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

October 15, 1999

The Hockey News October 15, 1999

<div class="byline">By Craig Merz</div>As the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals battled below, the video board above center ice advertised the upcoming World Wrestling Federation show in Value City Arena.Even WWF owner Vince McMahon couldn&rsquo;t have scripted the bizarre scene that occurred moments after the Capitals skated off with a 3-1 victory in what proved to be a costly pre-season game in Columbus Sept. 25.Washington GM George McPhee was suspended one month without pay and fined $20,000 for his part in an incident outside Chicago&rsquo;s dressing room.McPhee, who had 257 penalty minutes during his 115-game NHL career in the 1980s, punched Chicago coach Lome Molleken in the face following a heated discussion after the penalty-filled game. Several Chicago players and coaches then grabbed McPhee. The left sleeve of his sport jacket was tom, his watch was ripped from his wrist and he received facial abrasions. Molleken had a black left eye the next night. McPhee had his right wrist in a cast for an injury in the days after the skirmish.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011785/7616029-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="330" height="493"><figcaption class="caption-body">George McPhee</figcaption></div>During the suspension. McPhee cannot attend practices, games or con-Mmcgar duct business until Nov. 1.&ldquo;Actions such as those engaged by Mr. McPhee George McPhee will not be tolerated,&rdquo; said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.;Also, Capitals&rsquo; coach Ron Wilson was fined I $5,000 for his comments in defense of McPhee.Chicago owner Bill Wirtz was slapped with a $3,000 fine for his remarks about Wilson and I McPhee, which included a challenge to come to &rsquo; Chicago to duke it out.The Blackhawks issued a statement Sept. 30 saying they &ldquo;totally disagree&rdquo; with the league&rsquo;s action against McPhee.&ldquo;The Blackhawks do not want to see Mr. McPhee suspended without pay and I fined.&rdquo; the statement read. &ldquo;Dollars cannot be the determining factor in gift,,. instances of vigilantism. more appropriate method is censure of Mr Me Phee for his outrageous actions by vote of the NHL Board Lome Molleken of Governors. This situation has never happened in the past and &ldquo;by a censure vote of all the owners&rdquo; it would never happen again.Thirty-two coaches or GMs have been fined or suspended since 1979, mostly for relatively minor offenses. The stiffest penalty was a 12-game, $10,000 fine to Los Angeles coach Tom Webster for throwing a stick at an on-ice official in 1992.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021180/7616022-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="331" height="493"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lome Molleken</figcaption></div>The Capitals were incensed with Chicago for dressing a lineup they felt was heavy on fighters. McPhee phoned Chicago GM Bob Murray in the days prior to the game asking the Blackhawks to use their top players. Molleken said some players were rested because the game was the second of three in three nights.The NHL suspended Blackhawks&rsquo; defenseman Dave Manson for one pre-season game for attempting to injure Steve Konowalchuk with a crosscheck in the second period.Bettman acted after a four-day investigation.&ldquo;Mr. McPhee made a deliberate decision to proceed to the Blackhawks&rsquo; dressing room with the intention of confronting Mr. Molleken,&rdquo; Bettman said.There was no mistaking McPhee&rsquo;s resolve. The Washington dressing room was on the other side of the 17,500-seat arena. &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

GM McPhee suspended for punching rival coach

<div class="byline">By Mike Heika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011071/7616742-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="171" height="169"></div>Ken Hitchcock has discovered ultimate irony. His vision of nirvana has caused a pounding headache.The Dallas Stars&rsquo; coach has directed most of his energies toward hockey success throughout his life. Now after winning the coveted Stanley Cup, Hitchcock has had enough revelry.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t go anyplace where I don&rsquo; run into the Stanley Cup. And I&rsquo;m the point where I&rsquo;m sick of seeing it,&rsquo; Hitchcock said.While Hitchcock might sount ungrateful, his venting actually gives peek inside to what he&rsquo;s really all about It&rsquo;s not the winning that&rsquo;s so important to his daily life, it&rsquo;s the quest for winning.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ll have any trouble getting ourselves ready,&rdquo; said center Mike Modano when asked about potential complacency. &ldquo;But if we do, I&rsquo;m sure (Hitchcock) won&rsquo;t let it last for long.&rdquo;The new blood injected into the lineup should help counter-balance any Cup hangover, but it could also take a while for the newcomers to fit in.In for the Stars are: Pavel Patera, Juha Lind, Manny Fernandez, Jamie Pushor, Brad Lukowich, Alan Letang and Warren Luhning.Out are veterans Craig Ludwig, Pat Verbeek, Dave Reid, Tony Hrkac, Brent Severyn, Doug Lidster and Roman Turek. The Stars gain speed and exuberance, but lose experience.&ldquo;I know that with this many changes, there&rsquo;s a very real chance we&rsquo;ll have to take a step back before we take a step forward,&rdquo; Hitchcock said.NOTEBOOK: Pavel Patera was slated to play left wing on the second line with center Joe Nieuwendyk and right winger Jamie Langenbrunner. A natural center, Patera has shown so much skill that Hitchcock wants to use it. The 28-year-old scored 16 goals and 53 points in 52 games in the Czech Republic last season&hellip;Goalie Manny Fernandez won the backup goalie job over Marty Turco, who was returned to Michigan (International League). Fernandez, 25, spent most of last season in Houston (IHL). &#9632;

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NHL TEAMS

Hitchcock focused on new season after overdosing on Cup-win hype

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0045-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01330/7617770-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01322/7617763-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="7313" height="4239"></div> &#9632;

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NHL PRE-SEASON

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01856/7617625-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chicago&rsquo;s Steve Maltais was the only top-level pro player to score 50 goals last year.</figcaption></div>Steve Maltais knows nobody will believe he&rsquo;s anything close to an underdog. Not on his team, the perennially powerful Chicago Wolves. Not with his numbers, 275 goals in the last five International League seasons. And not with his reputation, that if he can see the opponent&rsquo;s net, he&rsquo;s a good bet to shoot a puck into it.But despite averaging-yes, averaging-55 goals per season since 1994-95, Maltais has been passed over every time when it comes to the IHL&rsquo;s top individual honor, the James Gatschene Memorial Trophy awarded to the MVP.&ldquo;I think of it as a challenge,&rdquo; said the 30-year-old left winger, who scored 56 times for the Wolves last season. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re always looking for inspiration, things to push you. I thought we had a good year last year, but we fell a step short in the playoffs. The year before, we won (the Turner Cup) but somebody else was named MVP.&ldquo;It seems somebody is always coming out of the woodwork to get in the running for MVP. But don&rsquo;t get me wrong. Brian (Wiseman) deserved it. My time will come soon, hopefully.&rdquo;Maltais hasn&rsquo;t been without recognition. He has now scored 100 or more points in four straight seasons. He was part of the Wolves&rsquo; 1997-98 title run and has twice (1994-95 and last season) been named a first-team IHL all-star.He gives the impression, though, that he&rsquo;d trade it all-even a potential MVP award-for one more crack at the NHL. A Washington Capitals&rsquo; draft pick out of the Cornwall Royals&rsquo; program of the Ontario League in 1987, Maltais has played 94 NHL games scattered over several seasons, but none in the last five years, when he has blossomed into a pure sniper.&ldquo;I sometimes think all these goals might actually put you in a tough spot in terms of getting to the next level,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There are so many talented players up there. It&rsquo;s almost easier to make it at the next level as a checker or a role player.&rdquo;He has heard his share of questions about his NHL aspirations.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it bothers me, hearing it over and over again,&rdquo; Maltais said. &ldquo;I believe the NHL thing is still there for me. I still want it. I think sometimes there&rsquo;s a perception around that I don&rsquo;t want it, but that&rsquo;s totally false.&ldquo;You need to be in the right situation and maybe expansion can still provide that for me to get my shot. I just hope people don&rsquo;t get tired of my answer about the NHL because they hear the same thing over and over again. But given the opportunity, I think I can score 25 or 35 goals a season in the NHL.&rdquo;Maltais&rsquo; value in recent seasons hasn&rsquo;t been limited to just pulling the trigger. He has turned into something of an ironman, having played 81 or 82 games in each of the last four seasons. That&rsquo;s nothing to sneeze at considering IHL teams often face frenzied three-game weekends.The belief an NHL chance is still out there has put the 1999-2000 season into sharp focus for the Ottawa native.The Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild will be the NHL&rsquo;s 29th and 30th teams when they begin play in 2000-01.Asked what he might change from the last five years of his career, he predictably mentions having more than one Turner Cup ring and then the conversation wanders to what really drives him.&ldquo;I want to play at the next level,&rdquo; Maltais said. &ldquo;I would have loved to have had a chance with an NHL club, but I&rsquo;m going to keep working hard to put up those numbers and win another Turner Cup. Maybe that will give me my opening.&rdquo;In the meantime, it sounds like IHL goalies are in for another long season.The IHL is down to 13 teams after the loss of Las Vegas, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. The six-team Western Conference is comprised of independent teams, while all seven teams in the Eastern Conference have NHL affiliations. Team; are listed in predicted order of finish. NHL affiliation, last year&rsquo;s record, conference finish and playoff fortunes are in parentheses. Five teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.<h2>Western Conference</h2>1. Chicago Wolves (independent, 49-2112, second in conference, third round). Coach: John Anderson. GM: Kevin Cheveldayoff. Kingpin: Left winger Steve Maltais, 30, has a nose for the net and knows what to do when he gets there. He has scored 275 goals in the last five seasons. Fresh face: Center Sean Berens, 23, will put more spunk into a mostly veteran squad. Outlook: The 1998 champions are only half-jokingly tabbed as better than several NHL also-rans. They have the means to sign the best players and have no holes.2. Houston Aeros (independent, 54-15-13, first in conference, won Turner Cup). Coach-GM: Ron Low. Kingpin: Center Brian Wiseman, 28, was transformed from follower to leader in an MVP season. Fresh face: Defenseman Mark Femer, 34, will be a savvy, stabilizing force in the wake of Greg Hawgood&rsquo;s departure to the Vancouver Canucks. Outlook: Defending the title is always the toughest job, but with Low&rsquo;s NHL background and goalie Frederic Chabot back in the fold, Houston&rsquo;s already on the runway.3. Manitoba Moose (independent, 47-2114, third in conference, second round). Coach-GM: Randy Carlyle. Kingpin: Center Bill Bowler, 25, has become the cornerstone for the Moose. He tied the knot during the summer, but has first dates with projected linemates, Lonny Bohonos, 26, and Mike Prokopec, 24, this season. Fresh face: Prokopec, over from Detroit, takes on a big assignment in trying to replace Scott Thomas&rsquo; 45 goals. Outlook: If Manny Legace, 26, is the answer in goal, the Moose could challenge last season&rsquo;s 108 points.4. Long Beach Ice Dogs (partial Los Angeles, 48-28-6, fourth in conference, second round). Coach-GM: John Van Boxmeer. Kingpin: Center Doug Ast, 26, should blossom in the Ice Dogs&rsquo; new mix. Fresh face: Goalie Mike O&rsquo;Neill, 31, returns and partners with Marcel Cousineau, 26, on a team in need of leadership. Outlook: The losses of defenseman Danny Lambert and wingers Patrick Augusta and Darryl Williams loom large in the dog pound, though Van Boxmeer always seems to ice a winner.5. Kansas City Blades (independent, 4431-7, fifth in conference, first round). Coach: Paul MacLean. GM: Doug Soetaert. Kingpin: Center Jason Cirone, 28, may miss the first month because of a stress fracture in his shin, but his irascible, offensive style will dictate the team&rsquo;s fortunes. Fresh face: Defenseman Aris Brimanis, 27, moves over from Grand Rapids via the Islanders and makes a struggling defense better. Outlook: If Washington&rsquo;s Michal Pivonka, 33, is a serious addition after the waiver draft, the Blades may be more than dark horses.6. Utah Grizzlies (independent, 39-34-9, seventh in conference, missed playoffs). Coach-GM: Bob Bourne. Kingpin: Winger John Purves, 31, is the Utah bellwether, whether he wants to be or not. Fresh face: Goalie Rich Parent, 26, must stop pucks and the revolving Grizz goalie door-the team used 10 netminders last season. Outlook: The Grizz were one of only three Western Conference teams with a losing record last year. That-and Butch Goring&rsquo;s exit to the New York Islanders-puts Bourne in a no-lose situation.<h2>Eastern Conference</h2>Detroit Vipers (Tampa Bay, 50-21-11, first in conference, third round). Coach: Paulin Bordeleau. GM: Grant Sonier. Kingpin: Center Peter Ciavaglia, 30, serves up elegant offense for the IHL&rsquo;s high-rent franchise. Fresh face: Goalie Zac Bierk, 23, changes teams (from Cleveland) and should find the Vipers&rsquo; kind of support to his liking in a pivotal career year. Outlook: Detroit&rsquo;s change in affiliation brings in a new player pool while retaining the regular strong nucleus.Cincinnati Cyclones (Carolina, 44-326, third in conference, first round). Coach-GM: Ron Smith. Kingpin: Center Todd Simon, 27, dictates the pace in Cincinnati&rsquo;s potent offensive scheme. Fresh face: Six-foot-5 defenseman Nikos Tselios, 20, will command attention in his first pro season. Outlook: The Cyclones lost in the first round of the playoffs last year in a season marred by a feud between Smith and a faction in the dressing room. Peace will be key to making a new affiliation work.3. Orlando Solar Bears (Atlanta, 45-33-4, second in conference, Turner Cup final). Coach: Peter Horachek. GM: John Weisbrod. Kingpin: Center Mark Beaufait, 29, was Orlando&rsquo;s only point-per-game regular (71 in 71) last season and drove the club to within one win of the Turner Cup. Fresh face: Center Andreas Karlsson, 24, will be among the young guns assigned from Atlanta, though the Thrashers may keep him busy on the shuttle. Outlook: The Solar Bears have maintained a solid nucleus, but the youth movement that comes with affiliation may take some getting used to.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01933/7617618-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="381" height="619"><figcaption class="caption-body">Todd Simson</figcaption></div>4. Grand Rapids Griffins (Ottawa, 34-40-8, seventh in conference, missed playoffs). Coach: Guy Charron. GM: Bob McNamara.Kingpin: Left winger Michel Picard, 29, didn&rsquo;t erupt as hoped last season in St. Louis, but solidifies a Griffins&rsquo; team that missed him in a big way. Fresh face: Defenseman John Gruden, 29, comes over from Detroit and adds instant credibility to a defense that was iffy at the best of times last year. Outlook: Charron faces pressure after an underwhelming IHL debut last season, but will benefit from an affiliation with the Senators, enough to make the Griffins the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s dark horse.5. Michigan K-Wings (Dallas, 35-34-13, fourth in conference, second round). Coach: Bill MacDonald. GM: Bill Inglis. Kingpin: Left winger Jon Sim, 22, has last spring&rsquo;s Stanley Cup experience with Dallas under his belt and will lead the always-hungry K-Wings against a more competitive conference. Fresh face: Left winger Brenden Morrow, 20, was Dallas&rsquo; 1997 first pick and will try to translate his junior offense into pro production. Outlook: The K-Wings have the reputation as a spunky lot, but now face an entire conference of rivals in the same affiliation boat.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02639/7617611-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="382" height="619"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Mowers</figcaption></div>6. Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville, 38-28-16, sixth in conference, first round). Coach: Al Sims. GM: Phil Wittliff. Kingpin: Center Mark Mowers, 25, had 30 games with the Predators as a rookie last season and his college offensive abilities will benefit the Admirals again. Fresh face: Defenseman Bubba Berenzweig, 22, turns pro after four solid years in Michigan. Outlook: The Admirals&rsquo; move to the Eastern Conference and an improving Nashville team means higher hopes this season.1. Cleveland Lumberjacks (Chicago, 2847-7, eighth in conference, missed playoffs). Cocoaches: Perry Ganchar, Blair MacDonald, Phil Russell. GM: Larry Gordon. Kingpin: Left winger Jeff Christian, 29, rejoins the Jacks and figures to be a lean scoring machine after a high-protein, low-carb diet and a training regimen to reduce body fat. Fresh face: Center Kyle Calder, 20, may get a crack at the top line in his rookie pro season. Outlook: Cleveland switched affiliations after a dreadful 1998-99 season, but seems a bit hopeful in thinking three desks in the coach&rsquo;s office will turn things around.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02579/7617604-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="481" height="534"></div><h2>THN PREDICTIONS</h2><h3>Regular Season Top Team</h3>1. Chicago Wolves2. Houston Aeros3. Manitoba Moose<h3>Most Valuable Player</h3>1. Steve Maltais, Chicago2. Brian Wiseman, Houston3. Bill Bowler, Manitoba<h3>Top Goaltender</h3>1. Frederic Chabot, Houston2. Manny Legace, Manitoba3. Marty Turco, Michigan<h3>Top Defenseman</h3>1. Brett Hauer, Manitoba2. Tom Tilley, Chicago3. Curtis Murphy, Orlando<h3>Top Rookie</h3>1. Petr Schastlivy, G. Rapids2. Kyle Calder, Cleveland3. Nikos Tselios, Cincinnati<h2>Sides at odds over oronosed youth rule</h2>One chip is already on the table for two years down the road when the IHL and Professional Hockey Players Association negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.IHL president/CEO Doug Moss has talked at length in the past year about making the league younger via a youth rule, designed to legislate a minimum number of young players in each IHL game and on every team&rsquo;s roster. The aim. Moss has said, is to make the league more attractive to the NHL as a developmental circuit.Under the current CBA, it would help teams stay under the $ 1,2-million salary cap.Not so fast, says PHPA executive director Larry Landon.&ldquo;Any discussion of a youth rule has been developed at management&rsquo;s level,&rsquo;&rsquo; Landon said. &ldquo;Anything that changes the condition of employment must be negotiated with the association.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard it loud and clear from our players that they&rsquo;ve never seen (the provisions) in writing and it&rsquo;s not acceptable to them.&rdquo;The ideas floated by the league have varied. One proposal was each team&rsquo;s game roster must include two players with less than 40 games previous pro experience before the start of the season. A possible addition was each team must have five players younger than 25 or with less than 200 games pro experience.Moss met with Landon in mid-September to table a proposal, but said there will be no attempt to implement such rules this season.-Tim Campbell &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

MVP for Maltais?

<h2>Hot Wings cooking</h2>1. Wings rock Led by pre-season standouts Serge Fedorov and Ken Wregget, Detroit looks pumped.2. Euro leaders Saku Koivu (Mon.), Kenny Jonson (NYI), Daniel Alfredsson (Ott.) named captains.3. Projected champs Rochester (AHL), Chicagt (IHL), South Carolina (ECHL) our minor league picks4. Arturs Irbe and Co. Carolina goalies led NHI in pre-season goals-against average at 1.27.5. Philippe Ozga Traded to make room for femak goalie Charline Labonte, he blanks ex-Bathurst mates<h2>McPhee the mauler</h2>1. Capital crime Washington GM George McPhee suspended, fined $20,000 for slugging Chicago coach.2. Struck by Lightning First overall pick in 1993 draft, Alexandre Daigle designated for assignment.3. Hasek&rsquo;s great, but&hellip; Buffalo needs more scoring (seven pre-season games, 13 goals) to return to final.4. Hawk at it again Dave Manson suspended one game for cross-checking Caps&rsquo; Steve Konowalchuk.5. Panthers pounded Florida winless in pre-season (0-4-3), though team was without superstar Pavel Bure. &#9632;

PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden Edltor-ln-Chief</div>Now that the city of Edmonton has named an expressway after Wayne Gretzky, isn&rsquo;t it time the NHL renamed the Hart Trophy in honor of the nine-time MVP?The Hockey News predicts the league will do just that at the 2000 All-Star Game in Toronto.Here are 10 other predictions you can take to the bank this season:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021476/7615867-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="370" height="454"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Jim Leary/BS)</figcaption></div>&#9633; Capitals&rsquo; GM George McPhee will lead the league in penalties.&#9633; Columbus will sell more season ticket packages, not fewer, as a result of the Washington-Chicago fight night.&#9633; Chicago&rsquo;s J.P. Dumont will win the Calder Trophy.&#9633; Sergei Berezin will emerge as the most exciting second-tier star in the game&hellip;and will pass the puck, once, this season.&#9633; Dominik Hasek will win his seventh straight save percentage title, sixth Vezina Trophy and sixth berth on the first all-star team. The only thing he won&rsquo;t win is the hearts of hard-headed experts who don&rsquo;t recognize Hasek for what he is, the best goalie ever.&#9633; The last bastion of North American bias will fall when Nicklas Lidstrom becomes the first European to win the Norris Trophy, the only major trophy to elude overseas stars.&#9633; Four-on-four in regular season overtime will be a huge success and lead to suggestions by owners (who will like the idea of fewer players on the payroll) to experiment with four-on-four full-time.&#9633; Dmitri Khristich, who finished among the top 25 scorers in 1998-99, will be forced to retire at age 30 when no team makes him a contract offer.&#9633; Goalies will not suffer greatly because of the new no-harm, no-foul crease rule.&#9633; Referees will suffer greatly because of the new no-harm, no-foul crease rule. &#9632;

f0003-02

Gazing into our 1999-2000 crystal ball

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011769/7615912-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Simon GagneStan Drulia</figcaption></div>Stan Drulia didn&rsquo;t fall off the face of the earth.It just seemed that way for the career minor-leaguer, who played a grand total of 24 NHL games in one season six years ago.Now, the 31-year-old journeyman is back in the bigs for the first time since 1992-93, named to the Tampa Bay Lightning&rsquo;s 23-man roster. The Ontario League&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer-479 career points over five seasons in the 1980s-qualifies as this year&rsquo;s unlikeliest NHLer.Drulia is expected to be a role player for Tampa bench boss Steve Ludzik, who coached him the past three seasons with the Detroit Vipers of the International League.&ldquo;Loyalty (to ex-Viper captain Drulia) got him the tryout, but he made the team on merit,&rdquo; said Lightning GM Rick Dudley, the Vipers&rsquo; former GM. &ldquo;Stan has the offensive ability to fill in on your top lines and is so smart defensively. He can check or kill penalties.&ldquo;How he&rsquo;ll do (in the NHL), we&rsquo;ll have to wait and see. But all I know is that Stan earned this opportunity.&rdquo;Hope for players like Drulia and others new to the league springs eternal at this time of year. The Hockey News has compiled a list of 10 &ldquo;new&rdquo; faces in the NHL this season. They&rsquo;ve been chosen on the basis of an interesting story (like Drulia) or because they have a chance to step up and make a name for themselves or, in some cases, i both. This is not a handicapping of the NHL rookie race. In fact, five of the 10 players listed, k including Drulia, aren&rsquo;t eligible for the Calder 9 Trophy because they&rsquo;re too old (26 or older). Here are the terrific 10 listed with this year&rsquo;s team. Age, height,, weight, position, last year&rsquo;s team/league and statistics (GP-G-A-Pts) are in parent, theses:1.Stan Drulia, Tampa Bay (31, 5-11, 185, RW, Detroit/IHL, 82-23-52-75). The Vipers&rsquo; leading scorer last season has Craig Ramsay-like qualities, according to Dudley.2. Pavel Patera, Dallas (28, 6-1, 172, LW, HC n/Cze., 52-15-37-53). A member of the gold medal-winning Czech Olympic team, Patera was slated to start the season at left wing with Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner. Skilled and smart, he&rsquo;ll also get power play time and 4-on4 OT duty. Stars&rsquo; coach Ken Hitchcock said Patera was regarded last season as w perhaps the most-skilled player in V Europe.3. Kim Johnsson, N.Y. Rangers (23, 6-1, 175, D, Malmo IF/Swe., 49-9-8-17). Amid the hoopla of the Rangers&rsquo; off-season spending spree and drafting of Pavel Brendl and Jamie Lundmark, in marches a Swedish defender who has the poise, smarts and skill to be in the Blueshirts&rsquo; top four on the blueline. Coach John Muckier said the 1994 11th round pick will get some power play time.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021504/7615905-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="344" height="472"></div>4. Brian Rafalski, New Jersey (26, 5-11, 200, D, IFK Helsinki/Fin., 53-19-34-53). The Devils signed the University of Wisconsin grad last May after he finished fourth in Finnish Elite League scoring. It was his fourth season in Europe. THN billed him as the best player outside the NHL last season. He has to prove he can handle the rigors of the fl NHL, but adds a power play dimension.5. Steve Kariya, Vancouver (21, 5-7, 165, LW, Maine/HE. 41-27-1 38-65). The younger brother of you-know-who wowed the Canucks with a dynamic training camp and earned a season-starting berth on Vancouver&rsquo;s second line. He&rsquo;s likely not as tall or as heavy as listed, but will get prime-time opportunities to prove himself.6. Jason Blake, Los Angeles (26, 5-10, 180, C, North Dakota/WCHA, 38-28-41-69). A knee &rsquo; injury may hold him back in the first weeks of the season, but the Kings have high hopes the fast, feisty and skilled pivot J can make the grade. Signed as a free agent, the Hobey Baker Award-nominee scored a goal in his first and only NHL, game last spring. Kings&rsquo; captain Rob 4 Blake has dubbed him &ldquo;Mini-Me.&rdquo; He&rsquo;s a pain to play against. J7. Simon Gagne, Philadelphia (19, 6-0, 175, C, Quebec/QMJHL, 61-50-70-120). One of 13 underage juniors who will start the season on an NHL roster, the Flyers have teamed the talented center with veteran Mark Recchi on the No. 2 line. A star at last year&rsquo;s World Junior Championship, the Flyers&rsquo; 1998 first-rounder will be given every opportunity to flourish, but could be returned to junior before his 10th game. &ldquo;Is he ready?&rdquo; said Flyers&rsquo; GM Bob Clarke. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know, it may be a stretch, but he can really pass and see the ice. He&rsquo;s really smooth, he&rsquo;s so slick. He&rsquo;s not your typical Flyer. He&rsquo;ll get a chance.&rdquo;8. Jiri Fischer, Detroit (19, 6-5, 210, D, Hull/QMJHL, 65-22-56-78). It&rsquo;s ludicrous to suggest a 19-year-old underage junior will be an impact player on Scotty Bowman&rsquo;s veteran-laden Red Wings, so we won&rsquo;t. But we insist on including Fischer on this list. Eight defensemen were drafted ahead of him in the first round of the 1998 draft, but those who witnessed his performance in Detroit&rsquo;s training camp can&rsquo;t imagine any of them being better than this skilled big man. The Wings plan to bring him along slowly, but when he arrives, he&rsquo;ll make a splash.9. Mike York, N.Y. Rangers (21, 5-9, 179, C, Michigan State/CCHA, 42-22-32-54). The Spartan grad, a late-round 1997 Ranger draftee, turned heads in camp and started the season as the No. 2 center behind Petr Nedved and J between wingers Valeri Kamensky and Todd Harvey. It may be more than he can handle as a smallish rookie, but the Rangers will give him a chance to<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031221/7615898-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="1131" height="3581"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jiri FisherKim Johnson</figcaption></div><h2>Handful of junior-aged players stick to start season</h2>10. Mikko Eloranta, Boston (27, 6-0, 185, TPS Turku/Fin., 52-19-2140). The experienced Finn will step into the role of checking line center with P.J. Axelsson and Rob DiMaio. Eloranta is a better skater than departed Tim Taylor, but not as gritty. Coach Pat Bums said Eloranta is a &ldquo;twin&rdquo; of Axelsson and has some offensive upside because of a good shot.Remember, this list is not a Calder preview. There are other prominent rookies who could make an impact, such as Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; left winger J.P. Dumont, Colorado Avalanche goalie Marc Denis and St. Louis Blues&rsquo; forward Jochen Hecht.As well, there is a number of junioraged players (though not necessarily juniors), on opening-day NHL rosters. They include: Atlanta Thrashers&rsquo; center Patrik Stefan; Boston defenseman Jonathan Girard; Calgary Flames&rsquo; winger Oleg Saprykin; Colorado defenseman Martin Skoula; Chicago defenseman Steve McCarthy; Detroit defenseman Fischer; Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; center Mike Ribeiro; Nashville Predators&rsquo; goalie Brian Finley and center David Legwand; New Jersey center Scott Gomez; Islanders&rsquo; defenseman Mathieu Biron and center Tim Connolly; Ottawa Senators&rsquo; center Mike Fisher; Philadelphia center Gagne; and San Jose Sharks&rsquo; defenseman Brad Stuart. &#9632;

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FEATURES

NHL pre-season wonders

In reference to the article on Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; 5-foot-7, 165-pound rookie Steve Kariya (THN, Oct. 8) and the perception he is too small for the NHL: When will the powers-that-be realize smaller players are doing well, in fact excelling, at the NHL level?There are others like Kariya out there. Todd Robinson, formerly of the Western League&rsquo;s Portland Winter Hawks, was WHL rookie of the year in 1994-95; was among the league&rsquo;s leading scorers for four seasons; was the top scorer in the 1997-98 playoffs; and won the 1998 Memorial Cup.However, he was never drafted, not even as a flyer in the late rounds. Robinson is bigger (5-foot-8, 165 pounds) than Kariya and played in a rough league. An NHL GM should take a look at this skilled Canadian kid.Dale Donaldson,Castle gar, B.C.<h2>Get out of Olympics</h2>For two reasons, NHL players should not participate in the 2002 Olympics.First, there&rsquo;s the greed and ill will of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association and NHL. Come on, guys! It&rsquo;s the Olympics. Participation should not hinge on whether you strike a deal, it should be for love of hockey and competition.Second, the Olympics should be a place for &ldquo;shooting stars&rdquo; to shine. It&rsquo;s a time to discover the skills of unknowns like &ldquo;Miracle on Ice&rdquo; Americans Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig, not 10-year NHL veterans who we already know are stars.In 2002, I&rsquo;d love to say, &ldquo;Wow! Who was that kid?&rdquo; and not the usual, &ldquo;Did you see Sakic&rsquo;s goal last night?&rdquo;We can say that anytime.Eric May,Belgium, Wis.<h2>Heading for trouble</h2>While reading the article on Toronto Maple Leaf Alyn McCauley in the Equipment Buyers&rsquo; Guide (THN, Sept. 10), I noticed a few rules regarding the proper way to wear a helmet.It stated &ldquo;helmets should be worn tight and chinstraps must be tight to provide proper protection&rdquo; and &ldquo;chinstraps should be no looser than the width of two fingers below the chin.&rdquo;But many players have been wearing their chinstraps looser and looser. Helmets fall off easier and the risk of concussion increases. Concussions have ended some promising careers and I don&rsquo;t understand why players continue to misuse one of most important pieces of equipment.They wouldn&rsquo;t play without a jock strap; why is the helmet any different?Troy Truax,Dawson Creek, B.C.<h2>Gandler gone mad</h2>Agent Mark Gandler says the Ottawa Senators are a bigoted organization because they won&rsquo;t renegotiate Alexei Yashin&rsquo;s contract.Hey, Mark! Reality check! Someone is a bigot because they expect a contract to be honored, something your client has never done? Spare us.I guess you aren&rsquo;t concerned about Alexei&rsquo;s reputation, which is sad. Maybe your act will work in Europe, but it&rsquo;s hard to drum up sympathy among North American fans who shell out hard-earned bucks to see a spoiled brat like Alexei play.Brian Boguhn,San Jose<h2>Lowered expectations</h2>I&rsquo;m surprised THN ranks AlexeiYashin as the fourth-best center in the NHL (THN, Season Opener).He had a breakthrough season last year, but your ratings are based on &ldquo;how (THN) projects the performance of players this season.&rdquo;Here&rsquo;s my projection for Alexei in 1999-2000: zero games, zero goals, zero assists, zero points, zero trades, and zero pay increases.Pete Smith,Tobermory, Ont.<h2>Lindros a leader</h2>In response to the letter, &ldquo;Expect 1 crash landing&rdquo; (THN, Sept. 24):While I agree Eric Lindros is not a, traditional leader (he&rsquo;s not outspoken and doesn&rsquo;t get in players&rsquo; faces when mistakes are made), there&rsquo;s no denying he leads by example. Eric has the rare ability to change the complexion of a game, even without scoring. His &rsquo; physical style of play is his way of setting the tone.So look for the Flyers, behind the &rsquo; leadership of their captain, to &ldquo;crash&rdquo; their way to the Stanley Cup final this season.Frank Trzaska,Palmyra, N.J.<h2>Angel of Harlem</h2>Jeff Beukeboom&rsquo;s value and leadership on and off the ice was appreciated by his New York Ranger teammates.But not only will the Rangers miss him, so will the non-profit charity Ice Hockey In Harlem (IHIH). For four years, Jeff served as Honorary Chair-man. As a member of the IHIH&rsquo;s board of directors, I saw the serious-f ness, leadership, pride and compassion Jeff brought to the position. He s helped raise money for the organization and he truly cared for the well-being of the children in the program.He was a great hockey player, but c more importantly, he&rsquo;s a great person. &rsquo; He helped transform IHIH into a, nationally recognized program and solidified its future. We wish Jeff and his family a great future and are lucky to have had him touch all of our lives.Todd Levy,New York<h2>Keep red line</h2>Everybody thinks getting rid of the two-line offside pass rule will increase scoring, but it&rsquo;s not working in the Finnish Elite League (the league introduced the change last season).With no red line, the game is very passive. The action concentrates in the center ice area, defensemen are cautious not to go deep into the attacking zone and centers play well outside their opponents&rsquo; blueline.Scoring initially increased last season, but then it was just a mess. The hockey was awful. Almost every team went public with their unhappiness.Jukka Suutari,Helsinki<h2>Dino a north state star</h2>The cartoon about Dino Ciccarelli&rsquo;s retirement (THN, Sept. 17) was the best I have ever seen by Elston.It was a sad day for Minnesota hockey fans when we learned of his retirement. We had fantasized aboui Dino returning to the state that first gave him the opportunity to play in the NHL when no other team was interested. We dreamt of him playing for the Minnesota Wild in the year 2000, his 20th year in the NHL, wearing number 20, but sadly, that is not to be.He was loved more in here than in any other city in which he played. He achieved hero status with the North Stars and received the adulation usually reserved for only native Minnesotan hockey players.Fiona C. QuickMinneapolii<h2>Flyer family cares</h2>The Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; organization showed a tremendous amount of class by playing their American League farm team, the Philadelphia Phantoms, to raise money for the wife and unborn child of the late Dimitri Tertyshny.I was glad to see a bunch of &ldquo;tough&rdquo; guys cared enough about Tertyshny&rsquo;s family to raise money for them. It&rsquo;s things like this that make the NHL and the Flyers so great.Kris Beck,Levittown, Penn.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, MSG 2N8&nbsp;in Canada. In the U.S., write to&nbsp;Letters, THN, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y., 14240-9947.&nbsp;E-mail us at <a href="mailto:mccaigs@transcontinenta.ca">mccaigs@transcontinental.ca</a> Include hometown as well as home and business phone numbers. THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

NHL ignores size of little men’s skill

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011970/7615991-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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ELSTON

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN staff</div>Staying in Sweden has definitely agreed with the Sedin twins.Henrik and Daniel Sedin, taken second and third overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1999 entry draft, decided after signing three-year contracts during the off-season, to spend one more year with MoDo in the Swedish Elite League.Through MoDo&rsquo;s first six league games, the team was sitting in first place with a 5-1-0 record in the Elite League.Daniel was unofficially leading the team in scoring, with five goals and nine points. The left winger was one point ahead of teammate Mattias Weinhandl. Daniel&rsquo;s best game came in a 6-2 victory over Frolunda when he scored twice and added an assist.Henrik, who centers his brother&rsquo;s line, has had a relatively slow start, with one goal and five points through six games. He had a one-goal, two-point game in MoDo&rsquo;s regular season opener, a 3-2 overtime win against Faijestads.This is the twins&rsquo; second full season with the Senior MoDo squad, and third overall. Last year, Daniel had 21 goals and 42 points while Henrik countered with 12 goals and 34 points. They shared the league&rsquo;s MVP award.LAS VEGAS INTEREST: A group of Las Vegas businessmen headed by mayor Oscar Goodman, met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman about the likelihood of of the Nevada city joining the league as an expansion team.Goodman has said in published reports the time is right for Las Vegas to land a major pro franchise. He also met with National Basketball Association David Stern.The NHL will expand from 28 to 30 teams next season when the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets join. Bettman told Las Vegas reporters the city is an attractive site, along with Portland, Ore., and Houston, but the league has no immediate plans to.expand in the future and no teams are interested in re-locating.&ldquo;It was just a meeting, nothing more,&rdquo; said Andy McGowan, the NHL&rsquo;s director, public relations. &ldquo;It was one of many meeting Gary has.&rdquo;FIVE IN HALL: Five Americans have gained entry into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.Herb Brooks. Jim Craig, Mark Johnson, Mike Curran and Hal Trumble were honored at a ceremony Sept. 23 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Brooks, Craig and Curran were part of the 1980 &lsquo;Miracle On Ice&rsquo; team.<h3>PUCK BRIEFS</h3><h2>Joseph back in Vancouver after third waiver claim</h2>Defenseman Chris Joseph is a waiver draft veteran after being claimed for the third time in four years. Joseph, 30, was claimed by the Vancouver Canucks from the Ottawa Senators in the Sept. 27. He was previously claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1995 and by Vancouver from Pittsburgh in 1996.Joseph was one of 10 players claimed in total. They are listed below in order of selection. Compensation for each player was cash.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03720/7616060-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="792" height="452"></div> &#9632;

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Sedin twins start well in Sweden

Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; coach Lome Molleken was sporting a black eye after getting punched by Washington Capitals&rsquo; GM Mike McPhee in a dressing room skirmish.McPhee was upset the Blackhawks dressed a lineup of mostly physical players for a Sept. 25 game in Columbus. so he went down after the game to confront Molleken. McPhee came out of it with a hefty suspension.The Hockey News is making a deposit each issue to our Millennium Time Capsule to mark the final year of the millennium. This week THN deposits an ice pack for Molleken&rsquo;s swollen eye. Here&rsquo;s a list of recentSept. 3Glove Save In PittsburghMario Lemieux rescues PensSept. 10Ron Hextafl&rsquo;s Goalie StickColorful goalie retiresSept. 24QMJHL game summaryCharline Labonte starts in goalOct 1Ice pack for Lome MollekenBlack eye courtesy GM&rsquo;s punch &#9632;

THN’s Millennium: TIME CAPSULE

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div>Despite killer good looks, all Alexandre Daigle has earned from his NHL employers over five seasons are looks that could kill. Women consider him even hotter than George McPhee at Lome Molleken, but coaches think he is a hunk of wasted talent.&ldquo;Guys like Alexandre are more interested in things outside the game than the game itself,&rdquo; said Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; GM Bob Clarke. &ldquo;They never work hard to make (themselves) better. They play the way they practise. They can&rsquo;t fool their teammates.&rdquo;But after deking the junior scouts, they flash enough skill to keep up the scam on GMs, who believe a change of scenery can alter a personality. Clarke, looking for a scorer that could put the Flyers over the top, took a chance on Daigle.When little happened, he worked a trade with a playoff team in Edmonton, but Daigle refused to sign the contract extension Glen Sather demanded, opting instead for a loser in Tampa Bay, where the weather better suited the clothes he is now packing up again. Before the season started, Daigle was demoted to Providence of the American League rather than the Lightning&rsquo;s top farm club in Detroit Apparently that is not far enough away for new GM Rick Dudley and coach Steve Ludzik. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve demanded hard work from everyone,&rdquo; Ludzik said. &ldquo;How would it look if I make exceptions?&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011862/7616122-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="410" height="581"></div>So it appears Daigle has hit a bottom as rock-hard as his head. Two more teams are coming next year, but alas, neither is playing in a locale warn enough for him. Perhaps there is t spot on the second line of the Chippendales.-&ldquo;Nicest guy you could ever meet,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;When you talked to him about what he had to do, he&rsquo;d say, &rsquo;I&rsquo;ll do it, I&rsquo;ll work harder.&rsquo; But nothing ever changed.&rdquo;The Flyers came to that realiza tion after Daigle spent the summer of 1998 in Los Angeles, where gossip columns linked him to Pamela Anderson Lee. Seems to us like she would be a good exercise partner, no excuse to flunk the six mile run at the beginning of camp.&ldquo;I had one date with her,&rdquo; Daigle smiled, refusing further comment. A gentleman never tells, but 17 points in 63 games with Philadelphia and Tampa Bay last year does.&ldquo;I think hockey to him is a way to make lots of money and enjoy other things,&rdquo; Clarke said.&ldquo;He isn&rsquo;t a drinker or have any of those kinds of problems. But for every good game he would play, there would be 10 nothing ones.&rdquo;Coming out of Victoriaville of the Quebec League, the kid had not just a personality that lit up rooms, but the flash that ignited goal lights. The Senators, who could have had Chris Pronger, Paul Kariya or Kenny Jonsson, drafted Daigle with the first overall pick in 1993. They then gave him $12.25 million, the final straw that brought a rookie salary cap.Probably not since Washington took Greg Joly in 1974 has a franchise ever gotten so taken by the first player taken. Brian Lawton kicked around nine teams, but still managed 266 NHL points. Dale McCourt at least started well. The late Doug Wickenheiser, in over his head in Montreal, nevertheless earned every cent of his check for 10 years.Being unable to live up to the expectations of others could sear the soul, but not if your own ambitions are considerably lower. The twinkle in Daigle&rsquo;s eye never ebbed as his star faded.&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t worry about me, worry about the rest of them,&rdquo; he smiled at a newspaper guy when asked last season about just needing a deflection or two to come out of his five-year slump.He is down and maybe already out of the NHL, but the first reporter to reach Alexandre Daigle is not likely to find him having a bad day. He has never really had one of those.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021400/7616115-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="796" height="1387"><figcaption class="caption-body">GMs like Alexandre Daigle, but not his play.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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COLUMNS

Daigle done in by work ethic

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello Senior Editor</div>Don&rsquo;t go to Mystery, Alaska expecting the quality of a Hoosiers-type movie about David against Goliath.Don&rsquo;t go expecting to see hockey scenes that capture the skilled intricacies of the game. Don&rsquo;t go unless you can check your brain at the door.And don&rsquo;t bring little kids.Co-written by acclaimed writer David E. Kelley, it&rsquo;s about a town in Alaska where Saturday shinny on a frozen pond is religion. The 10 best players square off against one another in a gorgeous mountain setting.It starts off terrifically with the players getting dressed in a log cabin, then skating down an ice path to the pond. The dressing room banter and camaraderie is right on.The cheese starts when a Sports Illustrated article about the team leads to a pond hockey exhibition match against the New York Rangers. The movie then deviates into a sideshow of promiscuity and illusion. Language is coarse and sexual hijinks frequent, so unless the kids can drive to the theatre, don&rsquo;t take them. Women are portrayed as frustrated, impulsive creatures constantly struggling hardship.Hockey scenes are rife with behind-the-back passing, telegraphed hipchecks and staged goaltending. One of the few appropriately accurate moments comes when the NHL players&rsquo; union tries to scuttle the match and it winds up in court.Where Mystery, Alaska succeeds immensely is in its entertainment value. It&rsquo;s funny from start to end. Cameo appearances by Little Richard and Mike Myers are outstanding.Mystery, Alaska is a good movie that happens to be about hockey. It is not, however, a good hockey movie.We give it three pucks out of five. &#9632;

Mystery fun, but not puck classic

<div class="byline">By Mike Gibb Staff Writer</div>If people believe those who forget history are condemned to repeat it then Sergei Fedorov is in trouble.Although looking at his pre-season statistics, you wouldn&rsquo;t know it.The former Hart Trophy winner (1994) captured the pre-season An Ross trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s leading scorer. The Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; center had three goals and 11 points in seven of the Wings&rsquo; exhibition games, edging New York Rangers&rsquo; winger Theo Fleury and Vancouvei Canucks&rsquo; rookie left winger Steve Kariya by one point.What may spell doom for Fedorov is no pre-season leading scorer has finished better than seventh in regular season scoring in the past four years Eric Lindros had the best showing for a pre-season leading scorer when he finished seventh with 93 points after winning the exhibition Art Ross wit! 15 points. Before Lindros, it was Joe Nieuwendyk and Jason Arnott tying with 10 pre-season points (69 and 33 regular season points, respectively)Alexander Mogilny (12 pre-season, 73 regular season) and Mark Recchi (20 and 78).Here are the winners of various other pre-season awards. In keeping with THN tradition, we have named the penalty minute trophy after a player-Toronto Maple Leaf Red Homer, who led the NHL in penalty minutes eight straight seasons during the 1930s.Rocket Richard Trophy (Most Goals) Martin Rucinsky, Montreal Canadiens. The Habs&rsquo; left winger had seven goals in six games, edging Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; right winger Eric Daze by one.Red Horner Trophy (Most PIM) Nathan Perrott, Chicago. Maybe Washington Capitals&rsquo; GM George McPhee was right. The Blackhawks had the two most-penalized players in Perrott, who had 72 PIMs in five games, and Reid Simpson, who had 48 minutes in four games.William Jennings Trophy (Best Team Defense) The Carolina Hurricanes. The trio of Arturs Irbe, Eric Fichaud and Mark Fitzpatrick surrendered just nine goals in seven games, good for a sparkling 1.27 goals-against average.Georges Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie) Ken Wregget, Detroit Red Wings. The new backup was perfect in the pre-season, compiling a 3-0-0 record. He played 150 minutes and didn&rsquo;t allow a single goal, giving him a 0.00 GAA and a 1.00 save percentage. Look out, Chris Osgood.Lady Byng Trophy (Most Gentlemanly) Eric Daze, Chicago Blackhawks. He just missed out on the Rocket Richard Trophy, but Daze earned a measure of revenge by taking home the Byng. In seven games, the big right winger scored a halfdozen goals without collecting a single penalty. Some may say he just didn&rsquo;t get caught, but if that&rsquo;s the case, we reward his ingenuity as well.Calder Trophy (Best Rookie) Steve Kariya, Vancouver Canucks. For the second straight season, the Canucks have a potential impact player from the U.S. college ranks. But unlike Bill Muckalt last season, Kariya shone in the pre-season, scoring twice and adding eight assists in six games. &#9632;

Fedorov exhibition whiz

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy Senior Writer</div>Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; coach Scotty Bowman got his first NHL win 10 months after Paul Maurice was born.That was Nov. 27, 1967, a 2-1 win for the St. Louis Blues over the Los Angeles Kings.Double click, fast forward&hellip;and Bowman, the dean of NHL coaches, has begun his 28th year behind the bench. That&rsquo;s one more than the late, great Dick Irvin, who previously held the record for most years coached.Maurice, 32, is in his fifth season behind the bench of the Carolina Hurricanes (nee Hartford Whalers) and opened me year looking for msizvtn win. Bowman leads that category, too, with 1,096 regular season victories.The 2000 season, as the NHL has tagged it, has many things to look forward to. And none of them, for the first time since 1979, are Wayne Gretzky-related. Unless, of course, the NHL takes the opportunity to rename the Hart Trophy, awarded annually to the most valuable player, the Wayne Gretzky Trophy (as it should). Here are a couple of things to look forward to:? Boston Bruins&rsquo; Ray Bourque, with 1,468 points in 20 seasons entering this season, could pass Paul Coffey, the all-time leader in career points by a defenseman with 1,487 in 19 years. That&rsquo;s based on the fact Bourque has averaged 52 points a year over the last three seasons while remaining the kingpin on Boston&rsquo;s blueline, while Coffey has slipped to 27 points a year. Also, Bourque continues to run the Bruins&rsquo; power play and had 57 points last year. Coffey&rsquo;s role with Carolina has diminished considerably and he had just 14 points in 54 games with the Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks last season.? With 412 wins, Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche has an outside chance of catching Terry Sawchuk, the NHL&rsquo;s all-time leader in goalie wins with 447. &#9632;

Coach keeps going and going…

There are no official records, but it would seem there were more quality NHLers on the sideline as the season opened than ever before. Only the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, St Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals began with everyone signed and healthy. Below are injured players and restricted free agents (RFA) and holdouts.Anaheim Mike Crowley, D, RFA; Kevin Haller, D. kneeAtlanta Patrick Stefan. C, groin; Vladimir Vujtek, LW, facial lacerationsBoston Byron Dafoe, G, RFA; Dmitri Khristich. LW, RFA*Buffalo Curtis Brown, C, RFA; Jay McKee, D, RFA; Miroslav Satan, LW. RFACalgary Rene Corbet, RW, concussion; Cale Hulse, D. broken hand; Jarome Iginla, RW, RFA; Jason Wiemer, C, kneeCarolina Keith Primeau. C, RFA; Mike Rucinski, D, RFAChicago Boris Mironov, D, RFAColorado Peter Forsberg, C, shoulderDallas Grant Marshall, RW, groin; Richard Matvichuk, D, RFADetroit Darren McCarty, RW, RFAEdmonton Mike Grier, RW. RFA; Bill Guerin, RW, RFAFlorida Peter Worrell. LW, kneeMontreal Patrice Brisebois, D, back: Benoit Brunet, RW, back; Miloslav Guren, D, knee; Vladimir Malakhov, D, knee; Terry Ryan, RW, RFA: Scott Thornton, C, tricep; Dainius Zubrus. RW, ankleNashville Sebastien Bordeleau, C, RFANew Jersey Patrik Elias, LW, RFA; Brendan Morrison, C. RFA; Petr Sykora. C, shoulderNY Rangers Rumun Ndur, RFAOttawa Alexei Yashin, C, holdoutPhoenix Nikolai Khabibulin, G, RFAToronto Alyn McCauley, C, concussion; Dimitri Yushkevich, D, RFAVancouver Adrian Aucoin, D, RFA; Bryan Allen, D. knee; Mattias Ohlund, D, eye* Khristich is an unrestricted free agent if he signs for more than 80 per cent of the $2.8 million he was awarded in arbitration; if he signs for less, the Boston Bruins retain the right to match. &#9632;

Sidelines crowded at start

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011832/7616256-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div>Mark Messier was there the night Wayne Gretzky played his final game. He wouldn&rsquo;t have missed it for the world.And there he was in Edmonton on the opening night of this season, taking it all in as Gretzky&rsquo;s Oilers&rsquo; jersey was retired amid a nostalgic walk down memory lane.Gretzky retired. Kevin Lowe behind the bench. My, how time flies.Surely, with so many of Messier&rsquo;s old Oiler mates having hung &rsquo;em up, the thought of his own hockey mortality must have crossed his mind.&ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t a time that I go onto the ice for the rest of my career that I&rsquo;m not aware of my mortality,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;This is a tough game. It&rsquo;s a dangerous game. You have to be incredibly strong and fast to play it. You have to have skill and be able to skate.&rdquo;All of which should never be confused with the notion that future Hall of Famer Messier has even contemplated the end might be near.&ldquo;I still enjoy it, I still love it,&rdquo; he told The Hockey News on the eve of the 1999-2000 season, his 21st in the NHL, his 22nd as a pro, what with him being the only survivor of the World Hockey Association still playing. &ldquo;I have no plans (to retire).&rdquo;And, really, why should he?If you saw him in a pre-season game in Toronto a week before the regular season began, you couldn&rsquo;t help but marvel at the NHL&rsquo;s third oldest player-he turns 39 in January. Only Guy Car-bonneau (40 in March) and Ray Bourque (39 in December) are older. He was frolicking all over like an enthusiastic rookie. He was, by far, the best player on the ice.But there&rsquo;s a big difference between a September no-hitter against the Maple Leafs and the grind of 82 games, not to mention the wear and tear of cross-continent travel, when the stakes gets considerably higher. But then no one has to tell Messier that because no player more innately understands this game and what it takes to be successful than the player they call &lsquo;The Moose&rsquo;.&ldquo;Mark is everything he has been billed as,&rdquo; said Vancouver GM Brian Burke. &ldquo;His leadership is actually understated. He is still so driven to succeed. He has come into this year&rsquo;s camp in great shape. He&rsquo;s a little heavier, but with less body fat. All he has to do have a great year is stay healthy.&rdquo;Which is sometimes easier said than done for one who plays as hard as he does.Messier got off to a fine start last season. Through 31 games, he had 11 goals and 33 points and the Canucks went a respectable 12-14-5. But he sustained a concussion and missed game No. 32. While he only missed that one game because of it, he wasn&rsquo;t the same player afterwards. Then-he sustained a knee 4 injury that cost him 22 games and nagged at him for the balance of the season.He finished with 13 goals and 48 points in 59 games. But the season was considered pretty much a disaster. The Canucks finished last in the Western Conference, second last overall. Messier&rsquo;s friend Mike Keenan was &rsquo; fired as coach, replaced at the all-star break by Marc Crawford.&ldquo;When he&rsquo;s healthy and fresh, he&rsquo;s still a great player,&rdquo; Crawford said. &ldquo;He is in phenomenal shape and I think he&rsquo;s going to have a great year. And the funny thing is, as bad as last year was, when I had Mark in the lineup after I came in, our record was 6-8-2. We were almost a.500 team with him. He sees the ice so well; he&rsquo;s still such an intimidating presence and provides so much leadership.&rdquo;Still, the widely held belief is there couldn&rsquo;t be a worse fit than Messier and the Canucks. That a soon-to-be 39-year-old making $6 million who clearly has something left to give would be far better suited to a contending team than the rebuilding squad that is Vancouver.Messier takes issue with that characterization. You might even say he takes it personally.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t come to Vancouver with my eyes closed,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;I knew exactly what I was getting into. I knew they were going through a cleansing here. I&rsquo;ve said many times I enjoy it in Vancouver. For some reason, no one wants to believe that I enjoy it here, that I relish the challenge of getting this team on track.&ldquo;I still enjoy winning. expect to win. But I also enjoy the feeling of a team coming together as a team. That word, team, is used a little too loosely as far as I&rsquo;m concerned. To be a team in the true sense of the word encompasses a lot of things and I think my experience has taught me what those things are and can help impart them here. Maybe if I&rsquo;d never had success early in my career all I would be thinking about was (being on a Cup contender), but I &rsquo; have had success. Now, I find it enjoyable to see young players come together and mature as players and people.&rdquo;Messier was encouraged by the overall mood in the pre-season. He started the year on the same page as the Canucks&rsquo; management and coaching staff and that&rsquo;s important. Messier has to have some simpatico with management to be at his best.&ldquo;This team, from management to the coaches, has run a training camp as good as I&rsquo;ve been to in my career,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;There has been a real sense of purpose, a real effort to instill the necessary things, on and off the ice, that we will need to win some games this season.&rdquo;Messier started the season on a line with Bill Muckalt on the left side and sniper Markus Naslund on the right. Unlike last year, the Canucks hope to have some offensive depth! Second line center Andrew Cassels should help. If diminutive Steve Kariya can prove he belongs and the Kariya-Cassels tandem can enliven underachieving Alex Mogilny, the Canucks will be appreciably better up front, especially with Todd Bertuzzi playing third line centre and rookie Artem Chubarov as the fourth-liner.But the Canucks are woefully thin on the blueline and have major question marks in net. Not many pre-season forecasts have them making the playoffs. Many will be picking them to finish last in the West again.Messier is, of course, undaunted. Aside from his burning desire to win and his embracing of his role as a mentor, there is further motivation.At the end of this season, Messier&rsquo;s five-year, $30-million contract has two years left, but they are at the club&rsquo;s option. Simply, if the moneylosing Canucks wish to free up $6 million annually, all they have to do is not pick up the option.That would make Messier an unrestricted free agent. That would also leave a huge hole in the Canucks&rsquo; lineup. But then that decision won&rsquo;t be j made until season&rsquo;s end and will no doubt hinge on how well Messier and the Canucks play.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a decision management will have to make at the end of the season,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s out of my control. I can only play my best, but I&rsquo;ve said it all along-I&rsquo;m happy here.&rdquo;Crawford said he has no doubts the contract issue will become a media focal point from time to time throughout the season, but no one-not Messier or the Canucks-is focused on anything but showing improvement.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011640/7616249-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1621" height="1679"><figcaption class="caption-body">Expect Mark Messier&rsquo;s contractual situation to become a focal point later this season.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Everything else will take care of itself,&rdquo; Crawford said.In his short time coaching Messier, Crawford figures he has hit upon Messier&rsquo;s essential quality.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s loyalty,&rdquo; Crawford said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a throwback that way. The NHL today is big business and there&rsquo;s not a lot of loyalty any more, from ownership or the players. Loyalty is at the very core of Mark&rsquo;s being. He&rsquo;s loyal to his family, loyal to his teammates, loyal to his organization. And he expects loyalty in return. The world around him has changed, but he isn&rsquo;t changing.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s funny. At this point in his career, Messier, regarded as hockey&rsquo;s consummate leader, really doesn&rsquo;t have anything to prove. And yet he feels as though everything is on the line every night.Statistics mean nothing to him, this from a man who is the NHL&rsquo;s active career goal leader (610) and who will eclipse Mario Lemieux (613) as the sixth-leading goal-scorer of all time. He&rsquo;s fourth on the all-time assists list (1,050), behind only Gretzky, Paul Coffey and Bourque. He&rsquo;s also fourth in points all-time (behind only Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Marcel Dionne) and No. 1 among all active players.&ldquo;Stats have never meant much to me,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;Those are things that happen when you concentrate on what&rsquo;s important-and that&rsquo;s winning, or trying to win. That&rsquo;s my focus&hellip;&ldquo;The years have gone by so fast. A lot of interesting things have happened. I&rsquo;ve met a lot of great people, played with a lot of great players. But I can&rsquo;t dwell on that. Time doesn&rsquo;t stand still.&rdquo;Neither does Mark Messier. &#9632;

f0010-01

A MES POSSESSED

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>If the Detroit Red Wings are to bounce back from their first non-Stanley Cup season in three years-and we&rsquo;re saying they will-the usual suspects will have to deliver.That means sizable contributions from future Hall-of-Famers Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, Larry Murphy, Chris Chelios and (perhaps) Nicklas Lidstrom. Because let&rsquo;s face it, the Dallas Stars aren&rsquo;t going to give up the Cup without a Texas-sized fight and the New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche and Philadelphia Flyers also have plans for a 2000 Stanley Cup parade.And with the dough the Red Wings are doling out-their payroll is about $46 million-players realize what is expected of them.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d say we&rsquo;re one of the five or six teams that could be identified as favorites heading into the season,&rdquo; said Murphy, who begins his 20th season in search of his fifth Cup. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s fine with us. It&rsquo;s a lot better than being a team that already knows it&rsquo;s in for a long year.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s cool. But if the Red Wings, who were unceremoniously dethroned as two-time champs last spring, losing four straight to the Avalanche after winning their first six playoff games, are to triumph, a few things must occur. They include:&#9633; Chris Chelios and Steve Duchesne must be the Chris Chelios and Steve Duchesne of two years ago.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011783/7616294-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="409" height="547"></div>They&rsquo;ll be the No. 2 defensive pairing behind Lidstrom and Murphy and ahead of Aaron Ward and Mathieu Dandenault. Chelios, 37, struggled Iasi season, but played better after being traded to Detroit from the Chicago Blackhawks. He and his family are settled in Motown and teammates have finally stopped looking over their shoulder in practice to see if he&rsquo;s taking a run at them.After back-to-back seasons of 19 and 14 goals with the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues, respectively, Duchesne signed a big-ticket deal with the Los Angeles Kings before the 1998-99 season and proceeded to fall flat on his face. Duchesne, 34, signed by Detroit as a free agent, should have the freedom to roam with the defense-minded Chelios watching the store.&#9633; Big contributions from Brendan Shanahan and Sergei Fedorov.Shanny-bashers have been working overtime despite the fact he had the ninth-highest goal and 14th-highest points totals among right wingers last season. He is an unrestricted free agen after this year, so he&rsquo;ll be plenty motivated.Fedorov&hellip;well, that&rsquo;s another story. The Russian speedster averaged 1.22 points per game during his first six years in the league, won the Hart Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s most valuable player in 1993-94 and twice was named the league&rsquo;s best defensive forward. But in the last three years, Fedorov has slipped to.84 points per game and has often looked uninterested. He was completely manhandled by Colorado&rsquo;s Peter Forsberg in last year&rsquo;s playoffs. Fedorov has already pocketed the majority of his $38-million contract (he&rsquo;ll play for just $2 million in each of the next four seasons) and if he has any pride at all, he&rsquo;ll do his best to prove wrong those who insist he folded his tent after receiving the big deal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021411/7616287-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="267" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Veteran Larry Murphy believes the Detroit Red Wings still have what takes to win the Stanley Cup after last year&rsquo;s loss in the second round. (Brain Babineau/SA)</figcaption></div>He led the NHL in pre-season scoring with three goals and 11 points in seven games.&ldquo;Fedorov has really bounced back,&rdquo; said coach Scotty Bowman. &ldquo;He seems really excited about playing&hellip;really focused.&rdquo;&#9633; Youngsters must step forward.Especially forwards Darren McCarty (unsigned), Martin Lapointe and Tomas Holmstrom. The Red Wings can&rsquo;t rely on Steve Yzerman, 34, and Igor Larionov, 38, to carry the load forever.McCarty, who is captain material, slipped slightly to 14 goals last season after scoring 19 and 15 during the Stanley Cup years. He also had just one goal and two points in 10 playoff games. The drop in production, but his insistence he be paid like a front-liner, might explain why he remains miles apart in negotiations for a new contract as the season opened.When last year&rsquo;s playoffs ended, Lapointe tipped the scales at 234 pounds. At 5-foot-l 1, that is not a good thing. So he hired a personal trainer and slimmed down to 208 by the opening of camp. Lapointe has six full pro seasons under his belt and it&rsquo;s time he take the next step after averaging 16 goals the past three years.Holmstrom showed moxy in the post-season two years ago when he amassed seven goals and 19 points in 22 games, mostly through his hard work in front of the net. Last year he had 13 goals, but eight others were called back because of crease violations.Detroit played 79 playoff games in the four years prior to last season-the equivalent of an entire regular season. But Bowman said that isn&rsquo;t why they lost in the playoffs. Instead, he points to injuries to key players like goalie Chris Osgood (knee) and Larionov (broken finger).&ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to this year,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;The injuries hurt us last year, but I think we have a little more depth this year.&rdquo;Enough for a 10th Cup? We think so. &#9632;

f0012-01

Wings will win if, if, if…

<div class="byline">By Mike Gibb Staff Writer</div>Jean-Pierre Dumont may very well back into the Calder Trophy this season.An alleged back ailment kept the 21-year-old left winger out of two of the Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; final three games last season, enabling him to retain his rookie status and remain eligible for the Calder as the NHL&rsquo;s top rookie.&ldquo;To my knowledge, he has a back strain,&rdquo; was coach Lome Molleken&rsquo;s not-so-convincing response when asked about Dumont&rsquo;s absence froth the lineup last April.To be Calder-eligible, players must be under 26 as of Sept. 15 and can not have played in six or more games in each of the preceding two seasons or more than 25 games the previous season.After being held pointless in his first seven games with the Hawks last year, Dumont, the third overall pick in the 1996 entry draft, flourished as a late-season call-up with nine goals and 15 points in the final 18 games.That strong finish, coupled with an encore performance in the pre-season (four goals and a team-leading eight points in six games), makes Dumont a leading contender in the race for the Calder Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s top rookie. It&rsquo;s an award a Hawk hasn&rsquo;t won since goaltender Ed Belfour in 1991. (See pg. 3 for more on other first-year players.)&ldquo;He has earned this shot,&rdquo; said Hawks&rsquo; assistant coach Denis Savard.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to play a lot. He&rsquo;ll kill penalties, play on the power play, be on the ice in the last two minutes. He&rsquo;s going to be put in a lot of crucial situations for us.&rdquo;Dumont, a Montreal native, was the first forward selected in the 1996 draft by the New York Islanders, behind defensemen Chris Phillips (Ottawa) and Andrei Zyuzin (San Jose, traded to Tampa Bay in off-season). He spent the next two seasons with his junior team, Vai d&rsquo;Or of the Quebec League, and picked up 108 and 99 points before being traded to Chicago for center Dmitri Nabokov May 30, 1998. The deal came a day before the Islanders would have lost his rights as an unsigned draft pick.He started last season with the American League&rsquo;s Portland Pirates and was goalless in his first 12 games. For the next month, he shuttled between Portland and Chicago. Dumont played seven games with the Blackhawks, but his four penalty minutes were his only appearance on the scoresheet.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011775/7616325-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="866" height="1607"><figcaption class="caption-body">J-P Dumont&rsquo;s scoring skills are welcome in goal-starved Chicago</figcaption></div>After being sent down to Portland again, Dumont began lighting it up, scoring 32 goals in 38 games before being called up to the Hawks for good March 6.His first game back, he scored twice in a 4-0 win over the San Jose Sharks as Chicago went on to salvage some pride in a non-playoff year by finishing the season on an 8-1-2 tear.Dumont was then sent to the International League, where he skated with the Chicago Wolves during their run to the Western Conference final. He scored four goals in 10 games.His three-league, 45-goal performance of last season has given Dumont more confidence heading into his first full NHL campaign.&ldquo;I feel really good now,&rdquo; said Dumont after a one-goal, second-star pre-season effort against the Toronto Maple Leafs Sept. 28. &ldquo;I know I have an offensive role and I just want to keep up what I&rsquo;ve been doing.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s no surprise the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder has blossomed under Molleken. Emphasizing speed up front | and using an offensive system, i Molleken has turned the Hawks&rsquo; forwards loose. And they need goal-scorers: Last year, Chicago was 19th in the NHL in scoring (202 goals).&ldquo;He has done an outstanding job for us,&rdquo; Molleken said. &ldquo;He has the ability to get to the open ice where teammates can get him the puck. He&rsquo;s demon-stated he can beat guys 1-on-1, too. He has all the tools.&rdquo; Dumont&rsquo;s emergence also has been aided by his linemates. Throughout the pre-season, he was paired with right winger Eric Daze and center Josef Marha on a line that Hawks&rsquo; fans could be cheering well into the next millennium.&ldquo;We play well together,&rdquo; Dumont said. &ldquo;We just seem to know where each other is on the ice.&rdquo;Dumont&rsquo;s natural ability to put the puck in the net is what I won him the chance to be an NHLer, but his desire to improve may be what could propel him to stardom.&ldquo;When we brought him in, we figured he didn&rsquo;t have any work ethic because the Islanders gave up on him.&rdquo; Savard said. &ldquo;That isn&rsquo;t the case. He works extremely hard.&rdquo;Dumont, who spent all of the 1998 off-season in Chicago getting himself into shape, brings an intensity to practices that has been inspirational for the team, Savard said.&ldquo;When he&rsquo;s at practice, he works hard at scoring and it&rsquo;s paying off for him during the games,&rdquo; Savard said.New Hawks&rsquo; backup goalie Steve Passmore feels Chicago has a great weapon in the young winger.&ldquo;He has great vision when he&rsquo;s coming down on the goalie,&rdquo; Passmore said. &ldquo;He has quick hands and a good release. You give him a bit of an opening and even if you know he&rsquo;s going there, he has a good enough shot that he&rsquo;s going to beat you.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to make some goaltenders look foolish, no question about it.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0014-01

Rookie Dumont knows his goals

<div class="byline">By Bob Kravitz</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021331/7616363-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="398" height="575"></div>One year ago at this time-and how do we say this nicely?-Colorado Avalanche forward Chris Drury was, well, a bit on the stocky side. Husky. Big boned. Ringed with the same baby fat he had when he was a Little Leaguer leading Trumbull, Conn., to its epic World Series victory over Taiwan.&ldquo;I ate too much,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I ate mostly the right stuff. I just ate too much of it.&rdquo;Now, if there&rsquo;s anything fitnessfreak head coach Bob Hartley hates more than defending an odd-man rush, it&rsquo;s a high-profile college kid showing up to his first pro camp looking a little, um, porky.So Hartley put Drury, who weighed about 198 pounds, through his personal rookie hazing program. He read him the riot act a number of times. He had him doing the equivalent of the Tour de France on the stationary bike after every practice. And in a move Hartley swears he didn&rsquo;t orchestrate-wink, wink-Drury was forced to defend his manhood when tough guy Pascal Trepanier engaged him in a mid-scrimmage fistfight.Drury held his own in that fight, got his weight down and went on to record 20 goals and 44 points in 79 games en route to the Calder Trophy.This year, one look at him tells you everything is not only different, but better. The body is the first indication. The softness has given way to a hard edge. There is definition now. He is 10 pounds lighter than he was at last year&rsquo;s camp, infinitely quicker and seeing the ice like never before.There have been no extracurricular bike sessions this time.And no fights.&ldquo;How different is it this year?&rdquo; Drury wondered. &ldquo;How about totally different. It couldn&rsquo;t be any more different, or any better. I&rsquo;m 360 degrees from where I was this time last year.&rdquo; Drury didn&rsquo;t even have to wait to collect his Calder before knowing he had to come back even better this year. He had to get the weight back down and keep it down. He modified his eating and increased his off-season workout load. He understood the reason the sophomore jinx exists is because too many successful rookies get fat and complacent. And he realized, now that he&rsquo;s got the reputation as last year&rsquo;s top rookie, he&rsquo;s going to be a marked man.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03909/7616356-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="534" height="950"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Drury</figcaption></div>&ldquo;There was no way I could come back a pound over 188, 189,&rdquo; Drury said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to give them another chance to say, &rsquo;Hey, you should have done more in the off-season, you should be in better shape.&rsquo; I didn&rsquo;t want to go through what I went through last year. In camp last year, it seemed like every third day, I was just dead tired. But now I feel great, a lot more jump, a lot more energy.&rdquo;So how do you improve on a rookie-of-the-year season? By leaps and bounds.Despite emerging as a pleasant surprise, Drury often found himself in Hartley&rsquo;s dog house last season. Early in the Avs&rsquo; playoff run, Drury was reduced to the fourth line. It wasn&rsquo;t until the Western Conference final against the Dallas Stars that he was a productive player getting meaningful minutes.:His goals now I have no statistical I measure. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a bad I way to live, thinking I you have to get 30 I goals and going to bed thinking. &rsquo;I&rsquo;m behind the pace,&rsquo;&rdquo; Drury said.In his mind, the next step in his personal progression will be to earn a spot somewhere on Colorado&rsquo;s top two lines-either as a center or winger, he has been playing both-to get more time on special teams and to be one of the Avs&rsquo; go-to guys in the last five minutes of tight games.No question, if the Avalanche is going to make a run at the Cup, Drury will have to be as good, if not better, this time around. The Avs begin the season without Peter Forsberg, who is expected to miss the first two months of the season after shoulder surgery.In many ways, Drury represents the direction the Avalanche has taken, having let three veterans leave via free agency-Theo Fleury, Valeri Kamensky and Sylvain Lefebvre-while opening up the competition for the team&rsquo;s rich pool of young talent.A year ago, the question was: Who is Chris Drury and what&rsquo;s the deal with the multiple chins?This year&rsquo;s question: Who is this season&rsquo;s Chris Drury? &#9632;

f0014-02

Drury eating less, but hungry to improve

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011563/7616394-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

TV action at your fingertips

<div class="byline">By Mike Gibb Staff Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011442/7616425-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0018-01

Ferrall off the bench, in the booth

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011226/7616456-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0020-01

The names of the voices coming through the TV

<div class="byline">By Cammy Clark</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01999/7616487-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="170" height="170"></div>Mighty Ducks of Anaheim center Steve Rucchin isn&rsquo;t brooding that he will be playing on the second line this season. He looks at it as a challenge to produce the best year of his NHL career.While there are obvious advantages of playing with stars Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya, the duo&rsquo;s incredible skills also mean their center is also going to have to take a back seat offensively-whether it&rsquo;s being the first guy back on defense or thinking pass first and shoot second.&ldquo;Of course it&rsquo;s great to play with Paul and Teemu,&rdquo; said Rucchin, who will join the pair on power plays and some regular shifts. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m really looking forward to playing with Marty (McInnis) and Ted (Donato). We&rsquo;re just three hard-working guys. I think we&rsquo;re going to complement each other well.&rdquo;Rucchin thinks playing with the former U.S. Olympic team linemates will allow him to be more offensive.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think I will take it upon myself to definitely shoot the puck more and be more aggressive going to the net.&rdquo;While Rucchin still is the best center for the Ducks&rsquo; top duo, coach Craig Hartsburg thinks the Ducks will be a better-balanced team if Rucchin anchors the second line and up-and-coming Matt Cullen plays on the top line.Rucchin had 23 goals and 62 points in 69 games last season. His most productive offensive season was in 199697, when he had 19 goals and 67 points in 79 games.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of pressure when you play with Paul and Teemu to produce,&rdquo; Rucchin said. &ldquo;And there&rsquo;s going to be some pressure now. But definitely it&rsquo;s something I relish and look forward to.&rdquo;This is a chance for Rucchin to make a name for himself and not as just a center riding on the coattails of the dynamic duo. Although Rucchin said that perception &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t really bother me.&rdquo;&ldquo;The most important thing is to have respect of my coaches and teammates and I do,&rdquo; Rucchin said. &ldquo;Whatever is said around the league doesn&rsquo;t matter.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Anaheim&rsquo; s roster to start this season featured only five players who did not play regularly with the Ducks last season: left wingers Ted Donato and Mike Leclerc, defensemen Oleg Tverdovsky and Niclas Havelid and right winger Ladislav Kohn&hellip;Left winger Paul Kariya did not play a pre-season game due to his nagging injury to his left quadriceps. But after a week off the ice and another three days of skating on his own, he practised with the team two days before their regular season opener at Dallas. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not worried about being rusty, I&rsquo;m worried about being healthy,&rdquo; Kariya said. &#9632;

f0023-01

Second line center’s snot new challenoe for Rucchin

<div class="byline">By Jeff Schultz</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02673/7616518-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="174" height="171"></div>The scar on Vladimir Vujtek&rsquo;s right cheek stretches close to six inches, starting just above the lip and running horizontally-as straight as a skate blade-to below the ear.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not so bad,&rdquo; Vujtek said. &ldquo;Just a big cut.&rdquo;Just a big cut that caused so much blood loss that from high above, team officials worried Vujtek had a severed his jugular vein. Just a big cut that required &ldquo;about 200&rdquo; stitches to close.&ldquo;The doctor told me he stopped counting at 150,&rdquo; Vujtek said.This is the latest career nightmare for Vujtek. Two years ago, while playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning, the left winger was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Virus, forcing him to shelve hockey for eight months. Last year, after a comeback with a team in his native Czech Republic, the 27-year-old suffered a severe concussion. He was unconscious for an hour, hospitalized for a week and missed the end of the regular season and the World Championship. He was off skates for two months.Now this. A big cut-a cut so big that as Vujtek&rsquo;s wife, Petra, watched from the stands, she said, &ldquo;I saw the blood. I almost fainted. I couldn&rsquo;t believe it. I hope I never see that again.&rdquo;Vujtek didn&rsquo;t watch the incident on tape. Fact is, he doesn&rsquo;t remember the crucial events of that exhibition game against the New York Rangers. He remembers the score being tied 2-2 with about three minutes left in regulation. He remembers being on the bench and coach Curt Fraser telling his forward line they had the next shift. He remembers jumping onto the ice.&ldquo;The next think I remember is when (trainer) Scotty (Green) was helping me off the ice,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I reached over and I saw the blood coming off my face. It was scary, but I didn&rsquo;t know how bad it was.&ldquo;I was probably in shock.&rdquo;Vujtek doesn&rsquo;t remember colliding with the Rangers&rsquo; Valeri Kamensky and falling to the ice. He doesn&rsquo;t remember his face being sliced by Kamensky&rsquo;s skate or his head bouncing off the ice, causing a concussion. The good news is there was no bone fracture or nerve damage.Vujtek has been having his meals liquefied in a blender.&ldquo;When I look on TV and I see people eat. I go crazy,&rdquo; Vujtek said. &ldquo;I told my wife, &rsquo;Don&rsquo;t eat anything in front of me.&rsquo; &ldquo;NOTEBOOK: Atlanta lost fourth line center Terry Yake in the waiver draft to St. Louis, the team that exposed him in the expansion draft. Yake, who had just purchased a home in an Atlanta suburb, was stunned. &ldquo;I realize it&rsquo;s a business-I can&rsquo;t blame anybody,&rdquo; Yake said. &ldquo;I would&rsquo;ve liked to stay, but if I had to go anywhere it&rsquo;s the best situation for me because I know what I&rsquo;m getting into. What upsets me is the other stuff. We spent two months looking for a house, getting packed up, moving in. My wife has been unpacking boxes. Now I have to be in St. Louis and she has to do it all over again."&hellip;Team executive vice-president Dave Maggard, who assisted in the hiring on GM Don Waddell and construction of Philips Arena and the team&rsquo;s practice facility, resigned and moved back to California. &#9632;

f0023-02

Vujtek forced to overcome another career nightmare

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03477/7616549-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="173" height="171"></div>Byron Dafoe arrived at FleetCenter Sept. 29 hoping he and agent Ron Salcer had crafted a contract proposal that would get the 1999 Vezina Trophy finalist signed in time for the Boston Bruins&rsquo; regular season opener.The next time Dafoe pulls into FleetCenter. he may be on the visiting team&rsquo;s bus.Saying his salary concessions were ignored and citing a fiscal policy he considered unacceptable, Dafoe asked for a trade. The Bruins, not surprisingly, stuck to their offer and said they&rsquo;d only consider trading their No. 1 goalie if it would help the team.&ldquo;I can only go so far,&rdquo; said Dafoe, adding he I &ldquo;came down considerably&rdquo; from his request for a three-year deal at $4 million per season. &ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t offer any type of movement bonus wise, base (salary)-wise. It was a joke, a waste of time.&rdquo;Assistant GM Mike O&lsquo;Connell countered Boston has, in fact, drawn up an offer that included post-season bonus clauses that could make Dafoe a $4 million man-presumably if he and the Bruins&rsquo; won the franchise&rsquo;s first Stanley Cup since 1972.&ldquo;We feel we&rsquo;ve made an offer that&rsquo;s more than fair,&rdquo; said O&lsquo;Connell of an offer with a base salary of $3 million annually. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re tying the bonuses to playoff performance because he hasn&rsquo;t done it there yet. If he wants to get paid like some of the best goalies, let him do it in the playoffs.&rdquo;Dafoe, 62-48-20 with 16 regular season shutouts in two seasons since being obtained from the Los Angeles Kings, was infuriated by comments he attributed to GM-president Harry Sinden.&ldquo;Harry told me, &rsquo;You should be asking for even more,&rsquo;&ldquo;Dafoe said. &ldquo;He said, &rsquo;You&rsquo;ll probably get that much, but you&rsquo;ll have to get it somewhere else. The Boston Bruins will not pay you that.&rsquo; They said it wasn&rsquo;t in their payroll, that if they paid me what I was asking, it would start them toward going bankrupt.&ldquo;I want out of here if this is the way they&rsquo;re doing their business. The fans are unbelievable, my coach is unbelievable, my teammates are unbelievable, but I can only sacrifice myself so much.&rdquo;Asked if he was confident Rob Tallas and rookie John Grahame could backstop a team some consider on the verge of a Cup challenge, O&lsquo;Connell said: &ldquo;I have no idea, but I don&rsquo;t know for sure if we&rsquo;d do it with Byron here, either. He had a perfect chance last year when (Buffalo&rsquo;s Dominik) Hasek wasn&rsquo;t at peak form (in the Eastern Conference semifinal) and we still lost that series.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Nick Boynton, who signed a three-year contract Sept. 30, recovered sufficiently from a bruised shoulder to play Boston&rsquo;s last two exhibitions, but aggravated it Sept. 27 at Montreal and is expected to miss the first four weeks of the season. The Bruins acquired Boynton&rsquo;s rights in the 1999 entry draft when he re-entered it after failing to come to terms with Washington, who selected him in 1997&hellip;Mikko Eloranta, a 27-year-old Finn taken in the 247th overall in the 1999 entry draft, will center the checking line in place of Tim Taylor, who joined the Rangers via free agency&hellip;For the second straight year, junior-eligible defenseman Jonathan Girard survived the final cut. Boston kept him for most of last season&rsquo;s first month, using him in three games, before returning him to Acadie-Bathurst (Quebec League) last season. &#9632;

f0023-03

Dafoe wants out of Beantowr if contract can’t net settled

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011072/7616580-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="172" height="174"></div>The Buffalo Sabres once-cluttered &ldquo;to do&rdquo; list is becoming more manageable, but the 1999 Stanley Cup finalists opened the new season with much work ahead.On and off the ice.The Sabres went to their Oct. 2 opener in Detroit with five unsigned free agents-forwards Miroslav Satan, Curtis Brown and Joe Juneau and defensemen Jay McKee and Rhett Warrener. All are restricted except for Juneau.They did sign right winger Vaclav Varada, enabling them to ice their No. 1 line of a season ago-Michael Peca between Dixon Ward and Varada. Reigning Vezina Trophy-winner Dominik Hasek also returned to action. Hasek, who underwent off-season hernia surgery, eased into training camp due to the surgery and groin problems stretching back to last year. However, he played regularly in the final pre-season tests.&ldquo;It would be nice to have a few more guys in, but we&rsquo;ll go with what we have and keep an eye on things,&rdquo; said Sabres&rsquo; coach Lindy Ruff. &ldquo;We certainly got a long look at our future.&rdquo;The kids didn&rsquo;t fail to impress. Buffalo liked what it saw from right winger Maxim Afinogenov, 20, but the Russian rookie was shipped to Rochester (American League) for seasoning, while he tries to get a better grasp of North American culture. Joining him there is goalie Marty Biron, The Hockey News Minor Pro Prospect of the Year last season. Biron outplayed Dwayne Roloson in camp, but Roloson held onto the backup spot, presumably because the Sabres want Biron, Hasek&rsquo;s heir apparent, to get plenty of game action instead of sitting on an NHL bench. (See pg. 33 for more on Biron.)Hasek is expected to play 65-to-70 games for the Sabres this season, which he announced in late July would be his last NHL campaign. Biron may get into some of the others, but the rest of the time, he&rsquo;ll be stopping pucks in Rochester.&ldquo;It was a disappointment, I wanted to start the season (in Buffalo), but I understand,&rdquo; Biron said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll do what they tell me and be ready when the opportunity comes around again.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Vaclav Varada missed all but a week of training camp before signing a three-year deal worth about $2 million&hellip;Sources told The Buffalo News that right winger Miroslav Satan has separated from his agent, Rich Winter, and is handling much of the negotiating process on his own. The club refused to confirm, but did note Satan is getting professional help from somewhere. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very much in tune with the marketplace,&rdquo; said Sabres&rsquo; GM Darcy Regier&hellip;With defensemen Rhett Warrener and Jay McKee out, the Sabres have taken to playing Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, Cory Sarich and Brian Campbell. It makes for a young unit, but the Sabres have not looked out of place defensively in the pre-season. Talks are said to be slow regarding McKee, but could heat up now that Toronto has set a standard with the signing of Bryan Berard to a two-year deal worth $3.3 million. Berard and McKee are viewed as similar talents. Warrener wants much more than the $435,000 he made last season. &#9632;

f0024-01

Sabres’ puzzle slowly taking shape, but not finished in time for season

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02745/7616611-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="172" height="173"></div>For the second year in a row, an 18-year-old forward has cracked the Calgary Flames&rsquo; lineup.Oleg Saprykin, chosen 11th overall in the 1999 entry draft, agreed to a contract just minutes before the Sept. 29 deadline for signing drafted players.In the absence of the unsigned Jarome Iginla, Saprykin started the season in Calgary. That gives the Flames 10 games to evaluate his progress, at which time they can return him to his junior team in Seattle if they determine he needs more time to adjust to life in the faster lane.With Saprykin in the lineup, the Flames could have the youngest team in the NHL. Only two for-wards-Steve Dubinsky and newcomer Bill Lindsay, acquired from the Florida Panthers Sept. 30 for Flames&rsquo; captain Todd Simpson-are over 26.Of Saprykin, Flames&rsquo; GM Al Coates said: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think he surprised anybody with the kind of player he is. As it turns out, we can turn back to the day of the draft and have Saprykin and Marc Savard on a pretty good transaction.&rdquo;That deal saw New York get Calgary&rsquo;s first pick, ninth overall, which they used to select center Jamie Lundmark.Saprykin, according to Coates, will stay for the first month or so. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll evaluate his play as the weeks go on,&rdquo; Coates said.Unlike Rico Fata-who made the team as an 18-year-old last season, but recorded only one assist in 20 games and was subsequently returned to junior-Saprykin appears capable of quickly adapting to the NHL game.A stocky 6-foot-l, 200-pound frame means Saprykin has few qualms about going to the corners or the front of the net.&ldquo;It felt great to sign the contract,&rdquo; Saprykin said. &ldquo;I never slept last night. I&rsquo;m just thinking, do I sign or do I go back to junior in just one more day? I was just so happy when I came this morning and talked to everybody.&rdquo;The Flames also got rugged defenseman Robyn Regehr, 19, the primary player acquired in the Theo Fleury deal, to sign a three-year contract.NOTEBOOK: The Flames lost their captain and alleviated an abundance of defenseman when they dealt Todd Simpson to Florida for left winger Bill Lindsay. Calgary wanted to make room for Toni Lydman and Wade Belak as the seventh and eighth defenseman. Lindsay gives the Flames another Brian Sutter-type winger&hellip;Just about every pool predicted left winger Hnat Domenichelli would be the Flames&rsquo; &lsquo;sleeper&rsquo; choice this season. Instead. Calgary put him on waivers with a view to sending him to their American League affiliate in Saint John. Domenichelli has been unable to crack Calgary&rsquo;s lineup in three bids under coach Sutter&hellip;Defenseman Denis Gauthier sustained a concussion in the next-to-last exhibition game when Edmonton left winger Alex Selivanov checked him, head first, into the boards from behind. His defense partner-Derek Morris-also left the game after he bruised his hand punching Selivanov in the head. Another blueliner, Cale Hulse, is out indefinitely with a broken left hand. &#9632;

f0024-02

Flames’ forwards get even younger as 18-year-old Saprykin signs deal

<div class="byline">By Cecil Harris</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01962/7616642-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="171" height="171"></div>Whatever you do, stressed Keith Primeau, don&rsquo;t call his absence from the Carolina Hurricanes a holdout.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve fulfilled the obligation of my contract,&rdquo; said the restricted free agent. &ldquo;More than anything. I&rsquo;m unemployed.&rdquo;The Hurricanes&rsquo; center has turned down three contract offers-of three, four and five years-worth $4 million annually. He made $2 million last season.GM Jim Rutherford has said he&rsquo;s willing to let Primeau sit out the entire season. And Primeau responded by saying he&rsquo;s prepared to do just that.Only 27 and coming off his second 30-goal season, Primeau believes his true worth is considerably more than $4 million. Hence, he was a camp noshow for the second time in four years. The Detroit Red Wings traded him to the Hartford Whalers in 1996 when he missed their camp. But his refusal to report to Carolina is different, he said.&ldquo;The situation in Detroit was one where I wanted out of the environment I was in,&rdquo; he said.Primeau refused Carolina&rsquo;s five-year, $20-million deal because it would mean delaying free agency by one year. Leaving that much guaranteed money on the table isn&rsquo;t easy and many fans in North Carolina can&rsquo;t comprehend it.&ldquo;I just want people to understand I&rsquo;m making a business decision,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;As important as the fans and the Carolina Hurricanes&rsquo; organization is to me, my family is more important.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center Ron Francis was named captain, replacing unsigned center Keith Primeau. Left winger Gary Roberts and defenseman Glen Wesley will serve as the alternate captains. This marks the second tour of duty for Francis as captain. From 1984-85 through 1990-91, Francis was captain of the Hartford Whalers, Carolina&rsquo; s predecessors&hellip; Defenseman Paul Coffey&rsquo;s future in the organization was unclear after the strong camp performances of young blueliners David Tanabe and Steve Halko&hellip;No. 1 goalie Arturs Irbe played every minute of the last three preseason games&hellip;The &lsquo;Canes, who had a league-worst 11 per-cent success rate on the power play in 1998-99, went 0-for-32 with the man advantage in exhibition play. &#9632;

f0025-01

Primeau prepared to sit for year to get his deal

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03414/7616673-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="338" height="472"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jamie Allison</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02633/7616680-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="172" height="169"></div>Nobody was happier to see the Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; nightmarish 1998-99 season end than defenseman Jamie Allison.The Hawks&rsquo; team woes were only part of the frustration for Allison, who was so distraught by his on-ice struggles that he nearly called it a career at age 23.&ldquo;I just about had my bags packed,&rdquo; said Allison, whose confidence was so shattered he thought about retiring to concentrate on his fledgling music career. Allison is a singer-guitarist in a country and western band.&ldquo;I was really thinking about it,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;I was at a point where I thought there wasn&rsquo;t a reason to play anymore. But I got a lot of family support and actually had a good talk with (GM) Bob Murray that was a big help. He talked me through it.&rdquo;In his 10th game with the Hawks after being acquired in an October trade from Calgary, he broke his left wrist. That kept him out 23 games. When he did return, he couldn&rsquo;t find any consistency in his play and found himself in and out of the lineup as well as former coach Dirk Graham&rsquo;s doghouse.Allison also failed to demonstrate the kind of physical play the Hawks expected.&ldquo;In order to be at the highest level, he needs to be physical,&rdquo; said assistant coach Trent Yawney. &ldquo;He has some great qualities that teams look for, but sometimes he just loses his focus.&rdquo; Allison felt his game improved late last season after Lome Molleken replaced Graham. He came to camp in better shape and has been battling to win a top-six spot on the Hawks&rsquo; defense.&ldquo;My confidence was at an all-time low last year, but I know I can play,&rdquo; Allison said. &ldquo;This year has got to be better.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: In the aftermath of Washington GM George McPhee suckerpunching Chicago coach Lome Molleken following a Sept 25 pre-season game, Hawks&rsquo; owner Bill Wirtz said he would fire his GM if he did something like that. &ldquo;It was shameful and it&rsquo;s lawlessness,&rdquo; Wirtz said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a code of conduct and you just don&rsquo;t do things like this."&hellip;Wirtz also said he would fire his coach if Molleken made a comment like Caps&rsquo; coach Ron Wilson, who said what McPhee did was &ldquo;an amazing act of courage."&hellip;Defenseman Anders Eriksson&rsquo;s one-year deal, signed Sept. 22, was a compromise for both sides. The 24-year-old defenseman will make $800,000 with incentives that could boost his take to $1.1 million. &#9632;

f0025-03

Allison’s recording career put on hold for time being

<div class="byline">By Adrian Dater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04257/7616711-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="170" height="167"></div>If he had to, Patrick Roy would play on one leg to break Terry Sawchuk&rsquo;s all-time NHL record of 447 career wins. So, a little hip pain wasn&rsquo;t going to stop him as he entered his 14th full season just 35 victories shy of equalling the mark.Still, the three-time Stanley Cup champion opted to have minor surgery early into Colorado Avalanche&rsquo;s training camp to eliminate the pain in his hip that bothered him off and on last season.The surgery a success, Roy played the final two games of the pre-season and looked ready to take a run at Sawchuk&rsquo;s mark. The future Hall-of-Famer capped Colorado&rsquo;s exhibition season with a 42-save performance in a 3-2 victory over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.&ldquo;I feel good, ready to go for the season,&rdquo; said Roy, who turns 34 Oct. 5. &ldquo;The hip feels good. No pain. I just want to have a healthy season and focus on team success.&rdquo;Roy, who three times in his career has posted 35-or-more win seasons, won 32 games last season, so equalling the Sawchuk standard isn&rsquo;t out of the question. With 412 career wins, he&rsquo;s 35 back. But Roy said he won&rsquo;t let the record serve as a distraction for him or the team.&ldquo;If I get it this year, fine. If not, I&rsquo;ll get it next year. No big deal,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;I want that to be something fun, something that I&rsquo;ll enjoy. I don&rsquo;t want it to be a big pressure thing.&rdquo;Roy likes playing anywhere from 60 to 70 games a year and he wants this season to be no different. Barring injuries, he should get his way. Highly touted rookie Marc Denis is Roy&rsquo;s backup, stepping into a role previously held by Craig Billington. Billington was traded to the Washington Capitals in the off-season.&ldquo;Patrick loves the game and you know you don&rsquo;t have to worry about him not being motivated or enjoying himself out there,&rdquo; said Avalanche coach Bob Hartley. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to play a lot and he&rsquo;ll be fine.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Avs sent down rookie enforcer Scott Parker, a right winger, to Hershey of the American League, paving the way for one-time Calgary first round pick, left winger Chris Dingman, to make the squad. Dingman will complement the team&rsquo;s other frequent fighter, right winger Jeff Odgers&hellip;GM Pierre Lacroix said his team isn&rsquo;t interested in any of the unrestricted free agents on the market. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to give our younger players a chance,&rdquo; Lacroix said&hellip;The final game at the Avs&rsquo; old home, McNichols Sports Arena, took place Sept. 27. There were few tears of sentiment shed by the players. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re looking forward to getting to the Pepsi Center,&rdquo; said center Joe Sakic. &#9632;

f0025-04

Roy has Sawchuk in his sights

<div class="byline">By Chuck Carlton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02733/7616773-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="172" height="170"></div>Jiri Fischer says he&rsquo;s ready for the big time.&ldquo;Hull is a great city, but great for juniors,&rdquo; Fischer said. &ldquo;Detroit is great for NHLers. It&rsquo;s a big difference.&rdquo;And it&rsquo;s a big difference jumping to the NHL from the Quebec League, which Fischer will discover after making the leap from the Hull Olympiques at 19. Fischer inked a three-year deal for $2,925 million Sept. 29, just prior to the signing deadline for junior players. His deal includes the rookie salary-cap maximum of $975,(XX), a $1.1-million signing bonus and various personal bonuses.&ldquo;He certainly has a lot of upside potential,&rdquo; said GM Ken Holland. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s almost the complete package. He&rsquo;s big and strong and thinks the game well. He has a good shot and makes passes. He&rsquo;s physical. I think as he gets stronger and gets to know the league, he can be even more physical.&ldquo;To be around our team and to see Nick Lidstrom and Chris Chelios and the rest of our defense practice on a day-to-day basis can only help his development.&rdquo;Just how much the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Fischer will play is unclear. He starts the regular season no better than seventh on the Detroit depth chart after recording 22 goals, 78 points and 141 penalty minutes in 65 games at Hull last season.&ldquo;We just felt he had accomplished everything he needed to accomplish last year in the Quebec League and it was time for him to take the next step,&rdquo; Holland said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll evaluate this as we go along. Certainly, he&rsquo;s going to be here for a while. If we get a couple months into the season and he&rsquo;s not playing, we&rsquo;ll sit down with Jiri and his agent (Jiri Crha). But I really think you need seven defensemen in this league.&rdquo;The door was opened for Fischer to make the Red Wings partly because Uwe Krupp is still out with a bad back, but mostly when they decided not to re-sign veterans Jamie Macoun, Todd Gill and Ulf Samuelsson.Fischer, the team&rsquo;s first round draft pick in 1998, has already started adjusting.While he says he&rsquo;s going to be conservative with his financial windfall, one purchase is at the top of list.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had a car,&rdquo; Fischer said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m thinking about getting a truck. We&rsquo;ll see.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center Sergei Fedorov unveiled an aggressive look that rubbed opponents the wrong way. Dallas center Mike Modano even taunted Fedorov by dropping the name of tennis-playing pal Anna Kournikova after Fedorov broke three sticks on Stars in a pre-season game. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know (if) Kournikova told him to get tougher, I guess,&rdquo; Modano said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what got into him. It&rsquo;s a long season. If he likes to do that stuff, I don&rsquo;t know if he can back it up."&hellip;The Red Wings and right winger Darren McCarty remained apart on a new deal. &ldquo;So far, it&rsquo;s disappointing,&rdquo; McCarty said. &ldquo;These things, to put it bluntly, they suck to do. It&rsquo;s not fun doing it.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0026-02

Fischer signs deadline deal to stay with Red Winns for start of season

<div class="byline">By Robert Tychkowski</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03584/7616804-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="170" height="170"></div>The Edmonton Oilers used a &lsquo;C&rsquo; of captains during the pre-season.But everybody knew when it came time to name a permanent captain, the job would go to Doug Weight. And three days before the Oilers&rsquo; regular season home opener, he got it-by unanimous decision.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s always an obvious choice, a guy just emerges as the captain,&rdquo; said GM Glen Sather, in announcing that Weight had succeeded Kelly Buchberger, who&rsquo;s now leading the pack in expansion Atlanta. &ldquo;He emerges as a leader and it&rsquo;s an obvious choice.&rdquo;Weight has been Edmonton&rsquo;s best player for six years and their club spokesman for just as long. When times are tough and the team needs a jump start, he&rsquo;s the one they turn to. The sewing of the *C&rsquo; Sept. 28 just made official what the guys in the dressing have known all along.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy that he got it and I know he&rsquo;s excited,&rdquo; said 22-year-old defenseman Sean Brown. &ldquo;Doug has always been a team guy and a guy you can go to. He has always had that leadership quality. Even when he didn&rsquo;t have (the &lsquo;C&rsquo;) he was a leader on this team.&rdquo;Weight becomes the 10th captain in franchise history, joining Ron Chipperfield, Blair MacDonald, Lee Fogolin, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Kevin Lowe, Craig MacTavish, Shayne Corson and Buchberger.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t here in the &rsquo;80s, but I feel I&rsquo;m part of the tradition and the storied past of the Oilers,&rdquo; Weight said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m overwhelmed. I&rsquo;m very proud and very excited. I&rsquo;ve been here a long time and I hope what everybody said is true, that they really feel comfortable picking me.&rdquo;Netminder Bill Ranford, who played with Messier, Lowe, MacTavish, and Buchberger in Edmonton, then Ray Bourque in Boston and Steve Yzerman in Detroit, says Weight is a natural.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a fierce competitor,&rdquo; Ranford said. &ldquo;He puts the points up on the boards and leads from that standpoint. But he&rsquo;s also very well respected. He has been around long enough that guys respect his abilities as well as what he has to say.&rdquo;Weight, who&rsquo;s entering his ninth season in Edmonton, led the club in scoring five consecutive seasons until tearing his knee ligaments last year. He has 111 goals and 415 points in 429 games.NOTEBOOK: The Oilers got defenseman Roman Hamrlik (one year, $2.3 million U.S.) under contract. Left winger Ryan Smyth also signed prior to the start of the season, but details of his contract were not released. However, the team still wasn&rsquo;t close to inking right wingers Bill Guerin or Mike Grier. If Guerin and Grier, both restricted free agents, stay on the sidelines for a prolonged period, it could be a painfully slow start for the Oilers. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the leverage the agents are trying to use,&rdquo; said Oilers&rsquo; GM Glen Sather. &ldquo;They hope we fall on our faces in the first 10 games and we&rsquo;ll buckle under the pressure and give them what they want. It&rsquo;s not going to happen.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0026-03

Weight hopes to carry on tradition after being named Oilers’ captain

<div class="byline">By David J. Neal</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011022/7616835-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="173" height="173"></div>No matter if you define toughness as bopping bodies in the comers and slot or beating the stew out of anybody who messes with your skilled teammates, the Florida Panthers figured they needed more.So, they sent left winger and original Panther Bill Lindsay to Calgary for 6-foot-3, 215-pound defenseman Todd Simpson.&ldquo;Maybe over the first few games, he&rsquo;ll send a message that it&rsquo;s not going to be as easy to play in front of our net as it was before,&rdquo; said Panthers&rsquo; coach Terry Murray of Simpson. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a nasty player. He&rsquo;s an old-time player.&rdquo;Obviously on Murray&rsquo;s mind were scenes from the pre-season like the one when Carolina Hurricane Martin Gelinas took three shots from the edge of the crease with impunity.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want our kids pushed around,&rdquo; said Panthers&rsquo; GM Bryan Murray. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want them knocked down and nothing happen. I don&rsquo;t want what happened to Pavel last year.&rdquo;Pavel Bure&rsquo;s 1998-99 season ended prematurely last March when Colorado&rsquo;s Adam Foote toppled him while finishing a legal check. A ligament in Bure&rsquo;s right knee tore on the play. The only punitive damages the Panthers levied on Foote were some light crosschecks from Bure.&ldquo;Obviously, I&rsquo;ll stand up for my teammates,&rdquo; Simpson said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s part of my game. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;m (Bure&rsquo;s) bodyguard. They&rsquo;ve got some toughness. I&rsquo;m just going to add to that mix.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Florida finished their first winless pre-season in history with an 0-4-3 record, which included a 0-0 slush skate against Nashville in Louisville, Ky&hellip;Florida scored just 15 goals in seven pre-season games and only 11 in the last six&hellip;Tough guy winger Peter Worrell is expected to miss the first five weeks of the season with a sprained knee ligament, suffered during the Sept. 21 pre-season loss to Tampa Bay. Worrell was expected to play the left side on right winger Pavel Bure&rsquo;s line as Bure&rsquo;s bodyguard&hellip;Left winger Ray Whitney after center Chris Wells slammed Bure accidentally during a power play drill in training camp. &ldquo;I turned and told the trainers on the bench, I think you better pack (Wells&rsquo;) bag.&rsquo; &ldquo; &#9632;

f0027-01

Simpson stiffens soft team in deal for original Panther

<div class="byline">By Helene Elliott</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03451/7616866-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="346" height="471"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mattias Nordstrom</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02666/7616873-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="172" height="169"></div>Almost nothing he encountered during training camp with the Los Angeles Kings seemed to faze defenseman Frantisek Kaberle.Nothing, that is, except the difficulty of learning his way around the sprawl that is Southern California.&ldquo;The traffic is unbelievable,&rdquo; Kaberle said.As long as he can handle the traffic on the ice, he will have a spot in the Kings&rsquo; defense corps.Undrafted until June, when he was seven months past his 25th birthday, Kaberle arrived as something of an unknown. He had good credentials, having played on the gold medal-winning Czech team at the 1999 World Championship and for the Swedish Elite League regular season champion MoDo. But he had to prove he could play in North America, a leap some players can&rsquo;t make.If his fine training camp performance is an indication, Kaberle-the older brother of Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; defenseman Tomas Kaberle-is ready to make the jump and make an impact.&ldquo;He has been outstanding,&rdquo; said coach Andy Murray, who paired Kaberle with veteran Garry Galley and planned to use Kaberle with Rob Blake on the power play. &ldquo;1 think he just amazes us with his vision on the ice and his cool.&ldquo;He was the top scorer among defensemen in Sweden last year (with 15 goals and 33 points in 45 games). And he doesn&rsquo;t initiate contact, but when it comes his way, he doesn&rsquo;t shy away.&rdquo;Despite his outward calm, Kaberle said he had some difficulties getting acclimated.&ldquo;It was a little different to come here because of the (smaller) rink,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Everything is quicker and the hockey is more physical. But I played four years in Sweden, where the hockey is pretty physical, too. It was a good experience to play in Sweden.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Visa problems continued to delay the arrival of Finnish defenseman Jere Karalahti. He had to file special papers because of a past drug charge. Authorities in the U.S. were slow to process the information and issue a work permit. As the start of the season neared, the Kings decided he would be better off playing with his old team, IFK Helsinki, than sitting and awaiting a resolution&hellip;Coach Andy Murray said he intended to keep 22 players, although he started the season with 23. &ldquo;We have an awfully strenuous road trip (five games in eight nights),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So we felt having an extra body would be a help."&hellip;Defenseman Mattias Norstrom agreed to terms on a new contract Sept. 30, a day before the NHL season opened. &#9632;

f0027-03

Older Kaberle finally in NHL; impresses coaches in camn

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04305/7616904-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="171" height="169"></div>After two stunning surprises, the only thing that could possibly top them would be for the Montreal Canadiens to make the playoffs this season.Two days prior to the start of the regular season, the Canadiens named Saku Koivu as their new captain. The 24-year-old won a close vote among the players, edging Shayne Corson by a single vote. Koivu becomes the first European captain in team history and the first Finnish-born NHL captain.One day prior to Koivu&rsquo;s appointment, Mike Ribeiro was signed to a three-year, $2.55-million (U.S.) deal. The pact ensures the 19-year-old center, the Canadian Hockey League&rsquo;s top scorer last season with 67 goals and 167 points for Rouyn-Noranda of the Quebec League, will start the season with the Canadiens, an unusual move for a franchise steeped in tradition.Part of that tradition has been naming a francophone captain. Koivu becomes the first non-francophone captain since Mike Keane, who was traded to Colorado in December. 1995. Koivu replaces Vincent Damphousse, traded to San Jose late last season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s special to be captain in Montreal,&rdquo; Koivu said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of the biggest honors of my career.&rdquo;The naming of a European, Koivu admitted, is &ldquo;rare. It probably wouldn&rsquo;t have happened 15 years ago.&rdquo;Koivu has served as the captain of Finland&rsquo;s Olympic and world championship teams, but is considered to be a quiet leader. Entering his fifth NHL season, Koivu has been frequently injured and hasn&rsquo;t lived up to his potential.Corson and Turner Stevenson will serve as alternate captains. Corson, a captain in St. Louis and Edmonton, had been expected to fill the vacancy in Montreal.&ldquo;I think anybody would love to be captain,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But Saku will be a great captain for a lot of years. He&rsquo;s a good choice, the perfect fit and he can lead this team into the next century.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center Mike Ribeiro, selected 45th overall by the Canadiens in 1998, will receive annual salaries of $500,000, $600,000 and $700,000, along with a signing bonus of $750,000. He recorded only one assist in seven pre-season games, but improved his defensive play as training camp progressed. Still, there&rsquo;s concern about his size, only 5-foot and 165 pounds. Ribeiro has excellent playmaking skills, but is considered an average skater. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m living a dream and I just hope it continues,&rdquo; said the Montreal native&hellip;Center Saku Koivu becomes the seventh Canadiens&rsquo; captain this decade. Coincidentally, all of his predecessors have been traded. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t worry about that,&rdquo; Koivu said. &#9632;

f0027-04

Koivu edges Corson for captaincy

<div class="byline">By Jeff Legwold</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011056/7616935-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="172" height="171"></div>Call it the franchise&rsquo;s first lovers&rsquo; spat. Or call it the reality of today&rsquo;s NHL. Either way, it&rsquo;s over and the Nashville Predators have their No. 1 goalie back under contract.Mike Dunham, 27, agreed to a two-year deal Sept. 27, less than a week before the season was to open. The contract is for $1.3 million this season and $1.5 million in 2000-01, plus incentives.The Predators&rsquo; most coveted selection in the 1998 expansion draft, Dunham is coming off an up-and-down season. His numbers were accept-able-16-23-3 record, 3.08 goals-against average and.908 save percentage. And he did steal a handful of wins for the first-year team. But his 44 games played-because of a nagging groin injury-was a major sticking point for much of the negotiations.Dunham spent virtually all summer in Nashville working out and skating, but left once training camp opened as an unsigned restricted free agent. He skated in New Jersey and spent some time at the U.S. national junior camp in Michigan and believes he&rsquo;s in top shape.&ldquo;(I&rsquo;m) the strongest I have ever been right now,&rdquo; Dunham said.There was speculation Dunham could start the season with the club&rsquo;s International League affiliate in Milwaukee to get into shape. That would leave Tomas Vokoun as the temporary No. 1 man and rookie Brian Finley as the backup.NOTEBOOK: The Preds lost defenseman Rich Brennan to Los Angeles in the waiver draft. Brennan, 26, was invited to camp on a tryout basis and performed well before the Kings selected him&hellip;Nashville traded right winger Matt Henderson to Philadelphia in exchange for right winger Paul Healy. The 24-year-old Healy had 26 goals and 46 points in 72 games for the Philadelphia Phantoms (American League) last season&hellip;Goalie Brian Finley, the Predators&rsquo; top pick (sixth overall) in the 1999 entry draft, signed a three-year deal Sept. 29. He was expected to be returned to Barrie (Ontario League) early in the season. &ldquo;On the ice it has been good,&rdquo; Finley said of his first camp. &ldquo;Off the ice, the hotel is kind of getting to me. I&rsquo;m used to living with people.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0028-01

Franchise settles first tiff as Dunham deal gets done

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03514/7616966-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="354" height="473"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sergei Brylin</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02718/7616973-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="172" height="170"></div>After five seasons in which he spent much of his time shuttling back and forth from the minors, it seemed certain New Jersey Devils&rsquo; right winger Sergei Brylin would be selected by Atlanta in last June&rsquo;s expansion draft.The Thrashers were ready to pick Brylin before Devils&rsquo; GM Lou Lamoriello gave them minor league defenseman Sergei Vyshedkevich in return for the guarantee Atlanta would take defender Kevin Dean instead.&ldquo;When I heard that, I thought they were probably going to give me a chance to play again,&rdquo; said Brylin, who spent the entire 1998-99 season in the NHL, but appeared in only 47 games, recording five goals and 15 points.His hunch was looking good. Coach Robbie Ftorek leaned heavily on Brylin, 25, in pre-season games and the Devils chose to protect him in the waiver draft.&ldquo;(Brylin) never changes,&rdquo; Ftorek said. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t matter what you ask him, he does it.&rdquo;New Jersey&rsquo;s second choice (42nd overall) in the 1992 entry draft, Brylin was part of the Devils&rsquo; 1995 Stanley Cup winner. However, despite his speed and versatility as a center and a winger, he was never able to crack the lineup on a regular basis.His breakthrough may have come during the playoffs last spring when Brylin played left wing on a line with Bobby Holik and Randy McKay. The Devils were eliminated in the first round by the Pittsburgh Penguins, but Brylin scored three goals in five games.Brylin has a big fan in David Conte, the team&rsquo;s director of scouting, who calls him his favorite draft pick.&ldquo;Forget hockey, if my son could be like SergeiBrylin, I&rsquo;d be real proud of him,&rdquo; Conte said. &ldquo;Sergei is one of my favorite players and people.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Left winger Dave Maley, who attended camp on a tryout basis, was offered a contract to play for Albany (American League), but said he would contact other NHL teams to see if there was any interest before signing the deal&hellip;GM Lou Lamoriello said the Devils had made their &ldquo;final offer&rdquo; to unsigned restricted free agent forwards Brendan Morrison and Patrik Elias&hellip;After some initial anger, the Devils were apparently ready to forgive right winger Sasha Lakovic for coming to camp overweight and waiting too long to have surgery to correct a sinus infection and blockage. Lakovic still had some blurry vision in one eye, which was injured when he was hit by a stick in the minors last season. &#9632;

f0028-03

Brylin’s determination may finally lead to job

<div class="byline">By Anthony McCarron</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04346/7617004-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="171" height="168"></div>Kenny Jonsson was beaming after he accepted a new new York Islanders&rsquo; jersey with a &lsquo;C&rsquo; stitched on it. Coach Butch Goring was gushing.Jonsson was honored to be named captain by Goring, but who could&rsquo;ve blamed Jonsson if he looked at it as a curse? The last two captains, Trevor Linden and Bryan McCabe, were both traded after brief tenures leading bad teams.This could be different. Jonsson, in his fifth season with the team, has suffered through the bad times on Long Island-the salary dumping, the losing, the empty seats. He&rsquo;s never complained and has never asked to get out.&ldquo;I wanted a guy who was an Islander,&rdquo; Goring said.&ldquo;(A guy) who has understood what the organization has gone through. I wanted someone who&rsquo;s had some pain and wanted to lead the club into the promised land.&rdquo;Jonsson, 25, seemed more comfortable through training camp. He jokes with teammates more often, sometimes even leading the good-natured barbs. He said he has learned when to speak up, when to chide players and when to nudge them to work harder.Before the team&rsquo;s first pre-season game. Goring said, Jonsson scrambled around to make sure all the rookies in training camp had a place to eat the pre-game meal.&ldquo;From day one, it seems he&rsquo;s taken control of this team,&rdquo; Goring said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s attentive to everyone&rsquo;s needs.&rdquo;One reason the Angelholm, Swe., native is so comfortable is he finally believes in himself and in his ability.&ldquo;Someone has to be here for the young guys,&rdquo; Jonsson said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what the captain is for, if you have problems, you can talk to them. I certainly won&rsquo;t have all the answers, but I&rsquo;ll have some suggestions.&rdquo;Said Goring: &ldquo;This is a big year for him. This is his team. He needs to take another step in his career.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Claude Lapointe and Rich Pilon will each wear an &lsquo;A&rsquo; this season&hellip; Center Tim Connolly, the No. 5 overall pick in the 1999 entry draft, signed a three-year, $3.075-million contract. The Isles also inked defenseman Mathieu Biron. The Isles assigned goalie Roberto Luongo to Lowell of the American League a week after coach Butch Goring said Luongo was competing with Felix Potvin for the No. 1 spot before revising his statements&hellip;The Isles plucked defenseman Jamie Rivers from St. Louis in the Sept. 27 waiver draft. He&rsquo;ll move into a top-six spot on the blueline. Rivers was delighted because he said it was difficult to find ice time in St. Louis behind stars Chris Pronger and Al Maclnnis. &#9632;

f0028-04

Jonsson C’s future for Islanders

<div class="byline">By Rick Carpinlello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06227/7617035-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="353" height="471"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Hatcher</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05265/7617042-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="170" height="171"></div>So what&rsquo;s another couple of million?On the eve of the regular season, the New York Rangers found enough money in the budget to get defenseman Kevin Hatcher from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade for defenseman Peter Popovic.More precisely, the Penguins dumped Hatcher&rsquo;s $3.1-million salary on the Rangers. As soon as the cash-strapped Penguins re-signed Darius Kasparaitis, they had to rid themselves of Hatcher, who had been available for more than a year.Since players start drawing paychecks on opening day, the Penguins wanted to deal Hatcher quickly.This trade opens up at least one option-the trade of Mathieu Schneider, who is not one of coach John Muckier&rsquo;s favorites.With Popovic-who&rsquo;ll make $1.2 million this season-dropping to No. 6 on the Rangers&rsquo; defense following a surprisingly strong 1998-99 season, the price to gamble on Hatcher was too good to turn down.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s an old saying that you can never have enough good defensemen,&rdquo; Muckier said. &ldquo;(Hatcher) gives us more depth. If one of our top guys go down. I don&rsquo;t think it will hurt as much now. That&rsquo;s what worried us most.&rdquo;Popovic (6-foot-6, 235 pounds) is bigger than Hatcher (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) and two years younger, but Hatcher, 33, is more skilled and will make the high-risk, high-reward plays that should blend well with the Rangers&rsquo; style this season.The salary exchange means the Rangers&rsquo; payroll is at an NHL-record $58.8 million.Muckier said Hatcher, who was scheduled to play in the Rangers&rsquo; season opener in Edmonton could be paired with rookie Kim Johnsson, but also might be Brian Leetch&rsquo;s regular partner.NOTEBOOK: Three rookies won jobs during training camp: Defenseman Kim Johnsson, who won the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award as the best rookie in camp; center Mike York. who. at least to start, will be the second line center; and winger Jan Hlavac. 1999 first round draft picks Pavel Brendl (fourth overall) and Jamie Lundmark (ninth) didn&rsquo;t live up to lofty expectations and were being sent to their respective Western League teams&hellip;The Rangers went 6-3-0 in the pre-season. Right winger Theo Fleury led Ranger all scorers with three goals and 10 points in seven games. Another newcomer, left winger Valeri Kamensky, had three goals and seven points in seven games, while goalie Mike Richter went 20-0 with a 1.58 goals-against average. &#9632;

f0028-06

Rangers pick up Hatcher, payroll balloons to $59M

<div class="byline">By Lisa Burke</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-07202/7617073-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="173" height="169"></div>Mike Fisher knows he is very, very lucky. He&rsquo;s also very, very good and very, very young.While most teenagers are scrambling to find decent part-time jobs, Fisher signed a three-year pact worth between $2 million and $2.5 million (U.S.) with the Ottawa Senators Sept. 26.Though the 19-year-old&rsquo;s immediate future is not clear, he does seem ready to make the jump to the NHL.Fisher impressed coaches throughout the pre-season and will join the team for the season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers Oct. 2.Senators&rsquo; coach Jacques Martin said Fisher had a good training camp and earned the right to stick around.&ldquo;His speed is an asset and for a kid, he&rsquo;s a very good player,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;But the regular season is a new level.&rdquo;The Senators have a few different options to consider.He can stay in Ottawa, but if he plays 10 or fewer games and then returns to his junior team, the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario League, he would not be considered to have played a professional season and the Senators wouldn&rsquo;t have to protect him in waiver and expansion drafts for three seasons.The Senators could also keep Fisher for the long haul and add his name to a short list of players who have made the leap to the NHL as a teenager.Whether Fisher plays 10 or fewer games or makes the big jump, he&rsquo;ll spend most of his time on Ottawa&rsquo;s checking line when he&rsquo;s in the lineup.NOTEBOOK: Ottawa lost the maximum two players in the waiver draft. Defenseman Chris Joseph was picked by Vancouver and center Viacheslav But-sayev was claimed by Tampa Bay&hellip;No. 1 goalie Ron Tugnutt was not expected to be in goal for Ottawa&rsquo;s season opener against Philadelphia Oct. 2. He strained his knee in the summer and was unable to play during the pre-season&hellip;Ottawa finished the preseason with a 5-1-1 record, second-best behind Detroit, proving the Senators can find a way to win without Alexei Yashin, the team&rsquo;s top scorer and former captain who is holding out until his contract is renegotiated or extended with a hefty pay raise&hellip;Right winger Daniel Alfredsson took over Yashin&rsquo;s captaincy duties Oct. 1. &#9632;

f0028-07

Fisher hooks contract with solid training camp

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01937/7617104-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="171" height="171"></div>The first day after breaking a bone in his left foot, Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour hobbled in on crutches, wearing a cast and gulping down anti-inflammatories.A couple days later, the cast was gone. Then went the crutches.As of Oct. 1, the day before the Flyers were to open the season against the Ottawa Senators, Brind&rsquo;Amour was plotting ways to squeeze his swollen foot into a skate.He realized his NHL-best ironman streak, at 484 games, was likely over. Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; defender Teppo Numminen has the second-longest mark, at 297 games.The injury occurred when his foot was struck by a slapshot in a pre-season game Sept. 25 against the New Jersey Devils. He was told he&rsquo;d be out two to four weeks.&rsquo;To be honest, it doesn&rsquo;t look like I can play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t put any weight on it and I&rsquo;m having trouble getting my skate on. If we let it heal some more, I might only miss one game.&rdquo;Call him proud. Call him crazy. Brind&rsquo;Amour just doesn&rsquo;t like to take days off. He hasn&rsquo;t since Feb. 24, 1993.&rsquo;The streak, that&rsquo;s going to end sooner or later,&rdquo; Brind&rsquo;Amour said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just disappointed because I&rsquo;ve been training all summer and working hard to get ready to play in October.&rdquo;Doug Jarvis holds the NHL&rsquo;s alltime ironman record. He played 964 consecutive games for three teams from 1975-76 through 1986-87.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Keith Jones underwent surgery on his left knee for the third time in four years Sept. 29. He was expected to miss six to eight weeks. In his absence, the Flyers decided to keep journeyman Mark Greig and planned to start him at right wing on the Eric Lindros-John LeClair line for the season opener against Ottawa Oct. 2&hellip;Defenseman Eric Desjardins lost nine teeth when a shot off the stick of Detroit&rsquo;s Kirk Maltby caught him in the mouth in the third period of a 3-0 loss at Detroit Sept. 28. He was expected to miss the opener, so coach Roger Neilson planned to insert rookie Mark Eaton, a Wilmington, Del., native into the lineup. Eaton becomes the first-ever Philadelphia-area native to play for the Flyers. &#9632;

f0029-01

Brind’Amour shows mettle after breaking bone in foot

<div class="byline">By Bob McManaman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03412/7617135-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="345" height="472"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jeremy Roenick</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02617/7617142-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="171" height="168"></div>If the Phoenix Coyotes are to survive in Arizona, then financial plans for a new arena must be approved in a Nov. 2 election.It&rsquo;s not the way the Coyotes intended to enter the 1999-2000 season, their fourth in Arizona since relocating from Winnipeg for what they had hoped would be greener pastures in the desert.The Coyotes need to get out of America West Arena and into their own building to generate revenue streams sorely lacking in their current rink. Plans for a new arena are in place, but the team must pass the final hurdle-a vote to guarantee a financial plan to build it.If it passes, the Coyotes&rsquo; future is set and solid. If it fails, well, anything is possible.Owner Richard Burke might sell the team. GM Bobby Smith may have to dump some hefty contracts. Worse, the franchise could consider relocating yet again. However, Burke has been insistent none of these options are even being discussed, much less considered, at this point.But&hellip;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s possible this could be our last year together,&rdquo; said center JeremyRoenick. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even want to think about going to another team. I have my heart and soul behind this team.&rdquo;Smith said it&rsquo;s too early to push the panic button, that Burke is committed to keeping the team in Arizona longterm. He also said Burke has shown no signs of starting to slice the team&rsquo;s budget.&ldquo;Richard has been willing to underwrite the team&rsquo;s losses to maintain a competitive team,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t know how long he&rsquo;d be willing to do that. If we lose the election, then there will be some difficult decisions to make, as all teams do. But we&rsquo;re in much better shape than other teams.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: In one of the biggest surprises of training camp, rookie center Trevor Letowski edged 1996 first round pick Daniel Briere for a spot on the seasonopening roster. Briere was assigned to Springfield of the American League&hellip;Right winger Kevin Sawyer, who spent the past few seasons slugging it out in the minors, also made the final cut&hellip;More than 16,000 Arizona schoolchildren attended the team&rsquo;s last home pre-season game, billed as the Cool Coyotes Field Trip, believed to be the first of its kind in pro sports&hellip;There has been no progress in negotiations with unsigned goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. who wants $5 million a season. &ldquo;I think it was their intention from the very beginning to stay out of camp,&rdquo; GM Bobby Smith said. &#9632;

f0029-03

Day of reckoning is Nov. 2: New digs or team may move

<div class="byline">By Joe Starkey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04286/7617173-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="172" height="168"></div>The Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; blueline is inextricably linked to their bottom line, which accounts for the string of events leading up to their season opener.On Sept. 29, Darius Kasparaitis signed a two-year contract worth $3 million. The next day, the Penguins shipped top defenseman Kevin Hatcher and his $3.1-million salary to the New York Rangers for their No. 6 defenseman, Peter Popovic ($1.2 million). And later that day, the Penguins signed John Slaney to a one-year deal worth $400,000.The way Penguins&rsquo; GM Craig Patrick sees it, Slaney&rsquo;s offense and Popovic&rsquo;s defense could combine to give the Penguins what Hatcher gave them, at a much cheaper price. Do the math and the Penguins save $1.5 million in the dealings. Still, their payroll is roughly $31 million, up $7 million from last season.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to be viable,&rdquo; Patrick said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think this hurts the team. We might even be a little better.&rdquo;Kasparaitis went against the advice of his agent, Mark Gandler, and signed a two-year deal that will pay him $1.4 million this season and $1.6 million next season. His original asking price was $2.5 million per season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not happy about (the contract), but I&rsquo;m happy to be here,&rdquo; said Kasparaitis, who is coming off reconstructive knee surgery and is not expected to play for several weeks.Popovic couldn&rsquo;t believe he was traded. He got a phone call from Rangers&rsquo; GM Neil Smith in his hotel room in Edmonton, where the Rangers were getting ready for their Oct. 1 season opener. &ldquo;I said, &rsquo;No, you&rsquo;re kidding,&rsquo; &ldquo;Popovic said. &ldquo;I was shocked. I took it really hard.&rdquo;On the other hand, Popovic said, it&rsquo;ll be nice to avoid playing against Penguins&rsquo; star Jaromir Jagr.&ldquo;That was the best part about getting traded here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;No, I thrive on getting out there and trying to stop guys like Jagr. That&rsquo;s what I get my kicks out of.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Bob Errey, who came to training camp on a tryout contract and was released, was hired to be the team&rsquo;s color commentator on radio broadcasts. Errey will work with play-by-play man Paul Steigerwald&hellip;Season-ticket sales were at a little less than 9,000 as the regular season approached. That&rsquo;s about 3,000 less than new owner Mario Lemieux hoped for. A late start in the marketing campaign-Lemieux wasn&rsquo;t approved as owner by U.S. Bankruptcy Court until a few days before training camp-hurt the Penguins&rsquo; chances to reach their goal&hellip;Civic Arena landlord SMG announced parking rates will increase by only $1, instead of $3. It will cost $9 to park at the arena. &#9632;

f0029-04

Bottom line at heart of ‘D’ changes

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05237/7617204-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="172" height="169"></div>It has been an interesting couple of years for St. Louis Blues&rsquo; center Terry Yake.Two summers ago, he signed a three-year contract with the Blues, only to get cut in training camp and sent to Worcester of the American League.The Blues recalled him a month into the season, used him as a regular in the lineup for the rest of the year and then exposed him in last June&rsquo;s expansion draft. The Atlanta Thrashers grabbed him, but three months later, the Blues&rsquo; reclaimed him in the waiver draft.Why all the gyrations?&ldquo;Things changed,&rdquo; said Blues&rsquo; coach Joel Quenneville. &ldquo;1 can&rsquo;t pinpoint the exact reasons for the decisions.&rdquo;Yake, 30, has been dizzied by the comings and goings, especially the waiver move that caught him &ldquo;a little bit by surprise.&rdquo; Seems the expansion Thrashers had given him the go-ahead to buy a house in the area, so for the first time in his nomadic career, Yake thought he could plant roots.He bought the house.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d never done it in my career,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the first one. I did it because they told me to. But that&rsquo;s how things change in the course of a couple of months. That&rsquo;s one of the things you have to be prepared for if you play this game.&rdquo;At least Yake returned to a familiar setting.&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t feel any different being back,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like I never left.&rdquo;Despite frequently casting him off, the Blues like the flexibility Yake brings as a spare forward.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s very versatile,&rdquo; Quenneville said. &ldquo;He could be a right shot on the second power play. He can take faceoffs, kill penalties, play 4-on-4, check.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: After right winger Jim Campbell went unclaimed in the waiver draft, the Blues designated him for assignment. They intend to loan him to a team in the International League&hellip;The Blues sent three rookies to Worcester of the American League the week before the season opened-defenseman Jaroslav Obsut and right wingers Lubos Bartecko and Reed Low. Though all played well enough in camp to make the team, the Blues want them to play regularly in the minors&hellip;The Blues claimed minor leaguer Todd Reirden, 28, off waivers from Edmonton to be a depth player on defense&hellip;Two rookies made the Blues: 22-year-old Jochen Hecht as the first line left winger and 24-year-old Tyson Nash as the fourth line left winger. &#9632;

f0029-05

Yake blows back into town after laying roots in Atlanta

<div class="byline">By Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011051/7617235-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="173" height="171"></div>A strong training camp performance was just what it took for highly touted rookie defenseman Brad Stuart to land a spot on the San Jose Sharks&rsquo; opening night roster.Stuart, who turns 20 Nov. 6, outplayed fellow rookies Scott Hannan and Shawn Heins and second-year man Andy Sutton for the one open spot on San Jose&rsquo;s blueline. The Sharks assigned Hannan, Heins and Sutton to American League affiliate Kentucky Sept. 29.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a hell of a thing for Stuey,&rdquo; said Sharks&rsquo; coach Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;I told him he&rsquo;s damn lucky because there are some really quality people there. He better learn by watching and listening.&rdquo;Stuart, the third overall selection in the 1998 entry draft, was the top defenseman in the Canadian Hockey League last season. He scored 21 goals and 62 points in 59 games for Regina and Calgary of the Western League.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of a relief, not in the sense of staying, but a little bit of the pressure is lifted off my shoulders,&rdquo; Stuart said. &ldquo;I realize I still have to play hard and play well if I want to stay here. I realize I could be sent down at any time.&rdquo;The teenager spent much of the preseason paired with veteran Gary Suter and displayed the skating ability that enables him to make a quick transition from offense to defense.Stuart, who will likely begin the season as the Sharks&rsquo; sixth defenseman, joins Suter, Mike Rathje, Marcus Ragnarsson, Jeff Norton, Bryan Marchment and Bob Rouse on the San Jose blueline.NOTEBOOK: San Jose wanted to sign veteran left winger Dave Lowry, who participated in training camp without a contract&hellip;The Sharks kept right winger Jonathan Cheechoo until almost the end of training camp before returning him to Belleville of the Ontario League Sept. 28. Cheechoo appeared in one pre-season game and was held pointless&hellip;San Jose completed the exhibition season with a 4-1-3 record, the best in franchise history and just the club&rsquo;s second winning pre-season in its eight years of existence&hellip;Though veteran left winger Tony Granato sat out the final two exhibition games with a strained groin, San Jose made it through training camp and the exhibition season with no significant injuries. &#9632;

f0030-01

Stuart newest member of deep defense corps

<div class="byline">By Tom Jones</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03495/7617266-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="358" height="469"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jassen Cullimore</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02705/7617273-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="173" height="171"></div>For Alexandre Daigle, it was three up, three down.The Tampa Bay Lightning became the third NHL team to give up on the 1993 No. 1 overall pick Sept. 28, designating him for assignment.Fed up with Daigle&rsquo;s work ethic and attitude on and off the ice, Daigle&rsquo;s stock with GM Rick Dudley was so low the Lightning boss refused to even send him to their minor league affiliate in Detroit (International League).Sent packing along with Daigle was another former Lightning regular, defenseman Jassen Cullimore.And the chances of either returning to Tampa Bay are slim.&ldquo;It would be fair to say I was disappointed with how they played,&rdquo; Dudley said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking for players who play with passion. I just didn&rsquo;t see that.&rdquo;Daigle has two 20-goal seasons on his resume. But after bouncing from the Ottawa Senators to the Philadelphia Flyers to Tampa Bay in less than a year, he may have bounced out of the NHL forever. In 31 games for Tampa Bay last season, Daigle had three goals and five points.&ldquo;I think Alex is a good kid, but I can&rsquo;t give him advice that he hasn&rsquo;t heard before and so far, he hasn&rsquo;t listened to anyone&rsquo;s advice,&rdquo; said Lightning coach Steve Ludzik. &ldquo;I said from the first day you will get what you deserve.&rdquo;Cullimore played 103 games for the Lightning over the past two years, recording 20 points.Ludzik said Cullimore complained he didn&rsquo;t get a fair look in camp. Cullimore played two preseason games, but Ludzik said he had seen enough to determine Cullimore wasn&rsquo;t part of the Lightning&rsquo;s future.Daigle will make $1 million and Cullimore will make $775,000 this season, me Lightning is on the hook for the salaries, unless it can get an IHL team to share the contracts.NOTEBOOK: Tampa Bay went 5-4-0 in the pre-season, a cause for celebration for the league&rsquo;s worst team the past two years. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if it&rsquo;s pre-season or not,&rdquo; said defenseman Petr Svoboda. &ldquo;We need to get used to winning around here and the only way to do that is to win, whether it&rsquo;s pre-season, regular season or whatever. The coaches stressed to us that we wanted to win every time we went out there. And we started doing that."&hellip;Defenseman Bill Houlder, who played for the Lightning in 1995-96 and 1996-97 before being re-acquired over the summer, was named captain by Lightning coach Steve Ludzik. Forwards Chris Gratton and Darcy Tucker were selected as alternate captains. &#9632;

f0030-03

Daigle, Cullimore demoted as Bolts demand passion

<div class="byline">By Paul Hunter</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04340/7617304-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="173" height="169"></div>For the first time in seven months, Alyn McCauley&rsquo;s status in the Maple Leafs&rsquo; lineup is being determined by coaches rather than doctors.The center suffered a career-threatening concussion March 3 when he was checked hard by New Jersey Devil Sheldon Souray. The 22-year-old missed the rest of the season and all of the playoffs, but arrived at training camp determined to resume what had been a promising career.Before he took part in game action, McCauley sought reassurance he was not risking permanent brain damage. He consulted with renowned Chicago neurologist Dr. James Kelly Sept. 22 and whatever the doctor told him-McCauley has declined to make it public-caused him to further delay his return.McCauley consulted with a battery of neurological experts over the next few days while pondering retirement. The Leafs left it up to McCauley to decide his future and Sept. 26 announced his intention to play again.McCauley said he will be more susceptible to a concussion, but the main risk, as he explained it, is if he receives another one, it will take longer for his brain to heal.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m willing to accept that,&rdquo; said McCauley, who has had at least four concussions in his junior and pro career. &ldquo;Maybe I won&rsquo;t get hit. Maybe I won&rsquo;t have to recover from (a concussion) again. The precautions I&rsquo;ve taken with a new helmet, mouthguard and visor should prevent that.&ldquo;If I think my head is all right, then my head is all right.&rdquo;However, the questions continued when the Leafs kept McCauley out of their last two exhibition games and then listed him as a non-roster player for the team&rsquo;s season opener.&ldquo;Here is a guy who hasn&rsquo;t played in six months so when is the right time to start him?&rdquo; said Leafs&rsquo; coach-GM Pat Quinn. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know, but we&rsquo;ll deal with it as we see right. We still haven&rsquo;t determined when he&rsquo;ll play.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Three days before their season opener, the Leafs agreed to terms on a two-year contract with defenseman Bryan Berard, a restricted free agent. Berard will earn $1.5 million this season and $1.8 million next year&hellip;With too many NHL-calibre forwards and not enough defensemen, the Maple Leafs sent left winger Frederik Modin to Tampa Bay in exchange for blueliner Cory Cross and a seventh round draft pick in 2001&hellip; While rookie center Kevyn Adams appeared to make the club on merit, he is on a two-way contract and was demoted when the roster was set. He&rsquo;ll likely be recalled once one of the Kings or another of the Leafs&rsquo; excess forwards is moved. &#9632;

f0030-04

McCauley comeback still on hold

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06198/7617335-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="359" height="472"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Jovanovski</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05251/7617342-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="174" height="172"></div>When the Vancouvei Canucks dealt franchise superstar Pavel Bure to the Florid; Panthers last January, the most important player coming back was defenseman Ed Jovanovski.But the Canucks faced the prospect of opening the 1999-2000 season without Jovanovski until finally signing him two days before their Oct. 2 opener. The deal is for four years and $9.2 million (U.S.).The 23-year-old Windsor, Ont. native was more than happy to sign for the long term.. &ldquo;The four-year deal turned out to be the best thing for me,&rdquo; said Jovanovs ki, the first overall pick in 1994. &ldquo;Anytime you get a four-year deal, it tells you you&rsquo;re wanted and the team wants to build around you.&rdquo;Jovanovski wasn&rsquo;t the only blueliner to join Vancouver on the eve of the new season. The Canucks also pluckec Chris Joseph off Ottawa&rsquo;s list and John Namestnikov from the New York Rangers&rsquo; system in the Sept. 27 waives draft. Both formerly played for the Canucks, Joseph for one season (1996 97) and Namestnikov for four although most of those were in the minors. Namestnikov was original) drafted by Vancouver in 1991 (117th overall).&ldquo;Sometimes you can get lucky selecting players on waivers or in the waiver draft, but I don&rsquo;t think people should think these two players will put us over the top,&rdquo; said Canuck assistant GM Dave Nonis. &ldquo;What they do is give us some depth at that position.&rdquo;Joseph, 30, spent almost all of last season in the minors with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American League. He is expected to plug a &rsquo; hole on Vancouver&rsquo;s blueline as Mattias Ohlund and Bryan Allen were injured and Adrian Aucoin remained unsigned.NOTEBOOK: Center Dave Gagner. who played the last 33 games of his career as a Canuck, announced his retirement Sept. 29. Gagner. 34, played 946 NHL games with six teams and recorded 318 goals and 719 points&hellip;Center Josh Holden was lost for two months when it was discovered he needed hernia surgery. Holden had been having a mediocre camp and was not expected to be among the top 12 forwards to start the season&hellip;Todd Bertuzzi was moved from left wing to center&hellip;Rookie left winger Steve Kariya led the Canucks in pre-season scoring with 10 points in six games&hellip;The Canucks signed veteran defenseman Greg Hawgood&hellip;Vancouver claimed goalie Manny Legace from Detroit on waivers. &#9632;

f0030-06

Thin blueline bolstered by Jovo-Cop, waiver wire

<div class="byline">By Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-07167/7617373-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="172" height="169"></div>For year after frustrating year, left winger Chris Simon could not put together a complete season. There were shoulder problems (right side) followed by back problems followed by shoulder problems (left side) followed by-you get the idea. This huge (6-foot-4, 235 pound) fearsome creature was fragile, hockey&rsquo;s Chuck Wepner.With the Caps having a longer than usual summer vacation (no playoffs will do that), Simon spent a full and uninterrupted three months with T. R. Goodman, his Los Angeles-based personal trainer, and got the job done right. He is in shape and said he intends to stay that way.&ldquo;Right now, I&rsquo;m 100 per cent healthy,&rdquo; Simon said. &ldquo;This is the best I&rsquo;ve felt in three years, since Colorado won the Cup (1996). It&rsquo;s going to be great to go back out there and be able to respond when guys challenge you. I couldn&rsquo;t do that last year.&rdquo;His last game last season was early December when his shoulder dislocated for the seventh time, which led to season-ending surgery. Only this time, he didn&rsquo;t come back prematurely.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s committed this year, that&rsquo;s the difference,&rdquo; said coach Ron Wilson. &ldquo;Maybe he hasn&rsquo;t rehabbed as diligently as he could have in the past and that resulted in surgery. It has taken him a while to realize that being in top shape, being able to compete for a whole shift, is going to put him in a position to prevent a lot of those injuries.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Washington picked up veteran defenseman Ken Sutton from New Jersey in the waiver draft&hellip;The team placed center/left winger Michal Pivonka with Kansas City of the International League. While the veteran may still have the talent to play in the NHL, he fell out of favor with management and was left unprotected in the waiver draft before the demotion&hellip;Capitals&rsquo; assistant coach Tim Army sustained a deep gash on his forehead when he was hit by a puck. The following day, center Adam Oates, a 14-year veteran, donned a visor for the first time in his NHL career&hellip;With left winger Richard Zednik signed, the Capitals opened the season with everybody under contract for the first time in recent memory. &#9632;

f0030-07

Simon says stay healthy; winner wants full season

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>The Ottawa 67&rsquo;s dodged another bullet, when, for the second time in two weeks, their bus driver blacked out on the highway.This time the 67&rsquo;s avoided disaster on Highway 17, about an hour outside North Bay, travelling to their Ontario League opener Sept. 26.Driver Mike Summers passed out and the bus swerved into the oncoming traffic lane. Team owner Jeff Hunt, sitting behind the driver&rsquo;s seat, grabbed the wheel.Hunt steered the bus back into the right lane and was able to get his foot on the brake to bring the bus to a stop.Two weeks earlier, Summers had blacked out as the 67&rsquo;s returned from an exhibition game. As the bus pulled onto the shoulder and headed for the ditch, coach-GM Brian Kilrea jumped from his seat and prevented a potential tragedy,Summers had been cleared by doctors to drive again after that first incident. Kilrea said Summers wouldn&rsquo;t be driving the team again.Hunt said Highway 17 is usually extremely busy on a Sunday, but the bus covered about half a mile on the wrong side of the road without encountering any oncoming traffic.About a quarter-mile farther down the road there was a sharp curve to the left with a ravine on the right.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing how lucky we were,&rdquo; said Hunt, who travels on the team bus to about 90 per cent of road. games. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll still be-going on the bus. I&rsquo;m &rsquo; hoping I don&rsquo;t have to be a part-time bus driver again.A bus was dispatched from North Bay to get the 67&rsquo;s and the game began almost two hours late. Ottawa won 5-4.Kilrea said these are the two worst bus incidents he&rsquo;s experienced in 24 years in the OHL.&ldquo;This one got to me the day after,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Sure it&rsquo;s all right to walk away, but I woke up a couple times the next night.&ldquo;You wonder. The big guy upstairs can&rsquo;t be travelling that road with us all the time. He&rsquo;s got other places to go.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01969/7617404-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="755" height="256"></div>HE&rsquo;S BACK: Jeff Kugel, banished from the OHL for an attack on the Owen Sound Platers Juri Golicic last year, has landed with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds after being put on waivers by the Windsor Spitfires. The Greyhounds were one of two teams to place a claim on the left winger.Kugel was playing with the Spitfires when he was suspended for life after coming off the bench to sucker punch Golicic. OHL commissioner Dave Branch reinstated Kugel at the end of last season.&ldquo;Like I&rsquo;ve been saying, the whole thing was blown out of proportion by the league and the commissioner,&rdquo; said Kugel, 19, 6-foot-7 and 252 pounds. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think about what other people say and I don&rsquo;t care what anyone else thinks. I&rsquo;m going to go out there and play the same way I always have.&rdquo;Kugel spent much of the summer boxing at the famed Kronk Gym in Detroit. He took up boxing four years ago and has worked a little with renowned trainer Emanuel Steward.Kugel attended the New York Rangers&rsquo; training camp and was in two fights in an exhibition game against the Montreal Canadiens. He didn&rsquo;t dress for the Greyhounds&rsquo; first two league games.TWO FOR ONE: The London Knights got their two Cents worth in exchange for disgruntled defenseman Peter Reynolds.Reynolds, the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; second round pick in 1999, requested a trade and the Knights dealt him to the North Bay Centennials for 42-goal center Brett Gibson and defenseman Brett Angel, a Nashville Predators&rsquo; third-rounder.MAKING A POINT: Owen Sound center Bryan Kazarian surpassed his entire points output of last season with a goal and nine points in his first three games this season.Kazarian had a goal and seven points as a rookie in 41 games last season. &#9632;

f0031-01

Deja vu for 67’s as bus driver blacks out on highway again

<div class="byline">By Gordie Sutherland</div>Joey Neale doesn&rsquo;t know what all the fuss if about.Although Neale has a congenital heart condi tion known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the 17-year-old winger says he has played competitive hockey for 10 years without any problem: and four doctors have cleared him to play.But concerns about his condition, which ha: been linked to heart failure, delayed Neale&rsquo;s major junior debut until Sept. 26 when he skated with the Sherbrooke Castors, the third tearr of his brief Quebec League career.The Halifax Mooseheads drafted Neale in the second round of last June&rsquo;s midget draft, but reluctantly placed him on waivers Sept. 4 after consulting with four cardiologists and the team&rsquo;s doctor.The Chicoutimi Sagueneens nabbed Neale and then traded him to the Castors for a seventh round pick.&ldquo;The doctors say it&rsquo;s such a low risk,&rdquo; said Neale, who scored a goal in his first game with Sherbrooke. &ldquo;Everything is perfect when I play. I have notes from doctors saying they can&rsquo;t see any reason why I can&rsquo;t play. Four doctors say that.&rdquo;Neale, 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, says he never plays in fear.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know too much about it,&rdquo; said Neale, who is from Stratford, P.E.I. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not too worried about it.&ldquo;My parents had to sign a waiver that if anything ever happened then Sherbrooke doesn&rsquo;t have any responsibility.&rdquo;Sherbrooke coach Joe Canale is cautiously optimistic about his new prospect. As for Neale&rsquo;s heart condition, Canale said he just listens to the medical experts.&ldquo;As far as we know, there&rsquo;s no one who said he can not play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not in the medical profession. We can only go on what information we have at hand and we took it from there.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02634/7617435-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="566" height="515"></div>ROCKET LAUNCHES: some expansion teams go an entire season without winning five games, but the Montreal Rocket notched five victories in its first seven outings.The first-year franchise hasn&rsquo;t experienced the usual growing pains and won its first four home games on the Olympic-sized ice surface at Maurice Richard Arena.The biggest surprise may be the play of rookie Chris Montgomery, the first overall pick in June&rsquo;s draft. The gifted center was projected to one day dominate in the QMJHL, but the transition has been as fast as his skating.Playing on the top line with Edo Terglav and Alain O&rsquo;Driscoll, Montgomery collected 12 points, including four goals, in seven games.&ldquo;We thought he would need at least a good year, year-and-a-half, to adapt,&rdquo; said Rocket GM Serge Savard Jr. &ldquo;He only turned 16.. But his speed and his moves are unbelievable.&rdquo;&rdquo; VENGEANCE IS HIS: It did not take long for Philippe Ozga to get a measure of revenge against his former team.The Bathurst Titan traded Ozga to the Victoriaville Tigres Sept. 9 and then watched as the 19-year-old goalie made 31 saves in a 3-0 win Sept. 25.&ldquo;It was a little strange playing against all of my buddies, but it was a really fun game for me,&rdquo; said Ozga, who backed up Roberto Luongo last season.Bathurst elected to keep Frederic Cloutier and trade Ozga to make room for Charline Labonte, the first female goalie to sign a major junior contract.HUSKIES LOSE TOP DOG: The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are going to have to get used to life without winger James Desmarais.Desmarais, second in league scoring last season, signed a contract Sept. 23 with the Worcester IceCats, the American League affiliate of the St. Louis Blues.The Blues selected Desmarais, 20, with their third-last pick of last June&rsquo;s entry draft. He was a 62-goal man last season with the Huskies. &#9632;

f0031-02

Neale gets shipped around as docs disagree on health

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div>Moose Jaw Warriors&rsquo; left winger Ben Knopp hopes recent history repeats itself.One year ago, center Jamie Lundmark made the Western League&rsquo;s Warriors as a 17-year-old after starring in the Alberta Junior League the previous season. The New York Rangers were impressed enough to select Lundmark ninth overall in the 1999 NHL entry draft.Knopp would like to follow the same path.&ldquo;I look at what Jamie Lundmark did last year,&rdquo; said Knopp, 17. &ldquo;To pull off a year like that would be a dream.&rdquo;Like Lundmark, Knopp could have played in the WHL at 16. However, Knopp opted to spend last season with the Jr. A Calgary Royals. He had 37 goals, 82 points and 161 penalty minutes in 55 games.The Calgary-born Knopp, whom &rsquo; Moose Jaw chose 10th overall in the 1997 bantam draft, played in the AJHL to maintain his U.S. college i eligibility. But, as the Warriors&rsquo; I camp approached, the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder opted for the major junior route.-By doing so, Knopp became a strong first round candidate for the 2000 NHL entry draft.&ldquo;It was almost a last-minute decision,&rdquo; said Knopp, who played for Canada&rsquo;s under-18 team in August. &ldquo;I was swaying before the under-18 team went to the Czech Republic. I was thinking that I&rsquo;d probably go to school, but I hadn&rsquo;t really committed either way.&ldquo;With the under-18 team, I learned a lot about the competition. Twenty of the 22 guys on the team were from major junior. It helped me figure out where I actually stand among the guys who are going to be in the same draft as me.&rdquo;TO AIR IS HUMAN: Brent Parker was airborne upon discovering Barret Jackman was flying to Regina.&ldquo;When I heard that Barret was coming back, I jumped so high that I left a dent in the ceiling in my office,&rdquo; said Parker, the Regina Pats&rsquo; GM. &ldquo;Who says white men can&rsquo;t jump?&rdquo;Jackman had hoped to ascend directly to the NHL as a member of the St. Louis Blues, who picked him 17th overall in the 1999 draft.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03465/7617466-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="409" height="415"></div>&ldquo;I was close to making my NHL dream come true,&rdquo; said Jackman, an 18-year-old defenseman. &ldquo;In that respect, I&rsquo;m pretty disappointed.&ldquo;Hopefully the dream will come true for me some day, maybe next year or the year after. For now, I&rsquo;m going back to Regina and I&rsquo;m going to help the team.&rdquo;Jackman had eight goals, 44 points and 259 penalty minutes in 70 games last season.THE NATURAL: Brad Moran didn&rsquo;t hesitate to re-establish himself as one of the WHL&rsquo;s elite players.Within a day of returning from the American League&rsquo;s Rochester Americans, Moran had four goals to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 6-5, sea-k son-opening win over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes.Moran, 20, scored the first three goals of the game and snapped a 5-5 tie with three minutes left to play.The center, who also added an assist, scored his first two goals on &ldquo;breakaways.Two nights later, Moran had a short handed goal and two assists as Calgary beat the host Medicine Hat Tigers 5-1.Last season, Moran had 60 goals and 118 points in 71 games and was named the Eastern Conference MVP.NOTEBOOK: The Kelowna Rockets attracted 6,489 spectators to the 6,004-seat Skyreach Place for their first game at the $20-million facility-a 5-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars Sept. 25&hellip;Prince George traded center Jarrett Smith-the first overall pick in the 1994 bantam draft-to the Prince Albert Raiders. Prince Albert surrendered a third round bantam pick in 2000. Smith, 20, had 20 goals and 57 points in 49 games last season. He had requested a trade&hellip;Bryan Maxwell became the 10th coach in WHL history to boast 300 wins when Lethbridge won 4-0 in Medicine Hat Sept. 25. The next night in Calgary, Maxwell coached in his 600th WHL game. Maxwell has coached Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and the Spokane Chiefs. &#9632;

f0031-03

Knopp passes on college, tries to imitate Lundmark

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011034/7617497-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0032-01

Millennium Minors

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01938/7617535-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Sabres think Marty Biron is better off playing in Rochester than sitting in Buffalo.</figcaption></div>When Dominik Hasek announced in July he&rsquo;ll play just one more season, Marty Biron was one of the happiest people in western New York.Finally, he had hope for advancement.Named the 1998-99 minor pro prospect of the year by The Hockey News after his all-star season with the Rochester Americans, Biron knew he didn&rsquo;t have much of a future with the Buffalo Sabres as long as Hasek was in goal.Now, however, his rallying cry is &lsquo;One More Year.&rsquo; Just one more year in the American League and then he can get ready to stop the likes of Jaromir Jagr, John LeClair and Mats Sundin on a nightly basis.&ldquo;Right now, I&rsquo;m in a good spot, knowing there will be an opening next year,&rdquo; Biron said. &ldquo;But I can&rsquo;t look at it like that, because there are games this weekend and games next weekend. I can only control what happens next year by playing well this year.&rdquo;The third-year pro appeared ready to play well when he returned to Rochester. Notorious for his mediocre showings in training camp, going all the way back to his days in the Quebec League, Biron was a standout for the Sabres in September and believed he earned the job as Hasek&rsquo;s backup.The numbers certainly back Biron&rsquo;s belief. In 143 minutes over five pre-season games, Biron was 1-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average and.951 save percentage.Hasek won his only decision and had a 1.80 GAA and.940 save percentage in 100 minutes, while incumbent backup Dwayne Roloson was 0-2-0 with a 4.03 GAA and.873 save percentage in 119 minutes.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been the guy who had great camps, but this year I made really good saves, 1 was poised, intense, I got in a fight (in a scrum against the Washington Capitals),&rdquo; Biron said. &ldquo;Those are the things you want to do in training camp because those are the things you think will get you a job.&ldquo;It was disappointing when they said I was coming back to Rochester. If you don&rsquo;t play well, you figure you didn&rsquo;t earn it. You never want to. come down, especially when you battled for a job and think you won it. When they said that, it totally cut my life right out of me.&rdquo;The Sabres agree Biron played well. But they don&rsquo;t want a 22-year-old prospect sitting on the bench watching Hasek play 65 to 70 games. They want him on the ice in Rochester, continuing to develop, continuing to learn.&ldquo;If I can&rsquo;t be in the NHL because it&rsquo;s better for my development to be here, then 1 have to make the best of it,&rdquo; said Biron, whose 2.07 GAA last season was the third-lowest in AHL history and lowest in 60 years. &ldquo;If you win, they&rsquo;re going to see it. If you keep a good attitude, they&rsquo;ll see it. After every game if they&rsquo;re putting a plus next to my name because I played well, then they&rsquo;re going to be saying, &rsquo;He wants to show he wants to be up in the big leagues.&rsquo; &ldquo;There is a mini-dilemma in Rochester, though. Mika Noronen, the Sabres&rsquo; first round pick in 1997, begins his pro career this season and must play to hasten the transition from Finland to the North American game.&ldquo;Actually, I think it will be a nice situation for Mika because there isn&rsquo;t going to be all the pressure on his shoulders,&rdquo; said Amerks&rsquo; coach Brian McCutcheon. &ldquo;Marty&rsquo;s going to get more games in Buffalo, so Mika will get his games here.&rdquo;Biron played 52 games for Rochester and six in Buffalo a year ago and wants a similar workload.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not being selfish or anything, but you want to be the guy, you want to play every game,&rdquo; Biron said.Here&rsquo;s how the AHL should unfold. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. NHL affiliation, last year&rsquo;s record, division finishes and playoff fortunes are in parentheses. The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.<h2>Eastern Conference Atlantic Division</h2>1. Quebec City Citadelles (Montreal, 3341-6 as Fredericton, third in Atlantic, third round). Coach: Michel Therrien. GM: Raymond Bolduc. Kingpin: Center Jesse Belanger, 30, has averaged 1.2 points a game in his minor league career. Fresh face: Right winger Jason Ward, 20, is a physical forward with moderate scoring ability. Outlook: The objective is to make the AHL work in Quebec City, so management assembled a solid group of veterans to complement goalie Mathieu Garon and Montreal&rsquo;s other prospects.2. Saint John Flames (Calgary, 31-41-8, fourth in Atlantic, first round). Coach: Rick Vaive. GM: Nick Polano. Kingpin: Right winger Martin St. Louis, 28, is small (5-foot-9, 180 pounds), but explosive and is out to prove Calgary erred in demoting him. Fresh face: Defenseman Chris St. Croix, 20, has the benefit of learning the pro game while being surrounded by solid veterans on the blueline. Outlook: There&rsquo;s firepower, but much will depend on goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere in his make-or-break season.3. St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs (Toronto, 3439-7, second in Atlantic, second round). Coach: Al MacAdam. GM: Bill Watters. Kingpin: Goaltender Jimmy Waite, 30, could play 60 games and be one the league&rsquo;s best. Fresh face: Right winger Nikolai Antropov, 19, was the 10th pick in 1998. He isn&rsquo;t a great skater, but has great skills. Toronto was unsure where to assign him. Outlook: Goals will be tough to come by, but Waite and the defense will keep games close.4. Lowell Lock Monsters (Los Angeles, Islanders, 33-34-13, first in Atlantic, first round). Coach: Bruce Boudreau. GM: Tom Rowe. Kingpin: Left winger Josh Green, 21, will be expected to have a breakthrough season after a 27-game taste of the NHL in 1998-99. Fresh face: Goalie Roberto Luongo, 20, is the most highly touted goaltending prospect since Martin Brodeur. Outlook: The team is young and the top guns are subject to recall to two teams.<h2>New England Division</h2>1. Hartford Wolf Pack (Rangers, 38-37-5, second in New England, second round). Coach: John Paddock. GM: Don Maloney. Kingpin: Right winger Brad Smyth. 26, can score 40 goals in his sleep. Fresh face: Defenseman Burke Henry, 20, is hockey smart and has good offensive skills. Outlook: The nucleus of veterans is exceptional and they underachieved last year.2. Providence Bruins (Boston, 56-20-4, first in New England, won Calder Cup). Coach: Peter Laviolette. GM: Harry Sinden. Kingpin: Center Andre Savage, 24, takes over as the first line center. Fresh face: Defenseman Nick Boynton, 20, was MVP of Memorial Cup-champion Ottawa 67&rsquo;s. Outlook: Losses of three defensemen and MVP (Randy Robitaille) will make it tough to match last year&rsquo;s worst-to-first joyride.3. Portland Pirates (Washington, 23-50-7, fifth in Atlantic, missed playoffs). Coach: Glen Hanlon. GM: George McPhee. Kingpin: Center Jeff Nelson, 27, returns to the scene of his 107-point season after three years in the International League. Fresh face: Defenseman Jean-Francois Fortin, 20, has an NHL future, but it may be two or three years away. Outlook: They&rsquo;ll rebound from 50 losses and make the playoffs.4. Springfield Falcons (Phoenix, 35-36-9, third in New England, first round). Coach: Dave Farrish. GM: Bruce Landon. Kingpin: Center Daniel Briere, 22, is back after a full season in Phoenix. Fresh face: Goalie Patrick DesRochers, 19, is out to restore the value of his fallen stock. Outlook: The Falcons have a good mix of talent; they&rsquo;re just stuck in the best division.5. Worcester IceCats (St. Louis, 34-38-8, fourth in New England, first round). Coach: Greg Gilbert. GM: Larry Pleau. Kingpin: Center Marty Reasoner, 21, is on the verge of graduation. Fresh face: Center Ladislav Nagy, 20, is willing to do whatever it takes to score. He must have done everything in junior because he scored 71 goals last season. Outlook: The talent is young and goals may again be hard to come by.<h2>Western Conference Empire Division</h2>1. Rochester Americans (Buffalo, 52-22-8, first in Empire, Calder Cup final). Coach: Brian McCutcheon. GM: Jody Gage. Kingpin: First-team all-star goalie Marty Biron, 22, is an NHLer waiting for Dominik Hasek to retire. Fresh face: Right winger Maxim Afinogenov, 20, relies on speed to create offensive chances. Outlook: The principle figures from a record-setting defensive team return, as does much of the offense.2. Syracuse Crunch (Vancouver, 18-53-9, fifth in Empire, missed playoffs). Coach: Stan Smyl. GM: Vance Lederman. Kingpin: Reggie Savage, 29, provides explosiveness and tenacity. Fresh face: Mike Brown, 20, is projected to be a grinding, rugged left winger. Outlook: The addition of key veterans under first-year coach Smyl will provide instant return.3. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh, expansion team). Coach: Glenn Patrick. GM: Craig Patrick. Kingpin: Left winger/center Martin Sonnenberg, 21, was a free agent steal a year ago who has excellent puck skills. Fresh face: Defenseman Andrew Ference, 20, combines smarts with grit, but he isn&rsquo;t big (5-foot-10, 187 pounds). Outlook: Prospects abound, but a lack of veterans could hurt.4. Albany River Rats (New Jersey, 46-286, second in Empire, first round). Coach: John Cunniff. GM: Lou Lamoriello. Kingpin: Center Steve Brule, 24, is the club&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer. Fresh face: Goalie J-F Damphousse, 20, is a first-rounder who could inherit the bulk of the duties. Outlook: It&rsquo;s rebuilding time in Albany up front, on defense and in goal.5. Hamilton Bulldogs (Edmonton, 40-337, third in Empire, second round). Coach: Walt Kyle. GM: Scott Howson. Kingpin: Center Eric Houde, 22, is a point-a-game player. Fresh face: Defenseman Alex Henry, 20, is large (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) and his AHL apprenticeship may not be more than a year. Outlook: The roster has been overhauled with kids replacing veterans.<h2>Mid-Atlantic Division</h2>1. Philadelphia Phantoms (Philadelphia, 47-24-9, first in Mid-Atlantic, third round). Coach: Bill Barber. GM: Bob Clarke. Kingpin: Center Peter White, 30, is a three-time AHL scoring champ who routinely puts up 100 points. Fresh face: Left winger Todd Fedoruk, 20, is big (6-foot-2, 240 pounds), tough and loves to hit. Outlook: With no weaknesses, a fourth consecutive division title seems certain.2. Kentucky Thoroughblades (San Jose, 44-29-7, second in Mid-Atlantic, second round). Coach: Roy Sommer. GM: Wayne Thomas. Kingpin: Left winger Doug Friedman, 28, is a leader and a pain to play against. Fresh face: Defenseman Scott Hannan, 20, has NHL skills, but just needs apprenticeship. Outlook: Scandanavian rookie goalies Miikka Kiprusoff and Johan Hedberg lead a defensive team.3. Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (Anaheim, 35-41-4, fourth in Mid-Atlantic, first round). Coach: Moe Mantha. GM: David McNab. Kingpin: Center Bob Wren, 25, is a sniper who remains the focal point of the offense. Fresh face: Defenseman Vitali Vishnevsky, 19, is mobile, tough and is Anaheim&rsquo;s top prospect. Outlook: The Ducks have top-notch youngsters and they will win in Philly (0-11-1 lifetime).4. Hershey Bears (Colorado, 37-33-10, third in Mid-Atlantic, first round). Coach: Mike Foligno. GM: Doug Yingst. Kingpin: Right winger Christian Matte, 24, is creative, skilled and makes the offense go. Fresh face: Defenseman Martin Skoula, 19, has been compared to Sandis Ozolinsh. Outlook: There are few stars, but many competent, improving players.5. Louisville Panthers (Florida expansion team). Coach: Joe Paterson GM: Bryan Murray. Kingpin: Righi winger Paul Brousseau, 26, can&rsquo;t crack an NHL lineup, but he can score goals in the AHL. Fresh face: Defenseman Brad Ference, 20, was the 10th overall pick in 1997 because of his skating and toughness. Outlook: The potential exists for a very competitive team, but there isn&rsquo;t much depth.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02632/7617528-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="438" height="438"></div><h2>THN PREDICTIONS</h2><h3>Regular Season Top Team</h3>1. Rochester Americans2. Hartford Wolf Pack3. Philadelphia Phantoms<h3>Most Valuable Player</h3>1. Marty Biron, Rochester2. Daniel Briere, Springfield3. Jesse Belanger, Quebec City<h3>Top Goaltender</h3>1. Marty Biron, Rochester2. Mathieu Garon, Quebec City3. Martin Brochu, Portland<h3>Top Defenseman</h3>1. Mike Hurlbut, Rochester2. Terry Virtue, Hartford3. Pavel Skrbek, W-B/Scranton<h3>Top Rookie</h3>1. Roberto Luongo, Lowell2. M. Afinogenov, Rochester3. Vitali Vishnevsky, Cincinnati<h2>Manchester, N.H., becomes team No. 22 in 2001</h2>Pro sports will debut in New Hampshire when the American League puts a franchise in Manchester for 2001-02.The franchise is owned by Howard Baldwin, former owner of the Hartford Whalers and Pittsburgh Penguins, and the start date is contingent upon completion of a new arena in Manchester, a city of about 100,000.While the market is small by the AHL&rsquo;s new expansion standards, president Dave Andrews isn&rsquo;t worried.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll be the only pro team in the state, there is a large youth hockey base and the demographics include a lot of people from Canada who moved there to work years ago,&rdquo; Andrews said.Manchester is only about 25 miles from Lowell, Mass., meaning it is within the Lock Monsters&rsquo; territory. However, the Manchester market has been discussed for several years and the granting of the Lowell franchise in 1995 included a waiver on rights to the Manchester area.The AHL will swell to 21 teams next season when Hampton Roads, Va. and Rossford. Ohio, join.-Kevin Oklobzija &#9632;

f0033-01

Unbeatable Biron

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01997/7617573-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01959/7617566-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="3381" height="2852"></div> &#9632;

f0035-01

1999-2000 AHL SCHEDULE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01885/7617656-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0039-01

1999-2000 IHL SCHEDULE

<div class="byline">By John Packett</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02366/7617701-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Super-scorer John Spoltore of the Louisiana IceGators is an MVP candidate this season.</figcaption></div>There is no doubt in Dave Seitz&rsquo;s mind as to what he needs to do when he takes the ice for the South Carolina Stingrays this season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been here three years and my role is to produce,&rdquo; said the 5-foot-10, 184-pound center. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my job. To score and make plays and free other guys up so they can score.&rdquo;If Seitz produces as expected for the Stingrays and leads them to the East Coast League&rsquo;s Brabham Cup-awarded for regular season supremacy-he 11 likely emerge as the MVP.But the former Clarkson University standout would prefer another championship ring over the MVP honor.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d be a lot happier if we won the Brabham Cup and the Kelly Cup again,&rdquo; said the 25-year-old native of Buffalo. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a great team and we&rsquo;re very team focused. That&rsquo;s something that would mean more to me personally than anything else.&rdquo;Seitz helped the Stingrays become the only team in ECHL history to capture both the regular season and playoff titles as a rookie in 199697. He scored 43 goals and 97 points in 58 games.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ll never forget,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And people around town don&rsquo;t let us forget that we won it and that they want another one.&rdquo;Even though his size might prevent him from reaching the NHL, Seitz isn&rsquo;t through yet trying to get to the highest level. He has spent 17 games with the Rochester Americans of the American League and seven with the Chicago Wolves of the International League over the past three seasons.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been small my whole life and I&rsquo;ve had to deal with it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t control what other people think. I don&rsquo;t sit up at night and say, &rsquo;Wow if I were an inch taller, I&rsquo;d be (in the NHL).&rsquo; &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s a look at how ECHL teams shape of this season. Teams are listed in predicted order of finish. Last year&rsquo;s records, division finishes and playoff fortunes are in parentheses. The top eight teams in the Northern Conference and top 11 in the Southern Conference qualify for the playoffs.<h2>Southern Conference Southwest Division</h2>1. Louisiana IceGators (46-18-6, first in Southwest, first round). Coach: Don Murdoch. GM: Jady Regard. Kingpin: Center John Spoltore, 28, led the ECHL in scoring last season. Fresh face: Goaltender Sean Gauthier, 28, won 18 games in Kentucky of the American League a year ago. Outlook: The new coach will keep the IceGators on top of the division.2. New Orleans Brass (30-27-13, fourth inSouthwest, second round). Coach: Ted Sator. GM: Dan Belisle. Kingpin: Center Jeff Lazaro, 31, is seven seasons removed from a three-year NHL career. Fresh face: Goaltender Doug Bonner, 23, won 28 games for Louisiana last season. Outlook: Don&rsquo;t be surprised if the Brass overtake the IceGators in a tight finish.3. Arkansas RiverBlades (expansion team). Coach: Geoff Ward. GM: Dave Berryman. Kingpin: Goalie Jeff Salajko, 24, won 30 games with Columbus 1998-99. Fresh face: Right winger Mikhail Kravets, 35, will bring veteran leadership in Year 1. Outlook: Don&rsquo;t count the expansion RiverBlades out of the division race.4. Mississippi Sea Wolves (41-22-7, second in Southwest, won Kelly Cup). Coach: Marc Potvin. GM: Brian Kelley. Kingpin: Defenseman Bob Woods, 31, was the club&rsquo;s top scorer with just 62 promts last season. Fresh face: Right winger J.F. Aube, 26, led Charlotte in scoring a year ago. Outlook: Can the league champs cope with the coaching change?5. Birmingham Bulls(37-29-4, third in Southwest, first round). Coach Dennis Desrosiers. GM: Charles Felix. Kingpin Center Jamey Hicks, 30, was the fourth-leading scorer with 91 points. Fresh face: Wingerlar Hebert, 26, returns after three years in Europe Outlook: The Bulls are capable of a higher finish.6. Mobile Mysticks (31-31-8, fifth in Southwest, lost playoff wild card). Coach: Jef) Pyle. GM: Steve Chapman. Kingpin: Defense man Dave Craievich, 28, has played more ECHI games than anyone. Fresh face: Left winger Scott Cherrey, 25, was a second round draft pick of the Washington Capitals in 1994. Outlook: The Mysticks will be hard-pressed to stir up a winning pot.7. Pensacola Ice Pilots (25-41-4, eighth in Southwest, missed playoffs). Coach: Al Pedersen. GM: Joe Bucchino. Kingpin: Goaltender Scott LeGrand, 30, was a fourth round draft choice by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1988. Fresh face: Defenseman Marc Dupuis, 26, should stabilize the blueline. Outlook: The Ice Pilots remain in a rebuilding mode.8. Baton Rouge Kingfish (30-30-10, sixth in Southwest, first round). Coach: Bob McGill. GM: Ron Hansis. Kingpin: Center Bryan Richardson, 26, led the club in scoring last season with 79 points. Fresh face: Right winger Joe Seroski, 22, scored 43 goals as rookie in 199798. Outlook: The Kingfish hope they&rsquo;ve found more offense.9. Jackson Bandits (34-25-11 as Chesapeake Icebreakers, fourth in Northeast, second round). Coach: Derek Clancey. GM: Brad Ewing. Kingpin: Center Jimmy Brown, 26, put up good numbers with Pee Dee. Fresh face: Goaltender David Brumby, 24, was a 1993 draft pick of theToronto Maple Leafs. Outlook: Without much time to get organized, the Bandits will struggle.<h2>Southeast Division</h2>1. South Carolina Stingrays (40-20-10, third in Southeast, first round). Coach-GM: Rick Adduono. Kingpin: Center David Seitz, 25, led the team with 30 goals a year ago. Fresh face: Center Adam Calder, 23, helped North Dakota win the NCAA title as a sophomore. Outlook: The Stingrays are loaded and ready to strike.2. Florida Everblades (45-20-5, second in Southeast, second round). Coach: Bob Ferguson. GM: Craig Brush. Kingpin: Left winger Tim Ferguson, 32, the coach&rsquo;s brother, had 33 goals last year. Fresh face: Left winger Andy MacIntyre, 25, spent most of last season with Kentucky of the AHL. Outlook: The defense-minded Everblades have more offense this season.3. Pee Dee Pride (51-15-4, first in Southeast, third round). Coach: Frank Anzalone. GM: Jack Capuano. Kingpin: Left winger Allan Sirois, 24, produced 35 goals in 1998-99. Fresh face: Center Buddy Smith, 24, led Northern Michigan last season, averaging a point a game. Outlook: The Pride will rely more heavily on defense.Continued on pg. 41Continued from pg. 404. Greenville Grrrowl (26-33-11, eighth in Southeast, missed playoffs). Coach-GM: John Marks. Kingpin: Center Dana Mulvihill, 23, led the Grrrowl in scoring a year ago. Fresh face: Right winger Jay Panzer, 23, was one of North Dakota&rsquo;s main men last season. Outlook: More firepower should have Greenville Grrrowling.5. Tallahassee Tiger Sharks (27-34-9, seventh in Southwest, missed playoffs). Coach: Terry Christensen. GM: Larry Kish. Kingpin: Left winger Matt Oates, 26, led Columbus in scoring last year. Fresh face: Defenseman Kevin Kellett, 21, is a physical prospect from Prince Albert of the Western League. Outlook: The Tiger Sharks are sure to have more bite.6. Augusta Lynx (38-27-5, fourth in Southeast, lost playoff wild card). Coach: Dan Wiebe. GM: Paul Gamsby. Kingpin: Goalie Judd Lambert, 25, is the iron man (51 games) for the Lynx. Fresh face: Center Dean Tilgen, 25, was a point-a-game man in the Western Pro League. Outlook: The Lynx will be in tough for a playoff spot.7. Jacksonville Lizard Kings (35-33-2, fifth in Southeast, lost playoff wild card). Coach: Alain Lemieux. GM: Joe Bucchino. Kingpin: Goaltender Ray LeBlanc, 34, won 29 games for Lizard Kings. Fresh face: Left winger Eric Naud, 21, will provide a physical presence. Outlook: Mario&rsquo;s brother, Alain, will have a rough debut.<h2>Northern Conference Northeast Division</h2>1. Roanoke Express (38-22-10, first in Northeast, third round). Coach: Scott Gordon. GM: Tommy Benizio. Kingpin: Winger Kris Cantu, 23, led the team in goals. Fresh face: Center Dion Delmonte, 26, scored 40 goals for Madison of the United League. Outlook: Express has the best goaltending tandem in the league..2. Richmond Renegades (40-27-3, third in Northeast, Kelly Cup final). Coach: Mark Kaufman. GM: Craig Laughlin. Kingpin: Center Ryan Kraft, 23, tied for the scoring lead as a rookie. Fresh face: Center Marc Bouchard, 21, didn&rsquo;t miss a game in four Quebec League seasons. Outlook: Most of last year&rsquo;s team is back.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01488/7617694-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="779" height="1253"><figcaption class="caption-body">Colin Miller, left, and the Bornbers we see a lot of Richmond&rsquo;s Sal Manganaro.</figcaption></div>3. Charlotte Checkers (29-30-11, sixth in Southeast, missed playoffs). Coach: Shawn Wheeler. GM: Steve Camp. Kingpin: Winger Tracy Egeland, 29, had 38 goals in 47 games for Huntington. Fresh face: Goalie Jim Hrivnak, 31, has NHL experience with Washington. Outlook: Charlotte has enough talent to win the division.4. Hampton Roads Admirals (38-24-8, second in Northeast, first round). Coach: John Brophy. GM: Al Maclsaac. Kingpin: Winger Brad Church, 22, was a first round pick of Washington in 1995. Fresh face: Winger Rick Kowal-sky, 27, returns after a year in the AHL. Outlook: AHL-bound Admirals want to leave a winner.5. Greensboro Generals (expansion team). Coach: Jeff Brubaker. GM: John Horshok. Kingpin: Left winger David Beauregard, 23, had 81 points for two teams in the UHL. Fresh face: Right winger Sal Manganaro, 26, had a point a game for Richmond. Outlook: Brubaker returns to old haunt with a competitive club.6. Trenton Titans (expansion team). Coach: Bruce Cassidy. GM: Brian McKenna. Kingpin: Netminder Bujar Amidovski, 22, was stellar for Louisiana. Fresh face: Center Jarett Whidden, 26, had 96 points in the WPHL. Outlook: At least the Titans have a nice new arena.<h2>Northwest Division</h2>1. Peoria Rivermen (39-25-6, second in Northwest, first round). Coach: Don Granato. GM: John Butler. Kingpin: Defenseman Darren Maloney, 27, is an all-star performer. Fresh face: Forward Darin Kimble, 30, had 1,082 penalty minutes during his NHL career. Outlook: A physical outfit should prevail in a balanced division.2. Huntington Blizzard (31-33-6, fifth in Northwest, missed playoffs). Coach: Ray Edwards. GM: Morris Jeffreys. Kingpin: Center Jim Bermingham, 27, is the franchise leader in goals and assists. Fresh face: Forward Mark Edmundson, 24, scored 20 goals in 23 games for St. Thomas in Canadian University play. Outlook: A new regime will boost division hopes.3. Wheeling Nailers (27-37-6, sixth in Northwest, missed playoffs). Coach: Murray Eaves. GM: Fred Traynor. Kingpin: Winger Vadim Slivchenko, 29, was the league&rsquo;s most valuable player in 1994-95. Fresh face: Goalie David Weninger, 23, was a third round pick of Washington in 1996. Outlook: Eaves produced winner at Toledo last year.4. Toledo Storm (39-26-5, third in Northwest, second round). Coach: Todd Gordon. GM: Pat Pylypuik. Kingpin: Right winger Andrew Williamson, 23, led the club with 34 goals. Fresh face: Forward Rob Millar, 23, was Harvard&rsquo;s second-leading scorer. Outlook: The Storm figures to be in the thick of a tight division battle.5. Dayton Bornbers (34-27-9, fourth in Northwest, first round). Coach: Greg Ireland. GM: John Gagnon. Kingpin: Center Jamie Ling, 26, was second in ECHL scoring with 95 points. Fresh face: Goalie Alex Westlund, 23, is a former all-American for Yale. Outlook: The Bornbers will challenge for the playoffs.6. Johnstown Chiefs (27-34-9, fifth in Northeast, missed playoffs). Coach: Scott Allen. GM: Toby O&rsquo;Brien. Kingpin: Center Carl Fleury, 25, is coming off an injury-plagued season. Fresh face: Goaltender Frederic Deschenes, 23, won 20 games for Birmingham last year. Outlook: Another downer season for the Chiefs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01585/7617687-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="431" height="449"></div><h2>THN PREDICTIONS</h2><h3>Regular Season Top Team</h3>1. South Carolina Stingrays2. Roanoke Express3. Louisiana IceGators<h3>Most Valuable Player</h3>1. David Seitz, South Carolina2. John Spoltore, Louisiana3. Jamie Ling, Dayton<h3>Top Goaltender</h3>1. Sean Gauthier, Louisiana2. Kirk Daubenspeck, S. Carolina3. Buiar Amidovski, Trenton<h3>Top Defenseman</h3>1. Chris Valicevic, Louisiana2. Darren Maloney, Peoria3. David Craievich, Mobile<h3>Top Rookie</h3>1. Adam Calder, South Caroline2. Marc Bouchard, Richmond3. Rob Millar, Toledo<h2>New Orleans &lsquo;Babvdome&rsquo; seats 17.500</h2>More East Coast League fans will be watching games in style this season.Three new arenas will be opening and another has completed renovations that make it one of the top facilities in the ECHL.The largest arena is opening in New Orleans, La., home of the New Orleans Brass. It will seat 17,500 and has 64 luxury suites. Located next to the Superdome, the &lsquo;Babydome&rsquo; also features club seating, a lounge and bar area.In Little Rock, Ark., the expansion Arkansas RiverBlades will play in the Alltel Arena, which has 16,377 seats, 28 luxury boxes, banquet facilities and a video scoreboard.The expansion Trenton Titans will skate into the Sovereign Bank Arena. It seats 7,850 and has 34 luxury suites.In Tallahassee. Fla., the Leon County Civic Center, where the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks play, has been renovated and seats 10,700. It features 34 luxury suites, a 400-seat restaurant overlooking the ice surface, club seating in each comer and a Megavision scoreboard.-John Packett &#9632;

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Seitz set on trophy

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01496/7617732-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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October 15, 1999

GM McPhee suspended for punching rival coach

Hitchcock focused on new season after overdosing on Cup-win hype

NHL PRE-SEASON

MVP for Maltais?