison lauded the recommendations and set up an Aug. 25 conference call to consider the changes. Bettman said he intends to implement proposals connected with the NHL. &#9632;

f0003-01

No admission: Stein out

<div class="byline">-Michael Ulmer</div>Here is a chronology of events connected with the Gil Stein affair:October, 1992: Former NHL vice-president and Hall director Brian O&rsquo;Neill nominated as builder.November, 1992: League president Stein meets with Hall lawyer Rosanne Rocchi and Larry Bertuzzi, an NHL arbitration specialist. Bertuzzi agrees to serve on Hall&rsquo;s board of directors. Bertuzzi recommends former Canadian prime minister John Turner be named. Rocchi, Bertuzzi, and Turner are all members of Toronto&rsquo;s Miller Thomson law firm. Stein says he intends to press for rule change that prevents current or recent board members from being elected to Hall. That change makes O&rsquo;Neill ineligible.December, 1992: Stein asks NHL board of governors&rsquo; chairman Bruce McNall to nominate him to Hall and prepares a letter McNall later signs and forwards to Hall president David Taylor.February, 1993: Stein tells Rocchi and Bertuzzi of plan to replace directors and change election procedures: Open vote to replace secret ballot and enshrinement to be decided by a 51 per-cent majority, not 75 per-cent. Lawyers point out potential conflict-of-interest charges surrounding Stein&rsquo;s nomination and urge him to wait a year. He refuses. Stein reasons since he is not member of board, he is free from his own conflict-of-interest guidelines. Later, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman asks Stem to decline nomination for one year. After conversation with Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; owner Bill Wirtz, Bettman again asks Stein to step aside. Stein refuses to do so unless ordered. Stein does not tell Bettman he approached McNall, who later says Stein &ldquo;sandbagged&rdquo; him into the nomination.March, 1993: Stein dismisses three members of Hall of Fame board-including O&rsquo;Neill-of their duties and installs new slate of seven NHL appointees: Bertuzzi. NHL vice-president of hockey operations Jim Gregory, Philadelphia businessman Leslie Kaplan, Washington lawyer Lawrence Meyer, Turner, Morrison and Taylor. On March 30, Stein holds breakfast meeting with NHL representatives and makes it clear he expects their support on rule changes. If they do not comply, Stein tells them, they will lose their positions on board. Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president Costello and USA Hockey delegate Walter Bush debate rule changes, but slate is passed. &#9632;

The anatomy of Stein’s Hall of Fame shame

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div>One of the NHL&rsquo;s more turbulent seven-day periods in recent memory came to a close with several issues unresolved.Foremost among them is whether the Ottawa Senators tried to finish last in 1992-93 so they would get the first draft pick last June.Second is the NHL Players&rsquo; Association lawsuit which seeks to void a pair of free-agent rulings by commissioner Gary Bettman.Third is the matter of filling the league position of vice-president, hockey operations, a job whose stature may be on the decline.All three emerged as issues Aug. 17-23, but the former National Basketball Association executive said he was not alarmed by the many fires he has faced since taking over Feb. 1.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in the building stage,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;When the NBA was in the building we spent a lot of time putting out fires.&rdquo;The busiest firefighters of late have been lawyers Yves Fortier of Montreal and Arnold Bums of New York City. No sooner had the league-commissioned investigative team finished one job than it was handed another.Fortier and Burns concluded in an Aug. 17 report that former president Gil Stein acted improperly to secure a place in the Hall of Fame.On Aug. 23, they were assigned to assist NHL general counsel Jeff Pash in investigating allegations the Senators were more interested in the No. 1 draft pick than preserving the integrity of NHL competition.By finishing last overall, the Senators got to pick highly touted Alexandre Daigle first.&ldquo;We owe it to our fans, our players and anyone who cares about hockey to deal directly with this issue,&rdquo; Bettman said.&ldquo;The integrity of the league might be the most important thing we can deal with and that&rsquo;s why I decided we need to have a full investigation.&rdquo;Bettman is under attack from the NHLPA because he ruled on cases involving free agents Craig Simpson and Kelly Miller, rather than turn them over to independent arbitration.&ldquo;I think what Gary Bettman did was send a major signal to players on his approach to things,&rdquo; said NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow.The union is asking Bettman&rsquo;s decisions be voided.It was reported the VP job was offered to Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; director of hockey operations George McPhee and he was pondering a move back to New York City.McPhee, 35, played for the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils during a brief NHL career better remembered for punching power than point production.His candidacy reflects something of a comedown from the original slate of active general managers believed to be in the running for the job.Bettman has never publicly identified his prototype VP, but it has long been assumed an active GM-such as David Poile of the Washington Capitals or Mike Smith of the Winnipeg Jets-would command the highest level of respect and provide the necessary experience.Though McPhee is highly regarded, he is in only his second season with the Canucks.Bettman, who would not comment on McPhee, has called hiring a hockey guru one of his priorities. But he hasn&rsquo;t done so-in part because of all the problems that have emerged over the past seven months.He said a VP will be hired before the season begins. &#9632;

NHL goes from fire to fire to fire

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>In early September, relatives will bury Brian Shaw&rsquo;s ashes in a cemetery in his hometown of Nordegg, Alta.It will be the closing chapter in the life and times of the Portland Winter Hawks&rsquo; principal owner and one of major junior&rsquo;s most intriguing personalities. Shaw died of lymphoma, a cancerous brain tumor, July 27 at age 62.A pioneer of major junior hockey in the United States, Shaw was known for his tough exterior. But colleagues respected the man for his wisdom and thoughtfulness.&ldquo;Brian Shaw always spoke his mind,&rdquo; said Western League president Ed Chynoweth, &ldquo;but behind what he said there was always understanding and value for friendship.&rdquo;Hodge owned 62 per cent of the Western League&rsquo;s Winter Hawks. Among his heirs is nephew Brian J. Shaw, who owns a small share of the organization.Shaw mellowed little through his 18-year-tenure as owner of the Winter Hawks. Smoking and drinking were strictly forbidden and for many years, the players weren&rsquo;t allowed to have girlfriends.Under Shaw, tardiness brought automatic suspensions and his demands on anyone connected with the organization were legendary.Coach Ken Hodge has handled every game the Hawks have played.In his last interview, conducted July 7 with THN, Shaw explained his philosophy: &ldquo;I never wanted to give the players an excuse for losing.&rdquo;Shaw held hockey positions in Moose Jaw, Sask., St. Catharines, Ont., and Flint, Mich., before becoming coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Canadian League.A Memorial Cup berth landed Shaw a job as coach of the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s Edmonton Oilers. He was fired in 1974, after less than two years with the team, and used the $50,000 buyout to help purchase a majority share in the Oil Kings.Shaw realized there was no room in Edmonton for two franchises. He decided to take the bold step to Portland. Ore., in 1976. It took three years for the gamble to prove successful.During that time, Shaw worked without a salary as the team&rsquo;s general manager. Since then, the Hawks have been one of major junior&rsquo;s success stories at the gate, in player development and in the standings.With Shaw scouting and making player personnel decisions, the Hawks won the Memorial Cup in 1983, produced 15 first-round NHL selections and posted winning records in 10 of 15 years. Purchased for $200,000, the franchise is now worth $4-6 million.As eulogies poured in, the most fitting words belonged to Shaw. &ldquo;It was a real tough front,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but deep down, when it came to players, I was a marshmallow.&rdquo; &#9632;

Junior owner was pioneer

<div class="byline">By THN staff</div>Game plans for the United States Olympic team at the Lillehammer, Norway Games will have one common denominator: Speed.&ldquo;We felt if we used speed as a basis to build this team, we would put ourselves in a position to compete in every game,&rdquo; said coach Tim Taylor Aug. 11 after announcing the roster for a pre-Olympic tour of tournaments in Europe and games against U.S.-based NHL teams, U.S. college teams and the Canadian and Russian Olympic teams.The Canadian team will hold its camp Aug. 31-Sept. 7 in Calgary.The 25-man roster forms the basis for the U.S. Olympic team, though changes can be made up until the time the Games start in February. Here is the pre-tour lineup. Players&rsquo; ages and last year&rsquo;s teams are included.Forwards: Mark Beaufait, 23, Kansas City (IHL); Jim Campbell, 20, Hull (QMJHL); Peter Ciavaglia, 24, Rochester (AHL); Ted Drury, 21, Harvard (ECAC); Chris Ferraro, 20, Maine (Hockey East); Peter Ferraro, 20, Maine; Darby Hendrickson, 21, Minnesota (WCHA); Craig Johnson, 21, Minnesota; John Lilley, 21, Seattle (WHL); Todd Marchant, 20, Clarkson (ECAC); Derek Plante, 22, Minn.-Duluth (WCHA); David Roberts, 23, Michigan (CCHA); Brian Rolston, 20, Lake Superior (CCHA); David Sacco, 23, Boston 1). (Hockey East); Jim Storm, 22, Michigan Tech. (WCHA).Defensemen: Ted Crowley, 23, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL); Brett Hauer, 22, Minn.-Duluth; Chris Imes, 21, Maine; Peter Laviolette, 28, Providence (AHL); Matt Martin, 22, Maine; Ian Moran, 21, Boston College (Hockey East); Travis Richards, 23, Minnesota; Barry Richter, 22, Wisconsin (WCHA).Goalies: Mike Dunham, 21, Maine; Garth Snow, 24, Maine.FRIESEN GREAT: Jeff Friesen&rsquo;s star is on the rise following a strong performance in the land of the rising sun.The 17-year-old from the Western League&rsquo;s Regina Pats led all scorers at the Pacific Cup under-18 tournament Aug. 3-8 in Kushiro, Japan.Friesen, expected to be a top-three pick in the 1994 entry draft, finished the four-team tournament with nine goals and 13 points in five games.The Russian team won all five of its games. It was 3-0-0 in the roundrobin and beat the United States 10-7 in the final after beating Japan 7-4 in a semifinal game.Canada was 2-1-0 in the roundrobin, but lost a semifinal game 4-0 to the U.S. The Americans finished 1-2-0 in round-robin play. Canada beat Japan 8-3 (0-3-0 in round-robin) to win the bronze medal.O, CANADA: Prospects for the Canadian national junior team swept those from the U.S. in four games at a training and evaluation camp Aug. 16-21 in Lake Placid, N.Y.Each team brought 40 of its top junior-aged players to the camp. The teams will be chosen as the season progresses and will play in the 1994 World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic Dec. 26-Jan. 4.Mike Peca of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Ottawa 67&rsquo;s led the Canadians with four goals and six points. Boston University&rsquo;s Bob Lachance paced the Americans with three goals in two games.-With a file from Kyle Woodlief &#9632;

U.S. Olympians banking on speed

<div class="byline">By THN staff</div>The New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs will have a jolly good time at training camp this season.The Rangers and Maple Leafs conduct five days of training camp in London, England before their regular camp. The teams will play a pair of exhibition games Sept. 11-12 at the 9,500-seat Wembley Arena. The Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens made the tour last season.Here&rsquo;s a look at each team&rsquo;s training camp locations and starting dates.ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKSDuck Pond; Anaheim Sept. 10BOSTON BRUINSRistuccia Center; Wilmington, Mass. Sept. 10BUFFALO SABRESSabreland; Wheatfield, N.Y. Sept. 11CALGARY FLAMESMax Bell Arena; Calgary Sept. 10CHICAGO BLACKHAWKSChicago Stadium; Chicago Sept. 12DALLAS STARSNorth Texas Arena; Irving, Tex. Sept. 12DETROIT RED WINGSJoe Louis Arena; Detroit Sept. 10EDMONTON OILERSNorthlands Coliseum; Edmonton Sept. 10FLORIDA PANTHERSGold Coast Arena; Pompano Beach, Fla. Sept. 10HARTFORD WHALERSGutterson Fieldhouse; Burlington, Vt. Sept. 10LOS ANGELES KINGSBlue Jay Arena; Lake Arrowhead, Calif Sept. 9MONTREAL CANADIENSThe Forum; Montreal Sept. 9NEW JERSEY DEVILSMountain Arena; West Orange, N.J. Sept. 10NEW YORK ISLANDERSThe Rinks; Hauppage, N.Y. Sept. 9NEW YORK RANGERSCivic Center; Glens Falls, N.Y. Sept. 15OTTAWA SENATORSKanata Complex; Kanata, Ont. Sept. 7PHILADELPHIA FLYERSThe Coliseum; Voorhees, N.J. Sept. 1 (LPITTSBURGH PENGUINSCivic Arena; Pittsburgh Sept. 10QUEBEC NORDIQUESClermont Arena; Clermont, Que. Sept. 9ST. LOUIS BLUESBrentwood Arena; St. Louis Sept. 12SAN JOSE SHARKSCow Palace; Daly City, Calif. Sept. 9TAMPA BAY LIGHTNINGLakeland Center; Lakeland, Fla. Sept. 10TORONTO MAPLE LEAFSMaple Leaf Gardens; Toronto Sept. 13VANCOUVER CANUCKSRiverside Coliseum; Kamloops, B.C. Sept. 10WASHINGTON CAPITALSPiney Orchard Arena; Odenton, Md. Sept. 10WINNIPEG JETSWinnipeg Arena; Winnipeg Sept. 10 &#9632;

NHL camp guide

<div class="byline">By THN staff</div>Former San Jose Sharks&rsquo; coach George Kingston is back with the Canadian Olympic team.Kingston was named director of hockey operations Aug. 18.The 53-year-old was fired by the Sharks April 19, after compiling a two-year record of 28-129-7.He has experience at the national level, having served as Dave King&rsquo;s assistant coach with the Canadian Olympic team in 1984.He also spent two seasons as the head coach of Norway&rsquo;s national team prior to joining the Sharks.NEW SCHEDULE: ESPN and its fledgling second network, ESPN2, will combine to televise more than 150 NHL games this season, up from 64 presented last year.The cable giant, which is seen in more than 60 million American homes, will present 26 regular-season games and up to 37 playoff matches, including every game of the Stanley Cup final.The ESPN schedule kicks off Oct. 5 when the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Philadelphia Flyers.ESPN games in October, November and December will be televised on Tuesday nights, while those for the remainder of the season will be shown on Fridays.Eight of ESPN&rsquo;s first 14 games will involve the Los Angeles Kings or Pittsburgh. The Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens will be featured just once on ESPN.ESPN2, which will target the 18-34-year-old set, debuts Oct. 1. ESPN2 will televise at least 75 regular-season games, plus several playoff contests. The ESPN2 schedule begins Oct. 6 when the Hartford Whalers play Montreal.DISPUTE SETTLED: Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; center Eric Lindros and former agent Rick Curran have reached a settlement.A joint statement released by Curran&rsquo;s lawyer, Philip Tordella and Lindros&rsquo; lawyer, Gordon Kirke in July, said the two parties reached a deal. Terms were not disclosed.Lindros&rsquo; parents, Bonnie and Carl, hired Curran as their son&rsquo;s agent in 1988. Four years later, a rift developed between Curran and the family and he was fired shortly after he negotiated a six-year, $21million contract for Lindros with the Flyers.Lindros is now represented by his father.The Lindros&rsquo; were upset with Curran because they felt he profited from their relationship at Eric&rsquo;s expense. Curran said he was not paid the $650,000 (US) he deserved for negotiating the deal.PENSION UPDATE: The Ontario government has repealed exemptions to the Pension Benefits Act granted to the NHL pension plan four years ago.That means pension plans covering players and officials must follow all applicable Act provisions.That includes giving current plan members the right to be fully represented on the administrative boards of their respective pension plan.Ontario&rsquo;s decision is not expected to have any impact on a class-action lawsuit won last October by a group of seven retired players-Andy Bathgate, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Allan Stanley, Eddie Shack, Leo Reise and Carl Brewer-over about $25-million in misappropriated pension funds.The NHL is appealing the decision.CHIPPING IN: A former University of Maine star rendered a quadriplegic has received financial support from his school.Andre Aubut, 33, was presented with a cheque for $23,911 by the university. He broke his neck in a recreational game in Montreal April 17.Proceeds from the school&rsquo;s annual alumni hockey game July 17 were donated to Aubut and his wife, Manon, to help with medical costs.More than 1,600 fans attended the game at Alfond Arena in Orono, Me. &#9632;

Kingston returns to Nats after being bitten by Sharks

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>A hockey player in Italy will spend a minimum of 10 years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter for an on-ice incident.Jimmy Boni, a 30-year-old player in the Italian League, was indicted by an Italian court July 23 and will be tried for involuntary manslaughter.Boni, who holds a dual Canadian-Italian citizenship, will stand trial Feb. 19.If found guilty, he will face a minimum 10-year prison sentence.Boni struck 19-year-old Marin Schrott in the chest with his stick in a January, 1991 Italian League second division game. Schrott collapsed and later died of cardiac arrest.A subsequent autopsy showed Schrott had other medical problems that could have contributed to his death. Experts have speculated Schrott may have died from any number of heart-related problems.No penalty was called in the incident between Boni and Schrott. The Italian Ice Hockey Federation suspended Boni, but has since reinstated him.Boni has already settled the damage suit of about $350,000 to the player&rsquo;s family. The president of the Boni&rsquo;s Courmayeur club loaned him the money to pay the family.Boni has rejected a plea-bargain and plans to play with his team this season. Courmayeur won the second-division title last season and is moving to the league&rsquo;s first division this year.Boni was born in Italy, but grew up and played his minor hockey in Toronto. He returned to Italy with his parents when he was 15. &#9632;

Boni could face long sentence following manslaughter charge

A compendium of significant events and developments.July 13: San Jose Sharks trade goalie Jeff Hackett to Chicago Blackhawks for conditional draft pick in 1994 entry draft.July 15: Florida Panthers sign free-agent defenseman Brian Benning.July 18: San Jose signs free-agent left winger Craig Simpson and free-agent left winger Kelly Miller.Alan Eagleson resigns from Hockey Canada&rsquo;s board of directors.July 20: New Jersey Devils sign Stephane Richer to multi-year contract.Quebec Nordiques name Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds&rsquo; executive Sherry Bassin assistant general manager.Tampa Bay Lightning announce team will move from Expo Hall to Suncoast Dome, where they will play for at least next two seasons.July 22: Tampa Bay signs free-agent left winger Gerard Gallant to two-year deal.July 26: NHL president Gary Bettman invalidates San Jose&rsquo;s signing of Simpson, upholding a complaint by Edmonton Oilers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011444/6159658-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="572" height="711"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario Lemieux</figcaption></div>July 27: Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; center Mario I&gt;emieux undergoes surgery to repair disc in back.Washington Capitals match San Jose&rsquo;s offer sheet for Miller. Miller signs two-year, $l.65-million contract. Capitals also sign free-agent center Keith Acton.July 30: Boston Bruins sign free-agent defenseman Mikhail Tatarinov to one-year contract.Buffalo Sabres name Gerry Meehan executive vice-president and John Muckler coach-general manager.Tampa Bay signs center Denis Savard to three-year contract.Aug. 1: Winnipeg Jets trade goaltender Jim Hrivnak to St. Louis Blues for seventh-round pick in 1994 draft.Aug. 2: Washington signs free-agent center Dave Poulin to two-year contract.Edmonton left winger Shayne Corson charged after a July 25 boating accident near Bracebridge. OntAug. 4: Former Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; winger Steve Shutt joins Canadiens as assistant coach.Aug. 6: New Jersey names scout David Conte director of player personnel.Aug. 11: Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; center Steve Yzerman signs four-year, $13.2-million contract.New York Islanders sign left winger Derek King.Montreal extends coach Jacques Demers&rsquo; contract through the 1997 season.Tampa Bay signs center Brian Bradley to multi-year contract.Boston Bruins&rsquo; center Adam Oates undergoes knee surgery to repair cartilage damage in right knee.City of Hartford approves state takeover of the Hartford Civic Center that will keep Whalers in city for 20 years.Aug. 13: Ottawa Senators sign free-agent center Vladimir Ruzicka to two-year contractIslanders&rsquo; right winger Brian Mullen sustains mild stroke.Aug. 18: NHL report determines former president Gil Stein should not be elected into Hockey Hall of Fame.Senators&rsquo; owner Bruce Firestone announces he will step down Aug. 31. Rod Bryden takes over.Former San Jose coach George Kingston named director of hockey operations for Canadian national team; Tom Renney named coach and Dany Dube associate coach.San Jose signs free-agent winger Bob Errey.Aug. 19: NHL Players&rsquo; Association announces it will sue league over Bettman&rsquo;s decision to nullify contract offers made by San Jose to Simpson and Miller.Calgary Flames sign free-agent center Kelly Kisio.Aug. 21: St. Louis Blues offer free-agent defenseman Marty McSorley five-year. $10-million deal. &#9632;

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WEEKS IN HOCKEY: JULY 12 TO AUG. 22

I have just learned to my disappointment that Inside HOCKEY is ceasing publication.As a subscriber and fan of your magazine, I have come to appreciate the superior journalistic content and photographic quality which set IH above all other hockey periodicals.As a hockey player, coach and parent for over 30 years, I have eagerly awaited every issue-each of which has been devoured, cover to cover, within hours.I disagree with the explanation that IH competed with its sister publication The Hockey News. There was room for both.In any case, thank you for a terrific run. IH will be missed.Michael Wolfe, Sudbury, Ont.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011624/6159689-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="580" height="818"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brad Lauer is one of three left wingers to bolt the Blackhawks.</figcaption></div><h2>Left of right</h2>The purge of left wingers in Chicago is well under way.The Hawks lost Stu Grimson, Brad Lauer and Greg Gilbert in rapid succession and the problem is, they haven&rsquo;t acquired a left winger who can adequately fill the void.Apparently, Bob Pulford and friends are banking on one of their 11 defensemen to fill the spot.Unfortunately, the writing is on the wall-it&rsquo;s going to be another long winter in Chicago with little offense.Raymond Kharmouch, Little Neck, N. Y.<h2>Grapes great</h2>Robert Igoe said he didn&rsquo;t want Don Cherry to broadcast Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; games in his &ldquo;Sour on Grapes&rdquo; letter (THN, June 30).I feel the same way, but for a different reason. I&rsquo;d miss Grapes.Most true fans know Don Cherry is controversial and opinionated. But they also know he&rsquo;s the most knowledgeable hockey personality on TV in Canada or the United States.His style and sharp wit would have been sorely missed by everyone who watches Coach&rsquo;s Comer and Grapevine.Also, in response to the Quotable in the same issue, I don&rsquo;t think anyone in Anaheim or Canada cares what fashion guru Jeanne Beker thinks of the Mighty Ducks&rsquo; logo. It&rsquo;s no worse than a whale tail or a penguin.Randy Conrad, Bridgewater, N.S.<h2>Too critical</h2>Stan Fischler&rsquo;s persistent propensity for brainless Hab-bashing reached new lows, even for him, with his comments on Patrick Roy&rsquo;s selection as the the 1992-93 Conn Smythe Trophy winner (THN, July)Controversy may help sell your publication, but to describe Roy as an ordinary goalie who had a decent playoff borders on the absurd.Unfortunately, readers have heard it all before from Stan, ad nauseum. Ken Dryden was an average goalie with a great defense was a favorite Fischler topic back in the 1970s.His fact-free opinions are long past wearing a little thread-bare these days and they damage your publication&rsquo;s credibility.Rick Stiebel, New Westminster, B.C.<h2>Honest to Pete</h2>In the August issue of THN, there was a story on former Peterborough Petes&rsquo; coach-general manager Dick Todd in the Ontario League notebook.While it was very complimentary to Todd and mentioned his many achievements, it had one error and a key omission.Dick won two Ontario League titles and not one as stated in the article. He won one in 1989 and one this past season.The omission was the fact Todd led the Petes to first place in the Leyden Division six out of 12 years.Bill Bott Jr. Peterborough, Ont.<h2>Not real L.A. story</h2>I was very upset with Eric Duhatschek&rsquo;s column, &ldquo;Hockey&rsquo;s not King in L.A. yet&rdquo; (THN, July).Although there are a few fans who have jumped on the bandwagon, most who cheered for the Kings in the Stanley Cup finals were die-hards.These fans, myself included, have been to hell and back with our Kings over the past 26 seasons.Duhatschek uses Quebec Nordique supporters as an example of loyal fans. But what he fails to recognize is most Kings&rsquo; fans sat through (and very patiently I might add) many years of less than mediocre hockey, with the main concern being whether or not the team would beat out the Vancouver Canucks for the final playoff spot.Because there are 12 million people living in the greater Los Angeles area, not everyone is going to be a hockey expert.There is, however, a strong contingent of die-hard fans who deserved a Stanley Cup final appearance just the same, if not more, than any other group of long-suffering fans.Eli Kitt, Reseda, Calif.<h2>N.Y. wasteland</h2>It seems as though the New York Rangers have become the dumping ground for former star players that are well past their prime.While the Phil Espositos, Guy Lafleurs and Marcel Dionnes have provided sporadic glimpses of their former greatness, their best years had long gone by the time they slipped on the Ranger jersey.General manager Neil Smith seems doggedly determined to continue this sad tradition by importing a group of thirtysomething players for the Rangers&rsquo; future.Doug Weight for Esa Tikkanen?One more suggestion. Why not throw some cash at a player who could become a star in a Ranger sweater, free-agent Swedish phenom Peter Forsberg.It would save the Rangers from the bungled Lindros affair and would add a dash of poetic justice.Tom Topolski, Jubail, Saudi Arabia<h2>Bravo, Gary</h2>Many fans are angered with the name changes for the league&rsquo;s four divisions.But what they should realize is Gary Bettman is attempting to promote the game in the U.S. and is by no way hurting NHL tradition.The names Patrick, Adams, Norris and Smythe will still be honored. The league has major-post season trophies named in their honor. IIf renaming the divisions helps even one person to better understand the game and become a fan, Bettman has accomplished what he set out to do.Stephen Jermyn, Millington, Tenn.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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Inside HOCKEY will be missed

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021108/6159720-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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THE DRAW

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011470/6159751-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="375" height="536"></div>By its very nature hockey is cold. It also is mean and harsh.But don&rsquo;t try telling that to my 15-year-old-son, Simon. To him, hockey is aces and its people are the warmest in the world. Simon speaks firsthand because hockey people played a significant part in helping save his life.Mike Keenan, Alexei Kasatonov, Mick Vukota, Paul Stewart, Sean Burke, Jim McKenzie, Kerry Fraser, Lou Vairo, Derek King, Peter McNab and Mike Richter will deny they did anything, but the facts say otherwise.On June 28, a perfectly normal, healthy young goalie collapsed in a doctor&rsquo;s office of what later was diagnosed as heart failure.Doctors said a virus from a flu he contracted last February at Northwood School in Lake Placid may have attacked his heart and caused the irreversible damage. Simon didn&rsquo;t know it, but over a period of months from February through June his condition deteriorated to a point where there was no saving the heart.&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll only live,&rdquo; his doctor revealed, &ldquo;if he gets a transplant.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s when the hockey community demonstrated that it has a heart.A day after Simon learned a transplant was his only salvation, Northwood alumnus Richter walked into his room, completely unannounced and unexpected, to buoy the lad&rsquo;s spirits. A half-hour later, Keenan dropped by.Keenan and I haven&rsquo;t always seen eye-to-eye, but when the new New York Rangers&rsquo; coach saw me outside Simon&rsquo;s room he delivered a hug so forceful, so filled with a meaningful hang-tough message that I will carry it forever. Neither of the Mikes treated Simon like some pathetic character. They were real, friendly and disarming; a perfect topic at a critical time.&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t believe how nice they were,&rdquo; Simon observed while at the same time dutifully battling the urge to become a Rangers&rsquo; fan as hard as his heart was battling to beat.There was no telling when Simon&rsquo;s donor heart would arrive; nor if, in fact, one ever would be delivered. Nor was there any way of knowing how long Simon&rsquo;s failing heart would keep him alive. In the meantime, it was necessary to keep his spirits soaring and, as it happened, his passionate love for hockey was the perfect vehicle.He would devour The Hockey News on its arrival and demand every daily NHL bulletin be read to him. One day he commented off-handedly he liked the looks of the Hartford Whalers&rsquo; jersey. Two days later McKenzie and Burke drove down from Hartford to personally deliver a new No. 1 sweater.The Islanders&rsquo; Vukota and King showed up with a video game that later would become Simon&rsquo;s prime antidote to boredom.Simon also got calls from Kelly Hrudey, Trevor Linden, Pat Verbeek, Glenn Healy, Patrick Flatley, Steve Tambellini, Pat LaFontaine, Don Maloney, Neil Smith, Nick Fotiu, Brad Park, Al Arbour and Tie Domi.Domi also sent a package that included his Jets&rsquo; jersey, a poster, a couple of 8-by-10 glossies and a different, original message on each one, including a P.S. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a Ranger anymore, so you can like me. Hang tough, bud.&rdquo;Lou Lamoriello pitched in with an old Craig Billington New Jersey Devils&rsquo; sweater.Unfortunately none of the gifts could sustain Simon&rsquo;s heart forever.On Aug. 5, he was told he had to return to intensive care. The drug that sustained his heartbeat no longer could carry the load. The message was clear-Simon was slipping, a donor heart was urgently needed.Perhaps it was coincidence, perhaps fate, but that afternoon Hall of Famer Rod Gilbert unexpectedly paid a visit. He told Simon about his own medical horrors and one hospitalization in particular.&ldquo;One time,&rdquo; said Gilbert, &ldquo;I was in the hospital and I stopped breathing,&rdquo; Gilbert recalled. &ldquo;(Ranger general manager) Emile Francis was there and the nurse turned to him and said I was dead. The Cat said, &lsquo;He can&rsquo;t be dead he&rsquo;s my leading scorer. Get him back to life.&rsquo; They pounded away at me and brought me back.&rdquo;Approximately four hours after Gilbert&rsquo;s visit, Dr. Maryanne Kichuk dropped by. &lsquo;The new heart has arrived,&rdquo; she said.The transplantation took place early the next morning, Aug. 6. It means Simon can watch hockey again, and perhaps even play. He can worry about Pierre Turgeon; he can complain about Patrick Roy and he can admire Keenan, while booing his club. However, I doubt that he&rsquo;ll ever hoot Fraser who gave him the referee&rsquo;s outfit he wore in the All-Star Game.An unknown donor family was responsible for giving Simon the gift of life. But until the new organ came, the hockey community helped inspire him, showing that it had more heart than I had ever believed possible. For that there can only be eternal thanks. &#9632;

f0007-01

Hockey helped save my son’s life

<div class="byline">By Dave Sell</div>The Washington Capitals were all over the free-agent market in late July and early August, protecting a player with one hand while grabbing two with the other.Some observers were surprised when the Capitals matched the two-year $2.65-million offer sheet 30-year-old left winger Kelly Miller signed with the San Jose Sharks, but it became more palatable after commissioner Gary Bettman changed provisions. Owner Abe Pollin insisted the team would have matched anyway.Miller represents part of the core of Capitals&rsquo; players general manager David Poile is trying to surround with grit and experience. So, with that goal in mind, Poile signed 35-year-old center Keith Acton to a termination contract on the same day he matched Miller&rsquo;s offer sheet. Then the team signed 34-year-old center Dave Poulin, who was one of the most appealing players in a relatively unappealing pool of free agents.Pollin-who has considered offers to buy the franchise-used the Miller news conference to stress he rejected those overtures and will demonstrate renewed vigor in the team.&ldquo;I made up my mind that Miller was an important part of our team and that we were not letting him go,&rdquo; Pollin said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m dedicated to bringing a Stanley Cup to Washington and Miller is an integral part of our team.&ldquo;There have been substantial offers made to me for the Capitals and I have rejected all of them. The Capitals are not for sale.&rdquo;Miller will get a $1-million signing bonus, a 1993-94 salary of $800,000 and a &rsquo;94-95 salary of $850,000. Miller has an option until May 15, 1994 to extend the contract for two more seasons at $500,000 per season.The team has the option to extend the deal for the same years at the same salary if Miller&rsquo;s 1993-94 salary is within $200,000 of the highest paid Shark. That was the clause that Bettman altered. The way it was originally written, the Sharks probably would have been able to extend the offer but the Capitals-and most teams that might trade for Miller-would already be unable to exercise that option because they have players making more than $1 million.Bettman also struck down two trade clauses. The most significant one could have allowed Miller to extend the contract to 2000, which would have been a deterrent to a potential trade.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sad,&rdquo; Miller said when asked if he was happy that Washington matched. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a fantastic organization. I&rsquo;ve had seven great years there. By the same token, San Jose represented some nice positives.&rdquo;Acton was offered a termination contract by Philadelphia, so he was free to look elsewhere. He signed a $375,000 termination deal with the Capitals. Poulin was a Group V free agent, meaning he had been in the league 10 seasons and did not make the league average salary. He signed with the Caps for a year and an option for a base salary of $750,000 per season.The interest in both players was related to some of what was missing last season and will be missing in the first quarter of the season.The Capitals lacked veteran leadership last year. Hatcher did well once given the captain&rsquo;s &lsquo;C&rsquo;, but it&rsquo;s a role he will have to continue to work on. Dale Hunter-who is the epitome of grit and determination-will miss the first 21 games while serving a suspension for checking the Islanders&rsquo; Pierre Turgeon.NOTEBOOK: Bob Carpenter probably will not be back. Under the arrangement by which Carpenter returned to the Caps last season and scored 11 goals while making $500,000, the Capitals were allowed to offer a termination contract for 1993-94. Carpenter did not return that by the July 31 deadline, when offers can be rescinded.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 27: Matched offer sheet Kelly Miller, LW, signed with San Jose. Keith Acton, C, signed termination contract. Aug. 3: Dave Poulin. C. signed as free agent. Kevin Kaminski. C. and Olie Kotzig, G, signed two-year contracts. Aug. 18: Shawn Anderson. D. Byron Dafoe, G, and Martin Gendron, RW, signed contracts. &#9632;

Poile adds grit and experience

<div class="byline">By Roy Cummings</div>The nomadic Tampa Bay Lightning are moving again.After playing their first season at the Florida State Fairgrounds east of Tampa, the Lightning are moving across Tampa Bay to St. Petersburg&rsquo;s lavish Florida Suncoast Dome. And this time, the Lightning plan on staying a while.The Lightning initially made plans to call the Suncoast Dome home 18 months ago, but quickly changed their minds when hordes of angry season ticket holders threatened to cancel their subscriptions, citing everything from poor sightlines to long drives as the reason for their displeasure with the Dome.There was no such backlash from the fans following the team&rsquo;s latest move to St. Petersburg, though. Within two weeks of announcing the move July 21, the Lightning&rsquo;s season ticket base of less than 5,000 had more than doubled.The increase came primarily as a result of the team&rsquo;s decision to alter its ticket prices. A year ago, Lightning fans visiting the 10,400-seat Expo Hall paid an average of $28 per ticket with most tickets available only in the $34.50 range.At the 28,000-seat Dome, the average ticket will cost $19.50&ndash;by far the lowest average ticket price in the league&ndash;and a season ticket in the far reaches of the Dome&rsquo;s upper deck could be had for $99.The Lightning planned on selling 1,000 of the $99 season ticket packages, but after those were scooped up within an hour of going on sale Aug. 2, the team decided to extend the offer for one week. The Lightning have not released figures, but it is believed more than 3,000 of the $99 season tickets were sold.The move to the Dome should prove profitable for the Lightning. The team lost $4.9 million playing at Expo Hall last season. But they expect to at least break even at the Dome, where they will receive 100 per cent of all concession, parking and advertising revenue.The Lightning are scheduled to spend two seasons in the Dome, but could stay longer if plans for a permanent arena fall through again.The team is weighing three options in regards to a permanent home. One would have them remaining in St. Petersburg and playing in a facility to be built by the city. The others would have them moving back to Hillsborough County and playing in either downtown Tampa or next to Tampa Stadium.Team officials have said they plan to announce their intent by the end of October.SAVVY SAVARD: The Lightning added some offensive savvy to their lineup by signin, free agent center Denis Savard to a multi-yea-contract July 31.The signing of Savard, which came after the 32-year-old accepted a termination contract from the Montreal Canadiens, followed the signing of former. Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; winger Gerard Gallant.Savard, who leaves behind his hometown team and the defending Stanley Cup champions, said the decision to leave Montreal was difficult, but the best for his career.&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s face it, they have a lot of young kids who won a Cup and I wasn&rsquo;t going to get the ice time,&rdquo; Savard said of the Canadiens. &ldquo;I wanted to go where I could play a lot. This is it.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: General manager Phil Esposito has had a busy summer. In addition to signing Gerard Gallant and Denis Savard, he added minor-league star Bill McDougall and enforcer Rudy Poeschek. McDougall is coming off a stunning playoff in which he scored 26 goals and 52 points in 16 games in leading the Cape Breton Oilers to the American League title.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 21: Gerard Gallant. LW, signed as free agent. July 31: Denis Savard, C, signed as free agent. Aug. 11: Brian Bradley. C, signed multi-year contract. Aug. 13: Bill McDougall, C. and Rudy Poeschek, RW, signed as free agents. &#9632;

Lavish Suncoast Dome great place to call home

<div class="byline">By Rick Carpiniello</div>For the first time since last Dec. 17, Brian Leetch feels there has been a positive development regarding the injured nerves in his neck and left shoulder.While he doesn&rsquo;t expect to have all of his strength back, the New York Rangers&rsquo; defenseman said there has been something of a breakthrough recently.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s about 80 per cent and it&rsquo;s getting better,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It keeps showing improvement, getting stronger, which is a change. When it was getting better before, it was because we were working on the muscles around the injury. Now I think the shoulder is getting stronger, which means the nerve is regenerating. They think it will get to 90 per cent, which is fine.&rdquo;Leetch expects to not only be playing by the time the pre-season begins, but be playing like Brian Leetch again from the start of this season.The 1991-92 Norris Trophy winner as the NHL&rsquo;s best defenseman went through a night-marish 1992-93 season, sustaining a neck and shoulder nerve injury in December.After returning in March, Leetch slipped on ice outside his Manhattan apartment and sustained a broken ankle, which ended his season and the Rangers&rsquo; playoff hopes.Upon his return last March, Leetch was frustrated because every phase of his game returned naturally, except his strength. He was able to do everything except shoot the puck hard and reach out to tie up an opponent.Now, Leetch has no doubt he can play at an all-star level again.&ldquo;The level of play&hellip;I never have set goals of numbers, but the quality of play I want to achieve is the way I played the year I won the Norris,&rdquo; he said.Leetch, who broke his right ankle three years earlier, said this injury was far less severe because it was a clean break and there was no ligament damage. He will play with a plate and six screws in his left ankle and a plate and nine screws in his right ankle.ERIXON RETIRES: Left winger Jan Erixon, 31, announced his retirement July 20.The reason, Erixon said, was to spend time with his wife and two young children. Erixon will play the short schedule in his hometown of Skelleftea in the Swedish league. He hopes to play for his country in the 1994 Olympics.The injury-prone Erixon, who was the senior Ranger with 10 years service, said he is leaving the door open to a possible return.&ldquo;My back wasn&rsquo;t 100 per cent,&rdquo; Erixon said. &ldquo;My wife and I decided it was time to go home and play in Sweden for one year. After that, we&rsquo;ll see. We&rsquo;ll see after the season if my back is good enough. You never know.&rdquo;Erixon confirmed Rangers&rsquo; president Neil Smith wanted him to come back. Erixon not only was frustrated by the back and neck injuries that limited him to an average of 49 games the last five years. He was also frustrated with how his ice time disappeared last season, especially after the arrivals of left wingers Esa Tikkanen and Ed Olczyk in trades.Nine days after Erixon retired, the Rangers signed left winger Greg Gilbert, an unrestricted free agent from the Chicago Blackhawks. Gilbert, 31, who is entering his 12th season, played for coach Mike Keenan for 3 &frac12; years in Chicago, a span in which the Blackhawks went to three conference finals and one Cup final.NOTEBOOK: Rangers&rsquo; president/GM Neil Smith said he was &ldquo;pleased&rdquo; with the negotiations with free agents Glenn Healy, Jeff Beukeboom and Doug Lidster.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 15: Eric Cairns, D. signed contract. July 19: Mattias Norstrom. D. signed contract July 21: Jan Erixon, LW. retired. July 29: Greg Gilbert, LW. signed as free agent. Aug. 4: Rick Bennett. LW. Per Djoos, D, Brian McReynolds. C, Mike Stevens, LW, Dave Marcinyshyn, D, and Dave Thomlinson, LW. released. Aug. 10: Jon Hillebrandt. G, signed contract. Aug. 16: Darren Langdon. LW. signed contract. Aug. 17: Shawn McCosh, C. signed contract. Aug. 18: Doug Lidster, D. signed contract. &#9632;

Leetch and 15 screws fastened for a comeback

<div class="byline">By Craig Dolch</div>This is how Brian Skrudland&rsquo;s season started last year: 30 seconds into the first game, he collided with another player, injured his right knee and had to be helped off the ice.This is how Brian Skrudland&rsquo;s season ended last year: he watched his former Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; teammates hoist the Stanley Cup. Skrudland could have joined in the celebration had the center not asked the Canadiens to trade him to Calgary five months earlier.There wasn&rsquo;t much to talk about in between, besides breaking his left thumb in four places and his nose in eight places. He missed 44 games. Then, to cap everything off, he was selected by the Florida Panthers in the expansion draft-a month after he bought a new home in Calgary.&ldquo;It was a tough year between the injuries, the trade and having to move when your family just bought a beautiful home,&rdquo; Skrudland said. &ldquo;But I figured what the hell, if it&rsquo;s going to happen, might as well blow it all out at once and get it over with.&rdquo;Skrudland, 30, isn&rsquo;t ready for his NHL career to end. He sees joining the expansion club as a fresh start.He knows that whatever happens, it can&rsquo;t be worse than last year.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going in with the attitude it&rsquo;s not going to happen again,&rdquo; Skrudland said.The Panthers are looking for Skrudland to provide leadership and score possibly 20 goals.He believes most of his teammates will play with an aggressive style and intensity.&ldquo;I really like our team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to be a team that drives the other teams nuts. We&rsquo;re going to be like the fly that never goes away.&rdquo;TOUGH TIMES: This has been a difficult off-season for goalie John Vanbiesbrouck and not just because he was with three different teams during a six-day span in July.Vanbiesbrouck is still struggling to deal with the suicide death of his brother Frank, who killed himself with a gunshot to the head in April in Mount Clemens, Mich. Frank Vanbiesbrouck, 36, left behind a four-year-old daughter, Nicole.&ldquo;It has been difficult, really difficult,&rdquo; said John, 29. &ldquo;Growing up he was my role model. He was a goalie, too, and that kind of inspired me to play the position.&rdquo;Vanbiesbrouck has tried to put the tragedy behind him as he becomes the team&rsquo;s marquee player in South Florida. But it hasn&rsquo;t been easy.&ldquo;I still think of Frank a lot,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t subject others to it or burden my family with it. But it hangs heavy on me. I miss him a lot.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Panthers invited John Vanbiesbrouck, Brian Skrudland, top draft pick Rob Niedermayer and four other players to South Florida in early August to help raise community awareness for the sport. Dave Lowry didn&rsquo;t mind answering basic questions like: How many teams are in the league? Which teams did you used to play for? How many players are on the ice at the same time? &ldquo;We&rsquo;d rather have people ask us those kind of questions than to not come and say they don&rsquo;t understand the game,&rdquo; Lowry said.The Panthers made their first trade Aug. 3 when they acquired center Jason Cirone from the Winnipeg Jets for center Dave Tomlinson. The Panthers had acquired Tomlinson from Toronto for future considerations.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 20: ten Barrie, C, and Jeff Serowik, D, signed as free agents. July 27: Daniel Gauthier, LW, signed corn tract, July 29: Lindy Ruff named assistant coach, Aug. 5: Rick Kromm named assistant coach of Cincinnati (IHL). Aug. 10: Patrick Lebeau. LW. Jody Hull, RW, and C.J. Young, RW, signed contracts. &#9632;

Hard-Iuck Skrudland seeking peace in Florida

<div class="byline">By Lou Friedman and Jeff Williams</div>Brian Mullen will be able to play hockey again, but probably not until at least the 1994-95 season.Mullen, 31, suffered a mild stroke Aug. 11. After undergoing a battery of tests in nine days in two hospitals (Huntington Hospital and Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center), Mullen&rsquo;s prognosis for hockey&ndash;and more importantly life itself&ndash;looks good.&ldquo;If you were to look at him, you would never know he suffered a stroke,&rdquo; said Dr. Ralph Sacco, Mullen&rsquo;s neurologist at Columbia. &ldquo;I have every expectation he&rsquo;ll be out there playing again, if not by the playoffs, then the start of next season.&rdquo;The doctor explained that Mullen suffered a blood clot in his left leg. When the clot dissolved, a piece broke off, found its way through a pinhole in the atrium of his heart, and wound up in the right side of his brain, blocking the small artery.&ldquo;This has not left him with any neurological damage-at the moment,&rdquo; Dr. Sacco said. &ldquo;For all intents and purposes, his neurological examination is normal.&rdquo;Mullen is taking blood thinners to prevent further clotting and will most likely undergo September surgery to close the pinhole in his heart.&ldquo;Our major concern is that Brian has a full recovery and is able to enjoy a long and healthy life with his wife and family,&rdquo; Islanders&rsquo; general manager Don Maloney said. &ldquo;Anything over and above that is a bonus as far as we&rsquo;re concerned.&rdquo;Mullen, wife Linda, daughter Nicole and son Chris live in Huntington, Long Island.ARENA BASHING: Islanders&rsquo; owner John Pickett says Nassau Coliseum is no longer adequate and &ldquo;we can&rsquo;t be sitting around with a rundown building.&rdquo;&ldquo;Down the road, and I hope it&rsquo;s not too far down the road, is building a new building,&rdquo; Pickett said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a necessity. We can&rsquo;t exist in that building. It hasn&rsquo;t been maintained to the highest standards. Madison Square Garden has undergone a $200-million renovation; Philadelphia is spending $150 million on a new building, Buffalo is spending $130 million, Boston is spending $200 million.&rdquo;The Coliseum is owned by Nassau County and operated by Spectacor. The team has a lease there to 2015. It does not include revenue from concessions and parking. Besides gate revenue, the Islanders get revenue from billboard ads and luxury boxes.NOTEBOOK: The Islanders signed left winger Derek King to a four-year $3-million deal Aug. 11. The contract provides him additional compensation for last season when he played out his option at $375,000&hellip;Don Maloney said he and coach Al Arbour agreed to the terms of a new contract and it should be signed soon. Arbour announced his intention to stay with the team in July.Washington center Dale Hunter, suspended 21 games for his blindside smash that separated Pierre Turgeon&rsquo;s shoulder in last year&rsquo;s playoffs, won&rsquo;t be pleased to know his third game after reinstatement takes place Nov. 30-on Long Island. The Capitals and Islanders do not face each other during Hunter&rsquo;s unpaid vacation.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 1: Announced At Arbour will return as coach. July 2: Milan Hnilicka. G. signed contract. July 27: Announced a three-year agreement with Salt Lake (IHL). Dave Farrish named coach and Chris Pryor assistant coach. Aug. 4: Brad Dalgamo, RW, signed multi-year contract. Aug. 10: Dan Plante, RW, signed contract. Aug. 11: Derek King. LW, signed multi-year contract. Aug. 12: Mick Vukota. RW, signed contract Aug. 17: Dean Chynoweth, D. Wayne McBean. D, and David Chyzowski. LW. signed contracts. Aug. 18: Bob Froese named goaltender coach. Aug. 22: Travls Green. C. agreed to terms on contract. &#9632;

Mullen’s career on hold following mild stroke

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div>New Jersey Devils&rsquo; general manager Lou Lamoriello has promised to take swift action against troublemakers on the team&rsquo;s roster this year in the hopes of avoiding another season of discord in the dressing room.As Jacques Lemaire prepared to open his first training camp as coach, Lamoriello predicted a harmonious and winning season.&ldquo;If (disharmony) was an issue in the past, I can guarantee you it won&rsquo;t be an issue for the future,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;Any indication of that will be recognized immediately by our coaches and will be addressed by management.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re looking for Utopia. We want everybody going in the same direction. If there is an oar not going in the same direction, that oar is going to be pulled out of the water pretty darn quick.&rdquo;Ex-Devil Peter Stastny and current right winger Claude Lemieux were among those who had clashes with former coach Herb Brooks last season.However, the problems went beyond the public bickering.&ldquo;Some things went on last year that just can&rsquo;t go on this year,&rdquo; John MacLean said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something we have to work on right from the start of training camp. It doesn&rsquo;t come automatically. Everybody has to come in with a frame of mind to get along as a team and to make a few sacrifices.&ldquo;It showed last year that we weren&rsquo;t a team. If we don&rsquo;t get along, we&rsquo;ll just be in the same predicament.&rdquo;Goalie Craig Billington, who was traded to the Ottawa Senators for Peter Sidorkiewicz June 20 to avoid being lost in the expansion draft for no return, said discord among players sabotaged a successful 1992-93 season.&ldquo;I have a pretty simple theory,&rdquo; Billington said. &ldquo;I honestly don&rsquo;t believe the team mixed well. I don&rsquo;t think New Jersey needs to work on backchecking, forechecking or the Xs and Os. The team needs more than just a handful of guys getting along with each other.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know Jacques Lemaire. He certainly comes from a winning organization and I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;ll work to make the team more cohesive. There are some great character people in that room and that organization is not far away from being successful. Very successful. However, they have to get along in the room and that&rsquo;s the area that needs improvement.&rdquo;Lemaire is confident he can bring the Devils together as a team.&ldquo;Two things always stick in my mind about being a winner,&rdquo; Lemaire said. &ldquo;Team effort and drive. That&rsquo;s what the people in New Jersey will see this year.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Forwards Doug Brown and Janne Ojanen were both on the Devils&rsquo; training camp roster, but have asked to be traded. GM Lou Lamoriello said he is trying to accommodate the two veterans&hellip;Goalie coach Jacques Caron worked with new backup Peter Sidorkiewicz in Hartford and is expected to play a significant role in the development of youngster Martin Brodeur.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 19: Stephane Richer. C. signed three-year contract. July 21: Corey Mitten. C, signed multi-year contract. Aug. 6: David Conte named director of player personnel. Aug. 11: Jacques Caron named goalie coach. Aug. 17: Brian Rolston. C, and Mike Dunham, G. signed contracts. &#9632;

Lamoriello won’t tolerate whining crybabies this year

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div>Mark Recchi can&rsquo;t wait for the endless summer to end.The Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; right winger is coming off his most productive season from an individual standpoint, but one of his most frustrating in terms of team goals.With 123 points, Recchi broke Bob Clarke&rsquo;s team mark for points (119) in a season. But when the Flyers missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season, the scoring milestone was all but forgotten.The 25-year-old has reason to believe this might be his last long, hot summer because of several moves the Flyers have made.They acquired right winger Jim Cummins from the Detroit Red Wings, signed free-agent defenseman Jeff Finley (formerly of the New York Islanders) and added free-agent center Dave Tippett, who last played for the Pittsburgh Penguins.The Flyers also made it known that right winger Mikael Renberg of Sweden will have a roster spot waiting for him in training camp and left winger Claude Boivin, who underwent knee surgery in January, is close to 100 per cent.According to Recchi, the moves increase the size and depth of a lineup that was beginning to make noise at the end of last season. That&rsquo;s why he and the rest of the Flyers are anxious to get started.&ldquo;They (management) added depth and I think that&rsquo;s the one thing we were lacking last year,&rdquo; Recchi said. &ldquo;We definitely have that now. We have some excellent role players who can take you over the top.&rdquo;Having Renberg and Boivin in the lineup gives the Flyers the makings of three good lines, something they have lacked the past couple seasons.General manager Russ Farwell has high hopes for Renberg.&ldquo;If Renberg can establish himself and be a solid contributor, it gives us another big winger who can score,&rdquo; Farwell said. &ldquo;That would flesh out our team a little bit, give us balance.&ldquo;Boivin did a good job rehabbing. We don&rsquo;t expect him to lead our team in scoring but he does have a presence.&rdquo;HART RETURNS: Veteran play-by-play announcer Gene Hart will return to head the Flyers&rsquo; television broadcast team.Hart, who spent the past five years handling the Flyers&rsquo; broadcasts on radio, replaces Mike Emrick.The 62-year-old Hart has been with the Flyers since their inception in 1967. He will be joined by color commentator Gary Dornhoefer, an ex-Flyer player, who split duties with Bill Clement last year.The Flyers have not reached a decision on their radio broadcasters for the 1993-94 season.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Terry Carkner signed a multi-year contract, thus avoiding an arbitration hearing that was scheduled for July 12&hellip;The Flyers named Jay Leach as coach of the Hershey Bears, their American League affiliate. Leach, 40, replaces Mike Eaves, who is now an assistant coach with the Flyers.Russ Farwell signed left winger Dave Tippett and defenseman Jeff Finley to free-agent contracts Aug. 2. Tippett. 31, played 74 games for Pittsburgh last season&hellip;The Flyers added depth in goal with the signing of free agent Norm Foster Aug. 4. With the trade of Stephane Beauregard to Winnipeg, the Flyers did not have a veteran in reserve.For the second straight year, the Flyers and Pittsburgh will open ESPN&rsquo;s television schedule. The teams meet in Philadelphia Oct. 5.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 14: Terry Carkner, D. signed contract. July 28: Jay Leach named coach of Hershey (AHL). Aug. 2: Dave Tippett. LW, and Jeff Finley. D. signed as free agents. Aug. 3: Claude Vilgrain, RW. signed as free agent. Wes Walz. C, released. Aug. 4: Tracy Egeland. C, Chris Winnes. RW. Norm Foster. G. signed as free agents. &#9632;

Summer too long for Mark

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011498/6159988-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="379" height="539"></div>In the old days, Dave Poulin would have been the sort of player who played for the same team throughout his career. He would have been one of those guys who had the team crest tatooed over his heart, the sort who wound up as part of that same organization&rsquo;s management when his playing career ended.But these aren&rsquo;t the old days, which is why there was an inordinate amount of animosity this summer when Poulin left the Boston Bruins to sign with the Washington Capitals as a free agent.Washington is Poulin&rsquo;s third team during a 10-year career, and the Capitals are looking at Poulin to contribute the same intangibles he contributed first in Philadelphia, and later in Boston.He is being counted upon to be a leader and to add some drive and determination to a team with gifted players in Peter Bondra, Michal Pivonka and Dimitri Khristich.In short, Poulin is being counted upon for his heart-especially while Dale Hunter sits out the first quarter of the season due to a suspension.Ironically, he is what you would define as the perfect Bruin or the perfect Flyer, teams that let Poulin get away. Even more ironically, Poulin does not seem to be the sort of guy who would cause Boston general manager Harry Sinden to lose his cool.But that is exactly what Sinden did when Poulin jilted the Bruins and signed with the Capitals.Sinden said loyalty went out the window as Poulin left town.&ldquo;I was surprised at (Sinden&rsquo;s) reaction,&rdquo; said Poulin. &ldquo;Surprised, and a little disappointed. But I had to do what I thought was best. I think, to an extent, things are a lot different in our league since the (1992) strike.&ldquo;Before, we all used to hear the term &lsquo;it&rsquo;s a business,&rsquo; but during and after that strike, those words became more of a reality. They were the words you&rsquo;d hear when you got traded, and now management hears it when a player leaves (as a free agent.)&rdquo;The reaction to Poulin leaving Boston is similar to the reaction of the fans in Philadelphia when he was traded from the Flyers. How could such a quality player and individual be allowed to leave?It&rsquo;s a question that still haunts Flyers&rsquo; fans (who got Ken Linseman in return).The reason Poulin is leaving Boston is simple: Money.The Bruins offered Poulin about $600,000 per season for a one-year deal, with the club retaining their option in the second year. The Caps guaranteed about $750,000 per season for two seasons, along with some very attainable bonuses.The Caps were not the only team offering that type of deal. In fact, Poulin sifted through a couple of similar offers before deciding on the Caps, and jilting the Bruins.According to Sinden&mdash;and certainly a number of other management people&mdash;Poulin is just a mercenary. He put aside the couple of years the Bruins paid him a healthy sum while he sat out with injuries and he showed little loyalty.The pity here is that both Poulin and Sinden are the sort of people usually held up as fine examples of pillars of the sport.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021224/6159981-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="576" height="883"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Poulin</figcaption></div>Sinden is a certain Hall of Famer who has demanded and extracted much from his Boston teams, and has always let the good of the game guide him in league matters. And Poulin is as fine a role model as the NHL could hope to produce.What it all came down to was the guarantee of one more big pay day for a 35-year-old player who has to think about his life after hockey.For a player such as Poulin, and any player who played the bulk of his career when salaries weren&rsquo;t so generous, that guaranteed extra year could make a huge difference.He could make as much in his final season as he did in his first four or five.But the fact that a guy like Dave Poulin can look like a villain to a guy like Harry Sinden should tell you all you need to know about the rapidly changing climate between players and management. &#9632;

f0012-01

Poulin contract sign of the times

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div>Le Club Sportif in Quebec City is a nondescript building one block away from the bright lights of La Grande Allee. It faces the rolling expanse of green space that surrounds the old battlements in the historic city.Le Club was rented by the Ottawa Senators for a post-entry draft party the night of June 26 for what was to be a celebration of the arrival of franchise savior Alexandre Daigle.Earlier in the day, the Senators had made Daigle the top choice in the draft, using the pick awarded them for finishing last in the NHL.Balloons and streamers decorated the hall, food was served and Richard Proulx, the Senators&rsquo; public address announcer, introduced the members of team management and that day&rsquo;s draft selections to the assembled crowd of limited partners, fans, club employees and invited media.The night was supposed to be remembered as one of the brightest moments in the short history of the Senators. Instead, it may be remembered as one of the darkest.The whiff of a possible cheating scandal surfaced in an Aug. 18 column by the Ottawa Sun&rsquo;s Earl McRae. It was one day after Bruce Firestone sold his stake in the Senators and announced he was stepping down as the club&rsquo;s governor effective Aug. 31. The allegations prompted the league to commission an investigation.The accounts of what transpired at Le Club Sportif vary. At worst, Firestone revealed a plan for the Senators to throw games to ensure finishing last and getting the chance to draft Daigle. At best, as far as the Senators are concerned, Firestone made a bad joke.This much is clear: At one point in the evening, Firestone gathered with five Ottawa reporters: Ottawa Citizen columnist and author of a yet-to-be-published book on the Senators&rsquo; first season, Roy MacGregor; Senators&rsquo; radio play-by-play man Dean Brown; color analyst Gord Wilson; radio station sports director Al Rutherford; and freelance journalist Moira Alfers.Firestone had an off-the-record conversation with the group, a conversation upon which Wilson and Rutherford have refused to comment.MacGregor said Firestone revealed the Senators had a &ldquo;secret plan&rdquo; to remove the goal tender in the team&rsquo;s final regular-season game&mdash;April 14 against the Boston Bruins&mdash;to guarantee a Boston win and to match rosters should the Bruins not dress their best players.Going into the game, the Senators were tied for last overall with the San Jose Sharks with 24 points. A win or tie against the Bruins would have moved the Senators into 23rd place with the Sharks having one game remaining. Both teams finished with 24 points, but the Senators were last on the basis of fewer wins.Boston won the game 4-2.Firestone also revealed, according to MacGregor, four Senator players had approached Firestone and asked him if management was happy with having attained 22 points, one more than the worst team of all-time, the Washington Capitals.Wrote MacGregor: &ldquo;(Firestone) said the players wanted to know if picking first in the draft was a goal, and (Firestone) agreed that it would be important to the franchise. He said the players assured him that they wanted the franchise to succeed.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03804/6160019-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="568" height="796"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bruce Firestone denies having game-tanking talks with players.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;&lsquo;And I want you to know,&rsquo;&rdquo; MacGregor quoted Firestone as saying, &ldquo;&lsquo;it is no coincidence that those four players will be back with the team next season.&rsquo;&ldquo;Who could possibly take anything from this exchange but that some in the organization were dedicated to making (finishing last) happen?&rdquo; concluded MacGregor.The columnist investigated the story and came up with a list of five players allegedly linked to the scandal.&ldquo;I eventually reached the conclusion it didn&rsquo;t happen because none of the players knew anything about it and were adamant it didn&rsquo;t happen,&rdquo; MacGregor said.Brown said he &ldquo;dug around and quickly determined it wasn&rsquo;t possible. I refuse to believe and I challenge anyone to prove to me any player in any game tanked it.&rdquo;Firestone said his remarks were misunderstood.&ldquo;I regret that some intemperate comments made by me in Quebec during the 1993 draft in June may have led those who heard those remarks to understand that I had discussions with four players concerning the possibility that they do less than their best in every game.&ldquo;No such discussion occurred with any player.&rdquo;Senators&rsquo; chairman Rod Bryden said, &ldquo;There can be absolutely no dispute that our team tried every night.&rdquo;Despite the denials, the allegations left Senators&rsquo; players fuming.&ldquo;If Bruce Firestone talked to four players, he should name names. It&rsquo;s a joke,&rdquo; said former Senators&rsquo; winger Mike Peluso, who was traded in the off-season to the New Jersey Devils.&ldquo;If my name is mentioned, I would challenge anybody to call me on it because that&rsquo;s the biggest load of bull I&rsquo;ve ever heard. We had a lot of chickens on that team, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean we were throwing games.&rdquo;Said coach Rick Bowness: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m upset anybody would question our integrity. In that final game, we were beaten by a better team.&rdquo;The NHL is investigating the affair. Bryden met with league commissioner Gary Bettman Aug. 20. Three days later, the league retained the services of Arnold Burns and Yves Fortier&ndash;the same men who conducted the Gil Stein investigation&ndash;to assist NHL vice-president Jeffery Pash with the Senators&rsquo; probe.The Senators are cooperating with the NHL. The club conducted its own investigation when rumors began to swirl in July and Bryden concluded there was nothing to the story, and thus, didn&rsquo;t report anything to the NHL. The club thought that was the end of it, but the rumors were resurrected with Firestone&rsquo;s resignation.If nothing else, the episode gives more fodder to those calling for a draft lottery. Advocates say that system would eliminate the spectre of teams at the bottom of the standings from tanking it.Bettman, who came to the NHL from the National Basketball Association which instituted a draft lottery in 1985, supports the lottery concept.But even the lottery system isn&rsquo;t infallible. The NBA system weights a team&rsquo;s entries in the lottery according to where it finished in the standings. The Orlando Magic has won the last two lotteries, cashing in a 66-to-l shot in this year&rsquo;s draft.Firestone was one of the leading advocates of a lottery.&ldquo;I think the NHL should go to an NBA-style lottery and do so as soon as possible to prevent future teams, from having to do the same kind agonizing and anguish we did.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-03

No laughing matter

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div>The steamy days of August were interrupted by the breeze coming off the Ottawa Senators&rsquo; revolving door.The expansion club was swept by a wave of change from the executive suite to the dressing room as the organization readied for its second season.The changes started at the top with the resignation, effective Aug. 31, of chairman and governor Bruce Firestone, who helped bring NHL hockey back to Ottawa a reality.Firestone sold his half of Terrace Investments Corp., the Senators&rsquo; parent club, to partner Rod Bryden, bringing to fruition a scenario many had predicted since Bryden joined the Senators organization in 1991.A day later, allegations surfaced that Firestone was selling because he was implicated in an alleged cheating scandal. He categorically denied those charges.&ldquo;Today is a sad day for me,&rdquo; Firestone said. &ldquo;I just started thinking it&rsquo;s time for me to do something else.&ldquo;There have been high points, but there have been dreadful moments, too. It was a long, difficult process. I don&rsquo;t want to sound bitter, but this was a trying experience.&rdquo;Firestone and his wife, Dawn, will move on to a new venture, Bretton Woods Entertainment, specializing in land development, entertainment and communications.Another possible explanation for the change is potential lenders for the Palladium project&mdash;the proposed 18,500-that arena which has been stalled by a lack of financing&mdash;might have more confidence in sole ownership.Bryden, the man who came to the Senators&rsquo; rescue when they needed financing to pay off their franchise fee, said he will look for a partner.&ldquo;(The organization) should have more depth and ownership than just one owner,&rdquo; Bryden said.ROSIE&rsquo;S ON MOVE: The Senators, the worst offensive team in the NHL last season, reached out for scoring help, signing free agent forward Vladimir Ruzicka.Ruzicka, signed by the Senators Aug. 12 after he was turned loose by the Boston Bruins, will be moved from his natural center position to left wing where he&rsquo;ll play with highly touted rookie centers Alexandre Daigle or Alexei Yashin.&ldquo;I want to give the two Alexes as much help as I can and not put the onus on them to put points on the board,&rdquo; coach Rick Bowness said.The 30-year-old Ruzicka had his best season in Boston under Bowness two years ago, scoring 39 goals. He slipped to 19 goals last year.&ldquo;He was our best player that year,&rdquo; Bowness said. &ldquo;Cam Neely played only nine games, Dave Poulin was hurt and Craig Janney was struggling.&rdquo;Ruzicka&rsquo;s reputation as a talented player who lacked motivation led to at least one memorable run-in between Bowness and Ruzicka.The forward left the ice early one day after practice and Bowness pursued him, chasing him down the hall.&ldquo;Those things happen,&rdquo; laughed Bowness, who pushed for Ruzicka&rsquo;s signing to a one-and-one contract with a salary of $400,000 and incentives that could earn him another $300,000.NOTEBOOK: The Senators lost forwards Jamie Baker, Jody Hull, Mark Freer and Rob Murphy after they were offered termination contracts, but signed elsewhere. Baker went to San Jose, Hull to Florida, Freer to Calgary and Murphy to Los Angeles&hellip;Captain Laurie Boschman was bought out by the club.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Aug. 12: Vladimir Huzicka, C, signea as free agent. Aug. 13: Jarmo Kekalainen, LW, signed contract. Aug. 17: Bruce Firestone resigns as chairman and governor effective Aug. 31. &#9632;

Bryden buys out franchise pioneer Firestone

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div>Throughout the 1992-93 season, there was always the perception goalie Andy Moog was too laid-back to be coach Brian Sutter&rsquo;s kind of guy.That may be why the Boston Bruins traded Moog Dallas in June. Moog had been their No. 1 goalie since arriving from the Edmonton Oilers in March of 1988.What&rsquo;s certain is that the goalie Boston acquired in the deal&mdash;31-year-old Jon Casey&mdash;is the type of player Sutter loves.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen (Sutter&rsquo;s) work when he was in St. Louis and he had great teams there,&rdquo; Casey said during his first visit to Boston. &ldquo;He has a hardwork ethic and I&rsquo;ll fit in with that type of organization and that type of coach because that&rsquo;s the way I am.&rdquo;Casey, coming off an average season (26-265 record and 3.33 goals-against average) in his fifth year as the Stars&rsquo; No. 1 goalie, faces a challenge in Boston and seems to relish it. Moog wasn&rsquo;t as popular as Ray Bourque, Cam Neely or Adam Oates in the eyes of Bruin fans, but was never a villain&mdash;even during last season&rsquo;s disagreements with Sutter.&ldquo;Andy&rsquo;s a great goalie,&rdquo; Casey said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t expect anybody to accept me right away. I want to prove myself; that&rsquo;s what I intend to do.&rdquo;Casey admits that, while excited to come to Boston, it wasn&rsquo;t easy to leave the only pro organization he ever played for. The Stars signed him as a free agent days after his career at the University of North Dakota ended. He spent the next four seasons in the minors, then became one of the best goalies in North Stars&rsquo; history. His tenure was highlighted by an appearance in the 1991 Stanley Cup finals.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d been there for quite a few years, so (the trade) was a bit of a shock,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d heard some rumors, but I didn&rsquo;t actually think they&rsquo;d trade me.&rdquo;Once the shock wore off, Casey saw many benefits.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to be moving to a better atmosphere and a better situation,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to be tactful, but I think (Boston) is a better organization and a better team.&ldquo;There was always a lot of controversy, a lot of things going on when we were in Minnesota. They&rsquo;d talked about the team moving two or three times before they finally did. That&rsquo;s a tough situation to play in.&rdquo;Casey welcomes the tradition and stability he sees in Boston, but hopes the team&rsquo;s fans will be patient as he adjusts to his new surroundings.&ldquo;There are a lot of great players on this team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think (the Stars) were maybe, at times, lacking in those types of players.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll work hard; I&rsquo;ll compete as much as anybody can. I think that with this organization, things can go well for my game and the team.&rdquo;OATES SCARE: The Bruins, who at times appear to have cornered the market on freak injuries, looked like they&rsquo;d suffered another when Adam Oates hurt his knee trying to stay in shape on a stair-climbing machine.Oates, however, said the knee bothered him before he began working on the machine, so the injury was likely going to happen anyway.Damaged cartilage was removed in an arthroscopic procedure Aug. 11. The club expects Oates to be ready for the start of training camp.NOTEBOOK: Proposals and counter-proposals were floating between representatives of Ray Bourque and the Bruins. Bourque, who made about $1.2 million last season, is entering his option year and can seek arbitration. President/general manager Harry Sinden said he hopes that doesn&rsquo;t happen, but won&rsquo;t fight his 14-time all-star if that&rsquo;s what he wants. Other big-ticket Bruins entering option years are Cam Neely, Steve Leach and Glen Wesley.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 13: Jon Rohloff, D. Kurt Seher, D, Darren Stolk. D, and Scott Lindsay, RW, signed contracts. July 22: Dmitri Kvartalnov, RW. Daniel Marois, RW, and Mark Major, RW, signed contracts July 30: Mikhail Tatarinov, 0, signed as free agent. Aug. 6: David Liftman, G. signed as free agent. &#9632;

Casey a perfect fit for Sutter

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div>The Penguins&rsquo; run at a third consecutive Stanley Cup fizzled when the New York Islanders upset them in the Patrick Division final last spring, but there still might be another championship or two in their future.Especially if the back surgery Mario Lemieux underwent recently enables him to perform without crippling pain, or at least the threat of it.Lemieux had an operation to repair a herniated muscle in his back July 28. The hernia was a piece of back muscle sticking through an opening in the fascia, a membrane that holds the muscle in place. Some scar tissue and a superficial bone spur also were removed during the operation.Dr. Peter Sheptak, who performed the 35minute procedure at Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Shadyside Hospital, clearly regarded it as a success, but cautioned the surgery, &ldquo;certainly doesn&rsquo;t guarantee Lemieux won&rsquo;t have any more back problems.&rdquo;Sheptak noted Lemieux&rsquo;s back shows signs of degenerative arthritis, a common problem among hockey and football players.Preliminary indications are although he will have to skip heavy contact early in training camp, Lemieux should be ready for the start of the regular season Oct. 5.&ldquo;We have to wait and see,&rdquo; Sheptak said after the surgery. &ldquo;It looks good right now.&rdquo;Lemieux kept his customary low profile following his surgery, but told interviewers he was pleased with the operation and optimistic about his playing future. He has six seasons left on a contract signed last October, and has indicated he hopes to play at least until that deal has run out.The 27-year-old center underwent back surgery three years earlier and, while that operation was declared to be a success, he developed a serious infection a few months later and was forced to sit out nearly four months of the 1990-91 regular season.Lemieux is coming off one of the most productive seasons of his career, even though he missed 24 games, most because of a bout with Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease. He had 160 points in 60 games to claim his fourth NHL scoring title and received the Hart Trophy as the league&rsquo;s most valuable player for the second time in his nine-year career.And while it is possible Lemieux will be more healthy than he has been in years, the prevailing medical wisdom is that it is unlikely he ever will be free of the back problems that have dogged him throughout his career.&ldquo;He will still be susceptible to back aches, Sheptak said. &ldquo;He will have to pace himself.&rdquo;PROSPECT KILLED: Defenseman Todd Klassen, the Penguins&rsquo; fourth-round choice in the 1992 entry draft, was killed in an automobile accident July 22 in Ritzville, Wash.Klassen was a passenger in a car driven by a Tri-City Americans (Western League) teammate, Adam Rettschlag, when the fatal accident occurred. Rettschlag was not seriously injured.Klassen was the Americans&rsquo; highest-scoring defenseman in each of the past two seasons. He had 12 goals and 35 assists in 1992-93, when he served as Tri-City&rsquo;s captain.He is the second defenseman drafted by Pittsburgh in 1992 to die in a car wreck. Artem Kopot, the Penguins&rsquo; sixth-round selection, was killed in an accident in Russia last July. He was Pittsburgh&rsquo;s first-ever draft choice from the former Soviet Union.NOTEBOOK: Checking-line forward Dave Tippett, a free agent without compensation, signed a one-year contact with the Philadelphia Flyers Aug. 2. Tippett apparently was squeezed out by the return of player-assistant coach Bryan Trottier.Assistant coach Barry Smith left the Penguins to join Scott Bowman in Detroit, as expected. Smith joined the Penguins in 1990, shortly after Bob Johnson was named coach. The Penguins are not expected to replace Smith. &#9632;

Lemieux healthy for now following summer surgery

<div class="byline">By Viv Bernstein</div>Owner Richard Gordon has virtually guaranteed the Whalers will stay in Hartford for the next two decades.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re providing a contract which says the team is going to stay here for 20 years,&rdquo; Gordon said. &ldquo;As long as there is a facility to play hockey in, we&rsquo;re staying.&rdquo;That statement came Aug. 10 after Hartford city council voted in favor of a 20-year, $48million deal to lease the Hartford Civic Center to the state of Connecticut. Gordon is expected to receive a more favorable lease agreement from the state, which has hired the Spectacor Management Group to run the Civic Center.The deal is not complete, although it is expected to be finished by Sept. 1. Details of the Whalers&rsquo; new lease have not been revealed, but it will provide for greater revenue sources for the team.&lsquo;Reports the Whalers would leave the state have been floating around for years, but the agreement would make it appear almost impossible for Gordon to move the team. In fact, the state would be able to get a court order requiring Gordon to keep the team in Hartford.Also in the deal: If Gordon sells the Whalers, it would have be to investors who would keep the team in Hartford.As with most agreements, there will likely be a way to get out of it should the necessity arise.But asked if he could say with certainty the team is staying, Gordon said, &ldquo;Yes, I can.&rdquo;DRAFT ALIVE: The Whalers are still working with NHL officials to try to secure the 1994 entry draft for Hartford.The entry draft and Congress had been awarded to Hartford, but a conflict with the Greater Hartford Open golf tournament the same week in June and the resulting loss of hotel room availability has forced NHL officials to consider moving the draft to another site.Under a plan now being considered, the league would split the draft and the Congress, holding only the draft in Hartford June 25. Gordon said he believes there will be enough hotel rooms for just the draft.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see what makes sense on a one-shot basis,&rdquo; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. &ldquo;Since it&rsquo;s an experimental basis, I may not want to go to Hartford just for the draft when we might come back two years later at a rescheduled time with the whole thing. So everything&rsquo;s up in the air in terms of how we&rsquo;re going to deal with it.&rdquo;Bettman said a decision will be made some time before the start of the 1993-94 season.NOTEBOOK: The Whalers officially sent right winger Sergei Makarov to San Jose Aug. 6 to complete the draft-day trade with the Sharks that allowed the Whalers to move up to No. 2 and select defenseman Chris Pronger. League rules forced the teams to delay announcing Makarov&rsquo;s inclusion in the deal because San Jose signed Makarov to an offer sheet last summer, later matched by the Calgary Flames to retain his rights. The Sharks were required to wait one full year before acquiring Makarov.Forward Robert Kron, the Whalers&rsquo; only Group II free agent this summer, has agreed to a two-year contract (one year plus an option year) for about $280,000 per year. Kron, acquired from Vancouver at the trading deadline, earned $145,000 last season.The Whalers signed defensemen Jeff Bloemberg, Garth Premak and Rob Cowie Aug. 9. They are expected to bolster the roster for the American League&rsquo;s Springfield Indians, who lost free agent defensemen Todd Richards (Las Vegas) and Brian Chapman (Phoenix).<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Aug. 6: Sergei Makarov, RW, assigned to San Jose to complete earlier trade. Aug. 9: Jeff Bloemberg, D, Garth Premak. D, and Rob Cowie, D. signed contracts. Aug. 10: Robert Kron. RW/C signed contract. Aug. 17: Barry Richter, D. signed contract. &#9632;

New plan should keep team in Hartford for 20 years

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div>For the first time in the 23-year history of the Buffalo Sabres franchise, there has been an orderly transition of power.Coach John Muckler is now coach and general manager. Gerry Meehan, the Sabres GM for the past seven seasons, has been elevated to the newly created post of executive vice-president for sports operations.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve worked well together and I expect we&rsquo;ll continue to work well together,&rdquo; Muckler said after receiving his new title July 31. &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t think you can be coach and GM under the traditional format, but under the format we designed and intend to operate under, I don&rsquo;t see any problems.&rdquo;Muckler inherited most of the traditional duties of a GM-operation of the hockey and scouting department and player development as well as handling decisions on player movement and player transactions.Meehan will retain some hockey department activities; chiefly contract negotiations, player-related league matters and will remain as an alternate to the board of governors. He&rsquo;ll also take on responsibility for the administration of operations for the Sabres and their spinoff companies, the Blizzard of the National Pro Soccer League and the Bandits of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League.Meehan is also charged with identifying and securing new sports and entertainment properties for the proposed Crossroads Arena.Team president Seymour H. Knox III retains his position. Knox said that no contracts have been signed yet but that they would be soon. All three men declined to reveal terms or lengths of their agreements.Muckler becomes the fourth GM in Sabres&rsquo; history and the first to assume the position without having seen his predecessor fired.He also remains as coach of the Sabres, a position he&rsquo;ll hold for at least one more season. Muckler said he did not plan any immediate or dramatic changes.While admitting he has a &ldquo;river-boat gambler&rsquo;s&rdquo; style, Muckler said he plans to adopt a wait-and-see approach.&ldquo;This is the ideal arrangement,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Right now our organization and team is healthy and we have young people coming in. Having more authority and being able to make decisions about what&rsquo;s on the ice is helpful. But the biggest thing right now is to be patient and to go through training camp.&rdquo;WAYWARD PLAYERS: The Sabres lost three Group V free agents (players who have been in the league 10 years and make less than the NHL minimum) over the summer.Center/left winger Bob Errey signed with the San Jose Sharks and defenseman Grant Ledyard left for the Dallas Stars.The Sabres retained the NHL rights to center Peter Ciavaglia, but he left the organization to play in the Swedish Elite League and the U.S. Olympic team. Another Sabres&rsquo; prospect, Derek Plante also made the U.S. Olympic traveling squad as did Western New York native Todd Marchant.NOTEBOOK: John Muckler said all the Sabres injured in the playoffs last season are expected back at 100 per cent in time for training camp. He included Alex Mogilny in that assessment. Mogilny recently had the cast removed from his broken right leg and pins removed from ligaments in his right ankle. He has begun a rehabilitation program&hellip;The Sabres have come to terms with Finnish goaltender Markus Ketterer and are expected to sign him before camp.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 31: Gerry Meehan, general manager, named executive vice-president for sports operations. John Muckler, coach, named GM. &#9632;

Summer shuffle sensible

<div class="byline">By Kevin Johnston</div>In somewhat of a surprise move, Jacques Martin was named coachgeneral manager of the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; new American League affiliate in Cornwall.It was previously believed Martin, an associate coach for the Nordiques the past three seasons, was firmly entrenched as coach-GM Pierre Page&rsquo;s right-hand man.Reports of Martin&rsquo;s relocation circulated in Quebec City prior to the Aug. 9 announcement, but most observers didn&rsquo;t take them seriously.&ldquo;We often talk about complete hockey players,&rdquo; Page said. &ldquo;Well this nomination will make Jacques a complete hockey man. The Quebec Nordiques will benefit from his transfer to Cornwall.&rdquo;Page said Martin was the ideal candidate to take charge of the organization&rsquo;s young prospects.&ldquo;He already knows them very well, having worked with them over the past three years, supervising their conditioning programs,&rdquo; Page said.Martin has a no-nonsense coaching style. Discipline and hard work are two of the main characteristics he tries to instill in his players. He guided the Guelph Platers to the Memorial Cup title in 1986.Bob Hartley will assist Martin with the Cornwall Aces. Hartley was named to the position Aug. 10. He was formerly the coach of the Laval Titan of the Quebec League, leading them to a Memorial Cup berth last season.&ldquo;This is an excellent occasion for me,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;I had never touched the general manager aspect of the job in the pro ranks. I&rsquo;m very excited. The challenge is a great one. I&rsquo;m now in charge of my own team. It will serve me well because my main goal still remains to come back to the NHL.&rdquo;Martin should feel right at home in Cornwall. He was born in Rockland, Ont., less than an hour drive from Cornwall. He also runs a hockey school in nearby Hawkesbury, Ont.FORGET LAUKKANEN: The Nordiques won&rsquo;t have Finnish defenseman Janne Laukkanen in the lineup next season.Laukkanen, 23, the 156th overall pick in the 1991 entry draft, has decided to stay in his native Finland for one more season following tough contract negotiations with Quebec.The 6-foot, 180-pounder signed a one-year deal with his old club, HPK. He is the captain of that team and a crowd favorite. He scored eight goals and 29 points in 47 games last season. His 76 penalty minutes led the team.Pierre Page had hoped to sign Laukkanen to help shore up the Nordiques&rsquo; defense.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s too bad the Nordiques&rsquo; contract offers didn&rsquo;t reflect what they thought of Janne,&rdquo; Laukkanen&rsquo;s agent Don Baizley said.NOTEBOOK: The Nordiques signed free agent Iain Fraser July 31. Fraser played for the Capital District Islanders (AHL) last season, finishing second in league scoring with 41 goals and 110 points. Pierre Page likes the 24-year-old forward&rsquo;s gritty two-way play. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a born leader, a kid that has won two Memorial Cups with Oshawa of the OHL,&rdquo; said Page, who likens Fraser&rsquo;s style to Dave Poulin&rsquo;s&hellip; Quebec is trying to sign some new scouts. After head scout Pierre Gauthier left at the end of last season to accept a job as assistant GM in Anaheim, Darwin Bennett took over. But Bennett has accepted a job with the New York Rangers. Ontario scout Don Boyd accepted a job as coach-GM of Newmarket (Ontario League) and Mark Kelley, the team&rsquo;s U.S. college scout, left to join the Pittsburgh Penguins.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 31: lam Fraser. C, signed as free agent. Aug. 9: Jacques Martin, associate coach, named coach-general manager of Cornwall (AHL). &#9632;

Page’s ace Martin now new boss in Cornwall

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer and Dave Eminian</div>It&rsquo;s a gamble for all involved, but Radek Bonk will try his luck in Las Vegas at age 17.The Owen Sound Platers hold the junior rights to the Czech center after selecting him in the Canadian Hockey League import draft. Instead Bonk signed with the International League&rsquo;s Las Vegas Thunder July 30.He will become the youngest player ever to play in the IHL.At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Bonk has the size and the mental toughness to compete against veteran players 10 years older, said his agent Mike Barnett. Bonk turns 18 Jan. 9.&ldquo;This is a unique situation and Radek is a unique player,&rdquo; Barnett said. &ldquo;When you consider his size and skills and watch him train, you realize he can compete very comfortably in the IHL.&rdquo;The move to the expansion Thunder brings Bonk an immediate payday. He would make little had he stayed for a third year in Zlin in the Czech elite league. His salary with the Thunder is believed to be $100,000 with bonuses.By playing in Las Vegas, Bonk will be more visible to NHL scouts but whether that translates into a higher standing in the 1994 entry draft is a dicey question. Rushing a prospect into a level of competition that exceeds his abilities can sometimes stunt a player&rsquo;s growth. Bonk had five goals and 10 points in 30 games last season.The Thunder get a player with emerging skills and just as importantly, a player guaranteed to gamer attention as the draft draws closer.&ldquo;Signing Radek provides us with the opportunity of having a high-profile player involved in the upcoming draft,&rdquo; Thunder general manager Bob Strumm said. &ldquo;It gives us another opportunity to sell our product.&rdquo;Thunder owners, the father-son combination of Hank and Ken Stickney, are magnates in a medical supply company. They also own the Pacific Coast League&rsquo;s Las Vegas baseball team.As independent operators, they are unfettered by the development role connected with operating an affiliated team.While the success or failure of the Bonk experiment will influence whether similar plans are repeated, the IHL is not expected to siphon away top European prospects at the expense of European club teams.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;ll see that happening,&rdquo; said Chuck Grillo, the San Jose Sharks&rsquo; director of personnel. &ldquo;How many Canadian kids or American kids can play in the International League at 17. This kid has something very special.&rdquo;And while nothing is stopping 16-year-old Canadian or Americans from signing pro contracts, few are expected to do so. Playing pro means more than competing against elders. It also means adapting to an adult lifestyle. Junior teams incorporate high school into the player&rsquo;s itinerary.Bonk&rsquo;s mother will accompany him to Las Vegas and the club is looking at enrolling him in high school courses.Agent Anton Thun doubts IHL or American League teams will plunder the Canadian Hockey League&rsquo;s best prospects.&ldquo;Most kids want to go to school and parents want their kids to go to school,&rdquo; Thun said.I-OPENERS: The Atlanta Knights acquired scoring ace Jeff Madill from the Milwaukee Admirals for future considerations&hellip;The IHL season opener is Oct. 6, with the Phoenix Roadrunners hosting the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. The Eagles on July 27 signed an affiliation agreement with the New York Islanders, who will provide 14 players and coach Dave Fairish.The 20th IHL All-Star Game is set for Jan. 26 at Fort Wayne&rsquo;s Allen County Memorial Coliseum&hellip;Expansion Las Vegas plays its home opener Oct. 15 against Atlanta, an expansion team last season. The Thunder signed 10-year NHL veteran Lyndon Byers Aug. 20. Byers accumulated 1,081 penalty minutes and 28 goals in 316 career NHL games. &#9632;

Bonk deal not expected to open teenage floodgate

<div class="byline">By Nick Gates</div>The Blizzard&rsquo;s ship has finally come in.After an exhaustive search which led to several dead ends, the Huntington Blizzard signed Bob (Battleship) Kelly Aug. 6 as the expansion team&rsquo;s first coach and director of hockey operations.The hard-nosed former left winger spent six seasons in the NHL from 1973-74 to 1978-79 with the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks.&ldquo;All of us at the Blizzard are proud and excited to have Bob Kelly leading our players,&rdquo; said Huntington general manager Bob Henry. &ldquo;With his tremendous energy and work ethic, I&rsquo;m sure he will build a very competitive, hard-working team we can be proud of.&rdquo;Kelly should be an inspiration for Blizzard players. The Thunder Bay, Ont., native quit school at age 16 and worked in a paper mill for three years. He then had a lengthy minor-league career that took him through seven cities before he made it to the NHL.Providence (American League) public relations&rsquo; man George Patrick Duffy christened him with his nickname after a U.S. Navy Fleet boxing champion.Known as an enforcer during his playing days, Kelly overcame long odds through determination and grit.&ldquo;It was a matter of incentive,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If you work as hard as I did to get to the NHL, you work even harder to stay. Every game was like a dream come true to me because I honestly thought I would never make it.&rdquo;COACHING CAROUSEL: Claude Noel left the Dayton Bombers after two seasons as coach to become an assistant at Kalamazoo of the International League.He was replaced by Jim Playfair.Playfair, 29, spent last season as an assistant coach for Indianapolis of the IHL. He was a player/assistant coach with the Ice the previous two years.&ldquo;I only want players who desire to improve and go to the next level,&rdquo; said Playfair, the Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; first draft pick in the 1982 entry draft. The former defenseman played 21 games in the NHL with the Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks.Noel compiled a 67-49-12 record with the Bombers. He coached at Roanoke in 1990-91 and had a 93-80-19 career mark in the ECHL.&ldquo;The opportunity to establish a relationship with an NHL team was very attractive,&rdquo; said Noel, who signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars. &ldquo;Being employed by the Stars was a factor.&rdquo;Noel is no stranger to Wings&rsquo; general manager Bill Inglis. Inglis once coached Noel and they are former teammates.TALENT PIPELINE: Several teams were successful in acquiring affiliations with NHL and minor pro clubs over the summer.&#9633; The expansion Roanoke Express aligned with the San Jose Sharks.&#9633; The Richmond Renegades and the New York Islanders will work together for the fourth consecutive year.&#9633; Greensboro added the Anaheim Mighty Ducks as an affiliate. The Monarchs have been tied to the Quebec Nordiques since 1988.&#9633; The Dallas Stars and Kalamazoo Wings (IHL) will stock Dayton again. The Stars and Wings worked with the Bombers the past two seasons.&#9633; The Las Vegas Thunder (IHL) agreed to a one-year deal with Knoxville and is expected to send the Cherokees at least five players.&#9633; The Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlanta Knights (IHL) will also work with Knoxville, which was an independent last season.HERE AND THERE: Birmingham signed veteran Jerome Bechard, 24, to a contract. The popular left winger scored 24 goals for the Bulls in 1992-93.Matthew Tout, 20, could be the biggest player in the league if he makes the Bulls&rsquo; roster. The former Canton Tech center is 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds. &#9632;

‘Battleship’ Bob Kelly Blizzard’s new leader

<div class="byline">By Bob Vanstone</div>Tri-City Americans&rsquo; defenseman Todd Klassen died July 22 in a car crash near Ritzville, Wash.Klassen, 19, was the passenger in a car driven by teammate Adam Rettschlag. The car flipped over after swerving to avoid a deer.The Sherwood Park, Alta., native died at the scene with massive head injuries. Rettschlag, 18, was treated in hospital for multiple lacerations and released.The Pittsburgh Penguins chose Klassen, a second team West Division all-star in 1991-92, in the fourth round of the 1992 NHL entry draft. He was to attend Canada&rsquo;s national junior evaluation camp this month in Lake Placid, N.Y.&ldquo;I sat beside him for two years in the dressing room,&rdquo; said Lethbridge Hurricanes&rsquo; right winger Cory Dosdall, Klassen&rsquo;s former teammate with Tri-City. &ldquo;It was definitely a sad day when I heard about him being killed.&ldquo;He was great, always smiling. He could light up a whole room by walking in.&rdquo;GRETZKY INTEREST: Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; superstar Wayne Gretzky has expressed an interest in owning a Western League franchise.Gretzky recently backed out of a deal to bring an Ontario League team to Toronto and is now reported to be seeking ownership opportunities with the Americans in Tri-City.&ldquo;He has shown an interest,&rdquo; Americans&rsquo; coach-general manager Bob McCammon told the Toronto Sun. &ldquo;I know he has had some discussions, but right now it&rsquo;s up in the air.&rdquo;The Sun reported Americans&rsquo; owner Ron Toigo approached Gretzky about joining the franchise as a part-time owner. Toigo is attempting to buy the Tri-City Coliseum.SHAW SUCCUMBS: Junior hockey lost one of its giants with the passing of Brian Shaw.The founder, president and principal owner of the Portland Winter Hawks died July 27 after a lengthy illness. He was 62.Shaw died of lymphoma, a cancerous brain tumor.He was Portland&rsquo;s true trail blazer. He brought major-junior hockey to the United States when he moved the Edmonton Oil Kings to Portland in 1976.Shaw attempted to sell his 62 per cent of the franchise to Portland businessman Chris Bentley last season, but the deal was never finalized. Five different Portland groups are reportedly interested in buying majority control.A new president will be determined after Shaw&rsquo;s estate is settled.Under his regime, Portland won seven division titles, including the 1983 Memorial Cup, and produced 83 NHL draft picks. (For more on Shaw, see page 5).DINO-MITE PLAYER: Despite leading the WHL in goals (81) and points (162) last season, center Jason Krywulak was unable to land an NHL contract.Consequently, the 21-year-old Swift Current Broncos&rsquo; graduate will play Canadian college hockey for the University of Calgary Dinosaurs.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a little disappointing not to get a contract,&rdquo; Krywulak said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I could have played any better, but not much came out of it.&ldquo;School has always been important to me. I have a good opportunity, so I&rsquo;ll take things from there.&rdquo;BLADE WALKER: The Regina Pats acquired goaltender Mike Walker from the Saskatoon Blades for right winger Trevor Hanas Aug. 16. Walker, 18, led the Canadian Hockey League with a 2.91 goals-against average in 26 games as a rookie last season. Hanas, 18, had 28 goals and 57 points in 72 games in his second season with the Pats.Swift Current hired Martin Urban, a 30-year-old native of Pardubice in the Czech Republic, as an assistant coach. For the past six years, Urban was involved with the national junior program in the former Czechoslovakia&hellip;Ex-Regina star Len Nielsen is now an assistant coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Moose Jaw&rsquo;s former assistant coach, Jamie Reeve, fills the same post for the Tacoma Rockets. &#9632;

Klassen killed in car crash

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div>The Laval Titan opened training camp Aug. 15 with a major hole to fill: the head coaching position.Five days before camp opened, Robert Hartley resigned to become an assistant to Jacques Martin with the Cornwall Aces of the American League.&ldquo;It was bad timing,&rdquo; Titan general manager Jean-Claude Morissette said. &ldquo;But sometimes you make the decision when you want your son to get married. Sometimes he decides earlier.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy for Bob. He was under contract with us (for one more year) but I told him I wouldn&rsquo;t prevent him from moving up.&rdquo;Hartley, who had a 81-52-7 record in two seasons, agreed to run camp until a replacement could be found. Morissette says that won&rsquo;t be easy, with the season opening Sept. 9.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be tough finding a coach so close to the season,&rdquo; Morissette said. &ldquo;Most experienced coaches already have jobs. Winners are always working&mdash;they&rsquo;re not unemployed, just like in life.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m talking with two ex-pro coaches now, but I don&rsquo;t want to divulge their names. I don&rsquo;t want to rush and make a silly mistake.&rdquo;What kind of coach is Morissette looking for?&ldquo;If you make a photocopy of Bob Hartley, that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re looking for,&rdquo; he said.The man who takes Hartley&rsquo;s place won&rsquo;t have an easy task. The nucleus of last year&rsquo;s Laval team, which finished with a league-best 48-17-5 record, is gone.The Titan lost numerous graduating veterans including Martin Lapointe, Benoit Larose, Michael Gaul, Stephane Desjardins, Eric Veilleux and Dave Whittom. However, Morissette remains optimistic.&ldquo;I was impressed with our first day of camp,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Our rookies from last year showed a lot of leadership and are ready to take charge. We had a good draft and we&rsquo;ve got 14 or 15 kids from the Maritimes in camp. I expect four or five of them will make the team.&rdquo;LYNX GET THEIR MAN: Defenseman Jason Doig will play for the St-Jean Lynx this season after all.The 6-foot-3, 217-pounder was the top-rated player entering the midget draft June 5. However, Doig had made it clear he wasn&rsquo;t interested in playing in the Quebec League and was going to take the U.S. college route.St-Jean GM Georges Marien gambled and took the 16-year-old with the seventh pick. It paid off. Marien managed to convince Doig the junior route was best for him and the teenaged giant will be in a Lynx uniform this season.Doig, who played for the midget Lac St-Louis Lions last season, said he was impressed with his visit to St-Jean.&ldquo;I liked the fact St-Jean is only 40 minutes from Montreal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;For some reason I thought it was a lot further away than that.&rdquo;CAMP FOR NATS: Nine QMJHL players were among the 44 invited to the Canadian national team&rsquo;s evaluation camp Aug. 15-22 in Lake Placid, N.Y.Goalies Philippe DeRouville (College Francais), Emmanuel Fernandez (Laval), and Jocelyn Thibault (Sherbrooke); defenseman Joel Bouchard (College Francais); wingers Martin Gendron (St-Hyacinthe), Daniel Guerard (College Francais), and Eric Lecompte (Hull); and centers Alexandre Daigle (Victoriaville), and Ian Laperriere (Drummondville) were invited.Daigle, the new millionaire who will be playing for the Ottawa Senators this season, was the only one who didn&rsquo;t accept the invitation.Team Canada and Team USA played three split-squad exhibition games.&ldquo;The camp will give the coaching staff an evaluation of players in competition amongst themselves and the American team,&rdquo; said Canada coach Joe Canale, also entering his first season behind the Beauport Harfangs&rsquo; bench. &#9632;

Titan search for coach after Hartley jumps ship

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>Tom Webster was fired as coach of the Detroit Jr. Red Wings because his 18-year-old daughter is friends with one of the team&rsquo;s star players, a source told The London Free Press.Webster was fired Aug. 13 after one season with the Ontario League team. The Wings had a 37-22-7 record under Webster. He was replaced by assistant coach Paul Maurice.Webster joined the Jr. Wings after being fired by the Los Angeles Kings. He was making $60,000 (US) a year in Detroit.The source said Webster&rsquo;s daughter has been a friend of the player for about two months. She was a friend of another of the team&rsquo;s star players most of last season.Jr. Wings&rsquo; general manager Jim Rutherford declined to go into specifics but said whatever the situation, it violated company policy.&ldquo;This is something that has gone on the last couple of months,&rdquo; Rutherford said. &ldquo;I gave Tommy a month or so to look at the situation and it got to the point where there could be some consequences that could arise that could cause problems for our team. Tommy was more or less caught in the middle.&rdquo;Webster declined to discuss names but didn&rsquo;t deny his daughter is a friend of a player. He said Rutherford told him to tell his daughter to end the friendship or Webster would be fired.&ldquo;As a parent, I could not do that,&rdquo; Webster said. &ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t interfere with my coaching. Any decision she makes, I&rsquo;m going to support. I asked to see the company policy in writing and all I got was, &lsquo;I failed to cooperate with a reasonable request of the club.&rsquo;&ldquo;This is a personal family issue with regard to my daughter and as a father it was a decision I just couldn&rsquo;t make. I know my daughter would not make a decision that would embarrass me or put my job on the line.&rdquo;Webster said Compuware Corp., president Peter Karmanos, who owns the junior hockey team, knew of the situation but didn&rsquo;t intervene.Webster asked his agent, Don Meehan of Toronto, to look into legal aspects of the firing.BACKING OUT: Wayne Gretzky won&rsquo;t be the new owner of a Toronto expansion team.Gretzky planned on entering the league in 1994-95, but changed his mind as it appears Toronto will get a National Basketball Association team. Gretzky felt that would be too much competition for the sports entertainment dollar.But the league isn&rsquo;t about to be slam-dunked. The board of governors decided to expand by two teams in 1994-95 and are accepting bids. The expansion fee is $750,000. When Detroit entered in 1990-91, the fee was $600,000.One group, which includes former NHLer Jerome Dupont, has expressed interest in reestablishing a team in Toronto. That group is headed by Robert Blakely, president of Likrilyn Investments Ltd. It investigated buying the Newmarket Royals before the team was sold to the Ciccarelli brothers of Sarnia.Toronto hasn&rsquo;t had major junior hockey since the Marlboros were sold by the late Harold Ballard in 1989 and moved to Hamilton. The league has also received inquiries from a city in Michigan which would like to establish a rivalry with Detroit.Expanding to 18 teams would create three divisions.The governors meet at the end of September to review applications.CONSTANT CHANGES: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds GM Sherry Bassin joined the Quebec Nordiques as assistant GM. Dave Mayville, Bassin&rsquo;s assistant, was then promoted.Jeff Twohey, who joined the Peterborough Petes as a trainer and worked his way up to assistant coach-GM, replaced Dick Todd as GM. Todd went to the New York Rangers as an assistant coach. Dave MacQueen, who was coaching junior B, was named the Petes&rsquo; coach.Don Boyd is back in the OHL as Newmarket&rsquo;s coach-GM. Boyd, who was scouting for the Nordiques, previously coached in London and Sault Ste. Marie. &#9632;

Webster claims dating game cause for dismissal

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01742/6160512-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="376" height="533"></div>The NHL and its member clubs may soon be coming to grips with a very different kind of net profit.Goalpost and even advertising painted into the mesh will one day guarantee every time an NHLer hits the net, an advertiser will be hitting the jackpot.Right now, that kind of advertising would be in contravention of NHL regulations. A move to permit the advertising is far from imminent.&ldquo;This is the first I&rsquo;ve heard of it,&rdquo; says Steve Flatow, executive director of promotional licensing.A spokesperson says net advertising is one of the few pies NHL commissioner Gary Bettman doesn&rsquo;t have his hand in.But if Bettman and Flatow haven&rsquo;t heard about net advertising, they will soon enough.Marketing officials from NHL teams are beginning to think the idea has merit.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not leading the charge,&rdquo; says Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; vice-president of marketing George Bergantz, &ldquo;but I don&rsquo;t think anyone should be surprised if it happens over the next two years.&ldquo;Look at dasher board advertising. That didn&rsquo;t even exist 10 years ago. Now you have a great deal of advertising and two different logos on the ice.&rdquo;The Toronto Maple Leafs have a standing agreement with a major advertiser to discuss terms as soon as the league liberalizes its rules.The NHL is running out of camera-friendly space to sell and the closer to the action a logo is positioned, the more an advertiser is willing to pay.With every close-up of even the most routine shot on goal, a corporate logo will be showcased to television viewers.Static and rotating ads along the boards have become a staple at NHL venues and in-ice advertising proved successful when the league moved to allow it last season. Penalty boxes and player benches have been papered over with ads.Uniforms remain free from advertising, at least for now. That leaves the lower trim around the boards, the goalposts and crossbar and the twine as potential advertising space.Net ads would bring in substantial revenue with minimal fuss. Hockey fans, who barely whimpered when the NHL became the first major league to include ads on the playing surface, aren&rsquo;t expected to quibble about aesthetics.&ldquo;No one is going to stop being a hockey fan because of ads,&rdquo; says Alan Friedman, editor of Team Marketing Report, a publication servicing professional sports franchises. &ldquo;People will complain, people complain about a lot of things, like players being overpaid, but it doesn&rsquo;t seem to hurt attendance.&rdquo;Given a choice between aesthetics and revenue, the NHL has a track record of consistently taking the money.In fact, compared to the other major sports, the NHL has pursued suitors like a sailor on shore leave.A survey last year found an average of 72 signs per NHL game, 54 per NBA game, 25 for NFL contests and just under 20 for Major League Baseball.In baseball, only the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants position ads on the playing field and four of those clubs began doing it this year.The NBA uses courtside signs, sells space along the padding of the backboard support and even plasters ads on the chairs that hold the substitutes. The NFL keeps advertising off the field and at arms&rsquo; length.The major drawback to the use of logos in the net is that it leaves only one remaining target: player uniforms.Uniform ads, common in Europe, have already begun to creep on to professional jerseys.The American League has approved a plan to incorporate ads on all home jerseys. The ads can be no larger than four inches in diameter and located either over the breast or on the shoulder.The International League has a few teams already selling the space and expects to begin studying a similar league-wide proposal. The league will begin looking at selling space on goalposts as well.Flatow says any talk of net advertising will be tempered with the potential impact on the game&rsquo;s aesthetics. NHL players, he says, will never be made to look like Indy Cars on Ice.&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll have to be considered on all sides,&rdquo; says Flatow.&ldquo;Certainly, there&rsquo;s a concern about bringing new revenues into the league but it&rsquo;s not purely a marketing decision. The look of the game has to be factored in as well.&rdquo;It will be. Then the ads will be sold. &#9632;

f0025-01

NHL may go post to post with ads

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>The Chicago Blackhawks know all about Steve Larmer&rsquo;s iron will.So it won&rsquo;t come as a surprise to them when the NHL&rsquo;s current Ironman refuses to report to training camp if the Blackhawks don&rsquo;t accommodate his trade request.Larmer, who is on pace to break the NHL record for consecutive games played this season, said he will retire rather than return to Chicago. Following last season, Larmer put his Chicago home on the market, vowing not to return from his summer home near Peterborough, Ont.The 32-year-old veteran refused to reveal why he wants out of Chicago. Larmer said he&rsquo;s not into mudslinging. A source close to Larmer said the right winger is not pleased with the team&rsquo;s direction under second-year coach and former teammate Darryl Sutter.Chicago won the Norris Division and finished third overall in 1992-93 before eduring a shocking first-round playoff loss to the St. Louis Blues.&ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t want to go into why I want to be traded publicly because that wouldn&rsquo;t do anybody any good,&rdquo; Larmer said. &ldquo;Nothing ever gets accomplished that way. Besides, how long can you spend in one place before it&rsquo;s time to move on? To get stimulated and excited about playing again, I feel a change of scenery is necessary.&rdquo;Sutter said he was made aware of Larmer&rsquo;s unhappiness last season by other players. He has not spoken to Larmer during the off-season, but felt they had a productive meeting at season&rsquo;s end.&ldquo;Steve has always been a steady-as-she-goes sort of guy,&rdquo; Sutter said from Viking, Alta. &ldquo;For him, going to the rink is like going to the office. Which is not to say he goes through the motions. On the contrary, he&rsquo;s all business.&rdquo;Sutter said the situation is especially difficult because of his close friendship with Larmer.&ldquo;Ours is a different relationship than most coaches and players have,&rdquo; said Sutter, 35. &ldquo;I was a player when Steve was a kid coming up. Our wives used to go to the games together. He&rsquo;s more like a little brother to me.&rdquo;Yet, as the new season creeps closer, Larmer is standing firm on his threat to retire rather than report. If he isn&rsquo;t dealt, Larmer said he&rsquo;ll enroll his six-year-old daughter, Bailey, into a Bridgenorth, Ont., school and spend the winter at home with his wife, Rose, and give up an $875,000 salary. He&rsquo;s in the option year of his contract.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02471/6160543-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="953" height="1959"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Larmer says his ironman streak isn&rsquo;t that important to him. (Jim Leavy/BBS)</figcaption></div>Although he struggled through his worst offensive campaign as a pro, collecting 70 points last season, Larmer led the Blackhawks in plusminus (plus-23) and shorthanded goals (four), tied for most game-winning goals (six), placed second in total goals (35) and power-play goals (14) and third in points.A number of teams have expressed interest in dealing for Larmer&ndash;the Quebec Nordiques and Calgary Flames are keen on acquiring the dependable scorer&ndash;but Chicago is holding out for young prospects.The Blackhawks were the NHL&rsquo;s fourth-oldest team last season and view the trading of Larmer as an opportunity, if nothing else, to reduce their average age.At stake, is Larmer&rsquo;s ironman streak. The NHL record for consecutive games is 964 held by Doug Jarvis. Larmer, at 884, would establish a new mark if he played the first 81 games this season, but he said it means nothing to him.Larmer admitted matter-of-factly to playing through illness and minor injuries over the years. Two seasons ago, he dropped 16 pounds because of an ulcer-like condition, but continued to suit up.When Larmer stumbled out of the starting gate with five goals and 12 assists in the first 22 games last season, Sutter considered sitting him out a game&ndash;streak be damned. But he responded with six goals and four assists in his next three games and remained in the lineup.&ldquo;The streak is more important to other people than me,&rdquo; Larmer said.Larmer&rsquo;s Ottawabased agent Larry Kelly said he hopes the Blackhawks take the streak more seriously than his client.&ldquo;As general manager, Bob Pulford has an obligation to his club to make sure he gets fair market value for Steve,&rdquo; Kelly said. &ldquo;He respects Steve&rsquo;s wishes and I believe he&rsquo;ll make every attempt to make the trade. The Blackhawks take a lot of pride in Steve&rsquo;s streak and I can&rsquo;t believe they would want to be responsible for ending it.&rdquo;Larmer stands fourth, behind Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull and former linemate Denis Savard on the Blackhawks&rsquo; all-time points list with 923. He&rsquo;s third in goals (406) and fifth in assists (517). &#9632;

f0025-02

The irony of it all

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div>Even though Stu Grimson was lost to Anaheim in the expansion draft, Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; coach Darryl Sutter feels there&rsquo;s still plenty of toughness to go around.Especially after the acquisition of defenseman Neil Wilkinson from the San Jose Sharks July 9.&ldquo;We certainly should be tough enough defensively if you count (Chris) Chelios, (Steve) Smith, (Bryan) Marchment, Cam Russell and now Wilkinson,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s five pretty tough guys right there. That&rsquo;s toughness by committee.&rdquo;The acquisition of the scrappy Wilkinson completed the June 18 deal that saw the Hawks send goalie Jimmy Waite to the Sharks for future considerations. The trade was expanded July 13 when San Jose sent goalie Jeff Hackett to the Hawks for a third-round 1994 draft pick.Wilkinson was hardly surprised by the news of the trade since it had been rumored for weeks he was to be the future considerations for Waite.&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s just say I&rsquo;ve already looked into buying a 4-by-4 (truck) and I went to Chicago a couple weeks ago to find a place to live,&rdquo; Wilkinson said the day of the trade.Sutter projects the 6-foot-3,190-pounder as his fourth defenseman behind Chelios, Smith and Marchment.Wilkinson couldn&rsquo;t wait to join the Hawks after losing 129 games the last two seasons with the Sharks. He was also looking forward to blending quietly into a defense that includes stars such as Chelios and Smith.&ldquo;I just want to fit in and do my job,&rdquo; Wilkinson said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so excited. Just the chance to wear the Blackhawks&rsquo; uniform is special to me. I&rsquo;ve always wondered what it would be like to wear that uniform and have that kind of fan support behind you.&rdquo;With Wilkinson, the Hawks have nine defensemen with NHL experience. Beyond the top four are Russell, Frank Kucera, Keith Brown, Craig Muni and Adam Bennett. And that&rsquo;s not counting prospects Karl Dykhuis and Ivan Droppa.&ldquo;I see about three too many,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to solve the problem before camp.&rdquo;As for Hackett, Sutter thinks the 25-year-old veteran is the perfect backup for Ed Belfour.&ldquo;I like him,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s played well against us and he&rsquo;s along the lines of Eddie in his work ethic and the way he competes.&rdquo;CUT LOOSE: The Hawks finally gave up on Rob Brown, releasing the 25-year-old forward along with minor-leaguer Brad Lauer July 22.Brown was acquired midway through 199192 from the Hartford Whalers for defenseman Steve Konroyd but never was able to land a regular role in Chicago. He appeared in only 15 games last season with one goal and six assists.&ldquo;The game has changed and Robbie&rsquo;s skating hurt him,&rdquo; said Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;No doubt he can score, but you&rsquo;ve got to be able to skate.&rdquo;Brown later signed with the Dallas Stars while Lauer, 26, will play for Las Vegas in the International League. Lauer scored 50 goals at Indianapolis last season but didn&rsquo;t figure to make the Hawks&rsquo; roster since there&rsquo;s a plan to move toward youth.The Hawks also lost veteran left winger Greg Gilbert, who was signed by the New York Rangers as a free agent. Gilbert, 31, had been offered a termination contract by the Hawks.NOTEBOOK: For the fifth time in five years, the Hawks will raise ticket prices. Box seats go up from $60 to $65, while the cheapest seats in the second balcony increase from $17 to $20&hellip;A total of 71 players have been invited to camp, which begins for rookies Sept. 8 at Chicago Stadium. Veterans won&rsquo;t report until Sept. 12.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 9: Neil Wilkinson, O, acquired from San Jose to complete the trade for Jimmy Waite. July 13: Jeff Hackett. G, acquired from San Jose for a third-round 1994 draft pick. July 22: Rob Brown. RW. and Brad Lauer, RW, released. &#9632;

Toughness won’t be a problem

<div class="byline">By Terry Egan</div>The Dallas Stars are in the hunt for free-agent defenseman Phil Housley, but are using very little ammunition.The Stars and Winnipeg Jets have talked about Housley&rsquo;s availability, but not what it would take in terms of bodies to land him.Larry Kelly, Housley&rsquo;s Ottawa-based agent, said there were three teams that were &ldquo;keen&rdquo; on landing the all-star and the Stars didn&rsquo;t seem to be one of them.Stars&rsquo; coach-general manager Bob Gainey said he would love to have the all-star skating in Dallas&rsquo; Reunion Arena, but is unwilling to bankrupt the team in order to get him.That the Stars were interested in Housley at all is significant. It is just one more example of how Gainey spent his summer vacation-intent on revamping the team&rsquo;s defense.When injuries hit the Stars defense last spring&ndash;the big one was a separated shoulder that put captain Mark Tinordi in street clothes&ndash;young defensemen Derian Hatcher and Richard Matvichuk were asked to do too much. It is no coincidence the Stars missed the playoffs.Gainey decided to strengthen the defense by adding veterans. He traded for Paul Cavallini, sending tough guy Enrico Ciccone to the Washington Capitals June 25. He signed free agent Grant Ledyard to a one-year contract Aug. 13 with an option year for $500,000 per season.The Stars now have one of the biggest defensive corps in the league.Tinordi is 6-foot-4, 205 pounds; Hatcher is 6-foot-5, 205 pounds; Craig Ludwig is 6-foot-3, 217 pounds; Ledyard is 6-foot-2, 195 pounds; Richard Matvichuk is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds; Brad Berry is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds; Paul Cavallini is 6-foot-l, 202 pounds; Jimmy Johnson is 6-foot-l, 190 pounds.Only Tommy Sjodin (5-foot-ll, 185 pounds) is under 6-foot and he is used almost exclusively on the power play.That&rsquo;s a forest of defense and that fact has not been lost on new goalie Andy Moog.Moog, 33, the oldest starting goalie in the league, could extend his career behind this defense.SIGN OF TIMES: The Stars were still trying to sign Andy Moog as training camp approached.They want to lock him up to a multi-year deal, but Moog, who is entering the option year of his contract, may be interested in going the free agent route because of the way NHL salaries are headed.If he has a good year, he will be seen as an attractive commodity. If he has a mediocre year, he will be seen as a veteran free agent.The Stars have also decided to hold off on trying to sign center Todd Harvey, their first choice, ninth overall, at the 1993 entry draft.Doug Armstrong, an assistant to Bob Gainey, said the Stars are watching for the fallout from the Alexandre Daigle four-year, $12.5-million contract.&ldquo;We want to see how much of that was hockey related and how much was promotions related,&rdquo; Armstrong said.NOTEBOOK: The Stars are hoping to hold their training camp at the North Texas Ice Arena in Irving, Tex., beginning Sept. 12, but that site is in limbo because the rink is still under construction. An emergency backup plan has training camp opening at Wings&rsquo; Stadium, the site of their International League team in Kalamazoo, Mich.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 1: Miks McPhee. LW, signed multi-year contract. Brent Gilchrist, C. signed multi-year contract. Reid Simpson. LW, signed one-year contract. July 15: Les Jackson named assistant general manager. Aug. 6: Rob Brown. RW. signed as free agent. Jason Herter, D. signed as free agent. Aug. 13: Grant Ledyard, D, signed as free agent. &#9632;

Revamped defense good even without Housley

<div class="byline">By Keith Gave</div>The Detroit Red Wings are following their leader to the contract table and all players have their hands out for a pay raise.It obviously doesn&rsquo;t matter that the club again failed to live up to expectations with a first-round playoff elimination at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs.Players have selective memories and they arm themselves with all the right statistics to back up their lofty contract demands.General manager Bryan Murray, naturally, offers a contradictory point of view-mainly that his team crashed too soon in the playoffs last spring.&ldquo;We had 103 points last season, but we didn&rsquo;t win,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;As much as we accomplished, we had a team that got beaten out by Toronto.&rdquo;Which only makes it more difficult to understand why the Wings tore up Steve Yzerman&rsquo;s contract and made him one of the wealthiest players in the NHL Aug. 12.The 28-year-old center is the leader of a team with a reputation for underachieving at the worst possible times.But in his 10 seasons with Detroit, he has enjoyed the luxury of both long-term contracts and the opportunity to tear them up and renegotiate at will, which has begun to grate on benevolent owner Mike Ilitch.While in the fourth year of a six-year deal&ndash;and collecting $1.5 million per year&ndash;Yzerman, with agent Larry Kelly, agreed to a contract worth $13.2 million over four seasons.The package begins with a base salary of $2.7 million this season and escalates to $4 million in the fourth and final year.Murray said the numbers were agreed to before Detroit&rsquo;s premature exit from the playoffs.But Yzerman&rsquo;s teammates might find Murray and Ilitch less agreeable during negotiations.&ldquo;Everything has to be considered when you&rsquo;re negotiating: stats, individual performances and contributions to a hockey team,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;But I also like to consider winning and losing at certain times.&rdquo;And losing to Toronto in the first round, won&rsquo;t help forwards Dino Ciccarelli, Bob Probert and Ray Sheppard, and defensemen Steve Chiasson, Yves Racine or Nicklas Lidstrom.Murray is also negotiating with young centers Mike Sillinger and Greg Johnson, acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers for enforcer Jim Cummins. All but Johnson are entering the option years of their contracts.Ciccarelli, the 33-year-old right winger who tied a team record with 21 power play goals among his 41 for the season, was reported to be seeking $1.5 million a season, up from $834,000 last season.Probert was paid $400,000 last season, though there is considerable debate in Detroit on whether he earned it. Sheppard made $500,000; Chiasson $405,000; Racine $225,000; Lidstrom $250,000; and Sillinger $180,000 while in the NHL and $35,000 while with the Adirondack Red Wings of the American League.NOTEBOOK: The Wings have had several discussions with free agent left winger Warren Rychel, who played his first NHL season this past year with the Los Angeles Kings. But Bryan Murray seemed to be losing interest as negotiations progressed to the point that Rychel&ndash;a grinder willing to mix it up&ndash;was demanding in excess of $2 million over four seasons. The Wings, Central Division rival Chicago Blackhawks and the New York Rangers were the final three teams in the bidding.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 29: Barry Smith named assistant coach. Aug. 12: Steve Yzerman signed four-year. $13-million contract. Aug. 9: Sheldon Kennedy, RW. signed two-year contract. &#9632;

Yzerman gets big bucks despite playoff failure

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>They can&rsquo;t hide any more.It&rsquo;s now up to city, provincial and federal politicians to see to the swimming or sinking of the NHL&rsquo;s Jets in Winnipeg.Elected officials have until June 30, 1994 to act on the recommendations of the Interim Steering Committee Inc., the body set up by the Jets&rsquo; ownership, city of Winnipeg and province of Manitoba in November, 1991 to determine the economic viability of an NHL franchise in Winnipeg and the best course to build a new facility to house the team.After nearly 18 months of research, hearings, travel and study, the seven-member committee made its report public July 29.The 95-page document had been delivered some days earlier to Jets&rsquo; president Barry Shenkarow, mayor Susan Thompson and Manitoba premier Gary Filmon.The agreement that set up the ISC bound the governments to some plan of action by June of 1994 or leave Shenkarow and the 64 per cent majority ownership group of the team free to sell or move the franchise.In the November, 1991 deal, Shenkarow also guaranteed the team would agree to a minimum 20-year lease if a new building were constructed.The ISC determined the Jets can survive in Winnipeg and said the best way for that to happen would be through huge government subsidies and investment.The formula set out was called the &ldquo;preferred option&rdquo; and recommended the city and province set up a joint venture to build a $111-million, 17,000-seat arena somewhere downtown.It also called for a new management company to be formed to run the arena and with $32 million of government-guaranteed money, buy the 64 per cent of the team held by Shenkarow&rsquo;s group.The city and province already hold 36 per cent of the team. The company may seek private investors, but should keep at least 51 per cent of the team, the report said.That plan appears to conflict with the NHL&rsquo;s desire to keep governments and community groups out of ownership. Shenkarow, however, said it was just a proposal, and said the most important thing now was to sit down and get the plan for a new arena moving.&ldquo;I just hope the debate is over,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Winnipeg has to get together, collectively, decide what we need and go ahead and get it done. Let&rsquo;s stop knocking ourselves and do something Winnipeggers can be proud of.&rdquo;Arthur Mauro, the local business leader who headed the committee, said he believes ticket-buyers would pay up to 50 per cent more for tickets by 1997 to watch a quality hockey team in a quality rink. He also indirectly challenged local political naysayers to be open-minded.&ldquo;There are a number of ways you can raise money,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a dreamer and I&rsquo;m sure we can do it. But we&rsquo;ve got to think positive.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Teemu Selanne proved he&rsquo;s one of the fastest skaters in the league last season and he&rsquo;s no slouch off the ice either. Selanne, 23, had his driver&rsquo;s licence suspended indefinitely and was fined for driving 139 kilometers per hour in a Helsinki, Finland area where the posted limit was 100 KPH. He was on his way home from a racing competition in which he finished seventh among 50 drivers.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 8: Darryl Shannon. D, signed as free agent. July 16: Arto Blomsten, D, signed contract. July 20: Yan Kaminsky. RW, and Sergei Sorokin, D, signed contracts July 29: Jim Hrivnak. G, traded to St. Louis for future considerations. Aug. 3: Jason Cirone, C. traded to Florida for Dave Tomlinson, C. Aug. 10: Harijs Vitotinsh. C, signed contract. Aug. 12: Kevin McClelland, RW, acquired from Toronto for future considerations. John Fritsche, RW/LW, signed contract. Aug. 18: Rob Murray, C. and Dave Tomlinson, C, signed contracts. &#9632;

Team’s future in Winnipeg in hands of politicians

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div>After a one month cooling off period, the controversial Felix Potvin poker game has resumed.The Leafs were stunned before the entry draft in June by the young goalie&rsquo;s $2-million-per-season contract demand. And after both the Leafs and Potvin&rsquo;s agent Gilles Lupien failed to negotiate during the month of July, August arrived and neither side had budged.Lupien reiterated his client&rsquo;s wish to receive more than a 1,000 per cent pay hike from the $150,000 Potvin took home in 1992-93, and said Potvin would play out his option and head for free agency next summer if the Leafs did not capitulate.Lupien did not rule out the possibility of a training camp holdout by the second-year netminder.&ldquo;The price is going to get a lot higher a year from now,&rdquo; Lupien said.Leafs&rsquo; general manager Cliff Fletcher responded by mailing Potvin a $300,000 contract offer by the Aug. 10 deadline stipulated by league rules. The Leafs would likely be agreeable to having an arbitrator decide Potvin&rsquo;s salary, but Lupien isn&rsquo;t.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t tell a kid he&rsquo;s going to play for $700,000 when he has the best (goals-against average) in the league,&rdquo; Lupien said.Potvin topped the NHL with a 2.53 GAA last season.The Leafs say Potvin, who has played only 52 regular-season games, isn&rsquo;t a proven commodity. Lupien doesn&rsquo;t believe that&rsquo;s a factor.&ldquo;How many years has Eric Lindros played in the league? Or Alexandre Daigle?&rdquo; asked Lupien.Lindros, entering his second season with the Philadelphia Flyers, signed a deal averaging $3.5 million a year before ever playing in the NHL. Daigle agreed to a contract averaging more than $2 million a year for the next five years with the Ottawa Senators. Both players were selected first overall.If Potvin holds out or is unhappy with his pay cheque, the Leafs chances in the new and improved Central Division could be in danger.Damian Rhodes is the likely backup to Potvin and has only one NHL start to his credit.Career minor-leaguer Bruce Racine, a 27-year-old signed out of the Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; system during the summer, is the only other goalie under contract. He has never played a NHL game.PROGNOSIS GOOD: The Leafs have been encouraged with the recovery of two injured players who could be key contributors this season.Defenseman Drake Berehowsky, who sustained a tom knee ligament in Toronto&rsquo;s final regular-season game last spring and subsequently underwent reconstructive surgery, may be available to start the 1993-94 season after all.It was originally feared the 21-year-old rearguard might not be available until Nov. 1. Now that Bob McGill has been released and Russian Dmitri Mironov is still a question mark, a healthy Berehowsky could add skill and mobility to the Leaf blueline.It&rsquo;s still unclear whether Berehowsky will be healthy enough to open the exhibition season with the rest of the Leaf veterans in London, England for pre-season games against the New York Rangers Sept. 11 and 12.NOTEBOOK: The Leafs had still not signed a series of veterans entering their option years to new contracts. The list included captain Wendel Clark, young forwards Mike Eastwood and Rob Pearson, and defensemen Bob Rouse, Dave Ellett and Todd Gill.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Aug. 1: Alexei Kudashov, C. Bruce Racine. G, and Chris Snell, D, signed contracts. Contract of Bob McGill, D, bought out. Rich Chernomasz named player-assistant coach at St. John&rsquo;s (AHL). Aug. 10: Damian Rhodes, G, signed contract. &#9632;

Potvin demands still stand

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div>An abdominal injury sustained in pre-season last fall will sideline Ron Sutter for his second successive season opener.The St. Louis Blues&rsquo; center underwent surgery Aug. 6 to repair a tom muscle in his abdominal wall and won&rsquo;t play until mid-October.Sutter, 29, initially injured his abdominal muscle in a pre-season game Sept. 22, 1992. He missed 18 games, then played 59 straight games before a separated shoulder sidelined him for the last seven games and the playoffs.Although he was able to play, the abdominal injury nagged Sutter throughout the season, the worst statistically of his career. He had only 12 goals and 27 points, tying his previous career low for points. He had 27 points in the 1986-87 season when he played only 39 games.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think this injury got the attention it deserved,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;It should have been taken care of when it first happened.&rdquo;Sutter also expressed displeasure at the Blues for not checking on his shoulder&rsquo;s progress.&ldquo;If I was a star player on the team, I would have been looked after in a better manner. I&rsquo;m not afraid to say that,&rdquo; he said.Most upsetting to Sutter was the fact he would miss the early portion of the season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very disappointing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Points are very critical early in the year. I could make a difference.&rdquo;Blues&rsquo; officials didn&rsquo;t seem as concerned as Sutter, although they were upset by his outburst.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not radical surgery,&rdquo; said Blues&rsquo; president Jack Quinn. &ldquo;We expect him to come, report and be ready for opening night.&rdquo;CENTER OF ATTENTION: Ron Sutter&rsquo;s injury makes the Blues&rsquo; quest for a center more critical.After No. 1 center Craig Janney, the Blues have checker Bob Bassen back from last season.Career minor-leaguer Kevin Miehm, free-agent veteran Tony Hrkac, free-agent collegian Jim Montgomery and prospect Ian Laperriere are the team&rsquo;s other centers.The Blues are also interested in acquiring Calgary center Joe Nieuwendyk. Flames&rsquo; general manager Doug Risebrough has been shopping Nieuwendyk all summer.&ldquo;He would have a tough time beating what I would give him,&rdquo; Blues&rsquo; GM Ron Caron said.NOTEBOOK: Free agent defenseman Marty McSorley signed an offer sheet with the Blues Aug. 20. The Los Angeles Kings had until Aug. 27 to decide whether they wanted to match St. Louis&rsquo; reported offer of $800,000 per season plus a multi-million dollar signing bonus spread over several years. McSorley visited St. Louis Aug. 18 and Ron Caron had said the four-year, $6-million deal commanded by McSorley was too high.Assistant coach Wayne Thomas, a fixture in the Blues&rsquo; coaching ranks for five years, resigned Aug. 4 to become an assistant coach and an assistant to the director of hockey operations with the San Jose Sharks. The Blues released Thomas from the last two years of his contract and will not replace him. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the chance of a lifetime for Wayne,&rdquo; Blues&rsquo; president Jack Quinn said.The Blues filled a hole in goal in late July, acquiring Jim Hrivnak from the Winnipeg Jets for a seventh-round pick in 1994. After losing backup Guy Hebert to Anaheim in the expansion draft, the Blues have only first-year pros Geoff Sarjeant and Parris Duffus behind starter Curtis Joseph.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 2: Ron Caron, GM, signed two-year contract. July 29: Jim Hrivnak, G. acquired from Winnipeg for seventh-round pick in 1994 draft. Will be upgraded to sixth-round pick if Hrivnak plays 10 or more games. July 30: Tony Hrkac, C. Tom Tilley, D, signed as free agents. Aug. 4: Wayne Thomas, assistant coach, resigned. Aug. 20: Marty McSorley, D, signed to a free-agent offer sheet. &#9632;

Sutter claims injury not taken seriously

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01792/6160718-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Referee Andy van Hellemond said contract negotiations between the NHL and its officials are moving at a faster pace this time. (Macro Campanelli/BBS)</figcaption></div>The suggestion a strike by NHL referees and linesmen is looming is premature, according to the league&rsquo;s most senior referee.Reports in two Toronto newspapers said the NHL Officials&rsquo; Association is poised to call a strike.&ldquo;Our membership has never even discussed the possibility of a strike; it&rsquo;s something we haven&rsquo;t even entertained,&rdquo; said Andy van Hellemond. The 22-year-veteran-along with fellow referees Terry Gregson and Kerry Fraser and linesman Kevin Collins-has been involved in collective bargaining agreement negotiations.Representatives from the NHL and the NHLOA continued talks in New York Aug. 19, working toward replacing the five-year contract which expires Aug. 31. They were scheduled to meet again in New York Aug. 23 and in Toronto Aug. 26.Toronto-based agent Don Meehan, who is representing the 51-man NHLOA, said the membership is satisfied with the direction negotiations have taken. He did, however, warn a strike is not entirely out of the question. That would be the final resort for officials if a new agreement is not reached by time the 1993-94 season opens.&ldquo;The officials are prepared; they are determined,&rdquo; Meehan said. &ldquo;They are reasonable guys. If they feel they are being treated with respect and not as adversaries, there shouldn&rsquo;t be a problem.&rdquo;Both sides have agreed not to publicly discuss the issues while negotiations are continuing.The officials are seeking a substantial salary increase as well an overhaul to their pension plan. Job security and medical benefits are also being discussed.The last agreement between the NHL and its officials ran for five years and the previous three agreements lasted three years each. The NHLOA is seeking a two-year deal.Under the current agreement, first-year referees earn between $45-50,000 (linesmen start at $30,000) and the referee with the most experience could earn up to $150,000 with bonuses. It is believed the NHLOA is seeking to raise the starting salary for referees to $125,000. NHL officials are paid in Canadian dollars.By comparison, first-year umpires in Major League Baseball earn $60,000 (US), while a senior man can make in excess of $200,000 with bonuses.&ldquo;We got ourselves into a five-year agreement the last time so we really have nobody to blame but ourselves for our current wage situation,&rdquo; van Hellemond said. &ldquo;However, that doesn&rsquo;t change the fact we have some catching up to do and we hope the league is receptive to that. So far it appears to be.&rdquo;Van Hellemond, who was involved in negotiations for previous agreements, notes a distinct difference in dealing with the NHL this time around.&ldquo;We got to the issues quicker,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They know we have problems and they want to hear about them.&rdquo;The Aug. 19 meeting was attended by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman&ndash;the first time to anybody&rsquo;s knowledge a head of the league has become involved in officials&rsquo; negotiations. Bettman doesn&rsquo;t view his participation as being extraordinary.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s unprecedented for a commissioner in other sports to go to the bargaining table,&rdquo; Bettman said.Others consider his involvement as an indication the NHL is interested in reaching a quick settlement.&ldquo;It was a sincere effort to understand the concerns of our membership,&rdquo; Meehan said. &ldquo;The officials indicated to me in past negotiations they have always felt like they were left standing at the starting gate. They felt like they were separate and distinct from the league.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0028-01

Talks stay on side

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02532/6160749-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="379" height="538"></div>Normally, I am as compulsive as Steve Yzerman in a goalmouth. The papers are stacked neatly on my desk tike backcheckers along a Pat Bums&rsquo; blueline.The fact that I like things neat and clean is a manifestation of both my hockey and journalistic training. After all these years, loose ends bother me a lot more than loose teeth.So I just couldn&rsquo;t stand to look in my closet anymore. With a job change, a move, and a book I&rsquo;ve been writing for almost as long as Rob Zettler has been looking for a goal, I had not taken the time to update my files since, I believe, Dave Taylor&rsquo;s rookie year.The last thing I remembered putting in its proper place in my filing cabinet was &ldquo;Doug Hicks is Skating out of Bobby Orr&rsquo;s shadow&rdquo;. Since then, everything&ndash;newspaper clippings, magazine stories, Mel Bridgman position papers, Gil Stein&rsquo;s skeletons&ndash;had been dumped in my closet. Just to close the door required the effort of Leon Stickle stuffing Dave Schultz into a penalty box.It was getting embarrassing already. The Rangers had cleaned house six times before I had even done it once. I had about as much chance of finding anything I needed as Mark Osborne has of locating the net. The final straw came when I didn&rsquo;t even have enough room for my lifesized Cliff Ronning poster.That did it, I had to get organized. The book would have to wait for a day or two.At least I thought that&rsquo;s how long it would take. Re-organizing my files has turned into a larger project than rebuilding the Whalers. I am in further over my head than even Pierre Creamer. There are too many damned players in this league now. And I can&rsquo;t keep track of where they are playing.It used to be so much easier. In the good old days, I could whip my Cleveland Barons stuff into shape in about three minutes. My yearly filing would take two hours, tops. About 80 per cent of the clips detailed where Ron Duguay had been seen dancing. Another 10 were accounts of the Flyers being taken to various police stations.You could count on at least three pieces a year about Glenn Hall throwing up before every game and maybe one or two about how the Seals were building for the future. There may have been the odd piece on Phil Roberto, but that was about it.Nobody ever had reason to write anything about Anders Eldebrink. The hardest part about the whole task was trying to remember what team Walt McKechnie was on.But that was before Lonnie Loach began to get big exposure. Hockey has taken off, leaving all these Shark and Panthers and Senators and Mighty Ducks floating around with Anatoli Semenov playing for all of them at the same time. What team do I put him under?Maybe I&rsquo;m too touchy about this Tichy, but who is he and why should he get free space in my files?I know it&rsquo;s not up to me to tell the Panthers how to do business, but they drafted this guy named Paul Lousy. How do they expect to sell tickets advertising something like that?Now I have to make room for Lousy in my files. It was all I could do to jam Robin Bawa in there. Claudio Scremin? Man, that&rsquo;s what I feel like doing.I have more folders than Bruce Firestone could count on at a Senators&rsquo; team meeting.There are now two Stephane Richers in the NHL. Of course, a lot of nights the Devils don&rsquo;t know which one they&rsquo;re getting either, but that doesn&rsquo;t make this any easier on me. Okay, I have to admit, I contributed to this glut by once doing a piece on Gates Orlando. Hey, I was young. And besides, there were only 21 teams in those days. Now, writers are chronicling the life and times of Joe Sacco. They are filling my filing cabinet with more useless information than is contained in a Lightning playoff ticket brochure.This shrimp named Paul DiPietro had a good playoff. Now his file is probably going to be bigger than he is. To make room, I&rsquo;ve already had to move my prized George Pesut collection down to the basement, where I keep both my Ottawa and &ldquo;Inactive&rdquo; files. While I was down there, I realized I had never pulled up my Herb Brooks stuff. By the time I got it upstairs, he&rsquo;d coached and left three more teams.It&rsquo;s not even just the marginal guys that are making me crazy. I already have so much on Paul Coffey that I need a forklift to move it. And they still keep trading him once a year. My back hurts and my floor looks like the Sharks&rsquo; net after a Penguins&rsquo; power play.I have been working day and night for two weeks and I&rsquo;m still only as far as Arniel.Oh, gawd, Ashton is next. I think I&rsquo;m going to cry. &#9632;

f0028-02

My NHL files a study in confusion

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div>This kind of talk isn&rsquo;t cheap.The Northlands Coliseum group and Peter Pocklington are on speaking terms again and the fate of NHL hockey in Edmonton hangs on the outcome of their conversations.The Oilers&rsquo; owner met with Northlands&rsquo; president Gerry Yuen, vicepresident Bob Westbury and board member John Ramsey Aug. 14 and both sides emerged with good news for Edmonton hockey fans.Talks are moving along to resolve their Coliseum lease dispute. Sources say the Northlands&rsquo; committee should have a proposal for Pocklington to consider by the end of August. And it may be more lucrative to Pocklington than the May 13 tentative agreement that had Economic Development Edmonton act as the middle man between Northlands and the Oilers.EDE is no longer involved in lease negotiations after Northlands rejected the deal EDE attempted to structure. EDE would lease the Coliseum from Northlands and sub-lease it to the Oilers. Northlands wasn&rsquo;t happy with the financial terms of the 20-year deal and their board rejected it July 21.Sources say Northlands has since commissioned a study of a number of lease agreements in the NHL and is set to offer Pocklington a new deal based on market conditions.Yuen said Northlands has &ldquo;looked at other areas&rdquo; but wouldn&rsquo;t elaborate. All parties involved refuse to release details of negotiations.&ldquo;It was a good meeting,&rdquo; Westbury said of the Aug. 14 session. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re making good progress. He went away happy and I went away happy.&rdquo;Pocklington also went away shaking his head in amazement.&ldquo;It was a surprisingly positive meeting. It shocked me,&rdquo; he said.SIMPSON WAITING: The Craig Simpson saga drags on and on.The free agent left winger was tendered an offer sheet by the San Jose Sharks July 16, an offer that was rejected as &ldquo;null and void&rdquo; by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman July 26.The NHL Players&rsquo; Association is challenging the ruling, along with one Bettman made on the offer the Sharks made to Kelly Miller. The union announced it was suing the league Aug. 18. (For more on lawsuit, see page 2).The Sharks claimed they were paying Simpson less than $200,000 in salary and as a result, the Oilers were owed no compensation. Simpson would actually receive more than $3 million (U.S.) over the three-year deal, in a reporting bonus, however.Simpson said he was surprised by the decision, while Oilers&rsquo; GM Glen Sather was just the opposite.&ldquo;To me it was a bogus offer,&rdquo; said Sather, who added that trading Simpson was now the likeliest way to proceed as he won&rsquo;t offer him any more than the $690,000 which Simpson has already rejected.NOTEBOOK: Shayne Corson was charged with failing to keep a proper lookout following a boating accident July 25 at Lake Muskoka in Ontario. Corson&rsquo;s 7 &frac12;-meter boat carrying five people collided with a large canoe carrying nine people. All of the boaters wound up in the water and three sustained minor injuries. The two boats sank&hellip;None of the Oilers&rsquo; free agents&mdash;Craig Simpson, Luke Richardson and Geoff Smith&mdash;has filed for arbitration.Coach Ted Green was impressed by first-round pick Jason Arnott at the August mini-camp. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s head and shoulders above everybody.&rdquo; &#9632;

Feuding sides talk again; move closer to resolution

<div class="byline">By Mike Weaver</div>Dealing with free agents has been a summer-long ride on an emotional roller coaster for the San Jose Sharks.The Sharks have hit peaks in the free-agent market by signing players such as Mike Lalor, Kip Miller, Bob Errey and Jamie Baker, but failed bids to sign Kelly Kisio, Craig Simpson and Kelly Miller left management with a queasy feeling.The Sharks were stunned when Kisio, the team&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer, signed with the Calgary Flames Aug. 18 after rejecting a two-year $2.2 million offer. They also soured when the Washington Capitals matched an offer sheet signed by Kelly Miller, and were angered when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman voided a contract signed by Simpson.The NHL Players&rsquo; Association was also angered by the commissioner&rsquo;s move and announced it had launched a lawsuit against the league Aug. 18. (For more on lawsuit, see page 2).Bettman prevented the Sharks from taking Simpson away from the Edmonton Oilers because the deal was structured in a way that allowed the Sharks to avoid compensation penalties they ordinarily would have been required to pay the Oilers, who forfeited the right to match offers by not offering Simpson a 15 per cent raise over his $690,000 salary.The Sharks structured the three-year deal so that Simpson, 26, would draw a salary of less than $200,000 but be paid a &ldquo;reporting bonus&rdquo; each training camp. The bonuses would have pushed Simpson&rsquo;s income to more than $1 million, but the Sharks dodged the compensation penalties because rules apply only to players earning at least $200,000 per season in base salary and signing bonuses.Sharks&rsquo; director of hockey operations Dean Lombardi steadfastly insists the contract structure is within the rules. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a joke,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not rules. There&rsquo;s a lot behind this politically.&rdquo;Bettman scoffed at the idea his decision was politically motivated.&ldquo;The way the offer was structured, it was an obvious attempt to circumvent the rules,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;My job is to try to apply the rules as fairly and consistently as possible.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m frustrated because we worked so hard to make this happen,&rdquo; Lombardi said.NEW COACHES: The Sharks bolstered their coaching staff by announcing Wayne Thomas, Vasily Tikhonov, Drew Remenda and Steve Myrland will work as assistants to new coach Kevin Constantine.Thomas, a finalist for the head job, was an assistant with the St. Louis Blues last season.Tikhonov, the son of Russian coach Viktor Tikhonov, will help with the many Russian Sharks. Remenda, a video specialist, was an assistant to former coach George Kingston the past two seasons. Myrland is from the University of Wisconsin and will be strength and conditioning coach.NOTEBOOK: The Sharks thinned a traffic jam of goalies by trading Jeff Hackett to the Chicago Blackhawks July 13 for a conditional draft choice in 1994. The Sharks will get a third-round pick if Hackett plays fewer than 40 games, or a second-round pick if he plays 40 or more.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 13: Jeff Hackett, G, traded to Chicago for conditional 1994 draft pick. Aug. 4: Wayne Thomas. Vasily Tikhonov and Drew Remenda named assistant coaches. Aug. 5: Shawn Cronin, D. acquired from Philadelphia for future considerations. Aug. 6: Sergei Makarov. RW, acquired from Hartford as future consideration in previous trade. Aug. 10: Kip Miller. C, signed contract. Aug. 11: Greg Jamison named executive vice-president and chief operating officer. Aug. 13: Mike Lalor. D. signed as free agent. Aug. 17: Bob Errey. LW, signed as tree agent. Aug. 18: Jamie Baker, C, signed as free agent. &#9632;

Bettman decision hurts

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div>Pat Quinn can&rsquo;t shake his love affair with coaching.The Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; president and general manager took three months to ponder his future and then did what most were expecting-he announced he will remain behind the bench for a third full season.&ldquo;I like coaching these kids and I think I have something to offer,&rdquo; Quinn said. &ldquo;I never really stepped away. I just wanted to take some time to see whether, in the whole scheme of things, I should stay on as coach. I decided I wanted to do that.&rdquo;The Canucks have enjoyed their greatest regular-season successes under the three-hatted Quinn, finishing first twice and setting team records for wins and points both years. But they were upset in the second playoff round both years.Quinn&rsquo;s decision to stay was a blow to Rick Ley, the former Hartford Whaler coach who was in line to succeed Quinn. Ley will remain as an assistant along with Stan Smyl and ex-Ranger head coach Ron Smith, who replaces Ron Wilson.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said all along my aspiration is to get back to a head coaching job,&rdquo; Ley said. &ldquo;If I can&rsquo;t, this is where I want to be. I had a feeling this is the way things were going to transpire.&rdquo;It is Smith&rsquo;s second tour of duty in Vancouver. He was as assistant coach from 1981-85 under Harry Neale, Roger Neilson and Bill LaForge.IN LIMBO: Petr Nedved, a Group I free agent, remained unsigned in late August as the Canucks refused to meet his salary demands.Canuck negotiator George McPhee said the sides were at an impasse, although Quinn preferred to use the word &ldquo;stymied&rdquo;. Nedved&rsquo;s agent, Tony Kondel, has mentioned taking his 21-year-old client to Europe, a threat nobody was taking too seriously. Some reports have Nedved asking for a salary in the $700,000-$800,000 range.NOTEBOOK: Pat Quinn was livid with the Canucks&rsquo; schedule, saying &ldquo;it looks like we&rsquo;ve gone back 15 years.&rdquo; Vancouver has one sevengame road trip, two six-game trips and will travel to California eight times to play nine games&hellip;One-time Montreal first-round pick Jose Charbonneau will attend camp on a tryout. Charbonneau played briefly for* the Canucks in 1988-89.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 27: Stephane Morin, C. signed multi-year contract. July 29: Rob Woodward, LW. signed multi-year contract. Aug. 10: Daryl Filipek, D, signed multi-year contract. Aug. 19: Pat Quinn. coach-GM-president, announces he will remain as coach Ron Smith named assistant coach. &#9632;

No surprise as Quinn decides to remain team’s head coach

<div class="byline">By Robyn Norwood</div>The Anaheim Mighty Ducks&rsquo; top pick in the 1993 entry draft is heading back to school.Paul Kariya, 18, the No. 4 choice overall, has decided to return to the University of Maine for the fall semester and play for Canada in the Olympics before beginning his professional career.Kariya&rsquo;s decision is fine with the Ducks. General manager Jack Ferreira has encouraged Kariya to play in the Olympics this winter at Lillehammer, Norway, calling it a good developmental opportunity.&ldquo;I thought the most important thing was to get the Olympic experience,&rdquo; Ferreira said. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s ready to play in the NHL and I told him that. He just wants to be at the top of his game and in top shape before he comes to the NHL. I&rsquo;m sure that has a lot to do with why he&rsquo;s going back to school.&rdquo;Kariya could have chosen to end his college career after an unprecedented debut season in which he won the Hobey Baker Award as a freshman while helping Maine win the National Collegiate Athletic Association title.But instead of joining the Canadian Olympic team Sept. 1 at its Calgary training camp, Kariya will return to campus before joining Team Canada in mid-December before the Izvestia tournament in Russia.&ldquo;It came down to academics,&rdquo; said Kariya, who will play a little less than half a season of college hockey. &ldquo;Basically, I just felt one more semester of schooling would really help me in the long run, and make it a lot easier for me to return to school later because I&rsquo;ll have finished almost two years.&rdquo;He will join the Olympic team late, but will be greeted with open arms.&ldquo;Based on his talent, we for sure will take him when he would be willing to join us,&rdquo; said Dany Dube, associate coach of the Canadian team.NOTEBOOK: The Mighty Ducks make their debut Sept. 18 in an exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Anaheim Arena. The regular-season opener is also at home, against the Detroit Red Wings Oct. 8&hellip;Anaheim signed 32 players and is expected to add a few more before the Sept. 10 opening of training camp, along with some non-roster invitees.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 19: Al Sims and Tim Army named assistant coaches. July 22: Peter Douris. LW. Myles O&rsquo;Connor, D. and Shaun Van Allen, C, signed as free agents. July 30: Scott Chartier. D, signed as free agent. Aug. 2: Mark DeSantis, D, and Scott McKay, C. signed as free agent. Aug. 10: Patrik Camback. LW. and Todd Ewen. RW. acquired from Montreal for third-round pick in 1994 entry draft. Aug. 11: Announced three-year affiliation agreement with San Diego (IHL). Aug. 12: Announced affiliation with Greensboro (ECHL). Steven King, RW. signed as free agent. Aug. 16: Denny Lambert, LW, signed as free agent. &#9632;

Kariya returning to Maine

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div>Fifteen years ago, Kelly Kisio began the road to the NHL by starring for two seasons with the Calgary Wranglers of the Western League.In the second last week of August, Kisio&rsquo;s career came full circle.The Calgary Flames won a bidding war with the San Jose Sharks for the rights to the Group V free agent.The Flames signed Kisio to a three-year contract, worth an estimated $2.4 million (U.S.). The Sharks were offering a two-year contract, followed by a three-year personal services contract.Kisio earned $408,000 last season and led the team with 26 goals and 78 points in 78 games. He opted for the Flames for family reasons.&ldquo;I am thrilled to be returned to Calgary and being able to finish my career near home,&rdquo; the native of Peace River, Alta., said.The Flames began to pursue Kisio after losing center Brian Skrudland to the Florida Panthers in the expansion draft. They are counting on Kisio to add scoring production and leadership to the team.&ldquo;We were looking for a playmaking center, who could add production to our wingers,&rdquo; general manager Doug Risebrough said. &ldquo;Through the deals we made this summer, we lost a productive player (Sergei Makarov) and some character (Skrudland). This guy could bring back both of those in one player.&ldquo;The other thing is, his attitude will add to the competitiveness of the team. The fact he wanted to come back to Calgary was exciting because we&rsquo;re trying to make that connection. He wants to live in the community. It gives his kids an opportunity to grow up where he grew up.&rdquo;Can Kisio, who turns 34 in September, play three more years?&ldquo;I think so,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I keep myself in good shape. Eventually, it may be in a more limited role.&rdquo;Even after Kisio&rsquo;s signing, the Flames enter training camp with only nine forwards who played more than 50 games in the NHL last season.As a result, there could be as many as five openings for first-year players on the Flames&rsquo; roster this season.TED&rsquo;S ADVENTURE: In signing former Harvard Crimson center and Hobey Baker finalist Ted Drury, the Flames included a clause in his contract that will allow him to play for Team USA in the 1994 Olympic Games.If Drury, 21, fails to make the Flames, he goes directly to the Olympic team. If he does make the Flames, he will join the Olympic team in January, meaning the Flames will lose him for up to six weeks.NOTEBOOK: The Flames offered termination contracts to Jeff Reese, Greg Smyth and Chris Lindberg. Reese re-signed, but Smyth and Lindberg chose to pursue opportunities elsewhere. The Flames also decided not to offer new contracts to a pair of free agents, Carey Wilson and Brent Ashton.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 1: Chris Lindberg, LW, Greg Smyth, D. Patrick Lebeau, C, Shawn Heaphy, C. declined termination contracts and became free agents. Carey Wilson, C, and Brent Ashton. LW. released Roger Johansson. D, announced he is returning to Sweden. Niklas Sundblad. RW. and Ted Drury. C. signed multi-year contracts. July 20: Jeff Reese, G, signed termination contract. Aug. 10: David Haas, LW, Mike Stevens, LW. and Mark Freer, C, signed multi-year contracts. Aug. 18: Kelly Kisio, C. signed as free agent. &#9632;

Kisio spurns Sharks’ offer, returns to roots in Alberta

<div class="byline">By Rick Sadowski</div>Does bigger mean better?In what was an obvious attempt to add much-needed size to the forward lines, the Los Angeles Kings dipped into the free-agent market and pulled out a couple retreads in right winger John Druce and center Rob Murphy.Druce, 27, stands 6-feet-2 and weighs 195 pounds. Murphy, 24, is 6-3 and 205 pounds.&ldquo;When you don&rsquo;t have (first-round) draft picks, you&rsquo;ve got to use other avenues to find players,&rdquo; coach Bany Melrose said. &ldquo;Everybody knows we have to get bigger.&rdquo;Druce is best remembered for coming out of nowhere to score 14 goals in 15 playoff games for the Washington Capitals in 1990. He had 22 goals and 58 points for the Caps in 1990-91, but slipped to 19 goals and 37 points the following year and last season, with the Winnipeg Jets, had six goals and 20 points in 50 games.Murphy, 24, was once so highly regarded that the Vancouver Canucks made him a first-round pick (24th overall) in 1987. But he couldn&rsquo;t even stick with the lowly Ottawa Senators last season. He had just three goals and 10 points in 44 games with the Senators.Druce has 63 goals in 290 career NHL games. Murphy has nine goals in 117 games. That didn&rsquo;t prevent the Kings from rolling the dice.&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to be careful how you look at guys,&rdquo; Melrose said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t look at what a guy has done so much as what I feel he is capable of doing.&rdquo;Melrose, when he coached Medicine Hat to the 1988 Memorial Cup title, was intrigued by Murphy, then a star in the Quebec League.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s big and strong and tough,&rdquo; Melrose said. &ldquo;He has great skills. I don&rsquo;t know why he hasn&rsquo;t developed the way everyone thought he would.&ldquo;(Druce) had an off-year, but he has played at a high level in the playoffs. Maybe people were expecting too much. He isn&rsquo;t a 50-goal scorer, but I think he can be a 25- and 30-goal scorer who will hit.&rdquo;WAYNE UPDATE: Just weeks before the start of camp, the Kings were still waiting for Wayne Gretzky to make a decision on his future.Gretzky had met with team owner Bruce McNall several times and spoken by telephone with Melrose.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m optimistic he&rsquo;s going to play,&rdquo; Melrose said. &ldquo;Things are going well as far as I can tell. I think it&rsquo;s a case of Wayne wanting to play here, but a lot of things have happened financially since he signed his last contract.&rdquo;McNall has said he intends to make Gretzky, whose $3 million salary is less than those of Eric Lindros and Mario Lemieux, the highest-paid player in the NHL.NOTEBOOK: The Kings had until Aug. 27 to decide if they want to match the offer given to defenseman Marty McSorley by the St. Louis Blues. McSorley agreed to the multiyear deal Aug. 20, but the Kings have the right to match the offer&hellip;The Kings named Rick Dudley director of pro scouting July 23. He coached the International League&rsquo;s San Diego Gulls last season. Previously, he spent parts of three seasons as the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; coach and one year with the American League&rsquo;s New Haven Nighthawks when that team was a Kings&rsquo; affiliate.Among the Kings&rsquo; free-agent signees was left winger Dan Currie, 25, who scored 154 goals over three seasons for the Cape Breton Oilers in the AHL. Currie had 57 goals and 98 points last year. He likely will play for Phoenix of the IHL.<h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>July 16: Brian Chapman. D, Dan Currie, LW, Bob Jay, D. Dominic Lavoie, D, and Jim Vesey, RW, signed contracts. July 22: Dave Thomlinson, LW, signed contract. July 23: Rick Dudley hired as director of pro scouting. July 29: Brian McReynolds, C, signed contract. Aug. 2: John Druce, RW, and Rob Murphy, C, signed as free agents. Aug. 9: Pauli Jaks. G. signed contract. &#9632;

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September 3, 1993

1993-94 NHL SCHEDULE

Fighting eliminated from game …at NHL’s request

Andrews won’t alter philosophy

Winning league championship pays off handsomely for Demers