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.

March 7, 1997

The Hockey News March 7, 1997

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-028/6790152-1-eng-US/s0008-022.jpg" title="S0008-02" width="439" height="623"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dimitri Nabokov</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-0117/6790159-1-eng-US/s0008-012.jpg" title="S0008-01" width="201" height="200"></div>The Chicago Blackhawks are perched in that delicate area between contending and rebuilding.The Blackhawks have tried to work young players such as Jeff Shantz, Eric Daze, Sergei Krivokrasov and Ethan Moreau into regular roles with the team without jeopardizing their playoff hopes.&ldquo;What we&rsquo;ve tried to do is quietly re-tool,&rdquo; said Bob Murray, the Hawks&rsquo; assistant GM and scouting director. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the people in Chicago would stand for it if we missed the playoffs for five years, but we&rsquo;ve got to keep putting young kids in the lineup.&rdquo;Don&rsquo;t expect that philosophy to change with the next wave of young Hawks. Although Chicago doesn&rsquo;t appear to possess a game-breaking type player in its system, Murray likes what he sees.&ldquo;I think we have some big strong forwards who can play and have some character,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We think we&rsquo;ve got some big strong boys coming.&rdquo;Here are the top five prospects in order:1. Dimitri Nabokov: The Hawks love everything about the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Russian center, especially the way he has adapted to North American life while playing with the Regina Pats of the Western League.&ldquo;He fits in with his teammates, and (Regina coach) Richie Preston loves him,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something that always worries you about European players.&rdquo;Nabokov has impressed with his strength and a better-than-expected scoring touch, though it remains to be seen whether he&rsquo;ll be a consistent point-producer in the pros.Nabokov could make the jump directly to Chicago, but may need to spend a year in the minors.Acquired: 1995 entry draft, 19th overall.2. Jean-Yves Leroux: The 6-foot-2, 195-pound left winger had such a good training camp he almost stayed with the Hawks, but was ultimately shipped to the Indianapolis Ice of the International League.Leroux is a lot like Moreau, a grinding power winger, who skates well and uses his body well. And as is the case with Moreau, the Hawks are wondering how much he&rsquo;ll score at the NHL level.Acquired: 1994 entry draft, 40th overall.3. Christian Laflamme: Laflamme might be the type of steady defenseman who plays in the NHL a long time.The 20-year-old, projected as a top four NHL blueliner, has impressed everyone with his intelligence and ability to move the puck this season at Indianapolis.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not flashy,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t notice him, which is good for a defenseman.&rdquo; Acquired: 1995 entry draft, 45th overall.4. Mike Prokopec: Next year could be Prokopec&rsquo;s make-or-break season. The right winger will be 23 and already has spent three seasons in the minors.Prokopec started 1996-97 with the Blackhawks, but was sent out after only a handful of games even though he didn&rsquo;t do anything wrong. Team management simply felt there were more regular shifts waiting for Prokopec at Indianapolis.Prokopec is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound banger who isn&rsquo;t afraid to fight. His offensive ability is decent at best.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s still coming,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;It would have done him no good to sit in Chicago. With Mike, it&rsquo;s a question of how much he wants it.&rdquo;Acquired: 1992 entry draft, 161st overall.5. Tuomas Gronman: Gronman, 22, made the team in training camp, but wasn&rsquo;t getting many minutes before sustaining a shoulder injury in October. He was sent to Indianapolis when he recovered.&ldquo;He looks like he can play in the NHL,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He can be a steady defenseman who moves the puck.&rdquo;Acquired: Trade with Colorado, July 10, 1995.<h2>On the Horizon</h2>1. Dmitri Nabokov, C, Regina (WHL), 20,6-2,210,40-32-50-82-53.2. Jean-Yves Leroux, LW, Indianapolis (IHL), 20,6-2,195,51-10-13-23-73.3. Christian Laflamme, D, Indianapolis (IHL), 20,6-1,195,42-3-5-8-36.4. Mike Prokopec, RW. Indianapolis (IHL), 22,6-2, 190,48-9-13-22-123.5. Tuomas Gronman, D, Indianapolis (IHL), 22,6-3, 198, 27-3-7-10-52.6. Sergei Klimovich, C, Indianapolis (IHL), 22, 6-3, 189, 52-15-25-40-72. Two-way forward has made impressive strides in two pro seasons.7. Remi Royer, D, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL), 19, 6-2, 185, 16-1-7-8-60. Had a great camp with Chicago, but injured his shoulder early in season.8. Jeff Paul, D, Erie (OHL), 19, 6-3, 203, 52-4-21-25-145. Lanky defenseman has shown ample amounts of toughness and intensity.9. Geoff Peters, C, Erie (OHL), 18, 6-0, 180, 21-9-8-17-32. Gritty checker has spent much of this season on injury list.10. Marty Wilford, D, Oshawa (OHL), 19, 6-0, 216, 51-18-35-53-101. Has already doubled offensive output from last season. Keeps getting better.<h3>The Best</h3>Skater: Geoff PetersStickhandler: Dimitri NabokovShot: Dimitri NabokovBodychecker: Jean-Yves LerouxHockey Sense: Christian Laflamme &#9632;

S0008-02

TEAMS

More solid grinders on way

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01460/6788753-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0040-01

DEPARTMENTS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">By Jim Smith</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0014-0212/6789098-1-eng-US/s0014-022.jpg" title="S0014-02" width="429" height="613"><figcaption class="caption-body">J. P. Dumont</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0014-0119/6789105-1-eng-US/s0014-012.jpg" title="S0014-01" width="203" height="198"></div>Mike Milbury is trying to rebuild his New York Islanders in the mold of the Quebec Nordiques-tumed-Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche: by making a commitment to the young players he already has, making good first round draft picks and hoping the two groups mature together.The Islanders&rsquo; GM said the team needs three forwards to play on the top two lines with Ziggy Palffy, Travis Green and Todd Bertuzzi. One figures to be right winger J.P. Dumont, last year&rsquo;s third overall choice playing with the Val d&rsquo;Or Foreurs of the Quebec League.The other two, Milbury hopes, will be the forwards he takes in the first round this year. Both figure to be lottery choices. The Islanders have the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; first-rounder from last year&rsquo;s deal which sent Wendel Clark and Mathieu Schneider to Toronto.Here are the Islanders&rsquo; top five prospects in order:1. J.P. Dumont: There have been some questions about Dumont&rsquo;s desire and work ethic. Because he was at the Islanders&rsquo; training camp and because of nagging injuries, Dumont appeared in only 49 of the Foreurs&rsquo; first 61 games. Val d&rsquo;Or GM Michel Georges said Dumont has fretted over not having signed an NHL contract and &ldquo;needs to show up a little bit more.&rdquo; He said Dumont left school to spend more time strengthening his legs and upper body because he wants to be in better shape for the Islanders&rsquo; camp next fall.Milbury projects Dumont to eventually become a speedy game-breaker who could take pressure off Palffy, but he is not counting on Dumont making the Islanders until 199899.Acquired: 1996 entry draft, third overall.2. Jason Holland: Holland is the Islanders&rsquo; prospect most ready to play in the NHL. He was recalled from the Kentucky Thoroughblades of the American League after Rich Pilon was injured and got his first NHL goal in just his second game.Holland is a right-shooting point man whom Islander coach Rick Bowness hopes to pair with Bryan Berard on power plays, possibly as soon as next season. He is not overly aggressive, but is smart, plays well positionally, has fair speed and an excellent shot.Acquired: 1994 entry draft, 38th overall.3. Mark McArthur: McArthur was originally viewed as a longshot to make the NHL, but has madesteady improvement of late.He is stand-up goalie whose best attributes are a good glove hand and intensity. Improvement is needed on controlling rebounds and overcoming inconsistency.With Tommy Soderstrom on the verge of being bought out, McArthur figures to get lots of playing time with the Utah Grizzlies of the International League down the stretch and in the playoffs.Acquired: 1994 entry draft, 112th overall.4. Sean Haggerty: After lighting up the Ontario League last season, Haggerty has been disappointing with Kentucky. Too often he has done little more than float. He has blazing speed, but lacks 1-on-l shiftiness.By mid-season, the left winger had lost the confidence of the coaching staff and was playing on the third line. Since he doesn&rsquo;t have a mean streak and is not tough, he might have trouble moving up.Acquired: Trade with Toronto, March 13, 1996.5. Jason Strudwick: At 6- foot-4 and 207 pounds, Strudwick is still growing, but his skills are less than glowing. He is a crease-clearing defenseman who hits, but is a weak shooter. After 51 games with Kentucky, he had not come close to scoring a goal.Strudwick likes to use the lumber and as a result often gets caught taking cross-checking penalties. He must get quicker and develop a better shot to make the big club in the future.Acquired: 1994 entry draft, 63rd overall.<h2>On the Horizon</h2>1. J.P. Dumont, LW, Vai d&rsquo;Or (QMJHL), 18, 6-1, 187, 49-32-50-82-72.2. Jason Holland, D, Kentucky (AHL). 20, 6-2, 193, 48-11-11-22-25.3. Mark McArthur, G, Utah (IHL), 21, 5-11, 179, 18-14-4, 3, 12.4. Sean Haggerty, LW, Kentucky (AHL), 20, 6-1, 186, 51-9-17-26-32.5. Jason Strudwick, D, Kentucky (AHL), 21, 6-3, 207,54-0-6-6-1346. Dan Lacouture, LW, Boston University (HE), 6-2, 201, 20-8-5-13-14. Left school, then went back. Had just one goal at World Junior.7. Zdeno Chara, D, Prince George (WHL), 6-8, 231, 42-3-19-22-106. Tallest man in hockey was developing nicely before breaking arm.8. Warren Luhning, RW, Michigan (CCHA), 6-2, 185, 33-17-18-35-35. Has become complete player with powerhouse college program.9. Ken Belanger. LW, Kentucky (AHL), 21, 6-4. 225, 32-7-11-18-141. Former Toronto prospect has decent skills, but forte is physical game.10. Tyrone Gamer, G, Oshawa (OHL), 6-1, 164, 2-1-0, 3.62. Blew out knee going down flight of stairs in off-season and has just returned.<h3>The Best</h3>Skater: Sean HaggertyStickhandler: J.P. DumontShot: J.P. DumontBodychecker: Ken BelangerHockey Sense: J.P. Dumont &#9632;

S0014-02

Highest hopes for Dumont

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02933/6787582-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="162" height="160"></div>The end of the road, apparently, is in Edmonton.At least that&rsquo;s certainly the way it is for wandering Petr Klima, who has used up every chance he has been given and must now use every ounce of talent he has left to stay in the game. The Edmonton Oilers invited him for &ldquo;an assessment,&rdquo; but also made room for him on the roster by waiving David Oliver.Klima is unsigned, but will work on a contract for the end of this season.&ldquo;I always thought after 12 years in the NHL, one morning you wake up and you know you&rsquo;re done,&rdquo; Klima said. &ldquo;I woke up one morning back home and thought, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m not done yet. I&rsquo;ve got to take another shot.&rsquo; &ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t played NHL hockey since November when the Pittsburgh Penguins bought him out of his contract. He&rsquo;d started the year with the Los Angeles Kings, but struggled. The Penguins picked him up when they were looking for power play help.&ldquo;I went to Pittsburgh from L.A. and didn&rsquo;t get a sniff,&rdquo; Klima said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s square one.&rdquo;The Penguins sent him to the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International League when they had no further use for him. He played for a couple of weeks before the minors got to him and he headed for the comfort of Tampa, his expectant wife Irina and their first child.But he couldn&rsquo;t convince himself it was over. Klima has never really been in love with the game. He likes it, he has used it and it has always been there for him.But when he needed one more kick at it, there was only one place he wanted to try before he plays out the string in Europe.&ldquo;He played his best hockey here,&rdquo; said Klima&rsquo;s friend and advisor Peter Svoboda. &ldquo;He spent four years here and won the only Stanley Cup he ever won here. You don&rsquo;t forget those days.&ldquo;He knows this organization has treated him like no other organization. He may not talk about it, but he&rsquo;s grateful.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Oilers placed right winger David Oliver on waivers Feb. 20 and Toronto was said to be interested. Oliver has endured a frustrating season as a cheap insurance policy. He played in just 17 games and scored one goal. The 25-year-old had 20 goals last season, his second in the NHL. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not. mad at them,&rdquo; Oliver said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not mad at the situation. I did my job while I was here. It&rsquo;s a business. It&rsquo;s our life. I was willing to do anything I had to do to keep the possibility of me staying in Edmonton alive. I did that. Unfortunately it didn&rsquo;t work out. Why would you want to leave now? I was here when we had 8.000 people in the building. Now I&rsquo;m in the press box and I see 16,000. They&rsquo;re great. They&rsquo;re awesome. We drowned out &lsquo;Go Leafs Go&rsquo; for the first time since I&rsquo;ve been here.&rdquo;&hellip;Center Doug Weight&rsquo;s consecutive games streak ended at 314 when he missed a game in Anaheim because of a sprained right ankle. Right winger Kelly Buchberger took over the lead at 276 consecutive games. &#9632;

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NHL TEAMS

Klima hoping to revive career where he spent best NHL days

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden Editor-in-Chief</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04687/6786772-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="348" height="428"></div>Common sense warned us Graham James did not represent an isolated incident.But it did not prepare us for allegations that young boys were being lured to Maple Leaf Gardens for the sexual gratification of some arena employees during the 1970s and &rsquo;80s.There were, it seems, things more obscene than Harold Ballard occupying the hallowed hockey halls. Boys were granted entrance to the building and coerced with special access and souvenirs in return for submission to sexual deviants. (See pg. 4 for story.)Hockey, again, is seen as a powerful drug. It drove James&rsquo; victims into situations of abuse and it&rsquo;s alleged to have driven MLG victims into similar circumstances.Hockey, of course, is not the cause, it is merely the accomplice.Nonetheless, we are all left shaking our heads and wondering: What the hell is going on? When will it end?Reality is that it never will, in hockey or elsewhere. Not as long as there are vulnerable people and pathetic predators who prey upon them. It&rsquo;s a horrible thing when you understand twisted minds are using something you treasure for their own warped purposes. Perhaps, there is a place for fighting in hockey.Fighting back against these invaders.Other thoughts about this week&rsquo;s issue:&#9633; Senior editor Ken Campbell and writer Mark Brender sit across from one another at The Hockey News and share what they think are glib remarks, but this week they shared something else: glimpses into the future. Campbell did his usual excellent job of assembling Future Watch and determined a Quebec-born goalie is the highest-rated future star. Brender, meanwhile, talked to a Quebecbom goalie who has seen the future. Marc Denis earns the lofty standing as No. 1 NHL-affiliated prospect. (See 24-pg. pullout.)Gilles Gratton, former NHL and World Hockey Association goalie and current photographer, believes he has lived many lives in the past and at least one in the future. (See pg. 9).&#9633; Some questions have arisen over THN voting to determine the top 50 NHL players of all-time. (See pg. 6 for Letters.) The panel of 50 experts didn&rsquo;t compile names for the list of 86 &ldquo;elite candidates.&rdquo; The Hockey News did. And the experts weren&rsquo;t restricted to choosing those players. Also brought to their attention were 58 others, including virtually all those raised as worthy candidates by readers. Voters could include any player ever to play in the NHL. We trusted they wouldn&rsquo;t.<h3>PLUS</h3><h2>Can he score? Why, of Corso!</h2>1. One-man show Victoriaville&rsquo;s Daniel Corso scores seven goals, 17 points in two Quebec League games.2. Just like Mario Phoenix tough guy Jim McKenzie fires hat trick in 6-1 win over Los Angeles.3. Dino-mite Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Dino Ciccarelli moves into ninth on NHL&rsquo;s all-time goal list with No. 574.4. X-Bert coach Barrie beats Guelph 21 for Bert Templeton&rsquo;s 700th Ontario League coaching win.5. Sabre dance Buffalo continues miracle season with 10-game (5-0-5) unbeaten string.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021233/6786765-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="328" height="457"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim McKenzie</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03916/6786758-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="328" height="457"><figcaption class="caption-body">Daniel Corso</figcaption></div><h3>MINUS</h3><h2>Things looking bleak for Leafs</h2>6. Leaf woes Toronto flirting with last overall, prospects ranked 25th and no first or second round pick in 1997 entry draft.7. Truth hurts Boston management strips Adam Oates of &lsquo;A&rsquo; for speaking his mind about team&rsquo;s plight.8. Schoolyard brawl Fourteen players suspended after post-game brawl between New Hampshire and Providence.9. Weekend from heli Moncton thrashed 10-0, 10-1 on consecutive nights by Victoriaville in Quebec League.10. Sharks, Habs shut out In The Year of the Shutout, Montreal, San Jose have yet to record one.<div class="sidebar"><h2>NEXT ISSUE</h2>No team relies on one player for goals as much as the Washington Capitals do on Peter Bondra. Get the inside word on Washington&rsquo;s Minister of Offense in the March 14 issue. &#9632;</div>

f0002-04

IN THIS ISSUE

Hockey used as accomplice by predators

<div class="byline">Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011652/6786810-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="346" height="432"></div>Now that the NHL has narrowed its focus to six potential expansion sites-Atlanta, Columbus, Ohio, Houston, St. Paul, Minn., Nashville, Tenn., and Oklahoma City, Okla.-it&rsquo;s time to dispel a couple of myths.Myth No. 1: Houston is a dead-set certainty to receive a franchise.In truth, Atlanta is the only absolute lock because it meets every criterion-strong ownership, an arena that is certain to be ready by the fall of 1999, coveted geography and outstanding demographics, notably in broadcasting. In choosing the Chuck Watson-Bob McNair ownership group over two others (Leslie Alexander and the Maloof family), the NHL in Houston has all the same things going for it with one exception-the arena.&ldquo;We are going to have to have a very clear picture of what the (Houston) arena situation is long term,&rdquo; said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.Watson owns the hockey rights in the Summit, but it is not a suitable long-term proposition. A new arena must be built and the best chance for that to happen depends on Watson and the spumed Alexander, owner of the National Basketball Association&rsquo;s Houston Rockets, getting together. It could get complicated.&ldquo;If (the Rockets) are not involved,&rdquo; Watson told the Houston Chronicle, &ldquo;we go forward and cut a deal (with the city) and build an arena that can house an NBA team and NHL team. (Alexander) can join in at any point in time. He can be a lessee&hellip;or he can have ownership in the new building. It&rsquo;s up to him&hellip;but we&rsquo;re not going to wait for him. If we don&rsquo;t move forward, then we don&rsquo;t get the NHL.&rdquo;Well put. So until there is a guarantee of a new arena in Houston, there is no guarantee of an expansion team there.Myth No. 2: The NHL will grant two or four franchises, but not three.As buttoned-down, orderly and symmetrical as Bettman appears, the odd number (3) is not out of the question.There are two reasons for this.1. Of the six remaining applicants, only three (Atlanta, Houston, so long as the arena gets built, and ready-to-go Nashville) are solid enough to meet most of the critical criteria (ownership, arena, market size and location, broadcasting etc.).Oklahoma City is a charming darkhorse that will have strong ownership, an arena and appeal to the NHL as a state of Oklahoma team that includes Tulsa, thereby vaulting it up the TV rankings. But it&rsquo;s still a longshot.Columbus is awaiting the outcome of a May 6 sales tax referendum that will decide the fate of an arena there. No arena, no chance for an NHL team, although even with an arena, some NHL owners believe the city is much better suited as a relocation site because it doesn&rsquo;t do anything geographically to broaden NHL horizons.St. Paul has an uncertain ownership picture and equally shaky plans for a renovation of the Civic Center. It is the longest of longshots despite its attraction as a major TV market.2. If the NHL were to expand by only three teams, it would leave a vacant berth for what the league really needs-a presence in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Portland, Ore.NBA owner Paul Allen backed off and didn&rsquo;t apply to get an NHL expansion team for his Rose Garden Arena, but there&rsquo;s no doubt the league wants to be there and hasn&rsquo;t given up hope. Admitting two teams (Nashville and Houston) in the fall of 1998 and one (Atlanta) in the fall of 1999 or 2000 would give the league an opportunity to cut a deal with Allen in Portland over the next couple of years.The only certainty so far, however, is who won&rsquo;t be getting new teams. The NHL expansion committee dropped the H-bomb on the two Houston bids (Alexander and Maloof), Hampton Roads, Va., and Hamilton, Ont. Raleigh-Durham had already pulled itself from the running.Bettman said the Watson group won out in Houston partially because of its rights to the Summit. He said Hampton Roads was a smaller market than what the league&rsquo;s looking for and Hamilton&rsquo;s proposed plan of city ownership was a major drawback.Bettman said it will take a month to schedule site visits to the remaining group of six. It will take another month to conduct the visits. The expansion committee will reconvene sometime after that to make final decisions.&ldquo;As long as we are in a position before the summer to put this to bed, there is ample opportunity for the teams and leagues to do everything necessary to be ready,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;But if it takes longer (to make decisions) we&rsquo;ll take the time we need. We&rsquo;re going to do this right.&rdquo;Bettman said he expects the expansion fee to be $80 million (U.S.).<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021320/6786803-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1203" height="2139"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jaromir Jagr Pittsburgh Penguins</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0003-01

Exposing expansion

The superstars aren&rsquo;t shining this season so much as they&rsquo;re flashing.&ldquo;It seems they&rsquo;re having more ups and downs this year,&rdquo; said Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; goalie Dominik Hasek, who could wind up with the Hart Trophy because of it. &ldquo;Lots of injuries, too.&rdquo;The Dominator has been brilliant this season in posting the league lead in wins and save percentage-for the record, he had better numbers three years ago-but would he be the leading MVP candidate if one of Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Eric Lindros, Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic or Paul Kariya were on a season-long tear?The superstars are taking turns being dominant, but only sporadically. Wayne Gretzky lit it up early, seven goals and 22 points in 14 games. By late-October, though, Forsberg got on a roll with 11 goals and 41 points (tops in the league) in 31 games leading up to his thigh injury.Sakic picked up the torch to lead the league with 14 goals and 54 points in 40 games when he went down with a severe leg laceration.Lemieux&rsquo;s 26 points in his first 19 games belied how poorly he was playing, but when he and Jagr teamed up, he scored 15 goals and 38 points in a 15-game stretch. Ultimately, Jagr outshone him, especially during a 14-goal, nine-game run.Lindros missed the first 23 games, stumbled upon his immediate return and then led the Flyers on a 17-game unbeaten streak during which he had 13 goals and 28 points. He had five goals in 16 games after that.Kariya, who missed 11 to start, has not dominated to the same extent as others, but has been perhaps the most consistent superstar with points in 37 of his 46 games.Keith Tkachuk, Brendan Shanahan and Sergei Fedorov, meanwhile, have fluctuated wildly, too.Hasek has to be seen as most likely to fill the dominance void, although the MVP is there for any star capable of 20 games of late-season brilliance.And if Hasek were voting today? &ldquo;I would pick Mario,&rdquo; he said. &#9632;

Hasek Hart forerunner in unusual year

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011668/6786872-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="319" height="408"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rick Tocchet</figcaption></div>A weekly compendium of significant events and developments (Feb. 14-21).Feb 16: Ottawa beats Hartford 4-2 to set franchise single-season record with 19th win.Feb. 17: Boston gives teams permission to negotiate with right winger Rick Tocchet for possible trade. Tocchet becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season.Feb. 18: Peter Forsberg signs three-year contract with Colorado.Former Toronto Maple Leafs Gardens worker charged with indecent assault and gross indecency for alleged sexual assaults on teenage boys during the 1970s and 1980s.Feb. 19: Detroit&rsquo;s Steve Yzerman plays 1,000th NHL game, drawing three assists in 4-0 win over Calgary.NHL rejects expansion bids from Hamilton and Hampton Roads, Va. Six finalists are Atlanta, Houston, Nashville, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Oklahoma City and Columbus.Feb. 20: Boston&rsquo;s Adam Oates stripped of alternate captaincy.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021463/6786865-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="319" height="408"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Yzerman</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Forsberg signs on dotted line with Avs

<div class="byline">By Lance Hornby</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011598/6786927-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Accused sex abuser Gordon Stuckless, right, was arrested Feb. 18 by Toronto police. (Photo by Dale Brazao/Toronto Star)</figcaption></div>The allure of Maple Leaf Gardens to young fans has never wavered in 65 years, no matter how bad its hockey team fared.But shocking disclosures of a pedophile ring within its walls may forever tar the reputation of the NHL&rsquo;s oldest building.By Feb. 21, with one former worker under arrest and another deceased employee named as a &ldquo;ring leader,&rdquo; a parade of 13 alleged former victims from the 1970s and 1980s had come forward to tell a sordid story to Metro Toronto Police.Bribed with hockey sticks, Leafs and junior Marlboro tickets, autographs, concert tickets and free dinners, vulnerable young boys and teens say they were caught in a web of sexual abuse in remote rooms of Canada&rsquo;s foremost hockey shrine.&ldquo;Despicable&hellip;these (alleged offenders) are the lowest form of human life,&rdquo; club president Cliff Fletcher told a news conference. &ldquo;Hopefully the authorities will get to the bottom of it.&rdquo;Detective Dave Tredrea urged victims to come forward, saying dozens, if not hundreds of boys may be involved. Police and Gardens officials were also investigating reports that at least one offender may still be employed in the building as an usher.The story broke when 34-year-old Martin Kruze of Toronto went public with his experiences, which he said left him hooked on drugs and attempting suicide on several occasions. Beginning in 1975 as a 13-year-old, Kruze said he was assaulted over a seven-year period.&ldquo;They robbed me of my innocence,&rdquo; Kruze said. &ldquo;The Gardens was a haven for pedophiles.&rdquo;Two other victims now in their 30s also shared their stories with the Toronto Sun and Star, citing Kruze&rsquo;s courage at coming forward for their painful decision to talk.Police arrested Gordon Allen Stuckless, 47, a part-time Gardens equipment manager who often helped with visiting NHL teams&rsquo; baggage, and charged him with indecent assault and gross indecency.Stuckless had left his job for a few years in the mid-1980s to work as a teaching assistant in suburban York Region and returned to the Gardens for a brief period. He had just served 14 months of an 18-month sentence for indecent assault charges stemming from another job years ago.Kruze also named the late George Hannah, a former Marlboro minor hockey system equipment manager, who died in 1984.&ldquo;Hannah had always treated me well,&rdquo; said a shocked Mike Murphy, coach of the Maple Leafs and a former Marlboro. &ldquo;If someone had asked me about him and I didn&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;d just heard, I would have said he&rsquo;s a friend.&rdquo;The scandal threatened to rock the current Gardens regime as well when it was revealed Kruze brought a civil suit against the Gardens in 1993. It was settled last year, with Kruze receiving $60,000 from the Gardens insurance company with a confidentiality agreement that he and his lawyers not to reveal the case.The Leafs, who claim they thought the Kruze case was an isolated one, were questioned intensely about why they didn&rsquo;t go to the police instead of appearing to hush the matter up. Fletcher said they acted on advice of lawyers and their insurance company.&ldquo;If anyone went to the police, it should have been Mr. Kruze,&rdquo; Fletcher said.There remains the question of civil suits from other victims if it can be proved that Gardens management, from the Harold Ballard era forward, knew of wide-spread abuse, but did nothing. The Gardens staff, who&rsquo;ve always taken pride in its appearance and reputation, were stunned.&ldquo;This was supposed to be a place for children to come and enjoy hockey,&rdquo; said Dave Bujold, a 12-year veteran of the maintenance department. &ldquo;That someone would use that (drawing power) to lure them here and victimize them is sickening.&rdquo; One staffer wondered if the shame would ever be cleansed from the building.&ldquo;To think this was a place of agony for children,&rdquo; one staffer said. &ldquo;It besmirched the Gardens reputation. I suppose it will lessen in time, but it may never disappear.&rdquo;Many of the alleged attacks took place in a ground floor room, with a window covered by a Leafs&rsquo; mural and a door with a club logo covered in good luck messages by youngsters who wait for player autographs. Another infamous site is a dark 20-by-20 foot room for ventilation pipes that used to afford the kids a view of the ice. &#9632;

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Scandal hits hockey shrine

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN staff</div>NHL goalies were within seven shutouts of setting an unofficial all-time season high.Led by six goose-eggs each by Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche and Curtis Joseph of the Edmonton Oilers, NHL stoppers combined for 93 shutouts through Feb. 20 games. The high for shutouts in a season is 99, set in 1993-94.NHL goalies were on pace for 128 shutouts this season.The 42 goalies who recorded shutouts did so with impressive frequency. The 93 shutouts in 770 games represented 12.1 per cent of games played, the highest since 1969-70 when 15.1 per cent of games ended in shutouts. Worth mentioning is the fact shutout frequency dropped after the NHL issued is crackdown against goalies wearing oversized pads and blockers Dec. 15.Before the crackdown, 13.3 per cent of games ended in shutouts. After the crackdown, 10.8 per cent of games ended with one team blanked.ROSTER DEADLINE: Five of the six top hockey nations for the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano are attempting to get the deadline for rosters extended.The six countries initially signed off for an Aug. 1 deadline for naming 18 players on a 23-man roster. Canada would prefer to have a Dec. 1 deadline, while Sweden, Finland, Russia and the Czech Republic are aiming for Jan. 1 because they want to use the December Izvestia tournament in Moscow as a form of selection camp before selecting players.But the Aug. 1 deadline for an 18-man roster was agreed to by the NHL, NHL Players&rsquo; Association and the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1995. The remaining five spots would be filled in December.BELARUS QUALIFIES: The Feb. 28 issue of THN incorrectly identified Bulgaria as a qualifying nation for the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano.Belarus, in fact, joins Germany, Slovakia, Austria and Kazakhstan as the five countries which qualified from an eight-team tournament in Austria Feb 6-11. &#9632;

Goalies approaching all-time high in combined shutouts

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN staff</div>Candidates for the World University Hockey Championship have been announced and the battle line has been drawn in Detroit.Team USA named 24 players and Team Canada selected 20 players and four alternates for the first-ever game between senior university players. The April 4 match will be played at Joe Louis Arena.Vermont all-America goalie Tim Thomas leads the contingent of seniors playing at U.S. Division I schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, while Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union scoring leader Chris Skoryna from Acadia heads Canada&rsquo;s roster. (See pg. 38 for rosters.)The average age of the Canadian team is almost 24, more than a year older than the American squad.&ldquo;I think we will stack up pretty well against the Americans,&rdquo; said CIAU executive vice-president Mark Lowry. &ldquo;We know there are a number of Canadians playing NCAA Division I hockey, but the NCAA all-star team will be comprised of American players only.&rdquo;Michigan State coach Ron Mason will be guiding the U.S. team, while Dalhousie University coach Darrell Young is in charge of the Canadian team.The game will be telecast on The Sports Network in Canada and Prime Network in the U.S. The inaugural game is the first step leading to a world university tournament in 2000. A two-game home-and-home Canada-U.S. series is planned for 1998. &#9632;

Canada, U.S. prepared for university showdown

The NHL should be sued for false advertisement.After watching the Chicago Blackhawks beat the New York Rangers 20 Feb. 15, &ldquo;The Coolest Game on Earth&rdquo; should be re-phrased &ldquo;The Dullest Game on Earth.&rdquo;To all teams that utilize the neutral zone trap, thank you for slowly destroying what was a great game.The Rangers were held to 17 shots, with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Brian Leetch and Luc Robitaille. You can&rsquo;t shoot the puck if you have someone draped all over you.If the league won&rsquo;t do something, every skilled team frustrated by the trap should put on their swimming caps and do their best diving impressions in order to get on the power play.Anthony Scultore,&nbsp; Franklin Square, N. Y.<h2>Howe about Mark?</h2>Top 50? Where are Alex Delvecchio and Mark Howe?Jaromir Jagr, Eric Lindros and Joe Sakic? No! In 10 years, maybe.John R. Qualls,&nbsp; Grand Rapids, Mich.<h2>Gartner worthy</h2>Some thoughts about your upcoming selection of the 50 Greatest Players ever:Did Mike Gartner throw puppies off a tall building? That&rsquo;s the only fathomable reason why a man with close to 700 career goals didn&rsquo;t even make consideration for this list.Sprague Cleghorn makes it, but Ed Giacomin and his 54 career shutouts don&rsquo;t? And where&rsquo;s Rod Gilbert?Stan Fischler gets a vote even though he has written about having problems with Wayne Gretzky, Patrick Roy and Mark Messier?Fischler is so biased towards the Islanders, he&rsquo;s liable to vote Bryan Trottier No. 1. Heck, he may lobby to get Ed Westfall on the list. And why does Milt Schmidt get a vote? He can&rsquo;t vote for himself.John Coppinger,&nbsp; Jackson Heights, N. Y.(Editor&rsquo;s Note: Milt Schmidt, now 78, was included as a voter because his experience as an NHL player, coach and executive provide him with virtually unrivalled perspective on players throughout league history. Allowances have been made in voting so he is not penalized.Gartner is among 58 players listed alongside the 86 elite candidates. So are Alex Delvecchio and Mark Howe, who are mentioned in the above letter.)<h2>What new jersey</h2>In regard to your article on the NHL&rsquo;s third jerseys (THN, Feb. 14), I am writing not to give my opinion on the look of the jerseys, but to talk about geography.The author describes the logo on the Rangers&rsquo; jersey as New York&rsquo;s Statue of Liberty and Neil Smith said he wanted a look identifiable with New York. The Statue of Liberty is not owned by the state of New York; she is owned by the United States.But if you had to claim (boundaries) of what state Lady Liberty is in, any map clearly shows she stands proud within the state of New Jersey. Maybe the Rangers just wanted something from New Jersey on their new jerseys.Thomas Olejarczyk Jr.,&nbsp; Helmetta, N.J.<h2>Muzzle for Hull</h2>Someone in the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; organization should tell Brett Hull enough is enough. Mike Keenan was fired weeks ago and Hull still can&rsquo;t stop his obsessive, whining criticism.His statement that he was so consumed with hatred for Keenan that he was reduced to a state of complete inactivity tells me a lot more about Hull than it does Keenan.Hull should be grateful he plays hockey. He would have a hard time dealing with the real world where millions of people manage to cope every working day of their lives with bosses they don&rsquo;t like.Robert Dean,&nbsp; Carmichael, Calif.<h2>Vote for Paul</h2>I&rsquo;ve written to the Hockey Hall of Fame and now I write to you. The subject: Why the heck isn&rsquo;t Paul Henderson in the Hall of Fame?It has been 25 years since the Canada-Russia Summit Series of 1972, one of the most significant moments in hockey history.Not only did Henderson score one of the greatest goals Sept. 28, 1972, he scored other important goals in that series.Hall of Famers share one thing in common-significant contributions to the game. Players such as Eddie Shore, Rocket Richard and Stan Mikita were great contributors.Even Vladislav Tretiak, who never played in the NHL, is a hockey contributor and a deserved Hall of Famer.So how about Henderson? Let&rsquo;s put Paul in the Hall.Dave Hogg,&nbsp; Montreal, Que.Make your feelings known. Fax us your comments at&nbsp;(416) 340-1641&nbsp;or write to&nbsp;Letters, THN, 777 Bay St, Suite 2700, Box 148, Toronto, Ont., M5G 2N8&nbsp;in Canada. In the U.S., write to&nbsp;Letters, THN, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y., 142409947.&nbsp;E-mail us at <a href="mailto:THN@transc.com">THN@transc.com</a>. Include home and business phone numbers.&nbsp;THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

Clutching and holding destroying great game

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011774/6787030-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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ELSTON

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021212/6787061-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="606" height="892"></div>In the beginning, Stan Mikita had modest ambitions.&ldquo;When I first came here,&rdquo; said the Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; veteran in the Dec. 28, 1973 issue of The Hockey News, &ldquo;my goal was to play only five years and make $25,000 a season. My first salary (in 1958-59) was $8,500 and I blew most of it on a convertible. I figured that it was all the money in the world then and that I should enjoy it because the average span of a hockey player was only three to five years anyway.&rdquo;But Mikita, who at age 8 was sent from his native Czechoslovakia to live with an aunt and uncle in Canada-where there was sure to be enough food to feed him-was no average player. There are some special qualities possessed by anyone who sticks around long enough to reach the 1,000-game plateau, as Mikita did Dec. 9, 1973. Mikita&rsquo;s were, at various points during his 22-season career, scrappiness, scoring ability and leadership.Mikita retired in 1980 after 1,394 games with Chicago. He still holds the mark for the longest career with one team. Today, only Boston Bruins&rsquo; defenseman Ray Bourque (1,273) and possibly Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; center Steve Yzerman (1,000) have a chance to catch him. &#9632;

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Stan still the man

The stampede is on to proclaim the Buffalo Sabres as the team most likely to be this year&rsquo;s Florida Panthers. That is, a Cinderella story culminating with a trip to the Stanley Cup ball in June.Not so fast, said Sabres&rsquo; GM John Muckier, who offered the following reality check for his young club.&ldquo;The Panthers were older and a lot more experienced than we are,&rdquo; said Muckier, who won five Cups with the Edmonton Oilers. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t know how difficult it is to win in the playoffs until you actually get there.&ldquo;It will be all new to our guys. You have to beat teams when they&rsquo;re playing their best. Teams will test you when they take their game to a new level. We haven&rsquo;t been tested like that yet and until we are, you can&rsquo;t say how we&rsquo;ll react.&rdquo;Sabres&rsquo; coach Ted Nolan is never one to sell his players short, but remembers doing the math last spring.&ldquo;I counted 12 Panthers with 300 or more NHL games,&rdquo; Nolan said. &ldquo;They were a surprise team. We&rsquo;re a surprise team, but that&rsquo;s the extent of any comparisons.&rdquo;&ldquo;Our kids,&rdquo; Muckier added, &ldquo;they&rsquo;re going to think they know how to do it (win in the playoffs), they&rsquo;re going to tell you they know how, but they don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;Yeah, but has anybody told that to Dominik Hasek? &#9632;

FEATURES

Don’t plan parade route

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011612/6787099-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The numbers don&rsquo;t lie: Goalie Dominik Hasek has been a savior for the Buffalo Sabres this season. (Photos by Steve Babineau/Sports Action)</figcaption></div>BUFFALO-The Legend of the White Buffalo is gathering steam.So, too, are the Buffalo Sabres.The NHL is at the three-quarter pole of the NHL regular season and the 3019-10 Sabres were where no one expected. First place in the Northeast Division, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, tied for second place in the Eastern Conference and tied for third place overall, riding a 10-game unbeaten streak (5-0-5) at a time of the year when pretenders are separated from contenders.And they have done it all without their marquee player, Pat LaFontaine, who has missed most of the season because of multiple concussions.Dominik Hasek just keeps stopping the puck. Matthew Barnaby can&rsquo;t decide whether to beat up the opposition or beat it with a goal. No such dilemmas for Rob Ray, Brad May and Bob Boughner. Mike Peca is emerging as a strong two-way center, just what the Vancouver Canucks could use right about now.And then there is Ted Nolan, who thinks not a moment about the very real possibility of being coach of the year, but endlessly wonders what tact he&rsquo;ll use to inspire his Sabres tomorrow. Will it be the practical approach? Play hard or you don&rsquo;t play. Or will the 38-year-old native Ojibway who grew up on the Garden River Reserve just east of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., invoke his spiritual side, introduce his players to the mystical wonders of &ldquo;sweetgrass, sage and what you have&rdquo; and pay homage to the Legend of the White Buffalo?The White Buffalo looks down on Nolan at the Marine Midland Arena. Actually, the White Buffalo is an illustration on a native greeting card posted on the wall of Nolan&rsquo;s office. The congratulatory card was signed by the native chiefs of Canada and presented to Nolan when he was named head coach of the Sabres before last season.The native prophecy is that when a White Buffalo is bom, there will follow years of good fortune. Lo and behold, the Sabres changed their uniforms in the off-season, going from blue and yellow to white, black and red, with a raging white buffalo adorning the front.&ldquo;You have a native coaching the team that wears the White Buffalo,&rdquo; Nolan said. &ldquo;The chiefs liked that. Could be significant, eh? Actually, there was a real White Buffalo bom recently, in Wisconsin I think. I&rsquo;m told more than 175,000 people have been to see it.&rdquo;A skeptic might suggest the Sabres&rsquo; good fortune has more to do with the Legend of the Czech Goalie than any native lore. Nolan wouldn&rsquo;t necessarily argue the point, though he&rsquo;s not liable to discount any point of his native heritage.&ldquo;No question, Dominik is our driving force,&rdquo; Nolan said. &ldquo;He has allowed us to win some games we had no business even being in. He has given our young kids so much confidence because they can make a glaring error and it doesn&rsquo;t always end up as a goal. He&rsquo;s a true superstar, but he doesn&rsquo;t have that superstar mentality. He&rsquo;s just a very down to earth guy.&rdquo;He&rsquo;s also a guy who happens to play out of this world. After 59 games this season, the Sabres had been outshot 48 times, but had a winning record of 2416-8 in those games. They gave up 40 or more shots in nine games. On 35 occasions, they surrendered between 30 and 39 shots. Only 15 times had the Sabres limited the opposition to 29 or fewer. And get this-not once in their 59 games did the Sabres register 40 or more shots on the opposition net.The Sabres&rsquo; leading scorer, Derek Plante (23 goals and 39 points) was tied for 79th in the league. Garry Galley led Sabre defensemen in scoring (two goals and 29 points), tying him for 19th amongst league blueliners. Hasek, meanwhile, led the NHL in wins (29), shots (3,190) and save percentage (92.6).They don&rsquo;t call him The Dominator for nothing. Dom for MVP. The line forms to the left and it will come as no surprise if he&rsquo;s the first goaltender to win the Hart Trophy since Jacques Plante in 1962.So, that makes Buffalo a one-man team, right?&ldquo;If you say so,&rdquo; said Barnaby, the 15-goal, 198 penalty-minute man who could hit the rare 20/300 ratio. &ldquo;If everyone wants to say that, fine. It doesn&rsquo;t matter to us. We&rsquo;re in first place. Would we be there without Dominik? No chance, but he is here and we are (in first place).&rdquo;Sabre success unquestionably starts with Hasek, but it doesn&rsquo;t end with him. It&rsquo;s a multi-faceted club, albeit inexperienced and on the small side, that epitomizes the team approach.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel like I&rsquo;m playing any better,&rdquo; Hasek said. &ldquo;But the team around me is much better. I&rsquo;m really surprised at the way we are playing because it&rsquo;s almost the same players as last year, but now they have more experience and confidence.&rdquo;GM John Muckier, in spite of the much ballyhooed Cold War with Nolan, has done his job-acquiring youthful talent while drastically reducing the payroll. The Alexander Mogilny trade in 1995 that netted the Sabres Peca (one of the best kept secrets in the NHL), 6-foot-6 defenseman Mike Wilson (he is playing regularly and playing well) and blue-chip blueline prospect Jay McKee has been a nifty talent grab for what was supposed to be an exercise in salary dumping.Muckier parlayed veterans Doug Bodger and Craig Muni into emerging left winger Michal Grosek, steady defender Darryl Shannon (who has had a terrific influence on Wilson) and two prospects, left winger Vaclav Varada and defenseman Mike Martone.<blockquote class="pullQuote">Sitting Bull strategy no bull for this team</blockquote>The defense corps-a rejuvenated Alexei Zhitnik with unheralded Richard Smehlik, the Wilson-Shannon combo and Galley-Boughner tandem-is more than the sum of its parts.The Sabres&rsquo; fighters fight (May, Ray, Boughner and Barnaby). The scorers, modest as their totals may be, score (Plante, 23; Brian Holzinger, 16; Donald Audette, 21; Peca, 14; Jason Dawe, 18; and Grosek, 12). Often, one of the fighters (Barnaby) scores or one of the scorers (Peca) fights.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re the best third-line team in the league,&rdquo; said Sabres&rsquo; assistant coach Paul Theriault. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have a first line, don&rsquo;t have a second line. We&rsquo;ve got four third lines.&rdquo;That won&rsquo;t always be true. A number of Sabres are showing substantial development, not the least of whom is Peca.His numbers are deceiving. He&rsquo;s 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, but one of the best open-ice hitters in the NHL (ask Teemu Selanne or Chris Simon). He&rsquo;s fast, feisty but not devoid of finesse-&rdquo;he has got velvet hammers for hands,&rdquo; Theriault said.We&rsquo;ll find out March 8 in Montreal just how vindictive he is because Vincent Damphousse ripped open Peca&rsquo;s lower lip and rearranged his dental work with a cross-check to the face Feb. 12.There isn&rsquo;t any situation in which the Sabres don&rsquo;t use him-three of his 14 goals were on the power play and four were shorthanded-and he&rsquo;s emerging as an inspirational leader.But then what else would you expect from a kid who was weaned on Tony Robbins and the power of positive thinking? Mind you, what choice was there but Robbins for a teen who was 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds on the day he was drafted by the Sudbury Wolves from the Toronto Red Wing bantams?&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to become one of the really complete players in the game,&rdquo; Muckier said.There is, however, no escaping the Hasek factor.Yet if the Dominator is the Sabres&rsquo; saving grace, then Nolan is their soul man, a players&rsquo; coach who alternately supplies pain and pleasure.&ldquo;He makes guys fear the loss of their job,&rdquo; Peca said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mean longterm fear. It&rsquo;s just that he&rsquo;s not afraid to sit anybody. As fair and lenient as he is most of the time, guys are afraid of him and how he can force discipline with us.&ldquo;You have to really respect the man for what he does and, sometimes, what he doesn&rsquo;t do. He can be lenient. He gives us a lot of days off. But he has also had us come to the rink early, skate us twice in the same day and really whip us.&rdquo;That was the western road trip last season, when Nolan cancelled the plane from San Jose to Los Angeles, bused the players all over the state of California instead and ran an all-day session (two practices, meetings etc.) that resulted in mass cancellations of golf games and limo rentals.Nolan wants it known the off-days he has given his team this season has been more out of necessity than charity.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re a small team and it&rsquo;s a long grind,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They need those days off if we&rsquo;re going to be able to compete against the big boys in the playoffs.&rdquo;Nolan is not just an NHL coach; he&rsquo;s an NHL coach who&rsquo;s a native. With him, you cannot separate the two.He wants to win the Stanley Cup because &ldquo;that&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about.&rdquo; But he also wants to do it for the cause of his people. Long before he dreamed of winning the Stanley Cup as a player or coach, the former journeyman pro, who played alongside Wayne Gretzky in their Soo Greyhound days, had greater visions of glory. He still does.&ldquo;I want one day to become the national chief,&rdquo; Nolan said of the native posting that is the equivalent of Prime Minister or President. &ldquo;That has always been my ultimate goal. I&rsquo;m not in the game just to hang on and say I coached 10 years. I&rsquo;m in it to win (the Cup). If I don&rsquo;t win, I&rsquo;ll move on to do the other things that are important in my life.&rdquo;And he will do them his way. He has an unwavering vision of what works for him, whatever the consequences.For example, with few exceptions, he won&rsquo;t fraternize with his fellow coaches in the NHL. &ldquo;If I get to be friends with someone I&rsquo;m afraid I won&rsquo;t want to beat them,&rdquo; Nolan said. &ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t know them, then I won&rsquo;t feel bad about kicking the crap out of them.&rdquo;And though he stands out as a minority of one in the NHL, he is intent on imparting his values to the masses as much as North American society imposes its mores on him.He has shared the leadership strategies of Sitting Bull with his players. He has explained how buffalo leadership-one buffalo leading the pack until exhaustion-isn&rsquo;t nearly as effective as the leadership shown by geese-one leads the formation until tiring and moves to the back to let another take its place.He isn&rsquo;t kidding when he talks about educating his players to the native traditions of sweetgrass and sage and, yes, even the Legend of the White Buffalo.&ldquo;I figure if Phil Jackson can do it with Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman,&rdquo; Nolan said, fingering a strand of sweetgrass and eyeing the White Buffalo, &ldquo;then I can do it with Pat LaFontaine and Dominik Hasek.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011667/6787092-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="881" height="1757"><figcaption class="caption-body">Derek Plante led Buffalo scorers, but was 79th in the NHL. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Super Sabres

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div>Gilles Gratton says he has been a government advisor to the Pharaoh in ancient Egypt, a priest in a Mayan temple in Mexico&rsquo;s Yucatan, a landowner in 17th century Spain.But do not ask Gratton if he believes in reincarnation, because he does not.Belief, he says, has nothing to do with it.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a belief, it&rsquo;s an experience,&rdquo; he explains, saying he has had them since he was a boy. &ldquo;I can remember my past lives, that&rsquo;s all there is to it. I could talk about it for hours. You have some programs on Star Trek that are very close to my experience. It&rsquo;s like I&rsquo;m in two places at one time&hellip;It&rsquo;s as if I&rsquo;m travelling in time. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;m crazy, but this is my experience.&rdquo;Gratton. 44, is now experiencing a state of limbo. He&rsquo;s living through a mid-life transition period in a 150-room French convent.Well, that&rsquo;s not exactly accurate, either. It used to be a convent when it was built in 1812. It looks more like a countryside castle, situated in the sleepy town of St-Erme, pop. 1,900, about an hour and fifteen minutes east of Paris. The Germans took it over during WWI and used it to store grain in the attic. Later it was owned by a spiritual sect, then used as a massage and therapy center.Nice place for time travel, but the real point is this: if it really were a convent today, and Gratton lived there in austerity with nuns, not many people who knew him as a whacked-out 21-year-old NHL goalie would ask questions.It&rsquo;s kind of like Cleveland Indians&rsquo; manager Jim Hargrove said recently about departed slugger Albert Belle. After some of the things he did, nothing could come as a surprise.Last February the former NHL/World Hockey Association tender, who travels the world in his mind, closed the book on his 16-year marriage and life in Montreal, where he had been living off and on since retiring in 1977. He left behind his wife Ninon and 21-year-old daughter Karine and moved overseas to work with Bruce Jessop, a friend and hockey photographer who shoots pro hockey all over Europe.Gratton&rsquo;s own pro career lasted five seasons (1972-73 to 1976-77)-three years in the WHA with the Ottawa Nationals and Toronto Toros and two in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. He reached his potential only in audacity.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011584/6787161-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="978" height="1963"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ex-pro goaltender Gilles Gratton has become a photographer. (Photo by Bruce Jesop)</figcaption></div>Picture this: as a member of the Toros, he skated around Maple Leaf Gardens in his birthday suit. When he played in New York, he wore a mask painted with a ferocious lion-Leo, his astrology sign. He didn&rsquo;t sleep before games, he meditated.During one game, he headed back to the hotel after two periods because he felt he&rsquo;d already faced a full night&rsquo;s worth of shots, and another time was late for a playoff game because he was enjoying a pint and shooting pool in a Toronto bar.Said former Rangers&rsquo; coach-GM John Ferguson: &ldquo;He was a beauty.&rdquo;Gratton was as flaky as French pastry. He did more than enough to earn his most memorable nickname, &lsquo;Grattoony the Loony,&rsquo; as chronicled for the ages in Stan Fischler&rsquo;s The Hockey Encyclopedia.But he had his reasons.Gratton said he grew up in a non-communicative, working-class French Canadian family in the Montreal suburb of Lasalle. He says the French phrase non dit-literally &lsquo;no say&rsquo;-tells what was lacking in his childhood.&ldquo;You always talk about, &lsquo;Did the Canadiens win last night? How&rsquo;s the weather? And go and put your clothes on and your jeans and go outside,&rsquo;&rdquo;Gratton said. &ldquo;But if you have any real pain or some sorrow or some hurt you never talked to your parents about it.&rdquo;He says he was just another dysfunctional kid whose problems were more visible than most because he happened to be a heckuva hockey player.He had peers who drank their careers into industrial league wastelands. Others were promiscuous with equally immature girls and ended up as fathers long before they knew how to take care of themselves.Gratton didn&rsquo;t go down either of those roads. He took the road least travelled.As a Ranger, Gratton told Ferguson he would not lace up the pads one night because the stars were out of alignment. He &ldquo;resigned&rdquo; from the Blues by telling the owner to &ldquo;stick your team up your ass, I&rsquo;m not going back.&rdquo;He was out of hockey when he was 24.&ldquo;I was kind of screwed up, that&rsquo;s all there is to it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know how to deal with money, I didn&rsquo;t know how to deal with women, I didn&rsquo;t know anything&hellip;Looking back today, I was just very, very unhappy, so I did all these crazy things maybe just to get the attention that I didn&rsquo;t get from my parents.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;Experiences compensate for money I didn&rsquo;t make&rsquo;</blockquote>&ldquo;I was always blaming hockey for my unhappiness, which has nothing to do with it. Your unhappiness comes from inside. Nobody makes you unhappy, you make yourself unhappy. But I didn&rsquo;t know that.&rdquo;He knows now how good he might have been had his head been screwed on straight. &ldquo;I could have been a very, very good goalie,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I could have been one of the best.&rdquo;One-time teammate and Hall of Famer Rod Gilbert once said Gratton was the best practice goalie he ever faced. But what the fans invariably remember is the craziness. In 1989, he was helping out a friend at a health food convention in Anaheim.&ldquo;I had a tag saying, &lsquo;Gilles Gratton, Long Life Herbal Tea.&rsquo; And this guy walks by and he says, &lsquo;Gilles Gratton, the crazy guy from the Rangers?&rsquo; And I said yes. He says, &lsquo;No, it can&rsquo;t be, it&rsquo;s impossible.&rsquo; I said yes, &lsquo;Gratton from the Rangers&hellip;serving herbal tea in a health food show.&rsquo; We talked for a half hour and he took pictures and everything. You just can&rsquo;t get away.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011643/6787154-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="588" height="1197"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gratton believes he could have been a great NHL goaltender. (Photo by Denis Cyr)</figcaption></div>Gratton still plays pick-up hockey a couple of times every weekend in Brussels, where he visits his Flemish girlfriend, Lief. He&rsquo;s kind of what you&rsquo;d expect for a 5-foot-ll, 160-pound forward: great speed, no shot.Today he has no regrets. If he had played hockey until he was 35, he wouldn&rsquo;t have had the chance to take spiritual journeys to India, visit Moscow and Mexico and travel all over Europe: &ldquo;The experiences I&rsquo;ve had in life compensates for the money I didn&rsquo;t make.&rdquo;Gratton plans to return to Canada either in July or late fall, arrange to get his divorce from Ninon and show Lief the vastness and open space of the country he dearly misses. Outside of that, he&rsquo;s not sure what life holds for him.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really know where I&rsquo;m going, to tell you the truth,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m 44 and I don&rsquo;t have a clue. That&rsquo;s okay. I think if I was 44 and I knew what I was going to do for the next 50 years, I&rsquo;d kill myself.&rdquo;Gratton knows what he&rsquo;ll be doing 400 years from now, though: sitting in a chair somewhere in the Dominican Republic. He has seen his past lives more times than he can count, but only this once has experienced a life yet to come. He said Earth in the 24th century is a kinder, gentler place where people are in touch with nature and daily hustle-bustle worries are few.Gilles Gratton may not have been an all-time great goalie, but he&rsquo;s definitely a goalie for all-time. &#9632;

f0009-01

The travelling man

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011481/6787199-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="383" height="535"></div>When Jeremy Roenick was free for the offering last summer, (or at least as free as NHL restricted free agents get), Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; GM Bob Clarke couldn&rsquo;t be bothered with him.In fact, Clarke took the opportunity to take a little shot at the Chicago Blackhawk star center&rsquo;s demand for pay in the $4 million-a-season range. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not worth that much money,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just a point-a-game guy.&rdquo;Was Clarke simply stirring the pot? Perhaps. But the numbers bear him out: J.R. Superstar has indeed become a point-a-game guy. Instead of continuing to rise on the dominance scale late this decade, Roenick has leveled off at 27.The Phoenix Coyotes obviously feel Roenick&rsquo;s contribution doesn&rsquo;t always show up on the scoresheet. They acquired him in a trade and then gave him a five-year, $20-million contract.Roenick admits it is frustrating scoring at his current level, although he says he is determined to crank it up down the stretch and believes he can be a 100-point player in the future.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m feeling really good and I&rsquo;m starting to play more physical,&rdquo; Roenick said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m becoming more of an antagonist again. I got away from that for a while, but I know it&rsquo;s my duty to get my big butt to the front of the net and stir things up.&rdquo;In his last days in Chicago, Roenick stirred things up off the ice. He said the 1994 lockout and a couple of serious injuries-Roenick ripped up his knee two years ago, causing him to miss the final few weeks of the regular season and first round of playoffs, and then suffered a fractured jaw last season-have taken their toll.He looks like he has lost a step.&ldquo;It seems like the rest of the league was getting bigger and stronger while I was trying to get my game back in shape,&rdquo; Roenick said.In 49 games with the Coyotes this season, Roenick had 16 goals and 42 points. The past two years in Chicago, he had 101 points in 99 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021059/6787192-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="515" height="881"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jeremy Roenick</figcaption></div>The previous three years he produced 317 points in 248 games. That&rsquo;s 1.3 points per game. During that span, he was playing on a line with Steve Larmer and Michel Goulet, a pair of high-scoring workhorses. When Goulet retired, Roenick was candid about what his former mates meant to him. &ldquo;Those guys made me,&rdquo; Roenick said.With the Blackhawks, Roenick built a reputation as a colorful, energetic force. He made the jump to the NHL as a crafty 18-year-old and got himself locked into a five-year contract in 1991. It seemed like a good deal at the time, making him a millionaire at such a tender age, but when salaries skyrocketed, Roenick suddenly was underpaid.The Hawks balked at his contract demands and traded him to Phoenix for another disgruntled restricted free agent, center Alexei Zhamnov. The Hawks also got center Craig Mills and a first round draft choice in 1998. The Coyotes like the deal.&ldquo;If you want to measure his value strictly on the points he gets, then maybe he has slipped a bit,&rdquo; said coach Don Hay. &ldquo;But that isn&rsquo;t the way we view Jeremy. We wanted more than points from him when we signed him. We wanted his leadership, enthusiasm and passion for the game to rub off on the other players.&rdquo;Hay said Roenick can still do it all. Like the night in Toronto Nov. 12 when the Coyotes entered the third period trailing by a goal, but won it after J.R. scored the tying goal and then the winner with five minutes remaining. &ldquo;It was a game he wasn&rsquo;t going to let us lose,&rdquo; Hay said.Roenick said he is never fully satisfied with his play. Happier sometimes than others perhaps, but never satisfied.&ldquo;I want to get to the 100-point level again,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If I do, my team will have a better chance to win the Stanley Cup.&rdquo;&ldquo;He has to realize just because he&rsquo;s getting paid four times what he used to doesn&rsquo;t mean he has to be four times the player,&rdquo; Hay said. &ldquo;We need the old Jeremy Roenick, not Superman.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-01

COLUMNISTS

Coyotes want old J.R., not Superman

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>Murphy&rsquo;s Law: Whatever can go wrong, will.Murphy&rsquo;s Flaw(s): Being slow a skate and the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; highest-paid player.A combination of the two has made Larry Murphy a lightning rod for criticism and the target of boo birds in Toronto this season.Murphy, like most of his teammates, has had a sporadic campaign. But even on nights when he&rsquo;s playing well, fickle fans jeer him when he takes control of the puck. It has become the fashionable thing to do at Leaf home games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not really in tune with people&rsquo;s perception of how the team is doing because I don&rsquo;t read the papers,&rdquo; said Murphy, a Toronto native. &ldquo;But in terms of hearing the boos, yes, I&rsquo;m well aware of that.&rdquo;For a player who has enjoyed a career that should culminate with induction to the Hall of Fame-he is the NHL&rsquo;s fourth all-time leading scorer among defensemen-this has been a season to forget.Just when it seemed things couldn&rsquo;t get any worse, Murphy was a healthy scratch for a Feb. 15 game against the Flames in Calgary. Sloppy defensive work by Murphy two nights early in Los Angeles led to two Kings&rsquo; goals in a 44 draw; a game in which the Leafs held a 2-0 lead. Struggling for ways to dig his team out of the doldrums, coach Mike Murphy decided a radical move was necessary. He inserted seldom-used blueliner Matt Martin into the lineup and the Maple Leafs lost 3-0.&ldquo;He did some things against what I was telling our players to do in the L.A. game and the only way I could get the message through to the team is to make him responsible for his actions,&rdquo; Mike Murphy said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s his responsibility to tighten his game up, not mine. I won&rsquo;t hesitate to do it again. The same goes for some of our veteran forwards.&rdquo;Embarrassed about being scratched, the normally accessible Murphy didn&rsquo;t talk to the local media about his detention.He was reluctant to talk about it to THN. but did offer: &ldquo;I was surprised.&rdquo;Murphy has been assigned to the press box before in his 18-year career, but it was so long ago he can&rsquo;t remember when. He has a reputation for being one of the NHL&rsquo;s most happy-go-lucky characters. That&rsquo;s one of the reasons it hurts teammates to hear abuse hurled in his direction.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011602/6787230-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="975" height="1923"><figcaption class="caption-body">Future Hall of Famer Larry Murphy has been a healthy scratch. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;When they&rsquo;re booing Murph, they&rsquo;re booing the whole team,&rdquo; said teammate Tie Domi. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not Murph&rsquo;s fault we&rsquo;re in last place overall. It&rsquo;s all of our faults.&ldquo;Unfortunately, the way things go now, he&rsquo;s the highest-paid player on the team so he&rsquo;s the one who gets most of the criticism.&rdquo;Murphy, who&rsquo;s earning $2.4 million (U.S.) this year on a contract that has another year to run, said he could handle the heat if the team was doing better.&ldquo;The thing that upsets me is our record,&rdquo; said Murphy of a team in the NHL cellar. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d be the happiest guy in the world if we were winning and I was getting treated this way. It&rsquo;s all about winning and losing.It&rsquo;s not a popularity contest.&rdquo;Murphy&rsquo;s numbers, if not his play, have been brilliant throughout his career. He has always replied on intelligence and vision, not speed and toughness.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think his game has lost that much,&rdquo; Mike Murphy said. &ldquo;At the moment, he&rsquo;s being made a scapegoat for our team and that&rsquo;s not fair. He has been the consummate professional all year.&ldquo;Given the difficult position our team has been in, we end up using him a lot more than we&rsquo;d like to and I think it hurts him. Instead of giving him 20 minutes a game with a regular shift and power play, he plays more than 25 minutes a game and that hurts his effectiveness.&rdquo;Murphy was fourth in Leaf scoring with six goals and 29 points in 60 games. He entered this season with 245 goals and 1,006 points. He has passed the 20-goal mark five times in his career and holds the NHL records for assists (60) and points (76) by a rookie defenseman. That was as a 19-year-old with the Kings, who picked him fourth overall in 1980.Murphy is a proven winner. He played on back-to-back Stanley Cup champions with the Pittsburgh Penguins and was a member of two Canada Cup winners.There has been speculation the Leafs, in an effort to rebuild, might trade him to a contending team that could afford to pick up his contract. That would require Murphy to waive a no-trade clause in his deal, a right that expires after this season.&ldquo;I feel I can play at the same level now as I have in the past,&rdquo; Murphy said. &ldquo;I know I can compete.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-01

No Gardens party

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011501/6787268-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="386" height="532"></div>The New Jersey Devils are looking big, strong and playoff-dangerous-as-ever, so this is not to suggest they ever come up small. Still, just because they never shrink, doesn&rsquo;t mean they aren&rsquo;t a good subject for one.Psycho-analyst to Lou Lamoriello: &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s talk about your feelings towards your parents. &ldquo;Lamoriello to psycho-analyst: &ldquo;I won&rsquo;t confirm that I had any. &ldquo;This team is a tough nut to crack. It plays suppressed hockey. Last year, the Devils missed the playoffs and were afraid to cry. They don&rsquo;t seem to like the fact people attend their games, so they attempt to scare them away. While the Devils were winning a Stanley Cup, they were negotiating to move the franchise to Nashville. They held their parade in a parking lot and seemed to have about as much fun as Adam Oates at a Harry Sinden testimonial dinner.You would be like the Devils, too, if half your seats were filled with persons rooting for your arch-rival. The Devils shrug and say this doesn&rsquo;t bother them, but deep down, they feel mother always loved the Rangers more.Lamoriello is the perfect man for a dangerous reconnaissance mission like trying to sneak Doug Gilmour out of Toronto. If one word of this gets into the newspapers, Lou swallows the cyanide capsule.Averaging only 2.67 goals per game, the Devils need Gilmour, just like they needed Neal Broten two years ago before he decided to follow through on long-held plans to visit his family instead of attending a suddenly called punishment practice. The Devils sent a 37-year-old man so far away, he couldn&rsquo;t even get The Hockey News there.When Bruce Driver, 11 years a Devil, became a free agent in 1995 and received a better offer from the Rangers, Lamoriello thanked him for his contribution and without tears, let the defenseman move on. The Devils probably missed him a year ago, when the offense and power play dried up, but as he turns 34 with the Rangers, New Jersey is four points from the conference lead with 23-year-old Jason Smith.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021058/6787261-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="515" height="757"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Gilmour</figcaption></div>When Shawn Chambers walks at the end of the season, Kevin Dean will be ready to take his place. Claude Lemieux broke his word after accepting a promised contract extension and was banished and replaced by Steve Thomas. Even the Devils&rsquo; highest-paid and most recognizable player, Scott Stevens, was acquired in self-defense, compensation from the Blues signing away Brendan Shanahan.The Devils play four lines and six defensemen. Everybody on the team is exactly 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. Scott Niedermayer, who flew past Paul Coffey for the only goal anyone remembers about the Devils&rsquo; drive to the 1995 finals, now sticks to his own zone like a dutiful Stepford wife.The players don&rsquo;t really like the coach, a mystifying oracle who can predict his team&rsquo;s performance from its warmup.Jacques Lemaire coaches the style best suited for his personnel, but also his personality. The Devils go up and down until you want to scream, which the opposition usually does when allowing only two goals isn&rsquo;t enough to win.Playing in the shadow of New York, the Devils like it best playing in the shadows of the boards, where they can control games without getting noticed. The fact they have never had a 100-point center is probably overcompensation from being located 10 miles from the center of the universe.Patrik Sundstrom was the greatest they ever had at the position. The best they have now is Bobby Holik. Holik plays with a lot of passion and grit and completes a pass as often as Lemaire admits to a mistake.Petr Sykora, the team&rsquo;s No. 1 pick in 1995 and No. 1 hope at the position, got hurt and is in the minors. Brian Rolston has ability, but is as shy in the comers as Lamoriello for publicity. Rookie Denis Pederson will be a good No. 2 guy. The Devils have nothing but No. 2 guys, which Lamoriello gets a perverse kick out of molding into a No. 1 team. He has plenty of prospects to trade.If Gilmour has grown weary of being in the Toronto fishbowl, he&rsquo;ll love it in East Rutherford. &#9632;

f0013-01

Faceless Devils still loaded for success

<div class="byline">By Robyn Norwood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011590/6787299-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="162" height="159"></div>Let&rsquo;s see, Paul Kariya won the Lady Byng Trophy last season and Teemu Selanne was a finalist?You wouldn&rsquo;t know it to see the: hecks those two were throwing-or the retaliatory penalties Selanne was picking up.&ldquo;No Lady Byng for me,&rdquo; said Selanre, an underrated physical player who had already equaled his 22 penalty minutes of last season. &ldquo;No more Mr. Mice Guy. It&rsquo;s time to start playing more dirty.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re too nice out there. Some players want to hurt us. We have to show them we can play hard, too.&rdquo;A bulked-up Kariya was dishing out some well-timed hits, too. Included on his hit list were Colorado Avalanche right winger Claude Lemieux and Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; defenseman Dmitri Yushkevich.Kariya&rsquo;s Lady Byng credentials were intact, however. He had only six penalty minutes in 45 games.&ldquo;Paul is not a man of a lot of words, but he sets an example,&rdquo; said goalie Guy Hebert. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t take cheap shots and hit guys when their backs are turned. He makes good hard hits. That word gets around the league. Players know he&rsquo;s not a frail kid.&rdquo;Kariya said it&rsquo;s all in good measure-you can&rsquo;t expend all your energy on hits when your team needs goals.&ldquo;(But) if there&rsquo;s an opportunity, I&rsquo;ll take it,&rdquo; Kariya said. &ldquo;Especially in a close game when we need a little lift.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Coach Ron Wilson has received another assurance his contract will be extended. The move is 10 months overdue, after GM Jack Ferreira promised Wilson a deal through at least 1998 after last year. Club officials insist the delay is meaningless. but it nevertheless reflects poorly on the organization&hellip;Given the Wilson saga, how long might it take to sign restricted free agent left winger Paul Kariya next summer? The Ducks will likely eventually get a deal done-and of course can match any offer. But consider Colorado center Peter Forsberg&rsquo;s new contract the starting point-about $6 million per season-and consider it a surprise if it&rsquo;s done before August&hellip;Defenseman Dan Trebil scored his first NHL goal Feb. 17 in a 5-1 victory over Edmonton. &#9632;

f0014-01

Kariya, Selanne decide time to step up hit list

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03827/6787330-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="580" height="895"><figcaption class="caption-body">Adam Oates</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021203/6787337-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="162" height="156"></div>On the night of Feb. 18, Adam Oates told the world he was sick of what the Boston Bruins were doing on the ice and weren&rsquo;t doing off it.On the morning of Feb. 20, assistant GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell told Oates, in a closed-door meeting in front of his coaches and teammates, he wasn&rsquo;t too impressed with the way Oates was doing his job. either.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sick of it,&rdquo; said Oates after the Bruins lost to the Colorado Avalanche Feb. 18. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not talented enough. It&rsquo;s not a question of hard work (but) we&rsquo;re getting worse every year.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s upstairs. They&rsquo;re not doing their job. I don&rsquo;t know if the owner (Jeremy Jacobs) is telling Harry (Sinden, Boston&rsquo;s GM) he can&rsquo;t spend money on players or if it&rsquo;s Harry&rsquo;s decision. But we&rsquo;ve been getting worse every year since I&rsquo;ve been here (February, 1992) and you can&rsquo;t blame anyone except them. It&rsquo;s not coaching, it&rsquo;s personnel, and that starts upstairs.&rdquo;O&rsquo;Connell accused Oates of being motivated more by money-specifically, frustration over a contract he wants renegotiated-than the direction the club is headed and stripped Oates of his alternate captaincy.Oates might not be easy to deal if the Bruins choose to move in that direction. He told The Hockey News he would not play for another team under his current contract. He is making $2.05 million (U.S.) this season and $2.15 million in 1997-98, with his 1998-99 salary-not more than $2.15 million-tied to next year&rsquo;s production.NOTEBOOK: Despite the turmoil, center Adam Oates extended a point-scoring streak to 20 games (7-21-28), the NHL&rsquo;s longest streak of the season and two games short of Bronco Horvath&rsquo;s team record 22-game streak in 1959-60. Oates also had assists in 14 games, extending his team record. He has been the Bruins&rsquo; leader in assists and points each of the past four seasons&hellip;Boston&rsquo;s 5-3 loss at Chicago Feb. 20 was its 32nd in 59 games. That represents more than the Bruins lost all last season&hellip;In going 0-5-0 to start a stretch of 12 road dates in 14 games, Boston allowed at least one power play goal in each game. Three of the losses were by one goal, including two in a row (to Phoenix and Colorado) in overtime. &#9632;

f0014-03

Oates feuds with bosses

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04556/6787368-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="162" height="157"></div>Pat LaFontaine is feeling better and making progress in his recovery from the effects of cumulative concussions, but his NHL future is still in doubt.LaFontaine recently returned from another trip to the Mayo Clinic and while the news was largely positive, doctors didn&rsquo;t give him the go-ahead to return.&ldquo;They said right now they&rsquo;re not going to clear me to play at this time,&rdquo; LaFontaine said at a news conference. &ldquo;They feel that everything should be back to 100 per cent. I trust and respect their opinion tremendously.&rdquo;LaFontaine acknowledged he was disappointed by the latest results. He had gone to the renowned Rochester, Minn., clinic with the hopes of getting medical clearance to play. LaFontaine said he had been feeling like his old self in the two weeks leading up to the visit and was optimistic.That optimism was the product of equal parts his own good feelings and wanting to be a part of what has become a surprisingly successful season for the Buffalo Sabres.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so happy for the guys and the organization, the coaching staff-everybody involved,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;To see the progress of our team, it sure would be nice to be out there, helping to contribute and be a part of that. But in the same instance, I think health is a major issue. You want to make the right decision. You don&rsquo;t want to put anything in jeopardy.&rdquo;The Sabres&rsquo; star suffered a concussion Oct. 17 from a blow delivered by Francois Leroux of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was the most recent in a series of concussions LaFontaine has suffered in his career. This time, though, the after-effects were more severe and enduring-headaches, disorientation and depression.&ldquo;All the drive and enthusiasm and my positive nature have been coming back, so I was optimistic,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I kind of hope for the best.&rdquo;LaFontaine will undergo another evaluation at an unspecified date.NOTEBOOK: Center Michael Peca. recently named an alternate captain, continued to emerge as a leader. Peca scored two goals, including his fourth shorthanded goal of the season, in a 5-5 tie with Calgary Feb. 18. Peca has become a workhorse, taking his regular shift and playing on both special teams. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing unbelievable hockey right now,&rdquo; said right winger Rob Ray&hellip;That tie with the Flames extended Buffalo&rsquo;s unbeaten streak to 10 games, the fourth longest in club history&hellip;Defenseman Garry Galley is hoping he&rsquo;ll be able to play through an abdominal injury. Galley recently returned to the lineup after missing one game and having about six days of rest in an attempt to ease the pain. &#9632;

f0014-04

LaFontaine not certain about future

<div class="byline">By Mike Board</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021023/6787399-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="313" height="415"><figcaption class="caption-body">Aaron Gavey</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011469/6787406-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="164" height="162"></div>Aaron Gavey probably couldn&rsquo;t be a Buffalo Sabre. &ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t like Buffalo,&rdquo; he said.And he has a pretty good reason.Just over a year ago, on Feb. 4, 1996, Gavey was cut in the face and mouth by a teammate&rsquo;s skate for more than 120 stitches while playing in the old Buffalo Auditorium for the Tampa Bay Lightning.&ldquo;I just felt a warmth in my mouth. I didn&rsquo;t know how bad I was cut,&rdquo; recalled Gavey. &ldquo;But my lip was filleted right up inside to the bone.&rdquo;It is a play that will be etched in the young center&rsquo;s mind for a lifetime.The fading scar on his face will see to that.&ldquo;There are always injuries in hockey. Let&rsquo;s hope that was the worst thing that happens to me,&rdquo; said the 23-year-old Gavey, acquired by the Calgary Hames this season in a trade for goaltender Rick Tabaracci. &ldquo;You know, guys hurt their knees, backs, break ankles, everything. It just happens. I happened to get cut bad in Buffalo&hellip;I dislike (playing in Buffalo) but you come in, work hard, and get out.&rdquo;Which is exactly what he did when he returned to the city of the grizzly event Feb 18, this time with the Hames and in the new Marine Midland Arena.In the second period, Buffalo scrapper Matthew Barnaby picked a fight with Gavey, not known as a fighter. But he acquitted himself well.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t drop them often, but I think I can handle myself. I was sluggish until the fight,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;After that I felt I had some intensity.&rdquo;As it turned out, Gavey scored the tying goal with under two minutes left in a 5-5 game with the Sabres to keep the Hames unbeaten in six games.Gavey hasn&rsquo;t exactly set the league on fire in Calgary, but his six goals and 13 points in 34 games were much better than his one goal and three points in 16 games this season with Tampa Bay.There was talk around the NHL that Gavey-a physical player who scored some goals, hit and checked throughout his years in junior when he won a Memorial Cup with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Sault St. Marie Greyhounds-had lost his physical intensity because of the facial injury.&ldquo;People said that I wasn&rsquo;t as physical afterwards. Well, for two weeks I was off and I didn&rsquo;t do anything. Nothing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a confidence thing. I actually think I am more aggressive now than before the injury. I&rsquo;ll defend myself on that one until my dying days. It hasn&rsquo;t affected me that way.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Flames&rsquo; assistant coach Bill Hughes was hospitalized in Fort Erie, Ont., and returned to Calgary after developing a reaction to medication he was taking&hellip;Left winger Mike Sullivan suffered a concussion in a game Feb. 15 when he was hit in the comer by Toronto right winger Tie Domi. Sullivan did not play in the first two games of the Flames&rsquo; road trip the following week&hellip;After being thumped 4-0 by Detroit Feb. 19, a game in which the Wings held up Calgary&rsquo;s forecheck with well-timed interference, captain and first line right winger Theo Fleury declared the team should start clutching and grabbing more. &ldquo;We are the only team that plays by the rules,&rdquo; he said&hellip;Goalie Trevor Kidd was co-NHL player of the week with New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur for the period ending Feb. 16. A few weeks after earning endorsement as Calgary&rsquo;s No. 1 goalie from coach Pierre Page, Kidd extended his win streak to five games with victories over Boston, Edmonton and Toronto. &#9632;

f0015-02

Gavey emerges undisputed winner in sham return to bloody Buffalo

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04537/6787437-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="313" height="413"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Terreri</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03734/6787444-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="161" height="160"></div>Not only did the Chicago Blackhawks look like a different hockey team, they felt like one, too.Brimming with more confidence than they&rsquo;ve had all season, the Hawks went on a streak with seven wins in nine games.Since the trade with the San Jose Sharks that brought aboard Ulf Dahlen, Michal Sykora and Chris Terreri in exchange for disgruntled goaltender Ed Belfour, the Hawks have proved to be a perfect example of how a little change can go a long way.The deal cleared the air in the dressing room while the new players added some much-needed spark to the lineup.&ldquo;When you add three new faces, three guys who are extremely happy and excited to be in Chicago, it helps,&rdquo; said coach Craig Hartsburg. &ldquo;We were in a situation where any change was going to be positive. It&rsquo;s more of a fact that the additions have come in and sparked us more than what left. That&rsquo;s what trades often are all about. It&rsquo;s more of what you&rsquo;re getting than what you&rsquo;re giving up.&rdquo;Dahlen was a nice fit on the first line with Tony Amonte and Alexei Zhamnov while Sykora moved into a spot among the top four on defense. Terreri won his first two starts, both of them coming against his former Sharks&rsquo; teammates.Dahlen had five goals and eight points in his first nine games, twice scoring game-winning goals.&ldquo;Ulfie doesn&rsquo;t have the speed that (Amonte and Zhamnov) do, but he knows when to go to the net and knows where to be,&rdquo; Hartsburg said. &ldquo;We needed a guy like that who was good around the net.&rdquo;With their renewed confidence, the Hawks were going after teams instead of sitting back and waiting for the game to develop. Included in their hot streak were victories over the Colorado Avalanche on the road and a pair against the New York Rangers.&ldquo;When you play with confidence it makes a huge difference,&rdquo; said rookie winger Ethan Moreau. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going after teams and not waiting for them to set the tempo. We want to set the tempo.&rdquo; It has also helped that Hawks such as Zhamnov, Eric Daze and Gary Suter started to produce a little more consistently after doing little for 50-plus games.Even with their improved play, the Hawks were finding it difficult to gain ground in the Western Conference, but they still had their sights set on finishing as high as fourth and gaining home ice in the first round of the playoffs.NOTEBOOK: The Hawks won three straight at the United Center, where their record had been 8-16-3 at one point. &ldquo;The whole key to the rest of our season is how we pick it up at home,&rdquo; said coach Craig Hartsburg. The Hawks were winning even though ace left winger Tony Amonte went a season-high seven games without a goal before scoring Feb. 20 against Boston. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care,&rdquo; Amonte said. &ldquo;The team winning is all that matters.&rdquo;&hellip;Veteran center Murray Craven missed four games after being hit in the back in practice by a slapshot off the stick of left winger James Black&hellip;Defenseman Gary Suter notched his 700th career point Feb. 17 at St. Louis&hellip;Feb. 15 was quite a day for professional hockey in Chicago. The Hawks set a club attendance record when 22,819 fans watched them shut out the Rangers 2-0 at the United Center. That same day, almost 17,000 people took in a Chicago Wolves&rsquo; International League game against Detroit at the Rosemont Horizon. &#9632;

f0015-04

Cause for revitalized performance nothing more than fuzzy feelings

<div class="byline">By Adrian Dater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02930/6787475-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="314" height="413"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Forsberg</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011232/6787482-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="163" height="160"></div>He probably could have made more bucks had he dipped his toe into the restricted free agent waters, but Peter Forsberg came to the conclusion there are more things in life than the almighty dollar.Hold off on any fundraising drives for Forsberg, though. His new contract with the Colorado Avalanche is worth a minimum $12.6 million and maximum $13.6 million.There likely would have been at least one team which would have made Forsberg a huge offer had he tested his market value this summer. Even under the stem penalties for signing restricted free agents, getting Forsberg would be considered a wise investment.But Forsberg re-signed with Colorado Jan. 18.&ldquo;Happiness and winning are a priority in my life and that&rsquo;s why I chose to stay with the Avalanche rather than elect for free agency,&rsquo;&rsquo; Forsberg said.&ldquo;I really love it in Denver, and I love playing on such a great team. When you walk into the locker room of a losing team, it&rsquo;s dead quiet and I don&rsquo;t like that.&rdquo;Although the deal was termed a three-year contract, in reality it&rsquo;s a two-year extension of his current deal which expired after this season.Forsberg is signed through the 1998-99 season. The terms of the deal are as follows: Forsberg receives a $2.3-million raise (or signing bonus) this season, bringing his 1996-97 total to $3.6 million; $4 million in 1997-98; and $5-6 million in 199899.That final year of the deal provides for a twoway option in which the Avs will pay Forsberg $6 million should they exercise their option to keep him. If only Forsberg exercises the option, the club will pay $5 million. If both parties exercise the option, the club pays $5.5 million. In the unlikely event neither party does, Forsberg would become a Group II free agent.Avalanche GM Pierre Lacroix admitted getting Forsberg to stay in the fold and within the team&rsquo;s salary structure was a &ldquo;big load off our backs&rdquo; and commended the Swedish superstar for his professionalism during the negotiations.&ldquo;Let me tell you, this guy is just a real class act,&rdquo; Lacroix said. &ldquo;Being the gentleman that he is, I&rsquo;m not surprised at what he chose to do. The fact he chose to stay loyal to our great family here is a great thing for us.&rdquo;Forsberg, just 23, will be in a great position to pull in a whopping contract when his new one expires. In the meantime, Forsberg says he just wants to keep concentrating on winning more Stanley Cups.NOTEBOOK: Center Joe Sakic returned to the lineup Feb. 18 after a six-week absence with a lacerated left calf. He assisted on right winger Claude Lemieux&rsquo;s game-winning goal in overtime against Boston Feb. 18&hellip;GM Pierre Lacroix said he would start talking in earnest with Sakic&rsquo;s agent, Don Baizley, about re-signing the other half of the Avs&rsquo; dynamic duo at center. Baizley is also the agent for Peter Forsberg&hellip;The game against the Bruins marked the first time all season the Avalanche was completely healthy and not missing anybody because of any contract holdouts&hellip;The team&rsquo;s penalty-killing rate of 89.6 per cent would be a league best for the past 15 years if the season ended Feb. 20. Detroit&rsquo;s 88.3 rate last season is the current league best of the past 15 years&hellip;The Avalanche had opened up a 16-point lead over Edmonton, the second place team in the otherwise bumbling Pacific Division, and was eight points ahead of Dallas, the second place team in the Western Conference. &#9632;

f0017-02

Forsberg puts off free agency by signing two-year extension

<div class="byline">By Mike Heika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04492/6787513-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="313" height="412"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Nieuwendyk</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03672/6787520-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="162" height="159"></div>As the Dallas Stars continued on a pace to register their best record ever, coach Ken Hitchcock was wondering it his team has what it takes to succeed.The Stars played a 10-game stretch in February where they were emotionally flat, offensively inconsistent and statistically weak-going 5-for-36 on the power play while yielding 11 power play goals in 47 chances. And for all those problems, they came out of the stretch with a 5-5-0 record. Combined with the 4-0-1 sprint before that stretch, the Stars were 9-5-1 since the all-star break.Dallas&rsquo; 600 winning percentage equalled the franchise-high mark set in 1982-83 when the Minnesota North Stars collected 96 points in 80 games. A similar pace over 82 games would yield 98 points.And yet, Hitchcock was frustrated.&ldquo;We are a team that can beat any team in the league and can also lose to any team in the league,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s not a cliche. We&rsquo;re doing it on a daily basis. We&rsquo;re just at a point where we&rsquo;re not consistent, and that&rsquo;s very frustrating.&rdquo;Dallas players acknowledge the problems.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anyone on this team would say we&rsquo;re playing well, but we&rsquo;ve been able to win some games,&rdquo; said right winger Todd Harvey. &ldquo;We know we&rsquo;ve been fortunate so far and we know we have to play better.&rdquo;Wins aside, it seemed the team was beginning to miss the key contributions of injured forwards Greg Adams and Jere Lehtinen.&ldquo;We have to be able to do a better job finishing,&rdquo; Hitchcock lamented. &ldquo;We get ourselves into position and we get plenty of chances, but we&rsquo;re making too many goalies look good right now. Finish is all about working hard and never stopping. It&rsquo;s getting harder to find open ice right now, but it&rsquo;s only going to get tougher in the playoffs.&rdquo;Ah, the playoffs. Now there&rsquo;s the rub.If the Stars finish in the top three in the Western Conference, they likely will play a team from a pool of the Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks or Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. They have dominated only one of those teams this season (the Ducks) and would have an interesting first-round matchup with one of the other teams.They&rsquo;d like to think they could improve their lot and possibly gain on the Colorado Avalanche.&ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to get to a point where we&rsquo;re seriously chasing them,&rdquo; said center Joe Nieuwendyk.NOTEBOOK: The Stars enjoyed overtime victories over Phoenix, Los Angeles and Detroit in a span of seven days. Goalie Andy Moog was in net on back-to-back days for the Phoenix and Los Angeles wins. It&rsquo;s a feat never performed before in Stars&rsquo; history&hellip;Moog, the NHL&rsquo;s oldest goalie, celebrated his 37th birthday Feb 18&hellip;Right winger Jere Lehtinen returned Feb. 12 from a sprained right knee, was hit by Coyotes&rsquo; center Jeremy Roenick and sprained it again. He was expected to be out until late-February&hellip;Left winger Greg Adams was skating and travelling with the team as he continued to recuperate from persistent neck spasms. He was hoping to return by early-March&hellip;Center Mike Modano had his eighth game-winning goal of the season Feb. 17 against the Kings, one shy of the Stars&rsquo; season record of nine, set by Brian Bellows in 1989-90. Modano also had assists on eight game-winners this season, giving him a hand in 16 of the Stars&rsquo; 34 gamewinners (46 per cent). &#9632;

f0017-04

Hitchcock frustrated at Stars complete lack of consistency

<div class="byline">By Cynthia Lambert</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011265/6787551-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="162" height="161"></div>It&rsquo;s hard to believe someone such as Igor Larionov could slip through the cracks of attention.But when you&rsquo;ve got a team with star players such as Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan and Sergei Fedorov, it&rsquo;s understandable how it could happen. Well, almost.&ldquo;No matter where Igor has been, the guys don&rsquo;t realize how good he is until they play with him,&rdquo; said Hockey Night in Canada analyst Harry Neale. &ldquo;It happened in Vancouver, in San Jose and now it&rsquo;s happening in Detroit.&rdquo;But Larionov&rsquo;s skill and ability to control a game has not gone unrecognized by the Wings&rsquo; organization. Senior vice-president Jimmy Devellano has been in contract talks with Larionov and hopes to soon sign the center to a contract extension.&ldquo;We want to re-sign him not just for one more season but for two,&rdquo; Devellano said. &ldquo;And he has indicated he&rsquo;d like to stay.&rdquo;Larionov said he is receptive to staying in Detroit, but declined to discuss his negotiation status.&ldquo;I want to stay just two more years, no more,&rdquo; Larionov said. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t like to talk about my contract situation.&rdquo;Larionov&rsquo;s latest left winger also is urging the Wings to sign him to a contract and secure him for the future. Brendan Shanahan is playing on Larionov&rsquo;s left side and reaped the benefits while the 36-year-old center quietly went about his business.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an incredibly smart player,&rdquo; said Shanahan, who had nine goals in five games, many of them set up by Larionov. &ldquo;He has been as important a part of this team, if not more important, as any guy. He does it all. At center he takes a regular shift, he takes faceoffs, he has been up front on the power play, back on the point on the power play, he has killed penalties.&rdquo;Larionov is in the final year of his contract, making $1 million. If the Wings do not re-sign him, he will be a Group III unrestricted free agent this summer.NOTEBOOK: Center Steve Yzerman played in his 1,000th career regular season game when Detroit defeated Calgary 4-0 Feb. 19. In that game, Yzerman had three assists, giving him 533 goals and 1,323 points. He is 17th on the all-time NHL scoring list&hellip;The Wings have brought back defenseman Mike Ramsey, who had been working at a family sporting goods store in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. He will join the team for practices beginning Feb. 25, but likely won&rsquo;t be activated until mid-March. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s what we need,&rdquo; said coach Scotty Bowman. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a left defenseman and he&rsquo;s tough. He just turned 36 in December and there are guys in the league who are older than him. He can come in and give us experience.&rdquo;&hellip;After going through a 1-31 run, goalie Chris Osgood recorded his fifth shutout of the season (13th career) in the win over Calgary to go 4-0-0. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not doing anything now that I wasn&rsquo;t doing before,&rdquo; Osgood said. &ldquo;I knew things were going to come around.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0018-01

Wings want to keep Larionov; Russian veteran wants to stay

<div class="byline">By Dave Joseph</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011168/6787613-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="163" height="161"></div>The light at the end of the tunnel was getting brighter for the Florida Panthers.After going a good chunk of the season with key players on the injury list, the Panthers were hopeful of having a healthy team by the beginning of March. That, plus the fact 14 of their final 22 games were at home, had the Panthers optimistic about the stretch run.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not looking back at the teams below us. We&rsquo;re looking up, we&rsquo;re eager to get some wins,&rdquo; said defenseman Gord Murphy. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something, as a group, we&rsquo;ve always believed. Throughout a season you&rsquo;ll have highs and lows, ups and downs. But if you stick to the game plan and try to execute, no matter who&rsquo;s in the lineup we have an opportunity to win.&rdquo;For coach Doug MacLean, it has been a struggle. At various points since mid-November, key cogs such as Dave Lowry, Ray Sheppard, Ed Jovanovski, Mike Hough, Rob Niedermayer, Johan Garpenlov and Brian Skrudland have been on the sidelines. Yet, the Panthers remained above 500.&ldquo;You&rsquo;re talking about all important guys,&rdquo; MacLean said. &ldquo;Garpenlov and Niedermayer were two-thirds of our scoring line, then we lose Jovanovski, who generates speed, (rushes) the puck and keeps people&rsquo;s heads up. Skrudland is an emotional leader, Hough is a guy you always call on late in the game. Sheppard is our goal-scorer. I mean, they&rsquo;re all big losses.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Ray Sheppard was the only one of the injured regulars who didn&rsquo;t figure to be back at the start of March. Sheppard, out since Feb. 6 with a sprained right knee, could be back by the middle of the month&hellip;Representatives of owner H. Wayne Huizenga went to court Feb. 21 to argue over wages being earned by construction workers at the Panthers&rsquo; new arena site. Broward County officials argued Huizenga is required to pay a prevailing wage (higher than industry standard) because it&rsquo;s a county project, but the provision was never written into the contract with Huizenga&hellip;After playing three games to fill in for injured players, center/left winger Craig Ferguson was returned Feb. 20 to Carolina of the American League. &#9632;

f0019-01

Panthers eager for stretch as injured begin to return

<div class="byline">By Jerry Higgins</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03557/6787644-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="581" height="900"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Dineen</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02842/6787651-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="163" height="158"></div>Kevin Dineen is the heart and soul of the Hartford Whalers. He doesn&rsquo;t take nights off. No one on the team works harder and battles as much as he does on a game-to-game basis.Sometimes that effort is good enough to pick up his teammates. Other nights while Dineen battles and takes one for the team, the other Whalers sit around and watch each other to see who will jump on board for the ride.While it was speculated in some corners that Dineen deserved to be a commissioner&rsquo;s selection to the Eastern Conference team for the All-Star Game, the 33-year-old isn&rsquo;t ready to be put out to pasture just yet.If the Whalers are to get to the playoffs for the first time in five years, Dineen will have to play a vital role. He scored both goals in a 2-2 tie against the Philadelphia Flyers Feb. 19.&ldquo;He works so hard and makes things happen,&rdquo; said Paul Ranheim, who was moved up by coach Paul Maurice to replace Geoff Sanderson on a line with Dineen and Andrew Cassels.Dineen was second on the team in power play goals with seven and was third in power play points with 14. His 15 goals and 40 points were already his highest total since he scored 19 and had 42 points in 1993-94 when he captained the Flyers.&ldquo;Playing time is the biggest difference for me this year,&rdquo; Dineen said. &ldquo;On this team, we don&rsquo;t rely on one person. We don&rsquo;t have a dominating player. All I wanted was a chance to play.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Kelly Chase was fined the league maximum $1,000 for comments he made about referee Kerry Fraser after Hartford&rsquo;s 3-2 overtime loss at Montreal Feb. 8. Chase questioned Fraser&rsquo;s call on a tripping penalty to left winger Paul Ranheim which led to the game-tying goal and a no-call on a trip to left winger Geoff Sanderson in overtime, which then led to the winning goal. &ldquo;They have a right to fine me, but I have a right to disagree,&rdquo; Chase said&hellip;Backup goaltender Jason Muzzatti ended a seven-game losing streak in a 2-2 with Philadelphia&hellip;Hartford had scored three goals or fewer in 16 of their 18 games heading into Feb. 21&rsquo;s game with the Rangers&hellip;Of the Whalers&rsquo; final 24 games, 12 were scheduled on back-to-back nights. &#9632;

f0019-03

No doubting gritty Dineen

<div class="byline">By Helene Elliott</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04433/6787682-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="162" height="158"></div>Three times in his life, Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; coach Larry Robinson has been under such severe stress the skin on his hands peeled.The first time was after his first knee operation. The second was after his second knee operation. The third was last season, his first as coach of the Kings and the first time-after a splendid 20-year playing career and two years as an assistant coach-a team he represented missed the playoffs.He has managed his stress better this season, but it hasn&rsquo;t been easy. Injuries continued to deplete an already thin lineup and a 0-5-2 streak in February all but killed the Kings&rsquo; playoff chances.However, Robinson told the Los Angeles Times that, &ldquo;unless all hell breaks loose in the next little while,&rdquo; he intends to return next season rather than invoke an escape clause in his four-year, $3.2-million contract.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve put a lot of sleepless hours into this, as have (other Kings&rsquo; executives),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to put in all that time and effort and not see some of the fruits of that.&ldquo;The players are there. The younger players are there. We&rsquo;ve got to get bigger and we&rsquo;ve got to bring our skill level up a little bit and we&rsquo;ve got to get faster. We just have to be patient and that&rsquo;s why the draft coming up (in which the Kings have two first-round picks) is such a big step for us.&rdquo;Robinson said his patience stems from faith in GM Sam McMaster&rsquo;s ability to find talented kids who will be the franchise&rsquo;s cornerstones and his belief owners Philip Anschutz and Edward Roski are dedicated to improving the team.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s not to say they&rsquo;re going to just open their checkbooks and say, &lsquo;Yeah, do this and do that,&rsquo;&rdquo;Robinson said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re concerned about our direction, but I think they&rsquo;re as committed as we are. One good free agent and one or two of our kids develop and we&rsquo;re right there.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Doug Zmolek was hospitalized Feb. 17 for the second time in two weeks after experiencing an irregular heartbeat. His heartbeat was regulated and he was placed on a special diet. He missed three games and was cleared to return Feb. 22&hellip;Left winger Roman Vopat&rsquo;s first goal as a King was the winner in a 3-1 victory over Anaheim Feb. 20&hellip;Defenseman Rob Blake was out day-to-day with soreness in his left knee, the one he had surgically repaired in November, 1995&hellip;The Kings announced they&rsquo;re focusing on a parcel of land in downtown Los Angeles as the preferred site for their new arena-entertainment complex, but said no decision on a site had been made. &#9632;

f0019-04

Robinson keeps faith in franchise

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011053/6787713-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="164" height="160"></div>It was hardly the ideal way for Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; goal tender Jocelyn Thibault to start his day.The morning after the Canadiens defeated the New York Islanders 4-1 Feb. 17, backed by the spectacular 36-save performance of Jose Theodore who improved his record to 5-4-2 (3.56 goals-against average, 90.5 save percentage), the blaring front-page headline of a Montreal daily newspaper proclaimed:&lsquo;When Theodore Plays, The Canadiens Win&rsquo;, as if to say when Thibault plays, the Canadiens lose.There was an unconfirmed report in another Montreal newspaper Theodore was now considered the team&rsquo;s top goalie by the coaching staff, although he&rsquo;s a 20-year-old rookie.Coach Mario Tremblay has never stated Theodore is his No. 1 goaltender, but did acknowledge Theodore could expect to continue playing as long as his stellar performances continued.GM Rejean Houle called Thibault the Canadiens&rsquo; goaltender of the future earlier this season after he was signed to a three-year, $4-million contract.Thibault, 22, has endured an inconsistent season. In 41 games, he had a 13-18-7 record, 3.09 GAA and 90.8 SP.&ldquo;The only thing I can do is be prepared to play as well as I can,&rdquo; Thibault said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy with my game, no matter what people say.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Despite speculation the Canadiens might trade for veteran Detroit goaltender Mike Vernon, GM Rejean Houle said he doesn&rsquo;t anticipate making any changes before the March 18 trading deadline. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not looking for new players at this point,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is the team we&rsquo;re going with for the rest of the season, unless there are major injuries or unless we&rsquo;re slipping a lot on the way to the deadline.&rdquo;&hellip;Right winger Stephane Richer came to the rescue of a Montreal woman who broke her ankle and was lying in a snowbank outside his home Feb. 8. &ldquo;I knew she was in trouble,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was very cold that day, but when I saw her, I went out right away; I didn&rsquo;t even put on a coat. I did what I had to do.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0020-01

Goalie controversy brews as Theodore puts up wins

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03473/6787744-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="579" height="902"><figcaption class="caption-body">Scott Niedermayer</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02703/6787751-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="164" height="161"></div>At times it has seemed to Scott Niedermayer the entire hockey world was waiting for him to become the next Paul Coffey or Ray Bourque.Five seasons into his NHL career, the pressure still weighs heavily on the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; defenseman.&ldquo;If things aren&rsquo;t going well for me, those expectations enter into the picture because you feel you could do more,&rdquo; Niedermayer said. &ldquo;The last few seasons have seemed like (a disaster) at certain points. Hopefully, this season will continue to turn around for me and the team as we head into the playoffs.&rdquo;At one point this season, Niedermayer was minus-15 on a team that prides itself on defense. His rink-length rushes disappeared and there was speculation the Devils might have grown tired enough of waiting for him to blossom that they would include the 23-year-old in a trade for Doug Gilmour or Adam Oates.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t pay too much attention to plus-minus,&rdquo; said coach Jacques Lemaire. &ldquo;Sometimes it&rsquo;s not your fault when they score and you are on the ice, but if you get to minus-15 or minus-16, you have to look at it.&ldquo;We all expect Nieder to play at his level, which is one of the best defensemen in the league, all year. Lately, there is improvement.&rdquo;Still, Niedermayer was having his struggles even while the Devils extended their unbeaten streak to 13 games (6-0-7). The defenseman had just two goals and 20 points in 57 games and was minus-10.NOTEBOOK: Center Pascal Rheaume made his NHL debut Feb. 20 at Miami and scored in a 2-2 tie with Florida. Rheaume was recalled from Albany of the American League after center Denis Pederson suffered a head injury when elbowed by Rangers&rsquo; right winger Brian Noonan&hellip;The tie with Florida extended goalie Martin Brodeur&rsquo;s unbeaten streak to a franchiserecord 14 games (8-0-6)&hellip;With Brodeur playing a string of games, backup Mike Dunham started for Albany Feb. 14 in Syracuse. Dunham and left winger Jay Pandolfo drove 2-1/2 hours in a rain storm to Albany, bused to Syracuse, played an overtime game and were dropped off at the airport to catch a private jet to Montreal. They rejoined the Devils 1:30 a.m. Feb. 15. &#9632;

f0020-03

Pressure on Niedermayer

<div class="byline">By Jim Smith</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01824/6787782-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="163" height="160"></div>Don&rsquo;t tell Doug Houda you can&rsquo;t teach an old dog new tricks. Houda taught himself.The journeyman defenseman had suited up for the New York Islanders for 51 straight games in part because of injuries, but also because he learned to change the way he played. In an 11year career that has had stops with the Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres, he gained a reputation as an erratic tough guy with no offensive skill who looked for big hits, often taking himself out of position.&ldquo;It has taken me a lot of years to learn not to do that,&rdquo; said Houda, signed by the Islanders this season for the leagueminimum $125,000. &ldquo;When I was younger, that was probably my biggest fault. I try to be more under control now, to play hard, but smart. I just want to take the body when it&rsquo;s there.&rdquo;Houda has played 10-12 minutes a game, mostly with Bryan McCabe at even strength. He consistently has gotten the puck out of his own zone, cleared the front of the net and fought when necessary.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s aware of his role,&rdquo; said Islanders&rsquo; GM Mike Milbury. &ldquo;He knows he has got to keep it simple and answer the call. He&rsquo;s happy with that, happy he&rsquo;s playing in the NHL.&rdquo;Houda has played so well Milbury said he intends to discuss a possible contract extension with him. Houda could become a Group V unrestricted free agent on July 1.NOTEBOOK: The sale of the Islanders to John Spano was expected to become official by Feb. 24. The team was just awaiting unanimous NHL board of governors approval&hellip;Because of a scheduling oddity, the Islanders home game against Pittsburgh Feb. 23 was its first on a Sunday. It had two more Sunday games the remainder of the season, on the road against Washington and Chicago&hellip;GM Mike Milbury on 22-year-old defenseman Kenny Jonsson: &ldquo;(He) needs six months of a physical fitness regimen. He has not figured out you need a huge commitment to building a body to play at the elite level.&rdquo;&hellip;Goaltender Tommy Salo picked up his third shutout of the season in a 1-0 overtime win against Florida Feb. 15. &#9632;

f0021-01

Houda finds new respect by going back to basics

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03254/6787813-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="585" height="897"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rod Bryden</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02452/6787820-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="164" height="158"></div>Ottawa Senators&rsquo; chairman Rod Bryden said it&rsquo;s not a threat, but if Ottawa hockey fans don&rsquo;t buy more season tickets, they could find themselves in the same boat as fans in Winnipeg and Quebec City.&ldquo;That is not the owner threatening to leave,&rdquo; Bryden said. &ldquo;That is the owner of a business saying that if the customers of the business don&rsquo;t want the business, you have to move the business somewhere where the customers want it. It&rsquo;s as simple as that.&rdquo;Winnipeg and Quebec City lost their NHL franchises to American cities Phoenix and Colorado.Bryden said he needs the club&rsquo;s season ticket base to be in the 12,000 range. It&rsquo;s currently at about 8,100.Average attendance at the Corel Centre has dipped to 14,600 this season, down 1.000 from what the Senators averaged after moving into the new building in January of last year.There were some encouraging signs things were picking up as the Senators participated in their first playoff race. In mid-February, in home games against the San Jose Sharks and Hartford Whalers the club attracted back-to-back crowds of more than 18,000 for the first time this season.They should continue to do well at the gate as long as they remain in contention.Bryden said he has lost tens of millions of dollars, but despite the drawbacks of playing in a small Canadian market believes the team can be economically viable and competitive if fans fill the seats.NOTEBOOK: GM Pierre Gauthier isn&rsquo;t expected to make a big deal which compromises his team&rsquo;s future to help make the playoffs now. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like a guy who&rsquo;s stuck in a tunnel,&rdquo; Gauthier said. &ldquo;He can&rsquo;t see the light, but then he comes to two branches. On one side there is a dim light which he could reach right away. On the other side is brighter light, but it&rsquo;s farther away and will take longer. There&rsquo;s fight on both sides, but which do you choose? You can choose to stay average for your whole fife or you can choose the route that makes you get really good, but you might have to be more patient.&rdquo;&hellip;Veteran center Dave Hannan, who had been used sparingly this season, decided to retire when he wasn&rsquo;t picked up on waivers. &#9632;

f0021-03

Boss issues ticket olea

<div class="byline">By Rick Car piniello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04181/6787851-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="163" height="158"></div>For his entire tenure as coach of the New York Rangers, Colin Campbell has openly wished he had a &ldquo;Crash Line&rdquo; such as the one his archrivals, the New Jersey Devils, once used so well against him.Campbell didn&rsquo;t necessarily want a line of fighters. What he always hoped for was a line that could take a regular shift and apply a long, hard, effective forecheck.So in late-February after an unemotional, soft, lackadaisical three-game losing streak, Campbell found his line as a matter of necessity. Newcomer Mike Eastwood was put between Darren Langdon, who was fighting every heavyweight in the NHL, and Brian Noonan for a home-and-home series with the Devils.The results were immediate. That line&rsquo;s hard work created the momentum that led on the next shift to a Niklas Sundstrom goal. Then, late in the game, Wayne Gretzky took Eastwood&rsquo;s spot for a couple of shifts and he and Langdon assisted on Noonan&rsquo;s game-tying goal.Two nights later, the new threesome played a regular shift as the suddenly fiery, feisty Rangers played to another tie, 1-1, in New Jersey.Campbell was particularly impressed with the physical play of Langdon.&ldquo;There hasn&rsquo;t been a game where Darren at this level, and even when I had him in the American League, played every third shift,&rdquo; Campbell said. &ldquo;And even if he did, it didn&rsquo;t last long; he&rsquo;d get into a fight. Just on the basis alone that Darren has been involved with probably seven or eight of the toughest guys in the league the last six weeks, he deserves the opportunity to take a step up.&rdquo;The offspring of that line&rsquo;s formation, and of injuries to checking linemates Bill Berg and Pat Flatley, also freed up usual third-line center Sergei Nemchinov to make an impression as a right winger on the Mark MessierAdam Graves line.NOTEBOOK: Center Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s goal-less streak reached 21 games, although twice thought he&rsquo;d snapped it. On Feb. 17, his pass into a crowd went in and Gretzky momentarily thought the slump was over before learning right winger Brian Noonan had redirected it in. Two nights later, Gretzky clanged a shot off the post behind New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur&hellip;Luckless right winger Shane Churla suffered ligament damage trying to get at New Jersey&rsquo;s Reid Simpson when his right pinky got tangled up with overzealous linesman Kevin Collins..,Right winger Darren Langdon&rsquo;s fight card from Jan. 25-Feb. 17: Dave Roche. Bob Probert, Dan Kordic. Stu Grimson, Tony Twist, Randy McKay. &#9632;

f0021-04

Langdon brings crash to attack

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01929/6787882-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="162" height="159"></div>The knee braces Eric Lindros has to wear every day reveal the main reason why the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; captain has become an outspoken critic of the low hip check.Lindros turns 24 Feb. 28 and he has already suffered three substantial knee injuries during his career.A fourth nearly occurred Feb. 13 when he was upended by Ottawa Senators&rsquo; defenseman Janne Laukkanen. Lindros managed to avoid contact to his knee, but flipped over and landed on his back. He suffered a bruise and some nerve problems that forced him to miss two games.&ldquo;People are going to get hurt, I&rsquo;ve been hurt, other guys have been hurt,&rdquo; Lindros said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re seeing it more and more frequently. It&rsquo;s on every highlight&hellip;it&rsquo;s like it encourages it.&rdquo;Critics say Flyers&rsquo; GM Bob Clarke is campaigning for legislation only because of Lindros. Lindros said it goes beyond that.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s in his best interests because he&rsquo;s got big guys (the Flyers have the biggest roster in the NHL). When you have taller players, a hip check is going to hit people that are taller a lot lower than it&rsquo;s going to hit the average-size player.&rdquo;To wit, Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; defenseman Darius Kasparaitis tried to low-bridge another Flyer star, John LeClair, in a Feb. 15 game at the CoreStates Center. LeClair was fortunate to escape injury.NOTEBOOK: The Flyers&rsquo; 6-2 win at Pittsburgh Feb. 16 was their first since Nov. 21, 1990, ending a 14-game (0-10-4) winless streak at the Civic Arena&hellip;The Flyers rallied from a 2-0 deficit with six straight goals, including the 100th of right winger Mikael Renberg&rsquo;s career, in the Penguins&rsquo; game&hellip;Goalie Garth Snow extended his unbeaten streak to 12 games (7-0-5) against Tampa Bay&hellip;Center Dale Hawerchuk, who has been sidelined by hip and ribcage muscle injuries this season, suffered a left groin strain against Ottawa Feb. 13&hellip;Snow, centers Eric Lindros and Joel Otto and goalie Ron Hextall made videotape messages of encouragement for Eric Drygas, the University of Alaska player who was left paralyzed recently from an on-ice accident &#9632;

f0024-01

Lindros, mates up in arms over low checks on knees

<div class="byline">By Mike Dudurich</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03406/6787913-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="577" height="898"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jaromir Jagr</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02623/6787920-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="163" height="158"></div>The Pittsburgh Penguins hit the all-star break in January flying much higher than real penguins could ever dream of.Rookie goaltender Patrick Lalime shut out the Hartford Whalers 3-0 to establish the longest unbeaten streak from the start of a career (13-0-2). The team was cruising along on an 11-0-2 ran and had all but wiped out memories of an awful start to the season.Since then, however, it seemed as though Penguin players had been kidnapped and a group of highly inferior imposters had taken over. In their first 13 games following the break, their record was 6-7-0, punctuated by a four-game losing streak.After losing five games from Dec. 15 to Feb. 15, they lost four of their next eight.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t liked the way we&rsquo;ve played since the all-star break,&rdquo; said GM Craig Patrick. &ldquo;Injuries are part of how we&rsquo;ve played, but we just didn&rsquo;t come back with the focus that we had earlier. We need to get that back.&rdquo;Players were particularly unhappy with a back-to-back losses to the Philadelphia Flyers (5-1 in Philly, 6-2 in Pittsburgh) that put a serious crimp in their plans of trying to catch the Flyers for first overall in the Eastern Conference.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re a pretty deep team and you could see a pretty good gap between their team and ours,&rdquo; said left winger Mario Lemieux. &ldquo;Obviously there are some pieces missing here. Hopefully we can get them quickly because we&rsquo;re going to ran out of time soon.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Jaromir Jagr&rsquo;s season-long search for proper-fitting skates continues. He wore out a pair he had early in the season and everything he has tried since has not worked. Because of his flat right foot, the ill-fitting skate causes extra pressure on his groin and he has suffered with groin problems most of the season. He even put on a pair of left winger Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s skates for a practice and said they felt good, but planned to meet with skate manufacturers to get a pair of his own. He missed the Penguins&rsquo; game against Florida Feb. 18&hellip;Right winger Joe Mullen scored a goal against Florida Feb. 18. giving him 499 in his NHL career. His next goal would make him become the first American-born player to score 500 goals. &#9632;

f0024-03

Penguins hit skids again

<div class="byline">By Bob McManaman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04256/6787951-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="161" height="159"></div>The Phoenix Coyotes had better find themselves another enforcer. Jim McKenzie, one of the team&rsquo;s busiest fighters, now fancies himself a scorer after recording his first NHL career hat trick.The 6-foot-3 McKenzie scored three times in his first five minutes of ice time during a 6-1 thrashing of the Los Angeles Kings Feb. 18. Before his onslaught, the punishing winger had scored one goal all season.His teammates were hooting it up after McKenzie beat Byron DaFoe the third time, on a top-shelf goal he snapped home from the slot. What were they saying to him?&ldquo;What, you mean between the laughter?&rdquo; McKenzie said, grinning. &ldquo;They were laughing it up after the first one and the second one. They told me, &lsquo;Hey Jimmy, there&rsquo;s no rale says you can&rsquo;t get a fourth one.&rsquo; But hey, you have to draw the line somewhere.&ldquo;Scoring goals is not what my hands are meant to be used for. That&rsquo;s not what got me into this league and it won&rsquo;t be what keeps me here. I think that&rsquo;s fairly obvious.&rdquo;True to form, McKenzie was involved in the only fight of the night when he tangled with the Kings&rsquo; Matt Johnson in a slugfest about five minutes after he notched the hat trick.McKenzie chided top scorer Keith Tkachuk about having to do it all for the Coyotes.&ldquo;I told Keith that he has to come to the aid of the team&rsquo;s scorers when they&rsquo;re in trouble out there,&rdquo; said McKenzie, who before this season had 21 goals in 360 career games.&ldquo;Yeah, my line was the checking line,&rdquo; joked Tkachuk, who had 37 goals through 58 games. &ldquo;It was really nice to see Jimmy score those goals, though. You can&rsquo;t believe how happy everyone was on the bench for him.&rdquo;Teammate Kris King, one of the team&rsquo;s other enforcers, also scored in the game. It was his first since Oct. 28 and third of the season.NOTEBOOK: He didn&rsquo;t want to do it, but coach Don Hay united Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk on the Coyotes&rsquo; top line. With Craig Janney back in the lineup and centering Tkachuk on the left and Roenick on the right, the Coyotes won four of their next five games. &ldquo;I just want to win,&rdquo; Tkachuk said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m tired of playing for losing teams. We need to finish no worse than fourth in the conference or I won&rsquo;t be satisfied.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin had started 19 consecutive games through Feb. 21. He played every single minute of those games and had three shutouts since the all-star break., Defenseman Jay More, acquired from the Rangers Feb. 6, had a point in each of his first four games with the Coyotes. &#9632;

f0024-04

McKenzie’s stone hands turn soft

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01826/6787982-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="162" height="160"></div>St. Louis Blues&rsquo; defenseman Chris Pronger was livid after defenseman Adam Foote of the Colorado Avalanche didn&rsquo;t get suspended for a two-handed slash.Pronger suffered a spider fracture of the left wrist on the Foote slash 21 seconds into the second period of the Avalanche&rsquo;s 5-2 victory Feb. 15. He missed the next game two hours later, but returned Feb. 19 playing with a protective cast.Foote didn&rsquo;t miss any time at all. Brian Burke, the NHL&rsquo;s senior vicepresident and director of hockey operations ruled the incident did not warrant a suspension and declined further comment.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a joke,&rdquo; Pronger said. &ldquo;Brian Burke came in and told us the punishment fits the crime. The fact is I had my wrist broken and (Foote) got nothing. I got four games last year when I hit a guy on the shoulder and the stick accidentally bounced up and hit him on the throat.&rdquo;Pat Peake of the Washington Capitals suffered a severed cartilage in his throat on the play. In suspending Pronger for four games last season, Burke said although it was an accident, Pronger &ldquo;used his stick in a reckless manner.&rdquo;You could argue that Foote used his stick in a reckless manner by slashing Pronger&rsquo;s hands.&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t like this was an accident,&rdquo; Pronger said. &ldquo;(Foote) turned around and tomahawked me.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Despite missing defensemen Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis, Blues beat Chicago 4-2 Feb. 17 at Kiel Center, winning because goalie Grant Fuhr made 33 saves&hellip;The Blues are back in compliance with NHL Rule 9a which states &ldquo;benches and doors shall be uniform for both teams&hellip;with doors opening in the neutral zone.&rdquo; They had been operating with a third door 10 feet inside the zone they defend two period a game&hellip;A St. Louis bartender, Christian Huddart, won a newspaper contest to name the Blues&rsquo; No. 1 line of Pierre Turgeon. Brett Hull and Geoff Courtnall. The winning entry: The Lost And Found Line. The explanation: They were lost under Mike Keenan and found under Joel Quenneville. &#9632;

f0025-01

Angry Pronger rips Burke for not penalizing Foote

<div class="byline">By Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03338/6788013-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="577" height="895"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kelly Hrudey</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02524/6788020-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="161" height="157"></div>If the San Jose Sharks accomplish nothing else this season-a prospect that was becoming increasingly likely-they can at least point with pride to the season series against the Dallas Stars.The Sharks capped an unlikely four-game sweep of Central Division-leading Dallas with a 3-1 victory Feb. 18 in San Jose. The Stars managed only four goals in four games against the Sharks, coming out on the wrong end of two 31 decisions and two 2-1 verdicts.&ldquo;We hope to meet them in the first round of the playoffs-that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; said San Jose coach Al Sims.The Sharks, however, seriously damaged their post-season aspirations with a four-game losing streak and a five-game winless skid immediately before their final victory over Dallas.The appearance of the Stars, though, brought out the best in San Jose. Goalie Kelly Hrudey starred in all four games, stopping 116 of 120 shots.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what it is about playing Dallas,&rdquo; Hrudey said. &ldquo;I just know we beat them four times and they&rsquo;re probably pretty happy they&rsquo;re done with us.&rdquo;In addition to Hrudey&rsquo;s heroics, the Sharks&rsquo; penalty-killing was a huge reason for their success against the Stars; the Dallas power play failed to score in 24 chances.San Jose&rsquo;s success this year against the Stars continued a strange pattern in the series between the clubs. Dallas won all four games last season, after the Sharks posted a 3-0-1 record in 1994-95.NOTEBOOK: Center Darren Turcotte returned to the lineup in a 6-1 loss to visiting Vancouver Feb. 20. He had missed the previous 13 games after puncturing his eardrum with a cotton swab shortly before a Jan. 24 game against New Jersey&hellip;Defenseman Al lafrate continued to be idled by sciatic-nerve damage in his back. lafrate, who had missed seven consecutive games, was on medication in an attempt to correct the problem, but was making little progress&hellip;Left winger Ville Peltoncn was sent to Kentucky of the American League Feb. 14 after a brief three-game call-up&hellip;Defenseman Mike Rathje, who has been sidelined since Nov. 27 and underwent groin surgery, resumed skating and was shooting for a March 1 return. &#9632;

f0025-03

Sharks not Star-struck

<div class="byline">By Roy Cummings</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04210/6788051-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="161" height="156"></div>Now you see him, now you don&rsquo;t.That pretty much summed up Daren Puppa&rsquo;s long-awaited, but quickly aborted return to the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup.After missing more than four months because of groin and back problems, the latter of which required surgery, Puppa returned Feb. 14 against the Washington Capitals. But he was out again after giving up four goals on 18 shots in just 34 minutes and there was no telling when or if he&rsquo;d be back.&ldquo;Based on what happened, I&rsquo;d have to say (the comeback) was premature,&rdquo; Puppa said. &ldquo;I have to get back to where I know I&rsquo;m ready again. I know what I need to do.&rdquo;After consulting with doctors, Puppa received a new regimen of back-strengthening exercises and began practising again Feb. 20. He refused to put a timetable on a possible return, however.&ldquo;Obviously, I feel better or I wouldn&rsquo;t be practising,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ll know when I&rsquo;m ready this time. I thought I was ready last time. But I wasn&rsquo;t able to do a lot of the things I needed to do.&rdquo;Puppa said he was limited by his back, which became sore again after the game, and by a lack of playing time, which left him rusty.&ldquo;There were a couple of plays where, had (he been in mid-season form), I would have reacted differently,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I might have tried to poke check the puck away a couple of times.&rdquo;GM Phil Esposito said the Lightning considered asking Puppa to accept a minor league conditioning stint before he returned, but changed its mind when he practised without incident. Now, it may ask him to do that before his next return, but Puppa wasn&rsquo;t sure if he&rsquo;d go along with the request.&ldquo;Before I do anything I have to get myself physically ready to play,&rdquo; Puppa said, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;m not there yet.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: While decision on whether to sell the team had not been made, CEO Steve Oto said at least four groups had shown interest in purchasing the Lightning. The most visible was the one led by Albuquerque businessman Gavin Maloof, whose Houston expansion bid was passed over by the NHL. Oto said the asking price for the team, the arena and all its holdings is more than $180 million&hellip; Center Daymond Langkow had two or more points in four straight games through Feb. 20&hellip;Center Brian Bradley (sprained right wrist) was hoping to return by the end of February&hellip;Right winger Dino Ciccarelli moved into ninth place on the all-time goal-scoring list with his 974th career goal Feb. 20. &#9632;

f0025-04

Puppa bolts right back to sick bay

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01864/6788082-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="163" height="161"></div>Few would have guessed the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; nightmare could get scarier.With the team all but eliminated from the playoffs, the captain on the trading block and questions still lingering about owner Steve Stavro&rsquo;s controversial takeover of the franchise, the Leafs were hit with a horrifying scandal.On Feb. 19, Gordon Stuckless, a former maintenance worker at Maple Leaf Gardens, was arrested and charged with sex-related offenses in connection with an alleged pedophile ring that operated out of the hockey shrine from the mid-1970s to the early-1980s. (See pg. 5 for more.)GM Cliff Fletcher was scheduled to meet with police and also said the Gardens will mount an internal investigation.&ldquo;We are very concerned with our image and the conduct of anyone associated with Maple Leaf Gardens,&rdquo; Fletcher said. &ldquo;I would hope people who read about this put it in context of something that happened two decades ago. From our perspective, in some ways, it&rsquo;s like dealing with ghosts.&rdquo;George Hannah, a former Gardens equipment manager who died in 1984 of kidney failure, was also named in the scandal. Hannah worked with the Toronto Marlboro junior franchise for many years and was well-known to Leaf coach Mike Murphy and assistant Mike Kitchen, both of whom graduated from the Marlies.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s shocking,&rdquo; Murphy said.NOTEBOOK: As trade speculation swirled around center Doug Gilmour, the captain collected four assists Feb. 20 in Edmonton to give him 23 points in 16 games. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;d be unhappy if (a trade) happened,&rdquo; said GM Cliff Fletcher&hellip;Fletcher said he&rsquo;s not interested in picking up a 1997 first round draft pick for any of his veterans. Unlike virtually every other GM, he said he doesn&rsquo;t think the draft is that good&hellip;Center Jamie Baker was a healthy scratch Feb. 19 in Vancouver and Feb. 20 in Edmonton&hellip;After a 6-5 loss in Edmonton, the Leafs needed to win their remaining 23 games to reach Fletcher&rsquo;s pre-season prediction of 90 points&hellip;Goalie Felix Potvin was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots against the Oilers. &#9632;

f0027-01

Leafs launch investigation of shocking sex abuse case

<div class="byline">By Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03350/6788113-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="578" height="901"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Reekie</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02540/6788120-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="163" height="157"></div>The Washington Capitals are one of seven Eastern Conference teams engaged in a struggle to gain one of two playoff spots.Each of the seven needs help in one or more areas-the Caps are desperate for some scoring help and a genie who can wave a magic wand and cure the team of all its physical ailments-but it doesn&rsquo;t look like there will be a lot of changes before the March 18 trading deadline passes.The problem is parity, or what passes for it. Typically, two or three teams are all but mathematically eliminated by Valentine&rsquo;s Day and a few others ready to take the count.Not this year. Three weeks into February, not a single team had been eliminated. If that trend continues into March, GMs will likely be very cautious about making deals that could tip the scales.Washington may be the team affected worst. It has already dipped heavily into its American League affiliate, the Portland Pirates, for defensive replacements, and defense is the club&rsquo;s deepest position.The latest blueliner to go down was veteran Joe Reekie, who broke his right heel in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning Feb. 14. He was expected to be out until at least late-March.Reekie became the sixth Capitals&rsquo; player to join an injury list which has generally had three or more players on it all season. The resulting revolving door has put pressure on the coaching staff and the healthy players to form a cohesive unit.NOTEBOOK: Left winger Steve Konowalchuk scored his second overtime goal of the season Feb. 14 against Tampa Bay, a 5-4 win. He shares the club record for most career overtime goals (four) with former Capitals Mike Ridley and Mike Gartner&hellip; Right winger Kelly Miller (900th NHL game) and defenseman Sylvain Cote (400th as a Capital) reached milestones Feb. 18&hellip;The Capitals were a combined 06-0 against the Islanders and Ottawa this season, being outscored 23-4 in the process. On the other hand, they were 5-2-1 against Philadelphia and the Rangers&hellip;Goalie Ron Tugnutt, who was Capitals&rsquo; property last season, was 3-0-0 against Washington for Ottawa this season and 3-7-0 against other teams. &#9632;

f0027-03

Don’t expect trade flurry

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04242/6788151-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="161" height="157"></div>Russ Courtnall&rsquo;s nickname is Rusty, which is exactly how he has looked most of the season for the Vancouver Canucks.Shunted to the third line to accommodate superstar right wingers Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny, Courtnall saw his ice time and offensive opportunities diminish. Then a groin and pelvis injury robbed him of 19 games from late-November to midJanuary.With his contract up, Courtnall was stating at unrestricted Group III free agency, but not much of a year to take to the bargaining table.Obviously, it bothered him greatly. The Canucks gave him every indication, until recently mentioning they wanted to get something done, they were going to either trade him or let him walk.&ldquo;I was surprised (assistant GM) George McPhee even mentioned that to me,&rdquo; Courtnall said, referring to the team&rsquo;s sudden interest in making him an offer. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve really not been expecting anything.&ldquo;The only thing I was dissatisfied with is last summer I wasn&rsquo;t called and I was told I would be. I was told not to worry about it, that they&rsquo;d take care of business. The call never came.&rdquo;Courtnall&rsquo;s on-ice satisfaction increased greatly when he was re-united with his linemates of last season, Trevor Linden and Martin Gelinas, for a Feb. 15 game against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Courtnall collected a goal and an assist that night and picked up three more points in his next two outings. His scoring statistics for the season (eight goals and 21 points in 39 games) were well below par, but at least they were on the upswing.&ldquo;You have to put the business side to the side and be a professional,&rdquo; said Courtnall, who turns 32 in June. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s personal pride. I really want to go out there and do my part and be part of success.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The numbers on right winger Gino Odjick&rsquo;s new U.S. dollar contract look like this: $700,000 for this season, followed by $750,000, $800,000, $850,000 and $900,000 with a $300,000 signing bonus&hellip;Center Trevor Linden was heading for the worst goal total of his career. The big captain, who missed two months with a sprained knee, had only six through Feb. 20 and went 12 games without scoring at one point. Linden&rsquo;s lowest goal total was 18 during the lockout 1994-95 season&hellip;Goaltender Corey Hirsch has abandoned his &ldquo;Psycho&rdquo; mask for one painted with a west coast native theme&hellip;The Canucks were a combined 17-0 against Toronto. Boston and Ottawa this season. &#9632;

f0027-04

Courtnall’s luck starts to change

<div class="byline">By John Packett</div>When the Peoria Rivermen joined the East Coast League during the off-season, the uneducated fan figured the former International League member would dominate. After all, isn&rsquo;t the IHL far superior to the ECHL?Players from the 1995-96 Rivermen team went to San Antonio, however, since the IHL franchise moved to the Texas city. That meant the new Rivermen and coach Mark Reeds had to build a team from scratch.With one former member of the Rivermen to start the season (player/assistant coach Doug Evans), the ECHL team began slowly, but has come on strongly and was in the thick of the North Division race entering the home stretch.&ldquo;We basically had to put our own team together,&rdquo; said Reeds, whose club was battling the Columbus Chill for top spot in the North after going 13-3-1 during a recent stretch.In addition to Evans, a left winger who leads the club in scoring, two former Rivermen recently came aboard-left wingers Butch Kaebel and Jon Pratt, who have both contributed points consistently.But the biggest story has been the guys between the pipes.Although one of them is no longer with the team, the three leading goaltenders in the ECHL all played for Peoria.Jon Hillebrandt, who played for the Binghamton Rangers of the American League last season, led the ECHL with an 11-1-3 record and 2.62 goals-against average. The other two, Doug Bonner (8-6-1, 2.68) and Jason Saal (8-6-1, 2.79), are under contract with the American League&rsquo;s St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs. Saal is now with St. John&rsquo;s.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01906/6788182-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="378" height="388"></div>The Rivermen had given up the fewest goals in the league (150), an average of three per game.&ldquo;What we try to do is keep teams under 30 shots a game,&rdquo; said Reeds, whose team was giving up an average of 27 per game.Peoria has the best home record in the ECHL. going 19-1-4 at Carver Arena, but the Rivermen would like to see more fans than the average 4,458.&ldquo;The response has been pretty positive,&rdquo; Reeds said. &ldquo;Talking to people after games, they really seem to enjoy the hockey at this level.&rdquo;MOVING UP: Since forfeiting nine games early in the season because of an ineligible player-turning a 10-1 start to 1-10&mdash;the Louisiana IceGators went 26-11-4 and climbed back into contention in the South Division.After falling to the bottom of the division, the IceGators have moved ahead of three teams and were seven points behind the first-place Tallahassee Tiger Sharks with 18 games remaining.COAST LINES: Dayton Bomber right wingers Steve Roberts and Marty Flichel each posted seven goals and one assist in four games and were co-players of the week for the period ending Feb. 16&hellip;The Bombers wore special Valentine&rsquo;s Day jerseys Feb. 15 and auctioned them off after the game for $10,320 for TenderHearts, a local support group for families of children with heart problems. &#9632;

f0028-01

LEAGUES

Rivermen make smooth transition from international rank

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>His team hurting for players because of injuries in Fredericton and with the parent Montreal Canadiens, Paulin Bordeleau took his what&rsquo;s-best-for-the-team coaching philosophy to the ultimate extreme.He played. At age 44.Bordeleau, whose last season was 1987-88 in France, played one game, a 3-2 loss to the Portland Pirates Feb. 7, and was named first star after assisting on both Fredericton goals.&ldquo;It was fun to play the game, but I didn&rsquo;t think I had much choice,&rdquo; said Bordeleau, who played three NHL seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and three in the World Hockey Association with the Quebec Nordiques during the 1970s. &ldquo;We had six guys hurt, another was a last-second scratch and one guy was on one foot.&rdquo;His plan at game time was to take faceoffs and kill penalties. But when left winger Todd Sparks was hurt during the game, he was down to eight forwards and ended up playing a regular shift, and also called all the shots while wearing No.17. That&rsquo;s the sweater number of son Sebastien, currently on recall to Montreal.&ldquo;The coach had confidence in me,&rdquo; Bordeleau joked of his 14 minutes of playing time.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02602/6788213-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="428" height="424"></div>Many in Montreal were not amused.&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t go over too well in Montreal in the media; they really went after the organization,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think that was fair. I was trying to do whatever I could to help the team, maybe see if I could get the team going.&rdquo;One who wasn&rsquo;t wild about the idea was Sebastien, who tried to talk dad out of it.Bordeleau didn&rsquo;t shy away from contact and none of the Pirates took any cheap shots. He did take two penalties, though, one for unsportsmanlike conduct and another for too many men on the ice when he came onto the ice prematurely to argue a call by referee Brad Watson.Earlier this season, a depleted lineup forced Portland assistant coach Paul Gardner, 40, into action. He had an assist in one game.EYES ON RALEIGH: The AHL will begin focusing attention on Raleigh, N.C., as a possible expansion site, now that Felix Sabates has withdrawn his bid to bring an NHL expansion team to the city.The AHL targeted Raleigh as a prime spot for its expansion into the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, but backed off when Sabates and Raleigh officials began pursuing the NHL.&ldquo;Obviously we&rsquo;re going to follow up,&rdquo; said AHL president Dave Andrews. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;re all going to compete for that market,&rdquo; he said, noting International League interest. Raleigh currently has the IceCaps of the East Coast League.KING COBRA: When Murray Eaves coached the Empire State Cobras in Roller Hockey International last year, he didn&rsquo;t realize he&rsquo;d be scouting for the Adirondack Red Wings.But on the recommendation of assistant coach Eaves, Adirondack coach Glenn Merkosky brought in center Steve Sangermano on a tryout to fill out the roster on Valentine&rsquo;s Day.It became a sweetheart deal. Sangermano, a product of Division HI Roger Williams College in Rhode Island who was playing for the Quad City Mallards in the Colonial League, scored three goals in two games, including both in a 2-2 tie with the Albany River Rats.&ldquo;I need an I.V.,&rdquo; Sangermano said after the Albany game. &ldquo;The pace was phenomenal.&rdquo;AHL TIDBITS: Adirondack goalie Norm Maracle made a franchise-record 54 saves, including 28 in the third period, to carry the Red Wings to a 2-2 tie with Albany Feb. 15&hellip;The Jan. 16 AHL All-Star Game&rsquo;s rating on ESPN2 was in the same range as an NHL game, said president Dave Andrews, &ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t be happier with that event.&rdquo;&hellip;Baltimore rookie goalie Tom Askey made 35 saves in helping the Bandits beat Adirondack 5-0 Feb. 17 to end a 10-game home winless streak&hellip;St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs&rsquo; center Brian Wiseman&rsquo;s 19-game point streak ended in a 6-0 home win over Fredericton Feb. 15&hellip; Binghamton Rangers&rsquo; right winger Peter Ferraro had 16 goals in a 15-game stretch&hellip;Since returning from Vancouver, Syracuse Crunch center Lonny Bohonos had eight goals and 17 points in nine games&hellip;Kentucky Thoroughblades&rsquo; goalie Jamie Ram underwent knee surgery and is expected to be out of action until late-March. &#9632;

f0028-02

Player shortage makes star out of Canadiens’ Bordeleau

<div class="byline">By Kevin Iole</div>An NHL scout who was at an International League game ostensibly to see 1997 NHL draft prospect Robert Dome of the Las Vegas Thunder was poring over a statistics sheet and got a pained look on his face.&ldquo;Is this Chabot legitimate,&rdquo; he asked, referring to Houston Aeros&rsquo; goalie Frederic Chabot.Told the 28-year-old Chabot is, indeed, legitimate, the scout shook his head.&ldquo;Well, he&rsquo;s sure putting up numbers that make you think he can play,&rdquo; the scout said.Chabot has almost kept a marginal team in the hunt. At the league&rsquo;s all-star break, he had a 27-19-5 mark with a 2.49 goals-against average and 91.9 save percentaee. He was first in wins, shutouts (seven), saves (1,436) and fourth in goals-against average and save percentage.Chabot had more shutouts just past the halfway mark than any goalie had in a full season since Dave Hainsworth of Muskegon had eight in 1972-73. The record is 10, set by Charlie Hodge of Cincinnati in 1953-54.&ldquo;Freddie has been there every night for us,&rdquo; said Houston coach Dave Tippett. &ldquo;On nights when we didn&rsquo;t play well, he gave us a chance to win by making four or five really big stops. And on the nights when we have played well, he&rsquo;s close to unbeatable.&rdquo;Chabot&rsquo;s hot play extended to the IHL AllStar Game Feb. 18 in Grand Rapids, Mich., when he became the first goalie since 1979 to be named MVP.Chabot stopped all 24 shots he faced, including several acrobatic saves, to lead the Western Conference to a 6-4 win over the Eastern. Chabot played the first 30:31 before giving way to Tom Draper of the Long Beach Ice Dogs.San Antonio Dragons&rsquo; Lonnie Loach had two goals to lead the West. Stephane Morin of Long Beach and Daniel Shank of San Antonio each had a goal and an assist and Patrice Lefebvre of Las Vegas and Chris Taylor of the Utah Grizzlies each had a goal.Jeff Buchanan and Mark Beaufait of the Orlando Solar Bears, Steve Larouche of the Quebec Rafales and Scott Thomas of the Cincinnati Cyclones scored for the East.Chabot played nine games over parts of three seasons for the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers. Now he wants another shot.But that is not likely to change this season. Chabot has a clause in his Houston contract that does not allow him to sign an NHL deal for this season after February.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to get a shot in the NHL, but I don&rsquo;t stay awake thinking about it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There are a lot of guys who would wish they were here.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03428/6788244-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="384" height="430"></div>TORONTO OVERTURE: A group headed by Lyle Abraham, the governor of the Phoenix Roadrunners, is expected to receive an expansion franchise for the Toronto suburb of North York after a strong presentation made to the board of governors at the All-Star Game.Abraham said ms group is negotiating a deal with the Metropolitan Toronto Hockey League, which is building an arena complex in North York, on a lease for an IHL franchise expected to begin play in 1999-2000.The North York presentation was the only official one presented to the board of governors, although mere remains interest in IHL franchises from a number of Canadian cities, including Laval, Halifax, Saskatoon and Victoria. The dormant San Francisco franchise is expected to relocate to Victoria for the 1999-2000 season.&ldquo;In my estimation,&rdquo; Abraham said, &ldquo;a franchise in Toronto would be a success. Toronto is hockey crazy just like Dallas is football crazy.&rdquo;BERGKVIST BACK: Defenseman Stefan Bergkvist cleared another hurdle when he returned to the Cleveland Lumberjacks&rsquo; lineup.After missing 37 games because of surgery Dec. 3 to remove a tumor from the hearing nerve on the right side of his head, Bergkvist played his first game Feb. 14 at Fort Wayne.Bergkvist played two games in three nights, but did not score or get a penalty.I-OPENERS: In the all-star skills competition, San Antonio&rsquo;s Daniel Shank was the fastest skater, completing a lap in 13.9 seconds. Michel Picard of the Grand Rapids Griffins had the hardest shot, shooting it 92.4 miles per hour. Pokey Reddick of Grand Rapids won the rapid fire competition by making eight saves, while Orlando&rsquo;s Zac Boyer won the accuracy shooting by hitting four of five targets. &#9632;

f0028-03

Late bloomer goalie Chabot has Aeros pointed upward

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>Marc Savard has the attitude of a salesman.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to keep pitching my product until somebody buys it,&rdquo; said the Ontario League scoring leader as he closed in on his 400th career point with the Oshawa Generals. &ldquo;If I keep scoring, someone is eventually going to notice.&rdquo;Somebody has noticed. Savard and his agent, Larry Kelly, have entered into contract negotiations with the New York Rangers, who drafted the center in the fourth round in 1995, after he won the OHL scoring title with 139 points.Savard had 34 goals and 109 points this season after getting four goals and two assists in a 10-0 romp over the Owen Sound Platers Feb. 16. He&rsquo;s the Generals&rsquo; career points king with 392, including 123 goals in 228 games.Every one of those games has been in an Oshawa uniform.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a big thing,&rdquo; Savard said of never being traded. &ldquo;A friend of mine, Kurt Walsh, you name it, he has been there (Newmarket, Sarnia, Oshawa and Owen Sound) and he said it&rsquo;s tough to adapt each time to a new school, new billets and new teammates.&rdquo;Savard has also learned not to let the &ldquo;what ifs&rdquo; bother him. Such as, what if he hadn&rsquo;t broke his ankle in late-January last season while leading the scoring race and lost a chance to become the second player to win back-to-back OHL scoring title. Marcel Dionne did it in 1970 and 1971.Savard could become only the third player to win two scoring titles. The first was Andre Boudnas in 1962 and 1964.And there&rsquo;s the what-if surrounding the national junior team, for which Savard was never invited to try out. He had been viewed as a selfish player, only worrying about his points.But that has changed under new coach Bill Stewart, a former NHLer.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best coach I&rsquo;ve had,&rdquo; Savard said.&ldquo;He has taught me to be more of a team player. He made me an (alternate) captain and he has helped me out with my defensive play. That&rsquo;s real important to get to the next level.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01798/6788275-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="695" height="239"></div>TRADING STATES: The Canadian Hockey League is dividing the U.S. states for player rights and Quebec League president Gilles Courteau has proposed trading New York to the OHL in exchange for Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.The OHL proposed dividing the U.S. into three zones. Quebec getting the New England States and New York, Ontario getting the area between New York and the Minnesota border, and the Western League having Minnesota and all states to the west.The three league presidents hope to have an agreement in place by May.NO. 700: Barrie Colts&rsquo; coach Bert Templeton won his 700th career game Feb. 16, 2-1 over the Guelph Storm.Templeton&rsquo;s 20-year record stood at 700-507113, the third-most wins in CHL history behind Brian Kilrea, 750, and Ken Hodge, 741.&ldquo;The nicest part about it is the franchise is above .500 in just our second season,&rdquo; Templeton said as the Colts were 28-21-8 this season and 56-52-15 in their two years.SUSPENDED: The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds suspended Dallas Stars&rsquo; first round pick and world junior gold-medalist Richard Jackman indefinitely Feb. 13.GM Dave Mayville said Jackman, 18, broke curfew a third time and despite being a minor, was seen by team management at a bar well after an 11 p.m. curfew.Jackman, a defenseman selected fifth overall in the 1996 entry draft, signed a $2.6 million (U.S.) contract with a $1.3 million signing bonus.NO. 50: Center Jon Sim scored five goals for the Sarnia Sting in a 10-7 win over Windsor Feb. 15 to become the first OHL player with 50 goals this season. &#9632;

f0029-01

Savard hopes to make point at bargaining table

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div>The future is starting to look brighter for the Laval Titan thanks to a couple of high-flying rookies.After finishing in last place last season with a 14-54-2 record, the Titan knew it was time for a rebuilding job. The first step came at last year&rsquo;s midget draft, where they selected defenseman Jonathan Girard with the first overall pick. They then took Austrian center Gregor Baumgartner with the second pick in the European draft.Things got off to a bad start for Girard, who missed most of the first half of the season as a result of a herniated disc in his back. But since his return, coach Guy Chouinard says Girard has been one of the team&rsquo;s best defensemen.He was slow coming back, but game in and game out he has been getting his confidence back and played extremely well,&rdquo; Chouinard said.The 5-foot-ll, 194-pounder had nine goals and 24 points in 28 games and was named the outstanding defenseman at this year&rsquo;s World Under-17 Championship in Red Deer, Alta.As for Baumgartner, the 6-foot-l, 170-pound speedster has been one of Laval&rsquo;s best players, with 17 goals and 51 points in 59 games. He was ranked 39th by Central Scouting in its midseason rankings and impressed scouts with his speed during the skills competition at the Top Prospects Game.&ldquo;He has been consistent at home and on the road,&rdquo; Chouinard said of Baumgartner. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an outstanding player to watch. He&rsquo;s an exciting player.&rdquo;When Chouinard was hired to replace Pierre Pelletier after the Titan got off to a 5-12-0 start, owner Leo-Guy Morrissette said his mandate was to simply make the playoffs.With 10 games remaining, the Titan were on the verge of doing just that with a 21-36-3 record, good for fifth place in the Lebel Division and eight points ahead of seventh-place Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The top six teams make the playoffs.Since Jan. 1, the Titan had played above .500 (8-7-1) and made a couple of key moves during the league&rsquo;s final trading period, adding experience in the form of 20-year-old right winger Dan Marcotte from the Shawinigan Cataractes and bolstering the blueline by acquiring Jean-Philippe Soucy from Rouyn-Noranda.&ldquo;This team is headed in the right direction,&rdquo; Chouinard said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve made some good trades and these two kids (Girard and Baumgartner) are both rookies. One is 16 (Girard) and the other one 17, and now they&rsquo;re starting to be forces on our team.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02514/6788306-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="579" height="289"></div>ONE-TWO PUNCH: Center Daniel Corso and the Victoriaville Tigres delivered a vicious one-two punch to the visiting Moncton Wildcats, beating them 10-0 on Valentine&rsquo;s Day and then 10-1 the next night.Corso had seven goals and 10 assists in the two games, while goalie Mathieu Garon picked up his sixth shutout of the season, one shy of the league record set by Nick Sanza with the Sherbrooke Castors in 1974-75. (See WHL at right for more.) The Tigres outshot the Wildcats 98-48 in the two games.With 11 games remaining, Corso had 49-66115 totals and trailed Pavel Rosa (51-68-119) of the Hull Olympiques by four points in the scoring race. Corso was the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; seventh round draft pick in 1996.JOINS 400 CLUB: Drummondville center Daniel Briere picked up two assists in the Voltigeurs&rsquo; 3-2 overtime loss to the Victoriaville Tigres Feb. 16 to become the 42nd QMJHL player to hit the career 400-point mark.In 189 career games, Briere had 166-235-401 totals, an average of 2.12 points per game.ONE MILLION STUBS: The QMJHL passed the million mark in attendance for the second straight season on Valentine&rsquo;s Day. Crowds totalling 11,794 attended six games Feb. 14, bringing the season sum to 1,010,516, an average of 2,459 per game. &#9632;

f0029-02

Titan back on right track with talented twosome

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div>Donovan Nunweiler is only the ninth goaltender in major junior history to record at least six shutouts in one season.Nunweiler hit that mark Feb. 15 when his Moose Jaw Warriors blanked the visiting Regina Pats 6-0.Pats&rsquo; coach Rich Preston has been suitably impressed.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s my (Western League) most valuable player,&rdquo; Preston said.Nunweiler, a 19-year-old rookie, joins eight other goalies with a minimum of six shutouts-Chris Worthy, 1967-68 Flin Flon Bombers (10 shutouts); Don Lockhart, 194950 Toronto Marlboros (nine); Len Broderick, 1956-57 Toronto (eight); Nick Stanza, 1974-75 Sherbrooke Castors (seven); Glenn Hall. 1950-51 St. Catharines Blackhawks (six); Felix Potvin. 1990-91 Chicoutimi Sagueneens (six); Ian Gordon, 1993-94 Swift Current Broncos (six); and Mathieu Garon. 1996-97 Victoriaville Tigres (six and counting).In the process, the Redcliff, Alta., product lowered his goals-against average to 2.81 and improved his save percentage to 91.9.&ldquo;I wanted to have a goals-against average under 3.50,&rdquo; Nunweiler said. &ldquo;And, I wanted to have a 90.0 save percentage. I&rsquo;ve been pleasantly surprised.&rdquo;Nunweiler&rsquo;s shutout total was four more than any of his WHL peers. No other team had more than four.Nunweiler spent most of last season with the Saskatchewan Junior League&rsquo;s Melville Millionaires. Moose Jaw invited him to training camp and placed Nunweiler on its 50-player protected list during the pre-season.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t listed last summer,&rdquo; Nunweiler said. &ldquo;I looked at (Moose Jaw&rsquo;s) list and they didn&rsquo;t have any 18- or 19-year-old goalies. Other teams had seven goalies and a couple at every age group.&rdquo;MERCIER STEPS ASIDE: Regina&rsquo;s Chad Mercier, last season&rsquo;s East-Central Division top goaltender, put his career on hold Feb. 17 because of injuries.Mercier, 20, has been plagued by hip and back ailments for more than a year. He had not played since October.&ldquo;This is a lot tougher than I ever imagined,&rdquo; said a tearful Mercier.Mercier had hoped to return to action before the end of this season. He plans to continue rehabilitation with the objective of landing a pro tryout for next season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03334/6788337-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="354" height="360"></div>When asked if his hockey career is over, Mercier responded: &ldquo;Definitely not. I&rsquo;m going to get healthy. If something develops over the summer and I get a shot, I&rsquo;ll be very happy. If not, I&rsquo;m going to have to get on with my life.&rdquo;Mercier initially suffered a hairline fracture of his right hip last season.He played through that injury for the latter half of the season.In August, doctors diagnosed a soft tissue problem in Mercier&rsquo;s troublesome hip. That forced him to decline a free agent tryout offer from the NHL&rsquo;s Calgary Flames.Mercier continued to undergo treatment for the hip, only to encounter problems with his back. A disc problem ultimately ended his junior career.&ldquo;At this point, there isn&rsquo;t a need for surgery,&rdquo; Mercier said. &ldquo;There are a lot of unknowns. There is the chance of surgery if further damage is done. By making this decision. I&rsquo;m guarding against the chances of ever needing surgery.&rdquo;STREAK OVER: The Kamloops&rsquo; Blazers streak of 40-win seasons ended at seven.Kamloops and Regina share the WHL record for the most consecutive 40-win seasons. Regina&rsquo;s streak began with the 1979-80 season.Kamloops had a 22-33-5 record with 12 games remaining. As such, Kamloops is unlikely to extend its WHL record of 14 straight seasons at .500 or better.The franchise&rsquo;s last sub-.500 season was 1981-82, when the Jr. Oilers went 18-53-1. The Jr. Oilers became the Blazers after 1983-84. &#9632;

f0029-03

Warriors’ rookie goalie climbing shutout ladder

<div class="byline">By Chris Miller</div>There wasn&rsquo;t much doubt Ryan Kraft would be under pressure.Before the Western Collegiate Hockey Association season started, Minnesota coach Doug Woog mentioned Kraft as &ldquo;most likely&rdquo; to step into the offensive role vacated by Brian Bonin.And that meant a lot of pressure. Bonin led the league in scoring for two seasons and won the Hobey Baker Award last year.&ldquo;Early in the year, I let the pressure get to me a little,&rdquo; said Kraft, a 5-foot-9 junior center. &ldquo;No matter what situation you are in, you have to go out and have fun. If you&rsquo;re doing that, you&rsquo;re relaxed and you can play well.&ldquo;I put high expectations on myself, because I have that kind of ability. I wanted to do the kinds of things Brian Bonin did.&rdquo;As the stretch run started, Kraft was doing those things. He had a hand in five of Minnesota&rsquo;s six goals in a sweep of Northern Michigan, then scored two goals and set up four others in a split with Minnesota-Duluth. He had 19 goals and 19 assists in 32 games. The 38 points were just one behind the team&rsquo;s superstar defenseman, Mike Crowley.&ldquo;If Krafty has been up and down, then we have a lot of guys on the same elevator,&rdquo; Woog said. &ldquo;Offensively, we&rsquo;ve have problems sustaining pressure and getting a lot of shots.&ldquo;But Krafty has really picked it up for us. He shows up at practice on Monday rarin&rsquo; to go and ready to play and that has earned over in his play.&rdquo;Kraft was the league&rsquo;s top-scoring freshman two years ago with 46 points and was taken in the eighth round of the 1995 NHL draft by San Jose. He dropped to 37 points last season.Minnesota was battling St. Cloud State and Colorado College for second place with two weeks left.LAST, BUT NOT LEAST: Northern Michigan was in last place, but the Wildcats aren&rsquo;t, pushovers-as North Dakota can attest.Northern beat the first-place Fighting Sioux 2-1 Feb. 14 thanks to a 37-save effort by Dieter Kochan. The host Wildcats were clinging to a 1-0 lead when they got a last-minute, empty-net goal for a 2-0 edge. Kochan lost his shutout with one second remaining in the game, but earned league player of the week honors.STAR GAZING: The top seniors at American colleges who are U.S. citizens will challenge Canadian university seniors in the World University Championship in Detroit April 4.The U.S. team&rsquo;s 24 candidates include six from the WCHA-goalie Kirk Daubenspeck of Wisconsin; defensemen Eric Rud of Colorado College and Brian LaFleur of Minnesota; and forwards Dave Paradise of St. Cloud, Nick Checco of Minnesota, David Vallieres of Anchorage and Jeff Mikesch of Michigan Tech. (See pg. 38 for U.S. and Canadian rosters.) &#9632;

Kraft finally gets used to filling Bonin’s skates

<div class="byline">By Paul Harris</div>If it had been just one problem, coach Buddy Powers would have been able to come up with a solution sooner.But after a 6-0-0 start, the Bowling Green Falcons fell on hard times going 9-15-3 in their next 27 games overall.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve run the gamut of things that can go wrong,&rdquo; Powers said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had scorers not scoring when we&rsquo;ve had good team defense. We&rsquo;ve not had good defense and scored and we&rsquo;ve had good defense where we didn&rsquo;t have good goaltending.&rdquo;Get that? And, of, course that means it&rsquo;s different players struggling all of the time.&ldquo;When it&rsquo;s one player, you can take him out of the lineup,&rdquo; Powers said. &ldquo;But different guys were doing it in different games.&rdquo;The only player who has been consistent all season is senior center Curtis Fry. He was the Central Collegiate Hockey Association&rsquo;s second leading scorer with 16 goals and 54 points. Despite standing only 5-foot-8, Fry has been a giant in Powers&rsquo; eyes.&ldquo;Curtis has been consistent,&rdquo; Powers said. &ldquo;If everyone would have given the effort he has night in and night out, we wouldn&rsquo;t be in the hole we&rsquo;re in now.&rdquo;With three games remaining in the conference schedule. Bowling Green was in fifth place with 23 points (10-11-3). That&rsquo;s good enough to clineh a playoff spot-eight of the 10 CCHA teams make the playoffs-but not good enough for home ice in the quarterfinals, which goes to the top four teams.MORE FOR MORRISON: Senior center Brendan Morrison set Michigan career records for assists and points in successive games Feb. 14 and 15 in victories over Notre Dame.In the 3-1 win Feb. 14, Morrison had two assists to break the record of 164, held by Brian Wiseman. In attendance was New Jersey Devils&rsquo; GM Lou Lamoriello. Morrison was the Devils&rsquo; second round draft pick in 1993.&ldquo;His perception of the ice is exceptional,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;He has good sense and he&rsquo;s an intelligent player. He has a big future.&rdquo;The next night in a 6-1 victory, Morrison collected two goals and two assists to become the Wolverines&rsquo; all-time leading scorer. His total of 262 points (94 goals and 168 assists) broke the previous record (261), held by Denny Felsner.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a thrill. It&rsquo;s a relief to get it over with,&rdquo; said Morrison, who had 23 goals and 66 points in 33 games.Morrison won&rsquo;t be able to break the goal record, however. Felsner holds that record with 139.MY, OH, MIAMI: Miami junior goalie Trevor Prior was CCHA defensive player of the week (Feb. 13-16). He stopped 42 of 45 shots in a 2-1 win at Michigan State and 6-2 win at Ferris State, Feb. 14-15. &#9632;

Power outage concern with struggling Falcons

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggle</div>Colgate senior right winger Mike Harder could be nicknamed &lsquo;The Invisible Man&rsquo; because so many of the things he does go unnoticed.Take his work with the children of the Hamilton (N.Y.) Central School District. He has been working with remedial students, helping them in reading and math, since his freshman year, but the Colgate coaching staff wasn&rsquo;t aware of it.&ldquo;He had been going to the school on his own time to work with the kids,&rdquo; said Colgate coach Don Vaughan. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t even find out about it until last year.&rdquo;And take his pursuit of the school&rsquo;s career scoring record as another example. With four games left, the native of St. Adolphe, Man., was five points away from the record of 212, set by Steve Smith (1980 to 1984). But there has been very little fanfare surrounding his quest.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t get a lot of media coverage, so there&rsquo;s not a lot in the papers about it,&rdquo; Vaughan said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure it has been on Mike&rsquo;s mind, but he hasn&rsquo;t said much about it.&rdquo;Consistency has been Harder&rsquo;s trademark. In four years at Colgate, he has missed one game and will have the distinction of being Colgate&rsquo;s top scorer for four straight seasons.An international relations major, Harder scored 21 goals as a freshman, 22 as a sophomore and 23 last season. In 28 games this year, he had another 18. With four regular season games left, his career totals were 84-123-207. Yet, he has never made the All-Eastern College Athletic Conference first team.The undrafted 24-year-old had his second career six-point game Feb. 14, getting two goals and four assists in a 10-7 win over Brown.&ldquo;The pro guys say he&rsquo;s not big (6 feet, 185 pounds) and doesn&rsquo;t skate well, but he always finds a way to get it done,&rdquo; Vaughan said.BOIS LEAVES TEAM: Princeton lost senior tri-captain Mike Bois early in February when he was declared academically ineligible.Bois left school and returned to his home in Longlac, Ont. He will return to Princeton in the fall to complete his studies, but he has no more athletic eligibility.Bois, who played both forward and defense for the Tigers, had two goals and seven assists in 21 games this season.ZERO SQUARED: Union junior Trevor Koenig enhanced his reputation as the top goalie in the nation with back-to-back 2-0 shutouts against Vermont and Dartmouth Feb. 14-15. The back-to-back shutouts were the first for a Union goaltender since 1938-39, and lowered Koenig&rsquo;s goals-against average to 1.91, best in the nation&hellip;Clarkson senior center Todd White scored his third consecutive game-winning goal when the Golden Knights beat Princeton 2-1 Feb. 14. That goal, White&rsquo;s 29th in 28 games, came with 11 seconds left in overtime. &#9632;

Unsung Colgate senior getting Harder to stop

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div>It was the night Hockey East became Hockey Beast.The New Hampshire Wildcats and Providence Friars engaged in a rare and ugly 10minute brawl following their Feb. 15 game at Providence that resulted in 14 player suspensions.The incident started as a verbal confrontation between players that escalated into shoving matches and ultimately several fights. Coaches Dick Umile of New Hampshire and Paul Pooley of Providence also got into the act, engaging in a close-range shouting match.Hockey East officials reviewed game videotape and assessed one-game suspensions to New Hampshire&rsquo;s Dan Enders, Rob Gagnon, Erik Johnson, Joey Moran and John Sadowski, along with Providence&rsquo;s Leigh Dean, Travis Dillabough, Josh MacNevin, Mike Mader, Mike Omicioli, Tom Sheehan and Nick Sinerate.The Wildcats&rsquo; Eric Boguniecki and Jayme Filipowicz received two-game bans because of game disqualifications earlier in the season.&ldquo;I am extremely disappointed in our behavior as a team, including both players and coaches,&rdquo; Umile said. &ldquo;Our behavior was unacceptable and inappropriate for representatives of the University of New Hampshire.&ldquo;The sad thing is neither team (usually) plays like that.&rdquo;ROAD TO 300: Maine Black Bears&rsquo; coach Shawn Walsh picked up his 300th career win. Again.Maine&rsquo;s 8-1 win over UMass-Amherst Feb. 15 put his record at 300-174-24.Due to the use of ineligible players in 199192 and 1993-94, Walsh forfeited 24 wins and three ties.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had great support from the administration and the community,&rdquo; Walsh said. &lsquo;We&rsquo;ve had some great players.&rdquo;Walsh was 12-3-0 since returning from a one-year suspension for violations and one of the keys has been the power play.Maine&rsquo;s three power play goals in eight chances against New Hampshire Feb. 18 gave the Bears an astounding 16 power play goals in 31 opportunities.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of chemistry on the power play,&rdquo; said right winger Steve Kariya.MERRIMACK SAVIOR: Merrimack senior goaltender Martin Legault became the school&rsquo;s all-time saves leader with 3,0005, passing former all-America Jim Hrivnak. Legault also had three assists in 5-2 and 11-5 wins over Boston College Feb. 14-15&hellip;Merrimack sophomore defenseman Darrel Scoville had a natural hat trick on three first period shots against Boston College in the 11-5 win. His fourth shot of the first period hit the post and resulted in another goal. &#9632;

14 players suspended after post-game brawl

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01895/6788492-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01807/6788485-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="3117" height="3526"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01901/6788478-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="3100" height="3518"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios)</figcaption></div><h2>NHL SCHEDULE</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01857/6788471-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="3135" height="3529"></div><h2>NHL GOALTENDING STATISTIC</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01810/6788464-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="3117" height="1043"></div> &#9632;

f0032-01

THE WORLD’S FIRST REVOLUTIONARY REPLACEMENT BLADE SYSTEM

<h2>NOTE</h2>Unofficial game summaries provided by National Hockey League: (shots on goal/plus-minus); SA-shots against; GA-goals against; ENG-empty net goals: Decdecision, charges to goaltenders of record when winning goal is scored.<h2>FRIDAY, FEB. 14</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02562/6788698-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="497" height="1980"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03464/6788691-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="500" height="510"></div><h2>SATURDAY, FEB. 15</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04352/6788684-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="504" height="1772"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05296/6788677-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="497" height="2349"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06258/6788670-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="497" height="2350"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07237/6788663-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="501" height="2351"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08217/6788656-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="500" height="2354"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01726/6788649-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="500" height="1163"></div><h2>SUNDAY, FEB. 16</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02508/6788642-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="500" height="2274"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03393/6788635-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="500" height="2506"></div><h2>MONDAY, FEB. 17</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04325/6788628-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="501" height="923"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06257/6788621-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="506" height="948"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07230/6788614-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="502" height="947"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-08193/6788607-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="503" height="951"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-09165/6788600-1-eng-US/f0037-092.jpg" title="f0037-09" width="502" height="3505"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01793/6788593-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="493" height="195"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05292/6788586-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="1542" height="2511"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stephane Fiset&rsquo;s prayers were answered in the Kings&rsquo; 3-1 win over Anaheim Feb. 20. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios)</figcaption></div><h2>TUESDAY, FEB. 18</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02579/6788579-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="491" height="3227"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03468/6788572-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="495" height="3489"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04367/6788565-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="497" height="1443"></div><h2>WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05280/6788558-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="497" height="1971"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06237/6788551-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="504" height="2625"></div><h2>THURSDAY, FEB. 20</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-07218/6788544-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="491" height="794"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-08185/6788537-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="504" height="3492"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-09168/6788530-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="502" height="2457"></div><h2>UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIP</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-10149/6788523-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="492" height="1038"></div> &#9632;

f0036-02

NHL SUMMARIES

NHL ROSTERS AND TRANSACTIONS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0041-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01382/6788784-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0041-01

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01388/6788815-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0042-01

SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">By Larry Starks</div>Tired of getting pushed around, the Memphis RiverKings added muscle.The RiverKings were on pace to record the fewest penalty minutes in Central League history and their lack of toughness was so glaring fans in Oklahoma City referred to them as the &lsquo;RiverQueens.&rsquo;Not anymore. The RiverKings added winger Ryan Pisiak from the San Antonio Iguanas and free agent enforcer Patrick Clement.Pisiak led the league with 327 penalty minutes and the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Clement has been out of hockey for four years and was working as a bar bouncer in Montreal.&ldquo;We added two bodies, but it was like we added 20,&rdquo; said defenseman Derek Harper. &ldquo;All of a sudden guys feel a foot taller.&rdquo;The 28-33-1 RiverKings went 4-1-1 in their next six games and were hoping to catch the Macon Whoopee for first place in the Eastern Division.Earlier in the season, the RiverKings went a month without winning back-to-back games and trailed Macon by 17 points. Some players admitted they were intimidated. But it&rsquo;s different now.&ldquo;If there are players taking liberties against this team, that shouldn&rsquo;t happen,&rdquo; Pisiak said. &ldquo;I will do what it takes for this team to win.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: After arriving in Huntsville for a Feb. 18 game against the Channel Cats, Tulsa Oilers&rsquo; equipment manager Steve Enlow found all the sticks missing. So Oilers&rsquo; officials had to round up all the sticks they could find in Tulsa and ship them on an afternoon flight, which caused the start of the game to be delayed 30 minutes. The new sticks didn&rsquo;t hurt the Oilers&rsquo; ability to score, as they connected six times. Unfortunately for them, they surrendered seven. &#9632;

RiverKings add points after adding enforcer, bouncer

<div class="byline">Ken Campbell Future Watch Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0002-0214/6789485-1-eng-US/s0002-022.jpg" title="S0002-02" width="326" height="412"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0002-0125/6789492-1-eng-US/s0002-012.jpg" title="S0002-01" width="204" height="200"></div>Over the past 10 years, the Washington Capitals have been the prudent family man of the NHL fraternity while the St. Louis Blues have been the drunken sailor.The Capitals have taken the cautious approach to franchise building-with one eye on the budget and the other to the future. The Blues, on the other hand, have thrown more money at famous players than cinema lovers-all the while showing a blatant disregard for what lies ahead.The two teams couldn&rsquo;t be more diametrically opposed in their philosophies, but they couldn&rsquo;t be more similar in their results.Since 1990, when the Capitals decided to take five first round picks rather than match the Blues&rsquo; offer for defenseman Scott Stevens, the two teams have embarked on remarkably similar paths, both of which have led them to The Land of Mediocrity.From the beginning of the 1990-91 season to mid-February of this year, both teams had won exactly 248 regular season games. The Blues had a winning percentage of .547 compared to the Capitals&rsquo; .546. The Blues had taken part in nine playoff series, the Capitals, eight. Neither team has advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs.So what we&rsquo;re saying is that it doesn&rsquo;t mean a thing that the Capitals have finished first in The Hockey News&rsquo; ranking of NHL organizations for the second time in the past three years while the Blues have taken up their customary position among the 20-somethings, right?Wrong. First of all, the Capitals play in the Eastern Conference where wins are much harder to come by. Second, imagine how bad the Caps would have been if they hadn&rsquo;t built up a stable of good young players. Third, anyone worth their Sam Pollock rookie card knows young players are the lifeblood of an organization because they become either good players or assets which can be traded to fill holes in the lineup. Those who reject this notion should immediately check with the Toronto Maple Leafs.It&rsquo;s pretty tough to convince Capitals&rsquo; fans who watched their team get spanked 6-1 by the Ottawa Senators in mid-February that the immediate future looks bright, but make no mistake, the organization is loaded with young talent. Our panel of 11 chief scouts and directors of player personnel identified five Washington prospects-right winger Yogi Svejkovsky, left winger Alexander Volchkov, center Jan Bulis and defensemen Brendan Witt and Nolan Baumgartner-among the top 20 in the league. (See pg. 3 for our exclusive ranking of the Top 50 NHL prospects.)All of which is great news in an otherwise frustrating year for Capitals&rsquo; GM David Poile. The future is great, but it doesn&rsquo;t fill seats at the USAir Arena, guarantee job security or appease fans who wonder what the Caps have done for them lately.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0002-034/6789478-1-eng-US/s0002-032.jpg" title="S0002-03" width="1404" height="2137"><figcaption class="caption-body">Capitals&rsquo; prospect Brendan witt(Cover photo of Marc Denis by Wen Roberts/BS; Witt by Steve Babineau/Sports Action, Photo by Jim Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;If we&rsquo;re going to go to more teams, I don&rsquo;t see any reason why all of our prospects won&rsquo;t get a chance to play in the league,&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;That may be a bold statement, but we believe it&rsquo;s true.&rdquo;Much of the Capitals&rsquo; success must be attributed to their stockpiling of first round picks-the five they got for Stevens directly or indirectly led to the selections of Jim Carey, Sergei Gonchar, Pat Peake, Witt and Baumgartner. (And the trade of Dmitri Khristich gave them a first round pick they used to select Volchkov.) It is also due to the fine work of Jack Button, the Capitals&rsquo; former director of player personnel who died last summer.The Capitals jumped to the No. 1 spot this year, but they hardly made the biggest leap. That honor belongs to the Phoenix Coyotes, who moved south on the map, but north on our list from No. 22 to 5.The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim officially finished 26th, but that may be a too-harsh indictment of them. Remember, they had the courage to select small Paul Kariya fourth in 1993 and turned prospects Chad Kilger and Oleg Tverdovsky into Teemu Selanne last season. &#9632;

S0002-02

CAPS REGAIN TOP SPOT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0002-043/6789523-1-eng-US/s0002-042.jpg" title="S0002-04" width="626" height="1307"></div> &#9632;

S0002-04

GRADING NHL ORGANIZATIONS (THN’s 1996 Rank)

Prospect or player? Every year we struggle to distinguish between the two. This year has been the toughest yet because so many players fit neither classic definition.The perfect prospect, by definition, is someone who is on a team&rsquo;s reserve list and has never played an NHL game. Ottawa Senators&rsquo; prospect Chris Phillips of the Lethbridge Hurricanes is a good example.The imperfect prospect, by definition, is someone currently with an NHL team who has played 1025 games (usually as an injury fill-in) and whose full-season status is uncertain. Florida Panthers&rsquo; prospect Jason Podollan (late of the Carolina Monarchs) is a good example. He is listed as a prospect although he was up with the Panthers as of Feb. 21.We had to make tough calls on several prospects/players. (See pg. 5 for listing.)Three other classification problems arose: Petr Sykora of the New Jersey Devils, Chad Kilger of the Phoenix Coyotes and Brendan Witt of the Washington Capitals, who each spent 1995-96 in the NHL, have played in the minors this season.It was decided Sykora deserves to be labeled an NHLer because his demotion to the Albany River Rats was rooted largely in a slow healing groin problem. Kilger and Witt, meanwhile, have been fixtures in the minors and their teams believe they will be there all year.Why should you, the reader, care about all this?Because the inclusion/exclusion of players can change team&rsquo;s overall grades as much as a full grade or more commonly, half a grade. NHL teams notice this. So then should you. &#9632;

Defining moments

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0003-0211/6789845-1-eng-US/s0003-022.jpg" title="S0003-02" width="788" height="2581"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0003-0117/6789852-1-eng-US/s0003-012.jpg" title="S0003-01" width="200" height="201"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0003-045/6789838-1-eng-US/s0003-042.jpg" title="S0003-04" width="789" height="2580"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0003-035/6789831-1-eng-US/s0003-032.jpg" title="S0003-03" width="1255" height="2578"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sabre&rsquo; prospect Erik Rasmussen (Photo by Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

S0003-02

THN TOP 50 RANKING

<div class="byline">By Ken Campbell Future Watch Editor</div>Mattias Ohlund never goes very far without his cell phone, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean he&rsquo;s some spoiled rich kid. For some bizarre reason, flip phones are as commonplace as elbow pads for players in the Swedish Elite League.Ohlund makes the tidy sum of about $70,000 playing for Lulea, certainly enough to pay the phone bills. He could be making much more for the Vancouver Canucks, who selected him 13th overall in 1994 and could certainly use a big, mobile defenseman in their lineup.Ohlund and the Canucks haven&rsquo;t been able to agree on much, but they do agree he should be in the NHL. Most of the hockey world agrees, saying Ohlund could step in and contribute regularly to almost any team in the league.But the issue is money. One one hand, Ohlund&rsquo;s agent, Mike Bamett, argues that Ohlund has proven he is one of the best young players in the game and should be paid as such. The Canucks want him to prove it at the NHL level before they pay big money.An issue such as this is one reason why a rookie salary cap was established in the last collective bargaining agreement. But there&rsquo;s only one problem, Ohlund was drafted in 1994 and isn&rsquo;t subject to the cap. And just to make things interesting, he&rsquo;s a Group IV free agent-a defected player who is free to sign with any team with the Canucks having the right to match. It&rsquo;s the same situation Teemu Selanne was in in 1992 when he signed with the Calgary Flames and the Winnipeg Jets were forced to match the offer.But Ohlund, The Hockey News&rsquo; ninth best NHL-affiliated prospect this season, doesn&rsquo;t see this year as a wasted experience. &ldquo;I think it was good for me to stay. I&rsquo;m going to be a much better player next year,&rdquo; Ohlund said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m ready to play and I think I can play because I am quite big and strong.&rdquo;After being named the top defenseman in the 1996 World Junior Championship over Bryan Berard, Andrei Zyuzin, Wade Redden and Nolan Baumgartner, Ohlund was miffed at the Canucks&rsquo; offer, which Barnett says was about $200,000 less per year than what Berard received from the New York Islanders.Only recently has Ohlund re-emerged as one of Sweden&rsquo;s best players. (He was a higher-ranked THN prospect-No. 4-last year.) A virus kept him off the national team for the Globen Cup and the letdown of not signing with the Canucks put him in something of a funk early in the season. The same day he turned down the Canucks&rsquo; final offer, he signed with Lulea and suited up for a game.The betting is Ohlund will end up in the Canucks&rsquo; lineup next season, but his status does present some interesting possibilities. Will the Canucks match if a team offers Ohlund a six- or seven-year deal for large money? And while the Canucks say they don&rsquo;t plan to trade Ohlund, they currently have about $12 million tied up in Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny and no center to give them the puck.Stay tuned. &#9632;

Ohlund’s arrival highly anticipated

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="S0004-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0004-029/6789907-1-eng-US/s0004-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marc Denis of the Chicoutimi Saaueneens has two World Junior oold medals in his collection. (Photo by Wen Roberts/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0004-0123/6789914-1-eng-US/s0004-012.jpg" title="S0004-01" width="205" height="204"></div>Marc Denis has certainly come a long way for a goaltender who was cut from his midget team only four years ago.At this year&rsquo;s World Junior Championship, Denis, 20, left little doubt he has become the best junior goaltender in the world while leading Canada to its fifth straight gold medal. And his performance since returning to the Quebec League&rsquo;s Chicoutimi Sagueneens after the WJC has been just as impressive, posting a 12-3-1 record with two shutouts and 2.23 goals-against average.Those accomplishments, among others, have made Denis the No. 1 NHL-affiliated prospect outside the league in The Hockey News&rsquo; fourth annual Future Watch Top 50 ranking. He succeeds Colorado Avalanche star center Peter Forsberg (1994), Florida Panthers&rsquo; sophomore defenseman Ed Jovanovski (1995) and New York Islanders&rsquo; rookie blueliner Bryan Berard (1996) as the top-ranked player.&ldquo;Not only is he a great goaltender, but he&rsquo;s also a great leader in the room,&rdquo; said Sagueneens&rsquo; coach Real Paiement. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a much better team when he&rsquo;s in the lineup.&rdquo;The stats back that up: The Sagueneens were 20-10-2 with Denis in goal and 13-15-1 when he didn&rsquo;t play.But despite his success, including being the Colorado Avalanche&rsquo;s first round pick (25th overall) at the 1995 NHL entry draft, Denis still remembers the night he was cut by the midget Montreal-Bourassa Canadiens and the long bus ride home after a game in Abitibi that followed. He had just turned 16 and he could see his lifelong dream of playing in the NHL disappearing in the blackness outside the bus window.&ldquo;It was about two in the morning and I thought about quitting,&rdquo; Denis recalled. &ldquo;I had a 24- or 36-hour period to decide if I was going to leave home and go play for another midget team in Trois-Rivieres and I wasn&rsquo;t even sure of making the team there. I was going to a private school in Montreal and school was still very important to me. I really thought about not quitting hockey completely, but maybe looking to a U.S. college or something and take hockey a little bit less seriously.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m an only child, so to decide to leave home at 16 in a 24-hour period was tough,&rdquo; Denis added. &ldquo;It was really hard, but 1 decided not to let my dream die and decided to dedicate my life to hockey. I decided to leave home in search of my dream.&rdquo;The first step was making the midget team in Trois-Rivieres, where Denis started as a backup, but before the season was over he had earned the No. 1 job. His performance in Trois-Rivieres impressed the Sagueneens&rsquo; scouts enough to select him in the fourth round (55th overall) at the 1994 QMJHL midget draft.&ldquo;I improved a lot that year in midget,&rdquo; Denis recalled. &ldquo;Maybe I should have been drafted a bit earlier, but I certainly wasn&rsquo;t a first round junior pick, that&rsquo;s for sure. But I really improved my first year in junior.&rdquo;Denis was backup to Eric Fichaud (now with the New York Islanders) his first season in the QMJHL, but got into 32 games as a result of an injury to Fichaud, posting a 17-9-1 record with a 3.48 goals-against average. The Avalanche scouts were impressed.&ldquo;He was probably the best-kept secret in that year&rsquo;s draft because he was playing behind Fichaud, so nobody knew him too much,&rdquo; said Michel Goulet, the Avalanche&rsquo;s director of player development. &ldquo;I think he was on every team&rsquo;s list, it was just a question of where and when he would be drafted. We decided to draft him as soon as possible.&rdquo;Last season Denis played in 51 games, posting a 23-21-4 record with a 3.19 goals-against average and was the backup to Jose Theodore (now with the Montreal Canadiens) as Canada won its fourth straight gold medal at the WJC.Denis says one of the biggest reasons for his meteoric rise the last four years has been his improved mental approach to the game.&ldquo;I had the chance to work with a sports psychologist in Montreal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Not only did he help me become a better goaltender, but to become a better man, too. Through visualization and mental imagery he helped my game a lot and helped me to see the game a little differently.&ldquo;Technically, I&rsquo;ve worked a lot on my butterfly style and learned to take advantage of my size,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m 6-foot-l and 195, so that has really helped me. On angles, when you can take up a lot of space, it becomes a shooter&rsquo;s nightmare.&rdquo;Denis actually came very close to making the Avalanche roster this season. But two days before the NHL season started, Colorado claimed Craig Billington on waivers to back up Patrick Roy and Denis was returned to Chicoutimi.&ldquo;After the camp the organization decided that it would be better for him to go back in junior and play 60 or 70 games instead of playing 20 or 25 games behind Patrick,&rdquo; Goulet said. &ldquo;And I think when you look at what he has accomplished this year with his team in Chicoutimi and at the World Junior tournament, I think this has been a very good year for Marc.&rdquo;Denis felt he was ready to play in the NHL this season, but understood the Avalanche&rsquo;s decision.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a matter of time now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going there next season to make the team.&rdquo;Denis got to play in his first NHL game this season after Billington went down with a sprained ligament in his left knee in November. The Avalanche called up Denis and he played against the Los Angeles Kings Dec. 7, making 23 saves in a 4-2 loss.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t really pinch myself, but looking back maybe I should have,&rdquo; Denis said with a laugh. &ldquo;We ended up losing the game, but I felt I played well. I felt comfortable.&ldquo;I know I can play in the NHL.&rdquo;So do a lot of other people. &#9632;

S0004-02

DREAM WEAVER

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0005-0122/6789945-1-eng-US/s0005-012.jpg" title="S0005-01" width="199" height="203"></div>How can a player who had a four-point game and 10 points in 14 games be considered a prospect and not a player? When the guy&rsquo;s name is Vladimir Vorobiev.The New York Rangers&rsquo; right winger made quite a splash shortly after being recalled from the Binghamton Rangers of the American League, but tailed off.In his last game before this issue went to press, he saw nothing but bench for the final two periods.There was growing speculation he would be sent to the minors and if the Rangers made their muchanticipated deal for Boston Bruins&rsquo; rugged winger Rick Tocchet, Vorobiev&rsquo;s fate will be sealed.That&rsquo;s why we decided Vorobiev remains a prospect, despite the fact he was playing for the Rangers.Other players in similar situations were defenseman Dan Trebil of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, right winger Jason Podollan of the Florida Panthers, center Wayne Primeau of the Buffalo Sabres and right winger Yogi Svejkovsky and defenseman Brendan Witt of the Washington Capitals.All were in their team&rsquo;s lineups as replacements for injured players and, for purposes of Future Watch, are considered prospects.Witt was the No. 8-ranked prospect in the 1995 Future Watch, but was a full-time Capital last year. He has spent most of this season with the Portland Pirates of the American League and re-appears as the No. 11-ranked prospect.One other note: In the team grades on page 3, you&rsquo;ll notice some teams have the same grade, but different rankings. That&rsquo;s because each grade has a range and where the team fits in that range determines its ranking. &#9632;

S0005-01

Future Watch: What you need to know

Here&rsquo;s a list of abbreviations, short forms and statistical designations appearing over the next 24 pages in NHL team stories and reserve lists.<h2>TEAM STORIES</h2>Individual stats listed for skaters in On the Horizon are age (as of March 1, 1997), height, weight, 1996-97 games, goals, assists, points and penalty minutes through games of Feb. 18. Stats listed for goalies are age, height, weight, 1996-97 win-loss-tie record and goals-against average.<h2>POSITIONS</h2>C-Center; D-defenseman, G-goalie; LW-Left winger; RW-Right winger.<h2>LEAGUES AND COUNTRIES</h2>American Hockey League (AHL); Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA); Czech Republic (Czech); East Coast Hockey League (ECHL); Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC); Finland (Fin.); Germany (Ger.); Hockey East (HE); International Hockey League (IHL); Ontario Hockey League (OHL); Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL); Russia (Rus.); Slovakia (Slo.); Sweden (Swe.); Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA); Western Hockey League (WHL). &#9632;

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March 7, 1997

More solid grinders on way

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Highest hopes for Dumont

Klima hoping to revive career where he spent best NHL days