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March 31, 2000
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.
Lecavalier strikes for Lightning
Eight hard years have been spent sitting by the dock of Tampa Bay, the Lightning wasting their fans’ time, misidentifying a real thing. Because hockey was new, you could fool these people once with Brian Bradley, but not a second time with Chris Gratton, although that was tried. Phil Esposito, the carnival barker who bought the expansion franchise with money he didn’t have, drafted Roman, then tried to explain the team couldn’t be built in a day. But Hamrlik is long gone, his character more built by the painful experience in Tampa than the team has been by what it got for him. The budget is low and so has been morale. The people from Dotroit have taken control from the wild and crazy insurance guy, who took control from, well, we…
Leafs grow accustomed to sorrow
The Bryan Berard injury devastated the Toronto Maple Leafs, but as both individuals and as a team, the Leafs are getting accustomed to dealing with off-ice tribulations. Berard’s injury was one of several tragedies and near-tragedies to befall the Maple Leafs recently. In the week before Berard’s injury, centre Alyn McCauley learned that his grandmother had suddenly died and Gerald Diduck rushed to Edmonton to be with his family after his sister plunged down an elevator shaft and suffered serious and extensive fractures to both legs, both heels and her pelvis. Carla Diduck also blew out both her knees. And during an early-March road trip, conditioning coach Phil Walker learned that his father-in-law had been killed in a car accident in eastern Canada. Diduck’s sister faces an extensive rehabilitative period, but after early…
Winner Takes All: Taking a gamble on the merchandising jackpot
Of all the money bet in the bars and basements of North America during last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, perhaps no man put more on the line than Steve Shilts. Certainly no man had to work harder after he won. Shilts bet a hefty chunk of dough on the Dallas Stars beating the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. “I was really sweating bullets there,” he said. When the Stars did win, Shilts pushed his luck; after Dallas beat the Buffalo Sabres in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead in the Cup finals, he plunked down “a few hundred thousand dollars, maybe more” on the Stars taking it all. It was big money, but he had good odds; the payoff was a lot better than one-to-one.…
Blue-chippers won’t be rushed
NHL RANK 3rd GRADE B+ The Calgary Flames’ temptation, after three consecutive years out of the playoffs, would be to force their young players into the NHL on the grounds that if you can’t sell today, you may as well market tomorrow. Instead, the Flames decided in 1999-2000 to wait patiently for their blue-chippers to fully develop. All five of their top prospects were candidates to make the team out of training camp, but except for an unscheduled two-month appearance by prized goaltender Jean Giguere-necessitated because of injuries to Grant Fuhr—the Flames have resisted the urge to rush them. “We’re trying to keep our kids down until they’re absolutely ready,” said player personnel director Nick Polano. “We want them developing in the minors until we’re sure they’re able to stay up. It doesn’t do any good…
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