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.

January 2, 1998

The Hockey News January 2, 1998

Hockey seems to be copying a lot of its ideas from basketball, so why not borrow a concept from international soccer?Why not only allow Olympic participation of NHL players who are under 25, the same way soccer does?This would create benefits of giving NHL veterans a mid-season break to get ready for the playoffs, help develop the emerging stars of the NHL and level the playing field of Olympic competition.Jeff Wills,&nbsp; Winnipeg, Man.<h2>I liked it before</h2>I guess the hockey world wants to see best-on-best at the Olympics, but I liked seeing all the kids I had only read about in The Hockey News.I had never seen Paul Kariya or Peter Forsberg before the 1992 Olympics. I&rsquo;ll miss the excitement of amateurs playing at the highest level they will ever achieve.Greg Herman,&nbsp; Boston, Mass.<h2>Thanks, guys</h2>An open letter to Paul Kariya and the NHL&rsquo;s free agents who don&rsquo;t have contracts:Thank you for helping to price myself and my family out of the NHL. I&rsquo;m really glad to hear some of you will be making more per game than a lot of us make during the entire year.Just remember where you came from and what it was like as a kid going to your first NHL game.I regret that my kids will never get that chance.Steve Geraci,&nbsp; Santa Clara, Calif.<h2>Silly salute</h2>Would someone please tell Jaromir Jagr this is not the National Football League? If he&rsquo;s going to do something silly after he scores, at least do something original.John Driscoll,&nbsp; Bloomingdale, N.J.<h2>Zero tolerance</h2>I could not believe some of the responses you received that defended Chris Simon after his racial slur against Mike Grier (THN. Dec. 5).Just because you lace up the skates does not mean you check your humanity at the door. Racism in hockey is the proverbial line not to be crossed, no matter what the race, religion or ethnicity of a player.As an African-American who has played the game for over 20 years, I never called anyone a name based on his race or religion.I expect the same courtesy.E. Harold Corbin,&nbsp; Annandale, Va.<h2>Can of worms</h2>The Chris Simon-Mike Grier incident exposed a serious subject that calls for thoughtful consideration. I wonder, though, if the NHL isn&rsquo;t treading on volatile ground in its selfappointed role as &ldquo;word police.&rdquo;NHL commissioner Gary Bettman refers to some sort of nebulous line that shouldn&rsquo;t be crossed (THN, Nov. 28). Yet by restricting only one particular type of speech (racist remarks), the league may be viewed as tolerating other categories of offensive dialogue.What about a messy divorce or one&rsquo;s alleged sexual orientation? In deciding where to draw the line, the league has its hands full.Jordan Biscardo,&nbsp; Stafford, Va.<h2>Listen up, guys</h2>Hey I&rsquo;ve got a great idea for free agents Sergei Fedorov, Oleg Tverdovsky and Petr Nedved.Let&rsquo;s start a new league to rival the NHL. We&rsquo;ll have teams with names such as the New England Whalers, Houston Aeros and New York Golden Blades. We&rsquo;ll try gimmicks such as white skates and we&rsquo;ll sign Gordie Howe to play through the 1999-2000 season so he can become the only player to play pro hockey in seven different decades.We&rsquo;ll get an insurance company to sponsor our championship cup and we&rsquo;ll pay salaries even Disney couldn&rsquo;t afford.And we&rsquo;ll give this new league a snappy name-the World Hockey Association.Isn&rsquo;t it nice to know some fans still have a sense of humor?Scott Laplante,&nbsp; Worcester. Mass.<h2>Sturm of protest</h2>While I agree Patrik Elias is a leading contender for the Calder Trophy at this stage of the season (THN, Dec. 5), I was disappointed you failed to include Marco Sturm of the San Jose Sharks as one of the challengers for rookie-of-the-year honors.It was especially disappointing in light of the fact he was the leading scorer among rookies and was named rookie of the month for November. He is as worthy of mention-if not more so-as Vaclav Prospal. Alexei Morozov and Eric Messier.Eric Norris,&nbsp; Sacramento, Calif.Fax us your comments at&nbsp;(416) 340-1641&nbsp;or write to&nbsp;Letters, THN, 777 Bay St, Suite 2700, Box 148, Toronto, Ont, M5G 2N8&nbsp;in Canada. In the U.S., write to&nbsp;Letters, THN, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y., 142409947. E-mail us at <a href="mailto:THN@transc.com">THN@transc.com</a>. Include home and business phone numbers.&nbsp;THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

DEPARTMENTS

Why doesn’t hockey borrow from soccer?

<h2>Wily Gartner in elite club</h2>1. 700 Club Phoenix&rsquo;s Mike Gartner becomes fifth NHLer to score 700 career goals.2. Fine debut Anaheim&rsquo;s Paul Kariya scores two goals and two assists in first game after reaching contract agreement.3. Goals, goals, goals Scoring down in NHL, but AHL&rsquo;s Springfield and Worcester combine for eight goals in 3:37.4. High five Odessa&rsquo;s Sami Laine scores five goals in Western Pro League-that&rsquo;s five goals in one period.5. Arturs, Arturs Vancouver goalie Arturs Irbe has two shutouts in three games, gives up one goal in that span.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021292/7256081-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="326" height="456"><figcaption class="caption-body">Arturs Irbe</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03969/7256074-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="325" height="454"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Savage</figcaption></div><h2>Hawks sliding slippery slope</h2>1. Hawks sink Chicago winless in seven (0-4-3) drops to basement in Central Division.2. Disappearing act Montreal&rsquo;s Brian Savage held pointless in eight straight games.3. Bad Boy I New Haven&rsquo;s Peter Worrell suspended five AHL games for physical abuse of official.4. Bad Boy II Seattle&rsquo;s Rick Berry suspended eight WHL games for breaking opponent&rsquo;s jaw with slash.5. What a waste Do you think the $12,300 Calgary Flames spent on rookie dinner could have been used more wisely? &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

PLUS MINUS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011889/7256360-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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ELSTON

<div class="byline">By Helene Elliott</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021094/7257022-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="162" height="160"></div>So sure were the Los Angeles Kings Jamie Storr would be their goaltender of the future-the future being this season-that they traded reliable Byron Dafoe to the Boston Bruins last summer.But plans to have him appear in 25-to-30 games this season as backup to Stephane Fiset went awry when Storr sustained a severely pulled groin muscle during training camp. He was kept off the ice for several weeks and after the injury healed, was sent to the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International League to play himself back into condition.Storr finally got back on track Dec. 17 when he was summoned from Long Beach. To Storr, who will turn 22 Dec. 28, the wait turned out to be longer than he thought it might be, becoming nearly interminable.&ldquo;It was kind of weird. When I first went down I thought it would be a two-week thing, but as time went on, I realized what they were trying to do with the team,&rdquo; said Storr, who was 6-2-1 in 10 games for Long Beach with a 3.06 goals-against average and.895 save percentage. &ldquo;They were playing well and I guess they didn&rsquo;t want to change things.&rdquo;The injury hurt Storr psychologically as much as physically. He has had problems in the past with a lack of confidence and has worked hard to learn how to remain calm and control his nerves.The groin pull, however, was something he couldn&rsquo;t control, and he had to learn how to come to terms with it.&ldquo;Injuries are part of the game, but it was disappointing to be injured,&rdquo; said Storr, who played 15 games for the Kings over the previous three seasons. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t do anything for a while. I could hardly walk&rdquo;He&rsquo;s eager to seize this opportunity to prove he can be a front-line NHL goalie, even if it came a bit later than he anticipated.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m here to push myself and I want to work hard and do the best I can,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m ready.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Coach Larry Robinson was reluctant to shake up the roster during an 0-5-1 skid in which the offense sputtered. &ldquo;You have to show confidence in the guys who have gotten you here so far,&rdquo; said Robinson, whose team was shut out twice and scored only seven goals during its winless streak. The Kings&rsquo; futility ended Dec. 18 with a 5-2 victory over Toronto at the Forum&hellip;Through their first 33 games, the Kings had scored the first goal only 11 times, but they were 10-1-0 in those games&hellip;Defenseman Philippe Boucher became a father for the first time Dec. 17, when his wife, Lucie, gave birth to a son. Boucher missed the team Christmas party, but didn&rsquo;t miss a game&hellip;Center Olli Jokinen, the Kings&rsquo; first-round pick (third overall) last June, was thriving back home in the Finnish Elite League. Jokinen, who struggled against NHL competition before returning to Europe, had six goals and 15 points in his first 11 games with IFK Helsinki. &#9632;

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NHL TEAMS

Goalie hopes better things in Storr after lengthy rehab stint in minors

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden Editor-In-Chief</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04736/7256112-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="342" height="422"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Dan Hamilton/VPS)</figcaption></div>Everything about hockey expanded in 1997-from salaries to revenues to players to teams to leagues to video review to goaltenders&rsquo; equipment to heartbreak. Everything except the size of the rink and scoring.In response to the last part, the NHL is considering moving the nets two feet out from the end boards. Some are even suggesting the size of the net be expanded so it can be filled more liberally with pucks. Attempts to deflate the Michelin Men now occupying NHL nets have failed. What&rsquo;s next? A maximum height and weight for goalies? Smaller pucks? Shootouts? No red line? A two-goal line? Prohibition of zone defenses? The Drydens vs. the Hansons in a fight-to-the-death cage match?Yes, it has come to this. It has not been a good year for hockey.Not since the moment The Hockey News joined three other publications Jan. 4 in a Calgary hotel room for a heart-wrenching three-hour journey to the center of Sheldon Kennedy&rsquo;s heart. Kennedy was sexually abused by Graham James, the former Swift Current Broncos&rsquo; coach. James, the 1989 Inside HOCKEY Man of the Year who fought the good fight publicly while conducting an unconscionable one privately, is now in a Manitoba jail, serving a 3-1/2-year sentence for sexual assault.Meanwhile, Vladimir Konstantinov is valiantly battling another kind of sentence. The Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; defenseman was a player to behold: a wonderful blend of mayhem and magnificent talent. He could skate like the wind and hit with the force of a hurricane. His recovery from a horrible car crash continues.The THN list of the 50 most significant stories of the year (see pg. 23) is top-heavy with tragedy and unhappy events. We are not doomsayers. We have not sought out these stories. They have found us. The temptation is to say good riddance, not goodbye, to 1997.But that would be to deny the many splendid achievements that deserve recognition: Steve Yzerman, Scotty Bowman and the Rec Wings winning the Stanley Cup; Wayne Gretzky collecting the 1,851 st point of his career; Canada winning its fifth straight World Junior title and fourth consecutive women&rsquo;s championship; Pat LaFontaine, Pavel Bure and Gary Roberts coming back; Mike Gartner scoring his 700th goal; Teemu Selanne and John LeClair bucking the nogoal trend; and the emergence of a new generation of stars upon which good things will be founded. Happier new years are to come. &#9632;

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Good riddance, not goodbye, to year of 1997

<div class="byline">Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011762/7256150-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="344" height="430"></div>As the NHL goes looking for its missing goals-scoring is down by half a goal per game this season-the issue is where to draw the line.The goal line. The red line. And the figurative line that separates responsiveness from overreaction.&ldquo;Because goal-scoring is down there is a perception that changes have to be made to the game,&rdquo; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told The Hockey News. &ldquo;That may or may not be the case, depending on the changes. We recognize there is a sense that the game would be better if it were opened up a bit. So we&rsquo;ll examine some possibilities.&rdquo;That said, the NHL committee of seven GMs, which met with Bettman and senior vice-president Brian Burke in New York Dec. 16, discussed a myriad of possibilities, not all of them conventional.The one that appears to have the most support-the best bet to be instituted next season-is an enlargement of the offensive zones achieved by moving the goal line and blueline two feet further out from the end boards. That would result in a four-foot reduction of the neutral zone.It&rsquo;s believed the extra two feet of space behind each goal would significantly alter how both goaltenders and defensemen go about their business, giving more of an edge to attacking players.That concept is scheduled to be experimented with in the minor leagues in February and March, allowing the NHL to study the effects.If that&rsquo;s instituted, the next question is what complimentary changes are required. Will a smaller neutral zone make it easier for teams to employ the trap and further discourage forechecking? Possibly.That&rsquo;s why some believe the move to a bigger offensive zone should be accompanied by the abolition of the red line, except for icing.Burke has ventured his own ideas on that subject. Rather than eliminate the red line, Burke said, institute a new line across the top of the offensive faceoff circles. The line already exists in many Canadian rinks where ringette is played.Burke&rsquo;s proposal is as soon as a puckcarrier coming out of his own end crosses the &ldquo;ringette&rdquo; line, he&rsquo;s entitled to pass the puck anywhere in the neutral zone.Another proposal, believed to come from Boston GM Harry Sinden, is to eliminate offside entirely except for two-line passes. That would mean a puck-carrier who crosses the center red line would be able to pass the puck anywhere on the ice, effectively eliminating the offensive blueline for purposes of offside. That&rsquo;s radical, but it will be given some consideration.Not all the concepts involve erasing lines.There has been talk of some form of mandatory forechecking and of goaltenders not being allowed to come out of the net to play the puck.Power-play modifications are also much talked about, including a return to the rule, circa 1950s, that forced a player to serve a full two minutes regardless of how many power-play goals were scored during that penalty.There has been talk of giving teams the option of five skaters against four skaters for two minutes or four skaters against three skaters for one minute. Or how about not waiving the icing rule for the team killing a penalty?Then there is the issue of crease infringement and whether the NHL&rsquo;s current policy of video review should be maintained. The seven GMs who attended the New York meeting-Anaheim&rsquo;s Jack Ferreira, Boston&rsquo;s Sinden, Dallas&rsquo; Bob Gainey, Edmonton&rsquo;s Glen Sather, New Jersey&rsquo;s Lou Lamoriello, Philadelphia&rsquo;s Bob Clarke and Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Craig Patrick-were split on it. Some want it abolished entirely, others want to keep it and consider modifications such as re-configuring the size of the crease.There has been less controversy over the crease issue since Oct. 30, when the league directed referees to use their own discretion more and video less. But if the simmering pot boils over between now and the end of this season, there&rsquo;s a good chance video review for crease calls will be scrapped next season.The GMs&rsquo; committee is expected to cull their long list of possible changes to a short list for all the NHL GMs to consider and debate at their next meeting in early February in Phoenix. It&rsquo;s expected recommendations for approval by the board of governors could flow from there.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021409/7256143-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1525" height="2607"><figcaption class="caption-body">Draft prospect David Legwand reminds some scouts of Dallas Stars&rsquo; pivot Mike Modano. (Photo by Dan Hamilton/VPS)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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FEATURES

GMs ponder where to draw the line(s)

Peter DeBoer, assistant coach of Canada&rsquo;s national junior team and coach-GM of the Plymouth Whalers, has had the pleasure of seeing Vincent Lecavalier and David Legwand up close this season.Six months away from the 1998 NHL entry draft, he has drawn one conclusion.&ldquo;I think these two guys are going to push each other (for No. 1) right down to the wire,&rdquo; DeBoer told THN just prior to leaving for the World Junior Championship in Helsinki, which would pit Legwand of the U.S. against Lecavalier of Canada. That opinion was echoed by a wide variety of NHL scouts.Lecavalier&rsquo;s status comes as no surprise. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound center from Rimouski of the Quebec League has been touted for better than a year now as the premier prospect for the 1998 draft. The NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Bureau rates Lecavalier the top prospect in the QMJHL and Legwand No. 1 in the OHL in its preliminary ranking. (Seepg. 42 for list.)Some NHL teams believe Legwand, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound Mike Modano clone, is now the No. 1 prospect. Others say the Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., native has a ways to go yet before surpassing Lecavalier. Most others are reserving judgment, sitting back and enjoying a competition many thought wouldn&rsquo;t take place.Legwand has performed beyond all expectations this season, even his own, scoring 36 goals and 59 points in 30 Ontario League games for Plvmouth.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect to do this well,&rdquo; the rookie told THN. &ldquo;I thought maybe I&rsquo;d get 20 goals and 60 points for the year.&rdquo;Once Legwand realized the competition wasn&rsquo;t too daunting, his confidence level soared. So, too, did his point totals.DeBoer said Legwand&rsquo;s strengths are his fast and strong skating (&ldquo;better than Bryan Berard,&rdquo; who DeBoer also coached), a heavy shot (wrist or snap) and outstanding vision (&ldquo;he&rsquo;s a better playmaker than a eoal-scorer and he&rsquo;s a great scorer &ldquo;)<h2>SCOUTING REPORT</h2>David Legwand, CPlymouth WhalersBorn: Aug. 17, 1980&rsquo;97-98: 30-36-23-59-8<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03918/7256181-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="311" height="398"></div> &#9632;

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Legwand hot on Lecavalier’s trail

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011724/7256212-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="315" height="407"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Orr</figcaption></div><h2>December</h2>Thur., Dec. 25&ndash;Sat., Jan. 3: Canada is aiming for its record sixth straight World Junior Championship title in Helsinki. The U.S. finished second last year. Ten teams are in the A Pool event.Mon., Dec. 29&ndash;Sun., Jan. 4: The U.S., Ontario, Quebec, Sweden and Czech Republic compete for the Under-17 International Championship in Kitchener. Ont.<h2>January</h2>Sat., Jan. 17&ndash;Sun., Jan. 18: The NHL All-Star weekend is set for Vancouver. The skills competition and Heroes of Hockey game are Jan. 17 and the All-Star Game, pitting the best of North America vs. the best of Europe, is Jan. 18.<h2>MILESTONES</h2>600 goals: Jari Kurri of Colorado needed one goal and Dino Ciccarelli of Tampa Bay nine goals to hit the 600 mark.1,000 assists: Mark Messier of Vancouver needed four assists to reach the 1,000 mark.<h2>TO BE ANNOUNCED</h2>Women&rsquo;s Olympic Team: The U.S. was scheduled to name its team shortly after completion of the Three Nations Cup Dec. 20.THN Top 50 NHL Players of All-Time: THN is publishing a special magazine naming the Top 50 NHL Players of All-Time. News conferences are set for Jan. 9. Candidates for the highest honors include Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr. &#9632;

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CALENDAR

<div class="byline">By John Davidson Inside the NHL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011696/7256267-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="313" height="381"></div>Paul Kariya&rsquo;s 71-day contract impasse with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim gave him ample time to do two things he likes most-think and wort out.This is not good news if you have to play against him. Players rarely get better when they sit out for long periods of time, but it looks as though Kariya has defied common practice. With three goals and five points in his first two games, it certainly doesn&rsquo;t look like the layoff hurt him.But that&rsquo;s largely because Kariya is one of the most dedicated athletes in the NHL and uses his time off to do more than lower his handicap.While much of the hockey world speculated whether or not he&rsquo;d even be back in uniform this season, Kariya approached it as though every day were two weeks before training camp. That way he kept himself mentally and physically sharp. During his layoff Kariya went back to his roots, working out on the ice three times a week in a minor hockey rink in Burnaby, B.C. And instead of doing a few windsprints and working on his shot, Kariya religiously did set drills he designed himself and did them in sets of five.Kariya also worked diligently on a backhand shot that is already the envy of the league. His objective is for his backhand to be as hard and quick as his forehand, a truly scary prospect when you consider how hard his wrist shot is. Although it&rsquo;s almost impossible to one-time a backhand, Kariya claims he&rsquo;s close.And Kariya was just as diligent in the weight room. But instead of doing full body workouts at low weights and lots of repetition. Kariya isolated the core of his body and did more weight with fewer reps. He started his first season at 167 pounds, finished at 160 and, because of weight training, now tips the scales at about 180. Kariya believes endurance can be built up on the ice, not the weight room, and a stronger core means more torque and harder shots.In his stint with the Canadian national team. Kariya claims he has never worked so hard. Practices under head coach Andy Murray were high-tempo and had &ldquo;flow and battle.&rdquo; They didn&rsquo;t feature the odd-man rushes you see in most NHL practices and players had to battle through someone to make something happen.And because of his hard work, he&rsquo;s making things happen in a big way in the NHL. &#9632;

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Kariya got better without even playing

<div class="byline">By Bob McManaman</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021208/7256305-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phoenix&rsquo;s Mike Gartner is still flying high at 38, but says he isn&rsquo;t yet thinking of catching Gordie Howe. (Photo by Brian Babineau/BBS)</figcaption></div>For much of this season, his 19th in the NHL, Mike Gartner has had enough reasons to be as frustrated as a father trying to assemble a child&rsquo;s bicycle out of the box on Christmas Eve.But look at who&rsquo;s riding tall now.After a prolonged scoring slump at the end of last season, being dropped to the third, and even fourth line at times this year, suffering a knee injury and then being exposed to waivers, Gartner was on top of the world Dec. 14 in Phoenix.That&rsquo;s when the Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; veteran right winger joined a select NHL group, becoming just the fifth player in league history to reach the 700-goal milestone.Playing in his 1,390th career game, Gartner scored No. 700 at 10:41 of the first period on goaltender Chris Osgood during a 3-3 tie with the Detroit Red Wings. His 701st, which came on the power play with fewer than five minutes remaining in regulation, was the game-tying goal.Gartner, 38, joins Wayne Gretzky (837 and counting), Gordie Howe (801), Marcel Dionne (737) and Phil Esposito (717) as the only members of the 700 club. (See accompanying table for more).&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an accomplishment and it&rsquo;s something I feel great about, but I don&rsquo;t know if I would consider myself in that category,&rdquo; Gartner said, referring to the other 700-goal scorers. &ldquo;Someday I might, and hopefully. I&rsquo;ll look back on it fondly.&ldquo;Right know, it&rsquo;s a number along the way. I have a lot of hockey left in me and I hope I can continue to produce for this team.&rdquo;Howe and the others welcomed Gartner into the 700 club with style.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very proud of him,&rdquo; Howe said. &ldquo;Mike is a silent scorer. A lot of people are surprised he&rsquo;s there because he&rsquo;s very, very quiet. He&rsquo;s a great kid and represents his clubs well. If it was possible, I&rsquo;d give the guy a big hug. I appreciate him that much.&rdquo;Until the milestone moment, it had been a turbulent year for No. 22. Garter scored 32 goals for Phoenix last season after getting traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fourthround pick on draft day, June 22, 1996. It was the 17th time he finished with at least 30 goals.But after scoring 10 in his first 10 games, he finished with just one in his final 16 and also failed to score in the Coyotes&rsquo; seven-game, first round playoff series loss to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.His slump extended into this season, when he went goal-less for the first nine games. Then, after scoring twice in three games, he suffered tom ligaments in his left knee during a knee-on-knee collision with Calgary Flames&rsquo; right winger Theo Fleury. He missed 15 games.But the biggest sting of all was the one he felt when Coyotes&rsquo; GM Bobby Smith exposed him to waivers Nov. 26. Because of an assortment of injuries, Smith had to remove one of his players from the protected list in order to sign free agent defenseman Michel Petit. In a calculated risk, he chose Gartner, the second active-leading goalscorer behind Gretzky. It was felt Gartner&rsquo;s salary ($1.1 million this season) might scare opponents from picking him off waivers.&ldquo;The reality is, I&rsquo;m 38 years old and there&rsquo;s nothing I can do about that.&rdquo; Gartner said, adding he was upset about the move because,&rdquo;I have three kids, two of them are in junior high, and we&rsquo;re sitting there (for 48 hours) wondering where Dad is going to be-if he&rsquo;s going to be here or somewhere else.&rdquo;Gartner, who has also played for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers and Maple Leafs, scored his 700th while skating on the Coyotes&rsquo; No. 1 line with left winger Keith Tkachuk and center Craig Janney, who assisted on the goal with a crafty pass from behind the net.A day after scoring his 699th career goal during a Dec. 12 2-2 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Gartner was promoted from the third line by coach Jim Schoenfeld.&ldquo;(Schoenfeld) told me that I was playing well and that I warranted more ice time,&rdquo; said Gartner, who became the first member of the 700 club to score the milestone goal on home ice.&ldquo;I think some of it has to do with what&rsquo;s happening to Keith. He&rsquo;s getting double-teamed. It&rsquo;s like teams are throwing a blanket on him every time he touches the puck and with somebody on the right side who can score, hopefully we can free him up more.&rdquo;With four goals in three games, Gartner was free from his slump and a disappointing season. People are even asking him again if he can catch Howe&rsquo;s 801 goals.&ldquo;Gordie&rsquo;s a long ways away,&rdquo; Gartner said, smiling. &ldquo;Too far to even think about right now.&rdquo;<h2>The NHL&rsquo;s 700 Club</h2>It&rsquo;s difficult to believe, but Mike Gartner is the only member of the 700-goal club to never have been named a first-or second-team all-star.Listed below are the players who have scored 700 career goals, the number of goals, games played (GP), goals per game (GPG), and times they finished a season with 50 or more goals, 40-to-49 goals, 30-to-39 goals, and 20-to-29 goals. The number of first-and second-team all-star selections is also listed.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03775/7256298-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="1421" height="283"></div> &#9632;

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Gartner rebounds for 700th

Swap shop Thirteen. That&rsquo;s how many NHL players changed teams in the first 79 days of the regular season. Twelve. That&rsquo;s how many OHL players changed teams on Dec. 18, when Sudbury initiated a four-team swap by trading Tampa prospect Paul Mara.Jammin&rsquo; at the MCI Washington&rsquo;s new MCI Center is a work in progress. For the first two Cap games there, one of the doors on the players&rsquo; bench was jammed shut, which kept the visiting team hopping. It&rsquo;ll be months before the D.C. facility is fully finished.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021275/7256391-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="369" height="568"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Mara</figcaption></div>Dishing it off DirecTV is a boon to hockey-starved fans in the U.S., but one team they&rsquo;ll see little of as part of their mini-dish subscription is the Philadelphia Flyers, whose owner Comcast sees itself as a competitor and, therefore, limits the team&rsquo;s exposure on DirecTV.Fussin&rsquo; and feudin&rsquo; The NHL&rsquo;s hottest rivalry is Colorado-Detroit; the most intense personal feud is Avalanche Adam Foote and Red Wing Brendan Shanahan. They first got it on last March when Darren McCarty beat up Claude Lemieux. They fought in the first meeting between the two teams this season and in the second, on Dec. 17, they dropped the gloves on three separate occasions and took turns cross-checking each other in the face. The two share similar backgrounds. Both grew up in communities near Toronto (Mimico for Shanahan; Whitby for Foote), both played lacrosse and both have the same agent (Rick Curran). Both will play for Team Canada at the Olympics.The trading post Players most likely to be traded: Zarley Zalapski of Calgary, Sean Burke and Geoff Sanderson of Carolina, Alexei Kovalev and Alexander Karpovtsev of the Rangers and Alexander Mogilny of Vancouver. &#9632;

f0006-02

What you need to know about the 1997-98 season

<div class="byline">By Alan Adams</div>A week after being cut by the Canadian women&rsquo;s Olympic team, Angela James denied she made allegations that a member of the team&rsquo;s coaching staff was having an affair with one of the players on the team.After being cut by coach Shannon Miller Dec. 9, the four-time World Champion met with Canadian Hockey Association vice-president Bob Nicholson Dec. 16 for a clear answer as to why she was cut. It was reported after that meeting James made the allegation, but she said it was not brought up in the meeting.The controversy reached such a pitch that James and Nicholson appeared together on TSN&rsquo;s That&rsquo;s Hockey with Dave Hodge Dec. 19 to deal with the matter.&ldquo;There were no allegations on my part whatsoever,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;I had questions about my release and I wanted to get answers and that was all.&rdquo;Nicholson and CHA president Murray Costello conducted an investigation and found the allegation had no basis in fact.The controversy came in the midst of the Three Nations Tournament in Lake Placid, N.Y. The tournament featured Canada, USA and Finland. Canada went through the double-round robin with a 4-0-0 record, while USA was 1-2-1. The Finns were 0-3-1. Canada and USA were scheduled to meet in the tournament final Dec. 20.James also met with Costello to plead her case.&ldquo;(James) said in our meeting she had hoped that the personality conflict that exists between the head coach and herself didn&rsquo;t extend from any personal relationships that anybody had,&rdquo; Costello said.&ldquo;If somebody has that, bring forward the allegation and we will investigate it fully,&rdquo; Costello said. &ldquo;Until then, there is nothing in the way of any relationship that effects how this team is run.&ldquo;We have had these kinds of allegations in the past and we have met with the team and we have resolved the fact that is not a problem.&rdquo;What Costello was referring to was a charge of sexual harassment filed against Miller last spring after a player was a late cut at the selection camp for the 1997 Women&rsquo;s World Championship in Kitchener, Ont.&ldquo;We investigated and there was absolutely no substance to the charge,&rdquo; Nicholson said.&ldquo;This is nasty,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t make the allegations. I think it&rsquo;s unfair to the team.&rdquo;Several Team Canada players said suggestions of staff-player sex were unfounded.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s garbage,&rdquo; Hayley Wickenheiser said.&ldquo;I hear what&rsquo;s going on and absolutely nothing is going on,&rdquo; Cassie Campbell said.Costello also met with Miller and assistants Danielle Sauvageau and Ray Bennett and reviewed the process which led to James not making the team. He emerged from the meeting to say he backs their decision.&ldquo;She is not on the Olympic team because there were 20 players who merited that opportunity ahead of her,&rdquo; Costello said.James can appeal the decision to a CHA tribunal, but Costello suggested an appeal may be a waste of time.&ldquo;I would like to talk to her in more detail about how that was arrived at so she can better understand and assure her that there were no outside influences that caused it,&rdquo; Costello said.James was told at meetings in May, September and October that she was on the bubble.With that issue resolved, the focus switched to Miller and whether someone is out to get her. Miller said she knows who her enemies are and she doesn&rsquo;t includes James in that bunch.&ldquo;I know her well enough to know she would not be doing this by herself and she is not the front-runner, either,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think she would go in this direction. She is not that type of person.&rdquo; &#9632;

Player didn’t make affair charge

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN staff</div>The staff of the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Bureau will convene in early January to produce the season&rsquo;s first composite ranking of North American prospects for the 1998 entry draft.The No. 1 prospect is expected to be Rimouski Oceanic center Vincent Lecavalier of the Quebec League, although another center, David Legwand of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Plymouth Whalers, may challenge for that honor.Lecavalier and Legwand were both No. 1 in preliminary CSB rankings, done on a league-by-league basis.Lecavalier is rated ahead of Shawinigan Cataractes&rsquo; defenseman Mathieu Biron in Quebec while Legwand has the nod over Barrie Colts&rsquo; right winger Michael Henrich in Ontario. Shawinigan&rsquo;s Mathieu Chouinard is No. 1 amongst QMJHL stoppers while Samia Sting&rsquo;s Patrick Desrochers, touted as the top netminder overall, is No. 1 in Ontario.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011717/7256453-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="308" height="461"><figcaption class="caption-body">M. Chouinard</figcaption></div>In the Western League, Regina Pats&rsquo; defenseman Brad Stuart and Kamloops Blazers&rsquo; blueliner Robyn Regehr are one-two among skaters while Brandon Wheat Kings&rsquo; Jomar Cruz is tops among goalies.The top-rated U.S. college player is University of Michigan defenseman Mike Van Ryn. The top-ranked U.S. college netminder is Colorado College&rsquo;s Colin Zulianello.The 1998 entry draft is June 27 in Buffalo. (See pg.42 for CSB list.)ALL-STAR COACHES: Ken Hitchcock of the Dallas Stars and Jacques Lemaire of the Montreal Canadiens were named coaches for the All-Star Game Jan. 18 in Vancouver.The two coaches had their NHL teams in first place in each conference after Dec. 15. Hitchcock will be behind the World All-Stars bench along with assistant Marc Crawford of the Colorado Avalanche. Lemaire is joined on the North America All-Star bench by assistant Kevin Constantine of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The assistants are head coaches of the teams in first place in the other divisions.I he designation of me tour coaches to me two all-star teams was determined by a coin toss.The leading candidates for each team&rsquo;s starting lineup, determined by a fan ballot, were: Eric Lindros (Philadelphia Flyers), John LeClair (Philadelphia), Brendan Shanahan (Detroit Red Wings), Brian Leetch (New York Rangers), Ray Bourque (Boston Bruins) and Patrick Roy (Colorado) for the North America All-Stars.For the World All-Stars: Peter Forsberg (Colorado), Jaromir Jagr (Pittsburgh), Teemu Selanne (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim), Sandis Ozolinsh (Colorado), Slava Fetisov (Detroit) and Dominik Hasek (Buffalo Sabres).The starting lineups will be announced Dec. 29&ndash;30 and the full roster Jan 5-6 (See pg. 42 for latest voting totals.)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021145/7256446-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="307" height="464"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brad Stuart</figcaption></div>80 YEARS STRONG: A lot has changed since the NHL&rsquo;s original four teams played their first games 80 years ago on Dec, 19. 1917.The Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators 7-4 and the Montreal Wanderers edged the Toronto Arenas 10-9 in the first regular season games. Sixteen players on those teams wound up in the Hall of Fame, including Joe Malone of the Habs, who scored five of his team&rsquo;s seven goals.Among the rule variations were: no icing, no bluelines, unlimited overtime, three-minute minor penalties and 12 players per team.APPOINTMENTS: Jac K. Sperling was named CEO of Minnesota&rsquo;s NHL expansion team for 2000-2001.The Atlanta Hockey Club Inc., meanwhile, named Dave Maggard executive vice-president. The 57-year-old Maggard will report to team president Harvey Schiller. The expansion franchise will join the NHL in 1999-2000.WOMEN&rsquo;S AWARD: USA Hockey has created a national level award designed to recognize accomplishments of the most outstanding player in women&rsquo;s collegiate hockey.The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award was named after the multi-sport Princeton University athlete who died in 1990 at age 28 of a rare blood disease. It will be presented April 1. &#9632;

f0007-01

Lecavalier, Legwand top CSB list

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011782/7256491-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="380" height="533"></div>Judging by the way he handled the Oleg Tverdovsky affair, Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; GM Bobby Smith wouldn&rsquo;t be a candidate for the award named after him.The Bobby Smith Award is presented annually to the Ontario League player who best combines high standards of play and academic excellence. Smith displayed neither in contract negotiations with Tverdovsky, a 21-year-old defenseman who played in last season&rsquo;s All-Star Game and in the World Cup.Smith&rsquo;s stubbornness hurt the Coyotes&rsquo; chances of coming together early in the season as a contender and did nothing to further develop one of the game&rsquo;s rising stars on the blueline. After a long stalemate, Tverdovsky finally reached an agreement with Phoenix Dec. 19, signing a two-year contract that pays him $1.4 million this year and $1.7 million in 1998-99.This negotiation should have been a no-brainer, especially since Tverdovsky, who was fourth among NHL defensemen in scoring last season with 10 goals and 55 points in 82 games, wasn&rsquo;t shooting for the moon. He started out asking for $1.75 million a year for a one-year deal (and $1.9 million per year for a two-year deal or $2.1 million per year for three years). That&rsquo;s not that big a raise from the $1.4 million he averaged in his first three-year NHL contract that expired last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021354/7256484-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="509" height="797"><figcaption class="caption-body">Oleg Tverdovsky</figcaption></div>In that contract Tverdovsky received a signing bonus paid out over the first two years and a salary of $600,000 last year. Smith argued he didn&rsquo;t want Tverdovsky&rsquo;s base pay to rise from $600,000 to $1.75 million in a year, which is preposterous. In such matters, the average pay over the life of the contract is what counts.And that&rsquo;s the logic Smith employed when Coyotes&rsquo; captain Keith Tkachuk mentioned re-negotiation on a front-end loaded deal that paid him $6 million the first year, but only $2.8 million this year.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad the deal was consummated and Oleg is back in the NHL where he belongs,&rdquo; said Tverdovsky&rsquo;s Toronto-based agent Don Meehan. &ldquo;It proved to be a very lengthy, frustrating process. From my point of view much longer than it should have been.&rdquo;Smith said he had one thing in mind.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s strictly a money matter,&rdquo; said Smith a day before the deal was consummated. &ldquo;Oleg is an outstanding player, but he has only had one good year and he didn&rsquo;t play well for us in the playoffs. He&rsquo;s a guy who had 55 points, but who hasn&rsquo;t proven himself over the long haul or in the playoffs.&rdquo;This was not Paul Kariya and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim millions of dollars apart on a deal. It&rsquo;s hard to imagine $1.7 million throwing a team&rsquo;s entire payroll out of whack.Smith also claims there was no hidden agenda even though many have suggested he was drawing a metaphorical line in the sand for Tkachuk to observe, that Smith wants to establish early in his tenure he&rsquo;s the boss and not one to mess around with.GMs play a very dangerous game when they get into a tug of war with their team&rsquo;s superstars. Mike Keenan went nose-to-nose with Brett Hull in St.Louis and lost. Fans pay to see players, not executives and Tkachuk would win in a showdown with his GM.Or it simply could be Smith doesn&rsquo;t like Tverdovsky as a player? That&rsquo;s a hard one to swallow though because if it were the case, he could have simply signed him earlier and then traded him. There are enough teams out there that would jump at Tverdovsky for $1.75 million a year.Nobody is suggesting Tverdovsky, who played with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American League to stay in game shape, is the second coming of Bobby Orr. He has defensive shortcomings that drive Smith crazy. And twice in his young career he has gone long stretches without scoring a goal.The team&rsquo;s power play efficiency was 18.1 per cent last year, fifth best in the league. Without Tverdovsky, it was 11.2 per cent, 22nd in the league.And for the sake of a few hundred thousand dollars, a pittahce in today&rsquo;s NHL, Smith proved nothing and ulti-mately gave the player what he wanted. Not a good start to his front office career. &#9632;

f0008-01

COLUMNISTS

Smith’s hardball tactics needless

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011683/7256529-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="382" height="533"></div>Some impertinent thoughts on pertinent topics:o If I was Gary Bettman, the first thing I&rsquo;d be worrying about are those many empty seats at Boston&rsquo;s FleetCenter. It just happens to be a (relatively) new building with a winning team and an arresting coach in Pat Bums. And still they can&rsquo;t fill the joint in the first American hockey city.o And the second thing that should send the commish to the aspirin bottle is more than 6,000 unoccupied seats in Washington.o How come Paul Kariya couldn&rsquo;t be so nice to the press in October and November as he suddenly has become as a player again in the Holiday Season? This little Duck sounds like a quack to me.o How smart is Lou Lamoriello? The Devils&rsquo; high command decided John MacLean was slowing down and Ken Sutton was an expendable defenseman because of the arrival of Sheldon Souray. In the process Larrupin&rsquo; Lou obtained the point man, Doug Bodger, he needed and saved owner, John McMullen about half-a-million dollars. In the process he was able to replace MacLean with the the speedier, younger Brian Rolston without his club missing a beat.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021171/7256522-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="510" height="879"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brett Hull</figcaption></div>o Jan Kum goes bye-bye at the end of this season. So, I ask you this toughie: which right winger would you have preferred on your team in his prime, Mike Bossy or the Flyin&rsquo; Finn? My pick: Bossy. Reason: More clutch goals, more intelligence and a better interview.o Leaf prez Ken Dryden says fighting has to go. Nice. But such lofty minds as Harry Sinden, Bob Clarke and even Gil Stein were saying that years ago and look what happened. They changed their minds because they know that hockey fights sell and sell and sell. And the possibility of a fight is as compelling to fans as the bout itself.o Here&rsquo;s an IHL front office combo I&rsquo;d move into the NHL without blinking: Rookie Chicago Wolves GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and his coach John Anderson.o Toughest vote of all this season will be the Masterton Trophy for exemplifying the qualities of &ldquo;perserverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.&rdquo; At this point, Pat LaFontaine is the winner followed ever so closely by Pens&rsquo; Tom Barrasso and-surprise, surprise-the &ldquo;new&rdquo; Rob Brown.o Some hockey people never get a first chance or even a second chance. Hopefully, Mike Keenan realizes how lucky he is to get a fourth pop at the big-league puck. But there will be no excuses for the Orca Bay suits in Vancouver-or Madcap Mike for that matter-if he doesn&rsquo;t at the very least deliver a playoff berth.o How &lsquo;bout this for the Keenan All-time Dog House Line-Craig Janney, Mike Gartner, and now, Trevor Linden.o Another toughie: Does Mike (I-Never-Won-A-Stanley-Cup-ln-19-Years) Gartner rate Hall of Fame status? Yessiree, Bob. He&rsquo;s scored 700-plus goals and there&rsquo;s some fine print about adding a ton of class to the game as well.o No matter how you shake it, Doug MacLean was prematurely and royally robbed of his head coaching job. The losses of Brian Skrudland, Mike Hough and the earlier mistaken trade of Stu Barnes and Jason Woolley extracted too much from the already over-achieving Panthers. Is there a coach in the civilized world capable or putting goals on Kirk Muller&rsquo;s stick?o The best unheralded player in the NHL today happens to be Islanders&rsquo; defenseman Ken Jonsson.o Why does the media, which happens to dote on him, smear Brett Hull as some kind of loose cannon? Most of The Golden Brett&rsquo;s thoughts are precise and insightful.o How dare Ron Wilson bench Joe Reekie! Even for a shift.o Among those who know goalies say the sanest is Kelly Hrudey with Marty Brodeur a close second.o The overlooked tragedy of Denis Vaske&rsquo;s aborted comeback because of recurring concussions. It should be noted Vaske&rsquo;s career never was the same after Eric Lacroix&rsquo;s behind-the-back bash into the boards. &#9632;

f0009-01

Empty seats should be of concern to Commish

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011753/7256560-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Hillman tied up forwards like Red Berenson for eight NHL teams. (THN file photo)</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s ironic that in Larry Hillman&rsquo;s second life, he&rsquo;s the guy who stays put as the operator of a tourist camp and people come and go all around him.In his first life, Hillman was an unassuming defenseman who set a record for playing with eight NHL teams-the last five in a four-year span. That standard was broken last season by Michel Petit, who joined his 10th team this season.A dubious distinction having been shuffled around so often?&ldquo;Not at all,&rdquo; Hillman said from his home in Charlton, Ont., 35 miles south of his birthplace, Kirkland Lake. &ldquo;I was very proud of the fact everybody wanted me. I always looked at it positively. Teams wanted a steady, reliable defenseman and they sought me.&rdquo;Not only was Hillman steady and reliable, teams liked the fact Stanley Cups seemed to follow him around. He broke in with the Detroit Red Wings in 1954-55 and promptly helped them win the Cup. The Red Wings didn&rsquo;t win another until 1997.After three seasons in Detroit, Hillman moved to Boston for three years. Then came a tumultuous eight-year run with the Toronto Maple Leafs in which he won four Cups. The last one in 1966-67 was also Toronto&rsquo;s last.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a reason for that,&rdquo; Hillman said matter-of-factly. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the Hillman curse I hexed them with.&rdquo;Hillman was unhappy the Maple Leafs didn&rsquo;t offer him a fair contract after he teamed with Marcel Pronovost, Allan Stanley, Tim Horton and Bob Baun to form the league&rsquo;s top defensive unit in 1966-67. While Baun signed in the off-season with the expansion Oakland Seals for $35,000 and the others made in that ballpark, the Leafs offered Hillman $19,000.&ldquo;They wouldn&rsquo;t even give me the $21,000 I asked for,&rdquo; Hillman said. &ldquo;I ended up sitting out 24 days and they fined me $100 a day.&rdquo;Hillman was one of the first NHL players to go to arbitration and league president Clarence Campbell awarded him a salary of $19,500.&ldquo;The most I ever made in one season from the Leafs was $17,100,&rdquo; Hillman said. &ldquo;My arbitration salary minus my $2,400 fine. That&rsquo;s when I put a curse on them.&rdquo;Hillman was traded to the Minnesota North Stars in 1968-69, but joined the Montreal Canadiens part way through the season and helped them win the Cup, his sixth overall.From there, Hillman lived out of a suitcase and wore the sweaters of the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres and the Cleveland Crusaders and Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association.Hillman, 60, said a career highlight was playing with younger brother Wayne in Philadelphia and Cleveland. Cancer claimed Wayne in 1992.&ldquo;My best time was with the Leafs in 1967,&rdquo; Hillman said. &ldquo;Pronovost and myself allowed only two even strength goals in the first two series. We won because of our defense.&rdquo;Hillman, who is the uncle of Montreal winger Brian Savage, recently sold his tourist camp, but still lives on his 100-acre lot with wife Elizabeth and 12-year-old daughter Ashley.&ldquo;I still listen to the Leafs on radio,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t cheer for them.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0010-01

Travelling Hillman

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021280/7256591-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="420" height="731"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ray Bourque</figcaption></div>Ray Bourque of the Boston Bruins sits third on the all-time list of NHL players who have played their entire career with one team.The 19-year defenseman has played all 1,325 of his regular season games with the Bruins. Only Alex Delvecchio of the Detroit Red Wings (1,549) and Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks (1,394) had longer careers with one team.Bourque, 37, will pass Mikita in November, 1998 if he remains healthy.Detroit&rsquo;s Steve Yzerman sits second on the active list with 1,058 games and is pois to pass Denis Potvin of the New York Islanders for 13th overall Dec. 23 and Rod Gilbert of the Rangers for 12th overall Jan. 2.Here are active leaders in games played with one team after Dec. 18 games.1. Ray Bourque Boston (1,325).2. Steve Yzerman Detroit (1,058).3. Ken Daneyko New Jersey (884).4. Michal Pivonka Washington (773).5. Kelly Buchberger Edmonton (696).6. Joe Sakic Colorado (691).7. Trevor Linden Vancouver (686).8. Brian Leetch Rangers (685).Theoren Fleury Calgary (685).10. Teppo Numminen Phoenix (663). &#9632;

f0010-02

CONTEXT

Michel Petit of the&hellip;well, um&hellip;let&rsquo;s just say veteran defenseman Michel Petit became the first player to suit up for 10 NHL teams.The 33-year-old St-Malo, Que., native recently joined his fifth team in three seasons, signing with the Phoenix Coyotes as a free agent.Petit&rsquo;s tour of duty has also included the Vancouver Canucks (1982-87), New York Rangers (1987-89), Quebec Nordiques (1990), Toronto Maple Leafs (1990-92), Calgary Flames (199294), Los Angeles Kings (1994-95), Tampa Bay Lightning (1995-96), Edmonton Oilers (1996) and Philadelphia Flyers (1997).Since 1982. Petit has been drafted once, claimed on waivers once, signed as a free agent three times, and been a part of five trades involving 18 other players.Listed below are other &lsquo;journeymen&rsquo;, their NHL game total, most prominent team (MPT) and number of games wth that team. If a player is with a team during a franchise shift, it is counted as one team, not two. Asterisk denotes active player.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03800/7256622-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="545" height="1194"></div> &#9632;

f0010-03

Petit tops list of NHL nomads

<div class="byline">By Cammy Clark</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011576/7256653-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="164" height="161"></div>Last season, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim center Steve Rucchin called himself &ldquo;one of the luckiest guys in the league&rdquo; to be playing between superstars Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya.In that spot. Rucchin produced 19 goals and 67 points, enough to make him the leading scorer on seven other NHL teams.But this season Rucchin, 26, would call himself one of the most frustrated guys in the league.Rucchin had only four goals and 16 points in the Ducks&rsquo; first 34 games. While the absence of Kariya for the first 32 games because of stalled contract negotiations certainly played a part, the major reason for Rucchin&rsquo;s fall off is a season-long nagging groin injury and a back problem that re-appeared in December.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m frustrated as hell, but I&rsquo;m learning how to deal with it,&rdquo; Rucchin said, who added he has yet to play a game this season in which he felt even close to 100 per cent.Rucchin, who spent summer rehabilitating his sore back (which forced him to miss three playoff games), came to training camp feeling great.But he injured his groin during camp. He played the season opener in Japan, but was unable to take a regular shift. He missed the next nine games, undergoing treatments and rest.It has healed, but it&rsquo;s still not to the point where he can accelerate, shoot and play as physical as he wants. And with the tight schedule this year, he has little time to give it the rest it needs.While the 17-day Olympic break in February should help, Rucchin said this just may be an injury that nags him all season.He has had some relief thanks to soft-tissue treatments by specialist Dr. Michael Leahy of Colorado Springs.&ldquo;Without him, I&rsquo;d be really bad right now,&rdquo; Rucchin said. &ldquo;Unfortunately, the way the schedule is, we&rsquo;re just playing so much in so few days it&rsquo;s impossible for it to get better. Also with him being in Colorado, I can&rsquo;t see him for a bunch of successive time in row.NOTEBOOK: The day after Paul Kariya signed a two-year, $14 million contract, the left winger led a remarkable three-goal comeback with two goals and two assists in the Ducks.&rsquo; 6-4 victory over the Washington Capitals. &lsquo;The first thing I said when I walked into the room is, &lsquo;He&rsquo;s underpaid,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Ducks&rsquo; defenseman Bobby Dollas&hellip;Defenseman Ruslan Salei was expected to be out until early January with a fractured left foot, but missed just one game&hellip;Right winger Teemu Selanne spent the afternoon of Dec. 16 at the Malibu Speedway shooting a promotional national spot for a Fox NHL intermission segment. Selanne, who races cars in his native Finland during the summers under the name &lsquo;Teukka Salama&rdquo; or &lsquo;Teddy Flash&rdquo; in English, had no trouble flying around the course. &ldquo;I had the third fastest time of the track,&rdquo; Selanne said quite proudly of his 38.8-second run. &lsquo;The guy who owns the track record (28.295) has been racing here 10 years. I got mine after only half an hour.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-01

Rucchin frustrated by points fall, slowed down by pair of injuries

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021124/7256684-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="162" height="160"></div>It took the Boston Bruins about 25 games to decide Byron Dafoe was their No. 1 goalie.It took only two to see Robbie Tallas was probably the perfect backup.Tallas, the fourth-year pro called up from the Providence Bruins of the American League when Jim Carey was demoted Dec. 4, made only two appearances in the next two weeks, but both were memorable: Talias outdueled Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres in a 2-1 Boston victory at the FleetCenter Dec. 11 and helped a tired, undermanned Bruin team take a point out of Philadelphia a week later by making 28 saves and earning first-star status in a 2-2 tie with the Philadelphia Flyers.&ldquo;We have confidence in Robbie or we wouldn&rsquo;t put him in there,&rdquo; shrugged coach Pat Bums after Talias frustrated Philadelphia.Bums had no choice when the Bruins met the Sabres Dec. 11&ndash;planned starter Dafoe strained a knee ligament during the morning skate. When Dafoe wasn&rsquo;t able to loosen up during the pregame warm-up. Bums called on Tallas.Tallas got only slightly more notice that he&rsquo;d play against the Flyers, a dump-and-chase team against which Bums wanted Tallas&rsquo; puck-handling ability. The point the Bruins earned that night was important. It came just 24 hours after they&rsquo;d seen a five-game winning streak end against the Tampa Bay Lightning and gave the Bruins sole possession of fifth place in the Eastern Conference.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t find out about the first start until right before the game and this time I didn&rsquo;t find out until 5 o&rsquo;clock,&rdquo; Tallas said. &ldquo;Maybe Pat and I have something going there.&rdquo;Tallas became Boston&rsquo;s No. 1 goalie for some of the darkest days of 1996-97, when starter Bill Ranford was injured. He did a creditable job, posting an 8-12-1 record and 3.33 goals-against average in 28 appearances for the last-place Bruins.Tallas thought he might get a chance to compete with Carey for the No. 1 job this season until Dafoe was obtained from the Los Angeles Kings Aug. 29.NOTEBOOK: The Bruins, as close to injury-free through their first 30 games as they&rsquo;ve been in years, experienced a bizarre rash of problems from Dec. 1518, but appeared to get-lucky on all of them: Rookie center Joe Thornton spent two nights in a Fort Lauderdale hospital when a boil on his left ankle became infected, defenseman Kyle McLaren suffered a mere knee-capsule sprain when he took a leg check from Tampa Bay defenseman Yves Racine Dec. 17 and center Jason Allison escaped serious eye damage when he was struck by a puck Dec. 18 at Philadelphia. Allison didn&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;d miss any games, while Thornton and McLaren were both expected to miss three, at most&hellip;The Bruins asked the NHL to review the play that hurt McLaren. &ldquo;It was definitely a stick-the-leg-out check,&rdquo; said president/GM Harry Sinden. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very curious to see how the league views it. If the league is going to frown on that kind of play, they&rsquo;ve got one here to look at.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-02

TalIas offers dependable relief when No. 1 goalie Dafoe out

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011709/7256715-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="161" height="159"></div>The team that shocked just about everyone in hockey when it ran off with the Northeast Division title last season is shocking everyone again.Only this time in reverse.The Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; first-to-worst slide reached the level of desperation with a pair of road losses-8-4 to the Dallas Stars Dec. 15 and 4-0 to the New York Islanders Dec. 17.The Sabres won only once in five outings through Dec 18. The slide and accompanying poor play incensed coach Lindy Ruff.&ldquo;Judging by the last two games, I have to find out who wants to be a Buffalo Sabre and who doesn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Ruff said. &ldquo;If they don&rsquo;t have the pride, determination and grit it takes to play on the road and earn a spot on this hockey team, then there will be changes. There&rsquo;s a lot of things we can change. We can change players. We can change the system, but it wasn&rsquo;t the system. It takes heart and I didn&rsquo;t see that.&rdquo;The lack of heart speech can be fatal to a first-year coach, but Ruff didn&rsquo;t get too much of an argument from his players.&ldquo;I think Lindy is dead on,&rdquo; said alternate captain Brad May. &ldquo;We had a game plan, the coaches prepared us properly. There are absolutely no excuses.&rdquo;Will the Sabres make changes? They need more toughness at defense and size on the wings and were rumored to be looking at several possibilities.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Matthew Barnaby scored his first goal of the season Dec. 12 and it couldn&rsquo;t have come at a better time. It was the game winner in overtime against Carolina. One of the players who skated the length of the ice and clawed his way into the celebratory scrum to add a personal touch was goalie Dominik Hasek. The two have been feuding since former coach Ted Nolan was fired, but Barnaby said it was time to &ldquo;let bygones be bygones.&rdquo;&hellip;Hasek was pulled from the 8-4 loss in Dallas after giving up four goals, but backup Steve Shields fared no better, being tagged for four more.&hellip;Right winger Jason Dawe, the only Sabre scoring at the start of the season, went cold. Dawe hadn&rsquo;t scored a goal in 11 games. &#9632;

f0012-01

Last year’s surprise team continues downward spiral

<div class="byline">By Steve Politi</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03877/7256746-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="578" height="894"><figcaption class="caption-body">Geoff Sanderson</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021357/7256753-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="160" height="157"></div>It&rsquo;s pretty simple. For the Carolina Hurricanes to have a successful season, they have to make the playoffs. And to make the playoffs, they have to win on the road.That&rsquo;s what makes two numbers very scary for the Hurricanes. First, they were 3-11-1 on the road, the second worst road mark in the league. Also, they had 21 of their 34 remaining games after Jan. 12 on the road, meaning they had better improve the first number. Fast.&ldquo;We have a group of guys that don&rsquo;t want to do what needs to be done to win on the road,&rdquo; said coach Paul Maurice. &ldquo;And then we have a group of guys who are dying to win on the road. Unfortunately, the group of guys who aren&rsquo;t so worried about it continue to weigh the other guys down.&rdquo;An uninspired 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators at the Corel Centre Dec. 18 was the &lsquo;Canes fifth straight road loss. Maurice challenged his team to get nasty during the second period intermission. He was met with mixed results.&ldquo;I was just hoping and challenging the team for somebody to show a little anger,&rdquo; Maurice said. &ldquo;I thought a few guys did it and I thought a few guys completely disappeared. A few guys thought, &lsquo;Aw geez, this game&rsquo;s going to get nasty, let me see if I can hide.&rsquo;&rdquo;A trade seems likely.The Hurricanes have eight NHL defensemen and would like to deal one. They have also spent the entire season trying to deal goalie Sean Burke and left winger Geoff Sanderson is available for the right price.NOTEBOOK: Goalie Trevor Kidd emerged as the No. 1 goalie in mid-December, starting in back-to-back games for the first time since hurting his groin in early November. He stopped 33 of 36 shots in a loss to Ottawa Dec. 18 and 27 of 28 in a win over the Senators Dec. 16&hellip;Tank McNamara spent a week&rsquo;s worth of comic strips making light of the Hurricanes&rsquo; attendance problems. One of the strips showed an on-ice promotion where a fan could win ownership of the franchise-which is called the Fatbacks in the strip-by shooting a puck through a six-inch hole in the net. Fearing he&rsquo;d actually win, the fan declines to shoot&hellip;Center Keith Primeau was goal-less in 11 games&hellip;Goalie Mike Fountain got his 100th American League win with New Haven. &#9632;

f0012-03

Road woes hurt ‘Canes

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04512/7256784-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="159" height="157"></div>As the NHL&rsquo;s Christmas break approached, two veteran members of the Calgary Flames pondered the same question&ndash;should I stay or should I go?&ndash;and came up with widely different responses.On the heels of four consecutive wins and runner-up to Mike Gartner for player of the week for the period ending Dec. 14, goaltender Rick Tabaracci decided to stay. He signed a one-year contract extension with the Flames, increasing his current salary of $875,000 (Cdn.) to $1 million. Next year, he&rsquo;ll get bumped to $1.2 million (U.S.).By contrast, defenseman Zarley Zalapski determined that he&rsquo;d be better off going. Zalapski made it official in mid-December when he asked to be traded. Zalapski, at $1.6 million (U.S.), is the second highest paid Flames&rsquo; player, but he&rsquo;s not exactly a favorite of coach Brian Sutter.Through 36 games, Zalapski was a healthy scratch for six, including two straight after he&rsquo;d issued his trade-me declaration.The Flames were carrying nine defensemen, so it&rsquo;s reasonable to suspect Zalapski may have played his last game in Calgary. The only stumbling block was GM Al Coates&rsquo; insistence he get something in exchange.The most talked about destination for Zalapski is the Montreal Canadiens, where he could be reunited with former Flames&rsquo; coach Dave King.As for Tabaracci, he&rsquo;s happy to be staying in town. The Flames originally traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning in November, 1996, but reacquired him at the last entry draft. Quipped Tabaracci: &ldquo;Coatesy said last summer the reason he got me back wasn&rsquo;t that I was the best guy out there, only that I was the cheapest.&rdquo;But Tabaracci had given the Flames their money&rsquo;s worth, especially in December when they vaulted out of the Pacific Division basement and back into the playoff hunt with a modest surge.NOTEBOOK: The cost of the annual rookie dinner, according to the Calgary Herald! About $12,300. It was held at Morton&rsquo;s of Chicago and three players-defensemen Jamie Allison and Derek Morris and left winger Chris Dingman&ndash;picked up the tab&hellip;Defenseman Tommy Albelin. bothered by a groin injury off and on for some months, blames it on two developments, bad ice and the cramped schedule. &ldquo;You just don&rsquo;t have the recovery time,&rdquo; Albelin said&hellip;Center Aaron Gavey had missed 21 games and counting because of a small tear in his abdomen. Gavey would like to return by Jan. 1, but that may be optimistic since he wasn&rsquo;t even skating in mid-Decemher. Said Gavey: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to stretch it and heal it.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-04

One signs deal to stay, other asks for trade

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021111/7256815-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="312" height="411"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eric Daze</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011586/7256822-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="162" height="160"></div>You can forget all those Eric Daze trade rumors.In his first public comments of the season. Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; owner Bill Wirtz promised neither Daze nor Ethan Moreau would be going anywhere in a trade.In Daze, Wirtz thinks the Hawks have a future star and would hate to trade him away in a panic move. Wirtz said the Hawks did that once 30 years ago with Phil Esposito.&ldquo;In this game you have to have patience,&rdquo; Wirtz said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got some great young players here. We could get two or three veterans for one, but we prefer to stay with Mr. Daze and Mr. Moreau.&rdquo;Wirtz even went so far as to mention Daze in the same breath with Rocket Richard.&ldquo;(Former Hawks&rsquo; coach Billy Reay) said the more he looks at Daze, the more he reminds him of a young Rocket Richard,&rdquo; Wirtz said. &ldquo;And you know who the center was for Rocket Richard? It was Billy Reay.&rdquo;Despite the Hawks&rsquo; many on-ice problems, Wirtz painted a fairly rosy picture to the surprise of many. He stressed patience, came out in support of underachieving center Alex Zhamnov and said the Hawks&rsquo; attendance and complacency woes were league-wide problems.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how anyone can be pleased with their hockey club this year,&rdquo; Wirtz said.Zhamnov had four goals and 15 points in 29 games. You&rsquo;d think Wirtz would be miffed about paying him $3 million a year to produce those paltry numbers, but that&rsquo;s not the case. Wirtz said Zhamnov may even be a deal compared to the mega-contracts Paul Kariya and Eric Lindros recently signed. &ldquo;He might be the steal of the century,&rdquo; Wirtz said.&ldquo;I think Alex is a fine, skilled hockey player. We tend to say the Russians, they don&rsquo;t have the intestinal fortitude that North Americans have, but I know one thing: Alex can play hurt. Is he going to be a hard-hitting center iceman? Certainly not. (Stan) Mikita wasn&rsquo;t either, but he was some kind of hockey player.&rdquo;Wirtz&rsquo;s puzzlingly positive comments came one day after GM Bob Murray ripped into the Hawks, calling their heart and character into question.&ldquo;Obviously, there&rsquo;s a giant problem,&rdquo; Murray said with his team in the midst of a seven-game winless streak (0-4-3). &ldquo;Just show me a little heart. I wish one deal would be the cure. If it was that simple it would have been done already.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s believed Murray was trying to work out a trade using defensemen Gary Suter and Keith Carney as bait.NOTEBOOK: Coach Craig Hartsburg&rsquo;s job is not in jeopardy, according to GM Bob Murray. &ldquo;They say you can&rsquo;t get rid of 25 guys, so it&rsquo;s easy to get rid of the coach,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;Well, that&rsquo;s not going to happen.&rdquo;&hellip;Murray took responsibility for left winger Dan Cleary being cut from Canada&rsquo;s national junior team, saying he probably kept him in Chicago and inactive too long. &ldquo;I procrastinated sending him to junior,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my fault.&rdquo;&hellip;Left winger Ethan Moreau broke his right fibula in a Dec. 12 game against Philadelphia when he collapsed on his leg after being crosschecked in the back by defenseman Luke Richardson. He&rsquo;s expect to be out until late January&hellip;Owner Bill Wirtz isn&rsquo;t a big supporter of NHL players in the 1998 Olympics. &ldquo;The games will be on at 1, 2 and 3 a.m. This is exposure?&rdquo; Wirtz said. &ldquo;Do it in Salt Lake City (in 2002). The World Cup, that is what we should be building up.&rdquo;&hellip;The Hawks&rsquo; 0-0 tie with Edmonton Dec. 17 was their first since 1979. &#9632;

f0013-02

Wirtz’s words: Kids Daze, Moreau won’t be dealt, Zhamnov a ‘steal’

<div class="byline">By Adrian Dater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-04691/7256853-1-eng-US/f0013-042.jpg" title="f0013-04" width="311" height="411"><figcaption class="caption-body">Craig Billington</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03820/7256860-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="162" height="161"></div>Two years ago, Craig Billington was in a hotel room in Cincinnati, wondering if he would even be able to stick with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the International League.Cut in training camp by the Florida Panthers, the one-time NHL No. 1 goaltender was thinking maybe it was the end of the line.But today, Billington is a valued and contributing member of the high-powered Colorado Avalanche.Claimed by the Avalanche from Florida in the 1996 waiver draft, Billington was Colorado&rsquo;s best player during a stretch in which they beat the Vancouver Canucks (5-2 Dec. 13), Toronto Maple Leafs (3-2 Dec. 15) and tied the Detroit Red Wings (2-2 Dec. 17).In relief of injured No. 1 goalie Patrick Roy, Billington enabled the Avs to build on their Pacific Division lead and even challenge for the league&rsquo;s top overall spot.&ldquo;It has been very gratifying to contribute when someone else is injured and the team needs you to perform,&rdquo; Billington said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been playing well as a team, though. The guys in front of me deserve a lot of credit, too.&rdquo;Playing his fourth game in a row in relief of Roy, Billington stopped 38 of 40 shots in the tie with the Red Wings. The game before that, he stopped 23 of 25 Toronto shots, including three clear-cut breakaways.&ldquo;He really has given us a lift,&rdquo; said coach Marc Crawford. &ldquo;His positioning has been real good, and so has his poise. He has done everything that could be asked of a backup goalie.&rdquo;Billington hasn&rsquo;t always been a backup. In 1993-94, he played 62 games for the Ottawa Senators and the season before he played 42 with the New Jersey Devils.At 31, Billington likely has several good years ahead of him, especially when you consider four new teams are entering the NHL. But Billington&mdash;who owns a chain of goalie schools in Ontario&ndash;isn&rsquo;t thinking that far ahead. The 13-year veteran has learned over the years to live each day in the NHL to the fullest and leave it at that.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been very fortunate to have played as long as I have,&rdquo; Billington said. &ldquo;It has been great playing in Colorado for such a good team. All I&rsquo;m thinking about is my job here and doing everything I can to help us win.&rdquo;Billington&rsquo;s play also caught the eye of Roy, who was out day-to-day with an abdominal strain.&ldquo;He has done such a good job,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;It has made it easier for me to be out, knowing he&rsquo;s going to do a good job.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Veteran right winger Claude Lemieux visited a 12-year-old girl named Brittany Lamb Dec. 17, before the Avalanche took on Detroit. Lamb was involved in a head-on auto collision that killed her aunt, but the girl survived after undergoing six hours of reconstructive surgery. When Lamb opened her eyes for the first time since the accident, Lemieux was there. Lamb already had been a big Avs&rsquo; fan, and named her cat &lsquo;Lemieux&rsquo; in honor of her hero. &ldquo;I think she knew I was there,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;We all need to do something. It meant a lot more to me than a hockey game.&rdquo; Lemieux scored a goal and assisted on another in the Avs&rsquo; 2-2 tie later that night&hellip;Veteran left winger Valeri Kamensky missed two straight games with a bruised left shoulder. He was listed as day-to-day&hellip;Goaltender Patrick Roy, who missed four games with an abdominal strain suffered in a 2-2 tie with Toronto Dec. 10, was scheduled to return to the lineup Dec. 19 against Pittsburgh. &#9632;

f0013-04

Reborn Billington plays key role as Roy nurses abdominal injury

<div class="byline">By Mike Heika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011696/7256891-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="162" height="160"></div>The Dallas Stars play an ugly brand of hockey on the road. But it is effective, hideously effective. The Stars were 11-5-2 through their first 18 away games.&ldquo;We try not to be too fancy on the road,&rdquo; said coach Ken Hitchcock. &ldquo;We try to get the lead and just play a defensive game after that. If we can stay in it after the first 15 or 20 minutes, we generally get stronger on the road.&rdquo;In the Stars&rsquo; 18 road games, they had outscored opponents by a total of 14 goals. In their 18 home games, they had outscored opponents by 27 goals.&ldquo;We just don&rsquo;t think about offense too much on the road.&rdquo; said left winger Dave Reid. &ldquo;If we can go in and get the points, then whatever else happens is secondary.&rdquo;Of course, there is one area where the Stars are strong on the road-defense. Few teams are as masterful at preventing the home team from generating offense.&ldquo;If we can take control of the game and take the crowd out of the game, it makes it a lot easier,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not there to play pretty hockey, we&rsquo;re just there to win.&rdquo;Calgary Flames&rsquo; coach Brian Sutter is impressed with the way the Stars shut down opponents.&ldquo;Hitch has done a hell of a job,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;He has everyone buying into the program. They pressure the puck, they create turnovers, they go after you. They play great defense because they&rsquo;re aggressive, not passive.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center Joe Nieuwendyk suffered a first degree strain of his right knee Dec. 15 in an 8-4 win over Buffalo. That meant the Stars were without their top two scorers (center Mike Modano also is out with a knee injury) for two games&hellip;Modano said he hoped to be skating by Dec. 21 and would like to aim for a possible return Dec. 30&hellip;Right winger Pat Verbeek recorded his 900th career point with an assist against Buffalo&hellip;Left winger Jason Botterill has recovered from shoulder surgery and was playing with Michigan of the International League. Botterill, a first round pick in 1994, is expected to get every chance to help the Stars in the future&hellip;Goalie Ed Belfour. who was struggling earlier with back pain, started 17 of 18 games. &#9632;

f0014-01

Stars not pretty on road, but results very attractive

<div class="byline">By Cynthia Lambert</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03878/7256922-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="577" height="891"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ken Holland</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021274/7256929-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="160" height="156"></div>For years, Ken Holland wanted to be GM of the Detroit Red Wings, an organization he had been a part of for 14 seasons.He finally got his chance to ditch the assistant GM title and be the main man this past summer. But Holland&rsquo;s road has been more difficult than that of his 25 NHL counterparts.First, he had to secure a good working relationship and understanding with coach Scotty Bowman, who was stripped of his director of player personnel title to make room for Holland. He also had to deal with the tragic loss of star defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov from the lineup as a result of the serious limousine accident six days after the Wings won the Stanley Cup.As if that wasn&rsquo;t enough, he had to decide whether Conn Smythe Trophy winner Mike Vernon would be retained. He decided to trade Vernon to the San Jose Sharks. And finally, the prickly Sergei Fedorov contract negotiations had to be tackled.Too much to handle?&ldquo;I&rsquo;m having fun, lots of it,&rdquo; said Holland, 42, laughing. &ldquo;This is what I&rsquo;ve wanted. And I work for what I consider to be the best organization in hockey with the best owners. It has been a lot of fun.&rdquo;The only major problem was trying to sign Fedorov. The two sides were within a few hundred thousand dollars of each other before Paul Kariya signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.Now Fedorov is asking for about $6.5 million, again putting him $1 million away from Detroit&rsquo;s latest offer.NOTEBOOK: Detroit and Colorado played to a 2-2 tie Dec. 17, a game that saw Canadian Olympic teammates, left winger Brendan Shanahan and defenseman Adam Foote, fight twice. Both premier players considered it part of the rivalry, as did Detroit coach Scotty Bowman. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have a bunch of goons and neither do they,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;Most of the guys on these teams are real hockey players.&rdquo;&hellip;Entering the week of Dec. 21, Detroit was the only team in the league not to have lost consecutive games. But entering the Dec. 19 game against New Jersey, Detroit was in the midst of a four-game winless streak (0-2-2), its longest of the season&hellip;Through 31 games. Shanahan led the NHL with nine power play goals. &#9632;

f0014-03

Holland has ball as GM

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04596/7256960-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="160" height="157"></div>Mats Lindgren has made the down payment on a debt he vowed to cover this season.With six goals over a stretch of six games in December, the 23-year-old center was finally finding the net for the Edmonton Oilers, who had wondered when he&rsquo;d turn into the goal scorer they expected to receive when they acquired him from the Winnipeg Jets for defenseman Dave Manson in 1994.&ldquo;Right now I&rsquo;m just happy the puck is going in.&rdquo; Lindgren said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see myself as a big goal scorer. I&rsquo;ve scored six goals in six games now. Before that I had two goals in 28 games so I don&rsquo;t want to say too much. Come back in another 20 games and I&rsquo;ll give you an answer.&rdquo;The question remains. Is he a goal scorer? Or a guy who has just scored some goals?&ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t a great scorer in Sweden, but he was a scorer,&rdquo; said assistant coach Bob McCammon. &ldquo;Every player has to develop a shot. His is the five-hole now. He has a good delivery. It gets around quick. Goalies watch that. They know he likes five-hole. Now he can change it.&ldquo;He tried high for a long time. He found out the glass wasn&rsquo;t going to break so he thought he&rsquo;d change it up. This is the best shot for him. But you watch, he&rsquo;ll start mixing it up.&rdquo;Before this season, Lindgren said it was time to re-pay the Oilers for the patience they showed as he recovered from back and leg injuries that basically robbed him of two seasons. He said 20 goals was a mark he&rsquo;d set in his mind. The streak gave him eight goals and put him on pace for about 19.&ldquo;Twenty goals, that was a big goal for me. That&rsquo;s something I think I can do in this league.&rdquo; he said.While coach Ron Low didn&rsquo;t know exactly why Lindgren had suddenly caught fire, he wasn&rsquo;t complaining. &ldquo;All I know is right now he thinks the net is like a great big soccer net,&rdquo; Low said,&rdquo;and the goaltender looks about as big as the guy that&rsquo;s in a soccer net.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Oilers played in just the second scoreless tie of their 19-year history Dec. 17 against Chicago. Edmonton goalie Curtis Joseph made 28 saves, while Hawks&rsquo; goalie Jeff Hackett stopped 30 shots&hellip;The Oilers and Tampa Bay had preliminary trade talks, but the Lightning wanted to deal defenseman Roman Hamrlik and his $2.5 million annual salary. That was too rich for the Oilers, who considered giving up Steve Kelly, the center coveted by Tampa&hellip;In the space of just over a week, goalie Bob Essensa beat Detroit twice, once in Edmonton (3-1 Dec. 5) and once at Joe Louis Arena (3-2 Dec. 12), where merciless Wings&rsquo; fans had booed him when he was Detroit&rsquo;s goalie in 1995. &#9632;

f0014-04

Lindgren finally starts to find net

<div class="byline">By Dave Joseph</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011561/7256991-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="162" height="160"></div>There are going to be some changes in South Florida.With coach-GM Bryan Murray still unable to get any consistency out of his troops and with three starters prepared to come back from injuries by Jan. 1, the Florida Panthers were looking to move some bodies as well as acquire an offense-minded defenseman who can quarterback their lethargic power play.&ldquo;Tough decisions lie ahead,&rdquo; Murray said.&ldquo;There are going to be some adjustments,&rdquo; said president Bill Torrey. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure for the players, they see guys getting healthy and starting to come back, so they&rsquo;ve got to be thinking.&rdquo;Those decisions will likely directly affect right winger and original Panther Jody Hull and left winger Johan Garpenlov, both of whom had fallen out of favor with Murray.In an attempt to acquire Calgary Flames&rsquo; defenseman Zarley Zalapski, who was scouted heavily by the Panthers. Murray said he offered five different combinations of players, including Hull and Garpenlov. But when the Flames asked about the availability of center Chris Wells, Murray balked at the deal.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll move on,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like I was crazy about the guy.&rdquo;Murray finds himself in the position of having to move players with the return of center Rob Niedermayer, left winger Viktor Kozlov and all-purpose forward Esa Tikkanen. Niedermayer returned the weekend of Dec. 19 from a dislocated thumb. Kozlov was expected to return from a separated shoulder in late December, while Tikkanen was due back Jan. 1 from a fractured leg.Murray may be limited in what he can do. While Hull is in the last year of his contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent, Garpenlov, who had one goal in 22 games, was just signed to a three-year, $2.7 million deal.Compounding Murray&rsquo;s problem is the fact he traded away within the past year two defense-man-Jason Woolley and Per Gustafsson-capable of generating offense.NOTEBOOK: Former coach Doug MacLean, fired Nov. 24, informed the Panthers he would be leaving the organization in hopes of getting another head coaching job&hellip;The Panthers, who are trying to sell tickets to a new arena which opens next fall, remained brutal at home. Through their first 19 games at the Miami Arena, the Panthers were 4-12-3&hellip;Over the course of five days, the Panthers scored three shorthanded goals against the Rangers. Left winger Radek Dvorak had two in a 4-3 victory Dec. 13 in New York and center Chris Wells had one in yet another home loss (4-2 Dec. 17)&hellip;Goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck got the 10th shutout of his Panthers&rsquo; career and the 26th of his NHL career in a 4-0 win over Washington Dec. 18&hellip;With the impending return of center Rob Niedermayer, the Panthers assigned rookie center Ryan Johnson back to New Haven of the American League. Johnson had two assists in six games with the Panthers and acquitted himself well. &#9632;

f0015-01

Panthers starting to get healthy, but not happy with limp offense

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011482/7257053-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="161" height="158"></div>In his slightly more than two seasons as GM of the Montreal Canadiens, Rejean Houle has learned patience is a virtue.Although his team appeared to be in a freefall with three consecutive losses and a 5-9-2 mark since mid-November, Houle said he wasn&rsquo;t prepared to start making trades or panic over the Canadiens&rsquo; perceived shortcomings-a lack of size and depth and the inability to play well against teams that employ the neutral-zone trap.&ldquo;I love what I see,&rdquo; said Houle, whose team was 18-13-4 and still fourth overall in the Eastern Conference. &ldquo;Looking around the league, there are a lot of teams that should be less patient than me.&rdquo;The Canadiens got off to a quick start this season. Seven consecutive victories to launch November pushed their record to 13-4-2. However, they struggled against their Eastern counterparts, going 7-11-3.Montreal continued to be carried offensively by three players-Mark Recchi, Shayne Corson and Saku Koivu-while others struggled.Valeri Bure had gone 10 games without a goal, while Brian Savage hadn&rsquo;t scored in eight games. Captain Vincent Damphousse, with one goal in six games, was losing faceoffs consistently, winning only 20 of 52 over a three-game span. Damphousse might be better suited to play wing.&ldquo;A trade doesn&rsquo;t mean you improve your team,&rdquo; Houle said.NOTEBOOK: Used in only four games this season and utilized as a forward when he dressed, defenseman David Wilkie no longer fits into the Canadiens&rsquo; long-term plans. Indeed, management has given Wilkie&rsquo;s agent. Alan Walsh, permission to call other teams to determine what, if any, interest they have in the 1992 first round draft pick. Tampa Bay expressed considerable interest in Wilkie. Other teams contemplating his addition were San Jose. Calgary, Chicago, Florida and even Detroit&hellip;Defenseman Jassen Cullimore played his first game of the season Dec. 13 at Boston after a conditioning stint with the Fredericton Canadiens of the American League as part of his rehabilitation from tom shoulder ligaments. &#9632;

f0016-01

Habs’ GM Houle satisfied, not close to making deals

<div class="byline">By Jim Smith</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03856/7257084-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="573" height="887"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ziggy Palffy</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021144/7257091-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="162" height="156"></div>A scoring slump by right winger Ziggy Palffy coincided almost exactly with a New York Islanders&rsquo; nosedive which dropped them under .500.After scoring 43 and 48 goals in the previous two seasons, Palffy got 11 in his first 16 games and appeared on course with projections he could get 60. But Palffy scored only five goals in his next 18 games, during which the Isles went 6-10-2, and seemed to be succumbing to contract-year pressure.&ldquo;I think every player has some tough times,&rdquo; Palffy said. &ldquo;I get every year tough times in a couple of games. I just play my game and try to get back on track as soon as possible.&rdquo;Coach Rick Bowness said opponents were checking Palffy closely, but added,&rdquo;Great players find a way&hellip;to raise their game to another level and attack it differently. That&rsquo;s what Ziggy has to do&hellip;He&rsquo;s our goal-scorer. He has got to make a difference.&rdquo;Palffy said he was not affected by contract talks between his agent, Paul Kraus, and Islanders&rsquo; GM Mike Milbury. Milbury said Kraus rejected a four-year deal for more than $16 million and countered with a proposal which included a retroactive raise on this season&rsquo;s $1,725 million salary.&ldquo;I have to play better than I&rsquo;m playing right now,&rdquo; Palffy said. &ldquo;I can talk later about contract. I try my best. What can you do? Just keep skating. If a checking line&rsquo;s going on us, they stay with us all the time. They&rsquo;re not going to give up any space. We have to beat them skating.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center Bryan Smolinski went on a seven-game point-scoring streak (2-7-9) after being passed over by the U.S. Olympic team for the Nagano Games, but said he was relieved when he finally got the news Dec. 1. &ldquo;I was having a mediocre year up to that point,&rdquo; said Smolinski, who had five assists in six games for USA in the 1996 World Cup. &ldquo;I was very upset I didn&rsquo;t make the team (but) it was kind of a relief. It obviously took some pressure off me.&rdquo;&hellip;The CBS Line of left winger Tom Chorske, right winger Todd Bertuzzi and Smolinski combined for 23 points in a nine-game span&hellip;Defenseman Bryan Berard had 15 points in his first 12 games of the season, but managed only seven in his next 16 &#9632;

f0016-03

Sniper Palffy shoots blanks

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04638/7257122-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="160" height="156"></div>John MacLean forced New Jersey Devils&rsquo; GM Lou Lamoriello to do his shopping early this season by demanding a trade. But when Lamoriello granted MacLean&rsquo;s wish, he did so by making a very familiar move to acquire veteran help at defense.In the past it was Shawn Chambers, Dave Ellett or Phil Housley. This time it was Doug Bodger, who came from the San Jose Sharks Dec. 7.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s exactly the type of player we expect,&rdquo; said coach Jacques Lemaire. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good skater who moves the puck. I think he&rsquo;ll help us.&rdquo;Bodger was not so thrilled when he learned of the deal. His family, wife Tracey, eight-year-old son Ryne and four-year-old daughter Racheal, were devastated. Lamoriello wanted Bodger, who left his family behind in California, to fly east immediately. But it took four days before the 31-year-old was prepared to make the trip.&ldquo;Lou wanted me here the day after and I said I couldn&rsquo;t do it,&rdquo; Bodger said. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t ready. Hockey wasn&rsquo;t the first thing on my mind.&ldquo;I had to get my family in order and it took a couple of days to calm them down. I&rsquo;m a family guy and it was really hard saying goodbye. This is a tough time of year with Christmas. This was a complete shock to me.&rdquo;He fit in comfortably, being paired with rookie Sheldon Souray, and scored his first goal with the Devils in a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers Dec. 16.&ldquo;When I came here I just wanted to help out any way I can,&rdquo; Bodger said. &ldquo;Scoring goals is a great way.&rdquo;Besides playing for a winner, Bodger feels his health will improve playing with puck-handling goalie Martin Brodeur.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s awesome. You don&rsquo;t even have to go back and get the puck,&rdquo; Bodger said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m used to going back and getting rubbed out and crushed 15 times a game. He beats the forecheck. He&rsquo;s the best goalie I&rsquo;ve played with as far as handling the puck.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Scott Stevens confirmed he took a pay cut to sign a four-year contract extension. Stevens, earning $4,313 million this season, will make $4.2 million in each of the next four years, although there are &ldquo;extras&rdquo; that sweetened the deal. The Devils don&rsquo;t give no-trade clauses, but Stevens received considerations that approximate a notrade&hellip;Defenseman Scott Niedermayer said because he was passed over for Canada&rsquo;s Olympic team, he would have to think about accepting an invitation if Canada asks him to replace injured Al Maclnnis&hellip;Defenseman Sheldon Souray scored his first NHL goal Dec. 16 against the Rangers&hellip;Owner John McMullen is looking to build a new arena in Hoboken, N.J. &#9632;

f0016-04

Bodger fits in once shock wears away

<div class="byline">By Rick Carpiniello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011333/7257153-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="161" height="159"></div>You&rsquo;d think the last thing the New York Rangers needed in the midst of an underachieving season was another injury to a key player.But defenseman Jeff Beukeboom&rsquo;s misfortune prompted the Rangers to shuffle their defense pairings and the early results were encouraging. In their first game without the big blueliner, the Rangers played a decent game in a 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils Dec. 16 and followed up with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers the next night.When Beukeboom went down, coach Colin Campbell paired Ulf Samuelsson, who has easily been the Rangers&rsquo; best defenseman all season, with Brian Leetch. Samuelsson, who normally plays the left side, slid over to the right to fill in for Beukeboom, Leetch&rsquo;s regular partner for seven seasons.&ldquo;It was quite an experience,&rdquo; said Samuelsson, who had two assists in the win over Florida. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve only waited three years (to play with Leetch).&rdquo;Leetch could also benefit from the pairing; it would give him the steady partner he needs as he continued to improve from his own nightmarish start to the season.Beukeboom&rsquo;s injury had a couple of other effects on the roster. It gave improving Eric Cairns more meaningful and steady ice time and it may have killed trade talks in which the Rangers were trying to get a speedy, offensive winger.NOTEBOOK: Center Wayne Gretzky went four games without a point for the first time as a Ranger. In an 18-game span, Gretzky had only three even-strength goals and two even-strength assists&hellip;Goalie Jason Muzzatti allowed three goals on long shots in the 4-3 loss to New Jersey Dec. 16. It was just Muzzatti&rsquo;s second start in 28 games&hellip;Center Pat LaFontaine scored the Rangers&rsquo; first 4-on-4 goal of the season, the winner at Florida Dec. 17. It marked the first time all season the Rangers, who had no shorthanded goals, scored while they had only four skaters on the ice&hellip;Center Mike Eastwood scored his first two goals of the season against Florida and right winger PJ. Stock picked up his first NHL point, an assist, in the same game. &#9632;

f0017-01

Beukeboom’s bad break forces team to respond

<div class="byline">By Bruce Garrloch</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03728/7257184-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="576" height="892"><figcaption class="caption-body">Daniel Alfredsson</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021019/7257191-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="163" height="159"></div>The Ottawa Senators were in no mood to celebrate the holiday season.Struggling to score and stay in the playoff hunt, the Senators were hit hard by injuries to wingers Daniel Alfredsson, Magnus Arvedson and Bruce Gardiner. While Arvedson was expected to be back by year&rsquo;s end after suffering a concussion against the Carolina Hurricanes Dec. 16, Alfredsson&rsquo;s and Gardiner&rsquo;s injuries were more long-term.Alfredsson broke his right ankle on his birthday, Dec. 11 against the St. Louis Blues, and could be sidelined until February, which leaves his trip to the Nagano Olympics in doubt.Gardiner, who had done a solid job on the club&rsquo;s third and fourth lines, tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee Dec. 13 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and is likely lost until March.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really disappointing,&rdquo; said Alfredsson, who is scheduled to play for Team Sweden. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had an injury keep me out this long in my career.&rdquo;Gardiner, meanwhile, won&rsquo;t be allowed to do anything physical until mid-January and can&rsquo;t expect to start skating until February.&ldquo;Obviously, I&rsquo;m disappointed that I&rsquo;ve.got the injury,&rdquo; Gardiner said. &ldquo;(But) I was happy It wasn&rsquo;t more and that it wasn&rsquo;t going to require surgery. If it needed surgery, I&rsquo;d be gone for the year for sure.&rdquo;GM Pierre Gauthier wasn&rsquo;t about to panic in light of the setbacks. He said the injuries wouldn&rsquo;t push him into making a deal. &ldquo;Injured players come back,&rdquo; Gauthier said.NOTEBOOK: Because of the injury situation, defenseman Chris Phillips was moved back to the forward position where he played eight games earlier this season. This time, Phillips was shifted onto the club&rsquo;s top Une with center Alexei Yashin and right winger Shawn McEachern. In their first game together Dec. 15 in St. Louis, the threesome combined for six points in a 3-1 Ottawa win&hellip;Senators&rsquo; owner Rod Bryden met with the club&rsquo;s limited partnership Dec. 18 and indicated the team will not make money this season. However, he does expect the Senators will be profitable next season&hellip;Left winger Marian Hossa, the club&rsquo;s top selection in the 1997 NHL entry draft, is expected to play for Slovakia at the Olympics. &#9632;

f0017-03

Senators get wings clipped

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04532/7257222-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="163" height="159"></div>Eric Lindros was hanging Christmas tree lights at Petr Svoboda&rsquo;s house at 5 p.m. Dec. 17, oddly enough, just an hour after one of the darkest moments in his career.Negotiations for a new contract seemed on the verge of breaking off late in the afternoon when Carl Lindros, Eric&rsquo;s father and agent, put in a call from Toronto to his son at his southern New Jersey home.Knowing another failed session might drag the talks into next year, there was urgency in his phone call.&ldquo;We were at a point where emotions just as easily could have overtaken the thing,&rdquo; Carl Lindros later explained.&ldquo;Eric made it very clear to me we were to do whatever it took to make him a Flyer.&rdquo;Within an hour, a deal was hammered out. The hulking center received $7.5 million for the current season (he was making $3.74 million on the final season of his original six-year contract) and $8.5 million for 199899, the same amount as co-salary leader Paul Kariya of the Mighty Ducks Anaheim.Lindros said his desire to continue his career in Philadelphia played a big part in his actions.&ldquo;It just felt like this problem wouldn&rsquo;t go away,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited because I&rsquo;ll be wearing this jersey next year. That&rsquo;s what I wanted. I didn&rsquo;t want to be faced with a situation that I didn&rsquo;t know the outcome. This way I can control that I&rsquo;m here.&rdquo;Team chairman Ed Snider had originally hoped to sign Lindros through 2000, but at the hastily called news conference at the CoreStates Center-which he conducted alone-Snider made it clear he wants to see some results before making a long-term commitment.&ldquo;A lot will depend on the results of Eric&rsquo;s performance and also the performance of the Flyers hockey team, whether or not we&rsquo;ve reached the promised land,&rdquo; Snider said.NOTEBOOK: Team chairman Ed Snider called the general feeling of center Eric Lindros&rsquo; new contract,&rdquo;one of mixed emotions. It&rsquo;s not exhilarating to pay $16 million for a player.&rdquo; President-GM Bob Clarke said,&rdquo;It&rsquo;s a big relief. Eric has said it has been bothering him. If it has been affecting his play, it shouldn&rsquo;t now.&rdquo; Asked if anyone was really pleased by the term of the contract, Clarke replied,&rdquo;Aw, it&rsquo;ll give me something to do next summer.&rdquo;&hellip;Right winger Brantt Myhres received a rare double game misconduct in the Flyers&rsquo; 3-1 win at Montreal Dec. 15. Myhres was sent to the penalty box after a fight with the Canadiens&rsquo; Craig Rivet and then verbally abused referee Bill McCreary. &#9632;

f0017-04

Lindros relieved by new deal

<div class="byline">By Bob McManaman and Ken Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011366/7257253-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="162" height="158"></div>On the afternoon of Dec. 19, Oleg Tverdovsky had his pillow and his blanket all set. for a bus trip to Rochester, N.Y. Hours later he was on a plane for Phoenix to join his teammates after a 79-day contract impasse.The 21-year-old defenseman signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes which will pay him salaries of $1.4 million this season and $1.7 million in 1998-99. Because he missed 35 games, Tverdovsky will receive $850,000 this season. He was expected to be in uniform for a Dec. 20 home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.If a deal hadn&rsquo;t been reached, Tverdovsky was prepared to announce Dec. 22 that he would never play for Phoenix again.&ldquo;I always felt I was doing the right thing and I am at peace with myself,&rdquo; Tverdovsky said. &ldquo;Both sides believed in their positions and I think we can put this aside and get it over with.&rdquo;Tverdovsky is happy to finally be collecting a paycheck. He had been playing since Nov. 26 with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American League, but it was only for expense money. In nine games with Hamilton, he had eight goals and 14 points. He was also AHL player of the week for the period ending Dec. 14.For that reason, Tverdovsky didn&rsquo;t anticipate any problem stepping in and contributing immediately. Even when he wasn&rsquo;t with the Bulldogs he was working out regularly on and off the ice in Toronto.&ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;m 100 per cent and I can help this team win,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It might take a few games to get my NHL timing back, but I was in a good league. It&rsquo;s not like I was playing with a bunch of kids.&rdquo;The signing was welcomed news for Coyotes&rsquo; captain Keith Tkachuk. After the Coyotes extended their winless streak to five games with a 5-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks Dec. 17, Tkachuk said something needed to be done to shake up the team.&ldquo;It was horrible. It was awful. It was a joke,&rdquo; Tkachuk said of the Vancouver game. &ldquo;That wasn&rsquo;t an NHL team. It was a joke.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Mike Gartner was to be presented with a crystal cup by the NHL on Dec. 20, commemorating his 700th career goal, which he scored Dec. 14 in a 3-3 tie with Detroit. (See pg. 5 for more on Gartner&rsquo;s 700th goal.) The Coyotes were planning to give him a silver-dipped stick and other gifts as recognition for becoming just the fifth player to reach that plateau&hellip;Left winger Keith Tkachuk had gone pointless in nine of his past 13 games. When he scored multiple points, the Coyotes were 8-1-1. When he didn&rsquo;t, they were 5-13-5&hellip;Left winger enforcer Jim McKenzie spent early December as a defenseman, teamed with Jay More on the team&rsquo;s second blueline unit behind Teppo Numminen and Gerald Diduck&hellip;The Coyotes recalled defenseman Sean Gagnon from Springfield of the American League for the second time this season. In 21 games with the Falcons this year, Gagnon had two goals, eight points and a teamleading 143 penalty minutes. &#9632;

f0018-01

Tverdovsky has no hard feelings despite acrimonious contract row

<div class="byline">By Mike Dudurich</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021017/7257284-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="162" height="157"></div>When the Pittsburgh Penguins turned to defenseman Ian Moran to add some depth at forward during last season&rsquo;s brief playoff run, the affable youngster raised some eyebrows with the quality of his play.While Penguins&rsquo; management didn&rsquo;t figure him to be a key component at either position coming into this season, Moran was expected to give new coach Kevin Constantine a little flexibility in his lineup.But a rut in the ice at the team&rsquo;s training facility put him on the sidelines and he missed 34 games before finally seeing his first action of the season Dec. 16 in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.&ldquo;I needed to hit somebody,&rdquo; Moran said after a 1-1 tie with the Lightning at the Civic Arena. &ldquo;There was a time when I didn&rsquo;t know what the heck was going on. I originally thought the injury was going to be a two-week thing.&rdquo;His injury was initially diagnosed as a wrenched left knee, but subsequent examination revealed a possible dislocated kneecap that appeared to have popped back into place later. When the 25-year-old Moran started to rehabilitate the knee, a clicking sensation would not go away and finally, when he tried to skate, his knee buckled underneath him, leading to arthroscopic surgery Oct. 21.After that, persistent swelling in the joint required a cortisone shot before he was finally able to get back into the lineup.&ldquo;When the guys are playing so well, it&rsquo;s tough not to be part of it,&rdquo; Moran said. &ldquo;You feel like a real outsider when the guys go on the road and then come back.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tough situation for anyone to be hurt. That&rsquo;s why I feel so bad for Kenny Wregget,&rdquo; he said, referring to the Penguins&rsquo; goaltender who has missed much of the 1997-98 season with a back injury.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care where they play me, I just want to play. As long as I keep hitting people, I&rsquo;ll be fine.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Jaromir Jagr was on a hot streak, collecting nine goals and 14 points over an 11-game span. Included in that stretch were five gamewinning goals&hellip;In the final game of a three-game western road trip Dec. 12, the Penguins got to see something they&rsquo;ve seen far too much of over the years: Phoenix right winger Mike Gartner scored the 699th goal of his career. It gave him 56 goals in 93 career games against the Penguins&hellip;Center Ron Francis played in his 1,200th career game Dec. 12 at Phoenix&hellip;Goalie Ken Wregget, out since Nov. 5 because of a herniated disk in his back, said he hoped to return &ldquo;immediately after Christmas.&rdquo;&hellip;The Penguins had an optional workout scheduled a day after they returned from Phoenix and 15 players showed up. That&rsquo;s quite a turnaround for a team that had six players show up for an optional workout between Games 1 and 2 of the playoff series, last year against Philadelphia&hellip;Center Stu Barnes recorded his 100th career goal against Phoenix. &#9632;

f0018-02

Moran quenches need to hit foes after returning from injury layoff

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011154/7257315-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="162" height="164"></div>The St. Louis Blues thrived despite early season injuries to No. 1 center Pierre Turgeon and Darren Turcotte, getting off to the best start in franchise history at 11-2-2.But as the injuries compounded, the Blues paid a heavy price in the standings. Through Dec. 19, they were 9-102 since their glorious start.On the long-term injury list were defenseman Al Maclnnis (dislocated shoulder), right winger Joe Murphy (wrist surgery) and center Pavol Demitra (back spasms).Right winger Brett Hull also went down with a deep left thigh bruise on what the Blues called a cheap shot by New Jersey Devils&rsquo; center Bobby Holik in a Dec. 18 game. Blues&rsquo; coach Joel Quenneville said Holik purposely kneed Hull and sent a videotape of the incident to the NHL for possible disciplinary action. &ldquo;You can inflict a lot of damage with the knee,&rdquo; Quenneville said. &ldquo;You have to be accountable for your stick. You should be accountable for your knee, too.&rdquo;&ldquo;He did a bee-line right toward me,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;It was vicious. It was a blatant attempt to injure.&rdquo;Hull crawled along the boards on hands and knees trying to get off the ice after the hit in front of New Jersey&rsquo;s bench. He finally pulled himself up and limped off the ice.&ldquo;I thought I was going to throw up, that&rsquo;s how much it hurt,&rdquo; Hull said.MacInnis, meanwhile, hurt the same shoulder on which he underwent surgery in May, 1995, to prevent recurrent dislocations. He was hoping to return by mid-January.NOTEBOOK: Center Harry York returned to the lineup after missing five games as a healthy scratch and scored two goals in a 4-4 tie with New Jersey Dec. 18. The goals were York&rsquo;s first in two months and doubled his season output&hellip;The Blues scored two power play goals against New Jersey, snapping an 0-for-16 slump&hellip;Goalie Grant Fuhr lambasted unnamed forwards for &ldquo;playing like they don&rsquo;t care&rdquo; in a 3-1 loss to Ottawa Dec. 15. Defenseman Chris Pronger, the team captain, backed him up. &#9632;

f0020-01

Injuries start taking toll as stars Hull, Maclnnis join long list of ailing

<div class="byline">By Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02793/7257346-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="166" height="164"></div>Fans in San Jose hadn&rsquo;t seen anything like it in almost three years, since the San Jose Sharks&rsquo; back-to-back Stanley Cup playoff appearances in 1994 and 1995.A 0-0 tie with the visiting Vancouver Canucks Dec. 18 stretched a San Jose unbeaten streak to six games, the longest since they posted a 5-0-1 run near the outset of the 1994-95 campaign.With four victories and two ties over the six-game stretch that began with a 3-2 win at Vancouver Dec. 4, San Jose was three games short of the franchise-record nine-game unbeaten streak established near the end of the 1993-94 season.&ldquo;The big thing you see is the (players) believing they have an opportunity to win every night,&rdquo; said first-year Sharks&rsquo; coach Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;Along with that comes more discipline in your game plan.&rdquo;Exactly one third of San Jose&rsquo;s 30 points, good for a three-way tie for seventh in the Western Conference, had come during the six-game span. The key to it all was a much-improved team defense, which surrendered only seven goals during the streak, including just two over the final four games.&ldquo;If you look at our streak, we&rsquo;re keeping teams down not only in goals, but in scoring opportunities,&rdquo; said left winger Murray Craven. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not asking our goalies to go out there and make 40 saves a night. That&rsquo;s really important.&rdquo;Indeed, the Sharks gave up an average of only 21.8 shots during the six games, making life manageable for goalies Mike Vernon and Kelly Hrudey.&ldquo;Our work ethic and our commitment to defense are much better,&rdquo; said left winger Jeff Friesen. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re giving ourselves a chance to win every game.&rdquo;In addition to its in-season addition of established veterans Dave Lowry, Mike Ricci and John MacLean, as well as the return to the lineup of oft-injured defenseman Al lafrate, San Jose seemed to be grasping Sutter&rsquo;s system.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve always accepted what Darryl is trying to do, but now we&rsquo;re understanding how it&rsquo;s done,&rdquo; said right winger Tony Granato. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a big difference. You can believe in it and try to get it done, but until you understand it, which is the point I think we&rsquo;re at now, it&rsquo;s not the same.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: A 0-0 tie Dec. 18 against visiting Vancouver, the second in San Jose&rsquo;s seven-year history, was also the second this season. The Sharks and visiting Toronto played to a scoreless draw Nov. 4&hellip;Goalie Kelly Hrudey, who went 4-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average against Dallas last season, blanked the Stars 1-0 Dec. 12 in Dallas. Hrudey stopped 24 shots for his 17th career shutout, his first since March 15, 1994, when he was a member of the Los Angeles Kings&hellip;Right winger Tony Granato picked up an assist in a 5-1 win over visiting Detroit Dec. 16. It was Granato&rsquo;s first appearance after missing 19 games because of a broken jaw. &#9632;

f0020-02

Addition of seasoned veterans help Sharks put together unbeaten streak

<div class="byline">By Tim Buckley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03546/7257377-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="161" height="161"></div>Several bizarre twists and turns in the life of Brian Bradley hit a roadblock Dec. 17 when the Tampa Bay Lightning&rsquo;s all-time franchise scoring leader told the St. Petersburg Times that a career-threatening wrist injury will force him to undergo surgery.&ldquo;It could be so bad I will never be able to play again,&rdquo; Bradley said. &ldquo;I mean, it&rsquo;s a real mess.&rdquo;So, too, was the entire Bradley saga, which started when the center sustained what was first thought to be a mild concussion during a Nov. 6 road game against the Los Angeles Kings.Bradley consulted with a Gainesville, Fla., neurosurgeon Dec. 18 who told him he actually sustained a severe concussion that could keep him out six months or longer. Bradley was told to rest until mid-January, then he would be re-evaluated. That may push back the date for the operation on his wrist, which has a tom ligament requiring surgical stabilization.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not even just a game,&rdquo; Bradley said after getting the news on his concussion. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my life and career.&rdquo;That was not the only major injury problem for the Lightning, the NHL&rsquo;s last place and lowest-scoring team, even after beating the Boston Bruins 2-0 to go 2-1-1 in four games during a five-night span Dec. 13&ndash;17. No. 1 right winger and team scoring leader Mikael Renberg broke a bone in his right wrist during a 3-1 road victory against the Ottawa Senators Dec. 13 and was expected to be out until at least early January while the bone healed on its own.&ldquo;Surgery is the only thing that will allow me to keep playing,&rdquo; Bradley said. Even though neurological tests initially revealed no discernible problem stemming from the concussion, recurring headaches prevented Bradley from playing.Bradley complained about the wrist in addition to his headaches. However, at least one teammate questioned his motivation for not playing. Veteran Dino Ciccarelli complained to the Tampa Tribune, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re scrambling down the middle and we&rsquo;ve got one of our centers still at home because he doesn&rsquo;t want to play.&rdquo;Ciccarelli&rsquo;s comment enraged Bradley, who told the Tribune &ldquo;I will never play on the same team as Dino Ciccarelli. I never want to play with that piece of (expletive) again. That gutless little puke.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Lightning president Steve Oto issued a directive to GM Phil Esposito Dec. 17, saying it was time to make a trade for offensive help. Oto also defended ownership of the for-sale franchise, suggesting the Lightning&rsquo;s status should not prevent Esposito from dealing. &ldquo;Something needs to be done,&rdquo; Oto said. &ldquo;Not a Band Aid-trade, not a Mickey Mouse trade.&rdquo; Oto criticized Esposito&rsquo;s work, but stopped short of saying his job was at stake: &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not what we&rsquo;re talking about here-yet.&rdquo; Esposito said he is working on deals&hellip;Tampa Bay tried trading defenseman Roman Hamrlik to Edmonton, but the Oilers reportedly would not give up center Jason Arnott. &#9632;

f0020-03

Injury puts career of Tampa Bay’s all-time leading scorer in jeopardy

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01917/7257408-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="162" height="160"></div>Wendel Clark has every reason to be having one of his better scoring seasons. But it wasn&rsquo;t working out that way.After 33 games, Clark was stuck at six goals, putting him on pace for about 15. Despite years of injury problems, the 31-year-old left winger entered 1997-98 with 282 goals in 636 games, or about 36 goals per full season.With unrestricted free agency staring him in the face next summer, it seemed Clark, who&rsquo;s earning $2 million this season, would be highly motivated.&ldquo;I may look frustrated out there, but I&rsquo;m getting chances,&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;In fact, I&rsquo;ve probably had as many as last year. I&rsquo;m just not finishing.&rdquo;Clark&rsquo;s poor production was very noticeable on a team that has trouble scoring at the best of times.&ldquo;Wendel isn&rsquo;t scoring, but he&rsquo;s getting chances, so how do I take him out of my lineup?&rdquo; said coach Mike Murphy. &ldquo;As long as Wendel is getting chances, he&rsquo;ll play.&rdquo;Clark led the club with 97 shots while playing mainly on a line with rookie center Alyn McCauley and right winger Fredrik Modin.With 252 goals, Clark ranks seventh in club history and downplayed any suggestion he&rsquo;s losing mustard off his dynamite wrist shot. &ldquo;My shot is fine,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just got to make it count.&rdquo;The Leafs haven&rsquo;t made any move towards getting Clark signed and it seems likely he&rsquo;d have to settle for a pay cut to stay in Toronto.NOTEBOOK: The Leafs will have four prospects competing in the World Junior Championship: defensemen Marek Posmyk and Tomas Kaberle (Czech Republic); right winger Vladimir Antipov (Russia); and center Jeff Farkas (USA)&hellip;Right winger Martin Prochazka, who will play for the Czechs in the Olympics, dressed for only nine of the Leafs&rsquo; first 33 games&hellip;Right winger Mike Johnson picked up his first point on the road this season in his 13th outing, a goal during a 32 loss in Colorado Dec. 15. Somewhat surprisingly, Johnson still managed to lead all rookies in scoring with 23 points&hellip;With backup goalie Glenn Healy bothered by injuries, Felix Potvin started 26 of the Leafs&rsquo; first 33 games. &#9632;

f0021-01

Clark just can’t find mark despite plenty of incentive

<div class="byline">By Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03315/7257439-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="580" height="895"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Juneau</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02535/7257446-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="163" height="158"></div>Losing center Joe Juneau until at least mid-January with ligament damage to his right knee was difficult enough for the Washington Capitals to deal with. How it happened made it even tougher.Juneau was nailed as he was crossing center ice with a knee-to-knee hit by Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; right winger Sandy Moger in a Dec. 13 game in Inglewood, Calif.&ldquo;This is the type of thing a player should be suspended for,&rdquo; said GM George McPhee. &ldquo;It was the intent that certainly was most important and certainly (the length of) the injury has made it more important.&rdquo;The Capitals believe Moger lined Juneau up for the hit twice on the same shift, missing the first time.&ldquo;The referee (Rob Shick) noted that, too,&rdquo; said coach Ron Wilson. &ldquo;He came over to the bench and said, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s the second time on that shift he did it.&rsquo;&rdquo;Moger was assessed a clipping major and game misconduct, but the NHL said there would be no supplementary discipline.Juneau&rsquo;s setback came at a time when the club was going through what is now a customary epidemic of injuries. Through Dec. 18, the team had lost 185 man-games to injury (and another half-dozen to suspension or personal time off), a figure which projects to 435 man-games lost for the entire season.The projected figure makes a joke out of last season&rsquo;s total, 361 mangames, which is the club record.NOTEBOOK: Owner Abe Pollin&rsquo;s Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association were having a great time in the new District of Columbia facility, winning their first six games in the MCI Center. Pollin&rsquo;s Caps were having a tougher time making the adjustment, going 1-1-1 in their first three&hellip;The Caps were on a six-game winless streak (0-3-3) through Dec. 18, three times giving up four or more goals&hellip;Defenseman Mark Tinordi played in his 600th NHL game Dec. 18 against Florida, while goalie Olie Kolzig appeared in his 100th the same night&hellip;Center Andrei Nikolishin, who tore up a knee during the World Championship last spring, hopes to be back in the lineup by Jan. 1. He was working out with the team and looked good. &#9632;

f0021-03

Juneau injury angers Caps

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04227/7257477-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="162" height="160"></div>For 13 games, goalie Arturs Irbe watched new coach Mike Keenan give Kirk McLean the puck and the starting job with the Vancouver Canucks. He didn&rsquo;t complain, even when McLean began surrendering soft goals, and quietly waited his turn.When it came, he made the most of it.&ldquo;Things can change quickly in this game,&rdquo; said Irbe, who shut out the Los Angeles Kings 7-0 in his first start for Keenan Dec. 15, then followed up by allowing just one goal to the Phoenix Coyotes in a 5-1 win Dec. 17 and registered another shutout in a 0-0 tie with the San Jose Sharks Dec. 18. &ldquo;I hope they don&rsquo;t change quickly again. It feels good to get some starts. Obviously, I like it.&rdquo;Keenan said he had no regrets in waiting so long to hand the 30-year-old Irbe the ball. McLean and the Canucks began well for Iron Mike, going 5-1-2, but then fell on their faces again, losing five straight.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t start second-guessing myself now,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;I wanted to give Kirk the workload to see how he responded. It may not have been a complete reflection of his play because the team was playing some tough opponents and hit a little bit of a wall. But it has never really been my style to put one goalie in, and then the other. It&rsquo;s too confusing and it doesn&rsquo;t really give them a chance to get a feel for it.&rdquo;McLean has rarely played second fiddle to anyone since arriving in Vancouver 11 seasons ago, but doesn&rsquo;t feel Irbe&rsquo;s resurgence should be blown into a goaltending controversy.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s you (media) guys making a big deal over nothing,&rdquo; McLean said. &ldquo;It always seems when something good happens, there&rsquo;s a controversy. People should just be happy the team won. I&rsquo;ve been in some tough games that our team went through, but I don&rsquo;t think my play has hindered the team. Really, under the circumstances, I feel I played very well.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Pavel Bure had 25 points in 16 games under coach Mike Keenan&hellip;Center Mark Messier was closing in on the 1,000-assist mark for his career. He had 996 entering the final two games before Christmas&hellip;Keenan had what he called &ldquo;a dust-up&rdquo; with center Trevor Linden. The coach accused the former team captain of playing too soft. &ldquo;I told him, &lsquo;Why do you want to be a good player when you could be a great player?&rsquo;&rdquo; Keenan said&hellip;Left winger Martin Gelinas was benched by Keenan for 45 minutes in a game against Colorado Dec. 13 after he failed to heed the game plan. Gelinas responded with three points and was plus-3 in his next two games. &#9632;

f0021-04

Artful Irbe shuts down opponents

<div class="byline">Compiled by Jason Kay</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01937/7257508-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sheldon Kennedy&rsquo;s startling revelation of sexual abuse is hockey&rsquo;s top story.</figcaption></div>Sexual offenses, a suicide, a tragic car accident, a physical attack on a reporter and even a murder. No, it&rsquo;s not the plotline of an episode of Law & Order, but rather some of the stories that dominated the headlines in 1997. Naturally, it wasn&rsquo;t all gloom over the past 12 months, but as you scan the list of the top 50 stories it&rsquo;s clear we&rsquo;re due for a sunnier 1998.<h2>1997 TOP STORIES</h2>1. It&rsquo;s an ominous beginning to a new year when, on Jan. 2, former Calgary Hitmen executive and Bturf coach Graham James is sentenced to 3-1/2 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting two former players.Emotions range from anger to shock to embarrassment when Boston Bruins&rsquo; right winger Sheldon Kennedy and another player reveal the once highly respected coach committed some 350 offenses against them during their time with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western League. The crimes date back to 1982.Kennedy&rsquo;s decision to come forward and make public the abuses he suffered has a domino effect as several players at various levels of minor hockey in Canada find the courage to name their alleged abusers. There are also reports further charges will be brought against James, who is serving his time in a prison outside Winnipeg.The startling revelation also opens eyes at the Canadian Hockey League, the governing body for major junior hockey. It hires sports lawyer Gordon Kirke to author a report and make recommendations on how to minimize the James scenario from re-occurring.Kennedy, meanwhile, announces plans to establish a camp near Fernie, B.C., to help young victims of sexual abuse and helps produce a video for use in the school system.Kennedy&rsquo;s year takes a turn for the worst, however, when the Bruins decide to release him in the off-season. Soon after, he sustains a badly broken leg in an all-terrain vehicle accident and by year&rsquo;s end it appears unlikely he&rsquo;ll be able to resume his pro career.2. Detroit&rsquo;s celebration after winning its first 2. Stanley Cup in 42 years is crushed when six days later defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and masseur Sergei Mnat-sakanov are seriously injured in a limousine crash.3. Crease chaos reaches its peak in the playoffs when 62 video reviews are requested, an average of 0.76 per game. A directive before year&rsquo;s end sees the number of reviews decline to 0.43 per game.4 Pittsburgh legend Mario Lemieux trades in the five-hole for 18 holes as he ends his glorious 12-year career with a plethora of awards and accomplishments and gains immediate entry into the Hall of Fame.5. Dominik Hasek becomes the first goalie in 35 years to be named NHL MVP and the first one in recent memory to assault a reporter. His perceived role in Ted Nolan&rsquo;s firing also makes him a target of Buffalo hecklers.6. The almighty buck comes between the Mighty Ducks and Paul Kariya, when the superstar sits out Anaheim&rsquo;s first 32 games as an unsigned free agent. In his first game, Kariya gets two goals, two assists.7. The NHL, once accused of having NBA envy, starts to resemble soccer as scoring continues to decline. The 1997-98 goals-per-game average stands at 5.55, its lowest level in 28 years.8. Simon says the unthinkable. Simon says sorry. Chris Simon then is banned three games for using a racial slur against Mike Grier. Three weeks later, there&rsquo;s another Capital racial offense, this time by Craig Berube.9. Martin Kruze, the first victim to come forward in the Maple Leaf Gardens sex scandal, commits suicide after his tormentor, Gordon Stuckless, is sentenced to two years less a day in prison for his crimes.10. The Detroit-Colorado rivalry intensifies as Darren McCarty mels Claude Lemieux, the Wings pummel the Avalanche in the playoffs and Lemieux instigates a 1997-98 rematch with McCarty.11. It&rsquo;s not an official record, more of an clamation mark to an unparalleled career when Wayne Gretzky gets assist No. 1,851. It gives him more career helpers than anyone else has points.12. Turmoil, not grease, is the word in Buffalo as the successful Sabres fire GM John Muckier, don&rsquo;t re-hire coach Ted Nolan and dump the salary of popular captain Pat LaFontaine.13. Mark Messier leaves Manhattan as an unre-Stricted free agent to sign with Vancouver. It&rsquo;s not long before his ex-Ranger collaborator, coach Mike Keenan, joins him in B.C.14. John Cullen&rsquo;s life is turned upside down when he leams he has a potentially deadly form of cancer. At one point during treatment, his heart stops beating for a minute before he is revived.15. New Jersey&rsquo;s Martin Brodeur quietly puts together the best statistical season of any goalie in 1997, but makes a lot of noise when he scores an empty-net goal in the playoffs.16. A front-loaded Rangers&rsquo; matched by Colorado, makes Joe Sakic&rsquo;s $17 million 1997-98 salary the highest ever. Chris Gratton&rsquo;s $10 million stipend with the Flyers isn&rsquo;t far behind.17. The Olympic dream begins for many NHL stars as countries name their lineups. Notable omissions include Mark Messier, Mark Recchi, Sergei Fedorov and Tom Barrasso.18. It&rsquo;s a stonny begmmng in Carolina for the Hurricanes after bolting Hartford. Through 19 dates in their temporary Greensboro, N.C., home, the &lsquo;Canes average 8,447 fans.19. Cliff Fletcher and Pat Quinn, two members of the old GM guard, lose their jobs in Toronto and Vancouver, respectively. They are two of a surprising eight GM changes in 1997.20. Scotty Bowman contin: coach has gone before by winning the 1,000th game of his brilliant NHL career, then leading Detroit to the Stanley Cup, his seventh.21. The NHL continues to redefine itself by announcing plans to add four teams-Nashville, Columbus, Atlanta and St. Paul-then realigning to get Toronto back into the East next season.22. The Year of the Comeback features several inspirational returns from players such as Pat LaFontaine, Gary Roberts, Tom Barrasso and Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe.23. The man who was too good to be true proves to be just that. John Spano, the proclaimed savior of the Islanders, pleads guilty to fraud charges and ownership of the team reverts to John Pickett.24. NHL teams do their Part for environment by recycling coaches. Those back for another shot include Pat Bums, Mike Keenan and Jacques Demers. In all, 15 teams get new coaches.25. You could ice a competitive team from all the free agents without contracts as 1997-98 begins. Still on the outside as &rsquo;97 winds down are Sergei Fedorov, Oleg Tverdovsky and Petr Nedved.26. Two dramatic plays are left burned in our memories during the 1997 playoffs: Darren McCarty&rsquo;s sensational Cup winning goal and Curtis Joseph&rsquo;s miracle save to help the Oilers advance.27. Is bigger better? The NHL isn&rsquo;t taking chances as it institutes a crackdown on goalie equipment. Netminders are threatened with fines and suspensions for using oversized gear.28. Canada executes a rare triple by winning the World Junior Championship (fifth straight), the Women&rsquo;s World Championship (fourth straight) and men&rsquo;s World Championship.29. Little big man Ron Tugnutt emerges as the Senators&rsquo; savior. The reborn goaltender posts three shutouts in April to help Ottawa go from last overall to its first ever playoff berth.30. Relentless 30-goal scorer Mike Gartner becomes just the fifth man in NHL history to reach the 700 plateau. He accomplishes the feat with Phoenix, his fifth NHL team.31. Things aren&rsquo;t so sunny in Tampa as: the ership is in disarray; Chris Gratton bolts; coach Terry Crisp is fired; high profile players feud; and the losses mount at a consistent pace.32. Do not adjusl your set but do adjust your mind-set. It&rsquo;s announced Molson&rsquo;s Hockey Night in Canada will become Labbatt&rsquo;s HNIC, while TSN will lose NHL action to CTV Sports Net.33. Cerebral Ken Dryden is hired as president of the Leafs then, after an exhaustive search, names himself GM. Dryden also makes news for speeding realignment and his anti-fighting stance.34. Led by veterans Ed Belfour and Tom rasso, NHL goalies zero in on a new shutout standard. They finish 1996-97 with a record 127 and are on pace for an astounding 150 in 1997-98.35. The &rsquo;97 draft class is the best ever. Would you believe the best of the &rsquo;90s? Would you believe it&rsquo;s better than the supplemental draft? Performance doesn&rsquo;t match hype as the early grades come in.36. Sean Burke is in the eye of a storm when he is accused of beating his wife following a harrowing 911 call. Burke denies the charge, but concedes he has had physical confrontations with his spouse.37. Teemu Selanne scores goals during an trifying 11-game streak. Making the feat that much more remarkable is the fact he does it without the help of an accomplished NHL playmaker.38. Russian hockey chief Valentin Sych is murdered when, on his way to work in Moscow, his car is hit with bullets from a passing vehicle. Russian NHLers speculate mafia involvement.39.Questions of the Oilers&rsquo; future in Edmonton surface when Peter Pocklington is forced to sell the team to cover debts. At year&rsquo;s end, a local group is working towards a potential purchase.40. Mario Lemieux barely makes it to the first tee before Vincent Lecavalier is hyped as No. 66&rsquo;s heir apparent. The comparison is premature as David Legwand competes for No. 1 draft status.41. Concussions, and how best to deal with them, becomes a league-wide dilemma. Careers of several players are jeopardized as more and more players sit out with post-concussion syndrome.42. New Jersey defense man Ken Daneyko becomes the first player to take part in the NHL&rsquo;s new substance abuse plan when he voluntarily enters a rehabilitation program.43. Canada&rsquo;s eight-game victory over the Soviet Union in the landmark 1972 Summit Series is celebrated 25 years later with special tributes and a reunion game at Maple Leaf Gardens.44. It&rsquo;s a giant step for womankind, at least in the United States, as its national team emerges as a serious threat to previously untouchable Canada for gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics.45. In Boston, the Bruins become the Ruins as their magnificent 29-year playoff streak ends. The salvation is No. 1 overall pick Joe Thornton and a surprisingly strong start to 1997-98.46. Mike Vernon proves his detractors wrong by capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy. Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s not enough to save his job in Detroit as he&rsquo;s dealt to San Jose for a draft pick.47. Unrestricted free agency proves more and more lucrative for players as Mark Messier, Ed Belfour, Luke Richardson, Andy Moog and others sign big contracts with new teams.48. The road to the 1997-98 Stanley Cup starts in Tokyo, where Vancouver and Anaheim open the season. It&rsquo;s the first time an NHL campaign has kicked off outside North America.49. Retirement claims several notable warriors beside Mario Lemieux. The good-bye guys include Joe Mullen, Dale Hawerchuk, Denis Savard, Neal Broten, Craig MacTavish and Steve Smith.50. Forgive the self-indulgence, but it just seemed like a natural to put The Hockey News&rsquo; 50th birthday in this slot. THN thanks its readers on its 50th anniversary. &#9632;

f0023-01

INSTANT REPLAY

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011011/7257602-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Kariya&rsquo;s only personal objective? To average five shots per game. (Photo by H. Diroco/BBS)</figcaption></div><h2>DON BAIZLEY</h2>The more Don Baizley tries to avoid the spotlight, the more it seems to find him.The 55-year-old Winnipeg-based lawyer/agent was front and center in some of the year&rsquo;s top stories, including the New York Rangers&rsquo; offer sheet to free agent Joe Sakic and Paul Kariya&rsquo;s battle with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.It&rsquo;s no coincidence both Baizley clients came out on top-Colorado will pay Sakic $17 million this season and Anaheim gave Kariya a two-year, $14 million deal-because the agent is regarded as the most respected in his business. His clientele, including Jari Kurri, Sakic, Kariya, Peter Forsberg, Theo Fleury, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu, represents the cream of pro hockey.Just don&rsquo;t ask him to talk about himself.&ldquo;The focus should be what happens on the ice and the players,&rdquo; Baizley said. &ldquo;I believe the people who strive to keep a low profile, whether they&rsquo;re coaches, managers, agents, are the ones who will enjoy the most success.&rdquo;Baizley&rsquo;s career as an agent started with the advent of the World Hockey Association. His representation of some Swedes (Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson) and Finns (Hexi Riihiranta and Veli-Pekka Ketola) paved the way for him to become a major player on the European scene.A father of two, Baizley takes great pride in the relationships he has forged with his clients.But for all the big deals he has done, and will continue to do, Baizley would much rather find himself at his cottage on West Hawk Lake, Ont., than in the headlines.<h2>SCOTTY BOWMAN</h2>Amazing how another Stanley Cup alters perceptions, isn&rsquo;t it?In one year, Scotty Bowman&rsquo;s image changed from relic to statesman, from cranky eccentric to prophetic genius. A playoff series loss away from coaching his last game. Bowman delivered Detroit&rsquo;s first Stanley Cup in 42 years, silencing critics who had written him off as part Mussolini, part Mr. Magoo.Vindication was his in 1997.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think about it that way,&rdquo; Bowman said,&rdquo;but I doubt if I would have been back if we hadn&rsquo;t won.&rdquo;Bowman became relevant again, impossible to dismiss. People realized those 1,200 total victories (playoffs included) and seven coaching Stanley Cups meant something after all.Remember the boyish Bowman, 63, strapping on skates and holding the Cup aloft after the four-game sweep of Philadelphia?It was Bowman who made the little moves that resounded so loudly-the resurrection of Joey Kocur from a beer league to solid checker, the acquisition of Larry Murphy in a Toronto salary dump and the decision Mike Vernon would be his playoff goaltender.In the first three rounds, Bowman took the better of coaching&rsquo;s next generation: Joel Quenneville, Ron Wilson and Marc Crawford.Bowman&rsquo;s greatest challenge may have been handling the limousine accident involving defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and masseur Sergei Mnat-sakanov. The tragedy was neither embraced nor avoided.&ldquo;Fate deals the hand and makes you keep your senses about it,&rdquo; Bowman said.Minus Konstantinov and unsigned free agent Sergei Fedorov, Bowman has kept the Red Wings among the elite this season.<h2>KEN DRYDEN</h2>A year ago, Ken Dryden was abruptly rebuffing media calls asking if he was interested in returning to the sport in which he had fashioned a Hall of Fame playing career.No, no, a thousand times no was essentially Dryden&rsquo;s answer. He&rsquo;d been lost to the game on anything other than a writing or broadcasting level since his retirement 18 years earlier, and intended on staying lost.A year later, of course, Dryden holds three titles with the Toronto Maple Leafs, including GM. He has successfully overseen the franchise&rsquo;s move to the Eastern Conference and has begun to establish himself as a calm source of of intelligent reason among the league&rsquo;s often self-serving voices.Still, there remain questions as to whether he can remake the Leafs into a winner, whether he has the street smarts to deal with the Glen Sathers and Lou Lamoriellos of the NHL jungle. An inability to hire a GM before opting to appoint himself created an aura of managerial uncertainty that has yet to clear.As well, he has never satisfactorily explained his rationale for deciding to join Toronto&rsquo;s executive suite, which opens the issue as to how long his commitment will be.It&rsquo;s known he was whispering in the ear of Maple Leaf ownership for months before his appointment and he has voiced gradual fascination with the machinations of the NHL. Dryden&rsquo;s record would indicate he tends to move from project to project to quench his thirst for new challenges.In 12 months, the question has changed from &ldquo;would Dryden do it?&rdquo; to &ldquo;can Dryden do it?&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01905/7257595-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="2492" height="2122"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dominant Dominik Hasek didn&rsquo;t mask his emotions in 1997. The brilliant goalie physically attacked a reporter and trashed a dressing room. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div><h2>DOMINIK HASEK</h2>Anyone who has won the MVP award in the NHL will tell you it was one of the most memorable years of his pro career.Dominik Hasek probably would say that about 1997 even if he didn&rsquo;t have the Hart Trophy.The 32-year-old Czech carried the Buffalo Sabres to their first divisional championship in 16 years. However, Hasek called attention to himself off the ice as much as he did on it, no small accomplishment for one of the best goalies in the world.In April, Hasek stormed out of a practice session in Boston and trashed the dressing room after then-coach Ted Nolan said he would stage a light, fun practice. A couple of weeks later, Hasek injured his knee during a playoff game with Ottawa. When a Buffalo columnist suggested the pressure of having to carry his team might be more than he could handle, Hasek physically attacked the writer, earning a suspension from the league. In June, Hasek suggested he would prefer Nolan not be back, angering the pro-Nolan faction and fans.By training camp, his own team had to hold a meeting to try to diffuse the situation. For the first month of the season, fans booed Hasek-which might have been a first for a defending Hart Trophy winner.Hasek&rsquo;s play suffered for a while, but he was back in top form by midNovember. And once again, he was hearing cheers from fans and getting hugs from his teammates.<h2>PAUL KARIYA</h2>The most process-driven player in the NHL is in the process of establishing himself as a player and person for the ages.The Hockey News named Paul Kariya the NHL&rsquo;s best player in September and then watched him emerge as one of the league&rsquo;s best-rested players. Kariya, 23, sat out the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim&rsquo;s first 32 games during protracted contract negotiations.Kariya returned with a $14-million, two-year contract to earn five points in two games and reinforce his image as the NHL&rsquo;s most dynamic player.The native of North Vancouver is also a candidate for most determined.Kariya, a two-time first team all-star at left wing, is as unique in his commitment to the game as the skills he possesses. He trains relentlessly, focuses on skill development and acknowledges setting only one individual objective.While other elite players admit to aiming for 50 goals or 100 points, Kariya says such targets are limiting-and for a player of his speed, shooting ability and playmaking instincts that may be true. Kariya, the NHL&rsquo;s most gentlemanly player two years running, says he wants to average five shots per game.Shooting represents the process for Kariya and whether he is taking part in complex negotiations or unleashing the puck with the game&rsquo;s quickest release, Kariya knows hockey isn&rsquo;t just about scoring or achieving goals, it&rsquo;s about the route you take to record them.<h2>SHELDON KENNEDY</h2>The problem with modern-day heroes is society wants to define them in black-and-white terms-when real life includes shades of grey.So it was with Sheldon Kennedy, the ex-Red Wing, ex-Flame, ex-Bruin, who made headlines in January when his former junior coach, Graham James, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail for sexually assaulting him more than 300 times.Kennedy took his story public in the hopes that, by detailing the terms of his own experience, he could help others deal with their personal demons.His wish to establish a foundation that would, in turn, build a ranch to act as a retreat for victims and their families, was set in motion. Oprah called and Kennedy told his story to millions more on national TV, U.S. and Canada.In June, the Bruins chose not to exercise their option on the final year of Kennedy&rsquo;s contract. Days later, Kennedy shattered his leg when he flipped an all-terrain vehicle upon which he was riding.At 28, his hockey career-which he&rsquo;d hoped to get back on track-now appears over. So now, he&rsquo;s devoting his energies to healing; himself first, physically and emotionally, then others scarred by similar childhood terrors.In Hollywood, there&rsquo;d be a neat, pat, happy-ever-after ending. Life is more complicated than that, but as December ended, Kennedy was having more good days than bad, seemingly on his way to rebuilding the broken pieces of his life.<h2>Spano persuasive</h2><h3>VINCENT LECAVALIER</h3>Despite overblown reports to the contrary, Vincent Lecavalier is not perfect. The kid is pretty damed close, however.The Rimouski Oceanic center has a combination of size (6-foot-3, 184 pounds), hockey sense and natural ability to place him in that exclusive category of special prospect. He&rsquo;s also mature beyond his years, intelligent, fluently bilingual and possesses movie-star good looks. Oh yeah, he&rsquo;ll also become a millionaire after next June&rsquo;s NHL entry draft, where he will likely be the No. 1 pick.Just how special is Lecavalier?Well, consider Colorado Avalanche GM Pierre Lacroix has already obtained 1998 first round draft picks from Boston, Los Angeles, Washington and San Jose with one goal in mind: landing Vincent Lecavalier.He nas the potential to be a franchise player,&rdquo; said Frank Bonello, director of the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Bureau.While 1998 promises fame and fortune for Lecavalier, 1997 was definitely a year to remember. He finished1996-97 with 42 goals and 103 points, becoming only the ninth 16-year-old in Quebec League history to reach the 100-point plateau, and won the Michel Bergeron Trophy as the rookie of the year.In August, he was part of the Canadian under-18 team that won the TriNations Tournament in the Czech Republic.&ldquo;He was by far the best player there,&rdquo; said Canadian coach Claude Julien. &ldquo;He has great hands and skills like Mario Lemieux. His work ethic is extraordinary.&rdquo;Lecavalier finished 1997 by representing Canada again-this time at the World Junior Championship in Finland. He was the only 17-year-old to make the squad.<h3>JACK PARKER</h3>The Boston Bruins asked Jack Parker to be their new coach in May, told him to go home and think about it, and he promptly drove back up Commonwealth Avenue and continued life behind the Boston University bench.&ldquo;It had a lot to do with travel, the press, the pressure, the grind,&rdquo; said Parker, hired as BU&rsquo;s coach Dec. 21, 1973. &ldquo;BU loses a game, the sports editor pulls the beat writer away from them. The Bruins lose, the editor puts four more on.&rdquo;Parker&rsquo;s Terriers began their holiday break Dec. 12 ranked No. 1 in the U.S. with an 11-1-2 record. On Nov. 25, with a win over Harvard, he picked up his 556th victory at BU, setting yet another milestone-most victories, one coach, one college.Parker&rsquo;s method of success?&ldquo;It comes down to one word-respect,&rdquo; said Mike Eruzione, former Terrier and ex-captain of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid. &ldquo;He not only commands respect for himself from his players-and makes them better players-but he demands respect for the red-and-white sweater.&rdquo;Parker, 52, grew up in the shadows of Boston Garden in nearby Somerville. He was a three-pack-a-day chain smoker when he took over the BU job, but gave up the habit when he took up sailing and hasn&rsquo;t had a cigarette in 15 years.It has been mostly clear sailing for Parker&rsquo;s BU squads, which won national championship in 1978 and 1995.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01990/7257588-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="433" height="678"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Baizley</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02662/7257581-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="433" height="677"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vincent Lecavalier</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03473/7257574-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="434" height="680"><figcaption class="caption-body">Scotty Bowman</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04323/7257567-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="435" height="679"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jack Parker</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05248/7257560-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="433" height="680"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ken Dryden</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06214/7257553-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="434" height="678"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Spano</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-07193/7257546-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="434" height="679"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sheldon Kennedy</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-08170/7257539-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="437" height="681"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sarah Tueting</figcaption></div><h3>JOHN SPANO</h3>Say this about John Spano-he had extraordinary powers of persuasion.The Dallas businessman who portrayed himself as a multi-millionaire with private jets, racehorses and high-end real estate, persuaded hockey powers he was worthy of a franchise. Citing personal wealth and commercial holdings, Spano convinced six banks to loan him $80 million.Even before his purchase of the Islanders was approved by the NHL Governors, Spano had already begun negotiating for a new arena and got Mike Milbury to abandon coaching for managing. Gaining unanimous approval in February for the $165 million sale, he pledged preliminary arena designs by May and an increased budget for Milbury. He convinced Islander fans a return to greatness was ahead.But in April, he failed to deliver a $17 million payment to Isles&rsquo; owner John Pickett. He told Pickett the money was forthcoming, blaming terrorists, airline schedules and his own advisors for insufficient, bounced and non-existent checks. Although he asserted offshore holdings would cover the $84 million owed Pickett, New York papers began sniffing and detected the strong aroma of deceit-his cupboard looked bare.Spano agreed to walk away from me sale in July and pled guilty to fraud in October. But as late as December, he tried to back away from the plea bargain that would send him to prison. Meanwhile, Pickett resold the club to a group headed by Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; part-owner Steven Gluckstem. The bizarre affair was best summed up by an off-the-record comment by one close to the scene: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even know if Spano is his real name.&rdquo;<h3>SARAH TUETING</h3>Two years ago, Sarah Tueting seriously considered quitting hockey. Since then she has been doing nothing but playing it.Entering her junior year at Dartmouth College, Tueting found she had little time for her other consuming passions-making music and the outdoors.&ldquo;It took a lot of thinking to figure out who I was going to be without hockey,&rdquo; Tueting recalled. &ldquo;It was like, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m going to be a college student and I&rsquo;m going to be just like everybody else in school.&rsquo;&rdquo;Not likely. Tueting (pronounced TEE-ting) is a fascinating individual as much for what she represents as who she is. While many men who reach the pinnacle of hockey are largely one dimensional, women hockey players are generally educated, articulate and as interesting off the ice as on.Tueting, 21, is one of three goalies vying for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team and was the nation&rsquo;s most consistent goalie in a preOlympic tour.Tueting is also an outstanding musician who has played cello in the Dartmouth orchestra. As a neuroscience major, she could well follow in the footsteps of her mother, Pat, one of the country&rsquo;s leading researchers in the field of schizophrenia. In her hometown of Winnetka, Ill., Tueting played in the top chamber and symphony orchestras at New Trier High School. In her senior year in 1994, Tueting led the boys&rsquo; hockey team to the Illinois state championship and was a state all-star.Things picked up for Tueting in 1996 when she made the U.S. women&rsquo;s national team and backing up Erin Whitten in last year&rsquo;s World Women&rsquo;s Championship.&ldquo;I got the love of the sport back that I lost,&rdquo; she said. &#9632;

f0024-01

10 Intriguing People From Year That Was

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011005/7257640-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo By S. Brinegar/BBS)</figcaption></div>No player in the NHL was able to rise above it all in 1997 better than Teemu Selanne.And, make no mistake, there was much to rise above.On the ice, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim right winger did his best, and then some, to combat the alarming decreases in goal scoring, offensive flair and entertainment value and an equally disturbing increase in contractual stalemates involving superstar talent.Off the ice, in a year in which there was much about which to be sullen-from limousine crashes to life-and-death battles against cancer-Selanne greeted every day with an incredible zest for life and a trademark smile that reflects a deep and abiding concern for his fellow man and all of hockeykind.The Finnish Flash is clearly a man for all seasons.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think Teemu ever has a down day,&rdquo; said his agent and good friend Don Baizley.If Selanne does, he doesn&rsquo;t let on. And he most certainly didn&rsquo;t have much, if any, down time with the Ducks this year.No NHL player scored more (regular season) goals than Selanne in 1997. From Jan. 1 to the end of the 1996-97 regular season, Selanne scored 30 times, one more than Keith Tkachuk of the Phoenix Coyotes and five more than John LeClair of the Philadelphia Flyers, Zigmund Palffy of the New York Islanders, Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues and Pavel Bure of the Vancouver Canucks. He had seven goals in 11 playoff games.And in the days leading up to Christmas, Selanne once again found himself atop NHL goal-scoring for 1997-98, with 26 in 34 games, which put him on pace for a 63-goal campaign.All the more remarkable is this season&rsquo;s accomplishments came mostly without running mate Paul Kariya, who missed the first 32 games because of his contract standoff with the Ducks.The Ducks went 11-15-5 without Kariya, thanks to the Finn&rsquo;s amazing production. Selanne&rsquo;s 11-game goal streak-two short of the modern-day NHL record-was a magnificent achievement given the generic nature of his supporting cast in Anaheim.It&rsquo;s debatable whether he&rsquo;ll ever rack up 76 goals, like he did in his 1992-93 rookie season with the Winnipeg Jets, but there&rsquo;s every reason to believe he&rsquo;s playing better hockey now than he ever has.&ldquo;Overall, yes, I would say I&rsquo;m playing better,&rdquo; Selanne told The Hockey News. &ldquo;That number (76) will be hard for me to match, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean I can&rsquo;t play better. I think the first 50 goals I scored that year, I stole them because everyone was saying, &lsquo;Who is this guy?&rsquo; Now, I have to be smarter. I have to find ways to beat the checkers. There&rsquo;s not much room.The (clutching and grabbing) is the worst it has been.Which only makes his output this year all the more impressive. Now that he&rsquo;s back with his soulmate Kariya, who knows what the synergy will produce in terms of hard numbers?One thing is certain, Kariya&rsquo;s timing was impeccable. As upbeat as Selanne is, even he was beginning to feel the wear and tear of, as Anaheim GM Jack Ferreira put it,&rdquo;carrying the Ducks singlehandedly.&rdquo;&ldquo;The first five games without Paul, I didn&rsquo;t know what style of game to play,&rdquo; the 27-year-old said. &ldquo;I was kind of lost. Then I got into a groove, but the last two weeks (before Kariya&rsquo;s return), it was really hard for me. We&rsquo;d get down by two goals and I would look at our bench and I would know we couldn&rsquo;t come back. I couldn&rsquo;t push myself to do it any more. I would say to myself, &lsquo;This is too tough.&rsquo; I&rsquo;m so glad Paul is back.&rdquo;So is Kariya. If ever there were two players meant to play with each other, it&rsquo;s the terminally serious young man from Vancouver and infinitely effervescent chatterbox from Helsinki. They share the same approach to the game-speed and skill kills-and they even share the same agent, but they couldn&rsquo;t be more different in terms of their off-ice personality.&ldquo;Yes, but we have so much passion and love between us,&rdquo; Selanne cackled as he goofed on his linemate, who couldn&rsquo;t help but crack up.&ldquo;We both have speed, a lot of pace to our game and we&rsquo;re both unselfish so we&rsquo;ll pass to whoever is in the best position to score,&rdquo; Kariya said. &ldquo;It helps that we&rsquo;re good friends off the ice. That allows us to un-derstand each other better on the ice. Don (Baizley) has always said that if I could loosen up and Teemu could tighten up we&rsquo;d be the perfect players.&rdquo;They are everything to the Ducks, whose record with both in the lineup was 51-30-14 compared to 1428-8 when one of them was absent.Still, one cannot underestimate the positive impact of Kariya&rsquo;s absence on Selanne, who came into this season with a burning desire to succeed.&ldquo;He had that hunger when he came into the league because he had signed a contract that was, at that time, astronomical and wanted so badly to prove to everyone he was worth the money and capable of being a top NHL player,&rdquo; Baizley said. &ldquo;You could see that hunger in him again this season because he knew he would have to do it without Paul. There&rsquo;s no question in my mind, Teemu was out to a prove a point.&rdquo;That is, with or without Kariya, he&rsquo;s one of the NHL&rsquo;s premier talents.In truth, his hunger for success has never really left him. It has been dulled at times because of injury. He suffered a severed Achilles tendon in his sophomore season, limiting him to 25 goals in 51 games.He worked out so feverishly in the following off-season, the excessive weight training caused bothersome tendinitis in both his knees. That was the lockout-shortened year that produced 22 goals in 45 games.He altered his training regimen after that season, but nothing could have prepared him for what happened in his fourth year in Winnipeg. On Feb. 7, 1996, he was traded to the Ducks for two blue-chip prospects, defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky and center Chad Kilger. That, despite being told by Jets&rsquo; owner Richard Burke 10 days earlier he wasn&rsquo;t going to be traded.&ldquo;I was lied to,&rdquo; Selanne said,&rdquo; but it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.&rdquo;Not necessarily so for the Jets, who subsequently moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes. Conventional wisdom was Winnipeg/Phoenix couldn&rsquo;t afford to have three big-money, big-name stars and one of Tkachuk, Alexei Zhamnov or Selanne would have to go. Tkachuk was a power forward with a fat new contract. Zhamnov was up for renewal and not as marketable. Selanne, coming off two injury-plagued seasons, was on an affordable long-term deal.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01953/7257633-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="1693" height="1630"><figcaption class="caption-body">Teemu Selanne of the Mighty Ducks made his presence felt with NHL goaltenders in 1997. (Photo By H DiRocco/BBS)</figcaption></div>The GM at the time, John Paddock, now assistant GM with the New York Rangers, called Selanne&rsquo;s number. It&rsquo;s a trade he still defends, even though he&rsquo;s the first to admit Selanne&rsquo;s breathtaking performances have easily outstripped those of Kilger, who has bounced back and forth between the minors and Tverdovsky, who went through a contract dispute that was only settled Dec. 19.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy for Teemu, he&rsquo;s a great player and he&rsquo;s one of the very best guys in the game,&rdquo; Paddock said. &ldquo;But Oleg is going to be a star. He had 55 points last season, one less than Brian Leetch at the same age. It may not look like it now, but it&rsquo;ll be a heckuva trade for both teams in the long run.&rdquo;The Ducks need not worry about that. They&rsquo;ve already been paid out on their half of the equation.&ldquo;I never hesitated to do it then and I wouldn&rsquo;t hesitate to do it again because it&rsquo;s not very often you can trade for a young superstar,&rdquo; Ferreira said. &ldquo;I think (ex-Jet GM and current Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; associate GM) Mike Smith put it best. He told me, &lsquo;What you&rsquo;ll find out is that Teemu Selanne is the Emmitt Smith of the NHL. He can dance around you or he can go right through you.&rsquo; He has got all the skill and speed to play finesse but he&rsquo;s thick and strong enough to play the power game, too.&rdquo;Selanne, and Kariya, are as a difficult a pair to defend as any in the league.&ldquo;The hardest thing,&rdquo; said Colorado Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote,&rdquo;is when they take off it&rsquo;s like they&rsquo;ve got firecrackers up their backside. No two guys can come out of the chute as quickly as them.&rdquo;Kariya loves the chemistry.&ldquo;To this day. I still can&rsquo;t believe Jack pulled (the trade) off,&rdquo; Kariya said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a team game, but it&rsquo;s also a two-man game now. It&rsquo;s pairs, duos&hellip;&rdquo;And Selanne-Kariya, if the Ducks can build around that combo, have a chance to become everything that Bryan Trottier-Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky-Jari Kurri and Mario Lemieux-Jaromir Jagr were.In the meantime. Teemu is busy being Teemu. On the ice, that means scoring goals, making hits and lifting people out of their seats. Off the ice, it&rsquo;s attacking life with a refreshing and upbeat intensity.During the Kariya contract stalemate, Selanne would phone Baizley, the agent, and leave phony phone messages, pretending to be Ferreira offering Kariya a contract. He lives his life in the fast lane-he&rsquo;s a rally car driver at home in Finland in the off-season-but he&rsquo;s never too busy or wrapped up in himself to put a smile on someone else&rsquo;s face.&ldquo;We understood what his impact would be on the ice,&rdquo; Ferreira said. &ldquo;We never realized what his presence and personality would mean off it.&rdquo;Ferreira remembers a blistering cold night in Calgary when the Ducks were making their way onto the team bus outside the Saddledome. About 50 fans, most of them kids, were lined up behind a barricade alongside the Ducks&rsquo; bus. Selanne, in a suit with no overcoat, went down the line, one by one, signing autographs and making conversation with each individual until everybody was taken care of.Selanne will earn $3.4 million this season, which makes him one of the best bargains in the NHL. He has another two years remaining on his contract and obviously wouldn&rsquo;t mind getting a new deal reflective of his true value, but he&rsquo;s not about to pull a Keith Tkachuk or Petr Bondra and squeeze his team to get it.&ldquo;At the time I signed this contract, I wanted security because of the injuries I had,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s fine. I&rsquo;m happy. It will all take care of itself.&rdquo;Oh, yes, there was one other accomplishment for Selanne this year. He became a father for the second time. He truly did it all in 1997. &#9632;

f0026-01

Heaven in 1997

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0029-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01877/7257671-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vladimir Konstantinov was critically hurt six days after the Cup win. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios)</figcaption></div>For many years, he was the only reason to go to the rink and watch the Detroit Red Wings. Then when the team turned the comer, the media had him traded a dozen different times.So when Steve Yzerman, missing tooth and all. hoisted the Stanley Cup over his head after the Wings ended 42 years of misery, it was poetic justice and a sight for sore eyes in HockeyTown.One year after cleaning up in the regular season only to be swept in the Stanley Cup final, the Red Wings coasted in the regular season and turned up the heat in the playoffs.Their Cup win represents the best of the best from the year 1997. Here are the best and the worst from all 26 teams and the league as a whole:ANAHEIM Best: First trip to the playoffs a successful one as the Mighty Ducks advance to second round. Worst: Stalled contract negotiations with superstar Paul Kariya keep him out of the Ducks&rsquo; lineup for first 32 games.BOSTON Best: Hiring of Pat Bums as coach gives the upstart Brains a strong presence behind bench. Worst: After a pro sports record 29 straight years in playoffs, the Brains fail to qualify for the 1996-97 spring play down.BUFFALO Best: The Sabres clean up on awards night with top goalie, defensive forward, coach and most valuable player. Worst: Where to begin? The coach fired, the top defensive forward has contract dispute, players threaten to harm each other and the fans skip games.CALGARY Best: The NHL&rsquo;s most generic team had few highs in 1997, but Jarome Iginla&rsquo;s start and finish to the calendar year suggests he&rsquo;ll be a solid second liner for years to come. Worst: Eternal Flame Theoren Fleury straggles through worst season in seven years, then surrenders his captaincy.CAROLINA Best: After a stormy 18-year relationship with fans in Hartford, the team announces its relocation to Greensboro, North Carolina. Worst: The two-year pit stop in Carolina is proving to be a dismal failure and downright embarrassment at the gate.CHICAGO Best: Tony Amonte emerges as a superb scorer and one of the league&rsquo;s flashiest players. Worst: Once mighty defense led by Chris Chelios suddenly a cause for concern.COLORADO Best: Owners ante up $17 million to match offer made to star free agent Joe Sakic by the New York Rangers and get Peter Forsberg&rsquo;s name on a new contract. Worst: Defending Stanley Cup champions ran out of steam in the playoffs, eliminated by hungry Detroit Red Wings.DALLAS Best: Stars take a chance on veteran goalie Ed Belfour, he repays them with seven shutouts in his first 29 games.Worst: Great season, highlighted by a league-best 38-point improvement, goes up in smoke when goaltending falters and the Stars are eliminated in first round of playoffs.DETROIT Best: It doesn&rsquo;t get any better than winning the Stanley Cup, especially when it has been a 42-year dryspell. Worst: June 13 auto accident ends the career of star defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov, seriously injures trainer Sergei Mnatsakanov. Veteran defenseman Slava Fetisov also hurt, but he recovers.EDMONTON Best: Ryan Smyth emerges as dependable scorer, rising to 39 goals from two the year before. Worst: Despite abundance of speed and size, Oilers continue to flounder with playoffs not a certainty.FLORIDA Best: Pivotal center Rob Niedermayer slips from 26 goals to 14, then straggles with injuries at start of this season. Worst: After shocking hockey world and making final in 1995-96, Panthers bow out in first round of playoffs last season.LOS ANGELES Best: Under Larry Robinson&rsquo;s tutelage, the Kings are in position to make the playoffs for first time since playing in the final five years ago. Worst: After a promising start, the Kings miss the playoffs in 1996-97.MONTREAL Best: Shayne Corson reemerges as a world class player after a dismal eight-goal, 24-point season. Worst: Stephane Richer continues to be just an ordinary player in return to Montreal after five years in New Jersey.NEW JERSEY Best: He has had his problems with management over the years, but Bobby Holik has evolved into a solid, scoring No. 2 center. Worst: John MacLean&rsquo;s storybook career with the Devils has a stormy ending when he demands a trade and then is booted off team before being dealt.ISLANDERS Best: Defenseman Bryan Berard is the real deal, wins Calder Trophy as the league&rsquo;s top rookie. Worst: Dallas businessman John Spano pulls the wool over the Islanders&rsquo; and NHL&rsquo;s eyes in a fraudulent attempt to purchase the team.RANGERS Best: Rangers gamble on Buffalo center Pat LaFontaine; he repays them with offensive shot in arm. Worst: Injuries take toll on all-star defenseman Brian Leetch who struggles in the playoffs and is among league&rsquo;s worst minus players this year.OTTAWA Best: Disciplined Senators make playoffs for first time in five years, then lose a thrilling seven-game series to Buffalo. Worst: Radek Bonk continues to be huge bust after showing signs of life two years ago.PHILADELPHIA Best: Led by John LeClair and Eric Lindros, the Flyers make Stanley Cup final for first time in 10 years. Worst: Unstable goaltending and the disappearance of Lindros a huge reason why the Flyers are embarrassed by Detroit in four games in the final.PHOENIX Best: Fiery captain Keith Tkachuk leads all NHL goal-scorers with 52. Worst: Inability to come to terms with talented free agent defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky is a ridiculous distraction to team.PITTSBURGH Best: Superstar Mario Lemieux bids farewell, but not before claiming his sixth scoring title. Worst: Goalie Patrick Lalime sets an NHL record with 14-0-2 start then disappears from the face of planet due to contract dispute.ST. LOUIS Best: New coach Joel Quenneville brings peace, tranquility and stability to a turbulent Blues&rsquo; dressing room. Worst: The war between Mike Keenan and star right winger Brett Hull takes on a life of its own.SAN JOSE Best: With so much emphasis on veterans, rookies Marco Sturm and Patrick Marleau make a big splash. Worst: Acquisition of goalie Ed Belfour was a disaster; he stinks for Sharks then bolts as a free agent for Dallas.TAMPA BAY Best: Chris Gratton&rsquo;s emergence as scoring power forward offers hope for the future. Worst: So much to choose from, but loss of Gratton through Tampa&rsquo;s inability to pay him followed by a bungled trade is hard to top.TORONTO Best: New president Ken Dryden&rsquo;s persistence and logic gets original six team back into the Eastern Conference (next season) where it belongs. Worst: Local hero Doug Gilmour is traded, downward spiral carries the Maple Leafs out of the playoffs.VANCOUVER Best: Underachieving Canucks inject solid leadership from Mark Messier, Mike Keenan. Worst: More and more it becomes obvious the Canucks will go nowhere until they upgrade in goal.WASHINGTON Best: Exciting Peter Bondra leads the team in goals four years running. Worst: Chris Simon hurls racial slur at Edmonton&rsquo;s Mike Grier.NHL Best: Attendance grows to an average 16,549 per game with no team under 12,000. Worst: Goal scoring is down coupled with the fact games were delayed and goals cancelled following the excessive use of video replay. &#9632;

f0029-01

Yzerman’s Wings top best list; contract woes dominate worst

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01991/7257702-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Well-padded Garth Snow won&rsquo;t be shouldering the load for the Flyers. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios)</figcaption></div>To come up with this edition of our annual New Year&rsquo;s predictions, we lit up Kirk McLean like a candle, burned an incensed Pierre Page, and raised the spirits of the dead. We were assured by the Tampa Bay Lightning that life on the other side is not all it is cracked up to be.It&rsquo;s not easy being all-knowing, all-seeing. You know more than you want to about Enrico Ciccone, see far too much of Michel Petit. Last year we predicted the firing of Doug MacLean to within five days of its actual occurrence, which, as Pat Falloon says whenever he has to go to the boards against Jeff Beukeboom, is way too close for comfort.We&rsquo;re trying to do comedy here and it turns out to be tragedy. So we have to spare you some of the gruesome details of 1998. You&rsquo;re not ready for it and we want all the money we can make off it for ourselves.Jan. 5 When a National Basketball Association arbitrator refuses to overturn the full season suspension of Latrell Sprewell for attacking Golden State coach P.J. Carlesimo. the NHL Players&rsquo; Association vows solidarity with the NBA player union. Mike Keenan coaches the Canucks&rsquo; game with Los Angeles wearing a coat of armor. As a sign of support for Sprewell, Sabre goalie Dominik Hasek again attacks the shirt of Buffalo columnist Jim Kelley. When coach Lindy Ruff and GM Darcy Regier disagree on how to handle the temperamental goalie, president Larry Quinn fires both.Jan. 27 Toronto president Ken Dryden announces his search for a permanent GM for the Maple Leafs has been narrowed to three candidates-Rudy Pilous, Punch Imlach and Jack Adams. Told all these men are deceased, Dryden looks crestfallen. &ldquo;And I had barely begun the screening process,&rdquo; he says.Feb. 14 A doping scandal mars the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. After Sweden&rsquo;s 8-3 loss to Canada, coach Kent Forsberg tests positive for being a big dope for not selecting Kenny Jonsson to the team.Feb. 22 Shootout goal by Rob Zamuner beats the U.S. 5&ndash;4, giving Canada the gold medal, which Japanese owners of Zamuner&rsquo;s team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, immediately impound to pay franchise bills. U.S. goalie Mike Richter falls on sword. Terry Crisp is found living on deserted South Pacific island, where he was unaware war with Phil Esposito is over.March 11 Mikael Renberg pushes the puck across the line in a game at Tampa Bay, causing hush to fall over the crowd at the Ice Palace. &ldquo;I think we have some educating of the fans to do,&rdquo; says coach Jacques Demers. &ldquo;Hockey has only been in Florida for six seasons and the fans here have never seen a goal before.&rdquo; &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve scored them,&rdquo; corrects Esposito. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just never had one that stood up to video review. People here know not to get their hopes up.&rdquo;March 18 NHL Equipment SS storms Philadelphia dressing room and confiscates the shoulder pads of Garth Snow. When pads prove too big to fit through the door, they are padlocked with handcuffs worn by Chris Gratton through the first 30 games of the 1997-98 season. &ldquo;After all these years of worrying about getting caught, this is kind of a relief,&rdquo; Snow says. &ldquo;I feel like the weight of the world is off my shoulders.&rdquo;March 24 New York Rangers, with 12 games to go and eight points to make up on eighth-place Ottawa, announce the acquisition and liquidation of the Senators, the following night&rsquo;s opponent. &ldquo;I believe this will significantly improve our chances of getting in,&rdquo; says GM Neil Smith.April 19 The Art Ross Trophy is won by Buffalo&rsquo;s Jason Dawe with 53 points.April 20 Buffalo team doctors, wearing grass skirts and shaking bones said to be the remains of Ted Nolan, declare Dawe physically unable to perform, voiding the option year of his contract.May 4 The Rangers, trailing Pittsburgh 3-2 in their conference semifinal, announce they have purchased the Penguins. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re vultures,&rdquo; says Bob Clarke, whose Flyers, having defeated Washington $38 million to $33 million, await the winner. &ldquo;The only reason we bought Doug Weight, Ryan Smyth, Curtis Joseph and Jason Arnott was because the Rangers would have if we didn&rsquo;t&rdquo;June 18 &ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t we learned by now that we have to check?&rdquo; says crestfallen Flyer coach Wayne Cashman, whose team, trailing the Colorado Avalanche 3-0, is in danger of being swept in the finals for the second straight year. &ldquo;Did someone say check?&rdquo; asks Philadelphia owner Ed Snider. &ldquo;Who do I make it out to?&rdquo;June 23 The Flyers complete miracle comeback to win first Stanley Cup since 1975. Suspicion mars the triumph after Colorado coach Marc Crawford benches Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy for the final four games, then accepts offer to coach the 1998-99 season in Switzerland. Crawford denies any wrongdoing. &ldquo;Peter, Patrick and Joe understand what I was trying to do,&rdquo; says the coach. &ldquo;They all bought into it.&rdquo;June 26 Dan Bylsma is the first selection of the Nashville Predators in the expansion draft. Joe Dziediec goes second and Joe Bftsplik third. Also selected are Wendel Clark, Roy Clark, Tiger Williams and Hank Williams. &ldquo;We did very well,&rdquo; says GM David Poile. &ldquo;We chose 20 players and 13 of them actually are still alive.&rdquo;June 27 Vincent Lecavalier is selected by Colorado as the first pick in the NHL entry draft. David Legwand is chosen second by Colorado. The third selection, to Colorado, is Patrick Desrochers. Mathieu Biron. Michael Henrich and Brad Stuart go fourth, fifth and sixth to Colorado. TheAvalanche has the first 15 picks. &ldquo;We were especially thrilled to get Bryan Allen with the 14th choice,&rdquo; says GM Pierre Lacroix. &ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t believe he was still available.&rdquo;Aug. 6 The NHL Board of Governors announce sweeping rules changes to enliven the game. Effective with the 1998-99 season, the league will eliminate the red line, both bluelines, the goal line and all circles, which will be replaced by paid advertising. In addition, the league will experiment during the 1988 exhibition season with no nets. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t think anybody will notice,&rdquo; says NHL vice-president Brian Burke. &ldquo;Nobody was scoring anyway.&rdquo;Oct. 29 With the Leafs off to a 1-82 start, Dryden announces the acquisition of Chris Dingman and Rudy Poeschek. &ldquo;They were the slowest guys on the market,&rdquo; Dryden says. &ldquo;This is a patient organization and we want patient players.&rdquo; When it is suggested the Leafs are falling behind the times, Dryden says: &ldquo;Whoa. Hold on there.&rdquo; He tries to appease angry fans by adding new items at Maple Leaf Gardens concessions, including molasses and Sloe Gin.Dec. 8 NHL Board of Governors announces the creation of new franchises in Tallahassee, Johnstown, Rapid City and Walla Walla to begin play in 2003. Asked if there were enough fans in these markets to support the franchises, commissioner Gary Bettman says,&rdquo;It&rsquo;s not about fans. It&rsquo;s about shirts. This gives us four new logos.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0030-01

Philadelphia will cash in and grab ’98 Stanley Cup

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01976/7257733-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Feisty Tom McVie has played or coached in almost 3,000 games. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios)</figcaption></div>When Harry Sinden did a housecleaning of the Boston Bruins&rsquo; coaching office after 1994-95, assistant coach Tom McVie faced the unthinkable.Not the firing. McVie has been fired more times than a gun. It was what this firing did. It nearly caused a divorce.For the first time in 42 years of marriage to his loving wife Arlene, McVie had no hockey team. For the first time, he&rsquo;d be spending a winter at home in Portland, Ore.Not good. At a time when retirement should have looked appealing, hockey was all the 60-year-old wanted. McVie can handle the coldest rink in the world. He couldn&rsquo;t handle cold turkey.&ldquo;My wife would say, &lsquo;Good morning, Honey&rsquo; and I&rsquo;d say, &lsquo;Get off my back,&rsquo;&rdquo; McVie recalls. &ldquo;Little things like changing the TV channel or leaving the cap off the orange juice led to a war.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t have a rink to go to. I was miserable. If I got through that winter, it&rsquo;s still death do us part.&rdquo;McVie&rsquo;s sanity was saved last season when he coached the East Coast League&rsquo;s Wheeling Nailers. Over the summer, Sinden brought him back to coach Boston&rsquo;s American League affiliate, the Providence Bruins.It was part of Rebuilding 101 and reconstruction starts from the bottom.&ldquo;The only thing that kept me out of college was high school. &ldquo;&ndash;McVie, explaining why he chose a life in hockey.There are more progressive coaches in hockey, people with left-wing locks and neutral zone traps. But no one can instill the true values that make the puck go around the rink like McVie: hard work, discipline and commitment to the team.&ldquo;I saw a film of the old Trail Smokeaters,&rdquo; says McVie, 62. &ldquo;There wasn&rsquo;t even sound, it was like one of those old Charlie Chaplin movies.&ldquo;But in this film, the center goes behind the net and picks up the puck, the forechecker goes with him, then he drops the puck to the defensemen and away they go out of their own end.&ldquo;So last spring I&rsquo;m watching the playoffs and Stevie Yzerman goes back behind the net and takes the puck from (Vladimir) Konstantinov, he swings out, (Rod) Brind&rsquo;Amour goes with him, he drops the puck back to Konstantinov and away they go.&ldquo;It was 60 years later and the game of hockey has not changed at all.&rdquo;What has changed is the players&rsquo; approach. In this Lwant-it-now society, few have time for the minor-league apprenticeship. Fewer realize how far hard work and dedication to defense and teammates can take them.&ldquo;Offense might get them to the NHL, but it won&rsquo;t keep them there and it may not keep them here,&rdquo; McVie says. &ldquo;One of the guys came in the other day and said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve been down here 25 games and I haven&rsquo;t been called up yet.&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve been here 25 years and no one&rsquo;s calling me.&rsquo;&ldquo;I keep telling them, &lsquo;With four (expansion) teams coming in, you&rsquo;ve already won the lottery and you didn&rsquo;t even buy a ticket. It&rsquo;s just a matter of how badly do you really want it.&rsquo;&rdquo;&ldquo;The answer: A Chrysler, Dennis Connors and Paul Ysebaert. The question: Name a motor, a boater and a floater. &ldquo;&ndash;McVie, playing his favorite game in front of his Utica team.Ysebaert got the hint in 1989 and turned his one-way game into a million-dollar NHL career.McVie is as demanding as any coach in a game he has been a part of since turning pro in 1956. He played nearly 1,300 games in the minors and has been a coach for nearly 1,500.That&rsquo;s about 4-1/2 days of just standing for national anthems. But he can still relate to the kids.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not old school in the sense he&rsquo;s losing touch,&rdquo; says Providence second-year winger Kirk Nielsen. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s old school in the sense he puts his No. 1 priority on working hard.&ldquo;A lot of coaches are into Xs and Os and who&rsquo;s playing with whom. I think he thinks hard work will transcend everything else.&rdquo;One of McVie&rsquo;s favorite players was Pat Conacher, who played 521 NHL games over 13 seasons simply because of his resilient hustle and hard work. Much of his drive was instilled by McVie during stints with the AHL&rsquo;s Maine Mariners and Utica Devils.When their paths recently crossed, Conacher asked McVie how many players he figured he had coached over the years. About 2,000 was McVie&rsquo;s guess.&ldquo;Well, all 2,000 are going to be at your funeral,&rdquo; Conacher said.&ldquo;To pay their respects?&rdquo; a flattered McVie asked.&ldquo;No, to make sure you&rsquo;re really dead.&rdquo;Conacher was joking, of course. You&rsquo;re not human if you don&rsquo;t respect McVie. One of his former goalies, Craig Billington, even helped him survive that winter at home without a team.&ldquo;The UPS guy came to our door with this big carton,&rdquo; McVie says. &ldquo;It was a satellite dish. I said, &lsquo;I didn&rsquo;t order that.&rsquo; But there&rsquo;s no way to watch hockey in Portland without a dish.&ldquo;Three weeks later I was talking to Billington and he asked me if I got a package. I said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m not on welfare,&rsquo; and he said, &lsquo;I didn&rsquo;t do it for you, I did it for your wife, you&rsquo;re driving her nuts.&rsquo;&rdquo;Now McVie is driving the Providence Bruins nuts. And possibly those who listen directly to the NHL. &#9632;

f0032-01

Coaching relic McVie calling his own shots

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>When Brad Tiley was told the coach wanted to see him, the Springfield Falcons&rsquo; defenseman was pretty sure he hadn&rsquo;t done anything wrong.On the contrary, Tiley had done everything right for the Falcons, which was why coach Dave Farrish was telling the seventh-year defenseman he was on his way to the NHL.Except when you&rsquo;ve bounced around the American League and International League for six seasons, players tend to be a little skeptical.&ldquo;I thought they were pulling a joke on me,&rdquo; a disbelieving Tiley said. It was no joke.Injuries and Oleg Tverdovsky&rsquo;s season-long holdout created a shortage on defense for the Phoenix Coyotes and Tiley was called up to play one game, a 2-2 at Carolina Dec. 5.&ldquo;I felt like I was 20 again,&rdquo; said Tiley, who led AHL defensemen in goals with eight and is third among blueliners with 20 points. &ldquo;Playing my first NHL game was a dream come true. I called my father and my wife right away. My father&rsquo;s been waiting 26 years for this.&rdquo;A fourth round pick of the Boston Bruins in 1991, Tiley was on an IHL contract with the Phoenix Roadrunners last season. But he hadn&rsquo;t given up the dream of playing in the NHL and returned to the AHL this season after signing a two-way deal with the Coyotes just before. training camp.&ldquo;With expansion coming, if I was ever going to get to the NHL, I knew I had to get back to the American League,&rdquo; Tiley said. &ldquo;I was getting a little complacent in the IHL; I was playing OK, but I didn&rsquo;t have that fire. It was fun just to get back in an NHL camp.&rdquo;Tiley is now the spokesman for the never-give-up campaign.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a big believer in the reward system and he definitely deserved to go up,&rdquo; Springfield GM Bruce Landon said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02660/7257764-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="432" height="422"></div>POND HOCKEY: What began as a cake-walk for Springfield over Worcester turned into one of the wildest finishes the AHL has ever seen.The teams combined for eight goals in a span of 3:37 in the third period, shattering a 58-year-old AHL record by 1:39 for the fastest eight goals.Ahead 5-0 with 4:25 to play, Springfield won 8-5. The teams also broke records for the fastest two goals (:04), three goals (:20), fourth goals (:36), five goals (1:16) and six goals (1:21).In all my years of hockey-that&rsquo;s 29 professionally and then juniors and peewee before that, I&rsquo;ve never seen anything like it,&rdquo; said Springfield GM Bruce Landon.Trailing 5-0, Worcester&rsquo;s Stephane Roy ended Sylvain Daigle&rsquo;s shutout bid at 15:35. Just 10 seconds later, Ivan Cierruk scored and Derek Diener cut the deficit to 5-3 at 17:51.Worcester pulled goalie Frederic Cassivi, but the Falcons won the faceoff and Shane Doan hit the empty net at 17:56. With Cassivi back in, Shayne Toporowski scored for Worcester at 18:36, making it 6-4, so Cassivi came back out. Doan again hit the empty net, needing 16 seconds this time and the lead was 7-4 at 18:52.The Falcons allowed a goal to Terry Hollinger at 19:08, so out came Cassivi as the IceCats trailed 7-5. The Falcons won the draw and Richard Lintner drilled a shot in at 19:12.BAD BOYS: St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs&rsquo; defenseman Greg Smyth was suspended five games, three for head-butting Saint John Flames&rsquo; defenseman Ryan Bast and two for accumulating four game misconducts. New Haven Beast&rsquo;s Peter Worrell was given a five-game suspension for physical abuse of an official. He tossed around linesman Fred Campatelli. &#9632;

f0032-02

LEAGUES

Tiley takes long, winding road to NHL

<div class="byline">By Brendan Savage</div>A group of former investors in the defunct Utica Blizzard has filed a $500,000 lawsuit against the United League, former Utica owner Jeff Croop, and Art Shaver, owner of the Winston-Salem Icehawks.Snow Cap Sports Group Inc., formerly headed by Croop, claims the UHL colluded with Croop and Shaver to take the Utica franchise away from Snow Cap and move it to Winston-Salem without compensation.&ldquo;I feel as though there was a conspiracy to defraud the creditors,&rdquo; Utica businessman and former Blizzard investor Bob Casey told The Winston-Salem Journal.The suit also claims the Icehawks are using the same assets and equipment that belonged to the Blizzard and the club was moved to avoid paying $800,000 in debts to Utica investors.The UHL contends the Winston-Salem club is new to the league and is not affiliated with the Utica franchise, which it said Croop forfeited in August after he failed to provide a $50,000 letter of credit required by the UHL.Croop, who resigned as GM of the Icehawks in August, but still serves as a consultant to the club, said the Blizzard lost about $800,000 during three seasons in Utica.NOTEBOOK: Ex-NHLer Reggie Leach, 47, skated two shifts for the Madison Monsters in a 5-2 loss to the Brantford Smoke Dec. 13 as part of a promotional gimmick&hellip;Defenseman Peter Fiorentino, Binghamton&rsquo;s all-time leader in American League games and penalty minutes, was loaned to the B.C. Icemen by the New York Rangers for the remainder of the season, which Fiorentino said will be his last.WESTERN PRO LEAGUE: Two teams in the Western Professional League replaced their respective coaches in the span of a week.Bob Loucks succeeded Dennis Maruk as coach of the Lake Charles Ice Pirates Dec. 5. Maruk led Lake Charles to a 12-12-1 record before leaving for personal reasons, according to team president Paul Bonin.&ldquo;When we found out Dennis was leaving, the WPHL helped us locate Bob,&rdquo; Bonin said. &ldquo;We were extremely impressed with his credentials and his personal qualities.&rdquo;Loucks spent eight years in the Western League with three teams, posting the highest winning percentage during that span. The Ice Pirates got off to a 3-0-1 start under Loucks.The Waco Wizards replaced Rob Schriner with Tom Coolen Dec. 9.The Wizards were mired in an 18-game winless streak from Oct. 30 to Dec. 6 before beating the Fort Worth Brahmas 4-3 in a shootout. The Wizards won only three of their first 27 games overall.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a challenge to take this team where we want to be, but a challenge I am eager to accomplish,&rdquo; Coolen said.HIGH FIVE: Odessa Jackalopes&rsquo; right winger Sami Laine of Finland had five goals and an assist in a 9-6 win over Waco Dec. 9. All of Laine&rsquo;s goals came in the second period in a span of 9:16. Laine had back-to-back goals at the 8:03 mark and the 9:42 mark and then three straight with the fifth goal coming at 17:19.&ndash;With a file from Dave Henry &#9632;

Utica Blizzard still raging in form of $500,000 lawsuit

<div class="byline">By John Packett</div>In nine years of the East Coast League, two teams have repeated as champions. The Hampton Roads Admirals did it in 1990-91 and 199192 and the Toledo Storm followed in 1992-93 and 1993-94. The South Carolina Stingrays might be next.After becoming the first team to capture both the regular season (Brabham Cup) and playoff (Kelly Cup) championships the same year, the Stingrays were leading the Southeast Division in mid-December with a 16-10-0 record. But it hasn&rsquo;t been an easy path, despite the fact South Carolina opened the season with 17 players back from last season.The Stingrays won five of their first six then dropped seven of their next nine-all on the road-to leave them 7-8-0.&ldquo;We had so many returning play ers from last year I think a lot of complacency set in,&rdquo; said coach Rick Vaive. &ldquo;All those guys figured, &lsquo;Well, we won it last year, so I&rsquo;m here and we can just turn it up and win it again.&rsquo; Well, we all know that can&rsquo;t be done.&rdquo;Vaive missed the first six games of the season after South Carolina was penalized for salary-cap violations in 1995-96.&ldquo;In lieu of what happened this summer, I know we&rsquo;ve gone strictly by the rules and some guys were disappointed in the money I was able to offer them, so we had to move them,&rdquo; Vaive said.&ldquo;But we weren&rsquo;t playing with the same fire and enthusiasm we did last year. If you&rsquo;re going to win championships, you&rsquo;ve got to be able to win on the road, and that seems to be our Achilles&rsquo; heel. It baffles me, why players can&rsquo;t play as well on the road as they do at home.&rdquo;South Carolina won its first eight home games, but was only 8-10-0 away from the North Charleston Coliseum.Vaive was in the process of &ldquo;changing the chemistry&rdquo; of the club in December through trades, including a blockbuster, six-player deal with the Richmond Renegades, where he gave up Jay Moser, Kevin Knopp. Dan Fournel and Mario Cormier to get Jason Wright and the rights to Mike Paylor.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to keep making changes, right up to the trade deadline if necessary, until I get a team that&rsquo;s going to work hard every night,&rdquo; Vaive said.While on the road, the Stingrays also lost their scoreboard-probably for the season-when it fell to the floor of the arena during a maintenance check Nov. 10. Killed in the mishap was a retired law enforcement officer. South Carolina has temporary scoreboards at each end, one without penalty minutes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01880/7257819-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="376" height="390"></div>DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT: The Raleigh IceCaps and Chesapeake Icebreakers split a &ldquo;doubleheader&rdquo; when the teams completed the suspended game from Nov. 29&ndash;which had been originally forfeited by Chesapeake-and played a regularly scheduled game in Raleigh Dec. 12.The IceCaps won the suspended game 4-2, but the Icebreakers rallied from 3-0 and 6-4 deficits to claim the &ldquo;nightcap&rdquo; 7-6 in a shootout.MASCOT INJURY: Scratch-mo&rsquo;, the expansion New Orleans Brass mascot, had an unfortunate encounter with a Zamboni Dec. 10. During the first intermission of a game with Pensacola, while Scratchmo was entertaining fans, the Zamboni ran over the mascot&rsquo;s big cat foot.Scratchmo, alias Chris Jones, sustained an ankle sprain, while one of the deputies who came out to attend to the mascot, fell and briefly knocked himself out on the ice.COAST LINES: Two players scored four goals in a game recently. Rob Bonneau of the Hampton Roads Admirals performed the feat Dec. 10 against the Johnstown Chiefs and finished with six points in an 8-2 win. That helped Bonneau win ECHL player of the week honors. Pensacola&rsquo;s Mike Sullivan had four goals in the Ice Pilots&rsquo; 9-5 romp over the Mobile Mysticks Dec. 13&hellip;The Louisiana IceGators lead all minor league teams in average attendance with 11,197 fans per game&hellip;Birmingham Bulls&rsquo; winger Jamey Hicks recorded goals in six consecutive games tying Huntington Blizzards&rsquo; center Jim Bermingham for the longest streak this season&hellip;Raleigh IceCaps&rsquo; winger Kory Karlander has the longest assists streak this season, eight games from Nov. 14 through Dec. 13. &#9632;

f0033-01

Stingrays on rocky road in search of Cup repeat

<div class="byline">By Kevin IoIe</div>The Indianapolis Ice, having allowed the most goals in the league, opted to move a 50-goal scorer in a bid to plug the leaky defense.Indianapolis dealt right winger Martin Gendron, who had 51 goals last year in his first International League season playing for the Las Vegas Thunder, and defenseman Marc Hussey to the Milwaukee Admirals for defensemen Kent Paynter and Len Esau Dec. 15.The Ice were allowing an average of 3.9 goals a game and had just 24 points, tied for second fewest in the league.The Admirals, second behind the Chicago Wolves in the Midwest Division, will appreciate Gendron&rsquo;s ability to score goals in bunches. They lost their leading scorer when right winger Joe Frederick elected to sign with the Manitoba Moose after his 25-game tryout contract expired.Frederick had 14 goals and 23 points, both team-leading figures, in 25 games for the Admirals. But he couldn&rsquo;t come to terms on a full contract with the Admirals and elected to accept an offer from the Moose, who were averaging less than three goals a game.ROSTER SHUFFLING: Detroit Vipers&rsquo; GM Rick Dudley was probably the busiest man in hockey Dec. 9 and 10.Because of an array of injuries and the birth of goalie Jeff Reese&rsquo;s first child, the Vipers were forced to add eight new faces to the lineup for a Dec. 10 game at-the Palace of Auburn Hills against the Cincinnati Cyclones.The Vipers brought in goalies Andre Mezin from the Flint Generals (United League), John Herrick from the Saginaw Lumber Kings (UHL), Marc Magliarditi of the Columbus Chill (East Coast league), defenseman Dmitri Rodine from Flint and forwards Mike Donnelly (free agent), Dave Paradise (on loan from Chicago, IHL), Jason Glover (Flint) and Andrew Williamson (Columbus).The changes didn&rsquo;t seem to hurt though, as Detroit won a 4-3 shootout over the Cyclones.HOT NEW DIGS: The Orlando Solar Bears now own the top practice facilities in the IHL.The Bears moved into the $50 million RDV Sportsplex, which includes an IHL-sized sheet of ice as well as an Olympic size surface, an athletic club, a world-class health center, three gymnasiums, two swimming pools, a sports-themed restaurant, retail space, Florida Hospital rehabilitation services as well as expansive locker facilities.The complex is more than 365,000 square feet in space on over 21 acres. It will serve as the official practice facilities for the Solar Bears and the National Basketball Association&rsquo;s Orlando Magic.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02596/7257850-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="381" height="429"></div>ADMIRALS ADD AFFILIATE: The Milwaukee Admirals signed a working agreement with the NHL expansion Nashville Predators to receive 10 players (one goalie, three defense-m men and six forwards).&ldquo;Our affiliation with Milwaukee is an excellent fit, particularly in our first year of operation,&rdquo; said Nashville GM David Poile. &ldquo;Our players will be competing against experienced professionals, playing in NHL-like arenas and facing travel most comparable to the NHL.&rdquo;IF YOU CAN&rsquo;T STAND THE HEAT: The Cleveland Lumberjacks have been besieged by injuries recently, but they have taken things to a bit of an extreme.Left winger Joe Dziedzic, who is out of the lineup with a knee injury, sustained another injury recently while eating breakfast. He chipped a tooth eating pancakes.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if he put marbles in there instead of blueberries,&rdquo; cracked Cleveland coach Perry Ganchar.Dziedzic, though, wasn&rsquo;t the only Lumberjack to have kitchen woes. Right winger Rob Pearson had to cancel a scheduled cooking appearance on a Cleveland television show because of a shoulder injury that not only has shelved his hockey career temporarily, but has knocked him out of the kitchen, as well.I-OPENERS: The Fort Wayne Komets released defensemen Nick Stajduhar. a first round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 1993, and Grant Richison&hellip;Las Vegas dealt center Sergei Klimovich to the Quebec Rafales for future considerations&hellip;Chicago signed forward Tim Bergland&hellip;The Utah Grizzlies signed goalie Philippe DeRouville to a 25-game tryout. &#9632;

f0033-02

Indy defense on thin Ice, so offense is sacrificed

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>Defenseman Paul Mara was the key figure in a four-team, 12-player deal involving the Sudbury Wolves, Windsor Spitfires, Erie Otters and Plymouth Whalers.Mara, the seventh overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1997 entry draft, was dealt from Sudbury to Windsor, along with overage goalie Steve Valiquette. Sudbury received center Glenn Crawford, defenseman Kip Brennan and a fourth-round midget pick in 1998.Windsor then traded Valiquette and left winger Jeff Zehr, a second-round pick of the New York Islanders in 1997, to Erie for center Craig Jalbert, and right wingers Jason Polera and Jeff Kapitanchuk.Windsor also traded Mara, left winger Rick Smith and a 1998 second-round import draft pick to Plymouth for defensemen Luc Rioux and Mark Ridout, winger Andy Burnham and a first-round import draft pick in 1998.The deal increased American presence on the Whalers. Of the 20 player on the U.S. junior national team, five are members of the Whalers.DesROCHERS RETURNS: Ontario League foes will feel the Sting after goalie Patrick DesRochers was among the final cuts at the Canadian junior team selection camp.DesRochers returned to the Samia Sting and was available for some crucial games, including back-to-back with division-rival London Knights.DesRochers, the top-ranked goalie in the OHL for the 1998 NHL entry draft, wasn&rsquo;t bitter and said the five-day national junior camp experience will be good for him and the Sting.&ldquo;Any time you&rsquo;re with quality players you learn from,&rdquo; said DesRochers, 18. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to help me confidence-wise.&rdquo;Sting coach-GM Mark Hunter is giving scouts lots of time to see DesRochers, playing him in 31 of 33 games.&ldquo;With all the playing time I&rsquo;m getting, I look at it as a learning experience,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I have to come mentally prepared. It was tough at first, but I&rsquo;ve learned to cope.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01992/7257881-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="692" height="234"></div>It&rsquo;s DesRochers&rsquo; third season, which can be a long time under the microscope before being drafted. He knows a player&rsquo;s flaws become more noticeable the more he&rsquo;s scrutinized,&rdquo;but this year I know what the league is all about.&rdquo;He said playing half his games on the small Samia Arena ice surface has helped.&ldquo;You always have to be ready to play in there,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A shot from anywhere in the building is a good shot. It keeps you in the game at all times. From outside the blueline is the top of the circle in other arenas.&rdquo;ADJOURNED: A preliminary hearing to determine if Kitchener Rangers&rsquo; former GM Bob Ertel will stand trial on fraud charges adjourned Dec. 16 until Jan. 29.Ertel, now GM of the North Bay Centennials, is charged with defrauding the Rangers of $6,737, related to expense receipts over three years.He was fired by the Rangers in July, 1996.SEEING IS BELIEVING: Plymouth coach-GM Peter DeBoer sees why Samia management wants to keep defenseman Mike Van Ryn on the protected roster until his junior eligibility runs out.Van Ryn, a freshman at the University of Michigan, is the lone college player on the Canadian junior team and one of only four players yet undrafted.Van Ryn, 18, from London, Ont., was selected by the Sting in the 1996 draft, but elected to spend another year in Jr. B, then attend Michigan of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.&ldquo;He has been playing all the situations-power play, killing penalties-and that&rsquo;s pretty rare in the CCHA for a freshman,&rdquo; said DeBoer, an assistant coach with the Canadian juniors. &#9632;

f0034-01

Wolves’ Mara centerpiece of four-team blockbuster

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div>Danny Grant must feel like he&rsquo;s coaching two different teams this season in Halifax.When the Mooseheads beat the Drum-mondville Voltigeurs 3-2 Dec. 15, it marked only their third road win, improving their road record to 3-19-0. However, at home the Mooseheads had posted an 11-1-5 mark.So why the big difference?&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a combination of travel and injuries,&rdquo; Grant said.&ldquo;When you have a schedule where you play eight games in 10 nights (which the Mooseheads did at the end of November) guys get tired and then they get hurt. I think we&rsquo;ve only had a two-or three-week span in the whole season where everybody was healthy and we won seven in a row.&rdquo;But the injuries haven&rsquo;t hurt the Mooseheads at home, where they hadn&rsquo;t lost since Oct. 17 and Grant gives the Halifax fans a lot of the credit.&ldquo;No question the fans have helped us,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When you have 6,000 people there every night who get behind you, it helps.&rdquo;Unfortunately, the Mooseheads can&rsquo;t take their fans on the road. And even if they could, it&rsquo;s unlikely any of them would want to experience a Mooseheads&rsquo; road trip.&ldquo;The travel is very difficult,&rdquo; said Grant, a former NHLer who doesn&rsquo;t remember ever playing eight games in 10 nights at any level of his playing career. &ldquo;When I played major junior in Peterborough, it was a six-team league and I don&rsquo;t even remember ever sleeping overnight on the road.&rdquo;When the Mooseheads beat the Voltigeurs, it marked the end of a four-game road trip that lasted a full week.&ldquo;When you have the teams spread out like they are now in this league, with ourselves, (Cape Breton) and Moncton, travel definitely has an effect,&rdquo; Grant said.The stats back that up: Through Dec. 15, the three teams from the Maritimes had combined for a 9-45-5 road record.PRESIDENT INJURED: Quebec League president Gilles Courteau was seriously injured in a car crash Dec. 12 while traveling to Victoriaville to watch the Tigres play the Mooseheads.Courteau&rsquo;s truck slid out of control after hitting a sheet of black ice and flipped over several times, throwing him out of the vehicle through the passenger window.Courteau&rsquo;s injuries included a double fracture of the right clavicle, a broken right forearm, a broken rib and facial lacerations.&ldquo;Today we could be talking about me in the past,&rdquo; Courteau told the Journal de Montreal&rsquo; from his hospital bed. &ldquo;I owe my life to my big vehicle.&rdquo;Courteau was expected to spend four-to-five days in hospital, but was still hoping to make the trip to Finland for the World Junior Championship, which began Christmas Day.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02679/7257912-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="579" height="285"></div>STARS COME OUT: The QMJHL announced it will hold its annual AllStar Game at Montreal&rsquo;s Molson Centre Jan. 28.Courteau has expressed his desire to put a QMJHL team in the home of the Canadiens in the future, but Montreal team president Ronald Corey said he doesn&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s a good idea.&ldquo;Having junior hockey in a larger town is very difficult, and that has been proven many times,&rdquo; Corey said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult to create interest anywhere but in a small town, where fans can identify with the team. You can&rsquo;t create any chemistry in a big city.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Rouyn-Noranda Huskies&rsquo; rookie Mike Ribeiro extended his consecutive-game point streak to 34 Dec. 14 by getting one assist in a 4-2 loss to the Hull Olympiques. Ribeiro now has 25 goals and 70 points, good for third in the league scoring race&hellip;The expansion Baie Comeau Drakkar traded defenseman Martin Lacaille, the first captain in franchise history, to the Victoriaville Tigres in forward Jean-Francois Beliveau. &#9632;

f0034-02

Enigmatic Mooseheads road riddle, home power

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div>Bruce Hamilton is concerned with building a team-and a building, period.The Kelowna Rockets&rsquo; president, governor and GM is virtually certain his Western League franchise will be playing in a new arena, possibly by the end of 1998.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve lived by the creed that, when I see dirt moving, I&rsquo;ll finally be relaxed,&rdquo; Hamilton said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see any reason not to be confident.&rdquo;The Rockets reached a deal with a Vancouver-based developer, R.G. Properties. Hamilton noted the company is working out the finer points of a deal with Kelowna civic officials.Once that transaction can be completed, construction will begin on a 6,000-seat, multi-purpose facility.The Rockets have played at the unsatisfactory 1,855-seat Memorial Arena since Hamilton moved the franchise to Kelowna from Tacoma, Wash., after 1994-95.Since the transfer, negotiations with two other developers were unsuccessful.The Rockets&rsquo; agreement with R.G. Properties called for the team to sell at least half of the new facility&rsquo;s luxury suites by Dec. 15. Of the 28 suites, 24 were sold on the first day they were available. The suites cost between $22,000 and $28,000 each.The new building-a $25-million project-would secure the Rockets&rsquo; future in Kelowna. Hamilton indicated the team has reached agreement with the developer on a 30-year lease.&ldquo;Finally, peace,&rdquo; Hamilton said.&ldquo;This has been tiring in the sense I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve devoted as much time as I&rsquo;d like to to the hockey side of the operation. I&rsquo;ve been involved in all the negotiations and I think the hockey team has suffered a bit.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve spent seven years on the business side of the franchise. My background is on the hockey side and I&rsquo;d like to spend more time on that side.&rdquo;How soon could that be?&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;ll start happening in a hurry,&rdquo; Hamilton said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03531/7257943-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="358" height="362"></div>HASTY ENDING: A Tri-City Americans home game was suspended Dec. 12 after fans and employees at Tri-Cities Coliseum became ill.Americans GM Bob Brown attributed the problem to pepper spray or a similar substance. Four people were taken to a Kennewick. Washhospital, where they were treated and released.&ldquo;If it was a joke, it was a very sick joke,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll never know exactly what it was because the (substance) dissipated through the night.&rdquo;Play was suspended and the building was evacuated at 16:07 of the third period with the Red Deer Rebels leading Tri-City 7-4.That will go down as the final score. The decision was reached by mutual consent between the Rebels and Americans.Playing the final 3:53 of the game at another date was impractical because Red Deer is not scheduled to visit Tri-City again this season.Brown opted against asking the Rebels to return to Tri-City at the end of their West Division swing. The Americans would have had to assume Red Deer&rsquo;s travel expenses.&ldquo;If we were in the hunt or in the race, maybe we&rsquo;d say, &lsquo;We&rsquo;ll give it another three minutes and hope for a miracle,&rsquo;&rdquo; Brown said.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not in that position. I didn&rsquo;t think it would be good for the league or good for the kids. We agreed to accept it as a loss.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK:Seattle Thunderbirds&rsquo; defenseman Rick Berry was suspended eight games after reaching into the Tri-City bench and slashing defenseman Chris Anderson, who sustained a broken jaw during the Nov. 30 incident. Anderson could miss two months. The league also suspended Tri-City coach Rick Lanz one game for fights that erupted one second into the game&hellip;Portland Winter Hawks&rsquo; left winger Josh Green had eight goals over a three-game span during the week which ended Dec. 14. &#9632;

f0034-03

Rockets’ $25-million arena secures future in Kelowna

<div class="byline">By Chris Miller</div>The tactics used by the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves have promise.The Seawolves turn their games into chess matches, playing a trapping, defensive style hoping to take advantage of opposition errors. The result-a lot of close games. And, unfortunately, a lot of close losses. Anchorage was near the bottom of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association as Christmas approached.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t move up the ladder and get to No. 1 without a lot of hard work,&rdquo; said Seawolves&rsquo; coach Dean Talafous. &ldquo;We have a very realistic approach. But we also have a very realistic plan. The players and coaches are confident and we&rsquo;re seeing a lot of improvement. The bad part is, we only have three wins (through 16 games) and that&rsquo;s tough to live with.&rdquo;While Anchorage is successful defensively, they are offensively stagnant. The Seawolves were averaging fewer than two goals per game.&ldquo;We protect our goalie very well,&rdquo; Talafous said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t allow a lot of rebounds, we don&rsquo;t allow a lot of odd-man rushes or a lot of breakaways.&rdquo;The Seawolves were using nine freshmen at times, and there were some bright spots. They swept Minnesota for two of their wins.Junior goalie Doug Teskey had a 2.10 goals-against average and.923 save percentage in WCHA games. Clayton Read and Rob Douglas emerged as offensive threats.&ldquo;We have a great bunch of guys with great attitudes,&rdquo; said the second-year coach. &ldquo;When that&rsquo;s the case, you&rsquo;ll always get better.&rdquo;NO STARS: St. Cloud State has zipped to the top of the WCHA without much fanfare, and coach Craig Dahl likes it that way.Senior goalie Brian Leitza has been the team&rsquo;s only standout; the rest of the Huskies are fairly anonymous.&ldquo;Our team defense has been the key,&rdquo; said Dahl, after St. Cloud State gained a split at North Dakota in a showdown for first place in the WCHA.&ldquo;We have a really good defensive corps and they&rsquo;ve been very consistent. There are no stars. But the seniors have stepped to the forefront and provided great leadership.&rdquo;The Huskies had incredibly balanced scoring, led by seniors Jason Stewart and Mike Maristuen, but were struggling on power plays.NOTEBOOK: Colorado College has gotten outstanding play from freshman goalie Colin Zulianello. With sophomore Jason Cugnet hampered by injuries, Zulianello went 8-1-1 in the first half of the season and had a 2.11 GAA and.911 save percentage in WCHA play&hellip;Michigan Tech had seven straight games decided by one goal, the longest such streak in school history&hellip;Minnesota-Duluth sophomore goalie Brant Nicklin had started 53 straight games, nine short of the school record. &#9632;

Seawolves’ trap system gains respect, if not wins

<div class="byline">By Paul Harris</div>Though his last two teams have been among the most dominant in college history, this season could be more satisfying for Michigan coach Red Berenson than either of those squads.The 1996 Wolverines won the NCAA title and last year&rsquo;s team lost in the semifinal to Boston University.But this season, the Wolverines have 10 freshmen on their roster and were expected to be closer to rebuilding than contending. Yet Michigan has clawed its way into first place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association at the league&rsquo;s holiday break.The Wolverines&rsquo; 9-2-1 conference record (14-3-1 overall) placed them two points ahead of second-place Michigan State.&ldquo;I think it has come better than I expected because we have so many young players and had so many players to replace,&rdquo; Berenson said. &ldquo;Especially with our early-season schedule. We&rsquo;ve played 18 games and have only had eight at home. We&rsquo;ve played 12 games in our league and only played three at home. It&rsquo;s amazing that we&rsquo;ve done as well as we have.&rdquo;Even though the team is dominated by youth, Berenson said the two biggest factors have been seniors: right winger Bill Muckalt and goaltender Marty Turco.Muckalt, who nearly signed with the Vancouver Canucks during the summer, has 18 goals and 30 points (tops in the CCHA) in 18 games.&ldquo;The reason we have done so well is the emergence of Muckalt as a leader,&rdquo; Berenson said. &ldquo;(Senior center) Matt Herr got hurt in our first game (he has since returned). Turco has also emerged as a leader on the defensive end.&rdquo;Muckalt has been on the ice for 39 of Michigan&rsquo;s 70 goals (55.7 per cent) and for 19 of the Wolverines&rsquo; 25 power play goals (76 per cent). He has goals in 12 of Michigan&rsquo;s 18 games.TURCO TOPS: Michigan&rsquo;s Marty Turco was the CCHA&rsquo;s defensive player of the week for the period ending Dec. 14. The senior from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., made 38 saves and had a.905 save percentage in 4-3 and 4-1 victories over Western Michigan Dec. 12 and 13.The victories gave him 108 career wins, just three short of the NCAA record of 111 by Steve Shields, who played at Michigan from the 1990-91 to 1993-94 seasons.Turco has played in all 18 Michigan games this season. He has a 2.14 goals-against average and.915 save percentage.Turco hadn&rsquo;t given up an even-strength goal since Nov. 23 against Ohio State, a stretch of 324 minutes and 34 seconds which is equivalent of more than five games.NOTEBOOK: The CCHA&rsquo;s offensive player of the week was Lake Superior State senior center Terry Marchant. The native of Williamsville, N.Y., had two goals and four assists in 4-3 and 4-2 victories over Ohio State. &#9632;

Wolverine freshmen class keeps Berenson smiling

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggle</div>Harvard coach Ronn Tomassoni would love to give J.R. Prestifilippo a rest. He just doesn&rsquo;t know how to get his talented sophomore goaltender out of the net.Prestifilippo has been the Crimson&rsquo;s No. 1 goaltender from the first game of his freshman season, when he debuted with a 5-3 win over Brown. Since then, he has played in 41 of Harvard&rsquo;s 42 games, including 10 straight this year.A night off would seem to be in order, but Tomassoni doesn&rsquo;t want to put one of the nation&rsquo;s top goalies on the bench, even for a night.&ldquo;I think J.R. is one of the best goalies in the country,&rdquo; said Tomassoni, who is in his eighth year as coach at Harvard. &ldquo;He is going to play most of the games.&rdquo;Last season, Prestifilippo, a native of North Caldwell, N.J., played in 31 of 32 Crimson games, including the last 23. He set a singleseason record with 844 saves, breaking the previous record of 789, set by Grant Blair in 1985-86, and became the first Harvard player to be named the ECAC rookie of the year.Prestifilippo, who was drafted by the New York Islanders in 1996, finished the year with a 3.18 goals-against average and a.895 save percentage. The Crimson struggled down the stretch, going 4-9-1 in their last 14 games to finish 11-18-3, its fewest wins since 1983-84.Tomassoni suspects playing Prestifilippo in every game took its toll.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not playing 90 games a year, but the kids do more than play hockey,&rdquo; Tomassoni said. &ldquo;And last year&rsquo;s team really struggled to score goals. That took its toll mentally on J.R. because he knew every save was that much more important because of our lack of production. That&rsquo;s pressure for any goalie, at any age.&rdquo;Early-season injuries plagued Harvard this year, but Prestifilippo was the one constant in the lineup. In the first 10 games, he had a 3.40 GAA as Harvard got off to a 4-5-1 start.CLOSE CALLS: Even though Brown hit the Christmas break with a 2-6-0 league record, the Bears had played everyone tough.Six of the Bears&rsquo; eight league games had been decided by one goal and the other two were by two. Rookie coach Roger Grillo&rsquo;s first victory came in a one-goal game-a 3-2 overtime win over Yale Nov. 14. That was Yale&rsquo;s only loss.Grillo has the Bears playing disciplined hockey. At the holiday break, they were the least-penalized team, averaging 9.4 minutes per game.POWERLESS PLAY: One of Union&rsquo;s problems in the first part of the season was an anemic power play. Through 13 games, the Skating Dutchmen (3-9-1) had scored just seven power play goals in 71 chances Their league output was even worse-one-for-39. The only power play goal was scored by junior Brent Ozarowski against Cornell Dec. 6. &#9632;

Prestifilippo carrying bulk of weight in Crimson net

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div>A year ago, freshman goalie Marc Robitaille was one of the few bright spots for a young Northeastern team.Robitaille set a school record for shutouts in a season with three and his 1,027 saves was also a school best. He had a 7-24-3 record, 4.20 goals-against average and.884 save percentage.Just 14 games into this season, Robitaille already equalled his win total of a year ago. To go with his 7-5-2 record was a 2.99 GAA and.907 save percentage for an even younger Huskies&rsquo; team than last year&rsquo;s squad. The Huskies have had as many as 18 freshmen and sophomores in their lineup at one time.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been pleased, but I&rsquo;ve also been pleased with the way the team has played,&rdquo; Robitaille said. &ldquo;A lot of the shots have come from the outside and there haven&rsquo;t been many second shots. They&rsquo;ve been clearing the front of the net so I can see the puck. They&rsquo;ve made my job a lot easier.&rdquo;Northeastern coach Bruce Crowder said,&rdquo;Marc has played really well and the team defense has been pretty good. Marc is a little more confident this year and he&rsquo;s in a lot better condition. He&rsquo;s also been a little more focused for the entire 60 minutes.&rdquo;Robitaille, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound native of Gloucester, Ont., said he saw a sports psychologist in the off-season.&ldquo;He really helped me with my concentration,&rdquo; said Robitaille, who added he did a lot of running and weight training, too.&ldquo;I worked out hard; I wanted to be more consistent. I don&rsquo;t care about my stats. I don&rsquo;t even look at them. All I want to do is win.&rdquo;ON THE REBOUND: Hockey East has rebounded nicely in its non-league games this season after going just 42-41-3 in non-league play a year ago.Through Dec. 17, Hockey East clubs had a 31-12-3 mark against other NCAA Division I competition for a winning percentage of.707. The previous best non-league mark came during 1990-91 when the Hockey East teams compiled a 72-33-2 record against NCAA competition.So far this season, Hockey East teams were 17-9-2 against ECAC teams; 4-1 against CCHA schools; 5-1-1 against WCHA teams and 5-1 against Division I independents.AMERICAN INFLUENCE: Of Hockey East&rsquo;s 241 players, 70 per cent are American, 27 per cent are Canadian and three per cent are European.Massachusetts has produced 32.7 per cent of the league&rsquo;s players with Ontario rating second with 12.4 per cent. Boston College has 22 Americans among its 23 players; Northeastern has 24 among its 28 and Boston University has 22 among its 28. The most culturally divergent team is Maine with 11 Americans, nine Canadians and six Europeans. &#9632;

Robitaille makes his Marc on young Huskies squad

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01898/7258091-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01801/7258084-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="3119" height="3514"><figcaption class="caption-body">Calgary&rsquo;s Theo Fleury had a balanced attack during a five game streak with four goals and four assists. (Photo by Jim Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01876/7258077-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="3131" height="3513"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Photo by Jim Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01827/7258070-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="3103" height="3515"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; Jaromir Jagr scored five goals and nine points during five game streak. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0036-01

NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01534/7258122-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0040-01

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

<h2>NOTE</h2>Unofficial game summaries provided by National Hockey League; (shots on goal/plus-minus); SA-shots against; GA-goals against; ENG-empty net goals; Decdecision, charges to goaltenders of record when winning goal is scored.<h2>FRIDAY, DEC. 12</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02338/7258321-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="498" height="2069"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03242/7258314-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="500" height="2442"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04191/7258307-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="496" height="2439"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05164/7258300-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="496" height="2194"></div><h2>SATURDAY, DEC. 13</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06145/7258293-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="492" height="179"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07131/7258286-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="502" height="2446"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-08119/7258279-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="501" height="2443"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01442/7258272-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="491" height="2221"></div><h2>SUNDAY, DEC. 14</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02266/7258265-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="491" height="1181"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03200/7258258-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="494" height="1983"></div><h2>MONDAY, DEC. 15</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04168/7258251-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="500" height="1431"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05151/7258244-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="497" height="3481"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-06141/7258237-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="499" height="1792"></div><h2>TUESDAY, DEC.16</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-07127/7258230-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="500" height="1623"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-08106/7258223-1-eng-US/f0041-082.jpg" title="f0041-08" width="501" height="3482"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0980/7258216-1-eng-US/f0041-092.jpg" title="f0041-09" width="497" height="1165"></div><h2>WEDNESDAY, DEC. 17</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1064/7258209-1-eng-US/f0041-102.jpg" title="f0041-10" width="498" height="2249"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01455/7258202-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="499" height="3496"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02281/7258195-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="503" height="1653"></div><h2>THURSDAY, DEC. 18</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03219/7258188-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="498" height="1771"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04171/7258181-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="505" height="3492"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05152/7258174-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="506" height="2462"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06138/7258167-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="512" height="1017"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-07122/7258160-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="511" height="3493"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-08107/7258153-1-eng-US/f0042-082.jpg" title="f0042-08" width="511" height="3480"></div> &#9632;

f0040-02

NHL SUMMARIES

NHL ROSTERS AND TRANSACTIONS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0044-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01365/7258376-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg"></div>(OT) denotes overtime gameTeam affiliations are listed in parentheses under names &#9632;

f0044-01

AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01289/7258407-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"></div>Team affiliations are listed in parentheses under names(OT) denotes overtime game INT&rsquo;L HOCKEY &#9632;

f0046-01

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0047-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01322/7258445-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01211/7258438-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="3101" height="3514"></div> &#9632;

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