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

September 12, 1997

The Hockey News September 12, 1997

<h2>Hall next stop for Hawerchuk</h2>1 Ducky calls it a career Classy center Dale Hawerchuk retires as NHL&rsquo;s 10th all-time leading scorer.2 Stevie Y and Co. Detroit&rsquo;s Steve Yzerman and teammates help pay for education of injured trainer&rsquo;s kids.3 Lindros Bros. Eric and Brett Lindros help bring awareness to concussion problems.4 Gary Roberts Rugged left winger passes NHL physical, takes next step toward making comeback in Carolina.5 Sarah DeCosta Young goalie&rsquo;s outstanding play forces U.S. coach Ben Smith to consider her for Olympics.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03871/6527488-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="345" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Beast</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04644/6527481-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="345" height="503"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Yzerman</figcaption></div><h2>AHL can&rsquo;t tame the ugly Beast</h2>1 Mommy, Mommy, that man is scaring me! The Beast of New Haven bad name, worse logo.2 Canuck soap opera Now Pavel Bure wants out; Alexander Mogilny doesn&rsquo;t care if he stays or goes.3 Money talks Is it just us or does all the emphasis on money this time of year make it seem the season will never begin?4 Where is interest? Terribly slow season ticket sales real cause for concern in Carolina.5 Brantt Myhres New Oiler warns those who try to fight him in training camp will get stick in the face. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

PLUS MINUS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01720/6529404-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg"></div>HYPERHYPER<h2>MURPHY CUP PLAYOFF RESULTS &#9632;</h2>

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THE WORLD’S #1 HOCKEY WHEEL

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden Editor-In-Chief</div>The stars win or an stapes when the godfather of U.S. hockey names the American Olympic team prior to NHL season&rsquo;s start.Lou Lamoriello has until Dec. 1 to pick his team, but will announce a roster of 20 players and three goalies before Oct. 1. (No team had been set.) The core is unlikely to be much different than the World Cup-winning team in 1997. Look for Mike Richter, Brian Leetch, Chris Chelios, Keith Tkachuk, Brett Hull and John LeClair to lead the way. Non World Cup options exist, everything from adding veterans John Vanbiesbrouck and Jeremy Roenick to going with young bucks Todd Marchant and Bryan Berard to sewing Oates&rsquo; name on a U.S. sweater. That&rsquo;s right, Lamoriello would consider including Canadian-born Adam Oates it the dual citizen is eligible for the American side as is his apparent stated desire.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021185/6527519-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="365" height="471"></div>Leading the Amencans is sure to be Ron Wilson, despite a ruptured relationship with U.S. assistant GM Jack Ferreira. It was Ferreira who didn&rsquo;t renew Wilson&rsquo;s contract with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Asked if the Ferreira-Wilson estrangement would have any impact on his coaching decision, Lamoriello said: &ldquo;Absolutely, unequivocally, no.&rdquo; Lamoriello said he is naming the team early because it will alleviate anxiety for Olympic candidates and provide for the fewest disruptions for NHL teams. He left the door slightly ajar when asked if he would make changes before the Olympics, saying if rules permitted and extraordinary circumstances dictated, he would contemplate switches in his lineup.What kind of team will the Americans ice? One similar to last fall&rsquo;s champions-that is, a team first and foremost. The U.S. is committed to players who, in Lamoriello&rsquo;s words, &ldquo;will all pull the oars in the same direction.&rdquo; Canadian GM Bob Clarke insists his team-scheduled to be unveiled Dec.I-will also be a team first and collection of individual of individuals second. That philosophy is an indictment of the Canadian World Cup squad which put more emphasis on talent than teamwork. The Americans, meanwhile, emerged as a cohesive unit whose glue-Richter-stuck it to Canada until his teammates rallied for a third period victory in Game 3 of the final. For Lamoriello, one of the best examples of teamwork was how his team coped with a second period letdown in Game 3. The Canadians dominated, but from his perch in the Molson Centre in Montreal. Lamoriello could see the U.S. didn&rsquo;t lose its composure and, largely because of that, it didn&rsquo;t lose the World Cup. &#9632;

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Teamwork U.S. watchword in Olympic mission

<div class="byline">By John Packett</div>The coaching merry-go-round in the East Coast League has finally stopped spinning.With the naming of Charlie Huddy as coach and director of operations for the Huntington Blizzard Aug. 27, all the coaching slots have been filled for the 1997-98 season, which begins Oct. 16.A veteran of 16 NHL seasons, Huddy replaces Grant Sonier, now with the Fort Wayne Komets of the International League.Huddy, 38, spent most of his career with the Edmonton Oilers, playing on five Stanley Cup winners. He was a player-coach for the American League&rsquo;s Rochester Americans last season.Meanwhile, former NHL coach Ted Sator was hired as coach and director of personnel for the expansion New Orleans Brass. Sator, 47, directed the New York Rangers to the Patrick Division title in 1985-86 before moving to the Buffalo Sabres for two seasons (1987-89).Sator was an assistant for five NHL clubs, including a stint as a consultant for the Vancouver Canucks last season.And finally, the Columbus Chill introduced Don Granato Aug. 26 as their new coach. A member of the original Chill team in 1991-92, Granato, 30, spent the past four seasons in charge of the Jr. A Green Bay Gamblers of the United States League, where the club won five championship cups.Granato&rsquo;s brother, Tony, plays for the San Jose Sharks and his sister, Cammi, is a top candidate for the U.S. Women&rsquo;s Olympic team. He replaces Brian McCutcheon.STIFF FINE: The ECHL champion South Carolina Stingrays were hit with the most severe punishment in ECHL history.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01845/6529090-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="412" height="429"></div>South Carolina coach Rick Vaive was suspended for the first six games of 1997-98 and the club fined an undisclosed amount-believed to be the highest in league history-for salary-cap violations during 1995-96. ECHL president and CEO Richard Adams would not say how much he fined me Stingrays, but it&rsquo;s believed to be in excess of the $25,000 levied against the Louisiana Ice-Gators for using an ineligible player last season.The league spent more than a month investigating South Carolina after the Charleston Post and Courier broke the story that 16 Stingray players received from $225 to $3,292 in monthly cheques issued by the City of North Charleston for a total of $23,350.The cheques were signed by North Charleston mayor Keith Summey and made payable to the Stingrays for their contributions to the city&rsquo;s youth hockey program. In most cases, however, little or no work was done by the players.The payments violated the league&rsquo;s salary cap, which was $7,500 per week in &lsquo;95-96. The salary cap for the coming season will be $8,000.COAST LINES: Center Mike Ross, 27, the league&rsquo;s MVP last season with South Carolina, announced his retirement to take a business-related job in Columbus, Ohio. Ross tied teammate Ed Courtenay for the league scoring lead with 110 points. &#9632;

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LEAGUES

Huddy, Sator, Granato familiar names behind bench

Ever wonder what happened to Vlai mir Vikulov? Find out what became Vlad and the rest of the Summit Serii players in Part II of THN&rsquo;s retrospect!&rsquo; on 1972. &#9632;

UPCOMING IN THN

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div>It&rsquo;s tough to figure out which is moving faster these days, players or teams.Gary-Roberts, formerly the embodiment of all that was hot with the Calgary Flames, is traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. The &lsquo;Canes will play in Greensboro, N.C., temporary home of the former Hartford Whalers until two years hence when they move to Raleigh. Got it?Luc Robitaille and Kevin Stevens, who in past lives were each traded for Rick Tocchei are now dealt for each other. Unrestricled free agent Tocchet moves too, following itinerant coach Jim Schoenfeld the Phoenix Coyotes The betting is neither would have gone tc Winnipeg.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03844/6527613-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="284" height="369"><figcaption class="caption-body">NY Rangers 1987-89</figcaption></div>As of late-August I at least 62 bona fide I NHLers had changer I teams this summer Thanks to expansion soon there will be four more teams-four more possible sites for player relocation. Will there be even more dealing then? And does anyone stop to ask whether all this shuffling is a good thing?OK, expansion is a done deal. So is unrestricted free agency, which has provided the only opportunity outside of the draft-you do remember the draft, don&rsquo;t you?-for teams to improve without giving up anything except greenbacks.And yes, it&rsquo;s also true the pressures to win are as high as I they&rsquo;ve ever been.But that doesn&rsquo;t mean pulling the trigger on another trade is going to hit the mark. If it doesn&rsquo;t, the backfire can be deadly.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-04465/6527606-1-eng-US/f0003-042.jpg" title="f0003-04" width="284" height="366"><figcaption class="caption-body">Quebec 1989-90</figcaption></div>Take the recent history of the Los Angeles Kings or St. Louis Blues. Revolving doors to the dressing rooms and managerial suites spin, the on-ice product fizzles. Connect the dots.We know new GMs Larry Pleau and Dave Taylor are well aware of the errors of their predecessors, but a little reminder can&rsquo;t hurt: It&rsquo;s tough to rebuild if the crops aren&rsquo;t allowed to take root. So concerned with tearing out the weeds, earlier regimes also ended up destroying much of the good life until there was little left to nurture, including their jobs.Kings&rsquo; defenseman Rob Blake and Blues&rsquo; right winger Brett Hull know how it feels to be the sole survivors of four years of scorched earth. Blake is the only one left of 38 Kings who dressed for L.A. during 1993-94, one year after they reached the Stanley Cup final. Thirty-two wore the Bluenote that season; only Hull remains.When you think of what that means-that not one prospect was deemed worthy of grooming for even half the time Ronald Reagan was president, among other things&mdash;it is a telling incrimination.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011592/6527599-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="1909" height="1441"><figcaption class="caption-body">Carolina&rsquo;s Gary Roberts was one of more than 60 players to switch teams this summer.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;If we had (only) one player on our team that plays this year and four years from now, we&rsquo;re not going to have much success, it&rsquo;s as simple as that,&rdquo; Pleau said. &ldquo;People have to be kept on edge somehow, but does it have to be consistently? You hope you have people among your players and in management who don&rsquo;t need that all the time.What they need is a long-term vision. The Hockey News compared 1993-94 end-of-season team rosters I with the expected starters this I season and found varying I levels of turnover, ranging from the Blues&rsquo; and Kings&rsquo; single remaining player to 11 holdovers on the Detroit Red Wings and 10 for the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers. And wouldn&rsquo;t you know it, those three teams have two Stanley Cups and four Stanley Cup final appearances among them in the past four years.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-05230/6527592-1-eng-US/f0003-052.jpg" title="f0003-05" width="284" height="366"><figcaption class="caption-body">Toronto 1990-92</figcaption></div>The average team has five holdovers over the four-year period. This survey can&rsquo;t take into account differing stages of development, but suffice to say that King-Blue emigration levels are dangerously high under any circumstances. Some combination of bad draft picks, bad trades, bad free agent signings or plain bad management has done them in.Blake, the Kings&rsquo; captain, leader and best player, sat out nearly the entire 1995-96 season with a knee injury and missed the following training camp because of the World Cup and an elbow problem. Of course, that hiatus meant pressing flesh for the first time with half the Kings&rsquo; roster, including young forwards Patrice Tardif and Craig Johnson who came to L.A. in the Wayne Gretzky deal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-0864/6527585-1-eng-US/f0003-082.jpg" title="f0003-08" width="284" height="367"><figcaption class="caption-body">Calgary 1992-94</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d heard the names,&rdquo; Blake said, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;d never met them and never really played against them, so when one of those guys walked in the room you gotta kind of figure out which one&rsquo;s which, ask a couple questions before you introduce yourself.&ldquo;The comical part,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;is the chemistry that has developed isn&rsquo;t really what we&rsquo;ve had in the past. You&rsquo;d think you could add just a few pieces instead of destroying the puzzle. Now we have to rebuild right from scratch.&rdquo;It is an not uncommon lament in an NHL where players are moving off the ice almost as fast as they are on it. There are only two Toronto Maple Leafs left from their Stanley Cup semifinal run of four years ago (Felix Potvin and Jamit Macoun) and only two on the San Jose Sharks (Mike Rathje, Andrei Nazarov) from the same year. The improving Ottawa Senators have only Win Alexei Yashin and Alexandre Daigle left but they are the exception to the rule.Fortunately, there is the other end of the spectrum, where draft picks have been stockpiled, scouting departments have mined gold nuggets with impressive frequency and players have had time to grow together.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-06148/6527578-1-eng-US/f0003-062.jpg" title="f0003-06" width="284" height="367"><figcaption class="caption-body">Los Angeles 1994-95</figcaption></div>&ldquo;You have to trade some young players,&rdquo; said Detroit coach Scotty Bowman, &ldquo;but you can&rsquo;t trade them before you&rsquo;ve given them a fair look. You never know the upside, that&rsquo;s the danger.&rdquo;When it doesn&rsquo;t work that way it&rsquo;s not I necessarily by plan. One bankruptcy, two I ownership crises and three different GMs | doesn&rsquo;t do much for the putative five-year | plan. Instead, it has led to what Taylor I calls the most turbulent time in the history of the Kings&rsquo; franchise.&ldquo;I think that you&rsquo;ll see less turnover in the next four years than what you see here,&rdquo; Taylor said.The crucial question is whether stability is a component of success or its by product. Often it&rsquo;s a combination of both. When a team is making progress there&rsquo;s less of a need for new blood, but getting to that point takes a good deal of patience, even when the future looks bleak.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-0794/6527571-1-eng-US/f0003-072.jpg" title="f0003-07" width="282" height="367"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tampa Bay 1995-96</figcaption></div>&ldquo;People think every time that you make a change that you&rsquo;re going to improve,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;Everybody thinks when a team is going lousy they can go out on the market and make a trade and improve the team. And that doesn&rsquo;t (always) happen.&rdquo;Patience allowed the Wings to develop prospects such as Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom. Darren McCarty, Chris Osgood and Keith Primeau. Primeau was under attack in Detroit almost as soon as he landed there in 1990, but it was only last season, at the height of his value, that the Wings traded him for Brendan Shanahan.Devils&rsquo; GM Lou Lamoriello talks about maintaining a &ldquo;panoramic view&rdquo; through good and bad. John MacLean and Ken Daneyko have been with the team a combined 27 years. They&rsquo;ve seen the kind of bad that in St. Louis during the Mike Keenan reign might have wrought free agent tryout camps between road trips.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011614/6527564-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="289" height="388"><figcaption class="caption-body">Edmonton 1996-97</figcaption></div>But the Devils Kept their character players and built up their farm system. They did so well that the trade to get Doug Gilmour from the Leafs was partly an expansion-motivated move: Lamoriello said he would have had to leave too many good young prospects (such asJason Smith, Alyn McCauley and Steve Sullivan) available in an expansion draft if he didn&rsquo;t get something for the assets.The Devils also lost two defensemen to free agency this summer (Dave Ellett and Shawn Chambers), yet Lamoriello said he can replace them from within the organization.&ldquo;Pressure is what you put on yourself,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Your ownership plays a major role in that. Your ownership has to understand and believe in what you&rsquo;re doing and allow you to do it. If today&rsquo;s decision is going to hurt you tomorrow, you&rsquo;ve got to think very hard about doing it.&rdquo;So raise your glass to the virtues of stability, of taking the hits and blocking out the cacophony of the media, of level-headed sanity in troubled times.The examples of what can be are found on the ring fingers of the Devils and Wings. Continuity does indeed have its own reward.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021427/6527557-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="287" height="387"><figcaption class="caption-body">Philadelphia 1996-97</figcaption></div><h2>A Journeyman&rsquo;s journey</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021281/6527550-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="283" height="369"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vancouver 1982-87</figcaption></div>Michel Petit is an NHL mercenary. The 33-year-old defenseman has played for nine teams over a 15-year career: the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers. Quebec Nordiques. Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames. Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers.He has been traded seven times. Included here are pictures of Petit, in chronological order as he makes his way around the NHL.Petit played for the Oilers and Flyers last season, but as of late-August did not have a contract for the 1997-98 season. Time to settle down, perhaps? &#9632;

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FEATURES

Moving violations

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011536/6527668-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dale Hawerchuk averaged 103 points a year for the Winnipeg Jets.</figcaption></div>Go ahead, make a case for Neal Broten as a Hall of Famer.Tell us about his 289 goals, 634 assists and 923 points (eight more than Bobby Orr). Remind us about his gold medal with the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, his 1981 Hobey Baker Award and his 1995 Stanley Cup ring.And yes. he is one of the top American-born players of all-time.Reality is, however. Dale Hawerchuk will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2000. Broten won&rsquo;t.That&rsquo;s the call from the THN Hall of Fame decision desk. Hawerchuk announced his retirement Aug. 25 following a 16-year career. Broten was released by the Dallas Stars the same day and may be forced to retire at 37. (See pg. 14 for more on Broten and pg. 21 for more on Hawerchuk.)Each faces a compulsory three-year wait before being considered for the Hall. Hawerchuk will make it on stats alone. Broten had an outstanding amateur career and posted decent NHL numbers, but will be shunned by a numbers game of a different sort.A maximum of three players per year are inducted and the class of 2000 (players retired from pro hockey last season) is deep. Here&rsquo;s who Broten is up against and why he won&rsquo;t make it.&#9723; Dale Hawerchuk Though he never led his teams to greatness and was named to just one second all-star team, Hawerchuk&rsquo;s stats are those of a Hall of Famer. He posted six 100-points seasons and retires 10th in assists (891), 10th in points (1,409) and 21st in goals (518).Every eligible retired NHL player to score 450 goals, earn 700 assists (except Bernie Federko, 761) or collect 1,100 points (except Federko, 1,130) has been inducted to the Hall of Fame.Hawerchuk&rsquo;s 1.19 career points-per-game average ranks eighth among retired players. Hawerchuk won a Calder Trophy (1982) and was a key man in Canada Cups and World Championships.&#9723; Sergei Makarov Makarov is a lock for 2000. He was Soviet player of the year three times and won two Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships. He played six NHL seasons and won the Calder in 1990.&#9723; Denis Savard Similar to Hawerchuk, Savard had few individual or team accomplishments other than statistical. He retired 31st in goals (473), 13th in assists (865) and 16th in points (1,338). Savard had five 100-point seasons, a 1.12 points-per-game average and was a second team all-star once.&#9723; Joe Mullen The highest-scoring American-born NHLer didn&rsquo;t score his first NHL goal until he was almost 25. But most of the next 500 came when he was among the deadliest shooters in the game. His 502 goals rank 25th. He&rsquo;s also among the top 25 in playoff goals including an NHL-high 16 in 1988-89 when he won his first of three Stanley Cups. Mullen also won two Lady Byng Trophies.&#9723; Alexei Kasatonov Like Makarov, Kasatonov spent his best years in Russia, where he was part of a feared five-man unit with defense partner Slava Fetisov. If Fetisov is Russia&rsquo;s best rearguard ever, Kasatonov is No. 2. But he&rsquo;s a longshot candidate.Also working against Broten is the safe assumption Wayne Gretzky will be an immediate inductee upon retirement. That will happen in 1999 or 2000. bumping other players down a notch.Players expected to be eligible in 2001 or 2002 are Ray Bourque, Lari Kurri, Fetisov, Paul Coffey, Mike Gartner, Dino Ciccarelli, Larry Murphy, Grant Fuhr, Igor Larionov, Kevin Lowe, Bernie Nicholls, Andy Moog and Guy Carbonneau. &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

Hall awaits Hawerchuk while Broten faces wait

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN staff</div>The 1997-98 hockey season begins Sept. 6 with the first ever Super Cup.Finland&rsquo;s TPS Turku, winner of the inaugural 1996-97 European League season, plays Russia&rsquo;s Lada Togliatti, winner of the European Cup. Launched by the International Ice Hockey Federation this year, it was hoped the Super Cup would be a four-team tournament including two NHL teams, but the early date was unworkable.NHL camps open Sept. 9.LENDING SUPPORT: Proceeds estimated at $100,000 were raised from The Sheldon Kennedy Celebrity Gala in Calgary.All proceeds from Kennedy&rsquo;s first fund-raising event go to support The Sheldon Kennedy Foundation, which was established to aid victims of child sexual abuse. Kennedy, 28, revealed earlier this year he was the victim of sexual abuse while playing for junior coach Graham James.The gala, held Aug. 15, brought together past and present NHLers, including Joe Sakic, Bob Probert. Darren McCarty, Lanny McDonald and others for a dinner and silent auction. Musician Burton Cummings provided entertainment.Kennedy is seeking to develop a therapy-oriented ranch in Femie, B.C., where sexually abused children can take steps toward recovery.TRIAL BY JURY: The former Maple Leaf Gardens equipment handler accused of sexual abuse has elected to face trial by jury.Gordon Stuckless, 47, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and has been committed for trial. He faces 57 charges that involve the alleged sexual abuse of 36 youths.The alleged offenses, some believed to have taken place at the Gardens dating back to 1969, involved boys ranging in age from eight to 14. The charges include indecent assault of a male, gross indecency and buggery.Stuckless is in court Sept. 4 to set a trial date.TOGETHER AGAIN: The French Connection line of Gilbert Perreault. Rene Robert and Rick Martin will be re-united when the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; alumni team plays the winner of a 16-team. three-day senior men&rsquo;s tournament in Rochester Oct. 5. &#9632;

Super Cup likely won’t live up to its name

<div class="byline">By Sherry Skalko</div>If 18-year-old Jennifer Schmidgall makes the final roster of the U.S. women&rsquo;s Olympic team, she&rsquo;ll have an advantage over her teammates.She has never lost to the Canadians.A 5-foot-3, 130-pound forward from Edina, Minn., Schmidgall was the only player chosen from the field of 54 who does not have college experience or has never played a game against arch-rival Canada, whom the Americans have yet to beat in a title game.The announcement of the final 25 candidates for the U.S. women&rsquo;s Olympic team yielded one surprise. Schmidgall, a forward, is a product of the Minnesota Thoroughbreds women&rsquo;s league.Otherwise, the team is only a slight expansion of the one that won the silver medal in April&rsquo;s World Championship headlined by forwards Cammi Granato, Karyn Bye and Lisa BrownMiller, defensemen Kelly O&rsquo;Leary and Angela Ruggiero and standout goalie Erin Whitten.The team was named Aug. 26 after a 10-day festival in Lake Placid, N.Y., which included a grueling eight-games-in-six-days tournament. The roster will be trimmed to the Olympic limit of 20 players-two goaltenders, six defensemen and 12 forwards-in late-December or January. That means three forwards, two defenseman and a goalie will be cut. (See pg. 36 for the list of candidates.)&ldquo;I&rsquo;d be insulting the players if I said it was as tough for me as it was for them,&rdquo; said Ben Smith, coach of the 1998 U.S. women&rsquo;s Olympic team. &ldquo;The top 12-14 players were pretty much down. So it was up to the rest of the players to get out of the grey area.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011711/6527723-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="416" height="588"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cammi Granatt</figcaption></div>Forward Shelley Looney, who fractured her cheekbone blocking a shot from Canada&rsquo;s Geraldine Heaney in the World Championship final, made the list without playing a shift. Instead, she suffered silently from behind the bench while she nursed an inflamed left shoulder.&ldquo;Coach Smith told me T don&rsquo;t have to tell you what I think of you as a player,&rsquo; but he still leaves you hanging,&rdquo; Looney said.With the biggest step toward Nag and out of the way, the players were looking forward to meeting Canad; and capturing the sport&rsquo;s first Olym I pic gold medal. They are fueled by their 4-3 overtime loss in the final at the Women&rsquo;s World Championship.Looney and her teammates narrow the gap between the nation; each year and firmly believe 1991 will be the year they&rsquo;re No. 1.&ldquo;After we received the last silver medal everyone was saying to us &lsquo;You&rsquo;re just waiting for your moment.&rsquo; We have to look at it that way,&rdquo; Looney said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad we&rsquo;re playing them a few times before then, get them scared&hellip; hopefully.&rdquo;Before then, the teams will face each other up to 10 times over the next five months, beginning with a Oct. 25 matchup in Salt Lake City, sight of the 2002 Winter Games.In the meantime, there will be some fine tuning to both the Canadian and American rosters.The U.S. team planned to select two goalies at the start of the August camp, with Whitten being the clear-cut No. 1. Smith opted for three when Whitten struggled and Sara DeCosta turned in the best performances by any of the six netminders.The 20-year-old posted the only shutout of the festival and won a 10-round shootout against Sarah Tueting, the U.S.&rsquo;s No. 2 goalie at the World Championship, who was also chosen.As the week wore on, the festival began to take on a body count Besides Looney, DeCosta pulled her left hamstring and O&rsquo;Leary bruised her right wrist Granato played only one game a day because of back spasms and Ruggiero chipped a front tooth when she collided with a door while filming a Visa commercial. &#9632;

f0006-01

U.S. women down to final 25

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011552/6527754-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"></div>Now that the statistics are in, we should officially lament the decline of major junior hockey as a supplier of top NHL talent.Is it a fluke that only two of the NHL&rsquo;s 40-goal scorers from last season and just one of the top five scoring defensemen played major junior? Is it another that as its presence is waning on the scoresheet, it is bulging in the penalty minute column? Sixteen of 20 PIM leaders are major junior grads.Maybe it&rsquo;s time the Canadian Hockey League took a critical look at the game it&rsquo;s promoting. Personally, I&rsquo;d rather see a junior system that promotes and develops talented players such as Paul Kariya rather than a just a legion of muckers and grinders. With 60 per cent of the players coming through the CHL ranks, you&rsquo;d think it would be better represented among NHL elite.Don Carswell,Lake Memphremagog, Que.<h2>Thank you, Bob</h2>As an American who looks forward to an Olympic gold medal as an encore to last year&rsquo;s World Cup, I&rsquo;d like to thank Canadian GM Bob Clarke for passing on Scotty Bowman and selecting Marc Crawford as coach.Crawford has shown an ability to be outcoached, to get flustered under pressure and to be a poor manager of a bench filled with superstars. Not unlike a pitcher with only one pitch who gets clobbered the second time around, the NHL has learned to beat Crawford&rsquo;s team.Clarke claims Bowman is &lsquo;&rsquo;basically a Lone Ranger (THN, August).&rdquo; Well, that&rsquo;s true, but he&rsquo;s also a winner and he&rsquo;d be able to outcoach anyone in a two-week Olympic tournament.I&rsquo;m not sure what Clarke&rsquo;s reasons were for his decision, but I do know this much: he&rsquo;ll look really good in silver.Bruce Ferguson,Grosse Pointe Farms. Mich.<h2>Get me a gun</h2>Mike Keane signs with the New York Rangers and says the main reason wasn&rsquo;t money (even though he got $8 million over four years), but a desire to win a championship.I guess he couldn&rsquo;t see that happening with the Colorado Avalanche. Boy. that makes sense.Then Tony Amonte re-signs with the Chicago Blackhawks and states it was a contract, &ldquo;where they didn&rsquo;t hold a gun to my head to sign.&rdquo;Let me see, if somebody were to put a gun to my head and say, &ldquo;You must sign this contract so we can give you $3 million a year,&rdquo; I&rsquo;d supply the gun myself.I realize that if the market for these ludicrous contracts is out there, players will take them. But they should keep their silly comments to themselves. The fans are smarter than they think.Brian Badanai,Thunder Bay, Ont.<h2>Shanny earned it</h2>I was truly annoyed after reading Jeff Anderson&rsquo;s letter holding Brendan Shanahan responsible for &ldquo;everything that is wrong with professional sports and what is now dragging down the sport of hockey (THN, July).&rdquo;According to Mr. Anderson, Shanahan did not earn his name on the Stanley Cup because he demanded to be traded from a losing team and then &ldquo;jumped on the bandwagon of a dominant team on its way to a title.&rdquo;What he does not say, however, is that Shanahan was playing for a contending team with the St. Louis Blues before he was unjustly traded to the Hartford Whalers.Like any true competitor, Shanahan wanted to play for a team with a mandate to win. He provided leadership, helped the development of the Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; younger players and alleviated some of the pressure from Steve Yzerman.Along with the rest of the team, Shanahan stepped up his game and sacrificed to earn his name on the Stanley Cup.Kris Moll,Champaign, III.<h2>Move to Houston</h2>This lifelong Carolinian is embarrassed. Less than two months before the start of the season, the Carolina Hurricanes had sold just 3,000 season tickets. That is a joke.It&rsquo;s time for Hurricanes&rsquo; owner Peter Kannanos to get out of the hockey business. It&rsquo;s time for Bob McNair and Chuck Watson to ease everyone&rsquo;s pain and buy the Hurricanes, then move them to Houston. They could sell 3,000 season tickets in two days there.It would be a travesty if a great hockey town such as Edmonton lost its team because of its economic limitations. A bigger travesty would be having a team here in the Carolinas not properly supported.During the expansion process, I wasn&rsquo;t sure about NHL hockey in the Carolinas. After this fiasco, I know even better.Richard Jenkins,North Wilkesboro, N.C.Make your feelings known. Fax us your comments at (416) 340-1641 or write to Letters, THN, 777 Bay St, Suite 2700, Box 148, Toronto, Ont, M5G 2N8 in Canada. In the U.S., write to Letters, THN, P.O. Box 904. Buffalo, N.Y., 14240-9947. E-mail us at <a href="mailto:THN@transc.com">THN@transc.com</a>. Include home and business phone numbers. THN reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

f0007-01

Junior hockey simply not producing talent

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021044/6527785-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="637" height="957"></div>Guy Lafleur endured some slumps during his illustrious NHL career, but they were nothing like the drought he encountered between career goals No. 518 and 519.&ldquo;Four years,&rdquo; Lafleur said in the Oct. 28 issue of The Hockey News, &ldquo;is a big slump.&rdquo;C&rsquo;mon, Guy, it wasn&rsquo;t quite that long. It was just three years and 356 days.When Lafleur converted a pretty pass from Marcel Dionne on the power play to put the New York Rangers up 1-0 in a game against the Vancouver Canucks Oct. 16, 1988, he became just the second player in NHL history (after Gordie Howe) to score a goal after being inducted into the Hockey Hall of I Fame. The goal came almost four years after he scored his last one-which he I registered Oct. 25, 1984 with the Montreal Canadiens. He retired 11 games later, only to resurface four years later with the Rangers.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a lot of chances since the beginning of the season,&rdquo; said Lafleur, I who took five games and 13 shots to score his first goal as a Ranger. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice I to get one goal&hellip;at least. I was looking forward to it. I missed the feeling a lit-debit.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0007-02

Flower blooms again

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011618/6527823-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="412" height="575"></div>Pity the first player who crosschecks Gary Roberts from behind in the neck area this season.Roberts won&rsquo;t reveal precisely what revenge he will extract, but suffice it to say he didn&rsquo;t spend countless hours training the past 18 months after two neck surgeries to have someone ruin his comeback with a cheap shot. There will be retaliation.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to say it&rsquo;ll be ugly because I don&rsquo;t want people to think I&rsquo;m above being hit,&rdquo; said Roberts, who will attempt a comeback with the Carolina Hurricanes. &ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m going to get hit and not all of the hits will be clean. But if I think a player is hitting me in an area where he isn&rsquo;t showing any regard for my neck, well&hellip;&rdquo;Roberts doesn&rsquo;t complete the thought, but you get the message. One of the NHL&rsquo;s most I effective power forwards before persistent neck problems forced him from the game late in the 1995-96 season, Roberts will certainly add to his 1,736 career penalty minutes if anyone takes libertiesThe Hurricanes acquired the 31-year-old left winger, along with goalie Trevor Kidd, in a trade with the Calgary Flames Aug. 25. In return, the Flames receive blue-I chip goaltending prospect Jean-Sebastien Giguere and veteran center Andrew Cassels. The trade became official when Roberts passed the NHL&rsquo;s standard physical.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021263/6527816-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="546" height="948"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Roberts</figcaption></div>Carolina wins the deal if: (a) Roberts makes a successful comeback and shows his customary scoring touch; and (b) Hurricanes&rsquo; GM Jim Rutherford parlays goalie Sean Burke into a frontline forward or defenseman. Burke is at odds with the Hurricanes over his contract status-he has a year remaining and is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent next summer-and has indicated he won&rsquo;t attend training camp if he doesn&rsquo;t receive a longer deal with a substantial raise from the $2.5 million he&rsquo;ll earn this season.Otherwise, the Flames are the winners because Giguere is a future No. 1 goalie with star potential.In a perfect world, Roberts will provide the Hurricanes with slightly more offense than Cassels did and a whole lot more inspiration. The arrival of Kidd, meanwhile, means Burke will be dealt. The persistent rumor is that he will be dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers who, in spite of GM Bob Clarke&rsquo;s stubborn support of Ron Hextali, need help between the pipes.Kidd, 25, has four seasons under his belt, but has not lived up to the potential he displayed when picked 11th overall in the 1990 draft. Last season he was 21-23-6 and his goals-against average (2.84) and save percentage (.900) were both worse than the league average.Cassels, 28, has hovered around the .80 points per game mark the past three seasons and would be a No. 2 center at best on a contender. Giguere, 19 and the 13th overall pick in the 1995 entry draft, is considered one of the finest goaltending prospects in the game. He was ranked eighth over-all-behind only Colorado Avalanche prospect Marc Denis among goalies-in The Hockey News 1997 Future Watch.Roberts retired I following the 1995-96 season, in which he scored 22 goals I and 42 points in 35 games before succumbing to an on going neck injury. He hired a personal trainer, changed his workout format to include lifting lighter weights with more repetitions and has been pain-free for eight months.He is bound to a one-year contract, a qualifying offer he signed with Calgary so the Flames would retain his rights, but is looking for a five-year contract with Carolina. He is willing to structure the contract so the Hurricanes have three opportunities to void the deal and make him an unrestricted free agent.Roberts is looking forward to the anonymity of playing in Carolina. The Hurricanes, though, are banking on him putting hockey on the map there.&ldquo;The talent level has improved on our team the past two years,&rdquo; Rutherford said, &ldquo;but we still haven&rsquo;t been able to figure out how to win. That&rsquo;s one of the things Gary brings to us. He&rsquo;ll show guys what they need to do to take their game to the next level.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-01

COLUMNISTS

Roberts will give ‘Canes big edge… if healthy

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-03939/6527861-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Will Trevor Linden watch Pavel Bure skate away from Vancouver?</figcaption></div>Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; right winger Pavel Bure has apparently decided to solve the problem created by a glut of high-priced superstars.He asked GM Pat Quinn to trade him.The Russian Rocket made the request during a 1-on-1 meeting with Quinn in late-August. He would not confirm the F request when the matter became public, but he did I not deny it either, preferring to stickhandle I around all direct questions.However, Serge Levin, I one of Bure&rsquo;s Los Angeles-based agents, said the I request was indeed made I and that a move was expected before the start of the season.&ldquo;Well, it&rsquo;s a business and there&rsquo;s nothing I can do about it,&rdquo; Bure said. &ldquo;They can trade me. Wayne Gretzky was traded a few times. Today I&rsquo;m a Canuck and I&rsquo;m just getting ready for the season.&rdquo;With center Mark Messier scheduled to make $6 million (U.S.) this season, followed by Bure at $5.5 million (U.S.) and whatever restricted free agent right winger Alexander Mogilny signs for, the Canucks clearly have to do something with their payroll and a depth chart heavy on left-shot right wingers. Bure would reportedly like to join the New York Rangers, but the thought of asking for a veto in case he is dealt to a bottom feeder, never crossed his mind.&ldquo;I never thought about that,&rdquo; Bure said. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t thought about any teams I would not want to go to. Honestly. I&rsquo;m a Canuck now and I think I&rsquo;ll start the season a Canuck, but I don&rsquo;t think anybody can be 100 per cent confident. Trades happen every day. It&rsquo;s not up to you, you&rsquo;re just a player. It&rsquo;s part of the business.&rdquo;Quinn&rsquo;s assistant, Steve Tambellini, responded with vague generalities when asked if the team would accommodate Bure.&ldquo;Pat and our ownership have sent a strong message to our team and fans with the significant signing of Mark Messier so there is a commitment both in the short term and long term,&rdquo; Tambellini said. &ldquo;Pat will make a trade if he feels it will upgrade our team and, with any player, if there is an opportunity to enhance our team you have to consider it.&rdquo;Levin had plenty to say, however. He admitted Bure has no control over his ultimate destination and will go where ever he is dealt. The Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings all fit the profile of teams needing a marquee player and all were involved in preliminary discussions with Quinn.The Rangers have an obvious interest, especially after the Canucks swiped Messier from under their noses. The Rangers also failed to land Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic and are looking to add a star-quality forward to their lineup.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not up to Pavel,&rdquo; Levin said. &ldquo;He would prefer to play on a good, strong team in the east, but only Pat Quinn has control. Probably, Pat would tell Pavel if a deal was close but, if not, Pavel is a soldier. He will go where he is traded.&rdquo;According to Levin, the trade request has nothing to do with money-"absolutely not-and is simply a matter of Bure wanting a new start after three disappointing seasons in Vancouver, the last two plagued by injury.&ldquo;He is just looking for fresh air, a fresh opportunity and a strong team,&rdquo; Levin explained. &ldquo;He wants to find more luck for himself and for the team. Why did he do this now? I don&rsquo;t know. He probably needed time to think about it and make a decision with himself.&rdquo;Levin rejected the suggestion a trade might be difficult because teams will be leery about Bure&rsquo;s whiplash injury. Last season, Bure hid the whiplash problem from almost everyone, falsely declaring himself fit on numerous occasions. He eventually ended his season March 4, having registered just 23 goals in 63 games.That disappointing output came on the heels of a six-goal year in 199596, when his season was ended after just 15 games because of a serious knee injury. The previous campaign, the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, he registered 20 goals in 44 games.Levin, however, doesn&rsquo;t think potential suitors will be scared off by Bure&rsquo;s recent history.&ldquo;Everybody knows the player Pavel is,&rdquo; Levin said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my feeling this is supposed to be done before training camp is finished. The player has to know what&rsquo;s going on and the team does, too.&rdquo;<h2>COMING BACK TO EARTH</h2>Injuries have played a significant role in Pavel Bure&rsquo;s goal slide the past three seasons. After two consecutive 60-goal years, the Russian Rocket has been relatively quiet. The graph below shows Bure&rsquo;s goals-per game average during his NHL career.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04484/6527854-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="628" height="884"></div> &#9632;

f0008-03

Do we have lift off?

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011538/6527892-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="411" height="584"></div>I want double the amount per column that Steve Dryden paid me last year. I blew the lid off the Randy Wood signing and wrote the best piece on Sami Kapanen that had ever been done and now I&rsquo;m worth big bucks. But the Editor-in-Chief reminds me how I also predicted a breakout year for Shean Donovan and suggested perhaps I should either go work for Neil Smith or hit the same road as Ted Nolan.So I am preparing my arguments for arbitration, where I will call Dryden a penny-pincher worse than Bob Pulford and the meanest, hardest-driving boss since Black Jack Adams. The arbitrator will hear the only shirt Dryden ever gave anybody off his back was the one worn by Jim Kelley when Dominik Hasek went for the collar.I will argue for more pay than Eric Duhatschek, who couldn&rsquo;t spell &ldquo;Hlushko&rdquo; if his job depended on it, or Bob McKenzie, who last put two good sentences together when Garth Snow played well in consecutive starts, or Helene Elliott, who wouldn&rsquo;t recognize a scoop if she saw the trainers stitching &ldquo;Robitaille&rdquo; on Kevin Stevens&rsquo; uniform.I was prepared to call The Hockey News the worst publication since Oakland Seals Monthly, with circulation lower than that of the The Claude Lemieux Fan Club Newsletter in Detroit, but that things would turn around if Dryden kicked Mike Brophy back to Peterborough and put me up front where I belong.Of course, I wouldn&rsquo;t mean all that. That&rsquo;s just the kind of stuff guys such as New Jersey Devils&rsquo; GM Lou Lamoriello and New York Islanders&rsquo; GM Mike Milbury will either say or tell the club lawyers to say in arbitration hearings so the organization can save a few bucks.Doug Gilmour, the Devils recently pointed out, did not score a goal in 10 playoff games, even if he actually had two wiped out by players who went into the crease apparently believing there was an arbitrator there handing out cash. The Devils&rsquo; case compared Gilmour to Pierre Turgeon, which is even lower than the lowest blow Igor Ulanov ever threw on Eric Lindros.Milbury suggested the mental approach of Tommy Salo was &ldquo;suspect,&rdquo; that he might be headed back to the minors if Eric Fichaud or Roberto Luongo showed anything this season and that the goalie&rsquo;s &ldquo;inconsistent, troubling performance&rdquo; was the reason the Islanders had signed Wade Flaherty as insurance.Nice to know what the boss really thinks of you. Salo, the goalie the Islanders are truly counting on this season, was reportedly in tears.Alas, all is fair in love and arbitration, which is strictly business, sometimes the dirtiest kind. The arbitrator gave Salo $750,000, exactly what Milbury had offered before the goalie asked for the hearing and $200,000 more than the Islanders put up in the proceedings. Salo, who asked for $1.1 million, got a raise from $300,000 and a hard lesson in arbitration: do not go to your own hearing. You will enter believing you are more beloved than Lanny McDonald. And leave feeling about as welcome as Steve Durbano.Of course, most agents are determined for the player to attend so the GM will pull more punches than Don Saleski would until Dave Schultz arrived. If a valued performer is sitting within earshot of attempts to pose him as the worst player since Max Middendorf, then maybe management will have to mute its rhetoric. The team might say that yes, its second line right winger is a drunk, but in a good way that makes him worth $850,000 next year rather than $925,000.Of course, the GM might just recognize the player&rsquo;s attendance for the intimidation tactic it is, then open up both barrels and compare him to Andre Peloffy. While Lamoriello was smart enough to use a Toronto law firm to plead the case, Gilmour knew that middle man didn&rsquo;t prepare arguments on his own to get some meeting in the middle, which is usually where the reward winds up anyway. Gilmour wanted $4.5 million, the Devils offered $2.4 million. Arbitrator Richard Bloch awarded $3.55 million.Gilmour said he was happy, but we presume he meant with the money, not with the Devils. He can walk at the end of the year, which for better or worse, is a chance the Devils seem perfectly prepared to take with a 34-year-old player.Salo, still years away from unrestricted free agency, has to prove he can carry a team before the Islanders will suffer for their goalie carrying a grudge. If his memory turns out to be longer than some of the goals he allows, then his big mistake was going to arbitration, a place that makes the comers of an NHL rink look safe. &#9632;

f0009-01

Arbitration hearings not for faint of heart

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div>This November will mark the second anniversary of Brett Lindros&rsquo; last NHL game. He has not skated in nearly a year because the danger of doing serious, permanent damage to his brain is too great. He has no aspirations to ever play again-not in the NHL, not in the backyard. Repeated concussions have wiped hockey playing from his life.&ldquo;Dialing a phone, talking, remembering where you live, driving,&rdquo; said the 21-year-old, &ldquo;these are all things that I&rsquo;ve had to work on.&rdquo;Lindros&rsquo; forced retirement from the New York Islanders due to a series of brain injuries-and a spate of serious head injuries around the league the past two seasons-have driven home the seriousness of concussions and the dangers in returning to play too early.At an Aug. 26 news conference in Toronto designed to raise awareness about brain injuries, Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; captain Eric Lindros was moved to tears at the thought his brother can never play hockey again.Brett has learned to accept his fate, but is upset important lessons from his experience are not being learned. Personalities, he said, have overshadowed prevention.&ldquo;The lack of response from the hockey world has frustrated me,&rdquo; Brett said, joined by Eric, his father Carl and doctors with the Ontario Brain Injury Association. &ldquo;The spotlight has been on what our problems are instead of asking important questions like, &lsquo;How did this happen?&rsquo; and &lsquo;What can we do to prevent these injuries in the future?&rsquo; &ldquo;The NHL and NHL Players&rsquo; Association both say they want to move as quickly as possible on the issue, but they disagree over how it should be done.They are at loggerheads over the implementation of baseline testing in training camp as part of neuropsychological testing; the use of formal guidelines for concussion diagnosis, management and retum-to-play timetables; and whether all players should be forced to wear certified helmets.The helmet issue is the least complicated. As long as Wayne Gretzky is in the league and continues to wear a thin broomball helmet, the NHLPA will not agree to a blanket rule. It has proposed to the NHL that players entering the league and those 25-and-under must wear certified helmets, and those presently wearing safe helmets cannot switch back.NHL vice-president Brian Burke said the league isn&rsquo;t happy with the proposal, but it is progress. &ldquo;There will be some deal on helmets in place for next season,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s clearly not going as far as we&rsquo;d like.&rdquo;In some cases, the helmet doesn&rsquo;t matter. A collision involving Brett Lindros and Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; center Jason Dawe Nov. 24, 1995-resulting in Lindros&rsquo; second concussion in eight days-ended his career. Lindros&rsquo; head was never hit in the impact.The testing and guideline issues are clouded by inherent problems associated with practicing medicine in professional sports. Ethical medical nractice dictates all information remains confidential between doctors and patients, yet NHL players sign waivers allowing the information to be passed on to the team. There is also the difficulty in getting players, management and the NHLPA to understand medical issues about which doctors say they still have much to learn themselves.In March, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) released guidelines outlining treatment of various grades of concussions and when it is safe to return to action (see chart). The NHLPA proposed these standards to the league for acceptance as league policy.Burke turned the proposal down, saying he was awaiting word from a committee of NHL physicians studying the problem.But the team doctors don&rsquo;t want any part of the AAN guidelines or any other such rules. At a meeting during last year&rsquo;s all-star break, they decided adopting any set of procedures would be too restrictive in an area of medicine-"mild traumatic brain in-jury"&mdash;still largely unknown.As many as six different standards for treatment exist, but all of them, according to Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; team physician Dr. Charles Burke, are based on conclusions drawn from personal experience rather than scientific fact. Burke has spent the past year studying concussions and is working with National Football League physicians to share information-gathering and testing strategies.&ldquo;The program that is in place is to study concussions, to learn more about them,&rdquo; Dr. Burke said. &ldquo;It has got nothing to do with grading them or treating them.&rdquo;In practice, it&rsquo;s often difficult to tell what degree of concussion a player has sustained when the trainer, teammates and player himself may all have different versions of whether he was unconscious and for how long.&ldquo;Nobody even knows what the important symptoms are and why they&rsquo;re different for individual people,&rdquo; Dr. Burke said. &ldquo;How can you make management recommendations on something that everyone agrees is very individual?&rdquo;He said the AAN standard is meant for use as a guideline in high schools, minor hockey and other sports where expert medical advice isn&rsquo;t always available.Ideally, all teams would do pre-season baseline testing of each player&rsquo;s brain function, called benchmarking. The Flyers have had such testing the past two seasons. It takes 20 to 30 minutes. Each player&rsquo;s &ldquo;normal&rdquo; brain function is recorded so that in the event of a concussion, brain performance can be compared with previous levels.The NHLPA filed a grievance to prevent baseline testing at training camps-the same tests Eric Lindros applauds the Flyers for conducting. NHLPA executive director Bob Good-enow said the tests are a positive step, but players need assurances it will be done properly.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve told the NHL in a letter that we&rsquo;re not agreeing to any broad-based neurological testing until we have the procedure,&rdquo; Goodenow said. &ldquo;We need to have an agreement on the purpose and the use and the access to the results of baseline testing, and by any professional standard that&rsquo;s the only approach.&rdquo;Brian Burke said the league sent a letter to the union in late-August asking for the players&rsquo; input on baseline testing and had yet to receive a response.<h2>THE BRAIN IN SPORTS</h2>These steps for concussion management are approved by the American Association of Neurology, but they represent guide lines for use when more comprehensive medical testing is no available (in minor hockey, for example). Return to play is minimum time a player must sit out after being asymptomatic with normal neurological assessment at rest and with exercise.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011594/6527923-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="932" height="1020"></div> &#9632;

f0010-01

Heady matters

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011445/6527961-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="410" height="579"></div>In order to qualify as GM of the Buffalo Nolanites, hockey&rsquo;s most anarchistic team, Darcy Regier did his undergraduate work at New York Islanders University.&ldquo;My professors were Bill Torrey and Al Arbour,&rdquo; said Regier while dousing a clubhouse fire started by Matthew Barnaby. &ldquo;The three most important things they taught me were honesty, directness and concern for people. But ultimately they did what was in the best interests of the organization.&rdquo;When Regier succeeded John Muckier those three points were challenged the moment it came time for him to re-hire Ted Nolan, which he didn&rsquo;t.&ldquo;One of the things I learned from watching Bill and Al work together was there must be trust and respect between manager and coach,&rdquo; Regier explained. &ldquo;Torrey and Arbour would have arguments, but when the day ended, there was harmony because of their mutual trust.&ldquo;After my third meeting with Ted, I realized that within the time constraints we had it would take more time for me to reach that level. Of course, I knew when I offered him a year it would be perceived as an insult.&rdquo; So, why insult the NHL coach-of-the-year?&ldquo;Because I believed offering him a year was the right thing to do irrespective of how it was viewed elsewhere. It was a statement both the organization and I had to make.&ldquo;What we do in this business has to be done either with control or by working with one another in an atmosphere of total trust. I felt I needed a year to build that with Ted.&rdquo;If Regier builds total trust within his dressing room, he will qualify as a United Nations Middle East mediator. At this point the Sabres seem more polarized than Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasir Arafat.On one side is Hart Trophy-winner Dominik Hasek and on the other there are the forces of Matthew Barnaby, noted soap-box orator and organizer of the Ted Nolan Fan Club. At last listen, the Barnaby bellow was about steamrolling Hasek at training camp. This would be roughly equivalent to Marine Midland Bank emptying its vaults into Lake Erie just to spite Fleet Bank.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021039/6527954-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="545" height="955"><figcaption class="caption-body">Darcy Regier</figcaption></div>&ldquo;No, I&rsquo;m not going to trade Barnaby,&rdquo; Regier promised when the suggestion was made to him. &ldquo;Everyone is entitled to his opinion and I&rsquo;m going to deal with Matt and Dom as a team, honestly, but internally.&ldquo;Barnaby is a young guy with tremendous emotion who felt it important to defend Ted. There are great qualities in that, but I have to help mold that passion of his. We don&rsquo;t have to agree, but we have to understand each other&rsquo;s position.&rdquo;Some Buffalonians who watched Hasek during the playoffs thought he was imitating Krusty The Clown on The Simpsons. Regier insisted the goalie, like Krusty, must be understood.&ldquo;Dominik&rsquo;s intensity reminds me of Peter Stastny,&rdquo; Regier said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s all about excellence. He&rsquo;s a very proud individual with strong feelings whose character cannot be questioned.&rdquo;Perhaps not in the Czech Republic, but in the Republic of Western New York, questions about the goalie&rsquo;s behavior were raised last spring.&ldquo;Dom was reacting to what he perceived as questions about his own character,&rdquo; Regier said. &ldquo;The big point in understanding him is knowing the culture from which he comes.&rdquo;Speaking of culture, Regier&rsquo;s Buffalo talk-show critics have expressed culture shock over Darcy. They view him as a big-city New Yorker who has come north to tear their beloved team apart.&ldquo;Actually,&rdquo; Regier chuckled, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a small-town prairie boy from Saskatchewan. What I&rsquo;ve learned so far is Buffalo fans are the most passionate of any I&rsquo;ve ever met and it has worked against me. In time, though, it will come back and be a positive.&ldquo;We have to win, I have no illusions about that. No matter what my philosophies are-or who my teachers were-at the end of the day it&rsquo;s all about winning.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-01

Regier’s schooling put to test in Buffalo

<div class="byline">By Cammy Clark</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011553/6527992-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="168" height="165"></div>The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim added to their corps of young defensemen with the signing of University of Minnesota standout Mike Crowley.After months of negotiations, Crowley decided to forego his senior year-and give up the opportunity to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award-to sign a two-year deal with the Ducks Aug. 25.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best offensive defenseman to come out of college hockey in a long, long time.&rdquo; Ducks&rsquo; assistant GM David McNab said of the two-time all-America and two-time Hobey Baker finalist.The 5-foot-ll. 195-pound Crowley led all scorers in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association last season with nine goals and 56 points in 42 games.It&rsquo;s the first time a defenseman has led the WCHA in scoring since Lou Nanne accomplished the feat in 1963.The Ducks acquired the rights to Crowley (a fifth round pick in 1993) and center Anatoli Semenov from the Philadelphia Flyers in March, 1996 for left winger Brian Wesenberg (the Ducks&rsquo; second-round pick in 1995).Crowley, 22, will attend the Ducks training camp, but will likely start the season with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American League.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d be very shocked if he made our team.&rdquo; said Mighty Ducks&rsquo; GM Jack Ferreira said. &ldquo;But if he progresses like (cunent Ducks&rsquo; player) Danny Trebil, he could be up after Christmas.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Both sides were keeping mum on the contract negotiations for left winger Paul Kariya. Kariya&rsquo;s agent, Don Baizley. said his client won&rsquo;t attend training camp until he signs. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re communicating,&rdquo; Baizley said. &ldquo;But 1 don&rsquo;t have a sense one way or another (if a deal can be worked out)."&hellip;Ducks&rsquo; GM Jack Ferreira said the only position that will remain status quo from last season is goaltender. &ldquo;Obviously, we have (Guy) Hebert and (Mikael) Shtalenkov 1-2,&rdquo; Ferreira said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t anticipate anyone beating them out.&rdquo; Hebert played 51 of the team&rsquo;s last 56 games of the regular season. When injuries and hyperventilation forced Hebert to the sidelines. Shtalenkov played stellar and had a .938 save percentage in four playoff games. &#9632;

f0012-01

NHL TEAMS

Crowley leaves Minnesota to take chance with Ducks

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03826/6528023-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="616" height="960"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dimitri Khristich</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021257/6528030-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="169" height="163"></div>The Boston Bruins solve a contract dispute and filled a couple of holes in a four-player trade with the Los Angeles Kings.Unhappy center Jozef Stumpel and fringe right winger Sandy Moger were shipped to the West Coast Aug. 29. The Bruins received center/left winger Dimitri Khristich and goalie Byron Dafoe. Boston also had to give up its fourth round draft pick in 1998.In dumping Stumpel, the Bruins lost their leading scorer last season. The Slovak&rsquo;s fourth full NHL season was his best, with 21 goals and 76 points in 78 games. However, the 25-year-old Stumpel was asking for a deal worth $2 million this season, while the Bruins&rsquo; offer was less than $1 million. Stumpel made $450.0(X) last season.&ldquo;He (was) looking for the type of money players get after they&rsquo;ve had the type of season he had on a consistent basis,&rdquo; said assistant GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell. &ldquo;We (didn&rsquo;t) feel comfortable paying that amount to someone who has done it for just one year.&rdquo;The addition of Khristich, 28, helps Boston in two ways. He will likely play the wing, opening up space for first round draft picks Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov to get plenty of ice time. Khristich&rsquo;s presence will boost an ailing left side. He led the Kings last season with 19 goals and 56 points in 75 games.Dafoe, 26, will provide a challenge to incumbent No. 1 goalie Jim Carey. Dafoe had better numbers (13-17-5, 3.11 goals-against average, .905 save percentage) than Carey did in Boston (5-13-0, 3.82, .871).NOTEBOOK: Boston was trying to come to terms with right winger Steve Heinze, who had 17 goals in 30 games before season-ending knee and abdominal injuries. The Bruins were also stuck on left winger Sergei Samsonov, the No. 8 pick in June&rsquo;s draft&hellip;Boston&rsquo;s TV broadcast team was set when Dave Shea was named to replace Fred Cusick, who retired after 44 seasons calling Bruins&rsquo; play-by-play. Shea&rsquo;s analyst will be one-time Bruin Andy Brickley, who moves to TV after a year in the radio booth&hellip;The Bruins re-signed Rob Tallas. the most effective of several backup goalies used last season (8-12-1, 3.33 goals-against average. .882 save percentage). He was expected to be the backup to Jim Carey until the acquisition of Byron Dafoe. &#9632;

f0012-03

Khristich to aid left side

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04480/6528061-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="170" height="163"></div>Center Erik Rasmussen officially became a contender for a Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; roster spot when he signed a contract with the team Aug. 25.There had been rumors Rasmussen was considering turning pro for a few weeks leading up to the announcement.The Sabres&rsquo; No. 1 pick and the seventh player selected overall in the 1996 entry draft, Rasmussen signed for a reported three years at the rookie salary cap of $925,000 per year. Included in that is a $1 million signing bonus.Rasmussen will go to training camp with a Buffalo team that is deep at center with Michael Peca, Derek Plante, Brian Holzinger and Wayne Primeau returning from last season.In addition, captain Pat LaFontaine, who still has not announced whether he will attempt to resume playing after missing most of last season with post-concussion syndrome, is known to be preparing to return.Should all players be on board, it&rsquo;s likely the Sabres will look to the 20-year-old Rasmussen, who is 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, to move to one of the wings. Rasmussen played wing at times in his two seasons at the University of Minnesota of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, where he scored 31 goals and had 75 points in 74 career games for the Golden Gophers.Rasmussen was also one of the top performers for Team USA&rsquo;s silver medal effort at last year&rsquo;s World Junior Championship-he tied for second in scoring in the tournament with four goals and nine points in six games-and was the third-ranked NHL prospect in The Hockey News 1997 Future Watch.According to Minnesota coach Doug Woog, statistics don&rsquo;t tell the entire story of Rasmussen&rsquo;s value.&ldquo;He was our horse,&rdquo; Woog said, pointing out that Rasmussen, aside from taking a regular shift, played on the power play, killed penalties and took most of the important faceoffs.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center Pat LaFontaine, who missed much of last season because of concussion-related injuries, still hadn&rsquo;t announced his future plans. His agent, Don Meehan, said LaFontaine remains &ldquo;optimistic. His attitude is excellent.&rdquo; Former Islander Brett Lindros, who had to retire because of repeated concussions, thinks LaFontaine should retire. &ldquo;Pat&rsquo;s got a family and has had a great career. I may be biased, but I would rather see him leave the game than to have a tragedy occur on the ice to such a fine man"&hellip;Center Michael Peca. a Group II free agent remained unsigned two weeks before camp. He was the Selke Trophy winner as the NHL&rsquo;s top defensive forward last season. &#9632;

f0012-04

Rasmussen adds depth at center

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-06284/6528092-1-eng-US/f0012-062.jpg" title="f0012-06" width="611" height="963"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean-Sebastien Giguere</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-05343/6528099-1-eng-US/f0012-052.jpg" title="f0012-05" width="168" height="163"></div>Now firmly entrenched in their rebuilding mode, the Calgary Flames try to employ the same strategy in every trade: get something for today and something for tomorrow.After months of shopping Gary Roberts around the NHL, they came up with a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes that met their prime directive.They filled a gaping hold at center caused by Dave Gagner&rsquo;s departure and acquired their goalie of the future by dealing left winger Roberts and goalie Trevor Kidd to Carolina for center Andrew Cassels and goalie prospect Jean-Sebastien Giguere.In discussing Giguere. Flames&rsquo; GM Al Coates said: &ldquo;We think there&rsquo;s only three or four goalies in the world at his age that have the same capabilities. One of the building blocks of our rebuilding program was to acquire, via the draft or by trade, an impact goalie-and we think we&rsquo;ve done that.&rdquo;For his part, Giguere says he will attend training camp with a view to making the team, but understands some teams want their young goaltenders to apprentice for one year in the minors.&ldquo;I like when a team has high expectations of me,&rdquo; Giguere said.Cassels, who was second in scoring for the Hartford Whalers last season with 66 points in 81 games, will provide more immediate help. On a team fighting to retain its season-ticket base, Coates noted: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s important to demonstrate to the people we&rsquo;re not forgetting about today&rsquo;s team. A big void on our team was a playmaking center.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The addition of goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere and center Andrew Cassels brings to six the number of ex-Hartford Whalers with Calgary. The others are defensemen JamesPatrick and Zarley Zalapski and centers Michael Nylander and Hnat Domenichelli.. With centers Aaron Gavey and newcomer Erik Andersson signing new two-year contacts, the Flames had just three players from last year&rsquo;s club still to sign: defenseman Todd Simpson and centers Marty McInnis and Cory Stillman. Gavey and Andersson could make up one-half of the team&rsquo;s center-ice corps. Gavey was developing into a strong two-way player in February before a neck injury sidelined him for the final month of the season. &#9632;

f0012-06

Deals help now, future

<div class="byline">By Steve Politi</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-07247/6528130-1-eng-US/f0012-072.jpg" title="f0012-07" width="169" height="163"></div>Trevor Kidd says he relishes the opportunity to get a fresh start with a new team-and one in a new market where his every move won&rsquo;t be scrutinized by hockey fans and media.&ldquo;You live in a fishbowl, no question,&rdquo; Kidd said of his four-year career with the Calgary Flames. &ldquo;You go shopping or go to the malls or anytime you&rsquo;re talking to the media, everybody knows about it. It&rsquo;ll be different coming here.&rdquo;Kidd was acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes, along with left winger Gary Roberts, for center Andrew Cassels and top goalie prospect Jean-Sebastien Giguere. He&rsquo;ll be the No. 1 goaltender for the Hurricanes-as soon as they trade Sean Burke.Burke and GM Jim Rutherford have failed at negotiating a new contract. The team has reportedly offered the goalie $3 million, while Burke wants $4 million. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.Until Burke is dealt, the Hurricanes will have a glut of NHL goaltending.Kidd is a restricted free agent and had yet to reach a contract with Carolina. His stats last season were very similar to Burke&rsquo;s. Kidd was 21-23-6 with a 2.84 goals-against average, while Burke was 22-22-6 with a 2.69 GAA.&ldquo;We think Kidd will be a No. I goalie for us for a long, long time,&rdquo; said Hurricanes&rsquo; GM Jim Rutherford.NOTEBOOK: Center Andrew Cassels. second on the Hartford Whalers in points last year, became expendable when team management decided it wants to give center Jeff O&rsquo;Neill a shot at playing in the top six. But it also means left winger Geoff Sanderson, the beneficiary of most of Cassels sharp passes, will get a new center. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s upsetting to know the guy I&rsquo;ve played with for five or six years now is gone.&rdquo; Sanderson said&hellip;Team owner Peter Karmanos continues to be positive about the team&rsquo;s new market, even though season ticket sales are low. &ldquo;This is a process.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re making an investment and we know the fans are going to have to make an investment as time goes on. We&rsquo;re not expecting any miracles.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-07

’Canes won’t Kidd around with goaltending situation

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011542/6528161-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="170" height="168"></div>The Chicago Blackhawks have this familiar look to them heading into training camp.Except for the retirements of Denis Savard and Steve Smith and the trading of veterans Murray Craven and Enrico Ciccone for minor leaguers and draft picks, this is basically the same team that ended last season.And that wasn&rsquo;t a very good Hawks&rsquo; team that barely qualified for the playoffs before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. GM Bob Murray hopes several rookies can make it and breath some life into the club.&ldquo;Some kids are going to get a chance to play,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to build a nucleus with kids and go forward from there.&rdquo;Left winger Dan Cleary, whom the Hawks selected 13th in the first round of the June draft, will be given every opportunity to make the club.Cleary will get a shot in camp to play center and help fill a glaring need for more offense in the middle behind Alexei Zhamnov.&ldquo;He has a definite chance to play here,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He has done everything we&rsquo;ve asked in terms of getting himself in shape. I think he sees an opportunity here and wants to take advantage of it&rdquo;Left winger Jean-Yves Leroux, center Dmitri Nabokov, right winger Craig Mills and defensemen Christian Laflamme and Tuomas Gronman are five other rookies who have a chance to crack the lineup.NOTEBOOK: When goalie Jimmy Waite agreed to a new contract Aug. 27, that left only defenseman Michal Sykora and centers Steve Dubinsky and James Black as unsigned restricted free agents&hellip; Also unsigned a week before rookies were to report to training camp was first round draft pick Dan Cleary, a left winger who showed up nonetheless&hellip;The Hawks will spent five days during the middle of camp working out at Culver Military Academy in Indiana because the United Center is unavailable&hellip;There was talk the Hawks&rsquo; season ticket base may dip below 10.000 for the first time in well over a decade&hellip; Defenseman Eric Weinrich signed a one-year contract and not a two-year pact as previously reported. &#9632;

f0014-01

Youngsters to get chance to crack Murray’s lineup

<div class="byline">By Adrian Dater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03810/6528192-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="614" height="964"><figcaption class="caption-body">Uwe Krupp</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021175/6528199-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="167" height="163"></div>In late-June, Uwe Krupp thought his future would consist mostly of collecting disability checks.In late-August, the 32-year-old German-born Krupp was looking forward to once again dishing body checks.Krupp, the strapping 6-foot-6 Colorado Avalanche defenseman, so important in the team&rsquo;s Stanley Cup run in 1996, thought his career was over in June because of back troubles.&ldquo;At some point, I thought I would be collecting disability.&rdquo; Krupp said.Krupp was forced to miss the playoffs because of a herniated disc and narrow spinal nerve canal. He had surgery during the Avs&rsquo; second round series against the Edmonton Oilers, but the pain that extended down to his feet was still present a month later.&ldquo;Both my feet would still go numb,&rdquo; Krupp said. &ldquo;I thought that was it.&rdquo;But, finally, the pain subsided. After a few more weeks, Krupp became completely pain-free and began skating in early-July. Now, the 11-year veteran is looking forward to playing in 1997-98.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to be 100 per cent for training camp,&rdquo; Krupp said.The question is, will Krupp be at the Avs&rsquo; camp? His $1.5 million salary could make him expendable in light of the Avs&rsquo; recent signing of Joe Sakic to a three-year, $21 million contract-with $15 million up front.&ldquo;If a trade happens, it would be a big disappointment,&rdquo; Krupp said. &ldquo;I have never played on a team where I&rsquo;ve felt as comfortable as I have felt with this one.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Avs signed left wingers Eric Lacroix and Rene Corbet to new contracts Aug. 21. Lacroix signed for three years and Corbet for one. The deals left the Avs with no unsigned players heading into training camp&hellip;Colorado signed left winger Jason Simon and defenseman Pascal Trepanier to minor league contracts Aug. 20. Simon, who was second in International League penalty minutes (402) with Las Vegas last year, played a season with Denver (IHL) in 1994-95. The left winger quickly became a fan favorite in Denver because of his fists&hellip; Several members of the Avalanche started their own early training camp at a suburban Denver rink in August; players such as center Adam Deadmarsh, Lacroix and defenseman Uwe Krupp. &#9632;

f0014-03

Will Krupp remain Av?

<div class="byline">By Mike Heika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04545/6528230-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="170" height="165"></div>The reports of the death of Neal Broten&rsquo;s hockey career are, it seems, greatly exaggerated.Well, premature at the very least.A miscommunication led to a false report that Broten had announced his retirement from hockey. At age 37 (he&rsquo;ll be 38 in November) and with his last team (the Dallas Stars) not tendering a contract offer, the news seemed a foregone conclusion. So the report was circulated on the major wire services and everyone phoned up Broten to wish him well in his career as a Wisconsin horse farmer.&ldquo;It took me by surprise because I&rsquo;d still really like to play somewhere,&rdquo; Broten said.Broten realizes the chances are somewhat slim. Stars&rsquo; GM Bob Gainey talked with him in June and told him Dallas had signed Guy Carbonneau and wouldn&rsquo;t need Broten to stick around. But while his first choice was to play in Dallas, Broten said he was so invigorated by his time with the Stars he is ready to play with any competitive team.&ldquo;I think playing with L.A. last year, it was kind of hard for me to get excited,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But when I came to Dallas, I was really swept up in the competition and I think that showed in my play.&rdquo;Broten, who struggled with New Jersey Devils&rsquo; management and with the lack of talent on the Los Angeles Kings, was productive with the Stars. He chalked up eight goals and 15 points in 20 games-mostly on the fourth line.&ldquo;That did a lot for my confidence,&rdquo; he said.Now Broten is hoping one more team will take a chance on him. His agent and good friend Lou Nanne has had discussions with the Vancouver Canucks, but the Canucks appear headed in another direction.&ldquo;I think I could help any team in the NHL, but I&rsquo;m not sure the league feels the same way,&rdquo; Broten said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m definitely available.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Stars likely will not come to terms with center Mike Modano. defenseman Derian Hatcher or left winger Jere Lehtinen before the start of training camp and each has said he will not report without a contract. Modano was working out with Stars&rsquo; players at their training facility in Irving, Texas and likely will continue his workouts there while the team is in Kalamazoo. Mich&hellip;.Greg Adams, who missed four playoff games last season, opted not to have surgery to fuse vertebrae in his cervical spine. Instead, the veteran left winger chose to do physical rehabilitation to relieve pain from a pinched nerve and said he feels great heading into training camp. &#9632;

f0014-04

Don’t write Broten off quite yet

<div class="byline">By Cynthia Lambert</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06294/6528261-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="611" height="972"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sergei Fedorov</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05368/6528268-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="169" height="167"></div>As training camp neared, the waiting game continued to heighten for restricted Group II free agent Sergei Fedorov.As of Aug. 27, the Detroit Red Wings had yet to make a new offer to Fedorov. And neither side expected much movement before camp opens Sept. 10.Until that time, Red Wings&rsquo; GM Ken Holland and Fedorov&rsquo;s agent, Mike Barnett, planned on maintaining an amicable relationship.&ldquo;When it gets closer to camp, then maybe something will happen,&rdquo; Holland said. &ldquo;You need two motivated parties or you will never have a deal. Right now, there&rsquo;s no urgency for either side.&rdquo;The last offer the Red Wings made was before last season&rsquo;s playoffs. Fedorov had his choice of deals ranging from one to four years, with each season at a salary of $4.5 million. Fedorov had an impressive playoff (eight goals and 20 points in 20 games) during which he played with two fractured ribs. That show of ability and focus would appear to enhance his marketability. But Fedorov said he is not considering only the financial nature of a new deal.&ldquo;Right now it&rsquo;s not (an issue) of what I want (financially), but more of how I will be used,&rdquo; Fedorov told the Detroit News. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to play defense.&rdquo;Barnett said he and Fedorov have not discussed whether the star forward would not attend training camp if he does not have a contract signed by the time it opens.NOTEBOOK: Captain Steve Yzerman planned to donate a portion of a $1 million endorsement deal to the help pay for the education of injured trainer Sergei Mnatsakanov&rsquo;s children. Teammates have also kicked in with a portion of funds earned at card shows in the off-season&hellip;With center Igor Larionov and right winger Joe Kocur already signed to new deals and center Sergei Fedorov&rsquo;s negotiations on hold, GM Ken Holland hoped to wrap up contracts for two other free agents. Holland made a new contract offer, believed to be worth $1.75 million a season, to Group II free agent left winger Vyacheslav Kozlov. Holland also hoped to have defenseman Slava Fetisov signed to a one-year deal. Fetisov is seeking more than $1 million. &#9632;

f0014-06

No urgency for Fedorov

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-07237/6528299-1-eng-US/f0014-072.jpg" title="f0014-07" width="169" height="164"></div>Brantt Myhres said he&rsquo;s ready to get his hands dirty and keep his nose clean with the Edmonton Oilers.The former Tampa Bay Lightning tough guy was dealt to the Oilers in July for the rights to Vladimir Vujtek. He is still a restricted free agent, but he&rsquo;s working on a one-year deal with Edmonton and has every intention of playing with the Oilers.Rumor had it at the time of the trade his off-ice activities paved his way out of the Sunshine State, but he disputes that notion.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard some good things about that and some bad things,&rdquo; Myhres said. &ldquo;Other than the traffic violation, I don&rsquo;t think I was a bad ass.&rdquo;Tough guys are always fan favorites. And Myhres sounds like he&rsquo;s ready to be an every night enforcer for the Oilers, something they have lacked since Louie DeBrusk faltered in his last several seasons. The Oilers also signed tough free agent Bill Huard, a former Dallas Star.Training camp could become interesting if Huard and Myhres figure there&rsquo;s only one job up for grabs.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you one thing. I&rsquo;m not going to waste my knuckles on any meatheads,&rdquo; Myhres said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got an exhibition game Sept. 14, that&rsquo;s when 1&rsquo;11 show them what I can do. Anybody wants to come near me (before that) they get a stick in the face.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Rumors persist a group of Edmonton-based business people will present an offer to buy the Oilers from Peter Pocklington Sept. 5. There is also talk Rick LeLacheur. who stepped down as head of Economic Development Edmonton, a city-funded organization dedicated to promoting business in the city, will take a leading role with the new ownership group. He would not discuss any involvement he may have with the team&hellip;The Oilers shipped left winger Mariusz Czerkawski to the Islanders for 20-year-old left winger Dan Lacouture, a 29th overall pick in the 1996 draft. Lacouture played one year at Boston University, but had no plans to return after running into academic difficulties. &#9632;

f0014-07

Myhres ready to go to war to secure enforcer’s job

<div class="byline">By Dave Joseph</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011431/6528330-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="169" height="170"></div>After a year of planning, John Vanbiesbrouck realized his goal when he hosted the inaugural Beezer Open, the first of what he hopes will be several events throughout the year to raise money and awareness for The Vanbiesbrouck Foundation.The Florida Panthers&rsquo; goalie started the non-profit foundation last season to assist children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and related concerns. Vanbiesbrouck, whose son, land, was diagnosed with ADD, had 150 people take part Aug. 29 in the Beezer Open.&ldquo;It has been an experience,&rdquo; Vanbiesbrouck said. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve had great guidance and we had a good nucleus of people to start with. The people have really been receptive.&rdquo;Vanbiesbrouck, who was expecting the Beezer Open to raise $75,000, is hoping to expand the foundation. He would like to have it housed in an office later this year and was talking with the University of Miami to work with the foundation on research and holding workshops for parents, teachers and anyone else in South Florida anxious to learn more about ADD.It&rsquo;s estimated 15 per cent of the school-going population has ADD.&ldquo;Society serves its own interest by helping these children grow into self sufficient, well-adjusted adults,&rdquo; Vanbiesbrouck said. &ldquo;I hope (the foundation) will help address the issues surrounding ADD through scholarships, programs and facilities to assist these children and their families.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Left winger Peter Worrell. one of the Panthers&rsquo; final cuts last season, was among 25 players attending Florida&rsquo;s rookie camp. Worrell registered 16 goals, 63 points and 437 penalty minutes in 62 games last season before helping Hull of the Quebec League capture the Memorial Cup. Also attending were first round draft pick Mike Brown, a center, and defenseman Mike Lankshear. acquired in the off-season from Toronto for defenseman Per Gustafsson&hellip;One week after rookie camp ended, the Panthers were expecting to have approximately 50 players attending training camp. Going through their first training camp with the Panthers will be veteran centers Kirk Muller and Dave Gagner. &#9632;

f0015-01

Beezer takes leading role with foundation for ADD

<div class="byline">By Helene Elliott</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02997/6528361-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="172" height="171"></div>Like a streaky goal-scorer emerging from a drought, Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; GM Dave Taylor scored &lsquo;em in bunches.Taylor, thwarted in attempts throughout the summer to address the team&rsquo;s acute scoring woes, acquired former Kings&rsquo; fan favorite Luc Robitaille and Boston Bruins&rsquo; leading scorer Jozef Stumpel on back-to-back days in late-August. Taylor surrendered left winger Kevin Stevens to the New York Rangers to get Robitaille and gave up topline left winger Dimitri Khristich and backup goaltender Byron Dafoe to fetch Stumpel, right winger Sandy Moger and a 1998 fourth-round pick.For the 31-year-old Robitaille, who spent his first eight NHL seasons with the Kings, the return to the West Coast was something of a dream come true.&ldquo;I never thought I&rsquo;d be back,&rdquo; said Robitaille, whose output in New York tailed off the past two seasons (47 goals in 146 games). &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve missed it a lot.&rdquo;While acknowledging Robitaille&rsquo;s still-considerable popularity might help pad the Kings&rsquo; falling attendance figures, Taylor said he made the deal simply for the potential impact of Robitaille&rsquo;s offensive skills.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know that there&rsquo;s one player who can turn things around.&rdquo; Taylor said, &ldquo;but he&rsquo;ll score goals for us.&rdquo;The same is expected of Stumpel, 25, who led the Bruins with 21 goals and 76 points in 78 games last season.&ldquo;Stumpel gives us a great young playmaking center which we have lacked the past couple of seasons,&rdquo; Taylor said. &ldquo;He has size and speed and he&rsquo;s beginning to emerge as a front-line NHL center.&rdquo;Taylor&rsquo;s next challenge will be to sign Stumpel, a Group II free agent reportedly seeking a deal worth more than $2 million per season.Moger, 28, fills another Kings&rsquo; need-size. His 6-foot-3, 208-pound frame should help beef up a smallish forward group.The trading of Dafoe, meanwhile, clears the way for prospect Jamie Storr to win the backup&rsquo;s job behind Stephane Fiset.NOTEBOOK: The Kings&rsquo; hopes of playing in a new downtown arena were certainly delayed-if not killed-when city councillors proposed a ballot that would require citywide votes whenever pro sports team request public money to build facilities. The city planned to put up $70.5 million on the Kings&rsquo; proposed new 20,000-seat, $250 million home, they would share with the basketball Los Angeles Lakers. If the measure is passed in a June election, another vote would have to be taken in November, 1998 to approve the expenditure. That would make it impossible for the Kings to open their new arena in September, 1999, as they had planned&hellip;GM Dave Taylor confirmed he had spoken to Vancouver GM Pat Quinn about disgruntled right winger Pavel Bure. &#9632;

f0015-02

GM Taylor goes for goals with Robitaille, Stumpel

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03718/6528392-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="169" height="169"></div>Several members of the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; organization spent a week overseas this summer, but this was no European vacation.Rather, eight of them spent time practising with European club teams in what assistant coach Dave King called a &ldquo;personal improvement program.&rdquo;Veteran defenseman Stephane Quintal and rookie left winger Jean-Francois Houle, the son of Montreal GM Rejean Houle, went to Prague to work out with Sparta Prague. Defenseman David Wilkie and center Darcy Tucker were with Finland&rsquo;s Assat-Pori. Defenseman Craig Rivet and right winger Turner Stevenson were also in Finland, spending time with TPS Turku-Saku Koivu&rsquo;s old team.And rookies Terry Ryan, a left winger, and Brad Brown, a defenseman, travelled to Vasteras, Sweden.&ldquo;Everyone from the coaches on down has a commitment to get better,&rdquo; said King, who used his contacts in international hockey to set up the program. &ldquo;Our players were on the ice for two sessions a day and also went through dryland training.&ldquo;Working out on the larger ice surfaces was good for these guys. The important thing here was the commitment. It was encouraging to see how enthusiastic a veteran like Stephane Quintal was about this opportunity.&rdquo;The players were in contact with two of the most respected coaches in the game, Slavomir Lener and Vladimir Yurzinov. Lener, the first European to coach in the NHL when he worked under King with the Calgary Flames, is with Prague. Yurzinov, the longtime assistant to Viktor Tikhonov with the former Soviet Union&rsquo;s national team, is coaching Turku.King, who was working for the Japanese Ice Hockey Federation when the Canadiens hired him, also did some travelling. He spent a week in the Orient conducting a training camp. King will serve as an assistant coach of Japan&rsquo;s Olympic team at next February&rsquo;s Nagano Games.NOTEBOOK: Speculation is rampant former Canadiens&rsquo; GM Serge Savard is interested in taking an active part in the construction of a baseball stadium in downtown Montreal or possibly even becoming a part of the Montreal Expos&rsquo; ownership consortium. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not spearheading a new consortium, but I would listen if approached,&rdquo; Savard said. Savard, whose holdings include a downtown Montreal hotel near the Molson Centre and close to where a new ball park would be constructed, has spent a good portion of the summer-both professionally and socially-with Expos&rsquo; president Claude Brochu. &ldquo;We share the same vision for sports in Montreal and the need for a downtown ball park,&rdquo; Brochu said. &#9632;

f0015-03

King sends eight Habs on Euro-trip

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02892/6528430-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="299" height="161"></div>Canadians watch it over and over again and it never, ever gets stale. It never fails to send chills up the spines of those who saw it live.Every Canadian who saw it can tell you exactly where he or she was on the afternoon of Sept. 28,1972, the day Paul Henderson united a country in patriotic fervor and saved it from embarrassment with one shot.The place: Luzhniki Sports Palace in Moscow. There&rsquo;s under a minute left and Canada has battled back to tie the Soviets 5-5 in the eighth and pivotal game of what was supposed to be a one-sided Summit Series. Henderson, No. 19, drives to the net, is tripped up en route and spins on his knees into the backboards. Already the author of consecutive game-winning goals for a Canadian team, Henderson gathers himself, makes a bee-line for the front of the net and, as if by fate, the puck comes right to him with not a red CCCP sweater to be found. Henderson smacks at it. Vladislav Tretiak, as he has done repeatedly in this series, makes the stop. But the puck comes right back to Henderson and, with just 34 seconds left, he tucks it under a sprawling Tretiak with the second shot.&ldquo;Henderson! Henderson scores for Canada! &ldquo; cries Hall of Fame broadcaster Foster Hewitt, sending instant relief to a nation of anxious Canadians.It was, for Canadians, a September to remember-but very nearly one to forget. Canada, tired of watching its fourth-rate amateurs lose to players who were amateur in name only in the Olympics and World Championships, dropped out of international competition in 1970 because it couldn&rsquo;t be represented by its best players. Even though the Soviets were a dominant force internationally, everyone expected them to be cannon fodder for the NHLers.&ldquo;I thought we&rsquo;d win the thing easily,&rdquo; said tournament organizer Alan Eagleson. &ldquo;I had seen the 1969, &lsquo;70, &lsquo;71 and &lsquo;72 World Championship tournaments so I knew they had some good players, but I didn&rsquo;t think they were anything like the players we had in the NHL. I thought we&rsquo;d win every game 5-1 or 6-1.&rdquo;So did the rest of North America.In a poll of experts printed in The Hockey News, not one gave the Russians a chance. Eagleson, former Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; great Jean Beliveau, Canadiens&rsquo; coach Scotty Bowman and Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; owner Jack Kent Cooke were among the majority who picked Canada to sweep the series. However, Gordie Howe warned, &ldquo;If we&rsquo;re going to have a problem it will be in the first game or two. NHL players condition themselves to reach their peak about a month to a month-and-a-half into the season.&rdquo;Howe prophetic. Canada clearly was not prepared to go to war. The Soviets were pre-scouted and the reports were that while they had great skill, they were no match for Canada. Goalie Vladislav Tretiak, the day after his wedding, allowed nine goals and was deemed to be a sieve.&ldquo;It was a great awakening for us,&rdquo; said Wayne Cashman, a member of the &lsquo;72 team. &ldquo;We thought we were up against a bunch of &ldquo;amateurs and this thing was just for fun.&rdquo;That was evident from the drop of the first puck, Saturday, Sept. 2 2 in Montreal.Twenty-five years ago, Canada lost its innocence as a hockey nation. The Hockey News looks back at Canada&rsquo;s slim victory in the 1972 Summit Series in the first of a three-part series. Part II appears in the Sept. 19 issue.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011185/6528423-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="1350" height="1794"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alexander Yakushev proved in the 1972 Summit Series that he could have been a first-liner on any NHL team. (Photo by Denis Brodeur)</figcaption></div>So overconfident were the Canadian players, they thought all they had to do was show up to the rink and they&rsquo;d win. After winning the opening draw, left shooting Phil Esposito carried the puck through the middle into the Soviet end, cut to his right, switched hands on his stick and shot right.Esposito didn&rsquo;t score on the shot, but struck a few seconds later, batting a puck out of mid-air at the 30-second mark and the rout was on. That goal, plus the one Henderson scored a few minutes later, set an entire nation up for a massive fall.The Soviets battled back to tie it in the first, added two more by Valeri Kharlamov in the second and put three more away in the third to ice a 7-3 victory. The team that shot the wrong way suddenly looked like a team that couldn&rsquo;t shoot straight.A nation was shocked.In the next 26 days, Canada would relinquish its stranglehold on the sport and regain it more than once. When the dust settled, Canada was on top, but its grip on the game wasn&rsquo;t nearly as firm as it had been.Canada had no goalie who could rival Tretiak. In fact, goaltending was nearly Canada&rsquo;s downfall. Neither Ken Dryden nor Tony Esposito staked a claim on the No. 1 job. Right winger Kharlamov was every bit as fast as Yvan Coumoyer and a better scorer. And stone-faced left winger Alexander Yakushev could have played on the first line of any NHL team.&ldquo;The Russians played a different style,&rdquo; said Bobby Orr, who was injured and didn&rsquo;t play in the series. &ldquo;We had never seen anything like it. If a play broke down, they circled back and started again. It was control, control, control. They never dumped the puck into our end. I guess they figured it was tough enough getting the puck; why give it away?&rdquo;The Canadians bounced back to take Game 2 and Game 3 was a 4-4 tie. In Game 4, Canada fired 41 shots at Tretiak, but lost 5-3 and was booed off the ice in Vancouver. That prompted an emotional post-game speech from Esposito in which he admitted the Soviets were indeed a great team and Canada had underestimated the opposition, but he was appalled to be booed in his own country. At the conclusion of the series, Esposito&rsquo;s rant would be considered a turning point.Esposito slipped in his Russian debut-literally, during player introductions prior to Game 5-but his leadership never wavered. Canada lost the game, but won the final three games to stake claim to the unofficial world title.The 1972 Summit Series is a huge part of hockey lore in Canada, but is not viewed as monumental in the former Soviet Union.Alexei Dospehov, a hockey writer with the Russian daily newspaper Sport Express, said there hasn&rsquo;t been much interest shown in the 25th anniversary of the series.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s deep in the past now,&rdquo; Dospehov said.Former Team Canada player Ron Ellis tried to organize an exhibition series, but wasn&rsquo;t able to get enough players to travel to Moscow for a Sept. 7 game. There were plans for a two-game series with the first game in Moscow Sept. 7 (to coincide with the 850th anniversary of the founding of Moscow) and the second game in Toronto Sept. 28.Evgeny Kuharzh, secretary general for the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, said he is still hopeful something can be worked out with the Canadian side. &ldquo;Of course the older generation would remember these games,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The hockey was at the top level in our country at that time.&rdquo;There are plans for a Team Canada reunion Sept. 26 through 28. Among the proposals is a Red And White game featuring 30 veterans of the Summit Series at Maple Leaf Gardens Sept. 28.The same night, the CTV network will air a two-hour documentary of the series. &#9632;

f0017-02

SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER

<div class="byline">By Ken Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02901/6528468-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="301" height="156"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011220/6528461-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="3368" height="2350"><figcaption class="caption-body">Soviet legend Vladislav Tretiak says of Paul Henderson&rsquo;s winning goal with 34 seconds remaining in Game 8: &ldquo;Lucky, just lucky. I make first save. My defense no help me, why?&rdquo; (Photo by Denis Brodeur)</figcaption></div>Vladislav Tretiak feels at home in North America these days.On this one, he&rsquo;s at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, a place that gave him a permanent home when he was inducted in 1989. As he enters the Hall, he&rsquo;s surrounded by 60 youngsters from his goalie school, all sporting TPETbHK on the backs of their sweaters.As the line of worshippers winds its w way down the stairs and beyond sight, Tretiak happily signs autographs-blue 5 or black pen for pictures and posters, z silver or gold for hockey cards.A man in his 30s approaches Tretiak u with a poster and doesn&rsquo;t even make x the most feeble attempt to hide his emotions. &ldquo;You are my idol, sir,&rdquo; the man blurts out. &ldquo;I have worshipped you for 25 years. Thank you for being Tretiak.&rdquo; He then produces a hockey card to be signed, clearly violating the Hall&rsquo;s one-autograph-per-person policy. As Tretiak signs, the man continues, &ldquo;You are the greatest ever. I can assure that these will never, ever be sold. They&rsquo;ll never be sold.&rdquo;By this time, he has his hands clasped together, as though praying before Tretiak.Next comes David Brem, a 32-year-old who drove from Lockport, N.Y., to meet his hero. Brem produces a marionette of Tretiak he made in fourth grade art class. Under the mask is the face of Ken Dryden because Brem couldn&rsquo;t find a picture of Tretiak.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good he didn&rsquo;t burn it,&rdquo; Tretiak laughs.If Brem were a Canadian and not an American, the doll might not have lasted. With the exception of Paul Henderson, no player in the 1972 Summit Series captured the imagination of hockey fans as did Tretiak. And none on the Russian side comes close to sharing Tretiak&rsquo;s status and respect in North America.While most hockey experts on this side of the ocean were predicting an eight-game sweep before the series, then-Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; coach Scotty Bowman spoke of the &ldquo;unseen hand.&rdquo;That hand belonged to Tretiak, a hand that buries those of most men when he shakes it. It was a hand that repeatedly emerged from nowhere to rob and frustrate Canadian shooters armed with a scouting report that turned out to be as accurate as a the one once filed by a talent scout on a studio prospect named Fred Astaire: &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t sing, can&rsquo;t act. Can dance a little.&rdquo;&ldquo;This kid.&rdquo; said Canadian coach Harry Sinden in 1972, &ldquo;was not supposed to have a glove hand.&rdquo;That kid is now a 45-year-old grandfather with a slight paunch, a retired Colonel in the Russian Army who now coaches Chicago Blackhawk goalies.Long before Russians were taking the Stanley Cup to Lenin&rsquo;s Tomb, Tretiak was proving beyond a shadow of a doubt he could have excelled among the NHL&rsquo;s best. But unlike the Canadian team that entered the series brimming with confidence, Tretiak and his comrades were filled with uncertainty.&ldquo;Before series I just like to show good hockey,&rdquo; Tretiak said. &ldquo;I was nervous before game, not inside game because no possible, too many shots at me.&rdquo;Indeed. Canada outshot the Soviets in six of the eight Summit Series games-including Game 4 when Tretiak stopped 21 third period shots in a 5-3 Soviet win. And while Tretiak&rsquo;s save percentage of .884 isn&rsquo;t spectacular by today&rsquo;s standards, his play was spectacular by any era&rsquo;s standards.&ldquo;I thought when our big guys started shooting at him, he&rsquo;d be looking for the door to his dressing room,&rdquo; said Ed Johnston, Canada&rsquo;s third goalie. &ldquo;I thought our guys would run over him. Geez, he&rsquo;s only 20 and he&rsquo;s doing this to us.&rdquo;Ultimately, Tretiak came up one spectacular save short. Paul Henderson&rsquo;s goal on a rebound with 34 seconds left on a defenseless Tretiak is the series&rsquo; defining moment. Twenty-five years later, Tretiak is not willing to accept culpability. Henderson became a born-again Christian in 1975. but Tretiak thinks the Supreme Being visited three years earlier at the Luzhniki Sports Palace.&ldquo;God give him that goal,&rdquo; Tretiak said. &ldquo;I wish Henderson not fall down behind net because maybe he never get up and never be in front of net and score.&ldquo;Lucky, just lucky. I make first save. Defense no help me, why? (Valeri) Vasiliev and (Yuri) Liapkin no help me. Good for Team Canada.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0018-02

TRETIAK HERO TO CANADIANS

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02673/6528520-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="302" height="157"></div>The building that houses Paul Henderson&rsquo;s office is located in a squat industrial mall, a stone&rsquo;s throw from Toronto&rsquo;s Gardiner Expressway. Upon finding it, the visitor is faced with two doors.&ldquo;Answers Plus,&rdquo; says the door on the " right. Take the door on the left, ignoring the answering service company, and you find Paul Henderson.Two doors, two different kinds of answers, but Henderson will tell you, only one truth, at once agonizing and cleansing, complex and staggering in its simplicity.The savior of the Summit Series is a 54-year-old grandfather, but he remains whippet thin and discreetly grey. He became a born-again Christian in 1975. A forceful and eminently presentable emissary for Christ, Henderson is simultaneously outgoing and volcanically intense. He listens to questions impatiently. He knows he has the answer: trust, commit and believe in Jesus.For the last decade, he has worked for Leadership Ministries, the Christian answer to the men&rsquo;s movement. &ldquo;We work with 37 groups divided into groups of eight to 12,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;We talk about being husbands, fathers and finding a balance in our lives.&rdquo;Twenty-five years after delivering the most famous moment in Canadian sport, Henderson remains, for many Canadians, a difficult icon to fully embrace. His place in national history is unimpeachable-three game winning goals in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviets, including the winner in the decisive Game 8 with 34 seconds left to give Canada a 6-5 win and the series.When the Canadian Mint opted to use Henderson&rsquo;s likeness for its 25th anniversary Summit Series coin, it broke a longstanding policy against using the likeness of living non-sovereigns.Maybe it&rsquo;s just that the proselytizing athlete is an American phenomenon. Christian fervor is far more muted in Canada than in the United States and while Henderson&rsquo;s accomplishment was a watershed, his conversion, three years later, was not.&ldquo;Paul Henderson scored the winning goal three games in a row in the Summit Series and then became a born-again Christian,&rdquo; hockey funnyman and 1972 teammate Dennis Hull has long told banquet crowds, &ldquo;And every morning I wake up and feel thankful that I didn&rsquo;t score those three goals.&rdquo;The kernel of truth behind Hull&rsquo;s joke, and the assumption of his audience, is that in soaring so high. Henderson had come too close to the sun.For many, evangelical Christianity is one of the surest signs of a desperate, floundering person.Even though he has heard it at least 50 times, Henderson smiles on cue when Hull delivers the punch line. He does not dispute the assumptions it invokes. He did flounder and he was desperate. And he is desperate still.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011012/6528513-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="1083" height="2259"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Henderson&rsquo;s celebration after scoring in Game 8 has been frozen in time.</figcaption></div>Henderson was raised in the United Church, but God and religion were an insignificant part of his life, especially when compared with the influence of his parents. Henderson grew up in the small Ontario town of Kincardine, the son of a local legend.Garnet Henderson was the toughest, most feared man in town. At 6-foot-l and 280 pounds, he was a mountainous presence, quick tempered, blunt, relentlessly demanding caustic with criticism and above all, powerful.&ldquo;I think my Dad was trying to live through me,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;The thing about it was. knew he loved me. He was there for me, but he was so intimidating and I was so fearful of him, it didn&rsquo;t allow us to have a good relationship.&rdquo;Garnet Henderson would not live to see his son&rsquo;s greatest feat, he died before the series. Yet even as he raised his arms in triumph at the Luhzniki Sports Palace in Moscow, Henderson was hit by a biting sadness. &ldquo;The melancholy didn&rsquo;t last half a second, but it was real and it was there,&rdquo; Henderson remembered. &ldquo;It was &lsquo;Oh. my dad would have loved to have seen this sucker.&rsquo;The elements of that moment would shape Henderson&rsquo;s future. He had scored The Goal, he had felt the legacy of his father and in a moment of unparalleled victory, he had felt a sudden, unexpected pain.A solid-two-way NHLer, Henderson returned to Canada a national hero, but he began a descent into depression and restlessness. He became self-absorbed and vain, and, like his father, quick-tempered and bombastic.Friends noticed he was becoming pushy and overly opinionated.Above all, he was unsatisfied. When he was accepted into a golf club, he tired of it and began looking for a better one. He tried new and better cars and consumer goods, but the joy faded as soon as the newest toy was unwrapped. And then he would feel it again, a dull ache that told him he needed something else.&ldquo;It was like a fog, it would just come and go,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;I remember saying to my wife, &lsquo;I just wish I could be content. I just wish I could put my head on the pillow and just be content being Paul Henderson.&rsquo; &ldquo;Henderson began drinking more. He wondered if the problem could be addressed through spiritual fulfillment and spent seven months studying the Jehovah&rsquo;s Witnesses. Through his searching, Henderson eschewed fundamental Christianity.&ldquo;I thought Christians were weak people who couldn&rsquo;t cut it in life and had to get God on their side,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;And then you looked at all the bad examples (you think), &lsquo;They&rsquo;re a bunch of bloody hypocrites anyway and they don&rsquo;t need another one.&rsquo; &ldquo;Henderson was eventually introduced to Christian men who mentored him. He spent nearly three years looking for holes in ideology and struggling with his own view of what it was he was slowly becoming.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03456/6528506-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="2586" height="3784"></div>&ldquo;I wanted to get rid of Christianity so I could get on to something more appealing,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;God is a cosmic killjoy really in a lot of ways. But eventually, every Christian gets to the end of the line where they throw up their hands and say &lsquo;1 give up, I don&rsquo;t have the answers. I just can&rsquo;t make it. I&rsquo;ll never be good enough. You help me.&rsquo; &ldquo;God&rsquo;s help for Henderson means using the immutable truths he finds in the Bible in what is a minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour battle with his own nature. There is a quirky truth at play here. Now that he has found the Lord, Henderson constantly rails against his own human failings, many of which he learned watching his father.&ldquo;My father was a very aggressive man,&rdquo; Henderson conceded. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve spent 53 years trying to fight some of those elements of his personality.&rdquo;He is, in fact, often and scathingly critical, not only of himself, but of his kind.&ldquo;The whole world would be Christians if it were not for Christians, including myself,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a bunch of screw ups. If we could just live the life we&rsquo;d be fine, but none of us can.&rdquo;On the morning of the interview for this story, a trucker had cut him off in slow traffic and shot him a dirty look. As he remembers the incident, Henderson is overcome by the anger of the moment. He clenches his fist and teeth when describing how hard it was not to chase down the trucker. &ldquo;Look, I really try to be a Godly man, I really do, but it&rsquo;s incredible, just incredible how angry I can get over the stupidest little thing.&rdquo;Several weeks before, Henderson had been at a Toronto Raptors&rsquo; basketball game and noticed a group of teens who didn&rsquo;t bother to stand for the national anthem.&ldquo;I wanted to walk up there and grab them by the lapels and just shake the crap out of them,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;I wanted to say, &lsquo;Do you not recognize the freedom we have in this country? My father and my grandfather went to war for them, you suckers.&rsquo; I felt like punching them out.&rdquo;He seethes when he sees Christians behaving uncharitably in church.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in churches when I wanted to climb over pews and drill somebody. In church. I mean, they hear a baby crying and they turn around and take a (nasty) look at it. If there&rsquo;s anything that would drive me crazy, it&rsquo;s that. But then the Lord says &lsquo;Paul, don&rsquo;t worry about it. You just worry about yourself, big boy.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s the thing you struggle with.&rdquo;What Henderson does not struggle with is how he should view the world; his is a value system co based on absolutes. To Henderson, the question of how he should view Alan Eagleson, a former close &pound; friend and business associate who is fighting extradition to the United States, isn&rsquo;t a question at all.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t distance myself from him at all. When you put on the scales what Alan Eagleson has done for me personally with the pluses and the 2 negatives, the pluses are so far above the board, &pound; it&rsquo;s ridiculous. Eagleson probably did more for the average hockey player than anyone in the history $ of the game. That&rsquo;s reality.&rdquo;But so too is the reality that Eagleson, the former director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, is a fugitive from the U.S. justice system, wanted for racketeering and fraud. He has already been found liable in a Canadian court of skimming from the disability settlement of former NHL player Paul Gillis and despite the mountain of accusations, Eagleson has shown no remorse for any of his dealings. It is a question lined with greys.Henderson sees only black and white.The Gillis verdict, Henderson said, &ldquo;is such a minor, minor thing. I&rsquo;ve done so many things wrong, God has forgiven me.&rdquo;Henderson is impatient with those who insist on giving their denomination rather than embracing the evangelical view of Christianity. &ldquo;Saying I&rsquo;m a Christian, but I&rsquo;m not born-again is just like saying I&rsquo;m pregnant and I&rsquo;m not going to have a baby. I&rsquo;ll ask somebody, &lsquo;Are you a Christian?&rsquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01785/6528499-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="1026" height="1410"><figcaption class="caption-body">Henderson has worked with Christian Ministries in Toronto for the past decade.</figcaption></div>They&rsquo;ll say, &lsquo;Well, I&rsquo;m a Catholic.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s like you say, &lsquo;Are you a hockey player?&rsquo; They say, &lsquo;Well, I&rsquo;m a Montreal Canadien.&rsquo; Being a Catholic, being a Protestant, it has got nothing to do with being a Christian.&rdquo;Henderson doesn&rsquo;t dispute the symbolic importance of his three game-winning goals, but the truth is, the world is far more taken with them. than he is. If there is an occasional awkward distance between Canada&rsquo;s hero and his public, a fact Henderson does not dispute, it&rsquo;s because for Henderson, the summit was just the beginning of a much longer, arduous road.&ldquo;I drove my wife to the airport this morning and we prayed in the car,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;We thanked God for our children, our grandchildren, the impact we&rsquo;ve had in other people&rsquo;s lives and h marriages. But we never thank him for 1972. That doesn&rsquo;t even enter into the equation.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0020-02

THE ANSWER TO CANADA’S PRAYERS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01911/6528621-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="300" height="156"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02626/6528614-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="1078" height="1820"></div><h2>Game 1 Montreal, Sept. 2: USSR 7 CANADA 3</h2>Things are going according to plan when Phil Esposito scores 30 seconds into the game for Team Canada and Paul Henderson makes it 2-0 six minutes later. But by the end of the game, the Soviets steamroll the out-of-shape, cocky NHLers to the tune of 7-3.The Soviets tie it 2-2, Valeri Kharlamov dazzles the audience with his speed, scoring two goals in the second.. Bobby Clarke gives Canada a little false hope with a goal at 8:22 of the third, but the Russians storm back with three unanswered goals. Canada out. shoots Russia 32-30, but Canadian goalie Ken Dryden is sub-par, while his Russian counterpart, Vladislav Tretiak, gives Canada. the first glimpse of the frustration that lies ahead.<h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1 Canada P. Esposito (Mahovlich. Bergman) :30.2-Canada Henderson (Clarke) 6:323-USSR Zimin (Yakushev, Shadrin) 11:404 USSR Petrov (Mikhailov) 17:28 (sh)Penalties: Henderson 1:03, Yakushev 7:04, Mikhallov 15:11, Ragulln 17:13.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>&bull; 5-USSR Kharlamov (Maltsev) 2:40&bull; 6-USSR Kharlamov (Maltsev) 10:18&bull; Penalties: Clarke 5:16, Lapointe 12:53.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>7-Canada Clarke (Ellis, Henderson) 8:228-USSR Mikhailov (Blinov) 13:32&rsquo; 9-USSR Zimin 14:2910-USSR Yakushev (Shadrin) 18:37Penalties: Kharlamov 14:45, Lapointe 19:41.<h3>GOALS/SHOTS BY PERIOD</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03447/6528607-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="533" height="142"></div>Goalies: Tretiak, Dryden. Game MVPs: Kharlamov, USSR: Clarke, Canada.Attendance: 18,818.<h2>Game 2 Toronto, Sept. 4 CANADA 4 USSR1</h2>With any illusion of crushing the Soviets behind it, Canada must win.After a scoreless first period, Phil Esposito opens the scoring in the second. Yvon Cournoyer makes it 2-0 at 1:19 of the third with a speedy play, but the Soviets pull to within one goal five minutes later. That goal sets the stage for the most remarkable, if not memorable, goal of the series.With Canada two men short and trapped in its own zone, 6-foot-4 Peter Mahovlich picks up the puck in the neutral zone. He dekes a Soviet defender and drives to the goal, fakes a forehand shot, switches to his backhand and slips a shot past Vladislav Tretiak. Big brother Frank Mahovlich cements the win for Canada two minutes later.<h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>No scoringPenalties: Park 10:08, Henderson 15:19.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>&bull; Canada P. Esposito (Park, Cashman) 7:14 Penalties: Gusev 2:07, USSR bench 4:13, Bergman 15:16, Tsygankov 19:54, Kharlamov 19:54.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>&bull; Canada Cournoyer (Park) 1:19 (pp)&bull; USSR Yakushev (Liapkin, Zimin) 5:53 (pp)&bull; Canada P. Mahovlich (P. Esposito) 6:47 (sh)&bull; Canada F. Mahovlich (Mikita, Cournoyer) 8:59 Penalties: Clarke 5:13, Stapleton 6:14.<h3>GOALS/SHOTS BY PERIOD</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04300/6528600-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="532" height="176"></div>Goalies: T. Esposito, Tretiak. Game MVPs: P. Esposito, T. Esposito, Canada; Tretiak, USSR. Attendance: 16,485.<h2>Game 3 Winnipeg, Sept. 6: CANADA 4 USSR 4</h2>With Bobby Hull sitting in the stands, Canada&rsquo;s top NHLers blow leads of 1-0, 3-1 and 4-2. Once again it is evident the Canadian players simply aren&rsquo;t in good enough condition yet to stay with the Soviets.Canada holds a huge territorial advantage in the first period, outshooting the Soviets 15-9, but has just a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. The remainder of the scoring in the game takes place in the second period.Phil Esposito connects from the deep slot at 4:19, but Soviet speedster Valeri Kharlamov gets that back at 12:56 when beats Canadian goalie Tony Esposito. Paul Henderson restores Canada&rsquo;s two-goal lead less than a minute later, but the Soviets tie it when Yuri Lebedev tips in a long shot and Alexander Bodunov scores after being left unguarded in front.<h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>&bull; Canada Parise (White, P. Esposito) 1:54&bull; USSR Petrov 3:16 (sh)&bull; Canada Ratelie (Cournoyer, Bergman) 18:25 Penalties: Vasiliev 3:02, Cashman 8:01, Parise 15:47<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>&bull; Canada P. Esposito (Cashman, Parise) 4:19&bull; USSR Kharlamov (Tsygankov) 12:56 (sh)&bull; Canada Henderson (Clarke, Ellis) 13:47&bull; USSR Lebedev (Anisin, Vasiliev) 14:59&bull; USSR Bodunov (Anisin) 18:28 Penalties: Petrov 5:46, Lebedev 11:00.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>No scoringPenalties: White, Mishakov 1:33, Cashman 10:46.<h3>GOALS/SHOTS BY PERIOD</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05236/6528593-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="534" height="146"></div>Goalies: T. Esposito, Tretiak. Game MVPs: Henderson, Canada; Tretiak, USSRAttendance: 9,800.<h2>Game 4 Vancouver, Sept. 8: USSR 5 CANADA 3</h2>Canada&rsquo;s best defenseman Serge Savard suffers a hairline fracture in the morning skate and is hobbled for the rest of the series.The Soviets get two goals from Boris Mikhailov in the first and both are scored on minor penalties to Bill Goldsworthy. Gilbert Perreault scores on a nifty solo effort early in the second period, but the visitors put the game out of reach with two more goals. Vladislav Tretiak stops 38 shots, including 21 in the third period.The Canadians are booed off the ice and Phil Esposito responds with an emotional outburst on national television. Esposito says he can&rsquo;t believe Canadian fans would boo their players. He assures Canadians the players are giving &ldquo;150 per cent&rdquo; and acknowledges the Soviets &ldquo;are great players and a great team.&rdquo;<h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1-USSR Mikhailov (Lutchenko, Petrov) 2:01 (pp)&bull; USSR Mikhailov (Lutchenko, Petrov) 7:29 (pp) Penalties: Goldsworthy 1:24, Goldsworthy 5:58, P. Esposito 19:29.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>&bull; Canada Perreault 5:37&bull; USSR Blinov (Petrov, Mikhailov) 6:34&bull; USSR Vikulov (Kharlamov, Maltsev) 13:52 Penalties: Kuzkin 8:39.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>&bull; Canada Goldsworthy (P. Esposito, Bergman) 6:54&bull; USSR Shadrin (Yakushev, Vasiliev) 11:05&bull; Canada Hull (P. Esposito) 19:38 Penalties: Petrov 2:01.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06191/6528586-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="534" height="145"></div><h2>Game 5 Moscow, Sept. 22: USSR 5 CANADA 4</h2>With 13 days between games, Team Canada is stunned when Vic Hadfield, Richard Martin and Jocelyn Guevremont return to Canada, frustrated because they have not been playing in the series.During player introductions, Phil Esposito falls to the ice, then gets up and bows to the crowd. Backed by more than 3,000 Canadians in the stands, Canada builds a 3-0 lead on goals by J.P. Parise, Bobby Clarke and Paul Henderson. Henderson leaves the game in the second period after slamming into the boards, but returns for the third.Yuri Blinov and Henderson trade goals early in the third before Canada completely falls apart. The Soviets explode for four goals in 5:41 (including two goals in nine seconds to cut Canada&rsquo;s lead to 4-3) to take a commanding 3-1-1 lead in the series.<h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>&bull; Canada Parise (Perreault, Gilbert) 15:30 Penalties: Ellis 3:49, Kharlamov 12:35.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>&bull; Canada Clarke (Henderson) 2:36&bull; Canada Henderson (Lapointe, Clarke) 11:58 Penalties: Ellis, Kharlamov 5:38, Bergman 8:13.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>USSR Blinov (Petrov, Kuzkin) 3:34&bull; Canada Henderson (Clarke) 4:56&bull; USSR Anisin (Liapkin, Tsygankov) 9:05&bull; USSR Shadrin (Anisin) 9:13&bull; USSR Gusev (Ragulin) 11:41&bull; USSR Vikulov (Kharlamov) 14:46Penalties: White, Blinov 0:00, Clarke, Tsygankov m-9S Yaknshm/15 48<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03385/6528579-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="536" height="170"></div><h2>Game 6 Moscow, Sept. 24 CANADA 3 USSR 2</h2>Canada needs three wins to claim the series and it&rsquo;s not looking good. Prior to the game, Gilbert Perreault bolts Team Canada for home.But then the Paul Henderson legend begins.The Soviets strike first on a goal by defenseman Yuri Liapkin, but Canada responds with three in a row in 1:23. Dennis Hull ties the game, Yvon Cournoyer makes it 2-1 and Henderson connects for the winner after intercepting a clearing pass in the neutral zone and snapping a 30-foot shot past Vladislav Tretiak.Canada is assessed four straight penalties, including a five-minute major to Phil Esposito for drawing blood from the face ol Soviet defender Alexander Ragulin, but the home side responds with just one goal.<h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>No scoringPenalties: Bergman 10:21, P. Esposito 13:11.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>&bull; USSR Liapkin (Yakushev, Shadrin) 1:12&bull; Canada Hull (Gilbert) 5:13&bull; Canada Coumoyer (Berenson) 6:21&bull; Canada Henderson 6:36&bull; USSR Yakushev (Shadrin, Liapkin) 17:11 (pp) Penalties: Ragulin 2:09, Lapointe 8:29, Vasilie 8:29, Clarke 10:12, Hull 17:02, P. Esposito 17:42 Canada bench 17:46.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>No scoring<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04242/6528572-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="532" height="177"></div><h2>Game 7 Moscow, Sept. 26 CANADA 4 USSR 3</h2>Canada&rsquo;s first victory since Game 2 has fans back home excited and united. More than 50,000 fans send their best wishes to Team Canada. A telegram from Moncton, N.B. contains 9,281 signatures.Phil Esposito, easily Canada&rsquo;s best player throughout the series and the team&rsquo;s emotional leader, scores twice in the first period that ends tied 2-2.There is no scoring in the second period and the teams trade goals early in the third. Paul Henderson, on a spectacular solo effort, scores for Canada in the third for his second straight game-winner.Bobby Clarke slashes Soviet star Alexander Kharlamov in the ankle and diminishes Kharlamov&rsquo;s effectiveness for the remainder of the series.<h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>&bull; Canada P. Esposito (Ellis, Park) 4:09&bull; USSR Yakushev (Shadrin, Liapkin) 10:17&bull; USSR Petrov (Vikulov, Tsygankov) 16:27 (pp)&bull; Canada P. Esposito (Parise, Savard) 17:34 Penalties: Mikhailov 2:00, P. Mahovlich, Mishakov 5:16, Mikhailov 11:09, P. Esposito 12:39, White 15:45.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>No scoringPenalties: Gilbert 0:59, Parise 6:04, Anisin 6:11, P. Esposito, Kuzkin 12:44, Parise, Kuzkin 15:14, Stapleton 15:24.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>&bull; Canada Gilbert (Ratelie, Hull) 2:13&bull; USSR Yakushev (Maltsev, Lutchenko) 5:15 (pp)&bull; Canada Henderson (Savard) 17:54Penalties: Bergman 3:26, Gilbert 7:25, Mikhailov, Bergman 16:26.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05176/6528565-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="532" height="171"></div><h2>Game 8 Moscow, Sept. 28 CANADA 6 USSR 5</h2>A tie will do Canada no good because the Soviets have more goals and would be awarded the series.Early in the first period, J.P. Parise is assessed a minor penalty to put Canada down two men. Parise charges at officials Joseph Kompalla and Rudy Batja and raises his stick in the air. He resists the temptation to hit them, but is ejected.The teams trade goals in the first to tie the score 2-2. The Soviets go ahead 5-3 in the second, but Canada mounts the ultimate comeback in the third. Phil Esposito and Yvon Coumoyer score to tie it 5-5.With less than a minute remaining, Paul Henderson calls for Peter Mahovlich to leave the ice and scores with 34 seconds left.Canada wins the series.<h3>FIRST PERIOD</h3>1 -USSR Yakushev (Liapkin, Maltsev) 3:34 (pp)&bull; Canada P. Esposito (Park) 6:45 (pp)&bull; USSR Lutchenko (Kharlamov) 13:10 (pp)&bull; Canada Park (Ratelle, Hull) 16:59Penalties: White 2:25, P. Mahovlich 3:01, Petrov 3:44, Parise (minor, 10 min. misconduct, game misconduct) 4:10, Tsygankov 6:28, Ellis 9:27, Petrov 9:47, Coumoyer 12:51.<h3>SECOND PERIOD</h3>&bull; USSR Shadrin 0:21&bull; Canada White (Gilbert. Ratelle) 10:32&bull; USSR Yakushev 11:43&bull; USSR Vasiliev (Shadrin) 16:44 (pp) Penalties: Stapleton 14:58, Kuzkin 18:06.<h3>THIRD PERIOD</h3>9 Canada P Esposito (P. Mahovlich) 2:27&bull; Canada Cournoyer (P. Esposito, Park) 12:56&bull; Canada Henderson (P. Esposito) 19:26 Penalties: Mishakov, Gilbert (majors) 3:41, Vasiliev<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06146/6528558-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="535" height="170"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02595/6528551-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="1064" height="1785"></div> &#9632;

f0022-01

TEAM CANADA

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01865/6528652-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="168" height="169"></div>There was only one logical reason why Bill Gueri remained unsigned less than two weeks before the New Jersey Devils were scheduled to open training camp. GM Lou Lamoriello must have been squirreling money away in anticipation of next summer&rsquo;s free agency onslaught.After this season, Scott Stevens, John MacLean, Doug Gilmour and Randy McKay can all become unrestricted free agents while Martin Brodeur and Scott Niedermayer would be restricted Group Ils worthy of interest from other teams.Guerin, however, felt shackled as a Group II free agent.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s free agency in words only,&rdquo; said the 26-year-old right winger. &ldquo;A couple of guys get lucky every year.&rdquo;And Guerin felt quite unlucky. His 29 goals last season tied MacLean for the most among Devils and he led the team with nine winning goals and seven power play goals.Guerin earned $743,671 last season and was hoping for a significant raise.&ldquo;I won&rsquo;t go to camp if I&rsquo;m not signed,&rdquo; Guerin said. &ldquo;I think there&rsquo;s too much to lose.&rdquo;GM Lou Lamoriello, who vowed to match any outside offers (none came), was confident Guerin would be back.&ldquo;Billy is not going anywhere,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;I have no intentions of letting (him) go. Sometimes you go through bumps, but he is a player we want just as we want Scott Niedermayer and Martin Brodeur.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Backup goalie Mike Dunham and the Devils agreed on terms for a multi-year contract&hellip; The acquisition of defenseman Vlastimil Kroupa from San Jose for a third round draft pick was continent upon the Devils signing him, (which they did Aug. 22). GM Lou Lamoriello said the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Kroupa was unhappy in San Jose and intended to play in Sweden this season before agreeing to a deal with the Devils&hellip;.Kroupa figured to battle rookie Sheldon Souray for the sixth spot on defense&hellip;The Devils were interested in former Calgary left winger Gary Roberts, but weren&rsquo;t willing to give up enough to get the 31-year-old. Roberts landed in Carolina&hellip;Center Brian Rolston, also a Group n free agent, remained unsigned. &#9632;

f0026-01

Guerin talks going nowhere, but neither is nower forward

<div class="byline">By Jim Smith</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03451/6528683-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="617" height="978"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mariusz Czerkawski</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02566/6528690-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="169" height="166"></div>The New York Islander filled a glaring need for goal scorer by acquiring right winger Mariusz Czerkawski from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for the rights to 20-year-old prospect Dan Lacouture.Czerkawski, 25, had 26 goals and 47 points in 76 games last season, but saw his ice time dwindle late in the season. Islanders&rsquo; GM Mike Milbury. who was the Boston Bruins&rsquo; assistant GM when the team drafted him 106th overall in 1991, signed him Aug. 25 tc a two-year, $1.7-million contract.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a significant upgrade in the goal scoring department,&rdquo; Milbury said &ldquo;Twenty-six goals is a lot of goals especially when he wasn&rsquo;t getting a lol of time on special teams. He can step into one of our first two lines and stay there for a while.&rdquo;Islanders&rsquo; coach Rick Bowness said adding Czerkawski, who can play either wing, means five of his top 12 forward: can play more than one position. &ldquo;He gives us more opportunities offensively as far as attack and as far as combinations are concerned,&rdquo; Bowness said.Czerkawski is not a good skater and has a reputation for playing soft and being inconsistent. He does not after go to the front of the net, but likes to take the puck and go. He does not have hard shot, but it is accurate.&ldquo;Being back with Milbury, I&rsquo;ve go a feeling I&rsquo;m starting over again,&rsquo;Czerkawski said in a conference call, &ldquo;I know it&rsquo;s a young team and went through tough times. But by the end of the season it was looking up. 1 think it&rsquo;s going to be good for me.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Sources said George Steinbrenner&rsquo;s inquiry into purchasing the Islanders wasn&rsquo;t a serious one&hellip;Owner John Pickett has reportedly raised his asking price from $165 million to $200 million&hellip;Former Islanders&rsquo; captain Clark Gillies and former Madison Square Garden boss Bob Gutkowski are among bidders for the team&hellip;It is believed agents for restricted free agent centers Bryan Smolinski and Travis Green were using the five-year, $8-million Toronto contract for Sergei Berezin as a barometer for their clients. GM Mike Milbury, sources said, planned to use the two-year, $2.3-million deal of Edmonton&rsquo;s Andrei Kovalenko and the three-year, $3.025-million pact of Buffalo&rsquo;s Derek Plante as comparables. &#9632;

f0026-03

Czerkawski a goal-getter

<div class="byline">By John Dellapina</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04328/6528721-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="169" height="167"></div>Kevin Stevens has no illusions about why he was acquired by the New York Rangers. And the burly left winger knows the lengthy nature of the talks that preceded the trade that brought him back east hardly reflected the Rangers&rsquo; burning desire to get him.Rather, Stevens simply represented the best price the Rangers could get for Luc Robitaille, the disappointing marquee left winger they were desperate to deal. And the only reason he was available himself was the Los Angeles Kings were just as dissatisfied with his ratio of production-to-name recognition/salary.Virtually the entire NHL wonders the same thing about him it wonders about Robitaille: Is he finished as a big-time goal-scorer?&ldquo;People question you, people doubt you,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;And they should.&rdquo;Especially when, at age 32, you&rsquo;re coming off a third straight season of scoring 15 goals or fewer after having strung together four straight seasons of 40 goals or more-including back-to-back 55- and 54-goal years. And the doubts become uninterest from rivals when you have three years and $9.4 million left on your contract.Still, there was more to the deal from the Rangers&rsquo; end than just unloading Robitaille. Stevens&rsquo; size and speed intrigued Rangers&rsquo; GM-president Neil Smith just before the 1997 trading deadline, when he nearly executed the same swap.Stevens will have at least one enthusiastic and important supporter when he arrives at training camp Sept. 10.&ldquo;Certainly, I like Kevin from playing with him at Boston College and in the (1988) Olympics,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; defenseman and soon-to-be captain Brian Leetch. &ldquo;My freshman year at BC he was the captain and he really took care of me and a lot of the young guys. I hope Kevin will get a second wind with us and hopefully add some size on the power play.NOTEBOOK: GM-president Neil Smith&rsquo;s initial talks with the agents for restricted free agents Alexei Kovalev, a right winger, and Alexander Karpovtsev, a defenseman, produced little progress. Both negotiations could be difficult. Karpovtsev has become a top-four defenseman-which would mean $2 million per year in the team&rsquo;s salary structure, at least twice what Smith would like to pay. Coming off reconstructive knee surgery, Kovalev has so far remained all potential and little production, which makes for wide disparities between player asking prices and club offers&hellip; Defenseman Brian Leetch&rsquo;s sprained right wrist healed sufficiently to permit the him to play golf and began practising in mid-August. &#9632;

f0026-04

Can Stevens bounce back in Bin Apple?

<div class="byline">By Bob McManaman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01816/6528752-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="171" height="169"></div>As the newest member of J the Phoenix Coyotes, right winger Rick Tocchet plans to bring at least three key ingredients to the club: goal scoring, toughness and leadership.He&rsquo;s also expected to help feisty captain Keith Tkachuk keep his cool and stay out of the penalty box.Tkachuk, who amassed a team-leading 228 penalty minutes last season, became the first player in NHL history to lead the league in goals while having more than 200 PIM.But too many of those penalties were needless and kept the Coyotes&rsquo; offensive machine off the ice in too many key situations.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no way he should be in the box that much,&rdquo; Tocchet said. &ldquo;He has that mean streak, which you never really want to take away. But there&rsquo;s going to be situations where you&rsquo;re going to have to step in for him. We need (him) on the ice. When you get guys scoring 60 goals, like (Jaromir) Jagr and (Mario) Lemieux, you don&rsquo;t see those guys in the box.&rdquo;Of course, Tocchet can only come to Tkachuk&rsquo;s aid during a scrum when both players are on the ice together. And who&rsquo;s to say they&rsquo;re going to be linemates?While there was speculation that may happen, it wasn&rsquo;t a certainty.&ldquo;Personally, I just want to come in, play well, get on any line and get after it,&rdquo; said Tocchet, 33, one of only four players in NHL history to score 300 goals and log 2,000 PIM.NOTEBOOK: Negotiations with defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky hit a standstill as training camp neared. Tverdovsky, 21, who finished fourth in scoring among NHL defensemen last season, is seeking a multiyear deal worth about $2 million per season. GM Bobby Smith said he was confident a deal could be reached&hellip;Former NHL defenseman Tom Kurvers. who played for seven teams during his 11-year career, was hired as the team&rsquo;s radio color analyst. He replaces Steve Konroyd. who resigned to take a TV position with San Jose&hellip;Center Jeremy Roenick won the longest-drive competition with a 347-yard blast at a Phoenix golf tournament. &ldquo;It was the best ball I hit all summer,&rdquo; Roenick said. &#9632;

f0027-01

Keeping Tkachuk’s PIM down one of Tocchet’s many tasks

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03321/6528783-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="615" height="967"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dale Hawerchuk</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02502/6528790-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="171" height="165"></div>The handwriting was on the medical chart ..and the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; depth chart.Dale Hawerchuk ended a 16-year career when he announced his retirement Aug. 25. The 34-year-old center, 10th on the NHL all-time scoring list, caught few by surprise with the news.First, doctors confirmed an arthritic condition in his left hip would only get worse if he continued to play. And second, with the recent acquisition of Chris Gratton, the Flyers had six players who can play center.Hawerchuk was examined by arthritis experts at the University of St. Louis, who advised him to call it a career.&ldquo;I was working out this summer and saying to myself, &lsquo;I spent 16 years in this league and I&rsquo;d sure like to walk away from it and not crawl away from it,&rsquo;&rdquo; Hawerchuk said.The 5-foot-ll, 190-pound Toronto native finishes with 518 goals, 891 assists and 1,409 points. Hawerchuk, whose most productive seasons were as a Winnipeg Jet, is expected to gain entry into the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible in 2000. (See pg. 5 for more).He enjoyed six 100-point seasons during a career that included stops with Winnipeg, the Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia.&ldquo;I was never on a team that won the big one, but I look at it as 16 terrific years,&rdquo; he said.Hawerchuk was the first pick in the 1981 draft and, in 1981-82, became the first rookie to score 40 goals and 10C points. He won the Calder Trophy that season.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman ChrisTherien, the Flyers&rsquo; only unsigned player, was reportedly seeking a deal similar to New Jersey defenseman Scott Niedermayer&rsquo;s ($4.5 million over three years)&hellip;GM-president Bob Clarke said talks had resumed to renegotiate left winger John LeClair&rsquo;s contract. LeClair is entering the third of a five-year deal that pays him $1.25 million per season&hellip;Clarke said he&rsquo;s not concerned if discussions on a new contract for center Eric Lindros carry over into the regular season. Lindros&rsquo; six-year contract ends after 1997-98&hellip; Paul Holmgren has been promoted from director of pro scouting to director of player personnel. He will have an expanded role in the operations of the American League Philadelphia Phantoms. &#9632;

f0027-03

Hawerchuk walks away

<div class="byline">By Bruce Garrioch</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04220/6528821-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="170" height="164"></div>Pierre Gauthier played plastic surgeon with a nip here and a tuck there to change the look of the Ottawa Senators&rsquo; blueline.Four days after making the unpopular move of trading defenseman Steve Duchesne to the St. Louis Blues for rearguard Igor Kravchuk, the GM announced Aug. 29 defenseman Chris Phillips, the first overall choice in the 1996 entry draft, had finally signed a contract.The Phillips&rsquo; signing ended a long contract stalemate. Last year, Phillips threatened to play in the International League after he didn&rsquo;t make the NHL team in training camp. He later relented and returned to the Western League, but when talks bogged down this summer, Phillips postured by saying he&rsquo;d re-enter the draft in 1998.At issue were performance bonuses. While terms of the deal weren&rsquo;t announced, it&rsquo;s believed Phillips received a deal similar to that of 1995 first overall pick Bryan Berard, who receives the rookie salary cap of $925,000 (U.S.) plus incentives that could net him as much as $2 million a season. Included is a $600,000 reward for winning the Calder Trophy.The sides clearly let bygones be bygones.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re building this organization around young players,&rdquo; Gauthier said, &ldquo;and we feel (Phillips has) a very good chance to be a very good player for a very, very long time.&rdquo;Said Phillips of the contract acrimony: &ldquo;I guess a lot of that stuff is all part of the negotiating process. I would have been happy to play for Ottawa all along and I am happy to play for Ottawa.&rdquo;As is Kravchuk, though, the feeling wasn&rsquo;t necessarily mutual among Sens&rsquo; fans. The trade, which will save the team roughly $900,000 this season, was viewed as something of a salary dump. Gauthier refutes that notion.&ldquo;Both guys are going to be unrestricted free agents (next summer),&rdquo; Gauthier said. &ldquo;We had to decide which guy we would rather have.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Daniel Alfredsson&rsquo;s contract dispute was showing no signs of breaking. Disappointed with a five-year, $10-million (U.S.) offer. Alfredsson requested a trade. &ldquo;I told them if they didn&rsquo;t feel that they wanted me, then they should just trade me.&rdquo; Alfredsson said. &ldquo;(Senators&rsquo; GM Pierre Gauthier) told me he wouldn&rsquo;t do that and he would match any offer that I got from another team."&hellip;Despite the fact fans were upset with the trade of offensive defenseman Steve Duchesne, newcomer defenseman Igor Kravchuk, was looking forward to playing for the Sens. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really know much about Ottawa,&rdquo; said the 31-year-old Kravchuk, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;m happy to be going to there.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0027-04

New look ‘D’ with Phillips, Kravchuk

<div class="byline">By Mike Dudurich</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-06121/6528852-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="610" height="971"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ron Francis</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05154/6528859-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="168" height="168"></div>If the Pittsburgh Penguin: held a &ldquo;How I Spent M&rsquo; Summer Vacation&rdquo; essay contest, Ron Francis would be the likely winner.The veteran center accompanied longtime teammate and best friend Ulf Samuelsson to his native Sweden and had the time of his life.&ldquo;Ulfie has a nice place on a lake over there,&rdquo; Francis said. &ldquo;We just kicked back and relaxed.&rdquo;But seeing the picturesque beauty of Sweden was just the beginning of the memorable vacation. They ventured to Scotland, where they played golf seven times in five days on some of the country&rsquo;s best courses.&ldquo;It was very memorable,&rdquo; Francis said, &ldquo;but the best part was I beat Mr. Samuelsson for the week.&rdquo;Reality set in quickly in mid-August when he and some of his Penguins&rsquo; teammates started gathering at the team&rsquo;s practice facility for some informal skating.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a low-key kind of thing. These guys know what kind of shape they have to be in,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think getting into shape was a problem for our teams the last couple years. We got the reputation as having a country club atmosphere around here, but the teams that won the Cups (1991 and 1992) and a year or two after that were the hardest-working teams I&rsquo;ve ever been around.&rdquo;The hard work is expected to continue under new coach Kevin Constantine. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a little bit of anxiety in that you don&rsquo;t know exactly what he expect,&rdquo; Francis said. &ldquo;Basically everyone is starting from square one.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Penguins told free agent defenseman Jason Woolley he was not in their plans for 1997-98 and he was free to make a deal for himself with another team&hellip;The Penguins announced they will place an American League franchise in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa., starting in October, 1999. This season, the Penguins will place players with Syracuse of the AHL. sharing the team with Vancouver&hellip;The Penguins opened training camp Sept. 2, but veterans weren&rsquo;t required to report until Sept. 9. Among those expected to take part in the early skating sessions were goaltender Tom Barrasso (who missed most of last season after shoulder surgery) and defenseman Neil Wilkinson, who had off-season abdominal surgery. &#9632;

f0027-06

Swede time for Francis

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-07101/6528890-1-eng-US/f0027-072.jpg" title="f0027-07" width="168" height="164"></div>In some eyes, it was righting a wrong.A little more than two years after former coach-GM Mike Keenan sent Steve Duchesne to the Ottawa Senators, the point-producing defenseman was re-acquired in a trade for rearguard Igor Kravchuk.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard giving up a quality guy like Igor Kravchuk, but I think we&rsquo;ve added an aspect or element on defense that we didn&rsquo;t have,&rdquo; said GM Larry Pleau. &ldquo;We needed someone who could contribute offensively, upgrade our breakouts and really help the power play.&rdquo;Those qualities have been missing in St. Louis since Duchesne departed in what turned out to be one of Keenan&rsquo;s most harshly criticized transactions. On Aug. 4, 1995, Keenan dealt Duchesne to Ottawa for a second-round draft pick. Keenan later used that pick (26th overall) in a package to get veteran winger Yuri Khmylev from the Buffalo Sabres.Khmylev, 33, played only 13 games with the Blues and contributed a goal and two assists. He cost the Blues $400,000 in a contract buyout last fall.Duchesne comes with a $2 million price tag, but the Blues obviously feel he&rsquo;s worth it.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a valuable ingredient to have,&rdquo; said coach Joel Quenneville. &ldquo;We feel we&rsquo;re solid enough in the defensive part of the game that we&rsquo;re able to put him in there to add more flare and punch.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Brett Hull and agent Mike Barnett met with Blues&rsquo; GM Larry Pleau Aug. 21 in St. Louis to discuss Hull&rsquo;s future with the organization. Hull, 33, is entering the final year of his contract and can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. He wants to finish his career with the Blues and is seeking a lifetime contract, similar to the one center Steve Yzerman has with Detroit. If the Blues choose not to re-sign Hull, they will attempt to deal him before the 1997-98 trading deadline&hellip;Defenseman Steve Duchesne also stands to become an unrestricted free agent at season&rsquo;s end&hellip;The Blues have severed ties with Dr. Rick Lehman, the team physician for three years. &#9632;

f0027-07

Offensive whiz Duchesne fills void left by Duchesne

<div class="byline">By Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01850/6528921-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="169" height="167"></div>The San Jose Sharks have severed ties with two players who filled significant roles during the only period of on-ice success the club has enjoyed in its six NHL seasons.San Jose bought out center Ray Whitney&rsquo;s contract Aug. 21, then traded defenseman Vlastimil Kroupa the following day to the New Jersey Devils for a third round draft pick.Whitney, 25, was the second player chosen by San Jose in its inaugural entry draft in 1991. He spent most of last season in the minors, managing two assists in 12 games with the Sharks.Kroupa, 22, appeared in 35 games with San Jose last season, scoring two goals and eight assists. The Sharks selected Kroupa in the second round of the 1993 entry draft.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something you don&rsquo;t want to do, trade a player at his age, with his potential,&rdquo; said assistant GM Wayne Thomas. &ldquo;We felt, though, that the number of years he spent here was getting in the way of his development.&rdquo;Kroupa joined San Jose as an 18-winning goal in a big playoff upset of the Detroit Red Wings. Whitney, too, was a regular on San Jose&rsquo;s overachieving 1994 club, as well as the following season when the Sharks knocked off the Calgary Flames. It was Whitney&rsquo;s goal in the second overtime of Game 7 that doused the Flames.&ldquo;We made the judgment he wasn&rsquo;t going to play on our NHL roster,&rdquo; Thomas said.NOTEBOOK: Left winger Ville Peltonen and right winger Jan Caloun have opted to play in Europe this season. Peltonen, a native of Finland, signed with Vastra Frolunda of Sweden. Caloun, of the Czech Republic, will play with 1FK Helsinki in Finland. Peltonen, 24, had two goals and five points in 28 games with San Jose last season. Caloun was scoreless in two games with the Sharks, but led Kentucky of the American League with 43 goals and 86 points&hellip; San Jose signed center Peter Roed Aug. 21. Roed, a second round pick in 1995, had 21 goals and 37 points in 51 games for Prince George of the Western League last season&hellip;Coach Darryl Sutter visited Boise, Idaho as part of a ticketselling drive for the Sept. 24 pre-season game against Los Angeles. &#9632;

f0030-01

Sharks part company with old heroes Kroupa, Whitney

<div class="byline">By Tim Buckley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03388/6528952-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="613" height="957"><figcaption class="caption-body">Louie DeBrusk</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02566/6528959-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="172" height="164"></div>After a season of frequent losing on the ice, the Tampa Bay Lightning lost much of its fight during the off-season.Agitator Shawn Bur was given to the San Jose Sharks for a draft pick, heavyweight Rudy Poeschek signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Blues, bad boy Brantt Myhres was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for scoring winger Vladimir Vujtek and Chris Gratton signed on with the Philadelphia Flyers.After saying prospects Ryan Brown and Mathieu Raby would fight it out during training camp for an enforcer&rsquo;s job, GM Phil Esposito altered that strategy by signing free agent left winger Louie DeBrusk from the Oilers.A veteran of six seasons in Edmonton, DeBrusk, 26, agreed to a two-way deal that will pay $375,000 if he sticks with the Lightning, but just $75,000 if he is relegated to the minors. A second year on the contract is at Tampa Bay&rsquo;s option.The enforcer&rsquo;s job is now DeBrusk&rsquo;s to win.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s up to him,&rdquo; said Tony Esposito, the Lightning&rsquo;s director of player development and scouting. &ldquo;If he proves he can do the job, it&rsquo;s his.&rdquo;The 6-foot-2, 215 pound DeBrusk has compiled 797 penalty minutes in 228 NHL games, but has struggled in the fighter&rsquo;s role the past few seasons.The Lightning hopes he can turn his game around. &ldquo;We need that physical presence,&rdquo; Tony Esposito said. &ldquo;You have to have that these days and that was something we were lacking. We hope DeBrusk (will) fill that role.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center John Cullen was visited with lymphoma specialists in Boston Aug. 28 to determine the next step in his battle with cancer. He hopes to be ready for the start of training camp. &ldquo;My spirits are still up,&rsquo;&rsquo; Cullen said, &ldquo;and I feel I will be back soon."&hellip;Left winger Jason Wiemer agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth $1.65 million Aug. 27&hellip; Right winger Paul Brousseau re-signed with the Lightning. Brousseau, 23, who was scoreless in six games with the Lightning last season, will likely start 199798 with Adirondack of the American League&hellip;The Lightning also signed free-agent defenseman Viktor Ignatjev Aug. 26. The Latvian was the top-scoring blueliner in the International League last season, collecting 69 points with Long Beach. &#9632;

f0030-03

DeBrusk to fight for job

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04274/6528990-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="169" height="165"></div>It was a contract that made a few folks gasp.Tie Domi at $7.1 million (U.S.) over five years? C&rsquo;mon. Yet another sign of a sports world gone crazy.Those who think that, however, would be ignorant of two facts. One, how NHL salaries have escalated over the past two seasons, and two, how the 27-year-old Domi&rsquo;s value to the Toronto Maple Leafs has escalated over the same period of time.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d be the first to admit 1 never thought I&rsquo;d make this kind of money,&rdquo; Domi said. &ldquo;It feels like everything I&rsquo;ve ever worked for has paid off.&rdquo;The big dollars arrived for Domi after a horrible Leaf season last year in which he was one of only a handful of players to perform with grit and effort on a consistent basis. He scored a career-high 11 goals and fought 29 times, proving he ranks high among those in the league who can both throw &lsquo;em and play the game.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think they&rsquo;ve signed me just to fight, but I&rsquo;ll be there for everyone on the team,&rdquo; Domi said.The Leafs are promising to offer up more than just Domi as abrasive elements this season; the roster also features frequent fighters Kris King, Kelly Chase and potentially Nick Kypreos.But Domi has also been mentioned in some circles as being a candidate for the vacant captain&rsquo;s position, although that is expected to go to center Mats Sundin.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honor to be even mentioned, but I don&rsquo;t need a letter to be a leader,&rdquo; Domi said. &ldquo;Every sport I&rsquo;ve ever played, I&rsquo;ve been a leader.&rdquo;While Domi&rsquo;s signing put all the important Leaf players under contract, the front office and scouting staff was filled out a little more by the decision of GM Ken Dryden to retain the services of Nick Beverley and Floyd Smith. Smith was demoted from director of player development to amateur scout, while Beverley moved to director of pro scouting after serving as director of player personnel.NOTEBOOK: Center Brandon Convery and left winger Nick Kypreos were still looking for new contracts at the end of August&hellip;The Leafs interviewed player agent Mike Gillis for a front office position, but Gillis apparently wasn&rsquo;t interested&hellip;The Leafs offered two players and $5 million in a failed attempt to land former Tampa Bay center Chris Gratton&hellip;The Leafs will, for the first time, open their training camp in Kitchener, Ont., this fall&hellip;Center Kelly Fairchild, who played 22 games for the Leafs last season, has left the organization&hellip;The Leafs expressed interest in Carolina center Andrew Cassels before he was dealt to Calgary in the deal involving left winger Gary Roberts. &#9632;

f0030-04

Big bucks for improving, popular Domi

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06163/6529021-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="609" height="959"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alexander Mogilny</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05200/6529028-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="168" height="166"></div>Alexander Mogilny is looking forward to playing with new Vancouver canucKs center Mark Messier, but as an unsigned Group II free agent, he is looking to getting a contract first.Mogilny has spent the summer living in Malibu, Calif., and enjoying first-time fatherhood. Unlike his countryman Pavel Bure, who has requested a trade, Mogilny has no qualms about continuing his career as a Canuck.&ldquo;I hope I get a chance to play with Mark Messier,&rdquo; Mogilny said. &ldquo;Getting him was great for the city and the team.&rdquo;With Bure wanting out, the pressure is on GM Pat Quinn to sign Mogilny and keep at least one of his explosive Russian wingers. (See pg. 8 for more on Bure.) Messier isn&rsquo;t likely to be amused if there are nothing but plumbers left on the roster when the season opens Oct. 3 in Tokyo.Mogilny remained philosophical about the snail&rsquo;s pace at which his talks were proceeding.&ldquo;These things don&rsquo;t bother me,&rdquo; Mogilny said. &ldquo;The Canucks seem to take their time. They can sign me or they can trade me. Either way, it&rsquo;s fine.&rdquo;Interestingly, the Canucks have never been able to sign a Mike Barnett client, striking out on Wayne Gretzky last summer and then with young Swedish defenseman Mattias Ohlund. The Toronto Maple Leafs solved the latter problem by signing Ohlund to a five-year, $10 million (U.S.) offer sheet, which the Canucks then matched.NOTEBOOK: Left winger Donald Brashear fired agent Gilles Lupien and will attempt to negotiate his own deal. Brashear made $300,000 (U.S.) last season. Left winger Gino Odjick will collect $750,000 (U.S.) and Brashear wants similar money&hellip;Blueliner Mattias Ohlund will make $150,000 (U.S.) in each of his first three seasons, but will cash bonus cheques of $1.85 million (U.S.) each year. In the final two years, the Swede will be paid $1 million in bonus and $1 million in salary to bring the deal to $10 million&hellip;Odjick described winger Pavel Bure&rsquo;s inevitable departure as &ldquo;losing a kid brother."&hellip;Orca Bay Sports, the company that owns the Canucks, appointed Stephen Bellringer as president and CEO effective Oct. 1. &#9632;

f0030-06

Pressure to sign Moqilnv

<div class="byline">By Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-07138/6529059-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="168" height="163"></div>Ron Wilson is taking nothing for granted as he prepares to enter his first training camp as coach of the Washington Capitals.&ldquo;This is a team that didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs so a lot of people have things to prove,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;Realistically, there&rsquo;s 24 jobs (available) and 30 guys fighting for them. But it&rsquo;s an open book, I didn&rsquo;t come here with any preconceived notions, the slate&rsquo;s clean.&rdquo;That slate was wiped clean before Wilson joined the organization. Longtime GM David Poile and the coaching staff were dismissed as owner Abe Pollin cleaned house after Washington&rsquo;s first non-playoff appearance in 15 seasons. Nearly 370 man-games lost to injury were a major contributing factor to the Caps not making it into post-season.If Wilson has anything resembling a healthy squad with which to work, he will have a playoff team and possibly a contender. There will be 68 players attending camp, but more than half that figure will be there so the new front office staff can judge the organization&rsquo;s depth.What Wilson wants to do is lock in pairs on his forward lines, rotating the third person to fit situations or opponents or games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m open to anything including that we might have a first line then three equal units rotating,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t dole out ice time equally; you ride the fastest horse on any given night and that&rsquo;s what I intend to do.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Mike Anderson. a junior at the University of Minnesota, spent six weeks at the Caps&rsquo; pro acclimation camp at his own expense (about $2,000). Picked 180th in the 1996 entry draft, the Bloomington, Minn., native had to be able to document he paid his own way in order to keep his U.S. college eligibility. He said the experience was well worth it&hellip;The Capitals hired Dave Prior as their full-time goaltending coach. The Capitals are Prior&rsquo;s fifth NHL team-Dallas, Winnipeg, San Jose and Detroit are the others. He worked with Olie Kolzig when the Capital goalie played for Germany in the World Cup last fall. In addition to his NHL duties this season, Prior will work with other goalies in the Capitals&rsquo; system. &#9632;

f0030-07

Wilson feels Cap returnees will have ‘things to prove’

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>Al MacAdam was enjoying the summer and preparing for his 12th season at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B., when an early-August phone call changed his life.Bill Watters, assistant to Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; president Ken Dryden, was phoning to see if MacAdam would be interested in _ coaching the American League&rsquo;s S John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs.While MacAdam figured coaching at the pro level was something he would eventually like to try, he was content at St.Thomas. In fact, he didn&rsquo;t pursue any of the nine AHL vacancies.&ldquo;It was in the back of my mind the Al last couple years, but when somebody phones and asks if you&rsquo;d be interested, of course you&rsquo;re going to listen,&rdquo; MacAdam said.MacAdam liked what he heard and was hired by the Leafs in late-August, becoming the fourth coach in the seven-year history of the St. John&rsquo;s franchise.He succeeds Mark Hunter, who resigned after last season to return to the Samia Sting of the Ontario League&ldquo;I like coaching, I like the challenges of getting players to play to / their potential and beyond,&rdquo; said MacAdam, who played 12 NHL sons for the Philadelphia Flyers, (fomia Seals, Cleveland Barons Minnesota North Stars and Van (r) couver Canucks.MacAdam, 45, said he intends coach as he played: with a great won. &ldquo;NEW I ethic and love of the game. While with the is.&mdash; Stars, he won the 1980 Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.&ldquo;I tend to coach as I played,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I played very consistent and brought a quiet intensity to the game. I&rsquo;m intense, but I have controlled emotions and a passion for the game.&rdquo;In his 11 seasons at St. Thomas, his clubs had a 129-139-13 record. His best season was 199596, when the Tommies went 19-6-1 and he won coach of the year honors in the Atlantic Universities Athletic Association.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02580/6529128-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="469" height="462"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03401/6529121-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="462" height="465"></div>Coaching in St. John&rsquo;s has been a stepping stone to the NHL. Marc Crawford went 12578-37 in three seasons before being hired by the Quebec Nordiques after 1993-94. Crawford&rsquo;s assistant for two seasons, Joel Quenneville, left to become coach of the Springfield Falcons in 1993-94 and is now coach of the St. LouisBEASTS OF THE EAST: Showing it&rsquo;s not afraid to take a chance, the U AHL&rsquo;s new franchise in New Haven took a walk on the wild side when it unveiled the team&rsquo;s nickname: in the Beast of New Haven.The Beast nickname plays off the city&rsquo;s heritage of gargoyles, * mythological creatures known for their ability to discern good from evil and to protect the inhabitants of buildings on which they live.Gargoyles are prevalent on much of the architecture in New Haven. The creatures are also known as &ldquo;beasties,&rdquo; thus the Beast nickname.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a safe name, by any means. It&rsquo;s not Blades or anything basic like that,&rdquo; said David Gregory, New Haven&rsquo;s president-GM. &ldquo;We knew there would be traditionalists who might not like it.&ldquo;But we did some testing in different markets away from New en(before the unveiling) and the rise was positive.&rdquo;Haven is the affiliate of the arolina Hurricanes and Florida&rsquo; anthers. Guy Lehoux, the remaining original member of the St. ihn&rsquo;s Maple Leafs, will play in Gery this season. A six-year veteran defenseman, Lehoux was given permission to escape from a two-year contract he signed with the Baby Leafs in March. &ldquo;The city of St. John&rsquo;s has treated me well over my career here and the hospitality they have given me is something I will never forget,&rdquo; said Lehoux, the Leafs&rsquo; captain the past two seasons&hellip;Mike Busniuk, an assistant coach for the Binghamton Rangers, signed another contract with parent New York and will be E.J. McGuire&rsquo;s assistant with the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Binghamton franchise shifted to Hartford in June. &#9632;

f0032-02

MacAdam trades one St. for another in AHL debut

<div class="byline">By Kevin lole</div>Dave Tippett has become an NHL coaching prospect in his year-and-a-half at the helm of the Houston Aeros. Now, he is adding player personnel responsibilities to his duties.Peter Dineen stepped down as Houston&rsquo;s director of player personnel after three International League seasons, saying the business aspect of the job wore him down. Dineen is attempting to land a scouting position with an NHL franchise.The Aeros gave the personnel responsibilities to Tippett, who took over as interim coach for Terry Ruskowski Jan. 2, 1996, and has led the team to a 61-48-13 record since.Tippett has had a difficult summer, However, losing three key forwards. Bill Bowler was lost in the expansion draft to the Las Vegas Thunder, Mark Lamb signed in Europe and Al Conroy is headed for japan.&ldquo;We lost guys I like to refer dressing room guys,&rdquo; Tippett s; &ldquo;We lost guys who had a tremendo amount of character and they&rsquo;re no easy to replace.&rdquo;Tippett has signed centers Neil Brady and Ken McRae and left winger Brent Hughes, among others. Still, much of the burden of the Aeros&rsquo; success will fall onto the shoulders of goalie Frederic Chabot, the 1997 1HL MVP.Backup Rob Dopson signed to play in England, putting Tippett in the market for a veteran who can take some of the load off of Chabot. Not too much, however, Tippett joked.&ldquo;Freddie told me he wants to cut back on his games,&rdquo; Tippett said. &ldquo;Last year, he played 72 games. This year, he said he doesn&rsquo;t want to play more than 70. I guess I can find a way to give him those two extra nights off.&rdquo;Dineen said scouting would enable him to devote all of his energies to hockey. He isn&rsquo;t sure he would never want to become a GM again, but said the time isn&rsquo;t right for him now.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a hockey guy and that&rsquo;s my passion,&rdquo; Dineen said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve talked to a couple of clubs about a job and I think I&rsquo;ll have something lined up real soon. The crew in Houston was great, but like any job, there were some good points and some negative points.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04276/6529159-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="414" height="464"></div>WOLVES BUSY: The Chicago Wolves signed a couple of stars and hope they have an MVP on deck.The Wolves re-signed IHL goal scoring champion Steve Maltais Aug. 26 and inked center Alexander Semak the next day.But Chicago&rsquo;s top off-season acquisition is likely still to come. Goalie Stephane Beauregard, the league&rsquo;s MVP in 1995-96 with the defunct San Francisco Spiders, was close to signing with the Wolves.Beauregard, who was 35-20-11 with a 2.65 goals-against average last season for the Quebec Rafales, signed with the Washington Capitals. He will be assigned to Chicago if he doesn&rsquo;t make the Capitals, leaving the Rafales without their star stopper. Washington is expected to go with Bill Ranford and Olaf Kolzig.Beauregard had a clause in his contract that he signed with San Francisco f that forced him to be released from his IHL deal if he ever signed an NHL contract.Wolves&rsquo; GM Gene Ubriaco isn&rsquo;t going to take it for granted that Beauregard is or his way from Washington, saying he was; planning to go with holdovers Wendell Young and Ray Leblanc. However, he did say then was a &ldquo;good chance&rdquo; he could receive an NHL goalie.Ubriaco said Semak&rsquo;s signing was critical for the Wolves, giving them a potent right-handed shot for the power play to go along with the left handed shots of Rob Brown and Maltais.&ldquo;Semak is one of the top offensive players in this league and he makes us a better team,&rdquo; Ubriaco said.I-OPENERS: The Kansas City Blades resigned marksman John Purves and came terms with center Iain Fraser&hellip;Clevelani Lumberjacks&rsquo; broadcaster Tim Saunders was: hired by the Philadelphia Flyers to be their play by-play man for the coming season&hellip; The Manitoba Moose signed tough guy defenseman Marc Laforge&hellip; The San Antonio Iguanas traded center Michel Mongeau to Quebec for de fensemen Brad Miller and Davie Barozzino&hellip;The Milwaukee Admirals came t(terms with left winger Mike McNeill and de fenseman Shannon Finn. &#9632;

f0032-04

Houston’s Tippett adding to his impressive resume

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>The Sarnia Sting was buzzing prior to the opening of Ontario League training camps after stealing highly touted defenseman Ryan VanBuskirk from the University of Michigan.VanBuskirk, 17, signed a letter of intent to attend Michigan in 1998-99 after another year of Jr. B, but when his Jr. B coach, ex-NHLer Bobby Gould, joined the Sting as an assistant coach, VanBuskirk came too.At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, he was rated highly for the OHL midget draft in June, but because of signing the letter of intent, OHL teams shied away from him until the Sting took a flyer in the 13th round, 229th overall.&ldquo;Ryan has a chance to be a high pick in next year&rsquo;s NHL draft if he plays up to his potential,&rdquo; said Sting coach-GM Mark Hunter. &ldquo;It will be up to the coaching staff to get that potential out.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big-time prospect. He was rated in the first round (of the OHL draft) two years ago. Michigan doesn&rsquo;t just go after any player. They like the elite players and that should tell you something.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01762/6529190-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="748" height="256"></div>VanBuskirk is from Marysville, Mich., just across the border from Sarnia. The Sting is hoping to tap into the U.S. market for spectators.&ldquo;It was hard, considering I signed the letter of intent, but I felt as a hockey player I will develop quicker playing in the OH&rdquo; VanBuskirk said.&ldquo;I doubt I would have gone to any other team in the OHL. Sarnia is close to home and I &ldquo;know the coaches.&rdquo;HAZING RULE: The OHL is implementing official policies to ensure hazing doesn&rsquo;t rear its ugly head.During league meetings Aug. 28, GMs approved anti-hazing measures that include immediate suspensions for anyone involved in promoting rookie hazing.The OHL police statement says, &ldquo;Team bonding is an important element in developing a positive feeling among the members of any team.However, there is a distinct difference between team bonding and hazing.&ldquo;Any player, team official, executive member of a team having been party to or having had knowledge of any degrading hazing or initiation rite shall be subject to an automatic suspension, the length of which will be determined upon investigation of the incident by the league comNEW START:Gary Agw is climbing another mountain as coach of the London Knights.The Kniehts haven&rsquo;t seen any peaks lately-just lots of valleys as the worst team in the Canadian Hockey League two years running.&ldquo;What happened in the past is not my concern,&rdquo; Agnew said. &ldquo;We can only control what we are going to do.&rdquo;What the Knights haven&rsquo;t done is win. They won 13 games last season and only three the year before when they set a CHL futility record.Agnew returned to the Knights after three years at the other end of Ontario-and the standings-with the Kingston Frontenacs. He coached the Knights for four years before incoming ownership decided against keeping him.The Tarry family, with only 34 wins in three seasons, had a change of heart in mid-April.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited about this,&rdquo; Agnew said of his second tour in London. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a challenge.&rdquo;Agnew, 37, is 13th in OHL coaching wins and fourth among active coaches, behind Briar Kilrea (Ottawa 67s), Bert Templeton (Barrie Colts) and Larry Mavety (Kingston).FARM SYSTEM: OHL champion Oshaw; Generals hired from within, promoting assistant coach John Goodwin to replace Bill Stewart.Stewart left after one season to coach the St John Flames of the American League.Goodwin, 35, was an assistant coach for three years and played three years in the OHL with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He was rookie of the year in 1978-79 and scoring champion ii 1980-81 with 166 points. &#9632;

f0033-01

Touch of Gould helps Sting land prospect VanBuskirk

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div>Quebec Remparts&rsquo; coach Guy Chouinard doesn&rsquo;t mind having the boss look over his shoulder-especially not when the boss is Colorado Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy.Roy, who owns the Remparts along with two partners, was a keen observer when the Remparts (formerly the Beauport Harfangs) opened training camp at Laval University Aug. 17.&ldquo;For me, as a coach, I think it would be stupid not to use a Patrick Roy,&rdquo; Chouinard said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a smart man. He was at the practices and he made sure everyone was at ease. He wants to know what is going on, which is O.K. If he wants to say something, he says it.&rdquo;Chouinard, a former 50-goal scorer with the Atlanta Flames, played with the Remparts as a junior and was thrilled to see Roy and his partners revive the once-proud franchise that folded after the 1984-k 85 season. &ldquo;&ldquo;I was quite honored to con back here as coach of the who coached the Laval Titan last season. &ldquo;I played here and it was fun then. This team means a lot to a lot of people here, so we want to make sure that everybody who wears the jersey will put pride into it.&rdquo;LECAVALIER WATCH: Rimouski Oceanic center Vincent Lecavalier will be the most-watched player in the Quebec League this season, but Hull Olympiques&rsquo; coach Claude Julien already had a sneak preview of what fans can expect.Lecavalier, the pre-season favorite to be the No. 1 pick at next year&rsquo;s NHL entry draft, was part of the Canadian under-18 team that won the Tri-Nations Tournament in the Czech Republic in August. Lecavalier scored the winning goal in Canada&rsquo;s 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic in the final and finished the tournament with three goals and six points in three games.&ldquo;He was by far the best player there,&rdquo; Julien said. &ldquo;He was dominant. He plays hard at both ends of the ice. He has great hands and skills like Mario Lemieux. His work ethic is extraordinary. Any time you talk he&rsquo;s so attentive. He listens and wants to learn and most of all he wants that puck.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02517/6529221-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="622" height="311"></div>&ldquo;At this moment, I can&rsquo;t see anyone else going first overall. You can&rsquo;t go wrong pickingSUMMER TO REMEMBER: Vaid&rsquo;Or Foreurs&rsquo; goalie Roberto Luongo will never forget the summer of 1997.It got off to a great start in June when he was selected fourth overall by the New York Islanders at the NHL entry draft (the highest a goalie has ever been picked), and wrapped up with an invitation to Canada&rsquo;s national junior team evaluation camp in August.&ldquo;I spent a week in New York after the draft,&rdquo; Luongo said. &ldquo;We trained during the day and got a chance to go out and do things at night.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s certainly a nice town,&rdquo; he said of Long Island. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice and quiet.&rdquo;While Luongo was with the Foreurs when they opened camp Aug. 16, he&rsquo;ll be back with the Islanders when their camp begins.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;m looking forward to,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but right now I&rsquo;m in Vai d&rsquo;Or and I&rsquo;m just concentrating on that.&rdquo;Luongo said he was pleased with his performance at the national junior camp and has set a goal of making the team this season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty sure I&rsquo;m going to be back (in Vai d&rsquo;Or), but I spoke to (Islanders&rsquo; coach) Rick Bowness and he told me to be ready for training camp and that &lsquo;If you&rsquo;re one of the best goalies there, we&rsquo;re going to keep you because we have to win this year.&rsquo; We&rsquo;ll see what happens.&rdquo;If Luongo ends up back in Vai d&rsquo;Or, he&rsquo;ll backstop what should be one of the best teams in the league.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to be pretty much the same as last year, but we&rsquo;re going to have more experience,&rdquo; Luongo said, &ldquo;so I think we can go further than we did last year (when they were beaten by Hull in the Lebel Division final).&rdquo; &#9632;

f0033-02

Chouinard opens camp with boss Roy in stands

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div>For the second consecutive year, a front-line player is balking at rejoining the Medicine Hat Tigers.Left winger Trevor Wasyluk, 19, is demanding to be traded to another Western League team. Last year, defenseman Johnathan Aitken refused to return to Medicine Hat and was traded to the Brandon Wheat Kings.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sort of getting sick of it,&rdquo; said Tigers&rsquo; GM Doug Mosher.Aitken, 19, was the Boston Bruins&rsquo; first-round choice (eighth overall) in the NHL&rsquo;s 1996 entry draft. The Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes) selected Wasyluk in the second round, 34th overall.&ldquo;If I don t get what 1 want-true value-I&rsquo;m not moving him,&rdquo; Mosher said. &ldquo;His agent (Tom Laid-\ law) and himself are not going to 1 force me into getting value that is not good. I&rsquo;m not going to trade him for a bag of pucks and a hockey stick.&rdquo; mThe Tigers are in the second year of a rebuilding program. Wasyluk would prefer to play for a team with well-founded WHL championship aspirations.&ldquo;Mr. Laidlaw phoned and said that after sitting down with his client and his parents, it was in the best interests of all concerned if Trevor could be moved to a team where he could best showcase his talents,&rdquo; Mosher said. &ldquo;Basically, he was looking at going to a contending team, sort of like Johnathan Aitken.&ldquo;I disagreed and said we&rsquo;d like Trevor to stay here. I know we&rsquo;re a rebuilding team, but I still think we can be a good hockey club.&rdquo;Wasyluk, who had 31 goals for Medicine Hat last season, could not be reached for comment at his home in Clavet, Sask.Mosher, however, had plenty to say.&ldquo;All summer long, I was looking at what we have coming back and what young kids we have coming in,&rdquo; Mosher said. &ldquo;I thought Trevor would carry a lot of our load. I&rsquo;m very disappointed.&rdquo;LAW TO BRANDON: The Wheat Kings acquired 20-year-old right winger Kirby Law from the Lethbridge Hurricanes.Law had 91 points last season, including 39 goals, as Lethbridge surged to the WHL title. He added 200 minutes in penalties.&ldquo;He was a key player for them last year,&rdquo; said Brandon GM Kelly McCrimmon. &ldquo;Kirby is a very complete player who will help our team in many ways.&rdquo;In return for Law, Brandon surrendered 18-year-old left winger Jason Boyd.&ldquo;This is a very significant trade for this time of the year,&rdquo; McCrimmon said. &ldquo;Jason Boyd was definitely not a player we wanted to part with.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03382/6529252-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="385" height="391"></div>Boyd had five goals and 10 points in 38 games as a rookie last season. Law I in 7Q career WHL games.&ldquo;We had way too many 20-year-olds in Lethbridge, so I knew some-body had to go,&rdquo; Law said. &ldquo;I guess Brandon wanted me and I&rsquo;m glad they got me.&rdquo;Law, who hails from McCreary, Man., now plays for the WHL&rsquo;s only Manitoba-based team.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m from Manitoba, which is a big part of it for me,&rdquo; Law said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll get a little more fan support, which will be nice.&rdquo;At the same time. Law expressed regrets about leaving Lethbridge.&ldquo;(Lethbridge coach-GM) Bryan Maxwell is one of the greatest coaches in this league, so it&rsquo;ll be tough to leave that,&rdquo; Law said. &ldquo;At the same time, I&rsquo;m going to Brandon, where Kelly McCrimmon and (Wheat Kings&rsquo; coach) Bot Lowes are also at the top of the list for smartness.&rdquo;MORE TRADE TALK: Medicine Hat and the Kamloops Blazers have swapped 18-year olds. Kamloops sent left winger Steve Albrecht Medicine Hat for defenseman Kevin Mackie Both players decided to opt out of the 1991 NHL draft. &#9632;

f0033-03

Tigers will deal Wasyluk but not for bag of pucks

NHL TRAINING CAMP ROSTERS

<h2>NHL PRESEASON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01767/6529342-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="559" height="3785"></div><h2>TRANSACTIONS</h2>Transactions include NHL personnel moves from Aug. 22 to Aug. 29.<h3>ANAHEIM</h3>Aug. 25: Mike Crowley. 0. signed contract. Aug. 29: Darren Van Impe, D, signed contract.<h3>BOSTON</h3>Aug. 26: Rob Tallas. G, signed contract Aug. 29: Jozef Stumpel. C Sandy Moger, RW, and fourth round pick in 1998 traded to Los Angeles for Dimitri Khristich, C, and Byron Dafoe, G<h3>BUFFALO</h3>Aug. 25: Erik Rasmussen. C. signed contract.<h3>CALGARY</h3>Aug. 25: Trevor Kidd, G. and Gary Roberts. LW. traded to Carolina for Andrew Cassels, C. and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, G Aug. 26: Aaron Gavey. C, and Erik Andersson. C, signed two-year contracts.<h3>CAROLINA</h3>Aug. 25: Andrew Cassels. C, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, G. traded to Calgary for Trevor Kidd, G, and Gary Roberts, LW Aug. 28: Steve Martins. C, signed contract. Ethan Philpott, RW, signed contract as free agent. Brent Fedyk, RW. on tryout.<h3>CHICAGO</h3>Aug. 27: Jimmy Waite. G, agreed to contract terms. Nathan Perrott. RW. and Brian Felsner. C, signed contracts as free agents.<h3>COLORADO</h3>Aug. 22: Rene Corbet, LW. signed one-year contract Eric Lacroix, LW, signed three-year contract.<h3>DALLAS</h3>Aug. 26: Neal Broten, C, released.<h3>DETROIT</h3>None.<h3>EDMONTON</h3>Aug. 25: Mariusz Czerkawski, RW, traded to New York Islanders for Dan Lacouture, LW.<h3>FLORIDA</h3>None.<h3>LOS ANGELES</h3>Aug. 28: Kevin Stevens. LW, traded to Nev? York Rangers for Luc Robitaille, LW. Aug. 29: Dimitri Khristich, C, and Byron Dafoe, G, traded to Boston for Jozef Stumpel, C, Sandy Moger, RW, and fourth round pick in 1998.<h3>MONTREAL</h3>Aug. 28: Valeri Bure, RW, and Scott Thornton. C, signed one-year contracts.<h3>NEW JERSEY</h3>Aug. 21: Sergei Brylin, C, signed two-year contract. Aug. 22: Vlastimil Kroupa, D, signed multi-year contract.<h3>N.Y. ISLANDERS</h3>Aug. 25: Dan Lacouture, LW, traded to Edmonton for Mariusz Czerkawski. RW.<h3>N.Y. RANGERS</h3>Aug. 25: Jeff Brown. D, signed contract. Aug. 26: Brent Thompson, D, signed contract as free agent. Aug. 27: Pierre Sevigny. LW. signed contract. Aug. 28: Luc Robitaille. LW, traded to Los Angeles for Kevin Stevens, LW.<h3>OTTAWA</h3>Aug. 25: Steve Duchesne. D. traded to St. Louis for Igor Kravchuk. D. Lance Pitlick, D. signed multiyear contract. Aug. 29: Chris Phillips, D, signed multi-year contract.<h3>PHILADELPHIA</h3>Aug. 25: Dale Hawerchuk. C. retired.<h3>PHOENIX</h3>None.<h3>PITTSBURGH</h3>None.<h3>ST. LOUIS</h3>Aug. 25: Igor Kravchuk, D. traded to Ottawa for Steve Duchesne, D.<h3>SAN JOSE</h3>None.<h3>TAMPA BAY</h3>Aug. 26: Louis Debrusk, LW, and Viktor Ignatjev, D, signed contracts as free agents. Paul Brosseau. C, signed contract. Aug. 27: Jason Wiemer, LW. agreed to two-year contract.<h3>TORONTO</h3>None.<h3>VANCOUVER</h3>None.<h3>WASHINGTON</h3>klnno<h2>3-NATION CUP</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04331/6529335-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="522" height="553"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05276/6529328-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="517" height="616"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06242/6529321-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="517" height="836"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07221/6529314-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="513" height="701"></div><h2>1997-98 USA WOMEN&rsquo;S NATIONAL TEAM</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03436/6529307-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="1081" height="955"></div> &#9632;

f0036-01

MISCELLANEA

<div class="byline">By Sandi Trudo</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01753/6529373-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bill Lund was among the leaders in most offensive categories.</figcaption></div>Just call him Bill the Thrill.Orlando Jackals&rsquo; forward Bill Lund, who led Roller Hockey International with 32 goals and 78 points in 24 games, was named winner of the 1997 Diamond Award as league MVP.The RHI player of the year award was re-named this year to honor former RHI president Jerry Diamond who passed away last December.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely my biggest accomplishment to date,&rdquo; Lund said. &ldquo;I just worked hard this season and things happened for me.&rdquo;And they happened&hellip;and happened&hellip; and happened. Lund not only led RHI in scoring, he also: finished third in assists (46); third in plus/minus (plus-28); second in shooting percentage (33 per cent); and had at least one point in each of the 24 regular season games.&ldquo;I scored a lot of goals getting it down low and walking in with the puck-and by bringing it out front and shooting it in,&rdquo; Lund said.Being a focal point on a killer power play also helped. Lund praised the other members of the power play unit-John Hanson, Kyle I Reeves and Taj Nelson-for helping him achieve such gaudy stats.&ldquo;I had some great talent to play with,&rdquo; Lund said. &ldquo;On the power play, you just find open seams and find the right guy to pass to.&rdquo;Lund tied an RHI season high by twice scoring I eight points in a single game-both times against I the Buffalo Wings. He ended his season with a flourish by tying the I record for most assists in a game (seven). The talented forward also went 5-for-5 on penalty shot and shootout efforts this year.This was Lund&rsquo;s first year with the Jackals and his third in RHI. He was acquired in the supplemental draft from the Minnesota Arctic Blast, where he had 29 goals and 64 points in 27 games in 1996. The previous season, the Roseau, Minn., native played for the hometown Blue Ox.Three years ago, Lund never would have imagined an RHI MVP award was in his future.&ldquo;My first year in RHI I struggled,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d never played any pro hockey and I knew all the players had pro experience. But I had heard the first year is tougher and I really had to work to get the points. The last two years, they came more easily. Once I got the skating down, that helped a lot.&rdquo;Lund played collegiate hockey at St. Cloud State University, where he starred as a senior in 1995. He credits college play for his solid two-way effort.&ldquo;In college hockey, I learned how important the defensive part of the game is,&rdquo; said Lund, who grew up admiring the Minnesota North Stars and Neal Broten.Of course, the 1997 news wasn&rsquo;t all good for Lund. Despite the fact his team posted the league&rsquo;s best record (20-4) during the regular season, the Jackals were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the New Jersey Rockin&rsquo; Rollers.Lund said that while his team played well in the East final, it came up against a juggernaut.&ldquo;New Jersey really had a stacked up team, they made some late trades,&rdquo; Lund said. &ldquo;We ran into a tough goalie too-(Nick) Vitucci played really well. He has won five or six (hockey championships) so he knows how to come up big when it counts.&rdquo;Lund was right-Vitucci was hot. His 2.58 goals-against average was the best in the playoffs entering the championship round. Vitucci allowed only two goals in the first game, which New Jersey won 8-2. Vitucci stopped 36 of 43 shots in Game 2, which Orlando won 7-6, then he snuffed the Jackals in a 12-minute mini-game by stopping all 13 shots in a 1-0 victory.New Jersey advanced to the 1997 RHI final to face the West Division champions, the Anaheim Bullfrogs.Anaheim beat out the San Jose Rhinos in a what turned out to be a tight series. Anaheim won Game 1 easily by a score of 9-1. The Rhinos came back to win Game 2 6-5 in a shootout, but the Bullfrogs won the mini-game 2-0.In the first game of the Murphy Cup final, Anaheim beat New Jersey 12-4 Aug. 28. The second game (and minigame, if necessary) was scheduled for New Jersey Aug. 31. &#9632;

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September 12, 1997

PLUS MINUS

THE WORLD’S #1 HOCKEY WHEEL

Teamwork U.S. watchword in Olympic mission

Huddy, Sator, Granato familiar names behind bench