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.

October 1, 1993

The Hockey News October 1, 1993

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div>Having failed in their attempts to acquire a center for Brett Hull, the St. Louis Blues have gone to their insurance policy. In doing so, they&rsquo;ve gone back to the future.Tony Hrkac, dumped by the Blues in 1989 but re-signed as a free agent this summer, has been given the first shot at centering Hull in training camp. He&rsquo;s not a lock to start the season that way, but he has an edge in experience on top competitor Jim Montgomery, a rookie signed as a free agent after helping to lead the University of Maine to the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship.Although the Blues believe Montgomery has the skill to play in the NHL, they might want him to gain some pro experience with their International League affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. So unless Montgomery is impressive in camp or Hrkac falls flat on his face, Hrkac might be front and center with Hull.He has worked hard for the opportunity, bulking his slight frame up to 182 pounds.&ldquo;He trained, which is something he has never done,&rdquo; said general manager Ron Caron. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the new Hrkac. He knows there&rsquo;s an opening, and he knows this is basically his last chance.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s the chance of a lifetime, actually the second chance of a lifetime. Hrkac could have been Hull&rsquo;s center years ago, but he lacked the work ethic and the Blues gave up on him. They traded him and goalie Greg Millen to the Quebec Nordiques for defenseman Jeff Brown Dec. 13, 1989 in one of Caron&rsquo;s best trades.&ldquo;I got caught up in the excitement of playing in the NHL,&rdquo; Hrkac said of his first stint with the Blues. &ldquo;Bernie (Federko) and Brian (Sutter) used to tell me, &lsquo;You&rsquo;ve got to bear down a bit.&rsquo; But when you&rsquo;re young, you think you know it all and you really don&rsquo;t. So, I had to learn the hard way, instead of listening to them.&rdquo;Had he listened, his career might not have been as nomadic and largely undistinquished as it has been with stops in Quebec and Halifax, San Jose, Chicago and Indianapolis, where he rekindled the Blues&rsquo; interest.Hrkac was the International League player of the year last season, scoring 132 points with the Indianapolis Ice.&ldquo;I worked hard,&rdquo; Hrkac said. &ldquo;You can tell by my numbers that I didn&rsquo;t let up. Once you&rsquo;re down there, if you give up, everybody sees it and nobody gives you another chance.&rdquo;Caron believes Hrkac can help the Blues.&ldquo;He has unlimited potential,&rdquo; Caron said. &ldquo;This guy could start clicking. This guy&rsquo;s only 27. He he still has ability.&rdquo;MARSHALL PLAN: It has been four years since the Blues made defenseman Jason Marshall a first-round pick, and Ron Caron says, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s decision time.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s important that we find out once, and for good, where he stands,&rdquo; Caron said.That&rsquo;s fine with Marshall, a 22-year-old from Cranbrook, B.C.&ldquo;Something has to happen,&rdquo; Marshall said. &ldquo;I need something fresh. I need to feel like I&rsquo;m going in a positive direction, that I&rsquo;m not just waiting around and seeing what&rsquo;s going to happen.&rdquo;That happened last season at Peoria, where he languished all season without a recall. He doesn&rsquo;t relish the prospect of returning to the Blues&rsquo; minor-league affiliate for a third season.&ldquo;Peoria&rsquo;s a good spot, but it just doesn&rsquo;t feel like I&rsquo;m going anywhere,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying I&rsquo;m good enough to be in the NHL. There are a lot of good players here. There&rsquo;s no question there are a lot of good defenseman. But&hellip;I want something good to happen.&rdquo;Entering training camp, Marshall ranked as the Blues&rsquo; eighth or ninth defenseman and fifth on the right side, behind Garth Butcher, Rick Zombo, Stephane Quintal and Tom Tilley.The odds are against him, but as chief scout Ted Hampson said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think any of our defenseman, other than Jeff Brown, has an any edge on Jason other than experience.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center Ron Sutter will be sidelined until late October after undergoing abdominal surgery in the summer. Winger Denny Felsner is out until mid-October with a broken ankle. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Hrkac gets another chance

<div class="byline">By Robyn Norwood</div>Ron Wilson believes it takes two men to get some jobs done and expansion goaltending might be one of them.The coach of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim knows his team is going to face plenty of shots and Guy Hebert and Ron Tugnutt will share the heavy workload.Tugnutt has had his share of experience on a bad team. Los Angeles Times columnist Mike Penner compared Tugnutt&rsquo;s time with the Quebec Nordiques to the scene in the Disney movie The Mighty Ducks where the peewee goaltender is tied to the goalposts and pummeled by a storm of pucks.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve faced more rubber than your average tire salesman,&rdquo; Tugnutt said.Tugnutt was in goal for the Nordiques March 21, 1991, when the Boston Bruins had 73 shots in a 3-3 tie. That season, Tugnutt faced 2,063 shots, an average of 37 a night.Hebert&rsquo;s problem has been the opposite. Playing behind Curtis Joseph with the St. Louis Blues, he didn&rsquo;t see much action. But when Joseph was out with an injury last January, Hebert stepped in and won three games holding opponents to under two goals a game. He also earned his first shutout and was named NHL player of the week.Wilson has seen both of the goalies under pressure. He was watching on TV when Tugnutt made 70 saves in Boston Garden: &ldquo;An incredible display,&rdquo; Wilson said.And he was an assistant coach at the 1990 Goodwill Games, when Hebert beat Canada in a shootout to reach the gold-medal game against the Soviet Union. The U.S. lost the final in a shootout after the Soviets tied the score in the final minute.&ldquo;He was the reason we almost won the gold-medal game,&rdquo; Wilson saidThe Ducks also have Allan Bester, 29, and Mikhail Shtalenkov, 27, in camp. Those two spent last season in the minors, but Wilson said the Ducks will use a third goalie occasionally.NICHOLLS&rsquo; CRISIS: Bernie Nicholls, whose critically ill infant son is hospitalized in Long Beach, Calif., approached the New Jersey Devils about the possibility of being traded to the Ducks, but the teams say they are not discussing a deal.Duck general manager Jack Ferreira said New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello mentioned the situation, but there have been no trade talks.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something either of us have pursued, but we&rsquo;re aware of the situation Bernie and his family are in,&rdquo; Ferreira said. &ldquo;Lou just said this is the situation at hand.&rdquo;A trade for Nicholls, 32, would be unlikely for the Ducks, who as an expansion team have few players other teams want. Ferreira also has adopted a philosophy of developing young skilled players.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m caught in a catch-22. I can&rsquo;t be in two places at once,&rdquo; said Nicholls, whose wife Heather is home in Whittier, Calif., to be close to their nine-month-old son. The infant was bom with Down Syndrome and later became critically ill. &ldquo;In terms of hockey, I&rsquo;d much sooner play (in New Jersey). We have a great team and I think we&rsquo;re going in a great direction. But for my family, it would be a lot easier if I were there.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Being the coach of the Ducks hasn&rsquo;t made Ron Wilson a celebrity yet, even when he&rsquo;s wearing Duck paraphernalia. &ldquo;They just assume I&rsquo;m some goofy fan,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They say, &lsquo;Are you going to go to the games?&rsquo; I say, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m going to all of &lsquo;em-if I can.&rsquo;&rdquo;Winger Paul Lawless, a free-agent tryout, was being held off the ice after a heart murmur was detected during his training camp physical. He was given clearance to skate by a team of cardiologists who diagnosed his problem as an atrial septal defect, or a small hole in his heart. Doctors told Lawless it is not life-threatening, but Jack Ferreira is seeking a second opinion. &#9632;

Goalies to share workload

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01790/6150320-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="598" height="3530"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02531/6150313-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="596" height="3524"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03375/6150306-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="612" height="3534"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04265/6150299-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="600" height="3526"></div> &#9632;

f0028-01

SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011529/6149068-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="494" height="728"><figcaption class="caption-body">Graham James</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021369/6149061-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="493" height="727"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Baizley</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031151/6149054-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="492" height="728"><figcaption class="caption-body">David Conte</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-04950/6149047-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="494" height="727"><figcaption class="caption-body">Anders Hedberg</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05771/6149040-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="493" height="730"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave King</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06452/6149033-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="493" height="729"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Wilson</figcaption></div>The NHL faces a key question as it formulates foreign policy for the 1990s: Can it develop a long-term plan for developing European players and facilitating their orderly transfer to North America?Individual agreements have been worked out or proposed to Finland, the former Czechoslovakia and Russia. Only the Finnish deal is in effect and the world&rsquo;s premier league has the difficult task of getting all those beneath it to fall in line.So far, only the trees have fallen.NHL officials acknowledge they need an environmental strategy, a reforestation program, if you will. North American teams have clearcut overseas leagues in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia with little regard for their future.Speaking at The Hockey News-Calgary Herald Roundtable &rsquo;93 in June, Boston Bruins&rsquo; general manager Harry Sinden said the NHL must be prepared to plant a tree for everyone it uproots. If not, hockey players will not be a renewable resource.&ldquo;Once we destroy (the player pool),&rdquo; Sinden said, &ldquo;we can&rsquo;t say, &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s go to China now and see if they&rsquo;ve got some players.&rsquo; &ldquo;&ldquo;(If) we start beating Russia 10-0 because they can&rsquo;t produce players anymore,&rdquo; said player representative Don Baizley, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll turn 125 million people off the game of hockey and then where will we be?&rdquo;&ldquo;Right now,&rdquo; added Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; scout Anders Hedberg, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re on the way to ruining an enormous good, mature, hockey market-maybe not in Finland, Sweden or Central Europe, but in Czechoslovakia and Russia.&rdquo;About 16 per cent of NHLers last season were trained in Europe. An increasingly large percentage are from the Russian rain forest. The Russian Professional League needs money and use of talented players to sustain itself as a developmental league.An agreement setting out NHL transfer fees for players coming to North America from Russia was worked out. Under a sliding scale, teams would pay more-as much as $450,000 for an 18-year-old-for signing young players.However, neither Russian nor NHL team officials, have agreed to it. Sinden, who worked on the proposal, said he hopes this will be a model for NHL relations with all the world&rsquo;s top hockey countries. Meanwhile, top European players continue to join the NHL.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-07284/6149026-1-eng-US/f0004-072.jpg" title="f0004-07" width="1495" height="1457"><figcaption class="caption-body">Some are worried there won&rsquo;t be any players such as Alexander Mogilny left in Russia soon. (Marco Campannelll/BBS)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;The player market in Czechoslovakia and Russia has been severely hurt,&rdquo; said Calgary Flames&rsquo; coach Dave King. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve taken most of the good players. We&rsquo;re now taking some of the younger players away, which is further hurting the league.&ldquo;One of the reasons why we have such great Russian and Czech players is that at age 17 and 18 the top ones could make the elite teams and play against strong competition.&rdquo;New Jersey Devils&rsquo; director of player personnel David Conte said the Central Army team, once considered among the most powerful teams in the world, was nothing more than a glorified junior team last season.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the NHL can beat itself to death over its responsibilities because the problems go far beyond it,&rdquo; Conte said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just Alexander Mogilny and Pavel Bure that have gone on to the NHL. It&rsquo;s the 90 other players who are playing in Austria and Czechoslovakia that has dropped the level of teams.&rdquo;There is a dispute in Russia over whether the Professional League or Russian Ice Hockey Federation should receive and distribute the development monies collected from NHL teams.&lsquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of concerns about where the money is actually going,&rdquo; Conte said. &ldquo;A number of people on my trips there are worrying about it going into Swiss accounts and not going into development.&rdquo;Sinden said the NHL wanted to make part payments in goods.&ldquo;We had a stipulation that a percentage of the transfer fees would come in the form of equipment,&rdquo; Sinden said. &ldquo;That way you can&rsquo;t go to the Black Sea with shoulder pads. But it&rsquo;s a very difficult thing, particularly living in a free enterprise system, to say, &lsquo;Look, I&rsquo;m controlling this money (because) you&rsquo;re going to steal it.&rsquo;Hedberg said the NHL should think of new countries emerging from the wreckage of communism as underdeveloped states and the money sent to the federations as a form of aid. He said full disclosure of transfer fees would make individual people and organizations accountable for the monies.At the center of this issue is a question of collective rights versus individual rights. It may be in the best interests of individual players to come to North America, but not of the leagues weakened so badly they cannot continue to produce first-rate players.The dilemma is not just one faced by the NHL. Canadian Hockey League teams have instituted a draft to select Europeans. Each major junior team is allowed to have two overseas players.&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to decide between seriously injuring hockey in Czechoslovakia and Russia and looking at the rights of the individual to improve their lives,&rdquo; said Swift Current Broncos&rsquo; coach-GM Graham James. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got guys phoning us, begging us to bring them over and improve their situation in life.&rdquo;The day may come when Swedes and Finns don&rsquo;t have to leave home to play in the NHL. Expansion to European cities is not a short-term goal, but something that will be investigated. Crucial to that is the NHL&rsquo;s relationship with the International Ice Hockey Federation.There has been talk of European interests forming a super league that would span such countries as Sweden, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Switzerland.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see the NHL expanding to Europe in the very near future,&rdquo; Baizley said, &ldquo;particularly in the hockey countries-not unlike we in Canada are fighting expansion of the NFL into Toronto and Vancouver-because it will destroy the Canadian Football League. People in Sweden and Finland and Russia are going to be concerned that sort of expansion would kill their hockey.&rdquo;Baizley favors NHL participation in the Olympics, but sees its greatest value as a potential lead-in to some form of Canada Cup-type tournament with global appeal. The Canada Cup has been held five times, yet has only generated real interest in Canada.Baizley suggested hockey could follow soccer&rsquo;s lead and lend the NHL&rsquo;s best young players (those under 23 in soccer) for national Olympic teams as a tease to an all-inclusive World Cup-type event.&ldquo;Somehow the NHL has to find a way to capture such a vehicle,&rdquo; Baizley said. &#9632;

f0004-01

Europe poses vexing problem

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01900/6150626-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"></div>Stein gone from NHL-P.3How to survive your pool-P.7 Will Bourque be dealt?-P.16Lemaire and Lemieux pledge to make the Devils do itROUND IIRoundtable tackles Europe, officiatingMichal Pivonka of the Czech RepublicJacques LemaireClaude Lemieux &#9632;

Cover-01

SEEING EYE TO EYE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011364/6148847-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="506" height="907"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pierre Turgeon inked a big deal with the Islanders. Page 12.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021106/6148840-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="716" height="1171"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Blackhawks need offense and that&rsquo;s where Joe Murphy comes in. Page 19.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03798/6148833-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="504" height="905"><figcaption class="caption-body">Caps&rsquo; goalie Rick Tabaracci is on the sidelines. Page 14.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04575/6148826-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="1247" height="2615"><figcaption class="caption-body">Defenseman James Patrick, the elder statesman with the New York Rangers at 30, is longing for a shot at the Stanley Cup. Page 14.</figcaption></div><h2>QUOTABLE</h2>&ldquo;He has made an about-face so many times, I&rsquo;m surprised he hasn&rsquo;t run into himself.&rdquo;NHL referee Andy van Hellemond on Boston general manager Harry Sinden&rsquo;s position on fitting. Page 5.&ldquo;He will be in shape by the start of training camp or he will be in a pine box.&rdquo;New York Islanders&rsquo; coach Al Arhour on flabby defenseman Darius Kasparaitis. Page 12. &#9632;

f0002-01

COVER STORIES

Jeff Nacht. The Tacoma Rockets&rsquo; team doctor did his finest work of the year before the season even started. Nacht responded to an emergency situation and helped save a car accident victim&rsquo;s life during a road trip.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05417/6148885-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="358" height="356"></div>Overweight players. You can always count on a couple of players to show up to training camp in a big way. This season&rsquo;s roll call includes Grant Fuhr, Darius Kaparaitis and Mike Torchia.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06303/6148878-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="358" height="360"></div> &#9632;

f0002-05

CHEERS & JEERS

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div>NHL teams will go with 20-man lineups again this season.A league option to reduce rosters from 18 skaters and two goalies to 17-and-two is not going to be exercised.The NHL filed its intention to do so earlier this summer-a move the NHL Players&rsquo; Association opposed because it would cost union jobs.&ldquo;We had discussions with them about it and the rosters remained at 18-and-two,&rdquo; said NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow.That rosters have not been reduced was expected. It was considered an ownership bargaining chip in current negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.Some observers familiar with CBA talks speculated the league could trade a promise not to lock out players and freeze the rosters at 18-and-two in exchange for a no-strike pledge from the union.Goodenow said no such deal was struck. NHL senior vice-president Brian Burke confirmed that.&ldquo;This was a request by the Players&rsquo; Association and it was something of material concern to them,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;There was not a specific quid pro quo for that.&rdquo;Goodenow and Burke said no new working deadline has been established by the players and owners.The CBA expired Sept. 15, but the absence of a labor-management contract is not expected to interrupt the season&rsquo;s start Oct. 5. Goodenow said more meetings have been scheduled for early October.&ldquo;We worked at trying to reach an agreement this summer,&rdquo; Goodenow said, &ldquo;(but) we ran into some complications involving salary arbitration which delayed our efforts. And then we had some problems with the Miller decision.&rdquo;The NHLPA has filed a lawsuit, challenging commissioner Gary Bettman&rsquo;s right to rule in a dispute over the status of Washington Capitals&rsquo; former free agent Kelly Miller.In other news, New York Rangers&rsquo; right winger Mike Gartner takes over as NHLPA president from retired San Jose Sharks&rsquo; defenseman Doug Wilson. &#9632;

Rosters remain at 18-and-2

<div class="byline">By THN staff</div>A new pay-per-view hockey channel that would broadcast otherwise unavailable games of the eight Canadian NHL teams could be on the air in time for the 1994-95 season.A proposal for The Hockey Channel, has been submitted to the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission for review.Public hearings are scheduled for February.The venture, a joint undertaking by the eight NHL Canadian teams, is designed to supplement each club&rsquo;s existing TV lineup. For example, the Toronto Maple Leafs will play 23 games this season that are not broadcast on CBC, The Sports Network or Global. The Hockey Channel would target those games for its broadcasts.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want to disrupt any of the existing revenue sources,&rdquo; said Bill Davis, the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; representative on The Hockey Channel&rsquo;s contingent.In its initial form, The Hockey Channel would offer a national game and would telecast games four or five nights per week. Viewers would order the service per night. The charge, expected to be somewhere in the area of $5 per game, would be added to the customer&rsquo;s monthly cable bill.FAMILY LINES: When the NHL&rsquo;s newest brother act makes its debut this season, you can expect the linemates to see a lot of ice time together.In fact, if either of them isn&rsquo;t out there for at least 60 minutes, it will mean something went wrong.That&rsquo;s because the brothers are on-ice officials. New NHL linesman Greg Devorski joins older brother Paul, a referee, for the Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers pre-season game Oct. 2 in Hershey, Pa. It will mark the first time siblings have officiated an NHL game.The brothers are tentatively scheduled to work their first regular-season game Oct. 21, when the Detroit Red Wings host the Winnipeg Jets.Greg, a 24-year-old native of Guelph, Ont., was named to the NHL officials list this month. Paul, 33, has been in the league since 1987.The younger Devorski took up officiating at 15 after realizing he wasn&rsquo;t advancing as a player and has most recently been a linesman in the Ontario League. Last year, he worked the Memorial Cup and Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union championship. He will work about 40 American League and 40 NHL games this season.Not surprisingly, Greg cites his brother as his biggest influence.&ldquo;He has really kicked my butt in terms of conditioning and helped me prepare for training camps and know what&rsquo;s expected of me,&rdquo; Greg said.VOSS DIES: Former NHL referee-in-chief and player Carl Voss died in September in Florida of natural causes at age 85.Voss, who played for eight NHL teams and was a referee for 10 years before taking over the head officiating job in 1949, retired amid controversy in 1965. There were allegations Voss instructed a referee to call only &ldquo;good penalties&rdquo; in a 1962 game. Voss was cleared of any wrongdoing.As a player, Voss was a center who scored 34 goals and 104 points in 261 career games. He won the Calder Trophy in 1933 with the New York Rangers and the Stanley Cup in 1938 with the Chicago Blackhawks.The Chelsea, Mass., native was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders&rsquo; category in 1974. He was predeceased by his wife Pearl and is survived by his sister, Margaret McBrien of Toronto. &#9632;

Canadian viewers on verge of hitting hockey jackpot

<div class="byline">By THN staff</div>Gil Stein&rsquo;s career with the NHL was put out of its misery a month after it was dealt a fatal blow.The NHL announced Sept. 20 that Stein, whose controversial election to the Hall of Fame was reversed in August, is leaving after a 16-year association with the league. He had served as a special advisor to commissioner Gary Bettman since his term as NHL president expired in June.Stein, 65, failed in his bid to secure the position of commissioner after taking over the president&rsquo;s post in June, 1992 on an interim basis. He succeeded John Ziegler. Bettman, a former vice-president with the National Basketball Association, was hired for the job.Stein, however, won&rsquo;t leave the league empty-handed. He&rsquo;ll be paid $600,000 for each of the next three seasons. Combined with the $800,000 ex-president Ziegler is receiving-and will continue to get through 1995-96- and Bettman&rsquo;s $1.1 million annual salary, the NHL is doling out $2.5 million for its top job this season.Stein&rsquo;s term as the NHL&rsquo;s head was short-lived, but eventful. During his tenure as president, the league:&bull; Expanded by two teams. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Florida Panthers, owned by super corporations Walt Disney Co., and Blockbuster Video, bring substantial wealth and potential power to the NHL.&bull; Implemented revolutionary and controversial changes. Suspending players for non-game, non-travel days and docking their pay was Stein&rsquo;s brainchild. The move was widely panned.New NHL senior vice-president and director of hockey operations Brian Burke expects to have a new disciplinary system in place prior to the start of this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011524/6148995-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="558" height="786"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gil Stein leaves the NHL lacking respect, but not dollars.</figcaption></div>It was also during Stein&rsquo;s reign the NHL flipped its lid. Helmets became optional prior to the 1992-93 season. Previously, players entering the NHL since 1979 were required to wear helmets.But Stein will be most remembered for the Hall fiasco. An independent report commissioned by the league concluded Stein abused his position as league president by changing voting procedures to orchestrate his own induction into the Hall. Stein denied the accusation.In a release announcing Stein&rsquo;s departure, Bettman said: &ldquo;On both a personal and professional level, he will be missed by the NHL.&rdquo;Stein joined the Philadelphia Flyers in 1972 as the club&rsquo;s general counsel. He became NHL vice-president and general counsel in 1977 and served in those positions for 15 years.<h2>HOCKEY WEEK: SEPT. 13-19</h2>A compendium of significant events and developments.Sept. 15: Toronto Maple Leafs sign goaltender Felix Potvin to three-year, $4 million contract.New York Islanders sign center Pierre Turgeon to four-year. $11 million contract.Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington turns down lease proposal with Edmonton&rsquo;s Northlands Coliseum aimed at keeping team in Edmonton.Sept. 16: Collective Bargaining Agreement between NHL Players&rsquo; Association and owners expires. &#9632;

f0003-01

Stein era comes to infamous end

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div>Hockey referees don&rsquo;t get faster, stronger and higher as much as smarter, slower and more susceptible to criticism.So, what should the NHL do? Members of The Hockey News-Calgary Herald Roundtable &rsquo;93 said the NHL should think about changes in philosophy and approach.New Jersey Devils&rsquo; director of player personnel David Conte advocated making greater use of technology.&ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t a job in hockey that requires more experience than being a referee,&rdquo; Conte said. &ldquo;What happens is (that) the speed of the game (outpaces) the experience level that a referee acquires.&ldquo;So, Andy van Hellemond, who is the most experienced and perhaps the best referee, is now getting too old to referee when his judgement level is at its best.&ldquo;The only thing I can see that would really be profound to change some of this would be telecommunications. He would be the eye in the sky and in communication with someone on the ice.&rdquo;The NHL has experimented at the minorleague level, placing director of officiating Bryan Lewis in the stands and providing twoway communication with on-ice officials.That system is not in the league&rsquo;s immediate future. But going to two referees may be. Six pre-season games were scheduled to have two referees this fall and it&rsquo;s not out of the question it could be tried during the regular season, perhaps in a late-season game that has no impact on the standings.There are several advantages to using two referees-including better coverage of the ice surface and longer lifespans for referees who don&rsquo;t face the same physical demands.Van Hellemond, 45, is entering his 23rd NHL season and considered the league&rsquo;s best referee, but how long will be able to keep up with a game now played at warp speed?More than the system of officiating is flawed, though, according to Boston Bruins&rsquo; general manager Harry Sinden. He said referees exert too much influence on games-sometimes by not doing anything at all.Sinden said a 1987 playoff game between the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals represents the worst of that trend. The two teams played 68 minutes of overtime and not a single man-advantage penalty was called by van Hellemond.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011441/6149106-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="730" height="1396"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ronald Corey</figcaption></div>&ldquo;There were flagrant fouls, at least a dozen or 20, in those four overtime periods,&rdquo; Sinden said. &ldquo;Who gave Andy van Hellemond instructions to manage the game that way? He took it upon himself to do it. That was not his call. Now his answer was, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m going to let the players decide it.&rsquo;&ldquo;But by taking that posture, he really was not allowing the players to decide it. He was deciding it. I don&rsquo;t blame Andy, but that&rsquo;s the evolution of officiating in hockey. They feel that they should manage this game. (See story below.) &ldquo;Some of the ways they do it-subconsciously-is if one team has three power plays in a row, they feel a necessity to make sure the other team has the same opportunity in the game.&rdquo;The NHL instructed its officials to be more vigilant in overtime after that game in 1987-in part because a story in The Hockey News revealed the league had gone more than three years between overtime power plays.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021040/6149099-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="730" height="1398"><figcaption class="caption-body">Harry Sinden</figcaption></div>Conte said too much personality has crept into officiating, beginning with putting names on their sweaters. He said the mark of a good referee is anonymity.Also at issue during the Roundtable discussion of officiating were prospective rule changes.Hockey executives have long debated whether the center redline should be eliminated to speed up the game. That would make blueline-to-blueline passes legal; they now constitute two-line offside passes.&ldquo;Eliminate the redline?&rdquo; asked Doug Wilson, the outgoing NHL Players&rsquo; Association president and recently retired rearguard. &ldquo;You guys really want to beat up on defensemen don&rsquo;t you? It&rsquo;ll open up the play of hockey. I&rsquo;m not sure, though, with the enforcement of restraining, clutching and grabbing (fouls), with the influx of talented players, that we need to open up the game any more.&rdquo;James supports elimination of the redline and said it would have the effect of increasing the size of the standard 200-by-85-foot playing surface without making any physical alterations.&ldquo;My own opinion,&rdquo; Sinden cautioned, &ldquo;is that it would slow the game down dramatically. Most of the speed in our game today is generated from blueline to blueline.&ldquo;Players generate speed as they pick up the puck from one blueline to the next. They don&rsquo;t generate it in their own end, they really don&rsquo;t generate it in the other end. As soon as you take that out and as soon as you offer players (the chance) to stand up at the other blueline, that&rsquo;s exactly what they&rsquo;re going to do, they&rsquo;re going to stand there.&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re going to take out the redline and think that&rsquo;s going to open up the game, why not take out the bluelines? Then we&rsquo;d really open up (the game).&rdquo;James also thinks the half-inch curve rule should be abandoned; players caught with curves exceeding that amount are given two-minute penalties. A crucial moment of the 1993 Stanley Cup finals occurred when Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; coach Jacques Demers caught Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; defenseman Marty McSorley with an illegal curve.Limits are put on curves because conventional wisdom says banana blades make pucks behave erratically and put goalies at risk.&ldquo;I watched the World Hockey Association, (which allowed unlimited curves) for a number of years,&rdquo; James said, &ldquo;and I don&rsquo;t recall seeing a goalie get hurt in any of those games. I think it&rsquo;s a petty thing for coaches to call.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not blaming Jacques Demers because, certainly in that situation, you have to use everything at your disposal, but I just don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s something that should be there.&rdquo;Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; governor Ronald Corey wouldn&rsquo;t have had an objection to the call; nor should he given his belief games should always be officiated tightly. The NHL began the 199293 season with its annual crackdown, but things loosened up considerably.&ldquo;I loved the first two months, it was perfect,&rdquo;. Corey said. &ldquo;Call, call and call again. All of a sudden they stop calling. I don&rsquo;t know what happened.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0005-01

Officiating needs overhaul

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03692/6149137-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="372" height="506"></div>The NHL&rsquo;s No. 1-ranked referee wants everybody to know he is delighted with signs of progress in the league.But&hellip;Andy van Hellemond is angered by a suggestion officials impose their wills on the game. Boston Bruins&rsquo; general manager Harry Sinden said referees &ldquo;manage&rdquo; games more than they officiate them.Sinden made that assessment at The Hockey News-Calgary Herald Roundtable &rsquo;93 in Quebec City-offering a 1987 playoff game between the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals as evidence. He pointed out that van Hellemond did not call a single manadvantage penalty during four overtime periods. (See above story.)Van Hellemond said he considered the circumstances of the Caps-Isles game and exercised his judgement on how to officiate what had become an eighth game in a seven-game series. &ldquo;That game didn&rsquo;t need a strict hand, so I permitted it to roll,&rdquo; he said. Van Hellemond acknowledged there were potential penalties, but none that affected scoring situations.Significantly, that game came to mark the end of a hands-off era in overtime officiating and van Hellemond now ranks as one of the league&rsquo;s most diligent in extra time.Van Hellemond, who was No. 1 in the league&rsquo;s season-ending rankings last year, is one official who has changed his stripes. So has Sinden. He used to be one of the league&rsquo;s worst referee-baiters and had a rugged team. Now he wants fighting out of the game.&ldquo;When (Sinden) had the big, bad Bruins,&rdquo; van Hellemond said, &ldquo;he was the first guy to say, &lsquo;Let us play the game.&rsquo;&hellip;He has made an about-face so many times, I&rsquo;m surprised he hasn&rsquo;t run into himself.&rdquo;He said Sinden should accept a share of responsibility for how the game is officiated. Sinden represents Boston on the board of governors, which approves officiating guidelines.&ldquo;I respect his opinion, but don&rsquo;t brand us &lsquo;managers&rsquo; of the sport.&rdquo; van Hellemond said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re only carrying through instructions that he has given us as a governor. Harry is accusing me of doing something he has asked us to do.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0005-03

Van Hellemond says Sinden’s criticism off-base

<h2>Here&rsquo;s a solution to compensation mess</h2>The NHL could avoid messy misunderstandings such as the Craig Simpson fiasco with one simple, logical change to the compensation process: namely that the level of compensation be established by the team that is being compensated, not by what is offered to the player.Simpson was offered a reported $690,000 by the Edmonton Oilers, clearly establishing his value to the team. To them, he was not appraised at the ridiculous low-ball base salary of $ 130,000 offered by San Jose, nor was he worth the equally ridiculous million-dollar-plus deal he was offered by the Sharks. Therefore, compensation should have been based on the $690,000 level.Such a change to the process offers many advantages. Buyer teams would know the cost of a player up front and would not have to give up any more compensation no matter how much they ultimately pay the guy.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011621/6149175-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="572" height="740"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Craig Simpson fiasco illustrated that the system must be altered.</figcaption></div>There would be no incentive to circumvent the rules, which only causes embarrassment to the league and dissension among its members.Also, a team potentially losing a player would be more inclined to offer him a fair contract as they are simultaneously establishing his compensation level.When owners and the NHL Players&rsquo; Association attempt to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement, this suggestion would neatly resolve one side of the compensation equation.The other side-the compensation itself&mdash;will require some fancy stickhandling.Bruce McCurdy, Edmonton, Alta.<h2>Stick it out</h2>Vancouver Canuck Petr Nedved was criticized when he asked Wayne Gretzky for his stick after the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Los Angeles Kings in last year&rsquo;s playoffs.But what about Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; coach Jacques Demers?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021106/6149168-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="557" height="698"><figcaption class="caption-body">Montreal coach Jacques Demers is a big Wayne Gretzky fan, too.</figcaption></div>Demers also asked Gretzky for a stick the night the Montreal Canadiens beat L.A. in the Stanley Cup final.The point is, were it not for Nedved&rsquo;s adulation of Gretzky, he might never have taken up the game.And why is it all right for a coach to ask for a stick and not a player?In 1959, I asked Bev Bentley, our goalie for the Seattle Thunderbirds, for his stick when the T-birds were playing for the Western League championship.When the game was over and we had won, he skated over and handed me the stick and went off to celebrate.What&rsquo;s wrong with asking you admire for a stick?Marge Farnam, Seattle, Wash.<h2>Bad news</h2>I was shocked when I found out Hartford Whalers&rsquo; general manager Brian Burke was leaving the Whalers to become NHL commissioner Gary Bettman&rsquo;s assistant.I love Brian and have spoken to him on many occasions. He loved the fans and I would always talk to him about my minor hockey and the Whalers.He took an interest in my hockey pursuits and always gave me good advice. He would say, &ldquo;Be a good student and study hard.&rdquo;Good luck, Brian. Hartford will miss you.Eric Clark,&nbsp; Hartford, Conn.<h2>Touching column</h2>I usually don&rsquo;t read Stan Fischler&rsquo;s column, but the story about his son caught my eye. It touched my heart (THN, Sept. 3).I live in Chicago and have had the opportunity to meet many sports figures from several different professional teams. I have found hockey players to be among the nicest of all pro athletes. They usually go the extra mile to say hello and be as friendly as possible to the fans.For example, I&rsquo;m a big Bob Probert fan and after one game at The Stadium, I went up to him to ask him for an autograph and he complied. No problem.I don&rsquo;t know whether it&rsquo;s because most of the players are Canadians or if it&rsquo;s the publicity they get, but I find them very cordial.I&rsquo;m just glad Stan&rsquo;s son picked hockey as his favorite sport because these players can help lift his spirits.Ed Welsh,&nbsp; Romeoville, III.<h2>Bonjour, THN</h2>I have nothing against THN, but for quite some time I have been reading your issues and sometimes get the feeling your material is strictly for Canadian readers.For example, the Jean Beliveau article in the Sept. 17 issue of THN states that Beliveau was known as Le Gros Bil during his playing days.Not many American readers I know can understand what this means, unless they studied French in high school.Maybe when THN uses French in its paper it should put the translation in brackets afterwards.Eric Seamons. Quincy, Mass.<h2>Misdirection play</h2>Jay Greenberg made an error in the &ldquo;Future 50&rdquo; story in your THN Yearbook.Greenberg predicted the Pittsburgh Penguins would emerge victorious in the new Atlantic Division.Now unless Gary Bettman made another divisional change, the Penguins will set up camp in the Northeast Division this season and not the Atlantic.Chris Riley. River Edge, N.J.<h2>Ties are dumb</h2>NHL regular-season games that end in a tie after 60 minutes should be decided by sudden-death overtime.It just makes sense. In baseball, games occasionally last 18 innings before a winner is determined.It&rsquo;s time NHL governors catch up to the rest of pro sports and give us a winner in overtime.Derek Rogers, Kingston, Ont.Make your feelings known. Fax us your comments at (416) 445-2501 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. Include home and business phone numbers.&nbsp;THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

f0006-01

LETTERS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03705/6149206-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0006-03

THE DRAW

<div class="byline">By Jett Gordon</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011468/6149237-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="378" height="533"></div>It was a scene right out of fantasy hockey hell. On the final day of last season, the St. Louis Blues had to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning or have the Detroit Red Wings eliminate the Minnesota-Dallas North-South Stars to get into the playoffs.With the Lightning just trying to kill their last shift before the start of summer vacation, the Blues rolled to a 5-1 lead late in the second period. Then it was announced that the Stars had fallen in Detroit and the Blues were in the playoffs.And the celebration began. Naturally, the Blues mailed in the third period and focused instead on postgame plans. This wouldn&rsquo;t have bothered me a bit, but the Blues inexplicably kept goaltender Curtis Joseph-the linchpin of my fantasy team-on the ice to trying to get his goals-against average under 3.00 for the season.Idiots! Tim Bergland scored for the Lightning less than a minute after the Stars&rsquo; demise was announced. Adam Creighton scored 40 seconds into the third period with the Blues sleepskating. As I twitched like a lab monkey testing voltage regulators, Joseph finally escaped the ice.But his goals-against average rose to 3.02, his save percentage dipped to 911 and my dream team, the Cementheads, had fallen from second to third in the standings.Of course, it could have been worse. The Lightning nearly tied the game at the horn, scoring a split-second too late with a final flurry. That would have wiped a &lsquo;W&rsquo; off Joseph&rsquo;s ledger and sunk Team Cement into fourth place, wasting roughly one million man-hours of effort I could have spent controlling the mouse population in my utility room or actually writing stories for my newspaper.After 84 games, it had all come to that farcical episode at the St. Louis Arena. This is the sort of absurd tension that makes goal pools, fantasy leagues and Rotisserie leagues so darned addictive. Why, I feel the disease myself right now as I anguish over the pluses and minuses of Yuri Khymlev in the wake of the Craig Simpson trade.It&rsquo;s time for another fantasy draft. My personal strategy this fall is patterned after the unique Blues&rsquo; approach: Bum a truckload of draft picks to get a few elite players, create a fine nucleus, but leave no depth. So I&rsquo;ll start this season with approximately 10 holes on my 17-man roster.Now I know how Bill Torrey feels.Let&rsquo;s get to work. Would you take Richard Smehlik or Adrien Plavsic in the 14th round? How much more can Valeri Zelepukin give? Is Jimmy Carson still in hockey? While you help me ponder that puzzler, I&rsquo;m going to study another stack of papers from a Rotisserie-style fantasy league that assigns salary values to each player. Some of these figures would make Harry Sinden implode.For instance, Raymond Bourque will earn a make-believe $2.43 million in one popular fantasy league-nearly $500,000 more than the Bruins offered him before going to real-life arbitration.The beauty of this sort of game is obvious. The stat rat laments the usual injuries, illnesses and dreadful performances, plus he can moan about overpaid players and wasted salaries. The realism is stunning.The stat fat can construct an owner&rsquo;s box in his basement, invite a dozen well-heeled buddies over to comb through the scoring summaries and throw tantrums when Michel Petit goes pointless (again), comes in a minus-3 for a game and refuses to earn valuable penalty minutes by not committing gruesome acts of retribution.Yes, penalty minutes. For years I&rsquo;ve competed in a fantasy league run by reformists who eliminated the value of goons by not using PIMs as a competitive category. As a result, I don&rsquo;t believe Todd Ewen has played a minute in our league.But most of these league do calculate PIMs, giving the more willing cementheads a shot and putting a premium on ill-tempered players with some ability. Given that, the one Rotisserie salary list I studied had Marty McSorley making $2.34 million this year-even more than the whacky Blues were ready to pay him.So stat rats competing in these leagues really do go to hockey games waiting for fights to break out. They smile when some of the more feckless referees work games involving their players, figuring order will be lost immediately and those new 10-minute poleaxing penalties will come in waves.Who says Chris Chelios should learn to pet the zebras? His short fuse and acid tongue make him the toppaid defenseman in the Rotisserie league I looked at, earning him five times more than mild-mannered Fredrik Olausson.In fantasy hockey, anyway, crime definitely pays. &#9632;

f0007-01

Let the fantasy games begin

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02983/6149268-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Will Pavel Bure be united with younger brother Valeri (inset) in Vancouver? The Canucks and Canadiens are reportedly talking trade.</figcaption></div>Gene Hart, the voice of the Philadelphia Flyers, recently came up with a first for play-by-play broadcasters. At age 62, he recently made his operatic debut in the role of Frosch, a drunken jailor, in Strauss&rsquo; Die Fledennaus with the respected Boheme Opera Company. The show played to two sold-out houses at the Trenton War Memorial in Trenton, N.J. Hart previously had appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra as the narrator in Aaron Copeland&rsquo;s&nbsp;Lincoln Portrait. Hart told Bluelines, &ldquo;It leaves only ballet for my artistic hat trick.&rdquo; He&rsquo;ll do that next summer when he plays a mime role as an evil ogre in the Russian ballet The Firebird. Doctors say New York Islander Brian Mullen could return to NHL play next season and possibly even the playoffs this spring if his recuperation from open heart surgery is successful. Mullen, who sustained a mild stroke in August, maintains his immediate goal is to skate with his family at the Islanders&rsquo; Christmas party.<h2>Look out for Chief</h2>Young players are already jockeying for positions at the top of the 1994 draft. The top five, according to most scouts is Jeff O&rsquo;Neill of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Guelph Storm, Jason Bonsignore of the OHL&rsquo;s Newmarket Royals, Jeff Friesen of the Western League&rsquo;s Regina Pats, Radek Bonk of the International League&rsquo;s Las Vegas Thunder and Vadim Sharifianov of Russia. Some scouts insist, though, that 17-year-old right winger Jason Pedollan of the WHL&rsquo;s Spokane Chiefs might go first overall. One scout told Bluelines that Pedollan is &ldquo;even better than Wayne Gretzky at the same age.&rdquo; Another said that if the 6 foot, 180-pounder had been available for the 1993 draft, &ldquo;he would have gone in the first five.&rdquo;<h2>Canuck brothers?</h2>The chances of uniting Pavel Bure with kid brother Valeri are realistic if Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; general manger Pat Quinn and Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; managing director Serge Savard can agree on a deal. Montreal would want Trevor Linden and David Babych while Vancouver would request Mathieu Schneider accompanying Valeri-a Canadien draft pick in 1992- to the coast. If the Canucks eliminate Linden from the deal, Petr Nedved would be the likely substitute. Another trade possibility has Phil Housley moving to Vancouver for Nedved and Babych.<h2>Fewer Duck bills</h2>There&rsquo;s a leak in the Disney moneybag when it comes to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim&rsquo;s merchandise. Counterfeiters are costing the new franchise a fortune by peddling unlicensed Mighty Ducks&rsquo; memorabilia, some of it door-to-door in Orange County. Despite the rip-off, Disney Sports Enterprises boss Tony Tavares claims the Mighty Ducks are en route to a sales record. The Mighty Ducks accounted for about 60 per cent of all NHL merchandise sold through the summer. Disney has hired private eyes to find the culprits.<h2>Why the boos?</h2>Harry Sinden did a double-take at Fenway Park on a day that Boston Red Sox fans booed pitcher Roger Clemens. Then he recalled Bruins&rsquo; fans once hooted erstwhile hero Wayne Cashman who, unbeknownst to the patrons, was concealing a back injury. &ldquo;The only players who weren&rsquo;t booed,&rdquo; Sinden said, &ldquo;were Bobby Orr and Johnny Bucyk. We carried John a year or two at the end of his career, after he had pretty much lost it. But even though there was tremendous disappointment in the eyes of our fans to see his career winding down, they never booed him for it.&rdquo;<h2>Great One free?</h2>Bluelines was told Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s new deal with the Los Angeles Kings will allow him to become a free agent next year. Some believe Gretzky was given this concession for not vetoing the trade of his pal Marty McSorley to the Pittsburgh Penguins&hellip;Herb Brooks told Bluelines he has no plans to return to hockey and is pursuing business interests in Minnesota. Brooks added his return to the pros would be predicated on him having input into player movement&hellip;A curved-track scar on Boston Bruins&rsquo; goalie John Blue&rsquo;s face has become a source of humor for the goalie when asked which shot caused the damage. &ldquo;I got hit in the face with my surfboard when I was in the water,&rdquo; Blue said. &lsquo;Twenty years of hockey and not even a scratch; and then this.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0007-02

Voice of the Flyers sings his Hart out in opera

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div>Peter Pocklington keeps singing, Please Release Me.But the cry of the Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; owner is falling on the apparently deaf ears of the Edmonton Northlands&rsquo; board of directors.Board vice-president Bob Westbury unveiled a long-awaited new Coliseum lease concept Sept. 15, calling it &ldquo;innovative&rdquo; and claiming it gives Pocklington everything he wants.Pocklington called it &ldquo;ridiculous&rdquo; and &ldquo;outrageous&rdquo; and surmised that the board members must be &ldquo;close to being brain-dead.&rdquo;The next day, he notified the NHL of his intention to seek a transfer of the franchise for the 1994-95 season and filed a $135-million lawsuit against Northlands, claiming it reneged on a May 13 agreement that gave him control of Coliseum management and revenues at a cost of $1.5 million yearly for 20 years.Later that day, mayor Jan Reimer and former dispute mediator Rick LeLacheur talked Pocklington into withdrawing the suit until early October in order to facilitate negotiations on the lease proposal.Northlands wants Pocklington to pay between $51 million and $53 million, up front in cash, for the rights to a 40-year lease on the Coliseum.&ldquo;What we want is to have the money up front so we can begin the building of our World Trade Showcase,&rdquo; Westbury said. &ldquo;And to also pay off the (Coliseum) mortgage. Thirdly, remember in presenting this deal, Northlands is taking a $3.5-million hit. We take $3.5 million out of that building every year; $2.4 million from the Oilers, $1.1 million from related activities. We don&rsquo;t have that money anymore.&rdquo;Northlands want to use the interest from Pocklington&rsquo;s up-front payment to replace the lost revenue.But it just isn&rsquo;t going to happen. Pocklington tossed out amortization figures on a proposed 10-year mortgage for the lease, claiming it would cost him $257 million at 12 per cent over the life of the deal.Included was $3 million a year to run the building.&ldquo;Obviously I turned it down,&rdquo; Pocklington said. &ldquo;This city deserves hockey. We know we can make it work in the city. But unfortunately, when we have one deal reneged on and this deal that is going to cost the club a quarter of a billion dollars over 40 years, obviously it doesn&rsquo;t make sense.&rdquo;What makes sense to Pocklington is the deal he struck with Northlands and Economic Development Edmonton May 13. He claims that is a legally-binding deal and will not pay any rent this season based upon that belief.He&rsquo;s willing to negotiate a deal, but said it must be done before Oct. 5, the beginning of the NHL regular season.&ldquo;I would be very willing to buy the lease from Northlands for $53 million over 40 years, paid yearly. That yearly figure would probably be $1.3 million or $1.4 million.&rdquo;Northlands said it is unwilling to accept that deal and the two sides were running out of time. The city was again faced with losing its hockey team.&ldquo;I won&rsquo;t mention where we are with talking to other cities,&rdquo; Pocklington said. &ldquo;I will say one city has offered $40 million up front as a moving fee.&rdquo;Hamilton, Houston, Portland, Ore., and Phoenix are all in the market for an NHL franchise. &#9632;

‘Ridiculous’ lease proposal leaves Pocklington fuming

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div>The 1992-93 season began as one of great promise for Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; defenseman Adrien Plavsic.The 23-year-old was coming off an excellent playoff in 1991-92-eight points in 13 games-and appeared ready to make the jump to prime time.He played regularly for the first two-thirds of the season and was a high plus performer.But things began to go sour. Veterans who had been hurt became healthy again, rookie Jiri Slegr started to perform up to expectations and Plavsic suddenly was scratched from games when he began struggling himself.By the end of the season, Plavsic had dropped to eighth on the depth chart. He didn&rsquo;t dress for a single playoff game.So this year is pivotal for the Montreal native. Unfortunately, he didn&rsquo;t survive the first day of training camp. He sprained his right knee in a collision with right winger Trevor Linden and is sidelined until mid-October.His pre-season was over almost before it had begun.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of a short setback,&rdquo; said Plavsic, trying to put a positive spin on his wrecked September. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll just have to learn something from this and make myself stronger. I can still build my upper body and get ready mentally for the season.&rdquo;Unless there are further injuries to the Vancouver blueline corps, it&rsquo;s difficult to see Plavsic winning a starting job on defense with a brace on his knee.And the fact he is planning to play out his option doesn&rsquo;t help much, either.&ldquo;I have a lot to prove to myself,&rdquo; Plavsic said.GETTING PHYSICAL: Defenseman Mike Wilson, the Canucks&rsquo; first-round pick in the 1993 entry draft, opened a few eyes in training camp when he checked star right winger Pavel Bure several times.On one occasion, he elbowed the Russian Rocket in the head, prompting Bure to run the 18-year-old into the end boards.&ldquo;It was either hit Pavel or watch him skate right by me,&rdquo; said Wilson, a 6-foot-5, 180-pounder who plays for the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario League. &ldquo;I want to show management what I can do.&rdquo;Canuck general manager-coach Pat Quinn didn&rsquo;t mind Wilson taking shots at his franchise player.&ldquo;It shouldn&rsquo;t matter if it&rsquo;s Pavel or whoever the hell it is,&rdquo; Quinn said. &ldquo;When I went to training camp as a player, I went after the best player on the ice I could. You know management is sitting up watching and you want to make an impression.&ldquo;Of course, I don&rsquo;t want him hitting Pavel dirty.&rdquo;Of course.NOTEBOOK: Broadcaster Jim Robson, who has received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for broadcasting excellence, will return for his 24th season as the voice of the Canucks on radio and TV.Ottawa 67&rsquo;s junior center Mike Peca, the Canucks&rsquo; second pick in the 1992 draft, had one training camp scrimmage he won&rsquo;t forget. He centered Pavel Bure and the duo combined for 10 points in a full 60-minute stop-time game. Peca had four points and Bure six.Backup goaltender Kay Whitmore, who made $375,000 (Cdn.) last season, is seeking a new deal in the $500,000 (U.S.) range, which would put him in the same category as Mighty Ducks of Anaheim goalie Ron Tugnutt and Los Angeles King Robb Stauber. Whitmore has filed for salary arbitration to protect himself, but expects to sign without needing the third-party intervention.Canuck veterans who will play out their options, but continue to negotiate include: Murray Craven, Jyrki Lumme. Robert Dirk and Sergio Momesso. &#9632;

Plavsic suffers setback

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div>For Trent Yawney, September began the same way it has for the past three seasons-with a disheartening injury.This year, the Calgary Flames&rsquo; defenseman went down even before training camp officially opened.Yawney was one of a group of veteran Flames&rsquo; players who agreed to do their fitness testing a day early so the medical staff did not need to process 63 players on a single day.In trying to bench press a weight that was not as heavy as he would normally use, Yawney ripped a tendon in his right shoulder cleanly away from the bone.Surgeons repaired it the next day, but Yawney was sidelined indefinitely.&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be a couple of months,&rdquo; Yawney said. &ldquo;The key is for the scar tissue to heal. The good thing is, it&rsquo;s not like last year when I broke my collarbone and couldn&rsquo;t do anything. I&rsquo;ll be able to ride the bike and skate, so my conditioning should be OK. There&rsquo;s just no timetable.&rdquo;To repair the tear, surgeons drilled a pair of holes in the bone, then looped the tendon back through.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an injury that could only happen to me,&rdquo; Yawney said. &ldquo;September has been an awful month for me. Last year, I broke my collarbone. The year before, I missed two weeks because they thought I&rsquo;d broken my foot. But the worst is over. It&rsquo;s recovery time from here on in.&rdquo;Yawney&rsquo;s injury opened a window of opportunity for four or perhaps five players competing for a spot on the Hames&rsquo; defense corps.The inside track belonged to Brad Schlegel, a former Canadian Olympian picked up from Washington Capitals in the off-season for a middle-round draft choice.But Schlegel was hampered by a groin injury.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an opportunity for somebody else,&rdquo; said coach Dave King. &ldquo;Sometimes, out of these things, you get a player who evolves.&rdquo;SURPRISE VISIT: Jesper Mattsson, the Hames&rsquo; No. I choice in the 1993 entry draft, made a surprise appearance at training camp.Mattsson&rsquo;s Swedish club, Malmo, was originally reluctant to make him available because their season begins Sept. 23-two days after Mattsson could return.But the team gave him permission to join the Hames for six days.The 18-year-old center travelled by boat to Copenhagen, Denmark before catching a flight to Calgary through Frankfurt. This came days after a month-long trek through Europe that included stops in Russia, Finland, Denmark and Germany.Mattsson could be with the Flames as early as next season when his contract with Malmo expires.NOTEBOOK: Gerry Blair, the Hames&rsquo; chief scout for more than a decade was not out of work for long. Blair, who did not have his contract renewed by the Hames in June, joined the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Bureau over the summer. Other members of the team&rsquo;s scouting staff not back for the upcoming year include Lou Reycroft. David Mayville. Gerry McNamara. plus a pair of European scouts, Lars Norrman and Pekka Rautakallio.Two of the Hames&rsquo; premier defensemen, Al Maclnnis and Gary Suter, will play out their options. Center Robert Reichel, coming off a 40-goal season in which he earned only $150,000, has filed for salary arbitration. &#9632;

Freak injuries in September just a way of life for Yawney

<div class="byline">By Mike Weaver</div>If their encore is as good as their first act together, Russian forwards Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov will make beautiful music for the San Jose Sharks.Larionov, 32, and Makarov, 35, were a hit during the 1980s when they teamed with Vladimir Krutov on Central Red Army&rsquo;s famed KLM Line. It was regarded by many as the most dominating line in international hockey.The two haven&rsquo;t played together since 1989, but have been reunited in training camp with the Sharks. And they say the magic that once existed between them should still be there.&ldquo;We played together for a long time and we understand each other on the ice,&rdquo; Makarov said. &ldquo;We play for each other.&rdquo;If Larionov, claimed from the Vancouver Canucks in the 1992 NHL waiver draft, and Makarov, obtained in a trade with the Hartford Whalers, still click together, they could form the nucleus of a potentially explosive power play unit for the Sharks.San Jose might consider combining the two Russians with winger Pat Falloon with point-men Jeff Norton and Rob Gaudreau.Larionov comes to the Sharks after playing last season in Switzerland and Makarov joins the Sharks after a troubled season with the Calgary Flames. There Makarov spent much of the second half of last season on the sidelines because he had a hard time adapting to the defensive style of Hames&rsquo; coach Dave King.&ldquo;He tried to break my game,&rdquo; Makarov said. &ldquo;He tried to get me more into a defensive game, but I&rsquo;m an older player and it&rsquo;s hard for me to change.&rdquo;The right winger said defense was never a big concern for him in Russia because the system there is designed around the center being the best defensive forward on a line. That means helping out on defense was always Larionov&rsquo;s job.Now that the two are together again, they plan to relive some of their past glory.&ldquo;I expect a big year here,&rdquo; Makarov said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure it&rsquo;s going to be a better year for the Sharks.&rdquo;CAPTAIN SEARCH: The Sharks need a captain to replace Doug Wilson, who announced his retirement Sept. 10, but coach Kevin Constantine won&rsquo;t push things.Constantine said he plans to designate different players as captain during the team&rsquo;s seven-game pre-season schedule and expects to have a permanent captain in place in time for the Oct. 6 season opener against the Edmonton Oilers.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll try a few different guys to see how they react to the responsibility,&rdquo; Constantine said.Candidates for the position are Bob Errey, Jeff Norton, Gaetan Duchesne, Igor Larionov, Rob Zettler and Jeff Odgers.NOTEBOOK: The Sharks and troubled defenseman Link Gaetz went their separate ways Sept. 10, when Gaetz was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers for a lOth-round pick in the 1994 entry draft&hellip;Winger Jeff Odgers became a father Sept. 15, when wife Donna delivered the couple&rsquo;s first child at Stanford Hospital. Johnathon weighed in at seven pounds, 15 ounces.Goalie Arturs Irbe, center Mike Sullivan and defensemen Rob Zettler and Tom Pederson have filed for salary arbitration.Defensemen Jeff Norton and Jay More signed new contracts. Sharks&rsquo; director of hockey operations Dean Lombardi said Norton signed for three years and More signed for two years. Norton will earn about $650,000 per season, which is the highest base salary on the team, and More will make about $350,000 per season.Among the players in camp with the Sharks is free-agent defenseman Doug Evans, who was born in San Jose on July 12, 1971. &#9632;

Russian heroes reunite

<div class="byline">By Rick Sadowski</div>No. 32 is No. 1.In case there were any questions as to who will be handling most of the goaltending for the Los Angeles Kings this season, Kelly Hrudey has declared himself the top man.&ldquo;I think it has pretty much been a given that I&rsquo;m No. I for a lot of years now,&rdquo; Hrudey said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not demeaning anybody. But for a long time they were looking for a backup.&rdquo;Hrudey, who turns 33 in January, is coming off a roller-coaster season that included a good start, a horrible middle and a fine ending.Hrudey&rsquo;s 18-21-6 record, his first losing record as a King, and 3.86 goals-against average weren&rsquo;t anything to brag about. Nor was sitting on the bench or in the stands for all but two of 18 games from Feb. 22 through March 31 as Robb Stauber and Rick Knickle received virtually all of the work.&ldquo;It was a great learning experience and I wouldn&rsquo;t change anything,&rdquo; Hrudey said. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t want anybody to go through that. I needed it. I&rsquo;m a lot stronger now.&rdquo;Hrudey started 20 of the team&rsquo;s 24 playoff games, including the last 17, as the Kings advanced to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in franchise history.&ldquo;Kelly is No. 1,&rdquo; coach Barry Melrose said. &ldquo;He took us to the final. Kelly always was No. I here. I think he&rsquo;ll have a great year because of his success in the playoffs.&ldquo;Every once in a while you need to be reminded how great you are. Kelly&rsquo;s performance in the final reminded him how great he is.&rdquo;Hrudey owns a 102-76-33 record and 3.49 goals-against average with the Kings since his 1989 acquisition from the New York Islanders. He is second to Rogie Vachon (171) on the Kings&rsquo; win list.Hrudey impressed management enough to give him a raise. He is set to earn $500,000 this year, with an additional $200,000 deferred, a deal that ranks him 18th among goalies.&ldquo;We want to pay him commensurate with his performance,&rdquo; said team president Roy Mlakar.STING OPERATION: Three players were stung by bees during workouts at the Ice Castle Arena in Blue Jay, Calif.A swarm of bees caused problems because three of the unique arena&rsquo;s four sides are open.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a new one,&rdquo; Wayne Gretzky said. &ldquo;&lsquo;Coach, I have to come off. I got stung.&rsquo; I mean, I&rsquo;ve been stung a couple of times on the ice before, but not by bees.&rdquo;Heat and bugs proved to be trouble. Rinkside temperatures were estimated at 85 or 90 degrees. A large number of bugs were cleaned off the ice by the Zamboni machine.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Brent Thompson, the heir apparent to Marty McSorley, will miss four preseason games while recovering from July surgery to repair a hernia. He was plagued by abdominal problems last year and played only 30 games&hellip;The Kings are toying with the idea of moving Jimmy Carson from center to wing, a switch that would keep him in the top three lines. Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Shawn McEachern and Pat Conacher are the other centers.Rob Blake was chosen to replace McSorley as the team&rsquo;s player representative on the NHL Players&rsquo; Association. &ldquo;Rob is responsible and he went to college,&rdquo; Luc Robitaille said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a bright guy.&rdquo; &#9632;

‘Great’ Hrudey set to pick up where he left off last season

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011405/6149443-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="375" height="531"></div>Money talks and all the talk is about money.Money, money, money. It is impossible to escape it these days in the NHL.For those of us who don&rsquo;t have enough of it-and aren&rsquo;t likely to get it either-all we can do is sit back and watch the salary explosion in all its gory glory.&#9633; A very wise man in the business, who just happens to be a player agent, tries to provide some perspective on the salary spiral.&ldquo;I have always believed in the pendulum theory,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Admittedly, salary levels may now have swung too far in the players&rsquo; favor, but that only means they were too far in the owners&rsquo; favor for far too long. I have to believe the market will, over time, correct itself. This isn&rsquo;t the end of the world.&rdquo;&#9633; Yeah, try to convince Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; general manager Glen Sather and Boston Bruins&rsquo; GM Harry Sinden of that.The two pals, both of whom long for the bygone era of NHL feudalism, are the official critics of today&rsquo;s salary explosion. Designated phone hot lines should be installed to both their offices.As soon as another new mega-deal is announced, reporters have to seek out Sather and/or Sinden to get the official condemnation and stock response of how ludicrous the new contracts are.Occasionally, their barbs are fully justified, but remember, these two savvy gentlemen have fleeced more than their share of players in contract negotiations.Still, they know how to provide a colorful quote. Sather was recently asked to name the top five player agents in the business.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t think of just five,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t think of one poor agent in the NHL. Collectively, they have been beating up all the GMs so badly&hellip;it&rsquo;s tougher to find five good GMs, myself included. Nobody has stood up to the players. If I ever give up general managing, I&rsquo;m coming back as an agent.&rdquo;&#9633; San Jose Sharks&rsquo; GM Dean Lombardi recently got a pat on the back from Sather, but that&rsquo;s small comfort in trying to solve his dilemma. Lombardi drew the line on a pair of Russians-first-rounders Victor Kozlov and Andrei Nazarov.The Sharks&rsquo; director of hockey operations steadfastly refused to consider giving them one-way contracts without them showing up to camp and proving they deserve them. One week into camp, Lombardi was talking tough.&ldquo;If I give one-way deals to the Russians, I have to turn around renegotiate and give them to Mike Rathje and Michal Sykora (two grads of major junior hockey who signed two-way deals last year). I&rsquo;m not going to do that. If the kids who play junior in North America aren&rsquo;t getting those deals, then neither should the Russians.&rdquo;One week later, though, largely unproven Derian Hatcher, a 21-year-old third-year pro defenseman with the Dallas Stars, was given a four-year, $3.6-million contract and Spokane junior star Valeri Bure received a one-way contract from the Montreal Canadiens. Lombardi sounded as though his resolve might be melting.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;m going to do,&rdquo; Lombardi moaned, noting that both Kozlov and Nazarov were still in Russia playing for Moscow Dynamo. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to come up with a strategy. Maybe I&rsquo;m going to have to bite the bullet and identify a core of five or six young players and pay them far more than they&rsquo;re entitled to right now and lock them in for a few years.&ldquo;But if one or more of them don&rsquo;t pan out, you&rsquo;re left holding the bag.&rdquo;It was pointed out to Lombardi there&rsquo;s no such thing as locking a player in. Long-term contracts don&rsquo;t mean squat. &ldquo;Thanks,&rdquo; Lombardi said. &ldquo;I needed that.&rdquo;Quick, Harry and Glen, phone Dean. Sounds as if he&rsquo;s weakening.&#9633; When he closes the door to his office or goes home at night, Bob Goodenow mustn&rsquo;t be able to wipe the smile off his face.The executive director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association has been at the forefront of the salary explosion.And how has he perpetrated some of the game&rsquo;s great heists?With free agency? No.With salary arbitration? No, not really.With full and complete salary disclosure, a strong sense of organization, an aggressive posture and knowledge that the adversary (NHL GMs) can be had if you push really hard? Bingo.Goodenow and the players have indeed pointed a gun at the owners and managers&rsquo; heads, but in a lot of instances, the latter group has snatched it out of the players&rsquo; hands and shot themselves in the head.They have to look in the mirror if they&rsquo;re going to stop the bleeding. &#9632;

f0011-01

Owners mostly to blame for buckling

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021016/6149474-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">It&rsquo;s important to the success of the New Jersey Devils that Claude Lemieux and head coach Jacques Lemaire get along. (Jim Leary/BBS)</figcaption></div>Most of Jacques Lemaire&rsquo;s friends and colleagues wondered if he was thinking clearly when he gave up a comfortable position in the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; front office to place his neck on the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; wellworn chopping block.As Lemaire examined team photos hanging on the walls of the Devils&rsquo; South Mountain Arena training facility in West Orange, N.J., and counted six different head coaches in seven seasons, he may have had some second-thoughts himself.But Lemaire&rsquo;s doubt did not last.&ldquo;As soon as I stepped on the ice, I knew that&rsquo;s where I belonged,&rdquo; the 48-year-old Hall of Famer said after his first day of training camp.Rookies listened attentively to the one-time Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; star as if they were receiving the message of a prophet. This, despite the fact that Lemaire has fewer than 100 games behind an NHL bench. In 1983-84 and &rsquo;84-85, he coached the Canadiens to a 48-37-12 record and led the Canadiens to the Wales Conference final in 1985.But when he stepped on the ice to put the Devils through their paces, veterans responded to him with a respect that has long been missing on this team of diverse backgrounds and untapped talent.Even Claude Lemieux.&ldquo;In my mind there was one man available to help this team win a Stanley Cup and establish a winning tradition: Jacques Lemaire,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;He has built-in respect from the players. When you look at a guy who scored so many goals and played on so many championship teams, you don&rsquo;t question what he says.&rdquo;The Lemaire-Lemieux relationship is vital to the Devils&rsquo; success. The 28-year-old Lemieux led the Devils in scoring last year and was arguably their most valuable player. In former coach Herb Brooks&rsquo; mind, he was also their most annoying player. At one point, an exasperated Brooks told the media Lemieux was a cancer to the team.Lemaire, who knows Lemieux from their days with the Canadiens, is approaching the situation with an open mind.&ldquo;Claude Lemieux is Claude Lemieux. Everybody knows it,&rdquo; Lemaire said. &ldquo;He can bring spark to a team and he will bring character to the team. You have to take the best of an individual.&rdquo;Captain Scott Stevens thinks Lemaire will bring stability to a team that desperately needs it.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;ll see little squabbles between players and between a player and coach with Jacques Lemaire and (assistant) Larry Robinson,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;With all the things they did and won as NHL players, any player who can&rsquo;t respect them should pack his things and leave.&rdquo;So many times in the past it was the coach who was asked to pack his things and leave. The Devils seemed to be on the right track when former NHL defenseman Jim Schoenfeld led the team to the Wales Conference final in 1988 after taking over for Doug Carpenter.Since then, however, it has been a parade of new coaches. Schoenfeld was followed by John Cunniff, who was succeeded by Tom McVie, who was replaced by Brooks.Why would Lemaire want this job?His old boss in Montreal, managing director Serge Savard, said it&rsquo;s simply a case of a man wanting to coach in the NHL. Lemaire gave up coaching after less than two seasons. Most recently, he was Savard&rsquo;s assistant and managing director of the Canadiens&rsquo; American League affiliate in Fredericton.&ldquo;Jacques is a great hockey person,&rdquo; Savard said. &ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t fired as a coach with the Canadiens. He just didn&rsquo;t want to coach in Montreal anymore, so I kept him in the organization.&rdquo;Lemaire&rsquo;s biggest challenge is to find a way to win without a dominating center in a division with Eric Lindros, Pierre Turgeon and Mark Messier.Unlike Cunniff and Brooks, who studied coaching manuals, Lemaire&rsquo;s bookshelf is bare.&ldquo;What I teach is only the experience I had,&rdquo; Lemaire said. &ldquo;I never went to hockey sessions or hockey schools for coaches. The only thing I know is what I&rsquo;ve seen in my career.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-02

Exorcising the Devils

<div class="byline">By Jeff Williams</div>The New York Islanders have made Pierre Turgeon the highest-paid player in club history.The Islanders signed the 24-year-old center Sept. 15 to a four-year, $11-million contract.Turgeon is coming off his best NHL season, posting career highs in goals (58), assists (74) and points (132). The six-year veteran also won the Lady Byng Trophy and finished fifth in Hart Trophy voting.By signing Turgeon, the Islanders hope to dispel a stingy image that stemmed from the team&rsquo;s on-ice and off-ice failures of the late 1980s and early 1990s-an image bom largely from the acrimony between the club and center Pat LaFontaine.With the Islanders losing on the ice, and with LaFontaine unhappy off the ice, there was a perception the club would not pay its stars.&ldquo;I think today we are showing our fans that when a superstar player helps make our franchise successful we are willing to pay the big money to stay competitive,&rdquo; said Bob Rosenthal, co-chairman of the team.General manager Don Maloney, who announced the signing, was an assistant to general manager Bill Torrey when the LaFontaine negotiations broke down and the anger spilled out.&ldquo;It was a mess,&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;It added to the general malaise of the team. Ever since the LaFontaine situation, the image the Islanders took on was one of not wanting to pay its players. I can tell you from being there that we made LaFontaine some pretty decent offers. Now I think it&rsquo;s clear we are jumping back into first class, but when you lose your reputation you don&rsquo;t get it back overnight.&rdquo;Ironically, it was the trade of LaFontaine to the Buffalo Sabres in October, 1991 that brought Turgeon to the Islanders, along with Benoit Hogue and Uwe Krupp.For $2.75 million per year for the next four years guaranteed, the Islanders have not only bought the services of the one of the league&rsquo;s budding stars, they also bought all his endorsement rights.The deal is similar to the megadeal the Pittsburgh Penguins signed with Mario Lemieux last season. The Islanders are entitled to all revenue pertaining to Turgeon&rsquo;s likeness and it is the club&rsquo;s responsibility to develop those endorsements themselves.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no way of knowing how much revenue we can get,&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;And we&rsquo;re not going to have him hopping from one thing to another. He&rsquo;s here to play hockey.&rdquo;The Islanders will hire a public relations firm to help make Turgeon into a marketable commodity. A large part of that will be to help him become a better public speaker.Turgeon is French Canadian-he&rsquo;s from Rouyn, Que.-and is quite shy. But he is charming and the Islanders want to capitalize on his clean image.NOTEBOOK: The Islanders were unhappy when second-year defenseman Darius Kasparaitis showed up for camp 15 pounds overweight. &ldquo;He will be in shape; by the start of the season,&rdquo; said coach Al Arbour, &ldquo;or he will be in a pine box.&rdquo; Kasparaitis showed up at 210 pounds. The Islanders want him at 195 by the start of the year. He lost seven pounds in the first week.Defenseman Wayne McBean, who missed the last year and half because of an injury to his left knee, looked strong at the start of camp and could make the team. &#9632;

Signing Turgeon to mega-deal proves team will pay its stars

<div class="byline">By Craig Dolch</div>This is how you make an instant hockey rivalry.Place two teams in the same state and division, toss in some inflammatory remarks from one general manager and spice it up with some strong rebuttal from the other GM. Then add some ice.That should stir up some interest for the expansion Florida Panthers&rsquo; expected rivalry with the second-year Tampa Bay Lightning.Lightning GM Phil Esposito kickstarted the Florida feud at the expansion draft when he said, &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t wait to play (Florida). We&rsquo;re going to beat the hell out of them. We&rsquo;re going to kick their butts.&rdquo;That quote has gotten a lot of exposure recently in South Florida newspapers.But what really upset Florida GM Bob Clarke is Esposito&rsquo;s insistence on calling the Panthers the &ldquo;Pussycats.&rdquo; The Lightning&rsquo;s front-office employees all refer to the Panthers as the Pussycats. Tampa Bay coach Terry Crisp referred to them as &ldquo;Kittycats&rdquo; when he spoke at a breakfast function.Clarke wasn&rsquo;t smiling at Esposito&rsquo;s attempt at humor.&ldquo;Phil was a (expletive deleted) pussycat when he played, so he shouldn&rsquo;t be chirping,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;If he thinks he&rsquo;s being funny, he&rsquo;s wrong.&rdquo;Responded Esposito: &ldquo;I scored 76 goals a year&hellip;some pussycat. How many goals did he score?&rdquo;Clarke understands Esposito is just trying to build interest between the clubs in a state not known for its hockey. But Clarke disagrees with Esposito&rsquo;s approach.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s not a way to build a rivalry by saying derogatory things,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;Who is he to make fun of us? There are no Stanley Cups hanging from their rafters. Phil and Crisp have been in the league too long to be criticizing an NHL club. They should know better than that.&ldquo;This is a professional league. This isn&rsquo;t professional wrestling.&rdquo;The war of words should only accelerate the rivalry that&rsquo;s certain to develop.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question this will be a rivalry,&rdquo; Panthers&rsquo; forward Tom Fitzgerald said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re both from the same state and we&rsquo;re both young franchises. It&rsquo;s going to be intense every time we play them.&rdquo;Esposito&rsquo;s final words on the subject were something even Clarke agreed with.&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t between Clarkey and me,&rdquo; Esposito said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not the players. We&rsquo;re not on the ice. We&rsquo;ve already done that before.&rdquo;Clarke and Esposito kissed and made up on the subject before the first pre-season game Sept. 16 (won 5-4 by Tampa Bay). Literally.Esposito sneaked up behind Clarke and planted a kiss on Clarke&rsquo;s left cheek while Clarke was doing a pregame interview with a television station.&ldquo;Love you, Clarkey,&rdquo; Esposito said.Clarke displayed an embarrassed look, then laughed and said, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a fool.&rdquo;AGONY OF DE-FOOT: Tom Fitzgerald was sidelined recently by a freak accident. Early in training camp, a valet parking attendant at Doral Country Club ran over his right foot with a car.Fitzpatrick didn&rsquo;t receive a fracture, but he had to miss several days of training camp because of his swollen foot.&ldquo;I saw the car coming at me,&rdquo; an embarrassed Fitzpatrick said. &ldquo;I managed to jump out of the way, but my foot didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Free agent Patrick Lebeau had a four-goal and a three-goal game in two intrasquad games as he makes a strong run at a roster spot.Tough-guy Paul Laus lived up to his image by getting in three fights during the first three days of training camp. &#9632;

Espo gets rivalry started

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div>To get quality you have to give up quality. That&rsquo;s why the Philadelphia Flyers probably won&rsquo;t be adding a top-notch defenseman.Eric Lindros and Mark Recchi are untouchable and after that, trade bait gets thin. Assuming the two young goaltenders, Tommy Soderstrom and Dominic Roussel, aren&rsquo;t going anywhere, about the only viable candidate remaining for a change of address is Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour.Rumors circulated late last season that the 23-year-old center might be on the block, not because of his performance-he set career highs for goals (37), assists (49) and points (86)-but because he was just about the only player who could fetch the kind of defenseman the Flyers need.Brind&rsquo;Amour has heard his name mentioned, but said he can&rsquo;t let it affect the way he plays. As each day passes, it seems more likely Brind&rsquo;Amour will be staying.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011415/6149560-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="568" height="960"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour said being traded would crush him.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;When I was younger, it would bother me big-time,&rdquo; Brind&rsquo;Amour said. &ldquo;I was thinking, &lsquo;I just got here, how could they trade me?&rsquo; Now I know it&rsquo;s the everyday thing.&ldquo;Until they call me up to the office and tell me I&rsquo;m traded, I&rsquo;m not. I&rsquo;m still here and I plan to be here. Hopefully, I&rsquo;ll be here forever. Those things I can&rsquo;t control.&rdquo;Brind&rsquo;Amour, fourth on the team in seniority, has been through the bad times with the Flyers and would like to be around for a turnaround.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m emotionally involved here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I want to be here and if they traded me, I would be crushed. It would be a big-time loss because I&rsquo;m so close to these guys.&rdquo;Brind&rsquo;Amour said this is the year the Flyers have to emerge as a contender.&ldquo;We have to win,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is enough. Everybody hates to lose. If you don&rsquo;t, you don&rsquo;t deserve to be playing. The bottom line is when you go home for the summer and watch other teams in the playoffs, you cringe. Because they&rsquo;re having fun.&ldquo;Hopefully, they&rsquo;ll keep this group together. They&rsquo;ve had their high and like it goes that way in every sport, they go down, rebuild, and hopefully we&rsquo;re on our way back up.&rdquo;HOLAN IMPRESSIVE: Czech defenseman Milos Holan impressed the coaching staff during the first few days of training camp.Holan, 22, was a third-round pick in last year&rsquo;s draft. The Flyers are hoping he can make their roster and provide some offensive firepower. Holan was the most valuable player of the Czech League last year and set a record for goals (35) and points (68) by a defenseman.He spent most of the summer in Edmonton getting into shape and that should work in his favor, according to coach Terry Simpson.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good skater, handles the puck and sees the plays real well,&rdquo; Simpson said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s similar to (Greg) Hawgood. He has played at a high level which will help him make the adjustment.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Flyers signed Milos Holan, Ryan McGill, Andre Faust and Steve Maigunas to contracts. Holan received a three-year contract, the other players two years&hellip;Eric Lindros is a possible candidate to be named the new captain, although the team might be reluctant to put that much responsibility on a 20-year-old. &ldquo;Whether I&hellip;(or) anybody wears the letter or not, I don&rsquo;t think anybody changes because they wear it,&rdquo; Lindros said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021010/6149553-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="568" height="960"><figcaption class="caption-body">Enforcer Dave Brown is looking over his shoulder at Jim Cummins.</figcaption></div>With the arrival of 23-year-old tough guy Jim Cummins, 30-year-old veteran Dave Brown&rsquo;s future might be up in the air. Terry Simpson said both are in battles for a job, but he said there is enough room for two players to fill that role. &#9632;

f0013-01

Trade rumors and headlines stop bothering Brind’Amour

<div class="byline">By Rick Carpiniello</div>With the trade of John Vanbiesbrouck and the retirement of Jan Erixon, James Patrick is now the senior New York Ranger, entering his 10th season with the team.Patrick, now 30 and coming off back surgery, realizes his chances of a Stanley Cup are running out.&ldquo;After we blew it two years ago, I was so aware of it, that we may never get another chance,&rdquo; Patrick said. &ldquo;I remember going to the semifinals in &rsquo;86 and we thought nothing of it. I was 22 and just thought it was something that was going to happen.&ldquo;Mike Keenan can push us to the top. I&rsquo;m looking forward to this being the best team I ever played on. I talked to Troy Murray over the summer and he said, &lsquo;With Keenan you guys will win the division.&rsquo; I&rsquo;m hoping he can take us over the top.&rdquo;Patrick had one-third of a herniated disk removed last March and has fully recovered.&ldquo;I feel like I didn&rsquo;t have surgery,&rdquo; Patrick said. &ldquo;I expect some of the stress of travel and the physical part of the game. But I think the back is stronger now than maybe it has ever been. As far as strengthening back muscles, it&rsquo;s something that gets neglected.&rdquo;The bad back has done something that nothing else has been able to do the last five or six years. It kept Patrick&rsquo;s names out of trade rumors.&ldquo;Teams are dying to get a guy coming off back surgery,&rdquo; he dead-panned.<h2>BEUKEBOOM REPORTS:</h2>Defenseman Jeff Beukeboom, the Rangers&rsquo; only unsigned free agent, decided to report to camp while contract negotiations continued.Beukeboom, who played out his option last season at $285,000, missed the team&rsquo;s exhibition trip to London, but decided he should attend the training camp in Glens Falls, N.Y.&ldquo;I just think this is a little more important now than London,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And I wanted to do this in a classy way, where it didn&rsquo;t anger anyone. They&rsquo;ve been good to me, so we made the decision that it&rsquo;s time to get into shape and be ready to play.&rdquo;Beukeboom has insurance against injury and he believes he&rsquo;ll be eligible to play in pre-season games without a contract. However, he will not be allowed to play regular-season games, which begin Oct. 5 against the Boston Bruins, unless he&rsquo;s signed.Beukeboom&rsquo;s agent, Mark Hall is demanding a deal in the $900,000 per year range. The Rangers have offered a long-term deal, but aren&rsquo;t close to that figure.NOTEBOOK: Ed Olczyk will play out his option this year. He was awarded a salary of $800,000 for last year and this season by an arbitrator in June. New York&rsquo;s offer was $500,000. The Rangers, required to make an offer to players entering their option years, this season offered Olczyk a $300,000 pay cut to $500,000, so Olczyk will try free agency next summer. The Rangers don&rsquo;t mind, feeling players produce more when facing free agency. They will retain the right to match any offer Olczyk receives next summer.Left winger Mike Hartman was hit in the eye with a puck at practice and remained in a Westchester County (N.Y.) hospital while the rest of the team flew to Glens Falls&hellip;Is Mike Keenan pushing his players? He divided the roster into three teams and held two scrimmage games each day in Glens Falls. That meant one team played two games each day. &#9632;

Time running out on Patrick to capture cherished Cup

<div class="byline">By Dave Sell</div>One of the interesting questions in the Washington Capitals&rsquo; training camp was whether Don Beaupre or Rick Tabaracci would gain the No. I goaltending job at the start of the season. On Sept. 17, Beaupre won by default.That morning Tabaracci was diagnosed as having tom the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. The day before in a scrimmage, Tabaracci had moved across the crease to stop a shot, then quickly felt and heard trouble.&ldquo;When I moved across (to stop a shot), I stuck one leg out and the other bent underneath and I heard a pop,&rdquo; Tabaracci said.Both Tabaracci and Beaupre arrived in Washington weeks before camp opened and both looked good in the early scrimmages during training camp.&ldquo;I guess, if it&rsquo;s going to happen, it&rsquo;s better now than during the season,&rdquo; Tabaracci said., &ldquo;It&rsquo;s frustrating to work all summer and get injured. I&rsquo;m just hoping it&rsquo;s minor.&rdquo;But that proved not to be the case. Pops are rarely good sounds to hear when knees are the audio source. Team physician Richard Grossman determined that no surgery, even arthroscopic, was necessary, but Tabaracci would be off skates until late October.Beaupre, who turned 32 Sept. 19, played 58 games last season and was 27-23-5 with a 3.31 goals-against average.Tabaracci was acquired before the March trading deadline from the Winnipeg Jets for goalie Jim Hrivnak and a second-round draft choice. He was excellent down the stretch for the Capitals in the regular season (3-2-0, 1.75 GAA) and was chosen to start the playoffs against the New York Islanders.The injury opens what had been a small crack in the door for backups Olie Kolzig, Byron Dafoe and Duane Derksen.&ldquo;If it&rsquo;s long-term, then it&rsquo;s an opportunity for somebody else,&rdquo; coach Terry Murray said of the Tabaracci&rsquo;s knee injury. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s wide open. Who will grab the ball and run with it?&rdquo;CAPTAIN&rsquo;S ROLE: Kevin Hatcher is making every effort to fulfill the captain&rsquo;s role he was handed last February.He has called several team meetings and has offered words of wisdom to 18-year-old defenseman Brendan Witt.Witt is in his first camp after being the Capitals&rsquo; first pick in 1993. Hatcher was the Capitals&rsquo; first-round pick in 1984.&ldquo;Anytime you&rsquo;re a first-round pick, there are higher expectations and a few more eyes on you,&rdquo; Hatcher said. &ldquo;It was nice to hear Rod (Langway) and Scotty (Stevens) talk to me and tell me to relax.&rdquo;Witt was surprised at Hatcher&rsquo;s overture.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve watched Kevin Hatcher on TV since I was a kid, so it leaves a big impression when he comes up and talks to you,&rdquo; said Witt, a native of Humboldt, Sask.Witt will eventually be returned to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western League.NOTEBOOK: Dale Hunter has had to deal with the death of his mother, Bernice, and he&rsquo;s not in much of a mood to rehash the playoff check on Pierre Turgeon. However, he did say, &ldquo;I wish it didn&rsquo;t happen.&rdquo; As for the 21-game, no-practice suspension, he said, &ldquo;Anybody who has ever been suspended is always anxious to get back and play. You miss the little things, goofing around with the puck in practice and you miss playing in the games.&rdquo;Pat Peake, who broke a bone in his foot before training camp, resumed light skating Sept. 20. Peake said doctors told him when his ankle was injured Sept. 7 it would be anywhere from two to six weeks and Peake was back on skates within two weeks. &#9632;

Tabaracci has knee trouble

<div class="byline">By Roy Cummings</div>Try as he might, Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Daren Puppa just can&rsquo;t straighten out his deformed right arm.Puppa&rsquo;s arm bends awkwardly at the elbow, forcing his palm to turn up as he reaches out to shake your hand with a limb that is seemingly fixed at a 45-degree angle.The awkward movement is the result of an injury he sustained during a collision with Mike McPhee four years ago.But don&rsquo;t feel sorry for Puppa, though. He&rsquo;s a better goalie because of his misfortune.It is common for NHL shooters to aim at the upper left-hand comer of the net-which is the right hand for the goalie. Most goalies only have the knob of their stick there, but Puppa, who catches with his right hand, has a glove-hand that is somehow quicker and more effective as a result of his injury.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s strange that it turned out like this, but it&rsquo;s bent almost perfect for a goalie now,&rdquo; Puppa said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know why it healed that way. I mean, it was set right. I guess it got twisted or something.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a little odd, but I can cover that top comer a lot better as a result, and when you look at it that way, it&rsquo;s a positive, not a negative.&rdquo;The Lightning is expecting big things from Puppa, who was claimed from the Florida Panthers in Phase II of the expansion draft.Puppa split time last season with the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs, finishing with a 17-7-4 record and 3.23 goals-against average in 32 games.The Lightning is banking on him to give the team stability in goal.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be a big addition to this club,&rdquo; said coach Terry Crisp. &ldquo;A year ago, everybody worked hard and gave their best effort. But the bottom line was some nights, the goaltending just wasn&rsquo;t there. We think Daren can rectify that situation.&rdquo;Puppa has the credentials.A former American League (1987) and NHL all-star (1990), he has established himself as a winner at the NHL level by compiling a 92-70-28 record and 3.30 GAA over his seven-year career.ONE DOWN: The Lightning&rsquo;s goaltending battle has already lost one of its top competitors.Wendell Young, who is fighting for a spot as Daren Puppa&rsquo;s backup, was forced to leave the team&rsquo;s first scrimmage Sept. 10 after he strained his right shoulder.Reports indicate he will be sidelined until at least mid-October.The 30-year-old was injured twice last season after he dislocated his right shoulder, but doctors were uncertain whether the latest injury was related to the previous ailment. They scheduled Young for arthroscopic surgery to determine the extent of the damage.Trainer Larry Ness said a worstcase scenario would mean Young could miss half the season.NOTEBOOK: After an impressive debut last season, female goalie Manon Rheaume was struggling during her encore training camp performance. In the Lightning&rsquo;s four-day roundrobin tournament, she gave up 14 goals and pulled a hamstring&hellip;The Lightning agreed to terms on a new contract for center Marc Bureau. That left center/right winger Danton Cole and defenseman Shawn Chambers as the only two players who were unsigned as they headed into the option years of their contracts. Both players filed for arbitration. &#9632;

Crisp depending on Puppa to solve shortcomings in goal

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div>With no contract and no promises, Bobby Carpenter slipped into the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; camp for what could be his last hurrah in the NHL.Unable to convince other teams his left knee is healthy and he hasn&rsquo;t lost his touch, Carpenter contacted his friend, Devils&rsquo; general manager Lou Lamoriello, and asked for a tryout.Lamoriello, aware of his deficiency at center, extended an invitation to the player he tried to recruit for Providence College in 1980-81.&ldquo;A lot of people doubted my knee, so the last three years have been difficult,&rdquo; Carpenter said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t have much of a chance any other place and Boston did a bad job publicizing the knee. A lot of teams are afraid to take a chance on me.&ldquo;I talked to Lou and we agreed I would come and show that my knee is fine and that I can still skate. Then we would sit and talk.&rdquo;The first American-born player to score 50 goals in the NHL (53 for the Washington Capitals in 1984-85), Carpenter sustained a career-threatening injury Dec. 8, 1990, at the Forum in Montreal. Playing for the Boston Bruins, he slid into the boards and shattered his left kneecap.Although he came back from the injury and played another season for the Bruins, Carpenter&rsquo;s career has declined since the injury. He returned to Washington as a free agent last season and had 11 goals and 28 points in 68 games, but a contract extension with the Caps fell through.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think any injury comes back 100 per cent, but I think this is as close as can be to that,&rdquo; Carpenter said. &ldquo;It has got to be at least 90-95 per cent back and I don&rsquo;t think you can ask for more than that with a fractured kneecap.&rdquo;At 30, Carpenter is not considered the answer to the Devils&rsquo; weakness at center. However, he could be an insurance policy in case rookie Brian Rolston is not ready for the NHL or if a veteran sustains a pre-season injury.&ldquo;I just wanted to get a fair shot,&rdquo; Carpenter said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting close to the end of my career. I would like to play maybe three more years and I would like to stay close to home (New Hampshire). I don&rsquo;t really want to go out west.&rdquo;NO LOVE FOR L.A.: Although he came within three wins of playing on a Cup winner, center Corey Millen won&rsquo;t miss Los Angeles.Traded to the Devils June 26 for a fifth-round draft choice, Millen said he would not have returned to L.A. even if the Kings had won it all.&ldquo;No, especially the way things happened,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They had a pecking order and I don&rsquo;t think they wanted to pay me what I wanted to be paid. They were going to spend money on guys like Gary Shuchuk and Marc Potvin, not me.&rdquo;Millen, who became a free agent after last season, signed a two-year deal with the Devils at approximately $250,000 per season. He hopes to get a fresh start under Devils&rsquo; coach Jacques Lemaire.&ldquo;From training camp last year (Kings&rsquo; coach) Barry Melrose expressed how small our team was and he continued it all year,&rdquo; Millen said. &ldquo;I thought our small guys, like Tony Granato and Mike Donnelly, produced all year, but Melrose still said we needed a bigger team. I could tell they didn&rsquo;t want me back.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Goalie Peter Sidorkiewicz said he is unable to properly move his right arm after undergoing off-season shoulder surgery, but does not believe the problem is career-threatening. The Devils have asked the NHL to readjust the June 20 trade with the Ottawa Senators, claiming Ottawa GM Randy Sexton guaranteed that Sidorkiewicz would be healthy by training camp.If Jacques Lemaire decides rookie Jason Smith should start the season in the American League, either Jaroslav Modry or Brent Severyn will remain as the seventh defenseman. &#9632;

Carpenter working on a job

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>The Great One is in for a great big raise.Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings were on the verge of completing a deal that could make Gretzky the NHL&rsquo;s richest player and one of the highest-paid athletes in all of team sports.Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins is currently the NHL&rsquo;s highest-paid player. He signed a seven-year, $42-million contract last season. Lemieux was the NHL&rsquo;s most valuable player last season and his compensation this season is $5 million.Gretzky&rsquo;s new deal is expected to put him in a bracket with the top-paid athletes in North American team sports. According to the Toronto Star, Ryne Sandberg of Major League Baseball&rsquo;s Chicago Cubs earns $6,475 million, David Robinson of the National Basketball Association&rsquo;s San Antonio Spurs, $5.72 million and Steve Young of the National Football League&rsquo;s San Francisco 49ers, $5.35 million.Early reports suggested Gretzky would receive $30 million for three seasons. Kings&rsquo; owner Bruce McNall confirmed the deal is for three years-likely the last Gretzky will sign-but disputed the salary figure. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a little more astronomical than the facts would suggest,&rdquo; McNall said.A nine-time Hart Trophy winner as the NHL&rsquo;s most valuable player, Gretzky is believed to have a verbal agreement with McNall that he must be the highest-paid player in the NHL. But Lemieux reportedly has such a clause in his contract. Last season Gretzky was second on the salary list behind Eric Lindros of the Philadelphia Flyers. He is currently third.After missing much of last season because of a back injury, Gretzky returned Jan. 6 and helped the Kings make it to the Stanley Cup final, where they lost in five games.<h2>NHL EARNING POWER: THE TOP 25 PLAYERS</h2>Compensation represents base salary and any signing bonus and defened payments allocated to the 1993-94 NHL season. Earnings are in the national currency of individual teams.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011275/6149687-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="898" height="1260"></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

Kings’ ransom for Gretzky

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>When the Philadelphia Flyers drafted Mikael Renberg in 1990, he stood 6-feet-2 and weighed 180 pounds.&ldquo;He looked like a one-iron,&rdquo; an NHL scout said.Well, that one-iron has grown into a one-wood.Renberg is now 21 years old, 218 pounds and ready to take on the NHL. He&rsquo;s in camp with the Flyers and observers are predicting he&rsquo;ll make a large impact in his rookie season.Renberg&rsquo;s objective for this season is simple: &ldquo;I want to play in as many games as the coach will allow me,&rdquo; he said.His success will not be measured simply by his offense. He&rsquo;s a power forward and the Flyers are looking for production in the 25-goal range.Renberg was chosen 40th overall by the Flyers in 1990, but knew he was a few years away from making the jump to the NHL. Following the advice of countryman and former NHLer Lars Lindgren, Renberg decided to stay at home and develop with Lulea of the Swedish Elite League. Last season, he had 19 goals and 32 points in 39 games.Among the final cuts of the national team two years ago at the age of 19, Renberg not only made the squad last season, he was an impact player.He helped Sweden to a silver medal at the 1993 World Championships, scoring five goals and eight points in eight games. He was voted a first team all-star forward.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s ready for the NHL,&rdquo; said Flyers&rsquo; scout Inge Hammarstrom. &ldquo;His development has been steady. He&rsquo;s a serious athlete; very professional in his outlook on life.&rdquo;Renberg is considered tough, the type who will score by driving to the net. An above average skater, he also possesses the ability to make smooth passes on the forehand and backhand.&ldquo;Philadelphia wanted me to play two years ago, but it just didn&rsquo;t feel right then,&rdquo; Renberg said. &ldquo;After the World Championships, I felt the time was finally right.&rdquo;The Flyers aren&rsquo;t disputing his judgment.&ldquo;He looks legitimate at this stage of the game,&rdquo; said coach Terry Simpson.The Flyers failed to qualify for the playoffs last season, but have established themselves as one of the NHL&rsquo;s wealthiest teams in terms of young talent. Lindros, Mark Recchi and Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour are three of the best young forwards in the game.NHL training camp competition hasn&rsquo;t quite been the huge adjustment Renberg expected. Players&rsquo; work habits, away from the game, caught him by surprise, though.&ldquo;I expected more high sticking and slashing,&rdquo; Renberg says. &ldquo;The biggest surprise has been the workouts players go through after practice. In Sweden, when practice ends, players go to school or to work. Here the players go to the gym and lift weights.&rdquo;If Renberg comes through as expected, he might help the Flyers lift the enormous weight that has accumulated with four straight seasons out of the playoffs. &#9632;

Flyers hope rookie Renberg will become a driving force

<div class="byline">By Kevin Dupont</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021000/6149742-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="378" height="533"></div>What is Ray Bourque worth?If you have the answer, the secret formula, please call the Boston Bruins and leave it on Harry Sinden&rsquo;s answering machine. It&rsquo;s just what the Bruins&rsquo; general manager needs right about now, a little more unsolicited advice on modern-day hockeynomics.The NHL labor market goes up hour by hour. Marty McSorley pockets $10 million one hour. Patrick Roy cashes in for $16 million the next. A little later, Pierre Turgeon picks up $11 million, right around what a NHL franchise cost only some 20 years ago when we all cared far more about our favorite players&rsquo; goals and assists than their dollars and cents.Suddenly, faster than you can say salary cap, the NHL has been turned into North America&rsquo;s biggest, free-flowing automatic teller machine. Now Bourque is saying he wants Boston to spit out upwards of $4 million per year.Unless something gets resolved quickly, Bourque and the Bruins will be sitting down with Richard Bloch, a Washington-based arbitrator, on Oct. 1. It will then be up to Bloch to tell us what Ray Bourque is worth.By mid-September, the Bruins were willing to go to about $2.5 million-twice what Bourque made last season. The all-star defenseman is looking for at least $3.5 million, a request that he might increase if the two sides eventually do get to arbitration. If the big sit-down takes place, Larry Bertuzzi, the Toronto attorney who waded through the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; double-dealing of Eric Lindros, is expected to be the guy who argues the Bruins&rsquo; case.Good luck, Larry. What is Ray Bourque worth? Like your house, whatever someone is willing to pay for it. If Bourque were a free agent, there would be at least three or four teams-the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings come to mind-who would be willing to pay him the money he wants. I&rsquo;m not going to waste my time listing his Norris Trophies, his all-star berths or his plus-minus numbers. I&rsquo;ll just say Bourque is the best defenseman in the game, his age (32) doesn&rsquo;t bother me for a second, and if he&rsquo;s not worth today&rsquo;s accepted wage for NHL superstars, then Wayne Gretzky, Steve Yzerman, Roy, et al., should immediately be asked for refunds.My guess is Sinden is so reluctant to have someone tell him how to run his business that the Oct. I meeting with Bloch will never materialize. Rather than pay Bourque, the Bruins will trade him and let someone else pay the freight.Before that, though, it&rsquo;s likely they would make one last attempt to middle the difference and offer Bourque about $3 million a year. They&rsquo;d then be able to say he thumbed his nose at $3 million, which would assuage the working stiffs who really pay the freight, and that Bourque gave management no alternative but to deal him.Forgive me for not getting overly emotional about all this. No matter what happens here, both sides are already winners. The Bruins run one of the most lucrative cash cows in the NHL and will continue to do so even if they do pay Bourque $3 or $4 million. They will still make a huge profit, increase ticket prices and fuel their money furnace with the sale of TV rights, radio rights, bad hot dogs and tepid beer. All that, and they haven&rsquo;t won a Stanley Cup since 1972.Meanwhile, Bourque knows he won&rsquo;t be working for less than $2.5 million in 1993-94, wherever he plays.It has been one long summer in Boston. Andy Moog was fired. The official line was he was dealt to the Dallas Stars for Jon Casey. Forget that. He got the boot. The Bruins didn&rsquo;t like him as a goalie anymore, head coach Brian Sutter didn&rsquo;t like his attitude and the Bruins simply tossed him off the job.Next, the Bruins thought Dave Poulin was too old to make the big bucks. The Washington Capitals didn&rsquo;t think the same and one of the grittiest forwards in the game was soon trading in black-and-gold for red-white-and-blue.Poulin wouldn&rsquo;t say it for the record, but Moog&rsquo;s dismissal and the pending Bourque pay struggle figured prominently in his decision to leave.Hockey is a business in Boston, a profitable one, and it&rsquo;s only a business. Management never said it wasn&rsquo;t. It&rsquo;s only the players and fans who took until the early 1990s to understand that.The cases of Moog, Poulin and now Bourque should now make it clear to everyone.The fans are the MVPs-most valuable payers. The biggest decision of all here isn&rsquo;t whether the Bruins give Bourque the bucks. It&rsquo;s whether the MVPs want to keep on paying, remaining business backers with no say in the product. &#9632;

f0016-02

Bourque situation business as usual

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div>The Cat-and a happy one at that&mdash;is back.Not that Felix Potvin ever actually left the Toronto Maple Leafs, at least not in a physical sense. But there was a sense of relief Sept. 15 when the Leafs abruptly announced Potvin had returned to the fold by signing a three-year deal worth at least $4 million.Potvin, who reported for camp on time and was part of the Leaf trip to England, had threatened to sit out the regular season if he didn&rsquo;t receive a new contract.The 22-year-old stopper was asking for upwards of $1.7 million per season and the Leafs&rsquo; best offer was $700,000.Then, almost out of the blue, the new deal was in place two days after the Leafs returned from their exhibition tour of London.&ldquo;It was in everyone&rsquo;s best interest to get it done as soon as possible,&rdquo; said Maple Leafs&rsquo; general manager Cliff Fletcher. &ldquo;It was a case of both parties realizing they had to give and take.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy,&rdquo; Potvin said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big weight off my shoulders.&rdquo;The deal will pay Potvin a base salary of $ 1.2 million in the first year and $1.4 million in the second year and option season.There are plenty of bonus clauses that could drive his earnings over $2 million this season and a clause that will allow him to re-open the contract after this season if he achieves certain performance levels.The deal likely happened so quickly because Potvin seemed to be gaining leverage with each day. The Leafs don&rsquo;t have a proven alternative in net, Potvin looked brilliant in England and with every passing day-or so it seemed-a big new contract was signed by a player around the league that made Potvin&rsquo;s demands seem modest.Indeed, two days before Potvin signed, Patrick Roy of the Montreal Canadiens became the highest-paid goaltender in league history with a four-year, $16-million pact.That&rsquo;s the kind of deal Potvin will be looking for next, possibly as soon as next summer.NO GUARANTEES: With players like Doug Gilmour and Dave Andreychuk coming off career years, the Leafs are looking to some other players to inflate their offensive totals.That applies to three young forwards: Rob Pearson, Mike Eastwood and Kent Manderville. All were part of the playoff drive last spring, but none are guaranteed jobs.&ldquo;Nobody has a guaranteed job except for the guys we all know,&rdquo; coach Pat Bums said.Pearson scored 23 goals during the regular season last year and fizzled during the playoffs.He took power-skating lessons during the summer to improve his speed and quickness, but the Maple Leafs are still looking for him to learn how to free himself up for more scoring chances.Eastwood was in the minors most of last season after blowing a glorious chance to make the Maple Leafs out of training camp. He joined the club for the playoffs and played well, but at 26-years-old this is likely his make-or-break season.There are fewer offensive expectations of Manderville, but he must continue to assert himself as a two way winger.None of the three did much during the two-game trip to England and will be under the microscope for the rest of camp.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011125/6149773-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="582" height="894"><figcaption class="caption-body">A clause will allow Felix Potvin to renegotiate next summer.</figcaption></div>NOTEBOOK: With only Felix Potvin and unproven minor-leaguers Bruce Racine and Damian Rhodes under contract, the Leafs invited six free-agent goalies to training camp&hellip;After missing both exhibition games in London, England against the New York Rangers due to a knee injury, right winger Nikolai Borschevsky returned to practice Sept. 15.The Leafs still have five players heading into the option year of their contracts including defensemen Dave Ellett and Bob Rouse and forwards Dave McLlwain. Mike Eastwood and Rob Pearson&hellip;Leaf defenseman Drake Berehowsky is making a quick recovery from knee surgery, but likely won&rsquo;t be ready for contact drills until late September at the earliest.Damien Cox is a hockey writer for The Toronto Star. &#9632;

f0017-01

Potvin mega-deal has goalie smiling

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>Keith Tkachuk is one of the most personable players on the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; team, but coach John Paddock thinks he won&rsquo;t be very popular in the newly formed Central Division.&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;ll be hated,&rdquo; Paddock said. &ldquo;I wish we had two or three more like him who would be hated. He&rsquo;s going to get under a lot of guys&rsquo; skin and have a lot of battles. Even some direct ones, behind the play and near the bench and verbal battles with people such as Chris Chelios, Garth Butcher, Rob Pearson and Mark Tinordi, people who play with a little extra grit and heart.&rdquo;The grit is something Paddock knows his team will need more of this season, which makes Tkachuk&rsquo;s value great. The coach frequently refers to the 21-year-old Melrose, Mass., native as the team&rsquo;s best forward in the playoffs last spring, and usually says so with a glint in his eye.&ldquo;Keith was mentally tuned into the playoffs,&rdquo; Paddock said. &ldquo;It had helped him going through it the year before, whereas Teemu (Selanne) and Alex (Zhamnov) weren&rsquo;t mentally tuned that way because they were new to it.&rdquo;Tkachuk&rsquo;s abrasive, bullish style earned him 28 goals and 201 penalty-minutes last season. Those totals may well be higher this year, but the former U.S. Olympian isn&rsquo;t taking anything for granted.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m still young, learning as I go along,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The new division is going to be a tough adjustment for all of us. But it is definitely to my advantage, that style of play. That&rsquo;s my biggest asset, going up and down and hitting.&rdquo;As for gaining respect, Tkachuk said it&rsquo;s something that never comes without a price.&ldquo;I hope it gets a little easier,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Last year we had some battles, but you have to go through that as a young player. If you stick up for yourself and your team, hopefully you get some respect.&rdquo;Tkachuk reported to camp in terrific shape and is much leaner than he was a year ago.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been working on gaining strength,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Last year I wasn&rsquo;t nearly as strong as I am this year. I spent the summer on a lot of working out, riding the bike and watching what I ate. I learned after last year it&rsquo;s a long season. I got a little weak towards the end.&rdquo;NO ARBITRATIONS: Three players who were eligible all passed on salary arbitration at the Sept. 10 deadline for filing.Goaltender Bob Essensa and centers Thomas Steen and Stu Barnes are all heading into their option years, and each asked for his option contract.Essensa, who received a record salary arbitration award of $1.15 million last March, said he was very close to a negotiated deal with the Jets, likely for one year plus an option.Steen will make $750,000 in his option year and Barnes $170,000. Both players said contract negotiations would continue and Barnes&rsquo; agent, Rick Curran, was optimistic the extra time would result in a new deal for the 22-year-old.NOTEBOOK: With free agent rearguard Phil Housley sitting out and awaiting a trade to a U.S.-based team, the Jets were rather thin on defense at training camp. Dean Kennedy, Teppo Numminen. Fredrik Olausson and Sergei Bautin were the only regulars who appeared to have jobs locked up. The rest of the equation included Swede Arto Blomsten. free-agent signee Darryl Shannon and Russians Igor Ulanov, Sergei Sorokin and Boris MironovThe Jets plan to honor retired defenseman-tumed-broadcaster Randy Carlyle in a special ceremony on opening night, Oct. 6. Carlyle played nine seasons for the Jets. &#9632;

Move to bombastic Central ideal for Tkachuk

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div>No one felt worse than Joe Murphy last spring when he went scoreless in the Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; first-round playoff loss to the St. Louis Blues.&ldquo;It was disappointing because so much was expected of me,&rdquo; said Murphy, acquired in late February from the Edmonton Oilers specifically to add offensive punch.Even more is expected of Murphy this season. The 25-year-old right winger not only will be counted on to score goals, it&rsquo;s more vital he do so since Steve Larmer is almost certainly gone.Larmer scored 35 goals last season and whenever coach Darryl Sutter is asked how he hopes to make up that lost offense, Murphy&rsquo;s name is the first thing out of his mouth.And Murphy knows it.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s pressure on me, but I look forward to it,&rdquo; Murphy said. &ldquo;I want to feel the pressure. I like the feeling of being the guy who is counted on.&rdquo;It doesn&rsquo;t surprise Sutter to hear that, since that&rsquo;s the attitude taken by most top players and Sutter considers Murphy a top player in the NHL.Murphy has already shown Sutter and the organization he&rsquo;s serious about producing the way he did in 1991-92 when he scored a career-high 35 goals and 82 points for the Oilers. Murphy reported to training camp in top shape and has added some much-needed upper body strength.&ldquo;His fitness was something I was interested in seeing because he has never really done that before,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;This is the first time he has made a commitment to train. He has figured out he&rsquo;s not a kid anymore.&rdquo;Being in shape is one of the surest ways to fit into the Hawks&rsquo; system. Murphy is the first to admit he had trouble adjusting to the Hawks&rsquo; grinding style of play upon his arrival from Edmonton, but that had a lot to do with the fact he hadn&rsquo;t played in nine months due to his holdout.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot to ask for a guy to jump right back in after missing 60 games,&rdquo; Murphy said. &ldquo;It was tougher than I thought it would be, but I don&rsquo;t regret what I did because I was standing up for something I believed in.&rdquo;Murphy scoffs at critics who doubt he can adjust his wide-open style to the Hawks&rsquo; dump-and-chase system.&ldquo;I can fit in here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s more puck chasing here than in Edmonton, where it was puck control, but I seemed to get my chances.&rdquo;CHELIOS REPORTS: Chris Chelios reported to camp on time despite the fact he is asking to renegotiate his contract.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m here and I&rsquo;m ready for camp,&rdquo; said Chelios, who refused to answer whether he might consider missing the start of the regular season if his contract isn&rsquo;t done to his satisfaction.Chelios has two years remaining on his current deal, including an option year. He&rsquo;s scheduled to earn $1.1 million this year for the second season.General manager Bob Pulford said he has no problems extending Chelios&rsquo; contract, but that the two-time Norris Trophy winner must play for $1.1 million this year.Chelios is believed to be asking for approximately $3 million a year.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve tentatively agreed on certain things,&rdquo; Pulford said. &ldquo;But my gut feeling is (Chelios and agent Tom Reich) are waiting to see what happens with (Ray) Bourque.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: As expected, Steve Larmer didn&rsquo;t report to camp Sept. 12. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t beg people to play here,&rdquo; Darryl Sutter said&hellip; Owner Bill Wirtz has said that Chicago Stadium-which the Hawks are leaving after the season-will be tom down.The earliest scheduled demolition date is the spring of 1995.The Hawks signed free-agent left winger Rob Cimetta, who was the Boston Bruins&rsquo; first pick in 1988. Cimetta will likely play for the Indianapolis Ice of the International League. &#9632;

Murphy’s law is simple: Pick up scoring slack

<div class="byline">By Terry Egan</div>What is the financial worth of a 21-year-old defenseman who has played just 110 NHL games?How about $3.6 million over four years?That is what Derian Hatcher signed for Sept. 14 with the Dallas Stars. The team&rsquo;s first-round pick in the 1990 entry draft, Hatcher signed a four-year contract which includes an option season for a money package that might make some general managers cringe.&ldquo;I know some teams will be angry with us,&rdquo; said Stars&rsquo; assistant GM Doug Armstrong, the man who negotiated the deal. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s nothing we can do about that. We wanted this player. This is our biggest signing since Mike Modano.&rdquo;Hatcher earned $150,000 last season. The contract reportedly breaks down like this:Hatcher will receive a signing bonus of $200,000 and a salary of $500,000 this season. In 1994-95, his base salary will be $800,000. In 1995-96, he gets $900,000 in salary and a $100,000 bonus. The option year calls for a salary of $900,000 and a $200,000 bonus.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re delighted with the deal based on the experience Derian has had,&rdquo; said Pat Morris, Hatcher&rsquo;s Toronto-based agent. &ldquo;Having played only 110 (NHL) games, to be sitting where he&rsquo;s at&hellip;I&rsquo;ve had people tell me (the Stars) really stepped up to the plate on this one. But they should have. Derian Hatcher will be an all-star two years from now.&rdquo;That would put him in familiar company. His brother, Kevin, has played in three All-Star Games as a member of the Washington Capitals. Kevin will earn $1.3 million this season. &ldquo;We took into account that he comes from a pretty good bloodline,&rdquo; Armstrong said.Morris and the Stars had been negotiating this deal since last October. When negotiations stalled, Morris informed the Stars Sept. 10 that Hatcher, 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, would play out his option. That put pressure on the Stars to sign him.As a Group I free agent playing out his option, Hatcher could have signed anywhere after this season and the Stars would have received a player as compensation, but no right to match the offer.&ldquo;Say San Jose signed him,&rdquo; Armstrong said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d have no right to match, we&rsquo;d just get a player as compensation. Maybe we wouldn&rsquo;t feel that San Jose has a player is equal to Derian Hatcher.&rdquo;Armstrong also said Hatcher was being rewarded for playing for a $150,000 salary last season.&ldquo;Hatcher showed a lot of character showing up this year without holding out, showing up last year at $150,000,&rdquo; Armstrong said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a credit to him and to his agent. Last year there were 270 defensemen under contract, 233 who contributed time to their teams. He was 230th (in salary). Sixty games at $150,000, last year he was a steal. He should have been at $350,000. The $200,000 bonus (this season) is like back pay. We&rsquo;re rewarding him.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Goalie Mike Torchia was admonished from Stars&rsquo; camp for being overweight. The team would not reveal his weight and Torchia said he didn&rsquo;t know what it was. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m disappointed,&rdquo; Torchia said. &ldquo;I have to prove to myself that I can do this.&rdquo; Torchia also had an irregular heartbeat picked up in a physical. The NHL Official Guide and Record Book lists the 21-year-old Torchia at 5-foot-11, 215 pounds. A cardiologist later cleared him for all activity. He will report to the Kalamazoo Wings of the International League.The beneficiary of Torchia&rsquo;s battle with the bulge was 18-year-old junior stopper Chad Lang. He has received added ice time and coach-GM Bob Gainey has been impressed with the fourth-round 1993 draft pick who will surely be returned to the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario League. Lang took a wicked Mike Modano slap shot off the side of the mask during a scrimmage. &ldquo;I saw it coming,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just couldn&rsquo;t get out of the way fast enough.&rdquo; &#9632;

Hatcher hits home run with million-dollar deal

<div class="byline">By Keith Gave</div>Keith Primeau began his fourth NHL season facing the same question he has tried to answer since the Detroit Red Wings called his name third overall in the 1990 entry draft.Is he ready to emerge as an assertive and consistent force in the Detroit lineup? And at which position, center or left wing?&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going in with the same approach as always. I&rsquo;ll go wherever they put me. As long as I&rsquo;m playing, I&rsquo;ll play wherever I can.&rdquo;Though his heart tells him he&rsquo;s a center, his mind suggests his future in the NHL, at least with Detroit, is at left wing. The 21-year-old&rsquo;s coach, Scotty Bowman, maintains he&rsquo;d better be prepared to play both.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a group of guys I&rsquo;d like to use a lot and he&rsquo;s one of them,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;Right now, I think he&rsquo;ll be used at both positions. A lot will hinge on other candidates for center. We&rsquo;ve got more there than at left wing.&rdquo;Though Primeau admits he&rsquo;d rather play center, he also understands how Bowman doles out ice time and there may not be much left after Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d hate to be the odd man out,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just want to play, that&rsquo;s the thing. Offensively, I&rsquo;d like to be as productive as I possibly can. You need ice time to perform.&rdquo;Primeau hasn&rsquo;t been very productive the past three seasons, scoring just 24 goals and 63 points in 166 games. Much is at stake, for the Wings on their journey toward another Stanley Cup challenge and for Primeau along his path toward financial security.&ldquo;This is a big year for me. I know I say that every year, but this is really, really big,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be entering the option year of my contract next season, so next summer I&rsquo;ll be negotiating a new deal.&rdquo;RAY&rsquo;S DAY: Another forward ready to assert himself on the wing is Ray Sheppard, the Wings&rsquo; unheralded 30-goal scorer.Sheppard spent a productive off-season working on his lower body, and appears to have picked up a stride.In the Wings&rsquo; 8-1 pre-season win over the Montreal Canadiens Sept. 15, Sheppard twice got behind the Canadiens&rsquo; defense to score breakaway goals.He figures he needs the extra step not only to keep up with a Detroit offense built around speed, but to keep up with escalating NHL salaries.Sheppard and Dino Ciccarelli, both right wingers have filed for salary arbitration, though general manager Bryan Murray reported progress in negotiations with each player. Sheppard is seeking a three-year deal worth $800,000 per season. The Wings have offered a total package that falls $50,000 short of that.But Sheppard is sticking to his demands, especially since Paul Ysebaert-whom the Wings traded to the Winnipeg Jets in the off-season-is being paid that much in Winnipeg.Ciccarelli, conversely, wants upwards of $1.7 million, and has told the Wings he&rsquo;ll sign for one, two or three seasons as long as the money is right. The Wings are offering something closer to $1.2 million. Both players are having strong camps.NOTEBOOK: Scotty Bowman&rsquo;s experimentation has begun. At a recent practice, he put centers Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov on a line with left winger Dallas Drake. Fedorov played right wing. The thinking is to combine two centers who are prone to overhandle the puck. &ldquo;Maybe they&rsquo;ll decide to share it with one another,&rdquo; a Wings&rsquo; official said. It would also open up a spot for impressive rookie Greg Johnson or Mike Sillinger to center a second scoring line.Left winger John Ogrodnick has made it official: He&rsquo;s calling it quits, albeit reluctantly, after an impressive 14-year NHL career. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve given up,&rdquo; he said of hopes of getting a tryout with another team. Ogrodnick finished his career with 402 goals and 827 points in 928 games with Detroit and the New York Rangers. He scored a career-high 55 goals in 1984-85. &#9632;

Bowman counting on Primeau to make impact

<div class="byline">By Charlie Halpin</div>Ted Green and Chico Maki have been handed what the NHL office claims are the severest penalties ever incurred for fighting.Green and Maki went at it with sticks during an exhibition game in Ottawa Sept. 21. Green landed in hospital and had two operations for a fractured skull.NHL president Clarence Campbell suspended Maki, now with the Buffalo Bisons of the American League, for 30 days, and Green for 13 games, if and when he returns to the Bruins.Maki&rsquo;s suspension was immediate and he will miss 14 games, presumably, without pay from St. Louis, who still hold his contract.Campbell ordered both players to remit the $300 fine rising from their suspensions. It&rsquo;s believed Campbell&rsquo;s decision will cost Green $6,000 in fines and lost pay.To insure Green is not dressed before he&rsquo;s fit, Campbell decreed Green&rsquo;s fine would begin when he is declared &lsquo;fit by an authority declared by the president.&rdquo;Green, who could have easily died in from the incident, looked well on his release from Ottawa hospital. But many people believe because of the severity of his injury, he will never play again.In Winnipeg, where he&rsquo;s resting at his home, Green declined comment on the fines saying his only concern was for the league to find a way to end stick-swinging brawls.&ldquo;My concern,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;is some strong regulations be set in now that the accident has happened.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01729/6149924-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="572" height="932"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Green went on to play nine more seasons after his injury.</figcaption></div>Campbell&rsquo;s action was his severest since he suspended Montreal&rsquo;s Maurice (Rocket) Richard for 15 games in 1955. Richard struck linesman Cliff Thompson in Boston March 13.Postscript: Green is now coach of the Edmonton Oilers. Maki died in 1974 at the age of 29 from a brain tumor. &#9632;

f0021-01

Lookinn Back: THN-Oct. 31.1369

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02393/6149955-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Nevin served as the New York Rangers&rsquo; captain for six seasons.</figcaption></div>There are few young hockey players who haven&rsquo;t had The Dream.The setting is an NHL rink. The situation is the Stanley Cup finals. Naturally, it&rsquo;s the deciding game.The kid, still trying to make a name for himself, is put on the ice at a critical moment. He scores the big goal and his team wins the Stanley Cup.Bob Nevin lived The Dream. Almost to the letter.A native of South Porcupine, Ont., Nevin grew up an ardent supporter of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He really had little choice. He was part of the Maple Leaf system from about the time he could lace up skates without the help of his father.&ldquo;I think I was the first one to go all the up way through the Maple Leaf-sponsored organization from peewee,&rdquo; he said.In 1962, two years after breaking in as a regular, Nevin made it to the Cup finals with the Leafs. Up 3-2 in games against the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto was on the verge of winning its first championship in 11 years. Game 6 was at the raucous Chicago Stadium.The teams entered the third period in a scoreless tie. Bobby Hull scored for the Hawks midway through the third period and it seemed as though the series was headed back to Toronto.That was until Nevin&rsquo;s line was sent out by coach Punch Imlach.About 90 seconds after Hull&rsquo;s goal, Nevin tied the game and gave the Leafs the lift they needed to clinch the title. Dick Duff scored the winner soon after.For Nevin, it was one of the sweetest moments of his career.&ldquo;It was the biggest playoff goal I scored,&rdquo; he said.Nevin scored 16 of them during his 17-year career, but he&rsquo;d win just one more Cup. That came the next year when the Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings in five games.Midway through the subsequent season, Nevin was traded to the New York Rangers.&ldquo;That was a little tough at first,&rdquo; he recalled, &ldquo;but it turned out to be a great move for me.&rdquo;The smooth-skating, hardworking winger captained the Rangers for six seasons, from 1965-71.Nevin, now 55, also played for the Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers during his pro career. He is now retired in Toronto and plays a lot of golf during the summer. &#9632;

f0021-02

Bob Nevin lived ‘The Dream’ with big goal in ’62 Cup final

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01861/6149986-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tim Tookey and the Hershey Bears have an excellent mix of youth and veteran talent, making them the favorite to capture the American League championship. (Brain Winkler/BBS)</figcaption></div>Good news, Binghamton fans. For the first time in three years, we&rsquo;re not picking the Rangers to win the Calder Cup. That means they&rsquo;ve got a chance.The Hershey Bears have a better chance, though. With the American League turning to youth, Hershey&rsquo;s veterans-Tim Tookey, Mitch Lamoureux, Norm Foster, Jeff Finley and Stewart Malgunas-will be a factor in the playoffs.The following is our prediction of how the teams will finish this season. NHL primary affiliations, last year&rsquo;s records, division finishes and playoff fortunes are in parentheses. The top four teams in each division make the playoffs.<h2>ATLANTIC DIVISION</h2>1. Moncton Hawks (Winnipeg, 31-33-16. fourth, lost first round). Perennial 40-goal left winger John LeBlanc returns, along with center Rob Murray and forward Andy Brickley. Former St. John&rsquo;s center Dave Tomlinson was signed as a free agent. Rookie center Harijs Vitolinsh could be rookie of the year. Sean Gauthier and Mark Richards return in goal.2. St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs (Toronto, 4126-13, first, lost division final). With Damian Rhodes expected to stay in Toronto, goaltending is a huge concern. Everything else is sound, with Yanic Perreault, Ken McRae, Todd Gillingham and Patrik Augusta up front and Curtis Hunt and Chris Snell on defense.3. Cape Breton Oilers (Edmonton, 36-3212, third, won Calder Cup). Losses to free agency were heavy-Bill McDougall, Shaun Van Allen and Dan Currie. But a strong group of youngsters comes in with Ralph Intranuovo, Dean McCammon and Tyler Wright, provided they don&rsquo;t make the Edmonton Oilers. Jozef Ciemy and Kirk Maltby are expected to have good sophomore years.4. Fredericton Canadiens (Montreal, 3831-11, second, lost first round). If third-year winger Pierre Sevigny sticks with Montreal, Fredericton will have no player with more than two years experience. But they&rsquo;ll be large with Brent Bilodeau (6-foot-3, 220), Gerry Fleming (6-foot-4, 225), Donald Brashear (6-foot-3, 220), Craig Darby (6-foot-3, 215) and Turner Stevenson (6-foot-3,215).5. Saint John Flames (Calgary, transferred from Salt Lake City of IHL). The nucleus of a solid team was formed through free-agent signees Mike Stevens, Mark Freer, David Haas, Dale Kushner and Len Esau. Brad Miller and Jeff Perry were also obtained in a trade with Toronto.6. Prince Edward Island Senators (Ottawa, 22-47-11 as New Haven, last in North, missed playoffs). Parent Ottawa is trying to figure out how to win, so that means roster instability for P.E.I.&rsquo;s first pro team. The goaltending will be superb if Darrin Madeley doesn&rsquo;t stick.<h2>NORTHERN DIVISION</h2>1. Adirondack Red Wings (Detroit, 36-359, second, lost division final). The Wings&rsquo; best goalie (Allan Bester), defenseman (Bobby Dollas) and two forwards (Chris Tancill and Ken Quinney) are gone, yet they&rsquo;ll still be competitive. Mark Pederson, Tim Taylor, Micah Aivazoff and Steve Maltais are capable veteran forwards, while rookie Greg Johnson could be the top rookie.2. Portland Pirates (Washington, 28-40-12 as Baltimore, fourth in South, lost first round). A young Baltimore team will be strong as second-year pros Mike Boback, Jeff Nelson, John Slaney, Jason Woolley and Ken Klee continue to develop. The goaltending will be very good if Olaf Kolzig doesn&rsquo;t stay in Washington.3. Providence Bruins (Boston, 46-32-2, first, -lost first round). The acquisition of all-star goalie Dave Littman is a big boost Andrew McKim and European stars Jozef Stumpel, Sergei Zholtok and Grigori Panteleev will carry the offense. The defense has size with Jamie Huscroft and Darren Stolk, but it is inconsistent.4. Albany River Rats (New Jersey, 33-3611 as Utica, third in South, lost first round). The forwards are good with Dave Emma, Jarrod Skalde and Jason Miller-all potential New Jersey players-along with Jim Dowd, Ben Hankinson, and Donevan Hextall. The defense is solid, while two of Martin Brodeur. Corey Schwab and Chad Erickson will be the goalies.5. Springfield Indians (Hartford, 25-4114, fourth, lost mini-round semifinal). The Indians sustained heavy free-agent losses, but players such as Igor Chibirev, Jeff Bloemberg, Rob Cowie and Ric Bennett are expected to make up the difference.<h2>SOUTHERN DIVISION</h2>1. Hershey Bears (Philadelphia, 27-41-12, fifth, missed playoffs). The addition of veteran Norm Foster adds stability in goal. Stewart Malgunas and Jeff Finley will help on defense if they don&rsquo;t make the parent Philadelphia Flyers. Up front, veterans Tim Tookey and Mitch Lamoureux will be expected to score.2. Rochester Americans (Buffalo, 40-337, second, lost Calder Cup final). The Arnerks have a potent attack on wings with Jody Gage, Scott Thomas, Viktor Gordiouk, Jason Dawe, and Todd Simon. Rookie Markus Ketterer is sound in goal.3. Cornwall Aces (Quebec, 33-37-10 as Halifax Citadels, last in Atlantic, missed playoffs). Michel Mongeau, rookie Rene Corbet and Chris Lindberg head the offense, while Randy Velischek and Mike Hurlbut are expected to anchor the defense in front of goalie John Tanner.4. Binghamton Rangers (Rangers, 57-1310, first, lost division final). Seven of the top eight scorers are gone, so it&rsquo;s rebuilding time. Unless Corey Hirsch beats out Glenn Healy or Mike Richter in New York, he may return. However, the Canadian Olympic team is counting on getting him if he doesn&rsquo;t play in New York.5. Hamilton Canucks (Vancouver, 29-456, sixth, missed playoffs). Scoring was a big problem last season and Alek Stojanov should help. Stephane Morin will boost the offense, assuming he doesn&rsquo;t earn an NHL job. More is expected from forwards Neil Eisenhut, Sandy Moger and Libor Polasek. The goalies are Mike Fountain and Sergei Tkachenko.<h2>Coaches&rsquo; Comer</h2>Here&rsquo;s a seniority list of AHL coaches, their ages and backgroundsJohn Van Boxmeer, 40, seventh season with Rochester. Franchise leader with 267 wins.Bob Francis, 34, fifth season with Calgary&rsquo;s affiliate (Saint John). An AHL rookie coach.Paulin Bordeleau 40, fourth season with Fredericton. Has one playoff series win in four years.Marc Crawford, 32, third season with St. John&rsquo;s. Has had back-to-back 90-point seasons.Jack Mcllhargey, 41, third season with Hamilton. His team didn&rsquo;t quit after very poor start.Newell Brown, 31, second season with Adirondack. Former college boss adapted well to pros.George Burnett, 32, second season with Cape Breton. First rookie coach to win title since 1984-85Rob Ftorek, 41, second season with New Jersey&rsquo;s affiliate (Albany). Former NHL coach.Rob Laird, 38, second season with Moncton. Hasn&rsquo;t duplicated success in Fort Wayne (IHL).Don MacAdam 42. second season with Ottawa&rsquo;s affiliate that moves to PEI. Back home.Mike O&rsquo;Connell, 37. second season with Providence. Former rearguard for 13 NHL seasons.Barry Trotz, 30, second season with Washington&rsquo;s affiliate (Portland). A players&rsquo; coach.Jay Leach, 40, first season with Hershey. Fired in May after two years in Springfield.Al Hill, 38. first season with Binghamton. Rookie head coach after four years as assistant.Jacques Martin, 41, first season with Quebec&rsquo;s affiliate (Cornwall). Former NHL head coach.Joel Quenneville, 35, first year with Springfield. Veteran of 13 NHL seasons on defense.<h2>Fabulous Frosh</h2>Here&rsquo;s an early line on the American League&rsquo;s top rookies:Rene Corbet, LW, Cornwall. Nordiques&rsquo; pick led Quebec League in scoring last season.Ralph Intranuovo, C, Cape Breton. Speedster led Sault Ste. Marie to Memorial Cup title.Markus Ketterer, G, Rochester. Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; pick starred on Finnish national team.Greg Johnson. C, Adirondack. Great skater and passer. Top scorer in college.Harijs Vitolinsh. C, Moncton. Speedy Russian center could be next Dmitri Kvartalnov.<div class="sidebar">Schedules for the AHL, IHL and ECHL will be listed in our Oct. 15 issue. Schedules for major junior and NCAA will also be in this issue. &#9632;</div>

f0022-01

Chocolate Thunder

<div class="byline">By Dave Eminian</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01767/6150017-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jock Callander is back with the Lumberjacks and is reunited with high-scoring linemates Dave Michayluk and Perry Gancher. He spent last season with the Atlanta Knights. (Mel Balley)</figcaption></div>The San Diego Gulls are the sultans of the regular season. Come International League playoff time, however, they fly south.Two seasons ago, the Gulls compiled a 4528-9 record in just their second year of existence. But during the playoffs, they were swept in the opening round by the Peoria Rivermen and scored just six goals in four games.Then last season, the Gulls made mincemeat out of IHL opposition en route to a 62-12-8 season, winning the Pacific Division by an astounding 51 points.Following series victories over Peoria and the Kansas City Blades in preliminary rounds, the Gulls were upset in the championship final by the Fort Wayne Komets-in four straight games, no less.Now they&rsquo;re affiliated with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and under new coach Harold Snepsts and the objective is pretty much the same. The new twist? Extend winter another few weeks and avoid another trip south.The following is our prediction of how the teams will finish this season. NHL primary affiliations (if applicable), last season&rsquo;s overall records, division finishes and playoff results are in parentheses.The two division winners plus the next best two point-getters make the playoffs in each conference. If the fifth-best team in the West has more points than the fourth-best club in the East, the West club takes the East berth.<h2>WEST CONFERENCE</h2><h3>PACIFIC DIVISION</h3>1. San Diego Gulls (Anaheim, 62-12-8, first in Pacific, lost Turner Cup final). New coach Harold Snepsts&rsquo; intensity is perfect timing for a team that won everything but a title last year. Likely cuts of the Ducks include rookie-of-the-year goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov, defensemen Mark Ferner, Pat Thompson and David Williams. Dale DeGray, John Anderson, Don McSween and Hubie McDonough are back.2. Las Vegas Thunder (independent, expansion team). Czech center Radek Bonk will be the youngest player ever in the league at 17 and is a candidate to go No. I in the 1994 draft. He&rsquo;s surrounded by veterans Brad Lauer, Steve Gotaas, Patrice Lefebvre, Mark Vermette, Brent Ashton and Mark Habscheid. On defense is Jim Kyte, Jeff Sharpies and Rod Buskas with Clint Malarchuk and Peter Ing in goal.3. Phoenix Roadrunners (Los Angeles, 26-50-6, third in Pacific, missed playoffs). The addition of Peoria&rsquo;s 1990-91 Turner Cup players Dave Thomlinson, Jim Vesey and Dominic Lavoie provide experience. Ex-Chicago Blackhawk Dan Vincelette was signed. All-star goalie Rick Knickle, who is under contract to the Los Angeles Kings, should be in Phoenix.4. Salt Lake City Golden Eagles (Islanders, 38-39-5, second in Pacific, missed playoffs). This is literally a new entry, with the Islanders moving their farm team from the American League into the more wide-open IHL. The focus will be on defense. The offense will have to be provided by Brent Grieve, Chris Taylor and Scott Scissons. The No. I goalie will be Jamie McLennan.<h3>MIDWEST DIVISION</h3>1. Atlanta Knights (Tampa Bay, 52-23-7, first in Atlantic, lost division final). This will again be a team deep in talent, including a goaltending duo of Pat Jablonski and J.C. Bergeron. Forwards Stan Drulia, Jason Ruff, Jeff Madill and perhaps AHL playoff hero Bill McDougall form a powerful offense. Prospect Shawn Rivers and Rudy Poescheck secure the blueline.2. Kansas City Blades (San Jose, 46-26-10, second place in Midwest, lost division final). The Blades were the best team down the stretch using a high-speed offense. They expect the return of forwards J.F. Quintin, Ed Courtenay, Jaroslav Otevrel, Ray Whitney and captain Gary Emmons. Top rearguard Duane Joyce and Wade Flaherty will be the defensive workhorses for the Blades.3. Milwaukee Admirals (independent, 4923-10, first in Midwest, lost division semifinal). Milwaukee&rsquo;s strong roster makes this division easily the best in the league. Prominent players include ex-NHLer Gino Cavallini, former 50-goal scorer Sylvain Couturier, all-star Steve Tuttle and goal-scoring king Scott Gruhl.<h2>EAST CONFERENCE</h2><h3>CENTRAL DIVISION</h3>1. Cincinnati Cyclones (Florida, 27-48-7, third in Atlantic, missed playoffs). Playoff MVP Pokey Reddick went undefeated in the Fort Wayne Komets&rsquo; run last season, but the goalie is stuck behind John Vanbiesbrouck and Mark Fitzpatrick in Florida. Left winger Patrick Lebeau (100 points for Salt Lake) looks to beticketed back as well. The Cyclones signed treeagent center Don Biggs and winger Paul Lawless in the off-season.2. Peoria Rivermen (St. Louis, 41-33-8, second in Midwest, lost division semifinal). The bulk of scoring will come from centers, including rookie Jim Montgomery, possibly last season&rsquo;s scoring champion Tony Hrkac or returnee Kevin Miehm. Free-agent signees include Ron Hoover, Doug and Kevin Evans and Richard Pion. Ten-year NHL veteran Darren Veitch returns on defense.3. Indianapolis Ice (Chicago, 34-39-9, second in Central, lost division semifinal). Both the Chicago Blackhawks and Ice are retooling and will go with youth. The Ice lost Tony Hrkac (St. Louis), Brad Lauer (Las Vegas) and Sean Williams (Italy) for a total of 123 goals. All-star Sergei Krivokrasov would help if the Hawks don&rsquo;t keep him. Two-way center Jeff Shantz and Steve Larmer-type winger Hugo Belanger are Hawk prospects who should figure prominently with Indianapolis.<h3>MIDWEST DIVISION</h3>1. Cleveland Lumberjacks (Pittsburgh, 39-34-9, second in Atlantic, lost division semifinal). Jock Callander is reunited with Dave Michayluk and Perry Ganchar on a line that has terrorized IHL goalies for years. Much of the 1992-93 unit returns, including blueliner Jamie Heward. winger Justin Duberman and journeyman goalie Bruce Racine.2. Fort Wayne Komets (independent, 4927-6, first in Central, won Turner Cup). Can new coach Bruce Boudreau get out of his players what Al Sims did? The defending champion Komets signed Doug Wickenheiser, Peoria&rsquo;s leading scorer last season. Mitch Messier was acquired in a trade with Milwaukee for IHL alltime goal-scoring leader Scott Gruhl.3. Kalamazoo Wings (Dallas, 29-42-11, third in Central, missed playoffs). This looks to be pretty much the same cast that struggled last season, although the Wings signed free agents Neil Brady (55 games with Ottawa last season) and ex-Philadelphia Flyer Pat Murray, along with journeyman Glen Mulvenna and Mike Reier. Team-leading scorer Yves Heroux (38 goals) will return.<h2>Coaches&rsquo; Comer</h2>Here&rsquo;s a seniority list of IHL coaches, their ages and backgrounds.Tim Bothwell, 38. second season with Phoenix. Scored 28 goals in 502 NHL games.Dennis Desrosiers, 44, second season with Cincinnati. Only active coach to win Turner Cup.Curt Fraser, 35, second season with Milwaukee. Led team to third place in rookie year.Gene Ubriaco, 53, second season with Atlanta. Coached in five leagues and Olympics.Bruce Boudreau, 38, first season with Fort Wayne. Played 1,053 minor-league games.Dave Farrish, 37, first season with Salt Lake. Twelfth coach of Eagles in 25 years.Butch Goring, 43, first season with Las Vegas. Coached last three years in AHLKen Hitchcock. 41. first season with Kalamazoo. Has lost 140 pounds in three years.Paul MacLean. 35. first season with Peoria. Fifth Rivermen coach in five years.Rick Paterson. 35, first season with Cleveland. Earned two Stanley Cup rings with Penguins.Harold Snepsts. 38, first season with San Diego. Debuted with Peoria in 1991-92.Duane Sutter. 33. first season in Indianapolis. Replaced John Marks late last season.Jim Wiley, 43, first season in Kansas City. Won Adams Cup and Calder Cup as player.<h2>Fabulous Frosh</h2>Here&rsquo;s an early line on the International League&rsquo;s top rookies.Radek Bonk, C. Las Vegas. At 17, he&rsquo;s youngest IHL player ever.Jim Montgomery, C, Peoria. College linemate of Anaheim draft pick Paul Kariya.Jeff Shantz. C, Indianapolis. Gritty, defensive player who can also score.Chris Tamer. 0, Cleveland. Was CCHA&rsquo;s second-most penalized player in &rsquo;92-93.Bobby House, C, Indianapolis. Big pivot is sure to receive plenty of ice time. &lsquo; &#9632;

f0023-01

Play it again, San

<div class="byline">By Nick Gates</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01835/6150048-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Darren Schwartz scored 62 goals and 114 points for the Wheeling Thunderbirds and the team will expect him to wheel around and score the same way in 1993-94. (Photo courtesy of Wheeling Thunderbirds)</figcaption></div>Toledo&rsquo;s quest to retain the Riley Cup starts with a challenging trip through the Black and Blue Division.Three new teams were added to the East Coast League this season, bringing the total to 19. That meant realignment and the Storm was thrown into the newly created North Division.The Storm might just as easily have been tossed into a meat grinder. An unbalanced 68-game schedule means Toledo will be going head-to-head with Wheeling, the 1992-93 runner-up and traditional in-state rivals Dayton and Columbus. Also contending are Erie and Johnstown, playoff qualifiers the past three years.The following is our prediction of how the teams will finish this season. Last year&rsquo;s record, division finish and playoff fortunes are in parentheses. The top five teams in each division and a wild card team qualify for the playoffs.<h2>EAST DIVISION</h2>1. Raleigh IceCaps (37-22-5, third, lost East final). The IceCaps dealt from strength by trading one-dimensional right winger Bruno Villeneuve to Knoxville for steady defenseman Keith Whitmore. The special teams are always strong.2. Greensboro Monarchs (33-29-2, sixth, lost West wild-card game). The Monarchs persevered through a nine-week road trip at the beginning of last season and coach Jeff Brubaker wasn&rsquo;t satisfied. He recruited heavily and added scorers John Young and Brett Harkins.3. Hampton Roads Admirals (37-21-6, second, lost East semifinal). The team&rsquo;s failure to three-peat means a major player turnover. Fortunately, two catalysts return in leading scorer Victor Gervais (38 goals, 118 points) and goaltender Mark Bernard (10-7-3, 4.02 GAA.)4. Richmond Renegades (34-28-2, fifth, lost East wild-card game). Right winger Darren Colboume has 50-goal capability, while Brendan Flynn and Guy Phillips add punch. Defenseman Alan Schular is the key on the blueline.5.Roanoke Express (expansion team). Russians Lev Berdichevsky, Oleg Yashin and Ilka Dubkov will provide scoring punch while Claude Barthe stabilizes the defense. Nearly 1,000 season tickets were sold in a city which drew 45,998 last year and watched the Rebels leave for Huntsville to become the Blast.6. South Carolina Stingrays (expansion team). The Stingrays will have no problem scoring. Left winger Mark Green moves over from Louisville, where he scored 48 goals, and Kenny Thibodeau, a 40-goal scorer for Memphis of the Central League was also signed.7. Charlotte Checkers (expansion team). The Checkers picked up defenseman Doug Evans from Dayton and Brad Treliving from Columbus in the expansion draft. Former Raleigh sharpshooter Kirby Lindal is the offensive catalyst, while Wayne Muir (238 PIM) adds punch.<h2>WEST DIVISION</h2>1. Birmingham Bulls (30-29-5, sixth, missed playoffs). The Bulls are built around left winger Jerome Bechard (24 goals, 65 points) and all-star defenseman Paul Marshall. The team must shore up the defense-313 goals against, the most by a team with a winning record.2. Nashville Knights (36-25-3, third, lost West final). The Knights were candidates to win their division, but the departure of all-time scoring leader Trevor Jobe (85 goals, 161 points) and the retirement of sniper Troy Mick leaves them vulnerable.3. Knoxville Cherokees (19-39-6, eighth, missed playoffs). The off-season priority was to upgrade the league&rsquo;s worst special teams. Signing Scott Metcalfe, a first-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 1985, helps. Manon Rheaume is part of a goalie triumvirate led by former OHL star Fred Brathwaite.4. Louisville Icehawks (30-27-7, fifth, missed playoffs). The return of goalie Cliff Clifford gives the Hawks hope. He set league records in &rsquo;91-92 for games played (56) and minutes (3,151) before moving to the Colonial League. Sheldon Gorski is coming off a 51-goal season and makes the offense go.5. Huntsville Blast (14-49-1, seventh, missed playoffs). Worst-to-first is coach Steve Gatzos&rsquo; goal, but 500 is more realistic. High-scoring defenseman Steve Beadle and right winger Bob McKillop came over from the Colonial League to ensure a smooth takeoff.6. Huntington Blizzard (expansion team): Big is beautiful. The Blizzard started with 36 players in camp and most were more than six feet tall and 200 pounds. Coach Bob (Battleship) Kelly plans to build from the goal out. Netminder Chris French is an early candidate for rookie-of-the-year honors.<h2>NORTH DIVISION</h2>1. Toledo Storm (37-17-11, first in West, won Riley Cup). At least half of the Storm&rsquo;s championship roster returns. Several stayed in shape over the summer by playing for coach Chris McSorley&rsquo;s champion Anaheim Bullfrogs in the Roller Hockey International league.2. Wheeling Thunderbirds (40-16-8, first in East, lost final). The Thunderbirds thrive on tight defense and have the league&rsquo;s best penaltykilling unit. Leadership falls squarely on the broad shoulders of veteran Darren Schwartz, a goal-a-game scorer last season.3. Johnstown Chiefs (34-23-7, fourth in East, lost East semifinal). The Chiefs have just five or six returnees from a year ago. Defensemen are worth their weight in gold and Bob Woods and Perry Florio are a solid pair.4. Columbus Chill (30-30-4, seventh in West). Coach Terry Ruskowski is looking for more scoring. The Chill allowed the fewest shots on goal in 1992-93, but only three teams scored fewer goals. Solid defensemen Barry Dreger and Shaun Kane are back, along with 32-goal scorer Steve Strunk and Jason Christie.5. Dayton Bombers (35-23-6, second in West, lost division semifinal). A revolving-door policy won&rsquo;t be coach Jim Playfair&rsquo;s style. &ldquo;You look for better players and take what you have and work with it,&rdquo; he said. As many as three European imports have a chance to stick with the team.6. Erie Panthers (35-25-4, fourth in West, lost division semifinal). Coach Ron Hansis is faced with a serious rebuilding job. The Panthers&rsquo; top three scorers bolted for Europe and defenseman Bill Gall (24 goals, 71 points) is the highest-scoring returnee.<h2>Coaches&rsquo; Corner</h2>Here&rsquo;s a seniority list of ECHL coaches, their ages and backgrounds.Ron Hansis. 40. sixth season with Erie. Dean of ECHL coachesJohn Brophy. 60, fifth season with Hampton Roads. League&rsquo;s most intense bench boss.Jeff Brubaker, 35, fifth season with Greensboro. Known for ability to recruit players.Warren Young. 37, fourth season with Louisville. Has yet to have losing season.Kurt Kleinendorst, 32, third season with Raleigh. Proved rookie season was no fluke.Chris McSoriey, 31. third season with Toledo Silenced critics with Riley Cup triumph.Terry Ruskowski, 39, third season with Columbus. Eager to rebuild franchise.Doug Sauter, 40, third season with Wheeling. Handle-bar mustache and cigars his trademark.Nick Fotiu, 38, second season with Nashville. Ex-Ranger very popular in Music City.Steve Gatzos, 32, second season with Huntsville. Can play if team short of players.Eddie Johnstone. 39. second season with Johnstown. Got most from very little.Roy Sommer, 36, second season with Richmond. On hot seat with new owner on board.Barry Smith. 38, second season with Knoxville. Coach will have much more talent this year.Frank Anzalone, 38, first season with Roanoke. Gets another chance with Express.Bob Kelly, 42, first season with Huntington Battleship ready for rough maiden voyage.John Marks, 45, first season with Charlotte. IHL experience with Kalamazoo and Indianapolis.Jim Playfair, 29, first season with Dayton. Has tough act to follow in Claude Noel.Phil Roberto. 44, first season with Birmingham. Former assistant now calling shots.Rick Vaive, 34, first season with South Carolina. Former NHLer will have high-octane offense.<h2>Fabulous Frosh</h2>Here&rsquo;s an early line on the East Coast League&rsquo;s top rookies:Fred Brathwaite, G, Knoxville Had fourth-best GAA in OHL last season (3.67).Leonard Forshner, RW. Columbus. Has skills to become offensive force.Chris French, G, Huntington. Lanky native of Stroud, Ont., brings quick glove and size.Tim Sullivan, C, Nashville. Was Division II AllAmerica at Plattsburg (N.Y.) State.John Young. C, Greensboro. Michigan Tech product should make big impact on offense. &#9632;

f0024-01

Northern extremities

<div class="byline">By Dave Eminian</div>When the Muskegon Lumbeijacks made then-move to Cleveland last season, the franchise forgot to pack its Callander.But with the team coming off a season in which it failed to reach 90 points for only the second time since Larry Gordon took over the team in 1984, the time was right for the return of a man who was once its franchise player.International League all-star center Jock Callander signed a multi-year deal with Cleveland, turning down a termination contract offer from the NHL&rsquo;s Tampa Bay Lightning. With the Skipjacks, he&rsquo;ll be reunited left winger and former linemate Dave Michayluk.&ldquo;The return of Callander to the Lumbeijacks means a tremendous amount to us,&rdquo; Gordon said. &ldquo;Not only is he one of the most respected and experienced players in the game, but he has done a lot to influence the winning tradition of the Lumberjacks over the years.&rdquo; Callander, 32, spent the prime of his 10-year pro career with Muskegon, where he lead the Lumberjacks to Turner Cup championships in 1985-86 and 1988-89 and a run of six straight titles in the former Eastern Division.&ldquo;Cleveland was No. I on my list of places to play because of my association with Larry Gordon and the Lumbeijacks,&rdquo; Callander said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m thrilled to be back with the team because of the years I&rsquo;ve already spent with them.&rdquo;The three-time IHL all-star earned league MVP honors in 1986-87 and surpassed the 100-point mark four times with the Lumbeijacks.Known as a deadly power-play performer, Callander needs just 80 points this season to become the ninth player in IHL history to reach 1,000 career points.His 920 points-358 goals, 562 assists-rank 13th on the league&rsquo;s all-time list.&ldquo;We had been together for so many years that we really missed him last year,&rdquo; said Lumberjacks&rsquo; captain Perry Ganchar, another former Callander linemate. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re looking forward to rekindling the old magic from the winning years when teams feared us.&rdquo;The tandem of Callander and Michayluk were the guts and glory of that fear element, anchoring a line that always drew intense defensive coverage, yet seldom was slowed.Callander and Michayluk combined for 1,360 points between 1985-86 and 1991-92.As they head into the new season, they represent the IHL&rsquo;s top two active point scorers.&ldquo;We are building a solid core of veteran players,&rdquo; Michayluk said. &ldquo;The younger guys learned a lot toward the end of last year. They matured, and now, with Jock returning, it is only going to make us a better team.&rdquo;I-OPENERS: Former IHL all-star defenseman Rob Robinson opted to take a contractual buyout from Tampa Bay and sign a new deal with the Dallas Stars. He&rsquo;ll likely play for the Kalamazoo Wings this season.The IHL is working on finalizing a 1993-94 cable television deal with Prime Network that could put all 13 teams on the air at least once this season&hellip;The league&rsquo;s board of governors is scheduled to meet in Denver in late September, at which time it is to examine a number of subjects. Sources say there will be a revival of the salary cap issue.The Peoria Rivermen opened their training camp Sept. 12, the earliest in the league. The parent club St. Louis Blues split their training camps into major-and minor-league units, keeping 39 players in Missouri and sending six termination contractees to Peoria before camp started. Those six, along with a mix of IHL contractees and Peoria invites, gave the Rivermen 20 players to open camp.IHL all-time goal-scoring king Scott Gruhl will return for another season, but not with the defending champion Fort Wayne Komets. The Komets dealt him to the Milwaukee Admirals for ex-Kalamazoo goal-scoring ace Mitch Messier. &#9632;

Lumberjacks turn back pages to Callander years

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>Bickering between the Binghamton Rangers and Broome County (N.Y.) parks and recreation department officials has enabled the American League to showcase its product to Syracuse, a city that desperately wants an AHL franchise.Forced out of the Broome County Arena by a high school basketball tournament, the Rangers moved their Dec. 28 game against the Hershey Bears 70 miles north to Syracuse, N.Y.&ldquo;With the interest the American Hockey League has shown in that market and the interest they&rsquo;ve shown for getting a team, it was a perfect opportunity,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; managing partner Tom Mitchell.The AHL has been in Syracuse four times, but never for more than four seasons. The Syracuse Stars operated there from 1936-40, winning the 1936-37 Calder Cup. The Warriors were in business from 1951-54, the Eagles operated just one season, 1974-75, and the Firebirds played in Syracuse in 1979-80.But city and league officials believe Syracuse will support an AHL franchise, especially since hockey has enjoyed enormous growth throughout the U.S. in the last few years.The Syracuse University basketball team, one of the top programs in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, will be the major competition for the entertainment dollar.&ldquo;Despite our kind of poor showing in the past there, I think it&rsquo;s an ideal situation now,&rdquo; said AHL vice-president Gordie Anziano. &ldquo;I suspect we will have a franchise application on the books long before the end of the season.&rdquo;If a franchise does move to Syracuse, it won&rsquo;t be Binghamton. There was speculation the Rangers could move up Interstate 81 for the renovated On-Center rink.&ldquo;All the rumors of Binghamton moving to Syracuse aren&rsquo;t true,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;They got started because we&rsquo;re having to deal with some of the bureaucrats (in county government) across the street.&rdquo;The Rangers and county officials got into a spat last season during the Christmas basketball tournament. The Rangers&rsquo; traditional post Christmas home date was booked by the county officials for basketball. Mitchell convinced the county to take the playing court up and allow the team to play at night, but the county charged the team $850, half the cost of taking up and putting down the floor.This year, county officials said the team would have to pay the entire cost. Mitchell said his team will pay nothing and moved the game to Syracuse.&ldquo;Last year, the county&rsquo;s share of concessions for that one date was $4,600, we paid about $2,700 in rent and their share of the taxes on ticket sales was about $900. And then there&rsquo;s the taxes on restaurants and hotels around the rink,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;So for the sake of $1,500, the county lost between $8,000 and $12,000. It&rsquo;s ridiculous.&rdquo;But Syracuse isn&rsquo;t complaining.END OF A CAREER: Luc Gauthier, a stalwart for the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; AHL affiliate the past seven seasons, has retired to become a full-time assistant coach in Fredericton under Paulin Bordeleau.Gauthier, 29, joined the Montreal organization as a free agent in 1986. He played 532 regular-season AHL games with the Montreal system in Sherbrooke and Fredericton.HELPERS HIRED: The shake-up in the Hartford Whalers&rsquo; office prompted by Brian Burke&rsquo;s jump to the NHL front office had a trickle-down effect for the Springfield Indians. Paul Gillis was to be the assistant coach for Joel Quenneville, but the changes in Hartford elevated Gillis to the NHL as an assistant to Whaler coach Paul Holmgren. The Indians named former Whalers&rsquo; star Blaine Stoughton their new assistant coach Sept. 14. The 40-year-old spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the International League&rsquo;s Cincinnati Cyclones.The Moncton Hawks signed former NHL defenseman Charlie Bourgeois as a playerassistant coach and Binghamton hired former Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; defenseman Mike Busniuk to be Al Hill&rsquo;s assistant. &#9632;

Will league return to Syracuse?

<div class="byline">By Nick Gates</div>Independence Arena, the home for Billy Graham revivals, Elvis Presley concerts and The Greatest Show on Earth, will welcome back professional hockey Sept. 28 after a 16-year absence.The Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers are set to play an NHL exhibition game at the newly renovated 9,070-seat facility.Independence Arena is also the new home of the expansion Charlotte Checkers.Formerly known as the Charlotte Coliseum, the arena has undergone $4 million in renovations.The historic circular building is ready to take its place with The Scope in Norfolk, Va. (Hampton Roads), the refurbished Greensboro Coliseum, the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center and the plush North Charleston Coliseum as one of the top arenas in the East Coast League.Credit for upgrading the building goes to Felix Sabates, the Checkers&rsquo; owner and chief executive officer, and owner/president Carl Scheer. Their goal is to make Charlotte the league&rsquo;s premier franchise.The Queen City and sports go hand-in-hand. Charlotte is already the home of the National Basketball Association&rsquo;s Hornets and the AAA baseball Knights. The National Football League may put a team in the city with its next expansion.The foundation for a rebirth of minor-league hockey in Charlotte was strongly in place because of the city&rsquo;s deep hockey roots, which go back almost 40 years.Hockey debuted in Charlotte in 1956, one year after the Arena opened. A fire wiped out the home of the Baltimore Clippers of the Eastern League, so the Clippers moved their remaining games to Charlotte and sold out each one.The next year, the Checkers officially joined the EHL. They moved to the Southern League and were still going strong in 1977, but the SHL folded because of dwindling attendance in other locations. &ldquo;Hockey never really died in Charlotte,&rdquo; said ECHL Commissioner Pat Kelly, a former Checkers&rsquo; coach. &ldquo;The league died.&rdquo;FEARLESS FRANK: The Nashville Knights dumped Frank Anzalone as coach during the late stages of the 1991-92 season and it took him more than a year to get a job with another team.Now, he is building the Roanoke Express from scratch and worked tirelessly over the summer recruiting.&ldquo;He is working his rear end off,&rdquo; said Greensboro Monarchs&rsquo; coach Jeff Brubaker. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been bumping into him all the time.&rdquo;COST CONSCIOUS: The Huntington Blizzard, Knoxville Cherokees and Wheeling Thunderbirds will hold training camp together at Wheeling, West Va., to cut costs.The Knoxville Cherokees will hold two days of workouts in Knoxville before joining the Blizzard and Thunderbirds.Wheeling general manager Larry Kish formulated the plan.&ldquo;We think Larry&rsquo;s idea of a shared training camp is very sound, but it also is great for the players trying out,&rdquo; said Huntington coach Bob Kelly. They have triple the exposure.&rdquo;TV PACKAGE: The ECHL will likely have a televised Game of the Week in place by Nov. 15.A 10-game schedule on consecutive weeks beginning in mid-January and continuing through the end of the regular season appears to be in place. Sunbelt Video, a production company based in Charlotte, N.C., will broadcast the games.&ldquo;We just got the go ahead from Bud Gingher (head of the ECHL board of governors) to pursue this,&rdquo; said ECHL marketing director Ted Cox.Cox and Louisville&rsquo;s Dave Alcorta, who is on the TV committee, were cleared to begin securing corporate sponsors. The coverage would blanket all ECHL markets and has the potential to reach about 21 million subscribers. &#9632;

Hockey night in Charlotte makes long-awaited return

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>Goalie wars broke out between the Ontario League&rsquo;s Detroit Jr. Red Wings and the Bowling Green State University Falcons.Bowling Green goalie Aaron Ellis has defected to the Jr. Wings and it has left Falcons&rsquo; coach Jerry York seeing red.York was upset Jr. Wings&rsquo; general manager Jim Rutherford didn&rsquo;t inform him he was conducting talks with the Falcons&rsquo; No. I goalie.But Rutherford fired back that U.S. colleges never inform junior teams when they&rsquo;re talking with players the OHL has already drafted.In the end, Ellis is a Jr. Wing and will be the team&rsquo;s last line of defense in its battles in the Emms Division.Ellis, 19, from New Palestine, Ind., was set to begin his sophomore year at Bowling Green when he contacted the Jr. Wings.&ldquo;I figured this was the best decision for me,&rdquo; said Ellis, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association&rsquo;s freshman goalie of the year in 199293. He had a 14-10-2 record and 3.70 goals-against average. &ldquo;There will be more games for me to play and I felt this would be a step forward in my hockey career.&rdquo;Ellis was the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; 11th-round draft pick out of high school in 1992.&ldquo;I first talked to Detroit in the spring, but I wasn&rsquo;t real interested in the OHL at that point,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I talked to them again (in late August) and then I ran everything by Quebec and they thought it was a good decision.&rdquo;Ellis, invited to the U.S. national junior team summer camp, was also disappointed that despite being Bowling Green&rsquo;s top goalie, he was only on a partial scholarship.Another concern was the fact Bowling Green went out in the summer and recruited another goalie. York said that was done because Ellis had become academically ineligible.Ellis attended summer school to improve his grade point average and regain his athletic eligibility for the start of this school year.&ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t wait until July to see what was going to happen (with Ellis&rsquo;s grade),&rdquo; York said. &ldquo;But he was still our No. I goalie&hellip;I just don&rsquo;t think Aaron seemed interested in school.&rdquo;Rutherford has never seen Ellis play, but said he comes highly recommended by Quebec.&ldquo;Everyone I spoke to said he&rsquo;ll make a good OHL goalie,&rdquo; Rutherford said.ROYAL PAIN: The Newmarket Royals might lose center Jason Bonsignore. He&rsquo;s with the U.S. Olympic team at a pre-training camp tournament in Alaska and from many reports has a good chance of making the roster for the Lillehammer Games.Bonsignore. 17, from Rochester, N.Y., is pegged as one of the top picks for the 1994 NHL draft. The events leading up to Bonsignore leaving the Royals on Sept. 12 upset coach-GM Don Boyd.&ldquo;There was no indication Jason was even being invited or how long he&rsquo;ll be there.&rdquo; Boyd said. &ldquo;We learned from his representative, Pat Morris. Jason was leaving. We never heard anything from Hockey USA. It&rsquo;s called professional courtesy.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to wish him any bad luck, but he&rsquo;s important for us.&rdquo;DARWIN&rsquo;S THEORY: Howard Darwin hopes the success he had at the gate with his new Ottawa Lynx baseball club will spill over to his Ottawa 67&rsquo;s hockey team.Darwin, a co-owner of the 67&rsquo;s, brought a AAA expansion franchise to Canada&rsquo;s capital this summer and the Lynx broke the International League&rsquo;s 47-year-old attendance record with more than 676,000 fans.The Lynx, a Montreal Expos&rsquo; farm team, had 46 sellouts in its new 10,000-seat stadium and made it to the East Division final. The franchise cost Darwin $5 million (U.S.) His total investment is $12 million (Cdn.).The 67&rsquo;s averaged only 1,900 fans a game last season when they finished at the bottom of the Leyden Division. The OHL club also battled the NHL Senators.&ldquo;The Senators stole the thunder, but we can&rsquo;t blame them,&rdquo; Darwin said. &ldquo;We had a bad team and when you have a bad team, you can&rsquo;t draw.&rdquo; &#9632;

Collegian bolts to Detroit

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div>Saskatoon Blades&rsquo; defenseman Chad Knippel is enjoying his comeback from a serious neck injury.He missed most of the 1992-93 Western League campaign with a compression fracture of the anterior part of the sixth cervical vertebra. The injury was sustained Nov. 4.&ldquo;I feel really good,&rdquo; Knippel said. &ldquo;My neck doesn&rsquo;t bother me at all. My timing is a bit off and I&rsquo;m having a few confidence problems, but it feels good to be playing again.&rdquo;The injury hasn&rsquo;t caused Knippel, 18, to play apprehensively.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even think about it when I&rsquo;m playing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel anything. There&rsquo;s a little bit of stiffness, but other muscles get stiff, too. I don&rsquo;t know if it&rsquo;s because of the injury or if it&rsquo;s just regular stiffness.&rdquo;The Sherwood Park, Alta., native was injured against the Regina Pats. He crossed paths with Regina&rsquo;s Niklas Barklund. who made contact with Knippel. He had no points and 29 penalty minutes in 12 games at the time of the injury.&ldquo;I never got hit,&rdquo; Knippel recalled. &ldquo;I slipped near the boards, locked feet with Barklund and the momentum carried me into the boards. Nobody could have done anything about it.&rdquo;The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Knippel wore a halo vest for the next three months.&ldquo;It was removed Feb. 5,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I won&rsquo;t forget that date.&rdquo;Nor will he forget life as a bystander.&ldquo;It was horrible,&rdquo; Knippel said. &ldquo;I wanted to play so much. They wouldn&rsquo;t even let me touch a stick for a while. As soon as the halo came off, I was on the ice all the time.&rdquo;Knippel had seven penalty minutes to show for the Blades&rsquo; first two pre-season games. He is expected to be a regular on the blueline.&ldquo;This is basically another rookie year for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I have to get back into it. Hopefully I&rsquo;ll have a good year, the team will have a good year and I&rsquo;ll get drafted.&rdquo;SCARY INCIDENT: Dr. Jeff Nacht. the Tacoma Rockets&rsquo; physician, is credited with saving a life during the team&rsquo;s recent trip through British Columbia.Following a Sept. I pre-season game in Kimberly, the Rockets embarked for Trail and came across an accident near the town of Creston.A car had hit a deer, flipped and caught fire. A truck driver pulled a man, who had a severe head injury, from the burning car.Nacht and Rockets&rsquo; trainer Steve Oviatt tended to the injured driver. Tacoma govemor/general manager Bruce Hamilton, a former firefighter, also provided assistance.&ldquo;All I did was help stabilize the guy and look after the fire,&rdquo; Hamilton said. &ldquo;When we pulled up, we knew we had problems. My main concern was to make sure there wasn&rsquo;t an explosion. Jeff did a remarkable job.&rdquo;The injured man was taken by ambulance to a Creston hospital. He was stablized and transferred to Trail and, subsequently, to Vancouver. As of mid-September, the man remained in a coma.&ldquo;The neurologist (in Vancouver) said he&rsquo;ll probably be blind, but they expect him to recover,&rdquo; Nacht told the Tacoma News Tribune. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s tragic he had the head injury, but I think if we hadn&rsquo;t stablized him and gotten him back to the hospital, he might not have survived.&rdquo;PRE-GAME PUGILISM: Tempers flared before a Sept. 3 exhibition game between the Brandon Wheat Kings and the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors.A four-man fight between Travis Stevenson and Brad Toporowski, both of Moose Jaw, and Wheat Kings&rsquo; players Chris Dingman and Sean McFatridge resulted in each player being assessed a three-game suspension. Both teams were fined $1,000. The game ended in a 3-3 tie.&ldquo;The league has not had an incident of this nature in a number of years,&rdquo; WHL vice-president Richard Doerksen said, &ldquo;and I trust that the fines and suspensions levied emphasize that it is something that will not be tolerated.&rdquo; &#9632;

Knippel resumes career with injury behind him

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div>Entering the Quebec League&rsquo;s midget draft this year, there was little doubt among general managers that Jason Doig was the top prospect. The problem was convincing the 16-year-old to play junior hockey in La Belle Province.Doig, a bruising 6-foot-3, 220-pound offensive defenseman, told the league&rsquo;s GMs not to bother drafting him because he was going to take the U.S. college route. But that didn&rsquo;t stop the St-Jean Lynx from taking him with the seventh overall pick.The gamble paid off and Doig is now wearing a Lynx uniform. But why the change of heart?&ldquo;Basically, it was my education I was worried about,&rdquo; Doig said. &ldquo;At first, the Quebec League didn&rsquo;t seem the best route for me. but out of respect I decided to give St-Jean a chance.&rdquo;On his first trip to St-Jean, Doig was surprised to discover the city is only a 40-minute drive from his home on the West Island of Montreal. He also learned there is a French private school where he could complete his high school education, at the Lynx&rsquo;s expense. Although English is Doig&rsquo;s first language, he has done much of his schooling in French.&ldquo;I also realized the level of competition is higher in junior and it is better scouted,&rdquo; said Doig, who had 11 goals and 27 points in 35 games last season with the midget Lac St-Louis Lions. &ldquo;I want to play in the NHL.&rdquo;Rumors have circulated the Lynx convinced Doig with a new truck and a $300 per week salary, but he denies them.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting paid the same as all the other 16-year-old rookies-$35 per week,&rdquo; he said.St-Jean coach-general manager Norman Flynn said it was important the Lynx convince Doig to play for them.&ldquo;Signing him was something we had to do for our team&rsquo;s credibility and the league&rsquo;s credibility,&rdquo; Flynn said.Doig said he hasn&rsquo;t had much problem adapting to play at the junior level.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot quicker and harder hitting, but that level of play keeps me more intense than in midget,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t let up. I&rsquo;m an offensive defenseman, but I know I can play defense too.&rdquo;Flynn was impressed with Doig&rsquo;s play during the pre-season.&ldquo;Jason will be a big part of our offense,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not bad defensively, but he&rsquo;s a rookie so he&rsquo;ll have some things to learn. He&rsquo;s definitely the top rookie in the league. If he doesn&rsquo;t win the rookie-of-the-year award, whoever does will be an outstanding player.&rdquo;CUP DECISION: The QMJHL&rsquo;s Memorial Cup committee announced Sept. 9 the regularseason champion will host the 23rd annual tournament, slated for May 14-22,1994.That team will be joined by the playoff champion. If the same team wins the regularseason and playoff titles, the other playoff finalist will be Quebec&rsquo;s second entry at the Memorial Cup.THEY&rsquo;RE OFF: The QMJHL kicked off its 25th season Sept. 9 with its oldest club, the Shawinigan Cataractes, taking on its newest member, the expansion Val d&rsquo;Or Foreurs. The Cataractes won the game 6-1 before 3,116 hometown fans.Shawinigan is the only city which has had a team every season since the league was formed in 1969-70. They were first the Bruins, followed by the Dynamos and Cataractes,Jean-Francois Robert has the distinction of scoring the first goal for Val d&rsquo;Or.WAIT TILL APRIL: This year&rsquo;s regular season is little more than a six-month exhibition schedule with 12 of 13 teams making the playoffs. Eight of 12 teams advanced to post-season play in 1992-93.The first round of playoffs will be a best-of-seven affair, with the first-place team playing No. 12, second vs. No. 11 and so on. The six remaining teams then play a format which will see the top three teams meet the bottom three in a two-game home-and-away series.The four teams with the best records after that will advance to the best-of-seven semifinals, followed by a best-of-seven final. &#9632;

On second thought, Doig pleased with decision

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01756/6150244-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="610" height="2852"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02469/6150237-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="596" height="2872"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03296/6150230-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="596" height="806"></div><h2>1993-94 NHL Regular Season</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04203/6150223-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="595" height="1895"></div> &#9632;

f0027-01

LOUISVILLE…THE SCORING LEADER!

<h2>Anaheim</h2>Sept. 17: Ray Alcindor, RW. Brett Barnett. LW, Dan Blysma, LW, Colin Foley, C, Eric Messier, D, Tim Hanley, D, and Greg Capson, D, released. Scott McKay, C, and Mark DeSantis, D, assigned to San Diego (IHL). Joel Gagnon, G, returned to Oshawa (OHL).<h2>Boston</h2>Sept. 13: Milt Mastad, D, returned to Seattle (WHL). Charles Paquette, D, returned to Sherbrooke (QMJHL). Trent Cull, D, Doug Jones, D, Perry Pappas, RW, Geoff Simpson, D. Gairin Smith, LW, and Robert Wallwork, RW, released. Sept. 20: Mike Bales, G, Vern Guetens, G, David Liftman, G, Bill Armstrong, D, Denis Chervyakov, D, Derek Eberle, D, Jamie Huscroft, D, Mark Krys, D, Kurt Seher, D, Darren Stolk, D, Brock Woods, D, Dennis Holland, C, Andrew McKim, C, Sergei Zholtok, C, Dominic Amodeo, LW, Roman Gorev, LW, Chris Marshall, LW, Mark Major, LW, and Scott Lindsay, RW assigned to Providence (AHL). Mike Bailey, G, Daniel Murphy, D, Scott McNair, C, Matt Robbins, C, Jason Clark, RW, and Derek Gauthier, RW, assigned to Charlotte (ECHL).<h2>Buffalo</h2>None.<h2>Calgary</h2>Sept. 9: Len Esau, D, and Dale Kusher, LW, signed contracts. Sept. 10: German Titov, C, signed multi-year contract. Sept. 19: Jamie Allison, D, returned to Detroit (OHL). Joel Bouchard, D, returned to College Francis (QMJHL). Darryl LaFrance, C, returned to Oshawa (OHL). Jesper Mattsson, C, returned to Malmo (Swe.). Marty Murray, C, returned to Brandon (WHL). Derek Sylvester, RW. returned to Niagara Falls (OHL). Mike Walker, G, Dennis Bonvie, D, Jason Horvath, D, Lome Knauft, D, Takayuki Kobori, D, Shane Peacock, D, Andy Bezeau, LW, Paul Buczkowski, LW, Toby Kearney, LW, Lonnie Bohonos, RW, and Damian Smith, RW, released.<h2>Chicago</h2>Sept. 8: Rob Cimetta, LW, signed free-agent contract. Sept. 12: Chris Bergeron, RW, Duane Dennis, LW, Dan Gravelle, LW, Stephen Maltby, RW, Trevor Burgess, D, Wade Gibson, D, Brandon Smith, D, and Mike Doneghey, G, released. Sept. 19: Mike Rusk, D, and Mike Prokopec, RW, returned to Guelph (OHL). Richard Raymond, D, returned to Kingston (OHL). Gerry Skrypec, D, returned to Newmarket (OHL). Eric Manlow, C, returned to Kitchener (OHL). Eric Daze, LW, returned to Beauport (QMJHL). Ryan Huska, LW, returned to Kamloops (WHL). Eric Lecompte, LW, returned to Hull (QMJHL). Andy MacIntyre, LW, returned to Saskatoon (WHL). Mike McGhan, LW, returned to Prince Albert (WHL). Layne Roland, RW, returned to Portland (WHL). Bogdan Savenko, RW, returned to Niagara Falls (OHL).<h2>Dallas</h2>Sept. 11: Lee Norwood, D, Glenn Mulvenna, LW, and Pat Murray, RW, offered training camp tryouts. Sept. 13: Dean Evason, C, signed multi-year contract. Sept. 14: Derian Hatcher, D, signed four-year contract.<h2>Detroit</h2>Sept. 18: Scott Cashman, G, Kevin Hodson, G, Benoit Larose, D. Igor Malykhin, D, Jim Bermingham, C, David Lacouture, C, Mike Casselman, LW. Brett Harkins, LW, John Hendry, LW, Dave Flanagan. RW, Craig Martin, RW, and Mark Woolf, RW, assigned to Adirondack (AHL). Dave Gagnon, D, assigned to Fort Wayne (IHL). C.J. Denomme, G, and Tim Spitzig, RW, returned to Kitchener (OHL). Jeff Walker, D, returned to Peterborough (OHL). Sylvain Cloutier, C, returned to Guelph (OHL). Ryan Shanahan, RW, returned to Sudbury (OHL). Norm Maracle, G, returned to Saskatoon (WHL). Trevor Hanas, RW, returned to Regina (WHL). Scott Loucks, RW, returned to Kamloops (WHL). Frederic Barbeau, D, returned to Shawinigan (QMJHL). Sept. 20: Bob Boughner, D, Dimitri Motkov, D, Jamie Pushor, D, and Kris Draper, C, assigned to Adirondack. Curtis Bowen, LW, returned to Ottawa (OHL).<h2>Edmonton</h2>Sept. 14: Luke Richardson, D, signed one-year contract. Sept. 15: Brian Glynn, D, traded to Ottawa for conditional draft pick. Les Sirota, G, and Jeff Sebastian, D, released. Sept. 19: Brett Abel, G, Joaquin Gage, G, Martin Bakula, D, Chris Belanger, D, Darcy Martini, D, Brent Pope, D, Terry Virtue, D, Craig Fisher, C, Peter White. C, Scott Allison, LW, Steve Gibson, LW. Colin Gregor, LW, Brad Zavisha, LW, assigned to Cape Breton (AHL). Rumun Ndur, D, returned to Guelph (OHL). Simon Roy, D, returned to Shawinigan (QMJHL). Alexander Zhurik, D, returned to Kingston (OHL). Kevin Paden, C, returned to Detroit (OHL). Kyuin Shim, RW, returned to Tri-City (WHL). Miroslav Shatan, C, returned to Dukla Trencin (Slovakia). Francis Ouellette, G. and Matt Hoffman, RW, released.<h2>Florida</h2>Sept. 17: Kevin Weekes, G, returned to Owen Sound (OHL). Chris Armstrong, D, returned to Moose Jaw (WHL). Alain Nasreddine, D, returned to Chicoutimi (QMJHL). Trevor Doyle, D, returned to Kingston (OHL). Briane Thompson, D, returned to Sault Ste. Marie (OHL). Steve Washburn, C. returned by Ottawa (OHL). Bill McCauley, C, returned to Detroit (OHL). Chad Cabana, LW, returned to Tri-City (WHL). Eric Montreuil, C, returned to Chicoutimi (QMJHL). Sept. 20: Sandy Galuppo, G, Shawn Krueger, D, Doug Barrault, RW, Marc LaBelle, LW, Scott Hanley, RW, Jamie Linden, RW, and Brad Smyth, RW, assigned to Cincinnati (IHL).<h2>Hartford</h2>Sept. 12: Igor Chibirev, LW, signed multi-year contract. Sept. 14: Blaine Stoughton hired as assistant coach in Springfield (AHL). Jim Agnew, D, retired. Sept. 15: Kimbi Daniels, C, Shaun Graviston, G, David Matsos, RW, Jason Prosofsky, RW, Dwayne Gylywoychuk, D, Vladimir Antipin, D. Mike Yeo, LW, Jim Powers, C, Guy Sanderson, D. Dave Morrisette, LW, released. Nolan Pratt, D, and McBain, D, returned to Portland (WHL). Shayne McCosh, D. returned to Windsor (OHL). Ken Belanger, LW/returned to Guelph (OHL). Wes Swinson, D, returned to Kitchener (OHL). Doug Houda, D, Brad McCrimmon, D/and Kevin Smyth, LW, signed multi-year contracts.<h2>Los Angeles</h2>Sept. 17: Jeff Mitchell, RW, and goalie Jason Saal, G, returned to Detroit (OHL). Shane Toporowski, RW, returned to Prince Albert (WHL). Jeff Shevalier, LW/C, and Sandy Allan, G, returned to North Bay (OHL). Frederick Beaubien, G, returned to St-Hyacinthe (QMJHL).<h2>Montreal</h2>Sept. 9: Turner Stevenson, RW, and Lindsay Vallis, D, signed two-year contracts. Sept. 10: Valeri Bure, RW. signed three-year contract. Sept. 12: Martin Brochu, G, Eric Raymond, G, Tim Chase, D, Marc Laniel, D, Sylvain Lapointe, D. Hiroyuki Miura, D, Kevin O&rsquo;Sullivan, D, Christian Proulx, D, Kevin Darby, C, Sebastien Fortier, LW, Ryan Kuwabara, LW, Tony Prpic, RW, assigned to Fredericton (AHL). Marc Lamothe, G, Craig Rivet, D, Keli Corpse, C, and Martin Sychra, C, returned to Kingston (OHL). Louis Bernard. D, and Alexandre Duchesne, LW, returned to Drummondville (QMJHL). Dion Darling, D, returned to Spokane (WHL). Rory Fitzpatrick, D, returned to Sudbury (OHL). Jeff Lank, D, returned to Prince Albert (WHL). Alan Letang, D, returned to Newmarket (OHL). Sebastien Borde-leau, C. returned to Hull (QMJHL). Darcy Tucker, C, returned to Kamloops (WHL). David Grenier, LW, returned to Shawinigan (QMJHL). Sept. 15: Grenier signed four-year contract. O&rsquo;Sullivan signed two-year contract. Darby signed one-year contract. Darcy Tucker, C, returned to Kamloops (WHL). Sept. 16: Lamothe signed three-year contract.<h2>New Jersey</h2>Sept. 12: Bill Bowler, C, and Justin Cullen, D, released. Bobby Carpenter, C, invited to training camp on free agent tryout basis. Sept. 19: Stephane Yelle, C, returned to Oshawa (OHL). Jeff Toms, LW, returned to Sault Ste. Marie (OHL). John Guirestante, RW, returned to London (OHL). Jimmy Provencher, RW, returned to St-Jean (CUAJHL).<h2>New York Islanders</h2>Sept. 15: Pierre Turgeon, C, signed four-year, $11-million contract. Sept. 16: Kevan Guy, D, agreed to terms on contract. Sept. 20: Scott Gordon, G, Kevin Cheveldayoff, D, Chris Foy, D, Kevan Guy, D, Joni Lehto, D, Rick Lessard, D, Darren Van Impe, D, Jason Widmer, D, Derek Armstrong. C, Tomas Klimt, C, Chris Taylor, C, Perry Anderson, LW, Wayne Doucet, LW, Dave McIntyre, LW, Martin Lacrois, RW, and Sandy Smith, RW, assigned to Salt Lake City (IHL). Daniel Paradis, C, assigned to Richmond (ECHL). Bryan McCabe, D, and Ryan Duthie, C, returned to Spokane (WHL). Carl Charland. D, returned to Hull (QMJHL). Rod Hinks, C, returned to Sudbury (OHL). Todd Bertuzzi, LW, returned to Guelph (OHL). Jarrett Deuling, LW, returned to Kamloops (WHL). Stephane Larocque, RW. returned to Sherbrooke (QMJHL), Peter LeBoutilier, RW, returned to Red Deer (WHL). Steve O&rsquo;Rourke, RW, returned to Tri-City (WHL). Jack Duffy, D, released.<h2>New York Rangers</h2>Sept. 20: Mike Gilmore, G, Jon Hillebrandt, G. Bob Babcock, D, Eric Cairns, D, Peter Fiorentino, D, Dean Kolstad, D, Lee Sorochan, D. Michael Stewart, D. Brad Tiley, D, Danny Beauregard, C, Ken Hodge, C, Shawn McCosh, C, Eric Murano, C, Sergei Olympiev, C, Mark Bavis, LW, Sean Brown. LW, Darren Langdon. LW, Mike McLaughlin, LW, Fredrik Jax, RW, Ed Kastelic, RW, Rob Kenny, RW.,and James Lavish, RW, assigned to Binghamton (AHL). Ken Shepard, G, returned to Oshawa (OHL). Dave Trofimenkoff, G, returned to Lethbridge (WHL). Gary Roach, D, returned to Sault Ste. Marie (OHL).<h2>Ottawa</h2>Sept. 13: Patrick Charbonneau, G, and Cosmo DuPaul, C, returned to Victoriaville (QMJHL). Sylvain Blouin, D, returned to Laval (QMJHL). Sept. 15: Brian Glynn, D, acquired from Edmonton for conditional draft pick. Sept. 16: Norm Maiver, D. signed contract. Darren Rumble. D, signed contract.<h2>Philadelphia</h2>Sept. 13: Milos Holan, D, Ryan McGill, D, Andre Faust, C, and Steve Malgunas, D, signed contracts. Sept. 17: Shannon Briske, RW, returned to Portland (WHL). Paul Healey. RW, returned to Prince Albert (WHL). Chris Herperger, LW, returned to Seattle (WHL). Patrice Paquin, LW, returned to Beauport (QMJHL). Jeff Staples, D, returned to Brandon (WHL) Sept. 18: Scott LaGrand, G. Yanick DeGrace, G, Corey Foster, D, Aris Brimanis, D, Terran Sandwith, D, Yanick Dupre, LW. Tracy Egeland, RW, Denis Metlyuk, LW, and Claude Vilgrain, RW, assigned to Hershey (AHL). Vladimir Krechin, LW. returned to Windsor (OHL). Mike Maneluk, C, returned to Brandon (WHL). Sept. 20: Dan Kordic, D, and Sverre Sears, D, assigned to Hershey (AHL).<h2>Pittsburgh</h2>None.<h2>Quebec</h2>Sept. 17: Robert McQuat, D, returned to Oshawa (OHL). Ashley Buckberger, RW, returned to Swift Current (WHL). David Ling, RW, returned to Kingston (OHL). Christian Matte, RW, returned to Granby (QMJHL). Paul Krake, G, Patrick Labrecque, G, Steve Passmore, G, David Craievich, D, Mark Matier, D, Jeff Parrott, D, Blair Scott, D, Randy Velischek. D, Dean Zayonce, D, Niklas Andersson, C, Murray Garbutt, C, Mike Jickling, C, Eric Veilleux, C, Paul Willett, C, Wade Klippenstein, LW, Rick Kowalsky, RW, assigned to Cornwall (AHL).<h2>St. Louis</h2>Sept. 15: Jamie Rivers, D, returned to Sudbury (OHL). Sept. 16: Maxim Bets, LW, returned to Spokane (WHL) Alexandre Vasilevskii, RW, returned to Victoria (WHL). Sept. 17: Ian Laperriere, C, returned to Drummondville (QMJHL).<h2>San Jose</h2>Sept. 10: Doug Wilson, D, retired. Link Gaetz, D, traded to Edmonton for a 10th-round pick in 1994 draft. Jay More, D, and Jeff Norton, D, signed contracts. Sept. 20: Trevor Robins, G, Dan Ryder, G, Bryan Schoen, G, Andrei Buschan, D, Mike Colman, D, Jon Duval, D, Sean Gorman, D, Victor Ignatjev, D, Duane Joyce, D, Terry Menard, D, Jon Morris, C, Troy Frederick. LW, Gordie Frantti, LW, Jeff McLean. LW, J.F. Quintin, LW, Mikhail Kravets, RW, and Stephen Tepper, RW, assigned to Kansas City (IHL). Jeff Salajko, G, and Fredrik Oduya, RW, returned to Ottawa (OHL). Ryan Smith, D, returned to Lethbridge (WHL). Jamie Matthews, C, returned to Sudbury (OHL). Anatoli Filatov, RW, returned to Niagara Falls (OHL). Todd Holt, RW, returned to Swift Current (WHL). Pat Bingham, D, Doug Evans, D, Todd Huyber, D, Chris Potter, D, Jeff Sharpies, D, Scott Zygulski, D, Eric Bellerose, LW, Rick Judson, LW, Dave Pensa, LW, and Jeff Massey. RW, released.<h2>Tampa Bay</h2>Sept. 10: Marc Bureau. C, signed contract. Sept. 16: Drew Bannister, D, Kiley Hill, LW. and Tom MacDonald, C, returned to Sault Ste. Marie (OHL). Alexander Laporte, D, and Mathieu Raby. D, returned to Victoriaville (QMJHL). Tyler Moss, G, returned to Kingston (OHL). Derek Wilkinson, G, returned to Belleville (OHL). Ryan Brown, D. returned to Swift Current (WHL). Brett Duncan, D, returned to Seattle (WHL). Andrew Kemper, D, returned to Saskatoon (WHL). Wade Simpson, D, returned to Oshawa (OHL). Dennis Maxwell, C, returned to Sudbury (OHL). Ryan Nauss, LW, returned to Peterborough (OHL). Allan Egeland, C, returned to Tacoma (WHL). Mark Szoke, LW, returned to Lethbridge (OHL). Marian Kacir. RW, returned to Owen Sound (OHL) Sept. 20: J.C. Bergeron, G, Mike Greenlay, G, Peter Ahola, D, Scott Boston, D, Jeff Buchanan, D. Eric Charron, D, Eric Dubois. D, Shawn Rivers, D. Steve Larouche, C. Colin Miller, C, Martin Tanguay, C, Nick Vachon, C, Jean Blouin, LW, Jason Ruff, LW, Christian Campeau, RW, Stan Drulia, RW, assigned to Atlanta (IHL).<h2>Toronto</h2>Sept. 15: Felix Potvin, G, signed three-year contract. Sept. 18: David Brumby. G, returned to Tri-City (WHL). Paul Vincent, C, returned to Seattle (WHL). Rhett Trombley, RW, returned to Victoria (WHL).<h2>Vancouver</h2>Sept. 15: Garry Valk, LW, signed two-year contract Sept. 18: Aaron Boh. D, and Sonny Mignacca, G, returned to Medicine Hat (WHL). Rod Stevens, D. returned to Kamloops (WHL). Merv Haney, C, returned to Prince Albert (WHL). Peter Brearley, C, returned to Kitchener (OHL). Darcy Austin. G, Daryl Filipek, D, Mark Wotton, D, Troy Neumeier, D, Phil von Stefenelli. D, Sandy Moger, C, and Jay Mazur, C/RW, assigned to Hamilton (AHL). Sept. 20: Alek Stojanov, LW, assigned to Hamilton (AHL).<h2>Washington</h2>Sept. 16: Chris Labonte, C, returned to Granby (QMJHL). Patrick Boileau, D. returned to Laval (QMJHL). Chris Zanutto, D, returned to London (OHL). Frank Banham, RW, returned to Saskatoon (WHL) Sept. 20: John Varga, LW, returned to Tacoma (WHL). Roman Kontsek, RW, returned to Dukla Trencin of the Czech League.<h2>Winnipeg</h2>Sept. 8: Dean Kennedy, D, signed contract. Sept. 12: Andy Brickley, C, signed to contract. Sept. 17: Adrian Murray. D, and Larry Courville, LW, returned to Newmarket (OHL). Scott Langkow, G, returned to Portland (WHL). Martin Woods, D, returned to Victoriaville (QMJHL). Brad Woods. D, returned to the University of Manitoba (CWUAA). Russ Hewson, C, returned to Swift Current (WHL). Ivan Vologjaninov, LW, returned to Lethbridge (WHL). Sept. 19: Mika Alatola, LW, returned to Lukko Rauma (Fin.). Yuha Ylonen, C, returned to Jokerit (Fin.). Jeremy Stevenson, LW, returned to Newmarket. &#9632;

Training Camp Transactions

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0029-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01687/6150351-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0029-01

CLASSIFIED

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01786/6150382-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Calgary Flames like to have a relatively well-rested Joel Otto available to take all key defensive-zone faceoffs late in games.</figcaption></div>Every team in the NHL wants a Joel Otto-type center. A large, intimidating checker with excellent faceoff abilities and good speed.Joel Otto, however, dreams of opposing forwards having nightmares about keeping him in check.Sorry, Joel. It isn&rsquo;t likely to happen.The 31-year-old, eight-year veteran of the Calgary Flames is regarded as one of the NHL&rsquo;s premier defensive forwards and a superior faceoff artist. And the fact is, given his defensive responsibilities, he scores at a decent rate.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a shut-down guy,&rdquo; said Hartford Whalers&rsquo; director of player personnel Kevin Maxwell. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s big enough, strong enough and skates well enough to wear down the best players on the other team.&rdquo;Otto appreciates the compliments, but not the defensive specialist label. He understands what he does bestgetting in other people&rsquo;s faces-is important to the Flames, but that doesn&rsquo;t change the fact he feels he can contribute more.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m certain I can do more for the team than strictly be a defensive player,&rdquo; Otto says. &ldquo;For the amount of ice time I get, I should score more often.&rdquo;With Joe Nieuwendyk and Robert Reichel centering the top two offensive lines, the Flames aren&rsquo;t desperate for goals from Otto. That doesn&rsquo;t mean they don&rsquo;t appreciate his conscientiousness.Since becoming a regular with the Flames in 1985-86, he has averaged 18 goals a season. Only twice has Otto passed the 20-goal mark-in his rookie season when he notched a career-high 25 and three seasons later when he had 23. He scored 19 last season.&ldquo;I hate to say his job is to simply look after defense because that isn&rsquo;t the case,&rdquo; said Flames&rsquo; general manager Doug Risebrough. &ldquo;But there is a tremendous amount of comfort the coaching staff and team takes knowing this guy can play against the top offensive performers in the league and still give us the offensive contribution he currently offers.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s hard to imagine Otto producing more given his well-defined role. Time spent on the power play is limited, especially late in close games when the Flames prefer he reserve his energy for taking key faceoffs. Coach Dave King and his staff, who estimate Otto won a team-high 75 per cent of his faceoffs last season, use the big pivot for all crucial defensivezone draws.&ldquo;Where Joel is likely to be most effective offensively is down low, in front of the net and attacking out of the corner,&rdquo; Risebrough said. &ldquo;When he&rsquo;s in the neutral and defensive zones, his thoughts should really be on checking. Not on making plays.&rdquo;Otto is the first to admit he is sometimes a victim of his own stone hands. His mind says score but his hands don&rsquo;t react.&ldquo;It becomes very frustrating,&rdquo; Otto said. &ldquo;I get so caught up in my other responsibilities, so keyed up, when I get the puck I&rsquo;m too tense. I have to learn to relax a bit.&rdquo;<h2>Strength outmuscles speed on faceoff</h2>Doug Jarvis was quick on the draw but says in today&rsquo;s game, quickness doesn&rsquo;t count for nearly as much.&ldquo;Taking the faceoff has changed in the past few years,&rdquo; said Jarvis, one of the NHL&rsquo;s best draw-men during his 13 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers.&ldquo;When the (faceoff) dots had the &lsquo;Ts&rsquo; on them, centers were forced to stand in a set position. Players used to rely on stick quickness.&rdquo;Jarvis said now the most important attribute a good faceoff man must possess is strength.&ldquo;A guy like Joel Otto can get his whole upper body positioned over the dot which makes it hard for the other guy,&rdquo; said Jarvis, now an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars. &ldquo;They can tie up the other player and use their skates to direct the puck.&rdquo;Jarvis rates Calgary Flames&rsquo; center Otto, Ron Francis of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Peter Zezel of the Toronto Maple Leafs as three of the best power centers on the draw.He said smaller centers such as Randy Gilhen of the Florida Panthers, Troy Murray of the Chicago Blackhawks and Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens are three of the better small players who work the faceoff.&lsquo;They approach it differently,&rdquo; Jarvis said. &ldquo;They get right down on their stick and rely on speed.&rdquo;-Mike Brophy &#9632;

f0030-01

Defining Joel’s roles

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02531/6150420-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="380" height="538"></div>Dallas Stars&rsquo; defenseman Derian Hatcher has shown he can withstand the rigors of adversity. Unfortunately, success cropped up and threw him for a loop.After making a big splash as a poised rookie defenseman in 1991-92, Hatcher could barely tread water last season. In fact, he gurgled. His concentration was sporadic, his confidence was over-inflated. He made bad decisions on the ice and his minus-27 was the worst on the Minnesota North Stars.A sprained left knee that knocked him out of the lineup for almost two months was his second substantial injury in as many years.The Stars signed Hatcher to a four-year deal worth $3.6 million in the pre-season. They did so because he is so young, so big and so fast, the 1992-93 season could be remembered as professional puberty.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t feel he&rsquo;s that far away from becoming a player who can affect the game most nights,&rdquo; said Dallas coach-general manager Bob Gainey. &ldquo;The platform is there, he just has to build on it.&rdquo;That platform stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 205 pounds. Aside from a minor deficit in acceleration, the younger Hatcher owns the raw tools possessed by his brother, Washington Capitals&rsquo; standout Kevin Hatcher.&ldquo;I think I can do what Kevin has done offensively,&rdquo; Hatcher said. &ldquo;It might take a year or two, but I think it can happen.&rdquo;Kevin led NHL defensemen with 34 goals last season. His 21-year-old brother had four in 67 games. Overall, he has 12 goals and 31 points in 110 career games.Potential breakout players, and Hatcher is one, are genuinely rare and they often blossom in their third season.Hatcher&rsquo;s draft class of 1990 has already placed Owen Nolan and Jaromir Jagr into the upper echelon of forwards and Hatcher hopes to become their equivalent among defensemen.The Stars drafted Hatcher eighth overall and that fall he was returned to the Ontario League&rsquo;s North Bay Centennials.None of this seemed a precursor to Hatcher moving into the NHL the next season as a 19-year-old.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think he was ready,&rdquo; said Centennials&rsquo; coach Bert Templeton, &ldquo;but obviously he proved me wrong.&rdquo;At first he did. Hatcher ended up a first-round draft choice because he worked tirelessly to combat the on-ice awkwardness that came with his size.Once he reached the NHL, he was eager enough and mean enough to easily overcome the errors in judgement that come with youth.But once he had established himself as an NHLer, he slipped.His body has grown into that of a man, but his head hadn&rsquo;t been given enough time to follow suit.&ldquo;Maybe I was a little too overconfident last year,&rdquo; Hatcher said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tough thing to learn, to play consistently every night. But whether it involves taking things more seriously or whatever, I don&rsquo;t want it to happen this year.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03360/6150413-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="569" height="976"><figcaption class="caption-body">Derian Hatcher</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the natural evolution of a guy&rsquo;s career,&rdquo; Gainey said. &ldquo;People call it a sophomore jinx, but in that second season, players know who you are. You&rsquo;ve created a presence and some times, that&rsquo;s tough to live up to.&rdquo;If Hatcher matures on cue, the Stars have a bargain for a year or two. Punishing defensemen who can score 20 goals are multi-million-dollar commodities. Ray Bourque and Chris Chelios are the only defensemen to dominate physically and on the scoreboard over the last five years.If Hatcher takes longer to develop, he will do so at a comfortable salary. After making $150,000 last year, his wage jumps from $700,000 this season to $1 million in the second season and $1.2 million in the third.Renegotiation is built into the contract should Hatcher&rsquo;s growth pattern accelerate.The Stars and Hatcher are banking on it. &#9632;

f0030-02

Hatcher looks to rebound in Year 3

<div class="byline">By Jeff Jacobs</div>Paul Holmgren said he doesn&rsquo;t want to be responsible for a man not being able to walk.Defenseman Jim Agnew accepted Holmgren&rsquo;s straight-forward plea Sept. 14 and decided to retire from hockey.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to be the guy who says, &lsquo;Yeah, you can play,&rsquo; and then have Aggie be crippled for life,&rdquo; said Holmgren, the Whalers&rsquo; coach and general manager. &ldquo;That was a possibility.&rdquo;After undergoing the fourth reconstructive surgery on his left knee last January, Agnew was maniacal in his rehabilitation workouts. At training camp, he was as strong as any player in the organization in the bench press, second in body fat percentage and ran two miles in 11:58.But hockey can be cruel, and Agnew, 27, damaged the medial collateral ligaments in his knee in the first scrimmage Sept. 11 in Burlington, Vt.A trip back to Hartford to see Dr. John Fulkerson, who had performed the last surgery, produced bad news. Agnew returned to camp, talked with Holmgren and agreed to retire from the game.Holmgren said Agnew has a job waiting for him in the organization in scouting or coaching.Holmgren also talked to the team&rsquo;s finance department to make sure Agnew gets all of the money on the remaining two years on his $250,000-per-season contract and that the money would be spread out over a longer term.Although the former Vancouver Canuck played just 16 games in a Whalers&rsquo; uniform, he was a favorite among his teammates. Agnew wore a goatee last season and when he was injured, some of his teammates wore goatees in his honor.Agnew finished his NHL career with one assist in 81 NHL games, 65 of them with Vancouver.&ldquo;The reconstruction from last season went very well,&rdquo; said trainer Bud Gouveia. &ldquo;But he had three previous reconstructions. We&rsquo;re very upset for him, but there&rsquo;s not much more we could do.&rdquo;Agnew tried to make a turn in the first scrimmage when he felt his knee go.&ldquo;I got caught in a rut and got a zinger in my knee,&rdquo; Agnew said. &ldquo;It was a sharp pain. That was pretty much it.&rdquo;Agnew doesn&rsquo;t need more surgery at this point if he hangs up his skates now.&ldquo;For this to happen as fast as it happened, well maybe it&rsquo;s a blessing,&rdquo; Holmgren said.PRESSURE&rsquo;S ON: The Whalers offered defenseman Zarley Zalapski a one-year deal worth $825,000, but he decided to play out his option.&ldquo;The pressure is on Zarley now,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;He thinks our offer was too low. He has got to prove it every night now. That&rsquo;s great for a coach.&ldquo;My expectations are high for him. He is as skilled as any defenseman in hockey. And he made a drastic turnaround personality-wise as far as dealing with his teammates. I don&rsquo;t want to say he was arrogant, but he was aloof. We are hoping the turnaround will show up on the ice.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Brad McCrimmon, who will become the first Whaler to wear No. 10 since Ron Francis left in 1991, agreed to terms on a two-year deal for $700,000 per season. &#9632;

Recurring knee complications force Agnew to give up game

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div>Sylvain Turgeon finished last season as the Ottawa Senators&rsquo; leading goalscorer.But the veteran left winger started this year down on the farm with the Charlottetown Senators of the American League after flunking his training camp fitness test.&ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m upset,&rdquo; said Turgeon, his face as red as a P.E.I. lobster after his first AHL workout. &ldquo;I thought I was in good shape. It&rsquo;s upsetting.&rdquo;&ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m mad,&rdquo; said Senators&rsquo; coach Rick Bowness. &ldquo;I sent him because he&rsquo;s in terrible condition. When you show up out of shape, you&rsquo;re letting down your teammates. (The testing) shows who put in an honest effort and who put our book on the shelf and left it there.&rdquo;Turgeon was one of four or five players who did not achieve the fitness standards established for the team. He checked in at 189 pounds, well under his listed playing weight of 200 pounds, but his strength was less than it was near the end of last season when players were tested.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s weaker. Significantly weaker,&rdquo; said Bowness, who vowed to keep Turgeon with the farmhands for the first two weeks of camp, despite objections from director of player personnel John Ferguson.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s John&rsquo;s opinion, but it&rsquo;s my decision,&rdquo; Bowness said. &ldquo;If it was anybody else, the same thing would happen. You don&rsquo;t screw with my conditioning.&rdquo;The Turgeon controversy overshadowed the debut of the Senators&rsquo; top draft picks of the last two years-Alexandre Daigle, the $ 12-million kid taken first overall in June and Russian Alexei Yashin, second overall in 1992.Neither looked out of place as they attempt to make the adjustment to playing in the NHL.&ldquo;The speed. There&rsquo;s no comparison,&rdquo; said the 18-year-old Daigle when asked what was the biggest adjustment. &ldquo;The players are bigger and it&rsquo;s much faster.&rdquo;For the 19-year-old Yashin, there was also an adjustment in timing, but not the one you&rsquo;d expect.After two years with the Moscow Dynamo of the Russian Professional League, he was used to spending close to eight hours a day on the ice and in meetings at training camp. The NHL collective bargaining agreement allows clubs to work players for only three hours.&ldquo;In Russia, the only time you go home is at night,&rdquo; he said.AIR AL: Thirty-five-year-old Al Secord has taken a leave of absence from his pilot job with Great Lakes Airlines to try and land a job with the Senators.After a three-year retirement, Secord got off to a decent start in his comeback bid.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think he looked out of place,&rdquo; Rick Bowness said. &ldquo;If he proves he can help us, that&rsquo;s fine.&rdquo;Secord played in an oldtimers tournament in Cape Breton and through former teammate Rich Preston, he contacted Ferguson.His comeback attempt was stalled somewhat by a groin injury on the fifth day of camp.NOTEBOOK: The Senators and defenseman Norm Maciver are close to tying up the details on a new deal that will pay the slick, 5-foot-10 blueliner $2.6 million over the next four years.Goalie Peter Sidorkiewicz was examined Sept. 14 by an orthopedist hired by the NHL as the league attempted to resolve the trade dispute between the New Jersey Devils and the Senators. The dispute centers on the soundness of Sidorkiewicz&rsquo;s right shoulder, which required surgery during the off-season. He was dealt to the Devils after the surgery along with Mike Peluso for goalie Craig Billington, winger Troy Mallette and a fourth-round draft pick last June. The Devils contend the trade should be amended because Sidorkiewicz was not ready for training camp. &#9632;

Weak Turgeon farmed

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div>Hockey might be the world&rsquo;s greatest spectator sport, but Martin Straka got tired of watching it last season.After spending most of his rookie NHL year as little more than an interested observer, Straka is eager to be a participant. And the Pittsburgh Penguins are anxious to have him prove he deserves an ungraded role in their bid for a Stanley Cup.&ldquo;I hope this year is better for me,&rdquo; Straka said. &ldquo;I want to play here. I don&rsquo;t want to play in Cleveland. I want to play. I don&rsquo;t want to sit upstairs (in the press box).&rdquo;Straka surely won&rsquo;t spend much time there during the pre-season. With Mario Lemieux scheduled to sit out Pittsburgh&rsquo;s nine-game exhibition schedule recovering from back surgery, the native of the Czech Republic will get extensive ice time.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll definitely get a lot of opportunities to see him play in a lot of different roles,&rdquo; said general manager Craig Patrick.The Penguins didn&rsquo;t get much of a look at Straka last season, when he had three goals and 16 points in 42 games. He added four goals and seven points in four games with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International League.&ldquo;I got a chance to watch him play in Cleveland and I was impressed,&rdquo; Patrick said. &ldquo;I wish we&rsquo;d had a chance to watch him more regularly.&rdquo;Pittsburgh&rsquo;s management is convinced Straka has the speed and skills to be productive, but there are questions about how he will withstand the rigors of the NHL game. Straka is 5-foot-10, 178 pounds.&ldquo;The wear and tear is what I&rsquo;d like to find out about and we never got a chance last year,&rdquo; Patrick said.Coach Ed Johnston doesn&rsquo;t seem to be concerned about Straka&rsquo;s stature.&ldquo;He can play in traffic,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not afraid of traffic. He&rsquo;s a sturdy guy, he&rsquo;s quick and he&rsquo;s not afraid to take a check.&rdquo;Jaromir Jagr, Straka&rsquo;s countryman and close friend, said Straka understands he ranks behind Lemieux and Ron Francis on the depth chart, but still wants a chance to prove he can produce in the NHL.That&rsquo;s an opportunity he didn&rsquo;t get in 1992-93, when his playing time was restricted by coach Scotty Bowman. Straka hopes that will change with Johnston behind the bench.&ldquo;We want to get him going, because we have him in our plans,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;Now is the time for him to come to the forefront.&rdquo;Straka got off to a great start in the preseason, scoring three goals in a 5-2 win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Sept. 18.BROWN IN TOWN: One of the most intriguing candidates at Pittsburgh&rsquo;s camp is a familiar player around the Civic Arena. It&rsquo;s just that he never spent any time in the home team&rsquo;s dressing room until now.Forward Doug Brown, a long-time Pittsburgh nemesis while playing for the New Jersey Devils, was released by the Devils in September and landed a tryout with the Penguins.Brown&rsquo;s superior penalty-killing and work ethic make him a strong candidate for full-time work.&ldquo;I like every part of his game,&rdquo; Ed Johnston said.NOTEBOOK: Team officials are confident center Mario Lemieux will return to action in late October. Los Angeles back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins, who oversaw Lemieux&rsquo;s recuperation from back troubles during the 1989-90 season, has designed a rehabilitation program for the Penguins&rsquo; superstar. Lemieux&rsquo;s off-season surgery revealed he had some arthritis in his back, but there was no sign of disc herniation or muscle problems that he has had two operations to correct. Lemieux will miss the Penguins&rsquo; opening game Oct. 5 against the Philadelphia Flyers. &#9632;

Straka wants to be a player, not a spectator

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div>Now that the Montreal Canadiens have signed goaltender Patrick Roy to a four-year, $16-million contract, many of his teammates will be looking to cash in on the harvest.Five regulars entering the option years of their contracts are unsigned. The list includes defenseman Eric Desjardins, forwards Benoit Brunet, Mike Keane and John LeClair and backup goaltender Andre Racicot.Desjardins&rsquo; option year calls for him to receive $600,000, Keane $350,000 Racicot and LeClair $225,000 and Brunet $215,000.It&rsquo;s safe to assume all will be looking for healthy raises following Roy&rsquo;s windfall.But there&rsquo;s also the matter of Kirk Muller. The center, considered the heart and soul of the Canadiens, has one year and an option remaining on his contract. He&rsquo;s to receive $875,000 this season and just over $1 million next year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01688/6150523-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="577" height="629"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kirk Muller is seeking a deal worth $2.5 million per season.</figcaption></div>But managing director Serge Savard last season promised to renegotiate Muller&rsquo;s pact over the summer, saying it had become outdated. No talks took place in July or August, but they did begin in early September.And after what Roy received, Muller is expected to seek $2.5 million per season on a long-term deal. That would make him Montreal&rsquo;s second highest-paid player.The Canadiens are staring at a 25 per-cent payroll increase-at least. Last season, the payroll for 20 players increased 13.5 per cent over the previous year. Montreal had the third-highest payroll in the Wales Conference, behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers.The Canadiens made a $2.9-million profit in the fiscal year ending April 30. But the organization maintains it will be difficult to stay in the black.&ldquo;We realize the profit will be limited-if there is any,&rdquo; said Canadiens&rsquo; president Ronald Corey. &ldquo;But we also have to maintain our quality.&rdquo;Muller will have to wait before he can start earning a new deal. He sustained a separated shoulder in the Canadiens&rsquo; 6-2 pre-season loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Sept. 18.He will miss the remainder of training camp and could sit out the opening game Oct. 6 against the Hartford Whalers.NOTEBOOK: For the first time in six years, left winger Mario Roberge came to training camp secure in the knowledge he has made the team. Roberge, 29, was signed as a free agent by Montreal in 1988 after playing senior hockey in Newfoundland. He first realized things augered well over the summer, when he was signed to a three-year contract. Things got even better when Todd Ewen, the team&rsquo;s only other physical winger, was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Roberge scored four goals and eight points in 50 games. He had 142 penalty minutes&hellip; Lyle Odelein received a scare in a training camp practice when he was struck in the head by a puck from the stick of junior Sebastien Bordeleau. The puck caught Odelein on the bone beside his ear and it was feared he had sustained a cracked bone in his face. Fortunately, X-rays found no crack. &#9632;

f0033-01

Muller next in line for milhon-dollar deal

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div>Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; right winger Alexander Mogilny will miss the start of the regular season because of complications related to his right ankle injury.Sabres&rsquo; coach and general manager John Muckier said Sept. 14 his star right winger could be out of action until at least the end of October.The announcement was made as Mogilny was en route back from Memphis, Tenn., where he received a second opinion regarding his troublesome right ankle.&ldquo;Alex has some inflammation in the ankle and is going to have to go on medication, anti-inflammation medicine,&rdquo; Muckier said.The Sabres open the season Oct. 7 against the Boston Bruins. Mogilny will certainly miss that game and possibly as many as nine more.Muckier stressed that Mogilny&rsquo;s right ankle and leg, both severely injured in the Adams Division final against the Montreal Canadiens last May, are sound.He added that there is every reason to believe Mogilny will have a complete recovery. Muckier did note, however, that the winger would not skate during the recovery period.Traditionally, players recovering from injury need almost the same amount of time to get back into peak form as they spent away from the ice. And that&rsquo;s after they&rsquo;ve participated in a full training camp.&ldquo;Mother Nature hasn&rsquo;t been kind to us,&rdquo; Muckier said. &ldquo;When they really don&rsquo;t know, it allows for a lot of discretion.&rdquo;Despite Mogilny&rsquo;s injury, Muckier is still confident his team can get off to a good start. He said there is no reason to think Mogilny will have problems beyond the latest setback.&ldquo;He will be able to rehab on a daily basis,&rdquo; Muckier said. &ldquo;He just can&rsquo;t skate.&rdquo;Mogilny tied Winnipeg Jet Teemu Selanne for the NHL goal-scoring lead last season with 76.FLABBY FUHR: Alexander Mogilny&rsquo;s injury was the most serious setback during the early stages of training camp.Center Pat LaFontaine missed two days because of a minor groin pull and goaltender Grant Fuhr sustained a groin pull and did not accompany the team to Norfolk, Va., and Charleston, S.C., for the first two pre-season games.Fuhr&rsquo;s situation drew some criticism from John Muckier. For the second year in a row, the veteran goalie reported out of shape and overweight. This year, he was about 25 pounds over his playing weight of 190.Fuhr brushed off the controversy and said he traditional uses camp to get into shape. He maintains he will be ready to start the season.NOTEBOOK: Center Derek Plante is expected to join the Sabres from the U.S. Olympic team. Plante, 22, had a minor arthroscopic procedure done on his right knee after the Olympic tryouts, but was expected to recover to take part in the Sabres&rsquo; camp. The Sabres are quite high on their seventh choice in the 1989 entry draft, but his size-5-foot-11, 160 pounds-could work against him. The University of Minnesota-Duluth graduate can score. He led the WesternCollegiate Hockey Association last season with 36 goals and 92 points in 37 games. He was also runner-up to Maine&rsquo;s Paul Kariya as The Hockey News U.S. College Player of the Year.Dale Hawerchuk has been among the most impressive Sabres in camp. The 30-year-old center had three goals in the first full-contact scrimmage and looked sharp playing on a line with right winger Craig Simpson and rookie left winger Jason Dawe. &#9632;

Mogilny back on sidelines

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div>Breaking up is hard to do, even when it&rsquo;s a good idea.Boston Bruins&rsquo; coach Brian Sutter wants to separate Adam Oates and Joe Juneau, even though they combined for 244 points last season. The reason is balance: It took Boston&rsquo;s next five highest-scoring forwards to match the Oates-Juneau total.To split Juneau (32 goals and 102 points) from Oates (45 goals and 142 points) and return Juneau to his natural position at center on a second line, Sutter must find someone to replace Juneau on Oates&rsquo; left side.Daniel Marois, whose career has stalled since 30-plus goals in his first two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, is getting the chance.&ldquo;He understands there&rsquo;s the challenge of his life sitting right here,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;We need someone who&rsquo;s going to be there consistently for us and he&rsquo;s a goalscorer.&rdquo;Inconsistency and injuries have grounded Marois&rsquo; career to a halt since 1990-91, when he fell to 21 goals from 39 in &rsquo;89-90. The Maple Leafs traded him to the New York Islanders at the 1992 deadline, by which point Marois had just 15 goals and 26 points in 63 games.His attempt to rebound in New York was derailed by a poor start, an ankle injury that cost him 13 games and then a back problem. Boston acquired him near the trade deadline for a conditional draft pick in 1994, but he never played after the trade. Marois had surgery to repair a herniated disc April 2.&ldquo;Every day I go on the ice I feel great.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;1 have no complaints now.&rdquo;That includes moving from right to left wing.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mind,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Either side, it&rsquo;s still the same job. I just want to prove myself. I want to be ready for the first game and give what I can give, like I did before.&rdquo;Sutter hopes either Marois or Dmitri Kvartalnov, who scored most of last year&rsquo;s 30 goals from the right wing, can show they&rsquo;re capable of the same from the left. Marois, 24, badly needs a good season, but won&rsquo;t look at this as a life-or-death issue.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not desperate,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There are people a lot worse off than me. I think I&rsquo;ve learned and grown from everything that has happened and I just want to keep growing. This is very exciting for me.&rdquo;SWAN SONG?: Defenseman Glen Wesley, coming off the toughest of his six seasons in Boston (64 games, career-low 33 points), chose to play out his option at the Sept. 10 deadline.Wesley was stung by the Bruins&rsquo; offer of $500,000 (U.S.)-a $225,000 cut from last year-and agent Rick Curran said the choice to play out the option was made so Wesley is only bound to the Bruins for this season, after which he&rsquo;ll be a free agent.&ldquo;If your boss offered you a one-third pay cut, how welcome would you feel?&rdquo; Curran said.&ldquo;An offer like that,&rdquo; Wesley said, &ldquo;makes you feel like they don&rsquo;t want you around.&rdquo;Assistant general manager Mike Milbury, who handled the negotiations, said the Bruins don&rsquo;t necessarily want to part with Wesley, but added. &ldquo;I want him to play better. Wes had some good years for us and I think he can be a good player. It&rsquo;ll be interesting to see how the season evolves for him.&rdquo;Milbury said he tried to arrange a trade over the summer at Wesley&rsquo;s request, but couldn&rsquo;t get a fair deal.NOTEBOOK: Right wingers Steve Leach and Cam Neely also requested option contracts at the deadline. Leach, who has scored 57 goals in two seasons for Boston, nearly struck a deal with the Bruins, but questions about Neely&rsquo;s knee made those negotiations difficult. Neely, who got through the first week of camp without incident, said he&rsquo;d prefer not to negotiate once the regular season starts&hellip; Goalie Joakim Persson, a 10th-round draft choice in June, didn&rsquo;t attend training camp because of a groin injury. The Bruins expect him to remain in Sweden this season.Winger Chris Marshall, a tryout candidate, made an early impression. A 5-foot-10, 170-pounder who spent the last three seasons in the East Coast League, he had four fights in three scrimmages-all against 200-pounders. &#9632;

Balance requires shift to left

<div class="byline">By Kevin Johnston</div>There is some doubt as to whether Stephane Fiset will flourish as the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; No. I goalie, but he maintains he will make people forget Ron Hextail.&ldquo;Now that he&rsquo;s (Hextall) gone, I have to prove to management they made the right choice when they protected me instead of him,&rdquo; Fiset said. &ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m ready for the big time.&rdquo;Fiset, 23, was handed the top job when the Nordiques traded Hextall to the New York Islanders before last June&rsquo;s expansion draft.The Montreal native has just 69 games of NHL experience, but he&rsquo;s confident he can handle the No. I role.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m satisfied with the way things have been going since the first day I jumped on the ice (at training camp),&rdquo; Fiset said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always had the misfortune of starting slowly, but I&rsquo;ve felt on top of my game since Day 1.&ldquo;I do feel pressure now that I&rsquo;m the No. I goaltender, but I&rsquo;m trying to channel that into a positive thing. In the past, the more I put pressure on myself, the more I lost my bearings.&rdquo;Fiset&rsquo;s attitude has changed dramatically since last season, when he was playing in Hextall&rsquo;s shadow. Confidence has been his problem, but he appeared in complete control at camp.The Nordiques&rsquo; third choice in the 1988 draft maintains his attitude changed last season after several talks with goalie coach Daniel Bouchard.&ldquo;Daniel made me understand I had to relax and stop thinking months in advance,&rdquo; Fiset said. &ldquo;He told me to focus on the immediate future. It wasn&rsquo;t easy because Hextall was here. I was at a point where whenever I would get a chance to play, I would tell myself if I had a soso outing I wouldn&rsquo;t get another chance. Daniel got me to concentrate on one game at a time.&rdquo;As last season progressed, Fiset became more dominant-to a point where many felt he, not Hextall, should have started against the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs.&ldquo;People can think what they want,&rdquo; Fiset said. &ldquo;Ron was a leader on and off the ice. We&rsquo;re all going to miss him. I learned an awful lot from him, mainly controlling the puck. I am proud to say I became a good friend of Ron&rsquo;s. He always seemed to find the right words to comfort me. He also helped me become tougher, helped me understand that I shouldn&rsquo;t be distracted by what was said and done around me.&rdquo;RANDY NOT READY: Randy Velischek may have played his last game for the Nordiques.Nagging back problems, which first flared up last January, kept the 32-year-old rearguard off the ice for the early part of training camp.Velischek participated in two skating sessions the first day of camp before being forced to stop.&ldquo;I thought things would get better during the summer,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But at 32 years of age, I guess the mending process isn&rsquo;t the same as when you&rsquo;re in your early 20s.&rdquo;Velischek, who is on a termination contract, is hoping he will be healthy enough to play for the Nordiques&rsquo; American League team in Cornwall. He was assigned to the Aces Sept. 17.NOTEBOOK: The contract dispute between the Nordiques and defenseman Steve Duchesne has intensified. Pat Brisson, Duchesne&rsquo;s agent, said his client won&rsquo;t play again in Quebec and wants to be traded. &ldquo;The Nordiques haven&rsquo;t upheld their promises,&rdquo; said Brisson, who works for agent Tom Reich. &ldquo;Steve feels left out in the cold.&rdquo; Nordiques&rsquo; owner Marcel Aubut responded to those comments by saying he never promised Duchesne anything. Duchesne is heading into the option year of his two-year contract that pays him about $900,000 (Cdn). He wants to be paid in the $1.1 million per year range and wants it in American dollars&hellip; Mike Ricci had a frustrating start to training camp. He sustained a pulled rib cage and is sidelined indefinitely.Owen Nolan&rsquo;s troublesome shoulder is bothering him again. He missed most of the playoffs last season and his weight training program may have aggravated the injury. &lsquo; &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

October 1, 1993

Hrkac gets another chance

Goalies to share workload

SCOREBOARD

Europe poses vexing problem