Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
December 10, 1999
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.
Hold Hall’s door open until Bourque retires
The article “Gretzky last of fast-track inductees” said No. 99 will be the last to be inducted into the Hall of Fame immediately following retirement. The mandatory three-year waiting period will be imposed on all future Hall of Fame candidates, without exception, so the selection committee can “digest whether a player is worthy of inclusion” (THN, Nov. 26). I’m sure Ray Bourque enjoyed reading this. Beyond his incredible talent and statistics, Bourque’s loyalty to the Boston Bruins and their fans meant accepting less money than he could have made on other teams, a rarity in pro sports. His loyalty also likely cost him a chance at grasping hockey’s ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup. Surely the Hall can wait another year or two before instituting the mandatory three-year waiting period, as Bourque deserves…
Lightning’s philosophy: Our way or the highway
According to legend, a few years ago a disgruntled player barged into the office of Detroit Vipers’ (International League) GM Rick Dudley and griped about his ice time under Vipers’ coach Steve Ludzik. Dudley told the player, “No problem. I’ll take care it.” Dudley paused, then said, “Where do you want to be traded?” It’s a bit easier to swallow that story after what happened to left winger Andreas Johansson. The Lightning traded Johansson Nov. 20 to the Calgary Flames for the rights to unsigned draft pick Nils Ekman and a fourth-rounder in the 2000 draft. The move came less than a week after Johansson asked for a sit-down with GM Dudley, presumably to discuss his struggles with the Lightning and Ludzik, the team's coach. After a concussion in the first game of the…
Farm boys lead way to greener pastures as up-and-down team respectable again
The Buffalo Sabres, struggling to recapture the form that carried them to the Stanley Cup final last spring, got back to .500. This time they hope to stay there. “The last time we were there very shortly and we fell asleep a bit,” said defenseman Cory Sarich, after the Sabres defeated the Washington Capitals 5-2 Nov. 23 to get to even for just the second time this season. “We’ve dug ourselves out, so maybe now we can get over that peak.” Sarich, up from Rochester of the American League, is one of the reasons the Sabres were emerging from a season-long funk. He joins goaltender Martin Biron and right winger Maxim Afinogenov in a trio of kids that have helped the Sabres find some direction after a slow start. “We’ve had an infusion…
Van Hellemond big game referee
Andy van was the man. Andy van Hellemond was the NHL’s No. 1-rated referee 14 straight seasons-18 times in all — during an illustrious officiating career. “There are no awards for the work an official does on the ice,” said the 61-year-old van Hellemond, inducted to the Hall of Fame Nov. 22. “The only reward you got was working the Stanley Cup final. That and there was the rating system. The ratings were done by GMs and your supervisors. “It wasn’t anything you jumped up and down about, but somebody had to be No. 1 and somebody had to be No. 14. I took a lot of pride in being No. 1.” Van Hellemond, now director of hockey operations for the East Coast League, worked a remarkable 19 Stanley Cup finals in a career…
Made possible with the support of
