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 25, 2000

The Hockey News February 25, 2000

Ward Cornell, the host of Hockey Night In Canada from 1959 to 1972, died Feb. 5 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 75.Cornell was know for his straight-laced, understated manner in conducting between-period interviews on Saturday night telecasts. The London, Ont., native got his start broadcasting university sports, Canadian football and Olympic radio before moving to HNIC.&ldquo;He was really consistent, really organized and he always knew a lot about the player he was interviewing,&rdquo; current HNIC studio host Ron MacLean told the London Free Press. &ldquo;When he interviewed, he did it with a gentle humor. He made his guests comfortable.&rdquo;TSN sports personality Dave Hodge, who replaced Cornell on HNIC in 1972, said &ldquo;Ward certainly put his stamp on the position, as did fellow like Foster Hewitt, Bob Dennett and Bob Cole. His understated way is somewhat like my own.&rdquo;Cornell told The Toronto Sun in 1981 that his favorite interview was with jokesters Gump Worsley and Eddie Shack in 1960.&ldquo;They were telling stories, trying to outdo each other. Gump had that wry humor and Shackie fell for his lines. What a show.&rdquo;Cornell also had a career as a public servant, first as Ontario&rsquo;s agent-general to Britain, then as a deputy minister. &#9632;

FEATURES

Cornell was HNIC original studio host

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div><h2>HOCKEY EAST</h2>Shawn Walsh, coach of the defending national champion Maine Black Bears, was dealing with the team&rsquo;s longest-ever power outage.For the first time in the program&rsquo;s 23-year history, the Bears were shut out in consecutive games.Ty Conklin&rsquo;s 21-save performance in a 1-0 New Hampshire win Feb. 6 came eight days after Scott Clenunensen kicked out 35 shots in a 3-0 Boston College triumph. The UNH game was the 824th in Maine&rsquo;s history, dating back to the 1977-78 season.The Bears were in fifth place in Hockey East with a 6-7-3 record this season and had a 15-7-4 record overall.Maine had gone 143:55 without scoring. The two games were part of an 0-4-1 slump in which the Bears scored nine goals. Three of the four losses were by a goal.&ldquo;We know we&rsquo;re a good team; we just can&rsquo;t buy a goal,&rdquo; Walsh said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to relax. We&rsquo;re thinking too much in the offensive zone. We&rsquo;ll break out at some point, we&rsquo;ve just got to keep working hard.&rdquo;Said Maine senior co-captain and center-left winger Cory Larose: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard not to get frustrated. But this is the way hockey is sometimes. We have played well the majority of the time; it has been a matter of a goal here or there. The bottom line is we&rsquo;re having trouble making plays and we aren&rsquo;t getting the bounces.&rdquo;BEANPOT BLANKINGS: Speaking of record-setting goose eggs, the first round games in the Beanpot Hockey Tournament were both shutouts for the first time in the event&rsquo;s 48-year history. Boston College whitewashed North-eastern 6-0 and Boston University blanked Harvard 4-0 Feb. 7.It was junior Scott Clemmensen&rsquo;s second straight 35-save shutout. &ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;m hitting my stride,&rdquo; Clemmensen told the Boston Globe.It was his eighth career shutout, which ties the BC school mark set by Jack Fitzgerald from 1922 to &rsquo;25.BU freshman sensation Rick DiPietro stopped 21 shots for the shutout in the nightcap to help the Terriers&rsquo; remain unbeaten in the new millennium (6-0-4). They faced off with BC in the title game Feb. 14.NOTEBOOK: UMass-Amherst&rsquo;s Jeff Turner scored the Minutemen&rsquo;s first penalty shot goal since they joined Hockey East in 1994-95 with 22 seconds left in regulation in a 3-3 tie with UMass-Lowell Feb. 6&hellip; Merrimack extended its streak to a school-record five consecutive overtime games with a 4-3 loss to Providence Feb. 5&hellip;Maine&rsquo;s Jim Leger and UMass-Lowell&rsquo;s Craig Brown are two of five finalists for The Humanitarian Award, given to U.S. college hockey&rsquo;s best citizen. The award takes into consideration community involvement, on-ice performance and academic standing. &#9632;

LEAGUES

Bears’ hibernating offense leads to winter whiteout

Don Gallinger, one of three players banned by the NHL for betting on games, died Feb. 7 at age 74.A native of Port Colbome, Ont., Gallinger was with the Boston Bruins in 1947-48 when he and Billy Taylor of the New York Rangers were suspended by NHL president Clarence Campbell for &ldquo;conduct detrimental to hockey and for associating with a known gambler.&rdquo; Gallinger acknowledged speaking to the gambler, but he didn&rsquo;t know his background.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011634/7039886-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="330" height="412"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Gallinger (THN Archives)</figcaption></div>Babe Pratt of the Toronto Maple Leafs was the first player banned by the NHL for a betting incident in 1946. He was later reinstated. Gallinger and Taylor were reinstated in 1970.Gallinger was a talented center who debuted in the NHL at 17, scoring 14 goals and 34 points in 48 games. After two seasons in Boston, Gallinger spent one year with the Royal Canadian Air Force.He rejoined the Bruins in 1945-46 and played for three more seasons before his life-time ban when he was 22. Gallinger had 65 goals and 153 points in 222 NHL games. &#9632;

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Ex-Bruin Gallinger had short career

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01949/7041519-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01859/7041512-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="6545" height="3858"></div> &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

1999-2000 REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

1. World domination World players win SuperSkills competition and NHL All-Star Game over North Americans.2. Keep on truckin&rsquo; Three goals, one assist earns Florida&rsquo;s Pavel Bure a truck as All-Star Game MVP.3. Shark attack San Jose&rsquo;s Owen Nolan collects two goals, three assists in 8-0 win over Tampa Bay.4. Oleg Tverdovsky Ducks&rsquo; mobile defenseman riding high on eight-game points streak.5. Movin&rsquo; on up Luc Robitaille slides into 26th spot on NHL all-time scoring list with 1,122th point.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021267/7039549-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="319" height="449"><figcaption class="caption-body">Owen Nolan</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03947/7039542-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="317" height="445"><figcaption class="caption-body">Oleg Tverdovsky</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Bure sparks World stars

1. Can&rsquo;t even bribe them Tampa gives away more than 100,000 tickets this season, but averaging under 11,000 per game.2. Silence of the fans Not even 13 goals could elicit a peep out of sleepy Toronto crowd at NHL All-Star Game.3. Flames doused After streaking to six wins in seven games, Calgary winless in seven with six losses, one tie.4. Tommy knocker Quebec&rsquo;s Tommy Bolduc suspended eight QMJHL games for suckering opponent in back of head.5. Bad Vlad Montreal&rsquo;s Vladimir Malakhov, who hasn&rsquo;t played all year because of bad knee, spotted skiing. &#9632;

Bolts give it away for free

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden Editor-In-Chief</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04716/7039604-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="333" height="416"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Lisa Meyer/BBS)</figcaption></div>The prospect of Darryl Laplante going head-to-head with Sami Kapanen may not have the same marquee value as Kapanen vs. Kariya, but at least it&rsquo;s in the realm of possibility.Laplante, a Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; grinder, recorded the fastest time in NHL skills competitions this year, but wasn&rsquo;t present during all-star weekend to compete for official status as the league&rsquo;s swiftest skater. Only players invited to suit up for the North America or World all-stars were eligible for the SuperSkills competition Feb. 5. Kapanen, a Finnish finisher of some repute with the Carolina Hurricanes, completed one lap of the rink in 13.649 seconds, the fastest of six skaters willing to compete. (Earlier this season, Laplante had a league-best time of 13.597.)Among those watching as Kapanen won the event was Paul Kariya, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim superstar whom many believe to be the NHL&rsquo;s fastest skater. Kariya will not participate for three reasons: He fears a groin injury; says he has nothing to gain by competing; and feels the competition doesn&rsquo;t reflect what skating in hockey is all about-quick bursts over short spaces. Kariya did, however, meet and beat Kapanen in the individual puck control event in which players race through pilons.&ldquo;I should tell him that he made my son cry,&rdquo; said Kapanen, whose 3-1/2-year-old son, Kasperi, was upset by the results. &ldquo;He was watching the skills and seeing me lose by a couple of steps, he went &lsquo;Daddy lost.&rsquo; My son was watching the introductions and when I got on the ice he started to cry for one minute, &lsquo;I want my daddy home.&rsquo; Finally he regrouped and he was looking at the puck relay 1-on-l and I lost and he started to cry, &lsquo;My daddy lost.&rsquo; Then I was the fastest skater and I heard today he was having his own skills competition at home. He was running around the house, &lsquo;Mom, I&rsquo;m the fastest skater like Daddy.&rsquo;&rdquo;Kapanen, himself, says Kariya is faster and acknowledges others who won&rsquo;t compete (Pavel Bure might also be faster). Unfortunately, until the NHL returns to its original format, in which the league&rsquo;s best skaters and shooters competed during the all-star break, regardless of their stature, the weekend winners can&rsquo;t be regarded as true standard-bearers. Consider that Al Maclnnis&rsquo; winning slapshot speed of 100.1 mph was slower than Glen Murray&rsquo;s 103.5 mph in league-wide testing. Kapanen entered the all-star weekend as the fifth-fastest skater, when taking into account team competitions. He may have only been the fastest of all-star players willing to compete, but that&rsquo;s good enough for us at The Hockey News, who applaud his speed and spirit of competition. &#9632;

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ON THE COVER

NHL fast times should be faster at All-Star Game

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011710/7039635-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">European member countries of the IIHF feel they&rsquo;re not being properly compensated for native sons, such as the Czech Republic&rsquo;s Jaromir Jagr, who have crossed over into the NHL. (Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>A last-minute power play by the International Ice Hockey Federation has the potential to scuttle NHL participation in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.HHF president Rene Fasel will meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in New York Feb. 18 in an attempt to deal with a sudden snag over fees paid by the NHL to international hockey&rsquo;s governing body.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s the best thing for hockey all over the world that NHL players go to Salt Lake City,&rdquo; Fasel told THN. &ldquo;But I have to protect the interests of my membership.&rdquo;Fasel is being pressured by several European federations-primarily Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland-to threaten to eliminate the Olympics from the NHL calendar if the NHL doesn&rsquo;t extend and revise its agreement with the HHF on the releasing of players to play in North America.The current NHL-IIHF agreement, which expires at the end of next season, allows for any European drafted by an NHL team to leave his European club team-even if he&rsquo;s under contract-to sign a deal in the NHL. In exchange for this blanket release policy, each NHL club pays $200,000 (U.S.) annually-for a total this season of $5.6 million and $6 million next year-to the IIHF. The NHF distributes the monies to the federations, which, in turn, are supposed to channel the funds to the teams that have lost players.Fasel said many European federations are upset because the payment fees don&rsquo;t reflect the new reality: Significantly more Europeans are playing in the NHL than initially expected.Another issue is the NHL pays nothing for any European who leaves to playjunior hockey in North America and is then drafted. Rather than pay a release fee to Europe in that instance, the NHL has a development agreement in place with the Canadian Hockey League.The NHF wants the deal re-worked to address those two issues or the federations say they'll vote to send non-NHLers to the Olympics. The International Olympics Connitee has sanctioned the IIHF to govern hockey at the Winter Games.&ldquo;If it makes sense to extend our (player release) agreement with the IIHF, then we&rsquo;ll do it,&rdquo; Bettman told THN. &ldquo;If it makes sense for us to &trade; go to the Olympics, we&rsquo;ll do it. But one doesn&rsquo;t have anything to do with the other. If the IIHF doesn&rsquo;t want NHL players to play in the Olympics, that&rsquo;s their call.&rdquo;Bettman isn&rsquo;t impressed. Until late January, the NHL and NHL Players&rsquo; Association believed they had the framework of a deal with the IIHF. They felt the only remaining issues were between the IIHF and IOC and those were expected to be cleared up in the next month or two, with a formal announcement on NHL Olympic participation likely in March.Now, if the HHF is serious, NHL participation in the 2002 Olympics is in jeopardy.It may be the IIHF is misreading the NHL&rsquo;s desire to be in Salt Lake City. There&rsquo;s a bloc of NHL owners who would rather forego the Olympic experience.League sentiment is it&rsquo;s only worth going to Salt Lake City if conditions are optimum. Having a gun held to its head to renegotiate its agreement with the HHF won&rsquo;t go over well with the NHL. That said, getting European players hassle-free for a flat fee is of great benefit to the league. Prior to the existing agreement, NHL teams had to negotiate directly with European clubs. It was often a difficult, laborious and frustrating process.Ultimately, the deciding factor will be how much more money the IIHF expects from the NHL. Ifit&rsquo;s a modest increase-such as 10 or 15 per cent-it will be worth it to the NHL to get a longer-term IIHF release agreement. But if the IIHF is looking for a hefty raise, the NHL will not only dismiss it and the Olympics, but may well go to war with the IIHF.The first step towards that end would be to prohibit NHLers from playing in the World Championship, which would devalue that springtime IIHF event.And then there&rsquo;s the issue of what the IIHF stands to lose if it follows through and excludes NHLers from the Olympics. A Winter Games with NHLers would surely be more more profitable than one without them.European federations have also expressed concern over the potential of NHL expansion into Europe.While the league hasn&rsquo;t made any moves in that direction, Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; owner Phil Anschutz has purchased two teams in England and two teams in Germany and is acquiring European arena rights.&ldquo;My federations wonder what the NHL plans for Europe,&rdquo; Fasel said. "Some people are nervous, but I&rsquo;m not too worried about that. It will never happen. Our culture here is so different. It&rsquo;s not so easy a job to build up that here.&ldquo;Please understand we are looking more for solutions than problems with the NHL,&rdquo; Fasel added. &ldquo;I believe the best players should be at the Olympics. All the outstanding players should be there. But we need to find a dialogue with the NHL and work something out.&rdquo;At the NHL board of governors&rsquo; meeting Feb. 5, Bettman was given the mandate to close or kill an Olympic deal as he sees fit.The only other significant news coming out of that board meeting was the extension of the Canadian Assistance Plan through the end of next season.It had been extended to the fall of 2004, but that was conditional on the Canadian federal government providing relief to Canadian franchises. When the government flip-flopped on its aid plan, the NHL reverted to approving the assistance plan one year at a time. Last year, four teams-the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators-shared about $13 million (Cdn.). Vancouver and Calgary are in danger of not qualifying this year because they&rsquo;re below certain standards on key economic indicators, such as season-ticket sales and advertising. &#9632;

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Olympic standoff

The issue: European nations in the International Ice Hockey Federation are threatening to vote against NHL participation in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.What the IIHF wants: An extension and revision of the NHL-IIHF agreement regarding the release of Europeans to play in North America. The IIHF contends significantly more Euros are in the NHL than had been anticipated and it wants more money to reflect this reality.What the NHL wants: The league is willing to discuss a long-term player release deal with the IIHF, but won&rsquo;t compromise itself just to take part in the Olympics. &#9632;

Player release roadblock in NHL-IIHF agreement

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div>The three major junior leagues in the Canadian Hockey League all have policies that outlaw hazing. The NCAA does not. According to Ron Stratten, NCAA vice-president of education services, that won&rsquo;t change until member schools say they want one.In the wake of the University of Vermont hazing scandal that forced cancellation of its hockey season, Stratten says it&rsquo;s beyond the NCAA&rsquo;s authority to ban hazing. But he warned schools to expect lawsuits if they don&rsquo;t take steps to wipe out dangerous, demeaning initiation practices. &ldquo;If I were a risk manager at an institution, I&rsquo;d be very nervous,&rdquo; Stratten said.Vermont is facing legal action from former goalie Corey LaTulippe stemming from a hazing incident at a team party last fall. LaTulippe and eight other freshmen were spat upon, made to drink heated beer and perform a variety of demeaning acts, including naked push-ups with their genitals dipped in beer and holding each another&rsquo;s genitals in a nude &ldquo;elephant walk.&rdquo;Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell released a scathing 20-page report Feb. 3, saying the team&rsquo;s players had committed criminal acts, had Red to school officials in their initial accounts of the hazing and that the school administration acted too slowly and secretively when it first heard of the incident from LaTulippe&rsquo;s lawyers. Vermont president Judith Ramaley cancelled the Catamounts&rsquo; season Jan. 14.Under the NCAA&rsquo;s constitution, member schools have the responsibility &ldquo;to protect the health of and provide a safe environment for each of its student athletes.&rdquo; Stratten said the NCAA can take action if 30 schools bring forward a proposal for legislation. None have.Eastern College Athletic Conference spokesman Steve Hagwell said hazing will be on the agenda when athletic directors meet in Lake Placid, N.Y., during the league final March 16-18. Any conference-wide hazing policy will have to be agreed upon by athletic directors. Similarly to the NCAA position, Hagwell said the ECAC cannot act independently of its member schools.But Gordon Kirke, a Toronto lawyer and author of the CHL&rsquo;s 1997 Players&rsquo; First report dealing with sexual abuse and other forms of harassment in major junior, said leagues have to take action themselves to send a clear message that hazing won&rsquo;t be tolerated. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a sad commentary if everybody&rsquo;s pointing to someone else saying they have to initiate it,&rdquo; Kirke said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of those standard put-off solutions.&rdquo;He said education for players, coaches and administrators must be part of any policy. Aside from the demeaning experience itself, Kirke said, hazing is harmful to young people because it predisposes them to worse experiences by weakening their self-respect and their ability to say no.Commissioners of the Ontario League, Quebec League and Western League all say they have not had to dole out any hazing-related discipline since separate policies went into effect about six years ago. OHL commissioner Dave Branch said the OHL posts its anti-hazing statement on the doors of all league dressing rooms.Vermont had a policy in place and players were specifically warned twice against hazing before the incident. &ldquo;I guess (the policy) broke down in that the players didn&rsquo;t adhere to it,&rdquo; said Catamounts&rsquo; assistant athletic director Jeff Schulman.Even so, Schulman doesn&rsquo;t believe it&rsquo;s the place of the ECAC or the NCAA to dictate policy on individual campuses. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s important for each school to determine on their own campus what kinds of behaviors they find acceptable and unacceptable. &#9632;

Major junior, NCAA at odds on hazing policy

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN</div>It was Canada&rsquo;s most dominating win over arch-rival United States in almost eight years, but neither women&rsquo;s squad put too much stock in it.In the second annual TSN Challenge, Canada blanked the Americans 6-0 Feb. 4 in front of 14,658 at Air Canada Centre. Canada avenged a 4-1 loss two days earlier in Buffalo.The most lopsided game in women&rsquo;s hockey history between the two nations was an 8-0 Canadian pasting in the 1992 World Championship final. Canada won the inaugural TSN challenge in Brampton, Ont., last year by a 6-1 score.It was both squads&rsquo; final game until the World Championship begins in Mississauga, Ont., April 3.&ldquo;We had two good meetings with our chief rival,&rdquo; said U.S. coach Ben Smith. &ldquo;We played well one night and the other we couldn&rsquo;t because the other team wouldn&rsquo;t let us. Itried to tell the girls that the 15,000 fans didn&rsquo;t have sticks, but it sure felt like it.&rdquo;Both coaches used the mini-series as a final evaluation tool for the World Championship. For them, the outcome wasn&rsquo;t about the score, but who played well under pressure. Team Canada has only three open spots on its roster for the Worlds, while the U.S. has as many as 12.Hayley Wickenheiser, crowned the world&rsquo;s best women&rsquo;s player by The Hockey News, led all scorers with four assists. Sami-Jo Small stopped 18 shots for the shutout.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited by the way we responded after losing the first game,&rdquo; said first-year Canadian coach Melody Davidson. &ldquo;I wondered how we would react to a challenge. It was a great learning experience.&rdquo;Canada has won all five world titles and has a 25-0 record in World Championship play. The U.S., however, won the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics.ANDRO NOT BANNED: The NHL has not changed its stance on androstenedione, an over-the-counter dietary supplement, despite a study by two Harvard reseachers.The study revealed &lsquo;andro&rsquo; raises testosterone levels above normal levels and could be hazardous. It rose to prominence in 1998 after baseball slugger Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs while taking it.Andro is banned by the International Olympic committee, the NCAA, NFL and pro tennis, but is not banned by the NHL, NBA or MLB.The NHL implemented a substance abuse and behavorial health program in 1996 and players are warned regularly of possible dangers of drug use.HEARING SET: Maple Leaf Gardens&rsquo; sexual predator John Paul Roby will attend a dangerous-offender hearing May 1. Roby, 56, was found guilty last year of abusing 26 boys and one girl from 1967 through 1983 when he was an usher at the Gardens.Sentencing was delayed to enable Roby to undergo a psychiatric assessment, the first step in having him declared either a dangerous offender or a long-term offender.FAKE SIGNATURES: The FBI is joining an police investigation tracking the selling of phony autographed hockey collectibles over the Internet.The police probe started in early January when Nashville Predators&rsquo; center Darren Turcotte discovered a website selling photos of him with phony signatures. He contacted the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.Other fake signatures on collectibles are believed to include stars Eric Lindros, Curtis Joseph, Mats Sundin, Brett Hull and Wayne Gretzky.Police are warning fans to be wary of buying autographed merchandise that are being pitched on websites.WEST IS BEST: The West Coast League gained bragging rights on the Central League by winning an All-Star Game between the two minor leagues.The WCHL all-stars beat the CHL all-stars 4-3 in a shootout Jan. 25 Hugo Belanger of the Phoenix Mustangs scored the only goal in the shootout and San Diego Gulls&rsquo; goalie Sergei Naumov stopped all five shots.The All-Star Game was the first of its kind between rival leagues at the bottom level of minor pro hockey.<h2>PUCK BRIEFS TV Tripleheader</h2>The CBC&rsquo;s Hockey Day In Canada will feature three games and 13 hours of coverage Saturday, Feb. 19.The marathon begins at noon Eastern time and includes a variety of features with an inward look at the game, avoiding discussion of salaries, subsidies and politics.The first game features Vancouver at Ottawa (4 p.m.), followed by Toronto at Montreal (7 p.m.) and Calgary at Edmonton (10 p.m.). &#9632;

Canada, U.S. split series in tune-up for Worlds

I&rsquo;m a huge hockey fan so it pains me to say this, but I hope there&rsquo;s an NHL lockout in 2004 because the league needs a major overhaul.With all of its overpaid players, the NHL is a timebomb. Fans already pay the most expensive ticket of any North American major pro sport; most Canadian teams can&rsquo;t financially compete and may have to relocate; and not only have obstruction and holding returned, but a new and disturbing trend of &lsquo;picking&rsquo; has become commonplace. If I wanted to see blindside picks, I&rsquo;d flip over to the NBA. Marginal players, yet again, have free reign to abuse their more talented counterparts.I&rsquo;m a Californian hockey fan, which means I was a latecomer to the history, verve, and nuances of the game. But I can hold my own over a beer with the best of them. And I believe if these problems aren&rsquo;t addressed, the NHL is doomed.Jon Galvan,&nbsp;Los Angeles<h2>All-Star Game woes</h2>The All-Star Game coverage by ESPN and ABC was anything but starry.First, ESPN decided nobody in the U.S. was interested in Saturday&rsquo;s Heroes of Hockey game, so the network continually cut away from the contest for meaningless interviews and a myriad of commercials.Then, there was ABC&rsquo;s announcers for Sunday&rsquo;s game. Over 100 countries heard Dave Strader, Canadians enjoyed Bob Cole&hellip;and the U.S. was. stuck with Gary &lsquo;The Hollerer&rsquo; Thome. Will someone please tell this man that he has a microphone in front of him, so there&rsquo;s no need to constantly yell? Mr. Strader and Mr. Cole concisely describe the action and rely on voice inflection for drama; Mr. Thome knows only one volume-loud. Fortunately, my TV has a mute button.Jim Ramlow,&nbsp;Miamisburg, Ohio<h2>Keep it real, Barnaby</h2>Why does the Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; Matthew Barnaby act like a little kid?He isn&rsquo;t a bad hockey player and is a very tough customer. But he should quit yapping and play like he can.All his diving and faking bothers me. He was at his &ldquo;best&rdquo; against Philadelphia recently. He drew a couple of penalties that were ridiculous. Has the diving penalty been eliminated?Barnaby&rsquo;s coach, Herb Brooks, stands up for him. But if I was his coach, I would leave him out there on the ice. Like when Claude Lemieux, early in his career with Montreal, was lying on the ice faking an injury and Canadiens&rsquo; coach Pat Bums wouldn&rsquo;t let the trainer go out to help him.Darcy Wandy,&nbsp;Brandon, Man.<h2>Hanson history</h2>I found the selection of the Carlson (Hanson) brothers as hockey&rsquo;s second-most colorful personalities very gratifying (THN, Dec. 24).As their friend and former coach, I know they&rsquo;ve worked hard for everything they&rsquo;ve received from hockey. But now&rsquo;s the time to set the record straight as to how they got their start.Contrary to several versions, Jeff, Jack and Steve got their pro start in &lsquo;play-for-pay&rsquo; hockey with the United States League&rsquo;s Marquette (Mich.) Iron Rangers in 1973-74 (I coached Marquette from 1964 through 1976, except for two seasons). They had been rejected by many minor pro and senior teams and had decided to give hockey one more shot before quitting the game to work in the iron mines of Virginia, Minn., their hometown. But they caught on in Marquette, improved tremendously, drew the attention of the hockey world with their unusual style and the rest is history.Leonard &lsquo;Oakie&rsquo; Brumm,&nbsp;Racine, Wis.<h2>Open it up</h2>In the past 10 years, the NHL has expanded, defensive schemes have grown in popularity and players have gotten bigger. These factors have all contributed to a decrease in scoring.The league needs to counter with moves that will improve its on-ice product. Eliminating the red line would be a good start. This would open up the game by exposing defensive traps and marginal players.Second, the NHL should introduce no-touch icing. It would greatly reduce needless injuries. Have you noticed it&rsquo;s usually a skilled player getting injured by a role player in these instances?If these two changes were implemented, the freewheeling game of the 1980s would be just around the corner. A return to fast-paced action is what both fans and players deserve.Jason Melmer,&nbsp;London, Ont.<h2>He shoots, he bores</h2>I take exception to the letter &ldquo;Serve full penalty&rdquo; that pleaded for an increase in NHL scoring (THN, Feb. 4).Those unimpressed with the best goaltending and pure speed that hockey has ever seen should watch a truly boring high-scoring game-NBA basketball.An 8-3 or 7-4 game tells me little effort was invested in hockey&rsquo;s most important attribute-keeping the puck out of the net. Remember, a 2-1 or 3-2 contest with great hits, end-to-end action and superior netminding is what the game is all about.Mark Stastny,&nbsp;Rolling Meadows, III.<h2>Non-calls no good</h2>Have you noticed the &lsquo;license to mug&rsquo; in the NHL these days?It occurs when one team is on the power play and the shorthanded team commits an additional, obvious penalty, but that infraction is never whistled down.As a hockey fan since 1946, I&rsquo;ve noticed this happening more and more this season (despite two referees for most games).In a game between Buffalo and Carolina, I saw three &lsquo;muggings&rsquo; in the same period, but not once was there a 5-on-3!Bryan Lewis, the NHL&rsquo;s director of officiating, must get his referees to call the second penalty before someone gets seriously injured.Bill Cornwell,&nbsp;Cary, N.C.<h2>Get a grip, Stan</h2>I was not surprised when columnist Stan Fischler took one more unwarranted shot at Wayne Gretzky (THN, Feb. 11).Fischler suggested the feeling in New York is the Rangers are a better team without Gretzky.Hey Stan, perhaps the Rangers are a better team this year because they added 13 players and upped their payroll to $60 million.Can you imagine how much better they would be with Gretzky passing to the likes of Theo Fleury and Valeri Kamensky?Memo to Stan: Forget about the Rangers. Every NHL team would love to have Wayne Gretzky setting up its wingers.Gregg Boemerman,&nbsp;Freehold, N.J.<h2>Burns&rsquo; tea party over</h2>With apologies to Pat Bums, it&rsquo;s time for the Boston Bruins to make a coaching change.History has repeated itself: Once again, Bums has lost the ability to motivate his players. The Bruins are a much better team than their embarrassing efforts of late.GM Harry Sinden has to bite the bullet and make a change. How about Ted Nolan?Pete Allison,&nbsp;Nestor City, Ont.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, M5G 2N8&nbsp;in Canada. In the U.S., write to&nbsp;Letters, THN, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo. N.Y., 14240-9947.&nbsp;E-mail us at mccaigs@transcontinentaLca Include hometown as well as home and business phone numbers.&nbsp;THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

Take care of problems before they overwhelm

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011834/7039786-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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ELSTON

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011670/7039824-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="371" height="534"></div>When Mark Messier hoisted the Stanley Cup on June 14,1994, it put to an end 54 years of misery for New York Rangers&rsquo; fans. At the same time, it was like a dagger through the heart of Tony Amonte.Amonte was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks three months before the Blueshirts&rsquo; triumph. And while six years have passed, he still cringes at the mention of the Rangers, the Cup and Father Time.&ldquo;I still think about it&hellip; all the time,&rdquo; Amonte said. &ldquo;Especially the last two years when we&rsquo;ve been out of the playoffs. I mean, I was that close. Time is running out for me. I&rsquo;m turning 30 (Aug. 2) and for hockey players, that means the end is in sight.&ldquo;But I believe in (Hawks&rsquo; owner Bill Wirtz). You know time is running out on him, too. He&rsquo;s not going to live forever and he has told me he wants another winner.&rdquo;The Blackhawks haven&rsquo;t won the Cup since 1961 and they won&rsquo;t win it this season. As of Feb. 10, Chicago was last in the Western Conference.When the Rangers drafted Amonte 68th overall in 1988, Scotty Bowman leaned over and whispered into the ear of Ranger broadcaster John Davidson, &ldquo;The Rangers just drafted Yvon Coumoyer.&rdquo;Bowman was referring to Amonte&rsquo;s blazing speed and the fact he&rsquo;s a left shot who plays the off wing, just as the right-shooting Coumoyer did for 16 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens.Amonte has enjoyed the spoils that come with being a popular and productive professional athlete. In eight NHL seasons, he has earned about $11 million, played in four All-Star Games and helped the United States capture the 1996 World Cup by scoring the tournament-winning goal. He has averaged over 30 goals a season and is a regular on the nightly TV highlight packages. This year, he has 23 goals and 51 points in 53 games.But Amonte wonders if he&rsquo;ll ever get as close to winning the Cup as he was in 1994. After breaking into the NHL with seasons of 35 and 33 goals, he was one of the players then-Ranger coach Mike Keenan wanted to unload in exchange for proven veteran talent. Amonte was shipped to Chicago for forwards Brian Noonan and Stephane Matteau. Keenan felt Amonte was soft, though that has been disproven.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021123/7039817-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="495" height="710"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tony Amonte (Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>It was a tough move for Amonte.&ldquo;I told Tony, &lsquo;You love it in New York, but the Blackhawks traded for you so they must want you,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Amonte&rsquo;s dad, Louie. &ldquo;I told him, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s not where you&rsquo;ve been, it&rsquo;s where you&rsquo;re going.&rdquo;Where Amonte is going is anybody&rsquo;s guess. In his tenure with the Hawks, there have been times when the team has looked like a contender. Certainly when they boasted Eddie Belfour in goal, Chris Chelios on defense and Amonte and Jeremy Roenick up front, they had the foundation for a championship team.It didn&rsquo;t happen.Belfour (Dallas Stars), Roenick (Phoenix Coyotes) and Chelios (Detroit Red Wings) are enjoying success elsewhere, while Amonte is stuck in Chicago. It can be frustrating. Earlier this season, coach Lome Molleken was demoted to associate coach and replaced by senior executive Bob Pulford.&ldquo;We won three or four games to get within six points of a playoff spot and then we went on a losing streak and suddenly we were 12 points out of the playoffs again,&rdquo; Amonte said. &ldquo;So really, nothing has changed.&rdquo;Chelios said Amonte used to quiz him about winning the Cup when the two were teammates. He understands the frustration Amonte feels.&ldquo;Right now, the only thing he&rsquo;s worried about is making the playoffs,&rdquo; Chelios said. &ldquo;When things don&rsquo;t go well for your team, you start to doubt yourself and you start to doubt your team. It plays mind games with you. But Tony&rsquo;s a pro and he gives it his all every night.&rdquo;Amonte&rsquo;s first chance at unrestricted free agency won&rsquo;t come until at least 2002, when his current contract expires. Although some unrestricted free agents had difficulty getting work last summer, there will be a market for someone with Amonte&rsquo;s speed and scoring touch. That said, he remains committed to the Blackhawks-for now.&ldquo;I love Chicago and I have faith we can turn things around,&rdquo; he said. &#9632;

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COLUMNS

Chicago’s Amonte study in frustration

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011727/7039855-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Goaltender Jack McCartan was heroic in a big win over Canada.(Left by HHOF; Right by Corbis Images)</figcaption></div>Can it be 40 years? Sure. Jack McCartan alone aged 40 just holding off the Canadians during a 20-shot second period. Time is trickier than Russian hockey players the way it can fly by and still stop on a dime to make February, 1960, seem like yesterday.&ldquo;Sometimes it seems like long ago and sometimes it doesn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; McCartan said. &ldquo;But the last couple of minutes of those games are like an hour even when you think about them today.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s what Mark Johnson said about 1980, that while 0:00 was the most longed for and conclusive vision of his life, the final 10 minutes still never really end. They probably won&rsquo;t until the last American who remembers exactly where he was when lightning impossibly charged the same bottle twice in 20 years, passes on.&ldquo;Our goal was just to get to the medal round, maybe squeak out a silver,&rdquo; Johnson said. &lsquo;We never thought about a gold. That&rsquo;s what made it so special. The whole thing was a fantasy. This morning I was showing the tape to fifth graders and still got goose bumps.&rdquo;Some of them were big as lumps still automatically activating in throats, almost as large as the hills both U.S, Olympic gold medal hockey teams climbed 20 and 40 years ago this month at Squaw Valley, Calif., and Lake Placid, N.Y.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the Russians were any less awesome to us in 1960 as they were to the 1980 team,&rdquo; said McCartan, the U.S. goalie. &ldquo;They won the first world tournament they entered (in 1954) and hadn&rsquo;t lost since. The Canadian team we faced was even better.&rdquo;A victory over Czechoslovakia gave the Americans a jump on what would have been a satisfying bronze until McCartan made goals by Billy Cleary and Paul Johnson hold up for a 2-1 victory over Canada.&ldquo;The Canadians outplayed us, but we took over that third period against the Russians,&rdquo; McCartan said. Bill Christian tied, then won it 3-2 with five minutes remaining. The next morning, a six-goal third period erased a 4-3 deficit against Czechoslovakia and brought the U.S. the gold.The Americans celebrated with beer in the dressing room, then scattered the next day. The only White House McCartan visited was the one he had a mortgage on in St. Paul. But if never officially feted, they never felt underappreciated. &lsquo;We weren&rsquo;t forgotten,&rdquo; said McCartan, now a scout for the Vancouver Canucks. &ldquo;It probably got bigger in later years. It was 20 years until we won again.&rdquo;By 1980, 15 of the 20 selections by U.S. coach Herb Brooks had been drafted by NHL teams. In the final tune-up, they were humiliated 10-3 by the Soviets at Madison Square Garden and started sluggishly against Sweden before gutting out a 2-2 tie on Bill Baker&rsquo;s goal with 27 seconds remaining. Told by Brooks that their young legs could make a difference against the crafty Czechoslovakians, they won going away, 6-2, before handling Norway and Romania and coming from behind to beat West Germany.The Soviets, who had won every gold since Squaw Valley, who had blown away the NHL all-stars 6-0 to win a three-game series a year earlier, had needed late rallies to beat the Finns and Canadians. &ldquo;What do (the Soviets) have left?&rdquo; Brooks asked his players, then told them they were &ldquo;bom to play&rdquo; this, the game of their fives.Trailing 2-1 in the final second of the first period, Johnson busted to the net between the prematurely relaxed Zinetulla Biljaletdinov and Vasili Pervukhin to reach a carelessly directed rebound by Vladislav Tretiak and tie the game. The second period began with Vladimir Myshkin, not the great Tretiak, in goal.Whatever awe had doomed the Americans to a 6-0 deficit in New York was gone, despite a dazzling move by Alexander Maltsev to go around goalie Jim Craig to put the Russians back ahead. The Americans had been outshot 30-10 going to the third period, but they weren&rsquo;t being territorially dominated.Johnson pounced again when a Dave Silk drive caromed to the slot off a Soviet skate to make it 3-3 8:39 into the period and 1:21 later, Mark Pavelich forced a turnover that Mike Eruzione snapped through the screening Vasili Pervukhin and past Myshkin. The Americans worked the final 10 minutes off the clock, 30 frenetic seconds at a time. Russian coach Viktor Tikhonov incomprehensibly failed to pull his goalie, then Ken Morrow got the puck out for the final time as sticks were flung into the air and ABC&rsquo;s Al Michaels, taping the twilight game for later viewing, said, &ldquo;Do you believe in miracles? Yes!&rdquo;&ldquo;We were playing better than we had all year,&rdquo; recalled Johnson. &ldquo;We should have been tired, but we weren&rsquo;t. (Two days later) we trailed Finland 2-1 going to the third period with the gold medal at stake and I don&rsquo;t think one guy feared we were going to blow it.&rdquo;Three goals put it away, then Eruzione waved the entire team up onto the medal podium. &ldquo;I am not sure I have the right vocabulary to describe what its like to have a medal put around your neck and listen to your national anthem,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s still hard to believe it 20 years later.&rdquo;<h2>Pieces of U.S. Gold Dust</h2>The United States has won two Olympic gold medals in hockey during the past 40 years. Here is some key information from Squaw Valley and Lake Placid. &#9632;

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Memories of Miracles

<div class="byline">By Chuck Carlton</div>He was &lsquo;Old Bootnose&rsquo; to his many friends.He was a mainstay of the Detroit Red Wings as a player, captain, coach, GM and broadcaster-with just a few interruptions-from 1938 to 1986.More than anything, Sid Abel was an Original Six original. He was Gordie Howe&rsquo;s first center in Detroit and his memorable nickname came after a Rocket Richard punch to the nose.Abel, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and 85th on The Hockey News&rsquo; all-time list of NHL players, died Feb. 8 in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills. The cause of death was listed as heart failure, although the 81-year-old Abel had battled cancer for several years.&ldquo;Hockey lost a good man,&rdquo; said former Red Wings&rsquo; defenseman Bill Gadsby. &ldquo;He treated players like men. He never singled out anybody in the dressing room. The guys respected that.&rdquo;He centered the &lsquo;Production Line,&rsquo; one of hockey&rsquo;s legendary units, a group that ruled the hockey world when Detroit ruled the automobile universe. Abel played between Howe and Ted Lindsay and helped Detroit win three Stanley Cups and four division titles. During the champion-ship season of 1949-50, Lindsay led the league in scoring, followed by Abel and Howe.&ldquo;Sid gave Ted and I a lot of room to work with,&rdquo; Howe said. &ldquo;He said, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re the young ones, you go and dig it out of the comer and I&rsquo;m here.&rsquo; He was the leader, that&rsquo;s why he wore the &lsquo;C.&rsquo;&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021141/7039917-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="363" height="493"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sid Abel</figcaption></div>Abel finished with 189 goals and 472 points in 612 career regular season games. He won the Hart Trophy as the league&rsquo;s MVP in 1948-49, the year he led the NHL with 28 goals.He coached the Red Wings for 10-1/2 seasons, posting a 340-339-132 record and later served as team broadcaster. Although he coached in Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis, where he also served as GM, Abel was always identified with the Winged Wheel.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a Red Wing, through and through,&rdquo; said Abel in 1995 when his No. 12 joined Howe&rsquo;s No. 9 and Lindsay&rsquo;s No. 7 in the Joe Louis Arena rafters.Abel is survived by wife Gloria, two children, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. &#9632;

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Production Line center was ready, willing, Abel

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011701/7039972-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Playing together for the first time since the 1998 Olympics, dynamic brothers Pavel and Valeri Bure led the World team to its first victory in three All-Star Games. (All photos by Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>TORONTO-When they were growing up in Moscow, Pavel Bure and his kid brother, Valeri, would skip school to play shinny on a little pond by their home.We would never suggest youngsters follow suit. But the Bures&rsquo; truancy has paid off.Sparked by superstar Pavel&rsquo;s three goals-two set up by Valeri-the World tamed North America 9-4 at the 50th NHL All-Star Game before a sellout crowd of 19,300 at Air Canada Centre. It was the first time in three tries the World has beaten North America.Pavel Bure was presented with a truck as player of the game and when it was all over, Valeri, 25, marvelled at what Pavel, 28, had accomplished.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m his biggest fan,&rdquo; said the younger Bure. &ldquo;Sometimes when I&rsquo;m watching him, I&rsquo;m doing a lot of standing around.&rdquo;Sort of like the North American defenders when the Bures were dangling with the puck. Look no further than defensemen Chris Chelios of the Detroit Red Wings and Phil Housley of the Calgary Flames. Both finished the game minus-5.It was the first time the Bure boys had played together snce the 1998 Olympics and the first time brothers had combined for a goal in an NHL All-Star Game since the Richards-Maurice Fittingly, both Maurice Richard and Pavel Bure are nicknamed &lsquo;Rocket&rsquo; and Bure is a good bet to win the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s top goal-scorer this season. The Florida Panther guin Jaromir Jagr, who scored 36 times in 48 contests.Pavel came close in the third period to adding a fourth goal-which would have tied an All-Star Game record shared by four players-on a feed from Valeri, but was turned away by New York Rangers&rsquo; goalie Mike Richter. On the way back to the bench after the play, Pavel put his arm around his brother, the Calgary Flames&rsquo; leading scorer, and whispered into his ear.&ldquo;After the second period I told Valeri I already had two goals and if I got the puck, go to the net and I would make sure I got it to him for a goal,&rdquo; Pavel said. &ldquo;But he made the extra pass back to me, trying to get me another goal.&rdquo;To which the personable Valeri responded: &ldquo;Younger brothers never listen to their older brothers.&rdquo;Florida&rsquo;s Viktor Kozlov centered the Une and picked up three assists.&ldquo;Pavel can get the puck and when he does, he can score,&rdquo; Kozlov said. &ldquo;I just tried to stay out of his way.&rdquo;Given the talent on the ice, the game was played at an excruciatingly slow pace-rather than show replays of some goals, it would have been fitting to use an artist&rsquo;s rendition of the play.The Europeans, known for their tic-tac-toe playmaking, outshot North America 48-32. The North Americans passed far too much in the offensive zone, often at the expense of a clear shot on goal. That, coupled with the game&rsquo;s unofficial &ldquo;no hitting&rdquo; rule, cost them dearly.While much of the attention was on the scorers, the goalies held their own. North American starter Curtis Joseph of the hometown Maple Leafs made a number of huge saves, including a beauty on Kozlov who broke in alone, though the World opened up a 3-2 lead after 20 minutes.Tommy Salo of the Edmonton Oilers deserved consideration for player of the game-simply I because he twice chased down pucks to avoid icing calls.And Washington Capitals&rsquo; netminder Olaf Kolzig, who entered the game at the start of the third period with the World clinging to a 5-4 advantage, blocked all eight North American shots he faced. Kolzig, who was bom in South Africa, grew up in Canada, plays in the U.S., but qualified for the World team due to his German citizenship, became the first goalie in 18 years to get a shutout in the third period.Pavol Demitra of the St. Louis Blues scored twice for the World with Jagr, Dmitry Yushkevich of the Leafs, Miroslav Satan of the Buffalo Sabres and Radek Bonk of the Ottawa Senators adding singles. Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche, Jeremy Roenick of the Phoenix Coyotes, Tony Amonte of the Chicago Blackhawks and Ray Whitney of the Panthers replied for North America. Scotty Bowman of the Red Wings was the winning coach; Pat Quinn of the Leafs was the loser. &#9632;

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Rocket reign takes hold

<div class="byline">By Jason Kay Senior Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011531/7040003-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s No. 99 is raised to the rafters as applause thunders around him at Air Canada Centre.</figcaption></div>The man who once prompted a 4-on-4 rule change wants the NHL to leave the current format alone.At a news conference during the All-Star Game in Toronto Feb. 6, Wayne Gretzky told reporters he likes 4-on-4 for regular season overtime, but doesn&rsquo;t want to see it implemented full time. Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; star Jaromir Jagr is among those who have suggested the league consider the idea.&ldquo;One of the great things we have about our game is tradition,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;Five-on-five hockey, to me, is the way it should be played. Maybe they should go to 4-on-4 with kids-certain leagues, certain ages.&rdquo;Gretzky, whose No. 99 was officially retired league-wide at the All-Star Game, was at the center of a 4-on-4 rule change in 1985-86. His high-octane Oilers were so dominant during 4-on-4 situations, the NHL decided to keep play at 5-on-5 when coincidental minor penalties were called. Four-on-four play for coincidental penalties was reintroduced in 1992-93.Gretzky made his return to the ice during all-star weekend when he skated at Maple Leaf Gardens with friends. It was his first time on skates since retiring last April.When The Great One will return to the game-as many expect he will-remains uncertain. He said he has been approached by a few teams about taking on an executive role, but isn&rsquo;t prepared to make that step yet.&ldquo;We have never gotten past the point of getting into a serious discussion on where I would be involved only because I have said at this point in time that is not the right thing for me to do. I need to take a step back from the game and get away from it for a little while and I just, quite honestly, don&rsquo;t have the time do it.&rdquo; &#9632;

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It’s official: No more No. 99

<div class="byline">By Mike Gibb Staff Writer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021091/7040034-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="545" height="838"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al Maclnnis (All photos by Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>TORONTO-The NHL saved the best for last at the SuperSkills competition on all-star Saturday.Two oldies but goodies-Boston&rsquo;s Ray Bourque, 39, and St. Louis&rsquo; Al Maclnnis, 36-took the final turn in their specialties. Nobody has dominated the shooting accuracy event like Bourque or the hardest shot contest like Maclnnis, but they had their work cut out for them at Air Canada Centre in Toronto Feb. 5.Philadelphia&rsquo;s John LeClair set the standard at 100 mph even, but Maclnnis responded with a 100.1-mph effort on his first shot.&lsquo;I thought I was in trouble (when LeClair reached 100),&rdquo; said Maclnnis, who missed five of the Blues&rsquo; preceding six games with a collapsed lung. &ldquo;I think as you get older, they should let you get closer (to the net).&rdquo;Maclnnis won for the fourth straight year and sixth time in the 10-year history of SuperSkills.Bourque&rsquo;s challenge came from Florida&rsquo;s Viktor Kozlov, who hit all four targets in five tries. Bourque opened with three perfect shots and then missed once before picking off the final target. It was the third straight year Bourque tied for top spot and it was his seventh win overall.Still, the efforts of Maclnnis and Bourque weren&rsquo;t enough as the World team downed North America 13-11. The World won the puck control relay, but Anaheim&rsquo;s Paul Kariya gained a point for North America by edging Sami Kapanen of Carolina in the individual puck control race.Kapanen prevailed in the fastest skater event with a time of 13.649 seconds, which was the only sub-14-second lap recorded. (See pg. 2 for more.)North American netminders Mike Richter of the Rangers, Curtis Joseph of Toronto and Martin Brodeur of New Jersey outduelled World goalies Tommy Salo of Edmonton, Olaf Kolzig of Washington and Roman Turek of St. Louis in the rapid fire event, giving up three goals to the World&rsquo;s five.The final event, the breakaway relay, proved the difference as North America&rsquo;s goalies were beaten eight times on 18 shots; the World had six goals against.Richter was named top goalie with 14 saves on 16 shots. &#9632;

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Master blaster Maclnnis hits 100.1 mph

<div class="byline">-Steve Dryden</div>ABC kicked off its 2000 coverage of the NHL in magical fashion.The network aired a 2-1/2-minute pre-All-Star Game segment Feb. 6 featuring three NHL legends meeting four of today&rsquo;s best players on a frozen pond and handing over ownership of the game.Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux are shown traipsing through a snowy path that leads to a patch of ice where Jaromir Jagr, Pavel Bure, Paul Kariya and Eric Lindros are playing pick-up hockey. (The scene was filmed in Uxbridge, Ont., just north of Toronto.)The two groups come together, tentatively eyeing each other.Gretzky, Howe and Lemieux, three of the best players in NHL history, are asked to join in. The Great One, holding a stick pulled from a snowbank, speaks on behalf of all the greats who carried the game&rsquo;s torch over the past century when he says: &ldquo;No thanks boys, it&rsquo;s your turn now.&rdquo;Gretzky then passes a puck to them and turns to leave. As the players skate away, Jagr calls them back and the four superstars bang their sticks in rhythmic applause for the retired superstars. The feature works to spine-tingling effect.ESPN&rsquo;s NHL co-ordinating hockey producer, Larry Kristiansen, conceived the idea and played a key role in the execution along with ESPN&rsquo;s NHL lead producer, Tom McNeeley, and NHL Productions.Bobby Orr was asked to take part in the feature, but was unavailable. Nonetheless, likely never before has a sport&rsquo;s lineage been so fully and ably captured on video. &#9632;

ABC vignette bridges NHL past, present

<div class="byline">By Mike Gibb Staff Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011659/7040089-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Even in 1-on-1 situations such as a penalty shot, New York Rangers&rsquo; Mike Richter and his fellow NHL goalies have the upper hand. (John Giamundo/BBS)</figcaption></div>It is hockey&rsquo;s ultimate showdown, a 1-on-l epic battle pitting goal-scorer against goaltender. It is over before you know it, but in those seconds, heroes are created and weaknesses exposed.It is the breakaway.Who has the upper hand when it comes down to mono a mono, whether it be a breakaway or a penalty shot?The objective is the same, but there&rsquo;s a glaring difference in the execution. Speed. A player is on fast-forward during a breakaway as he tries to stay ahead of the defensemen and at the same time, make a split-second shoot-or-deke decision. On a penalty shot, the player controls the pace and is more deliberate with his golden scoring opportunity.But in either situation, the numbers indicate goalies have a distinct advantage-the penalty shot efficiency rate has exceeded 50 per cent only once in the past 16 NHL seasons (13 goals on 25 attempts in 1986-87) and has dipped below 20 per cent twice. Shooters have scored only 39.6 per cent of the time (151 goals on 381 penalty shots) since 1984-85.And most NHLers corroborated what the statistics suggested: Even when the only line of defense is the goalie, the masked man still has the edge.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a mind game between you and the goalie,&rdquo; said Florida Panther Pavel Bure, who gets more breakaways than any other player and embraces the 1-on-l confrontation like no one else. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just the goalie against you. The goalie gives you something, then takes it away. You show a fake and then do something different."But don&rsquo;t goalies have to wait, wait, wait until the shooter makes a move? Yes. But despite the reactionary nature of their position, goalies still stop the shot more often than not.&ldquo;A forward has to be perfect to score,&rdquo; said Washington Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig, who has blocked both penalty shots he has faced in his career. &ldquo;A goalie does not have to be perfect to stop it. (Shooters) have to make their move and then bury it. (Goalies) can get any piece of our body-glove, chest, head, whatever-just enough to keep it from going in and we&rsquo;re the hero.&rdquo;The NHL doesn&rsquo;t track individual success on breakaways, but most players feel it&rsquo;s less than their penalty shot efficiency.&ldquo;(Goalies) are all so big and fast now,&rdquo; said Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; left winger Mark Recchi. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s such a little net. You&rsquo;ll see more stops than you will goals. A good average on breakaways is about 35 to 40 per cent.&rdquo;Today&rsquo;s goalies are bigger and more agile than ever, two key reasons for their success in 1-on-l situations. Then there&rsquo;s the pressure involved.&ldquo;As a goalie, you have nothing to lose,&rdquo; said Ottawa Senators&rsquo; netminder Ron Tugnutt. &ldquo;There is more pressure on the player to score than the goalie to stop it&rdquo;Bure posts Panther players&rsquo; breakaway success after practices.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a game,&rdquo; Bure said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a chance to put pressure on yourself, to pretend it&rsquo;s a game. You have to practise breakaways. It&rsquo;s not something that comes naturally. You jia have to learn what a goalie is going to do in certain situations.&rdquo;In theory, most situations work out in the goalie&rsquo;s favor.&ldquo;Four things can happen on a breakaway,&rdquo; explained Senators&rsquo; goalie coach Phil Myre. &ldquo;A shooter can score, hit the post, miss the net or the goalie can stop it. In three of the four cases, there&rsquo;s no goal. I don&rsquo;t want to say it&rsquo;s easy, but as a goalie, your objective is to put the percentages in your favor.&rdquo;Here&rsquo;s one way goalies increase their odds-they&rsquo;ll sweep snow into the slot area between the faceoff circles before a penalty shot to make it more difficult for the skater to handle the puck cleanly.Do netminders prefer breakaways or penalty shots? How about the shooters? It comes down to personal choice.&ldquo;I prefer breakaways,&rdquo; said New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur. &ldquo;The (shooter) has got more pressure on him. He has got to worry about about people bearing down on him. In a game, you gotta go and it makes it harder on a player.&rdquo;Brodeur, who is l-for-2 in penalty shots, relies on his instincts, which take over on breakaways, as opposed to sitting and thinking for 30 seconds while the penalty shot gets set up.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather have a breakaway,&rdquo; said Capitals&rsquo; two-time 50-goal scorer Peter Bondra, who is 1-for-3 on penalty shots. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s too much pressure on a penalty shot. The crowd gets into it, there&rsquo;s all that waiting.&rdquo;Said Bure: &ldquo;I prefer breakaways, but I kind of like penalty shots, too. There&rsquo;s that pressure to score and it&rsquo;s such a reliefif you do.&rdquo;According to Los Angeles&rsquo; Luc Robitaille, a 14-year veteran, goalies have a bigger advantage than ever.&ldquo;It used to be when the goalie was deep in his net, you shot and when he was out, you deked,&rdquo; Robitaille said. &ldquo;Now, they&rsquo;re such great skaters, you have to be perfect. When you used to deke, you had an empty net to shoot at. Now, you deke and still have to roof the puck perfectly to get it over the goalie.&rdquo;Like Robitaille says, skaters have two options-shoot or deke. When it&rsquo;s time to choose, ice conditions, the goalie&rsquo;s style and reputation and what the player is most comfortable with are three key considerations.But sometimes, as in the case of St. Louis&rsquo; Pavol Demitra, there isn&rsquo;t too much to think about.&ldquo;I have two moves,&rdquo; Demitra said. &ldquo;And I either use move No. 1 or move No. 2.1 never try to do anything else, no matter who is in the net.&rdquo;Goalies, however, like to know who they&rsquo;re dealing with.&ldquo;You have to know tendencies and favorite moves,&rdquo; said Toronto netminder Curtis Joseph. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a mental chess match that lasts a second-and a-half." &#9632;

f0012-01

Goalies in charge

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div>The best artificial ice surfaces today are said to have a &ldquo;glide factor&rdquo; about 90 per cent of real ice. No missing 10 per cent ever loomed so large, not even in a New Jersey Devils&rsquo; salary dispute. Stop moving your feet on real ice, you get a seat on the bench. Do the same on an artificial surface, you&rsquo;ll wind up on the seat of your pants.That&rsquo;s why plastic ice hasn&rsquo;t received more attention from the hockey world. It&rsquo;s still too different to take seriously, so few people have.That said, we may be in for a surprise of ice age proportions.Superice, one of the two major manufacturers of artificial ice in North America, vows it will be able to produce a synthetic product with exactly the same playing properties as real ice within two years. Its chief rival, Viking Ice, pegs its time frame as between six to 12 months.If either company&rsquo;s claim turns out to be true, the implications are enormous. Artificial ice holds the promise of becoming hockey&rsquo;s democratic leveler of the playing field, wiping away financial and climactic accessibility barriers thanks to a one-inch-thick piece of plastic. (See pgs. 14 and 15 for NHL ice conditions.)Artificial ice costs about $32 (U.S.) a square foot to install compared to $52 for real ice, says Rex Carpenter, executive vice-president of Los Angeles-based Superice. More importantly, maintenance costs are negligible. There is no monthly electricity and water bill in the thousands of dollars, no Zamboni and no dehumidification system. All that is required is a weekly coating of silicon and a shop vac to suck up the tiny black shavings at the end of the day.Plastic ice can be laid down in a full-sized arena, a backyard or a basement and it can stay there year-round. The surface stays the same after 10 minutes of skating or 10 hours.&ldquo;(Once) we&rsquo;ve got equal performance, there&rsquo;s no stopping what you can do with this stuff,&rdquo; says Alan Keller, president of Viking Ice, based in Portland, Ore. &ldquo;The South is just going crazy for hockey and they just don&rsquo;t have the facilities. We&rsquo;ve got a number of people we&rsquo;re working with who feel that pretty soon this is the answer for the growth of hockey in the southeast.&rdquo;Carpenter says problems with the machinery used to compress the plastic into thin sheets is holding things back. When set at the compression pressure required to produce real ice glidability, the machines back up, he said. To have the problem fixed, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re looking at less than two years.&rdquo;Keller said Viking Ice is looking at improvements to the plastic surface, the silicon coating and the skate blade, all in an effort to reduce friction.Neither company has plans to compete aggressively with real ice in the short term. The NHL didn&rsquo;t return calls seeking comment.In the United States, many small artificial sheets have been installed in the basements of homes as training centers for kids. There is even a community group in Johnstown, N.Y., 40 miles northwest of Albany, that is raising money to build North America&rsquo;s first full-sized rink using artificial ice, simply because of the cost savings.Boston Bruins&rsquo; goalie Rob Talias hails artificial ice as hockey&rsquo;s next must-have training tool. Certainly, it worked wonders for him. At the end of 1994-95, Talias was an unsigned, undrafted East Coast Leaguer with an uncertain future. To prepare for a training camp try out with the Bruins the next fall, he practised the entire summer at an artificial ice training center in Victoria, B.C., called Puckmasters.The surface was about the size of a squash court. He faced hundreds, maybe a thousand shots a day. He and his coach, Puckmasters&rsquo; founder Pete Fry, were the only people there. He refined his technique, worked over and over on the tiniest of details in a way not possible on a full-sized rink. It&rsquo;s too easy to lose focus there and besides, he never could have afforded it. Talias skated on real ice only three times before having the best camp of his life and winning an NHL contract.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011547/7040120-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="376" height="504"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rob Talias</figcaption></div>&ldquo;You can learn so much so fast&rdquo; Talias says. &ldquo;All the focus is on you.&rdquo;Lee Leslie, a former International League player who runs a Puckmasters franchise in Prince George, Alta., says people often fall when they first step on the ice and the first time they pivot to skate backwards.&ldquo;As soon as you stand up and don&rsquo;t grip your blades, you&rsquo;re finished,&rdquo; he says.But with a strong, deep knee bend and a positive attitude, there&rsquo;s nothing a skater can&rsquo;t do on artificial ice. It&rsquo;s fantastic for power skating lessons. &ldquo;It depends on your mindset,&rdquo; Leslie says. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re thinking, &lsquo;This is plastic ice, it stinks,&rsquo; then maybe it will.&rdquo;For those who persevere, there is an added reward-when they get back to real ice, they fly.<div class="sidebar"><h2>Fantastic plastic</h2>While the NHL is facing increasing pressure to do something about poor ice conditions (See pg. 14), synthetic icemakers are improving their product with an eye towards making skating surfaces more accessible. Here&rsquo;s a look at plastic ice technology. &#9632;</div>

f0013-01

Synthetic ice age on horizon?

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie Associate Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011647/7040158-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(H. Dirocco/BBS)</figcaption></div>You&rsquo;ve heard of the Ice Age. Welcome to the Ice Rage.It&rsquo;s about the quality of ice surfaces in the NHL. The overwhelming sentiment of the men who skate on them for a living is the ice isn&rsquo;t so nice; that everyone from the players to the fans are being cheated or short-sheeted.&ldquo;They go out and build these facilities at $200 and $300 million and it would be great if the ice surface was up to the standard of the dressing rooms,&rdquo; Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; Eric Lindros told THN. &ldquo;People are paying a lot of money to watch players play hockey and guys want to perform and make proper passes. To skate is much easier on proper ice. The game would be much quicker. It would be a better product.&rdquo;Lindros is not a lone voice calling out in an icy wilderness. He&rsquo;s merely a loud one in a growing chorus of NHL stars who are exasperated at the sorry state of their working conditions.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the biggest problem in the game today,&rdquo; said Mighty Ducks of Anaheim superstar Teemu Selanne. &ldquo;It has to be better. There is so much skill level and you don&rsquo;t get to see it because the ice is so bad.&rdquo;Need we continue? Yes, we must.&ldquo;Technically, there has to be something they can do to make better ice,&rdquo; said Anaheim&rsquo;s Paul Kariya. &ldquo;On many nights, it&rsquo;s just terrible.&rdquo;Added Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; captain Steve Yzerman: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s getting better in some places, but then it couldn&rsquo;t have gotten any worse. If you&rsquo;re looking for the No. 1 way to improve the quality of the game, start with the ice.&rdquo;The players complain the ice develops ruts too easily, becomes sticky too quickly and chunks break off too frequently.Lindros ventured that bad ice is a critical factor in the increasing number of injuries, though he admitted he had no data to back up his claim. And while its impact on injuries is open to debate, consider this line of thinking from Chicago Blackhawk Tony Amonte: &ldquo;All I can tell you is that if I had a groin pull and was ready to come back and the game was being played in, say, Tampa Bay, I wouldn&rsquo;t play. You could pull your leg off skating there.&rdquo;So, Gary Bettman, is ice quality a big issue?&ldquo;If the players are complaining,&rdquo; said the NHL commissioner, &ldquo;then it&rsquo;s an issue.&rdquo;But there is a variance on the issue between the league and its players.&ldquo;By and large," Bettman said, &ldquo;our ice is pretty good.&rdquo;Caught in the middle of this argument is Dan Craig, the former Edmonton icemaker who has been the NHL&rsquo;s Ice Technician for the past three years. Does he take all the abuse heaped on NHL ice personally?&ldquo;Only if it&rsquo;s on a sheet of ice I&rsquo;ve been personally working on,&rdquo; Craig said.You have to have a thick skin-roughly an inch thick-to do Craig&rsquo;s job. But the 44-year-old takes it all in stride because he sees both sides of the debate.He&rsquo;s constantly fighting the good fight, trying to improve ice conditions somewhere in the NHL. That&rsquo;s why he sometimes bristles when he hears players flippantly dismiss ice quality.But he&rsquo;s not so blinded by his allegiance to his employer that he&rsquo;ll pass off bad ice as acceptable.&ldquo;The problem,&rdquo; Craig said, &ldquo;is that ice-making and ice quality is very complex and not a lot of people understand what&rsquo;s involved.&rdquo;Heck, even the so-called ice experts have agreed to disagree on some issues.Like water.Conventional wisdom has been that the purer the water used to make ice, the better the ice will be. That was the founding principle of Jet Ice, a Richmond Hill, Ont., company that was started in 1979 by Doug Moore, the icemaker at Maple Leaf Gardens for more than 30 years.Moore passed away a few years ago, but his company continues to be dominant in the NHL. More than two-thirds of the buildings in the league use Jet Ice-de-ionized water that has been stripped of minerals and particles.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011517/7040151-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="2950" height="1705"><figcaption class="caption-body">Broadway bust: There are a lot of reasons to love New York, but ice quality isn&rsquo;t one of them. Madison Square Garden is regarded as having the worst surface in the NHL. (John Giamundo/BBS)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Make ice cubes with tap water and then go out and buy a bag of ice at the comer store,&rdquo; said Jet Ice vice-president Dave Loverock. &ldquo;The tap water ice cubes are cloudy and filled with air holes. The bag of ice, which was made using purified water, will be clear and solid. It&rsquo;s the same with our ice.&rdquo;But Craig has been experimenting with water quality in Toronto and Phoenix, two NHL cities in which the players say ice quality has improved. Both were using Jet Ice, but Craig put some impurities back into the purified water to produce a smoother, colder sheet.Then there are cities such as Calgary, Detroit, Edmonton, Montreal and San Jose, who use regular soft water out of a tap to make ice. (Incidentally, Calgary, Detroit and Edmonton are rated by players as the top three surfaces in the NHL, though San Jose is often voted among the worst.)Suffice to say, there&rsquo;s some friction between Craig&rsquo;s theories and those of Jet Ice. Friction and ice aren&rsquo;t a good mix. Craig and Loverock can&rsquo;t even agree on the optimum temperature for ice. Craig likes it at 22 degrees Fahrenheit; Loverock said Jet Ice performs best at 26 or 27 degrees.So consider this: Loverock may be working with an icemaker in an NHL building one day; the next day, Craig could be the one providing input. What&rsquo;s wrong with this picture? Well, if you see that two of the most influential men in the NHL ice business aren&rsquo;t on the same page, move to the head of the class.But there are other reasons why NHL ice isn&rsquo;t as good as it should be. Start with a lack of control. While Craig and Loverock are hands-on in some arenas, the league doesn&rsquo;t have the kind of control it needs in every NHL building.The inconsistencies from rink to rink are glaring.Craig&rsquo;s frustration is heightened by a system he believes could help standardize ice quality league-wide. In-ice sensors are available to any NHL arena. The output from these sensors can be fed online. Craig envisions the day when, with a click of his computer mouse, he could monitor precise conditions-ice temperature, air temperature and relative humidity-in every building in the league and recommend whatever adjustments are required. All from his Salt Lake City office.&ldquo;The technology is there,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We just need the will of the buildings to cooperate.&rdquo;Craig and Loverock do agree on one thing-it isn&rsquo;t easy to maintain good ice.They see an NHL building as a delicate ecosystem with the goal being to balance ice temperature, air temperature and relative humidity. It&rsquo;s a huge challenge in today&rsquo;s multi-purpose facilities, which have so many changeovers to basketball games, concerts, etc.But, with care and diligence, Craig said, it can be done.It&rsquo;s all about maintaining that ecosystem-a 14-hour effort to ensure the temperature and air quality are in perfect harmony when the game begins and that everything possible is done to adjust as the game wears on and body heat or the influx of outside air become issues.Nature, such as a thunderstorm, can wreak havoc with ice conditions. But is the NHL doing absolutely everything it should be to ensure quality ice?As long as teams allow their marketing departments to set off indoor fireworks before or during games or use the ice for intermission promotions and gimmicks, the answer is no.&ldquo;Pyro is the worst,&rdquo; Craig said. &ldquo;You work 14 hours to balance the air in a building and then let off fireworks for 30 seconds. There&rsquo;s smoke (that) has to be cleared and all that balanced air goes out with it. Now you&rsquo;ve got humid air coming in and the humidity goes right to the ice. Nothing kills ice like humidity.&rdquo;The NHL has recommended to its teams to suspend on-ice intermission features. Some teams have responded; others have eliminated them in one intermission only while others continue to use the ice as a marketing playground.A minimum of 12 minutes is required for the two Zambonis to do their job during intermission and allow for proper freezing. The next time you&rsquo;re in an NHL arena, check to see if the intermission entertainment is off the ice with 12 minutes on the clock.If Craig sounds a little fanatical about ice, it&rsquo;s because he is. He takes the responsibility to heart, battling both the things he can&rsquo;t control (weather) and those he would like to (intermission entertainment). That doesn&rsquo;t always make him the most popular guy on the NHL block, whether he&rsquo;s telling arena managers how to do their jobs or advising the league of what he believes it should do to make better ice.In the meantime, in the face of stinging criticism, the NHL has to ask itself if it&rsquo;s really doing everything it can to improve ice quality, difficult as the task may be in today&rsquo;s multi-purpose facilities.Is it exerting control in the buildings it can? Is it working to make inroads in the buildings it can&rsquo;t? Is it providing the necessary education to help make better ice? Is it spending enough on research, development and testing? Is it putting ice quality and the game before marketing gimmicks and promotions?Let&rsquo;s hope so.<h2>Top and bottom</h2>Surveying NHL all-stars to determine the best ice in the league was a snap.Edmonton&rsquo;s cold, dry air and the fast, smooth sheet at Skyreach Centre was the unanimous choice as No. 1.But Detroit&rsquo;s Joe Louis Arena and Calgary&rsquo;s Canadian Airlines Saddle-dome also received strong consideration as runners-up.Choosing the worst ice surfaces, though, was not nearly as easy.&ldquo;Pick any new building,&rdquo; said Philadelphia Flyer center Eric Lindros.&ldquo;Somewhere in California,&rdquo; cracked Mighty Ducks of Anaheim right winger Teemu Selanne.And the winners, er, losers are?New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Garden, followed by Dallas&rsquo; Reunion Arena and a tie between Anaheim and Los Angeles.<h2>Cool conditions</h2>NHL Ice Technician Dan Craig lives for those days when he hits what he believes are the perfect conditions for outstanding ice.&ldquo;The surface ice temperature should be at 22 degrees Fahrenheit,&rdquo; Craig said. &ldquo;The air temperature should be no more than 62 degrees and the relative humidity should be 40 per cent. The goal is to get cold, dry air into the building and keep it there, but as the game wears on that&rsquo;s a real challenge, especially on the air temperature.&rdquo;And, contrary to popular opinion, snow on the ice is not such a bad thing. &ldquo;If your ice is at 22 degrees and your puck is frozen at 12 degrees, you can have snow on the ice and that puck will run smooth all day long.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0014-01

Players claim poor conditions critical issue

<div class="byline">By Bill Plunkett</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011432/7040189-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="158" height="158"></div>Slumbering for most of the season, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim power play has come back to life.Through their first 47 games, the Ducks had scored 18 power play goals in 176 chances (10.2 per-cent success rate).In nine games beginning Jan. 21, the Ducks rediscovered their scoring touch with 12 goals on 45 power plays (26.7 per cent). Overall, the Ducks were still near the bottom of the league (25th, 13.6 per cent), but the improvement was encouraging.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been trying to keep it plain and simple,&rdquo; said assistant coach George Burnett. &ldquo;Our big message has been to take what they give you rather than focusing on being in a particular set (situation) and trying to make particular things work.&rdquo;Right winger Teemu Selanne and left winger Paul Kariya led the charge, but the contributions of center Steve Rucchin had been a factor, too.Rucchin missed 11 games with an ankle injury. His return gave the Ducks a physical presence down low they had been missing. A 2-2 tie with the Buffalo Sabres Feb. 1 was a prime example.The Ducks salvaged the tie with two power play goals in the third period-one on a screen by Rucchin, the other on a deflection in front by the 6-foot-3, 212-pound center.In addition, Rucchin&rsquo;s ability to win faceoffs (53.5 per-cent success) was important.NOTEBOOK: While league officials were sending out a memo to clarify the goaltender interference rule, Ducks&rsquo; goalie Guy Hebert was run over in two consecutive games. The first time came Feb. 3 in Philadelphia when Flyers&rsquo; center Keith Primeau drove the net and collided with Hebert. &ldquo;I thought he impaled me with his stick,&rdquo; Hebert joked. &ldquo;I felt his stick right across here (the chest) and thought, &lsquo;Oh my God, I hope that didn&rsquo;t go through me.&rsquo;&rdquo; Hebert made the save and no penalty was called. On Feb. 8 against Los Angeles, Kings&rsquo; forward Jason Blake took out Hebert. Again, Hebert made the save, but no penalty was called. &ldquo;The league has to stop that,&rdquo; said coach Craig Hartsburg. &lsquo;To me, that was an intentional hit.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0016-01

NHL TEAMS

Ducks enjoy power surge by keeping things simple

<div class="byline">By Jeff Schultz</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03824/7040220-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="336" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kelly Buchberger</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021104/7040227-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="159" height="155"></div>It&rsquo;s possible the Atlanta Thrashers&rsquo; next highlight will come in June-at the entry draft.&ldquo;We want to win and the coaches are trying to win games every night,&rdquo; said Thrashers&rsquo; GM Don Waddell. &ldquo;We would never put ourselves in a position of saying, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re going to lose this game.&rsquo; But certainly it looks like we&rsquo;re going to get one of the top five picks in the draft. We&rsquo;re not going to make the playoffs. If you&rsquo;re not going to make the playoffs, you might as well finish down toward the bottom and get another top end player who you&rsquo;re going to have for 10 or 12 years, like Patrik Stefan.&rdquo;The Thrashers had the NHL&rsquo;s worst record at 11-36-6-4, with only three games remaining against teams that don&rsquo;t figure to be in the playoff hunt (two against the New York Islanders and one against the Chicago Blackhawks). That meant 27 games against more talented teams that, in theory, should be emotionally charged.Coach Curt Fraser said he spent the all-star break &ldquo;trying to figure out some way we can sneak into the playoffs through the backdoor.&rdquo; But he acknowledges the final two months of the season will be for player evaluation.&ldquo;Everybody is playing for positions on this team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re playing for next year. They&rsquo;re playing for contracts. So they have to be at maximum performance.&rdquo;While the Thrashers are trying to identify which players to bring back next season, other teams have identified which Atlanta players may provide immediate help. It started with defenseman Darryl Shannon and left winger Jason Botterill being moved to the Calgary Flames for left wingers Hnat Domenichelli and Dmitri Vlasenkov.Captain Kelly Buchberger is drawing a lot of interest.NOTEBOOK: The Thrashers blew 2-0 leads in consecutive losses to the Rangers (6-3 Feb. 3) and Pittsburgh (5-2 Feb. 9), as their winless streak reached a season-high 11 games (0-9-2)&hellip; GM Don Waddell said he will give rookie defenseman Petr Buzek a bonus for playing in the All-Star Game, even though it wasn&rsquo;t in the player&rsquo;s contract&hellip;Buzek had a great time in his first all-star experience, even though he went scoreless for the World team: &ldquo;It was so much fun. I just wish the game never ended. It&rsquo;s a great feeling when you step on the ice and 20,000 people are cheering when they call your name. It&rsquo;s the best feeling in the world. I hope I make it next year again-and again and again and again and again.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0016-03

Sights set on next season as playoff dream fizzles

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04607/7040258-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="156" height="155"></div>It has been a rough year for centers in Boston.Jason Allison struggled through 41 games with a tom wrist tendon before that injury, plus one to his thumb, sidelined him for the season. Shawn Bates missed two months with a sprained wrist. Joe Hulbig tore a groin muscle.Andre Savage represents the silver lining. The second-year pro who spent almost all of last season with frovidence (American League), has made the most of his chance to prove he can play in the NHL.&ldquo;You can see he&rsquo;s gaining confidence,&rdquo; said Dave Andreychuk, one of several veteran wingers who&rsquo;ve played on lines centered by Savage. &ldquo;You can see him learning every day.&rdquo;Savage, a 24-year-old Ottawa native, started this season at Providence and stayed there until Christmas, with the exception of a four-game stint (one assist) in mid-November. Boston recalled him Dec. 27, and he started a scoring spurt that saw him get one goal and five points in six games.He went through a short dry spell, but with Allison, Bates and Hulbig all hurt. Savage got a chance to stay and play in Boston. Skating mainly between Steve Heinze and the since-departed Joe Murphy, Savage had two goals and five points over an eight-game span through Feb. 8.&ldquo;I like playing with Savvy,&rdquo; Heinze said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s similar to the way (Allison) can slow the game down. He can kind of coast and back away from the play, see the ice and make good passes. It&rsquo;s fun to play with a guy like that.&rdquo;Though Savard has proved his value to the Bruins, he found during the all-star break there are still dues to pay: Boston sent him back to the injury-strapped Baby B&rsquo;s for two games.&ldquo;I guess it would have been nice having a break,&rdquo; Savage said, &ldquo;but by going and trying to contribute, I was also trying to prove to everyone that I love the game and I want to play.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: It was deja vu all over again for the Bruins Feb. 8, when center Anson Carter took himself out of the faceoff circle against Washington. &ldquo;He couldn&rsquo;t take them because of his wrist. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?&rdquo; said coach Pat Burns, who went through a similar experience with center Jason Allison before Allison was lost for the season because of wrist and thumb injuries. Carter jammed his wrist during a Feb. 3 game against Toronto. X-rays were negative and an MRI was performed, but Carter said he&rsquo;d play through whatever injuries were revealed&hellip;Suspended right winger Joe Murphy was placed on waivers Feb. 8 and claimed by Washington Feb. 10. &#9632;

f0016-04

Savage silver lining to dark Bruins’ cloud

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06371/7040289-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="339" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dominik Hasek</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05443/7040296-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="158" height="154"></div>The dominating story of the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; season, the future of Dominik Hasek in hockey, took yet another twist.The club moved to dismiss rumors the superstar goalie would be traded. The Dominator, meanwhile, moved to renew hopes of the Sabres making it to the playoffs by playing in consecutive games.Stories swirled at the all-star break that the Los Angeles Kings had inquired about the availability of Hasek and the Philadelphia Flyers might get involved. Regarding the Kings&rsquo; story, both the Buffalo News and the Los Angeles Times reported GM Dave Taylor had inquired about Hasek. After some confusion on behalf of the Sabres front office, and perhaps because the president of the Los Angeles Kings confirmed the story, the Sabres admitted they had talked to the Kings. They also said the Kings made the call and were told Hasek was not available. Later, Sabres&rsquo; GM Darcy Regier stated Hasek would not be traded this season.Meanwhile the Flyers denied they were interested.Hasek missed the All-Star Game because of soreness in his groin after a pre-break game against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, his first after missing most of the season with a tom groin muscle. He said after the Ducks game he might only be able to play once a week or so. That changed, however, as Hasek played in a 2-0 triumph at Colorado immediately after the break and followed up with a 2-1 overtime win at Nashville Feb. 10. That left Hasek unbeaten in his return (2-0-1) and gave the lOth-place Sabres renewed hopes of earning an Eastern Conference playoff berth.&ldquo;Every game is very important to us,&rdquo; said defenseman Jason Woolley, who scored the winner in Nashville.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Miroslav Satan, the Sabres&rsquo; lone representative at the All-Star Game scored a goal for the World team and set up the winner in a 2-1 decision over the Predators at Nashville Feb. 10&hellip;The Sabres' improved defensive play is not just tied to the return of goalie Dominik Hasek. In a three-game stretch, goalie Martin Biron had a goals-against average of 1.00. In seven games through Feb. 11, the Sabres allowed just seven goals, going 5-1-1 in the process&hellip;The biggest problem now is the season-long failure of the power play&hellip;Center Wayne Primeau missed a three-game road trip and continued to try and rehabilitate a hip injury. Primeau started skating on his own while the team was away. &#9632;

f0016-06

Sabres deal with rumors of potential Hasek trade

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07341/7040327-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="93" height="90"></div>The go-to guy, Valeri Bure, had established a career high in goal-scoring (28) by the all-star break. For the Calgary Flames to stay in the playoff hunt, Bure will need to continue producing at that personal-best pace.Can he do it?On the one hand, the NHL crackdown on obstruction should assist Bure by opening up the ice for him. On the other, the slender right winger could be wearing down because of the attention other teams now pay him.After Bure, the next highest Flames&rsquo; goal-scorers were forwards Cory Stillman and Jarome Iginla, who each had 12.The Flames entered the break on a five-game winless streak and promptly dropped two in a row. That left them ninth in the Western Conference, three points behind the eighth-place Los Angeles Kings.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing well, but we&rsquo;re not starting well,&rdquo; Bure said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if it&rsquo;s a lack of preparation, but obviously it&rsquo;s a little mental. We keep coming back strong in the second and third periods, but with our team, we want to pay strong like that the whole game.&rdquo;Some believe the team has topped out and is now finding its level. Bure disagrees.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve won in the past,&rdquo; he argued, &ldquo;so we can do it again. We need to play the simple game, go back to basics.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: A run of injuries to the team&rsquo;s defense convinced the Flames to grab Stewart Malgunas off waivers from Nashville, who acquired his free agent rights from the Washington Capitals only days before&hellip;The Flames traded left wingers Hnat Domenichelli and Dmitri Vlasenkov to Atlanta for left winger Jason Botterill and defenseman Darryl Shannon Feb. 11&hellip;Defenseman Steve Smith is out for the season after undergoing a spinal fusion. Smith, 36, indicated he would not make a decision about his long-term future until after he has recovered. The veteran received a call from Brian Engblom. a former Flame, who had his career end 13 years ago as the result of a similar injury. &#9632;</div>

f0016-07

Bure must keep shining for Flames down stretch

<div class="byline">By Cecil Harris</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011282/7040358-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="156" height="157"></div>Ron Francis had mixed feelings when he set milestones this year because the Carolina Hurricanes usually lost the game.That changed Feb. 8 when Francis scored his 3OOth goal with the franchise to give the Canes an important 4-3 win over the New York Islanders. The game-winning goal reversed an unfortunate trend for the 36-year-old. Francis tied Mario Lemieux for sixth place on the all-time scoring list in an Oct. 22 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, tied Gordie Howe for fifth on the assists list in a Nov. 5 loss to the Detroit Red Wings and passed Howe in a Nov. 11 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.&lsquo;I wasn&rsquo;t even aware of it,&rdquo; a smiling Francis said when told about goal No. 300. &ldquo;Three hundred goals is nice, but the points are what we needed.&rdquo;Francis was right. The Canes sat in 11th place in the Eastern Conference with 52 points, five points behind the eighth-place New York Rangers.Francis stood as the Canes&rsquo; leading scorer this season with 15 goals and 45 points in 51 games, and the franchise&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer with 300 goals and 918 points in 847 games.&ldquo;I started with this organization at 18, and I was just trying to prove myself in the National Hockey League and hopefully show that I could play for a long time,&rdquo; Francis said. &ldquo;But I never thought about scoring 300 goals with the same organization. It&rsquo;s a nice feat to accomplish and it&rsquo;s even sweeter that it came in a victory.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Carolina, unhappy with its goaltending, placed backup Eric Fichaud on waivers Feb. 9. He was picked up two days later by Montreal. Veteran Mark Fitzpatrick. 31, will likely be recalled to challenge Arturs Irbe for the No. 1 job. Irbe. has struggled this year. Fitzpatrick has spent the season with Cleveland of the intemation al League&hellip;Left winger Sami Kapanen won the fastest skater event at the All-Star Game&rsquo;s SuperSkills competition. He was the lone skater to beat the 14-second mark, completing a lap in 13.649 seconds&hellip; Center Rod Brind&rsquo; Amour won 57 per cent of his faceoffs in his first seven games with Carolina&hellip; Carolina had a season-high 49 shots in a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders Feb. 8. Carolina outshot the Isles 49-20. &#9632;

f0017-01

Francis finally celebrates, reaches mark, Canes win

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03701/7040389-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="322" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Gilmour</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02975/7040396-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="154" height="150"></div>Sylvain Cote and Dave Manson certainly didn&rsquo;t fit into manager of hockey operations Mike Smith&rsquo;s plan to rebuild the Chicago Blackhawks.So, Smith sent the veteran defensemen, both scheduled to become unrestricted free agents after the season, to the Dallas Stars Feb. 8 in exchange for defenseman Kevin Dean, center Derek Plante and a second round pick in the 2001 draft.Now the focus turns to Doug Gilmour and whether he&rsquo;ll still be wearing a Hawks uniform at the March 14 trade deadline. Smith denied he was shopping the 36-year-old center, but indicated he&rsquo;d listen to offers.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing else that can be viewed as next in line,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;(Gilmour) is one of our best players. His game is back on top. But if someone wants to help rebuild the Blackhawks, we&rsquo;ll take a good look at any offer."Gilmour, who was second in team scoring with 19 goals and 46 points in 53 games, repeated what he has said countless times-he wants to stay with the Hawks and finish out his three-year. $18-million contract that expires after next season, then retire to Toronto.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve made my point,&rdquo; Gilmour said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to stay here and better the situation. That&rsquo;s all I can look forward to now until somebody tells me differently.&rdquo; Gilmour said that would remain true even if the Hawks were hopelessly out of the playoffs by March 14 and Smith asked if he wanted to be sent to a contender.&ldquo;Maybe they would do that, I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; Gilmour said. &ldquo;But if they ask me that at this stage, I&rsquo;d have to say no. If 1 did that, I would look at myself as a quitter. If I was in my last year, maybe I&rsquo;d say something different. But next year, hopefully, we won&rsquo;t be in this same position.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: With one phone call, defenseman Kevin Dean went from playing on a Stanley Cup contender in Dallas to a team that&rsquo;s likely to miss the playoffs. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a little disappointing to leave a contender like that, but I&rsquo;m glad it&rsquo;s Chicago,&rdquo; Dean said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m from Madison (Wise.), and I always liked the Hawks. Every team&rsquo;s goal is different. If we&rsquo;re fighting to make the playoffs here and make it, that will be satisfying to me.&rdquo;&hellip;GM Mike Smith admitted he thought long and hard about resigning defenseman Sylvain Cote before deciding to deal him. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very effective player,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;He may be 34, but he plays like he&rsquo;s 28. But if we're going to rebuild, we need to do it with younger players.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0017-03

Gilmour insists he wants to stay with Blackhawks

<div class="byline">By Adrian Dater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04514/7040427-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="156" height="152"></div>Alex Tanguay went from Calder Trophy candidate in the first two months of the NHL season to a fourth-liner fighting for minutes by mid-February.But it will be a long time before the Colorado Avalanche brass gives up on the 20-year-old left winger. Plenty of good scorers in NHL history have experienced a 1O-game scoring slump like the one Tanguay endured and led to his slide down the depth chart.Still, with the Quebec native struggling and the Avalanche in the middle of a team-wide scoring drought, Avs&rsquo; coach Bob Hartley dropped Tanguay from Colorado&rsquo;s &lsquo;Kid Line&rsquo; with Chris Drury and Milan Hejduk in an effort to shake up the team.Tanguay admitted to being frustrated while going through the first real slump of his hockey life.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not playing with much confidence right now,&rdquo; said Tanguay, selected 12th overall by the Avs in the 1998 NHL entry draft. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;m not working as hard as perhaps 1 should be. Maybe 1 started taking things a little bit too much for granted.&rdquo;Tanguay got off to an excellent start, staying among the NHL&rsquo;s rookie scoring leaders for most of the first half of the season. But Hartley said Tanguay, who had 10 goals and 32 points in 56 games, might have hit the wall in his first taste of the NHL grind.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s normal that, in a long race like this, he gets mentally tired,&rdquo; Hartley said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s normal for a 20-year-old player. But, he&rsquo;s working, he&rsquo;s a great competitor and he wants to improve. &ldquo;Look at Drury last year; he played on the first fine and he played on the fourth line at times. This year, with our injury situation, we couldn&rsquo;t do that with Alex. We probably asked too much of him.&rdquo;Tanguay said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just got to work harder. If I want to be a first line player on this team, I&rsquo;ve got to prove it.&rdquo;,NOTEBOOK: The Avalanche power play hit the skids during a stretch before and after the all-star break, going O-for-21&hellip;After a 2-0 loss to Dominik Hasek and Buffalo Feb. 8. the Avs dropped to 2-4-2 in eight games. Their 61 points after 55 games, though,' was only two fewer than their pace of a year ago&hellip;Left winger Peter Forsberg, who missed three straight games with a concussion, was scheduled to make his return to the lineup Feb. 13 against Detroit. That would give the Avs an injury-free lineup for only the third time all season&hellip; Rookie defenseman Martin Skoula, billed as a two-way defenseman coming out of junior, had just one point in a 28-game stretch. &#9632;

f0017-04

Cold rookie demoted to fourth line

<div class="byline">By Mike Helka</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011315/7040458-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="155" height="154"></div>A season of injuries has taught the Dallas Stars much. One, they can&rsquo;t continue to wear out their best players. And two, they&rsquo;re as good as any team in the NHL.With those two beliefs firmly held, the Stars went out and made what likely will be their biggest move in trying to repeat as Stanley Cup champion. Acquiring defensemen Sylvain Cote and Dave Manson from the Chicago Blackhawks Feb. 8, the Stars sent a message to themselves and the rest of the Western Conference.&ldquo;I can tell you right now the message, if I were a player, would be, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re not going to go quietly into the night,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Stars&rsquo; coach Ken Hitchcock. &ldquo;We want a piece of the pie, too. We&rsquo;ve clawed and we&rsquo;ve scratched and we want to get better. And that&rsquo;s what this trade is going to help us do.&rdquo;Cote was the key to the deal which sent Kevin Dean. Derek Plante and the Stars&rsquo; second round pick in 2001 to the rebuilding Blackhawks. A skilled passer and skater, Cote has received rave reviews, despite moving to his third team this season. Chicago&rsquo;s director of hockey operations Mike Smith said he didn&rsquo;t want to part with Cote, but he feared he would lose him to unrestricted free agency in the summer. Cote had six goals and 24 points in 45 games with Chicago and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Manson, a physical player who scored in his first game with the Stars, had seven assists in 37 games with the Hawks.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Brett Hull broke his nose Feb. 9 in Anaheim when he was accidentally hit by the stick of left winger Jeff Nielsen on a play in which Hull was penalized for hooking. Hull was expected to miss two games&hellip; Jamie Lan-genbrunner returned Feb. 9 from a pinched nerve in the neck that sidelined him for 11 games and scored two goals in a 5-3 victory over Anaheim. Langenbrunner played right wing at times on a line with center Mike Modano and left winger Brenden Morrow&hellip; Defenseman Derian Hatcher&rsquo;s lacerated right calf has been slow to respond to training. Hatcher was still was experiencing pain and having difficulty skating backwards. He was aiming for a Feb. 17 return. &#9632;

f0018-01

Addition of blueline vets gives Stars needed depth

<div class="byline">By Chuck Carlton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03682/7040489-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="326" height="438"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Osgood</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02979/7040496-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="157" height="151"></div>In the 1990s, the Detroit Red Wings almost never faced a faced a must-win situation in February.While they ran into games they wanted to win and others that challenged them, a loss didn&rsquo;t threaten their season.But centuries change. Teams change. And standings change.Which is why a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Blues Feb. 10 to end a three-game game losing streak-and coming on the heels of a 4-1 loss to the Blues at home-provided insight into the Red Wings two months before the playoffs.&ldquo;We were getting embarrassed a lot of times this season,&rdquo; said goaltender Chris Osgood. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t the same Red Wings team. We were losing respect with the way we were playing. Teams were doing what they wanted with us.&rdquo;Whether the Red Wings can carry that intensity beyond one game is the question. They were 7-8-2 since Jan. 1, and had allowed 38 goals in those eight losses. Despite the win, they remained three points behind the Blues for top seed in the Western Conference.&ldquo;Your editors wouldn&rsquo;t give you enough words in your columns if we&rsquo;re going to go over all the things we have to improve,&rdquo; said left winger Brendan Shanahan in the wake of the Feb. 8 loss to the Blues. &ldquo;Our overall game has to improve totally and we know it.&rdquo;One move coach Scotty Bowman made was to break up the top line of Shanahan, Steve Yzerman and Pat Verbeek, which had carried the team since November.Yzerman and Verbeek were joined by Slava Kozlov on the left side while Shanahan was teamed with center Igor Larionov and right winger Martin Lapointe.The Red Wings also tweaked their forecheck, reverting to an almost playoff patience to hold the Blues to a season-low 13 shots.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Chris Chelios and the NHL All-Star Game just aren&rsquo;t a good fit. Chelios, the NHL&rsquo;s plus-minus leader at plus-35, was minus-5 playing for North America in a 9-4 loss to the World All-Stars. &ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m tired,&rdquo; said a haggard Chelios. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m tired of fishing the puck out of my own net.&rdquo;&hellip;Conversely, soft-spoken Nicklas Lidstrom wore the &lsquo;C&rsquo; for the first time at any level and captained the World to the victory. &ldquo;My only job as captain was to collect tip money for the trainers,&rdquo; said Lidstrom, who had a goal in the game&hellip;The Red Wings have identified about eight defensemen who they might make a pitch for prior to the March 14 trade deadline. Expect the Red Wings to acquire at least one veteran for the playoff run. &#9632;

f0018-03

Red Wings make changes, respond with big victory

<div class="byline">By Marlo Annlcchiarlco</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04429/7040527-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="158" height="154"></div>All Alexandre Volchkov was looking for was a second chance and the Edmonton Oilers obliged.The Oilers acquired the former Washington Capitals prospect in a trade for future considerations Feb. 4. Volchkov, the fourth overall selection in the 1996 draft, reported immediately to the Oilers' American League affiliate in Hamilton and scored a goal on his second shift as a Bulldog.Edmonton, which gave up a fourth round selection in 2001, is hoping it&rsquo;s a sign of things to come.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a no-brainer,&rdquo; said Oilers&rsquo; vice-president of hockey operations Kevin Prendergast of the deal that brings Volchkov, who was selected behind only Chris Phillips, Andrei Zyuzin and Jean-Pierre Dumont, to the organization. &ldquo;He gives us size and ability to handle the puck. He&rsquo;s a big, strong kid-certainly he&rsquo;s one of those kids who hasn&rsquo;t reached his potential.&rdquo;Not even close. Volchkov, 22, was dubbed a talent who had several runins with coaches and teammates in the Capitals&rsquo; organization. Washington GM George McPhee finally gave up on the six-foot-two, 205-pound native of Moscow.&ldquo;We sat down for 30 minutes and I told him his slate is clean here,&rdquo; Prendergast said. &ldquo;What happened in the past, happened in the past.&rdquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking for an opportunity, that&rsquo;s all,&rdquo; said Volchkov, who had 11 goals and 26 points in Portland, Me., while toiling in the Capitals&rsquo; minor league system. &ldquo;Washington obviously didn&rsquo;t count on me too much.&ldquo;It was my third year in the minors and now I&rsquo;m just looking for a chance. This is very fresh, something new.&ldquo;I talked to the coach and he said he was going to put me on the ice in various situations. He said he&rsquo;s not going to judge me by what&rsquo;s happened before, he&rsquo;ll judge me by how hard I work. That&rsquo;s all I ask.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Oilers placed right winger Pat Falloon on waivers and the 1991 second overall pick (behind center Eric Lindros) was picked up by Pittsburgh Feb. 4. Falloon, enjoying the allstar break, wasn&rsquo;t even aware that he was on waivers. &ldquo;I thought there was a death in the family, that&rsquo;s all I could think of,&rdquo; he said after he was contacted on teammate Rem Murray&rsquo;s cellphone while playing golf in Las Vegas. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t even know I was on waivers, you think they would let me know.&rdquo;&hellip;Edmonton called up right winger Dan Cleary from Hamilton to fill the spot three days later and he joined center Doug Weight and left winger Bill Guerin on the Oilers&rsquo; No. 1 line. &#9632;

f0018-04

Volchkov welcomes opportunity

<div class="byline">By David J. Neal</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011219/7040558-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="158" height="159"></div>Following a heart-to-heart chat, Florida Panthers&rsquo; coach Terry Murray put the puck back on the stick of Ray Sheppard. And Sheppard showed he remembered what to do with it.Murray sat down with the struggling Sheppard before the all-star break and talked about what he and the Panthers needed from the right winger. The only consistent goal scoring on the club was coming from Pavel Bure, Ray Whitney and Mark Parrish-too much concentration for a team that wants to be among the league&rsquo;s elite.Sheppard. Murray said, was with the Panthers to score, not for anything else. And to prove he had faith in Sheppard, Murray scratched rookie Ivan Novoseltsev, a reversal of a lineup change made three games previous.The first game after the break, Sheppard had his first two-goal game of the season in a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks.&ldquo;In that conversation, he strongly reinforced the fact that he can get the job done and he proved it,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;I hope these two goals really reinforce his confidence.&rdquo;Sheppard is the only NHLer to score 20 goals in a season with six different teams. This season, the 33-year-old native of Pembroke, Ont., had five goals and nine points in 23 games, far below his career average of .45 goals-per-game.Sheppard said confidence wasn&rsquo;t a factor.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t happy with my game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I knew 1 could still score. I was a little angry at myself with the way I was performing.&rdquo;Sheppard managed only 11 shots on goal in the eight January games he played, a pittance for a guy averaging 2.64 shots per game during his first 12 NHL seasons. Granted, the first part of January, he was playing with a middle ear infection and, after that, he spent a lot of time on the fourth line.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to be around the puck a lot more,&rdquo; Sheppard said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting into position where guys can get me the puck.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The game-winning goal pot for the Feb. 9 San Jose-Florida game was bigger than normal, with contributions from five ex-Sharks on the Panthers. When left winger Peter Worrell&rsquo;s first goal of the season was the winner in a 4-1 victory, Worrell said, &ldquo;Looks like my girlfriend is going to get a new purse.&rdquo;&hellip;Panthers&rsquo; defenseman Bret Hedican, spent the all-star break in Minneapolis, Chicago and Indianapolis. The first stop was home. The other stops were seeing fiancee and touring figure skating star Kristi Yamaguchi. "It&rsquo;s a little more travelling than 1 wanted,&rdquo; he said, "but that&rsquo;s something you accept with our kind of relationship.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0019-01

Veteran Sheppard follows coach’s instructions to score more

<div class="byline">By Helene Elliott</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-02887/7040589-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="158" height="157"></div>As the Los Angeles Kings continued to fight their way out of a downward spiral, their poor division record emerged as their single biggest problem and a potential barrier to making the playoffs.The Kings played like world-beaters through the quarter poll. They had a 13-7-4-1 record and the 31 points were tops in NHL Nov. 27. But since then, Los Angeles had gone 11-15-3-2 and dropped to eighth place in the Western Conference. Blame it on divisional foes.After losing 5-3 to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Feb. 8-which left the Kings 1-5-1-0 against their closest geographical rivals-the Kings were 3-10-1-3 in the Pacific Division.A 5-2 win Feb. 9 in Phoenix boosted them to 4-10-1-3 in the Pacific, but it&rsquo;s clear they will have to play far better than that in crucial division games to retain a playoff spot and hold off the Ducks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers.&ldquo;We knew from the beginning of the year if we were going to get in the playoffs we&rsquo;d need a good record in our division,&rdquo; said Kings&rsquo; coach Andy Murray. &ldquo;That certainly was the case last year (when the Kings were a division-worst 6-18-0 against Pacific foes). We&rsquo;ve attempted to deal with that. Obviously, we haven&rsquo;t. We&rsquo;ve got to continue to play hard and get past it.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s no single reason why the Kings struggle in games against Pacific rivals. Granted, the division is strong, but the Kings simply can&rsquo;t get a mental or scoreboard edge in those games.&ldquo;I wish I could tell you why that is,&rdquo; said defenseman Garry Galley. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got four more games against the Mighty Ducks and we&rsquo;ve got to win those games. That&rsquo;s the playoffs right there."Center Bryan Smolinski agreed. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not the end of the world,&rdquo; he said of losing to the Ducks, &ldquo;because we&rsquo;ve still got four games left with them. We&rsquo;re going to learn from this.&rdquo;They proved to be quick learners, rebounding to defeat Phoenix the next day for their fourth Pacific victory. Former Coyote Bob Corkum, who signed with the Kings as a free agent Dec. 28, scored his third goal of the season to help the Kings&rsquo; cause.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the best thing that has happened to me this year,&rdquo; Corkum said. &ldquo;I really just enjoyed coming over and seeing the guys again. I made a lot of friends over here.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Kings inquired about the availability of Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek, but were told the Sabres are committed to keeping him. Kings&rsquo; president Tim Leiweke said GM Dave Taylor did not have any conversations with the Sabres beyond that preliminary call, but Leiweke said the Kings would be interested if the Sabres changed their minds. &ldquo;If they want to talk, we would be interested.&rdquo; Kings&rsquo; goalies Jamie Storr and Stephane Fiset both have histories of groin injuries&hellip;The Kings installed acoustic tile on the concrete facings inside the Staples Center to improve the sound level. Their new arena is so big, cheers disperse and fans and players have said the building is quiet. The new tile, which cost $250,000, is designed to bounce sound waves. It should improve the sound at concerts, in addition to hockey and basketball games. &#9632;

f0019-02

Kings looking for medicine to cure their Pacific frights

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03591/7040620-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="154" height="156"></div>He nearly lost his life, but Trent McCleary hasn&rsquo;t lost his zeal for the game of hockey.In his first public appearance since suffering a fractured larynx and collapsed lung, the injured Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; center said he&rsquo;s determined to resume his career.&ldquo;I definitely want to return to hockey,&rdquo; McCleary, 27, said during a press conference at the Montreal General Hospital, flanked by a battery of doctors, his parents and fiancee. &ldquo;This is just one more speed bump in my rocky career.&rdquo;McCleary communicated by writing notes on a piece of paper. He has been unable to speak since the life-threatening injury Jan. 29 against Philadelphia. He attempted to block a shot by defenseman Chris Therien, but mistimed his slide. The puck, shot from 10 feet away, struck McCleary in the throat.An emergency tracheotomy, in which a hole was cut into his throat to restore the air passage, and a procedure to re-inflate a collapsed lung saved McCleary&rsquo;s life. He has since undergone more surgery on his fractured larynx.&ldquo;I saw (Therien) wind up, but I thought I was close enough that he&rsquo;d hit me in the shin pads,&rdquo; McCleary said.Later in February, doctors will determine how McCleary&rsquo;s breathing passage and voice box are healing. If all is well, he&rsquo;ll begin speech therapy to regain his voice and resume eating solid food. McCleary had lost 15 pounds.Doctors expect McCleary to regain the use of his vocal chords, although his voice might sound different. &ldquo;He should have a serviceable voice when he recovers,&rdquo; said Dr. Nader Sadeghi. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had patients with far more severe injuries and they&rsquo;ve recovered their ability to speak.&rdquo;McCleary, who has sustained two serious eye injuries in his career, vowed not to change the physical, reckless style that got him to the NHL despite not being drafted.&ldquo;If I have any hesitation, I won&rsquo;t be able to play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not my style of play.&rdquo;One of the first get-well messages received was from Therien. Every NHL team has communicated with McCleary. He has also received greetings from as far away as New Zealand and Europe.&ldquo;Knowing Trent McCleary, I&rsquo;d say the chances are high he&rsquo;ll play again,&rdquo; said David Mulder, the Canadiens&rsquo; team doctor.NOTEBOOK: Although he has yet to play a game this season due to a tom right knee ligament, that didn&rsquo;t prevent defenseman Vladimir Malakhov from going skiing north of Montreal during the NHL all-star break. He was recognized by someone who reported the sighting to a Montreal newspaper. The Canadiens suspended Malakhov indefinitely&hellip;Left winger Shayne Corson has lived with ulcerative colitis for 18 years. Earlier this season, he underwent a series of tests, fearful that he had cancer of the esophagus-the same illness that killed his father at age 45. Instead, doctors discovered a hiatus hernia, which can be treated with medication or surgery. &ldquo;There have been days where I felt like I was going through hell,&rdquo; Corson said&hellip;The Canadiens picked up goalie Eric Fichaud off waivers Feb. 11 from the Carolina Hurricanes. &#9632;

f0019-03

McCleary vows return to ice; voice might sound different

<div class="byline">By Jaff Legwald</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011105/7040651-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="157" height="155"></div>Despite kind words from one of the NHL&rsquo;s best players about the Nashville Predators&rsquo; forwards, any hope they have of earning a post-season berth will likely fall into the hands of their goalies and defense.&ldquo;I know they give us fits with what they do and I don&rsquo;t know if they&rsquo;ve really added more speed, but they just seem faster up front this year with more guys doing it,&rdquo; said Colorado Avalanche star center Joe Sakic. &ldquo;I like the way they play. They play with a skating style, they cycle well and they&rsquo;re very fast up front. They&rsquo;re hard nosed, play an in-your-face style and they make it tough on you. Still, in the end, you win in the back end.&rdquo;But when it comes to goalies Mike Dunham and Tomas Vokoun, the two have been unable to maintain their best form at the same time. Early in the season when Dunham was hot, Vokoun struggled. He was even sent down to the team&rsquo;s International League affiliate in Milwaukee at one point.And when Dunham was out with the flu and a sprained thumb on his right hand, Vokoun emerged from the all-star break with a save-for-save battle against Dominik Hasek-a game the Predators lost 2-1 Feb. 10 to the Buffalo Sabres in overtime.Vokoun had won six of nine starts and had a goals-against under 2.00 during that span. Before the injury, Dunham had won just twice in 10 starts.&ldquo;Neither one of our goaltenders has participated in a playoff run, so every game they play will be the biggest games of their careers,&rdquo; said Predators&rsquo; GM David Poile.NOTEBOOK: Rookie center David Legwand began skating in practice Feb. 9 for the first time since breaking his foot Jan. 13 and was getting set to return to the lineup. Legwand was fitted with a protective shell on his left skate to protect the foot from being hurt again. He said there is no pain in the foot when he skates&hellip; The Predators traded 31-year-old defenseman Dan Keczmer, who was in Milwaukee of the International League, to St. Louis in exchange for 25-year-old defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick. &#9632;

f0020-01

Playoff hopes in hands of inconsistent goaltenders Dunham, Vokoun

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02750/7040682-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="158" height="153"></div>A dozen years after former coach ' Jim Schoenfeld spewed the words, &ldquo;Have another doughnut, you fat pig,&rdquo; to referee Don Koharski. the New Jersey Devils were still dealing with a shaky relationship with NHL officials.The fallout from the Schoenfeld-Koharski confrontation during the 1988 playoffs disappeared long ago, but a new generation of ref-baiters and bench-tossers have the Devils wondering if they have again become enemies of on-ice officials.&ldquo;No doubt, they&rsquo;re like us, they watch the games and they see what happens,&rdquo; said goalie Martin Brodeur. &ldquo;It carries over. It shouldn&rsquo;t be like that, but they&rsquo;re human. We already have guys who like to talk to the referees. If they remember what we say during the regular season, it could come back and hurt us.&rdquo;Accomplished at yapping from the bench, the Devils crossed the fine Jan. 29 in Detroit. Coach Robbie Ftorek, angered when referee Stephen Walkom failed to stop play after left winger Jay Pandolfo crashed head-first into the end boards, picked up a five-foot section of bench and tossed it onto the Joe Louis Arena ice.Ftorek was suspended for one game.When rookie Scott Gomez was issued a double minor for accidentally hitting Rangers&rsquo; defenseman Kim Johnsson in the face with his stick on a follow-through Feb. 8, Ftorek had to be warned by referee Don Van Massenhoven to stay away from the open door on the Devils&rsquo; bench.The following night defenseman Lyle Odelein received a game misconduct penalty for holding Rangers&rsquo; center Tim Taylor during an altercation with Gomez and Claude Lemieux was tossed when he berated officials from the penalty box.&lsquo;I was mad about getting two and 10 and (Brian) Leetch getting nothing,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;I screamed at the referee and deserved to get kicked out at that point. I didn&rsquo;t shut up. We have to learn our lesson and down the stretch be a little more careful with our yapping.&rdquo;Call it a lesson in anger management.&ldquo;Jason (Arnott) brought it up,&rdquo; Scott Stevens said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a guy who doesn't say much in the room and he said we have to lay off the refs. He&rsquo;s right. Refs make the call and that&rsquo;s the way it is. We have to live with it. We can&rsquo;t yell at the refs.&rdquo;Or toss benches.NOTEBOOK: With a tie and a victory in a homeand-home series against the Rangers, the Devils extended their unbeaten streak against New York to 19 games (13-0-6). It stood as the NHL&rsquo;s second-longest active streak behind Dallas (16-0-6) over Los Angeles&hellip;Defenseman Brian Rafalski&rsquo;s game-winner Feb. 9 was his first goal in 43 games&hellip;After having his 15-game scoring streak stopped Jan. 29, left winger Patrik Elias scored six points in four games&hellip;Right winger Denis Pederson said he wasn&rsquo;t opposed to being traded if it meant getting more ice time&hellip; GM Lou Lamoriello is in favor of increasing the number of games between division opponents to as many as eight from the current five. &#9632;

f0020-02

Bench-tossing, tongue-wagging Devils realize ref-baiting ways must change

<div class="byline">By Peter Bone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03510/7040713-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="158" height="154"></div>Josh Green needed to find something to change his fortune as one of the most disappointing players on one of the NHL&rsquo;s most disappointing teams. He just might have found it by changing his hair color.Green was one of three New York Islanders to visit a southern California hair salon for a bleach job when the team was on the West Coast at the end of January. The rookie left winger followed that cosmetic alteration with his best two-way play of the season on the ice, including four goals in a three-game stretch (Feb. 2-8).&ldquo;I&rsquo;d have to say that&rsquo;s just a coincidence,&rdquo; said the 22-year-old Green. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s no way I&rsquo;m changing it back now.&rdquo;One of three prospects acquired along with a No.1 draft pick in the trade that sent Ziggy Palffy and Brian Smolinski to the Los Angeles Kings Jast summer. Green&rsquo;s uninspired play earned him two stints to Lowell of the American League earlier this season.With left winger Brad Isbister sidelined up to two weeks with a high left ankle sprain, however. Green found himself placed on a top line with center Jorgen Jonsson and leading scorer Mariusz Czerkawski.With offensively challenged center Olli Jokinen having taken Green&rsquo;s place as the biggest disappointment from the Palffy deal, the Islanders are beginning to see in Green signs of the player who scored 35 goals in 31 games with Portland and Medicine Hat of the Western League in his final junior season in 1997-98.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s definitely making the transition from being a minor leaguer to an NHLer,&rdquo; said coach Butch Goring of the 6-foot-4, 215-pounder. &ldquo;The tougher job is ahead of him and some of the others guys because it&rsquo;s tougher to stay on the mountain than to climb it. But we&rsquo;re very pleased with Josh, nonetheless.&rdquo;The gutted Islanders have little tangible to play for as the season draws to a close. But prospects such as Green, a No. 2 pick of the Kings in the 1996 entry draft, will receive every opportunity to prove themselves at the NHL level.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t fade in these last 30 games,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;Guys are fighting for jobs and want to make an impression. We need to stay focused and continue to work hard. There&rsquo;s no reason why we can&rsquo;t win a bunch of games down the stretch.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center Claude Lapointe and the Islanders remain approximately $200,000 per year apart on a three-year contract extension. Lapointe, an unrestricted free agent this summer, is seeking a three-year, $3.6-million deal and could be dealt at the March 14 trade deadline if no accord is reached&hellip;The Islanders have as much experience as any NHL team when it comes to concussions. Brett Lindros and Dennis Vaske had their careers ended by head injuries in recent seasons. So, there was no rush to get captain Kenny Jonsson back on the ice following the fifth concussion of his NHL career. Jonsson missed the next five games after suffering the concussion Jan. 29 in San Jose. &#9632;

f0020-03

Green goes blond on West Coast, then turns red-hot with goal streak

<div class="byline">By Bruce Garrloch</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02496/7040744-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="331" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rod Bryden</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01872/7040751-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="156" height="157"></div>Rod Bryden is giving fans in Ottawa one last chance to save the Senators.The team owner announced Feb. 11 he was pleased with the support he has received from the community in the drive to keep the club in Ottawa. He gave the city a 10-day extension to Feb. 21 before he&rsquo;ll decide whether the franchise will be sold-and likely moved to the U.S.As the campaign to save the team reached its first deadline, the Senators had 72 per cent of their season ticket holders renewed; 1,076 new ticket holders in the bank; and 122 companies had agreed to a one-time 10 per-cent surcharge.The club wants 90 per-cent renewals and 1,500 new subscribers.While Bryden agreed to extend the deadline, he doesn&rsquo;t want the momentum that has been built up in the campaign to stop.&ldquo;I told you 10 days ago we were probably going to have at least one or two more of these and that&rsquo;s exactly what is happening,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m encouraged, but it would be way too early for us to declare a victory in this race.&ldquo;I really believe we&rsquo;re going to reach our goals that we set out to reach and I&rsquo;m confident this team is going to be here for a very long time. We have a lot of work left to do.&rdquo;While Bryden was pleased the average fan was out buying the local businesses five-to-one, he&rsquo;s aware he needs more corporate support if his initiative is going to be a success.The Sens want more of the small business owners in the community to step up. The big companies have done their jobs, but as far as the Senators are concerned, doctors, lawyers, restaurant owners and smaller firms have to be more active.&ldquo;If we&rsquo;re close, it&rsquo;ll be the owner&rsquo;s prerogative as to what the final decision is on whether the team stays or goes,&rdquo; said Senators&rsquo; president Roy Mlakar. &ldquo;But we have to be better in the renewals. There is a sense of urgency here.&ldquo;If we&rsquo;re at 80 per cent, I can&rsquo;t make it work. That would be too many tickets to have to sell on a game day. People have to realize that this isn&rsquo;t over.&rdquo;Still, the numbers gave reason for optimism. Only a rush on the final two days before the first deadline kept the drive alive.&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t going to be a band-aid solution once it&rsquo;s completed,&rdquo; Bryden said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to stand here every year saying the community has to step up. If we reach our goal, this team will be here for the long-term.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Senators&rsquo; players held a short meeting after practice Feb. 10 to discuss the possibility of helping out in the club&rsquo;s ticket campaign. The players have agreed to get involved, but they&rsquo;re trying to come up with a way to help out local charities. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to do something," said defenseman Jason York. &ldquo;We feel this is important to the community and we know what this team means to these people. This is special to a lot of people.&rdquo;&hellip;The Senators moved Chris Phillips from defense to left wing on a line with center Radek Bonk and right winger Marian Hossa. &ldquo;You want your best personnel in the lineup,&rdquo; said coach Jacques Martin. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the key.&rdquo; Phillips doesn&rsquo;t mind the move. &ldquo;I have to go out and bang and crash,&rdquo; Phillips said. &ldquo;Go to the net hard and create some havoc.&rdquo;&hellip; Left winger Rob Zamuner, who missed six weeks with a knee injury, returned Feb. 11 against Florida. &ldquo;I just want to get back in there and contribute,&rdquo; Zamuner said&hellip; Defenseman Sami Salo, who has missed most of the season with a broken wrist, was hoping to get clearance to return, but doctors were taking precautions. He was listed as day-to-day. &#9632;

f0021-02

Bryden sets new deadline, optimistic Sens will stay

<div class="byline">By Rick Carplniello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03286/7040782-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="159" height="155"></div>Something like this should never happen to anybody. And nothing like this should ever happen to popular New York Rangers&rsquo; left winger Adam Graves.That was the feeling around New York Feb. 8 when one of the infant twin sons of Adam and Violet Graves passed away. Jaxon Graves, bom more than two months prematurely Jan. 14, had been battling for his fife in an incubator for his entire three-and-a-half week life. The other twin, Logan, remained hospitalized indefinitely, although he was gaining weight and making positive strides.&ldquo;I have five kids of my own and I&rsquo;ve never had anything like that happen, but I can just imagine what he&rsquo;s going through,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; coach John Muckier. &ldquo;I talked to him and he&rsquo;s handling it very well, probably better than most of us could. He just wants to keep it private and try to get it behind him and get on with life.&ldquo;This is just a hockey game. That&rsquo;s all it is. Too often we make it to be life and death. It&rsquo;s just a game. We make it into other things sometimes. It&rsquo;s tough. It&rsquo;s tough. It just doesn&rsquo;t seem fair, does it?&rdquo;Graves missed three games to be with his family during late January, then two more after the tragedy. He returned to the team following a private family service.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to say a whole lot,&rdquo; Graves said. &ldquo;Everyone&rsquo;s support and prayers and well wishes are very much gratefully accepted. I just look forward to getting back playing. My entire family really appreciates everyone&rsquo;s thoughts and prayers. It has meant a lot to us.&rdquo;Graves will not allow this family tragedy to sidetrack him from any of his charitable endeavors, which now take on even more meaning. He had four major charitable functions scheduled and planned to make each one.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s who he is,&rdquo; said Rob Ingraham of SportsLink, who handles Graves&rsquo; charity activities. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty dam inspiring.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Rangers&rsquo; captain Brian Leetch returned from a broken right forearm Feb. 9. The defenseman missed exactly 11 weeks, and the Rangers stunningly went 16-11-5 while he was out&hellip;Goalie Mike Richter hurt his left knee in the all-star skills competition. Richter played in the All-Star Game, but sat out the Rangers&rsquo; next two games against arch-rival New Jersey. The Rangers had a tie and a loss in those two games, running their franchise-worst winless streak (against one opponent) to 19 games (0-13-6). Rangers&rsquo; coach John Muckier is 0-9-3 in his 12 games against the Devils and he had a shouting match with Devils&rsquo; agitator Claude Lemieux in the Jan. 10 game. &#9632;

f0021-03

Graves returns after death of son

<div class="byline">By Joe Starkey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04208/7040813-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="155" height="155"></div>Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; captain Jaromir Jagr knows Ivan Hlinka is a good coach. Jagr played for Hlinka&rsquo;s Czech Olympic team that won gold in Nagano in 1998.But Jagr also knows Hlinka won&rsquo;t have an easy time adjusting to the NHL. The Penguins named Hlinka, 50, an associate coach Feb. 7. He is expected to replace Herb Brooks next season and become the first European head coach in NHL history.Hlinka, who immediately resigned as coach of the Czech national team, was expected to arrive in Pittsburgh Feb. 17 and join Brooks behind the bench Feb. 19 at Florida.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m scared,&rdquo; Jagr said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how it&rsquo;s going to work. It&rsquo;s always a risk when you try something new.&rdquo;Hlinka&rsquo;s name first surfaced in Pitts burgh in mid-January when he observed the Penguins for a week in what was termed an exchange program. GM Craig Patrick enjoyed the experience so much he offered Hlinka a fiill-time job. The Penguins seem to be a natural fit for a European coach. They lead the league with 13 players of European descent.During his short time in Pittsburgh, Hlinka liked what he saw. He told Czech reporters he signed a 3-1/2 year deal. &ldquo;I think Pittsburgh is a hockey town,&rdquo; Hlinka said. &ldquo;I was really happy there.&rdquo;Is it the right time for a European coach?&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was one of the first (Europeans) who came to the NHL to play. It was not an easy situation for the players 20 years ago. For sure, it won&rsquo;t be easy as a coach.&rdquo;Hlinka was 32 when he left Czechoslovakia to play for the Vancouver Canucks in 1980. He helped the Canucks to the 1982 Stanley Cup final. His biggest obstacle might be the language barrier. He struggles with English.&ldquo;I am little worried about that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Maybe at the beginning there will be some problems. I hope after a few months things will be better.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh claimed right winger Pat Falloon off waivers from Edmonton Feb. 4. In his debut against Atlanta Feb. 9, he played a regular shift with left winger Matthew Barnaby and center Tyler Wright. In Edmonton, Falloon had five goals and 18 points in 33 games and was scratched 20 times&hellip;Goalie Tom Barrasso left the Atlanta game after the first period due to what coach Herb Brooks called emotional stress. Barrasso&rsquo;s father has been battling brain cancer since last spring. &ldquo;Tommy has a lot of things on his mind,&rdquo; Brooks said. &ldquo;His father is not doing too well. We just relieved him. There&rsquo;s a lot of other things in Tom&rsquo;s life right now." &#9632;

f0021-04

Hlinka to become first Euro coach

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01972/7040844-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="161" height="159"></div>The puck rolled slowly toward John Vanbiesbrouck, who gently steered it away. The sellout crowd at the First Union Center in Philadelphia gave him a nasty mock cheer.Tliat&rsquo;s the way things have been going lately for the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; 36-year-old netminder. Earlier in the game, he allowed a bad angle goal to Edmonton&rsquo;s Bill Guerin and it was the difference in a 3-2 loss Feb. 10.Vanbiesbrouck, in the last year of his contract (the Flyers hold an option for next season), has a penchant for allowing ill-timed goals. That was a factor in the Flyers&rsquo; 2-5-4 slump.&ldquo;When you give up goals like that, it hurts the morale of the team,&rdquo; Vanbiesbrouck said. &ldquo;You could sense that.&rdquo;Rumors intensified the Flyers were making inquiries into the status of Buffalo&rsquo;s Dominik Hasek. But GM Bob Clarke said the Flyers have to be concerned with the bottom line and Hasek simply makes too much money.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s ridiculous,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s scheduled to make $9 million. We&rsquo;ve got to do new contracts for (Eric) Lindros and (John) LeClair. How many guys like that can you have?&rdquo;Meanwhile, the strong play of rookie Brian Boucher is providing the Flyers with another option.&ldquo;If he (Boucher) is playing better than Beezer, he will play more,&rdquo; said coach Roger Neilson. &ldquo;Goalies always know that. If a goalie gets hot, you&rsquo;re going to go with him.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The 10 shots taken by the Flyers in overtime in a 3-3 tie with Anaheim Feb. 3 were a team record and tied for second-most in NHL history (overtime was instituted in 1983-84). The record is 12 by Boston in 1991&hellip;Center Keith Primeau had his first multi-point game as a Flyer in a 4-2 win at Toronto Feb. 9. He had two assists. &ldquo;I planned all along that after the all-star break, the grace period was over,&rdquo; said Primeau, acquired from Carolina in a Jan. 23 trade&hellip;Rookie Simon Gagne moved from center to left wing to play on Primeau&rsquo;s line and responded with two strong performances&hellip;Coach Roger Neilson is scheduled to leave the team at the end of February for treatment of his bone marrow cancer. &#9632;

f0024-01

Struggling Vanbiesbrouck really feeling the pressure

<div class="byline">By Bob McManaman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03430/7040875-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="329" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Benoit Hogue</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02658/7040882-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="160" height="157"></div>They thought they had Keith Primeau. They thought they would get Radek Dvorak, too. They checked out some defense men and even made a pitch to recycle Gerald Diduck.The Phoenix Coyotes didn&rsquo;t get any of the players mentioned in hockey gossip. Instead, they wound up with an unrestricted free agent not close to the spotlight, Benoit Hogue.&ldquo;We signed a guy who&rsquo;s going to help us, a quality player,&rdquo; said coach Bobby Francis. &ldquo;Trust me, this guy was a good pick up.&rdquo;The 33-year-old center, who helped the Dallas Stars win the Stanley Cup last season, joined Phoenix shortly before the all-star break after failing to hook up with other teams.Hogue had reconstructive knee surgery during the off-season and spent the first three months on a conditioning program. He agreed to a one-year deal worth $450,000. It is pro-rated and does include bonus clauses.&ldquo;Benny&rsquo;s still a great player,&rdquo; said center Travis Green. &ldquo;I played with him when we were with the Islanders (1992-93 through 1994-95) and he was our best player. He still has it. You can tell that by watching him practice. He has great speed, a ton of skill and he&rsquo;s going to fit right in, I&rsquo;m sure of it.&rdquo;Hogue spumed an offer to re-join the Stars in December.&ldquo;My plan was to be ready to join a team in December, then take three weeks and be ready to play Jan. 1,&rdquo; said Hogue, who was to make his Phoenix debut on Feb. 12 against Calgary.&ldquo;Negotiations weren&rsquo;t there. It made my decision easier once we had something going with Phoenix. I have a chance to play for the Cup again. It&rsquo;s a team on the rise. I want to be a part of it.&rdquo;Hogue has 209 goals and 505 points in 744 career games.NOTEBOOK: Talk of a sale of the team by owner Richard Burke has been put on hold while Burke tries to mend fences with the development group ready to build the 18.000-seat area in south Scottsdale. Burke reportedly was set to sell the team to movie producer Barry Kemp, but said no deal is imminent. Kemp, approached retired star Wayne Gretzky about buying a share, but Gretzky declined&hellip;Left winger Keith Tkachuk re-injured his sprained left ankle Feb. 10 during a 5-2 loss to Los Angeles and the team considered putting him on the injury reserve list for two weeks.&hellip;Defenseman Todd Gill rejoined the team for practice after missing more than a month due to an abdominal strain. He&rsquo;s expected to be ready by late February. &#9632;

f0024-03

Coyotes ink speedy Hogue in hopes Benoit has the jets

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecklng</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04275/7040913-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="159" height="158"></div>The St. Louis Blues&rsquo; mantra before, during and after an important home-and-home series with Detroit after the All-Star break was &ldquo;don&rsquo;t read too much into it.&rdquo;Good advice, considering the Blues split the games, coming up big with a 4-1 victory on Feb. 8 in Detroit and then coming up small in a 2-0 loss Feb. 10 in St. Louis.The Blues were dominant in Detroit. The Wings were dominant in St. Louis. And the Blues ended the series as they had begun-three points ahead of the Wings in the Western Conference standings.&ldquo;Obviously, we wanted to play well and beat them, but it&rsquo;s not April or May,&rdquo; said Blues&rsquo; captain Chris Pronger.The Red Wings have stood as a road block for the Blues in three of the last four years. They lost to the Wings in the playoffs in three consecutive years before falling to the Dallas Stars last season.&ldquo;Until you beat Detroit, you&rsquo;re not going to win anything,&rdquo; said defenseman Marc Bergevin. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not the only team. There&rsquo;s Phoenix and Dallas never beat them in the playoffs either until they won the Cup.&ldquo;The only team in the Western Conference that could say it has an edge on Detroit is Colorado. They beat the Wings in &rsquo;96 and last year, but 1 wouldn&rsquo;t call it a good edge, either.&rdquo;Bergevin sees the Blues as being in a &ldquo;growing process&rdquo; that Stanley Cup contenders invariably go through.&ldquo;If you remember five years ago, Detroit beat everybody and went to New Jersey and lost four straight,&rdquo; Bergevin said. &ldquo;The next year, they were the favorite and lost to Colorado. And then they finally won. They were favored two years before they won a Stanley Cup.&ldquo;Look at Dallas, they were one of the favorites for two years and lost to Edmonton and Detroit in the playoffs before they won the Cup. So, it&rsquo;s like you have to learn how to get there.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Al Mac-Innis didn&rsquo;t play the third period of the Blues&rsquo; 2-0 loss to Detroit Feb. 10 because of the recurrence of back spasms related to sore ribs. Maclnnis suffered a similar injury Jan. 14 on a hit by Anaheim left winger Mike Leclerc. He missed one game and returned to the lineup only to suffer a collapsed lung caused by a slow leak. Maclnnis sat out five games recovering from the collapsed lung and played four games in nine days, including the All-Star Game, before his back seized up on a hit by Detroit right winger Pat Verbeek. He was listed as day-to-day&hellip;Center Marty Reasoner scored four goals in three games after being recalled from Worcester of the American League. &#9632;

f0024-04

Series split with Wings means little

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01869/7040944-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"></div>Get more than the highlights by subscribing NOW!Subscribe today and get 42 issues of The Hockey News including our Yearbook, the #1 Selling Hockey Annual in North America.To Subscribe NOW mail to: In Canada: The Hockey News 777 Bay Street, Suite 2700 Box 904 Toronto, Ontario In The United States: The Hockey News Buffalo, NY M5G 2N1 14240-9554OR CALL 1-888-361-9768 today!OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a>The Hockey News gives you the inside scoop on hockey like no other publication in the world!&diams; Get Inside The Game With:&diams; Interviews&diams; Photos&diams; Stats & Predictions&diams; Get Current Reports From The Best Hockey Writers In All 28 NHL Cities&diams; Get Complete Coverage Of Minor Pro, College And Junior Leagues Across North America&diams; Delivered Directly To Your Door! &#9632;

f0025-01

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">By Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01958/7040975-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="158" height="158"></div>If the San Jose Sharks are going to salvage a season that began with such promise, but has gone downhill since, they will need to take advantage of a friendly schedule down the stretch.Beginning Feb. 23, San Jose started a stretch of nine consecutive games at home, where they will also play 14 of their final 20 games. The Sharks were 13-12-2-2 at San Jose Arena this season.Since posting a franchise-best 7-2-0-0 start, San Jose had strung together back-to-back victories only three times. The Sharks also had to endure an NHL-high 15 sets of back-to-back games, with the final duet coming Feb. 8-9.San Jose routed the Tampa Bay Lightning 8-0 to snap a season-high, six-game winless skid, but dropped a 4-1 decision to the Florida Panthers the next night. Coach Darryl Sutter took exception to the fact his team had no practice time, then immediately played two games after the all-star break.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s another poor part of the schedule,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;We fly all day, coast to coast, and then play back-to-back. Brutal.&rdquo;Of course, such complaints are nothing new for San Jose.&ldquo;The whole schedule has been messed up for us all year,&rdquo; said defenseman Mike Rathje. &ldquo;It seems like it&rsquo;s the same every year. We&rsquo;re always battling that and we&rsquo;re battling ourselves on the ice.&rdquo;The Sharks will have to look in the mirror rather than at the league office if they don&rsquo;t right themselves over the final seven weeks of the season.After spending much of the first half challenging for the Pacific Division lead, San Jose was in a pack of five Western Conference teams competing for the final three playoff berths. The Sharks were sixth in the conference with 60 points in 57 games, but five points separated sixth from 10th place.&ldquo;This is not acceptable at this time of the year,&rdquo; said Sharks&rsquo; captain Owen Nolan. &lsquo;We&rsquo;re supposed to be playing our best hockey going into the stretch. We can&rsquo;t even put up a good fight against teams right now.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: In two losses to Florida this season, including a 4-1 road defeat Feb. 9, San Jose surrendered three goals and nine points to former Sharks Ray Sheppard. Ray Whitney, and Viktor KozJov. Former Sharks&rsquo; goalie Mike Vernon won both games and picked up an assist in the second meeting&hellip;An assist in the Feb. 9 loss to Florida gave right winger Owen Nolan his 500th career point&hellip; Left winger Jeff Friesen notched his 20th goal of the year at Florida, marking the fourth straight season he reached that total&hellip;Left winger Alex Korolyuk returned to the lineup Feb. 9 after missing eight games with a hip pointer&hellip;An 8-0 win Feb. 8 at Tampa Bay marked the biggest victory margin in San Jose&rsquo;s nine-year NHL history, surpassing a 7-0 romp at Vancouver late last season&hellip;Center Ron Sutter snapped a 25-game goal drought when he scored against the Lightning&hellip;With three assists against Tampa Bay, defenseman Gary Suter recorded his first three-point game in a Sharks&rsquo; uniform. &#9632;

f0026-01

‘Brutal’ part of Sharks’ sked over, home cooking for rest of season

<div class="byline">By Tom Jones</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02639/7041006-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="160" height="155"></div>Tampa Bay Lightning coach Steve Ludzik apologized and had to leave the room.&lsquo;I&rsquo;m going to start getting all misty-eyed if I don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; he said.He got that way talking about left winger Darcy Tucker, who was the heart, soul, blood and guts of the Lightning. Now he&rsquo;ll wear his heart on a sleeve attached to a Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; sweater. Tucker was traded to the Leafs Feb. 9 for right winger Mike Johnson and minor league defenseman Marek Posmyk. The teams also swapped draft picks.And while the Lightning was pleased to acquire Johnson, a 20-goal scorer last season, the trade was a big blow to the organization&rsquo;s fans. Tucker&rsquo;s gritty nature made him the most popular Lightning player. He was the team&rsquo;s fourth-leading scorer with 14 goals and 34 points in 50 games.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t trade a tugboat for a battleship,&rdquo; Ludzik said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t give up an average player for an above-average player. You have to give up something to get something, and we had to give up Tucker in order to get Johnson.&rdquo;Johnson said all the right things about coming to Tampa Bay, but admitted he had mixed emotions about leaving the Leafs. He makes his year-round home in Toronto and he&rsquo;s leaving one of the league&rsquo;s best teams for one of the worst.&ldquo;1 think the first thing you see is how young they are,&rdquo; Johnson said of the Lightning. &ldquo;A lot of then players are in the first year in the league. It&rsquo;s a learning experience. They are a tough team to play against and that&rsquo;s a step in the right direction.&rdquo;Johnson, who had 11 goals and 25 points in 52 games this season, is expected to play on a line with either Vincent Lecavalier or Chris Gratton.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not expecting him to come in and mm this thing around,&rdquo; said Lightning GM Rick Dudley. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to take more than one good player. But you need the right guys to support our young players. He&rsquo;s going to help them as a top-notch two-way player.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Goalie Kevin Hodson&rsquo;s soap opera career with the Lightning came to an end when he was placed on waivers Feb. 9. In less than a year, Hodson went from battling for the Lightning&rsquo;s No. 1 job to not even being able to hold on to the backup position. Hodson, traded to Tampa by Detroit last March for left winger Wendel Clark, crawled into coach Steve Ludzik&rsquo;s doghouse in January and the two had not been on speaking terms since. Hodson had a 2-7-4 record with a 3.67 goals-against average and an .856 save percentage this season. Rich Parent was called up from Tampa&rsquo;s International League affiliate in Detroit and took over as the backup for Dan Cloutier&hellip; Trade rumors continued to swirl around defenseman Petr Svoboda, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season&rsquo;s end. The Lightning started negotiations for a new contract with Svoboda, fresh off his first All-Star Game appearance, but if they can&rsquo;t sign him before the trade deadline, they may be forced to trade him. &#9632;

f0026-02

Lightning trade Tucker to Leafs, fan favorite dealt for deft winger

<div class="byline">By Ken Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01910/7041037-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="158" height="156"></div>Darcy Tucker thinks he&rsquo;s a winner and the hockey world is about to find out whether he merits such a high opinion of himself.The Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; search for grit and gumption that has been going on for the better part of two seasons led them to the Tampa Bay Lightning Feb. 9. The Leafs gave up right winger Mike Johnson, who is a terrific skater and has a good offensive upside, but had gained a reputation as a softie.Tucker is anything but that He&rsquo;s prickly to play against-&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a pit bull on skates who happens to be able to score,&rdquo; said Lightning GM Rick Dudley-and even playing with him can be a challenge. Tucker had several confrontations with teammates in Tampa, but claimed it was part of the poisonous atmosphere that surrounds a losing team.&ldquo;I did have some conflicts with some of the players,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There were words said. It was between myself and some of the guys that are gone from there.&rdquo;Tucker, a natural center who moved to the wing this season, was expected to play right wing on a line with Igor Korolev and Dmitri Khristich. He had 14 goals and 34 points prior to the trade, but the Leafs are counting on Tucker to add another dimension.&ldquo;He has a real edge to him,&rdquo; said Leafs&rsquo; coach Pat Quinn. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great competitor who will sacrifice his body. You need those kinds of guys and we didn&rsquo;t have enough of them.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Gerald Diduck, signed as a free agent Jan. 28, played his first game in more than 10 months in a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia Feb. 9. Diduck, who tore his left ACL in Phoenix&rsquo;s last playoff game May 4, played 7:25 against the Ryers. He earned an assist, but also committed the giveaway that led to the Flyers' third goal&hellip;Defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich earned bragging rights by scoring on teammate Curtis Joseph in the World team&rsquo;s 9-4 win over North America in the All-Star Game at Air Canada Centre Feb. 6. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve spent two years trying to get him to play his position and now he gets a goal up there," said Leafs&rsquo; coach Pat Quinn, who guided the North American team. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s going to happen now.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0027-01

Maple Leafs’ quest for grit leads them to Bolts’ Tucker

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03377/7041068-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="326" height="440"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Messier</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02575/7041075-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="155" height="151"></div>Future Hall-of-Famer Mark Messier appeared to be readying himself for a possible move from the Vancouver Canucks as the March 14 trade deadline approached.Messier is in the final season of a three-year contract (plus an option year) and with Vancouver again going nowhere, the Moose admitted he wouldn&rsquo;t stand in the organization&rsquo;s way if a trade could be made.Messier, making $6 million this season, has a no-trade clause in his contract. He was second on the team with 11 goals and 31 points in 37 games this season.&ldquo;I feel there is a lot of work left to be done here and I&rsquo;m comfortable playing here,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;But if the franchise feels it&rsquo;s better to do certain things, I don&rsquo;t want to be holding anybody hostage or be in a situation where I&rsquo;m holding the team back from progressing with the plan they have.&rdquo;Canucks&rsquo; GM Brian Burke has said he wants to keep Messier and have him help nurture the Sedin twins-Daniel and Henrik-who will make their NHL debuts next season. The Canucks hold an option on Messier&rsquo;s contract, but it&rsquo;s for another $6 million. If the 39-year-old Messier finishes this season and is not renewed, which is what the Canucks are expected to do if he isn&rsquo;t traded, he is entitled to a $2-million buyout.Messier doesn&rsquo;t want his situation to become a distraction to the team, which was 10 points out of a playoff spot and desperately trying to regain a foothold in the Western Conference.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to sit here and talk about what may happen or could happen or anything else because I think it&rsquo;s a disservice to the team,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s important to handle the situation professionally and honorably from my side so as not to create a situation where there are a lot of bad feelings.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Adrian Aucoin will be out of action until late March after slicing the middle finger on his right hand during a Feb. 9 game against Calgary. Aucoin led Canucks&rsquo; defensemen with 10 goals and 20 points in 48 games&hellip;Left winger Steve Kariya was lighting it up in the American League with Syracuse. Kariya had eight points in five games since being demoted, all Syracuse victories, and was named first star three times&hellip;Defenseman Bryan Allen, the Canucks&rsquo; first pick in the 1998 entry draft (fourth overall), was close to being ready for action following knee and shoulder surgery last fall. Allen, 19, has not played since the pre-season and will be sent to Syracuse for conditioning purposes. He could also wind up back in junior. &#9632;

f0027-03

Messier may agree to deal, won’t hold Canucks back

<div class="byline">By Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04253/7041106-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="157" height="154"></div>Craig Billington knows what it&rsquo;s like to be a No. 1 goalie. He also knows what it&rsquo;s like to be a backup.And more than anything else, he knows what his role is and accepts it.The Washington Capitals&rsquo; backup, who started his NHL career with the New Jersey Devils in 1985 and has had stops in Ottawa, Boston and Colorado, thinks of himself as something of a reliever. And he stays positive.&ldquo;I think often what happens, especially with a young goalie, is you focus on how long it&rsquo;s been since you last played rather than preparing to be ready when they need you,&rdquo; Billington said.&ldquo;The looking forward approach, I believe, is a lot more positive that saying, &lsquo;Oh, geez, it&rsquo;s been a long time since I played.&rsquo; I think you can get head worms that way. What you should recognize is the longer you go without playing, the closer you actually come to getting in a game.&rdquo;Besides, where else can you find casual work and make $850,000 a year?The Capitals believe Kolzig, 29, will fill the starter&rsquo;s position for years to come.They needed a goalie comfortable with the backup position and who would complement Kolzig.&ldquo;Last summer, when we were looking for a backup, that was the key-finding somebody who didn&rsquo;t have a problem with the job,&rdquo; said assistant coach Tim Hunter. &ldquo;We heard he was the best at that as far as his attitude was concerned and that&rsquo;s why he got the job.&rdquo;Hunter works with Billington before practice. Then Tim Army, another assistant, works with the goalie after practice, putting him through drills to prepare him for the next opponent, whether he is scheduled to play or not.In eight games this season the 33-year-old Billington had a 3-3-1 record, 2.91 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.NOTEBOOK: During the pre-game skate at the Molson Centre in Montreal Feb. 10, center Adam Oates skated over toward the boards holding a stick upraised in one hand and nodded toward a group of youngsters watching practice. Half-a-dozen youngsters made a dash to the boards to retrieve the prize. &ldquo;I looked up to see their faces, examining it like it was solid gold,&rdquo; Oates said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the greatest feeling to see the look on their faces. Reminds me of the kid in the Mean Joe Greene Coke commercials when he throws him his jersey That night the Caps beat Montreal 1-0. giving goalie Olaf Kolzig his 15th career shutout, most in team history&hellip;Right winger Joe Murphy was claimed off waivers from Boston. &#9632;

f0027-04

Billington cool with backup job

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>Bill Barber was in his coach&rsquo;s office when Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; GM Bob Clarke phoned to say he&rsquo;d just made a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, and Todd White, the International League&rsquo;s leading scorer, was on his way to the Phantoms.&ldquo;When Bob told me, right away I was curious to see who we were losing,&rdquo; Barber said.That&rsquo;s when Clark provided even better news: No one. That&rsquo;s right, the AHL&rsquo;s hottest team gained another top scorer for nothing up front. The Jan. 27 deal calls for the Blackhawks to receive a conditional draft pick in 2001.And so, the once-downtrodden Phantohis were again positioning themselves for a Calder Cup run. Since Christmas, they have climbed out of the Mid- Atlantic Division cellar and into a four-way battle for first, thanks to a 15-3-2 streak.The addition of White to play alongside Peter White and Mark Greig makes them even stronger. In his first five AHL games, Todd White had four goals and 10 points.&ldquo;He has speed and skills, he views the ice really well and he has a knack around the net of getting open,&rdquo; Barber said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not overly big by any means (5-foot-10, 189 pounds), but he&rsquo;s stocky and he arrives. He gets to the net.&rdquo;White was available because he&rsquo;ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season and the Blackhawks don&rsquo;t think the 24-year-old Clarkson University product has an NHL future. He had 21 goals and 51 points in 42 games for the Cleveland Lumbeijacks.&ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t going to play here,&rdquo; said Blackhawks&rsquo; manager of hockey operations Mike Smith.White had played in Chicago, though. After a seven-game audition as a rookie in 1997-98, he started 1998-99 in the NHL and was in and out of the lineup, scoring five goals and 13 points in 35 games. Then he was sent to the IHL&rsquo;s Chicago Wolves in February.While White likely would have been a better fit with another organization (the Flyers have few weak links), there is still opportunity since a deep run into the Calder Cup playoffs is possible. &ldquo;1 tell guys don&rsquo;t ever lose your dream," Barber said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re in a dog fight and it will probably go down to the end and a player&rsquo;s future reflects on how your team does.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01949/7041137-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="439" height="433"></div>HAVE PADS, WILL TRAVEL: The hourly airline shuttles from Washington, D.C., to New York are very popular, but Jean-Sebastien Aubin wouldn&rsquo;t mind one that flew across Pennsylvania.The third-year goalie has made six trips back and forth between Pittsburgh and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. His latest stint came during the NHL all-star break and he received the workload the parent Penguins hoped for: A 50-shot barrage in a 5-4 loss to the Hershey Bears.&ldquo;Fifty shots is 50 shots, I don&rsquo;t mind,&rdquo; said Aubin, who was 2-8-0 with a 4.35 goals-against average and .870 save percentage in 11 AHL games.HE SAVES, SCORES: Hart-ford WolfPack&rsquo;s Jean-Yves Labbe became the fifth goalie in AHL history to have his name put in the record book for a goal when he scored in a 6-3 win over the Quebec Citadelles Feb. 5. Labbe scored when he fired the puck the length of the ice into the net that was vacated by Quebec&rsquo;s Mathieu Garon in favor of an extra attacker. The other goalies credited with goals are Rochester&rsquo;s Darcy Wakaluk. Springfield&rsquo;s Paul Cohen, Rochester&rsquo;s Robb Stauber and Syracuse&rsquo;s Christian Bronsard.AHL TIDBITS: Left winger Dan Cleary set a Hamilton club record with a 12-game point streak (5-17-22), then was recalled to Edmonton to replace right winger Pat Falloon (lost on waivers to Pittsburgh)&hellip; Quebec center Jesse Belanger had two goals and five points in the Citadelles&rsquo; 7-3 win over Springfield Jan. 31&hellip; With a 5-4 overtime win at Saint John Feb. 8, Syracuse set a franchise record for consecutive wins (seven)&hellip;Albany right winger Steve Brule won player-of-the-week honors for the period ending Feb. 6 after scoring three goals and 10 points in four games. Brule was hot (eight goals, 25 points in 16 games) after struggling for three months&hellip; Philadelphia coach Bill Barber won his 200th AHL game Feb. 1. &#9632;

f0028-01

Hot Phantoms get stronger with addition of gifted White

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>Illusions of grandeur have given way to more practical concerns for Detroit Vipers&rsquo; forward Shawn Burr. That&rsquo;s what 15 years of pro hockey, almost exclusively spent in the NHL, will do fora veteran.So when Burr found himself assigned to the Vipers by the Tampa Bay Lightning in early January, he turned his focus to being part of the solution instead of the problem for the struggling Lightning.&ldquo;I was actually going to ask to get sent,&rdquo; said the 33-year-old native of Samia, Ont. &ldquo;I had been injured, then they had lost a couple of dismal games and they still didn&rsquo;t play me, so I was going to say, &lsquo;Hey, let me do something for my money here.&rsquo;&ldquo;They sent me down and it&rsquo;s a good opportunity to work with some young players. I did it last year with San Jose in Kentucky.&rdquo;The only trouble has. been Burr has done most of his helping so far this season from the training room. In his fourth game with the struggling Vipers Jan. 5, he strained his knee.&ldquo;I was trying to hit Richard Park from Utah and he kind of bent over,&rdquo; Burr said. &ldquo;I thought I had hyper-extended my knee, but the next shift when I tried it, I knew I was done for a while.&rdquo;In late January, the knee was feeling better and he went for a light skate. Near the end of the session, he tried to kick a puck and tweaked the knee again, setting him back another couple of weeks. It has been in keeping with a season in which simply playing has been an ordeal.Burr played only four games for the Lightning, drawing two assists, and his four-game total in Detroit was one goal and three points. Still, after 878 NHL games, he figures he has something to contribute to the Vipers.&ldquo;The hard part is there have been so many injuries in Tampa, they&rsquo;ve taken most of the guys they had penciled in for (the Vipers),&rdquo; Burr said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen a different end of the spectrum. (Last year), they had all their picks from San Jose in Kentucky, plus a few good older free agents and they were a pretty good team.&rdquo;When his playing days are done-he&rsquo;s hopeful that&rsquo;s not sometime soon-Burr hopes a coaching job might be in the cards. But he knows he&rsquo;d have to alter his personality.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02631/7041168-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="687" height="273"></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d have to act a little more professional some times-I joke around a little too much,&rdquo; he laughed.MUSICAL GRIZZ: Angst has been the buzzword for Utah Grizzlies&rsquo; coach-GM Bob Bourne this season. First, Bourne was uneasy about the schedule, which saw his team idle much of the first half of the season and frantically busy in the last six weeks.Early in the New Year, the Grizzlies lost No. 1 goalie Rich Parent, who was traded by the St. Louis Blues to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning eventually assigned Parent to its main affiliate, the IHL&rsquo;s Detroit Vipers.Grizzlies&rsquo; defenseman Stewart Malgunas was then traded by the Washington &rsquo; Capitals to the Nashville Predators. When the Predators tried to assign him to Milwaukee, the Calgary snapped him up on waivers.Bourne, trying to negotiate some kind of compensation for Malgunas because his contract&rsquo;s minor league rights belonged to the Grizzlies, arranged a deal with Predators&rsquo; GM David Poile that sent goalie Corey Hirsch from Milwaukee to Utah in exchange for forward Rob Bonneau and goalie Mike Buzak. Hirsch was recalled by Nashville for one game.DOUBLE DUTY: League governors passed a proposal to test the two-referee system in 26 games through the end of the season. The board could also vote to use the system through the Turner Cup playoffs if the trial period is judged a success.DOTTING THE &lsquo;I&rsquo;: Center Dave Archibald. 30, returned from Sweden just in time to meet the IHL&rsquo;s signing deadline for players in Europe and rejoined the Grizzlies Feb. 2&hellip;The Kansas City Blades, on an 8-2-1 run through Feb. 9, planned to wear replica NHL Kansas City Scouts&rsquo; jerseys for their game Feb. 11 against Cincinnati. The jerseys were then to be sold in a silent auction with the proceeds to benefit the Derrick Thomas Third-and-Long Foundation. &#9632;

f0028-02

Burr happy to give farm aid when not out with injuries

<div class="byline">By John Packett</div>There is still some minor legal maneuvering to be completed, but the new collective bargaining agreement between the East Coast League and the Professional Hockey Players&rsquo; Association is a done deal.Both the league&rsquo;s board of governors and the players approved] the four-year agreement, whose framework was constructed by the PHPA and ECHL last fall.The old agreement, which marked the first time ECHL players had been represented by the PHPA, expired May 31, 1999, the day after the Kelly Cup final ended. Under national labor relations law, the two sides have been operating this season under terms of the final proposal, which formed the basis of the final agreement.Most significant to the players is a considerable jump in the weekly salary cap from $8,250 during the final year of the old CBA to It increases to $9,250 next season, $9,500 in 2001-02 and $10,000 in 2002-03.That translates into an average weekly salary of $450 per player this season and $500 in 2002-03.The number of veterans on a team roster (four) remains the same, but the definition has changed. The previous limit of professional games was 200. It&rsquo;s 230 this season, increasing to 235 next season, 240 in 2001-02 and 250 in 2002-03.There are also two slots for player-assistant coaches for the duration of the contract and only half the weekly amount of those contracts will increase from $26 to $30 per day over the counts toward the salary cap. The road per diem deal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03450/7041199-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="356" height="365"></div>400 AND COUNTING: John Brophy, the only coach in Hampton Roads&rsquo; 11-year regular season victory Feb. 8 when his defeated the Trenton Titans 5-2. Brophy&rsquo;s record stood at 400-244-71, including a 28-16-3 mark this season.Brophy, 67, a former coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has also won 50 playoff games. This is Brophy&rsquo;s final season behind the Hampton Roads bench, since the club is leaving Norfolk to make room for an American League team next season. The Admirals&rsquo; franchise is moving to Atlantic City, N.J., and after sitting out next year, is scheduled to rejoin the ECHL in 2001-02. Brophy has not indicated what his plans are for next year.300 CLUB: One of Brophy&rsquo;s long-time players, left winger Rod Taylor, became the fifth player in the history of the league to reach 300 goals. His milestone came when he scored into an empty net against Trenton Jan. 28. Charlotte center Darryl Noren. the league&rsquo;s all-time points leader, needed only five goals to reach 300.COAST LINES: Of the 42 players who played in the ECHL All-Star Game, 10 were called up to the American or International leagues following the contest. Seven were from the Northern Conference, including goaltender Bujar Amidovski, who had a successful debut with Philadelphia (American League), going 1-0-0 with a 0.93 GAA in his two appearances. &#9632;

f0028-03

League, players’ association hammer out new CBA

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div>Stephen Peat was lucky to be able to walk out of a hospital hours after being stabbed in the side by a four-inch serrated hunting knife.Peat, a defenseman for the Calgary Hitmen, was trying to break up an altercation at a Calgary bar Feb. 3 involving teammate Kris Beech when he was stabbed from behind.Peat was rushed to hospital where he was released the next day after being stitched up.Beech was bumped into by a trio of men who allegedly tried to goad him into a fight. When Peat stepped in, he was attacked from behind and stabbed near his left kidney. After stabbing Peat, the attacker put the knife back into his pocket and tried to flee the bar before being tackled and held until police arrived.&ldquo;When his teammate was being confronted and egged on, it appears Mr. Peat took upon himself to take on a peacekeeping role and obviously the other individual wasn&rsquo;t interested in peace,&rdquo; Staff Sgt. Gord Pelly told the Calgary Sun. &lsquo;Tor some reason, one person took it upon himself to resolve what he saw as an issue with a knife. That&rsquo;s obviously bad judgment.&rdquo;Richard Ward-Pay, 20, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of being unlawfully at large.&ldquo;Lucky was the word of the day,&rdquo; one source close to the team told the Sun. &ldquo;The injury easily could have been a lot worse.&rdquo;The 19-year-old Peat was drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the second round of the 1998 draft. He started the season with the Tri-City Americans, but was traded to Calgary in early January. He had no goals and nine points along with 113 penalty minutes in 29 games this season.GREAT SCOTT: Scott Hartnell&rsquo;s immediate priority is to help the Prince Albert Raiders.But it is difficult to avoid looking ahead. The among the first players chosen in the 17-year-old center is expected to be 2000 NHL draft. He was third overall among North American-based draft Bureau&rsquo;s mid-season rankings. Hartnell was also the top-ranked Western League prospect when the CSB released its first quarter report last November.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01838/7041230-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="370" height="382"></div>&ldquo;When you talk to scouts after games, you can almost taste it,&rdquo; Hartnell said. &ldquo;You can almost feel it on the tip of your fingers. I don&rsquo;t want to do anything to screw it up.&ldquo;During games, it&rsquo;s pretty much in the back of my mind. I just go out and play my game and, hopefully, I&rsquo;ll play in the NHL one day. It&rsquo;s every kid&rsquo;s dream to play in the NHL.&rdquo;The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Hartnell has 14 goals, 53 points and 88 penalty minutes in his sophomore season with the Raiders.He is already the team&rsquo;s captain and also played for Canada on the Under-18 team at the Four Nations Cup last summer.&ldquo;The coach (Kevin McClelland) called me in with management and told me,&rdquo; Hartnell recalled about being named captain. &lsquo;T was kind of shocked at first. The coach and my fellow teammates noticed that I could be a leader in practice and in games.&lsquo;It&rsquo;s a great honor to be named captain at a young age.&rdquo;HOT HITMEN: Matt Pettinger scored 3:53 into overtime Feb. 9 to extend the Calgary Hitmen&rsquo;s road unbeaten streak to 17 games, tying the Canadian Hockey League record.The CHL mark of 17 was set by the Quebec League&rsquo;s Trois Rivieres Draveurs during the 1978-79 season.The Hitmen started the streak Nov. 16 with a 4-3 win over the Saskatoon Blades.The previous WHL record of 12 was set by the Portland Winter Hawks during the 1980-81 season.<h2>Bomb threat sends team fleeing</h2>A simple 10-hour round trip turned into a two-day ordeal thanks to a crank call.The game between the Swift Current Broncos and Medicine Hat Tigers Feb. 5 was postponed overnight when a bomb threat was phoned in to the Medicine Hat Arena.The game continued Sunday, when the Broncos wrapped up a 2-0 victory.&ldquo;It was an interesting trip,&rdquo; said Todd McLellan, the Broncos&rsquo; coach-GM. &ldquo;We hadn&rsquo;t packed. We were wearing the same clothes&rdquo;The Broncos were leading 1-0 when the game was suspended. The phone call came in an hour before the bomb was supposed to go off.&ldquo;We called the police and evacuated the building.&rdquo; said Randy Taves, the city&rsquo;s recreation superintendent. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s better safe than sorry.&rdquo;McLellan was told about the evacuation as his team left the bench after the second period.&ldquo;We made sure everybody got their skates off and got right onto the bus,&rdquo; McLellan said.The Broncos-still wearing their equipment-sat on the bus for an hour as police searched. No device was found, but the game was suspended. Various scenarios were discussed before deciding to continue the game.&ldquo;We could stay overnight or go home,&rdquo; McLellan said. &ldquo;The guys&rsquo; clothes were still in the dressing room, so everybody would have been in their equipment-and would have been sick of the smell. So we checked in to a hotel.&rdquo;Ben Ondrus (Feb. 5) and James Hiebert (Feb. 6) scored for the Broncos. Bryce Wandler stopped 31 shots for his third shutout Police were investigating the incident-the second of its kind in the CHL this season. A bomb threat also forced the evacuation of Kingston&rsquo;s Memorial Centre during an Ontario League game. &#9632;

f0029-01

Hitman stabbed in barroom ambush

<div class="byline">By Brendan Savage</div>Three members of the Quad City Mallards face drug charges after they were caught in possession of one gram of marijuana.Michael Melas, lannique Renaud and Patrick Nadeau surrendered to police Feb. 8 after the drug was found in an apartment unit Jan. 22 by an off-duty police officer in Davenport. Ill. One gram of marijuana is less than one cigarette. All three United League players are citizens of Canada.The incident is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).Lt. Rick Chase told the Quad City Times the officer, who lives in the apartment building and works security there, discovered the drug / shortly after midnight after responding to a 7 noise complaint at an apartment Renaud and Melas share.Gerald Noland, an INS supervisory agent, told the Times his department is checking to determine whether the three players have past criminal violations. Under federal immigration law, immigrants with green cards who are convicted of possessing 28 grams or less of marijuana are permitted to stay in the U.S. If they have previous convictions, however, they would be subject to deportation.HUNGRY GULASH: Quad City defenseman Garry Gulash enjoyed a rare offensive explosion while Missouri River Otters&rsquo; goalie Brian Regan was his usual steady self as the West beat the East 7-3 in the third annual United League All-Star Game in Muskegon.Gulash, best known for his physical style of play, scored two goals, added an assist and was still trying to block shots late in the Feb. 2 game en route to earning most valuable player honors for the West.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02538/7041261-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="425" height="223"></div>Regan, whose seven shutouts this season are three more than any other UHL goalie has registered in one campaign, could have just as easily been the West&rsquo;s MVP after turning aside all 21 shots he faced in 30-plus minutes.&ldquo;Regan played a hell of a game,&rdquo; said Quad City&rsquo;s Kevin Kerr, one of two players to appear in all three UHL All-Star Games. &ldquo;If it wasn&rsquo;t for Goo scoring those two goals and blocking those shots, I think Regan would have been a good choice from our team for MVP.&rdquo;The East won the skills competition 9-7 with BC Icemen&rsquo;s Chris Grenville turning in the hardest shot at 91 miles per hour.NOTEBOOK: In an all-star pre-game ceremony, the UHL retired No. 9 in honor of all-time leading scorer Paul Polillo, who won five scoring titles and three MVP awards while playing for Brantford. Polillo, who also spent one year in Port Huron, holds or shares 14 UHL scoring records&hellip;Kevin Kerr became the third player to record 700 UHL points when he scored twice and drew six assists in Quad City&rsquo;s 13-5 rout of Missouri Feb. 6. The 13 goals were a team record&hellip; After losing a UHL-record 19 straight home games, the Adirondack IceHawks won four straight at home&hellip;The Ohio Gears ended their season-high 15-game losing streak by beating Muskegon 3-1 Feb. 6&hellip; Flint&rsquo;s Ross Wilson needed more than 100 stitches to close a gash across his forehead after being accidentally cut by the skate of Binghamton&rsquo;s Derek Wood Feb. 5&hellip;Tough guy Mark Major had 10 goals in his first nine games with Flint after being sent down from the Houston Aeros of the International League. &#9632;

f0029-02

Canadian-born Mallards face marijuana charge

<div class="byline">By Dave Henry</div>A pair of Western Pro League teams entered the homestretch within striking distance of records-one of historical fashion and the other of dubious distinction.The Central Texas Stampede were on pace to finish with a league record 52 wins, breaking the previous mark of 47 set by last season&rsquo;s Presidents Cup champion Shreveport Mudbugs. Tiie Stampede was also on pace to break the league record for points in a season (99) and winning percentage (.717), also set by Shreveport.On the flip side, the Amarillo Rattlers were still trying to overcome the Y2K curse. Amarillo, 14-28-5 overall and winless since Dec. 19, tied the league&rsquo;s longest winless streak at 18 with a 6-4 loss at Shreveport Feb. 6. The now-defunct Waco Wizards set the woeful mark in 1997-98.OWNER HONORED: WPHL president Rick Kozuback announced Jan. 31 the league&rsquo;s Outstanding Defenseman Award will now be presented in honor of Dale Trahan. Trahan was a member of the Lake Charles Ice Pirates&rsquo; ownership group who was killed Jan. 16 following a traffic accident.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03348/7041292-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="525" height="354"></div>OPEN HOUSE: Shreveport received confirmation Jan. 25 of its selection as the primary tenant of the new Bossier City Arena. The 12,400-seat arena is under construction and is scheduled to open in October. Bossier City officials considered awarding the lease to an East Coast Hockey League repre sentative before finalizing a deal with the Mudbugs.ONE-TIMERS: Corpus Christi IceRays&rsquo; right winger Kurt Wickenheiser tied a league mark for goals in a game with a four-goal outburst in a 9-6 win over the Austin IceBats Jan. 29&hellip;Fort Worth Brahmas&rsquo; coach Terry Menard revamped his team between the pipes Feb. 6, trading center Mike Sanderson to the Odessa Jackalopes for veteran goaltender Billy Pye and trading the rights to goaltender Al Rooney to Lake Charles for backup Dominic DeGiorgio. &#9632;

f0029-03

Stamps fly high, Rattlers crawling

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>The Ottawa 67&rsquo;s are setting the pace for others to follow in the Ontario League-on the ice and off.The defending Memorial Cup champions were first overall at 36-12-3-1 and were averaging 6,407 at the gate.Coach-GM Brian Kilrea is in his 24th season and shows no signs of stopping as he approaches his 900th career victory. Kilrea had an 882-536-109 career record, all with the 67&rsquo;s.The 67&rsquo;s appear headed for their fifth consecutive first-place finish in the East Division.Most teams will blame a rollercoaster ride in the standings on the cyclical nature of junior hockey. When it was suggested to Kilrea the 67&rsquo;s are using a bigger wheel, he said: &ldquo;The wheel will catch us eventually. I just hope I won&rsquo;t be around when the wheel does catch us.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01950/7041323-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="687" height="228"></div>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been fortunate with our scouts. They&rsquo;ve got us some kids who can play. But we know eventually we&rsquo;re not going to rule the roost.&rdquo;Kilrea, 65, has shown a renewed enthusiasm for the game. Much of that is due to new owner Jeff Hunt, who took over July 1,1998.Hunt&rsquo;s enthusiasm to see the 67&rsquo;s do as well off the ice as on has resulted in a new spirit for the OHL in Ottawa. The 67&rsquo;s went from just over 2,000 fans a game to 5,000 a game in Hunt&rsquo;s first season and he was named Canadian Hockey League executive of the year.There has been a 36.6-per-cent increase in attendance this season with two sellouts of 10,000-plus at the Civic Centre. The smallest crowd was 4,869, back in October.Hunt, 35, moved to Ottawa from Newfoundland when he was 19 and worked as a carpet cleaner. He started his own company and eventually landed the Sears franchisee business, making his the largest carpet cleaning operation in Canada. He later expanded into the U.S.When Hunt bought the 67&rsquo;s, they were one of the most successful junior teams in the CHL, but were failing miserably at the gate.He went to work on marketing his new enterprise and expanded the front office to 14 fulltime employees from four, making it substantially larger than any other OHL team.He&rsquo;s a believer in &ldquo;you&rsquo;ve got to spend money to make money.&rdquo; His advertising budget is $700,000.&ldquo;I talk to other teams and I hear them say they spend $40,000 a year,&rdquo; Hunt said. &ldquo;My goal is to get to where every hockey fan in this city knows the 67&rsquo;s are playing that night.&rdquo;Hunt said there are three sources of attendance: Season tickets, which have gone from 700 two years ago to 3,000 this season; walkup sales, which most of his advertising budget targets; and group sales. Hunt said he wants to be averaging 9,000 fans per game this time next season.KOTYK RECOVERING: Ottawa goalie Seamus Kotyk was resting comfortably at his billets&rsquo; home after being released from hospital Feb. 7.Kotyk, 19, collapsed during the second period of the OHL-Quebec League interlocking game in Hull the night before.Doctors said he suffered from dehydration. Kotyk was expected to be back on the ice by February.&ldquo;The doctors said it&rsquo;s a lot of little factors that became one big factor,&rdquo; Kotyk said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really confusing right now. It&rsquo;s scary. You wonder what&rsquo;s going wrong.&rdquo;Kotyk, the Boston Bruins&rsquo; fifth round pick in 1999, underwent surgery in October to correct an irregular heart rate, but tests showed this latest development had nothing to do with his heart.Coach-GM Brian Kilrea said a full house in Hull made it hot in the arena, &ldquo;and it didn&rsquo;t help that we spent most of the game in our own end, thanks to the officiating. That guy (from the QMJHL) did everything in his power to make sure the game was on an even scale.&rdquo;The 67&rsquo;s won 4-0. They&rsquo;d beaten the Olympiques 6-3 in Ottawa two weeks earlier.NO LOSING LEADS: The Plymouth Whalers improved their record when leading after two periods to 65-1-3 the past two seasons with a 1-0 win over the Samia Sting Feb. 8. Eric Gooldy&rsquo;s first period goal pushed the Whalers into a tie for first place in the Western Conference with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.The Whalers&rsquo; only blown third period lead in two years was Oct. 9 when they led Toronto St. St. Michael&rsquo;s 2-1 and the Majors won 3-2.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know about that stat until I was reading about it today,&rdquo; said Whalers&rsquo; coach-GM Peter DeBoer the day after the Samia game. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s obviously something we&rsquo;re proud of, now that we&rsquo;re aware of it&hellip;Guys tighten things up defensively when we get the lead.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0030-01

67’s cleaning up with carpet man

<div class="byline">By Gordie Sutherland</div>The Vai d&rsquo;Or Foreurs may have already given up on their season, but Simon Gamache hasn&rsquo;t.The Foreurs (16-34-5) traded away most of their veteran talent and have a lock on last place in the Lebel Conference, but Gamache continues to pile up points and battle for a place among the league&rsquo;s top five scorers.His effort hasn&rsquo;t dipped, not even a bit.&ldquo;He has 58 per cent of the team&rsquo;s points,&rdquo; said Vai d&rsquo;Or GM Stephane Pilotte. &ldquo;When the puck is dropped, he never looks at who is ahead of him, he just goes. I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s looking too much at what the team situation is. He just puts the effort out for the other players to follow.&rdquo;Gamache had 103 points, including 46 goals, going into the Feb. Game in which he played with Team Quebec. The game, at the Molson Centre in Montreal, pitted Quebec natives against players from the rest of the world.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02633/7041354-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="514" height="483"></div>If the 18-year-old winger was going to falter, it would have been after Vai d&rsquo;Or dealt high-scoring linemate Benoit Dusablon to the Halifax Mooseheads in early January.Dusablon&rsquo;s departure had a devastating effect on the Foreurs&rsquo; power play, but Gamache, fivefoot-10 and 178 pounds, was able to maintain his overall production. He was fourth in the league scoring race.In a 7-4 loss to the powerful Moncton Wildcats Feb. 5, Gamache scored two goals and set up the other two.&ldquo;He has shown that against any team and in any situation he&rsquo;s always going to compete,&rdquo; said Pilotte, who expected to ice a competitive team next season.CAN&rsquo;T WE ALL GET ALONG?: A senseless punch to the back of the head left Rimouski Oceanic goalie Sebastien Caron with a concussion and resulted in an eight-game suspension for Quebec Remparts&rsquo; winger Tommy Bolduc.The blow robbed Caron of the chance to play in his first All-Star Game.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been one of the best goalies in the league all season long,&rdquo; said Doris Labonte, Rimouski&rsquo;s coach-GM. &ldquo;We lose Caron and they lose Bolduc, who is there for two shifts a game.&rdquo;The injury stemmed from a Jan. 30 altercation. It started when the Remparts scored a goal and Rimouski defenseman Brent MacLellan allegedly shoved Quebec captain Patrick Grandmaitre, who retaliated by punching him in the mouth.&ldquo;He kind of caught him with his glove and his stick so MacLellan ended up losing a couple of teeth,&rdquo; said Quebec coach Guy Chouinard. Caron came to MacLellan&rsquo;s aid and that&rsquo;s when Bolduc took him from behind. Grandmaitre got a two-game suspension.Chouinard thought the suspensions were harsh.&ldquo;We feel bad that MacLellan lost his teeth. No one likes to see that. But Patrick&rsquo;s been in the league for five years. He&rsquo;s never been sus pended, never been in trouble, so we thought maybe (vice-president Maurice) Filion could have given him the benefit of the doubt.&ldquo;With Tommy, we think it&rsquo;s severe, but we also accept that what he did was unjustifiedLOOKING FOR MR. GOOD-GOALIE Mooseheads are in the lux position of having two No. 1 goalies, but they were looking for a third when both Pascal Leclaire and Alexei Volkov were sidelined with injuries.A lingering groin problem has kept Leclaire out since Jan. 16 while Volkov suffered a hamstring injury in a collision with Jonathan Roy of the Moncton Wildcats Jan. 30.Leclaire, 17, was eyeing a mid-February return, but Volkov&rsquo;s outlook was less clear.The 19-year-old Russian, who had to withdraw from the league&rsquo;s All-Star Game, hoped to be skating by Feb. 15.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really frustrating, but there&rsquo;s nothing I can do about it,&rdquo; said Volkov, drafted 76th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 1998.BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: A late invitation gave Jonathan Girard his third straight appearance at the league&rsquo;s All-Star Game.The smooth-skating Moncton Wildcats&rsquo; defenseman was added to the Team Quebec roster after Joe Rullier of the Rimouski Oceanic was forced to back out with a knee injury.Girard got the news just four days before the Feb. 9 match.After starting the season with the Boston Bruins, Girard returned to the QMJHL Jan. 14, two days after the Wildcats acquired him from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.He scored 15 points in his first 10 games. &#9632;

f0030-02

Foreurs’ Gamache scoring in buckets

<div class="byline">By Andy Baggot</div><h2>WCHA</h2>St. Cloud State is on CloudThe Huskies have overcome an 0-5-0 start to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and have moved into title contention.From Nov. 20 through Feb. 5, St. Cloud put together a 12-1-2 run that included a seven-game winning streak and a 10-game unbeaten string (8-0-2). After taking three of four points in a series with second-place North Dakota Feb. 4-5, St. Cloud moved into third place, six points behind front-running Wisconsin.The Huskies have tremendous balance and more quality depth at forward than at anytime in the 13-year tenure of coach Craig Dahl. Their defense corps is strong and once-forgotten junior goaltender Scott Meyer has been brilliant.Meyer began the season buried on the depth chart behind sophomore Dean Weasler and freshman Jake Moreland. But when Weasler went down with a knee injury in early November, Meyer stepped into the lineup and has been impossible to move out.Prior to training camp, Dahl met with Meyer and told the goalie his work habits in practice needed to improve if he wanted to play on a consistent basis. Meyer got the message.Through Feb. 8, Meyer was 13-2-2 overall with a 1.75 goals-against average and .940 save percentage. He also had five shutouts, setting a school record and tying the WCHA mark.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve really played good team defense and we&rsquo;re getting excellent goaltending,&rdquo; Dahl said. &ldquo;And there&rsquo;s no one forward an opponent can look at and say, &lsquo;We have to stop him.&rsquo;&rdquo;The Huskies had four forwards with 11 or more goals and another with nine. Six players had 20 or more points.St Cloud&rsquo;s special teams were key in the team&rsquo;s turnaround. The power play was operating at 22-per-cent efficiency and their penalty killing was among the best in the nation (92 per cent).HONORING THE PAST: Members of the three NCAA championship teams at Minnesota (1974, &rsquo;76 and &rsquo;79) were honored when the Gophers hosted Colorado College at Mariucci Arena Feb. 11.The reunion was arranged by former Minnesota coach Herb Brooks last summer with the idea he would attend. But Brooks was coaching his Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Islanders that night and couldn&rsquo;t be there.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s too bad his suspension wasn&rsquo;t this weekend,&rdquo; said Gophers&rsquo; marketing consultant Pat Forciea, referring to Brooks&rsquo; recent two-game punishment for confronting a TV commentator.DRAWING A BLANK: When Colorado College goaltender Jeff Sanger earned a 4-0 shutout at Alaska-Anchorage Feb. 5, he tied the school record for most shutouts in a season (three) and the university&rsquo;s career mark of six. &#9632;

Huskies nipping at leaders after stumbling out of gate

<div class="byline">By Paul Harris</div><h2>CCHA</h2>The Lake Superior State Lakers turned a crisis into motivation.After losing both games of the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament in December-including one to Michigan Tech, which had previously won just two games this season-the Lakers&rsquo; leading scorer Trent Walford quit the team because of differences with coach Scott Borek.But the club still turned it around, going 6-3-1 in their next 10 games to move into a third-place tie with Michigan State. The Lakers were 13-8-1 in Central Collegiate Hockey Association play and 14-13-1 overall.&ldquo;We came back from the Michigan Tech game and had a 60-minute skate,&rdquo; Borek said. &ldquo;And then we made some lineup changes and we had a player leave and the team came together. (Walford) made an individual decision and we bonded because of that.&rdquo;Borek, in the final season of a four-year contract, has been under fire for posting a sub-.5OO record (58-63-14) since joining the school.University president Robert Arbuckle has said he will make the final decision on whether Borek will return next season. Athletic director Bill Crawford, a Borek backer, said it would be an easy call if he were making the decision.&ldquo;Scotty would stay if (a contract) were offered and I would offer it,&rdquo; Crawford said. &ldquo;But that&rsquo;s up to our president. The president has taken the reins on that one.&rdquo;Borek is trying to keep his situation in the background, but it does bother him.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying not to make it a distraction,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But it has been frustrating, to say the least.&rdquo;A RARE OCCASION: When Michigan dropped a 5-4 decision to Ferris State Feb. 5, it was the first time in 123 games and almost five years that the Wolverines had lost a game in which they led after two periods.Michigan was up 4-2 going into the final frame before the Bulldogs scored three unanswered goals.The last time the Wolverines lost a game in that fashion was Feb. 11, 1995, when they dropped a 5-4 decision at University Illinois-Chicago. The Wolverines had led 4-3 going into the third period on that occasion.ZERO HEROES: Michigan State tied a team record with a 3-0 shutout over Lake Superior State Feb. 3.It was the Spartans&rsquo; sixth shutout of the season, which tied the team record set in 1997-98. Freshman goaltender Ryan Miller leads Michigan with five shutouts; that&rsquo;s one shy of the school&rsquo;s individual record set by Chad Alban in 1997-98.Miller&rsquo;s four CCHA shutouts also leave him one short of the conference record which was set by Western Michigan&rsquo;s Marc Magliarditi in 1995-96. &#9632;

Disappointment, defection water under bridge at LSSU

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggle</div><h2>ECAC</h2>Most hockey fans consider themselves lucky if they get to see the nation&rsquo;s top goal-scorer go head-to-head against one of the best goaltenders once or twice a year.Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute coach Dan Fridgen sees it every day.At one end of the ice is junior right winger Brad Tapper, who has been among the goalscoring leaders since November. Heading into mid-February, he led NCAA Division I snipers with 26 goals in 25 games.At the other end of the ice is senior goalie Joel Laing, who had a national-best .948 save percentage with a 1.82 goals-against average.According to Fridgen, having the two in the same rink every day can be entertaining.&ldquo;One guy loves to score and the other guy loves to stop scorers,&rdquo; said Fridgen. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll hear Brad say that Joel makes things difficult for him and you&rsquo;ll hear Joel say that he knows what Brad is going to do, but Brad still beats him.&rdquo;Tapper went into February with 60 career goals. And this season, he has been drawing even more attention than in the past.&ldquo;Every time he stands up to go on the ice, I see opposing coaches looking around to see if their top lines or top defensive pairs are on the ice,&rdquo; Fridgen said.Laing, who is bidding to become just the second goalie ever to win the Hobey Baker Award (Minnesota&rsquo;s Robb Stauber won in 1988) has improved every year he has been at RPI. He has compiled a 36-28-6 career record, .920 save percentage and 11 shutouts.&ldquo;The key to Joel&rsquo;s game is consistency,&rdquo; Fridgen said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got excellent potential and the ability to lead. I think he&rsquo;s going to write his own ticket.&rdquo;FRESH FROSH FAB: Clarkson coach Mark Morris&rsquo; decision to bring in freshman goalie Karl Mattson for the second semester paid off when Mattson recorded his first-ever shutout in a 4-0 victory over Yale Feb. 5. Mattson made 24 saves to secure the win.Junior left winger Erik Cole continued his mid-season surge by scoring his team-high 15th goal. Cole extended his point streak to eight games with the tally.SAINTS PERFECT: St. Lawrence&rsquo;s penalty-killers were perfect as the Saints swept Yale (6-2) and Princeton (4-1) during the first weekend of February.The Saints killed off all 13 power plays they faced in the two games to improve to 10-2-1 in Eastern College Athletic Conference play.St. Lawrence remained ahead of Colgate (9-3-1) and RPI (8-4-1) in the battle for the regular season title.The sweep also allowed the Saints to extend their perfect record on home ice; they were 7-0-0 at Appleton Arena against league opponents. &#9632;

Goaltending? Scoring? Neither a problem at RPI

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NHL GAME SUMMARIES

NHL ROSTERS AND TRANSACTIONS

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello Senior Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02263/7041636-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="666" height="1189"><figcaption class="caption-body">A young Chicago Wolves&rsquo; fan dresses in style during an IHL game</figcaption></div>There&rsquo;s something about the Huntington Blizzards&rsquo; logo that gives Todd McFarlane a chill.Turnabout is fair play because McFarlane has been giving readers of Spawn comics chills for years. The Calgary-born artist has created a multi-million dollar entertainment and production industry sparked by his skill at drawing riveting images.The success of Spawn and its spinoffs-including feature films, animated television, video games, music videos and toys-generaied enough cash for 38-year-old McFarlane to buy an ownership share in the Edmonton Oilers in 1998.So, who better to evaluate logos than McFarlane? A self-professed hockey fanatic, the Spawn creator jumped at the chance to offer his two cents in our seventh annual minor pro hockey logo ranking.&ldquo;Huntington&rsquo;s snowflake icon is exactly what I think hockey logos should be all about,&rdquo; McFarlane said of the East Coast League team&rsquo;s logo. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a snowflake and a &lsquo;B.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s an emblem that means something.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a big fan of logos saying what the product is. You&rsquo;re defeating the purpose. It&rsquo;s supposed to be a symbol for the team, not a billboard telling you what it&rsquo;s all about.&ldquo;The Nike logo is a swoosh, not an angry bear with a sneaker sticking out of it&rsquo;s mouth. You don&rsquo;t see a computer on the IBM logo or a car on Ford&rsquo;s. They&rsquo;re just simple icons that people associate with that company.&rdquo;The strength of a logo, McFarlane said, comes in its simplicity. Hockey&rsquo;s most recognizable logos are crisp and uncomplicated: Think of the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens. Most NHL logos, in fact, are emblems with tact, not text.&ldquo;Most minor pro logos seem to want to incorporate their team name with a creature and hockey paraphernalia,&rdquo; McFarlane said. &ldquo;I find it amusing that only six (of the 58 teams) have logos that are emblems.&rdquo;Even though McFarlane chose Huntington&rsquo;s logo first on his list, the Blizzard improved from 27th place to 24th on our composite list. As a show of faith to our six previous voting panels since 1994, we declare the most a logo can move from one year to the next is three slots.Producer/director Todd McFarlane, the creator of Spawn, is the judge for this year&rsquo;s minor pro logo ranking. He has won two Emmy Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and been nominated for two Grammy Awards for his work in film, TV and videos. He is the force behind McFarlane Toys, which is aiming to release a line of 10 NHL action figures this year. McFarlane, who bought Mark McGwire&rsquo;s 1998 70th home run ball for $3 million, has been a partowner of the Edmonton Oilers since 1998. Team logos Todd McFarlane can shift a maximum of three places from one year to the next McFarlane&rsquo;s personal rankings of the 10 best and 10 worst are on pg. 43.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01423/7041643-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="156" height="200"></div>Top spot in 2000 is retained a third straight year by the International League&rsquo;s Chicago Wolves. Chicago finished sixth on McFarlane&rsquo;s list and could not be usurped by contenders.In discussing the logos, McFarlane spawned five guidelines:&#9633; Cartoony characters with hockey paraphernalia are silly. &ldquo;A Solar Bear with Ray Bans? A Stingray with a stick? A Riverman chewing on a puck? Why not have the Pirate with a knife instead of a stick in his mouth? So many of these logos would have been better if you get rid of the stick.&rdquo;&#9633; The primary logo should be clean and uncluttered with words. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m pro image. Keep the city and nickname in the secondary logo or on a shoulder patch. The words are bigger than the icon in a lot of cases.&rdquo;&#9633; Ditch the cartoon characters. Consider the audience. &ldquo;Two groups of fans attend games, children and adults. Kids are outnumbered five to one and it&rsquo;s the adults who buy the merchandise. They&rsquo;re more likely to buy if it&rsquo;s a cool logo. Plus, it&rsquo;s hard to determine what&rsquo;s cool for kids. What&rsquo;s cool for a seven-year-old is definitely not cool for a 12-year-old.&rdquo;&#9633; If you have to sell out and go with an animal caricature, &ldquo;pick something menacing, not a fish or a bird or a puppy. Be intimidating. Or at least be regal rather than dumpy.&rdquo;&#9633; The logo should be big and bold. &ldquo;You should be able to distinguish it even from the nosebleeds or on TV from your couch. Too much detail just adds to the clutter.&rdquo;The American League&rsquo;s Albany River Rats won the inaugural ranking in 1994, followed by the IHL&rsquo;s Minnesota Moose (1995), the defunct Carolina Monarchs (1996) and the defunct Phoenix Roadrunners (1997).The Wolves entered the IHL in 1995 and finished third in our survey. They were third in 1996 and fourth in 1997 before moving into top spot.The seventh annual minor pro logo ranking includes 58 teams in the top three minor leagues. New teams include the Arkansas RiverB lades, Greensboro Generals, Jackson Bandits and Trenton Titans of the ECHL and the Louisville Panthers, Quebec Citadelles and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.Two AHL teams (Providence Bruins and St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs) were not included because their logos are virtually identical to their NHL affiliate of the same nickname. &#9632;

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The Big Chill

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February 25, 2000

Cornell was HNIC original studio host

Bears’ hibernating offense leads to winter whiteout

Ex-Bruin Gallinger had short career

1999-2000 REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS