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

May 16, 1997

The Hockey News May 16, 1997

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01353/7922978-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"></div>The genius of Mario Lemieux was that goalies never knew what he was going to do. His legacy is a place on the all-time scoring lists as deceiving as himself.Lemieux abhorred contact-eye contact-with teammates to whom he was about to pass the puck. Likewise, you have to look beyond the numbers to determine Lemieux&rsquo;s place in history. He is leaving sixth in all-time goals, fifth in point: and either first or second on hockey&rsquo;s all-time list of crying shames that we didn&rsquo;t get more.Bobby Orr had only nine seasons during whicl his knees permitted him to be the most breathtaking player in the game&rsquo;s history. Included in the 13-year Lemieux era were two seasons in which he played 26 and 22 games and one in which he did not perform at all. Project his .823 goals and 2.01 per game scoring averages into 18 seasons (the number Wayne Gretzky has played) and, even allowing for age slippage. Lemieux would surely have wiped out Gretzky&rsquo;s goal record and taken a run at the assist mark, too.Of course, Gretzky goes on and on, longevity cementing his place as the greatest player of all time. Any challenge to that title by Lemieux earns him no extra points for retiring at 31. Still, the fact that he is leaving so soon embellishes how much extraordinary work he did in a relatively short time.In that context, one thing is clear: Lemieux is the greatest goal scorer in the history of the gameLemieux played 745 career games and scored 613 goals; Gretzky had 616 in the same number of games. But Gretzky&rsquo;s regular season goals per game stands at .646 over 1,335 games, compared to Lemieux&rsquo;s .823. In the playoffs, Lemieux had 70 goals in 89 games (for an average of .787 per game), compared to Gretzky&rsquo;s 116 in 198 games (.586 per game). (See pg. 7for Lemieux-Gretzky comparison.)Lemieux came along as Gretzky was obliterating statistical levels of excellence like no athlete since Babe Ruth and Wilt Chamberlain. Already boggled by The Great One&rsquo;s feats, our minds closed to the considerable input that somebody just as good, if not better, could be bom less than five years later.Gordie Howe will always be Mr. Hockey and Orr revolutionized a position. But Gretzky and Lemieux are not merely the only two players under modem rules to ever average two points per game, but the only two to even come close.Gretzky&rsquo;s unprecedented genius is his ability to use his teammates. But Lemieux had almost the same peripheral vision as The Great One, plus every bit of his hand speed and ability to see the game slower-and respond to it more quick-ly-than anybody else on the ice.After that, it wasn&rsquo;t much of a contest between the two of them. Lemieux is four inches taller, 45 pounds heavier. Lemieux&rsquo;s strength advantage was negligible, but the superiority in reach was considerable. It not only helped him shield the puck, but embellished his ability to anticipate.It was uncanny how often the acknowledged most dangerous player on the ice would still sneak away on breakaways. Lemieux&rsquo;s stick would suddenly extend like a viper&rsquo;s tongue and the pass from one point never made it to the other. The defenseman knew Lemieux was coming behind them for the outlet at the red line, but would still be fooled by his loping stride and reach. Lemieux would speed up, uncoil his arms, take the pass and be gone.Nobody ever caught him, either. He was too big to have a great first step, but so large he opened up room with the second and third. Coming in alone, he was far deadlier than Gretzky. Most often, Lemieux made the goalie open up and put the puck between his legs, but he could score under the crossbar, inside either post, under or over the catching hand, really anywhere his mood took him. Mario could have scored on a strong slapshot had he wanted to rely on it. It wasn&rsquo;t necessary because his placement was so perfect.&ldquo;Unbelievably deceptive speed. Unbelievable goal scorer,&rdquo; Mark Messier said. &ldquo;For all the goals he set up. his forte was still scoring.&rdquo;Lemieux won one Art Ross Trophy by running up 56 points in 20 games following six weeks of radiation treatment. He took 56 games off one season and sat out an entire other and still reached 600 goals at an earlier age than anybody but Gretzky.Le Magnifique was just reaching his peak when his health began to give out. Lemieux&rsquo;s high-water mark season of 85 goals and 199 points in 1988-89 fell seven goals and 16 points short of Gretzky&rsquo;s records, but Mario missed four games that year and labored for another 15 with a bad wrist.He missed 21 games the next season and only in the last two did he play 70 again. Statistically, we can measure what was lost, but we can never get back time, which ran short on him and us, and will pass slowly awaiting another presence such as Lemieux&rsquo;s. The two greatest players who ever lived were bom less than five years apart. Let&rsquo;s just hope we appreciated what we had while we had it. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Greatest scorer ever

<div class="byline">By Dave Joseph</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03707/7921561-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="755" height="1203"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Jovanovski</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021034/7921568-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="203" height="201"></div>The theme for the Florida Panthers&rsquo; playoff drive was &lsquo;Show Me The Cup,&rsquo; but after losing in the first round to the New York Rangers in five games, the new theme was &lsquo;Show Me The Door.&rsquo;The Panthers were hurt by key injuries throughout the season and playoffs and the lack of a veteran goal scorer. But they were also hurt repeatedly by allowing big goals-including two to Esa Tikkanen in overtime.Playoff boon Right winger David Nemirovsky, 20, played a gritty, determined style. Center Rob Niedermayer seemed to mature during the series, scoring two goals while being matched against Mark Messier much of the time. Defenseman Robert Svehla had a strong series with a goal and five points.Playoff bust Sophomore defenseman Ed Jovanovski made several costly mistakes early in the series and handled the puck like a grenade after Game 2. The offense, meanwhile, was abysmal, getting just two even-strength goals. The Panthers also lost left winger Johan Garpenlov to injury, which hurt their power play.Needs 1. Offense. Forwards Scott Mellanby and Ray Sheppard are sol-id-they were the team&rsquo;s only 20-goal scorers-but they can&rsquo;t carry the team. 2. Emergence of youngsters. The Panthers are still waiting for Niedermayer to develop, while Jovanovski, a starEd Jovanovski ookie in 1995-96, needs to get back on rack. 3. More depth. Everybody gets injuries, but the lack of depth killed the Panthers when they had key injuries at crucial times.NOTEBOOK: Center Brian Skrudland. who missed the playoffs with a knee injury, said the Panthers&rsquo; chances &ldquo;were compromised because of all the injuries.&rdquo; Against the Rangers, left wingers Radek Dvorak, Bill Lindsay and Johan Garpenlov missed games after being hit by defenseman Jeff Beukeboom. The Panthers sent tapes of the hits to the NHL offices, but no action was taken&hellip;When Lindsay, one of 12 original Panthers, is not in the lineup, the Panthers are 0-11-1&hellip;The Panthers killed 19 of 21 of the Rangers&rsquo; power play chances&hellip;GM Bryan Murray said he had offered unrestricted free agents Skrudland and defenseman Terry Carkner contracts. Murray was still waiting to talk to the agent for unrestricted free agent left winger Mike Hough. &#9632;

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NHL TEAMS

Big injuries, little offense

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04602/7921285-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="402" height="547"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Shields</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03824/7921292-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="200" height="203"></div>Steve Shields was living his dream. As a result, the Buffalo Sabres were in the Eastern Conference semifinals.Shields, the rookie goaltender who became Dominik Hasek&rsquo;s backup earlier this season, stepped in for Hasek and promptly recorded three wins over the Ottawa Senators, including a shutout in Game 6 and an overtime thriller in Game 7 to lift the Sabres into the second round matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers.Shields came into the series after Hasek suffered what doctors said was a mild knee sprain in Game 3. Shields won that game, but the Sabres lost the next two.The Sabres somehow managed to pull it together and rallied behind Shields and embattled coach Ted Nolan for a shutout win in Game 6 and a 3-2 overtime thriller in Game 7.&ldquo;I am so happy,&rdquo; said Shields. &ldquo;When the puck went in I just wanted to stand there and take in the feeling. It was great for us, great for me and great for the fans. To give something back to these fans with a win in overtime is unbelievable.&rdquo;Emotion aside, he also began preparing himself for the series ahead.&ldquo;Dorn is the No. 1 guy here and when he&rsquo;s ready to come back, I&rsquo;ll take my seat on the bench,&rdquo; Shields said. That won&rsquo;t be back until least Game 4 of the series. Hasek was suspended three games by the NHL for an off-ice confrontation with a reporter April 25. (See pg. 5 for more on Hasek.)In shutting out the Senators in Ottawa and holding the team together until it rallied to win on Derek Plante&rsquo;s overtime goal in Buffalo, Shields drew the undying affection of his teammatesThey mobbed him after the emotional win and in the dressing room they chanted his name whenever a new wave of reporters rolled up to his dressing room stall.&ldquo;Shields, Shields, Shields,&rdquo; Xhey cried. The goalie merely smiled.In beating the Senators, Shields relived a Calder Cup series last spring when he faced Ottawa goalie Ron Tugnutt (then playing for the Portland Pirates) in the final of the American League. Shields won a one-goal decision in Game 7 of that series as well. He knows there&rsquo;s a huge leap between the AHL and the NHL and even between the Senators and the Flyers, but said he was ready.&ldquo;I believe the players and the coaching staff have confidence in me.&rdquo; Shields said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m grateful for that and it meant a lot when I got the start (over Andre Trefilov in Game 6). I think getting past the series with a win gives everybody a boost.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center Derek Plante scored the tying and winning goals against Ottawa, but the tying one was mostly the work of Senators&rsquo; center Alexei Yashin. Battling for the puck in the faceoff circle to Ottawa goalie Ron Tugnutt&rsquo;s left, Yashin attempted to defuse Plante&rsquo;s attempt to push the puck toward the net. He drew it back extra hard and it flew into his own net past a startled Tugnutt&hellip;Plante&rsquo;s winning goal was entirely different. He ripped a shot through the top of Tugnutt&rsquo;s glove from about 40 feet out&hellip;Plante&rsquo;s overtime goal was Buffalo&rsquo;s first in a playoff game since center Dave Hannan beat Martin Brodeur in the fourth overtime of a game with New Jersey April 27,1994&hellip;Buffalo has not lost three straight games at Marine Midland Arena this season&hellip;Buffalo&rsquo;s power play was l-for-23 coming into the final game and 2-for-27 for the series. Right winger Donald Audette&rsquo;s goal in the second period of Game 7 was only the second power play goal of the series for the Sabres. &#9632;

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Sabres’ shield Shields comes on to rescue team’s playoff hopes

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02672/7922367-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0036-02

<div class="image-hero"><img title="C0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0002-0152/7920599-1-eng-US/c0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Getting Derek-ed: Ottawa&rsquo;s playoff drive ends when Sabres&rsquo; center Derek Plante beats Senators&rsquo; goalie Ron Tugnutt in overtime of Game 7.</figcaption></div><h2>Edmonton last hope</h2>1. Canada&rsquo;s last chance Edmonton upsets Dallas, Canada&rsquo;s only team advancing to second round.2. Cujo Oilers&rsquo; goalie Curtis Joseph stymies Dallas in opening round of playoffs with acrobatic performance.3. Joe Sakic Last year&rsquo;s Conn Smythe winner from Colorado leads first round of playoffs in scoring with 12 points.4. Big John Philadelphia&rsquo;s John LeClair scores three winning goals in series win over Pittsburgh.5. NHL Acts swiftly and harshly in reprimanding Buffalo&rsquo;s Dominik Hasek for attack on columnist.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0002-0260/7920592-1-eng-US/c0002-022.jpg" title="C0002-02" width="1932" height="1166"><figcaption class="caption-body">Curtis Joseph&rsquo;s Game 7 overtime save on Joe Nieuwendyk was one for the ages(Edmonton-Dallas by Tim Heitman/Glen James Photography; Bufalo goal by Bill Wiper)</figcaption></div><h2>Dominik loses cool</h2>1. Sabre rattling Buffalo&rsquo;s Dominik Hasek goes after Buffalo News columnist Jim Kelley over controversial column.2. Coach stews Oshawa coach Bill Stewart fined for confronting league official about ref during second intermission.3. Failing Stars Dallas, which finished second overall, beaten out by Edmonton, which finished 23 points behind.4. Mario Tremblay Outgoing Canadiens&rsquo; coach blames media for downfall in Montreal.5. St. Louis sinners Blues&rsquo; average of 33 penalty minutes per game helps explain firstround defeat.<h2>NOTE TO READERS: PUBLISHING SCHEDULE</h2>The Hockey News&rsquo; next issue is the Draft Preview, printed May 16. The following issue is scheduled to pnnt once the Stanley Cup finalists are decided.Editor-In-Chief Steve Dryden&rsquo;s Note-book returns in that issue. The Stanley Cup issue will be published upon completion of the final series.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0002-0352/7920585-1-eng-US/c0002-032.jpg" title="C0002-03" width="1925" height="417"></div> &#9632;

C0002-01

PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011872/7920637-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="450" height="571"></div>Welcome to the 30-team NHL. That&rsquo;s what The Hockey News is forecasting as the outgrowth of an NHL expansion committee meeting May 9 in New York City.THN expects Atlanta. Nashville and two of Columbus, Houston and St. Paul to be awarded teams that will enter the league between 1998 and 2000.Will the league make its final decisions that day? Technically, no, because there may still be some loose ends regarding the status of arena projects in Houston and St. Paul. There may also be some unanswered questions regarding the timing of admission, as well as realignment/scheduling.&ldquo;To resolve every issue that has to be dealt with in just one day would be a bit much, I expect,&rdquo; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told THN. &ldquo;We won&rsquo;t do this piecemeal. When we announce something, we&rsquo;ll announce everything.&rdquo;Nevertheless, the bulk of the decision-making will take place that day. In the days (and certainly no more than weeks) to follow, the expansion committee will produce a full report, complete with detailed recommendations, for the NHL board of governors.That report is expected to be ready no later than June 1 and the board of governors will be asked to formally approve expansion at a late-June meeting.Which of Atlanta, Columbus, Houston, Nashville, Oklahoma City and St. Paul will win the right to pay $80 million (U.S.) to join the NHL?Atlanta and Nashville are givens. Nashville is ready to go now-every-thing from ownership to arena is in place-but THN is predicting it will be granted a franchise to begin play for the 1998-99 season, perhaps 19992000 if the NHL is adamant about twinning expansion entries.Atlanta, the NHL&rsquo;s prime target, will have a new arena in place by the fall of 1999 and will be granted a club to begin play that season.THN is forecasting two more franchises will be awarded, with the outside possibility of there being a third.Oklahoma City is expected to miss the cut. The only way it would be granted a franchise is if two bids from the group of Houston, Columbus and St. Paul go awry.Columbus&rsquo; hopes rest exclusively on a Mav 6 arena project referendum, which was being touted as too close to call. If the vote results are negative, Columbus cannot be considered. If positive, Columbus has an excellent chance to get a team.The St. Paul bid, seemingly dead, has been revived in a big way now that city and state politicians there are working toward a commitment to build a new arena, as opposed to trying to refurbish the antiquated and unsuitable St. Paul Civic Center. The size of the Twin Cities television market (No. 14 in the U.S.) makes it an attractive proposition so long as the arena issue is firmed up. No new arena, though, no hope.Houston is a market the NHL wants and needs, but the league must be assured there is a commitment to build a new arena there. Like Columbus and St. Paul, no new arena, no NHL expansion.THN predicts Houston will make the grade and if the ownership group there is prepared to play out of a temporary facility for two years, it could enter the league with Nashville in 1998. If ownership doesn&rsquo;t want to begin play in 1998, its entry date will be 2000.If Columbus, St. Paul and Houston all firm up their arena situations, there&rsquo;s an outside possibility all three would gel franchises and the league would be looking at a 31-team loop. That&rsquo;s possible. but not necessarily likely.If none of Columbus, St. Paul and Houston address the long-term arena issue, the NHL would only expand by two (Atlanta and Nashville).<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021498/7920630-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1615" height="3113"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Miahtv Ducks were part of the NHL&rsquo;s last expansion in 1993-94.</figcaption></div>Part and parcel of expansion is the league&rsquo;s desire to negotiate with the NHL Players&rsquo; Association an extension to the collective bargaining agreement, due to expire in September, 2000.Many NHL governors are adamant about not expanding unless labor peace is guaranteed for the new entries in their first season or two.The NHL&rsquo;s goal is also not just to announce successful expansion applicants, but to know precisely the terms and conditions for everything on realignment and scheduling. That&rsquo;s what makes a 30-team league so attractive, permitting a move to three conferences of 10 teams each.Tentative plans call for each team to play 36 games within its conference (four games against each of nine opponents) and 40 games out of conference (two games against each of 20 opponents). The remaining six games of the 82-game schedule would be against natural rivals. The Canadian teams, for example, would play extra games against each other to round it out.Playoff formats would likely include some type of wild-card system and include bracketing as opposed to the current system of re-seeding.Geographically, three 10-team conferences makes the most sense. Houston, along with the Dallas Stars, would be slotted in the West. Nashville and Columbus or St. Paul would join a revamped Central while Atlanta would make sense in the East.Meanwhile, the three 10-team conferences format would allow the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens to play in the same conference without taking Toronto out of rivalries with the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.The Hartford Whalers&rsquo; expected move to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., is being looked at by the NHL as nothing but positive. Combined with the NHL&rsquo;s anticipated moves into the south (Atlanta), southwest (Houston), south midwest (Nashville) and midwest (Columbus and/or St. Paul), the NHL&rsquo;s over-all footprint for the purposes of marketing itself as a national sport is greatly enhanced.In any case, we&rsquo;ll have a new-look NHL before we have this year&rsquo;s Stanley Cup winner.<h2>PROJECTED NHL CONFERENCES</h2>Here&rsquo;s how the NHL could look by the 2000-01 season.<h3>EASTERN</h3>AtlantaBostonFloridaIslandersRangersNew JerseyPhiladelphia taleigh-DurhamTampa BayWashington<h3>CENTRAL</h3>BuffaloDetroitChicagoColumbus*MontrealNashvilleOttawaPittsburghSt. LouisToronto*or St. Paul, Minn.<h3>WESTERN</h3>AnaheimCalgaryColoradoDallasEdmontonHoustonLos AngelesPhoenixSan JoseVancouver &#9632;

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NHL grows this summer

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011819/7920675-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="406" height="542"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Kelley</figcaption></div>A weekly compendium of significant events and development; (April 25-May 2).April 25: Injured Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek attacks Buffalo New. columnist Jim Kelley.April 26: Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Mari Lemieux scores once and draws one assist in final NHL game. Penguins lose 6-3 in Philadelphia.April 28: San Jose&rsquo;s Tony Grana-to, Boston&rsquo;s Sheldon Kennedy and Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Joe Mullen named finalists for Masterton TrophyApril 29: Craig MacTavish, last NHL player to go helmetless, announces retirement from St. Louis Blues.International League&rsquo;s Phoenix Roadrunners suspend operations.April 30: Mario Tremblay resigns as coach of Montreal.May 1: Hasek suspended three games, fined $10,000 for attacking Kelley.American League&rsquo;s Baltimore Bandits announce they&rsquo;ll relocate to Cincinnati next season. Will retain affiliation with Anaheim of NHL.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021549/7920668-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="407" height="545"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario Tremblay</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

DEPARTMENTS

Hasek suspended for attacking columnist

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div>Although he had no experience when he was hired in October, 1995, Mario Tremblay called coaching the Montreal Canadiens a dream come true.But 18 months later, the dream had become a nightmare.Tremblay resigned April 30, four days after his team&rsquo;s playoff elimination by the New Jersey Devils. The final season of his $350,000 (Cdn.) salary will be honored.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m leaving with my integrity,&rdquo; an emotional Tremblay said.It was a bitter pill for Tremblay, 40, to swallow. He was a proud Canadien who played with fire and emotion during a 12-year career with Montreal. And he coached the same way.Occasionally, it worked. Tremblay left with a regular-season record of 71-63-25. But often, it didn&rsquo;t. The Canadiens failed to advance beyond the first playoffs round under him.Although the Canadiens accumulated 90 points in Tremblay&rsquo;s rookie season, they wilted in 1996-97 under a barrage of injuries, slumping to a record of 31-36-15.Tremblay was blamed for ending the Montreal careers of goalie Patrick Roy and center Pierre Turgeon and was constantly assailed in the media. Several of his players, speaking anonymously, questioned his competence. At least two-Brian Savage and David Wilkie-would have requested a trade had he returned.Tremblay didn&rsquo;t go quietly, lashing out at the media. Ironically, when Tremblay was a TV/radio analyst covering the team, he was often critical.&ldquo;To a certain point I&rsquo;m bitter,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I know if you&rsquo;re the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens you have to live with (the criticism), but where is it going to stop? I&rsquo;m a human being.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen criticism go as far as it did this year. I was given the knife everyday. If you&rsquo;re honest you would agree with that although I know that some of you (local media) would like to see me on my knees.&rdquo;GM Rejean Houle, given a vote of confidence by team president Ronald Corey following the loss to New Jersey, denied he was ordered to remove Tremblay as coach. However, when asked whether Tremblay would have returned had he not resigned, Houle was non-committal.Possible replacements include Pat Bums, Michel Bergeron, Paulin Bordeleau, Jean Pronovost and Guy Charron. &#9632;

Tremblay Quits Habs, blames relentless media

<div class="byline">By Budd Bailey</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011822/7920754-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; playoff fortunes took a tumble in Game 6 against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim April 27 when Jeremy Roenick went down with a knee iniury. (See pg. 25 for the Covotes first-round exit.)</figcaption></div>Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; goalie Dominik Hasek received a three-game suspension for his physical attack on Buffalo News columnist Jim Kelley.Hasek, The Hockey News&rsquo; player of the year and favorite for the Hart Trophy as the league&rsquo;s MVP, also received a $10,000 fine for the altercation, which took place after Game 5 of the opening round series between the Sabres and Ottawa Senators.Hasek is eligible to return for Game 4 (May 9) of the Sabres&rsquo; series with the Philadelphia Flyers.&ldquo;There is no dispute Mr. Hasek had physical contract with Mr. Kelley,&rdquo; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a prepared statement. &ldquo;Such contact between any NHL personnel-coaches, players, officials, or team executives-and media personnel will not be tolerated. We want a clear message sent to the media who cover our games that they have a safe environment in which to work.&rdquo;Kelley, also a correspondent for THN, wrote an April 22 column in the Buffalo News stating Hasek had been acting oddly in recent days and was perhaps not handling the pressure well. Despite several media reports to the contrary, Kelley did not write Hasek was faking a knee injury sustained in Game 3 of the Ottawa series or had quit on the team.Hasek was cleared to play by the Sabres&rsquo; medical staff May 2.Hasek and Kelley had a chance meeting in the hallway outside the dressing rooms of Marine Midland Arena April 25. Hasek yelled at Kelley, rejected the reporter&rsquo;s suggestion for a one-on-one talk, grabbed and ripped Kelley&rsquo;s shirt and had to be pulled away by several others in the area.The Buffalo News asked for an apology and wanted league assurances that such actions against reporters would be discouraged. Hasek apologized to Kelley April 28 and met with Bettman in New York May 1.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very glad everything is over. Now I can concentrate just on playing hockey,&rdquo; Hasek said at a May 2 news conference. &ldquo;My actions were wrong, and what I did was not acceptable.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0005-01

Hasek suspended for roughing writer

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN staff</div>It must be something in the Lake Superior water.For the second time in three years, the Thunder Bay Kings won the An-Canada Cup, emblematic of midget hockey supremacy in Canada. The Flyers&rsquo; defeated the New Liskeard (Ont.) Cubs 4-1 in an all-Northern Ontario final April 27 in New Glasgow, N.S.The Kings, who won the national title for the 16- and 17-year-old age group two years ago, were in then-third straight Air Canada Cup final. They lost to the Ste-Foy (Que.) Gou-vemeurs last year.Thunder Bay has proven to be a King-pin in minor hockey. The Kings&rsquo; bantam (14- and 15-year-old) team won the all-Ontario title, while its peewee (12- and 13-year-old) team made it to the provincial final.WORLDLY BRASHEAR: Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; enforcer Donald Brashear had the United States fighting for its first World Championship in 64 years.Brashear, born in Indiana, but raised in Quebec, used his hands for scoring instead of fighting in Finland, scoring the first goal in each of the first two American wins, 5-4 over Latvia and 31 over Norway. Brashear also drew first blood in the third game, but the goal was called back after officials viewed video replay. After four games he was second on team scoring with two goals and three points and 25th among tournament penalty leaders.The preliminary round featured several other surprises, the most notable being the relatively strong performance of Latvia, making its first appearance as an independent nation since 1939. The Latvians held Canada to a 3-3 draw while dropping one-goal decisions to the USA and Italy.MASTERTON FINALISTS: Tony Granato of the San Jose Sharks, Sheldon Kennedy of the Boston Bruins and Joe Mullen of the Pittsburgh Penguins are finalists for the Masterton Memorial Trophy.The award goes to the player showing qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. It is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association.EARLY LOTTERY: The NHL draft lottery was moved ahead one week from May 18 to May 11. For finishing last during the regular season, the Boston Bruins have the best chance (45 per cent) of securing the first overall entry draft pick. The draft is June 21 in Pittsburgh.FANTASTIC FINNISH: Finland won gold at the European Junior Championship April 20 in the Czech Republic. Sweden finished second and Switzerland third.Since the eight-team tournament featured players born in 1979 or later, it was a showcase for players eligible for this year&rsquo;s NHL entry draft. &#9632;

Another banner year for Thunder Bay

The new publisher of The Hockey News says he is taking over at a time of unprecedented growth for hockey and boundless opportunity for THN to broaden its reach as the premier hockey publication in the world.&ldquo;The sport has exploded across North America over the last five years,&rdquo; said Lance Neale. &ldquo;We have to strike a balance between what the educated reader expects and what we need to do to help the new fan enjoy the game as much as we&rsquo;ve loved it all our lives.&rdquo;Neale, a native of Calgary, said one of the biggest challenges facing THN is to continue providing in-depth, sophisticated coverage for the traditional hockey-sawy audience while reaching out to new readers in burgeoning markets.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021288/7920809-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="332" height="514"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lance Neale</figcaption></div>&ldquo;The opportunity to join an organization that has been the bible of hockey for 50 years is exhilarating,&rdquo; Neale said. &ldquo;In order to be successful, we have to be aggressive in exploring new markets across North America.&rdquo;Neale comes to THN with 12 years of experience in the newspaper business with Southern News. He spent nine years as advertising manager of the Edmonton Journal, where he worked in sports marketing, co-op advertising and partnership development.He was named director of advertising for the Windsor (Ont.) Star in 1994.&ldquo;Lance will lead the charge and make sure we are headed in the right direction,&rdquo; said Andre Prefontaine, president of Transcontinental Sports Publications.THN is a publication of G.T.C. Transcontinental Group, Ltd. &#9632;

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New publisher looks forward to growing THN

Fans shouldn&rsquo;t get too upset that Mario Lemieux has retired from the NHL. Let&rsquo;s face it, we haven&rsquo;t seen the real Mario Lemieux for several seasons now.It&rsquo;s not because he is getting old or because of his health problems. It&rsquo;s because of the incessant clutching and grabbing that has &ldquo;clogged up the middle.&rdquo; as so many coaches and players are proud to admit.Several seasons ago, the rumor mill had Lemieux hanging them up, but a new mandate by the league to let the stars do what they do best seemed to breathe a little life into him. But we all know how long that lasted.So, NHL fans, don&rsquo;t get too down. And to the league, don&rsquo;t drown us with your tears, because to a large degree it&rsquo;s your fault.Kevin Stulz, Marquette, Mich.<h2>You forgot one</h2>I just read your story on 10 Memories of Mario Lemieux (THN, April 24) and I am amazed that you left out Dec. 31, 1988. the night Lemieux became the first player in NHL history to shoot for the cycle.That night against the New Jersey Devils, Lemieux scored in every imaginable situation-at even strength, on the power play, shorthanded, on a penalty shot and into an empty net.If you ask me, this was not only one of the most memorable accomplishments in Super Mario&rsquo;s career, but one of the greatest accomplishments in hockey history.Brian Sutch, Levittown, N. Y.<h2>Missing Mario</h2>An open letter to Mario Lemieux:Hockey is just a game, but through this game you have improved our quality of life. So how can we resent you for wanting the same for yourself?You will be missed greatly, but we will carry the memories with us forever.Mike Frolick, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.<h2>Left wondering</h2>As a hockey fan, I appreciate the greatness of Mario Lemieux. But as talented as he was, I feel he did not even scratch the surface of his potential.His lackadaisical attitude and apparent indifference toward hockey were a big disappointment. If Mario had half the drive of Wayne Gretzky, I wonder how the NHL record book would look today.While I commend Mario for his highlight-reel goals, I am left to wonder what might have been.Michael Edgar, Petrolia, Ont.<h2>Stupid rule</h2>1 have just finished watching Game 4 between the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Phoenix Coyotes and the Ducks were robbed by this stupid in-the-crease rule.I have never seen such a bad win in my life over such a stupid rule. Phoenix can thank whoever decided to put this rule in effect for the win because the Coyotes did nothing to deserve it.Dale Durham, Saskatoon, Sask.<h2>Another victim</h2>Poor Vaclav Prospal. Four years of riding the buses in the minors and now he&rsquo;s playing for the love of the game and the chance to have his name on the Stanley Cup.In Game 2 of the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he scores the first playoff goal of his career, but it&rsquo;s called back because one of his Flyer teammates has his big toe in the crease.One moment he&rsquo;s the happiest kid in the world and the next he&rsquo;s another victim of a good idea gone bad.Chris Marra, Twinsburg, Ohio<h2>Staying alive</h2>Hats off to the Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; fans for keeping the old Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; White-Out tradition alive.I hope it makes the bitter pill of losing their team a little easier to swallow for the people of Winnipeg.Paul Ferris, Woodside, N. Y.<h2>Check the rafters</h2>In the end, there exists only one sure-fire method of determining the winner and loser of a trade (THN, April 11). You glance up at the rafters and see which team has the greater number of championship banners.The last time I saw, it showed Peter Forsberg with one and Eric Lindros with zero.Peter Militello, Glendale, N. Y.<h2>Get well soon</h2>An open letter to Bryan Marchment:Dear Mr. Marchment: I am nine years old. On April 18 my dad and I saw you get hurt on TV and we were very sad. But when we hear you were OK, we felt a lot better. Get well soon.Krissy Sterne, Hamilton, Ont.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., 14240-9947.&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;

Clutch and grab tactics drove Mario from game

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012031/7920871-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021356/7920864-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="711" height="992"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jan. 27, 1984Vol. 37, No. 17</figcaption></div>The mid-1980s Toronto Maple Leafs were a sadsack bunch. In their memory, we present notable events from a week in Leafland as reported in THN Jan. 27,1984.&#9633; After an 0-8-1 run and back to back losses, the Leafs are excused from practice and vent their frustrations over some beer and bowling.&#9633; Coach Mike Nykoluk, enraged over scathing criticism from Globe and Mail reporter Al Strachan, pushes the offending scribe out of the Leafs&rsquo; dressing room during a post-game scrum. &ldquo;What he wrote about me, I just had to do something,&rdquo; he says. The Globe&rsquo;s regular beat reporter, Bill Houston, has already been banned from the press box and dressing room by owner Harold Ballard.&#9633; Assistant coach Dan Maloney objects to a photographer trying to capture the incident. &ldquo;If 1 ever see you around here again,&rdquo; Maloney steams, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll bust that thing over your head.&rdquo;&#9633; Defenseman Jim Korn gets ejected from a game against the Minnesota North Stars, throws his helmet at referee Denis Morel, then gets in a fight with rink officials and North Star fans after the Leafs lose in overtime. Says Ballard: &ldquo;Our players should have used their sticks on those fans and employees who got into the act.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Leafs over the edge

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011840/7920902-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Luke Richardson is sure to draw a lot of interest this summer as an Group IV unrestricted free agent. (Photo by Bruce Benett/BBS)</figcaption></div>You heard it here first: The summer of &rsquo;98 will be well worth the wait.No, this is not another story touting the greatest freshman class since Brooke Shields trooped off to Princeton. We&rsquo;re talking about the old folks here, the ones with big names and big reputations, which will lead to big bucks in their pockets-the ones who could be valuable attractions for a couple expansion teams likely to begin play in the 1998-99 season.Don&rsquo;t hold your breath, but just over a year from now New York Rangers&rsquo; center Wayne Gretzky, St. Louis Blues&rsquo; right winger Brett Hull, New Jersey Devils&rsquo; defenseman Scott Stevens, Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; goalie Curtis Joseph and at least a dozen other high profile players could all be available to the highest bidder.That won&rsquo;t happen, of course, if they forego the chance to test the market signing new contracts before then. Many will. What appears to be a tantalizing crop now may well be ordinary in a year&rsquo;s time if players decide they prefer the security of a guaranteed contract over the risk of falling victim to injury or plummeting performance before they can taste freedom.Even so, chances are next summer&rsquo;s talent pool next summer will be sufficiently deep to plug holes in more than a couple lineups. The qualifying age for unrestricted free agency age falls from from 32 to 31 (as of July 1) after next season.A preliminary count of potential 1998 Group in free agents reveals at least a half-dozen forwards who, could still play on an average team&rsquo;s top two lines a year-and-a-half from now: Hull, Claude Lemieux (Colorado Avalanche), Scott Mellanby (Florida Panthers), Doug Gilmour and John MacLean (New Jersey), Ron Francis (Pittsburgh Penguins) and possibly Rick Tocchet (Washington Capitals). A clause in Tocchet&rsquo;s contract allows him to declare himself an unrestricted free agent by June 15 of this year.There are also at least a half-dozen top-four defensemen to be gleaned out of Stevens, James Patrick (Calgary Flames), Gary Suter (Chicago Blackhawks), Jeff Brown (Hartford Whalers) Steve Duchesne (Ottawa Senators), Jyrki Lumme (Vancouver Canucks) and Al Maclnnis (St. Louis).The best stockpile, though, will be in goal. The open-market presence of Joseph, Mike Richter (Rangers), John Vanbiesbrouck (Florida), Guy Hebert (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) and Sean Burke (Hartford) would provide guaranteed top-shelf goaltending for any team willing to open the vault.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just seeing the first dynamic of this situation,&rdquo; Vanbies-brouck said. &ldquo;I would forecast that half the guys (eligible today to be unrestricted in 1998) will test the market or have to test the market.&rdquo;He didn&rsquo;t rule out he might be one of them.&ldquo;One thing that enters into it for myself in particular is a chance of winning the Stanley Cup,&rdquo; Vanbiesbrouck said. &ldquo;I owe that to my family and to me and to wherever I would go. I would hope that if I stay (in Florida) I could influence that in some way.&rdquo;This summer&rsquo;s projected crop of unrestricted 32-and-over free agents is not quite as deep. The forwards are led by centers Mark Messier of the Rangers, Dave Gagner of Calgary and Igor Larionov of the Detroit Red Wings. The best defenseman available is Edmonton bruiser Luke Richardson. Other players in the grocery aisle include forwards Mike Keane (Colorado), Brian Skrudland (Florida) and Greg Adams (Dallas Stars), goalies Glenn Healy (Rangers) and Andy Moog (Dallas) and New Jersey defenseman Shawn Chambers.The majority of this year&rsquo;s free agents are Group III players, meaning they&rsquo;re at least 32 and their contracts have expired. Richardson, Chambers and Keane fall into Group IV, players who have played 10 years pro and make less than the average salary. This season&rsquo;s NHL average salary is expected to be about $1 million.There&rsquo;s not the same ability this year as next, in the words of one agent, to &ldquo;go out and spend $7.5 million on four guys and really improve your team.&rdquo;But GMs aren&rsquo;t buying into the excitement. It&rsquo;s too early.&ldquo;I think you deal with it a year from now because so much can change,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; GM Neil Smith. &ldquo;You focus on the summer at hand, although you&rsquo;re aware what can be coming. I&rsquo;d say the guys who are coming up to be unrestricted that year will be in a pretty good position.&rdquo;As usual, the best free agents this summer fall in the restricted category (players 31 and under whose contracts have expired, with some exceptions). Here&rsquo;s where you can find, among others, Anaheim superstar left winger Paul Kariya, Colorado Conn Smythe winner Joe Sakic, Chicago left winger Tony Amonte, Dallas center Mike Modano and defenseman Derian Hatcher, Detroit center Sergei Fedorov and Vancouver left winger Alexander Mogilny.Also as usual, GMs might be wiser to spend their time chasing golf balls. The compensation for signing Group II free agents is high-five first-round draft picks for a front-line player-and the old club&rsquo;s right to match can ensure a player stays put.Last summer Oilers&rsquo; young stars Jason Arnott and Doug Weight went through the Group II free agent season with nary a whiff of an offer sheet. (See pg. 35 for a list of this summer&rsquo;s restricted and unrestricted free agents.)In many respects the 1998 unrestricted free agents will be breaking new ground. They are the first wave of 31-year-olds. They will be the first group of marquee players in the luxury box era to be affected directly by expansion.With more teams comes more competition to sign those who can still play a major role. Increased demand will trickle down to players who otherwise might have found themselves out of a job, but in the age of the 700-player NHL could get by on guile alone.&ldquo;The way I see the years &rsquo;95 to 2000 is similar to the situation from &rsquo;67 to &rsquo;73,&rdquo; said Stars&rsquo; GM Bob Gainey. &ldquo;There was expansion and a whole group of veteran players (such as Jacques Plante, Dean Prentice, Phil Goyette) who stayed and played 18-20 years. There were guys well up into their 30s and were needed to play.&rdquo;Players who sign multi-year contracts before the summer of 1998 will be looking to capitalize on what agent Don Baizley refers to as the &ldquo;baseball buyout.&rdquo; Baseball players hit unrestricted free agency after six years in the majors. This allows them to resign with their own teams for multiyear deals at astronomical salaries because they want a premium for giving up their free agency.As 31-year-old players with four or five good years left get their chance at unrestricted free agency, they&rsquo;ll be wanting the same thing if they sign ahead of time. The question is how much the premium will be.And that leads to another unknown. Who will set the salary standard now that Mike Keenan is out of the loop?<h2>Top 10 free for&rsquo;97</h2>The 10 best players scheduled to be available as unrestricted free agents July 1 are:1. Mark Messier. C. Rangers. 1996-97 Salary: $6 million.2. Luke Richardson. D, Edmonton. 1996-97 Salary: $910,000 (Cdn.).3. Dave Gagner, C, Calgary. 1996-97 Salary: $1.5 million.4. Mike Vernon. G, Detroit. 1996-97 Salary: $2.3 million.5. Garry Galley. D. Buffalo. 1996-97 Salary: $1.1 million.6. Shawn Chambers, D, New Jersey. 1996-97 Salary: $840,507.7. Greg Adams. LW, Dallas. 1996-97 Salary: $850,000.8. Russ Courtnail, D, Rangers. 1996-97 Salary: $1.5 million.9. Brian Skrudland. RW, Dallas. 1996-97 Salary: $900,000.10. Mike Keane. D, Colorado. 1996-97 Salary: $725,000. &#9632;

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FEATURES

’98 will be great

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011918/7920933-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Claude Lemieux was a force in Colorado&rsquo;s first-round triumph over the Blackhawks</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s the ultimate hockey compliment. Rivals art loathe to play against you, but would readily embrace you as a teammate.With Colorado Avalanche agitator Claude Le mieux, though, there is a qualifier.&ldquo;Yeah, but if I was playing with him again, I&rsquo;d like to keep him locked in a closet k&rsquo; said bitter rival and former teammate Chris Chelios of the Chicago Blackhawks. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so competitive, whether it&rsquo;s playing cards or golf, he kind of wears on you. You get a little sick of him, but you put up with him because he&rsquo;s such a great competitor, a great playoff player. He shows up, he plays his best when it matters most. That&rsquo;s his thing and you have to respect him for that.&rdquo;The Detroit Red Wings, especially Kris Draper, would beg to differ. But for whatever anyone thinks of the guy they call Pepe, there&rsquo;s no disputing his sense of timing.With apologies to Ellen DeGeneres, Lemieux has come out of the closet-the regular-season closet, that is. It&rsquo;s playoff time. Prime time. Claude Lemieux&rsquo;s time.It certainly was in the opening round of the playoffs. Despite the fact Joe Sakic led the Avalanche in scoring (three goals and 12 points in six games) against Chicago, Lemieux was as good, if not better, than any Colorado player. He had a goal in a 6-0 Game 1 win. He had a goal in a 3-1 Game 2 victory. In the Game 3 double overtime loss ended by Sergei Krivokrasov&rsquo;s goal, it was Lemieux who sent it to extra time with a goal in the dying minutes. Game 4 was the only contest in which he failed to score, but he did have a disallowed marker. He scored the first goal in a 7-0 Game 5 blowout and had a goal and in the 6-3 Game 6 clincher. All that (five goals and 11 points) and a royal pain in the butt to Chelios and every other Hawk, too.&ldquo;Even though the team had a tough time getting untracked, I thought it was one of my better playoff rounds in the last few seasons,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;It was just one playoff round and it&rsquo;s over, but I thought 1 played well.&rdquo;Lemieux would know. He has forged his reputation as one who excels in the second season. He has the Conn Smythe Trophy from 1995 as playoff MVP and back-to-back Stanley Cups (the New Jersey Devils in 1995 and Colorado in 1996) to prove it. He is one of only 10 NHL players who have won consecutive Cups with different teams. The most recent, before Lemieux, was Al Arbour, who was with the 1961 Blackhawks and 1962 Toronto Maple Leafs.He also won a Cup in his rookie season with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986, making him just the third player in NHL history to win Cups with three teams.Lemieux&rsquo;s strong start bodes well for a Colorado club that, as a group, started this spring&rsquo;s playoffs tentatively. Truth be told, the Avs won the Cup last year without an appreciable contribution from Lemieux.By Pepe standards, his five goals and 12 points in 19 games was disappointing. He took bad penalties-that&rsquo;s not necessarily an uncommon thing for him-but he didn&rsquo;t provide the heroics and constantly irritating, but savvy play that tends to overcome his shortcomings. One could argue the Avalanche was better without Lemieux than with him-and that was before he received his two-game suspension for his hit from behind that rearranged the facial structure of Detroit&rsquo;s Draper in Game 6 of the Western Conference final.The irony is Lemieux, playing alongside Peter Forsberg and Valery Kamensky, was coming off one of his finest regular seasons ever. His 39 goals were the second most he&rsquo;d recorded in any season. Ditto for his 32 assists and 71 points. That made his playoff mediocrity that much more difficult to comprehend.The Avs never missed a beat without him and rare has it been for a playoff team to say that about Pepe, who along with Patrick Roy, burst onto the NHL scene with 10 goals and 16 points in 20 games in Montreal&rsquo;s run to the 1986 Stanley Cup.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t be at the top every time,&rdquo; Lemieux said, acknowledging last year&rsquo;s uneven effort. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not always going to happen. I was banged up, I was not 100 per cent and obviously the (Draper incident) was a distraction. You can&rsquo;t miss two games in the final like that and not be affected. The wear before. I had such a great a iiiai-iuunu uiuiiipri over ine DiauKiiciwKb. playoff. I obviously set out to do that again, maybe put extra pressure on myself and I never really got in that playoff groove.&rdquo;Funny, but his greatest playoff successes have come when he has had the most to prove-such as in 1986, when he entered the playoffs having played only 10 regular season games. And 1995, when he scored a league-leading 13 goals in 20 games en route to the Devils&rsquo; Cup win.-That virtuoso performance came on the heels of a miserable lockout shortened regular season for Lemieux, who experienced a messy marital meltdown while scoring only six times in 45 games.If the form chart holds true, he&rsquo;s in for another good playoff run. Because of abdominal surgery, he played in only 45 games, scoring just 11 goals, although four of them were game-winners and the Avalanche was 11-0-0 when he scored.No one has ever disputed Lemieux&rsquo;s talent as a player. He&rsquo;s a big, strong power winger with excellent speed and above-average skill. Intensely competitive doesn&rsquo;t begin to describe him because at times he&rsquo;s right over the top, the most hated man in hockey.But if being subjected to a beating at the hands of Darren McCarty in the final regular season meeting between Detroit and Colorado had any impact on him, it was limited to the final seven games of the regular season.In those games A.M. (After McCarty), Lemieux had just one assist. He did, however, get into a fight with Calgary Flames&rsquo; defenseman Todd Simpson, prompting some to speculate it was a statement that he isn&rsquo;t afraid to drop the gloves, as opposed to his usual practice of turtling.If Lemieux grates on the opposition, imagine what it would be like to be around him. day in, day out, for an entire season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s great,&rdquo; said superstar net-minder Patrick Roy, who roared to Lemieux&rsquo;s defense when McCarty was beating him up. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very generous person, a giving person who cares a lot about the team and his teammates. He has a big heart.&rdquo;Certainly, the Devils wouldn&rsquo;t have won a Stanley Cup if not for Lemieux, who had a bitter parting of the ways with New Jersey over his contract. Lemieux claimed his contract wasn&rsquo;t valid with New Jersey because it wasn&rsquo;t properly registered, but that hadn&rsquo;t stopped him from accepting his pay checks that season.Devils&rsquo; GM Lou Lamoriello decided Lemieux had crossed the line. He had become more trouble than he was worth.&ldquo;Our trading of Claude wasn&rsquo;t a hockey trade, it was an integrity trade.&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;It was done for the integrity of our organization. As far as we were concerned, Claude went over the line. We had a problem with that.&ldquo;Now, I have nothing but tremendous respect for Claude as a hockey player. No question, he&rsquo;s a competitor and was an integral part of our success. I have the utmost respect for what he gave us.&rdquo;When the Avalanche acquired Lemieux in the three-way deal that landed Wendel Clark with the New York Islanders and Steve Thomas in New Jersey, they knew they weren&rsquo;t getting Mr. Congeniality. Still, the Avs figured he was worth the risk.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an in-your-face kind of guy, on and off the ice,&rdquo; Avalanche GM Pierre Lacroix said. &ldquo;You have to take him for what he is. If you respect him for that, he&rsquo;ll give you that respect back. He wants to win so badly. Sometimes that can create disturbances.&rdquo;Before he pulled the trigger on the deal. Lacroix wanted to be sure his coaching staff could deal with the &ldquo;disturbances.&rdquo; He assembled head coach Marc Crawford and assistants Joel Quenneville and Jacques Martin to determine whether there was opposition to getting a &ldquo;high-maintenance&rdquo; player.&ldquo;They said, &lsquo;No problem.&rsquo;&rdquo; Lacroix said. &ldquo;You have to understand, Claude is a very demanding individual. He demands a lot of himself. He demands a lot of his teammates. He demands a lot of management. He&rsquo;s high-maintenance. You could ask our trainers and equipment people and they&rsquo;ll give you all kinds of examples. That&rsquo;s just part of his personality.&ldquo;But if he sees that you&rsquo;re prepared to commit in every way, he gives it all back to his teammates, management, everyone. He&rsquo;s generous with his time and effort that way.&rdquo;An example would be last season when the Avalanche players were complaining about the quality of ice at McNichols Arena. Lemieux wasn&rsquo;t content to leave it at grumbling. His teammates weren&rsquo;t satisfied, neither was he. If they were going to take a run at being the best, there was no reason not to make their ice quality as good as possible.&ldquo;1 think he kept on calling people and taking up the ice issue with everyone right up to the mayor of Denver,&rdquo; cracked Avalanche coach Marc Crawford. &ldquo;He made it his mission and he wasn&rsquo;t doing it just for himself. He was doing it for his teammates and they knew it. He doesn&rsquo;t miss much.&rdquo;Lemieux snickers at Crawford&rsquo;s mention of the mayor and suggests his crusade for ice quality never reached those proportions.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like I told them how they should be driving their Zamboni,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;But the ice (issue) was important to us. It&rsquo;s like Pierre (Lacroix). Before the playoffs began, he had all new boards and glass put in because he&rsquo;s the kind of guy, if you&rsquo;re going to do something, do it right. That&rsquo;s why 1 like it here in Colorado. The management, the coaching staff, they all think like me. They&rsquo;re totally committed to winning. They will do all the little things that need to be done.&rdquo;Crawford said Lemieux has been a model player and model teammate in his two seasons in Denver. The coach acknowledges Lemieux&rsquo;s finest features as his competitiveness, mental toughness, physical strength, speed and skill. But, Crawford added, his hockey mind shouldn&rsquo;t be overlooked either.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s really very sharp, a real detail guy,&rdquo; Crawford said. &ldquo;He has opinions on how we run our power play, how we kill penalties, what we do in certain situations. He has a lot of really good thoughts. He&rsquo;s really quite astute about the game.&rdquo;Lemieux likes it in Denver, the organization and the city. With a GM such as Lacroix and a goaltender such as Roy, Lemieux sees the commitment to excellence that permeated the Canadiens in their heyday, yet Denver isn&rsquo;t the hockey-mad mecca.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very positive environment to play and live,&rdquo; said Lemieux, who is on his second marriage and awaiting the birth of a baby girl. He has two sons from his previous marriage-they live with their mother in New Jersey-and another son from his current marriage.He&rsquo;s looking forward to the arrival of a daughter after three boys.Claude Lemieux, sugar and spice and everything nice. If he&rsquo;s not careful, he might take the edge off his reputation as the most hated man in hockey.&ldquo;People can say what they want about me as a player,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;But most of them, they never get to know me as a person and they&rsquo;re probably not going to either.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been on back-to-back Cup winners and all I care about is getting a third. The rest of it, what people think of me, I don&rsquo;t care. It just doesn&rsquo;t matter.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-01

Pépé playoff performer

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021223/7920964-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0009-02

NHL GAME USED JERSEYS. STICKS & EQUIPMENT

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011887/7921002-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="501" height="716"></div>Not even Dominik Hasek&rsquo;s body contorts as much as the plot in Buffalo. The Sabres won a first round that had more twists than the knives Ted Nolan and John Muckier dream of turning in each other&rsquo;s backs.Things were a lot simpler when Normand Lacombe was Buffalo&rsquo;s goto guy. Some years expectations were higher than others, but the playoffs would come and after six games the Sabres would go to the golf course.This season the Sabres shocked everybody by winning the Northeast Division title without a 30-goal scorer, then surprised nobody by struggling during a first round series against a No. 7 seed. It&rsquo;s tough work putting the puck in the net when you are Jason Dawe, harder still with the dead weight of the failures of Phil Housley, Pierre Turgeon and Alexander Mogilny strapped to your back like a big heirloom hope chest. Buffalo had won one series in 13 years. And that was against Boston&rsquo;s John Blue, so it didn&rsquo;t really count.Hasek, who for all his brilliance has a track record of being strung tighter than the Sabres&rsquo; budget, had to be calmed by teammates during a bad Game 3 warmup and an even worse overreaction to taunting Ottawa fans. When the contest started, Hasek made a routine movement on an Ottawa goal, heard a pop in his knee and skated off the ice.So Jim Kelley, a mild-mannered, well-respected columnist for the conservative local daily, reviewed Hasek&rsquo;s curious behavior, documented the conflicting versions of both the goalie and examining doctor, noted the absence of a limp, crutch, brace, other indication of debilitating injury and wondered in print if the goalie&rsquo;s head had popped to a greater degree than his knee.The team staged a dog-and-pony show of solidarity for a goalie which it knew showed signs of having endured one-too-many 45-save nights. The furor encouraged irresponsible talking heads with better hair than journalistic skills to crosscheck Kelley in the back without reading his controversial piece or researching Hasek&rsquo;s behavior leading up to his departure from the series.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021379/7920995-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="663" height="1014"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dominik Hasek</figcaption></div>First Kelley got ripped, than so did his shirt, by Hasek after the columnist tried to calm the enraged star down during a post-game confrontation.Meanwhile, Nolan and Muckier continued to angle for survival, wondering who was going to be held responsible for both Hasek&rsquo;s freak-out and yet another first-round defeat.Just when all seemed lost, however, going back to Ottawa for Game 6, backup Steve Shields stood on his head. He then added cups and saucers to his juggling act early in Game 7, when his team, with victory so close, suddenly couldn&rsquo;t make a four-foot pass.The equally apprehensive crowd booed the Sabres off the ice after a two-shot first period, then rallied as the team gradually made the Senators look like the Senators. Donald Audette banged in a rebound, but as the third period had barely begun, Shields suddenly let in a softie, par for April in Western New York.The 1996-97 Northeast Division champs were being boarded up like a storefront on Pearl Street when Alexei Yashin apparently took pity on their plight. He lifted a perfect backhander into his own net off a faceoff, a prettier goal than any Buffalo player scored all year.In overtime, Derek Plante, a hero for losing the faceoff so cleanly, scored to become the greatest thing to happen to Buffalo since the Erie Canal. The Marine Midland Arena went even more bonkers than the columnist hinted the star goalie had become.Hasek apologized to Kelley, who sincerely believes the goalie didn&rsquo;t really understand the column, and is also almost as anxious to forget the whole thing as Nolan and Muckier are to run the other out of town. The Sabres moved on to a series against Philadelphia, during which Nolan would have to be unbalanced to change goalies, even back to one who will probably be the first to win a Hart Trophy since 1962. One false step by the coach and the GM sends him over the falls in a barrel, without a raincoat or a turncoat. Unless, of course, Nolan gets Muckier first.Buffalo used to be a boring town. &#9632;

f0010-01

COLUMNISTS

Buffalo suddenly center of excitement

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011676/7921040-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="504" height="714"></div>Rare is there a Stanley Cup second-rounder that has the mystical overtones of a World Series, but the 1997 New Jersey Devils-New York Rangers collision is just that exquisite exception.While New Jersey and New York conducted their Trans-Hudson war games, they automatically conjured memories of Brooklyn Dodgers-New York Yankees diamond classics played in the 1950s. So intense was the baseball competition that you could cut the hatred with a knife when the Brooks and Bombers clashed.Now we have the same intensity on ice. The cross-river interstate rivalry has been pockmarked with insult, not to mention the traditional &ldquo;We own New York&rdquo; officiousness that cloaks the Rangers like a two-piece suit.&ldquo;I love the hatred that is built up by the intensity,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; goalie Mike Richter.&ldquo;The area seems to have a majority of Ranger fans,&rdquo; said Devils&rsquo; defenseman Scott Niedermayer, &ldquo;and we don&rsquo;t like that too much.&rdquo;Not that New York vs. New Jersey needs a feud to be fueled, but it has been in spades. For that we can mostly thank the Rangers&rsquo; deadpanning coach Colin Campbell.On Manhattan Island, they call Campbell refreshing, frank and fearless. Across the Hudson they call him, um, well, let&rsquo;s just say it&rsquo;s a Jerseyesque form of &ldquo;expletive deleted.&rdquo;In East Rutherford, they like Campbell about as much as they enjoy seeing state troopers in their rear view mirror on the New Jersey Turnpike. Last fall, Campbell strolled in and out of Continental Airlines Arena and then delivered an explosion of words that made Gov. Christie Whitman&rsquo;s favorite state seem like a Third World country.&ldquo;Where am I, anyway?&rdquo; snapped Campbell as he surveyed the Meadowlands scenery. &ldquo;Newark? Jersey City? You look outside the building, you don&rsquo;t see anything. You can&rsquo;t tell what town you&rsquo;re in.&rdquo;&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s just ignorance (on Campbell&rsquo;s part) because he hasn&rsquo;t been over here to see the nice parts of the state,&rdquo; said Devils&rsquo; right winger John MacLean. &ldquo;Maybe 1&rsquo;11 take him golfing this summer and show him.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021200/7921033-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="673" height="1190"><figcaption class="caption-body">Colin Campbell</figcaption></div>Campbell also took aim at the less-glitzy Devils, whose payroll is about $10 million lower than the Rangers&rsquo;. &ldquo;The Devils are an interchangeable flock of forwards,&rdquo; Campbell said.That inspired normally diplomatic Devils&rsquo; defenseman Ken Daneyko to call him a &ldquo;little weasel.&rdquo;That was after the Rangers had slapped down New Jersey with a 6-1 defeat during the regular season. After hearing Campbell&rsquo;s remarks, Daneyko took exception. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t need him to rub salt in the wound,&rdquo; Daneyko said. &ldquo;That was gutless.&rdquo; Devils&rsquo; coach Jacques Lemaire even got into the act. He wondered how a team with a bigger budget than some developing countries could finish 18 points behind his in the standings.&ldquo;With all the money they spend on players,&rdquo; Lemaire said, &ldquo;I thought they had the team to win.&rdquo;Campbell&rsquo;s response about the difference in payrolls? &ldquo;Well, (Lemaire) must not be including the coaches&rsquo; payroll because that would put us even.&rdquo;Some Jerseyites are old enough to remember one current Ranger-then an Edmonton Oiler-called the Devils &ldquo;a Mickey Mouse organization.&rdquo; Wayne Gretzky lived to regret it, but they do have long memories in Bergen County.The Meadowlands faithful will never feel completely fulfilled until Scott Stevens and Co., exhume the Broadway Blueshirts in a post-season series. How could they with the memories of a 1994 seven-game Eastern Conference final marathon still sticking in their craw?&ldquo;We owe them,&rdquo; Stevens said.Not that everyone is at the other&rsquo;s throat. There was even a modicum of civility on both sides as the series approached. Even Campbell appeared penitent about his defamatory remarks and was gracious enough to suggest that New Jersey is the favorite to win the Stanley Cup.But when a war is on, the propaganda flows just like water over Niagara Falls. And make no mistake, this New Jersey-New York thing is definitely a war. &#9632;

f0011-01

Bad blood flowing across Hudson

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>There are only 26 jobs available and Wayne Cashman wants one of them.Cashman, an assistant coach in the NHL the past 10 seasons, including this season with the San Jose Sharks, said he is ready to make the next step. He wants his own team. If not next season, then as soon as possible.&ldquo;Yes, I think the time is right,&rdquo; said Cashman from his hotel in Helsinki, Fin., where he is serving as an assistant coach with Canada&rsquo;s entry in the World Championship. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to do it. This is one of those years where if somebody were to approach me about a head coaching job, I&rsquo;d say yes.&rdquo;Are you listening in Boston, Pittsburgh and Montreal? As the Eastern Conference semifinals got under way, the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens had head coaching openings. Expansion is also just around the comer.Like most assistant coaches, Cashman has a clause in his contract that would allow him to take a head coaching job in another organization if one was offered to him.After an 18-year playing career with the Bruins, including six as team captain, Cashman served five years as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers and four more with the Tampa Bay Lightning before joining the Sharks.He has worked in association with Roger Neilson, Phil Esposito and Terry Crisp, among others, and has spent many hours preparing for the day when he would have a team of his own. He has been in a number of different situations on the teams he has coached.The Rangers were a veteran club which, during his tenure there, won two Patrick Division championships. The Lightning, on the other hand, was an expansion team he helped build from the ground up to a playoff berth in four years. By joining the Sharks, Cashman got to know the Western Conference.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011840/7921078-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="772" height="1210"><figcaption class="caption-body">Terry Crisp thinks Wayne Cashman is ready for the NHL.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;When I first got into coaching, I wanted to be sure I learned everything I felt was necessary before becoming a head coach,&rdquo; Cashman said. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t one of those guys who felt if I didn&rsquo;t graduate from being an assistant coach to a head coach in a year or two I was a failure. I have enjoyed all aspects of being an assistant coach, from working with younger players to working with the specialty teams.&rdquo;About the only thing lacking on his resume is head coaching experience. Cashman scouted for a year after retiring as a player before joining the Rangers as an assistant and has yet to run his own team. He doesn&rsquo;t feel, given his NHL experience as a player and assistant, that will hurt him. Crisp doesn&rsquo;t think it will, either.&ldquo;Wayne could relate many of his experiences as a player to the young players of today,&rdquo; Crisp said. &ldquo;He is one of those coaches who can tell the players, &lsquo;Been there, done that.&rsquo; One thing about Wayne is he took a lot of initiative on his own. You never had to tell him what had to be done; he&rsquo;d come in in the morning and get to work on things himself.&rdquo;Cashman classifies himself as a quiet individual and said people shouldn&rsquo;t read too much into how he played-he was one of the biggest and baddest Bruins-to how he would react behind the bench. In 1,027 games with the Bruins Cashman scored 277 goals and 793 points with 1,041 penalty minutes.&ldquo;You do things as a player that you must to help your team,&rdquo; Cashman said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think you can judge a person by the things he did as a player. As a head coach you have to be able to work with the players; put a plan in that suits your personnel, get your team in shape and make sure you have the right people on the ice at the right time.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021457/7921071-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="1597" height="3060"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cashman is eager for a new job title after 10 years as an assistant. (Photo by Rocky Widner)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0012-01

Assistant Cashman wants own bench

<div class="byline">-Mike Brophy</div>Mike Keenan wants to coach again in the NHL.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m too young to get out of the game,&rdquo; Keenan said from his home in Florida where he has been staying since being fired as coach-GM of the St. Louis Blues Dec. 19. Keenan met with the Boston Bruins May 1.Say what you will about the 47-year-old Keenan&rsquo;s ability to manage a team, there&rsquo;s no denying his remarkable record as a coach, which includes winning a Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers, Canada Cup titles and three more trips to the Stanley Cup final-two with the Philadelphia Flyers and one with the Chicago Blackhawks.&ldquo;He is the best coach out there currently not working,&rdquo; said an NHL executive. &ldquo;He needs to go to a team with a strong manager who can control him.&rdquo;As NHL head coaching positions become available, here are the other people most frequently mentioned as logical candidates to either work in the NHL in the next year or so or move up to the next level. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order:Pat Burns, 45 Sat out this season, but anxious to work again. A motivator who guided Montreal Canadiens to Stanley Cup final (1988-89) and Toronto Maple Leafs to Western Conference final twice (1992-93, 1993-94). Bums worked as television analyst with Radio-Canada this past winter.Kevin Constantine, 38 Led Kansas City to Turner Cup in 1991-92 and was International League coach of the year. Was runner-up for NHL coach of the year with San Jose in 1993-94. Was an assistant coach with Calgary this season.Robbie Ftorek, 45 Was known for wearing sweaters when he coached Los Angeles Kings in late-1980s. Led Albany River Rats to 1994-95 Calder Cup and was AHL coach of the year that season. Is in second stint as assistant coach with New Jersey Devils.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03944/7921109-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="499" height="665"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Keenan</figcaption></div>Butch Goring, 47 Former Bruins&rsquo; coach won IHL coach of year honors two straight seasons. Led Denver and Utah to back-to-back Turner Cups. Currently vice-president, hockey operations, coach and GM of Utah.Steve Ludzik, 35 Coach of IHL&rsquo;s successful Detroit Vipers has excellent technical grasp of game. Forte is creating solid systems.Roger Neilson, 62 Associate coach with St. Louis this season,Neilson was ideal start-up coach with expansion Florida Panthers in 1993-94. Places a great amount of emphasis on defensive play. Has also coached Vancouver Canucks, Rangers and Toronto.John Paddock, 42 Stepped aside as coach of Winnipeg Jets in 1995 to concentrate on the GM duties and was fired as GM of Phoenix Coyotes this season. Coached Maine Mariners and Hershey Bears to Calder Cups.Jack Parker, 52 Winningest coach in Boston University history touted as front-runner to replace Steve Kasper in Boston. Is a two-time NCAA coach of the year.Brian Sutter, 40 Did excellent job in Boston (93-55-20) after coaching St. Louis for four years. Was NHL&rsquo;s coach of year in 1990-91. Spent winter working on farm in Viking, Alta.Darryl Sutter, 38 Served in special assignments capacity with Chicago past two years after coaching team for three years. Spent winter working on farm in Viking, Alta.Bill Stewart, 39 Considered NHL material, but logical next step IHL or AHL. His Oshawa Generals are in Ontario League final. &#9632;

f0012-03

Top candidates for employment

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011685/7921147-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="502" height="713"></div>They broke into the NHL two years apart and played for nearly two decades. They came from widely differing backgrounds-Joey Mullen from the playgrounds of Hell&rsquo;s Kitchen, Craig MacTavish from the land of the snow squalls, London, Ont.You watch them fade from the picture after their teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues, were eliminated from the playoffs and ponder the similarities between these two distinguished NHL citizens.The first, Mullen, was a pure goalscorer. He holds the scoring records (goals and points) for U.S.-bom players. He was the first American to score 500 goals. He won three Stanley Cups, two Lady Byngs and the Lester Patrick award for service to U.S. hockey.The other, MacTavish, was a pure defensive player. He scored more than 20 goals just once. All he did was win key faceoffs and kill penalties and strike the right dressing room chord on four Stanley Cup winners of his own.Their departures from the game will not be noted the way Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s has been, but each, in their own way, made pioneering contributions.Mullen helped pave the way for U.S.-born players. Now, he himself does not see it that way. He&rsquo;ll point out the gold medal winning-1980 Olympic team did more tc raise NHL awareness of American players than he did. And yet, that&rsquo;s not entirely accurate. A handful of Olympians went on to have distinguished careers, but it was Mullen&rsquo;s enduring quality-he was small and not real fast, yet he played at a high level all those years-that forced the NHL to consider that you didn&rsquo;t have to be 6-foot-2,200 pounds and hail from Flin Flon to have an impact.The focus in MacTavish&rsquo;s departui will be on his head. Because he turnei pro in 1978-79, he was exempt from an NHL mandate that made helmets compulsory. So, in an era where concussions are a primary source of concern, he was the last NHLer to play bareheaded. This, said MacTavish, was not a political statement, but it is reminder of a time when players treated each other&rsquo;s vital body parts with more respect. Presumably, MacTavis feels fortunate that after all this time, he never landed on his head, he kept landing on his feet.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021177/7921140-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="663" height="1016"><figcaption class="caption-body">Craig MacTavish</figcaption></div>The common quality between the two may be the long odds they overcame to play and then to make an impact. Mullen was never drafted. MacTavish was chosen by the Boston Bruins as an afterthought, in the ninth round of the 1978 amateur draft.Mullen had career-threatening major knee surgery in 1982. MacTavish&rsquo;s career almost ended when he missed a full season (1984-85) after being convicted of vehicular homicide. Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; GM Glen Sather gave him a second chance and MacTavish made the most of it.They were what is euphemistically known as players&rsquo; players. MacTavish earned the admiration of his peers with his exceptional work habits, something he needed in order to resurrect his career after he got out of orison. He shamed more talented players into working as hard as he did. Every once in a while, he&rsquo;d do something dazzling offensively because of his stickhandling ability that made you reach for your program just to make sure-yes, that really was MacTavish that just broke through the middle. Mullen had the uncanny knack of finding a seam in the defense and then arriving on the goalstep just as the puck did. He was a contortionist on skates and one reason he lasted as long as he did was the fact that while he played in traffic, he managed to elude most hits because of his slippery playing style.Neither was a classic skater, but they always seemed to get where they needed to go. They were able to play into their dotage because they gradually evolved into highly respected leaders. Mullen turned 40 in February and soon after scored the 500th goal of his career, a development that everybody, even his opponents, could cheer.MacTavish was almost ready to pack it in in 1994 after winning his final Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers until the Philadelphia Flyers, seeking a positive role model for Eric Lindros, made him an offer he couldn&rsquo;t refuse.They&rsquo;re gone now after all this time, but hopefully never forgotten. &#9632;

f0013-01

Mullen, MacTavish leave unique legacies

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04656/7921178-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="218" height="214"></div>At a team meeting a few days after he suffered a fractured left ankle in the final game of the regular season, Dave Andreychuk asked his New Jersey Devils&rsquo; teammates for a favor: get to the third round of the playoffs.That would give the 33-year-old left winger a chance to return for a crack at his first Stanley Cup ring.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s all I can hope for, I guess,&rdquo; Andreychuk said. &ldquo;The only nightmares I have are if the team loses and I don&rsquo;t have a chance to play.&rdquo;The Devils were doing their best to accommodate Andreychuk. They eliminated the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the first round and faced the rival New York Rangers in the second round.Andreychuk&rsquo;s injury occurred in a meaningless game April 13 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Steve Thomas, Martin Brodeur and Scott Stevens were all rested, but Andreychuk played. With 7:09 remaining in the second period, he was hooked around the neck by Flyers&rsquo; rookie defenseman Janne Nii-nimaa and fell awkwardly behind the net. At first it was thought he would not require surgery for a fractured ankle, but that changed when it appeared the fracture became displaced. Surgery was performed April 19.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough that I have to watch and hope that I get a chance to play, but I can&rsquo;t do anything about that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just want to be ready when I get a chance.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Left winger Valeri Zelepukin, who suffered a hairline fracture of his left thumb when he was slashed in the Montreal series, missed Game 5, but returned against the Rangers&hellip;Scott Niedermayer was moved to left wing from defense in Game 5&hellip;Defenseman Kevin Dean scored his first career playoff goal in the clincher against Montreal.. Right winger Bill Guerin, who missed the last two games against Montreal with a broken toe on his right foot, was in the lineup for Game 1 against the Rangers&hellip;Entering the Rangers&rsquo; series, defenseman Ken Daneyko had played in all 90 Devils&rsquo; playoff games&hellip; Center Doug Gilmour was tied with Denis Potvin for ninth on the all-time playoff points list (164). &#9632;

f0014-04

Injured Andreychuk hopes for third-round comeback

<div class="byline">By Rick Carpiniello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03952/7921209-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="754" height="1200"><figcaption class="caption-body">Esa Tikkanen</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021379/7921216-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="197" height="197"></div>Esa Tikkanen wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be doing this. He wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be winning playoff games in heroic fashion.No, Tikkanen&rsquo;s career was pretty much piled on a trash heap. He&rsquo;d been wasting away with the Vancouver Canucks and he has a surgically repaired knee that should have him retired. His physical conditioning is always questioned, but it was especially so since his playing time dwindled with the Canucks.Then he came back to the New York Rangers, in a four-player trade along with Russ Courtnail for Sergei Nemchinov and Brian Noonan.&ldquo;Right now, everything is going right for me and for the New York Rangers,&rdquo; he said repeatedly. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m exciting, I&rsquo;m exciting.&rdquo;Translation: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited.&rdquo;&ldquo;Tikky scores big goals,&rdquo; said formet Edmonton Oiler and current Ranger teammate Wayne Gretzky. &ldquo;What can you say? He loves playing under pressure.&rdquo;He scored two huge goals in the Rangers&rsquo; first-round series victory over the Florida Panthers. His first overtime winner came in Game 3 with the series tied 1-1 and he added the series-clinching goal in Game 5.In Game 5 at Miami Arena, Tikkanen took a page out of Stephane Matteau lore, scoring his second overtime goal in the series. Matteau had scored two double-overtime goals for the Rangers in their epic 1994 Eastern Conference final win over the New Jersey Devils, including the Game 7 double overtime winner.NOTEBOOK: The Rangers were 8-3-1 in their Lady Liberty third sweaters&hellip;Defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev did not play in the third period or overtime of Game 5 against Florida after being hit in the head by a puck shot by Panthers&rsquo; left winger Mike Hough. The puck deflected past goalie Mike Richter for a Panthers&rsquo; goal&hellip;The first game of the Eastern Conference semifinal was center Mark Messier&rsquo;s 227th career playoff game, tying defenseman Larry Robinson&rsquo;s NHL record&hellip;Karpovtsev&rsquo;s defense partner, Ulf Samuelsson, suffered a broken nose when he was elbowed by center Rob Nieder-mayer in overtime in Game 5&hellip;Right winger Alexei Kovalev, who underwent reconstructive knee surgery Jan. 30, was back on skates for the first time April 28. &#9632;

f0014-03

Rangers on way with Esa

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021181/7921247-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="403" height="547"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vaclav Prospal</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011665/7921254-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="200" height="202"></div>Vaclav Prospal had tears in his eyes, as much from fear as from pain, as he raced oft the ice to get to the training room.Clutching his left wrist, which he had injured seconds before in a collision with defensemen Chris Therien and Janne Niinimaa during an April 30 practice, the Philadel phia Flyers&rsquo; rookie dreaded the worst.A few hours later, those fears wen confirmed: A fracture of the radius bone and the kid they call &ldquo;Vinny was done for the season.It was a stunning blow both to Prospal and the playoff hopes of the Flyers, who will miss their No. 2 center. Prospal, 22, proved to be an effective NHL player since his call-up March 5 after 3-1/2 seasons in the minors.Prospal underwent surgery May I and had steel pins inserted in the wrist. He will be inactive until at least mid-June, but doctors said he should be fine for training camp in September.With Prospal out, veteran Dale Hawerchuk was moved back to his old spot between Rod Brind&rsquo;-Amour and Pat Falloon.Hawerchuk. bothered by an abdominal strain since March 2, was getting only about 10 minutes per game as a fourth-liner in the opening series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.The question to be answered: Can the 34-year-old hold up playing 20 or more minutes per night?&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be ready,&rdquo; said Hawerchuk, who took advantage of a week-long break after the Penguins&rsquo; series to continue his rehabilitation. &ldquo;The last week has been good to get me further along in my injury. I&rsquo;m feeling good now.&ldquo;(Prospal&rsquo;s injury) is all part of the business. If 1 hadn&rsquo;t been injured, Vinny might not have gotten a chance to come up here. You have to realize it&rsquo;s part of the game.&rdquo;Coach Terry Murray appreciated what Prospal did in his brief time with the Flyers.&ldquo;He played great for us. From the time he was called up, he showed he can play in this league,&rdquo; Mnrmv said. &ldquo;We put him with good players to see if he belonged and he showed against Pittsburgh that he&rsquo;s for real.&rdquo;The Flyers had questions about Prospal&rsquo;s size and determination. At least they know those are no longer a worry.&ldquo;The grit was a concern.&rdquo; said Murray. &ldquo;But he battled hard against every line he was matched up against.&rdquo;Added GM Bob Clarke, &ldquo;He makes people around him better. He&rsquo;s a very important part of our club and he&rsquo;ll be important to this organization for a long time.&rdquo;The Flyers were dazed by the unfortunate turn of events, but vowed to plow ahead.NOTEBOOK: With Vaclav Prospal sidelined with a broken wrist, Daniel Lacroix was scheduled to get back in the lineup as fourth-line center for the Eastern Conference semifinal series against Buffalo. The Flyers finished the season with the fewest road losses (12) in the NHL, something they hoped would work in their favor against the Sabres, who had the home-ice advantage&hellip;Left winger Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour&rsquo;s two shorthanded goals in just 54 seconds helped the Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals April 26. The NHL mark is 48 seconds, by the Islanders&rsquo; Tom Fitzgerald against Pittsburgh in the 1993 playoffs&hellip;In Game 5, center Eric Lindros scored just 14 seconds into the game. The Flyers&rsquo; record for fastest goal in a playoff game is seven seconds, held by Terry Murray, who&rsquo;s now coach of the team (1981 against Quebec)&hellip;The Flyers added left winger Brian Wesenberg to their American League Philadelphia Phantoms&rsquo; roster after Guelph completed its Ontario League season. &#9632;

f0015-02

Prospal finally makes NHL grade, hut iniurv nuts him on sidelines

<div class="byline">By Adrian Dater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011619/7921323-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="200" height="195"></div>They are three letters an athlete least wants to hear: ACL.Throw the word &ldquo;tom&rdquo; in before the letters and it&rsquo;s enough to make any pro shudder.Colorado Avalanche left winger Keith Jones suffered a tom ACL-anterior cruciate ligament-in his left knee April 26, ending his season.And it had been a fine season until then, too. Jones had at least one point in the first five games of Colorado&rsquo;s first-round series with the Chicago Blackhawks and had 25 goals in the regular season.But in the first period of Game 6, it came to an screeching halt when Blackhawks&rsquo; left winger Eric Daze fell on top of the leg.&ldquo;I heard something pop,&rdquo; said Jones, who led the Avalanche with 14 power play goals. &ldquo;He fell and all his weight went on my leg. My leg went one way and my body went the other.&rdquo;Jones tried to play another shift, but couldn&rsquo;t go on when the knee started going numb. He was to have surgery as soon as the swelling goes down, then will face a likely six-month rehab process.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s obviously very disappointing at this point of the season,&rdquo; Jones said. &ldquo;Things had been going great for me. But on the other side, that&rsquo;s part of life.&rdquo;Jones got some support from Avs&rsquo; defenseman Uwe Krupp, who tore his ACL last season, but returned to score the goal that won the Stanley Cup.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Uwe Krupp, out since March 26 with a pinched nerve in his lower back, resumed skating with the team. But Krupp likely won&rsquo;t be back, if at all, until the Western Conference final if Colorado gets that far&hellip;Center Joe Sakic&rsquo;s 12 points in the first round against Chicago was one point more than he scored in the first round last year. Sakic went on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy and to lead the playoffs in scoring with 34 points in 22 games&hellip;Right winger Claude Lemieux was up to his old playoff tricks again. Lemieux scored five goals in the Chicago series. In the one game he didn&rsquo;t score, he had a goal disallowed because a teammate was in the crease. Lemieux won the Conn Smythe in 1995 playing with New Jersey. &#9632;

f0016-01

Knee injury fells Jones after productive season

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03946/7921354-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="747" height="1193"><figcaption class="caption-body">Curtis Joseph</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021256/7921361-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="197" height="197"></div>When Curtis Joseph dove across his crease and somehow stopped Joe Nieuwendyk&rsquo;s certain overtime winner, he did more than stop a puck.&ldquo;He basically saved our season,&rdquo; said Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; left winger Todd Marchant, who had a little to do with that as well.Moments later, Marchant scored the breakaway goal that lifted the Oilers to an improbable seven-game victory over the Dallas Stars.That was the good news for the Oilers. The bad news was Joseph&rsquo;s heroics-he made 38 saves that night-meant the Oilers had to go about trying to knock off the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in Round II.But the man they call Cujo had his own bad news for the folks in Denver.&ldquo;You always want to improve your game and there were certainly games where I thought I could be better, for sure,&rdquo; Joseph said. &ldquo;Sure there were times I played really well, but I think I can be better.&rdquo;Joseph shut the Stars out twice in their own building and the Oilers won three times in Dallas. His save percentage in the first round was a sterling 93.2 and his goals-against average 2.22. He stole Game 5 with a l-0 win and was the main reason the Stars went 3-for-40 on the power play.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t put any more pressure on Curtis than there has been applied in the Dallas series,&rdquo; said coach Ron Low. &ldquo;Hopefully we can put some pucks in the other end of the rink.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Assistant coach Kevin Primeau agreed to a three-year contract to coach the Cologne Sharks in the German League. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the best job in Europe there is,&rdquo; said Primeau, who takes over for the fired Bob Murdoch. Primeau has been an Oiler assistant for six years, but was familiar with German hockey. He went 33-H-O as head coach of Preussen Berlin during the lockout year before returning to the Oilers on the day Ron Low took over for the fired George Burnett as head coach with Edmonton. Early candidates to take his place on staff are defenseman Kevin Lowe if he decides not to play somewhere next season and center Craig MacTavish, who just retired from St. Louis. MacTavish played nine seasons in Edmonton. &#9632;

f0016-03

Cudos for Oilers’ Cujo

<div class="byline">By Cynthia Lambert</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011445/7921392-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="197" height="201"></div>Jamie Pushor and Aaron Ward don t resemble each other at all. Pushor is 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds with short, dark hair. His nickname is Ross, because he looks like the character from the popular sitcom Friends.Ward, at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, keeps his blond hair buzz-cut short and likes to think of himself as hockey&rsquo;s version of Drew Carey.Pushor is quiet, Ward is gregarious. Pushor came through the junior ranks, playing for the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western League; Ward took the U.S. college route, playing for the University of Michigan.But that&rsquo;s where the differences end and the similarities begin. Both are 24-year-old defensemen who, during these playoffs, were competing for playing time. Though both dressed for five of the six games against the St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; coach Scotty Bowman would use one or the other-not both. Despite vying for ice time, the two get along well. They had better, since they&rsquo;re also roommates on the road.&ldquo;We get along great,&rdquo; Ward said. &ldquo;Actually, we have a lot in common. We have a lot of the same interests.&rdquo;Such as a desire to play.&ldquo;Although I want to play, I can be proud of Aaron when he does well,&rdquo; Pushor said. &ldquo;Sure, we&rsquo;re competing for time, but the bottom line is we want to win. I think what helps is we both think we&rsquo;re going to be part of the defense here, hopefully, down the line.&rdquo;That didn&rsquo;t appear to be the case last summer. At that time Ward was a Group II free agent and the team was reluctant to sign him. But then Marc Bergevin was signed to a free agent contract by St. Louis and all of a sudden the Wings were without enough defensemen. So they re-signed Ward and have benefited from his rugged and enthusiastic style. The same could be said for Pushor, who also has a safe style which focuses on smart play and some big hits.&ldquo;They have a lot of enthusiasm,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re young and finally made it to the league.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center Igor Larionov will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Some have speculated he would be a nice fit in Anaheim between Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. &ldquo;Oh, I don&rsquo;t know about that,&rdquo; Larionov said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m playing for Detroit now and you can&rsquo;t find any better guys than Sergei (Fedorov) and Slava (Kozlov). But it is a free market.&rdquo; Vancouver is another possible destination&hellip;Trainer John Wharton attributes Detroit&rsquo;s injury-free status after a hard-hitting series against St. Louis, in part, to the team&rsquo;s added size. He also said it was luck. &ldquo;If anyone would have told me we&rsquo;d come out of the first round without an injury I would be more than mildly surprised. I&rsquo;d be shocked,&rdquo; Wharton said&hellip;.Entering the second round against Anaheim, center Fedorov had no goals, giving him two goals in his past 25 playoff games. &ldquo;Of course there is pressure for myself to score,&rdquo; said Fedorov. &ldquo;I want to score. But it&rsquo;s not the end of the world for me if I don&rsquo;t.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0017-01

Young defensive duo competes for ice, cheers for each other

<div class="byline">By Robyn Norwood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021118/7921423-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="200" height="195"></div>The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim can thank Paul Kariya for getting them into the second round of the playoffs.The Ducks were one shot from elimination in overtime in Game 6 against the Phoenix Coyotes before Kariya sent them home for a seventh game with a spectacular goal for a 3-2 overtime victory.&ldquo;Paul did something Mark Messier has never done: He scored an overtime game-winner (in the playoffs),&rdquo; said Anaheim coach Ron Wilson. &ldquo;That will become part of Paul&rsquo;s legend.&rdquo;Teemu Selanne caught Kariya with a high flip pass as Kariya streaked down the left wing. It was the sort of thing Selanne and Kariya often try-anything to take advantage of their speed and chemistry-but this time the extra element of luck came through for them.The puck bounced, Phoenix defenseman Gerald Diduck couldn&rsquo;t knock it away and Kariya got it on his stick and unleashed a tough-angle wrist shot that beat goalie Nikolai Khabibulin to the upper right comer 7-1/2 minutes into overtime.&ldquo;That shot by Paul was just unbelievable,&rdquo; Selanne said.If Kariya&rsquo;s overtime goal was the equivalent of a long bomb in football, he made a play in Game 7 that was more like a kickoff return for a touchdown.It was a length-of-the-ice sprint with the puck that started behind his own net and didn&rsquo;t come to an end until he was on the doorstep of the Coyotes&rsquo; goal.Kariya left Dallas Drake falling to the ice at about the blueline, raced up the right wing boards, then went around Phoenix defenseman Teppo Numminen as he swooped in on Khabibulin. Kariya&rsquo;s shot bounced back in front of the net and center Steve Rucchin was there to put in the rebound for a 2-0 lead 3:12 into the second period.Jeremy Roenick of the Coyotes did his best to slow Kariya much of the series, but after his knee injury knocked him out of the series in Game 6, Phoenix was finished.NOTEBOOK: The Ducks became the seventh team in NHL history to win its first playoff series&hellip;Coach Ron Wilson showed clips from The Wizard of Oz during the first-round series, asking players to think about which character they were. Penalty-prone defenseman Dave Karpa, who led the Ducks with 18 penalty minutes in the opening round, was the scarecrow. &ldquo;Because he was scared?&rdquo; Karpa said. Uh, well, no. &ldquo;That proves it,&rdquo; Wilson teased. The scarecrow, of course, had no brains&hellip;Goalie Guy Hebert&rsquo;s 31-save shutout in Game 7 was the first of his career in the playoffs. Hebert had only two minutes of playoff experience before this season, as a St. Louis Blue backing up Curtis Joseph in 1992-93&hellip;Phoenix center Jeremy Roenick&rsquo;s half-joking advice to whomever would inherit his assignment of watching turbo-charged Anaheim left winger Paul Kariya: &ldquo;Close your eyes and cross your fingers. If he gets to the red line with a lot of speed, you can be in a lot of trouble.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0017-02

Lady luck takes liking to Ducks as bounces fall in Kariya’s favor

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021141/7921454-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="397" height="547"><figcaption class="caption-body">Trevor Kidd</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011499/7921461-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="200" height="198"></div>The Calgary Flames didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs this season, but at least they got a good look at their future.With a total of 14 rookies playing at least one game this season, the Flames worked every promising young pro they owned into the lineup. It&rsquo;s hard to imagine they can keep up a pace like that next season.It&rsquo;s more likely they&rsquo;ll plug along with their young core and hope an extra year of experience will translate into gains on the ice and in the standings.Most prominent among those who probably won&rsquo;t return is center Dave Gagner, an unrestricted free agent. Corey Millen, another unrestricted free agent center, is expected to play in Europe next season.With veteran defensemen Zarley Zalapski and James Patrick set to return next season after suffering year-ending knee injuries, two other defensemen acquired in mid-season-Yves Racine and Glen Featherstone-are also on the bubble. Racine is a free agent; Featherstone has a year to go on his contract.There is also a good chance the Flames will not make a qualifying offer to defensive forward Mike Sullivan, which would turn him into an unrestricted free agent as well.Goaltender Trevor Kidd is a restricted free agent and it&rsquo;s not certain whether the Flames will shop him around. When it got to crunch time this season, the Flames turned to Dwayne Roloson for two key games in the final week that had a major bearing on their playoff future. Roloson lost both games.In all probability, Kidd and the organization will clear the air during contract negotiations and he will return.Their first off-season move was to welcome back center Michael Nylander after a one-year absence.Like Robert Reichel did before him, Nylander left the team in a contract spat and spent a year playing in Europe. Nylander, who scored 55 points for Calgary two years ago, figures to get a lot of playing time in scoring situations, perhaps with fellow Swede Jonas Hoglund.The Hames are not in the habit of bidding for any of the significant free agents that come on the market, so other changes will occur from within the organization.The Hames desperately need one of their young offensive defense-men-Chris O&rsquo;Sullivan, Denis Gauthier or Derek Morris-to develop in a hurry. Last year, their highest-scoring rearguard, Racine, contributed just 16 points.NOTEBOOK: The Flames&rsquo; 41 losses this season established a franchise record for defeats. They produced a major fold down the stretch (0-7-1) and the only good thing that happened was once they were officially eliminated, they kept losing with regularity. On the final day of the season, two teams (Hartford and Washington) won meaningless games, passing Calgary in the standings and putting the Flames in a more advantageous position for the lottery (they&rsquo;re sixth as opposed to eighth in the draft order, pending the lottery outcome)&hellip;Defenseman Derek Morris, the Flames&rsquo; No. 1 choice in the 1997 entry draft, signed an American League contract following the completion of his junior season in Regina. He played for the Hames&rsquo; minor league affiliate in Saint John, which was defeated in the first round of the playoffs. Center Steve Begin agreed to a similar deal. The contracts have no beating on their NHL status. Morris and Begin must be signed to standard players&rsquo; contracts by June. 1998 or they go back into the draft. &#9632;

f0018-02

Young prospects need to step up if Flames want better prospects

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04538/7921492-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="392" height="543"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jeff Hackett</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03817/7921499-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="200" height="201"></div>The Chicago Blackhawks have nobody to blame but themselves for their first-round ouster at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.The same problems management ignored all season, namely a lack of offense and the habit certain players had of taking bad penalties, cost them in the end.The power play went l-for-27 in the six games against Colorado while the undisciplined Blackhawks allowed the Avalanche the luxury of 45 power play chances.Goaltender Jeff Hackett allowed 25 goals in six games in his first playoff test as a No. 1 goaltender, but what happened was hardly his fault alone. Nine of Colorado&rsquo;s goals came on the power play and other times the Hawks played shoddy defense in front of him.&ldquo;We screwed up finishing eighth,&rdquo; Hackett said. &ldquo;Even though we were all happy to get in the playoffs, finishing eighth isn&rsquo;t the way you want to head into playing the best team in the league.&rdquo;&ldquo;I felt we could have beaten anybody in our conference but Colorado,&rdquo; said GM Bob Pulford.Playoff boon Because of injuries to Alexei Zhamnov, Brent Sutter and Murray Craven, Jeff Shantz assumed the role of No. 1 center and impressed everyone with his quickness and playmaking.The 23-year-old Shantz, who scored nine goals and 30 points in 69 regular season games, played well over the last two months of the season and now finally figures prominently in the Hawks&rsquo; future.Playoff bust The Hawks&rsquo; power play, which struggled all season (17th in the league with a14.8 per cent success rate), was even worse in the playoffs.The Hawks went l-for-27 and were outscored 12-1 in the series by Colorado with the man advantage. Defenseman Gary Suter didn&rsquo;t get it done all season at the left point and will likely be replaced.Three needs I. More skill at forward. The Hawks can&rsquo;t keep trying tc win every game 2-1 if they hope to Iasi longer in the playoffs. 2. Physical players. The Hawks just don&rsquo;t hit enough, especially on defense, where Chris Chelios, Suter, Keith Carney and Eric Weinrich got most of the playing time, but with the exception of Chelios, rarely got involved physically. 3. A powet play specialist. Right winger Dino Ciccarelli, who was nearly acquired at the trade deadline, but remained with the Tampa Bay Lightning would be an ideal addition, particularly since he is a right-handed shot.NOTEBOOK: Center Denis Savard and defenseman Steve Smith said they needed time after the season to decide their futures. It&rsquo;s very possible the two veterans, both unrestricted free agents, will retire. &ldquo;Maybe it&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;m not ready for. Maybe it&rsquo;s time for me to hang them up,&rdquo; the 36-year-old Savard said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big decision and I want to think it over.&rdquo; Smith&rsquo;s decision will depend on his health and whether he has had enough of trying to battle back problems for three years. &ldquo;I think that if I&rsquo;m healthy, I can find a job,&rdquo; said the 34-year-old Smith. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t think any organization wants a guy who is going to play 20 games and not the whole playoffs&hellip; Right winger Tony Amonte, a Group II restricted free agent, will be the Hawks&rsquo; toughest off-season signing. &ldquo;Hopefully it gets done soon, but it&rsquo;s their move.&rdquo; Amonte said&hellip;Other Hawks whose contracts are up are defensemen Eric Weinrich. Michal Sykora and Enrico Ciccone, center Steve Dubinsky and right wingers Jim Cummins and James Black. &#9632;

f0018-04

Low scoring, too many penalties led to team’s post-season ouster

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011380/7921530-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="199" height="202"></div>The Boston Bruins didn&rsquo;t even wait for 1996-97 to end before starting what promised to be a spring and summer of change.A massive rebuilding project began with the March 1 trade of veterans Adam Oates, Rick Tocchet and Bill Ranford and continued with the April 18 dismissal of coach Steve Kasper and assistant Cap Raeder.The turnover won&rsquo;t end there. By the time their 1997-98 training camp opens, Boston will have a new person in the front office to help assistant GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell, new men on the bench and new players on the ice.Most of the on-ice changes will probably come along the forward lines. Junior sensation Cameron Mann is expected to win a job, as is the player Boston selects with the first (Joe Thornton) or second (Patrick Marleau) pick in the entry draft.Those arrivals will put several jobs in jeopardy. Forwards on the bubble include Todd Elik, Brett Harkins, Tim Sweeney, Clayton Beddoes, Troy Mallette, Sheldon Kennedy, Trent McCleary and Jean-Yves Roy.On defense, prospects Mattias Tim-ander and 1996 first-round pick Johnathan Aitken will compete for jobs with Jon Rohloff, Dean Chynoweth and Dean Malkoc. The Bruins also have a goal of adding proven veterans on the blueline.Backup goalie Scott Bailey, meanwhile, doesn&rsquo;t appear to be in the Bruins&rsquo; plans.NOTEBOOK: The Bruins interviewed coaching candidate Jack Parker of Boston University April 30. The three-hour meeting left both sides cautious, but impressed with each other. The Bruins said Parker, 52. had done nothing to knock himself off Boston&rsquo;s closely guarded list of candidates, but said they weren&rsquo;t finished interviewing. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve basically got it down to four people,&rdquo; said president-GM Harry Sinden, &ldquo;and I wouldn&rsquo;t discount any of them.&hellip;The Bruins will start 1997-98 with a new TV broadcast team. Fred Cusick retired following his 44th season of calling games and broadcast partner Derek Sanderson resigned the same day&hellip; Right winger Matt Alvey, Boston&rsquo;s second round entry draft pick (51st overall) in 1993, signed a two-year contract. &#9632;

f0019-01

Precious few jobs secure as Bruins start rebuilding

<div class="byline">By Mike Heika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04538/7921599-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="198" height="198"></div>So, is the Dallas Stars&rsquo; cup half full or half empty?They made one of the most impressive one-season turnarounds in NHL history, going from 66 points and 21st in the league to a franchise-record 104 points and a tie for second overall.But they also were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the seventh seed Edmonton Oilers. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re like a work in progress,&rdquo; said coach Ken Hitchcock. &ldquo;We changed the attitude of our group, the players, the coaches, the management. What we really changed were the expectations and those expectations are really high now.&rdquo;Playoff boon Mike Modano was nothing short of spectacular. He had the best season of his career and he followed it with a hard-working, skill-laced playoff performance. He scored four goals (including two game-winners) and added an assist in seven games, but he should have had a ton more. Edmonton goalie Curtis Joseph was just too good.Playoff bust It wasn&rsquo;t exactly a bust, but Andy Moog&rsquo;s goaltending paled in comparison to that of Joseph. And because Joseph was so good, it will make the franchise look long and hard at whether it feels it can win the Stanley Cup with the 37-year-old Moog.Needs 1. They have to sort out their goaltending position. It appears that Roman Turek is the goalie of the future, so do you keep either Moog of Arturs Irbe or do you go out and trade for a different goaltender? 2. More offense. Joseph was amazing, but the Stars couldn&rsquo;t finish. Getting Joe Nieuwendyk and Pat Verbeek was a good step, but perhaps they need to look at a trade or a free agent to bring in more natural scoring ability. 3. The Oilers exposed the Stars&rsquo; lack of footspeed. But do you tear up a whole team and defensive philosophy because you couldn&rsquo;t match up with one team that might be the fastest in the NHL?NOTEBOOK: While the Stars missed a great opportunity to grow hockey in Texas by losing in the first round, owner Tom Hicks said the season was still a success. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve accomplished our goal. We stopped the slide. We won the fans back."&hellip;Stars&rsquo; left winger Greg Adams missed the last four games of the first round series with a pinched nerve in his neck. He will rehabilitate it over the summer, but might have to have surgery to fuse a couple of vertebra&hellip;The Stars finished 3-for-40 on the power play against the Oilers and allowed one shorthanded goal&hellip;Right winger Pat Verbeek finished the regular season with 17 goals in 81 games and had just one goal in the sevengame playoff series. &#9632;

f0019-04

Expectations raised high, results low

<div class="byline">By Jerry Higgins</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011159/7921630-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="202" height="204"></div>No organization will see as much turnover this summer as the team formerly known as the Hartford Whalers. Of course, most of that will take place off-ice when ownership decides where it&rsquo;s moving.On the ice, there is plenty of potential for movement, too.Six players became free agents once the season ended, but only one, left winger Derek King, is unrestricted. King, acquired from the New York Islanders at the trading deadline, was a failure in his 12-game stint with Hartford, collecting just three goals, and is expected to shop his services.Four of the team&rsquo;s five restricted free agents figure to be back. The oddman out could be goalie Jason Muzzatti, who was inconsistent after Sean Burke went out with back problems. The Whalers are expected to have prospect Jean-Sebastien Giguere on the roster next season and feel he&rsquo;s ready to be Burke&rsquo;s backup.The team may want to trim some salary from a defense that features Glen Wesley, Steve Chiasson, Jeff Brown and Kevin Haller. The most likely candidate to be moved is Haller, who is scheduled to earn $850,000 next season.Up front, right winger Nelson Emerson will be used as trade bait over the summer.GM Jim Rutherford is also evaluating the performance of coach Paul Maurice and assistants Tom Webster, Randy Ladouceur and Steve Weeks.NOTEBOOK: Any last gasp chance of the Whalers staying in Hartford ended April 29 when local developer Stephen Fish gave up his attempt to buy 49 per cent of the team from Peter Karmanos. Karmanos was expected to make his decision of a new city before the May 10 deadline he and the NHL set. Raleigh, N.C., was the new frontrunner&hellip;Left winger Geoff Sanderson had a sizable cheering section for the first game of the World Championship in Turku, Fin. Sanderson, who had two goals and an assist in Canada&rsquo;s 7-0 win over Norway to open the tournament, was the darling of a small group of fans from Hameenlinna, about 70 kilometers away. Sanderson played 10 games for the Finnish club during the 1994-95 lockout. &#9632;

f0022-01

Team assured of having different look next year

<div class="byline">By Helene Elliott</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03624/7921661-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="765" height="1207"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stephane Fiset</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02841/7921668-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="202" height="198"></div>After missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, the Los Angeles Kings didn&rsquo;t hesitate to change their roster-their executive roster, that is.Dave Taylor, formerly the club&rsquo;s assistant GM, replaced Sam McMaster April 22. That figures to be one of many changes during the off-season as the Kings try to get bigger and better.Here are some changes that have happened or are likely to occur.Already gone: Finnish right winger Kai Nurminen. Seeking more muscle, the Kings decided not to pick up his option. &ldquo;He had a pretty good year for us and he has scored everywhere he has been,&rdquo; Taylor said, &ldquo;but he&rsquo;s not a physical player.&rdquo;Could be gone: A goaltender, possibly Stephane Fiset because Fiset would have higher trade value than Byron Dafoe. Taylor said he believes Jamie Storr is capable of playing in the NHL and three goalies is one too many. Dafoe is a restricted free agent.Available to anyone who makes an offer: Left winger Kevin Stevens, who scored only 14 goals this season and has 17 goals in 89 games over two seasons. No one in management will say it publicly, but they&rsquo;d probably jump at the chance to unload Stevens, even if it means eating part of his contract. He has three years left averaging just over $3.1 million per year.Incoming: Pavel Rosa, a sharpshooting right winger who led the Quebec League in scoring. The Kings like him, but must sign him by June 1 to keep his rights.NOTEBOOK: The Kings&rsquo; affiliation with the Phoenix Roadrunners ended when the International League team ceased operations. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re talking to several teams in the American League,&rdquo; said GM Dave Taylor. &ldquo;Because of the direction we&rsquo;ve turned with the organization and the number of young players we have in the organization we feel this will work for us. It&rsquo;s important that these young players get ice time and the American Hockey League is more of a development league."&hellip;Taylor&rsquo;s on-ice wish list includes a power play quarterback, a stay-at-home defenseman who can clear the front of the net and creativity up front. &ldquo;Realistically, we probably don&rsquo;t have a forward you&rsquo;d classify as a first-line forward,&rdquo; Taylor said. &#9632;

f0022-03

Kings seek size, skill

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04443/7921699-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="203" height="199"></div>After an underachieving regular season, why would things be different for the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs?Montreal provided little opposition to the New Jersey Devils in the opening round, losing in five games. Only a triple-overtime victory by the Canadiens in Game 4 prevented a sweep.Four days following their elimination, coach Mario Tremblay resigned.Playoff boon Not only was right winger Mark Recchi the only Canadien to record more than one goal in the series-he produced a team-leading four goals and two assists-he was also one of the few who played hard from beginning to end. Recchi was the leader of this team all season and refused to quit.Playoff bust Take your pick: Vincent Damphousse, Stephane Richer, Martin Rucinsky and Vladimir Malakhov each failed to register a point.Not even facing his former team seemed to inspire Richer, who picked New Jersey to win the Stanley Cup prior to the playoffs.And what about Damphousse, the Canadiens&rsquo; captain and the player who should be the team leader? The guy was missing in action and failed to escape the dogged checking of Bob Carpenter. Damphousse was held to seven shots in the series.Needs 1. A new coach. The Canadiens have a relatively young team and require someone who can teach as well as motivate. If the new man is unable to accomplish this, he must surround himself with competent assistants. 2. Defensemen. There isn&rsquo;t always strength in numbers. The Canadiens carried eight rearguards much of the season, but many of them appeared to have no idea what they were doing. 3. A veteran goalie. Jocelyn Thibault and Jose Theodore have potential, but both were guilty of youthful mistakes. The Canadiens require someone with experience to play about 30 games and teach the kids the art of netminding.NOTEBOOK: Team president Ronald Corey said GM Rejean Houle will return for the final season of his contract. Corey also said Houle has carte blanche on hockey decisions&hellip;Right winger Stephane Richer claimed he was injured against the Devils, which might explain his lack of production. &ldquo;My back bothered me,&rdquo; said Richer, who missed four games late in the regular season with back spasms&hellip;Right winger Mark Recchi and center Saku Koivu were late additions to Canada and Finland, respectively, for the World Championship. Left winger Martin Rucinsky turned down a request from the Czech Republic. &ldquo;With this tournament, I won&rsquo;t have to think about what happened (this season),&rdquo; Koivu said. &#9632;

f0022-04

New coach must teach and preach

<div class="byline">By Jim Smith</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011043/7921730-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="201" height="199"></div>After spending his first two seasons weeding out urau wuvu, New York Islanders&rsquo; GM Mike Milbury said he plans to bring in some veteran forwards who can be team leaders next season.&ldquo;If we needed to learn a lesson,&rdquo; Milbury said, &ldquo;it was we do need leadership in the room.&rdquo;The Islanders climbed within a point of a playoff spot March 29, but dropped out of the race by going 1-5-1 in their last seven games to finish 29-41-12.Milbury indicated if he does not move up to first overall (so he can take Joe Thornton) in the May II lottery with his own pick or the choice he got from the Toronto Maple Leafs, he is willing to trade them for a scoring forward. He also said he plans to sign free agents.Forwards Mark Messier, Brian Skrudland and Mike Keane become unrestricted free agents and Joe Sakic, Mike Modano, Tony Amonte and Chris Gratton will be restricted.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to wait any longer for our draft picks to develop,&rdquo; Milbury said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to go back with the same group. We didn&rsquo;t make it with this group. I want us to have some changes. I don&rsquo;t want that to be ominous or threatening to the guys. It just happens every year. There are players here that will not be back, either through releases or by trade. But I do want to get bigger, I do want to get deeper on the wings. I want to get deeper at center ice.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: GM Mike Milbury said he is considering offering right winger Ziggy Palffy a contract extension. Palffy has one year left on his contract at $1.85 million. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to make Ziggy an Islander for a long time,&rdquo; Milbury said&hellip;The team finished 15-18-3 after Rick Bowness replaced Milbury (14-23-9) as coach&hellip;Left winger Ken Belanger made marked improvement in conditioning and skating and played the last 12 games after his promotion from Kentucky of the American League. In that span, he fought heavyweights Paul Laus, Scott Daniels. Bob Boughner. Jeff Odgers. Dean Malkoc twice, Mike Peluso. Rudy Poeschek and Stu Grimson&hellip;Right winger Todd Bertuzzi scored eight goals and 13 points in his last 19 games. &#9632;

f0023-01

Milbury promises to add experience, leadership

<div class="byline">By Bruce Garrioch</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03518/7921761-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="744" height="1194"><figcaption class="caption-body">Daniel Alfredsson</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02716/7921768-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="197" height="197"></div>After four years they would rather forget, the Ottawa senators finally had one to crow about.When it was all over they hung their heads in the dressing room, but the Senators had no reason to be ashamed after losing their first-round playoff series in overtime of the seventh game against the Buffalo Sabres.Eliminated from the Eastern Conference quarterfinal after Derek Plante scored at 5:26 of overtime to give the Sabres a 3-2 win, the Senators are even hungrier to get back next year after their first trip to the post-season.Playoff boon Right winger Daniel Alfredsson broke out of a late-season slump to score five goals and seven points the playoffs. Goaltender Ron Tugnutt took over from the injured Damian Rhodes and had a sparkling 1.98 goals-against average. His strong play helped Ottawa make the playoffs.Playoff bust Including the playoffs, Radek Bonk didn&rsquo;t score a goal in the final 19 games. He was moved from center to Alexei Yashin&rsquo;s wing for the final three games. It didn&rsquo;t work.Needs 1. A right winger for Alexei Yashin. The Senators tried virtually everybody on Yashin&rsquo;s right side with unfavorable results. 2. Toughness with skill. The Sens need somebody who isn&rsquo;t afraid to get involved, but also has the skills to put the puck in the net. 3. Sign Alfredsson. The Senators can&rsquo;t afford to get into a bidding war for the free agent. He&rsquo;s restricted, but a team might try to outbid Ottawa.NOTEBOOK: Goalie Ron Tugnutt signed a multi-year contract three days after the Senators were eliminated&hellip;Right winger Daniel Alfredsson turned down an opportunity to attend the World Championship with Sweden. Coach Kent Forsberg called Alfredsson after the Senators were eliminated from the playoffs April 29, but he was advised not to go because he doesn&rsquo;t have a contract for next year&hellip;Centers Sergei Zholtok (Latvia) and Alexei Yashin (Russia) both left for the World Championship in Finland the day after the season ended&hellip;Senators&rsquo; president Roy Mlakar has set a goal of 10,000 season tickets next year. The club currently has 8,000 season ticket holders. &ldquo;Playoffs, playoffs, playoffs; that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re going to be selling,&rdquo; Mlakar said. &#9632;

f0023-03

Finally, Sens can be proud

<div class="byline">By Mike Dudurich</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011001/7921799-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="200" height="204"></div>The 1996-97 season will go down as one of the most memorable in Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; history, mostly because it was Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s final one in the NHL. It was the end of an era.But after the spectacular ovations and the special moments provided for and by Lemieux, the season was barely above mediocre. They finished with a 38-36-8 record for 84 points, eight fewer than Northeast Division champion Buffalo Sabres. They were eliminated from the post-season in five games by the Philadelphia Flyers and were severely outclassed in all facets of the game.Playoff boon Despite playing with a very sore left groin, Jaromir Jagr scored four goals and had four assists to lead the Penguins in scoring. Goaltender Ken Wregget was the reason Philadelphia didn&rsquo;t hit double figures each game.Playoff bust Kevin Hatcher, a second-half disappointment, continued that way in the post-season, scoring one goal and one assist. His play did nothing to help a power play that was 4-for-23 (17.4 per cent).Needs 1. A replacement for the offense lost by Lemieux&rsquo;s retirement. 2. Upgrading the physical aspect of a defensive unit that was overpowered by the Flyers in the playoffs. 3. Hiring a coach that will reintroduce the Penguins to structure, discipline and some hard work, all of which will be necessary for the Penguins to compete in the A.M. (After Mario) era.NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh mayor Tom Murphy announced that the street adjacent to the Civic Arena will change names from Auditorium Place to Mario Lemieux Place&hellip;GM Craig Patrick said defensemen Neil Wilkinson and Chris Tamer will have surgery in the off-season to repair abdominal muscle injuries&hellip;There is talk Mike Eaves, a protege of the late Bob Johnson, is the leading candidate to take over as coach next season. Another name mentioned was that of San Jose assistant coach Wayne Cashman&hellip;Trading cards sold during the regular season featuring 18 different moments in Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s career raised $10,000 for die Mario Lemieux Foundation and $19,000 to the NHL Players&rsquo; Association&rsquo;s Players Helping Players Fund. &#9632;

f0025-01

Better work ethic sought for Pens’ oost-Mario era

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03447/7921830-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="778" height="1213"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Pronger</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02670/7921837-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="199" height="196"></div>If nothing else, the postMike Keenan St. Louis Blues learned how to be happy again.New president Mark Sauer, retro-GM Ron Caron and new coach Joel Quenneville were good to their word and practised what they preached: &ldquo;harmony with stability.&rdquo;Although the Blues made many positive strides under Quenneville, they failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs, losing in six games to the Detroit Red Wings.Playoff Boon Chris Pronger, 22, established himself as a go-to player in the playoffs, playing big and playing a lot with fellow linchpin and workhorse Al Maclnnis. Goalie Grant Fuhr recorded two shutouts for the Blues&rsquo; only victories and allowed only 13 goals total. Brett Hull had two goals and nine points. He also was plus-4.Playoff Bust Discipline. The Blues took way too many unnecessary penalties in the first round, averaging 33 penalty minutes a game.Needs 1. A reliable No. 2 center with some experience. Other than Pierre Turgeon and the retiring Craig MacTavish, the Blues&rsquo; centers had no NHL playoff experience before the Detroit series. 2. Depth on defense. After Igor Kravchuk went down with tom rib cartilage, the Blues&rsquo; overtaxed defense corps was pushed beyond the limit. 3. A backup goalie. Jon Casey appeared in 15 games, finishing 3-8-0 with a 3.39 goals-against average and an 86.6 save percentage-dead last among the 53 goalies who played at least 10 games.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Brett Hull tied Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s team record for most points in a six-game series with nine&hellip;Veteran center Craig MacTavish&rsquo;s retirement after 17 seasons ends the era of the helmetless player&hellip;Defenseman Chris Pronger joined Team Canada and right winger Jim Campbell joined Team USA for the World Championship in Finland&hellip;Rookie center Pavol Demitra had a goal and three assists in his first playoff despite playing with a broken right hand&hellip;Left winger Geoff Courtnail underwent surgery after the season to remove the screws implanted to repair a broken thumb in February, 1996&hellip;The Blues&rsquo; No. 1 priority in the off-season will be to resign restricted free agent center Pierre Turgeon, who made $3 million this season. &#9632;

f0025-03

A bit better, lots happier

<div class="byline">By Bob McManaman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04286/7921868-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="213" height="211"></div>They started the season without Jeremy Roenick. They finished it without him as well. And that, as much as anything, contributed to the end of the Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; inaugural season in Arizona as early as it did.The Coyotes might have eliminated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on home ice in Game 6 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series, but Roenick suffered a tom medial collateral ligament and other damage to his left knee when he was hit in the second period by Anaheim&rsquo;s Ted Drury. Without Roenick around to check Paul Kariya, the Ducks won the final two games to advance.Playoff boon Keith Tkachuk scored six goals in the first six playoff games against Anaheim-a league high at the time-to match his exploits during the regular season, when he led the league with 52 goals. Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin had a 93.2 save percentage in the Anaheim series and showed little effects of having playing in an NHL-high 47 straight games to finish the season.Playoff busts The power play, which was tied for fourth-best during the season, was only 2-for-26 against the Ducks. Oleg Tverdovsky, the former Duck who ignited the series with some inflammatory comments about Anaheim (he later retracted), was a non-factor at both ends.Needs 1. The Coyotes would like more speed and size, especially down the middle. There is already a logjam there. They want Roenick to play there and are expecting Chad Kilger to stay a full season. Do Craig Janney and/or Cliff Ronning become trade bait? 2. Phoenix needs to find a right winger who can play with Tkachuk and still produce. 3. Re-signing defensemen Tverdovsky and Teppo Numminen is a must, but coach Don Hay has been lobbying for the return of gritty assistant captain Kris King, who undoubtedly will gamer much interest on the market as an unrestricted free agent.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Jeremy Roenick said doctors have told him he will have to wear a brace on his injured left knee for the remainder of his career. &rsquo;1 don&rsquo;t like it and I don&rsquo;t want to,&rdquo; he said, &lsquo;&rsquo;but they&rsquo;re going to make me.&rdquo; He will not require surgery, however&hellip;GM Bobby Smith contends Anaheim coach Ron Wilson made serious on his comments before Game 5 to &ldquo;go after&rdquo; Roenick and left winger Keith Tkachuk, saying Ducks&rsquo; left winger Ted Drury purposely tried to injure Roenick. &ldquo;A game and a half later, one of those two players is out with an injury that could have ended his career,&rdquo; Smith said&hellip; Defenseman Brad McCrimmon didn&rsquo;t play at all in the Anaheim series and there was speculation he would retire. &#9632;

f0025-04

J.R. down, Coyotes left howling

<div class="byline">By Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011124/7921899-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="214" height="215"></div>As the San Jose Sharks attempt to climb back to respectability, some of the characters from this year&rsquo;s 27-47-8 production are bound to find themselves elsewhere when next season rolls around.Among those whose jobs appear to be in the most jeopardy are veteran right winger Tim Hunter and journeyman defenseman Greg Hawgood.Hunter, who will turn 37 the first week of training camp, collected four assists and 135 penalty minutes in 46 games after signing a free agent contract last summer. He has expressed no desire to retire, but his playing days are numbered. The Sharks, though, would like to keep him in the organization, perhaps in a coaching role.Hawgood, who will be 29 next season, was another free agent pick-up. An offensive star in the International League in 1995-96, Hawgood had only six goals and 18 points in 63 games with San Jose. The Sharks had hoped for more, particularly given Hawgood&rsquo;s large amount of power play time.Left winger Ville Peltonen, meanwhile, might entertain offers to play next season in Europe. San Jose isn&rsquo;t ready to give up on Peltonen, but the 23-year-old managed only two goals and five points in 28 games after having been projected as a second-liner.Veteran forwards Ron Sutter and Bob Errey stand to become unrestricted free agents July 1, but the Sharks have expressed interest in bringing back both to fill fourth-line roles.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Al lafrate, who would have become an unrestricted free agent July 1, signed a one-year contract April 30. The oft-injured lafirate&rsquo;s salary will be heavily tied to a games-played clause&hellip;Right winger Tony Granato declined to exercise an out clause in his contract that would have made him an unrestricted free agent and will return to the Sharks next season&hellip;Granato is one of three finalists for the Masterton Trophy&hellip;San Jose will attempt to sign 1996 first round entry draft selections Andrei Zyuzin and Marco Sturm, as well as Russian goaltender Yevgeni Nabokov, this summer&hellip;Left winger Chris Tancill was a late addition to the United States entry for the World Championship. &#9632;

f0026-01

Several jobs in jeopardy as Sharks aim to improve

<div class="byline">By Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03632/7921930-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="763" height="1211"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sergei Gonchar</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02784/7921937-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="212" height="208"></div>Despite the fact they missed the playoffs, the wasiungton Capitals aren&rsquo;t planning a major roster revision.Instead, they&rsquo;re anxious to get back on the ice to see what they might have been able to accomplish with a healthy team.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got 25 guys on the roster who are NHL players and that&rsquo;s without adding any of the kids,&rdquo; said GM David Poile. &ldquo;What we&rsquo;re talking about here is we&rsquo;re going to have to make some subtractions before we make any addition.&rdquo;That won&rsquo;t be easy. There are no retirements planned and Poile said no buyouts are anticipated.There are three restricted free agents to sign-defenseman Sergei Gonchar and centers Andrei Nikolishin and Kevin Kaminski. The club has promised to renegotiate the final two years on center Adam Oates&rsquo; contract and then there is the Rick Tocchet situation. He has until early-summer to decide whether he wants to stay a Capital or try unrestricted free agency.Among players at the American League level, right winger Yogi Svejkovsky is given the best chance of cracking the Caps&rsquo; lineup. Forwards Richard Zednik and Andrew Brunette also have a shot. Center Alexandre Volchkov will likely go from major junior to the AHL.Still, the biggest issue over the summer appears to be health. &ldquo;Right now things look really good-we don&rsquo;t have any more games,&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;Now we&rsquo;ve got a chance to heal.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Brendan Witt faces a second consecutive summer of rehabilitation. The 22-year-old suffered sprained right knee ligaments while playing in the American League playoffs for Portland. Surgery does not appear necessary. Last summer, Witt had to get his left wrist back into shape after having a broken bone surgically repaired&hellip;The NHL used Washington off-ice officials for Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s last game, April 26 in Philadelphia. Bill Brooks Jr., a Maryland state trooper when not serving as a goal judge, was behind the glass for Lemieux&rsquo;s last goal. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a nice memory, being able to say not only were you there for Mario&rsquo;s last game, but played a little hand in it,&rdquo; Brooks said. &#9632;

f0026-03

Don’t expect Capital panic

<div class="byline">By Tim Buckley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04452/7921968-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="200" height="196"></div>The facts say the Tampa Bay Lightning took a step back in 1996-97. GM Phil Esposito doesn&rsquo;t necessarily agree.&ldquo;In my estimation,&rdquo; Esposito said, &ldquo;we have a better hockey club than we did last year.&rdquo;The Lightning finished with 14 fewer points than the 1995-96 edition and missed the playoffs after making them a year earlier. But Esposito cites the addition of veteran right winger Dino Ciccarelli and the emergence of fourth-year center Chris Gratton as positives. Meanwhile, prolonged absences by goalie Daren Puppa and center Brian Bradley hampered the club&rsquo;s playoff drive.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re close-real, real close-to being a superb hockey team,&rdquo; Esposito said. &ldquo;We would have been trouble (to play against) in the playoffs. Big trouble.&rdquo;That said, Esposito won&rsquo;t stand still. He said he&rsquo;d like to upgrade on defense and on the wings.To add more offense, the Lightning will likely have to go outside the organization by signing a free agent or making a trade.On defense, the team could improve from within. Esposito said prospect Mike McBain will be given every opportunity to make the club. Last year&rsquo;s first-round draft pick, Mario Larocque, will get a shot, too, but he may still be a year away.One of the veterans who could feel a push from the kids is David Shaw. He has a season remaining at $800,000, was scratched from the last eight games of the season and 23 in all. Defenseman Jay Wells, 38, may decide to retire.With Puppa healthy again there is a chance Tampa Bay will deal a goalie at the draft, but it may opt to keep both Rick Tabaracci and Corey Schwab for depth.Defenseman Bill Houlder, who led the team at plus-16, and swingman Rudy Poeschek are unrestricted free agents. Houlder will likely return, but Poeschek&rsquo;s future is uncertain.NOTEBOOK: GM Phil Esposito must negotiate new deals with potential restricted free agent forwards Chris Gratton. Jason Wiemer. Patrick Poulin and Brantt Myhres&hellip;Left winger Rob Zamuner and defenseman Cory Cross joined Gratton and goalie Rick Tabaracci on Team Canada for the World Championship in Finland&hellip;Lightning governor David LeFevre is leaving the team to serve as executive director of the Tampa Sports Authority, a government agency that oversees spending of public funds on sports facilities and activities in the Tampa area. Lightning president Steve Oto said a new governor will be named before the start of the 1997-98 season. &#9632;

f0026-04

’Better club’ crippled by key injuries

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011069/7921999-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="200" height="201"></div>When a team goes out in the first round two years in a row and then takes another step backwards by missing the postseason entirely, you&rsquo;d expect changes.That&rsquo;s certainly the case with the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer, although it&rsquo;s worth pointing out multiple changes to the organization were expected last summer, particularly among the players, but never materialized.When the season ended, head coach Mike Murphy said he expected &ldquo;six or seven&rdquo; new players in the lineup when the 1997-98 season opens.Some of them should come from the stock of players the Leafs already own. Right winger Jason Podollan, who came over from the Florida Panthers in the Kirk Muller trade, should be a regular next year. Ottawa 67&rsquo;s standout center Alyn McCauley will likely also be there.On the blueline, youngsters Jeff Ware, D.J. Smith and possibly even Czech Marek Posmyk will be given every opportunity to make the club.Any other new players on the roster, meanwhile, will likely come via trades or free agency, since there are no players on the St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs who are expected to make the jump next season.GM Cliff Fletcher dispatched members of his hockey department to each of the eight first-round playoff series based on the thinking the teams that lose out in the first round will be the ones looking to make moves over the summer.With the Montreal Canadiens out, speculation began immediately the Habs will take another run at acquiring goaltender Felix Potvin after trying and failing at the trade deadline. The name that keeps popping up at the Toronto end is winger Mark Recchi, but he was strong down the stretch and in the post-season and probably won&rsquo;t be available.As far as free agents, the Leafs will likely limit their interest to unrestricted players, particularly Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; defenseman Luke Richardson and Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; goalie Mike Vernon. Another likely to draw Leaf interest is Colorado Avalanche right winger Mike Keane.NOTEBOOK: The Maple Leafs are trying to fasttrack their arena plans through the municipal approval process. They&rsquo;re hoping to begin construction Nov. 1, but still don&rsquo;t know if the National Basketball Association&rsquo;s Toronto Raptors will be part of the new building&hellip;The Leafs are balking at requests to move the starting times of their Saturday night games back to 7 p.m&hellip;The Leafs&rsquo; first selection at the entry draft in Pittsburgh June 21 won&rsquo;t be until the 56th pick overall. It will mark the latest the Leafs have picked in their history, eclipsing the 1994 draft when they selected center Yanic Perreault with their first pick at 47th overall. The Leafs&rsquo; first round pick is owned by the Islanders and could still end up being the first pick overall via the lottery, while their second rounder is owned by Philadelphia as part of the 1995 trade that made defenseman Dimitri Yushkevich a Leaf&hellip;GM Cliff Fletcher was expected to attend the World Championship in Finland to do some scouting. &#9632;

f0027-01

Prospects, free agents expected to turn around fortunes for Leafs

<div class="byline">By Elliot Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02710/7922030-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="199" height="201"></div>After virtually standing pat all last summer and paying the price with a 77-point season, Vancouver Canuck GM Pat Quinn in under intense scrutiny to shake up his team.Some departures are entirely expected, but the replacements will be another matter.Up front, center Mike Ridley, with a bad back and an expired contract, will almost certainly call it a career. Even Ridley himself noted: &ldquo;Why would they want me?&rdquo;Another center, Sergei Nemchinov, becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1 and speculation has already surfaced in New York that Nemchinov will re-sign with the New York Rangers. Nemchinov, who was acquired from the Rangers March 8, played only six games with the Canucks while suffering from rib and foot injuries. He had five points, one winning goal and was plus-4.Others not expected to be seen again include backup enforcer Troy Crowder, fringe defenseman Leif Rohlin and journeyman rearguard Chris Joseph, who will be an unrestricted Group V free agent. Joseph had a strong start with the Canucks, but faded badly in the second half.So who is coming?Quinn has vowed to sign much-heralded Swedish blueliner Mattias Ohlund, the organization&rsquo;s top prospect the past three years. There is also speculation that Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; center Igor Larionov, an impending unrestricted free agent, would love to finish his NHL career in Vancouver where it began eight years ago.The Canucks also have to re-sign right winger Alexander Mogilny and there is no guarantee that will happen. Mogilny, an impending restricted free agent, has not ruled out demanding a trade if he doesn&rsquo;t like the way things are shaping up.Quinn has stated the Canucks are not an old team in need of a total gutting and rebuilding job. However, he will have to do more than just tinker around the edges as he did during the previous off-season. In addition to a center, the team still requires an abrasive defenseman and a powerplay quarterback.NOTEBOOK: According to reports from the World Championship, right winger Alexander Mogilny wants to be declared eligible to play for the U.S. in future international competitions. The Russian-born Mogilny defected to the U.S. in 1989 and is now an American citizen. He lives in the border town of Point Roberts, Wash., about a 45-minute drive from downtown Vancouver. Mogilny played for the former Soviet Union in the Olympics, World Championship and World Junior Championship and for Russia at the World Cup. The International Ice Hockey Federation has a rule that once a player plays in an IlHF-sanctioned tournament for one country, he must play for it through his career&hellip;Vancouver fans got a premature look at the Canucks&rsquo; new logo when it was found on the internet and published in the two newspapers May 1. The logo features a stylized *C* with Orca, a killer whale and the Canucks&rsquo; corporate name. The colors are blue and dark green. Team officials would not confirm or deny the validity of the logo. The unveiling is May 19. &#9632;

f0027-02

Pressure on Quinn to shake up his team after non-playoff year

<div class="byline">By Kevin lole</div>Sergei Samsonov couldn&rsquo;t believe he won rookie of the year in the International League. But if he looked at the past winners, he would have seen there was no way he couldn&rsquo;t win.Samsonov, an 18-year-old left winger for the Detroit Vipers, became the sixth straight European player to win the Longman Trophy. The 5-foot-9, 190-pounder had 29 goals and 64 points in 73 games and was plus-33. Samsonov is a top prospect for this year&rsquo;s NHL entry draft.&ldquo;It was kind of a surprise,&rdquo; Samsonov said of the award. &ldquo;It was a new league and I didn&rsquo;t know what to expect. But I started to feel confident after training camp and the guys really helped me.&rdquo; Starting in 199192, when Dmitri Kvartalnov of the San Diego Gulls won the award, the Longman Trophy has been owned by Europeans. Kvartalnov was followed by MikhailShtalenkov of the Milwaukee Admirals, KaaeK Bonk of the Las Vegas Thunder, Tommy Salo of the Denver Grizzlies, Konstantin Shafranov of the Fort Wayne Komets and Samsonov.MVP SEASON: Frederic Chabot turned down NHL offers last summer because he didn&rsquo;t want to be an insurance policy. But that&rsquo;s exactly what he turned out to be for the Houston Aeros.The 29-year-old goaltender covered up plenty of mistakes with big-time saves and the bigger the game, the better he played. For his efforts, Chabot received the James Gatschene Trophy as the IHL&rsquo;s most valuable player.&ldquo;I wanted the challenge to come to a team and have the opportunity to be the man,&rdquo; Chabot said. &ldquo;I got that here. I knew I would get to play a lot, which is why I signed here.&rdquo;Chabot went 39-26-7 with a 2.53 goals-against average and 92.0 save percentage. He set a league record with 72 games played and led the league in wins, shutouts, saves and minutes. In the Aeros&rsquo; first-round sweep of the Las Vegas Thunder in the first round of the playoffs, Chabot allowed just four goals in three games.OTHER AWARDS: Indianapolis Ice defenseman Brad Werenka, who earlier won the Governors&rsquo; Trophy as top defenseman, was named winner of the Ironman Trophy.The award is given to the player who appears in all of his team&rsquo;s games and combines top offensive and defensive skills. Werenka led all defensemen with 20 goals and 76 points. &ldquo;PHOENIX WON&rsquo;T RISE: The Phoenix Roadrunners have sus pended operations for next season and prospects for them returning don&rsquo;t look good.The group of investors that operated the Roadrunners, the Ak-Chin Indian Community, elected not to renew its lease and announced it would no longer invest in the team.The presence of the NHL&rsquo;s Phoenix Coyotes and a poor Roadrunners&rsquo; team-they were 2742-13 and missed the playoffs-caused massive financial losses. That has, at least for the time being, caused new investors to be wary.The Roadrunners entered the IHL as an expansion team in 1989.<h2>IHL PLAYOFFS</h2>WESTERN CONFERENCEEASTERN CONFERENCEFIRST ROUND (Best of Five)Long Beach 3 Milwaukee 0Utah 3 Kansas City 0Houston 3 Las Vegas 0San Antonio 3 Chicago 1Detroit a ivncnigan iQuebec 3 Cincinnati 0Orlando 3 Grand Rapids 2Cleveland 3 Indianapolis 1SECOND ROUND (Best of Seven)Long Beach vs. UtahHouston vs. San AntonioDetroit 1 Quebec 0Cleveland vs. OrlandoHIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 25-MAY 1): Orlando won three games after dropping the first two at home to Grand Rapids.. Jason Ruff had four goals as Quebec swept Cincinnati&hellip;Utah swept Kansas City behind Don Beaupre&rsquo;s goaltending (1.56 goals-against average)&hellip;Long Beach won three one-goal decisions over Milwaukee as Domenic Pittis led the way with six points. &#9632;

LEAGUES

Samsonov makes six: Viner IHL’s top rookie

<div class="byline">By John Packett</div>For the second time in three years, Kurt Kleinendorst is leaving the Raleigh IceCaps. Kleinendorst, one of two men to coach the IceCaps in their six-year history, is departing to become coach-GM with the Manchester Storm in England.Kleinendorst was the IceCaps&rsquo; first coach in 1991-92 and led Raleigh to the Riley Cup final in 1993-94. He spent the 1994-95 season as an assistant coach with the San Diego Gulls of the International League before returning and directing the IceCaps the past two seasons.&ldquo;The opportunity I have been given in Manchester is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,&rdquo; Kleinendorst said. &ldquo;Not only will I get the chance to coach in arguably the best league in Europe, my family will get the opportunity to experience a whole different way of life.&ldquo;The city of Raleigh has been home for the better part of five years for both me and my family, which makes it difficult to leave behind.&rdquo;Manchester plays in the top league in England and the one-year-old Euro League.Kleinendorst had a five-year record of 156142-38 and took the IceCaps to the playoffs four times. Raleigh did not qualify for the postseason this year. No successor was named.NEW OWNERS: Five Wheeling-area businessmen announced April 29 that they have purchased the Wheeling Nailers from an investment group led by J. Edgar Broyhill.The purchasing group consists of Nailers&rsquo; Wheeling advisory chairman J. Ross Felton, Jack Felton, Bill Medovic, Bruce Wilson and Michael Baker.All of the new owners are Wheeling-area natives and residents. &ldquo;We intend to keep the Nailers right here in Wheeling where it belongs,&rdquo; Ross Felton said.Felton said the new ownership intends to keep the existing office staff, including GM Marty Nash. No decision has been made concerning coach Tom McVie, whose club was 3629-5 and finished fourth in the North Division this season.ALUMNI REPORT: Forty-three former ECHL players spent some time in the NHL this season. The most prominent were Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; goalie Patrick Lalime (Hampton Roads Admirals), Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; goalie Steve Shields (South Carolina Stingrays) and St. Louis Blues&rsquo; center Harry York (Nashville Knights). Both La-lime and York were named NHL rookies of the month.NAME THAT TEAM: The expansion team scheduled to play in Upper Marlboro, Md., next season has narrowed its choices for an official name to five after a name-the-team contest among fans in the Southern Maryland area.The possibilities are Chesapeake Bay Dogs, Chargers, Icebreakers, Mustangs and Power.The team expects to announce the new name in mid-May, said team president Michael Caggiano.<h2>ECHL PLAYOFFS</h2>FIRST ROUND (Best of Five)S. Carolina 3 Charlotte 0Hampton Roads 3 Roanoke 1Columbus 3 Toledo 2Peoria 3 wheeling 0Pensacola 3 Tallahassee 0Richmond 3 Dayton 1Louisiana 3 Mobile 0 lirmingham 3 Mississippi 0SECOND ROUND (Besf of Five)S. Carolina 3 Hampton Roads 2Peoria 3 Columbus 2Pensacola 3 Richmond 1Louisiana 3 Birmingham 2THIRD ROUND (Best of Five)S. Carolina 3 Pensacola 2 Louisiana 3 Peoria 1CHAMPIONSHIP. RO UN.D (Best al Seven)S. Carolina vs LouisianaHIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 25-MAY 1): Jack Williams put Louisiana into its first final by scoring the overtime winner in Game 4. &#9632;

IceCaps’ Kleinendorst leaves for British job

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>The worst-kept secret in the AHL was revealed May 1 when the league approved the sale of the Baltimore Bandits to Gerald and Peter Robinson of Cincinnati.The new Cincinnati franchise will be affiliated with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and be known as the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. They will play out of the 10,500-seat Gardens, owned by the Robinson family.The Mighty Ducks will go head-to-head with the Cyclones of the International League. The Cyclones move to Riverfront Coliseum next season.The Bandits are the third team to fail in Baltimore. The Clippers folded in 1976 and the Skipjacks in 1993. The Bandits lasted two seasons and were plagued by poor attendance.COACHES CLASH: St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs&rsquo; coach Mark Hunter and Binghamton Rangers&rsquo; coachGeorge Burnett were ejected for an shouting match 4:18 into the third period of the fourth and deciding game of their first-round series.The incident began when Burnell yelled al Maple ESffipLeafs&rsquo; left winger Shayne Toporowski, saying he had speared a Rangers&rsquo; player. gt jofl When Burnett persisted, Hun-Hamiltiter intervened by yelling over Roche; the glass partition. AlbanyThe coaches soon were pushing on the glass and Albany banging sticks against it be-Hamilti fore their players and assis-HIGHL lants pulled them away.Referee Blaine Angus | assessed game misconducts. a-LOCKED OUT: The Lowell Lock Monsters have been placed in dry dock for one year.Construction delays on the Paul E. Tsongas Arena forced the expansion Lock Monsters to delay their debut in the AHL to 1998-99. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re too far behind on the arena,&rdquo; said Lock Monsters&rsquo; GM Tom Rowe.The Lock Monsters&rsquo; delay has created a domino effect for NHL affiliations. While they hadn&rsquo;t signed a agreement with an NHL team, the Lock Monsters were negotiating with the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings. The Islanders had players in a variety of places this season. Their older veterans were with the Utah Grizzlies of the IHL, while prospects were with the AHL&rsquo;s Kentucky Thoroughblades.The Kings were with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the IHL this season, but the Roadrunners have suspended operations for next season. The Kings now may place a handful of players with the Fredericton Canadiens in a limited dual affiliation with the Montreal Canadiens.UNCERTAIN FUTURE: The AHL is closely monitoring where the Hartford Whalers go, since they could take up temporary residence at the Greensboro Coliseum.If the team moves to Raleigh, N.C., next season, a building won&rsquo;t be ready in time so the team will likely play in the home of the AHL&rsquo;s Greensboro Monarchs for a season.One possible scenario has Whalers&rsquo; owner Peter Karmanos buying the Monarchs and moving them to Fayetteville, N.C., and placing his team in Greensboro until a facility can be built in Raleigh.Hartford, meanwhile, could be home for a new franchise for the Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; farm team. Pittsburgh&rsquo;s request to activate its dormant franchise was on the agenda at the May 6 board of governors meeting.AHL TIDBITS: Hershey&rsquo;s Blair Atcheynum, a first-team all-star, scored the winning goal in each of the Bears&rsquo; three first-round wins over the Kentucky Thoroughblades. He scored four goals and nine points in the four-game series.Atcheynum led the Bears in goals with 42 and points with 87. He scored 14 more goals and 15 more points than any other teammate.<h2>AHL PLAYOFFS</h2>WESTERN CONFERENCEEASTERN CONFERENCEFIRST ROUND (Best of Five)St. John&rsquo;s 3 Ringhamton 1Hamilton 3 Saint John 2Rochester 3 Syracuse 0Albany 3 Adirondack 1Providence 3 Worcester 2Springfield 3 Portland 2Philadelphia 3 Baltimore 0Hershey 3 Kentucky 1SECOND RQUNDJBest of Seven)Albany 1 Rochester 0Hamilton 1 St. John&rsquo;s 0Hershey 1 Philadelphia 0Providence vs. SpringfieldHIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 25-MAY 1): Providence and Springfield overcame 2-0 deficits to advance to the second round.. Hamilton defeated Saint John 3-1 in the fifth game, then got two goals from late-season East Coast League addition Kimbi Daniels to take a 1-0 lead on St. John&rsquo;s in a second round series. &#9632;

Cincinnati Ducks go head-to-head with IHL

<div class="byline">By Larry Starks</div>There&rsquo;s an adage that says defense wins championships. So when the Fort Worth Fire learned it would have to play most of the Central League final series without two regular blueliners, its outlook against the Memphis RiverKings was bleak.Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.The Fire, playing without defensemen Murray Hogg (who suffered a broken collarbone in Game 1) and Mike McCourt (who was lost to the International League), rallied for a seven-game series win to claim its first Central League crown and the Bill Levins Memorial Trophy.&ldquo;I really didn&rsquo;t know how deep our defensemen could go,&rdquo; said Fire coach Bill McDonald.Veteran blueliner Vem Ray was sensational in helping his team overcome a 3-2 series deficit. The Fire also got big performances from goalie Steve Plouffe and forward Stephane Larocque.The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Ray anchored a rock-solid defense that limited the RiverKings to five goals over the final two games. The RiverKings thought they could exploit the Fire defense with their quickness and speed, but the Fire was up to the challenge.&ldquo;Anybody would have doubts when you&rsquo;re behind 3-2 in a series,&rdquo; Ray said. &ldquo;But the bottom line is your backs are to the wall and you have nothing to lose. When you get in that situation, it&rsquo;s a good gut check. It becomes a matter of who wants it more.&rdquo;The series was the mostly hotly contested final in CHL history. Four of the seven games were decided by one goal and another was a two-goal game.The Fire and RiverKings, who were among the two best defensive teams during the regular season, also set a record for fewest goals in a seven-game series with 39. In three of the games, the Fire had fewer than 25 shots on goal.The Fire didn&rsquo;t decide the seventh game-a 3-2 win April 30-until Larocque (14 goals, 24 points in the post-season) scored with 6:43 remaining in the third period. The final four goals of the game all were scored on the power play.&ldquo;It was a heavyweight fight,&rdquo; McDonald said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to sound cocky, but I knew if we played the way we could, we would do all right.&rdquo;The Fire&rsquo;s playoff run was nothing shocking. It had finished second in the Western Division to the Oklahoma City Blazers, but had the third-best record in CHL history at 45-16-5. Its regular season also included a stretch in which it went 22-1-1.&ldquo;I knew we had some guys on this team that had won championships before, so I thought we would be in good shape (in the final),&rdquo; said Plouffe, who was the MVP of the final series.But the RiverKings curtailed the Fire&rsquo;s big guns and frustrated the Fire so much that during one point in the series, McDonald said all the Fire wanted to do was &ldquo;play boring and win ugly.&rdquo;The RiverKings were feeling good about themselves after the playoffs, too. After finishing third in the Eastern Division during the regular season, the RiverKings beat the MaconWhoopee in the first round and the Huntsville Channel Cats in the second round. Their five road wins during the playoffs tied a CHL record.&ldquo;What we did during the playoffs showed our guys had character,&rdquo; said RiverKings&rsquo; coach Herb Boxer.&ldquo;Everybody said we would lose to Macon. Everyone said we would lose to Huntsville. People said we would lose to Fort Worth in four or five games. But we kept fighting. A break here or there and we could have been champions.&rdquo; &#9632;

Fire overcomes player losses to win Central title

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>The much travelled Joe Canale will be on the move again. Sanale, the only man to coach teams in the Ontario, Quebec and Western Leagues, will leave the Sarnia Sting, the London Free Press reported April 25.The only thing remaining is who will announce Canale&rsquo;s departure.One source said he&rsquo;ll return to the QMJHL to coach the Moncton Wildcats after a personality conflict arose with Sting principal owner Robert Ciccarelli.Another source said Ciccarelli isn&rsquo;t happy with Canale&rsquo;s handling of players.When asked if he was leaving the Sting, Canale said: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think that has been finalized, so 1 can&rsquo;t comment on that right now.&rdquo;When asked about a conflict with Ciccarelli, he said: &ldquo;Sometimes during the year we had our differences.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not fair yet to comment,&rdquo; Ciccarelli said, adding he had &ldquo;no problem with the hockey side&rdquo; of Canale&rsquo;s coaching style. But when asked about Canale&rsquo;s handling of players, Ciccarelli issued a &ldquo;no comment.&rdquo;Canale had completed one year of a two-year contract and led the Sting to a 35-24-7 record. Canale, who won a gold medal with Canada&rsquo;s World Junior team in 1994, has had successful stints with the Shawinigan Cataractes, Beauport Harfangs and Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL. He also coached the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL for part of last season.One strong rumor has former Sting coach Mark Hunter returning as coach-GM. Hunter is currently in his first year coaching the St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs of the American League.STEWART FINED: Oshawa Generals&rsquo; coach Bill Stewart was fined $2,500 after he went into the press box during the second intermission April 21 in Oshawa to berate referee-in-chief Ted Baker over the work of referee Dave Lynch.The Generals won 6-1 to beat the Kitchener Rangers in six games in their semifinal, but Stewart felt the second-period penalties were one-sided.&ldquo;(Stewart&rsquo;s) fine was based on his acknowledged unprofessional action in terms of the location and approach to a league official,&rdquo; said OHL commissioner Dave Branch.It&rsquo;s the third time in Stewart&rsquo;s first season he has been fined for his actions. The Generals received a $1,000 fine when he wouldn&rsquo;t let his players shake hands with the Peterborough Petes when their quarterfinal ended. He was fined $500 earlier for initiating a between-benches confrontation with then-London Knights&rsquo; coach Brad Seiwood.TOP EXEC: Peterborough Petes&rsquo; governor Ed Rowe won the league&rsquo;s executive of the year award. He has served in various capacities since joining the Petes in 1981 and is vice-chairman of the DHL&rsquo;s board of governors.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2>EAST DIVISION&nbsp;CENTRAL DIVISION&nbsp;WEST DIVISIONFIRST ROUND (Best of Seven)Ottawa 4 Belleville 2P&rsquo;borough 4 Kingston 1Bye: OshawaBarrie 4 Owen Sound 0Guelph 4 Erie 1Bve: KitchenerSarnia 4 Windsor 1S.S. Marie 4 Detroit 1No byeSECOND ROUND (Best pt Sevgn crossover)Ottawa 4 Barrie 1Guelph 4 S.S. Marie 2Kitchener 4 Sarnia 3Oshawa 4 Peterborough 2THIRD ROUND (Best of Seven)Ottawa 4 Guelph 3 Oshawa 4 Kitchener 2CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND (Best of Seven)Ottawa 2 Oshawa 1HIGHLIGHTS (April 25-May 1): Each of the first three games of the final were decided by one goal, with Ottawa getting both its wins in overtime. &#9632;

Canale poised to part with Sting after one season

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div>Bryan Maxwell is savoring yet another Western League championship.Maxwell&rsquo;s Lethbridge Hurricanes clinched the WHL title April 30 when they completed a sweep of the Seattle Thunderbirds with a 5-1 road victory.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011106/7922181-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="773" height="908"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lethbridge GM Bryan Maxwell won his second championship.</figcaption></div>Maxwell, the Hurricanes&rsquo; GM, previously won two WHL crowns as a head coach. He guided the 1987-88 Medicine Hat Tigers and the 1990-91 Spokane Chiefs to league titles.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a pretty quick turnaround,&rdquo; Maxwell said of the Hurricanes&rsquo; conquest. &ldquo;In November ol 1995 (when Maxwell was hired by Lethbridge), we were in last spot. This has been fantastic.&rdquo;Things were anything but fantastic when Maxwell was suspended from coaching for the 1996-97 season after he made contact with referee Brent Reiber during a March 23, 1996 playoff game against the Regina Pats. Regina swepi Lethbridge in the first round of the 1996 playoffs.Parry Shockey was hired as the Hurricanes&rsquo; head coach for the 1996-97 season. Shockey has been assisted by Randy Maxwell, Bryan&rsquo;s brother, who is also the team&rsquo;s assistant GM.What will Bryan Maxwell do next season when he is eligible to resume coaching during games?&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t got enough room in my head to think about thai right now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll look at that in the summer.&rdquo;ONE FINAL LOOK: The WHL final was a showcase foi two budding NHL stars, Lethbridge defenseman Chris Phillips and Seattle center Patrick Marleau.The Ottawa Senators chose Phillips first overall in the NHL&rsquo;s 1996 draft. Marleau is expected to be a high pick June 21 in Pittsburgh.&ldquo;The longer you play, the better off you are,&rdquo; said Marleau, who had seven goals and 23 points in 15 playoff games. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the only game in town. All the scouts are watching. If you impress them with your play, it&rsquo;ll help you.&rdquo;Phillips began the season with the Prince Albert Raiders. He was traded to Lethbridge in a Jan. 24 blockbuster.&ldquo;It worked out really well, being traded to a contender,&rdquo; said Phillips, who anchored Canada&rsquo;s defense at the World Junior Championship. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping this will be my last year of junior. It would be great to finish off with a Memorial Cup.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Hurricanes&rsquo; goalie Blaine Russell was named playoff MVP. He was 13-1 in the playoffs with a 2.13 goals-against average and 92.5 save percentage. He allowed five goals in four games in the final Lethbridge center Byron Ritchie won the playoff scoring title with 17 goals and 27 points in 17 games. The Hartford Whalers prospect missed two contests due to injury.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2>WESTERN CONFERENCEFIRST ROUNDI(Best of Seven)Prince George 4 Portland 2Seattle 4 Kamloops 1Spokane 4 Kelowna 2SECOND ROUND (Best of Five)Prince George 3 Spokane 0Bye: SeattleEASTERN CONFERENCEFIRST ROUND (Best of Seven)Lethbridge 4 Prince Albert 0Moose Jaw 4 Brandon 2Swift Current 4 Medicine Hat 0Red Deer 4 Regina 1SECOND ROUND (Best of Seven)Red Deer 4 Swift Current 2Lethbridge 4 Moose Jaw 2THIRD ROUND (Best of Seven)Seattle 4 Prince George 2Lethbridge 4 Red Deer 1CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND (Best of Seven)Lethbridge 4 Seattle 0 &#9632;

f0030-01

Exiled coach Maxwell savors WHL playoff title

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div>The Hull Olympiques received a bye to this year&rsquo;s Memorial Cup as the host team, but in the end they didn&rsquo;t need the handout.Pavel Rosa&rsquo;s goal with five seconds left in the third period gave the Olympiques a 6-5 victory over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on April 30 to sweep their best-of-seven President&rsquo;s Cup final. It marked the fourth time in the Olympiques&rsquo; 24-year history that they have won the Quebec League championship.Chicoutimi will meet Hull again at the Memorial Cup as the second Quebec entry, but the Sagueneens might not be looking forward to it. The Olympiques dominated the final series, outscoring the Sagueneens 24-13. Hull finished the playoffs with a 12-2 record while outscoring the opposition 84-40.Hull goaltender Christian Bronsard, a 19-year-old rookie, won the Guy Lafleur Trophy as the playoff MVP after posting a 9-1 record with a 2.39 goals-against average.Bronsard, who played Jr. A hockey last year in Buckingham and St-Jerome, started this season as a backup to Matthew Carmichael. But Bronsard quickly proved that he was the better goalie and officially took over the No. 1 job in early-November.When the Olympiques traded for Martin Biron, a first round choice of the Buffalo Sabres, Bronsard was supposed to become a backup, but continued his stellar play.Bronsard played in the first three games of the final before Biron got the call for Game 4. But after giving up four goals on 24 shots and blowing an early 3-0 lead, Biron was replaced by Bronsard, who gave up one goal on 12 shots as Hull rallied for the victory.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a team effort,&rdquo; Bronsard said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re working hard. I&rsquo;m just doing my best to help the team win.&rdquo;BOUCHARD RED HOT: Just days after Mario Lemieux announced his retirement, Chicoutimi defenseman Frederic Bouchard almost eclipsed one of his records.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02745/7922212-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="775" height="906"><figcaption class="caption-body">Christian Bronsard was the main man for Hull this season.</figcaption></div>Bouchard came up just short in his quest for Lemieux&rsquo;s record for points in a playoff year. Bouchard finished the playoffs with 22 goals and 51 points in 21 games, one short of the 52 points (29 goals and 23 assists in 14 games) Lemieux had with the Laval Voisins in 1984.Bouchard, 20, led all playoff scorers. He shattered the benchmark for playoff points by a defenseman, which was established by Yves Racine of the Victoriaville Tigres in 1989 with 33 points.ROBERT RETIRES: Marcel Robert. governor of the Beauport Harfangs and chairman of the QMJHL&rsquo;s board of governors, announced April 25 he will retire from both positions in June. Julien Gagnon will become the Harfangs&rsquo; new governor.Robert, 66, was also QMJHL president from 1977 to 1981. He had been Harfangs&rsquo; governor since the team entered the league in 1989-90 season. The franchise was purchased last December by Colorado Avalanche eoaltender Patrick Rov and two partners.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2>LEBELDIVIS1QNDILIO DIVISIONFIRST ROUND (Best of Five)Drummondville 3 Laval 0Vai d&rsquo;Or 3 Sherbrooke 0Bve: Hull, GranbyHalifax 3 Beauport 1Chicoutimi 3 Rimouski 1Bye: Victoriaville. ShawiniganSECOND ROUND (Best of Seven)Hull 4 Drummondville 1Vai d&rsquo;Or 4 Granby 1Halifax 4 Shawinigan 3Chicoutimi 4 Victoriaville 2THIRD RDUND (Best of Seven)Hull 4 Vai d&rsquo;Or 1Chicoutimi 4 Halifax JCHAMPIO.NSHIPRQUND (Best of Seven)Hull 4 Chicoutimi 0HIGHLIGHTS (April 25-May 1): Regular season scoring champ Pavel Rosa of Hull scored 18 goals in 14 playoff games. &#9632;

f0030-02

Sweep of Sags earns Hull way to Memorial Cup

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011089/7922243-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jocelyn Thibault and the Montreal Canadiens were down and out in their first round series against New Jersey.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0032-01

NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01990/7922274-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICAL REPORT

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011117/7922305-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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NHL PLAYOFF GOALTENDING STATISTICS

Transactions include player moves from April 25 to May 2. Rosters and injuries are as of May 2. Players in roster are listed in sequence of latest line combinations and defense pairings (i.e. first center plays on line with first left winger and first right winger). Next to injured players are projected return dates. Day-to-day means possibly as soon as next game, indefinite indicates an extended period.<h2>ANAHEIM</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Steve Rucchin, Sean Pronger, Mark Janssens, Richard Park, Kevin Todd. LW-Paul Kariya, B"an Bellows, Ted Drury, Ken Baumgartner, Shawn Antoski. RW-Teemu Selanne, Joe Sacco, Jari Kurri, Warren Rychel, Mike Leclerc. LD-Bobby Dollas, J.J. Daigneault, Dave Karpa. RD-Dan Trebil, Dmitri Mironov, Darren Van Impe, Jason Marshall. G-Guy Hebert, Mikhail Shtal-enkov.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Peter LeBoutillier, RW, sprained left knee, indefinite. J.F. Jomphe, C, abdominal strain, indefinite.<h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 22: Matt Alvey, RW, signed two-year contract.<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>May 1: Dominik Hasek, G, suspended three games, fined $10,000 by NHL for off-ice incident. Eligible to return May 9.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Derek Plante, Brian Holzinger, Michael Peca, Wayne Primeau. LW-Randy Burridge, Dixon Ward, Michal Grosek, Miroslav Satan. RW-Donald Audette, Jason Dawe, Matthew Barnaby, Rob Ray, Ed Ronan. LD-Garry Galley. Mike Wilson, Alexei Zhitnik, Bob Boughn-er. RD-Darryl Shannon, Richard Smehlik, Jay McKee. G-Steve Shields, Andrei Trefilov.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Pat LaFontaine, C, post-concussion syndrome, indefinite. Brad May, RW, sprained shoulder, day-to-day. Anatoli Semenov, C, shoulder surgery, day-to-day.<h2>CALGARY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Jeff Shantz, Denis Savard, Steve Dubin sky. LW-Ethan Moreau, Bob Probert, Sergei Krivokrasov, Ulf Dahlen. RW-Tony Amonte, Eric Daze, Jim Cummins, James Black, Kevin Miller. LD-Keith Carney, Gary Suter, Cam Russell. RD-Chris Chelios, Eric Weinrich, Enrico Ciccone, Michal Sykora. G-Jeff Hackett, Chris Terreri.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Murray Craven, C, broken jaw. Steve Smith, D, sore back. Brent Sutter, C, tom knee ligaments. Alexei Zhamnov, C, ankle surgery.<h2>COLORADO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Mike Ricci, Stephane Yelle. LW-Valeri Kamensky, Eric Lacroix, Rene Corbet, Brent Severyn. RW-Claude Lemieux, Adam Deadmarsh, Mike Keane, Scott Young, Yves Sarault. LD-Sylvain Lefebvre, Alexei Gusarov, Aaron Miller, Eric Messier. RD-Adam Foote, Sandis Ozolinsh, Jon Klemm. G-Patrick Roy, Craig Billington.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Keith Jones. RW. sore knee, day-to-day. Uwe Krupp, D, pinched nerve in back, day-to-day.<h2>DALLAS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk, Gtiy Carbonneau, Neal Broten, Mike Kennedy. LW-Brent Gilchrist, Benoit Hogue, Dave Reid, Bill Huard, Bob Bassen. RW-Jere Lehti-nen, Todd Harvey. Jamie Langenbrunner, Pat Verbeek, Grant Marshall. LD-Derian Hatcher, Mike Lalor, Darryl Sydor, Craig Ludwig. RD-Sergei Zubov, Grant Ledyard, Dan Keczmer, Richard Matvichuk. G-Andy Moog, Arturs Irbe, Roman Turek.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Greg Adams. LW, pinched nerve in neck.<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, Kris Draper, Doug Brown. LW-Brendan Shanahan, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Kirk Maltby. Tomas Holmstrom, Tim Taylor. RW-Tomas Sandstrom, Sergei Fedorov, Darren McCarty, Joe Kocur, Martin Lapointe, Mathieu Dandenault, Mike Knuble. LD-Nicklas Lidstr&ouml;m. Slava Fetisov, Aaron Ward. RD-Bob Rouse, Vladimir Konstantinov, Larry Murphy, Jamie Pushor. G-Chris Osgood, Mike Vernon, Kevin Hodson.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None.<h2>EDMONTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 27: Bryan Muir, D, assigned to Hamilton (AHL). April 28: Joe Hulbig, LW, recalled from Hamilton. April 30: Muir recalled from Hamilton. May 1: Kevin Primeau, assistant coach, left team to coach Cologne (Germany).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Doug Weight, Jason Arnott, Mats Lindgren, Steve Kelly. LW-Todd Marchant, Ryan Smyth, Mariusz Czerkawski, Joe Hulbig, Louie DeBrusk, Dean McAmmond. RW-Andrei Kovalenko, Kelly Buchberger, Mike Grier, Rem Murray, Petr Klima. LD-Luke Richardson, Greg de Vries, Bryan Muir, Kevin Lowe. RD-Boris Mironov, Dan McGillis, Drew Bannister, Donald Dufresne. G-Curtis Joseph, Bob Essensa, Chris Wickenheiser.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Bryan Marchment, D, concussion, indefinite. Dean McAmmond, LW. back surgery, out for season.<h2>FLORIDA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Rob Niedermayer, Martin Straka, Kirk Muller, Tom Fitzgerald, Chris Wells, Ryan Johnson, Craig Ferguson. LW-Dave Lowry. Mike Hough, Radek Dvorak, Bill Lindsay. RW-Scott Mellanby, Ray Sheppard, Jody Hull, David Nemirovsky. LD-Terry Carkner, Paul Laus, Per Gustafsson, Geoff Smith, Filip Kupa. RD-Robert Svehla, Gord Murphy, Ed Jovanovski, Rhett Warrener, Daniel Tjarngvist. G-John Vanbiesbrouck, Mark Fitzpatrick, Kevin Weekes.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Johan Garpenlov, LW, broken rib. Brian Skrudland. C, torn right knee ligament. Steve Washburn, C, sprained knee ligament.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011012/7922336-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="676" height="1535"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dominik Hasek</figcaption></div><h2>HARTFORD</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 30: Mario Tremblay, coach, resigned.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Saku Koivu, Vincent Damphousse, Scott Thornton, Darcy Tucker, Eric Houde, Sebastien Bordeleau. LW-Benoit Brunet, Shayne Corson, Brian Savage, Martin Rucin-sky. RW-Mark Recchi, Stephane Richer, Turner Stevenson, Valeri Bure, David Ung. LD-Peter Popovic, Dave Manson, Vladimir Malakhov, Jassen Cullimore, Francois Groleau, Miloslav Guren. RD-Stephane Quintal, Patrice Brisebois, Craig Rivet, David Wilkie. G-Jose Theodore, Jocelyn Thibault, Tomas Vokoun.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Marc Bureau, C, fractured finger.<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Doug Gilmour, Bobby Holik, Bobby Carpenter, Denis Pederson, Peter Zezel. LW-Brian Rolston, Patrik Elias, Valeri Zelepukin, Jay Pandolfo, Reid Simpson. RW-Steve Thomas, Randy McKay, John MacLean, Bill Guerin, Petr Sykora. LD-Scott Stevens. Ken Daneyko, Dave Ellett. Kevin Dean. RD-Shawn Chambers, Scott Niedermayer, Lyle Odelein. G-Martin Brodeur, Mike Dunham.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dave Andreychuk, LW, fractured left ankle, indefinite.<h2>N.Y. ISLANDERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h2>N.Y. RANGERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Mike Eastwood, Chris Ferraro, Ken Gemander LW-Adam Graves, Luc Robitaille, Russ Courtnail, Darren Langdon. RW-Esa Tikka nen, Niklas Sundstrom, Patrick Flatley, Shane Churla, David Oliver. LD-Brian Leetch, Ul Samuelsson, Bruce Driver, Eric Cairns, Dallas Eakins. RD-Jeff Beukeboom, Alexander Kar povtsev, Doug Lidster. G-Mike Richter. Glenr Healy.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Bill Berg, LW, broken right fibula, out for season. Alexei Kovalev. RW, torn right knee ligament, out for season.<h2>OTTAWA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>May 2: Ron Tugnutt, G, and David Var Drunen, D, signed multi-year contracts.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Alexei Yashin, Sergei Zholtok, Shaur Van Allen, Bruce Gardiner. LW-Shawr McEachern, Tom Chorske, Randy Cunney worth, Phil Crowe, Denny Lambert RW-Radek Bonk, Daniel Alfredsson. Alexandre Daigle, Andreas Dackell. LD-Janne Laukkanen, Wade Redden. Frank Musil RD-Lance Pitlick, Jason York, Steve Duchesne, Radim Bicanek, Christer Olsson G-Ron Tugnutt. Mike Bales.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Sean Hill, D, left knee surgery. Stan Neckar, D, right knee surgery. Damian Rhodes, G, strained left calf muscle. Dennis Vial, LW, broken right ring finger.<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 27: Brian Wesenberg, RW, assignee to Philadelphia (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Eric Lindros, Dale Hawerchuk, Joel Otto, Daniel Lacroix. LW-John LeClair, Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, Shjon Podein, John Druce, Dan Kordic. RW-Mikael Renberg, Pat Falloon, Trent Klatt, Dainius Zubrus. LD-Chris Therien, Paul Coffey, Petr Svoboda. RD-Eric Desjardins, Janne Niinimaa, Michel Petit. G-Garth Snow, Ron Hextali.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Scott Daniels. RW, Charley horse, day-to-day. Vaclav Prospal, C, broken left wrist, indefinite. Kjell Samuelsson, D, neck surgery, indefinite.<h2>PHOENIX</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 28: Kevin Dahl, D, recalled from Las Vegas (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Craig Janney, Cliff Ronning, Bob Corkum, Mike Stapleton. LW-Keith Tkachuk, Darrin Shannon, Kris King, Jim McKenzie. RW-lgor Korolev, Mike Gartner, Dallas Drake. Shane Doan. LD-Oleg Tverdovsky, Gerald Diduck, Jay More, Jeff Finley, Kevin Dahl. RD-Teppo Numminen, Jim Johnson. Murray Baron, Deron Quint, Brad McCrimmon. G&mdash;Nikolai Khabibulin, Darcy Wakaluk, Pat Jablonski.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jocelyn Lemieux, RW, bruised right forearm. Norm Maciver, D, broken left thumb. Jeremy Roenick, RW, tom medial collateral ligament in left knee.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 26: Mario Lemieux, LW, and Joe Mullen. RW, retired.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Ron Francis, Petr Nedved, Stu Bames, Alex Hicks. LW-Josef Beranek, Greg Johnson, Ian Moran. RW-Jaromir Jagr, Ed Olczyk, Garry Valk, Joe Dziedzic, Roman Oksiuta, Joe Mullen. LD-Darius Kasparaitis, Chris Tamer, Jason Woolley, Craig Muni. RD-Kevin Hatcher, Neil Wilkinson, Francois Leroux, Fredrik Olausson. G-Ken Wregget, Patrick Lalime, Philippe DeRouville.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tom Barrasso, G, strained shoulder. Alek Stojanov, LW, strained groin.<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 29: Craig MacTavish, C, retired.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Pierre Turgeon. Pavol Demitra, Craig Conroy, Harry York. LW-Geoff Courtnail, Robert Petrovicky, Scott Pellerin, Tony Twist, Stephane Matteau, Mike Peluso. RW-Joe Murphy, Brett Hull, Jim Campbell, Steve Leach, Sergio Momesso. LD-Marc Bergevin, Chris Pronger. Ricard Persson. RD-AI Maclnnis, Igor Kravchuk, Chris McAlpine, Trent Yawney. G-Grant Fuhr. Jon Casey.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None.<h2>SAN JOSE</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 30: Al lafrate, D, signed one-year contract.<h2>TAMPA BAY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None. &#9632;

f0036-01

NHL ROSTERS AND TRANSACTIONS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01901/7922398-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0037-01

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

<h2>EAST COAST LEAGUE</h2>Playoffs FinalLouisiana vs South Carolina Semifinals (best of five)Louisiana vs Peoria: April 24: Louisiana 4. Peoria 3 (OT) April 26: Louisiana 4, Peoria 2. April 28: Peoria 10. Louisiana 3. April 29: Louisiana 4, Peoria 3 (OT). (Louisiana wins series 3-1).Pensacola vs South Carolina: April 24: Pensacola 6, South Carolina 5 (OT) April 25: South Carolina 4. Pensacola 2. April 27: South Carolina 6. Pensacola 5 (OT) April 29: Pensacola 4, South Carolina 3 April 30: South Carolina 6, Pensacola 1. (South Carolina wins series 3-2).Quarterfinals (best of five)Peoria 3, CoumbusO. Louisiana 3. Birmingham 2. Pensacola 3. Richmond 1. South Carolina 3. Hampton Roads 2.First Round (best of five)South Carolina 3. Charlotte 0.Hampton Roads 3. Roanoke 1.Richmond 3. Dayton 1.Columbus 3. Toledo 2.Peoria 3, Wheeling 0.Pensacola 3. Tallahassee 0.Birmingham 3. Mississippi 0.Louisiana 3. Mobile 0.<h2>CENTRAL LEAGUE</h2>Playoffs Final (best of seven)Fort Worth vs Memphis: April 19: Fort Worth 4, Memphis 1 April 20: Memphis 6. Fort Worth 5 (OT). April 23: Fort Worth 2, Memphis 1 April 24: Memphis 4, Fort Worth 0. April 26: Memphis 3, Fort Worth 1. April 29: Fort Worth 4, Memphis 3 April 30: Fort Worth 3, Memphis 2. (Fort worth wins series 4-3).Semifinals(Best of seven)Fort Worth vs Wichita: March 28: Fort Worth 4 wichita 2. March 29: Fort Worth 6. Wichita 4. April 1: Wichita 4, Fort Worth 3. April 4: Fort Worth 4, Wichita 3. April 5: Fort Worth 5. Wichita 4. (Fort Worth wins series 4-1).Huntsville vs Memphis: April 1: Memphis 5, Huntsville 4 (OT). April 4: Memphis 6. Huntsville 4 April 5: Huntsville 7, Memphis 5. April 9: Huntsville 5, Memphis 3. April 11: Memphis 4, Huntsville 2. April 12: Memphis 4, Huntsville 3. (Memphis wins series 4-2).First Round (best of five)Memphis 3. Macon 2; Huntsville 3, Columbus 0; Fort Worth 3, Tulsa 2; Wichita 3, Oklahoma City 1.<h2>COLONIAL LEAGUE</h2>Playoffs Final (best of seven)Flint vs Quad City: April 25: Flint 6, Quad City 3 April 26: Quad City 8, Flint 2. April 28: Quad City 5. Flint 2. (Quad City leads series 2-1).Division Finals (best of seven)Flint vs Brantford: April 12: Flint 6. Brantford 4 April 13: Brantford 5, Flint 3. April 16: Flint 8. Brantford 3. April 18: Flint 6, Brantford 5 (OT). April 21: Flint 7, Brantford 2. (Flint wins series 4-1).Quad City vs Thunder Bay: April 12: Thunder Bay 5.Quad City 3. April 13: Quad City 8. Thunder Bay 3 April 15: Thunder Bay 4, Quad City 2. April 17: Quad City 5, Thunder Bay 4 (OT) April 18: Quad City 5. Thunder Bay 3. April 20: Quad City 7, Thunder Bay 4. (Quad City wins series 4-2).Division Semifinals (best of five)Flint 3. Utica 0.Brantford 3, Port Huron 2.Quad City 3, Muskegon 0.Thunder Bay 3. Madison 2.<h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2>Playoffs Final (best of seven)Hull vs Chicoutimi: April 22: Hull 8. Chicoutimi 3. April 25: Hull 4, Chicoutimi 3. April 27: Hull 6. Chicoutimi 2. April 29: Hull 6, Chicoutimi 5. (Hull wins series 4-0).DILIO DIVISON FinalHalifax vs Chicoutimi: April 7: Chicoutimi 4, Halifax 3 (OT). April 8: Halifax 3, Chicoutimi 2. April 11: Chicoutimi 5, Halifax 3. April 13: Halifax 4. Chicoutimi 1. April 15: Halifax 5, Chicoutimi 3. April 18: Chicoutimi 9, Halifax 2. April 19: Chicoutimi 5. Halifax 1. (Chicoutimi wins series 4-3).Semifinals(best of seven)Halifax 4. Shawinigan3.Chicoutimi 4. Victoriaville 2.Quarterfinals (best of five)Bye: Victoriaville. Shawingan. Halifax 3. Beauport 1; Chicoutimi 3, Rimouski 1.LEBEL DIVISION FinalHull vs Vai d&rsquo;Or: April 8: Hull 4. Vai d&rsquo;Or 2. April 9: Hull 6. Vai d&rsquo;Or 2. April 11: Hull 6, Vai d&rsquo;Or 1. April 13: Vai d&rsquo;Or 5. Hull 4 (OT). April 15: Hull 5, Vai d&rsquo;Or 2. (Hull wins series 4-1).Semifinals(best of seven)Hull 4, Orummondvillel.Vai d&rsquo;Or 4. Granby 0.Quarterfinals (best of five)Bye: Hull, Granby. Drummondville 3, Laval 0; Vai d&rsquo;Or 3, Sherbrooke 0.<h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2>Playoffs Final (best of seven)Ottawa vs Oshawa: April 26: Ottawa 5. Oshawa 4 (OT). April 28: Oshawa 5, Ottawa 4. April 30: Ottawa 4. Oshawa 3 (OT). (Ottawa leads series 2-1).Semifinals(best of seven)Ottawa 4. Guelph 3.Oshawa 4. Kitchener 2.Quarterfinals(best of seven)Ottawa 4. Barrie 1.Guelph 4. Sault Ste. Marie 2.Kitchener 4, Sarnia 3.Oshawa 4. Peterborough 2.First Round (best of seven)Bye: Oshawa, Kitchener. Ottawa 4, Belleville 2; Peterborough 4, Kingston 1; Sault Ste. Marie 4, Detroit 1; Sarnia 4. Windsor 1; Guelph 4, Erie 1; Barrie 4, Owen Sound 0.<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE</h2>PlayoffsFinal (best of seven)Seattle vs Lethbridge: April 25: Lethbridge 7, Seattle 2 April 26: Lethbridge 4. Seattle 1 April 29: Lethbridge 3, Seattle 1. April 30: Lethbridge 5. Seattle 1. (Lethbridge wins series 4-0).Playoff MVP: Blaine Russell, G, Lethbridge.EASTERN CONFERENCEFinal (best of seven)Lethbridge 4. Red Deerl.Semifinals(best of seven) Lethbridge 4. Moose Jaw 2.Red Deer 4, Swift Current 2.Quarterfinals(best of seven)Moose Jaw 4 Brandon 2; Lethbridge 4. Prince Albert 0: Swift Current 4, Medicine Hat 0; Red Deer 4, Regina 0.WESTERN CONFERENCEFinal(best of seven)Prince George vs Seattle: April 10: Prince George 3, Seattle 2 (2OT). April 11: Seattle 4, Prince George 1. April 14: Seattle 5, Prince George 2. April 15: Prince George 4. Seattle 3. April 18: Seattle 4. Prince George 1 April 20: Seattle 6, Prince George 1. (Seattle wins series 4-2).Semifinals(best of five)Bye: SeattlePrince George 3. Spokane 0.Quarterfinals(best of seven)Prince George 4 Portland 2; Seattle 4, Kamloops 1: Spokane 4, Kelowna 2. &#9632;

SCOREBOARD

The Western League Bantam Draft was held April 24. Players are listed by overall draft number, the team each was drafted by. name, position, and hometown. The following is a list of the 195 players chosen.<h2>First Round</h2>1. Edmonton. Jarret Stoll, F. Yorkton, Sask. 2. Calgary. Michael Bubnick, F, Esterhazy, Sask. 3. Saskatoon, Adrian Foster, F, Calgary, Alta. 4. Tri-City, Eric Johansson, F. Edmonton, Alta. 5. Prince George, Jonathon Parker, LW, Winnipeg, Man. 6. Kamloops, Jared Aulin, F, Calgary. Alta. 7. Prince Albert, Scott Hartnel, LW. Lloydminster, Alta. 8. Kelowna. Kiel McLeod, F. Delta, B.C. 9. Spokane, Mason Wallin, F. Prince Albert, Sask. 10. Moose Jaw, Ben Knopp, F. Calgary, Alta. 11. Medicine Hat Denny Johnston, F, Rosetown, Sask. 12. Seattle, Richard Balt, D, Stony Plain, Alta. 13. Regina, Garth Murray, LW, Regina. Sask. 14. Red Deer. Kevin Labbe. RW, Stony Plain, Alta. 15. Swift Current, Nathan Smith, F, Strathcona. Alta. 16. Brandon, Mike Wirll, F, Strasbourg. Sask. 17. Portland. Blake Robson, F, Calgary, Alta. 18. Lethbridge, Phil Cole, D, Winnipeg. Man.<h2>Second Round</h2>19. Edmonton. Colin Sinclair, RW, Brooks, Alta. 20. CaF gary, Eric Clark, RW, Surrey, B.C. 21 Saskatoon, Warren Peters, F. Saskatoon, Sask. 22. Brandon. Brett Thurston, D. Strathmore, Alta. 23. Prince George, Blair Dalom, D, Leslieville, Alta. 24. Calgary. Shaun Norrie, RW, Calgary. Alta. 25. Moose Jaw, Bobby Mitchell, RW, Nipawin, Sask. Prince George. Craig Westlake, LW, Red Deer, Alta.Brandon. Kevin Harris, D, Altona. Man. 28. Moose Jaw, Steeven Crampton, RW. Winnipeg. Man. 29. CaF gary, Jared Carli, D, St. Albert. Alta. 30. Seattle, Craig Olynick, D, Humboldt, Sask. 31. Tri-City, Ryan Jorde, D. Kelowna. B.C. 32. Tri-City. Blake Ward, Lloydmister, Alta. 33. Medicine Hat, Shaun Aebig, C, Rosthem, Sask. 34. Brandon, Ryan Craig, Abbotsford. B.C. 35. Portland. Tim Prusko, LW, Camrose, Alta. 36. Prince Albert. Riley Cote. LW, Winnipeg. Man.<h2>Third Round</h2>37. Edmonton. Richard Hamula, LW, Edmonton, Alta. 38. Spokane. Kris Callaway. D, North Vancouver, B.C. 39. CaF a Wade Davis, D. Elkford, B.C. 40. Tri-City. Jeremy MI, RW, Langley, B.C. 41. Lethbridge, Chad Bucar, RW. Calgary. Alta. 42. Prince George. Billy Thompson, G. Saskatoon, Sask. 43. Prince Albert Nick Schultz, D. Strasbourg. Sask. 44. Kelowna, Matt Forsyth, D, Calgary. Alta. 45. Saskatoon, Ryan Stempfte, D. Sherwood Park. Alta. 46. Swift Current Colton Orr, RW, Winnipeg, Man. 47. Kamloops, Trevor Lindros. D. Kamloops, B.C. 48. Lethbridge, Scott Edwards, LW, Morden, Man. 49. Regina, Scotty Balan, D, Red Deer. Alta. 50. Red Deer. Jesse Schultz. RW, Strasbourg, Sask. 51. Spokane. Matt Lukowich, LW. Cran-brook. B.C. 52. Moose Jaw, Dustin Bru. LW. Unity, Sask. 53. Portland. Jason Armstrong. D, Melfort, Sask. 54. Kelowna, David Selthun, D, Edmonton, Alta.<h2>Fourth Round</h2>55. Kamloops, Brett Bartell, D, Drake. Sask. 56. Calgary, Jeff Mesluk. G, Prince Albert, Sask. 57. Saskatoon, Tony Kolewaski, G, Calgary. Alta. 58. Tri-City. Bobby Henderson, D, Langley. B.C. 59. Prince George, Jerry Eckel, C, Edmonton. Alta. 60. Swift Current. Matt Sommerfeld, LW. Parkside, Sask. 61. Prince Albert, Allan MacVicar, D. Winnipeg. Man. 62. Kelowna. Diarmuid Kelly, LW, Red Deer. Alta. 63. Mosse Jaw, Ryan Both, D, Winnipeg, Man. 64. Moose Jaw, Greg Hall, D, Winnipeg, Man. 65. Medicine Hat. Matt Brown. RW. Saskatoon. Sask. 66. Seattle, Nick Pannoni, G, Coaldale. Alta. 67. Regina, Ryan Annesley, LW, Moose Jaw, Sask. 68. Red Deer, Rhett Neville, D, Brandon, Man. 69. Swift Current, Kevin Playfair, D. Fort St. James, B.C. 70. Brandon, Robert McVicar. G, Brandon. Man. 71. Brandon, Jordy Dudka, RW. Cran-brook. B.C. 72. Seattle. David Allman. RW. Semiahmoo,<h2>Fifth Round</h2>Edmonton, Michael Gabert, D, North Battleford, Sask. Prince Albert, Trevor Fenton, RW, Edmonton, Alta. Saskatoon, David McCulloch, D, Lacombe, Alta. 76. Spokane, Tyler Procyshyn, D, Aberdeen, Sask. 77. Moose Jaw, Sam Halaby, Edmonton, Alta. 78. Kamloops, Aaron Gionet. D, Port McNeil, B.C. 79. Red Deer. Shane Bendera, G. Edmonton, Alta. 80. Edmonton, Jonathon Lupul, LW, Saskatoon, Sask. 81. Spokane. Skip Renauld, D. Regina, Sask. 82. Moose Jaw. Quinn Henry, C, Ste, Rose, Man. 83. Portland. Nathan Makarenko, D, Willing-don, Alta. 84. Brennan Evans. D. Camrose, Alta. 85. Regina. Chad Yaremko, G, Saskatoon, Sask. 86. Prince George. Andrew Jungwirth, D, Humboldt, Sask. 87. Spokane. Tim Krymusa, LW. Regina, Sask. 88. Brandon, Curtis Loewen, D, Brookdale, Man. 89. Portland, Dean Pylypchuk, LW, Regina, Sask. 90. Lethbridge. Brandon Boon, Lucky Lake. Sask.<h2>Sixth Round</h2>91. Edmonton. Trevor Johnson, D, Trail B.C. 92. Prince George, Lee Labas. LW, Saskatoon, Sask. 93. Saskatoon, Sean Honeman, D, Anchorage, AK. 94. Moose Jaw, Brian Sutherby, C, Edmonton. Alta. 95. Prince George. Ryan Land, LW, Edmonton. Alta. 96. Kamloops, Justin Aikms, Surrey. B.C. 97. Prince Albert, Jordan Clarke, F. Rouleau. Sask. 98. Calgary, Chris Boston, C, Okotoks, Alta. 99. Spokane, Cameron Polski, LW, Calgary, Alta. 100. Moose Jaw. Paul Crosty, D, Edmonton, Alta. 101. Medicine Hat, Ben Thompson. C. Coaldale. Alta. 102. Seattle. John Snowden, C. Seattle. WA. 103. Red Deer, Colby Armstrong. C. Saskatoon, Sask. 104. Red Deer, Bryce Thoma, D. Saskatoon, Sask. 105. Swift Current, Ben Ondrus, RW. Sherwood Park, Alta. 106. Brandon, Colin McRae. RW. Carman, Man. 107. Portland, Joel Foster, LW. Warman, Sask. 108. Lethbridge, Tyler Gow, Nanaimo, B.C.<h2>Seventh Round</h2>109. Edmonton. Curtis McRae, C, Calgary. Alta. 110. CaF gary, Dan Willmott. D, Calgary, Alta. 111. Saskatoon, Craig Valette, C. Shellbrook. Sask. 112. Tri-City, Trevor Mortson, D, Leduc, Alta. 113. Prince George. Tom Ross, D, Saskatoon, Sask. 114. Kamloops. Ma Pozak-Andres. G, High Prairie, Alta. 115. Prince Albert, Ryan Cartewr, C, Kenton. Man. 116. Kelowna, Chris D&rsquo;Ubaldo, RW, Winnipeg, Man. 117. Spokane. Ptarick Richards, G, Calgary. Alta. 118. Moose Jaw, Will Christian, D, Savona, B.C. Medicine Hat, Scott Stewart, LW, Edmonton, Alta. Seattle. Cory Wright. D, Calgary, Alta. 121. Regina, Shawn Tuck. RW. Wilkie. Sask. 122. Red Deer, Todd Kostiuk, C, Cranbrook. B.C 123. Swift Current, Brad JaF bert, D, Saskatoon. Sask. 124. Brandon. Stephen Love, D, Winnipeg, Man. 125. Portland. Nick Rolheiser, LW, Edmonton. Alta. 126. Lethbridge, Travis Stevens, D, Prince Albert, Sask.<h2>Eighth Round</h2>Edmonton, Cole Roberts. C, 100 Mile House, Alta. Calgary, Brent Krahn, G. Winkler, Man. 129. Saskatoon, Justin Harding, D, Rosetown, Sask. 130. Tri-City, Aaron Winterholt, RW, Kamloops, B.C. 131. Prince George, Ryan Chieduch, D, Kamloops, B.C. 132. Kamloops, Brent Kisio, RW, Calgary, Alta. 133. Prince Albert, Baron Bradley. G, Neepawa, Man. 134. Kelowna, Vaughan Watson, G, Swift Current, Sask. 135. Spokane, Jeremy Farr, D. Airdrie. Alta. 136. Moose Jaw, Aaron Wilgo-sh, G, Regina, Sask. 137. Medicine Hat, Kevin Estrada, LW. Surrey, B.C. 138. Seattle, Johnathon Pittis, C. CaF gary, Alta. 139. Regina, Brett Norrie, D, Calgary, Alta. 140. Red Deer, Christian Martin, D, Regina, Sask. 141 Swift Current. Brett Crashley, D, Moose Jaw, Sask. 142. Brandon. Mitchell Virostek. LW. Enchant Alta. 143. Portland. Devin Ulmer, RW. Bethune. Sask. 144. Lethbridge. Chad Ingram, D. Quesnel, B.C.<h2>Ninth Round</h2>145. Edmonton, Eric Haggarty. D, Dauphin, Man. 146. Kelowna, Carsen. Gerymyn, LW. Campbell River. B.C. 147. Saskatoon, Willy Glover, C. Calgary, Alta. 148. TriCity, Riley Layden. RW, Rocky Mountain House, B.C. 149. Prince George. David Cadsand. D. 100 Mile House. B.C. 150. Kamloops. Shaonne Morrison. D, Vancouver. C. 151. Kelowna, Darren Komelsen, Riverton, Man. 152. Spokane. Troy Boisjoli, RW, Glidden, Sask. 153. Moose Jaw. Ryan Singer. LW, Kamloops, B.C. 154. Medicine Hat. Alton Jackson, D. Edmonton, Alta. 155. Seattle. Jordan Emmerson. LW. Abbotsford. B.C. 156. Regina. Jordan Cameron, C, Drayton Valley, Alta. 157. Red Deer, Colin Johnson. D. Davidson, Sask. 158. Swift Current, Grant Laurie, C. Churchill, Man. 159. Brandon, Ryan Diduck, LW. Sherwood Park, Alta. 160 Portland, Derek Manz. D, Kelowna. B.C. 161. Lethbridge, Matthew Pearson. D, Creighton, Sask.<h2>Tenth Round</h2>Edmonton. Monte Tutshchek, LW, Edmonton. Alta. Saskatoon. Jay Jayzell, LW, Vancouver. B.C. 164. Tri-City. Aaron Thompson, LW, Calgary. Alta. 165. Prince George. Steven Gehlen, D. Warman, Sask. 166. Kamloops, Curtis Austring. LW. Stewart Valley, Sask. 167. Spokane. Kyle Stantone, G, Chemainus, B.C. 168. Spokane. Chris Barr. D, Nipawin, Sask. 169. Medicine Hat. Jared Retger. D. Saskatoon. Sask. 170. Seattle, Lance Woods, C, Leroy, Sask. 171. Regina, Chris Walter. Prince Albert Sask. 172. Red Deer, Mark Gorgela, LW, Stony Plain. Alta. 173. Swift Current, Kim Wells, LW, Dinsmore, Sask. 174. Brandon, Blake Trottier, RW, Brandon, Man. 175. Portland. Tyler Cronk, LW, Edmonton, Alta. 176. Lethbridge, Russell Gehlen, G, Humboldt, Sask.<h2>Eleventh Round</h2>177. Spokane, Bill Cass, D, Higham, MA. 178. Tri-City, Aaron Foster, LW, North Battleford, Sask. 179. Kamloops, Garrett Huth. D. Port Albemi, B.C. 180. Spokane, Brian Sjostrom, LW, Whitham, Mass. 181. Medicine Hat, Scott Hammond. RW, Calgary. Alta. 182. Seattle, Will Magnusson, D, Anchorage, AK. 183. Regina, Scott Sar-son, D, Swift Current Sask. 184. Red Deer. Michael Garnett, G, Saskatoon. Sask. 185. Swift Current, Nathan Albert. G. Norway House, Man. 186. Brandon. Jeff Kirkup, D, Souris, Man. 187. Warren McCutcheon, C, Carmen. Man.<h2>Twelfth Round</h2>188. Kamloops. Tyler Liebel, LW, Osoyoos, B.C. 189. Spokane, Rob Anderson. G, Superior, Wise. 190. Medicine Hat Jade Galbraith. RW, Hanna, Alta. 191. Regina, Jordan Sobkowicz. D. Morden, Man. 192. Swift Current. Jamie Hiebert RW, Swift Current Sask. 193. Lethbridge, Brandon Janes, D, Richmond, B.C.<h2>Thirteenth Round</h2>194. Regina, Nolan Huber, C, Upton, Sask. 195. Swift Current David Jerfo. D, Winnipeg. Man. &#9632;

WESTERN LEAGUE DRAFT

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello</div>Forget about taking in an Omaha Lancers&rsquo; game if you&rsquo;re going through Nebraska next season. The ticket booth is closed and has been on game days for seven years and counting.That&rsquo;s because the Lancers have been selling out home games long before they&rsquo;re played. The United States League team recorded its 200th straight home sellout Feb. 21. The streak reached 210 games by the end of the season.Official sellout records aren&rsquo;t kept at the amateur level, but the Columbus Chill of the East Coast League hold the minor league record with 83 straight sellouts of 5,700.Every seat at the 6,124-seat Aksar-ben Coliseum has been filled for USHL games since March. 1990. The USHL is a developmental league for 17-to-21-year-olds.&ldquo;We have a lot of loyal fans and it helps having a competitive team,&rdquo; said team president/owner Ted Baer.Omaha hockey fans were hardened a decade ago when they were forced to watch a dreadful Lancer team that went 0-48-0 their first USHL season. Since then, however, the Lancers have won two league titles and four playoff titles. Omaha lost to eventual league champion Lincoln Stars in the semifinal this season.The Lancers have a season-ticket base of 5,100 and expected that to be maintained through the May 5 renew al deadline. The remaining game tickets go on sale the first Monday of October. Ranging in price from $7 to $9, they last only a few days.Challenging the Lancers for the entertainment dollar are the Continental Basketball Association Racers, Creighton University&rsquo;s Division I basketball team and, of course, the Nebraska Comhuskers college football team.The nearest NHL teams-Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche-are at least eight hours away by car. &#9632;

Omaha Lancers suroass 200 and still going strong

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01540/7922923-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Bruce Benet/BS;)</figcaption></div>His career was a 12-year long highlight film, a dozen winters full of magic and memories and athletic brilliance.It was a story of goals that defied belief. Some that defied fundamental laws of science. Of triumphs on the ice and tragedies off it.Of a man truly known by so few, but whom so many never will forget.His critics will remember him for who he wasn&rsquo;t-Bobby Orr or Wayne Gretzky-and for what he didn&rsquo;t do-redefine a position or serve as a full-time ambassador for his game. Others will cherish the snapshots of mind-numbing talent that he gave us over the years.There is no easy way to capture the essence of his genius, for Lemieux was as much an artist as an athlete. To those fortunate enough to watch him play regularly, the subtleties of his game were no less impressive than his most spectacular feats with the puck.Still, those who prefer a paint-by-numbers approach to Lemieux can get a fairly accurate, albeit incomplete, picture of his impact on the game: 613 regular season goals, 881 assists, 1,494 points, six scoring championships, three Hart Trophies, two Stanley Cups and two Conn Smythes, for starters.Play connect-the-dots with those stats and you have the portrait of one of the most remarkable careers in NHL history. Even Lemieux acknowledged as much.&ldquo;I played for 12 years and I feel pretty comfortable having won two Cups, the Conn Smythes and with what I&rsquo;ve accomplished throughout my career,&rdquo; he said.Fact is, Lemieux accomplished more on some nights than a lot of guys do in; career. Like Dec. 31, 1988, when he became the only player in NHL history to score five different types of goals-power play, even strength, shorthanded, penalty shot and empty net-in one game during a victory over the Nev Jersey Devils. Or April 25, 1989, when he became the second man in league annals to record eight points-five of them goals-in a playoff game.Of course, it&rsquo;s a matter of opinion whether those performances were more impressive than his other two five-goal games. Or any of the three in which he accumulated six assists. Or whether his four-goal period-a feat only 11 NHL players have managed-in Montreal Jan. 26 was really all that much better than his other dozen four-goal games.Hard to say. Perhaps such issues are best left for taproom historians to thrash out in coming years. Just about anyone with access to cable TV probably is qualified to offer an opinion.There was an unmistakable elegance to Lemieux&rsquo;s game. He could stickhandle through a picket line of octopi without breaking stride or stick a wrist shot in a gnat&rsquo;s earlobe from 45 feet and always make it look effortless.Still, it was a fairly modest two-point game that spawned the most enduring memory of Lemieux-and quite possibly gave the greatest insight to the man who remains a mystery in so many ways.The Penguins traveled to Philadelphia March 1, 1993, for a game at the Spectrum the next night, but Lemieux didn&rsquo;t accompany them. And when his teammates went to the morning skate, Lemieux still wasn&rsquo;t around.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01437/7922916-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="128" height="184"></div>Thanks for the memoriesTurns out, he was on the other side of Pennsy lvania, undergoing radiation treatment for the Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease that had been diagnosed less than two months earlier.Lemieux probably could have received a doctor&rsquo;s excuse to skip the game against the Philadelphia Flyers and the Penguins would have been delighted to declare him a genuinely healthy scratch, but Lemieux was intent on getting back to work once the radiation regimen was complete.When his commercial flight to Philly fell through, Lemieux drove to a private airport and chartered a plane to take him there. He arrived in time to dress and got a goal and an assist in a 5-4 loss to the Flyers.Nobody bothers keeping such records, but that is believed to have been the first time in league history a player got radiation therapy in the morning and two points at night. Gee, and some folks think a &ldquo;Gordie Howe hat trick&rdquo;-a goal, assist and fight in the same game-is special.Astonishing as his performance in Philadelphia was, Lemieux produced some other remarkable performances during the stretch drive in 1993. He piled up 56 points in his first 20 games after returning from his bout with Hodgkin&rsquo;s to overtake Pat LaFontaine and win the Art Ross Trophy with outrageous ease.The bout with cancer was, of course, the most serious health crisis of Lemieux&rsquo;s career, but it was far from the only one. Indeed, Lemieux&rsquo;s professional life was defined, to some degree, by the 275 regular season games he missed because of injuries and ailments ranging from back infections to sprainedknees.He never played a full season, which might be part of the reason Gretzky&rsquo;s singleseason records of 215 points and 92 goals in a season still stand. Lemieux&rsquo;s personal bests of 85 goals and 199 points were recorded in 1988-89, when he appeared in 76 games.&ldquo;I thought I probably would have had a chance at (215 points), ifI was healthy and my back was strong,&rdquo; Lem.eux said. &ldquo;IfI was able to play most of the games, maybe I would have had a pretty good shot at it with the players I was playing with. But we&rsquo;ll never know, 1 guess.&rdquo;There is no way to accurately project the kind of numbers Lemieux could have put up had he been healthy for most of his career, although some of the estimates by those who watched him work border on the staggering.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02244/7922909-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="2174" height="3395"></div>Ed Johnston, the GM who drafted Lemieux first overall in 1984, suggested recently that, &ldquo;if he would have been healthy, I think he would have averaged 200 points a year.&rdquo; And he was serious.So was Peter Taglianetti, the former Pittsburgh defenseman, when he offered that, &ldquo;if he was healthy, he&rsquo;d have a thousand goals by now. Wayne Gretzky would be looking up at Mario&rsquo;s numbers.&rdquo;It should surprise no one that Gretzky often is the standard by which Lemieux&rsquo;s accomplishments are measured. Such comparisons might not be fair to either player and probably serve no real purpose-is there any point in debating whether Picasso was better than, say, Van Gogh?-but they seem to be just too tempting for folks to pass on.Lemieux&rsquo;s own perspective on his career is not terribly complicated. He makes no effort to claim a place in the pantheon of NHL greats, asking only that his accomplishments be viewed through the prism of his team&rsquo;s achievements.&ldquo;I just want to be remembered as somebody who was able to take a team that was the worst in the league and was able to bring a championship to Pittsburgh,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very proud that I accomplished that. And, hopefully, I&rsquo;ll be remembered as a winner.&rdquo;That doesn&rsquo;t seem like too much to ask, although Lemieux&rsquo;s most important legacy might be the continued presence of the NHL in Pittsburgh. The franchise was on life-support before he arrived in 1984 and the most pressing question of the time was not whether relocation of the franchise looked inevitable, but where it would end up.&ldquo;It was on very shaky ground,&rdquo; Johnston said. Salvation came in June of 1984, when Johnston rejected some intriguing trade proposals that promised instant respectability and grabbed Lemieux with the first pick in the entry draft. Lemieux, a shy teenager with a tenuous grasp of English, didn&rsquo;t necessarily look the part of savior, but certainly filled the role magnificently.It wasn&rsquo;t quick or easy. Heck, Lemieux and the Penguins got off to a most rocky start as he refused to visit their table on draft day in protest of stalled contract&rsquo;negotiations.Truth be told, it&rsquo;s kind of funny to remember how he balked at putting on the Pittsburgh sweater that day.Nobody, you see, ever wore it better. Or ever will. &#9632;

f0043-01

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

<div class="byline">By Tom McMillan</div>And you thought you had a bleak job. Consider Paul Steigerwald&rsquo;s. He was marketing director for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1983-84.Sixteen wins. Thirty-eight points. Last place. Again.&ldquo;You had to laugh to keep from crying,&rdquo; said Steigerwald, glancing at attendance figures that showed those Penguins averaged a paltry 6,800 fans a game at the Civic Arena.Such was the state of Pittsburgh hockey in the pre-Mario Lemieux era, a time of incessant losing exquisite incompetence and scads of empty seats.Oh, the Penguins had some decent teams in the 1970s, including one that finished sixth overall in 1974-75, but the general legacy was one of ineptitude. The IRS padlocked the office doors one summer. The team&rsquo;s first mascot, a real penguin from the Pittsburgh Zoo, died of pneumonia. Coaches and GMs and owners shuffled through on a relentless merry-go-round. And then came rock bottom: back-to-back last place finishes in 1982-83 and 1983-84, coupled with weekly rumors the franchise was moving.&ldquo;You&rsquo;d walk into the Arena for a game and there would be 3,800 people in the place and most of them were booing,&rdquo; Steigerwald said. &ldquo;Some of them had bags on their heads. The team would take the ice and they&rsquo;d yell obscenities. Hockey in Pittsburgh had reached the bottom, the absolute pits of professional sports.&rdquo; Enter Lemieux. He was an 18-year-old kid from Montreal who spoke only tentative English, but he had talent to bum and a well-chronicled flair for the dramatic. He scored a goal in his first NHL game, on his first shift, on his first shot and went on to register 43 goals and 100 points while claiming the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. The Penguins improved 15 points in the standings and, just as importantly, attendance increased by more than 40 per cent to 10,018 per game.How much of that could be attributed to Lemieux? &ldquo;All of it,&rdquo; Steigerwald said.In 1983-84, the Penguins were outdrawn by the Pittsburgh Spirit, a professional indoor soccer team. By 1987-88, average attendance had increased to 15,155 and it has topped that figure eveiy season since. The 1996-97 season marked the fifth straight the Penguins averaged more than 16,100 per game. Capacity is 17,181.Many other players contributed to the fenais-sance-Paul Coffey. Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson, Kevin Stevens-but there is no doubt Lemieux himself was the single savior of the franchise. And what if he hadn&rsquo;t come to Pittsburgh in the summer of 1984? &ldquo;This place,&rdquo; said assistant GM Eddie Johnston, standing in the Civic Arena, &ldquo;would be a parking lot.&rdquo;Tom McMillan is Penguins&rsquo; vice-president, communications after covering the team as a journalist for nine years. &#9632;

Mario saved shinny in Steeltown

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden Editor-in-chief</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0048-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01242/7923023-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg"></div>Good job, Mom and Dad.Your timing was better even than a breathtaking Bobby Orr rush, a Wayne Gretzky precision pass, a Mario Lemieux one-timer from the left faceoff circle.Thanks for having me Dec. 18,1957.That puts me at the low end of fans old enough to have appreciated the three greatest offensive forces in hockey history. They could still represent the highest level of skill the game has ever known when the hockey world reaches the next millennium.Orr changed the way the game was played, while Gretzky and Lemieux changed the way we kept score. Nos. 99 and 66, the two most calculating players ever, sent every real hockey fan scrambling for a calculator in desperate hope of measuring their greatness.The star-crossed careers of Orr and Lemieux are more connected than most realize-their accomplishments, length of career and debilitating ailments represent remarkable similarities-but it is Gretzky who will always be linked to Lemieux.No. 99 set all notable offensive standards and No. 66 challenged them. They were forever rivals who played together for one Canada Cup tournament and stunned the Soviets. Lemieux scored 11 goals; Gretzky assisted on nine of them.Of the many comparable numbers, three stand out as astonishing:They are within three goals of each other over 745 regular season games (the length of Lemieux&rsquo;s career); they are one goal apart over 89 playoff games (again, the length of Lemieux&rsquo;s career); and their career regular season points-per-game averages are within .021 of each other.&ldquo;If he hadn&rsquo;t gone through all the back problems and cancer,&rdquo; Gretzky told THN, &ldquo;he might have been the guy who statistically could have shattered all my records. I mean all of them, 215 points. 92 goals.&rdquo;Theirs was the greatest individual rivalry in sports history and my parents had the good sense to make sure I was around for it. (So, too, did your parents.) Maybe my mother had an innate feel for these matters. She was bom Jan. 26, the same day as Gretzky.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-03112/7923016-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="1621" height="2381"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02156/7923009-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="2436" height="3691"></div> &#9632;

f0048-01

Nos. 66 & 99 turned NHL upside down

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01216/7923054-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario Lemieux stood by his conviction on THN&rsquo;s July 1,1984 cover</figcaption></div>From the day he arrived on the NHL scene to the day he departed, Mario Lemieux did it his way.It was the different way, the path least travelled.My first recollection of Lemieux-live and in color-was the June day in 1984 when he was drafted No. 1 overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Montreal Forum. The 18-year-old sat in his seat and only stood up to acknowledge his hometown fans when the Penguins called his name.Because contract negotiations weren&rsquo;t proceeding as well as he and agent Gus Badali had hoped, Lemieux had vowed he would not go to the Penguin table, refusing to put on the traditional draft-day sweater until terms had been reached.It would have been easy, perhaps even prudent, to soften his stance when the moment of truth actually arrived. But, no, not for Lemieux, who held firm and sat there stone-faced while a Penguin scout from Quebec urged him to reconsider.Imagine how many other 18-year-olds would do that. Even Eric Lindros, in his acrimonious relationship with the Quebec Nordiques, went down to the table to shake hands and accept the sweater and cap upon being chosen No. 1. The irony, of course, is that Lindros went on to become the scourge of Quebec and Lemieux the darling of Pittsburgh.My second up-close-and-personal meeting with Mario was days later when, as Editor-in-Chief of The Hockey News, I arranged for Lemieux to come to Toronto for a photo session.Accompanied by Badali, he arrived at the photo studio wearing a finely-tailored dark suit. On his right hand he was wearing a No. 66 ring, encrusted with diamonds. He carried himself with elegance and style that was anything but typical of teenage hockey players, yet there was also a certain shyness about him. No doubt, it had something to do with his limited English.But shyness would not be confused with weakness that day.It was my goal to convince Lemieux he should put on the Penguins&rsquo; sweater for the photo shoot, even though contract negotiations were still stalled. THN, of course, was after an exclusive photo, but the kid was adamant. No contract, no sweater.He was then asked to put it on for a photo that would only be published if he were to sign a contract before the next issue of THN went to press.Sorry, he said, but he wouldn&rsquo;t do that. So the photo was taken, Lemieux standing, his arms folded in a pose of utter resolve, in front of the sweater. It was, for him, a matter of principle.It would be how he would conduct himself for the balance of his spectacular career. If he didn&rsquo;t like the way the game was being officiated, and he didn&rsquo;t, he never hesitated to say so.Even on the final night of his career, it would have been easy for him to spare the NHL the criticism.But he didn&rsquo;t, acknowledging it was a factor in his decision to retire. Mostly, though, he said it was time to call it quits because he couldn&rsquo;t be everything he wanted to be.And when the talk turned to whether he could be convinced to come out of retirement to play for the Canadian Olympic team, he said he didn&rsquo;t think that would be a good idea.They&rsquo;ll continue to ask, but they&rsquo;ll discover what I learned 13 years ago-once Mario Lemieux sets his mind to it, that&rsquo;s it. He came into the NHL on his terms. He left it that way, too. &#9632;

f0049-01

He did it his way

<div class="byline">By Karen Guregian</div>When we look back at Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s career, we aren&rsquo;t likely to point to any records he set, or trophies he won.That&rsquo;s because his signature moments, the ones that define him in the world of professional hockey, can&rsquo;t be found in any record book.Unlike Wayne Gretzky, who will be remembered for his unprecedented 215-point season and 92-goal campaign and forever be hailed as the player who eclipsed Gordie Howe&rsquo;s all-time scoring mark, Lemieux will be remembered for something entirely different.The achievements that distinguish this great athlete go beyond numbers. What Lemieux leaves behind is something far greater than any gaudy statistic. His legacy is one that touches so much more than sports. It&rsquo;s one that touches life. What we&rsquo;ll remember most about Mario is how he bravely and graciously battled an opponent tougher than any he ever faced on the ice.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01199/7922522-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="990" height="1278"></div>What we&rsquo;ll remember most about him is how he fought cancer.We&rsquo;ll especially remember the March 2 night in 1993 when he returned to action after finishing his last treatment. After undergoing his 20th round of radiation, Lemieux flew to Philadelphia and played against the Flyers that same night. Somehow, he scored a goal and an assist on that unforgettable evening. While Lemieux did manage to turn a last-place franchise into a two-time Stanley Cup winner, this was probably the most dramatic and recognized, moment of his brilliant career in Pittsburgh. Remember, too, by the end of that season, he had overtaken Pat LaFontaine of the Buffalo Sabres to win the league scoring title and earn the Hart Trophy as league MVP despite playing only 60 games.For those who have battled cancer, who have undergone the energy-sapping radiation treatment, the feat seemed nothing short of a miracle. Then came the 1995-96 season and another remarkable chapter in this man&rsquo;s hockey history. After taking 18 months off to recover from post-radiation side effects as well as back pain that had dogged him for much of his career, Lemieux made another comeback. All he did that year was produce a scoring title and another MVP award for his trophy case.Athletes have come back from serious injuries before. They have returned from life-threatening illnesses. Then comes Lemieux, who did both and performed better than anyone else in the sport. Cancer patients everywhere marvel at this man. Only they truly understand the magnitude of his comeback. Only they understand the amount of courage and inner strength it took to play the same night as his final radiation treatment. Only they know what it took to overcome both the physical and emotional burdens that are part of battling such a disease.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-02139/7922515-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg" title="f0051-02" width="2001" height="2495"></div>Lemieux learned Jan. 11,1993 that he had cancer in one lymph node in his neck.&ldquo;After they gave me the news, I could hardly drive between the tears and crying.&rdquo; Lemieux recalled. &ldquo;That was certainly a tough day in my life.&ldquo;I got home. Nathalie (Mario&rsquo;s wife) was there. I was trying to avoid her. Finally, I had to tell her, but it took a long time for me to say the word, like 20 minutes. I was crying like a baby. She was real nervous. Every time I started to tell her, it wouldn&rsquo;t come out.&rdquo;Given his stature in the game and the notoriety his comeback received, Lemieux&rsquo;s presence on the ice alone gave untold numbers of people a sign of hope, a message that they, too, could come back and live a normal life after cancer. He proved an inspiration and in the process, the Pens&rsquo; superstar earned a whole fan club that couldn&rsquo;t tell a hockey puck from a frisbee.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0396/7922508-1-eng-US/f0051-032.jpg" title="f0051-03" width="998" height="1277"></div>And in his quiet manner, Lemieux provides support beyond what he has done on the ice. Whether it&rsquo;s by raising money for his own foundation, which donates funds for cancer research, or visiting cancer wards, or responding to the tons of mail he gets from those suffering from the disease, Lemieux does what he can to help.&ldquo;1 try to cheer them up, talk about their case, talk about my case, and how I got through it, remaining positive at all times,&rdquo; Lemieux said of hospital visits. &ldquo;I tell them not to dwell too much on what&rsquo;s happening.&rdquo;But even with all he has been through, he still feels awkward in cancer units, especially when he sees those who have endured more than him. Because he was discovered to have the disease at an early stage and didn&rsquo;t have to go through other more gruelling treatments such as chemotherapy, Lemieux doesn&rsquo;t pretend to have suffered like others. He appreciates what others have gone through and is thankful his fate wasn&rsquo;t worse.Without a doubt, Lemieux has earned a kind of respect that goes beyond the realm of hockey. While he did a lot for the game of hockey, and the city of Pittsburgh, he just may have done even more for a much larger community-the millions diagnosed with cancer every year.Karen Guregian, a sports writer for the Boston Herald, has unique insight into Mario&rsquo;s comeback. She battled 24 months to overcome Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease. Guregian underwent what she calls the &ldquo;hat trick of cancer treatmenf&rsquo;-chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant and radiation treatment. Within days of the transplant, Guregian phoned in a scoop on the Boston Bruins to the Herald from her hospital bed.<h2>Healthy numbers, not good health</h2>Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr had everything but good health. They stand out among the game&rsquo;s supreme talents as victims of health and injury problems. None of the top five scorers in league history has played less than 90 per cent of potential regular season games over their careers. Lemieux played just 73 per cent and Orr, 70. Orfs recurring knee problems forced him to retire prematurely at age 31 after nine outstanding seasons. Lemieux&rsquo;s battles, including a bad back and cancer, forced him to miss 275 games over 13 years: 146 due to back problems, 20 while undergoing chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease and all 48 games in 1994-95 to recover from both. Listed are all-time rank in regular season points, games, potential maximum games and percentage of games played.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0475/7922501-1-eng-US/f0051-042.jpg" title="f0051-04" width="1252" height="1545"></div> &#9632;

f0051-01

Mario’s ‘miracle’ return

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0054-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01187/7922560-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Good-bye Guy</figcaption></div>It was a passing of the torch.As the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers shook hands April 26 following the final playoff series of Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s career, he whispered into the ear of fellow superstar Eric Lindros: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s your turn now. Play hard, play smart and stay out of the penalty box.&rdquo;A few days earlier Lindros talked about No. 66.&ldquo;Funny you should ask about him,&rdquo; Lindros said. &ldquo;I have his stick sitting in my living room as we speak.&rdquo;Has Lindros learned anything from Lemieux?&ldquo;Oh God, yes, more things than you&rsquo;ve got space for. Mostly though, the way he slows things down. He doesn&rsquo;t race through the neutral zone 100 miles per hour. He goes through there under control. And when you&rsquo;re in control, the percentage of your plays being successful increases.&rdquo;And will the game miss Lemieux?&ldquo;More than it thinks,&rdquo; Lindros said. &ldquo;The line out of the NHL office is always going to be no player makes the league and no player did this to the league and no player did that to the league, but there&rsquo;s only one Mario Lemieux.&rdquo;It was a super moment.If you weren&rsquo;t touched by the display of mutual adoration between Lemieux and fawning fans at the Civic Center April 23 as he slowly skated around the ice giving them two thumbs up and blowing kisses for the final time, then it was time for a pulse check.There was one more road game to play, one more goal to score, one more standing ovation as he left the ice at the CoreStates Center in Philadelphia thret nights later after the Penguins were eliminated in five games, but this was his on-ice farewell to Pittsburgh. Nothing could match the love-in.Moments earlier, Lemieux brought the standing room only crowd of 17,355 to its feet as he had done so many times before when he swept in alone on defenseless Flyers&rsquo; goalie Garth Snow, whom he caught hurrying back to the net after attempting to get to the bench for an extra attacker. His goal, the 682nd and second last of his career, was a going away gift to the fans who waited patiently for him to do something, anything, magical on this special evening.Selected the game&rsquo;s first star, Lemieux took the opportunity to take one final lap of the ice and thanked the local fans who stood so proudly in his comer. It was a victory lap for the ages and he left the ice in tears.&ldquo;You never know what&rsquo;s going to happen in Philly so I was just expressing my feelings to the crowd tonight, r t how I feel about them,&rdquo; Lemieux said &ldquo;It was a great moment. That was th first time I cried on tl ice in a long time.That&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ll remember for a long time.&rdquo;Fans at Game 4 didn&rsquo;t know exactly what to expect. How could they? Would ii be Lemieux&rsquo;s final game? Would the Penguins live to play Game 5 in Philly? Could they possibly win two in a row forcing another home game?Do we say our goodbyes now?Lemieux had deliberately made it difficult for them to give him a proper send-off, not announcing he would even play this season until training camp was two days old and, then, not officially announcing his intention to retire after this year until the final week of the regular season. He wanted no part of a farewell tour.Perhaps because nobody was certain this would be his last game in Pittsburgh, there weren&rsquo;t as many signs in the crowd as you might expect. One fan, apparently not too optimistic about the Penguins&rsquo; chances, had a sign that read: It&rsquo;s A Sad Day For Hockey: Thanks 66. And there were others: &hellip;And On The 8th Day God Created Mario and We Are The Lucky Ones Who Witnessed The Best and Super Mario, Super Memories.Like he did throughout most of the series, Lemieux looked to pass the puck whenever he got it. His best chance to score in the first period came while the Penguins were a man short. He took a shot from the side of the net and then poked at the rebound, but Snow stood his ground.In the second period, Philadelphia rookie Janne Niinimaa hammered Lemieux into the endboards and threw him to the ice. The fans howled, but referee Don Koharski ignored them. A few minutes later Lemieux picked Niinimaa&rsquo;s pocket and skated in alone, but shot high and wide.Penguins&rsquo; management couldn&rsquo;t let the game slip away without a final tribute to their retiring hero so with two minutes remaining, during a stoppage in play, a Lemieux highlight film was shown to the strains of Tina Turner belting out Simply The Best.Mario salutes appreciative fans in Philadelphia after his final playoff game this spring against the Flyers. Below, Mario scores against Flyers&rsquo; goalie Garth Snow during his final shift in Pittsburgh<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-02102/7922553-1-eng-US/f0054-022.jpg" title="f0054-02" width="1465" height="772"></div>Fans reacted wildly when Lemieux climbed over the boards for his final shift and when he scored at 18:56, the building shook.It was a career to remember.&ldquo;I believe if he had a long career, he would have been the best player, I really do,&rdquo; said Flyers&rsquo; goalie Ron Hextali. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question he&rsquo;s the most talented of all-time and if he would have played 15 years, I think he would have been known as the greatest player. I&rsquo;m not saying anything against Wayne Gretzky because in my mind he is the greatest player of all-time. But this guy, his talent is so above and beyond everybody else.&rdquo;Lemieux leaves a game he has conquered on nearly every level. On his own terms. It is a game he no longer enjoys playing. Lemieux has complained long and loud about the hooking, holding and interference he and other stars endure.&ldquo;Early last year (1995-96), when they were calling the clutching and grabbing,&rdquo; Lemieux said, &ldquo;it was fun to be able to skate and make plays. It was more like the hockey I grew up playing. A couple of months later, it went back the other way. That&rsquo;s the biggest factor for retiring now. I won&rsquo;t miss the way the game is played.&rdquo;Lemieux saved a franchise. He dominated the game at its highest level, led the Penguins to three Stanley Cups, won six scoring titles, two most valuable player awards, two playoff MVP honors and, in one of his few international experiences, scored the tournament winning goal for Canada in the 1987 Canada Cup. And he did it all despite chronic back pain and being slowed by Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease.The only stone left unturned for Lemieux is the Olympics, but he is not interested. There would be a spot reserved for him if he chose to play for Canada in 1998 at Nagano, Japan, but he said the night he retired he didn&rsquo;t feel it would be fair to just show up and play. Canadian GM Bob Clarke said if anyone could emerge from months of inactivity and still be an asset, Mario Lemieux could.Over the course of 13 years, there was little beyond Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s grasp. &#9632;

f0054-01

It’s Over: Farewell, Mario

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0055-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01182/7922591-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg"></div>Born: Oct. 5,1965 in Ville Emard, Que. Position: Center/Left Wing Shoots: R Acquired: Chosen 1st overall in 1984 Last amateur club: Laval Voisins &#9632;

f0055-01

Mario Lemieux

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0056-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01146/7922664-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ringing Endorsement Pierrette Lemieux shows off her Stanley Cup necklace featuring a replica of son Mario&rsquo;s 1992 Cup ring.</figcaption></div>VILLE EMARD, Que&mdash;You know who has been here, so you lean on the fence, stare out at the grass and imagine the sound of a puck thumping against wood. As a baseball diamond, it&rsquo;s nothing special. But picture how it must have looked in winter, when the boards formed a rectangle out of center field and the snowbanks piled high.It was here that a hockey-mad, brown-haired pre-schooler first stepped on the ice to display his prodigious talents in public. A wonderful place for the legend to begin.Mario Lemieux had just turned five in the winter of 1970. His parents, Jean-Guy and Pierrette, brought him one weekday afternoon to the rink behind St-Jean de Matha church, a short, five-block walk from home in this working-class Montreal suburb.Jean-Guy, a house-builder by trade, led Mario inside the shack to help him tie his skates. Outside it was a buzz of activity, parents watching as kids just out of school whizzed around the ice. He stepped onto the ice and skated like it was his destiny.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0299/7922657-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg" title="f0056-02" width="2015" height="1342"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Brothers Lemieux: Richard, baby Mario and big brother Alain were picture perfect.</figcaption></div>Pierrette, sitting in the kitchen of the modest brick home in which she and Jean-Guy have lived for the past 37 years, remembers the moment. She motions her arms forward as if sending someone away. My Mario, he just went. When he disappeared into the crowd of boys with his stick and his puck, he took all eyes with him.&ldquo;They all said, &lsquo;Look at this little guy, look at him go, look at him skate!&rsquo;&rdquo; Pierrette says. If the Lemieuxs didn&rsquo;t know it already, they found out then that their youngest of three sons had been uniquely blessed with a natural grace and fluidity whose origins were far. far removed from anything to do with his parents&rsquo; decidedly unathletic genes. &ldquo;That,&rdquo; Pierrette insists emphatically, &ldquo;came from the sky. It&rsquo;s a natural gift. No one in the family gave it to him.&rdquo;Like his brothers Alain and Richard before him, Mario first learned to skate at home. Pierrette, a laughing fireball of a woman, would bring snow inside the house-no more than 10 shovel fulls, she insists-and pack it down on the carpet in the front hallway.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0296/7922650-1-eng-US/f0057-022.jpg" title="f0057-02" width="132" height="180"></div>She would stamp more snow in a narrow path from the hall through a doorway into the dining room, down beside the living room wall and back through the living room entrance into the hall.Pierrette opened the front door to make sure the snow stayed icy and cold. The toddlers, no older than five for this game, apparently would put on their skates and shuffle over the circuit like it was a racetrack oval (although Alain says he doesn&rsquo;t remember doing it).Some of Pierrette&rsquo;s sisters thought she was nuts, but she said it was good clean fun. The carpet was of excellent quality and could take the abuse&hellip;as if that were a consideration.&ldquo;Let me tell you one thing,&rdquo; Pierrette says. &ldquo;It was easy to raise these kids here. Always happiness. They were never sick, never, never, never. Always, always fun.&rdquo;The boys also used to play hockey in the basement. Jean-Guy and Pierrette could tell when their children scored by a brief eruption of sound-to celebrate they would rattle the blades of their sticks down the keys of the piano.The kids are all gone now-Mario. 31, in comfortable retirement in Pittsburgh and golf courses across America; Alain. 35 and a six-year NHLer with the St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques and Pittsburgh, running summer hockey camps outside Pittsburgh; and Richard, 32, a brewery employee in Montreal. The carpet has been replaced. There will be no skating on the hardwood floor.The front door was forever open and in the Lemieux household, the hospitality warm and generous.Jean-Guy and Pierrette have eight brothers and sisters between them. Toss in cousins and the family crowd expands to well over 50. When Mario played for the Laval Voisins of the Quebec League, Jean-Guy would need 100 tickets at home games just to satisfy family and close friends. And when Mario moved on to Pittsburgh, they all moved into the Lemieux living room to watch him play.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-01135/7922643-1-eng-US/f0057-012.jpg" title="f0057-01" width="787" height="2032"></div>His first NHL game was Oct. 11, 1984 in Boston. The living room was packed tighter than a minor hockey dressing room. When Mario scored a goal on his first shot in his first shift, the room erupted, people hollering and screaming everywhere. Pierrette didn&rsquo;t walk for the next three days. One of the dozens of cousins watching the game jumped up to celebrate and landed on Mama Lemieux&rsquo;s foot.It was like that for Mario&rsquo;s first five years in the league. They would drink beer, hold their own 50-50 draw and munch on potato chips brought over from Dilallo Burger, the truckerstyle hamburger joint across from the church where Mario, in his youth would quietly grab a burger after hockey practice.Later on the Lemieuxs toned down on the parties, much to Jean-Guy&rsquo;s relief. All he ever wanted to do was watch his son&rsquo;s games in peace and stoic restraint, proudly, analytically.When Mario was a boy, the extended family, dozens of them, followed him to all the games and tournaments. Pierrette would be screaming like a fire engine and about as colorful. When he scored, she would erupt like Vesuvius while Jean-Guy sat nobly by. &ldquo;I clapped,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;but not for a long time.&rdquo; And then he breaks out laughing.Five years ago, a large bus came rolling to a stop in front the Lemieux residence on Jogues Street. Someone knocked on the door and Pierrette answered. Thirty college kids from Pittsburgh (and, fortunately, an instructor who spoke French) were on a field trip in Montreal and they wanted to see inside the house where Mario grew uo. Would Madame Lemieux let them in?She was taken aback, but opened the door all the same.Pierrette let them in in three groups, 10 at a time. The house is far too small to continually welcome busloads of visitors as if it were some kind of shrine or museum. It is their home, after all, where Pierrette and Jean-Guy sleep, eat and watch television.Keep that in mind as you take in a scrumptious slice of hockey history.What the students saw is enough to make even the most casual hockey fan gape. The entire plaee-a living room, dining room, kitchen and bedroom on the main floor and a one-room basement-is crawling with all things Penguin. Pictures, calendars, newspaper clippings, awards, sweaters, plaques, trophies, posters-they blanket the walls and tabletops and even the floor like rows of shiny cars in a downtown parking lot.In the bathroom there&rsquo;s a penguin shower curtain, pciiguin-paiiviiicu uath towels and washcloths and a small black knit box with a yellow &rsquo;66&rsquo;. In the kitchen-half of which used to be a tiny bedroom shared by all three boys-is a Koho-spon-sored watercolor impression of Mario as a boy trudging through snow towards the church rink. There are empty Mini Wheats and Wheaties boxes-available only in Pittsburgh-of Mario and one of the Penguins&rsquo; Stanley Cup victories.Inside the front door on the right wall is a huge poster of a smiling Mario surrounded by kids-the cover image of a 1996 Canadian Tire catalogue. In that front hallway, at about knee level, are three action shots of Mario-one of him angling like an eagle in the wind, one moving stride-for-stride in the Montreal Forum with a speeding Guy Lafleur (Mario&rsquo;s childhood hero) and another in step with a young Wayne Gretzky.Turn to the right and head down the stairs. The basement ceiling is no higher than seven feet, which makes the smiling, life-size measure-up-to-Mario-on-skates poster loom extra large.A quick room survey comes up with 18 trophies (at least one for golf); 18 photographs (including a few of Alain and one of Mario at a department store in his junior days, checking out rhe Roots of Route 66 the shirts on the $5 rack); eight posters; 12 sweaters (from his first season in organized hockey to the one he wore during his last visit to the Montreal Forum in March); multiple Christmas lights (in April); the two season-ticket Forum seats that Mario bought for his parents during the Forum-closing auction; and a plastic penguin on a tricycle (for the grandchildren).<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0367/7922636-1-eng-US/f0057-032.jpg" title="f0057-03" width="2019" height="4632"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario&rsquo;s many sweaters and numbers form a path to parents Pierrette and Jean-Guy</figcaption></div>There&rsquo;s also a mounted cover of an old Journal de Montreal newspaper from the morning after a Pittsburgh Penguin-Edmonton Oiler game in the mid-1980s. Mario is on the cover, bent over, stick at his knees and staring impassively ahead. The headline reads: Gretzky s&rsquo;incline devant Lemieux (&ldquo;Gretzky bows before Lemieux&rdquo;). In the bottom comer there is an inset shot of Gretzky with his post-game quote: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good for hockey.&rdquo;A mirror scrawled with crayon messages and party-like cheer hangs on the wall. It was decorated on the occasion of Mario&rsquo;s baby baptism 31 years ago. It has never been washed.Pierrette can&rsquo;t fathom a guess at how many people have passed through the house. The most she can remember at one time is the 200 who came to celebrate when Mario returned home for a Stanley Cup party in the summer of 1991. Police had to reroute traffic at the end of the street. Yet she says nothing has ever disappeared.It makes you wonder, though, how much all this stuff would be worth. A pretty penny, to be sure. The Hall of Fame could open a new wing.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t realize it when you&rsquo;re there,&rdquo; Alain says. &ldquo;We keep telling her she should get an alarm system.&rdquo;Jean-Guy and Pierrette are practising Catholics. They have several small paintings of Jesus side-by-side with pictures of Mario and other assorted memorabilia. Which leads to an interesting thought of what might have been if, in a state of confused panic, the Penguins had chosen Kirk Muller first overall in the 1984 draft, leaving Lemieux to go to the New Jersey Devils.The Lord and The Devil would have been competing for wall space.In the living room back upstairs, there is more of the same fare, with the addition of a cluster of maybe 25 framed pictures on the floor in the corner-some of Mario&rsquo;s wife Nathalie and their three children (Lauren, Stephanie and Austin), some of relatives, some of their own families. There&rsquo;s no wall space left.When kids used to come over to the house, Pierrette would collect them all, stow them away and put them back when things quieted down.Now you understand why the students on the bus were not content to just stare from outside, why so many people come by just to admire the parents&rsquo; tribute to their son.Mario has offered several times to buy his parents a new home-not on the level of his own 37-room estate in Sewickley, Pa., but certainly much larger than their current dwelling. JeanGuy and Pierrette always say they have no need to move. It is home. Pierrette says the decor will remain relatively unchanged even though Mario is retired.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always going to stay, it&rsquo;s in my heart,&rdquo; she says, &ldquo;but the door will be closed more often.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0291/7922629-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg" title="f0058-02" width="2441" height="3592"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0352/7922622-1-eng-US/f0058-032.jpg" title="f0058-03" width="1241" height="958"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario got his start in organized hockey at Gadbois arena.</figcaption></div>After an afternoon of gra ciously posing for pictures, answering questions and serving coffee and pizza to a reporter and photographer, after a quarter-cenMario got his start in organized hockey at Gadbois arena. tury of life revolving around hockey and their prodigious child, after hosting dozens of minor hockey parties, after opening their front door to find the sidewalk packed and fans on their porch waiting for Mario to come out, the Lemieuxs, like their son. are ready for a change of pace.Mario once had a summer job at a skate store. It lasted less than a month. He would work the mornings, but he couldn&rsquo;t seem to make it through those sunny afternoons without hitting the golf course. That is the extent of his non-hockey employment.Jean-Guy says if his son had followed his heart, he would have been golfing full-time a year ago.&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t want to play (this season),&rdquo; Jean-Guy says. &ldquo;He did it for the owner because he asked him to do it.&rdquo;But Mario is nothing if not independent. There were some things he would not do. When the town of Ville Emard wanted to hold a parade for Mario after one of the Penguins&rsquo; Stanley Cup wins, he told his mom he wouldn&rsquo;t go. He didn&rsquo;t want the fanfare and attention, so the parade never happened.&ldquo;Mario is just like his father,&rdquo; Pierrette says. &ldquo;When Mario was young he was like me, more demonstrative&hellip;but when he entered the NHL, he changed.&rdquo; He became more closed, more guarded, more protective of his time.In fact, there is surprisingly little evidence around the neighborhood that this is Mario&rsquo;s town. At Dilallo Burger, where there is a stack of photo albums of sponsored local hockey teams dating back to the 1950s, Mario is just one of dozens of famous athletes and entertainers whose pictures decorate the walls. There is just one picture of Mario, posing with Gretzky at Rendezvous &rsquo;87, amid a myriad of other local heroes-wrestlers, golfers, hockey players, entertainers. Bobby Dollas is to his right, Alain Lemieux to his left. There is a series of shots of a beaming Pierrette and Jean-Guy as guests of honor at a minor hockey fundraiser.Someone walked away with Mario&rsquo;s team picture in one of the photo albums. There&rsquo;s a scrapbook that donates a dozen or so pages to local goalie star Gilles Meloche, but it hasn&rsquo;t been updated since the early-1970s.Mario played his minor hockey for the Ville Emard Hurricanes at the Arena Municipal Georges et Sylvio Mantha, commonly known as Gadbois arena. There are no pictures of Mario in the lobby-just a painted Penguin on a dressing room door. It is the mascot of the local figure skating club. A rink attendant says Mario&rsquo;s name is heard as a sponsor of minor hockey tournaments, but when asked why Mario&rsquo;s history is not celebrated here he just shrugs.Pierrette says Ville Emard is planning to name a street after her son. If so. it would be overlooking a City of Montreal ordinance that no person be so honored until a year after his death.Perhaps Mario is not outwardly revered in his hometown because publicity is not something he actively sought. He did not spend vast amounts of time cultivating his image. He always had his independent streak, his desire to play and leave the game on his own terms, just as he left the pack behind on his first public strides onto that childhood rink 26 years ago.It has been six or seven winters since they last hammered up the boards in the baseball field behind St-Jean de Matha church. Jean-Guy says there aren&rsquo;t enough kids playing outside these days to justify the upkeep.Pity. &#9632;

f0056-01

The Roots of Route 66

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0060-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-01111/7922709-1-eng-US/f0060-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Junior Superstar Mario was unstoppable with Laval in the QMJHL.</figcaption></div>It was the summer of 1981. A 15-year-old Mario Lemieux, his agent Bob Pemo and Laval Voisins&rsquo; owner Claude Foumel were talking contract.Right there in Foumel&rsquo;s office, Lemieux served notice he would become the greatest player in Quebec League history.Lemieux had just been selected first overall in the midget draft and expectations were skyrocketing. The Voisins were a terrible team and Lemieux was their savior.&ldquo;Mario said, &lsquo;I want to be the No. 1 pick in the world (at the 1984 NHL entry draft),&rsquo;&rdquo; Pemo recalled. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;Well then, this is what you&rsquo;ve got to do. You&rsquo;ve got to bring Laval to the Memorial Cup, you&rsquo;ve got to win the scoring championship, you&rsquo;ve got to play for the national junior team and you&rsquo;ve got to blow every offensive record out of the water.&rsquo;&ldquo;He said: &rsquo;Bob, I&rsquo;m going to do it,&rsquo; and he said that right in front of Claude Foumel.&rdquo;Lemieux reached all of his goals during a spectacular three-year junior career, but for all the success, there were also times of trial and tribulation.When Lemieux arrived in Laval, the Voisins were a mess, having finished with a league-worst 21-49-2 record the previous season. Lemieux scored 30 goals and had 96 points in 64 games as a rookie and the Voisins improved to 30-33-1.&ldquo;He did incredible things from the very first game he played, but they had a really bad team,&rdquo; Pemo recalled. &ldquo;The other teams had a guy on him, even at that age.&rdquo;Despite his dominance, Lemieux was beaten out for rookie of the year by Pierre Turgeon of the Hull Olympiques, a player 10 months older who finished with 23 fewer points. It was a bitter pill for Lemieux to swallow and he was determined to prove the voters wrong the next season.That summer, with the permission of his parents, Jean-Guy and Pierrette, Lemieux decided to drop out of school with a Grade 10 education and focus all his energies on hockey during the 1982-83 season.Once the season began, Lemieux quickly learned his rival was no longer Turgeon, but an American named Pat LaFontaine, who had joined the Verdun Jr. Canadiens. LaFontaine lit up the scoreboard with 104 goals and 234 points in 70 games to beat Lemieux, who had 84 goals and 184 points in 66 games. Once again, Lemieux&rsquo;s performance had been overshadowed.To make matters worse, the Voisins, who won the regular season championship with a 53-17-0 record, were bounced in the playoff semifinals by the Longueuil Chevaliers, a team that finished 28 points behind them in the regular season.Lemieux also accomplished his goal of playing for Canada at the World Junior Championship that season, but even that turned out to be a disappoint ment. Coach Dave King used Lemieux primarily on the fourth line. Lemieux still managed five goals and five assists in seven games for the gold medal winning Canadian, but had a bad taste in his mouth.When it came time for Lemieux to represent his country the next season, he touched off a controversy by refusing to play. The QMJHL responded by decreeing any player who refused a national team invitation would have to sit out league games during the WJC. Lemieux took the league to court and won a permanent injunction.The summer before his final junior season, Lemieux began to take hockey more seriously than ever. He did some off-ice training, something he had never really done before, preferring instead to play golf while enjoying cigarettes and junk food. When the season began he was in top form. In his first seven games he had 35 points and hit the 50-goal mark by the 27th game.Lemieux also put together a Canadian Hockey League record 61-game points streak and was held off the scoresheet just once in 70 games. Going into his last four games, though, it looked as though he would fall short in his bid to break the league record of 130 goals, set by Guy Lafleur of the Quebec Remparts in 1970-71. Heading into the final game he had 127 goals.So in front of a sellout crowd in Laval, Lemieux went out and scored on his first two shifts and finished the night with six goals and five assists in one of the most incredible performances in major junior history.Lemieux finished the year with 133149-282 totals. He set CHL records foi goals and points in a season, but fell seven short of the assist mark. Along with the 11-point performance in the last game of the season, Lemieux alsc had a 10-point game, three eight-poini games and five seven-point outings.Lemieux also led the Voisins to the regular season and playoff championships and a berth in the Memoria Cup. He picked up a flu bug at the Memorial Cup in Kitchener, Ont., anc had only one goal and two assists ir three games as the Voisins went 0-3 in the round-robin and were eliminated.Lemieux entered the 1984 draft a: the undisputed No. 1 prospect, bu even after his performance there wen doubters. Critics pointed to the wide open style of the QMJHL and questioned Lemieux&rsquo;s heart.Thirteen years later, those question: have been answered. Whether Le mieux is the greatest player ever it NHL history is open to debate, by there is no debate in Quebec junio hockey circles.&ldquo;He was the best ever,&rdquo; said QM JHL president Gilles Courteau, where was GM of the Quebec Remparts during Lemieux&rsquo;s junior years. &ldquo;At the time, we were averaging about 3,5(X people, but when Laval came we ha 7,000 in the building.&ldquo;A player like Mario comes alon; once every 10 or 15 years.&rdquo;<h2>A SEASON LIKE NONE BEFORE</h2>Mario Lemieux set or tied four Canadian major junior records in 1983-84, the last of three spectacular seasons with the Laval Voisins.Listed are the records and who has the second-best marks:Goals, one season: 133.Runner-up: Guy Lafleur, Quebec, 130 (1970-71).Points, one season: 282Runner-up: Pierre Larouche, Sorel, 251 (1973-74).Point streak: 61 gamesRunner-up: Jeff Nelson, Prince Albert, 56 (1990-91).Fastest 50 goals from start of season: 27 games (also Bill Derlago, Brandon, 1977-78)Runner-up: Guy Lafleur, Quebec, 28(1970-71).<h2>&rsquo;Le mieux&rsquo; from La Belle Province</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0268/7922702-1-eng-US/f0060-022.jpg" title="f0060-02" width="521" height="960"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean Beliveau</figcaption></div>Quebecers have long reserved a special place i their hearts for the province&rsquo;s best hockey players.Not surprisingly, Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s last appearance in Montreal, March 26 at the Molson Centre, stirred deep feelings in both Lemieux and the crowd. &ldquo;I almost cried,&rdquo; said Lemieux, who scored two goals and five point in an 8-5 loss to the Canadiens.Lemieux has become the prized Property of Pennsylvania, but he will always rank among Quebec&rsquo;s favorite sons. He also ranks as the best player from Quebec, living up to the english translation of le mieux: &ldquo;the best.&rdquo;Lemieux is the latest and greatest in the pantheon of francophone hockey gods: Maurice (Rocket) Richard, Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur and Lemieux. They are among a host of all-time greats produced by Quebec. Here are 10 of them, excluding Lemieux, listed alphabetically. (Each made his reputation with the Canadiens unless otherwise noted).Jean Beliveau, C Regarded as most elegant NHL captain ever.Mike Bossy, RW Islander recorded record nine straight 50-goal seasons.Ray Bourque, D Boston superstar made 11 straight all-star teams.Marcel Dionne, C Los Angeles star third in all-time points.Doug Harvey, D Regarded as second only to Bobby Orr on blueline.Guy Lafleur, RW Hab great was first allstar six straight seasons.Jacques Plante, G Seven-time winner of the Vezina Trophy.Henri Richard, C Won record number of Stanley Cups (11).Rocket Richard, RW First player to score 50 goals in 50 games (1944-45).Patrick Roy, G Colorado superstar backbone of three Cup champs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0344/7922695-1-eng-US/f0060-032.jpg" title="f0060-03" width="506" height="951"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rocket Richard</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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