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.

September 8, 2000

The Hockey News September 8, 2000

<h2>PRE-SEASON</h2>The following is an unofficial pre-season schedule compiled from the schedules provided by each team. Times are local unless otherwise noted and subject to change.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011165/8213980-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="514" height="3388"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02807/8213973-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="499" height="934"></div><h2>2000-2001 REGULAR SEASONCORRECTION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03592/8213966-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="517" height="2392"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04411/8213959-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="499" height="3553"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05309/8213952-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="496" height="3544"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06261/8213945-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="489" height="3548"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-07229/8213938-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="487" height="3553"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011034/8213931-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="485" height="3556"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02692/8213924-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="497" height="3548"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03477/8213917-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="493" height="3544"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04340/8213910-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="512" height="3540"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05280/8213903-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="493" height="2016"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-06224/8213896-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="493" height="2016"></div> &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

2000-2001 NHL SCHEDULE

<div class="byline">By Damian Cristodero</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03666/8213572-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="325" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Primeau</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02885/8213579-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="149" height="145"></div>The Lightning did not have the busiest summer. but it was fruitful nonetheless.Tampa Bay swung a trade with the Islanders for goalie Kevin Weekes and signed two of its most valued players-left wingers Fredrik Modin and Todd Warriner&mdash;to two-year contracts.The moves have players who have suffered through three consecutive 50-loss seasons believing the team is moving in the right direction. Players such as captain Vincent Lecavalier say the Lightning can make the playoffs this year, though a more realistic goal is 2001-02.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Lightning training camp:Training camp opens Sept. 7 at Brandon, Fla.Pre-season opener Sept. 16 vs. Carolina at Fort Myers, Fla.Rookies to watch High-scoring center Brad Richards, 20, could win a spot on the No. 2 line. And expectations are high for 20-year-old right winger Dmitry AfanasenkovJobs up for grabs The most heated competition will be for the No. 2 line center job. Richards, Brian Holzinger, Ryan Johnson and Wayne Primeau could all stake a claim.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Money matters Primeau and defenseman Pavel Kubina were the Lightning&rsquo;s only unsigned free agents. GM Rick Dudley said he expected both to be under contract by training camp.Injury update It took Sergey Gusev seven months to get back on skates after tearing up his right knee in December, but the defenseman is expected to be 100 per cent for camp. Andrei Zyuzin&rsquo;s shoulder surgery, which forced him to miss 41 games last season, has been deemed a success. Lecavalier took a puck off the ankle and missed the last two games of last season, but said he is healed.NOTEBOOK Defensemen Bryan Muir and Kaspars Astashenko signed one-year contracts. Financial terms were not disclosed. &lsquo;They&rsquo;re both big, good skating defensemen that we feel have tremendous upsides,&rdquo; said Lightning GM Rick Dudley. &ldquo;We believe that they both can become quality players.&rdquo;&hellip;The romance between defenseman Pavel Kubina and tennis star Martina Hingis is apparently over. Hingis told the Montreal Gazette she is dating tennis player Magnus Norman. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a nice relationship (because) we both understand each other,&rdquo; Hingis said of Norman&hellip;Expect the Lightning to have a new logo and uniform by 2001-02. The club informed the NHL it is in the process of exploring a new look. &#9632;

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NHL TEAMS

Perennial losers believe they can make playoffs

<div class="byline">By Tom Joins</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011561/8213165-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="149" height="153"></div>The Minnesota Wild won&rsquo;t break any expansion records for victories and it isn&rsquo;t going to be in the hunt for a playoff spot.But that hardly matters in the Twin Cities. The NHL is back in Minnesota after a seven-year absence and that&rsquo;s enough to get this hockey-crazy state in a fever pitch. A winter of NHL hockey is just what the fans are waiting for, even if it&rsquo;s a winter full of losing.Training camp opens Sept. 7 in Minneapolis.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 19 vs. San Jose at Portland.Rookies to watch The Wild will give top pick Marian Gaborik every opportunity to make his mark in camp. GM Doug Risebrough may play it safe, however, and start the 18-year-old with Cleveland of the International League.Jobs up for grabs For the Wild, there are more spots than players available to fill them. One huge opening is that of offensive leader on defense. Free agent J. J. Daigneault could fill the role.An intriguing candidate is Lubomir Sekeras who had 31 points in 52 Czech League games last year.Money matters The last few remaining restricted free agents-goalie Zac Bierk, defensemen Filip Kuba and Andy Sutton, and forwards Sergei Krivokrasov and Scott Pellerin-were signed to one-year deals well before camp.Injury update The Wild kick off its first campaign with no major injury concerns.NOTEBOOK The Wild signed eighth round pick, defenseman Lubomir Sekaras. to a three-year contract barely beating a deadline that would&rsquo;ve forced him back to the Czech Republic for another season. Sekeras is not your typical draft pick. He&rsquo;s 31 years old and a long-time veteran of the Czech League who has also played with the Slovakian national team that competed in the World Championship. He is considered to be a physical defender who picked up 36 penalty minutes last season&hellip;The Wild will hold its first training camp at an existing rink in downtown Minneapolis, but is expected to begin construction soon on a permanent practice facility near the airport, about a 20-minute drive from Minneapolis and St. Paul. &#9632;</div>

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Twin Cities truly excited about NHL making return

<div class="byline">By Cecil Harris</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021228/8212872-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="565" height="996"><figcaption class="caption-body">Martin Gelinas</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011716/8212879-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="149" height="141"></div>Since last season&rsquo;s training camp felt like a ride aboard the Titanic because of the contract squabble of disgruntled captain Keith Primeau, the Carolina Hurricanes are determined to make this year&rsquo;s camp resemble a trip on the Good Ship Lollypop.All of Carolina&rsquo;s key players are signed and will presumably be healthy and happy when the Hurricanes open camp.After a series of off-season moves, many of the faces will be different and the Canes are hoping change in this case is a good thing.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Canes&rsquo; training camp.Training camp opens Sept. 7 in Raleigh.Pre-season opener Sept. 16 vs. Tampa Bay at Fort Myers, Fla.Rookies to watch At 6-foot-3, goalie Jean-Marc Pelletier covers far more net than the 5-foot-8 incumbent, Arturs Irbe. Pelletier, once ranked ahead of Brian Boucher in the Hyers&rsquo; organization, could play more than the anticipated 20-to-25 games if Irbe falters.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Gritty Ian MacNeil could contribute defensively on a third or fourth line. He&rsquo;s versatile enough to play center or left wing.Defenseman Niclas Wallin, a 25-year-old Swede, could see plenty of action if he puts his 6-foot-2, 209-pound frame to good use.And Josef Vasicek, a 19-year-old right winger could stick if he&rsquo;s not intimidated by the big boys.Jobs up for grabs There&rsquo;s a vacancy at left wing on the first line. The leading candidates to fill the role are Bates Battaglia and Martin Gelinas.Mercurial Sandis Ozolinsh needs a stay-at-home partner. Steve Halko is the likely choice.The third and fourth lines are in flux. Tommy Westlund could center the thud line between MacNeil and newcomer Rob DiMaio, while young Craig MacDonald could center for tough guy Darren Langdon and Vasicek or Shane Willis.Money matters GM Jim Rutherford made sure everyone was under contract by mid-August.Injury update Forwards Sami Kapanen and Rod Brind&rsquo; Amour, who will skate on the No. 2 line, ended last season with concussions. Brind&rsquo; Amour also had a sore left foot. The Canes insist both are healthy now, as is defenseman Glen Wesley, who had off-season shoulder surgery.NOTEBOOK Centers Ron Francis and Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour will be wearing more familiar jersey numbers this season. Francis, who wore No. 21 after signing as a free agent with the Canes two summers ago, will sport No. 10, the number he has worn most of his career. It became available when left winger Gary Roberts signed with Toronto as an unrestricted free agent. Brind&rsquo;Amour. who had No. 27 last season after his trade from Philadelphia, is going back to his familiar No. 17. That became available when left winger Jeff Daniels announced he was taking No. 11. &#9632;

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Hurricanes’ players all signed and sealed-will they deliver?

<div class="byline">Steve Dryden will return next week</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021363/8212276-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="313" height="473"><figcaption class="caption-body">Derek King</figcaption></div><h2>EDITOR&rsquo;S NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011617/8212283-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="205" height="329"></div><h2>Howes honored for contribution</h2>1. Howe sweet Gordie, Colleen. Mark and Marty Howe win the Wayne Gretzky Award for their contribution to U.S. hockey.2. Golden run Canada&rsquo;s under-18 team wins the gold medal at the Four Nations Cup for the fifth straight year.3. Giving back to minors Ontario League coaches will help their local minor hockey coaches this season.4. How I spent my vacation Augusta Lynx trainer Brian Patafie drives rock group Zebrahead around on team bus.5. Hey, it takes moxy Agent Mark Gandler &ldquo;suspends&rdquo; Toronto after failed negotiations for Alexander Karpovtsev.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-031013/8212269-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="321" height="473"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Boucher</figcaption></div><h2>Boucher wants bushel of cash</h2>1. A little full of yourself, Brian? Flyers&rsquo; goalie Brian Boucher wants a 700-per-cent raise for his sophomore season.2. Who&rsquo;ll play net? With training camp just around the comer, Pittsburgh doesn&rsquo;t have a No. 1 goalie signed.3. Phoenix ownership follies Fans are the losers if stalled ownership change costs the Coyotes unrestricted free agents.4. Sens snooze Ottawa signs Derek King and Ricard Persson&hellip;that&rsquo;s supposed to put the Sens over the top?5. Forgotten feeding frenzy The San Jose Sharks still have eight restricted free agents to sign.<h2>Theme issue: What you need to know about NHL camps</h2>It&rsquo;s that time of year when players pack up the Copper-tone and break out the Absorbine Jr. Yes, training camps are a wrist shot away and we have you covered.This theme issue starts on pg. 12 with 30 NHL team depth charts. The two-page spread is a terrific way to compare how clubs stack up. In the following nine pages, we give you team-by-team primers on everything from pre-season opening games to rookies to watch to the skinny on unsigned free agents.A composite pre-season schedule, beginning with Vancouver&rsquo;s contest against MoDo in Stockholm Sept. 13, appears on pg. 28. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">By Rob Tychkowski</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011931/8212314-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Boyd Devereaux</figcaption></div>One minute he&rsquo;s having the best season of his young career, the next he&rsquo;s out cold, lying sprawled along the blueline.Five weeks later a team of doctors tells him he&rsquo;s at risk for serious, permanent injury if he returns to the NHL.And just like that, Boyd Devereaux&rsquo;s hockey career was over. At 22. It didn&rsquo;t matter that he wasn&rsquo;t ready, that he was just getting started or that his future had so much promise.He was done. Two major concussions in three years. Bleeding on the brain. One hit away from tragedy.If you can imagine how devastated he was when Chicago neurologist Dr. James Kelly dropped the bombshell in June, then you can probably imagine how elated he was in late August.Two months after Devereaux&rsquo;s personal nightmare began, it ended. Just as quickly. Just as dramatically.Extensive testing in July in Montreal, by one of North America&rsquo;s most respected neurosurgeons, revealed no bleeding at all. Devereaux was given the green light to play. Days later, long before the euphoria had subsided, the Detroit Red Wings offered him a three-year contract that tops out at $4.6 million.And just like that, he was back. On a Stanley Cup contender, minutes from his parents&rsquo; home in Seaforth, Ont., with a home run contract in his hip pocket.Wow.&ldquo;It has definitely been a real roller coaster ride, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; said the former Oiler center, who couldn&rsquo;t believe his reversal of fortune. &ldquo;The whole thing has been pretty amazing.&rdquo;The whole thing began April 1 during a game in Edmonton against the Phoenix Coyotes. After making a pass, Devereaux crossed Phoenix&rsquo;s blueline. Coyotes&rsquo; right winger Dallas Drake, who signed with St. Louis in the off-season, came in from the blindside, left his feet at impact and brought the game to a frightening halt. Devereaux was unconscious, convulsing and couldn&rsquo;t breathe. His face was losing color. Training staffs from both teams, along with on-site paramedics, stabilized the situation&mdash;and probably saved his life-before wheeling him off on a stretcher.He missed the rest of the season and the playoffs, but fully expected to be back in training camp this fall, ready to pick up where he had left off. He felt fine and thought further off-season tests were just a formality.&ldquo;When I first got the bad news from Dr. Kelly in Chicago, I couldn&rsquo;t believe it,&rdquo; said Devereaux, who also went to see Dr. Karen Johnston, the head of neurology at McGill University in Montreal and the same physician who was monitoring the Eric Lindros situation, &ldquo;The whole thing seemed surreal. Crazy, really.&ldquo;I tried to stay as positive as I could, but it was difficult. I was down in the dumps. My family and ffiy girlfriend were great, they tried to keep my spirits up.&rdquo;A few weeks later came what seemed like the final two nails in his NHL coffin. The Oilers left him unprotected in the expansion draft (Minnesota and Columbus both passed) and opted not to retain his rights with a qualifying contract offer before June 30.&ldquo;I was upset, but I didn&rsquo;t blame the Oilers,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was a busi&rsquo; ness decision on their part. Nobody thought I was ever going to play again.&rdquo; The Oilers sure didn&rsquo;t.At the time, everybody was 99.9-per-cent sure the kid was done,&rdquo; said Oilers&rsquo; GM Kevin Lowe. &ldquo;And acting in the best interests of the hockey club, I couldn&rsquo;t start throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars around.&rdquo;The Oilers didn&rsquo;t turn their backs on Devereaux. They said they&rsquo;d help him with the next phase of his life, whether it was university or a job within the organization.&ldquo;I definitely have to thank them for the support that they gave me over the summer, especially (trainer) Ken Lowe,&rdquo; Devereaux said. &ldquo;The lowest point of the whole thing was when I first got the news from Dr. Kelly. Ken was the only person there with me and he was unbelievable. We sat down for 2-1/2 hours, just talking. I was really shaken up and upset. He was there for me the whole time.&rdquo;Still, Devereaux wasn&rsquo;t ready to walk away from hockey just yet. &ldquo;The thing that got me was that physically I was feeling great. Over the summer I didn&rsquo;t have any symptoms at all. I thought, &lsquo;That has to count for something.&rsquo;&rdquo;So the Oilers scheduled a July appointment with Dr. Johnston.&ldquo;Much of it was for Boyd&rsquo;s peace of mipd,&rdquo; said Kevin Lowe, who wasn&rsquo;t expecting the results to be any different. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know where my head would have been if they told me my career was over at 22. At 39, I had a medical thing (inner ear) and still went through a year of trying to play.&rdquo;The tests in Montreal were of a much more specific and extensive nature than the previous ones in Edmonton and Chicago and revealed no serious damage. He was told he could resume his career without placing himself at undue risk.&ldquo;It was like, Oh my God,&rsquo;&rdquo; Devereaux said. &ldquo;It was like (going from) night to day.&rdquo;He was back. And on top of that, because Edmonton didn&rsquo;t retain his rights, he was an unrestricted free agent.&ldquo;I experienced a lot of the business side of hockey this summer,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;It was unfortunate the way it happened, but I had an opportunity at 22 that most players don&rsquo;t get until they&rsquo;re 31.1 felt I owed it to myself to explore the situation. And in the end it was difficult not to take the deal.&rdquo;As much as he loved Edmonton and the people there, this was too good to turn down: $3.6 million over three years, plus a $1million bonus if he plays 70 games this season. Last year, in his second full NHL season, Devereaux skated in 76 games, recording eight goals and 27 points. The Wings plan to insert him at center on their third line, effectively as a replacement for Igor Larionov, who left for Forida during the summer.&ldquo;It was a business decision to a certain extent, but I&rsquo;m close to home now, my parents can come down every weekend to see me play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s going to be a fresh start. In Detroit, I don&rsquo;t think the concussion history will be a daily issue like it would have been in Edmonton. It&rsquo;s still pretty fresh in the minds of the fans and media there.&rdquo;Devereaux would just as soon forget the whole thing and concentrate on the second chance he never thought was coming. &ldquo;I feel totally confident that I&rsquo;m more than fit to play, no question,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Im really anxious to get out there.&rdquo;As fate would have it, Devereaux won&rsquo;t have long to wait to make his return to Edmonton. In their season opener Oct. 6, the Oilers host the Wings. &#9632;

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FEATURES

From retired to inspired

Hockey Night In Canada commentator Don Cherry received one of the most prestigious awards from the Royal Canadian Legion.The flamboyant Cherry was presented with the Friendship Award for his public support of Canada&rsquo;s war veterans. It is the highest award given to non-Legionnaires.Cherry said he will wear the medal during his Coach&rsquo;s Comer segment on HN1C Nov. 11, Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the U.S.NHL veteran linesman Swede Knox is hanging up the blades after 28 seasons and more than 2,000 regular season games.Knox, 52, was the league&rsquo;s second-oldest on-ice official behind 54-year-old Ray Scapinello.Referee Rob Martell and linesman Francois Gagnon will not be back in the NHL this season. With two expansion teams and the full two-referee system in place this season, the league is expected to add more than 10 referees. &#9632;

Cherry wins Friendship Award Veteran linesman Knox retires

<div class="byline">By Wayne Karl</div>NHL teams may soon be able to generate millions of dollars thanks to the next wave in arena advertising signage-digital dasher boards.The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild are among franchises looking at the new technology, which could help bring in at least 25 to 50 per cent more money from sponsorship packages.&ldquo;And over time, given the success of the team and the flexibility of the system, we could see leaps and bounds in terms of incremental revenue,&rdquo; said Brian Jones, vice-president of sponsorship and advertising sales at Ascent Sports, which owns the Avalanche and the Pepsi Center.The Digital Dasher System is a hockey dasher board that displays digital images, like a video scoreboard, meaning teams could replace static vinyl signs with advertising that can be changed during the game and feature moving pictures. The technology was developed by signage manufacturer Yesco of Las Vegas and NHL dasher board supplier Crystaplex Ice Rink Systems of Mississauga, Ont. &ldquo;With digital dashers, we&rsquo;ll be able to make all the signs in the rink display the same message at the same time,&rdquo; said Kevin Perry, vice-president of sales at Crystaplex.Arenas looking to purchase this technology can expect to pay $320,000 (U.S.) for eight eight-foot sections. In comparison, a complete CheckFlex system suitable for static vinyl signage around the entire rink perimeter costs $255,000 (U.S.).Despite the higher price tag, the revenue generating power of the technology is significant.&ldquo;You can go to an advertiser and say, &lsquo;For every penalty shot, you pay an extra &lsquo;x&rsquo; amount of dollars and we&rsquo;ll make sure all the boards show only your advertising, because you know you&rsquo;re making all the sports highlights,&rdquo; Perry said. &ldquo;Or every time there&rsquo;s a power play in this end of the rink, we&rsquo;ll make sure all the signs are yours.&rdquo;The technology must receive NHL approval. Yesco and Crystaplex conducted a demonstration for league and Avalanche officials in Colorado during last season&rsquo;s playoffs and some technical issues still need to be addressed.&ldquo;We have to make sure we&rsquo;re doing something that gives teams the ability to increase their revenue streams, while also keeping the integrity of the game intact,&rdquo; said Scott Carmichael, vice-president of club marketing at NHL Enterprises.Besides being able to absorb bodychecks and hits from skates, sticks and pucks, digital boards must provide clear images.Yesco and Crystaplex remain hopeful they will see a digital dasher installation in an NHL building this season.Minnesota is pushing for its new Excel Energy Center to be the first test site. The team&rsquo;s majority owner is Bob Naegele Jr., father of Bob Naegele III, who is the head of Crystaplex.The Pepsi Center also is a good bet for the first digital dasher boards. The 2001 All-Star Game is in Colorado and the NHL often uses the mid-season classic to showcase new technology, such as microphones and cameras in the ice.Wayne Karl is editor of Hockey Business News, a publication of The Hockey News. &#9632;

Digital boards that blink, think and sell may be coming to NHL

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN</div>Goaltender Tommy Salo of the Edmonton Oilers could be banned from Sweden&rsquo;s national team after refusing to take a doping test in Stockholm in mid-August.Salo, 29, has submitted to several doping tests in past World Championships and Olympics without issue. He was told by the NHL Players&rsquo; Association not to take the surprise test from the Swedish Sports Federation unless certain rules were followed.The NHLPA agreed to urine tests for Salo, defenseman Mattias Norstrom of the Los Angeles Kings and prospect left winger Mikael Hakansson of the Toronto Maple Leafs only if the results were sealed.Salo is earmarked as the top goalie for Sweden for the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.LABATT LOSS Don Kitchen, the 44-year-old president of Labatt Brewing Co., died of a heart attack while on business in Brussels Aug. 17.Kitchen, along with Labatt vicepresident of marketing David Kincaid, were highlighted by THN in 100 People of Power and Influence in hockey last season. Slotted at No. 27, they led the way in Labatt breaking Molson&rsquo;s NHL monopoly in Canada.Kitchen, a Toronto resident, was found dead of a heart attack in his Brussels hotel room after he failed to show up for a business meeting.&ldquo;He was the personal personification of the Labatt that we dream of being,&rdquo; said Hugo Powell, chief executive of Interbrew SA.Kitchen leaves behind wife Linda and sons Andrew, 8, and Adam, 5.CANADA GOLDEN Plymouth Whalers&rsquo; center Stephen Weiss scored a key goal in Canada&rsquo;s march to a fifth consecutive gold medal at the Four Nations Under-18 Cup in Kezmarok, Slovakia.Weiss tied the gold medal game with the U.S. at 1-1 in the third period and Canada went on for a 3-1 victory.Canada has won seven of the last nine under-18 tournaments.BORIS RETURNS Boris Mikhailov is back in charge of Russia&rsquo;s national team.The former right winger, who captained the Soviet Union&rsquo;s national team in the 1960s and 1970s, replaces Alexander Yakushev, who was fired after Russia finished 11th at the 2000 World Championship.Mikhailov has a two-year contract which carries through the 2002 World Championship and 2002 Olympics. It&rsquo;s his second tour of duty as national team coach.<h2>PUCK BRIEFS</h2>Available for hireSome players were without destinations as NHL training camps got set to begin Sept. 7. Here are the most prominent unrestricted free agents, their 1999-2000 teams and salaries.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011883/8212424-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="556" height="565"></div> &#9632;

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Salo may face Olympic ban

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN</div>A Rimouski, Que., woman has taken a minor hockey association to court after her son was denied the right to play in a game.Helene Canuel is seeking $1,000 in damages (registration fees, hockey classes and damages for mental anguish) from the Rimouski Minor Hockey Association.Canuel claimed 14-year-old son David was on a bantam team that had been alternating goalies until a must-win tournament game in December, 1999. At that point, the coach asked that David sit out while the other goalie played.Canuel pulled her son off the team and went to small-claims court. The court is expected to render a decision in September.HOWE&rsquo;S THAT Legend Gordie Howe and his family are recipients of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame&rsquo;s Wayne Gretzky Award.Gordie, along with wife Colleen and sons Mark and Marty, will be presented the award at the Hall of Fame&rsquo;s 27th enshrinement Nov. 1 in St. Paul.The Gretzky Award is given annually to the individuals who have made a significant contribution to the growth of American Hockey.Gordie Howe has been &lsquo;Mr. Hockey&rsquo; for more than 50 years, while Mark and Marty also had pro careers in the World Hockey Association and NHL.USA HOCKEY SHUFFLE Mark Tabrum is replacing Val Belmonte as director of USA Hockey&rsquo;s coaching education program.Tabrum, who was the adult hockey manager, will develop training for amateur coaches across the U.S.Belmonte left USA Hockey to become athletic director at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.In other announcements, Jim Johansson will become manager of international activities and U.S. Olympic committee relations; and Julie Sasner was named an assistant coach to Ben Smith for the U.S. women&rsquo;s national team.Earlier tins summer, SL Louis Blues&rsquo; goaltending coach Keith Allain was named coach of the U.S. national junior team. He will be assisted by Jim Johnson and Tim Taylor. &#9632;

Mom sues association after son gets benched

Once again, the New York Islanders have been reborn.And with a new, dedicated ownership firmly in place, GM Mike Milbury will prove what I&rsquo;ve thought all along: That he has and will continue to do a good job.After trading away high-profile players (and the big salaries), the team&rsquo;s youth and incoming core will get a chance to shine.Milbury&rsquo;s best swap may turn out to be the March, 1999, acquisition of big winger Brad Isbister in exchange for Robert Reichel. Isbister is going to be one of the NHLs top power forwards for years to come, while, Reichel played in Europe last year and hasn&rsquo;t shown any inclination of returning to the NHL.Finally, fans in Long Island have something worth watching: A team that boasts youth and speed and has one of the best up-and-coming defenses in the league.The Stanley Cup will return to Long Island&hellip;thanks, Milbury.Norm Misrok,&nbsp;South Bellmore, N. Y.<h2>Check your head</h2>The story &ldquo;Headache,&rdquo; about concussions in the NHL, in The Hockey News 2000-01 Yearbook was very informative, but two important points weren&rsquo;t discussed (THN, Yearbook).Many players modify the helmets or wear them long past the point where key supports break down. When this occurs, there is no guarantee the helmet can provide adequate protection.THN also didn&rsquo;t mention the downside of seamless glass. Simple physics tells us that when the boards are completely unforgiving, the player&rsquo;s body must absorb the impact. If it&rsquo;s a head hitting the glass and the player&rsquo;s helmet is inadequate, the only thing left to absorb the blow is the poor guy&rsquo;s brain.Heather Bielawski,&nbsp;Youngsville, N.C.<h2>New Leafs lacking</h2>After reading the story &ldquo;Finally Contenders?&rdquo; about the Toronto Maple Leafs, I&rsquo;ve come to the conclusion the term &ldquo;power forward&rdquo; is used much too loosely (THN, August).The Leafs&rsquo; free agent aquisitions are referred to as &ldquo;two of the premier power forwards in the game.&rdquo; Since when? Shayne Corson has never been a true goal-scorer and while Gary Roberts had toughness at one time, he has never had the size to frighten opponents.Cam Neely defined the position and Eric Lindros is the only true power forward in today&rsquo;s game (when he&rsquo;s able to play) as he combines size, scoring and the ability to instill fear in opponents.When players such as Victor Kozlov, Claude Lemieux and Andrei Nazarov are considered power forwards, the standard has been lowered.Terry Chomeczko, Tahsis, B.C.<h2>Bye, Bykov</h2>I went to a gala match in Fribourg, Switzerland, on Aug. 21 to pay homage to one of the greatest hockey players ever&hellip;and one which few North Americans have seen play.The game honored Vyacheslav &lsquo;Slava&rsquo; Bykov, one of the best players produced by the U.S.S.R. His lengthy, legendary career was highlighted by 10 Russian championships, seven European Cups, six world championships and two Olympic gold medals. He joind HC Fribourg Gotteron of the Swiss Elite League when he was 30 and went on to amass 708 points in 365 games.The respect Bykov generates from his peers was illustrated by the number of stars who took part in the game. The contest featured a selection of Russian NHLers, such as Maxim Afinogenov, Darius Kasparaitis, Vladimir Malakhov, Alexei Yashin and even icon Slava Fetisov.It&rsquo;s a pity that a player of this magnitude only twice competed in international tournaments in North America&mdash;the 1987 Canada Cup and 1988 Olympics.Renato Johnsson, Geneva, Switz.<h2>Make the calls, ref!</h2>Nothing needs to change to increase scoring in today&rsquo;s NHL&hellip;other than the officiating. I hope the existing rules are enforced this season. Hooking, holding, tripping and interference should always be whistled down.How many times do you see a puck-carrier lose the puck because a defender got away with a hook? Hooking only gets called when a player hits the ice, which encourages diving.Why is it when two opponents are struggling for the puck along the boards, it&rsquo;s OK for the one who is losing to wrap his arms around the other?Why is tripping almost always legal behind the net&hellip;and still legal about half the time everywhere else?And finally, I don&rsquo;t believe anyone can rationally explain the interference policy. An offensive player without the puck in the attacking zone has to survive an obstacle course just to get in position for a pass.I play the game and my son is an excellent player, but I shut the TV off when I see too much of the above. It wastes offensive talent, which is so rare.Terry Moores,&nbsp;Farmington, Mass.<h2>Backing Bourque</h2>How could Stan Fischler write, &ldquo;If I&rsquo;m a Bruins&rsquo; fan, I&rsquo;d rather see a reenergized Paul Coffey on the Boston blueline than Ray Bourque&rdquo; (THN, August)?Fischler should ask Colorado GM Pierre Lacroix if he would trade Bourque for Coffey. I know the answer and it is&hellip;NO!No player in NHL history, with the possible exception of Wayne Gretzky, has performed at the high level that Bourque has at this stage of his career (nearing 40).Jerry Plante,&nbsp;Pembroke, Ont.<h2>Not worth it</h2>Does anyone actually think Buffalo&rsquo;s Mike Peca is worth $4 million a year?Beyond Dominik Hasek, the entire Sabres&rsquo; team isn&rsquo;t worth that much. Peca floated for three-quarters of the season and now he thinks he&rsquo;s worth more money. If Buffalo management is smart, they&rsquo;ll sit Peca for the season.If Peca tried this stunt with a real job, he&rsquo;d quickly find himself in the unemployment line.Herbert Gregory, Rochester, N.Y.<h2>Burns self-inflicted</h2>Canadian hockey fans have heard a lot of noise about how NHL hockey is dying here, due to escalating salaries, lack of fan interest (&ldquo;small market&rdquo; argument) and the pitfalls of playing with a 68-cent dollar.And while I think the Flames will leave Calgary for the U.S. within two years, the franchise has done it to itself.They&rsquo;re in rouble for one reason: A decade of mismanagement.An endless series of bad trades (remember Doug Gilmour for Gary Leeman?), non-signings (Theoren Fleury was dealt rather than resigned), poor drafts (Jesper Mattsson, Niklas Sundblad and Chris Dingman are recent first-rounders), mediocre coaches (Pierre Page and Brian Sutter), poor marketing and horrible scouting has hobbled the organization.Not only does new GM Craig Button have a big job in trying to salvage the team, he has only two years to do it.David Coats,&nbsp;CalgaryFax us your comments at&nbsp;(416) 340-2786&nbsp;or write to Letters, THN, 777 Bay St., Suite 2700, Box 148, Toronto. Ont., M5G 2N8 in Canada. In the U.S., write to&nbsp;Letters, THN, P.O. Box 904. Buffalo. N.Y., 14240-9947.&nbsp;E-mail us at <a href="mailto:mccaigs@transcontinenta.ca">mccaigs@transcontinenta.ca</a> Include hometown as well as home and business phone numbers.&nbsp;THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

Milbuiy’s young Isles get second chance

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012095/8212503-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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ELSTON

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>On one hand, Harry Sinden is right. The numbers Anson Carter has put up to date do not support his salary demand in the neighborhood of $2.5 million a year.Carter has yet to record a 50-point season. He hasn&rsquo;t scored 30 goals in a season. Injuries and a holdout during a contract dispute two years ago prevented him from playing a full NHL season. And even though he appears to be a rising star, Sinden could make the case there&rsquo;s still a chance Carter could level out and be nothing more than a second liner.Why else do you think Carter didn&rsquo;t take the Bruins to arbitration? He knew he wouldn&rsquo;t stand a chance.On the other hand, Carter is the Bruins&rsquo; third best forward behind Jason Allison and Joe Thornton. Not only that, you couldn&rsquo;t find an educated hockey mind on the planet who isn&rsquo;t convinced the 26-year-old forward (he played all three forward positions last season) is on the verge of blossoming into a top-shelf player. Carter is already being mentioned as a candidate to play for Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics is Salt Lake City because of his exceptional speed and good hands.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011895/8212541-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="381" height="493"></div>As president and GM of the Boston Bruins, Sinden has an obligation to keep the team&rsquo;s payroll under control. &lsquo;Dirty Harry&rsquo; has done a pretty good job in that regard, winning more than his share of showdowns and getting rid of many who would stand in his way.Sinden conducts contract negotiations with a, &ldquo;Go ahead punk, make my day&rdquo; attitude. Unfortunately, he seems to obsess on this particular portion of his job-he takes it personally. You have to wonder if he&rsquo;s not more concerned about how much Carter&rsquo;s situation will affect his dealings with Allison and defenseman Kyle McLaren, who are up next summer, than how it will affect the team&rsquo;s potential to win this year.Keeping salaries down is a tough job these days, no question about that. But Boston hasn&rsquo;t won the Stanley Cup since 1972. And frankly, Bruins&rsquo; fans are sick and tired of the team&rsquo;s penny-pinching ways.Carter isn&rsquo;t Sinden&rsquo;s only concern as training camp approaches. Thornton and Sergei Samsonov are also without contracts, though it looks like they&rsquo;ll be easier to sign. Thornton, the top pick in the 1997 entry draft, has been brought along slowly, but is on the verge of being an impact player at 21. Samsonov, the NHL&rsquo;s rookie of the year in 1998, has leveled off somewhat, but should be a decent performer for years to come.Sinden seems determined to draw the line on Carter. He made offers of one-, two&mdash;and three-year contracts last spring and Carter&rsquo;s agent, Pat Brisson, made counterproposals. The two sides apparently are miles apart haven&rsquo;t spoken for months.&ldquo;We drew up a list of about 15 comparable players with similar experience and production as Anson,&rdquo; Sinden said. &ldquo;On that list we had him ranked around No. 7 or 8. The problem is, what they want is for him to be paid like he&rsquo;s No. 1. They want him to be paid on the &ldquo;if-come.&rdquo; In other words, if he comes through like he should, he&rsquo;ll be worth it. But what if he doesn&rsquo;t come through? I&rsquo;d be willing to give them all what they want if they&rsquo;d be willing to cover the downside, but that never happens.&rdquo;Carter missed 12 games at the start of the 1989-99 season because of a contract dispute, but still went on to record a career high in goals with 24 in 55 games. Shoulder and wrist injuries cut his season short last year, but he still managed 22 goals (second best on the team, one behind Thornton) in 59 games. In the past three seasons, Carter&rsquo;s average points per game has risen from .55 in 1978-79 to .73 two years ago to .80 last season. His average ice time per game has also shot up to 20:31 per game last season from 17:17 three years ago. Clearly, Carter has become an integral part of the Bruins.&ldquo;Look, it&rsquo;s not like I&rsquo;m trying to break the bank,&rdquo; Carter said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m only looking for market value. It&rsquo;s not like I&rsquo;m getting worse as a player; I&rsquo;m getting better. I haven&rsquo;t peaked yet.&rdquo;Sinden could trade Carter. And that just may happen. But he&rsquo;ll eventually enter into negotiations with the new player and assuming he acquires somebody of equal ability, he could find himself in the same boat down the road. So what&rsquo;s the point?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021256/8212534-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="369" height="497"><figcaption class="caption-body">Anson Carter</figcaption></div>Sinden shouldn&rsquo;t just open the vault and give every player what they think they&rsquo;re worth. That would be irresponsible. But to go to war year after year with the team&rsquo;s best players-Byron Dafoe, Jozef Stumpel and Dmitri Khristich&mdash;to name a few in recent history-is getting redundant.And where has it gotten Sinden?His payroll might be in order, but his team doesn&rsquo;t stand a chance at winning the Cup. &#9632;

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COLUMNS

C’mon Harry, Carter’s worth it

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011980/8212572-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Moores, the merrier: Brothers Dominic (Rangers), left, Steve (Colorado), center, and Mark (Pittsburgh) all aspire to the NHL.</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s the time of year for dreaming. Before training camp, optimism reigns in rinks everywhere. Stand at the hash marks in a pair of sneakers, fire a puck into the top comer of the net and you, too, can be called special.If that&rsquo;s the case, what do you call the three Moore brothers from Toronto, with a collective resume as rare as an OT empty-netter&hellip;Moore special?Start with their three acceptance letters from ever-discriminating Harvard University, three college hockey careers and three times the family name called out on draft day by an NHL team wanting a member&rsquo;s services.Junior center Steve, 21, and freshman center Dominic, 19, were one-two in scoring for the Crimson last season. Mark, a 23-year-old stay-at-home defender, and Steve were one-two in penalty minutes. Steve was a second round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 1998, Mark a Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; 1997 seventh-rounder and Dominic a third-rounder to the Rangers this summer.After hockey season, Steve and Dominic trade their sticks for racquets and join Harvard&rsquo;s varsity tennis team.Mark, who graduated in the spring, is the Crimson&rsquo;s career leader in PIMs (232). He&rsquo;s also a five-time Ontario high school track star and a 6-foot-4, 215-pound genius: The math major scored 1590 out of 1600 on his SAT entrance exams.These kids have religion, too. If they&rsquo;re not at the rink, the library or on the court, they&rsquo;re probably in church. They go every Sunday, which happens to be the team&rsquo;s only day off the ice.&ldquo;We were a church-going family,&rdquo; said their mother, Anna, &ldquo;but we missed church for hockey.&rdquo;All this and damned if the boys aren&rsquo;t underachievers. When they have all graduated, they&rsquo;ll still have just half as many degrees combined as Anna and father Jack, who each have three. They run a fuel supply business in Toronto.And the boys will only match the old folks&rsquo; five varsity athletic letters. Jack played football, badminton and tennis at the University of Windsor; Anna was on the swimming and diving teams and is bright like a lantern, too.About 20 years ago she answered a few brainteasers in a newspaper contest, one thing led to another and soon she was Ontario&rsquo;s representative in a Canada-wide superbrain competition sponsored by the IQ wizards at Mensa.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t take that kind of thing too seriously,&rdquo; Anna said.Maybe that&rsquo;s because of what happened a few years later. In 1989, Anna underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. She suffered a stroke during the operation, leaving her totally paralyzed on the right side of her body.The hospital stay lasted four months. At the beginning, the kids didn&rsquo;t see her for weeks. Their mother had been an active, vibrant woman and now was reduced to a shell. Jack said the episode and the long recovery changed his children, Mark in particular. As the oldest at 13, he bore the brunt of the added responsibility. &ldquo;I think he got quite a bit more serious at that time,&rdquo; Jack said.For years during Anna&rsquo;s long, tedious-but remarkable-recovery, a role reversal took place.&ldquo;I would do various things like try to balance on a balance board while peeling potatoes,&rdquo; Anna said. And the kids would be at her side, cheering, encouraging, pushing their mother through her tears to progress further, venture faster than she thought she could.Anna has a slight limp today and her right hand doesn&rsquo;t function normally. She can&rsquo;t see out of her right eye. But she swims, golfs and even windsurfs when the breeze isn&rsquo;t too strong. She has become an inspiration to her family.The boys have distinct personalities&mdash;Mark is the reserved older brother and on-ice protector; Dom the happy-go-lucky comedian; and Steve is some-, where in between. But perhaps what their mother&rsquo;s illness taught them is to keep things in perspective.&ldquo;I think if you base your confidence on where you go in the draft, it&rsquo;s not real confidence,&rdquo; Dom said.And humility. No one has a bad word to say about them. For all their gifts, it seems all they&rsquo;ve ever monopolized is the gene pool.By getting into Harvard, Jack proudly said, they&rsquo;ve done what not even the Kennedy brothers could do. &ldquo;Bobby and John got in because they had the marks, but Teddy&hellip;didn&rsquo;t have the marks and they wouldn&rsquo;t let him in no matter who he was.&rdquo;Anna said she&rsquo;s most proud that her sons maintain an interest in life &ldquo;and not a self-absorbed interest in themselves which is sort of prevalent in both the academic world and the athletic world&hellip;There&rsquo;s a constant thirst and looking at the next thing they want to do.&rdquo;What they want to do is the NHL. &ldquo;We wish there were three more,&rdquo; Mark said, &ldquo;so we could duplicate the Sutters.&rdquo;Steve, Harvard&rsquo;s captain this year, is a bull on the ice-a straight-ahead, 6-foot-2, 205-pounder and the closest thing to a family sure thing. Though a bit light at 6-foot and 180 pounds, Dom&rsquo;s playmaking gives him a fair chance. The NHL longshot is Mark, who hadn&rsquo;t yet signed with Pittsburgh. If he comes to terms, he&rsquo;ll likely begin his pro career in the East Coast League and have to work his way up.Is there a chance the Moores can become the 23rd three-brother act in NHL history? &ldquo;In today&rsquo;s game,&rdquo; said Nashville scout Craig Channell, &ldquo;sure there is.&rdquo;Don&rsquo;t bet against it. Special boys, these Moores, no matter what the time of year. &#9632;

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Moores blend brawn, brains

<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/f0010-011952/8212610-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div>If Theoren Fleury was a play, he&rsquo;d have been closed down shortly after the first curtain fell on opening night, just another Broadway bust.But Fleury is not a play. He&rsquo;s a player. A New York Ranger, more specifically.Which means he performed to packed houses nightly with thousands of critical eyes following his every stride. And no matter how lousy he played, he was obliged to come back for more. What was supposed to be the feel-good hit of the season-Smalltown Boy Takes Manhattan By storm-turned into a New York nightmare.After signing a three-year, $21-million contract, the 32-year-old Fleury stumbled through his worst NHL season, scoring just 15 goals and 64 points in 80 games. The same tiny player who captured the imagination of fans everywhere for 11 years displayed a distinct lack of imagination. The former Flame&rsquo;s fire seemed barely burning. He stopped going to the net; he stopped shooting the puck; he didn&rsquo;t challenge 1-on-l; and he was knocked all over the ice.&ldquo;I was awful,&rdquo; Fleury said. &ldquo;Just plain awful. Fifteen goals? Holy cow! What&rsquo;s going on there? I think about the 30-or-so posts I hit and I think if they had just gone in, it wouldn&rsquo;t have been a totally horrible year. But they didn&rsquo;t go in. And I&rsquo;m not going to sit here and try to fool myself that things are OK. They aren&rsquo;t.&rdquo;And they won&rsquo;t be OK until Fleury makes amends. He&rsquo;s in New York, not Nashville.The 5-foot-6, 180-pound Fleury arrived in Manhattan with impressive credentials. In 11 seasons, nearly all with Calgary, he scored 30 or more goals seven times. Twice he fell just short at 29. He scored a career-high 51 in 1990-91 and prior to joining the Rangers, with unrestricted free agency staring him straight in the face, he notched 40.Among the unrestricted free agents in the Summer of &rsquo;99, little Fleury was the biggest prize of the bunch. And although he stated he had no interest in playing in New York, the lure of the Rangers&rsquo; greenbacks proved too overwhelming to resist.Prior to Fleury&rsquo;s debut as a Blueshirt, New York finished out of the playoffs two years in a row, Wayne Gretzky had retired and there was no reason to think the team would be any better in 1999-2000. So Neil Smith went on a spending spree like no GM in NHL history. He committed over $67 million in signing forwards Fleury, Valeri Kamensky and Tim Taylor, defensemen Sylvain Lefebvre and Stephane Quintal and goaltender Kirk McLean.The expectations in New York were monstrous. By his own admission, Fleury was out of shape when he joined the Rangers. He began last season at right wing with rookie center Michael York and left winger Adam Graves. Fleury had a hesitant start with five goals in his first 15 games. Then disaster struck. He didn&rsquo;t find the net in the next 12 games. When he couldn&rsquo;t score, he tried to turn playmaker and kept feeding York, who wound up leading NHL rookies in goals with 26.Fleury finished tied for 11th in the league in assists (49). The problem was, the Rangers weren&rsquo;t paying Fleury millions to set up others. He was hired to fill the net.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question I lost confidence in my ability to score,&rdquo; Fleury said. &ldquo;I became gun-shy. Every time I got the puck, I was looking to pass.&rdquo;Fleury would pass the puck, but he wouldn&rsquo;t pass the buck. He knew he was underachieving and it drove him nuts. Nobody knows exactly how many sticks he broke in frustration last season, but the consensus is, it was an NHL record. At one point, after failing to connect on a breakaway, Fleury was booed by the home fans. He responded with a one-finger salute.&ldquo;Being booed hurt,&rdquo; Fleury said. &ldquo;It really hurt a lot.&rdquo;John Muckier saw Fleury at his best when he coached Edmonton and Fleury was Calgary&rsquo;s fearless leader. The Rangers&rsquo; coach challenged Fleury repeatedly to get back to that level, to do the things that made him a success, but to no avail.&ldquo;At one point Theo said to me, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m hurting you,&rsquo;&rdquo; Muckier recalled. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;No, Theo, you&rsquo;re killing me.&rsquo; When he was young, he would come off the wing and drive to the net. He&rsquo;d challenge the checker; knock them down.&ldquo;Last year, he tried to pick his way through the crowd. His feet stopped moving. He&rsquo;d carry the puck into the other team&rsquo;s end and cut back and forth with it. The play usually died there.&rdquo;Muckler gave Fleury every opportunity to play himself out of the funk. He kept him on the power play, let him kill penalties and gave him a regular shift. Fleury&rsquo;s average ice time per game last year was 19:41, second to Petr Nedved (19:55) among Ranger forwards.<h2>&lsquo;I lost my confidence in my ability to score&rsquo;</h2>&ldquo;Theo played the equivalent of three games on the power play and got just one goal,&rdquo; Muckler said. &ldquo;What does that tell you? Maybe I should have taken him off.&rdquo;Fleury averaged 1.06 points per game through the first 11 years of his NHL career, but slipped to .80 last season. And his goal total was downright embarrassing, decreasing 25 from the year before. Not including holdout Alexei Yashin, Fleury had the biggest decline in goal production. To top it off, he was a healthy scratch for the regular season&rsquo;s final game. Though he was slightly banged up, he wanted to dress. Interim coach John Tortorella wouldn&rsquo;t let him. It was a sad, but perhaps fitting end to the year.Knowing he has to come back and produce, Fleury rededicated himself during the off-season. The Rangers did some soul-searching as well. Glen Sather is the new GM after 24 years as coach-GM with Edmonton. Ron Low, who has known Fleury since he was a kid, is the new bench boss. And most importantly, beloved center Mark Messier is back on Broadway after three years in exile in Vancouver. It was Messier who led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup in 1994, their first in 54 years, and it&rsquo;s Messier who&rsquo;s expected to lead them out of their current plight.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011729/8212603-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1968" height="917"></div>Messier&rsquo;s arrival takes the pressure off Fleury, who never relished the notion of being viewed as a savior in the first place.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;m that kind of player,&rdquo; said Fleury, who spent the first 10-1/2 years of his career with the Flames before being dealt to Colorado in 1999. &ldquo;I tried to be in Calgary and how many times did we make the playoffs?&ldquo;I think I can be a key ingredient on a good team. That&rsquo;s what I want to be on this team. That&rsquo;s what I want to concentrate on heading into this season-on being a team player. I think if we all do that, we&rsquo;ll have a great season.&rdquo;Low, who coached Houston in the International League last season, has big expectations of Fleury. The plan is to start him on a line with Graves at left wing and Messier at center. The Rangers don&rsquo;t want to fiddle with the &lsquo;Czechmate Line&rsquo; of Nedved, Radek Dvorak and Jan Hlavac, one of the very few bright spots last season.Low watched video of Rangers&rsquo; games from last season and came away wondering who was the imposter wearing No. 14.&ldquo;In Calgary he was a guy who worked his ass off every time he stepped on the ice,&rdquo; Low said. &ldquo;He was one of the most feared players in the conference. He was a catalyst&hellip;The kid could play physical, too. He played a very aggressive game in Calgary, but in watching film from last year, I didn&rsquo;t see that&hellip;He hardly ever shot the puck. He didn&rsquo;t seem like the same player.&rdquo;In his defense, Fleury revealed he suffered horrible migraines last season&mdash;the result of a cross-check to the head the year before&mdash;but he saw a chiropractor this summer and the problem is cured.The two-time 100-point scorer said he worked out harder than ever this summer at the gym in his new home in Shuswap, B.C. Just to be sure, the Rangers tested his conditioning and were pleased with the results.&ldquo;That was great,&rdquo; said Fleury of the testing. &ldquo;I needed that. They want to know I&rsquo;ll be ready and I want to prove to them that I am. When you play 13 or 14 years in the league, you&rsquo;re bound to have an off-year. It&rsquo;s how you come through in the end that counts.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s how I hope people will judge me; on what I&rsquo;ve done at the end of my career, not where I&rsquo;m at now.&rdquo;Fleury is aware, however, that in order to win the hearts of the Rangers&rsquo; rabid fans, he has to score consistently.He has to be a sparkplug&mdash;the Theo Fleury of old, not an old Theo Fleury. &#9632;

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Out for redemption

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021495/8212665-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="241" height="310"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Drury</figcaption></div>Ted Donato, Rob DiMaio and Ted Drury. If you&rsquo;re able to slot them properly on their appropriate teams-without cheating!&mdash;you could be the next winner of a million dollars.Heck, we&rsquo;d be impressed if you can correctly answer what teams they play for, period.The 32-player depth charts for the 30 NHL teams endeavors to rank players-under the position they&rsquo;re expected to play-in terms of their value to the organization.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011902/8212672-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="238" height="310"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Donato</figcaption></div>The depth charts aren&rsquo;t written in stone, but they do provide an accurate display of how teams stack up at each position heading into training camp. Full training camp rosters are listed on pgs. 30-31.Goaltenders are listed in pecking order one through four, defensemen one through 10, and each of left wingers, centers and right wingers one through six. The depth charts are ordered and line up so you can use a ruler to compare player rankings from one team to another.Restricted free agents as of Aug. 25 are denoted with an asterisk (*). Not included are unrestricted free agents. The most prominent UFAs are listed on pg. 5.For the record, Donato is the No. 5 left winger for Dallas, DiMaio is the No. 3 left winger for Carolina and Drury is the No. 5 center for Columbus. Get it right? Call Regis. &#9632;

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NHL’s Rank and File: 32-player depth charts

NHL DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="byline">By Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011883/8212703-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="157" height="149"></div>After finishing last in the Pacific Division and missing the playoffs, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim spent the summer re-tooling their team through trades and the free agent market.Anaheim is counting on former Edmonton left winger/center German Titov to breathe life into its second line, former Calgary prospect Jean-Sebastien Giguere to upgrade the goaltending and ex-Ottawa defenseman Patrick Traverse to add depth to the blueline.Training Camp Opens Sept. 9, Disney Ice, Anaheim.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 16 at San Jose.Rookies to Watch Left winger Maxim Balmochnykh, the Ducks&rsquo; second round pick in 1997, is a natural scorer who could earn second line duty. So could Swedish center Jonas Ronnqvist, this year&rsquo;s fourth round pick.Jobs Up For Grabs At least 18 forwards have a realistic shot at 13 or 14 roster spots, with as many as 12 defensemen vying for seven or eight jobs. Giguere and Dominic Roussel will compete for backup goaltending duty.Money Matters The Ducks are optimistic they&rsquo;ll have center Matt Cullen and defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky signed for training camp.Injury update Right winger Marty McInnis spent the summer recovering from surgery to repair an abdominalmuscle problem that kept him out of 20 of last season&rsquo;s final 32 games.NOTEBOOK Center Antti Aalto, who received a $515,000, one-year arbitration award Aug. 16, had sought $675,000. The Ducks offered $415,000. Like teammates Patrick Traverse and Ladislav Kohn before him, Aalto received a one-way contract after Anaheim had requested a twoway deal. Aalto made $495,000 in 1999-2000&hellip;Unsigned center Matt Cullen did not have enough NHL experience to qualify for arbitration and defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky declined to file. Though all eight players re-signed by Anaheim since July 13 settled for one-year deals, Tverdovsky was seeking a multi-year pact&hellip;The Ducks will play their annual charity golf tournament Sept. 5 before reporting to naming camp Sept. 7. &#9632;

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Ducks bank on new blood carrying them to playoffs

<div class="byline">By Jeff Schultz</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03991/8212734-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="325" height="429"><figcaption class="caption-body">Adam Burt</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021430/8212741-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="153" height="145"></div>After a flurry of moves down the stretch last season, Atlanta GM Don Waddell made relatively few roster changes in the summer.But he&rsquo;s hopeful the moves he did make will pay dividends.Czech goalie Milan Hnilicka was signed as an unrestricted free agent and poses a strong threat to Norm Maracle for both the backup job and the &ldquo;goalie of the future&rdquo; tag. Veteran defenseman Adam Burt also was signed, which should give the team some needed stability on the blueline, especially with Gord Murphy&rsquo;s return date uncertain because of a shoulder injury.Training camp opens Sept. 8, Ice Forum, Duluth, Ga.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 16 vs. Nashville, Southaven, Miss.Rookies to watch Left winger Tomi Kallio had 26 goals and 53 points in 50 games for TPS Turku in Finland last year. He&rsquo;s a strong player who has the ability to crack one of the top two lines. Dmitri Vlasenkov, another left winger, has excellent speed and a good chance to make the roster.Jobs up for grabs The best battle in camp will be between Hnlicka and returnees Maracle and Scott Fankhouser for the job of baking up starting goalie Damian Rhodes.Money matters The lone unsigned player was defenseman Petr Buzek. Buzek&rsquo;s solid play in the first two months last season carried him to an All-Star Game appearance, but his performance fell off as the season wore on. Therein lies the difference in how Waddell and agent Rich Winter perceive Buzek&rsquo;s value.Injury update Rhodes missed four months with a sprained ankle before returning late in the season with mixed results. Murphy may miss part of the year because of a late-season shoulder injury and tom rotator cuff.NOTEBOOK A majority of the team&rsquo;s prospects from the Thrashers&rsquo; first two drafts will attend a rookie camp in Minneapolis. Sept. 1-5. One exception is left winger Dany Heatley. This year&rsquo;s No. 1 selection would jeopardize his eligibility at Wisconsin if he attended&hellip;In addition to negotiations with defenseman Petr Buzek. GM Don Waddell has also had discussions with the agents for defenseman Yannick Tremblay and right winger Donald Audette about multi-year deals to replace their one-year contracts&hellip;Left winger Johan Garpenlov, who was not re-signed by the team, signed with Djurgarden in Sweden. Garpenlov, a former 20-goal scorer who tallied only twice last year, hoped to play another year or two in the NHL. &#9632;

f0014-03

Few changes for Thrashers heading into second season

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04686/8212772-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="153" height="145"></div>Compared to last summer, it has been a quiet off-season in Boston.Last year the Bruins were involved in a long, public contract battle with No. 1 goalie Byron Dafoe and made history by walking away from a $2.8million arbitration award handed Dmitri Khristich.The B&rsquo;s still had a few significant unsigned players (Joe Thornton, Anson Carter, Sergei Samsonov) as camp approached, but the key order of business involved restructuring the defense, which enters its first training camp since 1979 without Ray Bourque.Training camp opens Sept. 7 at Ristuccia Exposition Center, Wilmington, Mass.Pre-season opener Sept. 15 vs. Washington at Portland, Maine.Rookies to watch Many eyes will be on Sami Pahlsson, the 22-year-old center who was part of the package the Bruins received from Colorado in the Bourque trade. He scored 17 and 16 goals, respectively, in the last two seasons in the Swedish Elite League. Defensemen Jonathan Girard and Nick Boynton should both have a good shot at making the team.Jobs up for grabs If the No. 3 line gets more into the offense, which is what GM Harry Sinden wants, there could be an intriguing battle between Pahlsson, Andre Savage and Shawn Bates for the right to center it. Lee Goren and Matt Zultek could compete for jobs on the wings if Carter and Samsonov are absent.Money matters Thornton and Samsonov should be signed around the start of training camp, but Carter may have played his last game in Boston.Injury update No. 1 center Jason Allison underwent a complicated procedure Feb. 16 in which a tendon was transplanted in his ailing right wrist. He&rsquo;s expected to be ready by the start of camp. Carter had shoulder surgery last season and may not be ready for full contact at the start of camp.NOTEBOOK President-GM Harry Sinden broached the possibility of trading Group II free agent right winger Anson Carter &ldquo;if we can&rsquo;t meet his demands&rdquo; in an Aug. 16 Boston Herald article. &ldquo;I wish he wouldn&rsquo;t put us in a position to have to trade him. but if we can&rsquo;t meet his demands, the next step is to see if we can make a trade,&rdquo; Sinden said. Initial negotiations began before Carter suffered season-ending wrist and shoulder injuries in February, but there has been no discussions between die Bruins and Carter&rsquo;s agent, Pat Brisson, for a few months&hellip;Defenseman Don Sweeney, who has spent his 12-year pro career with Boston, is a leading candidate to replace Ray Bourque as team captain. &#9632;

f0014-04

Replacing Bourque is No. 1 job

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06365/8212803-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="325" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Michael Peca</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05464/8212810-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="145" height="149"></div>The Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; offseason was consumed by developments far off-ice.Consider:&#9642; New owners, sort of. The Rigas family took control of the team they had been running under a memorandum of understanding since December, 1997. &#9642; They concluded a deal with the state of New York that will pump millions into the parent company&rsquo;s down town development scheme across the street from the arena. &#9642; They renegotiated the naming rights for the former Marine Mid-land Arena (now the HSBC Arena). &#9642; The new owners also signed free agent left winger Dave Andreychuk to a contract said to be in excess of $1 million.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Training camp opens Sept. 7 in Buffalo.Pre-season opener Sept. 16 vs. Boston, at Buffalo.Rookies to watch The Sabres would love to see Dimitri Kalinin break in as a fifth or sixth defenseman. Goalie Mika Noronen will get a close look to determine if he&rsquo;s ready to challenge Martin Biron for the spot behind Dominik Hasek.Jobs up for grabs Kalinin could push James Patrick to the bench, at least in the early going. Dixon Ward and Vladimir Tsyplakov remain unsigned free agents, a situation that could open the door for a left and right winger to show their stuff in camp.Money matters All indications are the Sabres want to re-sign Tsyplakov. Captain Michael Peca appears to be heading toward being a training camp holdout and Biron also remains unsigned.Injury update Dominik Hasek was not up to all-world form after returning from a tom groin late last season. He will be watched closely in camp.NOTEBOOK The Sabres re-signed defenseman James Patrick to a one-year deal, though terms were not announced. Patrick has been a steadying influence on the young Sabres&rsquo; defenseman. The veteran was the Buffalo nominee for the Masterton Trophy last season, an award given by the Professional Hockey Writers Association for perseverance, dedication and sportsmanship&hellip;Having much of training camp away from Buffalo is a departure from previous camps under GM Darcy Regier. The team will start in St. Catherines, Ont., and then move to Charleston, S.C&hellip;.Defenseman Jason Wooley, who signed a qualifying offer with the Sabres, is close to signing a long-term deal with the team. Wolley, 31. is entering his fourth year with the Sabres. &#9632;

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Quiet summer concludes, now can Sabres ink Peca?

<div class="byline">By Mike Board</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-07285/8212841-1-eng-US/f0014-072.jpg" title="f0014-07" width="141" height="141"></div>One of the most turbulent summers in the Calgary Flames&rsquo; history is drawing to an end.The Flames fired GM Al Coates and the coaching staff, led by Brian Sutter, and replaced them with new GM Craig Button, coach Don Hay and assistant coaches Brad McCrimmon and Greg Gilbert. Lanny McDonald resigned as vice-president of corporate development in August.Training camp opens Sept. 8, Calgary.Pre-season opener Sept. 14 at Montreal.Rookies to watch Defenseman Toni Lydman, a skilled Finn who can play a physical game, should make the team. Forwards Rico Fata and Daniel Tkaczuk made a good tandem in the American League last season and could make the jump together.Jobs up for grabs There will be battles for all four center positions. The Flames plan to move Cory Stillman back to center from left wing.Money matters Defenseman Derek Morris is without a contract. He earned $975,000 last season and is looking for $1.5 million. Centre Marc Savard made $750,000 last year and is aiming for about $1.2 million.Injury update Captain Steve Smith, who underwent spinal fusion surgery last spring, is planning to attend camp to see how his body reacts to full contact. Goalie Grant Fuhr, expected to retire because of bad knees, said he will be at training camp.NOTEBOOK The Flames are negotiating with free agent left winger Niklas Andersson. He was believed close to signing a deal that would pay him $400,000 for the upcoming season. He could challenge for a spot on the left side with the Flames moving Cory Stillman from left wing to centre&hellip;Defenseman Dimitri Kokorev, a big Russian defenseman the Flames drafted 51st overall in 1997, was expected to attend training camp this season, but has undergone knee surgery and will not make the overseas trip&hellip;There had been talk former Flames&rsquo; left winger Kelly Kisio was going to join the hockey staff. Kisio, however, decided to stay on as GM of the Western League&rsquo;s Calgary Hitmen, who are also owned by the Flames. &#9632;</div>

f0014-07

New-look Flames ready to make run at playoffs

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011680/8212910-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="149" height="145"></div>For Mike Smith, Chicago&rsquo;s manager of hockey operations, it was an off-season of laying the foundation for the rebuilding of an organization in decline.Smith hired a new coach in Alpo Suhonen, revamped the scouting department and had what many consider to be an excellent draft. Smith also signed a pair of free agents in left winger Valeri Zelepukin and goalie Rob Tallas and resigned all of his own free agents. Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Hawks&rsquo; training camp.Training camp opens Sept. 7 in Chicago.Pre-season opener Sept. 15 at St. Louis.Rookies to watch Defenseman Steve McCarthy, center Mark Bell and left winger Kyle Calder all have excellent chances to stick. McCarthy is a skilled blueliner who could end up on the first power play. Bell has good speed and size and might be the leading candidate to center the third line. Calder is a grinder who needs to show he is quick enough to make the jump from the International League.Jobs up for grabs Smith said it will be a wide-open camp. The biggest battle figures to take place on defense, where only Boris Mironov, Bryan McCabe and Anders Eriksson appear secure. After that it&rsquo;s a crap shoot to fill the remaining jobs between McCarthy, Jamie Allison, Kevin Dean, Brad Brown, Nolan Baumgartner, Doug Zmolek and Chris McAlpine.Money matters Smith deserves a lot of credit for getting everyone signed for the start of camp.Injury update Eric Daze (back surgery) and McCarthy (left shoulder surgery) are expected to be ready for the start of camp, although McCarthy may need a little extra time to return to 100 per cent. Smith said Bell has checked out fine after suffering two concussions with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Ottawa 67&rsquo;s.NOTEBOOK Manager of hockey operations Mike Smith was expected to be formally given the title of GM at some point before the start of training camp. Bob Pulford has held the GM title since last December&rsquo;s front office shakeup because that&rsquo;s the way owner Bill Wirtz wanted it. Smith, though, has handled all hockey decisions since December. The 64-year-old Pulford will continue to hold the title of senior vice-president&hellip;Expect Smith to make at least one trade before the start of the season to help bolster a questionable defense. Smith has made no secret of his desire to deal for a blueliner who can skate and handle the puck&hellip;Move over Michael Jordan. A sculpture-featuring Hawks&rsquo; greats Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita-marking where Chicago Stadium once stood will be unveiled across the street from the United Center in October&hellip;For the first time in the Hawks&rsquo; history, they&rsquo;re offering several partial season ticket plans in an attempt to boost poor attendance. &#9632;</div>

f0016-01

Smith begins job of restoring Blackhawk pride

<div class="byline">By Adrian Dater</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021312/8212941-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="141" height="137"></div>GM Pierre Lacroix had too much work to do to sit around and bemoanthe plight of his Colorado Avalanche.There was yet another new owner, Stan Kroenke, to welcome to the Mile High City and there were plenty of players to sign to new contracts.So, all in all, it was a busy summer for the team that has come within one victory the past two years of qualifying for the Stanley Cup final. Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Hawks&rsquo; training camp.Training camp opens Sept. 8 in Englewood, Colo.Pre-season opener Sept. 14 vs. Dallas in Denver.Rookies to watch With Marc Denis gone, goalie David Aebischer is the new heir apparent to Patrick Roy. Feisty center Dan Hinote showed promise in brief stints last year and is expected to make the team. And this could be the year big defenseman Dan Smith sticks in the NHL.Jobs up for grabs Hinote should win the fourth center&rsquo;s job, but 2000 first round pick Vaclav Nedorost could push him. The Avs are a bit thin at left wing and rookies such as Ville Niemenen and Brian Willsie will get a long look.Money matters Forwards Chris Drury and Milan Hejduk were the only two unsigned Avs through late August; both are looking for deals in the $l.5-million-per-year range.Injury update Center Peter Forsberg suffered an ankle injury over the summer and missed an exhibition game in Sweden, but the Avs expect him to be at full speed by camp. Defenseman Alexei Gusarov is almost fully recovered from knee surgery last year.NOTEBOOK Mark Witkin, the agent for unsigned restricted free agent center Chris Drury, said he and the Avalanche remained far apart in negotiations. Witkin said there was a real possibility Drury would be a training camp no-show&hellip;At the start of the 1995-96 season, the one in which the Avs won the Stanley Cup, the team&rsquo;s payroll was around $16 million. At the start of this season, it is expected to approach $56 million&hellip;Colorado re-signed right winger Adam Deadmarsh to a three-year, $8,25-million deal. Deadmarsh, 25, will make $2.5 million this season, then $2.75 million and $3 million&hellip;The Avalanche were preparing to hold their rookie camp Sept. 1-7 in Denver. In previous years, it was held in Hershey, Pa&hellip;Colorado opens the pre-season at home, with a Sept. 14 game against Dallas. They also open the regular season against the Stars, Oct. 4 at Reunion Arena. The Avs&rsquo; first home game is Oct. 14 against Carolina. &#9632;</div>

f0016-02

Lacroix’s busy summer not over: GM still must sign Drury, Hejduk

<div class="byline">By Aaron Portzline</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03991/8212972-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="153" height="137"></div>It has been a rush for the Columbus Blue Jackets to get ready for their inaugural season. The arena, the roster and the image of the city&rsquo;s first major league sports franchise were all built from the ground up.The Blue Jackets have canvassed Ohio, trying to drum up statewide support. And they&rsquo;ve signed a couple of recognizable free agents (goalie Ron Tugnutt and defenseman Lyle Odelein), hired a head coach (Dave King) and sold over 13,000 personal seat licenses and season tickets. Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Jackets&rsquo; camp.Training camp opens Sept. 7 in Columbus.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 15 at Pittsburgh.Rookies to watch Defenseman Rostislav Klesla, Columbus&rsquo; first round draft pick, will be given every opportunity in camp, but he&rsquo;ll likely be sent back to junior for more seasoning. A pair of Western League centers, Brad Moran and Chris Nielsen, will get a long look. Columbus also has an intriguing collection of skilled, twentysomething European forwards, such as Jan Caloun, Espen Knutsen, Martin Spanhel and David Vybomy. But due to age, only Spanhel and Vyborny are eligible for the Calder Trophy.Jobs up for grabs Goalie Ron Tugnutt will start, but every other roster spot is wide open.Money matters Klesla, defenseman Deron Quint and young netminder Marc Denis were unsigned, but GM Doug MacLean expected to have them all under contract by training camp.Injury update Tough left winger Krzysztof Oliwa had reconstructive knee surgery in April; Oliwa said he&rsquo;ll be ready to go by the regular season opener. Everybody else is healthy.NOTEBOOK The Blue Jackets acquired right winger Kent McDonell from Detroit in exchange for a sixth round draft pick in 2003. McDonell spent the past four seasons with Guelph (Ontario League), totaling 101 goals and 202 points&hellip;The Jackets also signed wingers Jody Shelley and Rick Gorman and defensemen Robert Elk and Tim O&rsquo;Connell. Those players are expected to skate with affiliate Syracuse (American League) when the regular season begins&hellip;After over two years of construction, Nationwide Arena is ready for a tenant. Columbus just recently combined all of the offices there. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had people spread out in different offices all over the city,&rdquo; said GM Doug MacLean. &lsquo;To bring everyone into one building, it&rsquo;s going to be kind of neat.&rdquo;&hellip;The Blue Jackets announced the price range for tickets for their debut season: $17 to $65. Many of the most expensive seats were gobbled up in the personal seat license sales drive. &#9632;

f0016-03

Stage set for European invasion of pro sports’ virgin territory

<div class="byline">By Mike Helka</div>Hungry Stars pumped for Cup challenge<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04749/8213003-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="145" height="149"></div>After a summer of rest and a smidgen of free agent activity, Dallas believes it is in the perfect position to make another run at the Stanley Cup.The Stars gained a great deal of hunger over the summer, a hunger borne of what they felt was a disappointing performance in the first three games of the Stanley Cup final. They also have had their confidence bolstered, enduring a season in which they had 395 man-games lost to injury, scored only 211 goals and still found a way to make it back to the final. Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Stars&rsquo; training camp.Training camp opens Sept. 9 in Vail, Colo.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 14 vs. Colorado in Denver.Rookies to watch Defenseman Richard Jackman, left winger Jon Sim and goalie Marty Turco are expected to make the team; while defenseman John Erskine, right winger Tyler Bouck and left winger Ryan Christie have outside shot at cracking the lineup.Jobs up for grabs Coach Ken Hitchcock is hinting he might put the second line left winger&rsquo;s job up for grabs and see if any of Brenden Morrow, Ted Donato, Sim or Ryan Christie work out. The Nos. 5, 6 and 7 spots on defense will be in a rotation. Expect Brad Lukowich and Jackman to get every chance to play regularly and look for Erskine. Sami Helenius, Alan Letang, Jeff MacMillan and Evgeni Tsybouk to do battle for the No. 7 spot.Money matters All the Stars&rsquo; restricted free agents have been signed.Injury update Defenseman Darryl Sydor (broken left ankle) likely won&rsquo;t participate in camp scrimmages, but is expected to be ready for the season opener Oct. 4. The rest of the Stars appear to be over their injuries.NOTEBOOK The Stars signed winger Ted Donato to a one-year pact Aug. 17. adding a veteran presence for the relatively low price of $650,000. Donato, 31, could get a chance to play left wing with center Joe Nieuwendyk and, almost assuredly, will see time on the second power play unit. While his versatility and defensive acumen are key, what the Stars need most from Donato are goals. He had 11 in 81 games for Anaheim last season&hellip;The Stars also added an experienced minor-leaguer in David Ling. The 25-year-old center had 35 goals and 83 points with Kansas City (International League) last season and will be a welcome addition to Utah&hellip;The Stars dropped out of negotiations for defenseman Dave Manson and the unrestricted free agent ended up signing with Toronto. Dallas said it was ready to go to training camp without making further changes, meaning defensemen Sami Helenius and John Erskine have a good chance of making the NHL roster. &#9632;</div>

f0016-04

<div class="byline">By Chuck Carlton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011501/8213034-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="153" height="141"></div>The Detroit Red Wings turned up the volume on a quiet summer when they signed unrestricted free agent center Boyd Devereaux in late August.The 22-year-old, who suffered a serious concussion last season, figures to fill the third line center vacancy created by the departure of Igor Larionov. (See pg. 3 for more on Devereaux.)The Wings also lost Darryl Laplante and Stacy Roest in the expansion draft, which makes Gen X forwards an endangered species on the depth chart.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Red Wings&rsquo; training camp:Training camp opens Sept. 9 in Traverse City, Mich.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 17 vs. New Jersey in Detroit.Rookies to watch The time is now for defenseman Jesse Wallin to make the move from the American League.Hulking 6-foot-6 defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov must clear waivers to return to the minors, which forces the Wings into a difficult camp decision.Jobs up for grabs The fifth and sixth defense spots need filling. Players in the mix are Jiri Fischer, Todd Gill, Yan Golubovsky, Kuznetsov, Wallin, and Aaron Ward.Money matters Forwards Slava Kozlov and Kris Draper were unsigned. Kozlov could be a camp no-show.Injury update Off-injured center Brent Gilchrist, who has played just 46 games the past two seasons, says he&rsquo;s healthy.NOTEBOOK New dates have been set for defenseman Uwe Krupp&rsquo;s arbitration hearing with the Red Wings. The start, scheduled for Aug. 17, was postponed because of medical tests for Red Wings&rsquo; owner Mike Hitch. The appearances before arbitrator Lawrence Holden are Sept. 25, Oct. 25-26 and Nov. 15-16. The hearing will determine whether the Red Wings owe Krupp, sidelined with a career-threatening back injury, the remaining $12.3 million on his contract&hellip;Talks on a new contract for restricted free agent left winger Slava Kozlov could become protracted, especially if he wants more than $7 million on a three-year deal. Kozlov is coming off a concussion and a disappointing 18-goal season, when he earned $2.1 million. &#9632;

f0017-01

Wings hoping Devereaux can fill void on third line

<div class="byline">By Rob Tychkowskl</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03850/8213065-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="321" height="433"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eric Brewer</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021170/8213072-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="149" height="145"></div>What&rsquo;s new in Edmonton?It may be easier to chronicle what hasn&rsquo;t changed.During the summer, the Oilers got: a new chairman of the ownership group; a new team president; a new GM; a new assistant GM; a new head coach; and two new assistants.Throw in a few significant player departures-defenseman Roman Hamrlik (traded to the Islanders), forwards Alex Selivanov and GermanTitov (unrestricted free agency), goalie Bill Ranford (retirement) and defenseman Bert Robertsson and center Jim Dowd (expansion draft)&mdash;and there has been much to chew on.The in-crowd features Josh Green, Eric Brewer and Patrick Cote and new GM Kevin Lowe has been working hard to re-sign his free agents.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Oilers&rsquo; training camp:Training camp opens Sept. 7 in Sherwood Park, Alta.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 14 at Toronto.Rookies to watch Brad Norton, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound defenseman had good seasoning in the American League last season. He&rsquo;s versatile and might audition as a winger.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>This could be the year stay-at-home defenseman Chris Hajt cracks the lineup.Jobs up for grabs With the departures of Hamrlik and Robertsson, two defense spot are available. Candidates include Brewer, Norton, Hajt and Sean Brown.Money matters By late August, Lowe had whittled his unsigned restricted free agent list from 13 to four-Doug Weight, Ryan Smyth, Rem Murray and Georges Laraque.Injury update Moreau had off-season surgery to correct a chronic dislocating shoulder and could miss part of camp.NOTEBOOK Right winger Mike Grier signed a two-year contract Aug. 19 that will pay him $950,000 this season and $1.3 million next&hellip;Oiler assistant GM Bruce MacGregor will retire at the end of August after 26 years with the organization&hellip;Unaware that the NHL has a separate agreement with the International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation that says players don&rsquo;t have to be tested until they are identified as Olympic candidates in the 2002 season, doping officials in Sweden tried to test net-minder Tommy Salo and a few other players at a conditioning camp in Stockholm. The players called the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, who told them not to take the test. (See pg. 5 for more on Salo). &#9632;

f0017-03

Overhaul in front office marks season of change

<div class="byline">By David J. Neal</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04624/8213103-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="145" height="141"></div>After the summer of 2000, the Panthers have every reason to hope the Rolling Stones were right when they said: &lsquo;You don&rsquo;t always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes you just might find, you get what you need.&rsquo;The Panthers&rsquo; brass didn&rsquo;t bring an offensive defenseman or a proven power forward to the South Florida suburbs. But they did bring in a potential superstar goalie, Roberto Luongo; a big, skilled underachieving young buck, Olli Jokinen; and a savvy, veteran center, Igor Larionov.The hope is Luongo can be the future Stanley Cup-winning goalie for the franchise, Jokinen can be that power forward and Larionov can be the Leader/mentor to guide the Panthers&rsquo; growing Russian contingent.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Panthers&rsquo; training camp:Training camp opens Sept. 8 in Hull, Que.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 15 vs. Ottawa in Halifax, N.S.Rookies to watch Denis Shvidki, who can play either wing, will be given an opportunity to crack the first two fines. Defenseman Brad Ference&rsquo;s flinty style could be what the Panthers need on defense. This is the year the Panthers want speedy goal-scorer Ivan Novoseltsev to become a second line right winger.Jobs up for grabs Shvidki, Jokinen and Ivan Novoseltsev all have a shot at the second fine right wing job. The sixth defenseman slot could feature a battle between Ference, Lance Pitlick and Dan Boyle.Money matters Left winger Peter Worrell was the only unsigned player through late August. Worrell&rsquo;s leverage is minimal, so he&rsquo;s expected to be signed by the time camp opens at Worrell&rsquo;s junior home rink in Hull.Injury update Goalie Trevor Kidd avoided surgery on his injured right shoulder last season, leading to questions whether it can withstand a full season this year.NOTEBOOK The road game with New Jersey originally scheduled for Oct. 11 will now be played Oct. 30. This creates a series of quick trips as the Panthers come off a three game road swing to a home game Oct. 25 against New Jersey; up to Nashville for an Oct. 27 game; back home the following day for a game against Ottawa; back up to New Jersey for the Oct. 30 game; and back home for a Nov. 1 game against the Islanders&hellip;The Panthers begin rookie camp in Hull, Que., Sept. 1. Last season, rookie camp game skirmishes between Montreal left winger Gord Dwyer and Panther defenseman Brad Ference spilled over into the season when Dwyer was with Tampa Bay and Ference was up with Florida. &#9632;</div>

f0017-04

Florida hopes to keep rolling along

<div class="byline">By Helene Elliott</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05436/8213134-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="149" height="137"></div>Two years ago, Kings&rsquo; GM Dave Taylor did a bellyflop in the free agent pool when he signed defenseman Steve Duchesne.This year, Taylor is hoping his dip in the water is more pleasurable. Rugged left winger Stu Grimson and mobile defenseman Mathieu Schneider were inked to help fill holes.The Kings are also banking on improvement coming from within. They&rsquo;ve had all summer to think about their quick first round playoff dismissal. What they&rsquo;ve learned from that and how they react to it may be more important than any trade or signing.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Kings&rsquo; training camp:Training camp opens Sept. 8 in El Segundo, Calif.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 14 at Phoenix.Rookies to watch Defensemen Andreas Lilja, 25, and Lubomir Visnovsky, 23, are expected to challenge for jobs. Czech-born left winger Tomas Vlasak may get a chance to play with Jozef Stumpel and Ziggy Palffy on the top line.Jobs up for grabs The starting goaltending spot will again be contested between Stephane Fiset and Jamie Stop. The sixth and seventh spots on defense will also be contested. A healthy Philippe Boucher could join Lilja, Visnovsky and Jaroslav Modry in competing for-playing time.Money matters Stumpel was the only King who remained unsigned. It&rsquo;s unclear how close the sides were to agreeing, but Stumpel has every incentive to be in camp and try to prove he can be an elite center.Injury update All key players are expected to be ready for camp.NOTEBOOK There has been no official statement, but it appears likely the Kings will not pursue restricted free agent center Eric Lindros. The Kings were among a handful of teams given permission by Philadelphia to talk to Lindros after last season, but the center&rsquo;s slow recovery from the most recent of his many concussions has created enough doubts for the Kings to decide the risk isn&rsquo;t worth it. GM Dave Taylor had to cut short his own career because of the cumulative effects of several concussions, so he knows well what Lindros is experiencing and how unpredictable Lindros&rsquo; prospects are of playing again and playing effectively&hellip;The Kings&rsquo; first home game of the pre-season is Sept. 17 against local rival Anaheim. &#9632;</div>

f0017-05

Summer brings signings, time to learn from errors

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03869/8213196-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="325" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Campbell</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021198/8213203-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="149" height="133"></div>The Montreal Canadiens missed the playoffs two consecutive seasons, but that issue has been overlooked by management.The Canadiens did delve into the free agent market over the summer, but it&rsquo;s doubtful the signings of defenseman Enrico Ciccone or right winger Jim Campbell improve the team&rsquo;s talent base-especially since neither player spent last season in the NHL.Montreal hopes some off-ice additions will lead to improved results. Andre Savard joins the organization as director of hockey personnel, while former Canadiens&rsquo; captain Guy Carbonneau becomes the supervisor of prospect development.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Montreal&rsquo;s training camp.Training camp opens Sept. 7 in Montreal.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 14 vs. Calgary at Molson Centre.Rookies to watch Andrei Markov is not only a very good skater, but he was the leading scorer among defensemen in the Russian League each of the past two seasons. He was also the league MVP last season, when he led Moscow Dynamo to the title.Jobs up for grabs The Canadiens lost Shayne Corson to Toronto, leaving a spot open for a left winger on the first line. Martin Rucinsky will take that, which will create an opening for Matt Higgins or Andrei Bashkirov. Arron Asham and Jason Ward will battle for the final right wing spot, while Markov, Ciccone, Christian Laflamme and Francis Bouillon are blueline hopefuls.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Money matters Of six restricted free agents, Rucinsky and goalie Jose Theodore have the most bargaining power and might not report to camp.Injury update Centers Trent McCleary, Saku Kotvu and Trevor Linden and defenseman Patrice Brisebois have all been cleared to play.NOTEBOOK The Canadiens refused to pick up a $2.7-million option on Martin Rucinsky&rsquo;s conffact. And the left winger spumed the team&rsquo;s qualifying offer of $2.4 million.&ldquo;I want to stay in Montreal and I want to get a contract done before camp opens,&rdquo; said Rucinsky, remembering 1998, when he missed camp and the start of the season due to a contract impasse. GM Rejean Houle said there are ways to get a deal done. They include a long-term contract or bonuses&hellip;The Canadiens hope right winger Jim Campbell regains his form. Campbell, an unrestricted free agent signed by Montreal, had seasons of 23 and 22 goals for St. Louis in 1996-97 and 1997-98. He was Montreal&rsquo;s second round choice in 1991, but got his break in Anaheim in 1996. &#9632;

f0018-03

Habs make a few changes, but mostly in front office

<div class="byline">By Jeff Legwold</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04582/8213234-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="153" height="137"></div>It&rsquo;s clear the Nashville Predators spent their summer vacation trying to get a little broader in their collective shoulders.Seems they wanted to toughen up their lineup to complement a bevy of small, fleet forwards.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re always trying to get bigger and stronger,&rdquo; said GM David Poile. &ldquo;We need that element in out lineup.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s why they signed enforcers Marc Moro, Brantt Mhyres and Ryan Tobler and invited Jeremy Stevenson to training camp as a tryout. Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Nashville&rsquo;s training camp.Training camp opens Sept. 7 in Nashville.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 16 vs. Atlanta in Southaven, Miss.Rookies to watch Left winger Jonas Andersson has tremendous speed and has adapted quickly to the North American style. He&rsquo;s levelheaded, focused on being an NHL player and has put in the effort.Jobs up for grabs The fourth line center job will go to whoever wants it the most: Rob Valicevic, Randy Robitaille or Mark Mowers.Money matters First round pick Scott Hartnell was brilliant during the team&rsquo;s conditioning camp this summer and will likely get the rookie maximum. It&rsquo;s unlikely, however, he&rsquo;ll crack the lineup at 18.Defensemen Kimmo Timonen and Richard Lintner are the only remaining unsigned restricted free agents.Timonen is the team&rsquo;s best all-around blueliner and their power play misses him dearly when he is not on it. He is a &ldquo;calming presence,&rdquo; as coach Barry Trotz calls it.Injury update Defensemen Pavel Skrbek had knee surgery to repair a anterior cruciate ligament, but is back skating with the team.Backup goalie Tomas Vokoun and Mowers had knee surgery after the season and are skating. Defenseman Cale Hulse and Moro missed several games to finish the season with high ankle sprains, but are healthy.NOTEBOOK The Predators re-signed defenseman Marc Moro, who showed enough in eight games last season, to earn a long look in camp. Moro, a 6-foot-1, 220-pounder, will earn $660,000 in Nashville or $30,000 if he is returned to Milwaukee (International League)&hellip;Center Petr Sykora, who came to the Predators in 1998 when they traded Doug Brown back to Detroit, will remain in his native Czech Republic this season. After struggling early last year, Sykora left Milwaukee to return home. He had given the team the impression he was going to return for camp&hellip;The Predators have scheduled a seventh pre-season game. They face the Columbus Blue Jackets Sept. 17 in Dayton, Ohio. &#9632;

f0018-04

Predators vow to get tougher

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-06308/8213265-1-eng-US/f0018-062.jpg" title="f0018-06" width="325" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jason Arnott</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-05393/8213272-1-eng-US/f0018-052.jpg" title="f0018-05" width="153" height="149"></div>The New Jersey Devils won two Stanley Cups over the past six seasons and right winger Claude Lemieux played a key role both times.Yet recent history hasn&rsquo;t stopped GM Lou Lamoriello from believing the Devils can defend their title without Lemieux and fellow unrestricted free agent Vladimir Malakhov.Both players were allowed to walk as the Devils start the season with the idea of becoming younger.&ldquo;I want guys to come back with the same drive and determination as when they left,&rdquo; said coach Larry Robinson. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want them to come satisfied.&rdquo;Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about New Jersey&rsquo;s training camp.Training camp opens Sept. 7 in West Orange, N.J.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 16 vs. Pittsburgh in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.Rookies to watch Defensemen Willie Mitchell and Josef Boumedienne are key newcomers. Mitchell&rsquo;s toughness gives him an edge to replace Malakhov and Boumedienne could be ready as the seventh man. Up front, right winger Carlyle Lewis is ticketed as the team&rsquo;s next enforcer.Jobs up for grabs With Krzysztof Oliwa gone, Lewis and newcomer Turner Stevenson will battle for the enforcer role. Mitchell and Boumedienne are top candidates to step in on the blueline.Money matters The biggest problem may be re-signing restricted free agent Scott Niedermayer, who missed training camp and the start of the season two years ago.Center Jason Arnott, who has played two seasons for $1.8 million each, was also in line for a big raise after scoring the Cup-clinching goal.Injury update Center John Madden and Stevenson had injury woes late last season, but are now healthy.NOTEBOOK Outgoing owner John McMullen said that, although $30 million of the team&rsquo;s sale to the YankeeNets will be deferred for three years, he will not retain a portion of the club. After several delays in closing the franchise sale, the YankeeNets missed yet another date in mid-August as the Aug. 31 do-or-die date approached&hellip; Among players attending training camp for the first time will be Finnish goalie prospect Ari Ahonen, the team&rsquo;s first round pick (27th overall) in 1999&hellip;With Bobby Carpenter returning to Albany of the American League as an assistant coach, the Devils announced Kurt Kleinendorst is joining Viacheslav Fetisov and Jacques Caron as coach Larry Robinson&rsquo;s aides. &#9632;

f0018-06

Robinson looks for hunger, not complacent satisfaction

<div class="byline">By Peter Botte</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-07255/8213303-1-eng-US/f0018-072.jpg" title="f0018-07" width="149" height="149"></div>Despite no plans for a new arena in the short term, the New York Islanders emerged from the summer of 2000 with new hope.Also, new owners, new goalies and new financially backed optimism that they finally will compete for their first playoff berth since 1993-94.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about the Islanders&rsquo; training camp.Training camp opens Sept. 7 in Lake Placid, NY.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 14 vs. Philadelphia at Trenton, N.J..Rookies to watch All eyes will be on 18-year-old Rick DiPietro, the first goalie ever chosen No. 1 overall.Left winger Taylor Pyatt is what Butch Goring&rsquo;s team has craved in terms of size and skill up frontDefenseman Branislav Mezei is just 19, but with Roman Hamrlik, Kenny Jonsson and Zdeno Chara unsigned, the Slovak should step right in.Jobs up for grabs John Vanbiesbrouck enters as the starter in nets, but might DiPiefro pull a Tom Barrasso and force the Isles&rsquo; hand at 18 Eric Caims, Mathieu Biron and Aris Brimanis want jobs on defense.Money matters The payroll has received nearly a $10-million boost from last year&rsquo;s paltry $16 million, but Hamrlik and Jonsson and Chara will try to carve more from the team.Injury update Everyone is healthy with an asterisk next to Jonsson, who sustained multiple concussions last season.NOTEBOOK Nearly 20 players arrived in Long Island three weeks before camp to take part in informal workouts, including No.l pick goalie Rick DiPietro, defenseman Kevin Haller and unsigned defenseman Zdeno Chara. Also among them was second-year projected No. 1 center Tim Connolly. He worked out all summer because, as he put it, &ldquo;last year, I couldn&rsquo;t lift a dime.&rdquo; Connolly, who is 6 feet, still weighs his usual 185 pounds but it&rsquo;s &ldquo;much more solid weight now than (the) baby fat&rdquo; he carried last year as an 18-year-old rookie&hellip;The Isles will raise a banner to the Nassau Coliseum rafters for the architect of their four Stanley Cup teams in the 1980&rsquo;s during Bill Torrey Night before their Jan. 13, 2001 game against Pittsburgh. &#9632;</div>

f0018-07

No shortage of enthusiasm as Isles pumped for camp

<div class="byline">By Rick Carplniello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021082/8213334-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="569" height="1000"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Messier</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011432/8213341-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="145" height="149"></div>The New York Rangers went out and spent piles of cash on only two free agents, four fewer than last summer.And while they didn&rsquo;t make wholesale player changes, the look and personality of the organization changed dramatically.The No. 1 summer happening was the naming of Glen Sather as president-GM, replacing the fired Neil Smith. Sather then cleaned out the entire staff of former coach John Muckier and replaced it with Ron Low and assistants Ted Green and Walt Kyle.Sather&rsquo;s most dramatic move was the bringing back of the most significant player in franchise history-Mark Messier. The only other free agent Sather brought in was defenseman Vladimir Malakhov.Training camp opens Sept. 9 in Burlington, Vt.Pre-Season Opener Sept. 16 vs. the Flyers at Philadelphia.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Rookies to watch Jamie Lund-mark may be the most well-prepared of the Rangers&rsquo; teenage prospects, but Lundmark plays center and there may not be a spot available for him. Pavel Brendl can&rsquo;t have a worse camp than he did last year and he&rsquo;s another youngster who could make the team if he scores consistently in the pre-seasonJobs up for grabs Surprisingly, for a team that missed the playoffs three years running, there aren&rsquo;t many jobs open for competition-especially up front. The top two lines are set, with Messier, Theoren Fleury and Adam Graves likely to play on one line and Czechmates-Petr Nedved between Radek Dvorak and Jan Hlavac-on another. Mike York and Tim Taylor should fill in the No. 3 and 4 center spots, although Manny Malhotra and Lundmark could challenge.Money matters The Rangers have no unsigned unrestricted or restricted free agents, and Hobey Baker winner Mike Mottau, a defenseman, is the most noticeable of the unsigned rookies. Sather has the leverage and will wield it, but he expects Mottau in camp. The Rangers didn&rsquo;t even try to re-sign their unrestricted free agents, which included Mathieu Schneider and Kevin Hatcher among others.Injury update Goalie Mike Richter is the only Ranger whose status is questionable. He had reconstructive surgery on his left knee last April and while he has progressed well, there is still doubt whether he will be 100 per cent for the season opener, Oct. 7.NOTEBOOK Quietly and unannounced, left winger Eric Lacroix signed his qualifying offer to forego restricted free agency. Lacroix, who became a valuable penalty killer and fourth-liner last season, was the last of the Rangers&rsquo; free agents-to-be. They didn&rsquo;t sign any of the others&hellip;Team president-GM Glen Sather, assistant GM Don Maloney and players Adam Graves, nManny Malhotra, Jason Doig, John MacLean and Lacroix participated in the charity golf tournament for Ice Hockey In Harlem Aug. 21 at famed Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. &#9632;

f0019-02

Changes at top highlight Rangers’ summer reconstruction

<div class="byline">By Bruce Garrloch</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011330/8213372-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="153" height="141"></div>It has been a long, uneventful summer which means it could be a tough, cold winter for the Ottawa Senators.The Sens added two free agents-de-fenseman Ricard Persson and left winger Derek King-but neither is an impact player. Meanwhile, there doesn&rsquo;t appear to be any end in sight to the Alexei Yashin squabble.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Senators&rsquo; framing camp.Training camp opens Sept. 8 in Ottawa.Pre-season opener Sept. 15 vs. Florida in Halifax, N.S.Rookies to watch Highly regarded right winger Martin Havlat could be ready to step in. Goalie Mathieu Chouinard has put his contract troubles behind him and could take advantage of a wide-open goaltending situation.Jobs up for grabs Patrick Lalime and Jani Hurme are one-two on the depth chart, but Chouinard could push them. Up front, the top two lines are set, but the departures of Joe Juneau and Kevin Dineen leave voids on the third and fourth lines.Money matters Right winger Andreas Dackell is the club&rsquo;s only unsigned free agent; he should be at camp. Yashin, of course, won&rsquo;t be there unless he gets a new deal.Injury update Defenseman Wade Redden (broken bone in foot) and center Mike Fisher (knee surgery) suffered season-ending injuries, but should be fine for camp.NOTEBOOK Despite failing to work out a contract extension late last season, coach Jacques Martin said he wants to stay in Ottawa. &lsquo;I want to be part of this team,&rdquo; said Martin, who is in the last year of his current deal. &ldquo;Hopefully, I&rsquo;ll be here for many years to come.&rdquo;&hellip;The Senators have held talks with representatives for unrestricted free agent goalies Garth Snow and Tom Barrasso&hellip; Holdout center Alexei Yashin played in a charity game in Kloten, Switz., Aug. 19, but don&rsquo;t expect to see him at camp. Yashin will wait until after a hearing in an Ottawa Sept. 1 to find out if he&rsquo;ll have a right to restricted free agency. Yashin is asking an Ontario judge to overturn a decision by an independent arbitrator that said he owes the club another season. &#9632;

f0020-01

No news not good news as Senators stand pat

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03689/8213403-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="333" height="429"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Boucher</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02959/8213410-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="149" height="137"></div>Their franchise player, Eric Lindros, refused to sign a contract. Their perennial all-star, John LeClair, went to arbiffation. And their rising star goalie, Brian Boucher, wants a 700 per-cent pay hike.Aside from that, it was a quiet summer for the Philadelphia Flyers.They did make a few headlines by signing free agent bad boy Kevin Stevens. But money dominated the headlines.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Flyers&rsquo; training camp:Training camp opens Sept. 10 in Voorhees, N.J.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Pre-season opener Sept. 14 vs. the Islanders in Trenton, N.J.Rookies to watch Skilled left winger Tomas Divisek scores off the rush and in traffic. Improving defenseman Mikhail Chernov could vie for the No. 6 blueline spot.Jobs up for grabs Although it&rsquo;s generally conceded Keith Primeau will take over Lindros&rsquo; No. 1 center spot, Daymond Langkow could make a pitch for the job. Roman Cechmanek was drafted to back up Boucher, but Cechmanek has never played in the NHL.Money matters Boucher, a restricted free agent who made $400,000 last year, is asking for a new deal averaging $2.5-$3 million. GM Bob Clarke is playing hardball, but can&rsquo;t afford to let Boucher sit out. LeClair said he wants a long-term deal done before training camp. Clarke responded by going on vacation. The only other unsigned player was defenseman Chris Therien, a restricted free agent, who should be at camp.Injury update Veteran defenseman Ulf Samuelsson&rsquo;s future is a big question mark. He was plagued with knee and shoulder injuries for most of last season. Lindros sits in drydock until he can get a clean bill of health from his four recent concussions.NOTEBOOK The Flyers will get their first look at the year-old Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ. when they open their pre-season there with a Sept. 14 game against the Islanders. A number of Hyer prospects are developing with the Trenton Titans (East Coast League)&hellip;After opening their previous two training camps in Peterborough, Ont., the Flyers and new coach Craig Ramsay are expected to run a nofrills training camp when they christen their new $13-million Skate Zone practice rink in Voorhees, NJ. Sept. 10&hellip;A handful of veterans worked out with Flyers&rsquo; strength and conditioning coach Jim McCrossin in August. Right winger Mark Recchi credits last year&rsquo;s comeback season, in part, to McCrossin&rsquo;s conditioning program. &#9632;

f0020-03

Friction follows Flyers from one season to next

<div class="byline">By Bob McManaman</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04475/8213441-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="137" height="149"></div>The summer of uncertainly may continue into the fall for the Phoenix Coyotes.Incoming part owner Wayne Gretzky can&rsquo;t make any moves until he and partner Steve Ellman complete their purchase of the franchise. It&rsquo;s conceivable that may not happen until after the start of the regular season.On the ice, three areas need to be addressed: the signing of goalie Nikolai Khabibulin; finding a way to fit free agent Claude Lemieux or another winger of his ilk into the budget; and beefing up the blueline with at least one strong, dependable agitator.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Coyotes&rsquo; training camp:Training camp opens Sept. 7, Scottsdale, Ariz.Pre-season opener Sept. 14 vs. Los Angeles in Phoenix.Rookies to watch Skilled and strong defenseman Ossi Vaananen has a great chance to crack the roster with a decent camp. Left winger Ramzi Abid was a sniper in the Quebec League and management thinks he could be the real deal. Defenseman Kirill Safronov is mature beyond his 19 years and could evolve into a Sergei Zubov-type. Goalie Robert Esche is penciled in has Khabibulin&rsquo;s backup.Jobs up for grabs With gritty Dallas Drake gone, his right wing spot on the first line with Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk is open. Candidates to fill are newly acquired Joe Juneau, improving Shane Doan or even Lemieux, assuming he signs.Money matters Gretzky said his first priority will be to sign Khabibulin, a restricted free agent who missed all last season. Center Trevor Letowski is expected to be signed by the start of camp. Robert Reichel, the club&rsquo;s other unsigned restricted free agent, will play again in the Czech Republic.Injury Update Tkachuk, who had off-season knee and ankle surgeries, expects to be in top shape for camp. Center Travis Green broke a bone in his hand in late August and is expected to be out until late September.NOTEBOOK Part owner Wayne Gretzky reiterated he&rsquo;s planning to sign free agent right winger Claude Lemieux, but cautioned the move won&rsquo;t happen until he and partner Steve Ellman complete their purchase of the Coyotes. Lemieux, 35, may opt to sign elsewhere if the sale drags on&hellip;Defenseman Radoslav Suchy agreed to a three-year deal worth $1,425 million&hellip;GM Bobby Smith signed both of the 20-year-old re-draftees the club selected in June. Left winger Ramzi Abid and center Brent Gouvreau agreed to three-year deals&hellip;Center Travis Green will miss most of camp after breaking a bone in his hand during workouts. He suffered the injury when he collided with rookie center Scott Kelman. &#9632;</div>

f0020-04

Plans on hold until sale final

<div class="byline">By Joe Starkey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-06221/8213472-1-eng-US/f0020-062.jpg" title="f0020-06" width="329" height="445"><figcaption class="caption-body">J-S Aubin</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05277/8213479-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="153" height="149"></div>It was business as usual for the Pittsburgh Penguins this summer.As training camp drew near, the team had not made a splash, or even a ripple, in the free agent market, but GM Craig Patrick had signed most of his key restricted free agents. The notable exceptions were goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin and winger Robert Dome.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Penguins&rsquo; training camp:Training camp opens Sept. 7 at Cannonsburg, Pa.Pre-season opener Sept. 15 vs. Columbus in Pittsburgh.Rookies to watch Czech center Milan Kraft is a sizzling prospect who could skate on the first or second fine. Defenseman Josef Melichar could add size and toughness to the blueline.Jobs up for grabs Melichar, Andrew Ference and Sven Butenschon are among the players expected to vie for the seventh and perhaps eighth defense slots. Assuming Aubin signs, there will be a battle to back him up. Problem is, there weren&rsquo;t any candidates as August wound down. The Penguins did not have a single goalie with NHL experience under contract.The No. 1 center should be up for grabs, with Milan Kraft, Martin Straka, Jan Hrdina, Robert Lang and Josef Beranek as the candidates.Money matters Aubin was believed to be seeking a three-year deal at around $700,000 per season. Dome turned down his qualifying offer of $660,000 ($75,000 in the minors) and was threatening to play in Europe.Injury update Jaromir Jagr told Czech reporters his injured shoulder still was bothering him. Aubin, who missed the playoffs with a badly sprained ankle, has pronounced himself ready to go.NOTEBOOK The agent for right winger Robert Dome said his client might accept an offer to play overseas if he doesn&rsquo;t sign with the Penguins. Dome, 21, has spent most of the past two seasons in the minors. &lsquo;I want to know more or less if (GM) Craig (Patrick) thinks Robert can help now,&rdquo; said agent Jiri Crha. &ldquo;He needs the opportunity to play in the NHL.&rdquo; Dome rejected the Penguins&rsquo; qualifying offer&hellip;Brian Lawton. agent for unrestricted free agent goalie Sean Burke, said four teams, including the Penguins, were possible destinations for his client&hellip;The Penguins re-signed center Josef Beranek Aug. 24. Beranek, acquired from Edmonton last season for center German Titov, had four goals and eight points in 13 games for the Pens. &#9632;

f0020-06

Goaltending big question as Penguins’ camp nears

<div class="byline">By Tom Wheatley</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-07186/8213510-1-eng-US/f0020-072.jpg" title="f0020-07" width="145" height="145"></div>The Blues were the NHL&rsquo;s best team during the regular season, its most decorated after the season and its most disappointing in the post-season. So which Blues will hit the ice this season?That remains to be seen, but the club did try to better itself in the summer by signing right winger Dallas Drake and defenseman Sean Hill.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Blues&rsquo; camp:Training camp opens Sept. 11 in Chesterfield, Mo.Pre-season opener Sept. 15 vs. Chicago in St. Louis.Rookies to watch Creative right winger Ladislav Nagy had six points in an 11-game stint last season. Rugged defenseman Bryce Salvador is ready to graduate from the minors. Brent Johnson is the second best goalie in the organization, but he may stay at Worcester for playing time.Jobs up for grabs If Johnson does go down, Dwayne Roloson should grab the backup goalie job.Veteran defensemen Marc Bergevin and Jeff Finley could be on the bubble.Money matters Center Michal Handzus is looking for a big bump from his $350,000 stipend. Left winger Lubos Bartecko was also unsigned.Injury update Demitra (concussion) worked out this summer with no ill effects. Defensemen Todd Reirden (foot) and Jackman (finger) had late summer surgeries and will be evaluated when camp opens.NOTEBOOK GM Larry Pleau named Don Granato to coach the team&rsquo;s top affiliate in Worcester (American League). Granato, 33, won the East Coast League title in his first year with Peoria. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s young,&rdquo; Pleau said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s enthusiastic. He&rsquo;s a good teacher. And he comes from a hockey family.&rdquo; Granato&rsquo;s brother Tony plays for San Jose and his sister Cammi captained the U.S. Olympic Women&rsquo;s Team to gold in 1998&hellip;Right winger Jim Campbell, dropped by the Blues in July, signed with Montreal, which drafted him in 1991. Campbell had 45 goals his first two years in St. Louis, then let his production and work ethic plunge&hellip;Worcester captain Bryan Helmer, a defenseman who saw spot duty with the Blues, signed with Vancouver. &#9632;</div>

f0020-07

Regular season champs keep trying to improve

<div class="byline">By Ross McKeon</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011208/8213541-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="153" height="153"></div>Aside from signing unrestricted free agent left winger Scott Thornton, the summer has been a bit of a bummer for the Sharks.Eight restricted free agents, many of them core players, remained unsigned through late August. Prolonged contract stalemates could lead to a disjointed start, something the Sharks desperately want to avoid.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Sharks&rsquo; training camp.Training camp opens Sept. 8 in San Jose.Pre-season opener Sept. 15 vs. Phoenix, at Oakland.Rookies to watch Scott Hannan, 21, has a job on the blueline to lose. He appeared in 30 games last season. Shawn Heins, 26, has a good shot to stick because of his physical style. Mark Smith, 22, is a candidate for the checking line center role. Right winger Matt Bradley, 22, is also a third or fourth line candidate.Jobs up for grabs Evgeni Nabokov and rising minor-leaguer Miikka Kiprusoff will battle for the backup goaltending job. Jeff Norton&rsquo;s likely departure as an unrestricted free agent means at least one defense spot is open.Money matters The unsigned are: Owen Nolan, Steve Shields, Marcus Ragnarsson, Patrick Marleau, Marco Sturm, Alexander Korolyuk, Todd Harvey and Nabokov. It has the potential to get ugly.Injury update Here&rsquo;s a bright spot-everyone&rsquo;s healthy.NOTEBOOK Center Jim Montgomery, was signed to add depth in the minors. He split last season with Manitoba and Philadelphia (American League). Montgomery, 31, has appeared in 85 NHL games with St. Louis, Montreal and Philadelphia&hellip;Twenty-nine players drafted by the Sharks, including their June top choice-Finnish defenseman Tero Maatta-will be part of a rookie camp that starts Sept. 6 in San Jose&hellip;Center Mike Ricci and his wife Beth announced the birth of the couple&rsquo;s first child, a seven-pound, six-ounce baby daughter named Jade Lily&hellip;San Jose will use Richmond of the East Coast League as its secondary development affiliate after using New Orleans for one season. The Sharks had used Richmond as their low minor affiliate for two seasons previously. &#9632;

f0022-01

Eight is more than enough for GM Lombardi to sign

<div class="byline">By Paul Hunter</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04480/8213610-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="145" height="145"></div>Like a lot of players, the Maple Leafs pumped themselves up over the summer adding, muscle, they hope, in all the right places.Left wingers Shayne Corson and Gary Roberts and defenseman Dave Manson were all signed as unrestricted free agents to toughen the team for a run at the Stanley Cup.While the success of Toronto&rsquo;s remodeling can&rsquo;t be fully measured until next spring, the immediate impact of the veteran influx will likely be a quiet training camp. There are very few jobs open so most of the intrigue will center around how coach Pat Quinn lines up his forwards rather than the battle for employment.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Maple Leafs&rsquo; training camp:Training camp opens Sept. 8 at Kitchener, Ont.Pre-season opener Sept. 14 vs. Edmonton at Toronto.Rookies to watch This should be the season left winger Adam Mair sticks with the big club as a fourth liner. His gritty approach fits the new-look Leafs and his defensive smarts and enthusiasm will likely earn him a job. Left winger Jeff Farkas has the speed and offensive skill to eventually play in the NHL, but since the Leafs have a glut of forwards, it likely won&rsquo;t be this season.Jobs up for grabs The team is virtually set, but one area where a job could be won is on defense where prospects Dmitri Yakushin or Petr Svoboda might beat out Chris McAllister with a strong camp.Money matters Negotiations on a new deal for Alexander Karpovtsev, the club&rsquo;s only unsigned player, turned bitter and the defenseman may be traded if the sides can&rsquo;t come together.Injury update Centers Yanic Perreault and Nik Antropov both had reconstructive knee surgery in the spring. Perreault is targeting a late October return. Antropov is hoping to play in November.NOTEBOOK Mark Gandler, the agent for unsigned defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev, placed the Leafs &ldquo;under suspension&rdquo; during heated contract negotiations for his client. While Gandler&rsquo;s choice of words was curious, one thing is clear: the sides are miles apart. &ldquo;The relationship is crap, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; Gandler said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m absolutely disgusted with that club and the way they do business.&rdquo; Karpovtsev is seeking a long-term deal that would pay him $3.5 million a season, a million more a year than the Leafs have offered. Rather than risk losing him at season&rsquo;s end as an unrestricted free agent, the Leafs may opt to deal his rights. Chicago has been mentioned as a potential destination. &#9632;</div>

f0022-04

Bulked-up Leaf roster virtually set

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06273/8213641-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="333" height="441"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brendan Morrison</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05353/8213648-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="137" height="145"></div>It was one of the quietest summers in recent Canucks&rsquo; history, with management remaining intact and no big name players added.The loudest noise came when Mark Messier did the expected and signed with the Rangers. Messier&rsquo;s departure makes the Canucks younger and will allow some of their promising forwards more ice time, but it does leave a void in leadership.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Canucks&rsquo; training camp.Training camp opens Sept. 6 in Stockholm.Pre-Season opener Sept. 13 vs. MoDo, at Stockholm.Rookies to watch Expectations are high for Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The twins will skate together with a right winger to be determined and likely be given third line minutes until they prove capable of handling more.Jobs up for grabs With Messier gone, the Canucks have a vacancy at center. Andrew Cassels, Brendan Morrison and Henrik Sedin figure to have three of the four spots, leaving Josh Holden, Harold Druken and Artem Chubarov to battle for the remaining one. Another area where competition will be keen is the third defensive patting where Jason Strudwick and Greg Hawgood will be challenged by newcomer Scott Lachance and up-and-comers Brent Sopel, Zenith Komamiski and Bryan Allen.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Money matters The Canucks entered late August with two prominent restricted free agents still un-signed-Morrison and left winger Donald Brashear. Morrison is expected to sign and be at camp, while Brashear could be a no-show.Injury update The Canucks did not have any players with major injuries that required surgery or extensive rehabilitation.NOTEBOOK Unable to reach a long-term agreement, goaltender Felix Potvin opted to sign his qualifying offer of $2.7 million (U.S.) for one year&hellip;The Canucks are contemplating a new secondary logo featuring a Johnny Canuck lumberjack wielding a hockey stick inside a stylized &lsquo;C&rsquo;&hellip;Long-time amateur scout Ron Delorme is the front-runner to replace Mike Penny as chief of amateur scouting. Penny left the organization after 20 years to join Toronto&hellip;The Canucks may have to do without their private jet as Orca Bay, their parent company, is thinking of selling the aircraft. Orca Bay no longer owns the National Basketball Association Grizzlies, which shared the plane with the hockey team. &#9632;

f0022-06

Messier exit leaves voids at center, in dressing room

<div class="byline">By Dave Fay</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-07225/8213679-1-eng-US/f0022-072.jpg" title="f0022-07" width="145" height="149"></div>One major unresolved item put a kink into the Washington Capitals&rsquo; business-as-usual summer.Right winger Peter Bondra has expressed interest in seeking greener pastures and ending his 10-year association with the team. That hadn&rsquo;t happened through late August, although GM George McPhee acknowledged some teams had expressed an interest. Still, the future of the one-time scoring sensation remained unclear.Here&rsquo;s what you need to know about Capitals&rsquo; training camp:Training camp opens Sept. 9 in Odenton, Md.Pre-season opener Sept. 15 vs. Boston at Portland, Me.Rookies to watch The team likes everything it has seen about center Kris Beech, especially his playmaking skills and the fact he has put on 20 pounds. Defenseman Alexei Tezikov could figure into the mix, too.Jobs up for grabs There aren&rsquo;t many openings, but the pecking order at many positions could be shuffled with ice time adjusted accordingly.Money matters The Caps had three key players to sign as they approached training camp: center Jan Bulis, left winger Chris Simon and defenseman Sergei Gonchar.Injury update Bulis is coming off shoulder surgery and won&rsquo;t be ready to start the season. Left winger James Black has recovered from a broken leg.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Bjorn Nord, the 29-year-old Swede picked 289th overall by the Caps at this year&rsquo;s draft, will spend a little time at training camp then play in Germany this season. Nord, who played for Elite League champion Djurgarden last season, is viewed as a power play specialist&hellip;The Caps will hoist a banner signifying the Southeast Division championship it won last season before its home opener Oct. 6 against Los Angeles. It is only the second division title the club has captured during 26 regular seasons&hellip;Because of new regulations, defenseman Ken Klee was told by an airline he couldn&rsquo;t fly his two dogs back to Maryland with him. So, in order to return for camp, he drove from his Colorado home. &#9632;</div>

f0022-07

Bondra issue lingers as Caps ready for camp

<div class="byline">By Kevin OklobzIJa</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011092/8213710-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="468" height="505"></div>A strange thing happened on Jim Playfair&rsquo;s way to Salt Lake City. He ended up halfway across the continent in Saint John, N.B.Given permission by the Dallas Stars to explore other coaching opportunities before committing to the coaching job with Utah of the International League, Playfair chose to join former Stars&rsquo; director of player personnel Craig Button in the Calgary Flames&rsquo; organization.Button, the Flames&rsquo; new GM, hired Playfair as coach of the American League&rsquo;s Saint John Flames.A journeyman minor league defenseman, the 36-vear-old Playfair will begin his first full season as coach at the top minor league level. He was promoted from assistant to head coach of the IHL&rsquo;s Michigan K-Wings in January.The Flames have several top, young prospects, like AHL all-rookie team wingers Rico Fata and Daniel Tkaczuk, and Playfair&rsquo;s job will be to get them to the NHL. They won&rsquo;t be spoon-fed a promotion, however.&ldquo;I know what Craig regards as very important and one thing is the kids have to earn their way onto the team,&rdquo; Playfair said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no give, it&rsquo;s only earn.&rdquo;They prospects also must have a grasp of team defense, too.&ldquo;In order to play in the NHL, you have to be able to defend, you have to be able to play in both ends of the ice,&rdquo; Playfair said.Playfair was promoted to coach of the K-Wings when Dallas fired Bill McDonald. After an 8-1-1 start, Michigan went into a 7-22-2 tailspin under McDonald before his firing Jan. 22. Under Playfair, the K-Wings were 18-14-9.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t get where we wanted to be-which was into the playoffs-but we closed the gap and it was fun,&rdquo; Playfair said.Button was impressed with Playfair.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t know what was wrong, we weren&rsquo;t finding answers and that&rsquo;s part of the coaching job,&rdquo; Button said. &ldquo;He found answers.&rdquo;FAVORITE LEAVES Aaron Downey, a fan favorite for three years with the Providence Bruins, could be heading back to his roots.Downey, a tough-guy winger, signed as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks and likely will play for the AHL&rsquo;s expansion Norfolk Admirals if he can&rsquo;t crack the NHL lineup.Downey, 26, started with the East Coast League&rsquo;s Hampton Roads Admirals in 1995-96. In two seasons, he scored 20 goals, 39 points and made his mark with 692 penalty minutes. He scored 21 goals, 47 points and amassed 1,029 PIMs in his three AHL seasons in Providence, where fans loved his aggressive style.&ldquo;This was a time-consuming decision that took a lot of soul-searching,&rdquo; said Downey&rsquo;s agent, Mark Levine. &ldquo;Aaron loved playing in Providence and he hoped to remain a Bruin. But as time went on, it seemed less likely he would get the opportunity in Boston.&rdquo;COACHING STABILITY After losing out on at least three jobs, Jay Wells will return to the Hershey Bears for a third season as Mike Foligno&rsquo;s assistant.Wells was a candidate to become a Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; assistant under friend Lindy Ruff, but it went to Rochester Americans&rsquo; coach Brian McCutcheon. He also was up for head coaching jobs in Rochester and Hamilton.&ldquo;Keeping Jay means a lot to our organization because he&rsquo;s an outstanding person and an outstanding coach,&rdquo; said Bears&rsquo; GM Doug Yingst.ARMY ADDS ASSISTANT After two great seasons as coach of the East Coast League&rsquo;s Roanoke Express, Scott Gordon has joined the Providence Bruins as Bill Armstrong&rsquo;s assistant.Gordon had an 82-42-16 record in Roanoke, guiding the Express to two division titles. He starred in university-just down the road as a goalie at Boston College-before embarking on a mostly minor league career.AHL TIDBITS Gord Dineen is staying true to the family bloodlines by moving behind the Louisville Panthers&rsquo; bench as Joe Paterson&rsquo;s assistant. Gord&rsquo;s father, Bill, coached 16 seasons in the NHL, AHL and World Hockey Association&hellip;The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks bolstered their lineup through free agency when parent Anaheim signed defensemen Chris O&rsquo;Sullivan and Dean Malkoc and winger Kevin Sawyer. O&rsquo;Sullivan is offense-minded, while Malkoc and Sawyer add toughness. &#9632;

f0023-01

Prospect of seeing prospects lures Playfair to Saint John

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02758/8213741-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="756" height="367"></div>The Cleveland Lumberjacks will find out if one head is better than three this season.The Lumberjacks have a new coach-only one-in 32-year-old Todd McLellan, who spent the last six seasons coaching the Swift Current Broncos of the Western League. Last season, the Jacks employed three co-coaches. Perry Ganchar, B J. MacDonald and Phil Russell.A new NHL affiliation&mdash;they&rsquo;ve switched from being the top farm club of the Chicago Black-hawks to the expansion Minnesota Wild-turned out to be McLellan&rsquo;s big break.Three years ago, he interviewed with Doug Risebrough, then the vice-president of operations for the Edmonton Oilers, about the vacant coaching post with the American League&rsquo;s Hamilton Bulldogs.A familiarity grew from that encounter and once last season was finished, Rise brough, the new GM of the Wild, called McLellan and asked him to interview for the Cleveland job &ldquo;That interview with Doug and Glen Sather in Edmonton was a good experience and Doug and I just kept in touch,&rdquo; McLellan said. &ldquo;Deep down, I hoped I&rsquo;d get another opportunity to be involved with him. Back then, we started to share ideas and thoughts and I found we had a lot in common. I think our ideas and beliefs in the game matched very well.&rdquo;McLellan, last year&rsquo;s WHL coach of the year, is ready for the adjustment to the pro game.&ldquo;I believe the changes are going to be two-fold,&rdquo; the Melville, Sask., native said. &ldquo;First, the caliber of the athletes is going to be higher and stronger, which means the skill level should be higher than in junior. And I also expect that the maturity of the individual, a mental maturity, should be higher than at the junior level.&rdquo;McLellan isn&rsquo;t worried that either Risebrough or Wild coach Jacques Lemaire will be coaching his games for him in Cleveland.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be able to adjust my game to better prepare players for (the Wild),&rdquo; McLellan said. &ldquo;I can see we have the same philosophies, that hockey is a game of ideas and no one man&rsquo;s ideas are right or wrong.&rdquo;STARS TO SHINE After a postponement due to arena work, the Chicago Wolves will host the IHL&rsquo;s 2000-01 All-Star Game at All-state Arena Jan. 15.The Wolves were scheduled to host last season&rsquo;s game, but renovations to their home building forced its move to Houston.The IHL will also continue to employ the format re-introduced in last year&rsquo;s game, pitting the defending Turner Cup champions against the rest of the league&rsquo;s all-stars. The format had been used in the 1960s.Last season, the Houston Aeros defeated the IHL all-stars 5-3.CAPTAIN RETURNS The Grand Rapids Griffins, who fell two victories short of defeating the Chicago Wolves in last year&rsquo;s Turner Cup championship, have re-signed captain Ed Patterson Patterson, a 27-year-old Calgary native, scored 20 goals and 41 points in a team-high 74 games for the jriffins last season. He sustained a knee injury in a first round playoff game against Cleveland, but was able to return for the league final and scored four goals in that series.&ldquo;Eddie was without a doubt the leader of our team,&rdquo; said Griffins&rsquo; GM Bob McNamara. &ldquo;His presence on the ice and his leadership in the dressing room are invaluable. You just have to look at the series he had against Chicago to see the impact he has on this team.&rdquo;DOTTING THE &lsquo;I&rsquo; Center Mark Lamb opted to retire from the Houston Aeros and accept an assistant coaching job with the Edmonton Oilers. Lamb said he considered playing a fifth season in Houston, but decided the coaching opportunity was too good to turn down&hellip;Utah is likely to be without their top scorer of a year ago. Center Jarrod Skalde, who had 25 goals and 79 points in 77 games last season, has signed with the Atlanta Thrashers and will probably play for Orlando if he doesn&rsquo;t stick jn the NHL&hellip;Former Dallas Stars&rsquo; defenseman Craig Ludwig was named assistant coach of Utah Aug. 24&hellip; Matt Shaw resurfaced as the assistant to new Houston coach-GM Dave Barr, Shaw had spent two years as coach-GM of the United League&rsquo;s Quad City Mallards &#9632;

f0023-02

McLellan has Wild mandate as rookie Cleveland coach

<div class="byline">By Rob Mueller</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03557/8213772-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="462" height="403"></div>From the net to the blueline, the Baton Rouge Kingfish are in the midst of a radical face-lift under new coach Dave Lohrei.In his first few weeks on the job, the two-time Central League coach of the year addressed the team&rsquo;s most pressing needs-goaltending and defense. Lohrei acquired a bona fide No. 1 goalie in East Coast League all-star Paxton Schafer, who came over from the Pee Dee Pride in a trade for defenseman Ted Laviolette Aug. 16.Lohrei also dealt high-scoring left winger and fan favorite Luke Curtin to the Horida Everblades for steady defenseman Dane Litke, who captained North Dakota&rsquo;s 1997 NCAA championship squad. Litke played for Lohrei with the CHL&rsquo;s Nashville Ice Hyers in 1997-98.&ldquo;Looking at video from last year and by talking to players, the team needed to make a bigger defensive effort,&rdquo; Lohrei said. &ldquo;Any time you can add an all-star in net and a quality blueliner, you&rsquo;ve got two pieces to the puzzle.&rdquo;Schafer, 24, finished third in the ECHL in goals-against average and save percentage last season. He&rsquo;s a former Boston Bruins.&rsquo; prospect.Litke, 28, had six goals and 31 points in 62 games for the Everblades. He will serve as a player-assistant coach with the Kingfish.Baton Rouge was among the league leaders in offense, but finished with the sixth-worst defense in the 28-team loop.Lohrei expects the Kingfish to improve on last year&rsquo;s 33-32-5 mark.Along with trading away Curtin, the team couldn&rsquo;t come to terms with two of its centers. Dan Shermerhorn signed with Idaho of the West Coast League, while Bryan Richardson will play in England.BUJAR TO BLADES? Twotime all-star goalie Bujar Amidovski signed a two-year, three-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, which could land him with the Florida Everblades in 2000-01.The 23-year-old Amidovski went 19-11-3 with a 2.49 GAA for the Trenton Titans last season, but he was not re-signed by the Philadelphia Flyers, one of the Titans&rsquo; parent clubs.Amidovski will contend for the Cincinnati Cyclones&rsquo; (International League) backup job with Marc Magliarditi, If he doesn&rsquo;t stick with the Hurricanes&rsquo; IHL affiliate, he will be assigned to FLorida, Carolina&rsquo;s ECHL affiliate.GOING EXTRA MILE How did Augusta Lynx trainer Brian Patafie spend his summer vacation? On tour with an alternative rock band.When the Lynx rented out their $500,000 team bus to the group Zebrahead in July, Patafie volunteered to drive.With the team&rsquo;s regular driver out of commission following back surgery in June, Patafie got behind the wheel and spent 31 days with the band, logging more than 15,000 miles.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always respected our bus drivers, but now I have a lot more respect for them after this,&rdquo; said Patafie, a former trainer with the Calgary Flames. &ldquo;Now I can say I drove a 45-foot bus in downtown New York City.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0023-03

Kingfish alter roster to suit defense-first strategy

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011179/8213803-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="738" height="306"></div>The Ontario League is developing a coaching mentorship program in co-operation with the Canadian Hockey Association.OHL coaches will work with minor hockey coaches, providing leadership and service, in the various OHL centers.The OHL coaching committee is chaired by Kitchener Rangers&rsquo; GM Jamie McDonald, who previously was manager of development for the CHA.The CHA coaching mentorship program is a followup to the Open Ice Summit of a year ago. The Toronto-hosted summit revolved around player development in Canada.&ldquo;The mentoring of coaches at all levels and specifically minor hockey is the key to the future growth of hockey in Canada,&rdquo; said CHA president Bob Nicholson.&ldquo;The establishment of this program is paramount to our goal of improving athlete development in Canada.&rdquo;McDonald said the OHL wants to take a leadership role in this area.&ldquo;We have a lot of solid coaches who are willing to give back to their communities,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We will develop a template for all our member teams.&rdquo;McDonald said there are 550,000 registered minor hockey players in Canada and 80 per cent are in peewee and below. &ldquo;When we talk about developing skills, it only happens through good coaching and that&rsquo;s where it has to happen-between novice and bantam,&rdquo; McDonald said.STEWART MOVES ON Former Barrie Colts&rsquo; coach Bill Stewart will coach the Adler Mannheim Eagles of the German Elite League this season.Stewart resigned from the Colts after winning the OHL championship and taking them to the Memorial Cup final last spring. He has been barred from entering the U.S. after twice smuggling a Ukrainian-born player across the Canada-U.S. border in the luggage bay of the team bus last season.SWEET LOU The London Knights and Mississauga IceDogs completed a four-player trade Aug. 21. The Knights obtained disgruntled center Lou Dickenson and a fifth round midget pick in the 2002 draft.The IceDogs acquired defenseman Brett Angel, right winger Dan Sullivan and left winger Chris Osborne.Angel was the North Bay Centennials&rsquo; first pick (third overall) in 1997 and was selected by the Nashville Predators in the third round (72nd overall) in 1999.Dickenson, who requested to be traded following last season, was the IceDogs&rsquo; first-ever draft pick and the second player chosen in 1998. He was an Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; fourth-rounder (113th overall) last June.IceDogs&rsquo; GM Trevor Whiffen said the trade was made in the best interests of both parties.&ldquo;With this trade we&rsquo;ve added a front-line defenseman (Angel) and depth, which we need on the wings,&rdquo; Whiffen said. &ldquo;Any time you can fill three holes with one player, you have to go for it.&ldquo;As a fourth-year player, we expect Angel to be one of the best defensemen in the league.&rdquo;The IceDogs were an OHL-worst 9-58-1 last season when Dickenson had only 46 points, matching his rookie year. He scored 21 goals last season after 19 as a rookie.Knights&rsquo; president Dale Hunter hopes Dickenson will prove to be an untapped resource.The Knights scored only 186 goals last season, second-fewest in the league.&ldquo;I saw him when I was scouting for Washington,&rdquo; Hunter said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll create a lot of offense. We think he&rsquo;ll have a breakthrough season.&rdquo;Whiffen said 14 of the 19 other OHL teams expressed interest in Dickenson. &ldquo;I was just ready for a change,&rdquo; Dickenson said. &#9632;

f0026-01

OHL wants to be at forefront of coaching mentorship program

<div class="byline">By Gordie Sutherland</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02834/8213834-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="576" height="505"></div>Life after Brad Richards has arrived for the Rimouski Oceanic.The 20-year-old left winger was &lsquo;Mr. Everything&rsquo; for Rimouski last season, leading the Canadian Hockey League scoring with 186 points and guiding the Oceanic to the Memorial Cup championship.But with Richards set to launch his pro career with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Rimouski is looking for a new kingpin.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anybody is ready to take over from Brad, to take his place,&rdquo; said Rimouski coach Doris Labonte.&ldquo;But it&rsquo;s time for the others who were playing behind him to take the lead now.&rdquo;Thatcher Bell, an 18-year-old center, is considered the leading candidate to be the next great junior player in Rimouski. He was a third round pick of the Vancouver Canucks this past June and has a chance to crack Canada&rsquo;s national junior team.But as promising as Bell is, he probably won&rsquo;t be the superstar Rimouski has become accustomed to having on its side.For two seasons (1996-97 and &rsquo;97-98), Rimouski laid claim to teenage phenom Vincent Lecavalier, who joined the Lightning at 18. Then there was Richards&rsquo;reign.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s important to tell our fans and the people around here that it was exceptional to have players like Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier,&rdquo; Labonte said. &ldquo;It was great, but it&rsquo;s not normal to have such great players, one after the other.&rdquo;SCOURING MARKET In an effort to ice a competitive team in a rebuilding year, the Moncton Wildcats have signed 13 free agents.Physical defenseman Mike Fournier and highly skilled center Collin Circelli are two of the newcomers who are expected to make an immediate impact.Circelli, a slick puck-handler, played Jr. A in Oshawa last season while Fournier, who turns 19 in December, skated with the Boston Jr. Bruins.&ldquo;Fournier&rsquo;s a big kid, 6-foot-4, 205 pounds,&rdquo; said first-year Moncton GM Darrell Young, who expects to start the season with close to a half-dozen Americans on the Wildcats&rsquo; roster. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be a really good guy for us. He&rsquo;s very competitive. He skates well and moves the puck well.&rdquo;Fournier, whose agent is former Boston Bruins&rsquo; great Bobby Orr, also attracted interest from the Halifax Mooseheads and the Hull Olympiques. Moncton head scout Peter Nevin, who was Orr&rsquo;s blueline partner in junior with the Oshawa Generals, saw Fournier play several times last season and is responsible for bringing him to the Wildcats.ROAD TRIP For the first time in his hockey career, goalie Maxime Ouellet won&rsquo;t beliving at home during the season.The 19-year-old Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; prospect spent the past three seasons with his hometown Quebec Remparts before joining the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies it a trade this summer.Ouellet was a key part of the deal that brought high-scoring center Mike Ribeiro to the Remparts for last season&rsquo;s stretch run.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the first time I&rsquo;m going to be away from home, so it&rsquo;s going to be special,&rdquo; said Ouellet, who is from the Quebec City suburb of Beauport. &ldquo;But I knew one day I would have to leave home and play somewhere else.&ldquo;I just hope I can do the same thing I did in Quebec.&rdquo;Ouellet, the Flyers&rsquo; first round pick (22nd overall) in 1999, learned of the trade when he returned from last season&rsquo;s World Junior Championship tournament where he helped Canada to a bronze. But the reality of the trade is only beginning to set in.&ldquo;Probably when I go back to Quebec for my first game at the Coliseum, it&rsquo;s going to feel really weird,&rdquo; Ouellet said. &ldquo;At that moment, I will realize that it&rsquo;s over for me in Quebec.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0026-02

Memorial Cup champs Oceanic face future without superstars

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03676/8213865-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="420" height="409"></div>A one-year contract does not provide an abundance of job security.Milan Dragicevic is undeterred.The newest coach of the Tri-City Americans understands the realities of life with the Western League franchise, which owner Ron Toigo has been attempting to sell for almost a year.&ldquo;Part of the uncertainty is that maybe they don&rsquo;t want to be committed to a coach for the long term,&rdquo; said Dragicevic after being named the team&rsquo;s coach Aug. 18. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s room for discussion and negotiation over the season.&ldquo;The bottom line is, I have to go out and prove myself. They&rsquo;re taking a great chance with someone who hasn&rsquo;t been a head coach in the WHL before.&rdquo;Dragicevic, a former Americans&rsquo; defenseman and assistant coach, was hired away from the Alberta Junior League&rsquo;s Drayton Valley Thunder. He was the AJHL&rsquo;s coach of the year in his second and final season with the Thunder.The 30-year-old Dragicevic left Drayton Valley to replace Don Hay, who resigned as Tri-City&rsquo;s coach-GM in early August to become the Calgary Flames&rsquo; coach.Meanwhile, Toigo has been trying to sell the Americans in order to establish a Vancouver-based expansion franchise, which would begin play in the fall of 2001.Toigo had yet to sell the Americans as training camp loomed. To stabilize the situation, he made several front-office moves.Americans&rsquo; vice-president Bob Brown, a former Kamloops Blazers&rsquo; GM, will handle TriCity&rsquo;s financial affairs and other administrative duties.Scott Bonner, who was the Americans&rsquo; head scout for 13 seasons, was promoted to director of hockey operations. He and Brown will be responsible for many of the tasks performed by Hay while he was the GM.Jason Ripplinger, a Saskatchewan-based regional scout, ascended to head scout.&ldquo;(Toigo) had to get moving in Tri-City to get that operation under way and put some stability in there,&rdquo; said Kelowna Rockets&rsquo; govemor-GM Bruce Hamilton, chairman of the WHL&rsquo;s board of governors. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to think Ron Toigo will own that (franchise) for a while.&ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t been able to find anybody yet who is prepared to buy the club. There have been a lot of guys hunting around and going through the books, but nobody has made an offer that&rsquo;s satisfactory.&rdquo;Toigo is said to be asking $2.3 million (U.S.) for the Americans. He has owned the franchise based in Kennewick, Wash., since 1991.OUT OF COMMISSIONER) Bruce Hamilton hopes the WHL can name a new commissioner bv October.The league has been without a chief executive officer since Dev Dley was sacked in late June. Hamilton and other members of the league&rsquo;s executive committee have assumed some of the commissioner&rsquo;s responsibilities on an interimbasts, as has long-time WHL vice-president Richard Doerksen.&ldquo;That comes with being chairman of the board,&rdquo; Hamilton said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a privilege to be in a position which is voted on by my peers, but it has been a different summer because of that. That&rsquo;s the way it goes.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be happy when we get a person in place. I would hope we can get down to between three and five people very soon.&rdquo;Hamilton would not identify any of the top candidates, citing confidentiality agreements.STAYING PUT Kelly Kisio will remain the Calgary Hitmen&rsquo;s GM instead of accepting an offer to join the Flames in a player personnel capacity. The NHL team owns the Hitmen.&ldquo;I enjoy myself right now,&rdquo; Kisio said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a young family and I&rsquo;d like to spend as much time as possible with them. I like junior hockey and it&rsquo;s a good fit for me right now.&ldquo;Everyone wants to get back to the NHL. I had a good two or three weeks of sleepless nights while I made my decision.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0026-03

Dragicevic new Tri-City coach; now, anyone want to buy team?

NHL TRAINING CAMP ROSTERS

<div class="byline">By Mike Gibb</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="S0001-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0001-0116/8214042-1-eng-US/s0001-012.jpg"></div>AS A RULE, ATHLETES GIFTED ENOUGH TO MAKE IT TO THE NHL SHARE A BURNING DESIRE TO BE THE BEST. AND FOR SOME, THE COMMITMENT TO EXCEL LEADS THEM TO BECOME PRETTY FINICKY ABOUT THE EQUIPMENT THEY WEAR.Take Tony Amonte. The Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; star right winger uses two different gloves. His right, or top hand, is a normal pro-tailored glove with a tackleather palm. But Amonte felt the tackleather palm on his left glove was preventing him from sliding his hand up and down the shaft of his stick effortlessly. So his left glove is palmed with a normal, Nash-Clarino fabric, the material which is found on most sport-store quality hockey gloves.Then there&rsquo;s Sergei Fedorov of the Detroit Red Wings, who doesn&rsquo;t want any binding on the outside of his gloves. But binding is basically what keeps the glove together.A particular goalie, (who shall remain nameless except to say he once played for Ottawa and now suits up in Atlanta), ships a pair of pads back to the manufacturer if either pad is plus-or-minus five grams on a 2.5 kilogram (2,500 grams) pad.And Tom Fitzgerald with the Nashville Predators has a thick palm on his gloves. Most players prefer a thin leather to get a better feel for their stick. But Fitzgerald has material almost as thick as a gardening glove on his palms. His wrist cuffs also have to be nice and tight and there has to be extra padding in his fingers to make his glove fit like a ski glove.The reason? Comfort.Confidence makes up so much of a player&rsquo;s game. A confident player scores more goals, makes more stops, blocks more shots. A player has to feel comfortable to feel confident. That&rsquo;s why companies will bend over backwards to keep their players feeling comfortable.But for every Amonte and Fitzgerald, there&rsquo;s a Grant Fuhr. Fuhr would open up a new pair of pads or catching glove and wear it the next day.As a rule, players are more finicky about skates, gloves and sticks than anything else. Some players are wearing the same protective gear, cup, shin pads, elbow pads, shoulder pads and helmet since they were in junior hockey. The reason? Again, it&rsquo;s comfort.&ldquo;Some guys like to be over-protected,&rdquo; said Jeff Eisner, Marketing manager for team sports at Franklin. &ldquo;Some, if they could get away with it, would wear nothing.&rdquo;But the performance gear, the equipment that usually helps in a player&rsquo;s performance on the ice, is a different story. Philadelphia&rsquo;s Mark Recchi will go through a new pair of skates each month in an NHL season. Why? He likes the way a new skate fits.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0002-0160/8214035-1-eng-US/s0002-012.jpg" title="S0002-01" width="1832" height="1201"><figcaption class="caption-body">A glove story: Boston Bruins&rsquo; goaltender Byron Dafoe demands precision in the placement of the straps in his gloves.</figcaption></div><h2>College, junior players finicky too</h2>Ray Bourque will go through as many as 50 pairs of gloves in a season. He routinely wears four-to-six different pairs of gloves in a game. He prefers to wear dry gloves each and every shift. Most players will use four-to-six pairs of gloves in a season.Goalies are more precise than players, but can also be less of a pain. They usually know exactly what they want.&ldquo;Patrick (Roy) keeps us busy in the summertime,&rdquo; said Guy Darveau with The Hockey Company, makers of CCM and Koho equipment. &rsquo;We&rsquo;ll go through last year&rsquo;s equipment and make adjustments. He&rsquo;ll take a tour of the plant each summer. It&rsquo;s easier when a player takes the time to sit down with us and tell us what he needs.&rdquo;Darveau says Roy wants his equipment made so he doesn&rsquo;t feel the puck when he stops it. Most goalies, like Martin Brodeur, love the feel of the puck.With goalies, everything has to be precise.&ldquo;Byron (Dafoe) has to have the glove finger straps in the right spot and even with his pads, the straps have to be in exact spots,&rdquo; said Richard Lachapelle, Team Sales Manager at l-Tech.Over the summer, Lachapelle sent Dafoe four different catching gloves, all similar in make, but with slight adjustments, to get a feel for what he would want this year.&ldquo;This way, he could come back to us and say, I like the webbing on number one, the straps on number three,&rsquo; etc.,&rdquo; Lachapelle said. &ldquo;With goalies, equipment is a part of who they are. We want the players to feel like they are part of the process.&rdquo;With goalies, catching glove is usually the most important piece of equipment, followed by pads, then mask, blocker and finally stick.Developing a relationship with a player can be trying time for a manufacturer.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot of trial and error,&rdquo; Lachapelle said. &ldquo;Some guys like to be stroked, some like to be left alone.&rdquo;Preferential treatment no longer stops at the NHL level; it has started to filter into junior and college hockey as well.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re becoming our own worst enemy,&rdquo; Lachapelle said. &ldquo;In our effort to get bigger and better, we&rsquo;ve lowered our bar too much to include the lower levels.&rdquo;<h2>Professional Quality Deodorizer used by the Pro&rsquo;s.</h2>&ldquo;I have used many other products in the past, but they only seem to mask the odor and do not get to the root of the problem. Regular use of OT eliminates the disturbing odor of the dressing room also.&rdquo;Troy Parchman, Chicago Blackhawks&ldquo;Odor Treatment is safe on all fabrics and will not erode any part of the protective gear. It is also cost effective. One can covers over 2000 sq.ft, I use OT to completely sterilize my locker room.&rdquo;Paul Boyer, Detroit Red Wings&ldquo;Odor Treatment has been used by many of the Teams in our League, and been found to be a reliable product that actually eliminates odors associated with hockey equipment, kills germs and sanitizes the player&rsquo;s gear.&rdquo;Cus Thorson, Calgary Flames&ldquo;Odor Treatment has been a great asset to me as an equipment manager. At the start of the Season, we continually ran into cases of players getting rashes from their elbow and shin pads. Trying to remedy the situation, I tried washing the equipment with no real results. However, after using the OT Spray, the problem started going away.&rdquo;.Ed Georgica, Ottawa Senators&ldquo;OT was well received by all of my players. They noticed a significant difference in the odor maintenance of their equipment. I use OT after most games and practices.&rdquo;Joe McMahon, New York Islanders&ldquo;In over 25 years in the hockey equipment business, I, like everybody else have tried countless products to eliminate odors. Odor Treatment is the best and most practical product I have tried.&rdquo;Bobby Stewart, Atlanta ThrashersAsk for OT at your favorite sporting goods store. &#9632;

S0001-01

Companies cater to NHL players’ needs

Those players who truly take hockey seriously know which company to turn to when they&rsquo;re on the lookout for top-quality protective equipment: CCM. With an outstanding tradition, CCM has earned its reputation as an industry leader. The company&rsquo;s equipment lineup for 2000-01 is no exception.One of the company&rsquo;s marquee product offerings for this season is the rugged and stylish HT500 helmet It features a dual density liner and the PRO-LOK system, which provides the protection and fit required in today&rsquo;s fast-paced game. The HT500 also uses the innovative Impact Management System-an expanded polypropylene (EPP) liner designed to encapsulate the head and absorb high-energy impacts.The helmet also features Der-Tex comfort plugs to help protect the player against the more frequent low-energy impacts that occur throughout the game. For added versatility, the HT500 also allows adjustments to be made without tools, which makes for quick sizing.&ldquo;Designing products that provide protection is just the price of admission in this business today,&rdquo; says Ross McCracken, assistant brand manager for CCM. &ldquo;At CCM, we&rsquo;re constantly trying to raise the bar and incorporate features and materials to not only improve protection, but to help make our products better, lighter, more durable and with better ventilation. The HT500 is just one example of that didication to improvement&rdquo;CCM is also offering a complete line of top-notch gloves this season. Leading the pack is the HG620 Supra-an all-leather construction hockey glove that screams performance and style. Two-piece fingers allow for increased finger mobility and improved stick handling. The Tri-Flex Cuff three-piece cuff design alsomeans a greater range of motion for the player. And to top it off, the palms of the HG620 are also treated with silicone and kevlar, providing better stick gripping ability.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0003-0150/8214152-1-eng-US/s0003-012.jpg" title="S0003-01" width="768" height="1152"><figcaption class="caption-body">Philadelphia&rsquo;s Mark Recchi is among those who uses CCM gear.</figcaption></div>If you&rsquo;re in the market for protective equipment this season, you owe it to yourself to check out CCM&rsquo;s new Tacks line of hockey equipment. Highlighted by the 1052 Tacks shoulder pads, elbow pads and shin guards, this family of products features new designs and superior technology.The 1052 Tacks shoulder pads have several exciting new features, including a two-piece biceps plate that provides optimal mobility. Meanwhile, the new Air Circulator technology incorporates a 3D-mesh that provides space between skin and foam, enabling air to dissipate over a greater area. These leading edge shoulder pads also feature a floating three-piece back plate to increase mobility and protection, external and internal clavicle protection for superior impact distribution and a heart protection piece for additional coverage.In addition, CCM&rsquo;s elbow pads provide the same high level of protection as always, allowing for maximum flexibility of the arms and keeping the elbow tips snugly in place. Led by the 1052 model, the CCM Tacks elbow pad collection also features adjustable/removable extended forearm pieces that provide customizable forearm protection. Additional models in this lineup include the 852 Tacks, 452 Tacks, 252 Supra and 152 Supra.As for shin guards, the 1052 model leads the CCM Tacks line, offering players the perfect combination of protection, fit and comfort. The anatomical liner design of the 1052 maximizes stability and comfort for each leg. Extended thigh protection provides coverage between the kneecap and pants and two D-ring elastic straps enable players to customize the fit.So how does this century old company remain on the cutting edge of equipment technology&ldquo;By oonstantly striving to improve,&rdquo; McCracken says. &ldquo;By heavily investing in research and development, we are constantly on the lookout for ways to make our products better&mdash;by researching new materials, new manufacturing techniques and new features. At the end of the day, we&rsquo;re very proud of the CCM name and we want our customers to feel the same way.&rdquo; &#9632;

S0003-01

CCM continues to raise the equipment bar

In just five years, Franklin Sports has taken its line of equipment from the streets to NHL arenas.And entering 2000-01, Franklin has more than just a foot in the door at NHL rinks. Almost 80 NHL players, including Chicago&rsquo;s Tony Amonte, Carolina&rsquo;s Ron Francis and Detroit&rsquo;s Sergei Fedorov, use the company&rsquo;s gloves. Now, Franklin pants are catching on in &ldquo;The Show,&rdquo; as well as in minor pro, college and other elite leagues.&ldquo;We only have a few guys under contract to wear our products,&rdquo; said Bill Best Franklin&rsquo;s Hockey Division manager. &ldquo;Players are using our products because they love them.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s quite a story for a company that was best known in hockey circles for making street hockey gear until 1995. But Franklin, based in Stoughton, Mass., has a long tradition in sporting goods, including producing equipment for baseball, football and basketball. In fact, Franklin is recognized as the innovator and market leader in baseball batting gloves.Now Franklin is helping hockey players&rsquo; hands generate offense. At the top of the company&rsquo;s glove list is its THT Pro 9505, a model designed to provide optimal protection, mobility, comfort and feel to elite-level players.&ldquo;The glove uses our Tri-Curve technology that follows the three primary curves&mdash;the backhand curve, the knuckle curve and the fingers-that define the shape of the hand,&rdquo; Best said. &ldquo;This allows the glove to be ready for play with almost no break-in time. Pro players are putting them on in the morning skate and wearing them in games that night&rdquo;The THT Pro 9505 also includes a flexible, flared cuff that extends long enough to provide added slash protection, but permits the unobtrusive feel of a shorter cuff glove. Although a shorter cuff version of the glove, the THT Pro 8505, also is available, Best says the THT Pro 9505 offers players a unique blend of forearm coverage and mobility.&ldquo;The wrists are very open to allow you to move your hand up and down your stick,&rdquo; he explained.&ldquo;You really don&rsquo;t even feel the cuff is there. Players really have unrestricted hand movement without sacrificing protection.&rdquo;The THT Pro 9505 arid 8505 both are reinforced with a high-density outer foam/lighter density inner padding combination and have three-piece high-impact thumbs. For added comfort, the gloves incorporate Franklin&rsquo;s ACD-3 (Air Cooled Design) ventilation technology and vented Coolmax to dissipate heat with a constant airflow.Also adding to comfort and performance, the models&rsquo; palms are made from Nash, a premier-quality synthetic leather produced by Clarino of Japan. The palms are reinforced with a high-grade, slightly tacky English leather that improves grip.Franklin also offers gloves at more affordable price points for players with less-than-pro needs. Included are the models THT 7505, THT 6505 and the value-priced THT4500, a glove Best says &ldquo;brings a lot of the features of our high-end gloves down to an entry-level price-point.&rdquo;Franklin&rsquo;s ACD-3 concepts really come to the fore and pays off in the company&rsquo;s pants. For instance, the top-of-the-line THT Pro 8885 pant&mdash;the model worn by NHLers-has added mesh panel in front that tapers across the hip flexor areas along with an elastic rib knit crotch/inseam. Not only does this boost air flow and heat dissipation, it also improves flexibility. &ldquo;The design makes the pants feel broken in the first time you put them on,&rdquo; Best said.The Pro 8885 pants also incorporate a Coolmax lining for comfort. On the protective side, the pants have Franklin&rsquo;s Shok-Sorb padding and a molded polyethylene reinforced rib, hip, tailbone and thigh guards. Complementing the Pro 8885 pants is a model THT Pro 8805 girdle and a THT Pro 9965 women&rsquo;s pant model with and adjusted anatomical design.Franklin&rsquo;s THT Pro Model 8800 includes many of the premium features found in the THT Pro 8885 at a more affordable price. The Franklin pants line is rounded out by the THT 6800 and 4800 models, the THT 4805 girdle and THT 6860 women&rsquo;s pants.Franklin&rsquo;s top shoulder pad is its THT Pro 8950 model that combines titanium reinforced matrix vented caps, lightweight carbon composite cap inserts and the company&rsquo;s ShokSorb suspension system. The shoulder pads also include ACD-3 ventilation and Coolmax lining. Franklin has three additional men&rsquo;s shoulder pads as well as a new women&rsquo;s model, the THT 6960, that was developed through testing with U.S national women&rsquo;s team members.Rounding out Franklin&rsquo;s protective roster are seven elbow pads and four shin guard models. The top elbow pad is the THT Pro 8655 that, like the THT Pro 8950 shoulder pad, includes titanium reinforced matrix vented caps, lightweight carbon composite cap inserts and the Shok-Sorb suspension system. Franklin&rsquo;s high-end shin guard, the THT Pro 8750 is constructed with similar materials and technologies.For more information on Franklin and its produce visit the company&rsquo;s wesbite, <a href="http://www.franklinsports.com">www.franklinsports.com</a>. &#9632;

Franklin quickly forges niche in hockey

<div class="byline">By Matt Carlson</div>Like subway riders, hockey equipment manufacturers are learning to &ldquo;mind the gap.&rdquo; Despite overall equipment improvements, players still have had some holes in their armor. Due partially to movement and flexibility requirements of the sport, gap areas such as the lower forearm and biceps were left susceptible to slashes and cross checks. Spine and abdominal areas remained vulnerable to impact Calves were getting whacked with sticks and pucks.However, equipment makers are adding or boosting coverage in the &ldquo;gaps.&rdquo; Some shoulder, elbow and shin pads have extensions to cover injury hot spots. In higher-end products, this added protection often is adjustable or removable.&ldquo;One of the things we&rsquo;ve stressed is to minimize the gaps,&rdquo; said Barrie Stafford, the Oilers&rsquo; equipment manager. &ldquo;Until a few years ago, pro equipment managers would sew in an extra piece of foam and customize equipment to cover these areas if the players wanted or needed it Now a lot of manufacturers have developed pieces that fit in those areas.&rdquo;Most high-end equipment lines for 2000-01 address the issue. For instance, Bauer&rsquo;s new Supreme 5000 and CCM&rsquo;s new 1052 Tacks protective series try to plug the gap areas.&ldquo;In many cases, we&rsquo;ve designed (the added protection) to be modular so players can have their equipment as light or protective as they want,&rdquo; said David McGibbon, Bauer&rsquo;s global product manager for protective equipment and sticks. &ldquo;Different players have different styles of play and different preferences.&rdquo;Another trend is the increased use of expanded polypropylene (EPP) as dense, but lightweight, high-impact-resistant padding. Originally used in auto racing, motorcycle, then hockey helmet linings, EPP is finding its way into protective gear.&ldquo;We think the increased use of EPP just makes a ton of sense,&rdquo; said Karl Burns, Mission Hockey&rsquo;s global category manager, ice hockey. &ldquo;It absorbs energy so much better and it not only protects the player who&rsquo;s taking the hit, but also the one who&rsquo;s giving it It&rsquo;s a great material as opposed to plastics.&rdquo;Mission is using EPP extensively in its Warp Zero and Warp Sub-Zero elbow pads and shin guard cap areas. Easton Sports is including EPP in its new Zero Shock gloves.However, EPP has its detractors. The issue isn&rsquo;t protection, but the material&rsquo;s ability to bounce back when hit hard. In some cases, the area impacted doesn&rsquo;t rebound as quickly and completely like a softer foam. Players going shopping for new gear might, literally, try a finger-poking test before buying.Beyond annual progress in weight reduction, other trends in protective gear include improved air circulation and coolness features in all types of gear. The use of antimicrobial treatments, pioneered by Franklin Sports two years ago, also is catching on. And, by the way, selection in most categories is better than ever.Some of the highlights for 2000-01 are:<h2>GLOVES</h2>Louisville Hockey&rsquo;s Bionic Glove, designed as a collaborative effort between Louisville and a noted hand surgeon, has anatomical cuts and construction to better fit and support the hand&rsquo;s natural motion.For instance, the Bionic Glove has natural curves across the back to fit the knuckles and other joints for improved comfort and grip. The gloves also have Coolmax lining, removable &ldquo;hyperloc&rdquo; thumbs; a three-piece index finger to improve grip strength and anatomically designed cuff rolls to improve slash protection and wrist range of motion.Jofa&rsquo;s new HG 8000 gloves incorporate an adjustable, thermo-molded and composite reinforced cuff system that permits players to change the cuff size based on preference. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a cuff that&rsquo;s attached with velcro and you can reposition it,&rdquo; said Mike Chiasson, Koho&rsquo;s brand manager. &ldquo;If players prefer, they can adjust their right and left gloves differently.&rdquo;Easton&rsquo;s Zero Shock glove has molded EPP gel backrolls for weight reduction and greater backside protection. According to Ned Goldsmith, Easton&rsquo;s vice-president of hockey, the EPP allows the glove to maintain a traditional silhouette, but offer &ldquo;unsurpassed impact dispersion&rdquo; to make it &ldquo;the most protective glove on the market&rdquo;Bauer&rsquo;s new top Supreme glove model, the 5000, is part of the brand&rsquo;s &ldquo;Gel&rdquo; protective series that also includes pants, shoulder pads, elbow pads and shin guards. A combination of 25 per cent gel and 75 per cent foam in padded areas reduces impact by 35 per cent versus foam alone of the same thickness. The Supreme 5000 models have three-piece flex cuffs for maximum range of motion; reinforced palms with nash, silicone and Kevlar materials for durability and quick-drying; and anti-bacterial liners.For players wanting sharp graphics, Itech has introduced its HG455 Techlite&reg; Leather &ldquo;Steel&rdquo; models with raised letter graphics on the cuffs and sublimated &ldquo;color fade&rdquo; patterns on the knuckles and fingers.<h2>PANTS</h2>Bauer&rsquo;s Supreme 5000 pants have gel-padding in key hip areas, have been reshaped for a better fit and include an improved three-piece thigh guard. The pants have a mesh gusset in front for added ventilation, antibacterial liners and inner thigh zippers so players can lace up their skates before pulling on the pants.Itech claims its new HP955 ProElite pants are extremely flexible and lightweight, yet retain protection. The Canadian-made model has a 400 Denier nylon shell and an interior mesh lining to permit coolness and quick drying. Along with a rear &ldquo;Air Flow Construction,&rdquo; the HP955 models have extendible mesh crotch and leg gussets to improve maneuverability, as well as inner leg zippers.<h2>HELMETS & FACIAL PROTECTION</h2>Jofa, known for a very lightweight helmet style, has a new, truly protective helmet&mdash;the 690-that meets HECC, CSA and CE standards. Jofa claims the model offers the &ldquo;best blend of protection, breathability, fit and comfort&rdquo; Available in medium and large sizes, the 690 has a four-piece shell with a quick four-point adjustment system. The 690 is designed with a maximum number ventilation openings and has a molded EPP liner with added, patented Rubatex&reg; padding.Mission&rsquo;s Carbster and Fibester, one-piece composite helmets, announced last year, are now in full distribution after receiving HECC and CSA approvals. The models, which are sold in several sizes for an exact fit they&rsquo;re not adjustable), incorporate helmet technology originally used in auto racing and skiing.For improved facial protection, Itech&rsquo;s new FX.50 system features the company&rsquo;s Optech system with a distortion-free, shield that can be replaced without tools. The shield can be removed and replaced in 10 seconds or less using a &ldquo;QuickClick&rdquo; push-button system.As part of the FX.50 package, a high-chrome wire cage adds full protection around the lower face and chin. At its center, the cage component has a double-reinforced &ldquo;ghost wire&rdquo; that&rsquo;s virtually invisible to a player and allows a wider visual perspective near the lower chin.Itech also offers its new HS22 Pro Wave, a high-impact polycarbonate half-shield, with an &ldquo;optically superior, distortion-free&rdquo; lens. The anti-fog, anti-scratch coated shield has a &ldquo;compound curve&rdquo; shape with an open area on top and a &ldquo;nose cut&rdquo; to maximize airflow.Bauer&rsquo;s also claims its new visor, the FM5000, is optically correct and distortion-free. The anti-fog, anti-scratch model has what Bauer calls &ldquo;optimal lens geometry&rdquo; for heightened clarity and peripheral vision of up to 140 degrees. The Bauer FM5000, which is HECC, CSA and CE approved, incorporates generous upper air vents to improve ventilation.<h2>SHOULDER, ELBOW & SHIN PADS</h2>Bauer&rsquo;s Supreme 5000 Gel Series of shoulder, shin and elbow pads is designed to maximize impact absorption with its combination of foam and gel-pack protection.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to use gel everywhere, because it would add too much weight,&rdquo; McGibbon said. &ldquo;But we have used it in key areas, such as the knee cap in the shin guard where you don&rsquo;t want to bottom-out a body part when there&rsquo;s impact.&rdquo;The Supreme 500 shoulder pads include gel protection for the sternum and spine areas; the elbow pads have gel coverage on the elbow cap and the shin guards have gel pack in the knee caps. The shoulder pads have removable stomach, rib and bicep padding; the elbow pads have removable slash guards that extend to the wrists; and the shin guards have removable calf protectors.CCM has a new 1052 Tacks series of shoulder, elbow and shin pads that offer added mobility and use CCM&rsquo;s &ldquo;Air Circulator Technology.&rdquo;The 1052 Tacks shoulder pads have several new design features to boost protection and comfort, including a two-piece bicep plate for optimal mobility. On the inner side, the shoulder pads are lined with a &ldquo;3D&rdquo; mesh that provides a slight space between a player&rsquo;s shirt/skin and the pads&rsquo; inside foam to create air circulation and heat dissipation.The 1052 Tacks shin guards also use 3D mesh along with anatomical liners to maximize leg stability and comfort. The shin guards have extended thigh protection that stretches from the knee to a player&rsquo;s pants and D-ring elastic straps. Meanwhile, the air-flow-enabling 3D mesh also is found in the 1052 Tacks elbow pads, which include extended forearm pieces for adjustable protection over the slash zone.Mission&rsquo;s high-end Warp Zero and Warp Sub-Zero protective line includes redesigned shin guards and elbow pads with heavy use of &ldquo;Absorptium&rdquo; EPP. The right and left leg-specific shin guards combine EPP with a polyethylene shell and other foams for a product Burns claims is more protective, but 25 per-cent lighter than comparable ones on the market. The right and left arm-specific Mission elbow pads include Absorptium EPP, polyethylene components and have added slash protection.For younger players, Bauer&rsquo;s new Vapor X-ACT line of protective gear (shoulder pads, shin guards and elbow pads) is fully adjust-able-without tools&mdash;to properly fit most six to 12-year-old players as they grow. The Vapor X-Act gear relies on an easy-to-use hook-and-loop system. Additionally, the shin guards have sliding plastic teeth to permit lengthening.<h2>WOMEN&rsquo;S EQUIPMENT</h2>Major brands, including Bauer, CCM, Louisville, Itech and Nike continue to expand their female-specific equipment selections. The focus for 2000-01 is on new, better-fitting pants and shoulder pads. &#9632;

Hockey equipment makers filling in gaps

For years, ITECH has enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as the leader in the design of high quality helmets and facial protection. Having established the dominance of its entire line of equipment over the past several years, however, the name ITECH has become synonymous with the complete package: protection, quality and innovation.For 2000-01, ITECH is offering a lineup of equipment to satisfy your every need on the ice. Heading up the company&rsquo;s family of products this season is the HC-85 Pro helmet. A favorite among NHLers, the HC-85 is a combination of durable protection and a sleek, bold design.Constructed of a two-piece adjustable shell, the HC-85 features an improved dual-layered liner for better impact absorption and greater comfort. The HC-85 has been recognized at the professional and consumer levels, has met industry standards for protection and it also passes the all-important &lsquo;mirror test&rsquo; as an attractive piece of equipment.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very proud to see the HC-85 has garnered such a high level of acceptance at the pro level,&rdquo; says John Balash, marketing coordinator for ITECH Sports. &ldquo;This helmet is packed with innovative features, it delivers excellent all around protection, it&rsquo;s extremely lightweight and it&rsquo;s also affordable. Anyone in the market for a helmet this season owes it to themselves to look at the HC-85.&rdquo;Another surefire winner for the upcoming season is ITECH&rsquo;s FX.50, featuring the Optech System. The first facial &ldquo;system&rdquo; of its kind, the FX.50 has introduced a revolutionary replaceable shield concept, mounted on a chrome wire frame featuring a virtually invisible &ldquo;Ghost Wire&rdquo; center wire. Another great feature, the QRS (Quick Release System), ensures easy wire cage attachment and removal from the helmet in less than 10 seconds. A number of recent NHL players, in addition to members of the 2000 Canadian and U.S. Women&rsquo;s Hockey team, have worn the FX.50.ITECH has goalies covered, too. Perhaps most notable is the company&rsquo;s new Profile 8.0 Goalie Mask. This high-end mask, which features a striking chrome wire, delivers superior protection and ensures maximum mobility. &ldquo;Players enjoy the fact the Profile 8.0 is a superior fitting mask with great visibility.&rdquo; Balash says. &ldquo;Once again, this is a product that is helping ITECH redefine goaltender facial protection&mdash;and that&rsquo;s something that we&rsquo;re very excited about.&rdquo; ITECH has even made a hockey player&rsquo;s life easier before and after the game with their groundbreaking new hockey bag designs. &ldquo;Rather than trying to introduce a &lsquo;me too&rsquo; type bag, we&rsquo;ve examined and innovated even in this category,&rdquo; Balash says. &ldquo;A bag that&rsquo;s wider isn&rsquo;t going to help anyone, since you&rsquo;ve got limited space to work with in the dressing room. So ITECH decided to build the bags higher.&rdquo;The company&rsquo;s new bag line offers a host of other features as well, including inner pads to prevent equipment protrusion and ventilated side packs to store skates. The large &ldquo;Blade Up&rdquo; pockets keep skates locked in place with blades positioned upward to avoid any damage in the event the bag is dropped.&ldquo;In addition to making life easier on the ice, ITECH is also providing players with a comfortable carrying experience,&rdquo; Balash says. &#9632;

From helmets to bags, ITECH a leader in hockey equipment

Leading an active lifestyle is common in today&rsquo;s society.With increased activity comes the need for improved safety equipment. In contact sports such as hockey, safety has become paramount, especially pertaining to head injuries. Many organized amateur sports have been making the mouthguard, an increasingly important piece of equipment, mandatory.Mouthguards in the past have been restrictive and uncomfortable. It was it hard to breathe or even communicate with your teammates, plus there was the peer pressure factor. Athletes deemed it wasn&rsquo;t cool. Times have changed.During the past five years, head injuries have gained media attention in sports, particularly in the NHL, where high profile players such as Pat LaFontaine and Brett Lindros have suffered career-ending concussions.Properly fitted mouthguards are worn to protect athletes from a wide variety of injuries. Lost teeth and facial injuries are mentioned most when talking about mouthguard injury prevention, but it offers some protection against concussions as well. It helps by preventing the jaw from being forced back towards the brain during an impact.The makers of Tensor have done their best to devise a mouthguard that eliminates all of those problems. Dr. Steve Levitt, team dentist for Boston College, co-ordinated a design team of dentists, engineers and pro athletes who created the Tensor Jawzone line of mouthguards.Tensor created a product that would be accepted by athletes at any level, while adding features that improved effectiveness and comfort.Tensor has developed two versions of the mouthguard, the dual density Jawzone line and its single density counterpart.When developing the dual density Tensor Jawzone, designers added thickness to the posterior pads, to ensure the molars would absorb the majority of the impact. The pads were also designed in a convex shape to match up with the lower set of teeth for a more comfortable fit when biting down. The front section of the guard is anatomically shaped to fit the front teeth for the proper placement and increased security.&ldquo;We found as you increase the thickness of the absorption material you decrease the amount of inter-cranial pressure in the skull, which reduces the risk of concussions,&rdquo; said Dr. Levitt.After the mouthguard has been fitted, athletes immediately notice the increased space in the palette area, making it easier to talk.Tensor developed an adult and kids&rsquo; version of the product. Children don&rsquo;t normally receive their molars until they are 12. In order to have a proper fit, the Tensor developed the Tensor Kidz Jawzone, which has three posterior pads instead of four enabling maximum protection for a child&rsquo;s mouth.&ldquo;It is specifically designed for an athlete under 12,&rdquo; said Dr. Levitt.The single density product is basically the same product but it doesn&rsquo;t have the second layer of material. It allows for better speech and breathing while still maintaining a high protection level.&ldquo;In any contact sport,&rdquo; said Dr. Levitt, &ldquo;the risk of head injury or oral injury is lowered when a mouthguard is worn.&rdquo; &#9632;

Tensor mouthguards help you play it safe

NHL players can be reluctant to try innovative new equipment designs. But last season, four members of the Sharks bit on a cutting-edge concept from Mission Hockey.Jeff Friesen, Niklas Sundstrom, Mike Rathje and Ron Sutter all used Mission&rsquo;s Warp Zero Asym gloves, perhaps the most progressive new products of 1999-2000.Sold in right- and left-handed shooting versions, Warp Zero Asym&rsquo;s cuffs are asymmetrical for upper and lower hands. On the lower hand, the cuff extends higher above the thumb area. On the upper hand, the cuff stretches higher above the pinky end.Additionally, the lower hand of the glove set has a three-fingerplus thumb configuration. A player&rsquo;s pinky and ring fingers fit together in a single finger sleeve.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an innovation that takes time to get used to, but once you do, you really like it,&rdquo; said Karl Burns, Mission&rsquo;s global category director, ice hockey. &ldquo;Having the fingers together creates more power. In layman&rsquo;s terms, it increases the strength ofyour grip.&rdquo;In another ground-breaking move. Mission has rolled out its Carbster and Fibester helmets after the two models, the only composite helmets on the market, received HECC and CSA approval.The Carbster&rsquo;s outer shell is made from a carbon, fiberglass and Kevlar blend. Although its shell is thinner than that of a traditional plasticmolded helmet the Carbster is 20 per-cent lighter and 40 per-cent more impact absorbent than other models. The Fibester is shaped like the Carbster, but its shell has a higher fiberglass content and less carbon. It weighs 10 per-cent less than a similar plastic helmet&ldquo;The composite and one-piece construction makes these the most protective helmets on the market,&rdquo; Burns said. &ldquo;The design of the helmet also makes it more protective.&ldquo;Plastic helmets are made by injecting plastic into a mold. For our helmets, the composite material is laid out. The helmets are thicker and fortified where they need to be and thinner where they should be. It&rsquo;s really an advancement in head protection.&rdquo; &#9632;

Mission breaks ground with gloves, helmets

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="S0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0012-0143/8214097-1-eng-US/s0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bigger not always better: Retailers advise parents not to load their kids up with too much bulky hockey equipment.</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s important to dress for success in business and the same holds true at the rink, no matter who is playing. But remember, the dress&mdash;or in this case, the equip-ment-has to be age-appropriate. When outfitting young players, there&rsquo;s no need to take out a second mortgage. At beginning levels, a few hundred dollars should be enough to do the trick, head-to-toe. According to one expert, the most common mistake parents make when purchasing hockey equipment for kids is loading them up with too much bulk. This is particularly true with shoulder pads. The result of overzealous spenders is that the kids may not only look like miniature football linemen, they&rsquo;ll skate like them, too.&ldquo;Parents may try to overprotect (when buying shoulder pads), put them in a suit of armor,&rdquo; said Dave Ayala, director of retail operations for Great Skate Hockey Supply Co. in Amherst, N.Y.At nine or 10 most kids aren&rsquo;t yet into body-contact leagues and there&rsquo;s little need for top-of-the-line items to protect against hits that never come. Appropriate shoulder pads with the attached stomach pad may range between $40 and $65.The one place no one wants to skimp these days when buying equipment is on helmets, and with good reason. Fortunatejy, since all new helmets sold in Canada and the U.S. must be certified though safety testing, a minimum standard of protection is guaranteed.Colin Hopper, president of Source for Sports in London, Ont., says parents worried about concussions are more conscious than ever about taking plenty of time to make an informed helmet choice. The well-fitted helmet should rest snugly on the head and not come loose or flop to one side when pushed.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of people that are concerned about brain protection, so we&rsquo;re getting more and more parents all the time making sure it&rsquo;s perfect&rdquo; Hopper said. &ldquo;Getting a perfect fit for the helmet as well as a mouthguard makes a huge difference.&rdquo;A quality helmet can be had for somewhere around $50, plus $20 to $30 for a facemask. Often rounding out the package is a mouthguard, from anywhere between $3 and $30.A neck protector is now mandatory in many regions; comfort should rule the day when choosing a model to make sure the player will be happy wearing it. They should cost $10 to $15. A common misconception is neck protectors help cushion impact from pucks; the more important purpose is to guard against lacerations from skates, Ayala said. Models with a bib extending down into the clavicle region cover more area.For elbow pads a proper fit is crucial. If they flop around during play through incidental contact, they are useless when a beginning player makes a painful elbow-first landing on the ice. One thing to watch out for with boys or girls with thinner than average arms: the adhesive straps on some elbow pads might have to be shortened at home in order to get that crucial snug fit. Ask a salesperson for advice or perhaps look for a better fitting model. Also, the pad should be large enough to fill much of the area between the top of the glove and bottom of the shoulder pad. It shouldn&rsquo;t be too tough to accomplish all of the above for $15-$25.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&rsquo;it&lsquo;s way better to buy a good quality used skate than a poor quality new skate.&rsquo;</blockquote>Parents may find a wide range of prices when looking at pants, though none terribly costly. Ayala said the price ceiling for a player nine or 10 years old is about $40. Hopper said the pants at Source for Sports start slightly higher at about $50, though the big price jumps don&rsquo;t generally come until a player hits age 13 or so. If there is a problem it&rsquo;s once again with fit. There should be a slight overlap with the shin pad and they should run high enough in the waist area to cover the lower back.A well-made shin pad with double pad thickness and a double liner in the knee area can be had at Great Skate for less than $20, Ayala said. Hopper said they run a bit more at his store, between $20 to $40. Be careful not to purchase a shin pad that is too wide for the skinny leg; an inappropriate model, protective as it may be, could make little skater Craig look like a mini-Craig Ludwig and adversely affect skating stride.Factors to consider when buying skates include frequency of playing and talent level. Depending on where a child fits in, there are appropriate models between $55 to $100, Ayala said. Because skating is such an integral part of the game, this is one place you shouldn&rsquo;t skimp, Hopper said. He said good skates in boys&rsquo; sizes one to six range at Source for Sports between $110 and $150; much more expensive skates are available but rarely necessary. (Expect a jump in price once your child grows into sizes seven and above). If $100 is too much to spend, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s way better to buy a good quality used skate than a poor quality new skate,&rdquo; Hopper advises.Hopper and Ayala both advise any skate purchase should be done in consultation with a trained salesperson who can take things such as walking stride, foot arch and pronation into account in the fitting process. Hopper says he can sometimes spot a child who has incorrectly been put in a wide skate when in fact the real problem is a flat arch. The result is they don&rsquo;t have proper control of the skates. &ldquo;You can see some kids that it looks like their leg strength is not great that they have slow feet&rdquo;When it comes to choosing a stick, be aware that not all shooting weapons all are made equal. Young kids need a flexible shaft to develop a good wrist shot. Whether you choose wood or composite, don&rsquo;t fall into the trap of buying an adult stick and cutting a foot off the top. That will only increase the stiffness of a stick that was likely too stiff to begin with. Fine junior sticks range from the mid teen price point up into the $30-plus range and higher for composite models.When buying gloves comfort is again the key. If the glove feels good and fits, wear it. They may range in price anywhere from $20 to $70 depending on the quality of the palm, locked-in thumb features and overall protection. &#9632;

S0012-01

Outfitting young hockey player doesn’t have to cost small fortune

If you want to know what&rsquo;s happening in the goaltending equipment market, check with Brian Heaton. The netminding gear design guru has had a hand in, or has his name on, much of the new stuff available this season.Perhaps the most interesting new product line for 2000-01, Contour by Louisville Hockey, was designed by Heaton. Then there&rsquo;s the Heaton brand, owned by The Hockey Company, that offers a new 6800 series of pads, catching gloves, blockers and pants.Confusing? A little history should help. Heaton founded his own firm, called Heaton, in 1988. In 1994, the company was bought by Karhu, which produced Heaton-branded products designed by Heaton himself.In 1997, Brian Heaton left Karhu. In 1999, he joined Louisville, although the brand bearing his name was still produced by The Hockey Company, formed in 1998 when Karhu was acquired by Sport Maska. At Louisville, Heaton helped create some interesting goal products, including the XHALE line last season and Contour for 2000-01.But on Aug. 1, 2000, Heaton joined The Hockey Company to again guide product development for &ldquo;his&rdquo; brand.&ldquo;We were doing some exciting things at Louisville,&rdquo; Heaton said. &ldquo;And if Louisville follows through on the plans laid out while I was working there, you&rsquo;ll see more, very exciting things from them.&rdquo;For 2000-01, Heaton&rsquo;s Louisville legacy, the Contour series, features pads with a Brock impact absorption system that consists of thousands of tiny beads packed into mesh sleeves. When pucks strike the pads, shock is transferred from bead to bead. In turn, this causes air to escape through the mesh sleeves, absorbing the impact and reducing rebounds.Introduced by Louisville in the XHALE line, the Brock system is used more extensively in Contour pads to make them more impact absorbent and lighter. Additionally, the Contour pads&rsquo; thigh rise is slightly longer and tapered to close the five-hole when a goalie is in the butterfly position.The Contour catching glove offers a new wrist wrap system that allows the glove to be worn snug on the hand without restricting movement and flexibility, while the glove&rsquo;s outer thumb and cuff are flared to aid puck deflection.&ldquo;The weight is the story on the Contour blocker,&rdquo; added Louisville&rsquo;s John Mariconda. &ldquo;We use a very expensive foam in the face that cuts weight without sacrificing stiffness and protection.&rdquo;The Hockey Company has unveiled its Heaton 6800 series, including pads, a catching glove, blocker and pants. The line was designed by Heaton prot&eacute;g&eacute; Sonya Di Biase with input from New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur.&ldquo;The 6800 pads were designed with Brodeur&rsquo;s style in mind,&rdquo; Di Biase said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s basically a standup goalie, so there&rsquo;s lots of foam in the pads. But he also goes into the butterfly, so the inside edge of the pads is squared off to cover the ice and close up the five-hole.&rdquo;The Heaton 6800 goal pads are stuffed with a &ldquo;foam worm&rdquo; construction that adds air pockets to trim weight and improve impact absorption. The pads are covered with moisture-resistant Cordley synthetic leather so they don&rsquo;t gain water weight during play.The series&rsquo; catching glove is designed with a flatter curve for a more open, larger catching surface and has individual mesh finger stalls made from Drilex, a material that wicks moisture and augments air circulation. The Heaton 6800 blocker has a tapered edge for easy paddle-down play and stick pickup, plus Springtex mesh in its palm to increase air circulation.Meanwhile, Bauer has expanded its Reactor series of goaltending equipment with a new high-end Reactor 6 line that includes senior and intermediate level pads, catching gloves, blockers and upper-body protector, plus a senior pant.The new pads, worn by Toronto&rsquo;s Curtis Joseph, have been updated to enhance the play of butterfly-style goalies. Re-engineered to be lighter and easier to break in, the pads have a knee wing design that helps cover the five-hole and alleviates stress on the knee and groin while the goalie is in the butterfly.Bauer/Nike Hockey&rsquo;s Todd Brown said while the Reactor 6 pads have &ldquo;been tweaked,&rdquo; the Reactor 6 gloves have been redesigned with &ldquo;different shapes, concaves and scoops.&rdquo;The Reactor 6 catching glove has an improved break/close to enhance catching performance and a deeper pocket for greater puck control. The Reactor 6 blocker features a new double-insert construction with a suspension chamber system that utilizes air to dampen and disperse puck impact.ITECH has unveiled a new high-end Profile Pro 8.0 mask with chrome wire. The mask&rsquo;s streamlined shell is made from hand-laid fiberglass with Kevlar reinforcements in the chin, cheek and forehead to bolster impact absorption.The chrome wire, which has grown increasingly popular with pros, covers a large, oversized window that provides expanded peripheral vision. The mask has three layers of lining-dense expanded polypropylene, a softer low-density foam and a Coolmax liner that wicks moisture and helps keep goalie&rsquo;s faces free from sweat. &#9632;

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September 8, 2000

2000-2001 NHL SCHEDULE

Perennial losers believe they can make playoffs

Twin Cities truly excited about NHL making return

Hurricanes’ players all signed and sealed-will they deliver?