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.

February 4, 2000

The Hockey News February 4, 2000

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell and Brian Costello</div>Jock Callander of the Cleveland Lumberjacks was back in the chase for the International League&rsquo;s all-time combined points-scoring record after an examination of his statistics by The Hockey News and Winnipeg Free Press.Callander and the IHL thought the Jacks&rsquo; center had broken Len Thomson&rsquo;s 31-year-old mark of 1,382 career points (regular season and playoffs) by scoring a goal Jan. 14 in Houston. The milestone point has been promoted on the IHL and Lumberjacks&rsquo; marquee all season and was trumpeted in newspapers and media outlets throughout the HL Jan. 15.While preparing a feature story on Callander for this edition of The Hockey News, the statistics were found to contain an error which had credited Callander with 13 points too many. That left him 12 points shy of Thomson&rsquo;s mark as of Jan. 20.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad the error was uncovered,&rdquo; said the Cleveland captain after being informed by co-coach Perry Ganchar Jan. 21. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to take credit for something I haven&rsquo;t earned.&rdquo;The discovery of the error puts on hold the celebration the Jacks had planned for a Jan. 28 home game. It was to have included presentation of a silver stick, other gifts and expected visits by a representative of the Hockey Hall of Fame, as well as Thomson, who splits his residence between Florida and Fort Wayne, Ind.Jacks&rsquo; manager of media relations Scott Harrington said the club will not rehang its countdown banner in Gund Arena while the 38-year-old Regina, Sask., native resumes his record quest. They also will not restart an ad campaign touting Callander&rsquo;s chase.The error was pinpointed in the reporting of statistics from the 1984-85 playoffs, when Callander was a member of the Muskegon Lumberjacks. During that spring, when the Jacks lost to Peoria in a seven-game final, he scored eight goals and 21 points in 17 playoff games.The totals were altered due to a column tabulation and typographical error in Callander&rsquo;s statistics in the 1989-90 edition of the NHL Official Guide and Record Book. That change dropped the eight goals and shifted all the columns to the left and when it was wrongly altered three years later, the eight goals weren&rsquo;t found and the addition was simply thought to be 13 goals, 21 assists for 34 points, a difference of 13 points.There were no Lumberjacks&rsquo; media guides before 1989-90, so it&rsquo;s believed after that date, the incorrect total was simply copied from later NHL guides.The typographical error was confirmed by NHL chief statistician Benny Ercolani, as well as Dan Diamond, who helped with the publication of the NHL guide. Total Hockey, published by Diamond two years ago, contains Callander&rsquo;s correct number for those playoffs, 21 points.Archived editions of The Hockey News also confirmed the error.The HL acknowledged the blunder and issued a press release Jan. 21.&ldquo;I feel bad for Jock, just terrible about the whole thing,&rdquo; said HL president Doug Moss.Callander had 38 games remaining to secure the 13 points.<h2>ANATOMY OF ERROR</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011867/7813138-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="723" height="723"></div> &#9632;

f0010-01

DEPARTMENTS

Unlucky 13: Statistical gaffe puts Callander record on hold

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01966/7814649-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"></div><h2>1999-2000 REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01610/7814642-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="6676" height="3858"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01518/7814635-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="6676" height="3858"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01422/7814628-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="6676" height="3858"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01337/7814621-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="6676" height="3858"></div> &#9632;

f0038-01

Statistics

<div class="byline">&nbsp;By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="S0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0018-0124/7815251-1-eng-US/s0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Flyers&rsquo; center Eric Lindros doesn&rsquo;t bring his rugged style of play to the NHL All-Star Game.</figcaption></div>The year was 1970. Scotty Bowman was coaching in his second All-Star Game, behind the bench of the Western Division-his Davids to Claude Ruel&rsquo;s Goliaths from the powerful Eastern Division.Those were different times for the NHL.It was only three years after the first expansion and among the Original Six, only the Chicago Blackhawks had transferred to the Western Division.The league&rsquo;s balance of power was heavily skewed towards the East. The season before, Bowman took his underdog Western all-stars into Montreal and escaped with a 3-3 tie. Accordingly, Bowman knew the East, embarrassed by the previous year&rsquo;s result, was looking for revenge.&ldquo;They had all the players,&rdquo; Bowman recalled. &ldquo;They had Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe. And Claude Ruel played those guys a lot. They beat us only 4-1, but it was all because of (Western goaltender) Jacques Plante. I&rsquo;ve never seen anyone play a game like that. In fact, Plante played so hard, he pulled a groin and missed about a month. They came to play that game. There was a lot of pride in East against West.&rdquo;Once upon a time, as Bowman implies, the All-Star Game meant something. In 1974, Philadelphia Flyer center Bobby Clarke groused his team was outcoached in the West&rsquo;s 6-4 win. In 1981, New York Islander right winger Mike Bossy was flattened by Tiger Williams in a 4-1 Campbell Conference win over the Wales.So why is the game now an exercise in shinny? For much of the 1990s, the All-Star Game fell somewhere between an old-timers&rsquo; game and 3-on-3 pond hockey. In an era when goal-scoring has approached an all-time low, you could always count on the All-Star Game for fireworks. Eight of the nine highest-scoring All Star Games in history were played in the 1990s.The NHL sells its All-Star Game as a showcase, but just what is on display? No one body checks anymore. No one unleashes a slapshot if there&rsquo;s a player in the shooting lane. No one takes a penalty, except by accident. The All-Star Game features some aspects of the game of hockey-it&rsquo;s still played on ice-but certainly not all of them.Perhaps no one is in a better position to discuss the All-Star Game&rsquo;s evolution than former NHL coach Mike Keenan. Keenan&rsquo;s three all-star coaching experiences-1986, &rsquo;88 and &rsquo;93-nicely bookend the changes in the style of all-star play.Keenan&rsquo;s debut in 1986, a 4-3 Wales Conference overtime win, was a game he recalls as being close and competitive. By 1993, Keenan&rsquo;s most recent all-star coaching experience, the standards had completely changed in a contest that finished 16-6 for the Wales.According to Keenan, that seven-year span coincided with a dramatic surge in player salaries and a tighter players&rsquo; union. The two factors, said Keenan, altered the players&rsquo; expectations of the All-Star Game.&ldquo;The pendulum has swung dramatically,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;Justified or not, the players&rsquo; attitude was that they were giving up their time to participate in the league&rsquo;s showcase event. There certainly wasn&rsquo;t any expectation at all as far as competition was concerned. They were there to enjoy themselves, to socialize and really, that was the extent of it.&rdquo;The regular season schedule is so long and the demands on the players so great that they look at the all-star break as just that-a break. Just as their colleagues are soaking up the sun at their Florida and Arizona condos, the players arriving in Toronto in early February will immediately go into holiday mode.First-time all-star Valeri Bure, the Calgary Flames&rsquo; right winger, plans to bring his wife and mother to the game.&lsquo;We&rsquo;re going to have a great time and that&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about,&rdquo; Bure said.And Bure has no problem with the way the game is now played.&ldquo;I played in the American League All-Star Game and it&rsquo;s a hockey game there,&rdquo; Bure said. &ldquo;I played in the CHL All-Star Game and that&rsquo;s hockey, too, because they try to impress everybody. Once you get to the NHL, players understand that it&rsquo;s more of a show than a real hockey game. You always want to do well, but you don&rsquo;t want to hurt anybody-and you don&rsquo;t want to get hurt yourself.&rdquo;Former NHLer Mike Rogers, now a hockey radio analyst, played in the 1981 All-Star Game and remembers Bossy getting carried off the ice. To Rogers, today&rsquo;s All-Star Game is &ldquo;a joke, a farce.&rdquo;Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; winger Wendel Clark disagrees, noting that all-star events in other sports don&rsquo;t promote all aspects of their games.&ldquo;Mike Bossy is a $7-million player today,&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;If he gets an injury in an All-Star Game, I don&rsquo;t imagine the New York Islanders would be too happy. Each team has too much on the line. Everything&rsquo;s bigger now. Teams don&rsquo;t want players coming back from the All-Star Game injured.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s fun, it&rsquo;s entertainment. The NFL&rsquo;s (Pro Bowl) game in Hawaii, they&rsquo;re not running guys over every play, they&rsquo;re picking guys up. There isn&rsquo;t an All-Star Game out there that&rsquo;s like that anymore. That&rsquo;s just the way it is.&rdquo;Added Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; left winger Brendan Shanahan, a starter for the North American team: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s competitive, but at the same time, you&rsquo;ve got Phil Housley going into the comer with (Calgary teammate) Valeri Bure. They&rsquo;ve got a big game to play a few days later. You want to win, definitely, but you have a responsibility to your own (NHL) teammates.&rdquo;Indeed, part of the reason the league switched to a World vs. North America format was to add an element of competition to the game. The World vs. North America still gives you 9-8 results, but according to Detroit center Steve Yzerman, it&rsquo;s a vast improvement over the alternative.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s two distinct sides,&rdquo; Yzerman said. &ldquo;In Wales against Campbell, there was no differentiation.&rdquo;Bure believes in the concept, too. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to see the fights, but I think it&rsquo;s going to be pretty high intensity,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Something we can&rsquo;t do in the regular season is just go all offense and that&rsquo;s probably what it&rsquo;s going to be.&rdquo;<h2>All-Star Game Goal Bonanza</h2>It took 27 All-Star Games for the two teams to combine for 10 goals. Since that first double-digit explosion in 1974, scoring has taken off. Thirteen of the last 15 games have yielded 10 or more goals, including a record 22 in 1993. Illustrated below are the total goals in each All-Star Game since 1947.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0018-0213/7815244-1-eng-US/s0018-022.jpg" title="S0018-02" width="3100" height="661"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Graphic by Matthew Blackett; Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

S0018-01

ALL-STAR GAME SPECIAL SECTION

Whatever happened to the All-Star Game?

<div class="byline">By Paul Hunter</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0029-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04304/7814163-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Thomas is frustrated by his lack of production this season. (Jim Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03433/7814170-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="155" height="152"></div>Steve Thomas went from zero to hero on the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; mid-January swing through Western Canada.On the club&rsquo;s first stop in Edmonton against the Oilers, the slumping right winger was dropped from Toronto&rsquo;s No. 1 line, replaced on Mats Sundin&rsquo;s starboard side by Mike Johnson. Last season&rsquo;s 28-goal campaign a fading memory, Thomas had only six goals at the halfway point this year and was rarely getting to the net for good chances.&ldquo;What bugs me is I&rsquo;m playing with one of the best players in the league (Sundin) and I&rsquo;m still not scoring,&rdquo; lamented the 36-year-old Thomas.Coach-GM Pat Quinn had been steadfastly loyal to Thomas but, under the ego-soothing guise of building flexibility into his lineup, he made a move he&rsquo;d hinted at for weeks. He demoted the veteran to a line with rookie center Nik Antropov and new/old left winger Wendel Clark.Two games later against the Vancouver Canucks, Thomas responded with his best game of the season. Getting time with both Sundin and Antropov, Thomas scored his first goal in 14 games during regulation time and then added the winner in overtime on a specular individual effort.Carrying the puck from his own blueline in what was basically a l-on-4 break, Thomas bounced off a couple of Canucks in the neutral zone before powering past the defensemen. Then as he fell in the slot, hauled down by Greg Hawgood, he swept the puck past former Leaf teammate Felix Potvin. It was his 11th regular season overtime goal, an NHL record.&ldquo;We all know he can score,&rdquo; Sundin said. &ldquo;The more important the game, the more important the situation in a game, the better he plays.&rdquo;Thomas was just hoping a two-goal night might finally ease some of the self-doubt in what has been a frustrating season.&ldquo;Maybe this is something I can build on and something that will give me a (lot) of confidence,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;I love that feeling when you score the winning goal. There&rsquo;s nothing better than that. I just want to be that guy.&rdquo;Overall, Thomas had eight goals and 34 points in 47 games. He finished with 28 goals and 73 points in 78 games last season.NOTEBOOK: The Leafs hoped to give left winger Wendel Clark, who agreed to a contract Jan. 9, two or three weeks of conditioning before activating him. However, because of injuries, Clark made his latest Leaf debut at Edmonton Jan. 14. He played well and suited up the next night at Calgary&hellip; Center Alyn McCauley missed the game against the Oilers because of what he believed to be food poisoning. &ldquo;Eating clam chowder in Edmonton was my first mistake,&rdquo; he said&hellip;Right winger Tie Domi suffered a rib cartilage injury in the Oiler game and flew home to Toronto&hellip;Defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev also returned home. He cracked a bone in his left thumb at Boston before the Leafs flew to Edmonton. &#9632;

f0029-04

NHL TEAMS

Thomas hopes good road trip start of personal turnaround

1. Shades of 1998-99 Washington goes on six-game win streak to get in thick of playoff hunt.2. Oleg Saprykin Calgary draft pick racks up four goals, two assists in Western League All-Star Game.3. Good Jobe Trevor Jobe of United League&rsquo;s Adirondack IceHawks scores 500th professional goal.4. Hi, Mom Devils&rsquo; slugger Krzysztof Oliwa scores with his mother visiting from Poland on hand for her first NHL game.5. Big Apple bites back The New York Rangers, led by goalie Mike Richter, have won six of their last seven games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011595/7812780-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="311" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Krzysztof Oliwa</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021343/7812773-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="279" height="439"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Richter</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0002-01

IN THIS ISSUE

Streaking Caps win six straight

1. Canadian government Plan to subsidize Canadian NHL teams is solid; presentation, however, is not.2. Don&rsquo;t forget to floss Oshawa&rsquo;s Neil Posillico is suspended 12 OHL games for biting linesman and opponent.3. Calm down, coach Pittsburgh coach Herb Brooks suspended two games for attacking play-by-play man.4. Math 101 International League, Cleveland Lumberjacks fail to verify stats in Jock Callander&rsquo;s premature record.5. Sin to win? Losing coaches complain that defending league champs Houston are too intense in IHL All-Star Game. &#9632;

Politicians giveth, then taketh away

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden </div><div class="byline">Editor-In-Chief</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-031003/7812835-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="339" height="424"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Bruce Bennett Studios)</figcaption></div>For the record, there are 282 NHL players (and at least 28 owners, we can only assume) earning $1 million or more this season.You need to know this because that&rsquo;s what scuttled the federal government&rsquo;s offer of conditional subsidies to the six Canadian teams. In the end, nothing else really mattered and the overwhelming specter of those seven-figure salaries guaranteed that more heat than light was shed on a highly contentious issue. Certainly little else but talk of &ldquo;millionaire players and owners&rdquo; entered public or private discourse on the issue in the wake of a Jan. 19 offer by the government of Canada. Rational debate was confined to very tight quarters. (See pg. 7for more.) Within 48 hours, after a level of public outcry seldom seen in Canada, the federal government revoked its offer.The long-term impact of Canada and its provinces bailing out on a bailout plan is impossible to forecast. It would be as irresponsible here to predict the worst as it was elsewhere to sound a shrill siren in response to the federal plan. Teams may well leave Canada for greener expanses in the U.S. That's for the future to witness. For now, we can only shake our heads and think of Jan. 21, 2000, as the day Canada swept aside a series of ludicrously low-level investments in a business that generates substantial monies because of a misguided point of principle. It became a national referendum on government priorities and many, depending on their particular interests, skillfully turned it into a question of the NHL receiving money that would otherwise go to more practical needs. It was hockey or health care. Hockey or the homeless. Hockey or the hopelessly disadvantaged farmers. Of course, it was never about that. No money destined for other budgets was going to be diverted to millionaire players and owners-and no additional money will now go towards addressing those issues with the collapse of the deal.For the sake of .0001 per cent of total annual federal spending ($12 million of $112 billion), the Canadian public vetoed a four-year bridge financing deal. That&rsquo;s what the plan amounted to: A low-budget effort to buy time (for those who need it) in hopes a more lasting solution to what ails the NHL can be achieved in 2004. More effective salary controls and meaningful revenue-sharing will have to be the most important elements of a collective bargaining agreement four years from now. If we are, indeed, on the threshold of a new technology-driven economy, the NHL may just have the revenue stream it needs to devise an acceptable revenue-sharing plan targeting new money. Whether the owners and players devise a sensible system for negotiating salaries is another matter. Whether all six Canadian teams will be around in 2004 is also another matter.<blockquote class="pullQuote">Most handouts don&rsquo;t hit Canadians&rsquo; radar screens</blockquote>None of that matters at the moment as a stop-gap measure to get the two sides to 2004 has been squashed by overwhelming opposition. In a perverse, reverse kind of logic, the very fact that such an uproar was raised over the issue is proof of how central hockey is to Canadians&rsquo; cultural identity. Certainly, people from all walks of life have never risen up so monolithically to dispute other big-money handouts designed to prop up ailing industries. It usually occurs without much fanfare. That&rsquo;s because the profiteers in those industries are faceless. There is nothing anonymous about hockey in the Great White North, where the game&rsquo;s greats are national icons. Somehow, though, Canada&rsquo;s cultural compass has gone haywire, its needle spinning furiously from north to east to south to west. Just as the wave of opposition spread around the country. &#9632;

f0002-03

Canadians don’t know good deal when they see it

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie </div><div class="byline">Associate Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011866/7812880-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="323" height="435"></div>Now that the people of Canada have spoken and their federal government has backtracked, what is the NHL&rsquo;s future in the country commissioner Gary Bettman has called &ldquo;the heart and soul of the game?&rdquo;Ultimately, that&rsquo;s a call to be made by Ottawa Senators&rsquo; owner Rod Bryden, Calgary Flames&rsquo; vice-chairman Harley Hotchkiss, the Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; community ownership and Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; owner John McCaw.On the day, Jan. 21, Industry Minister John Manley revoked the federal government&rsquo;s commitment to aid any Canadian-based NHL team that received support from municipal and provincial governments, no NHL executive or owner was prepared to throw in the towel and say enough&rsquo;s enough. Not even Bryden, who lobbied longer and louder than anyone and who had strongly suggested in December he would sell and relocate the Senators by next season if federal support wasn&rsquo;t forthcoming.&ldquo;I wish I could say, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re outta here,&rsquo; or, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re not,&rsquo; &rdquo; said Bryden in a news conference. &ldquo;But I can&rsquo;t. If I said we&rsquo;re leaving, that would be petulant and we can&rsquo;t afford to be petulant. On the other hand, we have to have clarity and have it soon.&rdquo;Bryden said he needed time-more than one day, but less than 10-to crunch the numbers to determine if the Senators, without federal aid, are economically viable in the long term in Ottawa. And he wants to ensure whatever tax relief he has already obtained from the municipal and provincial levels will remain in place even though the feds aren&rsquo;t contributing. Bryden said he required a total of $ 10-$ 12 million (Cdn.) in tax relief to keep the Senators in Ottawa. He received close to $7 million when the municipal and provincial governments revised property taxes on the Corel Centre.Because the Senators are eligible to draw funds from the NHL&rsquo;s Canadian Assistance Plan-$3.2 million last season and likely more than that this year-Bryden would have qualified for another $3.5 million from the federal government. That would have achieved the objective. Until Manley pulled the plug, that is. Bryden said some of that federal aid shortfall can be offset by the increased support the Senators are receiving from the local business community, but he wouldn&rsquo;t commit to staying-or going. &ldquo;I can give you an answer in a week or tell you, &lsquo;No, (we&rsquo;re moving)&rsquo; now,&rdquo; Bryden said. &ldquo;I will tell you when I&rsquo;m ready and I&rsquo;m not ready now.&rdquo;If Bryden decides to stay put, it will, in a sense, vindicate the many who loudly objected to federal aid for NHL franchises. It would suggest Bryden&rsquo;s &ldquo;tax fairness&rdquo; campaign was a carefully executed bluff in order to score a big cash grab. If he goes, it will test the theory that a modest federal aid package was a wise investment for a business that Bettman describes as &ldquo;an economic engine, an important economic cog in the community.&rdquo; The odds of Bryden staying in Ottawa are slightly better than they are of him selling. But even if the Sens begin next season in the nation&rsquo;s capital, the real question is how many of the six NHL franchises in Canada will remain in place and be viable long-term by September, 2004, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.&ldquo;I hope all six,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;This is the appropriate time to regroup and reassess. We have challenges to keep the six teams in Canada healthy and viable. I will say I&rsquo;m not as optimistic today as I was three days ago.&rdquo; Bettman acknowledged the ultimate responsibility for the viability of the NHL in Canada rests with getting a new collective agreement in 2004 that allows teams, especially those in small markets, to compete financially. But the NHL was counting on various levels of government to effectively bridge some shortcomings in other areas, specifically the difference between the Canadian and U.S. dollar and &ldquo;unfair&rdquo; or excessive taxation.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021494/7812873-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1686" height="2729"><figcaption class="caption-body">Expansion revenue has helped keep Valeri Bure&rsquo;s Calgary Flames moderately profitable, but that well is about to run dry. (Glenn James/SA)</figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">Bridge financing proposal collapses</blockquote>NHL Players&rsquo; Association executive director Bob Goodenow kept a low profile throughout the proceedings. While the NHLPA won&rsquo;t say so publicly, it doesn&rsquo;t see itself as a major economic stakeholder. If the Sens move to the U.S., the players&rsquo; economic situation would likely improve. Goodenow did, however, issue a statement the day the feds dropped their bomb.&ldquo;The Canadian federal government&rsquo;s reversal of its position from Tuesday requires each Canadian NHL club to again deal with the issues of Canadian currency and taxation on an individual basis,&rdquo; Goodenow said. &ldquo;Each franchise must assess its situation and proceed accordingly.&rdquo;As far as the league is concerned, there are issues that require attention.One is the future of the Canadian Assistance Plan, a league initiative to offset the difference in the U.S. and Canadian dollar. In December, the NHL board of governors approved an assistance plan extension through 2003-04, but that was contingent on getting federal funding. The governors will meet Feb. 7 in Toronto during the all-star weekend to decide on the plan&rsquo;s future. They&rsquo;ll likely approve it for this season only and review it on an annual basis.That plan was instrumental in getting the initial commitment from the federal government. Each NHL team pays into the fund based on their revenue. Four of the six Canadian franchises-Toronto and Montreal take in too much revenue to benefit from the plan-are eligible for assistance so long as their revenues don&rsquo;t fall below 80 per cent of the league average or that key economic indicators (such as sales of season tickets, luxury suites and advertising signage) remain at a high level.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011899/7812866-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="636" height="1050"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Bettman (Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>Last season, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa divided the $13 million NHL assistance fund equally. But the Canucks and Flames are in danger of becoming ineligible for NHL aid. Both will likely require season ticket drives at year&rsquo;s end, as Edmonton did a couple of years ago, to remain vested.The league may also revisit a proposed court challenge on the validity of provincial sports lotteries in Canada, where betting on the outcome of NHL games generates substantial revenue. But before going to war with governments in Canada, the NHL will continue to negotiate at various levels. Bettman said it will be a franchise-by-franchise, govemment-by-govemment approach. Ottawa has been the league&rsquo;s No. 1 hotspot for some time-Bryden has kept the Sens at the forefront-but there are serious problems elsewhere, namely Calgary and Vancouver. If they aren&rsquo;t eligible for NHL aid, they&rsquo;re in big trouble. There are at least two U.S. markets (Houston and Portland, Ore.) that are possible destinations for Canadian teams. Las Vegas and Cleveland could also be in the mix.The Flames have posted modest profits in recent years-less than $1 million annually-but that is with significant expansion revenue and that well is about to run dry. The sense is the Flames&rsquo; ownership will not absorb losses for long. Edmonton is positioned slightly better, but is no sure thing. That those two teams are alive is a testament to the will of municipal governments, which have effectively turned over public arenas to the teams.Vancouver is said to be losing millions, but no one can get a handle on what Seattle-based owner John McCaw intends to do with the club. Municipal and provincial governments on the West Coast are extremely cool to tax relief for the Canucks.Toronto and Montreal, of course, are set for the long term. The Leafs, even with currency differences and taxes, are a profitable team. The Canadiens, however, face hefty property taxes and are battling with the city of Montreal in court for relief.<h2>Now you see it, now you don&rsquo;t</h2>Here&rsquo;s the timeline on four days the NHL won&rsquo;t soon forget:Tues. Jan. 18: Industry Minister John Manley announces the Canadian federal government will contribute up to 25 per cent of a total subsidy package negotiated separately with each of the six Canadian-based NHL teams that includes provincial, municipal and league participation. The offer is good only for the next four seasons, ending when the current collective bargaining agreement expires in September, 2004. Any team that takes advantage of the federal monies would have to pay it back if the team were to relocate before 2004. The total value of the package is estimated at $12-15 million (Cdn.) per year.Wed. Jan. 19: Feds&rsquo; subsidy package is greeted by negative reaction from provincial and municipal politicians, media and public.Thurs. Jan. 20: Negative reaction intensifies; the Liberal government decides internally to withdraw the aid proposal. Manley phones NHL commissioner Gary Bettman late at night to inform him.Fri. Jan. 21: Manley announces the deal is &ldquo;dead.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0003-01

FEATURES

Canadian teams face uncertainty

In your mid-season report issue, you listed Jaromir Jagr, Curtis Joseph and Chris Pronger as the three Hart Trophy candidates of the season&rsquo;s first half and included Owen Nolan as an honorable mention (THN, Jan. 21).But you forgot the one player who is more important to his team than any other player in the NHL: Pavel Bure.Bure played only 33 of 41 games, yet he was fifth in points at the halfway point. He led the league in goals per game (.879 to Jagr&rsquo;s .805) and was second to Jagr in points per game (1.78 to 1.48). Only Jagr has scored a higher percentage of his team&rsquo;s goals (24.4 to 23.9) than Bure.But the ultimate value of a player is how he lifts his team. Last year, the Panthers finished out of the playoffs with 78 points; at the halfway mark this season, Florida was first in the Southeast Division by 12 points and was on pace for 104 points. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, was on pace to decrease in points.But here&rsquo;s the best stat measuring Bure&rsquo;s impact-in the 19 games in which he had scored a goal in the first half of the season, the Panthers were 17-1-1-0. Sure, Jagr is the most prolific scorer of the last five years, but Bure has proven to be as dynamic and even more valuable to his team this season.Mark Sblendorio,&nbsp;Nutley, NJ.<h2>Brooks out of line</h2>Pittsburgh Penguin coach Herb Brooks deserved a longer suspension than the two games he received.Without the media, the league would play in a vacuum-good luck generating fan interest without them. And Brooks' assault on broadcaster John Kelly damaged his own integrity and that of the Penguins and the NHL.Brooks was correct-Kelly was wrong to conclude Matthew Barnaby was faking an injury. But Kelly's job is to commentate and that's what he did. Brooks should have worked with the NHL media relations to ensure commentators don't run wild with accusations when they don't know what they're talking about.But attack Kelly in a tunnel? And tell him he's "not half the announcer his father was?" Would he have done the same if Don Cherry had made the comment? What's next, attacking fans?Ed Elmore,&nbsp;Greencastle, Ind.<h2>Calder in the crease</h2>Has anyone noticed the great rookie crop this year? And I don't mean just Scott Gomez, who is having an excellent year in New Jersey.I'm talking about goalies Manny Fernandez, Brian Boucher, Martin Biron, Marc Deni. and J.F. Aubin, who all have better goals-against averages than their Vezina-winning team-mates (Ed Belfour, John Vanbiesbrouck, Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy and Tom Barrasso). Throw in John Grahame and Roberto Luongo, who have better numbers than Byron Dafoe and (traded) Felix Potvin, and this is the greatest rookie goalie crop of all-time!Thomas Carroll,&nbsp;Maplewood, N.J.<h2>Hot Coffey</h2>Congratulations to Paul Coffey, not only for his milestone (1,500 career points), but also for his resurgence.It was only a few months ago that THN claimed Coffey's career was all but over. Throughout his career, people have criticized his defensive play, but when on top of his game, he can dominate with precise passing and end-to-end rushes.At a Carolina Hurricanes' game recently, I couldn't believe how fast Coffey still was and how he controlled the tempo of the game-as all great players seem to do.This reminded me of his first game as a Pittsburgh Penguin. My jaw was in my lap as Coffey did things that Penguin defensemen had never previously attempted. Thanks for the memories, Paul, and keep it going!Brian Goodbread,&nbsp;Pittsburgh<h2>Down in front!</h2>The league hould do something about the brutal television production of NHL games.It's bad enough that many arenas have horrible camera locations, but now the camerapersons don't tighten up their shots to bring the action up close.There's no reason we have to see 10 rows of fans on each side of the rink. I hear over and over again that it's hard to enjoy hockey on television, but it's due to human error and it doesn't have to be that way.Bob Perschon,&nbsp;Chicago<h2>NHL rough 'n' ready</h2>I don't agree with the letter "Eye for an eye" that said when a player is hurt due to a "cheap shot," the guilty party should be sidelined as long as the injured player (THN, Jan. 21).This is not the answer. Most hits-even cheap shots-are not intended to cause injury. And the "cheapshot artists" usually get punished, either by fine, suspension or on the ice. That's hockey's way and hopefully, always will be. All this might sound a bit crude, but we're talking about players who make a lot of money. Hockey is a dangerous game and every hit, no matter how clean or cheap, could be a career-ender.Christoph Lorenz,&nbsp;Ottawa<h2>Serve full penalty</h2>Now that the Montreal Canadiens are no longer a powerhouse, perhaps we can go back to having penalized players sit for the whole two minutes.There are too many 3-2 and 2-1 games. Remember the days of 7-4 and 8-3? More scoring is more fun for the fans. Right now, the NHL is too low-scoring-and too boring.Philip Dawson,&nbsp;Oshawa, Ont.<h2>Don't blame players</h2>I'm responding to the letter "Puzzling Prioritie " that questioned paying millions to "men who entertain us with sticks and a piece of rubber" (THN, Jan. 21).First of all, women also play hockey. Second, NHL hockey requires an elite skill level, effort and endurance. The injuries players suffer are also noteworthy Before we bash our value system using NHLers as the baseline, why not first look to other industries-like Hollywood-that aren't bringing us any closer to the 21st century we may have envisioned and are being grossly overpaid for undermining what few values we may have.Karin Krchnak,&nbsp;Bethesda, Md.<h2>Empty seats don't pay</h2>New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens was recently wondering what can be done about the number of empty seat in various NHL arenas.Hey Scott, let me clue you in. Twenty years ago, I attended 10-12 Kings' games a season. Since then, my salary has quadrupled. but now I go to just one game per year. Why? Because ticket prices have skyrocketed beyond reason, while the entertainment value has stayed the same. And here in California, there are many other options that won't cost my wife and I $200 for 2-1/2 hours of entertainment.What the NHL Players' Association needs 1s an economist who can explain why their insane salary demands are killing hockey. The NHL doesn't compete with the NBA in terms of fan popularity. so for HLers to expect NBA-size salaries is elfishPhillip Sprague,&nbsp;Laguna Niguel, Calif.Fax us your comments at&nbsp;(416) 340-2786&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. E-mail us at <a href="mailto:mccaigs@trans-continental.ca">mccaigs@trans-continental.ca</a> Include hometown as well as home and business phone numbers.&nbsp;THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

Jagr may be best, but Bure has Hart

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ELSTON

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011822/7812990-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="324" height="436"></div>First, a little refresher course in Economics 101. For the past nine years, the Canadian federal government has provided massive subsidies to rich owners in high-profile industries such as oil and gas, manufacturing and high-tech. And there was virtually no opposition from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation or any other outspoken special interest group.How did they get away with it? By allowing the Canadian dollar to plunge against its American counterpart. In November, 1991, the Canadian dollar was worth 89.1 cents U.S., a development that made Florida vacations affordable for itinerant snowbirds, but also had the country teetering on the edge of a recession.Wisely, the government realized it could put the economy back on course by implementing an interest rate policy that eventually saw the dollar drop by almost 25 per cent. For industries that produced car parts or computer chips or refined petroleum products-and then exported them to the United States-that meant an extra 20 to 25 cents of profit for every dollar&rsquo;s worth of product sold south of the border, a huge windfall.Gradually, the Canadian economy did an about-face, not because industries themselves became any more efficient, but because the federal government gave them a false economic advantage.Following so far?Okay, the only problem was that other indus-tries-put Canadian-based NHL hockey teams high on that list-were unfairly penalized as a result of this new currency imbalance. Sadly, the NHL is an American-based industry nowadays, based in New York, with 28 subsidiaries scattered across North America. Six of the NHL&rsquo;s branch plants happen to be based in Canada, home of the 69-cent dollar.<blockquote class="pullQuote">YES</blockquote>The majority of the Canadian teams&rsquo; revenues-ticket sales, concessions, advertising-are in Canadian dollars. The majority of their costs-salaries, travel-are in American dollars. The result is an uneven playing field between the 22 U.S.based franchises and the six in Canada.A common currency between Canada and the U.S.-that is, a North American equivalent of the Euro-would solve all the problems of Canadian-based NHL teams. So, for that matter, would a par dollar.Even a dollar trading at more historical levels, in the 80-cent range, would give Canadian teams a fighting chance to compete with their U.S. counterparts.Of course, the government can&rsquo;t afford to let the dollar rise significantly, on the grounds the economy would grind to a halt. Nor does anyone believe the Canadian government should amend its monetary policy just to save hockey teams.However, if the government props up one industry at the expense of another, then it has an obligation to help out the businesses they are unfairly penalizing.The NHL assistance package, announced and then rescinded by Industry Minister John Man-ley, would have addressed that issue. This was not a bailout. This had nothing to do with the health-care crisis in Alberta nor the plight of the homeless in Ontario.Instead, it was a tiny, tiny drop in a $112-bil-lion federal budget that, for reasons known only to Manley&rsquo;s constituents, received such a negative reaction that the Canadian government meekly retreated in the face of the public backlash.Too bad. It was a small price to pay to save a worthwhile national institution, one that will eventually survive only in Toronto and perhaps Montreal. Pity that. &#9632;

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Duhatschek: It’s dollars and sense

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021209/7813021-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="323" height="434"></div>They stand as silent, cement sentinels in two of Canada&rsquo;s most populous cities, resounding and unforgettable reminders of taxpayers&rsquo; money squandered in support of sport.Toronto&rsquo;s Sky Dome cost hundreds of millions of dollars and, slightly more than a decade after it was built, it is viewed as outmoded and unsuitable for the professional sports franchises for whom it was built.The price tag of Montreal&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium long ago passed $1 billion and is still rising as the building itself falls to pieces. Within five years, if the Montreal Expos have their way, no pro sports team will call the Big Owe home.Both projects made sense at the time. They always do.The public arguments in favor of spending tax money to support pro sports always sound reasonable, always sound logical.And they almost always turn out to be false.One might ask the citizens of Nashville, Tenn., who essentially gave their beautiful new arena to the NHL Predators and are already saddled with a new $12.5-million (U.S.) municipal debt. Just ask the citizens of Winnipeg, who poured buckets of cash into the Jets&rsquo; franchise and then watched helplessly as the team moved to Arizona anyway.In the same way, the now dead $20-million federal program announced Jan. 18 to aid Canadian teams was both misguided and poorly conceived.There is a disease within the North American pro sports culture that teams should squeeze as much as they can out of their community and then find a new sucker, usually in another town. The Canadian government&rsquo;s efforts may have been well-meaning, but they only fed the disease.Pro sports teams always want more, mostly because the four major sports organizations in North America have traditionally struggled to control player salaries. Giving public money to NHL teams, whether in Canada or the U.S., doesn&rsquo;t help the problem. It makes it worse.<blockquote class="pullQuote">NO</blockquote>NHL clubs will only find a measure of true stability when they are able to bring their costs into a more sensible relationship with their revenues.One or more NHL teams may have to die before this happens. Those teams may be in Canada. That&rsquo;s too bad.But feeding the disease with public monies only postpones a true solution.Giving the Ottawa Senators more than $10 million in annual federal, provincial and municipal tax breaks and grants wouldn&rsquo;t have made the Senators any healthier. It simply would have made them more dependent.The argument was these monies were only needed until 2004 when, or so it is supposed, a new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and its labor force will provide meaningful change and help small markets not only survive, but flourish. It is to dream. At best, a new arrangement might slow or possibly halt the growth of salaries.But the Senators and many other franchises can&rsquo;t afford the cost of player salaries now. Giving them tax concessions and outright gifts would simply be throwing good money after bad.The NHL has created the problem, a problem that affects franchises in Buffalo and Pittsburgh as much as it does teams in Calgary and Edmonton. Let the NHL fix it. Let the league share revenues. Let the teams use the cost-control measures already at their disposal.If the NHL wants teams to survive in Canada, they will. If it doesn&rsquo;t, they won&rsquo;t. The best intentions of any level of government won&rsquo;t make a difference. &#9632;

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Cox: Let league fix its own problem

<div class="byline">-Bob McKenzie</div>Don&rsquo;t tell Gary Bettman that federal government is slow to act.&ldquo;In the last 48 hours, the wheels of government have turned very fast, they did a complete 180,&rdquo; said the NHL commissioner of Industry Minister John Manley&rsquo;s about-face on Canadian federal aid for NHL teams.For his part, Manley said the federal initiative &ldquo;got the players off the bench,&rdquo; which is to suggest that other levels of government that had either been ambivalent or asking for guidance finally reacted when the feds made a commitment. React, they did.Certainly, public and media reaction was swift and intensely negative. And while the average Canadian&rsquo;s misgivings no doubt contributed to the federal reversal, it was the following reactions from key players that sealed the death of the deal.B.C. finance minister Paul Ramsey said, &ldquo;Using tax dollars to bail out multi-million-dollar players and their owners simply doesn&rsquo;t meet most political tests of what&rsquo;s top priority. This is about as low in the government&rsquo;s priorities as the Canucks currently are in the NHL standings.&rdquo;Stockwell Day, Alberta treasurer, added: &ldquo;If it&rsquo;s direct taxpayers&rsquo; dollars that they&rsquo;re talking about to go directly to these teams, then our answer is we&rsquo;re not even looking at dropping the puck in that game.&rdquo;Ontario and Quebec politicians strongly echoed those sentiments. &#9632;

Provinces helped kill NHL deal

<div class="byline">By Mike Gibb</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011772/7813083-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="375" height="524"></div>The irony that he has undergone a career-reviving renaissance in a place famous for its retirees is not lost on Ray Whitney.Whitney is one of those smallish, highly skilled players who has to have an offensive impact to stay in The Show. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder entered the NHL in 1991 on the heels of an 185-point season with Spokane of the Western League. In parts of the next six seasons, he recorded 49 goals and 125 points in 209 NHL games. Not bad, but not enough to avoid spending most of 1996-97 in the minors.And when the San Jose Sharks-who drafted Whitney 23rd overall in 1991-cut him loose after the 1996-97 season, he waited the entire summer for a contract, finally playing his way onto the Edmonton Oilers. But he lasted only nine games in Edmonton before being placed on waivers. His NHL days were numbered. If only he could get one more chance.Enter the Florida Panthers. GM Bryan Murray had talked to Whitney&rsquo;s agent, Mike Barnett, during the off-season about a deal, but never got close. But when Whitney went on waivers, Murray snapped him up.It has been one of Murray&rsquo;s best moves. In 193 games as a Panther, Whitney has scored 77 goals and 169 points.&ldquo;He sees the ice so well,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He has vision a lot of players don&rsquo;t have.&rdquo; Whitney, 27, has led the Panthers in scoring each of the past two seasons, but with totals of 61 and 64 points, there was still room for improvement.Along came Pavel Bure. When Bure was traded to Rorida last January, he became the team&rsquo;s first genuine super-star. And not only is Bure putting up dazzling numbers, he is elevating the games of those lucky enough to share the ice with him. Whitney and Bure both play on the Panthers&rsquo; first power play unit and the two have started to skate on the same line in even-strength situations as well. During a recent West Coast swing, coach Terry Murray put the two together, figuring the Panthers would need more zip against the quicker Western Conference teams. The line of Whitney and Bure, along with center Viktor Kozlov, accounted for all five goals in a 5-1 win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Jan. 5 and they have been together ever since.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021221/7813076-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="846" height="1042"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ray Whitney is one of just 10 point-a-game players this season.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t emphasize enough what playing with a superstar does for your game,&rdquo; Whitney said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never played with one before. He has definitely helped my career.&rdquo;This season, Whitney&rsquo;s 44 points in 44 games made him one of only 10 point-a-game players. Among that elite group, he&rsquo;s the only waiverwire pickup. But his team mates don&rsquo;t care if he came cheap.&ldquo;Whit&rsquo;s the type of player who can set you up four times a game,&rdquo; said Rorida center Rob Niedermayer. &ldquo;And with Pav, he&rsquo;s not going to miss too often. With guys before, they weren&rsquo;t putting those chances in the net.&rdquo;Whitney&rsquo;s performance this season has been inspirational to fringe NHLers who think they can contribute if given the opportunity.One player he has turned into a believer is Edmonton Oiler Pat Falloon. Whitney and Falloon are good friends. They spent three seasons together in Spokane and were the first two draft picks the Sharks ever made. They spent parts of five seasons together in San Jose and neither one lived up to their billing-Falloon was drafted second overall behind Eric Lindros-until Whitney started producing in Florida.&ldquo;To look at Ray and how well he has done&hellip;sure, it gives me inspiration and keeps me in a positive mindset,&rdquo; Falloon said. &ldquo;It keeps me thinking good things could be on the horizon.&rdquo;Whitney is in the final year of a contract paying him $1.3 million this year. He&rsquo;s scheduled to become a restricted free agent, although Bryan Murray hopes to avoid a summer negotiation.He&rsquo;s become the unofficial poster boy for the Waiverers, players who are destined to jump around like checkers. But while he hopes to continue living in the land of white pants and shuffleboard, Whitney&rsquo;s career now shows no signs of retiring on him. &#9632;

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COLUMN

Wonderful world of Whitney

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello </div><div class="byline">Senior Editor</div>Fans will get a glimpse of the future of hockey on the box when ABC broadcasts the NHL All-Star Game on high-definition television (HDTV).HDTV is a new television system that incorporates improvements in both production and reception of the broadcast. The catch is, you have to have a $6,000 (U.S.) HDTV to watch the Feb. 6 All-Star Game in near three-dimensional quality.HDTVs have up to 1,125 lines of resolution compared to 525 lines on conventional sets, resulting in a far superior picture quality.The most distinguishing feature of HDTV is the width-to-height ratio. Conventional TVs have a ratio of 4:3, but for HDTVs, it&rsquo;s 16:9. The result is a home theatre atmosphere made more lifelike with CD quality 5.1-channel digital audio.The HDTV telecast will be transmitted on a channel independent of its traditional analog network.&ldquo;The NHL is excited about the potential that HDTV has in the future of broadcasting our game,&rdquo; said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.Industry experts say it could be up to 15 years before all conventional TV channels are converted to HDTV. The cost will come down considerably.Fans interested in sneaking a peak at the difference HDTV offers can walk by most electronic stores during the All-Star Game. &#9632;

All-Star Game on HDTV

Mike Sillinger, Vincent Lecavalier and Chris Gratton had a combined 11 goals at the mid-point of last season.A year later, the three Tampa Bay Lightning centers are among the most improved scorers in the NHL, having combined for 39 goals.Sillinger has had the most dramatic increase and led the Lightning in scoring part of the season. The 28-year-old Regina, Sask., native had 14 goals and 31 points in 42 games compared to just two goals and five points at the same point last season.&ldquo;The big thing,&rdquo; Sillinger said, &ldquo;is ice time. The year before last, I had 21 goals-11 with the Flyers-then we got knocked out of the first round of the playoffs and at the start of (1998-99), I found myself not playing a lot.&rdquo;Sillinger had no goals in 25 games with the Philadelphia Flyers last season when he was acquired in a trade with Gratton for Mikael Renberg and Daymond Langkow.For Lecavalier, the first overall pick in the 1998 NHL entry draft, it was more of a maturing process.&ldquo;Last year, as an 18-year-old, I was just learning the game and what it takes to play in this league,&rdquo; Lecavalier said. &ldquo;This season, I&rsquo;m more comfortable. That&rsquo;s not to say I don&rsquo;t have a lot to learn. But I feel more comfortable.&rdquo;At the other end of the spectrum, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim power play has gone from best in the league last season to third-worst and the Ducks&rsquo; stars were suffering.Stats for Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne and Fredrik Olausson show up among the biggest declines in scoring comparing last season to this season.Selanne was down 19 points (55 last season to 36 this season), Kariya 18 points and Olausson 13 points.<h2>NET INCREASE</h2>San Jose&rsquo;s Owen Nolan has recorded the largest point increase from last season to this season. Point totals are after Jan. 17 games and are matched with the same number of games played last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021360/7813176-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="541" height="463"></div><h2>NET DECREASE</h2>Edmonton&rsquo;s Josef Beranek is the NHLer whose scoring has dropped off most dramatically. Point totals are after Jan. 17 games and are matched with the same number of games played last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03842/7813169-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="545" height="454"></div> &#9632;

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Sillinger among most improved

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy </div><div class="byline">Senior Writer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03792/7813228-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="370" height="473"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011666/7813221-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="2057" height="3438"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Jim Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021188/7813214-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="208" height="194"></div>NEW JERSEY-Grizzled veteran Claude Lemieux stops suddenly while en route to the showers at the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; practice rink in Newark, pivots, then glares at the rookie who is being interviewed. &ldquo;Hey Gomer, I&rsquo;ve come up with a plan,&rdquo; says the 34-year-old right winger and respected winner of three Stanley Cups. &ldquo;Every time I do an interview about you, it costs you two tickets. That&rsquo;s all I ever talk about, Scott Gomez&hellip;Scott Gomez. Can you imagine what it&rsquo;s going to be like in the playoffs if you&rsquo;re still hot? I&rsquo;ll be doing 10 interviews a day about you.&rdquo;Lemieux proceeds to the showers, shaking his head in mock disgust.Lemieux has done more than his share of &lsquo;Gomer&rsquo;-related interviews since rejoining the Devils in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche Nov. 3. As have other members of the Devils.That&rsquo;s because Gomermania, make that Gomezmania, has swept through New Jersey and is spreading across the NHL.Scott Gomez, ace rookie and media darling, has taken the league by surprise. In a season when there are many candidates challenging for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year, Gomez, 20, is the leading contender. Through his first 47 games, he led the Devils-not to mention all rookies-in scoring with 44 points, including 13 goals. That had him on pace to set team records for most goals, assists and points by a rookie. Kevin Todd holds all three marks, having scored 21 goals, 42 assists and 63 points in 1991-92. This season&rsquo;s second-highest scoring rookie is New York Ranger center Mike York, who had 13 goals and 27 points in 45 games. That puts York on pace for 49 points-an incredible 28 behind Gomez&rsquo;s 77-point projection.On top of that, Gomez has played the majority of the season out of position. He&rsquo;s a natural center who coach Rob Ftorek has slotted, for the most part, at left wing. He has played on a number of different lines, but he, Lemieux and center Brendan Morrison have been a unit since early January. He&rsquo;s not complaining, though. Why would he? He has been picked to play in the All-Star Game, only the third New Jersey rookie to be so honored. Kirk Muller in 1985 and Sean Burke in 1989 were the others.As the Devils blaze their way through the Eastern Conference, Gomez has become a compelling story on a team not known for its color. Think of the New Jersey Devils and you usually think beige.It&rsquo;s noteworthy Gomez hails from Anchorage, Alaska. And that he&rsquo;s the first Hispanic player ever chosen in the first round of the NHL draft. His father, Carlos, was one of 10 children bom to Mexican farm workers in Modesto, Calif., and his mother, Dalia, was bom in Colombia. But what makes Gomez so interesting, aside from his surprising production, is his attitude. He is the epitome of just-happy-to-be-here. And his good nature is infectious.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s laid back, always happy, always smiling,&rdquo; says Devils&rsquo; captain Scott Stevens. "Me, I&rsquo;m the opposite. I swear I get more nervous before games than he does and I&rsquo;ve been in the league for 18 years.&rdquo;Adds assistant coach Larry Robinson: "He loves the game and loves to play it. To him it&rsquo;s not about money; it&rsquo;s just about having fun. And that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s missing in a lot of young players today. He&rsquo;s not the least bit cocky. I hope he stays that way.&rdquo;Chances are he will. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just me,&rdquo; Gomez says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the way I&rsquo;ve always been. I can&rsquo;t help it.&rdquo;That Gomez has blossomed so quickly does not come as a complete surprise to the Devils. They had an inkling he was capable of such success as far back as 1998 when, on draft day, they swung a last-second deal with the Dallas Stars. New Jersey traded two second round picks to get the 27th (and final) pick of the first round and took Gomez, who was coming off a 12-goaI season with the Tri-City Americans of the Western League.His numbers weren&rsquo;t impressive, but there was something about the kid the Devils liked; namely, his ability to make those around him better. The Devils had selected defenseman Mike Van Ryn with the 26th pick, then quickly made the deal to get the next pick and took Gomez.&ldquo;On my way back to our table after picking Van Ryn, I winked at Gomez,&rdquo; says Devils&rsquo; director of scouting David Conte. &ldquo;Like every other kid, his dream was to go in the first round and it was down to last call. He said later he didn&rsquo;t know if I was sending him a message or just having him on.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">&lsquo;He&rsquo;s slippery, deceiving&rsquo; - Scott Stevens</blockquote>Gomez nearly made the team last season as an 18-year-old. But the Devils don&rsquo;t rush their prospects. So he was sent back to junior with strict instructions: Your game is to make your linemates better; don&rsquo;t deviate from that.&ldquo;We knew if we sent him back he&rsquo;d be playing with a different caliber of player than he had been at our camp,&rdquo; says GM Lou Lamoriello. &ldquo;He could not change his game though. When a person is in a position to score, he has to make the play-even if he knew the player he was passing to was not likely to complete the play. And he had to keep doing it no matter how many times the other player failed to finish.&ldquo;He sees the ice; he finds the seams If he changed his game because of things other players did or didn&rsquo;t do, I then he wouldn&rsquo;t be the player we wanted.&rdquo;Gomez answered the bell with 30 goals and 108 points, fifth-best in the WHL last season. To ensure he was ready to step in with the Devils this season, the team asked him to train in New Jersey during the summer under the guidance of former Olympic athlete Vladimir Bure. You may have heard of his kids, Pavel and Valeri<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011821/7813207-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="1771" height="1094"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vision and anticipation have been keys to Scott Gomez&rsquo;s sizzling rookie season. (John Giamundo/BS)</figcaption></div>It was, to say the least, a summer to remember,&ldquo;It was the toughest thing I&rsquo;ve ever been through,&rdquo; Gomez says. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t wish it on my worst enemy. He kept telling me my hard work would pay off this season and he was right.&rdquo;To see Gomez in action is, well, nothing spectacular. He doesn&rsquo;t look particularly athletic. At 5-foot-ll and 200 pounds, he isn&rsquo;t physically imposing. And his play isn&rsquo;t flashy. What Gomez does that sets him apart from other youngsters is make intelligent plays. That&rsquo;s tougher than it sounds.&ldquo;He has poise and patience with the puck,&rdquo; Monison says. &ldquo;A lot of guys just get rid of the puck when they&rsquo;re being challenged.&rdquo;Adds Stevens: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s slippery, deceiving. He knows what he&rsquo;s going to do with the puck before he gets it.&rdquo;Asked to rate his own skills on a scale of one to five, Gomez gives the following grades: Skating: 3 (&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a little knock-kneed.&rdquo;); Shot: 3 (&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t shoot hard, but I&rsquo;m accurate.&rdquo;); Passing: 5; Vision: 5; Toughness: 5 (&ldquo;Make sure you write I was smiling when I said that; my teammates will kill me.&rdquo;)The fact is Gomez easily rates a five on the toughness scale; not because he&rsquo;s going to pummel opponents nightly, but because he willingly goes into the danger zones."When you draft a guy, you have the highest of expectations,&rdquo; Conte says.&ldquo;Very rarely are those expectations met. When they are, it&rsquo;s very gratifying.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-03

GO GOMEZ!

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy </div><div class="byline">Senior Writer</div>NEW JERSEY-Step inside the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; hockey office and you&rsquo;ll find it immaculate with everything in order.Just the way Lou Lamoriello likes it.Same with the Devils&rsquo; dressing room&hellip;and training and medical staff area&hellip;and practice facility.Everything is in its place and the employees, players included, go about their business in a professional manner.From top to bottom, the Devils are a reflection of Lamoriello, the team&rsquo;s GM-president. He acts professionally and expects all his employees to do likewise. He is a demanding boss and makes no bones about it. Nor do those he hires.&ldquo;Lou&rsquo;s a tough guy to work for,&rdquo; says one employee. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s demanding, but he&rsquo;s fair.&rdquo;Nothing gets done without Lamoriello&rsquo;s stamp of approval. He takes his role as the team&rsquo;s president every bit as serious as his position of GM. In other words, he cares as much about the product off the ice as the team he puts on it. As the joke goes, the Zamboni driver can&rsquo;t even put the key in the ignition without first getting Lamoriello&rsquo;s permission.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s not true,&rdquo; Lamoriello says. &ldquo;As long as he&rsquo;s doing his job properly, he has nothing to worry about.&rdquo;Nobody, but nobody, operates within the Devils&rsquo; organization with a free hand. Rather, Lamoriello takes them by the hand and points them in the right direction. He has his way of doing things and insists others follow his lead. Some things may seem out of the ordinary, like ensuring the number of family photos employees have on their desks are kept to a minimum or insisting all phones be answered by the second ring, but that&rsquo;s simply how Lamoriello thinks a successful organization should be run.&ldquo;I want people to have fun, but when they come to work they should be at their highest level at all times,&rdquo; says the 57-year-old native of Providence, R.I., who is in his 13th season running the Devils.&ldquo;They have to take pride in what they do whether it&rsquo;s on the ice or off the ice.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011668/7813259-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="643" height="1026"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lou Lamoriello (Jim Leary/BS)</figcaption></div>Lamoriello takes pride in paying his employees well. Though members of the organization, at Lamoriello&rsquo;s direction, do not take part in salary disclosure, it&rsquo;s well known he looks after his people. And even though he has been embroiled in high-profile, bitter contract disputes with players over the years, Lamoriello insists he&rsquo;ll pay a player the going rate for his services. But generally, he pays them for what they&rsquo;ve done, not for what they may do.&ldquo;Lou pays well, but he hates overpaying people,&rdquo; says a competitor. &ldquo;Then again, don&rsquo;t we all?&rdquo;Players have left the organization because they didn&rsquo;t feel they were being paid market value. One, Claude Lemieux, agreed to a contract with the Devils and then, after being named MVP in the playoffs a few months later, wanted to get a new deal. After losing an arbitration case, he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. But when it became apparent the Avs were going to trade him this season, he requested a return to the Devils. One of the main reasons? Lamoriello.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s definitely a workaholic,&rdquo; Lemieux says. &ldquo;It seems like he never sleeps. He&rsquo;s the first guy at the rink most days. Even on the road.&rdquo;Lamoriello was GM of the United States&rsquo; entry at the 1998 Olympics and held the same position with the gold medal-winning U.S. entry at the World Cup in 1996. The 1992 Lester Patrick Trophy winner for service to hockey in the United States, he also coached Providence College for 15 years and compiled a .578 winning percentage.Spend a little time with Lamoriello and you&rsquo;ll quickly learn he is philosophical about the game and how a team should be run. Here are a few Lou-isms:&#9744; &ldquo;Strong people need to hire strong people to have success.&rdquo;&#9744; &ldquo;I enjoy being around people who have a common goal. Everybody is important in our organization.&rdquo;&#9744; &ldquo;I constantly re-evaluate. I do it often. The first person you look at is yourself.&rdquo;Lamoriello has the reputation of being a taskmaster, but it doesn&rsquo;t bother him.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care what people outside our organization think about me,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Why should I? These people (his employees) are the ones who matter. Only them.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0013-01

Total control: Lamoriello runs tight ship

<div class="byline">By Bill Plunkett</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011811/7813290-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="154" height="154"></div>Craig Hartsburg insists it wasn&rsquo;t designed as a shakeup. But the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim coach will gladly accept any positive effects personnel moves have on his struggling team.In the midst of a 1-8-1 slump, the Ducks recalled defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski and right winger Maxim Balmochnykh from Cincinnati of the American League Jan. 18. They also placed popular left winger Jim McKenzie on waivers.The results-at least for one game-were positive. On Jan. 19 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars, the Ducks raided from a 1-0 deficit after two periods to score three unanswered goals and win 3-1.It was the first time in 16 attempts this season the Ducks had come back to win after trailing through two periods.&ldquo;There seemed to be a different spirit on the bench and in the dressing room between periods,&rdquo; Hartsburg said. &ldquo;There were no doubters in there.&rdquo;GM Pierre Gauthier said the mini-makeover was necessary &ldquo;to change the chemistry&rdquo; of an underachieving team, but Hartsburg wasn&rsquo;t ready to characterize the moves as a wake-up call.&ldquo;Any time something happens in this league, whether it&rsquo;s a trade or whatever, it does change your chemistry,&rdquo; Hartsburg said. &ldquo;At some point, when you&rsquo;re not playing well and you&rsquo;re losing, that&rsquo;s going to happen.&ldquo;But the purpose of it was not to shake people up. The purpose of it was to improve our hockey team. If you&rsquo;re just making a move to shake things up that would be the wrong thing to do. We think this is going to make us a better team.&rdquo;Captain Paul Kariya believed the Ducks had become too complacent&ldquo;Our team is just too looseygoosey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have the desire to be a good team right now. We get satisfied with even minor success.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Ducks&rsquo; roster moves necessitated some changes in their lines. Right winger Maxim Balmochnykh was put on a line with center Antti Aalto and left winger Mike Leclerc. And winger Marty McInnis moved to center on the top line between left winger Paul Kariya and right winger Teemu Selanne. McInnis became the fifth Ducks this season to center Kariya and Selanne. Matt Cullen, Steve Rucchin, Ted Donato and Tony Hrkac are the others. &ldquo;Marty is a smart player, a good offensive player,&rdquo; said coach Craig Hartsburg. 'The three of them should be able to generate some scoring chances together.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;Goalie Guy Hebert recorded his 10,000th save as a Duck in a 3-1 win over St. Louis Jan. &#9632;

f0014-01

Ducks try chemistry change

<div class="byline">By Jeff Schultz</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03938/7813321-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Patrik Stefan isn&rsquo;t scoring, but has improved other areas of his game. (Jim Leary/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021365/7813328-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="157" height="154"></div>In the same game, Atlanta Thrashers&rsquo; rookie center Patrik Stefan simultaneously flashed a glimpse of his dynamic future and the struggles of present day.Stefan, the first pick overall in the 1999 NHL entry draft, blew past two Boston Bruins&rsquo; defensemen in overtime of a 3-3 game at FleetCenter Jan. 17.But after breaking free for a potential game-winning goal. Stefan saw Boston goalie Byron Dafoe kick aside his shot. It continued a stretch in which Stefan had scored only one goal in 29 games.But neither Stefan, who had four goals and 20 points in 41 games, nor the Thrashers are overly concerned about the player&rsquo;s future.Coach Curt Fraser was more pleased with the fact Stefan had become more aggressive defensively and significantly improved his faceoff success than he was displeased with Stefan&rsquo;s production.&ldquo;Patty has been going through a tough stretch, but he has been playing strong and he&rsquo;s learning,&rdquo; Fraser said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to help him adjust. He&rsquo;s working hard on improving his faceoffs and doing some good things.&rdquo;The 19-year-old Stefan said, &ldquo;I always want to have points, but I&rsquo;m learning in this league. I&rsquo;m doing much better on faceoffs. I&rsquo;m starting to hit more and play better defensively. These are things I need to know to be good in this league. After I learn this, I know the goals will come, the points will come. But I need to be a good twoway player.&ldquo;I know I can score goals in this league. I&rsquo;m struggling right now, but I&rsquo;ll overcome this.&rdquo;Stefan went 26-19 on faceoffs (58 per-cent success rate) in a four-game stretch after winning at only a 40 percent clip most of the season.Boston&rsquo;s Joe Thomton can relate to what Stefan is going through. The first pick in the 1997 draft, Thomton had only three goals and seven points in 55 games his rookie year. He had 16 goals and 41 points last year and this season is on pace for career highs. Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier, the first pick in 1998, had 13 goals and 28 points his first year. He already has eclipsed those totals this season.NOTEBOOK: In back-to-back games against Boston, the Thrashers tied (3-3 Jan. 17) and lost (4-3 Jan. 19) after leading both games in the third period. They led the Bruins 3-0 with fewer than seven minutes remaining in the first game&hellip;Goalie Norm Maracle would be a frontrunner for the NHL&rsquo;s Jekyll-Hyde Award if there were such a thing. In late December, he allowed two goals on four shots against Philadelphia and six goals at Nashville, then rebounded to post his first career shutout against the Flyers Jan. 14. But in his following start Jan. 16, he allowed three goals on six shots against the Rangers and was yanked again&hellip;Goalie Damian Rhodes, out with an ankle sprain and damaged knee cartilage, is expected to return soon after the all-star break. &#9632;

f0014-03

Thrashers, Stefan not worried about rookie’s low production

<div class="byline">By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021169/7813359-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Anson Carter leads the Bruins in scoring, but he has also been an effective checker. (Steve Babineau/SA)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011653/7813366-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="156" height="156"></div>He has been a right winger on Booston Bruins&rsquo; scoring lines, he has been a center on checking lines and he has been the pivot in a number of other different situations.Simply put, Anson Carter has been designated the go-to guy as Boston&rsquo;s lineup has been crippled by injuries to key personnel.With center Jason Allison gone for the season because of hand/wrist woes and with a parade of fill-ins from the American League going in and out of the lineup, Carter&rsquo;s role has gone from important to imperative.When he was first traded to the Bruins in a multi-player deal with the Washington Capitals in March, 1997, he was considered a good prospect, but no one could say for sure how much of an impact player he could be.At 25, Carter has quickly become the key to the Boston offense. That responsibility suits him just fine.&ldquo;I put a lot of pressure on myself to try to carry the load offensively,&rdquo; said Carter, who led the Bruins in scoring through 48 games with 19 goals and 42 points.It has been a challenge for Carter. Being moved back to center because of Allison&rsquo;s ailments was difficult because Carter hadn&rsquo;t played the position since college.When he was centering the checking line with P.J. Axelsson and Rob DiMaio, Carter was taking faceoffs against some of the toughest players in the league and it took some time to get adjusted. Carter said whether he&rsquo;s playing on the top defensive line or put between the likes of Dave Andreychuk and Sergei Samsonov, it&rsquo;s OK with him. He believes he can still bring plenty to the table.&ldquo;Even now, if I&rsquo;m playing with two guys who are checkers,&rdquo; Carter said, &ldquo;I tell them all the time, if we get a-chance to go, let&rsquo;s go. As long as we&rsquo;re doing the job in our zone, I don&rsquo;t see why we have to be conservative when we&rsquo;re going into the other team&rsquo;s zone. Why not try to create some things? Why not try to get a goal to try to lift the team up?&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Ray Bourque received a scare during the first period of a 3-3 tie Jan. 17 against Atlanta. A slapshot by Thrashers&rsquo; center Ray Ferraro struck Bourque in the mouth. It knocked out three of his teeth and opened up a deep gash in his lip that required 11 stitches to close. Bourque wanted to come back for the third period, but the medical staff told him to take the rest of the game off. He was back on the ice the next day at practice. Bourque said he wasn&rsquo;t in pain, but the worst awaits him when he has extensive dental work to repair the damage. &ldquo;You know what&rsquo;s coming is half a dozen visits to the dentist and that&rsquo;s not much fun,&rdquo; Bourque said&hellip;Coach Pat Burns became the 14th coach in NHL history to record 400 wins when the Bruins beat Atlanta 4-3 Jan. 19&hellip;Left winger Joe Hulbig had hoped to be back from a groin strain he suffered in practice Jan. 5, but an MRI revealed his groin is tom and he is expected to be sidelined until at least late February. &#9632;

f0015-02

Versatile Carter’s role with Bruins goes from important to imperative

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021241/7813397-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Flames&rsquo; goalie Fred Brathwaite keeps one eye on the puck and the other on Islanders&rsquo; winger Brad Isbister. (Jim Leary/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011601/7813404-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="149" height="151"></div>The tumaround-and after two months of winning hockey, it can now safely be described as a turnaround-occurred in midNovember, soon after Calgary Flames&rsquo; coach Brian Sutter made a difficult call.His nominal No. 1 goaltender, Grant Fuhr, was struggling, so Sutter switched to Fred Brathwaite for back-to-back road games in Phoenix and Anaheim. Brathwaite actually lost both outings, but played well in a pair of 2-1 defeats.The decision Sutter faced: Stay with Brathwaite or go back to Fuhr, he of 400 career wins and a $3 million salary? Sutter opted for the former and was rewarded when Brathwaite won his next start. The Flames, then a team mired in the Western Conference basement at 5-12-2, are now in the midst of the playoff race. Except for the first week of a season, the Flames moved above .500 for the first time in Sutter&rsquo;s three-year career with a 4-0 Jan. 15 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Much of the credit for the Flames&rsquo; resurgence belongs to Brathwaite, who had a 0-4-1 record and an .881 save percentage on Nov. 17. Two months later, he was among the league leaders in the majority of goaltending categories and had improved his won-loss record to a respectable 15-11-4.In Calgary, where Valeri Bure and Phil Housley both qualified for the NHL All-Star Game, the question was asked: How could the Flames&rsquo; most valuable player be overlooked?For his part, Brathwaite took the decision in stride, noting: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not upset at all. I really am not. The media made more out of it than it really was. It&rsquo;s nice to be considered, but there&rsquo;s some good goalies-like (John) Van biesbrouck and Roman Turek-who are not playing in it.&rdquo;Mike Richter of the New York Rangers, Curtis Joseph of the Leafs and Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils are the goalies for the North American team.NOTEBOOK: Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the Hames&rsquo; second quarter performance was the fact they did it with five players on their roster who started the season with Saint John of the American League-forwards Hnat Domenichelli, Martin St Louis. Chris Clark and Benoit Gratton plus goaltender J.S. Giguere. Of the five, St. Louis has effectively become an NHL regular, despite his diminutive size. Listed as 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, St. Louis is actually 5-foot-7, or just a hair taller than ex-Flames&rsquo; right winger Theo Fleury who is now with the New York Rangers. St. Louis also shares two other qualities with Heury-exceptional first-step acceleration and a willingness to play in traffic, without being intimidated. &#9632;

f0016-02

Brathwaite sparks turnaround

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03933/7813435-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="154" height="154"></div>Buffalo is on the same path of self-destruction that was last travelled by the 1998-99 Washington Capitals, but don&rsquo;t blame the Sabres&rsquo; kids.Last season, Washington became the third team in five years to miss the playoffs the year after appearing in the Stanley Cup final. The New Jersey Devils failed to make the playoffs after winning the Cup in 1994-95 and the Florida Panthers missed after losing to the Colorado Avalanche in 1995-96. As of Jan. 21, Buffalo was 10th in the Eastern Conference and was a ghost of the team that forced eventual Cup-champion Dallas Stars to six games in last year&rsquo;s final.Despite their plight, there were good things happening in Buffalo and most of them had to do with youth.The Sabres might have three players on the season-ending all-rookie team. Dynamic right winger Maxim Afinogenov is almost certain to be there and Corey Sarich might be the best defensive defenseman in this year&rsquo;s freshman class. And goalie Martin Biron is far ahead of the curve for rookie netminders.&ldquo;Marty has come in here and played like a veteran,&rdquo; said Sabres&rsquo; winger Rob Ray. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of pressure on a kid who follows Dom (Hasek), but he has handled it well. He has given us chances to win and the fact we haven&rsquo;t won that many certainly isn&rsquo;t his fault&rdquo;Biron is no Hasek, but since his arrival from Rochester of the American League earlier this season, the Sabres&rsquo; first round pick in 1995 has won 16 games with four shutouts.&ldquo;Marty&rsquo;s had to learn a few things and he&rsquo;s still learning the NHL, but he hasn&rsquo;t been one of our problems,&rdquo; said coach Lindy Ruff.Biron admits there are times when the game gets the better of him and it has been hard to stay focused, but he&rsquo;s enjoying the experience.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think &lsquo;Wow, I&rsquo;m playing against this team or that team,&rsquo; anymore,&rdquo; Biron said. &ldquo;I just try and concentrate on playing my game and giving the team a chance to win.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Coach Lindy Ruff openly spoke of the need for a trade after the Sabres lost 2-1 to Montreal Jan. 14. A frustrated Ruff said it was probably time to deal some players, but he later backtracked. The Sabres need a power play quarterback and a playmaking center&hellip;GM Darcy Regier indicated there were no trades on the horizon&hellip; Forwards Michael Peca and Dixon Ward asked Ruff to reunite them with winger Vaclav Varada. The trio then had a strong game in a 5-0 win over Anaheim Jan. 17, but Varada was hit in the head by a shot and suffered a concussion. He missed the next two games and was listed as day-today&hellip; Goalie Dominik Hasek had stepped up his workouts. He was skating in full equipment and taking some shots. &#9632;

f0016-03

Kids bright light in dark season

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021102/7813466-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Sullivan has thrived with added responsibilities in Chicago. (J.Russell/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011429/7813473-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="159" height="154"></div>Steve Sullivan doesn&rsquo;t need to be reminded how fragile his confidence was in October after he was claimed by the Chicago Blackhawks on waivers from Toronto.&ldquo;It was nonexistent,&rdquo; Sullivan said.But that was then and this is now. Sullivan couldn&rsquo;t be happier to be a Hawk and the team couldn&rsquo;t be happier with the 5-foot-9, 155-pound right winger who has been one of their most consistent offensive threats. He had seven goals and 32 points in 39 games with Chicago and was the club&rsquo;s thirdhighest scorer after Tony Amonte (45 points) and Doug Gilmour (41).&ldquo;I think Sullivan is becoming a fan favorite very quickly,&rdquo; said associate coach Lome Molleken. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a guy who brings up our team speed and skill and he does a great job in all situations.&rdquo;A year ago, Sullivan was one of the top nine forwards on a fine Toronto team. He finished with 20 goals and 40 points in 63 games and then had three goals and six points in 13 playoff games.But in training camp, Sullivan fell out of favor with Maple Leafs&rsquo; coach-GM Pat Quinn. He played seven games at the start of the year, mostly as a fourthliner, then was waived after Toronto got winger Dmitri Khristich from Boston.&ldquo;I just didn&rsquo;t fit into their plans,&rdquo; said Sullivan. &ldquo;I have all the respect in the world for Pat Quinn, but he has made it clear that he is not a big fan of small players. He has always preferred bigger players and he told me that. He was straightforward with me.&rdquo;Sullivan, 25, is full of confidence again as a result of the success he has had on a line with center Michael Nylander and left winger Dean McAmmond.&ldquo;Steve is a lot like a guy like Michael Nylander in that they need to play with good players,&rdquo; Molleken said. &ldquo;I know Steve is a very confident young man and when he plays with confidence he can be a threat every time on the ice.&rdquo;All Sullivan was looking for when the Maple Leafs waived him was an opportunity to play regularly.&ldquo;I still thought I could make something out of this season,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;It sure helps to get a lot of ice time. I had a big role in Toronto, but not as big as here. I was averaging 13 or 14 minutes of ice time in Toronto, but lately here I&rsquo;ve been around 20.1 hope it continues.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Right winger Tony Amonte had some business to take care of before heading to the Feb. 6 All-Star Game. Amonte, a North American reserve, and his wife, Laurie, were expecting their second child the day of the game. "We'll just have to get her induced on Friday,&rdquo; Amonte said&hellip;.Defenseman Sylvain Cote, an unrestricted free agent after this season, would like to stay in Chicago, but talks with manager of hockey operations Mike Smith haven&rsquo;t gone far. &ldquo;I guess Mike said I wasn&rsquo;t one of their priorities at the moment,&rdquo; said Cote, 34. Cote had five goals and 24 points in 42 games&hellip;Defenseman Dave Manson&rsquo;s one-game suspension for slashing Colorado forward Peter Forsberg was his third this season and the ninth of his career. &#9632;

f0017-02

Whirling dervish revives career after getting chance to shine

<div class="byline">By Cecil Harris</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03790/7813504-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="151" height="149"></div>The Carolina Hurricanes were only 9-9-3 in the first 21 games at the new Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh.But at least the former gypsies of the NHL have a home. That, said coach Paul Maurice, should benefit the Canes in their pursuit of a second straight playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.&ldquo;At this point of the season, playing at home makes a difference,&rdquo; said Maurice, in his fifth year as coach. &ldquo;You get the last line change. You&rsquo;re playing in your building. This is where your fans can help big-time. Having your home crowd fired up for a game makes a big difference at this time of year.&rdquo;Time spent traveling to &ldquo;home&rdquo; games 80 miles away in Greensboro, as the players did the past two seasons, can now be spent resting and getting mentally focused for games in Raleigh. Finally, the Canes can create a homeice advantage.&ldquo;Our fans really get behind the home team if we give them a reason to,&rdquo; Maurice said.The Canes will have ample opportunities to attract more fans. In the first 21 home games, the club averaged 12,363 fans in an 18,730-seat arena. A playoff chase that might not be decided until the April 9 season finale against the Atlanta Thrashers could arouse Carolinians.&ldquo;I find myself watching the sports ticker a lot more now because there are so many teams in the playoff race,&rdquo; Maurice said. &ldquo;If I wake up in a hotel room at two in the morning, I put the TV on to get those West Coast scores.&rdquo;A playoff race is motivation enough for the Canes, Maurice said. Players don&rsquo;t need to hear fiery speeches.&ldquo;This is when your job is fun,&rdquo; Maurice said. &ldquo;This is when you really enjoy coming to the rink. There&rsquo;s an excitement in the locker room. From a motivation point of view I do less work and I do more work behind the bench in my line matchups.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Bates Battaglia's Jan. 18 goal against the Rangers was his first since Nov. 27, a span of 21 games. The left winger had been demoted to the fourth line before being reunited with center Ron Francis and right winger Sami Kapanen on the top line&hellip;The Canes, in a six-team logjam for a playoff spot, have sorely missed defenseman Sean Hill, out since Dec. 23 with a groin injury. &ldquo;The playoff push has started and other teams are starting to step up their games,&rdquo; Hill said. &ldquo;I want to come back and help any way I can.&rdquo;&hellip;Defenseman Nolan Pratt, a team-best plus-15 last season, was minus-16 after 46 games. Glen Wesley, his usual partner, was minus-10. Fellow defenseman Curtis Leschyshyn was minus-15. &#9632;

f0017-03

Cozy at home in playoff race

<div class="byline">By Chuck Carlton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011478/7813535-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="334" height="438"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Osgood</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04523/7813542-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="154" height="154"></div>Chris Osgood has been more a symptom of the Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; problems than the cause.Since Y2K dawned, neither Osgood nor the Red Wings has been quite right. Osgood was 1-5-2 with a 3.73 goals-against average following a Jan. 2 return after missing five weeks with a hairline fracture in his right hand. He allowed 28 goals on 206 shots (for an .864 save percentage), one of the most extended slumps in his seven-year career.And the Red Wings were 2-5-3 in 10 games through Jan. 19, allowing nine consecutive goals over four periods in one stretch. The Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; 24th-ranked power play burned Detroit and Osgood for three goals in one period Jan. 19. The Calgary Flames became the first team to beat Detroit in five consecutive regular season games since the Montreal Canadiens of the early 1990s.Before he was injured, Osgood was playing like a Vezina Trophy candidate. He was 11-2-3 with a 1.93 goals-against, best in the league.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not down,&rdquo; Osgood said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s more frustrating than anything to get to where you were. (It&rsquo;s) a lot of weird goals. It&rsquo;s not really long goals or bad goals.&ldquo;It just seems I&rsquo;ll be going good for a while and something will happen or it&rsquo;ll hit somebody&hellip;It&rsquo;s one thing after another.&rdquo;That includes continuing pain in his right hand, the reason he rarely leaves the net to play the puck. Osgood acknowledges returning about a week early, and his workload slowed the healing process.He has also faced strange bounces. Larry Murphy scored on Osgood in consecutive games, which isn&rsquo;t good since Murphy is a Red Wings&rsquo; defenseman.&ldquo;When things are going good, they&rsquo;ll bounce the other way or hit the post,&rdquo; Osgood said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t get down, that&rsquo;s the biggest thing. You keep your chin up or it&rsquo;ll get worse. I feel great out there, it&rsquo;s just not working.&rdquo;The team&rsquo;s recent slump has seen the Red Wings go from the NHL's best record to second overall in the Central Division behind the St. Louis Blues.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll snap out of it and go on a roll again,&rdquo; Osgood said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a matter of time when it&rsquo;s going to happen. We definitely want to finish ahead of St. Louis. It&rsquo;s the old cliche, if you want it to happen, you want it to happen in January.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: When captain Steve Yzerman passed Mario Lemieux with his 614th goal in a 6-1 loss to Calgary Jan. 18, the center became the highest-scoring player to have spent his career with the same franchise. &ldquo;I feel very lucky,&rdquo; said Yzerman, who is in his 17th year with the Red Wings. &ldquo;And this (milestone) will be more special than the others, I guess, because it&rsquo;s kind of unique.&rdquo;&hellip;Center Igor Larionov has publicly vented his frustration with the Red Wings for pulling a two-year, $4.3 million contract extension off the table in early January. &ldquo;I thought I deserved more respect. That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m really upset about,&rdquo; said Larionov, who had seven goals and 31 points in 47 games and said he will not negotiate with the Red Wings for the remainder of this season. Responded GM Ken Holland: &ldquo;We offered to raise his salary in both of two years and it sat there for five weeks. I guess I don&rsquo;t understand what respect it is.&rdquo;&hellip;After missing 41 games following hernia surgery, left winger Kirk Maltby returned to the lineup and lasted one shift before taking a shot off his foot against Chicago and exiting. &#9632;

f0018-01

Osgood not about to panic as Red Wings hit skids

<div class="byline">By Adrian Dater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021122/7813573-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="157" height="155"></div>If you want to buy the Colorado Avalanche-and call Ascent Entertainment ASAP if you do-it will be a package deal. You&rsquo;ll not only get the Avs, but Pierre Lacroix&rsquo;s services until he retires.Or so Lacroix said, when he inked a new long-term contract to stay on as president and GM of the Avalanche Jan. 17.&ldquo;Why start all over again when everything is in place and the future is bright?&rdquo; said Lacroix, who signed what is believed to be a five-year contract extension with the Avs.By signing the pact, the 51-year-old Lacroix gives up the &ldquo;walk-away&rdquo; clause in his old deal. In essence, he could have declared himself a free agent any time to pursue employment with any other team. There were rumors the Montreal Canadiens were interested in luring the Montreal native away to rebuild the team he grew up idolizing, but Lacroix has repeatedly stated he and his wife, Colombe, love living in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains.That, and the rebuilt Avs' team Lacroix has helped construct is expected to be a Stanley Cup contender for years to come with its complement of young star players.&ldquo;The key to this business is to win,&rdquo; Lacroix said. &ldquo;I do know that we have the assets. We have the ability to be competitive for years to come.&rdquo;Meantime, Ascent, under new interim-president Don Elliman, continues to seek new ownership for the team. Deals with Wal-Mart heirs Bill and Nancy Laurie (who purchased the St. Louis Blues) and Denver billionaire banker Donald Sturm have dissolved, and nobody has stepped forward expressing interest in acquiring the team that is only four years removed from winning a Stanley Cup.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve made no secret of the fact we&rsquo;re trying to sell the sports holdings,&rdquo; said Elliman. &ldquo;This is an indication that we think signing Pierre to this contract is a big plus. It&rsquo;s tying up a loose end.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: In posting its second straight shutout in a scoreless tie with San Jose Jan. 19, Colorado ran its undefeated streak at home to 10 games (8-0-2)&hellip;Denver and the Pepsi Center was officially awarded the 2001 NHL All-Star Game Jan. 19&hellip; Right winger Adam Deadmarsh missed four straight games with a sprained knee, but was expected to return Jan. 21 in Anaheim&hellip;Left winger Peter Forsberg had a league-leading 12-game points streak snapped in the scoreless tie with the Sharks&hellip;Rookie goalie Marc Denis posted his third shutout with a 2-0 blanking of Phoenix Jan. 17. Denis&rsquo; save percentage of .936 was the highest in the league of goalies with more than 10 appearances. &#9632;

f0018-02

Lacroix signs on for life with Avs

<div class="byline">By Mike Heika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03801/7813604-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="157" height="125"></div>The Dallas Stars&rsquo; hangover just gets worse and worse.With Derian Hatcher, Shawn Chambers, Brian Skrudland, Jamie Langen brunner and Jere Lehtinen already hobbled with injuries, the last thing the Stars needed was more medical problems. But that&rsquo;s just what they got in mid-January when center Joe Nieuwendyk suffered a separated right shoulder that could sideline him until March. Nieuwendyk had just returned from missing 10 games with tom rib cartilage.&ldquo;It feels like it has been six seasons,&rdquo; said coach Ken Hitchcock of a difficult campaign.Because of the mounting injuries and personnel turnover, the Stars played many of January&rsquo;s games with half the roster of last season&rsquo;s Stanley Cup winners. What&rsquo;s more, the losses were to key players. Take away the $13.3 million in salaries that were sidelined and the Stars&rsquo; top end $42-million payroll was reduced to a middle-of-the-pack $29-million unit.&ldquo;We have to claw and scratch like other teams,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;This is the lineup we have to win with.&rdquo;Hatcher, who is recovering from a severed right calf muscle, has shed the protective boot on his leg and would like to return by the all-star break. Chambers is skating on the right knee which required surgery early in the season, but is not sure when he will return. Skrudland&rsquo;s chest contusion is expected to keep him out until late February. And Lehtinen might have to take a long-term break to let his broken foot heal properly. He has made two unsuccessful comeback attempts.The injury problems are so severe the Stars likely aren&rsquo;t going to be able to acquire help via a trade. They simply don&rsquo;t have enough healthy bodies to swing a significant deal. Instead, they&rsquo;ll have to rely on the existing group.&ldquo;We have players who can step in and they&rsquo;ll have to step in,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;We have to just worry about getting through this.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Stars tied their franchise record unbeaten streak against one team Jan. 20 when they beat Los Angeles 5-3. The Stars had gone 21 games (15-0-6) without a loss to the Kings. The old franchise best also was against the Los Angeles, a 17-0-4 mark from 1970 through 1973&hellip; In hopes of sparking the offense, coach Ken Hitchcock separated right winger Brett Hull and center Mike Modano. The two had played almost exclusively together the past 1-1/2 seasons. Hull was placed on a line with center Guy Carbonneau and left winger Mike Keane, while Modano was playing with left winger Brenden Morrow and right winger Blake Sloan. &#9632;

f0018-03

Injuries cripple defending champs

<div class="byline">By Mario Annicchiarlco</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03689/7813635-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Todd Marchant is fast and furious in his role as a top checking pivot. (J.Russell/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021016/7813642-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="157" height="156"></div>In all its rich history, the Edmonton Oilers have never had a Seike Trophy winner.That may not change this season, but center Todd Marchant has quietly become the team&rsquo;s best defensive forward since Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen wore the Oilers&rsquo; blue.&ldquo;Can he win it? Yeah. 1 think he can win it, but I also think he is becoming a staple of their group again and tough to play against,&rdquo; said Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock of Marchant.Hitchcock, who boasts two-time Seike winner Jere Lehtinen on his roster, realizes what Marchant brings to the table for the Oilers.&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s a lot like their team,&rdquo; Hitchcock said.&ldquo;The attention to detail is strong. He&rsquo;s positionally strong now, controls his speed a lot like Carbo (Stars&rsquo; Guy Carbonneau. He&rsquo;s so quick in the position that he&rsquo;s hard to play against because he can make a mistake and still recover.&rdquo;And despite his minus-5 rating, Marchant thrives on the challenge of shutting down the likes of Peter Forsberg, Mike Modano, Paul Kariya, Eric Lindros and Jaromir Jagr.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a role that I&rsquo;ve been put into and I love it,&rdquo; Marchant said. &ldquo;As do Ethan and Michael (linemates Moreau and Grier).&rdquo;But Marchant realizes there is more to winning the Seike than defensive excellence.The Seike winner always seems to be a 50-point man-and therein lies the catch for Marchant and his modest offensive capabilities. To even be considered a candidate, he will have to augment his penchant for backchecking with a few more goals than he has typically produced.In his first five seasons, Marchant&rsquo;s output ranged from 13 to 19 goals and 27 to 38 pointsBut a hot second half would enable him to better his career-highs, established in 1995-96 (19-19-38). Marchant had nine goals and 20 points through 46 games this season.&ldquo;I think that any time you get thrown into that (Seike) category or even get mentioned for something like that is an honor and a privilege, but (winning) it doesn&rsquo;t happen to just anybody,&rdquo; Marchant said.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Frank Musil&rsquo;s career might be over as the Oilers placed him on the injured reserve list Jan. 19 for the rest of the season. The compressed nerve in his spine hadn&rsquo;t healed and the team wanted him to undergo more testing. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m at the stage where I&rsquo;m dealing internally with whether I&rsquo;m ready to play this game again,&rdquo; said the 35-year-old&hellip;Goalie Tommy Salo earned his first shutout as an Oiler in a 7-0 win over Calgary Jan. 19. It was just the second time the Oilers had ever blanked the Flames; the first was a 6-0 win 10 years ago by current backup Bill Ranford&hellip;Three Oilers snapped lengthy scoring droughts in the Calgary game: Right wingers Alex Selivanov (21 games) and Mike Grier (14) and defenseman Sean Brown (43). &#9632;

f0019-03

Oilers’ speed merchant Marchant defensive about all-around play

<div class="byline">By David J. Neal</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04525/7813673-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="154" height="154"></div>Ross Wilson&rsquo;s son Mike might have let opponent off the hook when he had the chance to ride them hard into the boards, but such habits weren&rsquo;t learned from Dad. And Ross&rsquo; refusal to let his son off the hook might have turned Mike&rsquo;s season around in early January.&ldquo;(Dad) was down for the weekend and we were sitting outside barbecuing,&rdquo; said Florida Panthers&rsquo; defenseman Mike Wilson, 24. &ldquo;We started talking about how things were going and what I needed to do to turn it around.&ldquo;All the way up through hockey if I played well, he told me I played well and if I played badly or wasn&rsquo;t doing something, he&rsquo;d let me know. He said a lot of the same things (coach) Terry (Murray) was telling me. So I was getting it from both sides.&rdquo;After that, Wilson, a nice guy whose on-ice temperament had all the edge of a butter knife, decided, &ldquo;if this is what I want to do for a living. I&rsquo;ve got to play each shift as if it could be my last.&rdquo;So Wilson&rsquo;s 6-foot-6, 212-pound body began bumping with more authority. He got into a fight with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ian Herbers Jan. 15. Two days later, against a physical Philadelphia team, he turned in another strong performance and plastered Flyers&rsquo; power forward John LeClair in the open ice. That started a sequence that led to a key goal in Florida&rsquo;s 3-1 victory. And he had points in three consecutive games, giving him two goals and 11 points on the season.Murray&rsquo;s explanation for what both he and Wilson considered an erratic first half of the season was simple.&ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t ready physically,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;When you get yourself behind the eight-ball by missing the off-ice conditioning program, it&rsquo;s very hard to get out from under. The inconsistency was there because of non-commitment over the summer.&ldquo;But Mike has made up for it with a lot of time in the weight room. He&rsquo;s doing all the extra work and we&rsquo;re starting to see some dividends.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Todd Simpson, upon hearing that Tampa Bay pest Darcy Tucker would be wearing a full facemask after taking a puck to the face, said, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s too bad because I&rsquo;d love to have fought him. If he didn't get hit in the mouth, he&rsquo;d be yapping.&rdquo; The rivalry between Simpson and Tucker-who was suspended two games this season for spearing Simpson-goes back to their Western League days&hellip;Right winger Pavel Bure hit the season&rsquo;s halfway point having already set or tied 11 franchise records and was on pace to nearly double the franchise record for goals in a season, 32, shared by left wingers Ray Whitney (1997-98) and Scott Mellanby (1995-96). Bure was on track for 62, despite missing eight games due to injury. &#9632;

f0019-04

Wilson’s father knows best

<div class="byline">By Helene Elliott</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02890/7813704-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="333" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ziggy Palffy</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011257/7813711-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="155" height="155"></div>When Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; right winger Ziggy Palffy is at his best, he can carry an entire team on his back.But when that back is sore and he suffers from painful muscle spasms-as he has for much of December and January-he can&rsquo;t do much.And neither can the Kings.The Slovakian right winger had 12 goals in his first 25 games, a 40-goal pace and a key reason the Kings were 14-7-4-1 at the 25-game mark. However, back problems began to hamper him and he scored only twice in his next 13 games and missed five other games because his back was so bad.It&rsquo;s no coincidence the Kings&rsquo; record during that stretch was a dismal 4-11-3-1.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough for me to be playing like that,&rdquo; Palffy said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s painful. Every moment is painful for me. I&rsquo;ve never played like this before.&ldquo;I try to play 100 per cent, but that&rsquo;s not always possible. I don&rsquo;t know, but I&rsquo;m maybe at 60 per cent. It&rsquo;s a problem because your back, you use it all the time. I&rsquo;m working hard on a (muscle strengthening) program and I&rsquo;m hoping it&rsquo;s going to be better. I&rsquo;m not promising anything, but I&rsquo;m working hard.&rdquo;That, too, was new for him.&ldquo;I think Ziggy has played the game on natural ability,&rdquo; coach Andy Murray said. &ldquo;I think he has become aware that he needs to become stronger. He and his girlfriend are opening a fitness center in Slovakia. I hope he takes out a membership.&rdquo;Palffy ended his slump by scoring twice in a 5-3 win over Buffalo Jan. 18, both times in 4-on-4 situations. But the next game, the Kings reverted to their old, losing ways, taking unnecessary penalties and losing their poise in the defensive zone in a 5-2 loss to Dallas. Palffy was scoreless and minus-2 against the Stars, an unusual occurrence for him.That loss extended the Kings&rsquo; slide to 3-11-1 since mid-December, but Palffy remains optimistic the Kings will regain their fine early-season form when injured center Jozef Stumpel (bruised knee) and right winger Glen Murray (bruised chest) return to the lineup. The key, Palffy said, was not to panic and not to stray from the strategy that brought them good early results.&ldquo;Our attitude is great because we&rsquo;re working hard in practice and having fun,&rdquo; said Palffy, who played with a variety of linemates but most often skated alongside Luc Robitaille and Bryan Smolinski. &ldquo;We have to keep working.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Garry Galley returned to the lineup Jan. 13 after missing 10 games because of a concussion. He had points in three of his first four games. Coach Andy Murray rewarded him with ample ice time, playing him more minutes in the 5-3 victory over Buffalo Jan. 18 than even defenseman Rob Blake. &ldquo;I feel rejuvenated,&rdquo; Galley said. He said the concussion was his fifth, but only the first time he hadn&rsquo;t been knocked unconscious. &ldquo;I knew something was wrong when Tip (assistant coach Dave Tippett) was writing on the board and it was just a blur,&rdquo; Galley said. &ldquo;I had some disorientation and the headaches lingered. My dad was adamant that I be sure before I came back, and he had never been adamant before.&rdquo;&hellip;Right winger Pavel Rosa, a scorer all his career, was asked to play a defensive role after being recalled from Long Beach of the IHL. "They&rsquo;ve been looking for forechecking, for me to steal the puck and make plays,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s different, but 1 don&rsquo;t have a choice. 1 hope there will be chances to score.&rdquo;&hellip;The Kings&rsquo; 5-2 loss to Dallas Jan. 20 extended their futility streak against the Stars to 0-15-6-1. &#9632;

f0020-02

Palffy on muscle strengthening program to repair back

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03628/7813742-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="148" height="97"></div>After taking ill-advised penalties twice in the span of three games and then finding himself a healthy scratch, Scott Thornton believes his days as a Montreal Canadien could be coming to an end.&ldquo;I know the rumors are going to start,&rdquo; Thornton said. &ldquo;If the phone rings, I won&rsquo;t be surprised.&rdquo;Thornton had been held to two goals and five points in 35 games. Although he&rsquo;ll never be known as an offensive dynamo, Thornton nonetheless has scored 10 goals twice in his career.And playing for Canada at last year&rsquo;s World Championship, Thornton scored five times in 10 games.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t produced the numbers,&rdquo; Thornton said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m playing solid, I&rsquo;m just not scoring. But I&rsquo;ve had some good chances. I&rsquo;ll never be a prolific scorer, but if I had five (at this juncture) I&rsquo;d be on pace for what I&rsquo;ve done. It&rsquo;s not like I&rsquo;m 15 goals off my pace.&rdquo;Thornton has also played with a lack of aggression, being credited with only 47 hits through 35 games. And when he was using his body, it was with little regard for the consequences.He was ejected late in the third period of a game against the Boston Bruins Jan. 15 for checking Andre Savage into the boards from behind. Thornton received a major penalty and game misconduct. The Canadiens killed off the five-minute disadvantage and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.Four nights earlier, against the Detroit Red Wings, Thornton received a minor for holding Tomas Holmstrom and then compounded the issue by taking an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.Canadiens&rsquo; coach Alain Vigneault clearly is running out of patience.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said before that we expect more from him,&rdquo; Vigneault said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve given (him) lots of quality ice time and he hasn&rsquo;t produced. He&rsquo;s also taken some questionable penalties.&rdquo;Thornton, 29, was scratched from a game against the New York Islanders Jan. 19. Earning $950,000 (U.S.), he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Vladimir Malakhov, yet to play this season after surgery on his right knee last September, flew to Birmingham to be examined by Dr. William Clancy after catching a rut in the ice at the Molson Centre and falling awkwardly during a practise. Tests performed by Clancy, who operated on Malakhov, showed there was fluid, possibly blood, from damaged scar tissue in the joint. But the ligament was intact and there was no serious damage. Malakhov will wear a brace to protect the knee when he resumes skating. There&rsquo;s no projected return&hellip;Center Trent McCleary scored his first goal for Montreal-and first in the NHL since Jan. 25, 1997-in a 3-0 win against the New York Islanders. &#9632;</div>

f0020-03

Thornton’s play displeases coach

<div class="byline">By Jeff Legwold</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04421/7813773-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="157" height="151"></div>Darren Turcotte&rsquo;s most frustrating season ever has been punctuated with surgery.The Nashville Predators&rsquo; center decided to have right knee surgery Jan. 21 to try to alleviate chronic pain in his previously doctored joint.Turcotte, who hasn&rsquo;t played since Nov. 24, had the surgery rather than continue an endless trial of rest and rehabilitation on the ailing knee.Calling the surgery a &ldquo;last-ditch effort&rdquo; to relieve himself of pain, Turcotte has struggled with the knee since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament last year. The surgery will move his kneecap toward the inside of his leg, which he hopes will end his difficulties.He will also have the knee cleaned out and doctors will remove screws placed there during last year&rsquo;s surgery.This latest surgery will keep him out of the lineup until at least mid-March. In nine games this season, Turcotte had struggled to skate with any consistent speed because of the pain and the weakness in the knee.The 31-year-old Turcotte has played just 49 games the last two seasons for the Predators. He has just one assist this season and was scratched from several early-season games.When Turcotte was unable to play, the Predators gave a larger role to rookie David Legwand at center as well as increased playing time to Randy Robitaille, another rookie.Legwand is out until late February after breaking his left foot Jan. 13, which means more time for Robitaille. The former Boston Bruins&rsquo; prospect was the American League MVP last season with 28 goals and 102 points as Providence won the Calder Cup.&ldquo;Randy has responded,&rdquo; said coach Barry Trotz. &ldquo;As with all of our forwards, we&rsquo;d like for them to remember their defensive responsibilities.&rdquo;With Legwand out, Robitaille is getting time on the first line with Cliff Ronning and Patric Kjellberg. He&rsquo;s also a regular on the power play unit.NOTEBOOK: The Predators claimed left winger Niklas Andersson off waivers from the New York Islanders Jan. 21. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound Swede had three goals and 10 points in 17 games with the Lslanders&hellip;Left winger Patrick Cote, who has had swelling in the knuckles on his right hand, re-injured the hand in fight with Chicago's Dennis Bonvie. He&rsquo;s sidelined day-to-day&hellip;GM David Poile said the team&rsquo;s trip to Japan next season may mean they decide on the final roster more quickly. The Predators face the Pittsburgh Penguins Oct. 7-8 just outside Tokyo&hellip;Defenseman Jan Vopat. who has missed several weeks with a recurring rash is having new liners put into his equipment. &#9632;

f0020-04

Turcotte opts for surgery over rest

<div class="byline">By Anthony McCarron</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011013/7813811-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="157" height="155"></div>It was as worked up as Kevin Weekes, a calm sort-especially off the ice-had been since he came to the New York Islanders.&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s get it straight, OK,&rdquo; he said firmly. &ldquo;I have two tears in the cartilage, one on either side of my (right) knee. It&rsquo;s going to have to be operated on. I&rsquo;ve put it off so I can play.&rdquo;Weekes had to defend himself because a story in the Vancouver Sun said Canucks&rsquo; management thought Weekes wasn&rsquo;t hurt when he complained of pain in his knee. The story also said he made up a tale of being robbed as an excuse for being late to a game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02624/7813804-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="201" height="289"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Weekes</figcaption></div>The article said those were two of the reasons Weekes, hyped as the Canucks&rsquo; goalie of the future, was included in the Dec. 19 trade in which Vancouver swapped Weekes, Dave Scatchard and Bill Muckalt for Felix Potvin and two second round picks.When asked for his reaction to the story insinuating he was lying about the robbery, Weekes said, &ldquo;Who cares? If you come to me and tell me something that happened in your personal life, as a man, I take it for what you say.&rdquo;On Dec. 2, Weekes was late for a Vancouver game against Edmonton and said the reason was that he had been robbed. There were doubts about the story, but Weekes didn&rsquo;t back down.The Sun reported that on his way to the game, Weekes stopped to pick up some dry cleaning. While walking out of the store, he was approached by a man.&ldquo;Are you Kevin Weekes,&rdquo; he asked&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; Weekes said.&ldquo;Follow me,&rdquo; the man said.The driver hopped into his car and started driving away. Weekes followed in his own car. The two drove for a while before stopping in an alley.The man asked for all the money Weekes was carrying-several hundred dollars-which he handed over. Weekes alleged there was a gun involved.There were discrepancies in Weekes&rsquo; story. He couldn&rsquo;t describe the man and, at one point, said the man approached him at his apartment, not the dry cleaners. He also made no attempt to call police on his car phone, or attempt to drive to a police station.A debate over whether Weekes&rsquo; knee was injured started the odd chain of events.Weekes has said he felt the organization was losing confidence in him and the Sun story suggested that began when he pulled himself out of a game in October.The Canucks ordered an MRI of the knee and it showed no damage, angering coach Marc Crawford. Crawford blasted Weekes in a profanity-laced, meeting within earshot of other play ers. Weekes insisted he didn&rsquo;t want to play until he was 100 per cent. The Isles&rsquo; doctors took an MRI of it three days after the trade and found two tears.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not bitter it wasn&rsquo;t detected in Vancouver,&rdquo; Weekes said. &ldquo;A young guy, coming into the league wouldn&rsquo;t want to play? But I knew I wasn&rsquo;t healthy then and I wasn&rsquo;t wrong.&rdquo;Vancouver GM Brian Burke said he wouldn&rsquo;t comment on the Sun story, but stressed &ldquo;it didn&rsquo;t originate with management&hellip;We don&rsquo;t run players out of town. This was a hockey move.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Isles waived defenseman Vladimir Chebaturkin because of a contract squabble with GM Mike Milbury over a new deal for the unrestricted free agent to be. The move raised some eyebrows in the locker room, since teammates thought Chebaturkin had been one of the Isles&rsquo; top defenseman during his 10-game callup from Lowell of the American League&hellip; Right winger Bill Muckalt was lost for the season when he separated his left shoulder against Tampa Bay Jan. 13. He was slated for surgery the week of Jan. 17. &#9632;

f0021-01

Weekes disputes bizarre sequence of events leading to trade

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011140/7813842-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="125" height="128"></div>A team with four rookies in its lineup is often in a rebuilding stage and rarely expected to compete with the league&rsquo;s top clubs. A lineup filled with rookies usually means a season trying to escape from the bottom of the standings.That is not the case with the New Jersey Devils, who are not only competing but were sitting atop the NHL as they approached the 50-game mark. By winning eight of nine games Jan. 3-19, the Devils were tops in the NHL.And they did it with rookies Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski, John Madden and Cohn White in the lineup and playing significant roles. White, 22, was the latest in a succession of young defensemen to crack the Devils&rsquo; lineup when he was recalled from the American League&rsquo;s Albany River Rats Jan. 11.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty impressive how Colin White has been able to step right in. He hasn&rsquo;t looked out of place at all,&rdquo; said GM Lou Lamoriello of the 49th overall pick in the 1996 entry draft.When the flu bug bit veterans Scott Stevens and Lyle Odelein, White got the call.&ldquo;I was hoping the call was going to come this season, but I didn't know if it would,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;When it came, I was really surprised.&rdquo;He made his NHL debut Jan. 11 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and remained in the lineup for five games even when Stevens and Odelein came back.&ldquo;I have no idea how long I&rsquo;ll be here. Right now I&rsquo;m going day by day. That&rsquo;s all you can dp,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still making some mistakes out there, but I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve been too bad.&rdquo;White was plus-1 in his first five games with no points. He avoided taking penalties, but has a mean streak that helped him compile 121 penalty minutes in 37 AHL games this year.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy with what I&rsquo;ve seen,&rdquo; said assistant coach Larry Robinson of the 6-foot-4, 210-pound White. &ldquo;I think he is ready to take the next step.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Left winger Patrik Elias tied the Devils&rsquo; record of scoring in 12 straight games Jan. 19. Elias tied the mark shared by Scott Stevens, Pat Verbeek and Aaron Broten&hellip;Left winger Scott Gomez nearly bit off his tongue in practice Jan. 19 when defenseman Sheldon Souray's stick came up and clipped him under the chin. Gomez required stitches, but didn&rsquo;t miss any games&hellip;Left winger Krzysztof Oliwa provided a touching moment against Carolina Jan. 17 when he scored the winning goal with his mom and stepdad in attendance. Krystyna and Henryk Oliwa arrived from Poland the night before and watched their son play in the NHL for the first time. The goal and a dedicating gesture from Oliwa brought tears to his mother's eyes. &#9632;</div>

f0022-01

Devils rookies keep succeeding

<div class="byline">By Rick Carpiniello</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03603/7813873-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Goalie Mike Richter will represent the Rangers at the NHL All-Star Game. (Bruce Benet Studios)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02820/7813880-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="158" height="140"></div>There were some reasonable arguments against the naming of New* York Rangers&rsquo; goalie Mike Richter to the North American all-star team.And there was this one gigantic reason for Richter being the Rangers&rsquo; representative at Air Canada Centre-&ldquo;It couldn&rsquo;t be anybody else,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; coach John Muckier.Simply put, other goalies are having better seasons statistically, but the Rangers would be sunk without Richter.By mid-January, Richter had started 21 of 22 games for a team that had a propensity for giving up tons of oddman rushes and breakaways. Richter had just 10 wins when he was named, but with a streak of five wins in six games, had improved his record to 13-16-7.His goals-against average of 2.66 ranked 26th among all goalies with a minimum of 720 minutes played. However, his .910 save percentage compared favorably to some of the other top goalies in the league.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t say I have all-star numbers,&rdquo; Richter said, &ldquo;but I have been playing fairly well.&ldquo;I think the issue here is there are 28 teams in the league, and there&rsquo;s always good players that are left out. New York has a representative, and this year it&rsquo;s me, so I&rsquo;m very, very proud to be that person.&rdquo;He has done it before. During his best season, 1993-94, Richter earned the all-star MVP truck at Madison Square Garden, en route to his team-record 42-win, Stanley Cup year.&ldquo;I feel in a lot of ways I am on my game,&rdquo; Richter said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had better stats, but I&rsquo;ve played worse, too.&rdquo;All season long, win, lose or tie, the Rangers have commended Richter for giving them a chance. So they were glad he got the call.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s played great&rdquo; said defenseman Brian Leetch. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s embarrassed about it because he&rsquo;d rather have a lot more wins, but I told him. &lsquo;There&rsquo;s nothing to be embarrassed about. You&rsquo;ve worked hard, faced more shots, have a great save percentage and your importance to the team is probably as much as any goaltender on any team.&rsquo; He gives us a chance almost every night.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Rangers sent center Manny Malhotra and defenseman Jason Doig to Hartford of the American League Jan. 18 on two-week conditioning assignments. While management insisted it is not in the plans for Malhotra to return to Guelph of the Ontario League once the two-week stint (eight games in 11 days) is over, it remains a very real possibility. Since Malhotra has junior eligibility remaining, he can&rsquo;t stay in Hartford for more than two weeks. Doig can agree to extend his assignment&hellip; Left winger and alternate captain Kevin Stevens&rsquo; days as a Ranger were numbered. He was scratched for three straight games after his ice time plummeted and Rangers' president/GM Neil Smith was trying to move him. &#9632;

f0022-03

Stats don’t tell complete story when it comes to Richter’s play

<div class="byline">By Bruce Garrioch</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02700/7813911-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Manley, left, surprised Rod Bryden with the government&rsquo;s about-face. (Canapres)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011026/7813918-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="154" height="154"></div>Instead of packing up and leaving town, Ottawa Sen-ators&rsquo; owner Rod Bryden is trying to come up with a solution to stay put.After learning $3 million in funding he&rsquo;d received from the Canadian government only 48 hours earlier had been pulled off the table, Bryden told a packed news conference in Ottawa he wasn&rsquo;t ready to give up the fight.While he&rsquo;s still prepared to sell the team to the American interests, Bryden is going to spend the next two weeks trying to find out if it&rsquo;s feasible for him to continue operating the Senators at the 18,500-seat Corel Centre in Kanata.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to be hasty in making my decision,&rdquo; Bryden said. &ldquo;Believe me when I say my No. 1 choice is to keep this team in Ottawa. It always has been, but I&rsquo;m not going to continue to write checks for $10-to-$12 million.&rdquo;Bryden was taken by surprise Jan. 21 when Canada&rsquo;s industry minister John Manley did an about-face and reversed a decision to supply federal funding to the six Canadian teams.While not every team would have had benefited from the program, which was to contribute more than $3 million to the Senators coffers, Ottawa stood to be winners because Bryden took his &lsquo;For Sale&rsquo; sign down.In a shocking turn of events, Manley pulled the plug on the plan and that left Bryden looking for other avenues to save his hockey team. One possibility is raising ticket prices.&ldquo;Right now, I have to find out exactly where all the stakeholders stand on this issue and what the shortfall is going to be.&rdquo; Bryden said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t just want to walk away from this city. If I find it doesn&rsquo;t make business sense for me to stay here, then I&rsquo;m not going to continue operating in this city. If people think I&rsquo;m bluffing, that&rsquo;s fine. But if 1 have to sell, I&rsquo;ll sell.&rdquo;Bryden announced in December, when it looked like no federal help was forthcoming, he would begin his pursuit of investors for the franchise and held talks with at least three U.S. cities.There is a belief that it might be too late for Bryden to sell the team and move it next year. Season tickets have to be sold, there are no guarantees there is a building in the new city and the NHL could block the move.But Bryden maintains that&rsquo;s not the case. Plus, he&rsquo;s well aware leaving the team in Ottawa next year with an announcement it&rsquo;s going to be sold would mean huge losses for the Senators. Fans could stop supporting the team as they do now.&ldquo;I would think if he wanted to move (immediately), he would get sympathy from the other owners because of the circumstances of the decision by the government,&rdquo; said Senators&rsquo; president Roy Mlakar.NOTEBOOK: Senators&rsquo; GM Marshall Johnston quashed any idea of the club trading holdout center Alexei Yashin before the season is over. &ldquo;Why would I change my mind in the middle of the season?" Johnston said &ldquo;This guy should be here honoring his contract.&rdquo; Yashin has been holding out in Switzerland while waiting for the club to renegotiate the final year of his $3.6 million (U.S.) deal&hellip;Center Mike Fisher, who was having an outstanding rookie season as a 19-year-old, is gone for the year after it was learned he&rsquo;ll require surgery on his right knee. Fisher injured the knee Dec. 30 against Boston, but after swelling went down three weeks later doctors determined he had a tom anterior cruciate ligament that would require reconstructive surgery. &#9632;

f0023-02

Owner vows to explore option of Senators staying in Ottawa

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03502/7813949-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="151" height="122"></div>Three concussions were enough to put an end to the career of Brett Lindros.And three concussions are enough to have Eric Lindros somewhat concerned about his future.The Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; captain sustained his third concussion in the past 22 months Jan. 14.He believes it happened on his first shift of a game in Atlanta when he ran Thrashers&rsquo; defenseman Chris Tamer into the end boards.Lindros sat out games against the New Jersey Devils (Jan. 15), Florida Panthers (Jan. 17) and Ottawa Senators (Jan. 20), but was hopeful of getting back into action by Jan. 23.Eric&rsquo;s younger brother was forced to retire after receiving three concussions in the space of nine months. The olttat Lindros&rsquo; head injuries have occurred over a longer time frame, but they are something that have his attention.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something I&rsquo;m taking lightly,&rdquo; Lindros said. &ldquo;But everyone has assured me that, given the right amount of time, I&rsquo;ll be back as strong as ever.&rdquo;Lindros, who turns 27 next month, sustained what doctors termed a Grade 2 concussion. After hitting Tamer, Lindros said he took an elbow to the side of his face on the same shift and that might have worsened the problem.&ldquo;Normally, when you give a hit, you&rsquo;re supposed to come out of it feeling pretty good,&rdquo; Lindros said.He says he&rsquo;s not going to make changes in his physical style of play.&ldquo;Over the course of the last eight years, I&rsquo;ve changed quite a bit,&rdquo; said Lindros. &ldquo;But it (style of play) is not going to change drastically. I&rsquo;m going to continue to play that style.&rdquo;Lindros wears a certified helmet, so there&rsquo;s not much to improve on in terms of protection. His teammates said they were concerned Lindros received a concussion on a play that did not appear serious.&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re dealing with your noggin, it&rsquo;s a scary thing,&rdquo; said Mark Recchi, who had a concussion last season.NOTEBOOK: The Flyers are concerned about the NHL&rsquo;s interpretation of the rules involving crease violations. Coach Roger Neilson was upset with one of the goals New Jersey scored in the Devils&rsquo; 4-1 win in Philadelphia Jan. 15. The coach claims Devils&rsquo; left winger Krzysztof Oliwa stood in the crease when the Devils scored. When Neilson complained to referee Don Koharski, the ref told him the play was legal. The league confirmed skaters are allowed to stand in the crease and only will be penalized if they interfere with the goalie. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s getting to the point where the goalie has to be an actor (to draw interference),&rsquo;&rsquo; Neilson said&hellip;Left winger Mark Recchi picked up an assist for career point No. 900 in a 3-1 loss at Florida Jan. 17 &#9632;

f0023-03

Third concussion halts Lindros

<div class="byline">By Bob McManaman</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011055/7813987-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin is back on the ice after signing with Long Beach of the International League. (John Giamundo/BS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02693/7813980-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="155" height="152"></div>Nikolai Khabibulin has gone to the dogs. Not the desert dogs, either, as in the Phoenix Coyotes.That&rsquo;s something that might never happen, given the state of confusion and the constant trade rumors that keep rumbling through the organization.But Khabibulin at least is back on the ice. After a seven-month contract dispute with the Coyotes, the 27-year-old Russian decided to sign for the rest of the season with the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International League.He was gearing up to make his first start Jan. 21 or 22.&ldquo;He felt comfortable there,&rdquo; said Khabibulin&rsquo;s agent, Jay Grossman. &ldquo;He spent time with them in training camp. He has practised with them. And it wasn&rsquo;t too far from Phoenix so he could keep his daughter in school in Arizona.&rdquo;There were rumors Khabibulin&rsquo;s signing in Long Beach may have jumpstarted negotiations with the Coyotes, that he might possibly be back in Phoenix for the drive toward the playoffs after a three-week tuneup in the minors. Coyotes&rsquo; GM Bobby Smith resumed conversations with Grossman almost immediately, though Smith cautioned nothing is imminent.&ldquo;I just thought it was time to give him a call and say, *Hey, let&rsquo;s set a date where we can start talking again so we can get this guy signed early in the summer,&rsquo; &rdquo; Smith said.Grossman wouldn&rsquo;t say if the potential still exists for Khabibulin, a restricted free agent, to return to the Coyotes this season.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to respond to that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was his decision to go to Long Beach. He&rsquo;s still relatively young and he wanted to make sure he was going to get something out of this year.&rdquo;Last season, Khabibulin finished fifth in the NHL in wins (32), tied for fourth in save percentage (.923), and third in shutouts (eight). This season, he has been virtually invisible, refusing to discuss his stalemate with the Coyotes and declining all interview requests.NOTEBOOK: The latest trade rumor involving captain Keith Tkachuk had the left winger going to the Rangers in a three-team trade that would send New York center Petr Nedved to Carolina and unsigned Hurricanes' center Keith Primeau to Phoenix. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to play anywhere else,&rdquo; Tkachuk said. &ldquo;I want to be a Coyote.&rdquo;&hellip;Right winger Rick Tocchet registered his 9OOth NHL point Jan. 15, a game-winning goal against Anaheim&hellip;The Coyotes registered their league-leading 10th shorthanded goal Jan. 20 in a 2-1 win over Buffalo. The goal was a game-winner by right winger Dallas Drake&hellip;Defenseman Todd Gill will remain on the injured list until at least late February because of an abdominal strain. &#9632;

f0027-01

Khabibulin oots for IHL stint

<div class="byline">By Joe Starkey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03475/7814018-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="155" height="155"></div>Someone needs to post a message in the Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; dressing room. It should read, &ldquo;This is the 21st century. Word travels fast.&rdquo;In what has become an annual event, a Penguins&rsquo; player was quoted in a European newspaper ripping his coach. Last season, it was Jaromir Jagr criticizing Kevin Constantine in a Czech pubheation. This season, it was left winger German Titov blasting Herb Brooks Jan. 20 in a Russian sports daily called Sport-Express.Translated to English, Titov&rsquo;s comments read: &ldquo;The coach has at his disposal players of the highest caliber, but spends his time on sheer nonsense. That means he is either incompetent or regards his players as incompetent. Not surprisingly, our guys are thoroughly sick of his stupid training.&rdquo;Titov, a 34-year-old Moscow native who struggles with English, disputed the quotes. &ldquo;He asked me about new coach,&rdquo; Titov said of the Russian reporter who approached him Jan. 15. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;New coach plays new style of game.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s it I never said it like that. I don&rsquo;t know what happened in the newspaper.&rdquo;Brooks&rsquo; initial reaction was one of shock. &ldquo;These remarks totally blindside our coaching staff,&rdquo; Brooks said.Brooks has long been known for innovative practice methods. He is also known to skate his players hard. His practices often run 75 minutes, about a half-hour longer than what the team&rsquo;s average workout was under Constantine. But there have been no signs of dissatisfaction among players. The day after the quotes appeared, Brooks addressed the matter at a team meeting.&ldquo;(It) has been addressed internally and it stays internally,&rdquo; Brooks said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all I&rsquo;ve got to say about it.&rdquo;Jagr said European newspapers have a tendency to embellish quotes.&ldquo;They ask you a question and you answer it and they&rsquo;re still going to write whatever they want,&rdquo; Jagr said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it happens here a lot, but in Europe it happens a lot.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Ivan Hlinka. who oversees the Czech national program, will observe the Penguins and their farm club in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., over the next months in what both sides are calling an exchange program&hellip;Coach Herb Brooks served a two-game suspension for his confrontation with Colorado play-by-play man John Kelly shortly after the Avalanche&rsquo;s 4-3 victory Jan. 13. Assistant GM Eddie Johnston coached the Penguins in a 4-2 loss to Nashville Jan. 15 and a 3-1 victory over St. Louis Jan. 19&hellip;Defenseman Darius Kasparaitis was handed a one-game suspension for hitting Nashville&rsquo;s Sebastien Bordeleau from behind&hellip;The Penguins snapped an O-for-27 power play drought in the game against St. Louis. &#9632;

f0027-03

Titov denies ripping Brooks

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02747/7814049-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="332" height="441"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al Maclnnis</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011091/7814056-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="154" height="153"></div>The St. Louis Blues received a scare when all-star defenseman and Norris Trophy winner Al Maclnnis suffered back spasms related to a displaced rib. The displaced rib was courtesy of Anaheim Mighty Duck Mike Leclerc, who laid a hard hit on Maclnnis in a game Jan. 14.Maclnnis missed only one game, which the Blues lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins Jan. 19, but all was not lost. Leclerc&rsquo;s hit accomplished something-male bonding. The Blues&rsquo; reaction to the hit showed how close this team is.The first man on the scene in defense of Maclnnis was Lady Byng Trophy candidate Pierre Turgeon, who might be the nicest guy in the NHL. But after seeing Maclnnis crumble to the ice in pain-he said it felt like his chest &ldquo;was in a vise&rdquo;-Turgeon felt a strange rush of rage and acted on it.&ldquo;I think I was going to fight him&hellip;seriously,&rdquo; Turgeon said. &ldquo;I was (mad). Al&rsquo;s one of our main guys on defense. We need him in the lineup.&rdquo;Upon seeing Turgeon&rsquo;s reaction, defenseman Marc Bergevin smartly took over for the Blues&rsquo; top offensive player. He pursued Leclerc, with both tumbling to the ice. Later, Bergevin challenged Leclerc to a fight.&ldquo;That was a nice move by Bergie to go after him later on; when I saw that, I was so pumped,&rdquo; Turgeon said. &ldquo;I wanted Bergie to kick his (tail) to show him that you don&rsquo;t do that to Al.&rdquo;Bergevin didn&rsquo;t see the initial hit, but he saw something more startling.&ldquo;When Turge went after the guy, 1 knew it had to be bad because Turge doesn&rsquo;t do that,&rdquo; Bergevin said.But this was a special case. As Turgeon said, Maclnnis is one of the Blues&rsquo; main men, a linchpin on defense with captain Chris Pronger. He makes the Blues&rsquo; puck control system work by controlling the play from the defensive end.How valuable is Maclnnis to the Blues? Consider the winning percentages with him on and off the shelf. Through Jan. 21, the team was .577 (7-5-1) when he was out, and .682 (20-8-5) when he was in. Despite missing 13 games, Maclnnis ranked 11th among NHL defensemen with seven goals and 27 points, eight points behind Colorado Avalanche blueliner Sandis Ozolinsh, the league leaderHis quick return to the lineup-an adjustment from a chiropractor returned the displaced rib to its proper place and eased the back spasms-was good news for the Blues.NOTEBOOK: After being snubbed in the selection of the World all-stars, goalie Roman Turek said he won&rsquo;t go to the All-Star Game now if invited to replace injured starter Dominik Hasek. &ldquo;If they call me&hellip;and say, &lsquo;Hey, Dominik is not coming,&rsquo; I&rsquo;m not going,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll spend the time with my family.&rsquo;&rsquo;&hellip;Rookie left winger Jochen Hecht suffered a high ankle sprain when he fell awkwardly on a hard hit by Los Angeles defenseman Rob Blake in a game Jan. 13. &ldquo;I knew he was coming, but he caught me off guard,&rdquo; said Hecht, who will be out of action until early February&hellip;To replace Hecht in the lineup, the Blues recalled center Marty Reasoner from Worcester (American League). Reasoner was fifth overall in AHL scoring with 20 goals and 47 points. He is centering the third line between left winger Stephane Richer and right winger Mike Eastwood&hellip;The loss in Pittsburgh Jan. 19 extended the Blues winless streak in the Steel City to nine games-0-8-1. They haven&rsquo;t won there since Nov. 8, 1990&hellip;Back-to-back losses to Anaheim Jan. 17 and Pittsburgh marked only the fourth time this season the Blues had lost games in succession. &#9632;

f0028-02

Blues rally around Maclnnis; injury helps team bond

<div class="byline">By Dan Wood</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04367/7814087-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Suter has been San Jose&rsquo;s best defenseman so far this season. (John Giamundo/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03540/7814094-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="154" height="154"></div>Everyone knew about the tom triceps tendon that required three operations and shelved San Jose Sharks&rsquo; defenseman Gary Suter for nearly all of last season. Nearly no one knew about Suter&rsquo;s other medical matter, which required heart surgery.More than halfway through his strong comeback campaign this season, Suter revealed doctors discovered an extra node that increased his heart rate to dangerous levels and required surgical repair at the end of last season.&ldquo;I just wanted to keep it quiet last year,&rdquo; Suter said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want people to think I was a basket case.&rdquo;Suter, 35, signed a three-year, $10-million free agent contract with San Jose in July, 1998. He played only part of one game with the Sharks last season because of a persistent staph infection in his right elbow that ate away repairs made during the first two surgeries.The heart problem became apparent during training camp before last season. A fitness fanatic, Suter fatigued easily and couldn&rsquo;t keep up with Tony Granato, while running stairs at San Jose Arena. Tests by the Sharks&rsquo; medical staff found a heart rate of 225-230 beats per minute, at least 40 more than normal, given Suter&rsquo;s age.&ldquo;We originally thought it might have to do with the infection,&rdquo; Suter said.A series of tests pinpointed a congenital defect as the problem. Still working to overcome the triceps injury, Suter put off the heart operation&ldquo;I wanted to put out one fire at a time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If I couldn&rsquo;t have come back from the elbow, we wouldn&rsquo;t have needed to do the heart procedure.&rdquo;Had Suter not wanted to resume his NHL career, doctors could have treated his condition with medication.The prospect of playing while on medication was unattractive because of side effects that included fatigue.&ldquo;I made up my mind that if I was going to come back, I was going to have the procedure,&rdquo; Suter said.Dr. Roger Winkle performed the operation, shutting down the extra node in Suter&rsquo;s heart. Suter spent only one night in the hospital and the recovery process required he &ldquo;take it easy&rdquo; for a couple days.Through 49 games this season, Suter had been San Jose&rsquo;s best defenseman. He averaged 24 minutes and led all Sharks&rsquo; blueliners in scoring, with four goals and 23 points.NOTEBOOK: Sharks&rsquo; rookie goaltender Evgeni Nabokov made his first NHL start a memorable one Jan. 19, registering 39-saves shutout in a 0-0 tie at Colorado&hellip;Center Vincent Damphousse. who had just one assist during a nine-game scoring slump, picked up three assists in a 54 overtime loss at Chicago Jan. 17&hellip;San Jose snapped a l-for-36 power-play drought by scoring three times with the man advantage against Chicago. ..Right winger Owen Nolan snapped a season-high, six-game goal drought by scoring twice in a 3-2 overtime victory over Los Angeles Jan. 15&hellip;Left winger Jeff Friesen, meanwhile, recorded back-to-back two-point games against Los Angeles and Chicago after having managed just two points in the previous nine games. &#9632;

f0028-04

Suter took ticker for tune-up while on mend last season

<div class="byline">By Tom Jones</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02642/7814125-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="331" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Hodson</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01968/7814132-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="126" height="121"></div>Kevin Hodson has gone from Tampa Bay Lightning coach Steve Ludzik&rsquo;s doghouse to the outhouse.Hodson, whose work ethic had already been questioned by Ludzik this season, was in line to get the chance to take over in goal after No. 1 goalie Dan Cloutier was suspended four games in mid-January for kicking New York Islanders&rsquo; forward Tim Connolly.Instead, Rich Parent, acquired from the St. Louis Blues the day Cloutier was suspended, started against the Florida Panthers Jan. 15 and lost 5-2. Two days later in Game 2 of Cloutier&rsquo;s suspension, Parent started and lost again, this time 6-3 to the Washington Capitals.By starting Parent against Florida, Ludzik was apparently looking to shake up the struggling Lightning. Parent, after all, hadn&rsquo;t played in the NHL in nearly a year. By starting Parent two days later, Ludzik was sending a message.&ldquo;In practice, in warmups, I just don&rsquo;t like what I see (with Hodson),&rdquo; Ludzik said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think he was working like he should. Is he a good person? Yes. Does he have a leg to stand on when he talks about not getting enough of a chance? No. Is he a good goalie? Yes. But I just don&rsquo;t like his approach.&rdquo;Ludzik and Hodson are in a chicken/egg scenario. Does a goalie not play well because he rarely plays? Or does a goalie not play because he hasn&rsquo;t played well?At the time of Cloutier&rsquo;s suspension, Hodson was 2-4-4 with a 3.25 goals-against average and .874 save percentage. The latter figure was among the worst in the NHL.&ldquo;I still have my confidence,&rdquo; Hodson said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never lost that. Sure, the season hasn&rsquo;t gone the way I hoped it would. You don&rsquo;t hope for something like this to happen, but I still believe I can play and that I can play well.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Hodson refused to comment on Ludzik questioning his work ethic. However, he did say, &ldquo;As a goalie, you have to block out everything else. I can&rsquo;t be concerned with what is being said about me or what people think of me. All I can do is go out and do the best I can.&rdquo;Hodson, 27, may last the season in Tampa Bay, but the way things are shaping up, it&rsquo;s likely he will be exposed in this summer&rsquo;s expansion draft.The Lightning acquired Hodson from Detroit last season in a trade that sent Wendel Clark to the Red Wings.NOTEBOOK: The Lightning acquired right winger Yogi Svejkovsky from Washington Jan. 17 for a seventh round draft pick this year and a third-rounder in 2001. Svejkovsky was put on a line with center Vincent Lecavalier in his first game and scored both Lightning goals in a 4-2 loss to Boston Jan. 20&hellip;Despite a 12-game winiess streak, the Lightning showed an 11-point improvement over the first half of this season compared to the first half of last season. At the midway point of last season, the Lightning had 21 points compared to 32 this season. Included in this season&rsquo;s point total, however, were four regulation ties&hellip;Former Tampa Bay GM Phil Esposito attended his first Lightning game at the Ice Palace since being fired early in 1998-99. &ldquo;This franchise will be alright because Vincent Lecavalier is going to be a star,&rdquo; Esposito said. Esposito believes Pittsburgh right winger Jaromir Jagr and Florida right winger Pavel Bure are currently the best players in the game, but, &ldquo;in five, six years, Lecavalier and (Boston center) Joe Thornton are going to be the best players in the league.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0029-02

Hodson can’t escape coach Ludzik’s bad books

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011086/7814201-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0030-01

Get more than the highlights by subscribing? NOW!

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02662/7814232-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">This may be the final season for Mark Messier in a Canucks&rsquo; jersey. (Jim Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011005/7814239-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="155" height="152"></div>As Mark Messier completes his third season with the Vancouver Canucks, none of them a success, the Moose's future in Vancouver is becoming a source of major debate.Messier turned 39 Jan. 18 and the guaranteed portion of his contract expires at the conclusion of the current campaign. The Canucks hold options for a fourth and fifth season, each at $6 million, but would owe Messier a $2 million buyout if he is not renewed.With the Canucks again floundering and not likely to make the playoffs, reports surfaced that GM Brian Burke was actively seeking to move Messier. However, the reports neglected to mention that Messier has a no-trade clause in his contract, a clause that he has not waived.Burke was adamant he was not shopping Messier and wouldn&rsquo;t unless Messier decided it was time to go."I have not discussed Mark Messier with even one team,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;I have not asked him to waive his notrade clause, nor do I intend to. As I said at the start of the year, this is a situation that we'll evaluate at the end of the season. The only way that Mark Messier would be involved in trade talks was if he came to me and asked me to move him-and that has not happened."Messier downplayed talk of his future by reiterating that his sole focus was helping the Canucks reach the playoffs, something they have not done since 1995-96. He was loathe to discuss waiving his no-trade clause if Vancouver fell hopelessly out of contention, or whether he expected to be playing somewhere next season.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have to wait and see what happens,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not putting any guidelines on my career right now. I&rsquo;m really concentrating a lot on the remaining games and trying to get ourselves in a playoff position. I don&rsquo;t really think it&rsquo;s healthy for me to look any farther down the road than that.&rdquo;He did concede that he still enjoyed playing and he did not sound like a man intending to retire despite his age and 21 seasons in the NHL.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m kind of excited I&rsquo;m still playing at 39 and contributing and enjoying the competition,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a lot of fun.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Rookie left winger Steve Kariya has hit the skids and was a healthy scratch three times in seven games during mid-January. Kariya had only two goals, both coming the same night, in a 22-game stretch before back-to-back benchings Jan. 17 against Toronto and Jan. 19 against Detroit. He had no assists in 13 games leading up to the sit-downs&hellip;Winger Vadim Sharifijanov scored on his first shift as a Canuck after being acquired from New Jersey for a 2000 second-round draft pick&hellip;Right winger Alexander Mogilny is out indefinitely with an injury in the pelvic-pubic area&hellip;After winning in his first start with the Canucks, goaltender Felix Potvin went winless (0-5-2) in his next seven outings, losing twice in overtime. &#9632;

f0031-02

The Moose could be let loose, if he waives no-trade clause

<div class="byline">By Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03489/7814270-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="154" height="154"></div>Washington Capitals&rsquo; left winger Chris Simon is on pace for a career season, and all he&rsquo;s had to do is stay healthy.Simon was third on the team with 11 goals in 37 games, putting him within reach of his career-high-16 for the Colorado Avalanche in 1995-96. He has never played more than 64 games in a season and therein lies a good deal of the problem. If he stays healthy, Simon could play 75 games this season.&ldquo;My personal goal this season was to stay healthy and play as many games as I can,&rdquo; Simon said. &ldquo;There have been some injuries (on the Capitals) and that has permitted me to play with Adam Oates and when you&rsquo;re with him, you either have to score or create scoring opportunities.&rdquo;Simon had missed seven games with a sprained neck this season, but no other injuries have forced coach Ron Wilson into some creative line juggling. Simon has usually stayed with the master playmaker and the move has paid off.&ldquo;I have a lot of faith in the things Simon can do,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s matured enough that he&rsquo;s becoming a contributor on and off the ice. I like the leadership he shows. He says all the right things on the bench, he keeps people honest because of the presence he has.&rdquo;Simon&rsquo;s past two seasons have ended in December, followed both times by shoulder surgery and months of rehabbing. He came back too quickly after the first surgery which led to the second operation and additional months of rehab. He appears to be in the best shape of his career.&ldquo;When the season started I just wanted to get my legs back under me, get my hands back, just take it one day at a time,&rdquo; Simon said. &ldquo;Once 1 started playing better the coach moved me up to playing with Oates and when you play with a guy like that, not only do you have to play well offensively but defensively, also. We&rsquo;ve done well in our own end and that has led to goals at the other end.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Caps matched their longest winning streak of the last two seasons-six games-with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Florida Jan. 19, which was also their fourth straight win on the road. Richard Zednik had two goals against Florida giving him five in three games and 12 overall, one behind right winger Peter Bondra, the team leader. The streak moved the Caps up to sixth in the Eastern Conference&hellip; Goalie Olie Kolzig was riding the same streak; six straight wins matched (for the third time) his best run in the NHL.. The club is looking for proven bodies and is using the waiver wire to do it. Washington snagged left winger Terry Yake from St. Louis Jan. 19 and then grabbed left winger Jim McKenzie from Anaheim the next day. &#9632;

f0031-03

Healthy Simon scoring again

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>When hockey legend Don Cherry took to the podium at the American League&rsquo;s Hockey Hall of Fame all-star luncheon, he reminisced about his playing and coaching days in Rochester.But Cherry also had a serious message to the Canadian and PlanetUSA All-Stars who shared the stage: &ldquo;Sometimes all you need is a break, someone to give you a chance.&rdquo;The words rung true for Portland Pirates&rsquo; goalie Martin Brochu. Now in his seventh pro season, Brochu has represented Canada three times in the All-Star Game, yet he has played just twice in the NHL.His only NHL exposure came last sea-son, when the Washington Capita recalled him for games No. 81 and 82. Already packing it in for the summer because they had been eliminated from playoff contention. the Caps didn't score for Brochu and he lost both games 3-0.After Brochu&rsquo;s incredible MVP performance in the Kodak AHL All-Star Game, there&rsquo;s a good chance he&rsquo;ll get another opportunity to play in the NHL-if not with the Capitals, then somewhere else when he becomes a free agent this summer.Brochu, voted by the fans to start for Canada, made 23 saves in his one period to help Canada to an 8-3 win over PlanetUSA in front of 10,588 fans in the Jan. 17 game.&ldquo;We should have been down 5-0, I mean that,&rdquo; said Cherry, who was behind the bench as Canada&rsquo;s honorary captain.&ldquo;That was a clinic,&rdquo; said Canadian coach Roy Sommer of the Kentucky Thoroughblades of the 26-year-old Brochu&rsquo;s acrobatics. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t seen a period like that for a long time.&rdquo;Actually, it was typical Brochu in the all-star spotlight. In three appearances (1995 in Providence and 1997 in Saint John), he has given up just two goals in 60 minutes.But it wasn&rsquo;t even his best day of the season. In November, Brochu made 55 saves in shutting out the Worcester IceCats. &ldquo;I think that was my greatest game,&rdquo; he said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011071/7814301-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="441" height="443"></div>The 5-foot-10, 200-pound goalie ranks third in the AHL with a 2.22 goals-against average. He leads the league in wins (21-8-5) and is fifth in save percentage (.922).&ldquo;I know a lot of people are watching this game, but they&rsquo;re watching all year,&rdquo; Brochu said. &ldquo;My job is to play well with the Pirates and that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m trying to do.&rdquo;The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will host the AHL&rsquo;s 2001 All-Star Game.SHAWN CAN SHOOT: Kentucky defenseman Shawn Heins&rsquo; blast of 98.3 miles-per-hour was the hardest shot in the all-star skills compe-tition, giving him titles in three leagues,Heins, 26, ended up as part of a display in the Hockey Hall of Fame when he uncorked a drive of 106 m-p-h in last year's United League event. The season before, he won the International League contest with a slapshot of 99.9 m-p-h.&ldquo;It was a goal I set when I got sent down by the Sharks (in camp) to make the all-star team and win it,&rdquo; Heins said.But Heins wasn&rsquo;t endorsing his Bauer stick. Irked that the company did nothing to acknowledge he has the hardest recorded shot in history, Heins paints the shafts of his sticks and blots out the Bauer name. He declined to discuss it, saying only the paint gives him a better grip.Worcester IceCats&rsquo; winger Ladislav Nagy was the fastest skater, completing a lap in 14.39 seconds.NEW HAMPSHIRE BOUND: Despite earlier apprehension, aidermen in Manchester, N.H., agreed that construction of the $70-million civic center project should proceed, meaning the AHL should be expanding to the northern New England city for 2001-02.Officials hope to break ground on the 10,400-seat arena in mid-February, with construction to be completed in October, 2001. The AHL last season approved a conditional franchise for Manchester, pending construction of the arena. &#9632;

f0032-01

Unsung stopper Brochu puts on clinic at Classic

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>Whoever heard of an All-Star Game that involved checking, hitting and intensity?That&rsquo;s what happened in the International League All-Star Game at the Houston Compaq Center Jan. 17 and it rankled the feathers of some players and coaches.The defending Turner Cup-champion Houston Aeros turned up the heat in the third period with five goals to take a 5-3 victory over the visiting HL all-stars.The IHL altered its All-Star Game format this year to feature the league&rsquo;s defending champions against a collection of HL stars. Since 1992, the game had been East versus West.The new format resulted in a competitive, highintensity game, pleasing Aeros&rsquo; coach-GM Ron Low. But all star coaches Bob Bourne of the Utah Grizzlies and Al Sims of the Milwaukee Admirals said the level of intensity took away from the all-star atmosphere.&ldquo;I was really disappointed,&rdquo; said Bourne to the Houston Chronicle. &ldquo;We had the 20 best players in the league, but it was just like a regular season game to me. I had no fun and I know our players didn&rsquo;t have any fun. You ask any one of them and not one of them wants to come back.&rdquo;Added Sims: &ldquo;Our guys came back a bit at the end and started to play hard, but Houston was playing hard all through the game. They had guys back all the time and they were taking the body&hellip;they played to win.&rdquo;Trailing 2-0 heading into the final period, the Aeros got two goals from Brian Felsner and singles from Jeff Daw, Greg Pankewicz and Lane Lambert into an empty net before a crowd of 9,134. Felsner was named MVP.BIG SHOTS: The Aeros may have come out ahead in the All-Star Game, but the league&rsquo;s allstars were the best in the skills competition.The all-stars topped Houston 12-7 in a variety of events including puck control relay, accuracy shooting and individual competitions. Right winger Shane Willis of the Cincinnati Cyclones registered the hardest shot with a blast of 95.9 mph. Defenseman Stewart Malgunas of the Utah Grizzlies was second at 92.9 mph.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02723/7814332-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="647" height="279"></div>Right winger Mark Mowers of the Milwaukee Admirals was the fastest skater, circling the ice in 14.25 seconds. Center Jarrod Skalde of Utah was runner-up in 14.427 seconds.Utah sharpshooters Lane Lambert and Brian Wiseman tied for first in accuracy shooting, hitting four targets in eight shots.Steve Maltais of the Chicago Wolves won the ambush competition (formerly rapid fire), scoring three goals on five shots against a goaltender. Wiseman was second with two goals.The HL all-stars beat Houston 5-4 in the breakaway relay. Each rteam had 18 breakaway attempts.CHANGES COMING?: The IHL&rsquo;s board of governors considered several game-related changes at their mid-season meetings, including a possible scrapping of the popular shootout.The board has asked the league&rsquo;s GMs and its committee for recommendations to look into a move to 4-on-4 overtime, as well as a proposal to implement two referees per game.DOTTING THE &lsquo;I&rsquo;: The Long Beach Ice Dogs expected to have goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. an unsigned restricted NHL free agent, available for duty Jan. 21 in Houston. Khabibulin agreed to terms with the Ice Dogs Jan. 14. He remained far from an agreement with the Phoenix Coyotes (See pg. 27for more on Khabibulin.)&hellip;Just four games into his assignment to the Detroit Vipers, left winger Shawn Burr sustained a serious knee injury and was out indefinitely&hellip;The same fate befell Chicago defenseman Kevin Dahl Dec. 27. He was also out indefinitely&hellip;Utah may not see goalie Rich Parent again. After being traded by the St. Louis Blues to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the goalie was recalled Jan. 13 and started two NHL games, losing both. &#9632;

f0032-02

Aeros play with intensity in All-Star Game victory

<div class="byline">By John Packett</div>The season got off to a terrible start for Jeff Mitchell, but the right winger is making up for lost time.Mitchell, who tore the medial collateral ligament in his knee 17 seconds into his first exhibition game for Cincin nati of the International League, scored two goals to help the Northern Conference beat the Southern Conference 8-6 in the East Coast League All-Star Game Jan. 19 before 9,444 fans at the BI-LO Center in Greenville, S.C.The 1993 Los Angele Kings' second round draft pick was MVP of the eighth annual affair as he continued his comeback. Assigned to the Dayton Bombers for rehabilitation, Mitchell had 23 goals and 38 points in 33 games.'They told me nine weeks when it hap-pened, but I came back in about six," said the 24-year-old. "I've been pushing, trying to get it back in shape and things have been going great."Mitchell played seven games for the Dallas Stars in 1997-98 and spent last season with the IHL's Michigan K-Wings. He's hoping a recall come soon."(Dayton coach) Greg Ireland has been giving me a chance to do my own thing and I wouldn&rsquo;t change the experience for the world,&rdquo; said the native of Wayne, Mich. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a couple of offers and I&rsquo;m waiting to see something that best suits me.&rdquo;DELAY OF GAME: At the owners&rsquo; meeting held in conjunction with the All-Star Game, the league governors decided the Columbia (S.C.) Inferno will not begin play until 2001-2002. The expansion franchise had hoped to tart in 2000-2001, but was unable to secure dates at the Carolina Coliseum because of scheduling conflicts with the University of South Carolina basketball team, which also uses the facility.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03507/7814363-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="378" height="354"></div>Bridgeport, Conn., which is awaiting the construction of a new arena, is also expected to begin play in 2001-02.COACHING CHANGE: Shawn Wheeler of the Char-lotte Checkers became the second coaching casualty of the season when he was fired Jan. 14 and replaced by Don MacAdam.Wheeler, 33, who had been the Checkers&rsquo; coach for 1 &frac12; seasons, will remain with the dub 'n an administrative role."I knew it was coming," said Wheeler, who had a 29-30-11 record last season and was 14-18-3 this year before getting the axe. "(President) Steve Camp has been very honest with me from the start. After every lo s, I knew he wasn't happy. We're still four games under .500, so it didn't surprise me."MacAdam, 49, was an NHL assistant with the Detroit Red Wings (1986-87 through 1988-89) and has been a consultant for Canada's national team the past two years.In December, the Arkansas RiverBlades replaced coach Geoff Ward with Ron Handy.STREAK BUSTERS: The Florida Everblades' 12-game win streak-tied for second-longest in ECHL histo-ry-ended when the Pee Dee Pride beat them 4-3 Jan. 13.At the other end of the spectrum, Arkansas' 14-game losing string-second-longest in league history-came to a close when the RiverBlades edged Missis ippi 3-2 in a shootout Jan. 16. &#9632;

f0033-03

Mitchell uses all-star stage to gain attention, promotion

<div class="byline">By Brendan Savage</div>Trevor Jobe became the 11th player in minor pro hockey history to score 500 goals.Jobe scored for the Adirondack Icehawks 58 seconds into a 5-1 United League victory over the Mohawk Valley Prowlers Jan. 12. He beat goalie Mike Torchia to become the first minor leaguer to record No. 500 since Kevin Kerr Quad City accomplished the feat late last season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honor, a great feeling,&rdquo; said Jobe to the Utica Observer Dispatch.Next up for Jobe is membership in the 1,000-point club.As of Jan. 16, he was two points short of becoming the 11th player in minor pro history to bag both 500 goals and 1,000 points. In 666 games during 11 pro seasons, Jobe has 502 goals and 496 assists for 998 points.The Icehawks&rsquo; win over Mohawk Valley was notable for more than just Jobe&rsquo;s historic goal. UHL officials ruled Adirondack used an illegal player in that game as well as in the 6-5 victory over Port Huron two days later. League rules allow teams to dress no more than eight veterans per game and-the Icehawks had nine in each contest after Alexei Yegorov came off the injured list.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04396/7814394-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="499" height="222"></div>As a result, the league suspended Adirondack coach Robbie Nichols 10 games and fined the Icehawks a reported $2,500. League officials were still deciding whether to make Adirondack forfeit the games when they announced Nichols&rsquo; penalty.No coach in the history of the UHL has been suspended more than Nichols, who has been hit with eight suspensions in five seasons. The 10 games match the longest penalty ever handed out to a UHL coach.&ldquo;I had too many veterans, I admit it,&rdquo; said Nichols to the Glens Falls (N.Y.) Post-Star.&ldquo;It was a clerical error and if they want to suspend me for two or three games, I understand it. For them to say 10 games, that is enormous.&rdquo;Owner Art Shaver is filling in for Nichols until he returns. &#9632;

f0033-04

By Jobe, lcehawk reaches 500 goals

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>The Ontario League asked the Quebec League to investigate inflammatory comments attributed to a referee following the first interleague game in Canadian Hockey League history.The OHL's Toronto St. Michael&rsquo;s Majors defeated the QMJHL&rsquo;s Montreal Rocket 3-2 in overtime Jan. 16 in Montreal.It was a penalty-filled affair and QMJHL referee Luc Miville later criticized the Majors and the OHL in Montreal&rsquo;s La Presse. Miville also suggested the Rocket dress one of their enforcers for the return game Jan. 30 at Toronto&rsquo;s Air Canada Centre.&ldquo;Junior hockey in Ontario is five to 10 years behind Quebec, the West or Eastern Canada,&rdquo; Miville was quoted as saying. &ldquo;That team came in here with the mentality of Americans, like they&rsquo;re above everybody and wanted to run the show. When the Rocket plays against them in Toronto, I would recommend they play their tough guys, especially Benoit Beausoleil for example, to deal with intimidation.&rdquo;OHL commissioner Dave Branch said he was told by QMJHL president Gilles Courteau that Courteau would be meeting with the referee to discuss his remarks.&ldquo;The comments attributed to the official are extremely disturbing,&rdquo; said Branch, who is also president of the CHL. &ldquo;Clearly the situation warrants a review. (But) in fairness, until the process is followed, it&rsquo;s unfair to comment further.&rdquo;Miville assessed 228 penalty minutes, including 15 misconducts.Majors&rsquo; coach-assistant GM Mark Osborne conceded the game plan was to play physical-the Majors are the most-penalized team in the OHL-but said Miville was &ldquo;antagonistic&rdquo; and directed profanity at the Majors during and after the game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011096/7814425-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="686" height="238"></div>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re obviously disappointed on how things were handled,&rdquo; Osborne said. &ldquo;Never, as a player or now as a coach, have I been subjected to a referee&rsquo;s behavior and attitude like that.&rdquo;PROMISES, PROMISES: Jim Hulton has learned an owner&rsquo;s word doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean much.A month after Mississauga IceDogs&rsquo; owner Don Cherry said Hulton would remain coach-GM for the rest of the season, Hulton was fired Jan. 18. Former Kitchener Rangers&rsquo; and Guelph Storm coach Geoff Ward will replace Hulton. Ward was fired from the East Coast League&rsquo;s Arkansas City RiverBlades earlier this season.The IceDogs are the worst team in the CHL at 5-36-1-1 and had lost lima row when Hulton was sacked. Since entering the OHL last season, they&rsquo;re 9-97-4-1.&ldquo;We all have to take some blame, but that&rsquo;s sports,&rdquo; said Cherry of the firing of Hulton, who took over last season with the IceDogs 1-21-1.&ldquo;Obviously I&rsquo;m disappointed I didn&rsquo;t get the job done,&rdquo; Hulton said.JOB HUNTING: The Owen Sound Platers fired coach Dave Siciliano Jan. 13. Assistant coach Brian O'Leary was named interim coach.The Platers are fighting for a playoff spot after going to the Western Conference final last season.&ldquo;I was hoping the team would respond, but all kinds of people around the league asked me what&rsquo;s wrong with our team,&rdquo; said Platers&rsquo; GM Ray McKelvie. &ldquo;People said to me, &lsquo;Your team is playing like they want to get the coach fired,&rsquo; and that&rsquo;s probably a true statement.&rdquo;BITING BACK: Oshawa Generals&rsquo; rookie left winger Neil Posillico left such a bad impression with a league official and opposing player, he has been banned for 12 games.Posillico, 17, from Syosett, N.Y., was suspended 12 games for biting-10 for chomping on linesman Darren Berehowsky&rsquo;s leg and two for biting an Ottawa 67&rsquo;s player on the hand during a fight. OHL director of operations Ted Baker said Posillico was suspended the 10 games for biting the linesman under the category of abuse of officials without intent to injure. &#9632;

f0034-01

QMJHL referee under investigation for disparaging remarks about OHL

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div>Western League governors felt the conditions were right for expansion. But there were other things to consider.Three stipulations were attached Jan. 18 when WHL executives unanimously approved Tri-City Americans&rsquo; owner Ron Toigo&rsquo;s bid for a Vancouver-based expansion franchise.Most notably, Toigo must restructure his ten tative lease agreement with Vancouver&rsquo;s Pacific National Exhibition, which operates the Pacific Coliseum.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02751/7814463-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="260" height="253"></div>Toigo had hoped to face off in September at the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; former facility. However, the board of governors observed the league&rsquo;s policy of imposing a one-year waiting period. Consequently, the team will not make its debut until 2001-02, providing a deal can be made on a new lease.&ldquo;We pushed very hard to go this year to make it work for PNE,&rdquo; Toigo said. &ldquo;(The governors) made it very clear that if we didn&rsquo;t capitulate on that position, it wasn&rsquo;t going to happen.&rdquo;Toigo indicated the PNE, which is also a potential destination for the West Coast League, would like to have a tenant for next season.&ldquo;I really won&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s going to happen until we sit down with the PNE people,&rdquo; said Toigo, a Vancouver-area businessman.<blockquote class="pullQuote">Vancouver&rsquo;s conditional franchise must conform to three stipulations</blockquote>WHL commissioner Dev Dley commented on the reasoning behind the one-year delay.&ldquo;The concern was the impact it would have on existing teams with such short notice (for a dispersal draft) and with the fact the expansion team would begin play in only seven months," Dley said.The league spelled out two other conditions: First, the dispersal draft format must be acceptable to all 18 existing teams; and second, the governors approve Toigo&rsquo;s agreement to sell the Americans to Saddle Mountain Sports and Entertainment for a reported $2.3 million (U.S.).The six-person group, which includes Americans&rsquo; vice-president and former Kamloops Blazers&rsquo; GM Bob Brown, is based in the Tri-City area of Washington state (Kennewick, Pasco and Richland).Toigo agreed to pay $2 million (Cdn.) for the expansion team. The previous expansion fee was $750,000.According to Dley, the expansion fee was raised to reflect the current marketplace. Existing franchises are selling for as much as $3 million.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pleased,&rdquo; Toigo said. &ldquo;The price was fair at the end of the day. It was right in the ballpark, so it works.&rdquo;Toigo&rsquo;s new group includes three high-profile minorty partners-NHL legend Gordie Howe, Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; coach-GM Pat Quinn and Milan Ilich, former owner of Major League Soccer&rsquo;s Vancouver 86ers.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02725/7814456-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="253" height="259"></div>The WHL has not had a franchise in the Vancouver area since 1987-88, when Ron Dixon moved his New Westminster Bruins to Tri-City.MAGIC WANDLER: Gods were plentiful during the WHL&rsquo;s All-Star Game-except when Bryce Wan-dler was in the crease.The Swift Current Broncos&rsquo; goalie stopped 26 of 27 shots in Kelowna Jan. 19 to lead the Eastern Conference to a 10-8 win over the West. Wandler helped his side take a 4-1 edge in the opening 30 minutes and was the East's player of the game. Wandler was also named top goalie at the skills competition.Seattle Thunderbirds&rsquo; center Oleg Saprykin supplied most of the West&rsquo;s offense with four goals and two assists. The Calgary Flames picked him 11th overall in 1999.HAVING A BLAST: Spokane Chiefs&rsquo; defenseman Kyle Rossiter won the hardest-shot category during the skills competition. His blast was clocked at 92.5 mph.Calgary&rsquo;s Chris Nielsen was the fastest skater, completing a lap in 14.397 seconds. Another Spokane rearguard, Scott Roles, finished first in shooting accuracy. He needed six shots to hit the four targets. &#9632;

f0034-02

WHL approves Vancouver bid

<div class="byline">By Gordie Sutherland</div>The Moncton Wildcats&rsquo; mammoth makeover is complete and their many moves may have shifted the league&rsquo;s balance of power in their favor.The Wildcats finished the Quebec League's month-long trading period with three more deals and won the sweepstakes for smooth-skating defenseman Jonathan Girard. The 19-year-old has spent parts of the past two seasons with the Boston Bruins and joins the Wildcats after playing 23 NHL games this season, in which he had one goal and three points.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a helluva player,&rdquo; said Moncton coach-GM Real Paiement. &ldquo;He brings up the level of every body on the ice. He&rsquo;s so quick and fast defensively that he can take chances without costing us.&rdquo;Paiement acquired Girard and a pair of draft picks (a fourth-rounder in 2000 and a second-rounder in 2001) from the Bathurst Titan Jan. 12 for center David Comeau, 20, a first round pick in 2000 and a second-rounder in 2001.&ldquo;Moncton has made a lot of moves to try to go to the Memorial Cup and I&rsquo;m happy to be part of it,&rdquo; Girard said.For the past month, Moncton&rsquo;s practices had turned into meet-and-greet sessions as Paiement brought in seven new players via five separate trades.At the Jan. 17 deadline, the Wildcats also welcomed Cape Breton Screaming Eagles&rsquo; captain Trevor Ettinger, 19, and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies&rsquo; power forward Steeve Vandal. 20. Defenseman Francois Beau-chemin and high-scoring forwards Mathieu Benoit and Jonathan Roy were the other key additions.Moncton had a 25-18-4 record as of Jan. 17 and was tied for fourth overall in the QMJHL.HULL SAVES SAUVE: The Hull Olympiques were looking for more experience in goal and they found it in Philippe Sauve.The 19-year-old son of former NHL netminder Bob Sauve has been inconsistent this season, but is regarded as a clutch performer.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03595/7814494-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="520" height="473"></div>He has also competed on the world stage with the American national junior team.&ldquo;He played well last year for (the) Rimouski (Oceanic) in the playoffs,&rdquo; said Hull coach Claude Julien, who also coached Canada&rsquo;s national junior team. &ldquo;I think he has proven he is able to come up big in the big games.&rdquo;Hull acquired Sauve Jan. 17 from the Drummondville Voltigeurs for goalie Frederic Malette, 18, and a sixth round draft pick.GAMBLE ON BIRON: The Halifax Mooseheads are banking on Mathieu Biron.In need of another impact defenseman, the Mooseheads acquired Biron&rsquo;s rights from the Shawinigan Cataractes at the trading deadline.The move is seen as a gamble because Biron, 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, has spent the season with the New York Islanders and played for Canada at the World Junior Championship"There's still work to do, but we&rsquo;ve got time and we will do everything possible to get him," said Halifax coach-GM Bob Mongrain.The Memorial Cup host Mooseheads sent a fifth round draft pick in 2000 to Shawinigan for Biron, but that will change to a first-rounder in 2001 if Biron, 19, lands in Halifax.The Islanders have until March 14 to return Biron to junior. He has one goal and four points in 22 NHL games.SIX OF 40: Rimouski center Thatcher Bell was one of only six QMJHL players invited to play in the Canadian League&rsquo;s Top Prospects game.Forty of the top draft-eligible players were selected by the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Bureau and NHL teams. The game is set for Feb. 2 at Toronto&rsquo;s Air Canada Centre.The WHL led the way with 19 representatives while the OHL will send 15 players.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty much the same every year it seems,&rdquo; said Bell, 17.&ldquo;We only had five guys on the (national) under-18 team from the QMJHL, too, so I wasn&rsquo;t surprised, but it&rsquo;s a little disappointing for our league.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0035-03

Moncton bolsters Cup hopes with spirited trade for Girard

<div class="byline">By Andy Baggot</div>In all his years, Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer had never experienced anything like it. Not in 120 playoff games. Not in three NCAA championship games. Not in any of the 1,145 contests he has coached since 1971.Sauer said the dramatic Western Collegiate Hockey Association series against North Dakota Jan. 14-15 was the most demanding two-game duel in which he has ever been involved. The Badgers came away with 3-2 and 6-5 wins, both in overtime, to assume sole possession of first place in the WCHA with 12 games remaining.The teams were tied for first place before the two-game battle. The Fighting Sioux, seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive MacNaughton Cup for the regular season title, were ranked second in the nation, while Wisconsin was fourth. The first sellout crowd for hockey (15,237) at the Kohl Center in Madison was on hand Jan. 15.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t remember a two-game series as intense, even in a playoff situation,&rdquo; Sauer said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no more intensity than there was in this building (for the series).&rdquo;North Dakota had a huge shots-on-goal advantage and erased multi-goal deficits in the final seven minutes of both games, but were victimized by the same script. Badgers&rsquo; left winger David Hukalo worked himself free near the hash marks, took a pass from Steve Reinprecht and put the game away, at 1:15 of overtime in the first game and 4:39 of overtime in the second.&ldquo;To finish almost the exact same way&hellip;in overtime, it&rsquo;s a weird feeling,&rdquo; said Hukalo, a sophomore. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great feeling, too.&rdquo;The sweep gave the Badgers a four-point lead on the rest of the conference. It also meant the first two-game regular season losing streak for North Dakota since the 1996-97 campaign.&ldquo;We still have 12 games left,&rdquo; said Fighting Sioux coach Dean Blais, whose club earned a 3-2 overtime win over Wisconsin in the championship game of the Badger Showdown tournament Dec. 28. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll fight right to the end.&rdquo;CHALLENGING CHOICES: If current form holds, those voting for the WCHA all-rookie team are going to have some tough decisions to make, especially at forward.Wisconsin right winger Dany Heatley led the league with 17 goals, North Dakota left winger Ryan Bayda had 11, Colorado College winger Noah Clark was third on his club with 20 points, Denver center Kevin Doell was third on his team with 18 points and St. Cloud State winger Ryan Malone was fourth on his club with 18 points.Heatley is the top-rated North American skater available in the 2000 NHL entry draft, according to the Central Scouting Bureau.MAKING A RUN: By winning its own Mar-iucci Classic, then sweeping a league series against Denver Jan. 14-15, Minnesota put together its first four-game regular season winning streak since November, 1996. &#9632;

Badger Hukalo scores in OT, Badger Hukalo scores in OT

<div class="byline">By Paul Harris</div>With 11 players from last season off his roster, Ferris State coach Bob Daniels had no idea what to expect from the 1999-2000 Bulldogs.He has found out.The 8-8-0 Bulldogs are tied with Western Michigan for fifth place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. And they&rsquo;re just three points out of fourth place and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.&ldquo;We have a lot of young players,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;We have a lot of freshmen. We didn&rsquo;t know who would fall into what roles.&rdquo;A couple of upper classmen were the team&rsquo;s leading scorers. Senior center Brian McCullough had 12 goals and 22 points in 24 games and junior center Kevin Swider was next with nine goals and 19 points.Statistically, this has been a comeback season for Swider. He had 12 goals and 32 points as a freshman, but slumped to 12 goals and 22 points last season. Daniels said Swider progressed in other areas, but the puck just wasn&rsquo;t going in for him in 1998-99.Sophomore goalie Phil Osaer was the most important underclassman with a 10-4-0 record, 1.84 goals-against average and .930 save percentage.Three freshmen forwards have also been important to the Bulldogs&rsquo; success. Chris Kunitz had 17 points, Phil Lewandowski 17 and Troy Milam 15 in 24 games.&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve really contributed,&rdquo; said Daniels, whose team had won 12 of its last 15 games. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve continued to get stronger. I think we can get an NCAA Tournament bid.&rdquo;IMMEDIATE IMPACT: Michigan State and Michigan, battling for first place in the CCHA, reaped dividends from freshmen who enrolled for the second semester.Michigan State right winger Steve Jackson scored in his second game, a 3-1 win over Nebraska-Omaha Jan. 14, while Michigan defenseman Mike Roemensky was steady and impressive in a 5-1 victory over Miami Jan. 15.&ldquo;It was an amazing feeling,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;The roar of the crowd, the band starting up, going by the bench-just amazing. It&rsquo;s a great feeling to get one early, too.&rdquo;Roemensky was stunned by the atmosphere.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect the fans to be so loud,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;As soon as I heard the band playing, my adrenaline started pumping and I was ready.&rdquo;When the season began, Jackson and Roemensky were teammates with the Detroit-based Compuware Ambassadors of the North American Jr. A League.NOTEBOOK: Bowling Green coach Buddy Powers got his 100th victory behind the Falcons&rsquo; bench in a 3-0 win over Miami Jan. 14&hellip;The CCHA suspended the four-official system after a discussion with the coaches. Games will use one referee and two assistant referees. &#9632;

Upstart Bulldogs make pitch for home-ice edge in playoffs

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggle</div>The University of Vermont canceled the final 15 games of its hockey season after school officials learned some players had lied during the investigation of a hazing incident in the fall.College president Dr. Judith Ramaley made the announcement at a hastily called press conference Jan. 14.&ldquo;We have received credible information which indicates that a number of players were not completely truthful during our investigation of hazing allegations,&rdquo; she said.The hazing incident allegedly included underage drinking and sexual misconduct and resulted in a lawsuit being brought against the school by Corey Latulippe. a freshman goalie who did not make the team. College officials conducted an internal investigation and determined at the time that the charges were not as serious as those stated in the lawsuit.But officials received new information Jan. 13 that indicated some players had lied during the investigation and the hazing was more serious that originally believed.&ldquo;This is the last thing you ever want to happen with your student athletes,&rdquo; said Vermont athletic director Rick Farham.The Catamounts had an overall record of 5-9-3 and were 3-2-2 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference. All games played against the Cats will still count in opponents&rsquo; overall records and all individual statistics will also count.Vermont coach Mike Gilligan said players&rsquo; scholarships and academic standing will remain intact.With the Cats canceling their final 15 games, the ECAC announced it will abandon the use of points and will switch to winning percentages to determine league standings.ECAC commissioner Phil Buttafuoco backed the decision of Vermont&rsquo;s administrators.&ldquo;The effects of the University of Vermont&rsquo;s decision on the conference are secondary to the fact that the university has taken a proactive approach to handling a very difficult situation that, unfortunately, exists on many college campuses,&rdquo; Buttafuoco said during a teleconference call Jan. 17.GOOD OR LUCKY?: A home-and-home series between Union and RPI poured more fuel on the fiery rivalry between the travel partners.Union scored two goals in the final 2:46 of regulation time Jan. 14 and then came away with a 3-2 overtime victory on a goal by right winger Alex Todd.After the game, RPI coach Dan Fridgen said the Skating Dutchmen had been lucky, adding, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the right team won, but that&rsquo;s the way the game goes.&rdquo;The next night, RPI senior goalie Joel Laing made 31 saves to record his second shutout of the season as the Engineers got revenge with a 5-0 victory. &#9632;

Catamounts cancel season after revisiting hazing issue

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div>With his boyish looks, Boston University freshman goalie Ricky DiPietro could very well pass for a high school freshman or sophomore.But he has been the main man between the pipes for the Terriers, who are contending for the Hockey East regular season title.&ldquo;He has had a lot to do with our success,&rdquo; said Boston University coach Jack Parker.Terrier junior center Carl Corazzini said DiPietro has been &ldquo;our MVP, without a doubt. He gives us so much confidence. We know he&rsquo;s going to make the big save.&rdquo;DiPietro had a 9-2-3 record, 2.60 goals-against average and .909 save percentage after a win and tie against Maine Jan. 15-16.&ldquo;(Assistant) coach (Mike) Geragosian has helped me a lot&rdquo; said DiPietro, named the all-tournament goalie at the World Junior Championship for Team USA. &ldquo;He has worked with me on staying square to the puck.&rdquo;DiPietro, 18, is also an exceptional puckhandler and shooter.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had a goalie who could handle the puck like he does,&rdquo; said Parker, who is in his 27th season at BU.Former NHL assistant coach Cap Raeder, an ex-goalie and the color analyst for Hockey East games of the week on Fox Sports Net-New England, said DiPietro&rsquo;s puckhandling ability is exceptional and makes him like a third defenseman. DiPietro called his all-tournament selection at the WJC &ldquo;unbelievable.&rdquo; He had 1.81 GAA and .935 save percentage in five games.The 6-foot, 176-pound DiPietro, a native of Winthrop, Mass., was rated the No. 2 North American goalie available in the 2000 entry draft by the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Bureau.FRIARS LOSE KEEFE: Providence&rsquo;s goal-less senior center Jerry Keefe has left the school to pursue a pro career.Keefe was voted the most improved player by the New England College Hockey Writers Association a year ago when he had 16 goals and 52 points in 35 games to lead the Friars.But the 23-year-old was goal-less in 17 games this season and had just nine assists.&ldquo;I put too much pressure on myself,&rdquo; he told U.S. College Hockey On-Line&rsquo;s Dave Hendrickson. &ldquo;I expected a big year, but things happened, I lost a bit of confidence and the situation hasn&rsquo;t been as 1 had expected.&rdquo;STRONG WEEKS: Boston College winger Brian Gionta. New Hampshire winger Colin Hemingway and Northeastern goalie Mike Gilhooly were named the player, rookie and defensive players of the week through Jan. 16. Gionta had two goals and two assists as Boston College swept UMass-Lowell. Hemingway had two goals and an assist as New Hampshire swept Merrimack, while Gilhooly made 42 saves in a 4-2 win over UMass-Amherst Jan. 14. &#9632;

Terriers’ freshman DiPietro can stop puck and move it

<div class="image-hero"><img title="S0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0003-0144/7815320-1-eng-US/s0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Milt SchmidtRay Bourque (Brian Babineau/SA)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

S0003-01

All-Stars for the Ages

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="S0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0004-0154/7815365-1-eng-US/s0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">San Jose Sharks&rsquo; winger Owen Nolan joins Boston Bruins&rsquo; superstar Ray Bourque on the North American team. (Rocky Widner)</figcaption></div>Anybody who has spent much time following the Boston Bruins or the National Hockey League might be hard-pressed to imagine an All-Star Game without Ray Bourque.Don&rsquo;t include Bourque on that list, though.&ldquo;I never take it for granted,&rdquo; said Boston's 39-year-old captain, who tied Wayne Gretzky by being invited to this year's event in Toronto for a record-matching 18th consecutive All-Star Game (only Gordie Howe, with 23, has played in more). &ldquo;I just wait until the teams are picked,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;Then I make plans; then I&rsquo;ll talk about being there.&rdquo;Bourque, who was among the defensemen selected for the North American team by the NHL&rsquo;s Hockey Operations Department, has been voted a starter 12 times. But his modesty about the possibility of not being picked isn&rsquo;t false.That&rsquo;s one reason why Milt Schmidt, a former Bruin captain enshrined in the Hall of Fame, is so fond of Bourque.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just as good a man as he is a player,&rdquo; Schmidt said. &ldquo;This is quite a feat, what he&rsquo;s done, and he deserves every bit of recognition.&rdquo;Schmidt, whose career with Boston began in 1936-37 and concluded in 1954-55 after 776 games (he lost three seasons to World War II armed services duty), will be recognized at this year&rsquo;s All-Star Game at Air Canada Centre, as well: The 81-year-old, who lives outside Boston, has been invited back for ceremonies to honor those who participated in the first All-Star Game at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1947.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how many of us are still left,&rdquo; Schmidt said, &ldquo;but I know we&rsquo;ve all been invited back for this game and I&rsquo;m looking forward to it.&rdquo;Schmidt, who had some of his best seasons before the All-Star Game became an annual event in 1947 (he led the NHL with 30 assists and 52 points in 1940-41), also played in all-star contests in 1948, 1951 (the year he won the Hart Trophy) and 1952. In the era of the six-team NHL, the all star squad was usually comprised of players from five teams who competed against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.&ldquo;That made it a very interesting event,&rdquo; Schmidt recalled. &ldquo;You played it come hell or high water, like it was a regular game. There was a lot of hitting.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0004-0225/7815358-1-eng-US/s0004-022.jpg" title="S0004-02" width="191" height="202"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">Ray Bourque will play in his 18th All-Star Game, flying Wayne Gretzky for second behind Gordie Howe (23)</blockquote>&ldquo;It was very important to all of us playing for the all-stars to do well against the Stanley Cup champions, so we played them hard. There were no favors asked.&rdquo;Schmidt played on all-star teams that beat Toronto in 1947 and &rsquo;48. The 1951 and &rsquo;52 games saw members of the four American teams face off against players from the two Canadian squads. The classic resumed as a stars vs. Cup winners contest in 1953. Bourque, born in Montreal a few days after Christmas in 1960, saw the all-star format change to an East-West game after the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967, never knowing it might affect him. His childhood came rushing back to him in 1981, when he played in his first All-Star Game at Los Angeles.&ldquo;Scotty Bowman was my coach,&rdquo; Bourque said, &ldquo;and for whatever reason, the pin he wore on his jacket for that game was from my hometown, St. Laurent, where (the Canadiens, whom Bowman had coached for eight years) used to practice. It was kind of funny. I don&rsquo;t know why he had it on that night, but it was neat.&rdquo;Bowman, who will coach in this year&rsquo;s All-Star Game (as will Toronto&rsquo;s Pat Quinn, who opposed Bowman in that 1981 contest), wasn&rsquo;t the only reminder of Bourque&rsquo;s days as a kid growing up near Montreal.&ldquo;I got to play with (Canadiens&rsquo; Hall of Fame defenseman) Larry Robin son,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;His career wasn&rsquo;t over by any means, but he was one of the guys I really loved to watch when I was younger. Guy Lafleur, same thing, and Denis Potvin&hellip; these were guys I&rsquo;d watched, so the first couple of times I made the team it was like, &lsquo;Wow!&rsquo; I was kind of &rsquo; in awe.&rdquo;That has changed, as has the ' game. Games weren&rsquo;t exactly tight-checking when Bourque began to establish himself as an all-star regular, but they also weren&rsquo;t the no-hit, wide-open affairs that became the norm in the 1990s. The more he played, Bourque was awed less by the defensemen he played with than they were by him.&ldquo;Some young defensemen that have come in who saw me when I was in my prime have told me they really liked my game,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;d come up to me, and you could see in their eyes they were fans. That&rsquo;s been kind of neat, having guys like Chris Pronger, Roman Hamrlik and Brian Leetch look at me in that way.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s the same way Bourque looked at Schmidt when he first came to Boston as an 18-year-old in 1979. With Schmidt&rsquo;s post-playing career as a coach and GM at an end, he returned to Boston and continued to work around Boston Garden.&ldquo;I used to talk to him quite a lot,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very nice man and I&rsquo;ve always heard he was a hell of a player-very talented, but a tough man to play against because he worked so hard. He was no pushover.&ldquo;Guys like that were always around the Garden-guys who had been around and were very interested in talking about hockey. I was always raring to listen and interested in what they had to say.&rdquo;Bourque, who counts the 1996 All-Star Game at Fleet-Center as his most memorable (he scored the winning goal in the dying seconds of the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s 5-4 victory) is a hot topic of conversation in Boston these days. He said at the conclusion of last season that he wouldn&rsquo;t make a determination as to whether this season-his 21st, all as a Bruin-will be his last until after it&rsquo;s over. With that in mind, Bourque has been asked frequently if he&rsquo;ll try to get even more out of this season&rsquo;s All-Star Game, as it may be his last. Bourque&rsquo;s answer has been non-committal, but laced with the humility and appreciation for the all-star experience that builders of the game like Schmidt respect so much.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0004-0317/7815351-1-eng-US/s0004-032.jpg" title="S0004-03" width="191" height="202"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt played in the first-ever All-Star Game in 1947 and again in '48, &rsquo;51 and '52</blockquote>&ldquo;Every one I&rsquo;ve gone to for the last few years, I&rsquo;ve looked at as &lsquo;This could be my last,&rsquo;&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;Even if I do play another year, it doesn&rsquo;t mean I'm going to be there again. That&rsquo;s the approach I&rsquo;ve taken the last few times and it won&rsquo;t be any different this year.&rdquo; &#9632;

S0004-01

Legacy of Excellence

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie </div><div class="byline">Associate Editor</div>No hardest-shot competition with Al Maclnnis in it should ever be dismissed, but if anyone has a right to question the integrity of this year&rsquo;s event on all-star Saturday in Toronto, it&rsquo;s Al &lsquo;Wild Thing&rsquo; lafrate.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of bogus now,&rdquo; said the retired lafrate, who set the NHL record (105.2 mph) at the 1993 All-Star Game in Montreal. &ldquo;When I (set the record), you had to qualify and even if you weren&rsquo;t playing in the All-Star Game, you got to shoot. All the hardest shooters were there. Since then, the shooters are just the all-stars. Not all the best shooters are there. Now, you&rsquo;re not seeing the real deals.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0005-0146/7815410-1-eng-US/s0005-012.jpg" title="S0005-01" width="440" height="562"><figcaption class="caption-body">Glen Murray</figcaption></div>The man has a point. In team skills competitions this season, for example, Los Angeles King winger Glen Murray posted the fastest shot at 103.5 mph. He is one of five NHLers who have joined the exclusive ranks of the 100 mph club this season. The others Fredrik Modin of the Tampa Bay Lightning (102.0), Rob Blake of the Kings (100.7), Chris Therien of the Philadelphia Flyers (100.6) and Bryan Muir of the Chicago Blackhawks (100.4).Of that group, only Blake will be shooting in Toronto Feb. 6 because the NHL and the Players&rsquo; Association, for years now, haven&rsquo;t been able to reach an accord for a legitimate, league-wide skills competition. The highest speed ever recorded by a player who will be in the 2000 All-Star Game is Blake&rsquo;s 100.7 mph.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way it goes,&rdquo; said the 27-year-old Murray. &ldquo;It would be nice to shoot (on all-star Saturday), but I&rsquo;ll probably be in Palm Springs relaxing and that&rsquo;s okay, too.&rdquo;This is foreign territory for Murray, who always figured he had a heavy shot, but never considered it as one of the league&rsquo;s hardest.&ldquo;I think I got lucky,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;The guy with the radar gun told me to keep it low and that&rsquo;s what 1 did were all laughing. They said, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t be afraid to use that more often.&rsquo; But then you don't get an eight-stride run-up in the games.&rdquo;Murray is a quick study. The big shooters will tell you the two key factors are a low shot and one that goes right at the radar gun, positioned in the middle behind the net. But Murray has a way to go before he becomes a hard-shot expert in the mold of lafrate or minor-leaguer Shawn Heins, the reigning pro hockey champion with a standing mark of 106.1 mph. Now a member of San Jose&rsquo;s American League team in Kentucky, Heins established the mark last season when playing for Canada&rsquo;s national team during a junket that took him to Quad Cities of the United League.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0005-0218/7815403-1-eng-US/s0005-022.jpg" title="S0005-02" width="1292" height="1935"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al &lsquo;Wild Thing&rsquo; lafrate holds the NHL record of 105.2 mph.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Technically, they were perfect shots,&rdquo; Heins said of his 105.5 mph and 106.1 mph efforts last season. &ldquo;Low, dead center. I like to think I can beat it, but it will take another perfect shot.&rdquo;Heins came up well short in the recent AHL All-Star Game skills event, failing to crack the 100 mph barrier, in part because of a bad back. In fact, no AHL player has ever joined the 100 mph club. Only one International League player, Dominic Lavoie of the 1994 Phoenix Roadrunners, with a shot of 100.7 mph, has ever done it.In addition to the five NHLers who have accomplished it this season, there are, to the knowledge of the league, only four other members of the club-Dave Man-son (100.8) and Tomas Sandstrom (100.7) in 1997 as well as lafrate, who also shot 102.7 mph at the 1994 All-Star Game, and Maclnnis, the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; master blaster who reached 100.4 mph at the 1998 game.&ldquo;Al and Al,&rdquo; said lafrate with a laugh. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d love to come back and do it again. I think I still could win it.&ldquo;But let&rsquo;s not kid anybody. (Maclnnis&rsquo;) shot is, functionally, the best. He gets it off in the game, it&rsquo;s hard, it&rsquo;s accurate. As hard as mine was, I was always a threat to not hit the net.&rdquo;lafrate never practised for the hardest-shot event, but has a great understanding of what it takes to be successful.Size, strength and speed, for starters. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m 6-foot-4, 230 pounds and when 1 shot, I skated right through the shot,&rdquo; lafrate said &ldquo;Never glide, keep your feet moving, keep the shot low and in the middle of the net. It&rsquo;s all basic physics when you think about it.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0005-0311/7815396-1-eng-US/s0005-032.jpg" title="S0005-03" width="433" height="559"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Hull(Bruce Bennett Studios; Hull by THN Archive)</figcaption></div>Heins, who is 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, echoes that advice. Both he and lafrate said a stiff-shaft stick with not too much curve is the weapon of choice.&ldquo;The whippier it is,&rdquo; Heins said, &ldquo;the more you lose something off it and the more likely you are to miss the center of the net.&rdquo;Plagued by a bad back and wonky knees, lafrate, 33, is living in his hometown of Livonia, Mich. Though he&rsquo;s gone from the NHL scene, he is not likely to be forgotten. Not by guys like Murray and Heins.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s funny, I remember lafrate setting the record,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He was awesome.&rdquo;&ldquo;Guys like lafrate and Maclnnis,&rdquo; Heins said, &ldquo;they&rsquo;re great because this is something that&rsquo;s really hard to be consistent at.&rdquo;But no discussion of the 100 mph club would be complete without a mention of its charter member, the legendary Bobby Hull. In its March 1, 1968, issue. Time reported the Golden Jet&rsquo;s slapshot had been clocked at 118.3 mph. Other publications listed it at 115 mph or 120 mph.It&rsquo;s hard to believe that 30 years ago Hull was shooting 10 to 15 mph faster than today&rsquo;s best, but his place in the pantheon of hard shooters is unquestionable. &#9632;

S0005-01

Slapshot

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie </div><div class="byline">Associate Editor</div>For years now, THN has done everything it can to decry stereotypes. We don&rsquo;t buy into generalizations such &ldquo;chicken&rdquo; Swedes or that Russians lack emotion or Canadians are devoid of skill. So how do we ring in the Y2K All-Star Game? By stereotyping the seven major nationalities playing in the NHL today. It isn&rsquo;t so much politically incorrect as it an attempt to identify some common styles of plays based on where a player learned to play the game. There are, of course exceptions, many of them. But there are common threads, too, in the NHL&rsquo;s multi-national quilt.<h2>&nbsp;CANADA</h2>With the largest NHL population, it figures Canada has the greatest diversity of styles. But it is still known chiefly for producing big, strong, competitive players who combine goals and grit better than most, such as Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour or Claude Lemieux or, in their heyday, Gary Roberts, Shayne Corson and Rick Tocchet. &nbsp;Offensive prototype: Brendan Shanahan. Defensive prototype: Rob Blake.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0006-0158/7815490-1-eng-US/s0006-012.jpg" title="S0006-01" width="723" height="798"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Yzerman</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0006-0234/7815483-1-eng-US/s0006-022.jpg" title="S0006-02" width="728" height="803"><figcaption class="caption-body">John LeClair</figcaption></div><h2>&nbsp;USA</h2>It&rsquo;s said Americans play &ldquo;hormone&rdquo; hockey, that over-the-top personalities such as Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick are the poster boys. But the real common denominator is speed and the ability to make offensive plays, whether it&rsquo;s from established stars Mike Modano and Doug Weight or a newcomer such as Scott Gomez. Offensive prototype: Tony Amonte. Defensive prototype: Phil Housley.<h2>&nbsp;RUSSIA-PLUS</h2>No NHL nationality better combines blazing speed and elite-level puck skills than the Russians and their former Soviet satellite countries. The Russians&rsquo; ability to do things with the puck at a high rate of speed is unsurpassed. Specifically, like the Czechs, they enjoy and excel at the 1-on-l game, but Russian centers, for example, have a complete game, with and without the puck, that would make most Swedes blush. Offensive prototype: Pavel Bure. Defensive prototype: Sergei Zubov.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0006-0329/7815476-1-eng-US/s0006-032.jpg" title="S0006-03" width="509" height="799"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sergei Zubov</figcaption></div><h2>&nbsp;SWEDEN</h2>Responsibility is the first word that comes to mind. Swedish forwards exhibit a high degree of defensive responsibility; Swedish defensemen an equal measure on offense. Perhaps no NHL nationality goes about its business as quietly and efficiently as the Swedes, who one scout described as &ldquo;vanilla ice cream,&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;I really like vanilla ice cream because you always know exactly what you&rsquo;re getting.&rdquo; Offensive prototype: Peter Forsberg. Defensive prototype: Nicklas Lidstrom.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0006-0422/7815469-1-eng-US/s0006-042.jpg" title="S0006-04" width="509" height="805"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Forsberg</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0006-057/7815462-1-eng-US/s0006-052.jpg" title="S0006-05" width="511" height="736"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jaromir Jagr</figcaption></div><h2>&nbsp;CZECH REP.</h2>Not every player from the Czech Republic can dangle like Jaromir Jagr, but most of them certainly like to give it a try. Czechs, for the most part, are the NHL&rsquo;s artisan community, gifted 1-on-l play-ers-Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, Milan Hejduk, Martin Straka and, of course, Jagr, for example-who enjoy and excel at that aspect of the game and have the numbers to prove they can do it. Offensive prototype: Jaromir Jagr. Defensive prototype: Petr Svoboda.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0006-065/7815455-1-eng-US/s0006-062.jpg" title="S0006-06" width="512" height="737"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pavol Demitra</figcaption></div><h2>&nbsp;SLOVAKIA</h2>With the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Slovaks are emerging with an identity that is a little different than their former brethren in the Czech Republic. Slovaks are becoming known as a top producer of pure goal-scorers, albeit a little on the one-dimensional side. That's a fitting description of Petr Bondra or Ziggy Palffy or Miro Satan and to a lesser degree Pavol Demitra or Marian Hossa. Offensive prototype: Miro Satan. Defensive prototype: Robert Svehla.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0006-075/7815448-1-eng-US/s0006-072.jpg" title="S0006-07" width="514" height="738"><figcaption class="caption-body">Teppo Numminen(Yzerman by S. Babineau/SA; LeClair, Demitra by Bruce Bennett Studios; Forsberg, Jagr, Numminen by Rocky Widner.)</figcaption></div><h2>&nbsp;FINLAND</h2>There is a gritty-dare we say North American-quality to the Finnish player&rsquo;s game, even for an offensive super-star such as Jari Kurri. The Finns&rsquo; overall game tends to be greater than the sum of their individual parts, which often leads to Finnish players, such as potent two-way threat Jere Lehtinen, being described as &ldquo;underrated.&rdquo; Pound for pound, they are tough cookies. Offensive prototype: Sami Kapanen. Defensive prototype: Teppo Numminen.<h2>&nbsp;All-Star melting pot</h2>Ten countries will be represented in the 50th NHL All-Star Game. My, how the times have changed. There were two countries-Canada and the United States-rep-resented in the first All-Star Game played in 1947. Here is a breakdown of this year&rsquo;s participants' nationalities.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0006-083/7815441-1-eng-US/s0006-082.jpg" title="S0006-08" width="600" height="355"></div> &#9632;

S0006-01

National T®adema®ks

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenize </div><div class="byline">Associate Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="S0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-0146/7815521-1-eng-US/s0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">1990 All-Star Game: 10th of 18 games (Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>Once more, with feeling.The 2000 All-Star Game in Toronto Feb. 6 will give the NHL, and the entire hockey community for that matter, one more chance to honor Wayne Gretzky.The Great One&rsquo;s trademark No. 99 will be officially retired by the NHL in a pre-game, on-ice ceremony. Gretzky and his family, of course, will be on hand at the Air Canada Centre.It is the third, and possibly final, formal acknowledgement of Gretzky&rsquo;s splendid career by the league. The first took place on April 18 of last year, the day of his final NHL game. Then there was the Nov. 22 induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Now, the sweater retirement at the All-Star Game, which so often had been a Gretzky showcase. No. 99 played in 18 of them, second only to Gordie Howe&rsquo;s 23.Not being able to play in the Toronto 2000 All-Star Game was high on Gretzky&rsquo;s list of retirement regrets.&ldquo;One of the things I was wrestling with was I was looking forward to the All-Star Game in Toronto,&rdquo; said Gretzky April 16, the day he officially announced his retirement. &ldquo;Probably, that will be an emotional time for me. I guess I could play (in the All-Star Game) next year&hellip; but that&rsquo;s not what it&rsquo;s about&rdquo;There had been speculation the NHL would extend an invitation to Gretzky to play in the game, but that never happened.&ldquo;The NHL never pushed it because Wayne made it clear to everyone, including the league, that when he retired, he was retiring and he wasn&rsquo;t going to put on the skates again, not for an All-Star Game, not for anything,&rdquo; said Mike Barnett, Gretzky&rsquo;s long-time agent and close friend.Gretzky retired without ever having played at the Air Canada Centre. He always maintained one of his greatest thrills in the NHL was playing at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, not too far from his southern Ontario hometown of Brantford.Barnett said Gretzky is &ldquo;thrilled&rdquo; at the NHL gesture of retiring No. 99 league-wide, but wants to make sure the players participating in the All-Star Game remain the event&rsquo;s focal point. The Great One went out of his final All-Star Game last year in style-he was the game&rsquo;s MVP and won the truck that went along with it.The all-star ceremony will cap a full week of Gretzky activities in the Toronto area.On Feb. 2, Gretzky is the celebrity host of the Conn Smythe Sports Celebrities Dinner. On Feb. 4, Gretzky will host a special post-game function at his restaurant for the players participating in the Canadian League Prospects Game. And on Feb. 6, Anheuser-Busch will host a private function at Gretzky&rsquo;s restaurant in honor of Gretzky and his role as an Anheuser-Busch corporate spokesman.Anheuser-Busch is expected to unveil its new series of Gretzky beer commercials, where The Great One teams up with the popular Bubble Boys campaign.Gretzky is also expected to have some role during ABC&rsquo;s presentation of the All-Star Game. &#9632;

S0008-01

Official NHL goodbye for Gretzky’s number

<div class="byline">By Mike Gibb </div><div class="byline">&nbsp;</div><div class="byline">Staff Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="S0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0009-0131/7815552-1-eng-US/s0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">1999 All-Star Game: No. 99&rsquo;s last hurrah (Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>Rick Dudley couldn&rsquo;t believe he had left such an indelible mark on the game of hockey.When the NHL posted the No. 99 on rink boards earlier this season, Dudley was honored the league remembered he had worn that number for two weeks as a Winnipeg Jet in 1980-81.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know I had made such an impact on the game,&rdquo; Dudley said, &ldquo;that the league would retire my jersey.&rdquo;Dudley, of course, is taking a break from his GM duties with the Tampa Bay Lightning and engaging in a harmless little fantasy. The NHL is retiring No. 99 in honor of Wayne Gretzky, not Dudley.But all who have worn the number can&rsquo;t help but feel a special sense of belonging, even if they are nothing more than trivia question stumpers.Five different players have worn double-nines on then-backs in NHL history.Leo Bourgault and Joe Lamb were the first two-and both wore it in 1934-35 with the Montreal Canadiens.Lamb, who played for several NHL teams, wore No. 99 for the seven games he lasted as a Canadien, scoring two goals and five points. And it was one of five numbers donned by Bourgault, who played 67 games for the Habs over three seasons.The number then went untouched for 44 years until Gretzky arrived on the NHL scene as an Edmonton Oiler in 1979. He had been wearing it since 1977, when he was a member of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.Wilf Paiement began wearing No. 99 after he was traded from the Colorado Rockies to the Toronto Maple Leafs in December, 1979. Paiement&rsquo;s lucky number was nine, but he couldn&rsquo;t wear it in Toronto because Dan Maloney had it, so, at the behest of GM Punch Imlach, he opted for No. 99. Paiement kept it until he was traded to the Quebec Nordiques in March, 1982. In 187 games, Paiement scored 78 goals and had 203 points, making him the second-highest scoring No. 99 in NHL history.After Paiement joined the Nords in 1982, No. 99 became Gretzky&rsquo;s sole property. He wore it in all four of his NHL stops and in every international tournament. As his star rose, it became one of the most recognizable and respected numbers in all of sports.And in Edmonton, fans felt from the get-go that No. 99 belonged to Gretzky alone.Dudley found that out the hard way. He also had wanted No. 9, his favorite number, after he was traded to Winnipeg, but it was taken. So he decided to try 99. There was no intention to copy Gretzky, Dudley said.After a couple of weeks, Dudley and the Jets went to Edmonton to face the Oilers. During that game, Dudley was vilified by Oilers&rsquo; fans.&ldquo;They gave me such an awful time,&rdquo; Dudley said, &ldquo;I switched numbers the next day.&rdquo; &#9632;

S0009-01

No. 99 jersey club small NHL fraternity

&nbsp;The NHL is celebrating its 50th All-Star Game this season with North America's best facing off against Europe's elite. This is the third year the sides of the Atlantic Ocean have met; North America is 2-0. Formats over the event&rsquo;s 49-game history have ranged from the Stanley Cup champion vs. NHL all-stars to American teams&rsquo; all-stars vs. Canadian teams&rsquo; all-stars to East Division vs. West Division to Wales Conference vs. Campbell Conference to the current setup.&nbsp;This year's All-Star Game in Toronto is, officially, the 50th in NHL history. There were, however, three benefit/memorial games prior to the first All-Star Game in 1947. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat a team of NHL all-stars 7-3 in the Ace Bailey Benefit Game in 1934. Bailey&rsquo;s career was ended by a head injury the previous season. In 1937, an NHL all-star team beat a Montreal all-star club 6-5 in the Howie Morenz Memorial Game. Two years later, NHL stars beat the Canadiens 5-2 in the Babe Siebert Memorial Game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-0140/7814848-1-eng-US/s0010-012.jpg" title="S0010-01" width="251" height="311"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Bentley</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1947 NHL All-Stars 4 Toronto 3 TorontoDoug Bentley of the Chicago Blackhawks scores the winning goal early in the third period to give the NHL all-stars a 4-3 victory over the defending Stanley Cup-champion Toronto Maple Leafs. A standing room only crowd of 14,000 at Maple Leaf Gardens watches the Leafs blow a 3-1 second period lead.&nbsp;1948 NHL All-Stars 3 Toronto 1 ChicagoThe game marks the first of a record 23 All-Star Game appearances by legendary Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; right winger Gordie Howe. Howe, 19, gets on the scoresheet by fighting Toronto defenseman Gus Mortson. It is the first fight in All-Star Game history. Woody Dumart of the Boston Bruins nets the game-winner.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-0216/7814841-1-eng-US/s0010-022.jpg" title="S0010-02" width="251" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Woody Dumart</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-0312/7814834-1-eng-US/s0010-032.jpg" title="S0010-03" width="250" height="307"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Goldham</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1949 NHL All-Stars 3 Toronto 1 TorontoBob Goldham of Chicago scores once and adds an assist as the NHL all-stars handle Toronto 3-1. Goalies Bill Duman of the Montreal Canadiens and Charlie Rayner of the New York Rangers allow just one goal between them to secure the win. Paul Ronty of Boston records the second period game-winner.&nbsp;1950 Detroit 7 NHL All-Stars 1 DetroitTed Lindsay scores the first All-Star Game hat trick, the first shorthanded goal and the quickest goal at the start of an All-Star Game (0:19) as Detroit trounces the NHL all-stars 7-1. The &lsquo;Production Line&rsquo; of Lindsay, Gordie Howe and Sid Abel accounts for seven points as the defending Cup champions triumph.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-0410/7814827-1-eng-US/s0010-042.jpg" title="S0010-04" width="248" height="304"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Lindsay</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-053/7814820-1-eng-US/s0010-052.jpg" title="S0010-05" width="250" height="306"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kenny Mosdell</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1951 First Team 2 Second Team 2 TorontoThe game&rsquo;s format is changed as the NHL's first team all-stars, supplied by the NHL&rsquo;s four American teams, tackle the second all-star team, made up of players from the two Canadian squads. Kenny Mosdell of Montreal scores midway through the third period to lift the second all-star team into a 2-2 tie.&nbsp;1952 First Team 1 Second Team 1 DetroitMaurice &lsquo;Rocket&rsquo; Richard tips home a point shot early in the third period to give the second team all-stars a 1-1 tie against the first team. Marty Pavelich of Detroit supplies the first team&rsquo;s lone marker midway through the second period. The game sets a record for the fewest goals in an All-Star Game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-063/7814813-1-eng-US/s0010-062.jpg" title="S0010-06" width="249" height="302"><figcaption class="caption-body">Maurice Richard</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-073/7814806-1-eng-US/s0010-072.jpg" title="S0010-07" width="250" height="306"><figcaption class="caption-body">W. Hergesheimer</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1953 NHL All-Stars 3 Montreal 1 MontrealThe game reverts back to its original format as the defending Stanley Cup-champion Canadiens play a team comprised of NHL all-stars. Wally Hergesheimer of the Rangers scores twice to give the all-stars a 3-1 win. An All-Star Game record 14,422 jam the Montreal Forum to witness the contest.&nbsp;1954 NHL All-Stars 2 Detroit 2 DetroitPower play goals by Alex Delvecchio and Gordie Howe in the first period give the Red Wings an early 2-0 lead over the NHL all-stars. But goals from Gus Mortson of Chicago and Doug Mohns of Boston salvage a 2-2 tie for the all-stars. It&rsquo;s the third stalemate in four All-Star Games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-083/7814799-1-eng-US/s0010-082.jpg" title="S0010-08" width="249" height="307"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alex Delvecchio</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-093/7814792-1-eng-US/s0010-092.jpg" title="S0010-09" width="250" height="307"><figcaption class="caption-body">Earl Relbel</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1955 Detroit 3 NHL All-Stars 1 DetroitEarl Reibel scores twice, adds an assist and records an All-Star Game record 10 shots as the Red Wings defeat the NHL All-Stars 3-1. The win extends Detroit&rsquo;s unbeaten streak to 25 games, including regular season, playoff and All-Star Games. The contest is the last all-star appearance for Hall of Fame coach Dick Irvin.&nbsp;1956 NHL All-Stars 1 Montreal 1 MontrealGlenn Hall, Terry Sawchuk and Jacques Plante are the stars as Montreal and the NHL all-stars tie 1-1. Hall and Sawchuk combine to make 26 saves and Plante blocks 28 shots in a contest that ties the mark for the lowest-scoring in all-star history. Maurice Richard of the Habs and Ted Lindsay of Detroit supply the game&rsquo;s goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-103/7814785-1-eng-US/s0010-102.jpg" title="S0010-10" width="250" height="305"><figcaption class="caption-body">Glenn Hall</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-113/7814778-1-eng-US/s0010-112.jpg" title="S0010-11" width="249" height="308"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dean Prentice</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1957 NHL All-Stars 5 Montreal 3 MontrealGordie Howe and Dean Prentice score third period goals to snap a 3-3 tie. The game features the reuniting of Ted Lindsay, who had been traded to Chicago, with former Detroit linemates Howe and Alex Delvecchio. The games is Lindsay&rsquo;s 11th and final all-star appearance-and he never played on a losing team.&nbsp;1958 Montreal 6 NHL All-Stars 3 MontrealThe Richard brothers combine for five points to lead the Canadiens. Maurice scores twice while Henri fires the game-winner and adds two helpers. The game sees Montreal&rsquo;s Bernie Geoffrion crumble following a check from Red Kelly. Geoffrion is thought to be seriously hurt, but he returns to action just a few days later.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-12/7814771-1-eng-US/s0010-122.jpg" title="S0010-12" width="250" height="301"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bernie Geoffrion</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-13/7814764-1-eng-US/s0010-132.jpg" title="S0010-13" width="251" height="308"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jacques Plante</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1959 Montreal 6 NHL All-Stars 1 MontrealJacques Plante, who announces his intention to wear a fiberglass mask during the regular season, makes 34 saves to earn the win for Montreal. The game is the last all-star appearance for Maurice Richard, who had been in 13 straight, and the beginning of 15 straight appearances for Toronto&rsquo;s Frank Mahovlich.&nbsp;1960 NHL All-Stars 2 Montreal 1 MontrealMontreal goalie Jacques Plante sets an all-star record by playing his fifth straight complete game. He makes 25 saves, but it isn&rsquo;t enough. Andy Hebenton of the Rangers scores a short-handed goal late in the third period to give the all-stars the victory. Bobby Hull of Chicago makes his All-Star Game debut.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-14/7814757-1-eng-US/s0010-142.jpg" title="S0010-14" width="248" height="309"><figcaption class="caption-body">Andy Hebenton</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-15/7814750-1-eng-US/s0010-152.jpg" title="S0010-15" width="250" height="304"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eric Nesterenko</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1961 NHL All-Stars 3 Chicago 1 ChicagoGordie Howe scores once and adds an assist as the NHLers win in front of 14,534 at Chicago Stadium, the largest crowd to witness an All-Star Game. Alex Delvecchio of Detroit and Don McKenney of Boston also collect goals for the NHL stars, while Eric Nesterenko collects the lone Chicago score.&nbsp;1962 Toronto 4 NHL All-Stars 1 TorontoThe game is in jeopardy when, two days before it is to be played, only two Leafs are under contract. But the rest of the team inks deals in last-minute negotiations. Eddie Shack scores once and is named the All-Star Game&rsquo;s first MVP. All the game&rsquo;s scoring is done in the first 19:32 and Leafs&rsquo; goalie Johnny Bower turns aside 35 shots.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-16/7814743-1-eng-US/s0010-162.jpg" title="S0010-16" width="246" height="302"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eddie Shack</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-17/7814736-1-eng-US/s0010-172.jpg" title="S0010-17" width="250" height="307"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Mahovlich</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1963 Toronto 3 NHL All-Stars 3 TorontoFrank Mahovlich scores twice and collects an assist to earn the game&rsquo;s MVP honors, while Gordie Howe carves a place in the record book. Howe&rsquo;s first period assist moves him past Maurice Richard for first place on the all-star points list with 10. Richard&rsquo;s younger brother, Henri, is the goal-scorer on Howe&rsquo;s record-setter.&nbsp;1964 NHL All-Stars 3 Toronto 2 TorontoBoston&rsquo;s Murray Oliver scores the game-winning goal 6:11 into the final period and Montreal netminder Charlie Hodge draws the first-ever penalty by a goalie in all-star history for intentionally holding the puck. Jean Beliveau of Montreal, who scores the go-ahead goal in the second period, earns the nod as MVP.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-18/7814729-1-eng-US/s0010-182.jpg" title="S0010-18" width="250" height="306"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jean Beliveau</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-19/7814722-1-eng-US/s0010-192.jpg" title="S0010-19" width="255" height="309"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gordie Howe</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1965 NHL All-Stars 5 Montreal 2 MontrealMVP Gordie Howe scores twice and adds two assists for a record-tying four points. The game features 11 future NHL head coaches: Red Berenson, Alex Delvecchio, Dick Duff, John Ferguson, Bill Gadsby, Ted Harris, Harry Howell, Murray Oliver, Marcel Pronovost, Jim Roberts and Jean-Guy Talbot.&nbsp;1967 Montreal 3 NHL All-Stars 0 MontrealThe game returns to the mid-season from the pre-season for the first time since the 1934 Ace Bailey benefit. Charlie Hodge and Gary Bauman of Montreal combine for the only shutout in all-star history. Henri Richard is named MVP for his one-goal, one-assist performance, while John Ferguson records two goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-20/7814715-1-eng-US/s0010-202.jpg" title="S0010-20" width="249" height="307"><figcaption class="caption-body">Henri Richard</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-21/7814708-1-eng-US/s0010-212.jpg" title="S0010-21" width="249" height="305"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bruce Gamble</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1968 Toronto 4 NHL All-Stars 3 TorontoThe game is shrouded in sadness as it is played just one day after Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; center Bill Masterton dies after suffering an on-ice head injury. Masterton&rsquo;s death prompts Toronto&rsquo;s Brian Conacher to become the first player in all-star history to wear a helmet. Leaf goalie Bruce Gamble earns the victory and is named MVP.&nbsp;1969 West Division 3 East Division 3 MontrealThe NHL&rsquo;s Board of Governors changes the format, pitting the two divisions against each other for the first time. Frank Mahovlich of Detroit, who notches two goals for the East Division, becomes the first two-time MVP. Claude Larose of Minnesota scores late to lift the West into a 3-3 tie.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-22/7814701-1-eng-US/s0010-222.jpg" title="S0010-22" width="250" height="307"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Mahovlich</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-23/7814694-1-eng-US/s0010-232.jpg" title="S0010-23" width="251" height="307"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Hull</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1970 East Division 4 West Division 1 St. LouisBobby Hull scores once and sets up another to help propel the West to victory and earn the MVP honors. Gordie Howe scores the game-winner, his 10th and final All-Star Game goal. Goalie Jacques Plante, playing in front of his hometown fans in St. Louis, blanks the East over the last half of the game.&nbsp;1971 West Division 2 East Division 1 BostonBobby Hull scores the winning goal just 4:38 into the game and earns his second straight MVP. The game features three pairs of brothers: Bobby and Dennis Hull; Phil and Tony Esposito; and Frank and Peter Mahovlich. Gordie Howe, meanwhile, makes the last of 14 consecutive All-Star Game appearances.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-24/7814687-1-eng-US/s0010-242.jpg" title="S0010-24" width="250" height="306"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Hull</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0010-25/7814680-1-eng-US/s0010-252.jpg" title="S0010-25" width="246" height="303"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bobby Orr</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1972 East Division 2 West Division 2 MinnesotaBobby Hull makes his final NHL all-star appearance as one of a record nine Chicago Blackhawks in the game, but Boston&rsquo;s Bobby Orr steals the show. The MVP assists on Phil Esposito&rsquo;s game-winning goal early in the third period. Twenty-one of the 38 players in the game go on to play for Team Canada in the Summit Series. &#9632;

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Nifty 50: History of classic event

<h2>&nbsp;All-Star Game Records</h2><h3>Career</h3>Games: Gordie Howe, 23Goals: Wayne Gretzky, 13Points: Wayne Gretzky, 25PIM: Gordie Howe, 27Games, goalie: Glenn Hall, 13<h3>Single Game</h3>Goals: Four tied with fourAssists: Mats Naslund, 5,1988Points: Mario Lemieux, 6,1988Shutouts: Charlie Hodge, Gary Bauman share only shutout, 1967<h2>&nbsp;They didn&rsquo;t play because&hellip;</h2>&nbsp;There have been four years in which the All-Star Game was not played since the first official contest in 1947. No game was played in 1966 because of a format change from pre-to mid-season; the 1979 game was replaced by the Challenge Cup Series between the NHL and Soviets; the 1987 game gave way to the NHL/Soviet Rendezvous series; and the 1995 game was cancelled due to the lockout.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-0136/7815047-1-eng-US/s0011-012.jpg" title="S0011-01" width="246" height="301"><figcaption class="caption-body">Greg Polis</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1973 East Division 5 West Division 4 New YorkPittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; left winger Greg Polis scores twice and is named the game&rsquo;s MVP. Rangers&rsquo; goaltender Gilles Villemure sees his all-star shutout streak snapped at 79:21. Tom Johnson coaches the East to the win, becoming the seventh to appear in the All-Star Game as both a player and coach.&nbsp;1974 West Division 6 East Division 4 ChicagoFrank Mahovlich&rsquo;s string of 15 straight all-star appearances comes to an end. His goal, which opens the scoring for the East, gives him eight in all-star competition, two behind leader Gordie Howe. St. Louis Blue Garry Unger scores the game-winning goal and assists on another to earn MVP honors.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-0217/7815040-1-eng-US/s0011-022.jpg" title="S0011-02" width="252" height="301"><figcaption class="caption-body">Garry Unger</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-037/7815033-1-eng-US/s0011-032.jpg" title="S0011-03" width="246" height="297"><figcaption class="caption-body">Syl Apps Jr.</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1975 Wales 7 Campbell 4 MontrealWith the change to the NHL&rsquo;s alignment, the all-star format changes, pitting players from the Wales Conference against those in the Campbell Conference. The Wales is powered by Syl Apps Jr., who scores twice and is named MVP, and Guy Lafleur, who has three assists in his first all-star appearance.&nbsp;1976 Wales 7 Campbell 5 PhiladelphiaVancouver Canuck Dennis Ververgaert sets a record by scoring goals 10 seconds apart, but it isn&rsquo;t enough to erase a 7-1 deficit. Peter Mahovlich has a goal and four points for the Wales to capture the MVP award. Philadelphia goalie Wayne Stephenson surrenders goals on the first three Wales&rsquo; shots he faces.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-047/7815026-1-eng-US/s0011-042.jpg" title="S0011-04" width="247" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Mahovlich</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-053/7815019-1-eng-US/s0011-052.jpg" title="S0011-05" width="250" height="302"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rick Martin</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1977 Wales 4 Campbell 3 VancouverBuffalo Sabres&rsquo; Rick Martin earns the MVP, scoring two third period goals, including the winner for the Wales Conference with less than two minutes remaining. Toronto&rsquo;s Lanny McDonald also scores twice for Wales. Islanders&rsquo; defenseman Denis Potvin picks up two assists to lead the Campbell Conference.&nbsp;1978 Wales 3 Campbell 2 (OT) BuffaloGilbert Perreault of the Buffalo Sabres delights the hometown crowd, scoring the winning goal in the first overtime game in all-star history after teammate Rick Martin ties the game late in the third. MVP Billy Smith and Wayne Stephenson make 37 saves as the Wales Conference outshoots the Campbell 40-12.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-063/7815012-1-eng-US/s0011-062.jpg" title="S0011-06" width="247" height="297"><figcaption class="caption-body">Billy Smith</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-072/7815005-1-eng-US/s0011-072.jpg" title="S0011-07" width="251" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Reggie Leach</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1980 Wales 6 Campbell 3 DetroitThe 32nd All-Star Game marks a beginning and an end. It&rsquo;s the final appearance for Gordie Howe, who returns at age 51 for his first All-Star Game in a decade and his 23rd overall. Meanwhile, Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; center Wayne Gretzky, 19, makes his debut. Reggie Leach notches a goal and an assist for the Campbell to win the MVP.&nbsp;1981 Campbell 4 Wales 1 Los AngelesPhiladelphia&rsquo;s Bill Barber scores shorthanded and also adds an assist to lead the Campbell Conference to victory. Campbell starting goalie Mike Liut turns aside 25 shots in his half of work to earn MVP honors. It&rsquo;s the Campbell&rsquo;s first win since the format shifted to Wales vs. Campbell in 1974-75.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-082/7814998-1-eng-US/s0011-082.jpg" title="S0011-08" width="248" height="297"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Liut</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-092/7814991-1-eng-US/s0011-092.jpg" title="S0011-09" width="249" height="302"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Bossy</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1982 Campbell 4 Wales 2 WashingtonEdmonton&rsquo;s Wayne Gretzky scores his first all-star goal for the Campbell, which ties the game at 2-2 early in the second period, but Islander Mike Bossy scores a pair of unanswered goals to give the Wales the win and Bossy the MVP award. Twenty of the 40 players involved are skating in their first All-Star Game.&nbsp;1983 Campbell 9 Wales 3 UniondaleWayne Gretzky powers the Campbell by scoring four third period goals en route to his first MVP. Teammate Mark Messier assists on three of Gretzky&rsquo;s goals as the pair sets records for most individual goals and assists in a period. Michel Goulet, Ray Bourque and Don Maloney score for the Wales Conference.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-10/7814984-1-eng-US/s0011-102.jpg" title="S0011-10" width="246" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Gretzky</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-11/7814977-1-eng-US/s0011-112.jpg" title="S0011-11" width="257" height="309"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Maloney</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1984 Wales 7 Campbell 6 New JerseyDon Maloney scores once and has four points to lead the Wales Conference and also earn MVP honors as the two teams combine to set a record for most goals in one All-Star Game. Pierre Larouche scores twice for the Wales Conference as they rush out to a 5-0 first period lead on Campbell goalie Murray Bannerman.&nbsp;1985 Wales 6 Campbell 4 CalgaryPittsburgh&rsquo;s Mario Lemieux becomes the first rookie to win the all-star MVP as the 19-year-old scores twice and sets up a third goal. Ray Bourque has three assists for the Wales. Wayne Gretzky scores once for the Campbell Conference. The goal ties him with Maurice Richard for third all-time with seven.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-12/7814970-1-eng-US/s0011-122.jpg" title="S0011-12" width="250" height="298"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario Lemieux</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-13/7814963-1-eng-US/s0011-132.jpg" title="S0011-13" width="246" height="298"><figcaption class="caption-body">Grant Fuhr</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1986 Wales 4 Campbell 3 (OT) HartfordWinnipeg Jets&rsquo; Dale Hawerchuk scores the tying goal with the Campbell Conference net empty to send the game into overtime, but the Islanders&rsquo; Bryan Trottier, with an assist from teammate Mike Bossy, crushes the Campbell Conference comeback with the game-winner. Grant Fuhr is named MVP.&nbsp;1988 Wales 6 Campbell 5 St. LouisMario Lemieux scores a hat trick and has a six-point night to take home the MVP award and set a record for most points in an All-Star Game. Teammate Mats Naslund records five assists to set a record for most assists in one game. Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; Luc Robitaille scores twice to pace the Campbell Conference.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-14/7814956-1-eng-US/s0011-142.jpg" title="S0011-14" width="247" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario Lemieux</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-15/7814949-1-eng-US/s0011-152.jpg" title="S0011-15" width="246" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Gretzky</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1989 Campbell 9 Wales 5 EdmontonWayne Gretzky scores once and has three points to earn his second MVP and lead the Campbell Conference to victory. Joe Mullen scores twice and also has three points for the winners. The game sets the record for most goals in an All-Star Game, eclipsing the 13 scored in 1984. Walt Poddubny scores twice for the Wales.&nbsp;1990 Wales 12 Campbell 7 PittsburghThe two teams combine for the most goals in a single All-Star Game, smashing the record set the previous year. Mario Lemieux records the second four-goal game in all-star history to take the MVP. The game marks the first all-star weekend, including the Heroes of Hockey game and skills competition.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-16/7814942-1-eng-US/s0011-162.jpg" title="S0011-16" width="246" height="302"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mario Lemieux</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-17/7814935-1-eng-US/s0011-172.jpg" title="S0011-17" width="247" height="299"><figcaption class="caption-body">V. Damphousse</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1991 Campbell 11 Wales 5 ChicagoToronto&rsquo;s Vincent Damphousse scores four goals and Campbell Conference teammate Adam Oates has a goal and four assists. Damphousse scores three of his four in the third period, securing the MVP award and tying Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux for most goals in an All-Star Game. Pat LaFontaine scores twice to lead the Wales.&nbsp;1992 Campbell 10 Wales 6 ChicagoPlaying on a fine with Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull scores twice to lead the Campbell to victory and claim the MVP. This game marks the first penalty-free All-Star Game in history. Seven players, including Owen Nolan, Alexander Mogilny, Gary Roberts and Randy Burridge, score their first all-star goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-18/7814928-1-eng-US/s0011-182.jpg" title="S0011-18" width="244" height="295"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brett Hull</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-19/7814921-1-eng-US/s0011-192.jpg" title="S0011-19" width="246" height="294"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Gartner</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1993 Wales 16 Campbell 6 MontrealInjury replacement Mike Gartner, a day after winning the fastest skater competition, scores four goals for the Wales Conference to win the MVP award. The last All-Star Game at the Montreal Forum is the highest-scoring ever and features a tribute to Mario Lemieux, who is undergoing treatment for Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease.&nbsp;1994 Eastern 9 Western 8 New YorkThe change in conference names is reflected in the new all-star teams. Rookie Alexei Yashin scores late in the third period to lift the East to victory. Mike Richter makes 19 saves on 21 shots and is named MVP. Yashin and Bob Kudelski each score twice for the East; Brendan Shanahan and Sandis Ozolinsh tally twice each for the West.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-20/7814914-1-eng-US/s0011-202.jpg" title="S0011-20" width="247" height="299"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Richter</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-21/7814907-1-eng-US/s0011-212.jpg" title="S0011-21" width="244" height="297"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ray Bourque</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1996 Eastern 5 Western 4 Boston'Ray Bourque, playing in front of his hometown fans, scores in the game&rsquo;s final minute to give the Eastern Conference the win and is named MVP. Martin Brodeur stops all 12 shots he faces in the first period as the East jumps out to a 2-0 lead. Nine different all-stars score. Paul Kariya leads the West with two points.&nbsp;1997 Eastern 11 Western 7 San JoseMark Recchi is the MVP after scoring a hat trick for the Eastern stars. Recchi is the fourth Canadien to be named MVP. Owen Nolan sets a record when he scores two goals in an eight-second span late in the second period. Nolan completes his hat trick in the third period, scoring on Dominik Hasek, the only of 21 shots to elude him.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-22/7814900-1-eng-US/s0011-222.jpg" title="S0011-22" width="249" height="296"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Recchl</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-23/7814893-1-eng-US/s0011-232.jpg" title="S0011-23" width="248" height="301"><figcaption class="caption-body">Teemu Selanne</figcaption></div>&nbsp;1998 North America 8 World 7 VancouverThe all-star format changes again, this time pitting North American natives against players from the rest of the world. Eight different players score for the North American side to overcome an early 3-0 deficit. The World team is led by Teemu Selanne, who pots a hat trick and is named the game&rsquo;s MVP.&nbsp;1999 North America 8 World 6 Tampa BayWayne Gretzky scores once and sets up two others to win his third MVP award in his final All-Star Game. His 25 all-star points are a record, as are his 13 goals. The World squad, who get a goal and two points from Vancouver defenseman Mattias Ohlund, can&rsquo;t recover from a 4-1 first period hole.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-24/7814886-1-eng-US/s0011-242.jpg" title="S0011-24" width="250" height="296"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Gretzky</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0011-25/7814879-1-eng-US/s0011-252.jpg" title="S0011-25" width="249" height="304"><figcaption class="caption-body">Scotty Bowman</figcaption></div>&nbsp;2000 North America vs. World Toronto&nbsp;Women's Game: Canada vs. United States Date: Friday, Feb. 4, 7 p.m. EST, TSN&nbsp;Heroes of Hockey & Super Skills Competition Date: Saturday, Feb. 5, 6:45 p.m., ESPN, CBC&nbsp;50th NHL All-Star Game Date: Sunday, Feb. 6,2:30 p.m. EST, ABC, CBC Coaches: Pat Quinn (N.A.), Scotty Bowman (World) &#9632;

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Gretzky, Lemieux three-time MVPs

<div class="image-hero"><img title="S0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0012-0138/7815085-1-eng-US/s0012-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0012-0220/7815092-1-eng-US/s0012-022.jpg" title="S0012-02" width="122" height="117"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0014-0135/7815078-1-eng-US/s0014-012.jpg" title="S0014-01" width="3129" height="2567"></div> &#9632;

S0012-01

NORTH AMERICAN NHL ALL-STAR TEAM

<div class="byline">&nbsp;By Jim Kelley</div>Will he or won&rsquo;t he? Can he or can&rsquo;t he? What will happen if he does?As usual, when it comes to the question of Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; goalie Dominik Hasek and playing time both for the season and the 2000 All-Star Game, nobody has a solid answer.There are, however, plenty of opinions and lots of ramifications.Hasek, voted a starter in fan balloting despite being injured much of the season, has said he wants to play in the Feb. 6 contest. Still recovering from a tom groin muscle suffered Oct. 29, Hasek upped his workout schedule in mid-January with an eye towards playing in Toronto.&ldquo;I am thinking of the All-Star Game,&rdquo; Hasek said. &ldquo;It would be nice to play a game first (for the Sabres), but I would like to play in the All-Star Game. We&rsquo;ll have to wait and see.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0015-0127/7815123-1-eng-US/s0015-012.jpg" title="S0015-01" width="551" height="693"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dominik Hasek (Andre Pichette/BBS)</figcaption></div>But the issue is more complex than a simple all-star appearance. The Buffalo News reported Hasek has an arrangement with Louisville to debut a new line of goaltending equipment. Hasek, who has an exclusive three-year deal with the manufacturer, also is slated to get bonus money from Louisville and likely a bonus from the Sabres should he play in the game.The Sabres are fine with that, but only if the two-time Hart Trophy winner is deemed healthy enough to play and, by some accounts, only if he has played some games for the Sabres.&ldquo;I heard through the grapevine he put the gear on,&rdquo; said Sabres&rsquo; coach Lindy Ruff. &ldquo;I think everything went fine. It looks like he has progressed.&rdquo;But then Ruff said: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;ll be playing in the All-Star Game if he doesn&rsquo;t play for us. It would be ludicrous. If he&rsquo;s healthy and plays before that, 1 don&rsquo;t know that we have control over it. It would be a huge debate.&rdquo;Sabres&rsquo; GM Darcy Regier was a bit more cautious, saying only the matter was the &ldquo;source of some review,&rdquo; but the implication was the Sabres would not be pleased if Hasek were to run the risk of injury by playing in a meaningless contest even if it were for just one period.Who has the final say in the matter is also open to debate. If the team&rsquo;s doctors clear Hasek, it would be unlikely the Sabres could keep him from playing in the game even if he hadn&rsquo;t yet played for the Sabres. But Hasek and the Sabre doctors haven't always been on the same page.If Hasek finds a different medical opinion and opts to play in the game without permission from the Sabres, there is a chance the issue could go to a medical arbitrator. But the process of taking the team&rsquo;s best player and the league&rsquo;s best goaltender (when healthy) to arbitration on an issue that could result in money being removed from his pocket would likely not auger well for future relations between player and team.That relationship is already problematic in that Hasek, on two occasions, has hinted he may be reconsidering retirement and instead choose to play in 2000-01.Regier said Hasek has not conveyed those thoughts to him and the GM is still operating on Hasek&rsquo;s stated plan to retire at the end of the season. &#9632;

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