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.

October 20, 2000

The Hockey News October 20, 2000

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HOCKEY’S BEST STATS

TRANSACTIONS

<h2>CCHA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-0147/8371538-1-eng-US/s0007-012.jpg" title="S0007-01" width="376" height="2530"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-0232/8371531-1-eng-US/s0007-022.jpg" title="S0007-02" width="367" height="2617"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-0322/8371524-1-eng-US/s0007-032.jpg" title="S0007-03" width="364" height="952"></div><h2>ECAC</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-0413/8371517-1-eng-US/s0007-042.jpg" title="S0007-04" width="367" height="1582"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-057/8371510-1-eng-US/s0007-052.jpg" title="S0007-05" width="373" height="2623"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-067/8371503-1-eng-US/s0007-062.jpg" title="S0007-06" width="367" height="196"></div><h2>HOCKEY EAST</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-077/8371496-1-eng-US/s0007-072.jpg" title="S0007-07" width="370" height="2335"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-085/8371489-1-eng-US/s0007-082.jpg" title="S0007-08" width="394" height="820"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-095/8371482-1-eng-US/s0007-092.jpg" title="S0007-09" width="406" height="829"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-105/8371475-1-eng-US/s0007-102.jpg" title="S0007-10" width="391" height="307"></div><h2>MAAC</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0007-114/8371468-1-eng-US/s0007-112.jpg" title="S0007-11" width="394" height="433"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-0155/8371461-1-eng-US/s0008-012.jpg" title="S0008-01" width="370" height="1735"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-0224/8371454-1-eng-US/s0008-022.jpg" title="S0008-02" width="379" height="1741"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-0317/8371447-1-eng-US/s0008-032.jpg" title="S0008-03" width="376" height="1732"></div><h2>WCHA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-0412/8371440-1-eng-US/s0008-042.jpg" title="S0008-04" width="370" height="1633"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-056/8371433-1-eng-US/s0008-052.jpg" title="S0008-05" width="373" height="1720"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-066/8371426-1-eng-US/s0008-062.jpg" title="S0008-06" width="370" height="1729"></div><h2>CHA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-073/8371419-1-eng-US/s0008-072.jpg" title="S0008-07" width="370" height="1624"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-083/8371412-1-eng-US/s0008-082.jpg" title="S0008-08" width="370" height="1051"></div><h2>NCAA TOURNEY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0008-093/8371405-1-eng-US/s0008-092.jpg" title="S0008-09" width="334" height="595"></div> &#9632;

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SPECIAL PULLOUT

2000-01 NCAA LEAGUE SCHEDULES

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021337/8368945-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="208" height="240"></div>Chicago GM Mike Smith came to training camp knowing he needed help on defense and waited patiently to make his move.Finally, in the days leading up to the start of season, he added Alexander Karpovtsev from Toronto and Stephane Quintal from the Rangers.&ldquo;With (rookie) Steve McCarthy, we have three new skill players on defense,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;I said we needed to improve our defense before we get better. I really think we&rsquo;ve changed our defense.&rdquo;The Hawks gave up Bryan McCabe to get Karpovtsev from Toronto along with a fourth round pick in 2001. Prior to doing the deal, the Hawks signed Karpovtsev to a four-year, $U-million contract.Quintal was technically acquired on waivers from the Rangers. But in a deal linked to getting Quintal, the Hawks sent left winger Michal Grosek and defenseman Brad Brown to New York for future considerations.ANALYSIS Coach Alpo Suhonen planned to use Karpovtsev between 25 and 30 minutes a game as either his No. 2 or No. 3 defenseman behind Boris Mironov.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s so good he can play with anyone,&rdquo; Suhonen said.Karpovtsev missed camp with Toronto because of a contract dispute, but worked out with Moscow Dynamo. &ldquo;I was ready for something to happen so I kept working,&rdquo; Karpovtsev said.ROOKIE WATCH McCarthy isn&rsquo;t the only rookie to win a job. Left winger Reto Von Arx earned a spot on the second line with Michael Nylander and Steve Sullivan.Von Arx, 24, was the 271st player taken in last June&rsquo;s draft. When he dressed against the Sabres Oct. 5, he became the first Swiss skater to play in an NHL game. Goalie Pauli Jaks played 40 minutes for Los Angeles in 1994-95.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so happy,&rdquo; Von Arx said. &ldquo;I tried to work as hard as I could and it worked out.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Right winger Tony Amonte was named captain prior to the start of the season. The Hawks had been without a captain since Doug Gilmour was traded to Buffalo last March. Center Alex Zhamnov and defenseman Boris Mironov were appointed alternates&hellip;Smith might not be through dealing. He has had talks off and on with Washington about right winger Peter Bondra. &#9632;

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NHL TEAM REPORTS

Karpovtsev, Quintal boost Hawk defense

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello, Senior Editor</div>Not since John Danby, Bob Brown and Bob Gryp lit up the scoreboard for Boston University in 1972 has the NCAA had a repeat winner of its national hockey championship.The North Dakota Fighting Sioux will defend its NCAA crown this season, according to our panel of THN U.S. college correspondents.&ldquo;They have the best goaltender in the country, a great system and great coach,&rdquo; said Western Collegiate Hockey Association correspondent Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal. &ldquo;They lost a few players, but they&rsquo;ve reloaded.&rdquo;Boston University won back-to-back titles in 1971 and 1972. Five schools have won one year, then finished second the next.Also on the panel are Larry Mahoney of the Bangor (Me.) Daily News, Paul Harris of Michigan&rsquo;s Hockey Weekly, Tom Boggie of the Schenectady (N.Y.) Gazette and THN senior editor Brian Costello.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0001-0117/8371181-1-eng-US/s0001-012.jpg" title="S0001-01" width="229" height="289"><figcaption class="caption-body">Andy Baggot</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0001-022/8371174-1-eng-US/s0001-022.jpg" title="S0001-02" width="232" height="289"><figcaption class="caption-body">Larry Mahoney</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0001-032/8371167-1-eng-US/s0001-032.jpg" title="S0001-03" width="232" height="286"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Harris</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0001-04/8371160-1-eng-US/s0001-042.jpg" title="S0001-04" width="229" height="289"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tom Boggie</figcaption></div>The last two years we picked the Boston College Eagles to win the Frozen Four. Both times they finished second. This season&rsquo;s Frozen Four tournament is scheduled for the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y., April 5-7.Here&rsquo;s THN&rsquo;s top 10 U.S. college teams this season.1. North Dakota Fighting Sioux (WCHA)2. Michigan Wolverines (CCHA)3. Wisconsin Badgers (WCHA)4. Boston University Terriers (HE)5. St. Lawrence Saints (ECAC)6. Michigan State Spartans (CCHA)7. New Hampshire Wildcats (HE)8. St. Cloud Huskies (WCHA)9. Boston College Eagles (HE)10. Cornell Big Red (ECAC) &#9632;

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NCAA PREVIEW

<div class="byline">Steve Dryden Editor-In-Chief</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011626/8368161-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Ross Dettman)</figcaption></div>No goal!Grand Rapids&rsquo; center Viacheslav Butsayev stretches to the limit to rescue the puck from crossing the goal line behind netminder Jani Hurme last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021373/8368154-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="289" height="356"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Cover: Vancouver Province; Roy Jospeh: Dan Hamilton/VPS;)</figcaption></div>Call it a just verdict and a just sentence, but do not call it a wake-up call for the NHL.Dino Ciccarelli and one day in jail in 1988 had no impact on the corporate entity and neither, likely, will Marty McSorley and a conditional discharge in 2000.Call it, instead, a warning shot across the bow of the NHL. Let it never be said again that the courts have no place in the NHL; that it is a separate and distinct society somehow exempt from the rule of law. NHL and World Hockey Association players have appeared in court at least 10 times before over on-ice offenses. Let the 11th put to rest forever the ludicrous notion that a professional hockey league should be seen as acting on behalf of both itself and society at large when it doles out punishment.The next time an NHL player crosses the thin red line separating maximum intensity and mayhem, there should be no surprise if outside authorities intervene. That is their constitutional duty. But do not expect courts across North America to be filled suddenly with hockey players. The reason Marty McSorley was charged is not simply because the act was abhorrent; it is also because the act was aberrant.Understand this: What McSorley did was not the worst thing that has ever happened in the NHL. More desperate acts of violence have occurred and escaped suspension, let alone prosecution. But it was an act so outside the boundaries of acceptable behavior, it had to be addressed.Today&rsquo;s game is significantly more civilized than ever before. That players continue to earn suspensions and peace activists such as Mike Modano continue to rail against violence in the game is proof not of a lowering of the bar, but a raising of it. Expectations of clean, hard-hitting hockey have never been higher.McSorley stood accused alone in Vancouver, but the NHL should have been beside him. The league is responsible for an employee who, in some warped way, was discharging his duties as an enforcer in the only league in the world that endorses vigilante justice.Until the league holds coaches and managers and team executives responsible for the actions of their players, there will be little motivation for teams to keep tighter reins on their players. Until the league punishes fighting with automatic ejection, there will be players so steeped in a culture of violence that the threat of bad things happening is dangerously high. Until then, the NHL will not be practicing the full extent of risk management. Until then the NHL will be vulnerable &mdash; and so, too, will be their players. &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Court made right decision; now it’s time for NHL to act

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011956/8368199-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Coffey (Steve Babineau/SA)</figcaption></div><h2>Coffey carries on Orr tradition</h2>Blueline scoring great perfect fit for BruinsHistory has a way of repeating itself in Boston.The greatest defenseman of all-time, Bobby Orr, played in Boston. So did Eddie Shore. And Dit Clapper. And Brad Park. And Ray Bourque.It&rsquo;s only right that Paul Coffey, the highest-scoring defenseman of all-time, is now wearing the gold and black.&ldquo;You know whose name is over my dressing stall?&rdquo; Coffey asks. &ldquo;Sprague Cleghorn, that&rsquo;s who. How great is that?&rdquo;Cleghorn was one of the first offense-minded defensemen in the NHL, finishing his Hall of Fame career with Boston in 1928.It is the Orr-Coffey connection, however, that is most intriguing. Orr set single-season and career standards for scoring by defensemen. Coffey&rsquo;s 48 goals in 1985-86 surpassed Orr&rsquo;s magical 46 goals in 1974-75.&ldquo;To me Orr was the best of the best,&rdquo; Coffey said. &ldquo;Orr was 10 steps better than everybody else. Not one step, 10 steps.&rdquo; Orr was famous for his No. 4. Coffey began his NHL career wearing No.7, but switched to 77 with Pittsburgh. He&rsquo;s wearing No. 74 in Boston. The No.7 represents his first NHL number and the No.4 marks the number of Stanley Cup championships Coffey has won.<h2>League says record is improving</h2>Crime stats on the decline across the boardMarty McSorley goes on trial for assault with a weapon. Somebody named Gordie Dwyer is nailed with a 23-game suspension for going cuckoo in the pre-season. Even mild-mannered Duck Paul Kariya goes daffy and earns a one-game suspension for slashing.And we&rsquo;re supposed to believe the NHL has violence under control?Yes, according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.Bettman says players are indeed getting the message. In a pre-season conference call, he pointed out average penalty minutes per game are down. The average has dropped 30 per cent from 40.1 penalty minutes in 1995-96 to 28.1 in 1999-2000.Bettman added, &ldquo;If you compare fighting over the last seven years to the seven years prior to that, it is down 25 per cent. Stick majors are at a 30-year low and and match penalties were at the lowest level since the match penalty was introduced 25 years ago&hellip;On balance, I think we have had a very good record in gradually dealing with these issues.&rdquo;<h2>Last of legendary brothers goes</h2>Shark bite could signal end of the Sutter EraIn with the Sedin twins, out with the Sutter twins&hellip;and the Sutters.When Ron Sutter was cut by the San Jose Sharks after 17 NHL seasons, it most likely brought to an end the Sutter Era. Sutter, 36, scored five goals and 11 points in 78 games with the Sharks last season. He has not given up hope of catching on with one of the NHL&rsquo;s other 29 teams.The six Sutter brothers who hail from Viking, Alta. &mdash; Brian, Darryl, Duane, Brent and twins Rich and Ron &mdash; played a total of 4,973 NHL games, accumulating 1,319 goals, 2,931 points and 7,212 penalty minutes.<h2>THN ONE-TIMERS</h2>New Jersey broadcaster Emrick earns top grade in magazine pollMike Emrick, the voice of the New Jersey Devils, was chosen the game&rsquo;s best play-by-play announcer in a poll conducted for MVP, a new magazine being produced by The Hockey News and set to hit newsstands Nov. 13. Emrick was chosen No. 1 because he can describe action succinctly while turning a phrase. The ultimate compliment: He knows when to talk and, more importantly, when not to. Second to Emrick was Gary Thorne of ESPN and, third, Chris Cuthbert of CBC&hellip;In the same poll, the top three NHL sweaters were: 1. Chicago; 2. Detroit; and, 3. Toronto. Imagine how many sweaters the Blackhawks would&rsquo;ve sold had it not been 39 years since they won the Stanley Cup.SABRE RATTLING Unsigned Buffalo soldier Michael Peca says he has a standard response for opponents who threaten retaliatory strikes after he has laid them out with clean bodychecks. &ldquo;I tell them, like I tell Tie (Domi) all the time when he wants to say something, &lsquo;You know what. You better get me because I may get you first and you may not like that.&rsquo; &ldquo;QUICK HITS The pre-season is like the playoffs for owners &mdash; only better because everybody gets in. They all share in the gate receipts. Boston defenseman Paul Coffey believes the preseason drags on too long. &ldquo;In the old days,&rdquo; Coffey says, &ldquo;players came to camp with beer guts and had to play themselves into shape. Now we show up in shape. Give us a couple of games and let&rsquo;s start the season.&rdquo;&hellip;The first five choices in The Hockey News&rsquo; office pool were 1. Jaromir Jagr; 2. Paul Kariya; 3. Teemu Selanne; 4. Pavel Bure; and, 5. Peter Forsberg. The first two of three rookies chosen were Vancouver twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin, in that order and, fittingly, consecutively. Twenty-year-old Pittsburgh center Milan Kraft was the only other rookie selected.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021550/8368192-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="364" height="562"><figcaption class="caption-body">Teemu Selanne (Henri DiRocco/BBS)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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POWER PLAY

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy, Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011910/8368230-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Dan Hamilton/VPS)</figcaption></div>Though he erupts occasionally on the ice, Curtis Joseph is Mr. Calm & Cool off it.So when asked about the bottom line for his Toronto Maple Leafs this year and if it&rsquo;ll be a disaster if they don&rsquo;t win the Stanley Cup, Joseph offers a very typical, &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to come out with statements like that this early in the season. I think we&rsquo;ve improved our hockey club, but we&rsquo;ve got a lot of learning to do. We&rsquo;ve got a lot of hurdles to get over.&rdquo;But after a few seconds, Joseph&rsquo;s zeal overwhelms him. The Leafs, after all, have been lower-case Cup contenders the past two seasons and have added veteran forwards Gary Roberts and Shayne Corson and defenseman Dave Manson as unrestricted free agents, along with blueliner Bryan McCabe in a trade for unsigned rearguard Alexander Karpovtsev.So with uncharacteristic excitement, Joseph smiles and says, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m optimistic we&rsquo;ll be holding the Stanley Cup over our heads at the end of the year.&rdquo;Toronto hasn&rsquo;t won it all since 1967 and even with the additions, the Leafs are not Cup favorites this season. That honor goes to Colorado. And New Jersey, Dallas and St. Louis are ranked ahead of the Leafs by most. Toronto is in a second tier with Buffalo, Detroit and Washington.No team made more significant moves in the off-season than the Maple Leafs. And while a lot of teams tried to get faster, Toronto coach-GM Pat Quinn went in a different direction. He decided his team needed to be grittier.Roberts, 34, is the key addition. He won&rsquo;t match his career-high of 41 goals and he might not even hit 23, as he did with Carolina last season. Roberts showed little in exhibition action (one assist in four games), but he&rsquo;s a well-conditioned warrior who makes his teammates accountable. He offers the type of veteran leadership the Leafs previously lacked.Corson, also 34, tailed off offensively with Montreal last season, but played hurt a lot and still was a factor defensively He didn&rsquo;t play in the pre-season on account of a stomach virus.Manson, 33, is a wild card. Make that, a wild man. The Leafs could have signed future Hall of Famer Paul Coffey, who enjoyed a rebirth in Carolina last season and would have been a good fit on the power play. But they opted for Manson, who had just one goal and 11 points last season. He&rsquo;s a tough guy who didn&rsquo;t fight once. What Manson brings to the table, though, is a looney reputation. The opposition never knows if he&rsquo;ll greet them with a simple bodycheck or spear to the spleen.McCabe, 25, has been on a whirlwind tour of the NHL since joining the New York Islanders as a 20-year-old in 1995-96. He is a fine young player who blends toughness and offense, but is prone to making mental mistakes.The newcomers will help, but they aren&rsquo;t enough. Other areas of concern can&rsquo;t be ignored, such as:&#9633; Can Joseph do it in the playoffs? He has been spectacular in the regular season, but has had only moderate success for Toronto in the playoffs.&#9633; Can right winger Dmitri Khristich bounce back from an awful season? He was lousy in the regular season and non-existent in the playoffs.&#9633; Will youngster Nik Antropov fully recover from a serious knee injury and provide the kind of youthful spark that Colin White and Scott Gomez gave the champion Devils last season?&#9633; This is the biggie. Can Mats Sundin elevate his game? He&rsquo;s coming off a sub-par playoff performance and is in a contract year, so the motivation is there to lead and produce.Quinn acknowledges his team will be in the spotlight, but warns it could be a while before we see how good the Leafs really are.&ldquo;I expect we&rsquo;ll be a team that improves as the year goes on,&rdquo; Quinn said. &ldquo;A lot of moves were made to give us a club that will be solid at playoff time.&rdquo; &#9633;Leading manToronto added gritty veteran Gary Roberts as part of its master plan to be nastier come playoff time. &#9632;

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FEATURES

Leafs get closer, but not there yet

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-05860/8368289-1-eng-US/f0004-052.jpg" title="f0004-05" width="355" height="664"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lyle Odelein</figcaption></div>The Best of the Hockey World<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021608/8368310-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="93" height="31"></div>FLYING START Philadelphia rookie Justin Williams, 19, makes his NHL debut with a goal and three points in a 6-3 win over Vancouver.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031308/8368303-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="91" height="34"></div>NEW CAPTAINS Tony Amonte, Mark Messier, Markus Naslund, Lyle Odelein and Sean O&rsquo;Donnell are the NHL&rsquo;s newest &lsquo;C&rsquo; men.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-041063/8368296-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="90" height="30"></div>TWICE JUST AS NICE The North Dakota Fighting Sioux are THN&rsquo;s choice to repeat as NCAA champions.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>The Worst of the Hockey World<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-06516/8368282-1-eng-US/f0004-062.jpg" title="f0004-06" width="91" height="31"></div>DAFFY DUCK Two-time Lady Byng Trophy winner Paul Kariya of Anaheim is suspended one game for slashing Aaron Gavey of Minnesota.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-07327/8368275-1-eng-US/f0004-072.jpg" title="f0004-07" width="82" height="30"></div>BUSTED Referees Mark Faucette and Dan O&rsquo;Halloran are disciplined after allowing overtime to start 5-on-4 instead of 4-on-3 in season opener.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-08216/8368268-1-eng-US/f0004-082.jpg" title="f0004-08" width="83" height="31"></div>KNIGHTS CROWNED London coach Lindsay Hofford is banned 12 OHL games and Ryan Adams gets six games for an unprovoked sneak attack.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-09186/8368261-1-eng-US/f0004-092.jpg" title="f0004-09" width="357" height="669"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Kariya</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Mike Brophy</div>Some say Canadian players are lacking in skill. If Steve Larmer has anything to do with it, that will change.Larmer, 40, helps coach a team of eight-year-olds in Peterborough, Ont., and when he first met his players, he offered this advice: Be creative.A 15-year NHLer who played with Chicago and the Rangers, Larmer is determined to put fun in the game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021366/8368341-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="236" height="282"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Larmer</figcaption></div>&ldquo;With the young age groups, the emphasis has to be put on learning skills,&rdquo; said Larmer, the NHL rookie of the year in 1983 and a member of the 1994 Cup-champion Rangers. &ldquo;Because if you put the emphasis on winning, that means you&rsquo;re teaching them theory and systems. You have to allow them to try things. A lot of learning is done by trial and error.&rdquo;Larmer, who scored 441 goals in 1,006 NHL games, retired in 1995 even though he had one year (worth $1 million) left on his contract. The man who once gave up the NHL ironman streak at 884 games because he wanted out of Chicago, was ready to move on. He studied business at college and now works with the NHL Players&rsquo; Association. And, fittingly for an ex-Hawk, he also has his pilot&rsquo;s license. &#9632;

f0005-02

Ironman Larmer wants to make game fun for kids

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012128/8368396-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div><h2>Wild will win back respect</h2>When Minnesota lost its beloved North Stars to Dallas, many said it was due to poor fan support; those same people questioned the NHL&rsquo;s return to a market where it had already &ldquo;failed.&rdquo;Even former North Star Mike Modano said last year that he didn&rsquo;t believe the Stars would have won the Stanley Cup if they had stayed in the Twin Cities because they weren&rsquo;t getting the necessary support for an NHL franchise.But now the Minnesota Wild has a new, state-of-the-art arena and has sold at least 15,000 season tickets. Corporate support was also overwhelming &mdash; the suites and club seats sold in record time.Minnesotans have proven our point. We didn&rsquo;t allow the North Stars to leave; they were taken. Norm Green moved the team because he was greedy and Minnesotans still vilify him for it.So, Modano, expect a very different scene when you enter a sold-out X-cel Energy Center on Dec. 17. Go Wild!Fiona Quick, Minneapolis<h2>Road trip unfair to teams, fans</h2>Why did the NHL begin the season with two games in Japan?I understand the desire to explore new markets, but what about the fact the players, coaches and (North American) fans don&rsquo;t like it? The teams have to deal with a long flight and the time change, then readjust when they return. And if I were a Nashville fan, I&rsquo;d be upset that I won&rsquo;t get to see Jaromir Jagr this year.I&rsquo;m in favor of the NHL promoting itself overseas; send all 30 teams over, but do it in the pre-season. Don&rsquo;t sacrifice quality of play on a marketing gimmick.Dale English, Buffalo<h2>New season, new look</h2>I just received my first copy of The Hockey News with the new format and I just love it.I especially like the idea of a lot of insider news and the team reports are better than ever.Keep up the good work!Gary Seek, Glenview, III.<h2>Song for Sakic and raising Canes</h2>I hope Joe Sakic ends his career with Colorado. It was tough for the Boston faithful to see Ray Bourque leave; it would be tough to see Joe go, too. There are so few loyal players in sport today, it would be sad to see Sakic in another sweater.Jay Wince, Zanesville, OhioIn response to Bruce Garrioch&rsquo;s question of the Carolina Hurricanes, &ldquo;Is anybody out there?&rdquo; (THN, Season Opener). The answer is, &ldquo;Dang right!&rdquo; I&rsquo;m a season ticket holder and will be as long as the NHL is around. Remember, ponds never freezehere, so hockey isn&rsquo;t ingrained in our culture (yet).Jim Cornwell, Hillsborough, N.C.It&rsquo;s sickening. I just watched the first game of the season (Colorado vs. Dallas) and there were over 20 penalties! If this is a sign of things to come, a lot of people will lose interest in the NHL.David Hemphill, Heward, Sask.I considered season tickets until it was obvious Ottawa wasn&rsquo;t going to re-sign Tom Barrasso. He&rsquo;s a proven winner whose puckhandling was a perfect complement to their transition game. And who was better against Toronto in the playoffs? Nobody!Todd Bradley,Ottawa<h2>READERS&rsquo; ONE-TIMERS</h2>FANS&rsquo; FORUM This is the spot for quick comments on current hockey events. Reader&rsquo;s One-Timers accepts opinions of 50 words or less, so be concise with your pertinent thoughts.<h2>Like wine, Roy better with age</h2>Open letter to Colorado goalie Patrick Roy:What&rsquo;s going on? THN completely eliminated you from its Top 50 list and dropped you to seventh (from second) among goalies. This, despite one of your best statistical seasons and a great performance in the playoffs. (THN, Season Opener.)Here are a few suggestions to get back in THN&rsquo;s good graces:1. Win your fourth Stanley Cup;2. Have a brutal year and maybe you&rsquo;ll reappear in the Top 50 (see Theo Fleury and Peter Bondra);3. Get traded to Toronto and win nothing (hey, it worked for Curtis Joseph);4. Get involved in a contract dispute, hold out and have a great year in the minors (Nikolai Khabibulin is at No. 6).C&rsquo;mon, Patrick, choose No. 1 and offer THN a drink from the Cup to wash down their crow.Billy-Joe McInnis,Hammonds Plains, N.J.<h2>Lost logic</h2>If a goalie leaves his crease to play the puck, the other team can&rsquo;t touch him without being penalized.But on the next rush, the opposing team&rsquo;s mammoth center can park his amply padded butt inside the crease &mdash; with his skates on the outside &mdash; and &ldquo;lose&rdquo; his balance and crash into the goalie just as his teammate fires a shot.It would be far better to reverse these rules. Goalies should risk their health if they leave the crease and players theirs if they invade the blue ice.Kevin Zarifeh, Summerland, B.C.<h2>British invasion</h2>As a hockey fan living in Great Britain, it gave me great joy to see that a former Manchester Storm coach has been named an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils!Hopefully, now all of you &ldquo;over there&rdquo; will recognize the high standard of hockey we have in this country.I want to wish Kurt Kleinendorst the best of luck. But now that New Jersey has the benefit of his coaching abilities, could the Storm, in return, receive the silky skills of Scott Gomez or punishing power of Scott Stevens?Claire Sutcliffe, Manchester, EnglandGet something to say?MAIL: U.S.A.: Letters, THN, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, n.y., 14240-9947.Canada: Letters, THN, 777 Bay St., Suite 2700, Toronto, Ont., M5G 2N8.E-MAIL:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mccaigs@transcontinental.ca">mccaigs@transcontinental.ca</a> or visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a>. Include name, hometown, province/state and phone number. Submissions will be edited. &#9632;

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LETTER OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy, Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011928/8368434-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">World domination: Slava Fetisov is the best European ever in non-NHL Competition. (Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>Slava Fetisov actually preferred playing soccer.Sure, he liked hockey when he was a kid.But given his druthers, he would have preferred being outside in the sun kicking a ball around rather than guarding the front of the net on a cold, outdoor rink.&ldquo;Soccer was huge when I was a kid,&rdquo; Fetisov said. &ldquo;Hockey was big, too, but not on the same scale as soccer.&rdquo;It wasn&rsquo;t until Fetisov, now an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils, toured Canada as a 15-year-old that the hockey bug bit him.&ldquo;In Moscow, we played all our games in front of our parents and a few friends,&rdquo; Fetisov said.&ldquo;To play against Canadians gave me confidence. And to play in front of thousands of people, like we did when we visited Canada, was amazing. When I got back to Moscow, I knew if I wanted to be a good player, something had to give. So I backed away from soccer to concentrate on hockey. Soccer was still my first love, but I knew I had to practise hockey.&rdquo;Good decision.Fetisov developed into the finest player Europe has ever seen. That&rsquo;s the opinion of a panel of international hockey experts who were asked to pick the best European ever based on play in non-NHL and international competition. Fetisov was selected ahead of other all-time Soviet greats such as goalie Vladislav Tretiak and forwards Valery Kharlamov and Anatoli Firsov.Not considered were players who have played the majority of their careers in North America. That group includes all-time greats such as Peter Stastny (Czechslovakia), Dominik Hasek (Czech Republic), Jaromir Jagr (Czech Republic) and Jari Kurri (Finland).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021284/8368427-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="513" height="608"></div>The story of Fetisov&rsquo;s selection as No. 1 in European competition is in the new book, The Hockey News Century of Hockey. It is available at book stores Oct. 14.Fetisov&rsquo;s credentials are impeccable. A sampling of his accomplishments:&#9633; Earned three gold medals at the World Junior Championship (1976,1977,1978).&#9633; Played in 10 World Championship tournaments, winning gold six times and being named top defenseman five times.&#9633; Won Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1988.&#9633; Named Soviet defenseman of the year and player of the year three times each.Fetisov grew up admiring defenseman Alexander Ragulin, a hard-nosed, stay-at-home type and one of Russia&rsquo;s best players in the 1972 Summit Series.&ldquo;But I wanted to score goals, too,&rdquo; Fetisov said.At 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, Fetisov had all the tools &mdash; size, speed and toughness. He was called &ldquo;the Russian Bobby Orr,&rdquo; so when he arrived in New Jersey in 1989-90, much was expected. He performed well, but at 31, was already into the second half of his career.That said, he still commanded much respect.&ldquo;I was in awe of him,&rdquo; said New Jersey coach Larry Robinson, who had several on-ice battles with his current assistant coach.Fetisov was traded to Detroit in April, 1995, and capped his career with his two Stanley Cups. He retired from the NHL after 1997-98 and while his big league totals aren&rsquo;t eye-popping, the big picture is. Fetisov had 36 goals and 228 points in 546 NHL games after recording 153 goals and 373 points in 479 games for Red Army.&ldquo;When you look at all his accomplishments, in the NHL and internationally, he has put up Hall of Fame numbers,&rdquo; Robinson said. &#9633; &#9632;

f0007-01

Fetisov ruled world game

<div class="byline">Mike Ulmer Columnist</div><h2>Influence, Cups make Roy crease king</h2>Yes<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012016/8368479-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="265" height="358"></div>Patrick Roy is the greatest NHL goalie of all-time. Clearly, it&rsquo;s close. But if you look closely it&rsquo;s also clear.Quarterfinalists for the honor: Jacques Plante, Bill Durnan, Ken Dryden, Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall, Dominik Hasek, Grant Fuhr and Roy.Elimination criteria No. 1: For a moment, throw out the Vezinas and Stanley Cups. You can&rsquo;t use those standards to compare goalies who played in a six-team era to those who play in today&rsquo;s 30-team league. Instead, let&rsquo;s make influence our barometer. What could be a greater test of greatness?Plante is the father of the mask and the roaming goalie. Roy&rsquo;s butterfly style was franchised by coach Francois Allaire and his disciples include Martin Brodeur.Hasek&rsquo;s influence was most profoundly displayed when Brian Boucher stopped Patrik Elias in the Eastern Conference final. Sawchuk remains the standard for goaltender agility and explosiveness.As for Fuhr, Hall, Dryden and Durnan-thanks for coming out.Now we&rsquo;re down to the semis. Here, the Cup question takes on a new relevancy Players from the Original Six Era had to win only two rounds to claim the Cup. For most of the Expansion Era, teams have had to win four rounds.Original Six Era: Plante won six Cups, Sawchuk four. But Sawchuk&rsquo;s superior career shutouts (117 to 96) carries the day over Plante&rsquo;s better post-season goals against average (2.55-2.15).Expansion Era: Roy, at 20, was the youngest ever Conn Smythe winner in 1986. He won another for his second Cup win in 1993 and cinched the Avs&rsquo; 1996 title. Hasek has not won a Cup. As Roy, not immodestly puts it, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d take my (three) rings over his (five) Vezinas.&rdquo;Final: Roy vs. Sawchuk. Roy&rsquo;s career goals-against average of 2.63 compares nicely to Sawchuk&rsquo;s 2.55, especially since Roy&rsquo;s career includes the goal-happy 1980s. It took Sawchuk 971 games to set the all-time regular season wins record of 447. Roy, with 444 victories in 842 games, will set the new mark far more quickly Roy has already eclipsed Sawchuk&rsquo;s standards for post-season victories. Both won first-all star honors three times.The greatest point of departure centers on the quality of the teams for which both played. Sawchuk&rsquo;s 1950s&rsquo; Detroit teams featured Red Kelly, Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Alex Delvecchio, all Hall-of-Famers at the peak of their careers.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021507/8368472-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="1114" height="1285"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Claus Anderson/BBS)</figcaption></div>Roy has made do without nearly as deep a cast: The only Hall-of-Famers he played with in Montreal were Larry Robinson and Bob Gainey and they were near the ends of their careers. The other potential Hall-of-Famer in front of his was defensive specialist Guy Carbonneau. Colorado mates Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg are true stars, but still years away from Hall consideration. Go back to influence. Roy easily wins over Sawchuk. It&rsquo;s a worthy comparison, but give the nod to Roy<h2>Dominant Hasek earns No. 1 status</h2>NoAt the risk of having a certain Denver-based goalie tell people he couldn&rsquo;t read this opinion piece because his gleaming Stanley Cup rings were blocking his view, let&rsquo;s first, acknowledge this race is a photo finish.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031057/8368465-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="313" height="346"><figcaption class="caption-body">Damien CoxColumnist</figcaption></div>Perhaps Patrick Roy is the finest goalie ever to play in the NHL. I can&rsquo;t tell you much about pre-expansion candidates, but the position and the equipment with which it is played are so different today than even 20 years ago, comparisons are almost futile.When we speak of Roy&rsquo;s contemporaries, however, we come to the man who, had everything gone according to plan, would be retired today and playing with his children in Pardubice, far removed from the NHL wars.If this argument were about who is the greatest goaltender in the history of the sport, including NHL and international play, Dominik Hasek would be the clear winner.But even when the argument is confined to their NHL records, Hasek still carries a slight edgeover St. Patrick, an edge that might be more significant if &lsquo;The Dominator&rsquo; hadn&rsquo;t struggled so badly with injuriesin recent years and hadn&rsquo;t had such a late start to his NHL career.Hasek was 25, don&rsquo;t forget, when Chicago gave him his first shot. By that point, Roy had already played five NHL seasons, won a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy and two Vezinas.In the five seasons that they both held starting jobs and played about the same number of games &mdash; 1994-95 through 1998-99 &mdash; Hasek&rsquo;s numbers were as good if not better in four of the five. Playing for a Buffalo team with limited talent, Hasek&rsquo;s 34 shutouts in those seasons (Roy had 19) are proof of a level of superiority that gave his team an edge it otherwise would not have had.Yes, Roy has his Cup rings and in two of those three playoff seasons he was a major reason, if not the reason, why his team won.But it says here the Hart Trophies won by the Czech master in 1997 and 1998 essentially equal those championships won by Roy. No goaltender since Jacques Plante in 1962 had been awarded the Hart until Hasek&rsquo;s brilliance all but forced voters to give him the award.The other compelling piece of evidence that backs Hasek as the NHL&rsquo;s top goalie is disputed by some because it did not come during NHL regular season or playoff competition.It says here, however, the hockey tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan was, for all intents and purposes, an NHL competition.And when it came down to a head-to-head competition between Roy and Hasek in a semifinal game, it was Hasek who stood out in the shootout and his team went on to win the gold medal.Roy&rsquo;s longevity and excellence make him a Hall-of-Famer. Hasek&rsquo;s meteoric arrival and unprecedented superiority from 1994 through 1999 makes him the best ever. &#9632;

f0008-01

SHOOTOUT

Is Roy best NHL goalie ever?

<div class="byline">By Wayne Karl Hockey Business News Editor</div>First she broke the ice for women in professional hockey, now Manon Rheaume promises to make waves in the male-dominated hockey equipment industry.Frustrated by what she calls a lack of attention to women&rsquo;s hockey by equipment suppliers, the former Canadian national team goalie vows to make a difference in her new role as global director for the women&rsquo;s category at Mission Hockey&ldquo;Other companies don&rsquo;t really care about it,&rdquo; Rheaume said. &ldquo;We had to go through that even in an Olympic year (1998). We had so many problems with companies thinking, &lsquo;Oh, that&rsquo;s just women&rsquo;s hockey.&rsquo; And we&rsquo;re tired of hearing that.&rdquo;In August, Rheaume helped Mission launch the industry&rsquo;s first high-end skate designed specifically for women.SIGNS OF THE TIMES What&rsquo;s in a name? Planes, chains and automobiles, mostly, when it comes to hockey arenas.<h2>Buzz in the Biz The Business of Hockey</h2>Fans may lament the trend toward corporate monikers dominating NHL buildings, but there&rsquo;s no doubt they are signs of the times.Firms pay as much as $7.5 million a year for arena sponsorship packages and for most teams the revenue is irresistible.The Staples Center in Los Angeles represents one of the biggest deals. Staples, an office supply chain, is paying about $5.8 million per year.All but seven NHL arenas are named after corporate sponsors, and two more (San Jose and Carolina) are on the verge of selling their naming rights.The financial services sector is the biggest supporter. Of the 23 NHL buildings named after big businesses, six are in that category, followed by airlines with four. The fastest-growing category is high technology, which now has three representatives.BACK IN BLACK If you think you&rsquo;re seeing more officials&rsquo; arms in the air this NHL season, it&rsquo;s not just because of the league&rsquo;s latest crackdown.The NHL has introduced a black band to the underarms and forearms of referees&rsquo; and linesmen&rsquo;s jerseys to make them more noticeable when officials raise their arms to make calls. Future changes may further distinguish referees from linesmen. One possibility is having referees wear different uniforms. &#9632;

Rheaume takes on new role in game

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello, Senior Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011848/8368548-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The need for skilled Europeans such as Patric Kjellberg has increased with expansion. (J.Russell/BSS)</figcaption></div>Hockey&rsquo;s foreign-content providers have been the primary benefactors of the NHL&rsquo;s recent wave of expansion.A survey of Oct. 5 opening night rosters by The Hockey News showed there are 228 players from outside North America compared to 143 at the start of 1997-98. That&rsquo;s a 59 per cent increase in three years.NHL expansion has added four new teams in the past three seasons &mdash; Nashville in 1998-99, Atlanta in 1999-2000 and Columbus and Minnesota this year. It has created 94 more NHL jobs (728 this season compared to 634 in 1997-98.)Of the 94 new openings, the number of &lsquo;Rest of World&rsquo; players (Europeans and those from Eastern bloc countries) has risen by 85. The number of U.S.-born players has risen by five and Canadian-born players by four.&ldquo;With the fact there has been so much expansion in our league, there is a real need for skilled players,&rdquo; said Florida Panthers&rsquo; GM Bryan Murray.In 1997-98,23 per cent of NHLers were from outside North America. This season, it&rsquo;s up to 31 per cent. That&rsquo;s a hefty 35 per cent hike in three seasons.By comparison, the Canadian ratio has fallen from 61 per cent in 1997-98 to 54 this season. The U.S. percentage has slipped from 16 per cent to 15.It&rsquo;s not that expansion teams have been completely stocking their rosters with &lsquo;Rest of World&rsquo; players which accounts for the growth. In fact, expansion team European totals are comparable with other teams, indicating that foreign content has risen across the board.In 1997-98, Washington and Ottawa led the way with nine European players apiece. This season, Pittsburgh has 15, Ottawa 13, Anaheim 11 and Columbus and Toronto 10 each.Even teams once reluctant to change have gradually seen the light. St. Louis had two European players three seasons ago, eight now. Chicago had three European players in 1997-98, nine now.&ldquo;What you&rsquo;re seeing now is many older Europeans coming over,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;All (NHL) teams certainly have more extensive scouting in Europe these days. And there seems to be more tournaments over there that highlight the best players.&rdquo;One NHL GM is quick to point out that just because the percentage of Canadian-born players is on the decline doesn&rsquo;t mean hockey&rsquo;s first nation has lost its touch in developing players.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just tapped out in Canada,&rdquo; said Calgary Flames&rsquo; GM Craig Button. &ldquo;There just isn&rsquo;t the population base here to keep up the numbers from before.&rdquo;Another GM said more Europeans are cracking NHL lineups simply because they&rsquo;re better skaters.&ldquo;Europeans put a stronger emphasis on skating and you can&rsquo;t make it to the NHL if you can&rsquo;t skate well,&rdquo; said Tampa Bay GM Rick Dudley. &ldquo;But that&rsquo;s changing. You&rsquo;re seeing young players in North America trying to develop that skill.&rdquo;Four new teams in three years has &ldquo;watered down&rdquo; the talent level in the NHL, Button said.&ldquo;Kai Nurminen couldn&rsquo;t make Los Angeles (for more than a season) when he came here four years ago. Now he can because of expansion. Pavel Patera couldn&rsquo;t make it last year. Now he can.&rdquo;More jobs are creating a stronger emphasis on scouting. And more teams are sending scouts overseas.&ldquo;People are working Europe hard,&rdquo; Button said.<h2>CANADIAN CONTENT IN NHL ON DECLINE</h2>The number of Canadian- and U.S.-born players in the NHL has remained stable since 1997-98 even though four new teams have been added. As a result, the per cent of Canadians and Americans in the league has declined with the surplus being made up by European players.<h3>Percentage of NHL content</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021267/8368541-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="667" height="229"></div><h3>Breakdown of NHL talent</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03768/8368534-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="715" height="226"></div><h2>Rave reviews</h2>The game between Colorado and Dallas Oct. 4 was the most-viewed season-opening telecast on ESPN in eight years. It averaged 678,462 household impressions, which is 17 per cent greater than ESPN&rsquo;s average of 577,498. The average rating increased 13 per cent over last season&rsquo;s opener on ESPN (.75 to .85). ESPN&rsquo;s benchmark was set Oct. 6,1992, in a Philadelphia versus Pittsburgh game that drew 923,443 households.<h2>12-game ban</h2>The Ontario League suspended London Knights&rsquo; coach Lindsay Hofford 12 games for what it called a questionable substitution. Hofford put defenseman Ryan Adams on the ice for a faceoff with two seconds remaining in an exhibition game against Sarnia. When the puck was dropped, Adams jumped Sting left winger Dusty Jamieson and broke his nose so badly it required surgery. Adams was suspended six games.<h2>Age alteration</h2>Representatives of the Canadian Hockey Association recommended age categories in minor hockey be changed. The change would see age groups move back one year, with midget encompassing three years. The proposal would have pre-novice at age five and six, followed by novice (seven and eight), atom (nine and 10), pee wee (11 and 12), bantam (13 and 14), midget (15,16 and 17) and juvenile (18,19 and 20). The proposal is subject to a vote.<h2>More dreams</h2>The NHL Players&rsquo; Association Goals and Dreams Fund provided $55,000 worth of CCM hockey equipment to an inner-city hockey program in Regina. The Ehrlo Community Services Outdoor Hockey League program will receive 50 sets of player equipment, 14 sets of goalie equipment and 150 jerseys as a result of the funding. The NHLPA Goals and Dreams Fund, launched a year ago, assists hockey-related initiatives worldwide.<h2>Brand new look</h2>Eleven teams will sport a third jersey this season. The group (and launch date) includes Boston (Oct. 9), Buffalo (Nov. 22), Chicago (Oct. 14), Florida (Oct. 25), Los Angeles (Oct. 11), New York Rangers (Oct. 22), Ottawa (Oct.14), Philadelphia (Oct. 7), Phoenix (Nov. 3), Pittsburgh (Oct. 28) and Toronto (Oct. 28). The alternate jerseys will be worn in about 15 games by most of the teams. &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

Europeans take NHL by storm

<div class="byline">By Kevin Woodley</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011985/8368586-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div>With apologies to Yogi Berra, it&rsquo;s over but it ain&rsquo;t over.Judge William Kitchen&rsquo;s Oct. 6 guilty verdict with a conditional discharge after 18 months ended the Marty McSorley assault trial, but several issues remained unresolved, the most crucial being: How, if at all, will the game be affected?The answer will be played out on the ice and potentially in NHL boardrooms over the coming months. And if Judge Kitchen&rsquo;s words are heeded, it will be played out in the court of public opinion.&ldquo;If this is a trial of the game of hockey, the judge and jury are the Canadian public,&rdquo; said Kitchen in the opening moments of his hour-long ruling.&ldquo;This is not the first time the issue has arisen and it will not be the last, but it is a time when debate can focus on more than a theoretical problem. The public can watch replays. They can read the evidence, the submissions, the decision and the media commentaries and they can decide for themselves.&rdquo;Clearly, the NHL wants the issue to quietly go away. From the outset, the league&rsquo;s position was it had dealt harshly with McSorley&rsquo;s Feb. 21 slash of Donald Brashear &mdash; a 23-game suspension and the need to apply for reinstatement &mdash; and that the case didn&rsquo;t belong in a criminal court.After the verdict, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman&rsquo;s view hadn&rsquo;t wavered. Asked if the ruling was a watershed decision, Bettman said: &ldquo;No. The fact the criminal justice system chose to get involved and then at the end of the day really didn&rsquo;t impose any punishmentand I don&rsquo;t have a problem with that &mdash; but it doesn&rsquo;t indicate that even the court viewed it as a watershed event.&ldquo;Our punishment was more severe than what the court did. I&rsquo;m not sure, frankly, what was accomplished by going through the trial process to say, &rsquo;OK, you&rsquo;ve been convicted and now you can&rsquo;t go on the ice with Donald Brashear for 18 months.&rsquo; We said as far as we&rsquo;re concerned you can&rsquo;t go on the ice at all. So I&rsquo;m not even sure what was accomplished here.&rdquo;Vancouver GM Brian Burke, a lawyer by trade, typified the sense around the league.&ldquo;My belief in this matter has not changed. It should not have gone before a court of law, but that decision was not mine,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;I think you have to respect the effort that went into this opinion and I think the judge should not be criticized for his decision. As far as I&rsquo;m concerned, it is time to start talking about the new season.&rdquo;Wayne Gretzky, who attended the trial and is a longtime friend of McSorley, echoed Burke&rsquo;s sentiments.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s no different than when a baseball pitcher throws at a batter,&rdquo; Gretzky said.<h2>The Law and the NHL/WHA</h2><h3>1923 Sprague Cleghorn</h3>The Montreal player hits Ottawa&rsquo;s Lionel Hitchmen over the head with his stick. Verdict: Guilty of aggravated assault, fined $50.<h3>1969 Ted Green/Wayne Maki</h3>Boston&rsquo;s Green suffers compound skull fracture in wild stick-swinging battle with St. Louis&rsquo; Maki.Verdict: Both are charged and found not guilty.<h3>1975 Dave Forbes</h3>Boston&rsquo;s Forbes butt-ends Minnesota&rsquo;s Henry Boucha.Verdict: Hung jury. Boucha files $3.5-million civil suit and settles out of court in 1980.<h3>1975 Dan Maloney</h3>Toronto&rsquo;s Glennie suffers concussion as result of attack by Detroit&rsquo;s Maloney.Verdict: Not guilty of causing bodily harm.<h3>1976 Rick Jodzio</h3>In a WHA match, Calgary&rsquo;s Jodzio high-sticks and pummels Quebec&rsquo;s Marc Tardif.Verdict: Guilty of assault causing bodily harm, fined $3,000.&ldquo;If this is a trial of the game of hockey, the judge and jury are the Canadian public.Judge William Kitchen during his ruling on McSorley&ldquo;Our punishment was more severe than what the court did.I&rsquo;m not sure, frankly, what was accomplished.NHL commissioner Gary Bettman&ldquo;Intimidation is part of our game and don&rsquo;t let anybody tell you it is not.Wayne Gretzky<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011757/8368579-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1768" height="1028"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marty McSorley, who says he didn&rsquo;t intend to hit Donald Brashear in the head, may appeal the verdict.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Nobody likes to do that. They do it and it happens and it is part of the game. Sometimes is gets carried away and sometimes guys get hit on the head and you are supposed to brush people back. In hockey, intimidation is part of our game and don&rsquo;t let anybody tell you it is not.&rdquo;While the league and its extended family believe the game should be left to its own devices, not everyone is convinced the issue will fizzle. Paul Weiler, a Canadian who is a professor of sports law at Harvard, said prosecutors in other jurisdictions may use the ruling as a precedent.&ldquo;It is really difficult because it is such a grey area of consenting,&rdquo; Weiler said. &ldquo;There are many acts in hockey that are not within the rules that before (the McSorley case) you would not prosecute, but now you will have to look at them.&rdquo;And at least one player, Brent Gilchrist of the Detroit Red Wings, said it may affect players&rsquo; mindsets on the ice.&ldquo;I guess if you read the letter of the law, the judge made a decision that is probably correct,&rdquo; Gilchrist said. &ldquo;But I think this worries a lot of players that something that happened on the ice would go to the courts.&rdquo;In looking at the McSorley case, Judge Kitchen said the Bruins&rsquo; enforcer intended to hit Brashear on the head. McSorley had lost a first period fight to Brashear; his challenge for a second fight with Brashear was rebuffed; the Canucks&rsquo; tough guy had fallen on the Boston goalie and injured him; and, Brashear had made taunting gestures toward the Boston bench.&ldquo;He had an impulse to strike him in the head,&rdquo; said Kitchen, dismissing McSorley&rsquo;s claims he was aiming for Brashear&rsquo;s shoulder. &ldquo;His mindest, always tuned to aggression, permitted that. He slashed for the head.&rdquo;Kitchen also dismissed McSorley&rsquo;s claims the speed of NHL hockey, Brashear&rsquo;s last second movement to the right and a sore left shoulder prevented him from swinging his stick accurately.&ldquo;A child, swinging at a tee-ball, would not miss. A housekeeper swinging a carpetbeater would not miss,&rdquo; Kitchen said. &ldquo;An NHL player would never, ever miss. Brashear was struck as intended.&rdquo;Addressing the court after the guilty verdict, but before the sentencing decision, McSorley maintained he aimed for Brashear&rsquo;s shoulder and missed.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played the game for a long time and I have a tremendous amount of respect for the game,&rdquo; McSorley said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m extremely glad to see Donald back on the ice and I do plan to address this with Donald in person.&rdquo;Despite the relative slap on the wrist, Kitchen said the NHL shouldn&rsquo;t feel self-policing is sufficient.&ldquo;In my view, there should be a heavy onus on those purporting to pre-empt the normal criminal process, particularly where it is a private organization such as a group of hockey owners,&rdquo; Kitchen said.&ldquo;Statutory bodies must act in the public interest; businessmen have no such obligation.&rdquo;That said, the judge reiterated what many had said at the close of testimony Sept. 29: He was not putting ice violence on trial.&rdquo;Some may view the matter as a trial of the game of hockey itself,&rdquo; Kitchen said. &ldquo;If that is the expectation, my decision will be a disappointment. My only concern is whether Marty McSorley is guilty of the specific charge alleged against him.&ldquo;That is not to say that the McSorley/Brashear incident should not prompt a healthy discussion of hockey and the role of violence in the sport.&rdquo;In the aftermath of the trial, McSorley&rsquo;s Boston-based lawyer Paul Kelly said his client was considering an appeal. At the same time, the Crown also hinted it may appeal the sentence.While the legal minds continue to wrangle with the decision and plot strategy, it remains to be seen how long the McSorley fallout will be felt.&#9633;<h3>1976 Mel Bridgman, Don Saleski, Bob Kelly and Joe Watson</h3>Philadelphia players are involved in melee with Toronto fans and police.Verdict: Watson and Kelly guilty of common assault, fined.<h3>1976 Dave Williams</h3>Toronto&rsquo;s Williams high sticks Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Dennis Owchar. Verdict: Not guilty of assault causing bodily harm and possession of a dangerous weapon (a hockey stick).<h3>1978 Wilf Paiement</h3>Colorado&rsquo;s Paiement high-sticks Detroit&rsquo;s Dennis Polonich in the face. Incident investigated, but no charges are laid. Verdict: Polonich sues Rockies, receives $850,000.<h3>1982 Jimmy Mann</h3>Winnipeg&rsquo;s Mann punches Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Paul Gardner from behind, breaking his jaw in two places.Verdict: Mann pleads guilty, fined $500.<h3>1988 Dino Ciccarelli</h3>Minnesota&rsquo;s Ciccarelli hits Toronto&rsquo;s Luke Richardson over the head with his stick. Verdict: Convicted of assault. Serves one day in jail, fined $1,000. &#9632;

f0010-01

COVER STORY

JUSTICE IS DISCHARGED

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Alan Adams</div>Despite Judge William Kitchen&rsquo;s verdict, the jury is still out on McSorley&rsquo;s future. Will he play in the NHL again? Will he retire after a 17-year, nine-team tour? Is Europe an option?The veteran defenseman remains under indefinite suspension by the NHL. When Gary Bettman banned McSorley for the remainder of last season (23 games and playoffs), the NHL commissioner stipulated McSorley would have to apply for reinstatement if he wanted to resume his NHL career.In a conference call before the start of the season, Bettman said nothing had changed.&ldquo;As a first step, Marty or his representative would have to let us know that he was interested in the possibility,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;And then from there, we would set up a meeting and progress in terms of what needs to be done.&rdquo;Even if he were to be reinstated, McSorley would have to find a team willing to sign him. A 37-year-old unrestricted free agent, McSorley is deep into the autumn of a career now stigmatized by the Donald Brashear incident.While there has been no definitive word from McSorley, he has suggested he may retire.&ldquo;The way I have been used in the last three years, I&rsquo;m not sure I just won&rsquo;t let it go,&rdquo; McSorley told the Vancouver Province. &ldquo;A guy who scores a lot of points can stay on longer, but a guy in my position never gets played ahead of the kids who may be on a roster. I&rsquo;d like to coach, really. I hope this won&rsquo;t hurt my chances. I don&rsquo;t think it will.&rdquo;One of McSorley&rsquo;s lawyers, Paul Kelly, told the Boston Globe his client is also thinking of Europe. McSorley&rsquo;s brother, Chris, is coach of the London Knights of Britain&rsquo;s Superleague.If McSorley is finished as an NHLer, his career line will read like this: 961 games, 108 goals, 359 points and 3,381 penalty minutes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021257/8368617-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="617" height="1480"></div> &#9632;

f0011-02

NHL, Europe, retirement? What’s next?

<div class="byline">Eric Duhatschek THN columnist</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011935/8368655-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="365" height="397"></div>They finished second overall with 108 points last season. They were the league&rsquo;s highest-scoring team by miles. They boast half-a-dozen future Hall Of Famers in their lineup and they are the only team in the past half-dozen years to win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons.And yet, the overall impression of the Detroit Red Wings is they are yesterday&rsquo;s news. Their time has passed, the pundits say; they have made the transition from being a great team to a merely good team.Wherever you turn, any analysis that focuses on the Wings&rsquo; chances this season begins and ends with birth certificates. Seven of the players on the opening-day roster were born in the 1960s, including one, Larry Murphy, who is old enough to remember when The Beatles were a chart-topping act and not a historical footnote.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the lack of success the last two years had anything to do with age,&rdquo; said left winger Brendan Shanahan, 31.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a very easy target. Anyone who thinks that is looking at our team from a distance. When we won our Stanley Cups, we had (Slava) Fetisov and (Bob) Rouse. They were no spring chickens either.&rdquo;No, they weren&rsquo;t. Ever since Scotty Bowman took over ascoach in 1993, he has favored an experienced group of rearguards. Part of Bowman&rsquo;s philosophy is to bring young players along slowly. It is a trait he inherited from his Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; days and you can&rsquo;targue with his results. In Bowman&rsquo;s seven years in Detroit, the Wings have played 105 playoff games, the most of any team in the league.On-the-job training is for organizations with budgets of $25 million and under, not for Detroit, where the opportunity to spend money to add or retain players exists for GM Ken Holland. Shanahan represents the perfect example. The veteran gave up a chance to become an unrestricted free agent by re-signing with the Red Wings last spring. With the average age of the league creeping up &mdash; it was 27.2 last season &mdash; surely Shanahan doesn&rsquo;t count as one the league&rsquo;s senior citizens?Nowadays, with the fitness and nutrition information that&rsquo;s available, the average age of a player in his prime is going up,&rdquo; Shanahan said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got players, 26 or 27, just entering their primes. When I started in the league, you were probably considered in the back nine of your prime at 26 or 27. By 30, the clock was ticking.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021520/8368648-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="1444" height="1876"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brendan Shanahan (Lisa Meyer/BBS)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s easy to say a team should go with youth, but until you have a player who can outplay another player, regardless of his age, are you going to get rid of a guy who is twice the player just because he happens to be 35?&rdquo;While age gets most of the attention in the Wings&rsquo; equation, geography plays a role, too. Until Columbus joined the Central Division this season, the Wings were the only club in the Eastern time zone playing in the NHL&rsquo;s Western Conference. In the West, there are four perennial powerhouses, all capable of challenging for the Cup &mdash; Detroit, Colorado, Dallas and St. Louis. Barring a big upset in the first round, it means the Red Wings get a tough opponent in the second round every year, much the same as Calgary and Edmonton did back in the 1980s. Even though they were arguably the two best teams in the NHL for close to a decade, one or the other always went out by the second round. In 1986 and 1989, it was Edmonton. In 1985 and 1987 it was Calgary.It may not be right. It may not be fair, but it is the reality with which the Wings need to deal. Holland, an intelligent man, understands that in time, the rebuilding process must begin. In many ways, he got lucky this summer by adding Boyd Devereaux, the sixth player chosen in the 1996 entry draft, as an unrestricted free agent. The Wings traded away many of their high draft choices in past years to land Shanahan and then Chris Chelios. Even when they keep their first-rounders, they generally don&rsquo;t get a selection until 25 players have been chosen.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a big deal being made that we&rsquo;re an old team,&rdquo; Holland said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;re an old team, but certainly, in the next two or three years, we have to look at the direction of our hockey team. I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s alarming right now, but if you don&rsquo;t do anything, it could become alarming.&rdquo;Until then, his strategy &mdash; to see if this group has one last hurrah in it &mdash; is sound. What else can he do? They have, after all, produced nine winning seasons in a row. Eventually, you pay the price for success. That is the cyclical nature of sport and it is a lesson everybody learns eventually. No matter how old they are. &#9632;

f0012-01

Age: Detroit’s friend or foe?

<div class="byline">By Dan Wood</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011762/8368686-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Rocky Widner)</figcaption></div>Everywhere the San Jose Sharks went last season, coach Darryl Sutter faced the same question.&ldquo;Why is Owen Nolan playing so much better?&rdquo; inquisitive minds in other cities wanted to know.It got to be a running joke between Sutter and Bay Area reporters who followed the team closely and knew the real story The truth is Nolan had been playing exactly the same way all three years since Sutter took over behind the Sharks&rsquo; bench. Nolan banged bodies. He played hurt. He played a strong defensive game. He led by example. In short, he played his heart out.Suddenly, though, the goals started coming again. So did the assists. After sub-par totals of 14 goals in 1997-98 and 19 the following season, Nolan broke out last year. He scored goals in San Jose&rsquo;s first four games, including his 10th career hat trick and a franchise-record six points in the second game of the season against Chicago and never stopped lighting the lamp.&ldquo;It was a nice change, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; said Nolan, who averaged 34 goals a year in his first five full NHL seasons. &ldquo;I felt I worked hard the previous (two) years, but I couldn&rsquo;t find the back of the net. Last year, it just seemed like everything was going in and it felt the way it had before.&rdquo;On his way to 84 points and a career-high 44 goals, the second-highest total in the NHL last season, Nolan regained the attention of fans who had lost track of the powerful right winger selected first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1990 entry draft. A legitimate Hart Trophy candidate, Nolan wound up fifth in voting.Now, of course, the challenge for the 28-year-old Nolan is to follow up his career season with another. That might be difficult, for a couple of reasons.First, he remains an unsigned restricted free agent and given last year&rsquo;s numbers, it is easy to imagine protracted contract negotiations. Nolan earned $2.75 million in salary in 1999-2000. But even without the contract hassle, Nolan wouldn&rsquo;t be on the ice now, anyway. He continues to recover from late-August surgery to repair two torn stomach muscles that caused him to miss two playoff games last spring and isn&rsquo;t expected to be healthy enough to play until at least mid-October.While Nolan may not be doing much differently on the ice, he has changed his approach off it-During his days with the Nordiques, Nolan gained a reputation for being temperamental, selfish and moody. Not all of it was unwarranted.&ldquo;I have a different attitude now,&rdquo; Nolan said. &ldquo;Obviously, when I was in Quebec, it was the wrong group of people there, the coaches and general managers. I didn&rsquo;t get along with any of them. That&rsquo;s why I got a bad rap right off the bat. Once you get a reputation, it&rsquo;s hard to get rid of.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t really care at the time because I didn&rsquo;t really want to be around those people. I loved the guys on the team, but the people who ran the team had no respect for me. I had the same philosophy for them.&rdquo;Greatly disappointed by being traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Sharks in 1995, Nolan made some mistakes in San Jose, too. By the time Sutter arrived, however, Nolan had turned around his way of thinking, only to have his scoring touch disappear. Shots that once found holes suddenly clanged off goal posts, cross bars and every goalie pad known to man. Nolan&rsquo;s confidence wilted, to the point he once blew a penalty shot opportunity without even putting the puck on net, instead having it roll harmlessly off his stick and into the corner.When the Sharks acquired center Vincent Damphousse from Montreal late in 1998-99. it cemented a talent upgrade that gave Nolan a fighting chance to once again post big-time numbers. Last season&rsquo;s quick start provided a much-needed shot of confidence. Despite a series of late-season injuries, Nolan carried his outstanding play into the playoffs, sparking San Jose&rsquo;s opening roundupset of St. Louis. Nolan finished with eight post-season goals in only 10 games, more than all but Dallas&rsquo; Brett Hull and Mike Modano and New Jersey&rsquo;s Petr Sykora, each of whom played 23 playoff games.At 28, Nolan has raised his game to the level of an elite power forward. &ldquo;Owen has become the whole package,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a winner.&rdquo; &#9633; &#9632;

f0013-01

Encore, encore!

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011914/8368717-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="211" height="241"></div>If the calendar hadn&rsquo;t said otherwise, it would have been a good April Fool&rsquo;s joke.The NHL suspended left winger Paul Kariya for one game. Honest.The league banned Kariya, a two-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s most gentlemanly player, for the Mighty Ducks&rsquo; final pre-season game after a slashing incident against Minnesota center Aaron Gavey Sept. 29 in St. Paul.Referee Brian Murphy hit Kariya with major and match penalties, the latter for intent to injure, after Kariya struck Gavey in the third period. Kariya said he acted in response to a second attempt by Gavey to slew-foot him as he headed toward the bench.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s ridiculous it has even gone this far,&rdquo; said Kariya, who felt he merited no more than a minor penalty. &ldquo;Especially in exhibition games, I can&rsquo;t have guys taking liberties on me like that. I get enough of it during the game. I don&rsquo;t need to have cheap shots taken on me when I&rsquo;m trying to get off the ice.&rdquo;ANALYSIS With top-line center Steve Rucchin to miss at least the opening two weeks of the season because of a broken bone in his left hand, coach Craig Hartsburg experimented with Antti Aalto and Tony Hrkac playing between Kariya and Teemu Selanne. The second line featured free agent acquisition German Titov centering Mike Leclerc and Marty McInnis, while Matt Cullen was centering the third line with newly acquired Andrei Nazarov and first year player Jonas Ronnqvist.ROOKIE WATCH Ronnqvist, 27, is not eligible for the Calder Trophy because of his age, but is the closest thing to a rookie on the Anaheim roster. A fourth round selection in this year&rsquo;s entry draft, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Ronnqvist may get the chance to play in front of the net on the first power play unit during Rucchin&rsquo;s absence.NOTEBOOK Center Steve Rucchin, who sustained a broken metacarpal bone in his left hand Sept. 22, resumed skating Oct. 2&hellip;Incumbent Dominic Roussel maintained the backup goaltending job behind Guy Hebert. Anaheim assigned highly regarded Jean-Sebastien Giguere to Cincinnati of the American League Oct. 1. &#9632;

f0014-01

Byng winner Kariya pays for retaliation

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Jeff Schultz</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021451/8368755-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tomas Holmstrom pays the price for screening goalie Jamie Storr.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031009/8368748-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="205" height="250"></div>This is one rebound Damian Rhodes doesn&rsquo;t want to smother.Coming off a career-worst season, the Atlanta goalie looked sharp in the pre-season and is hoping to ride that wave to a comeback year. Rhodes stopped 56 of 59 shots in his last two exhibition starts against the Rangers (4-2 win) and St. Louis (1-1 tie).&ldquo;I feel like a kid again,&rdquo; Rhodes said. &ldquo;This has just kind of helped refocus me.&rdquo;Rhodes had to deal with professional and personal tribulations last season. An ankle sprain kept him sidelined four months, while he also had to cope with a divorce. On the ice, the numbers weren&rsquo;t pretty: a 519-3 record, 3.88 goals-against average and .874 save percentage.After the Rangers&rsquo; game, coach Curt Fraser said, &ldquo;Damian was great&hellip;and that&rsquo;s the way we need him to be this year because we&rsquo;re going to make mistakes.&rdquo;ANALYSIS The Thrashers worked extensively on the power play and penalty killing in the days leading up to the start of the regular season. Atlanta struggled on specialty teams for most of the pre-season, but their power problems could be partly attributed to injuries to Donald Audette (hip pointer), Patrik Stefan (strained groin), Ray Ferraro (sore back) and Tomi Kallio (bruised shoulder).ROOKIE watch Brad Tapper not only made the team, he was the right winger on the team&rsquo;s No. 2 line as the season started as a result of injuries to Stefan and winger Hnat Domenichelli. Also making the cut were left winger Tommy Kallio, who&rsquo;ll play on the second line, and Sergei Vyshedkevich, who was slotted as the No. 7 defenseman.NOTEBOOK The Thrashers claimed right winger Jeff Odgers in the waiver draft from Minnesota andthen traded left winger Matt Johnson to the expansion Wild for a third round pick&hellip;The Thrashers entered the season without a captain. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to rush into this,&rdquo; said coach Curt Fraser. &ldquo;I want to make sure I put the right guy in place and it&rsquo;s a guy who can handle the job.&rdquo; The Thrashers haven&rsquo;t had a captain since Kelly Buchberger was traded to Los Angeles last March. &#9632;

f0014-02

Thrashers looking for Rhodes’ rebound

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Mike Loftus</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05473/8368786-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="490" height="892"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Dan Hamilton/VPS)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04699/8368793-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="202" height="247"></div>With a bigger, faster, healthier group of forwards, the Boston Bruins are committed to a more aggressive attack.&ldquo;We want to have a team that&rsquo;s going to forecheck more,&rdquo; said coach Pat Burns. &ldquo;If you have the size, and the speed, it makes it a lot easier to get in there.&rdquo;While understandably met with enthusiasm by offensive players like left winger Sergei Samsonov who said, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s more fun to play; it seems like we&rsquo;re attacking all the time&rsquo;, the style was also endorsed by defenseman Kyle McLaren. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s going to be a good change for us,&rdquo; McLaren said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be a lot more up-tempo.&rdquo;Burns, whose teams were more patient on the forecheck for most of his first three years in Boston, said having a deeper, healthier lineup made the switch possible.&ldquo;It makes a difference when you have the players to do it,&rdquo; he said.ANALYSIS Right winger Andrei Kovalenko, often a third- or fourth-liner in the pre-season, joined the top line of left winger Brian Rolston and center Jason Allison haffway through Game 1. Kovalenko responded with a power play goal and six shots in a 4-4 tie with Ottawa.Said Kovalenko: &ldquo;I can play any line; whatever the coach wants from me.&rdquo;ROOKIE WATCH Center Samuel Pahlsson, part of the package obtained from Colorado for Ray Bourque, has a chance to make an impact as third-line center and penalty killer. At 27, the former Finnish pro is too old for Calder Trophy consideration.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Paul Coffey had to leave the season opener in the second period with a bruised shoulder&hellip;The Bruins will start the season with three alternate captains, rather than appoint a replacement for departed captain Ray Bourque.RAY & THE KIDS Thrashers&rsquo; veteran Ray Ferraro opened the season playing with rookies Tomi Kallio and Brad Trapper. &#9632;

f0014-05

Bruins thrilled by new direction

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Bucky Gleason</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06373/8368824-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="214" height="244"></div>The Buffalo Sabres received a scare in the season opener against Chicago when goaltender Dominik Hasek went down with what initially appeared to be a serious knee injury.Hasek was trying to make a save on Boris Mironov in the first period when Jay McKee pushed Blackhawks&rsquo; right winger Tony Amonte through the crease and onto his left leg. Hasek limped off the ice after slamming his stick outside the Sabres&rsquo; bench in frustration.&ldquo;I thought about jumping out of the suite,&rdquo; said Sabres GM Darcy Regier. &ldquo;I was very concerned (like) anyone understanding the history I went to the dressing room. At that point the doctor said right away, &rsquo;I think it&rsquo;s OK.&rsquo;&rdquo;Hasek suffered a bruised kneecap, but the injury was not considered serious.&ldquo;On the ice, I was very scared,&rdquo; Hasek said. &ldquo;Once I came into the locker room, I felt pretty confident I would be back on the ice soon.&rdquo;The Sabres won the game 4-2 after rookie Mika Noronen came off the bench and made his NHL debut. Noronen is with the Sabres while they attempt to get backup Martin Biron signed to a new contract.ANALYSIS Sabres&rsquo; coach Lindy Ruff&rsquo;s final move of training camp was sending skilled defenseman Brian Campbell to Rochester in the American League. He kept Jason Holland, who would have had to clear waivers.ROOKIE WATCH Aggressive left winger Eric Boulton made his NHL debut Oct. 5 skating on a line with enforcer Rob Ray to give the Sabres more punch in the lineup. The Sabres also kept Noronen, defenseman Dmitri Kalinin and winger Denis Hamel. Kalinin is expected to be their sixth defenseman.NOTEBOOK The Sabres were unable to reach a contract agreement with 1999 first round pick, left winger Barrett Heisten, who joined Seattle in the Western League. Heisten will become an unrestricted free agent if he&rsquo;s not signed before June 1. The Sabres would get a second round pick in next year&rsquo;s entry draft&hellip;Left winger J.P. Dumont scored on his first shot with the Sabres with a one-timer against Chicago. &#9632;

f0014-06

Hasek hurts knee in season opener

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021253/8368876-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="262" height="292"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Simon Washington</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011745/8368883-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="208" height="250"></div>Despite a series of appointments with specialists that told him little, defenseman Steve Smith is still trying to get his NHL career back on track.Smith, 37, consulted with two neurologists &mdash; a spine specialist and peripheral nerve specialist &mdash; on a fact-finding mission to Toronto, but acknowledged, &ldquo;Neither one gave me an absolute diagnosis.&rdquo;The 14-year NHL pro continues to experience numbness in his left hand. As a result, he wears a brace and has begun taping his hand and wrist during practice, so it cannot fully extend.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s preventing the motion that causes the problem,&rdquo; said Smith. &ldquo;The problem is, if I fold my hand back with my arm extended, I get these electrical charges that go shooting down my hand. That&rsquo;s reason for concern and we want to eliminate that before they give me the green light to play again.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Calgary grabbed Dwayne Hay off waivers from Tampa Bay the day before rosters were established &mdash; and the first question on everybody&rsquo;s mind was, is that the son of Flames&rsquo; coach Don Hay? Answer: No. Don Hay&rsquo;s son, Darrel, skates with the International League&rsquo;s Kansas City Blades.Dwayne Hay is a 6-foot, 219-pound left winger. Originally drafted by Washington in 1995-96, he subsequently bounced to Florida and Tampa. Hay&rsquo;s addition cost rookie right winger Rico Fata a spot on the roster. Also losing his position was veteran pivot Marc Bureau. Both were assigned to Saint John of the American League.New faces in the lineup include defenseman Toni Lydman, forwards Niklas Andersson, Ronald Petrovicky, Dave Lowry and Marty Murray and goalie Mike Vernon, who left Calgary in 1994.ROOKIE WATCH How did Petrovicky, the last player drafted by Calgary in 1996 (228th overall), make the team ahead of more celebrated rookies such as Fata and Daniel Tkaczuk? He won over the Flames with his aggressive style. Fourth in scoring on the farm last season, he could end up filling the role of agitator. &ldquo;He can skate, he has the skill to make plays and he&rsquo;s gritty,&rdquo; Hay said. &ldquo;I think he can develop into a pest, a Tyson Nash.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK It appeared the contract impasse between Marc Savard and the Flames would soon end as the center dropped his price to $770,000 for one year. Calgary had offered $700,000 and $825,000 on a two-year pact. Savard wanted to be ready to play in the season&rsquo;s second game.STILL FREE Many high-profile restricted free agents had yet to sign as the NHL season got underway. Listed at left is the first all-star team of RFAs and at right are the best of the rest.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03881/8368869-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="883" height="279"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04649/8368862-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="863" height="276"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-05452/8368855-1-eng-US/f0015-052.jpg" title="f0015-05" width="268" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jozef Stumpel Los Angeles</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0015-02

Smith’s left hand makes vet nervous

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Bob Sutton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011706/8368914-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="206" height="232"></div>Carolina Hurricanes&rsquo; defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh has been right on pace with his ability to orchestrate an offense.Ozolinsh, acquired from the Colorado Avalanche, is the key player in making the Hurricanes excel as they alter their style to put more emphasis on setting up the offense out of transition. He finished eighth in defensemen scoring last season with 52 points and led the Hurricanes in pre-season scoring with seven points (one goal) in four games. He has the go-ahead to put his creative abilities to use.&ldquo;We want Sandis making his own decisions out there,&rdquo; said coach Paul Maurice.Ozolinsh&rsquo;s presence fits in well with the style of play of Kevin Hatcher, a free agent addition with good puck-moving skills, and second-year defender David Tanabe. The faster pace on the ice could be crowd-pleasing.&ldquo;(Spectators) need to see some of the things that are exciting about the game,&rdquo; Tanabe said.ANALYSIS Maurice is planning to take Ron Francis off the penalty-killing unit in an effort to preserve his 37-year-old captain. Maurice said he&rsquo;d prefer Francis &ldquo;concentrate on his power play time.&rdquo; The coach is determined to rely on other players. Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour is a proven penalty-killer and Martin Gelinas has the speed to be effective in that role.ROOKIE WATCH Center Josef Vasicek, 20, passed several players on the depth chart to land on the roster. He had a goal and three points in seven pre-season games. The 6-foot-4,200-pound Vasicek uses his reach to good advantage.NOTEBOOK The Hurricanes had groomed Jean-Marc Pelletier to be Arturs Irbe&rsquo;s backup, so there was frustration when that didn&rsquo;t work out and Pelletier was assigned to Cincinnati (IHL). &ldquo;He&rsquo;s disappointed, we&rsquo;re disappointed,&rdquo; said GM Jim Rutherford. Tyler Moss is Irbe&rsquo;s understudy&hellip;Defenseman Glen Wesley returned about a week sooner than expected from offseason neck surgery to take part in contact situations and played in one pre-season game&hellip;Of current players, only right winger Jeff O&rsquo;Neill, Wesley and right winger Sami Kapanen were on the opening roster in 1997 when the Canes first played in North Carolina. &#9632;

f0016-01

Ozolinsh gets nod to go on offense

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Adrian Hater</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031011/8368976-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="208" height="244"></div>Terry Sawchuk&rsquo;s all-time wins record isn&rsquo;t the only number on Patrick Roy&rsquo;s mind these days. The 35-year-old goalie would like to negotiate a contract extension that would allow him to finish his career in Colorado.&ldquo;To me, there is no better place to play than here,&rdquo; said Roy, who began the season with 444 wins, three short of Sawchuk&rsquo;s mark. &ldquo;If (GM) Pierre Lacroix is approaching me, we&rsquo;re ready to listen. But that&rsquo;s up to the organization.&rdquo;Lacroix, who refuses to grant no-trade contracts, remained mum on the topic of re-signing Roy. But the betting is Roy will ink a one- or two-year extension sometime this season. Roy is in the last year of his contract, which pays $7.5 million and is eligible for unrestricted free agency July 1.&ldquo;My family loves it here and I love the organization,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;Of course, I would love to stay. But, there&rsquo;s no rush. We&rsquo;ll see what happens.&rdquo;ANALYSIS It didn&rsquo;t take long for the Avs to stray from their plan of marginally cutting Ray Bourque&rsquo;s ice time. In the season opener against Dallas Oct. 4, Bourque saw 31:19 of playing time. Before the start of the season, the coaching staff said it wanted to use Bourque an average of 25 minutes per game. Last year, Bourque&rsquo;s average ice time was 27:11.The 39-year-old Bourque isn&rsquo;t complaining about the workload. &ldquo;If it were up to me, I&rsquo;d be over the boards every time,&rdquo; he said.ROOKIE WATCH It was a good start to the season for 23-year-old Dan Hinote. A converted center, Hinote played right wing on the third line with Stephane Yelle and Shjon Podein and recorded an assist in the 2-2 tie with the Stars. Hinote called the switch to right wing an &ldquo;adjustment,&rdquo; but said he is just glad to have a roster spot. Hulking right winger Scott Parker also saw action in the opener, on the fourth line, and didn&rsquo;t look out of place.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Adam Foote discarded the face shield he donned in the Western Conference final after suffering an eye injury in Game 2 against Dallas. Foote took a stick to the eye and wore the visor through the rest of the playoffs, but said he doesn&rsquo;t feel comfortable with it&hellip;Greg de Vries won the sixth defenseman spot alongside Jon Klemm. &#9632;

f0016-03

Roy seeks extension to remain in Denver

<div class="byline">&#x2014; Aaron Portzline</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021192/8369021-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="262" height="288"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Hartley Colorado</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011527/8369028-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="209" height="249"></div>Columbus president-GM Doug MacLean bought himself a little extra time to evaluate the franchise&rsquo;s first-ever draft pick, defenseman Rostislav Klesla.On Oct. 2, the Blue Jackets and Klesla reached terms on a three-year deal worth about $6 million, including all the incentives. It was determined Klesla, 18, would start the 2000-01 season in the NHL.But there is a catch.The Blue Jackets have a 10-game window to evaluate Klesla. If they don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s NHL-ready, he&rsquo;ll be returned to Brampton of the Ontario League.&ldquo;Regardless of whether we send him back or not, I just wanted to have this dead done,&rdquo; MacLean said. &ldquo;(Rusty) is our first draft pick, and he&rsquo;s a big part of our future, and I wanted to get it done.&rdquo;The deal pays Klesla a $1,075 million base salary each season as per the collective bargaining agreement. It is laden with incentives, such as a $500,000 bonus should he win the Calder Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s top rookie.ANALYSIS How do the Blue Jackets rectify their overload of defensemen? Simple &mdash; play some of them as forwards. Columbus has a surplus of defensemen including Lyle Odelein, Klesla, Jamie Pushor, Jamie Heward, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, Petteri Nummelin and Mattias Timander. Heward and Grand-Pierre will play forward on Columbus&rsquo; checking line.ROOKIE WATCH MacLean has been raving about the work of his scouting staff the past few months, and now he has proof of their good work. Five Blue Jackets&rsquo; rookies &mdash; Klesla, goalie Marc Denis, center Serge Aubin and right wingers David Vyborny and Jan Caloun &mdash; made Columbus&rsquo; 23-man roster.NOTEBOOK Defensemen Deron Quint, whom the Blue Jackets acquired from the New Jersey Devils for $1 during the entry draft in June, was among the last players cut from the Columbus roster. He was sent to Syracuse of the American League&hellip;Defenseman Lyle Odelein was named the Blue Jackets&rsquo; first captain just before the start of the regular season. Forwards Tyler Wright and Geoff Sanderson were named alternates&hellip; Center Espen Knutsen&rsquo;s broken left little finger was healing on schedule. Knutsen was set to have the pin removed by mid-October and it was hoped he&rsquo;d be able to practice a couple of days later.BET ON WEST Las Vegas oddsmakers like a Western Conference team for the Stanley Cup, they&rsquo;re just not sure which one. Colorado, Dallas, Detroit and St. Louis are all listed at 5-1. All Cup odds are listed.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03870/8369014-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="1864" height="270"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04640/8369007-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="262" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ken Hitchcock Dallas</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-02

Teenage defender signs with Jackets

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011587/8369059-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="220" height="241"></div>Few teams have played defense like the Dallas Stars over the past several seasons.And few teams face a bigger adjustment to the NHL&rsquo;s crackdown on slashing and other stick-related fouls. If the league&rsquo;s enforcement is a work in progress, so is the Stars&rsquo; response. In their regular season opener, a 2-2 tie with Colorado, the Stars were whistled for 22 minutes in penalties, as opposed to a 1999-2000 average of 12.5 minutes.Colorado received 10 power plays, up from an opponents&rsquo; average of 3.7 last season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to continue, I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s any doubt it&rsquo;s going to continue,&rdquo; said coach Ken Hitchcock. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a mandate and the mandate is from the people who are accountable. Whether I like it or not is irrelevant. What&rsquo;s relevant is the fact we have to adjust. You have no choice. If you want to stay out of the box, if want to keep the game 5-on-5, you change.&rdquo;ANALYSIS The quest to replace checking center Guy Carbonneau, who retired, continues. The latest candidate is Jamie Langenbrunner, who has moved from his usual right wing spot with Joe Nieuwendyk to center on the third line. He played nearly 19 minutes in the season opener, and will probably remain at center through the month.ROOKIE WATCH Tyler Bouck didn&rsquo;t expect to make the Stars his first year out of junior. But he did. The 6-foot, 196-pound Bouck plays bigger than his size and possesses many of the same qualities as his longtime role model, Adam Graves of the New York Rangers. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all been exciting, but I&rsquo;m pretty nervous,&rdquo; Bouck said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all been a blur. It hasn&rsquo;t sunk in that I&rsquo;m here.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK The biggest surprise in the opener came when coach Ken Hitchcock made center Shaun Van Allen a healthy scratch. Signed from Ottawa as an unrestricted free agent, Van Allen was supposed to anchor a checking line. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what it says to Shaun,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;It just says, based on pre-season, this is the way we want to go.&rdquo;&hellip;Right winger Brett Hull hit a pair of posts against Colorado and remained tied with his father Bobby for ninth on the all-time goal list. Each had 610 goals. Hull scored 24 goals in 1999-2000 and 11 during the playoffs.&mdash; Chuck Carlton &#9632;

f0018-01

Stars must change clutching ways

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021224/8369090-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="217" height="235"></div>Steve Yzerman began the 200001 season the same way he started the 2000 playoffs &mdash; on the sidelines with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.The longtime Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; captain was placed on injured reserve and missed the two-game, sea son-opening road trip to Alberta. But he was hoping to return for the Oct. 11 home opener against Edmonton.&ldquo;Had it been a playoff game, he would have played, but it&rsquo;s Game 1 in October,&rdquo; said GM Ken Holland. &ldquo;Why take chances.&rdquo;Yzerman said it&rsquo;s the same injury he suffered with four games to play in the regular season &mdash; he returned during Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs &mdash; and it&rsquo;s susceptible to aggravation.&ldquo;I think the wiser decision is to stay off and get back to 100 per cent and not have any pain in the ligament,&rdquo; Yzerman said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nothing major, but it needs a couple of weeks to get strong and heal again.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Coach Scotty Bowman used the same line combinations in training camp, but juggled them once pre-season games began. One unit that looked like a keeper features Sergei Fedorov between right winger Darren McCarty and left winger Tomas Holmstrom. McCarty led the team in scoring during the pre-season with five goals and eight points. It was the club&rsquo;s best line in its season-opening 4-3 victory over Calgary.ROOKIE WATCH Defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov (6-foot-5,230 pounds) was the only rookie to make the team. But that doesn&rsquo;t guarantee him any action. He&rsquo;s the No. 7 defenseman and isn&rsquo;t likely to move up unless there&rsquo;s an injury to one of the top six. The Wings&rsquo; top pick in 1995, Kuznetsov played well in the pre-season and can&rsquo;t be sent to the minors without being exposed on waivers.NOTEBOOK Right winger Martin Lapointe alleges Toronto defenseman Dave Manson bit his thumb during a pre-season fight Sept. 28. &ldquo;I could feel every one of his teeth biting into my thumb,&rdquo; Lapointe said. Manson accused Lapointe of gouging his eye. The NHL said it was investigating the incident&hellip;Goalie Manny Legace, who played for five minor league teams in four years, beat out 16-year NHL veteran Ken Wregget for the job as Chris Osgood&rsquo;s backup.&mdash; Ansar Khan &#9632;

f0018-02

Yzerman misses season opener

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03893/8369121-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="214" height="241"></div>Frank Musil never set out to become the feel-good story of the season.But that&rsquo;s what he is.After missing all of last season with what was supposed to be a career-ending neck injury, the 35-year-old veteran stunned the entire organization when he showed up at training camp and promptly won back his job on the blueline.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s incredible,&rdquo; said coach Craig MacTavish. &ldquo;He came in here and to be honest with you I gave him very little chance to make the hockey club. But he&rsquo;s been one of our top three or four defensemen in training camp. That&rsquo;s a tribute to Frankie and his dedication.&rdquo;Musil slammed head first into the boards in training camp last year and had to be carried off the ice. Months later he still had limited range of motion in his neck and almost no strength in his right arm. After spinal fusion surgery to repair compressed vertebrae, he began the long road back.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m certainly very proud and very excited that I made that first huge step, but it doesn&rsquo;t stop here at all,&rdquo; said Musil, who set the club record for fitness in training camp.ANALYSIS The American League Hamilton Bulldog trio of Michel Riesen, Brian Swanson and Dan Cleary lit it up during training camp and made it as the No. 2 unit. The club didn&rsquo;t want to give that much responsibility to three kids, but injuries to left wingers Ethan Moreau and Josh Green and a lackluster training camp from center Chad Kilger forced their hand.ROOKIE WATCH The Oilers opened with five rookies in the roster. In addition to Swanson and Riesen on the second line, left winger Dan LaCouture won a spot on the fourth line. Center Domenic Pittis, who had a couple of big seasons with Rochester of the AHL and left winger Brad Norton stuck around as extra forwards.NOTEBOOK Left winger Brad Norton earned a three-game suspension for abuse of an official in Edmonton&rsquo;s final pre-season game against Calgary (Oct. 30). Norton was trying to jump into a fight between center Doug Weight and Calgary right winger Ronald Petrovicky&hellip; Center Alexandre Volchkov, selected fourth overall by the Washington Capitals in 1996, was not only cut from the Oilers, he was cut from their AHL affiliate in Hamilton Oct. 4.&mdash; Rob Tychkowski &#9632;

f0018-03

Vet Musil makes startling comeback

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021106/8369173-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="268" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pierre Turgeon St. Louis</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011458/8369180-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="212" height="250"></div>Usually-modest Florida Panthers&rsquo; goalie Roberto Luongo had just finished his pre-season by shutting out Columbus 3-0 when he talked a little &ldquo;stuff.&rdquo; &ldquo;First of all, I didn&rsquo;t really accept the fact the Islanders traded me away for somebody else,&rdquo; Luongo said of the draft day deal that brought him to Florida with Olli Jokinen for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish.&ldquo;That kind of pissed me off a little bit. I&rsquo;m just here to prove I&rsquo;m still the No. 1 prospect in the world and that there&rsquo;s nobody who&rsquo;s going to take my place.&rdquo;Granted, it was only Columbus, but it was also Luongo&rsquo;s second shutout of the pre-season and he had to make some tough saves to get it. A pre-season goals-against average of 0.84 and save percentage of .971 in 215 minutes are impressive numbers even if you face the 1974-75 Washington Capitals every night.Luongo was named the top NHL-affiliated prospect by The Hockey News Future Watch in both 1999 and 2000.ANALYSIS The Czech-Slovakian defense pair of Jaroslav Spacek and Robert Svehla, has been split up after their play declined over the last half of 1999-2000. Spacek was removed from the power play after a subpar training camp.Speaking of the power play, the second unit will use one defenseman, Bret Hedican, in an umbrella setup high in the zone and left winger Peter Worrell&rsquo;s 6-foot-6 wingspan in front of the net for tips and rebounds.ROOKIE WATCH Left winger Denis Shvidki tied Pavel Bure for the Panthers pre-season scoring lead (eight points), but it was Shvidki&rsquo;s defensive zone play that kept him in the NHL while right winger Ivan Novoseltsev was sent to Louisville (American League) despite a team-high five pre-season goals.Center Marcus Nilson&rsquo;s improved skating and strength on the puck got him the fourth line center job. Nilson started the season over veteran Len Barrie, whom Panthers&rsquo; coach Terry Murray felt didn&rsquo;t show the necessary grit in camp.NOTEBOOK Teammates began calling defenseman Todd Simpson &ldquo;Sgt. Hulka&rdquo; after he suffered a broken big toe on his right foot when blocking a shot in a pre-season game with the Blue Jackets. &ldquo;Sgt. Hulka&rdquo; was a Stripes character who was known as the platoon&rsquo;s &ldquo;big toe.&rdquo;&mdash; David J. NealTIME ON TURGEON&rsquo;S SIDE St. Louis center Pierre Turgeon averaged one point for every 15:08 of ice-time in 1999-2000, tops in the NHL. Listed are games, points, average time on ice per game and minutes per point.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03772/8369166-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="892" height="258"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04595/8369159-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="906" height="256"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05440/8369152-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="264" height="302"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pavol Demitra St. Louis</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0019-02

Trade motivates Luongo to excel

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011237/8369211-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="212" height="248"></div>Jozef Stumpel was not on the Kings&rsquo; opening night roster, but there is optimism a contract dispute will not wipe out his NHL season.Stumpel&rsquo;s agent Benji Robins and Kings&rsquo; GM Dave Taylor exchanged messages Oct. 5, ending a 12-day silence after the Kings claimed to make their final offer.The club proposed a three-year deal to the restricted free agent worth in excess of $7 million. Stumpel is seeking a three-year, $9-million pact.Stumpel remained in his native Slovakia, but stopped playing for Bratislava. If Stumpel had played there after the NHL season opener, he would have needed to clear waivers to return to the Kings.Among the major points of disagreement is a &lsquo;fine&rsquo; imposed by the Kings of $9,800 for each day of camp missed.ANALYSIS The Kings, 10th in the NHL (16.9 per cent) on the power play last season, but 0-for-23 in them playoff loss to Detroit, have a new look to their first unit. In Stumpel&rsquo;s absence, center Bryan Smolinski has moved in with Luc Robitaille and Ziggy Pallfy, while newcomer Mathieu Schneider joins Rob Blake on the point. The second unit features Nelson Emerson, Glen Murray and Steve Reinprecht up front, with Jason Blake also a possibility. The defensemen are rookie Lubomir Visnovsky and Jaroslav Modry or Jere Karalahti.ROOKIE watch Center Eric Belanger, who has had his share of health misfortune, won the lottery by getting the season opening assignment to play between Robitaille and Palffy. In the past two years, Belanger has suffered a broken nose and hand and last season a blood clot was discovered in his right arm. After undergoing surgery, he missed just a month of the season at Lowell (American League) and finished with 15 goals and 40 points.Other rookies to win jobs are left winger Tomas Vlasak and defensemen Lubomir Vishnovsky and Adreas LiljaNOTEBOOK Center Brad Chartrand, who opened camp as Jozef Stumpel&rsquo;s replacement on the first line, was waived Oct. 5 and expected to be assigned to Lowell. Chartrand, 25, played for coach Andy Murray when Murray ran the Canadian national team. He had six goals and 12 points in 50 games for the Kings last year.&mdash; Matt McHale &#9632;

f0022-01

Dialogue continues for Kings, Stumpel

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02912/8369242-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="226" height="230"></div>And now for something completely different.Going against tradition, the Wild announced it will rotate captains from month to month this season.Veterans Scott Pellerin and Curtis Leschyshyn will be the permanent alternates.Defenseman Sean O&rsquo;Donnell was named the first captain, but he likely will give up the &lsquo;C&rsquo; come the first of November.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen it before, but I like the idea,&rdquo; Leschyshyn said. &ldquo;It makes everybody feel important.&rdquo;The idea is the brainchild of GM Doug Risebrough and coach Jacques Lemaire.&ldquo;I know that if we had named one, we could have named seven, eight guys,&rdquo; Risebrough said. &ldquo;We will try to give every player a chance to show their leadership to this hockey club.&rdquo;Risebrough said it&rsquo;s possible a player will be named captain more than once and it&rsquo;s possible the team eventually will settle on a permanent captain. Other players who may wear the &lsquo;C&rsquo; this season are defenseman Brad Bombardir, center Aaron Gavey and left winger Darby Hendrickson.analysis Defenseman J. J. Daigneault, left winger Kai Nurminen and center Pavel Patera, three players expected to make the team, were assigned to Cleveland of the International League. Making the cut instead were wingers Marian Gaborik and Maxim Sushinsky and defenseman Lubomir Sekeras. In the end, coach Jacques Lemaire based his decisions on performance, not reputation.&ldquo;They did what they said they would do: they kept the guys who deserved to be here,&rdquo; said defenseman Brad Bombardir.ROOKIE WATCH The Wild started the season with four rookies, including three taken in this year&rsquo;s draft: Gaborik (first round), Sushinsky (fifth), and Sekeras (eighth). Also making the team out of training camp was defenseman Ladislav Benysek.NOTEBOOK The Wild claimed left winger Zdeno Ciger in the waiver draft, but Ciger will remain in the Czech Republic this season. The Wild hopes to bring the one-time 30-goal scorer to the NHL next season&hellip; Wild players were miffed Anaheim left winger Paul Kariya was suspended just one pre-season game for slashing center Aaron Gavey when defenseman Sean O&rsquo;Donnell was suspended six pre-season games for a similar slash.&mdash; Tom Jones &#9632;

f0022-02

Here’s a Wild idea: rotating captains

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03692/8369273-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="204" height="230"></div>In their never-ending quest to discover offensive punch, the Canadiens have turned to an unlikely source &mdash; Benoit Brunet, arguably the team&rsquo;s best defensive forward.&ldquo;I believe he can be a goal-scorer,&rdquo; said coach Alain Vigneault.Brunet started the season on the team&rsquo;s No. 2 line with center Trevor Linden and left winger Martin Rucinsky.&ldquo;Benny has always been our best two-way forward, but he hasn&rsquo;t had too many opportunities to play on the top two lines,&rdquo; Vigneault said. &ldquo;We want to give him more opportunities.&rdquo;The offense-starve Habs scored 196 goals last season, ahead of only the Islanders and Atlanta.Brunet might have offensive potential, but the injury-plagued right winger has played 60 or more games only twice since 1993-94 and has never scored more than 14 goals.&ldquo;I think playing with Trevor and Marty will help,&rdquo; Brunet said. &ldquo;I think I can score when I get the chance.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Defenseman Andrei Markov, the most valuable player in the Russian Elite League last season, could prove to be a godsend. The 21-year-old rookie, who started the season playing alongside Christian Laflamme, is a highly-skilled rearguard who gives the normally staid Habs a whole new look. Whether he can continue his performance into the regular season remains to be seen. He speaks almost no English and even less Fench, but with defensemen Sheldon Souray, Karl Dykhuis and Enrico on the injury list, Markov will have the chance to prove he belongs.ROOKIE WATCH Goalie Mathieu Garon started the season as Jeff Hackett&rsquo;s backup while Jose Theodore got in shape in Quebec (American League). The Habs were also carrying defensemen Stephane Robidas and Fancis Bouillon and center Jonathan Delisle as spares.NOTEBOOK Goaltender Jose Theodore, the Canadiens&rsquo; last restricted free agent, signed a two-year, $2.l5-million (U.S.) contract. He&rsquo;ll receive base salaries of $1 million and $1.15 million, with another $675,000 available in bonuses over the next two seasons&hellip;Coach Alain Vigneault, a finalist for coach of the year in 1999-2000, signed a one-year contract extension that takes him through the end of 2001-02.&mdash; Herb Zurkowsky &#9632;

f0022-03

Brunet gets chance to get offensive

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011117/8369304-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="241" height="226"></div>Calling it a collision into the &ldquo;business side of things,&rdquo; Nashville Predators&rsquo; blueliner Kimmo Timonen signed a two-year, $l.55-million pact Sept. 29, plus a $l-million team option.After agreeing to the deal, Timonen left his native Finland and joined the Preds in Japan, where they opened with two games against Pittsburgh.Timonen, one of Nashville&rsquo;s most consistent and versatile players, had been seeking well over $1 million a season with his agent, Bill Zito, offering the 25-year-old had been named to the All-Star Game last season and should be paid as such.But GM David Poile kept pointing to Timonen&rsquo;s 51 games last year &mdash; he had eight goals and 33 points &mdash; and said he wanted to see more. Finally, Timonen said he just wanted to play and agreed to $700,000 this season and $800,000 next year.ANALYSIS Center Randy Robitaille made a significant move up the ladder in training camp. A former 100-point man in the American League, Robitaille had a fine pre-season, displaying the scoring touch that sometimes eluded him last year.The reward was the pivot position on the top line, between Cliff Ronning and Patrie Kjellberg. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to get a little more offense spread throughout the lineup,&rdquo; said coach Barry Trotz.David Legwand, who centered Ronning and Kjellberg last season, was on the second unit with Vitali Yachmenev and Scott Walker.ROOKIE WATCH Rookies Greg Classen and Scott Hartnell showed enough in camp to earn a trip to Japan.Classen, an undrafted center from Merrimack College, was Nashville&rsquo;s most productive offensive player in the pre-season with seven points in five games. He was centering the team&rsquo;s fourth line, working with right winger Hartnell and left winger Ville Peltonen.Hartnell continues to play with an edge, driving hard to the net and doing grunt work in the corners.NOTEBOOK With the acquisition of defenseman Mark Eaton from Philadelphia &mdash; for a 2001 third round pick &mdash; GM David Poile believes Nashville has five young blueliners in Milwaukee (International League) who will develop into NHL defenders. Eaton, Bubba Berenzweig, Timo Helbling, Pavel Skrbek and Alexei Vasiliev could all find their way to Nashville in the near future.&mdash; Jeff Legwold &#9632;

f0023-01

Timonen relents, joins Freds in Japan

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02783/8369335-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="214" height="256"></div>The prototype Devil was ready to face life without his guardian angel.For 17 seasons, New Jersey defenseman Ken Daneyko had what many believed was an unwritten no-trade clause with owner John McMullen. But when McMullen sold the team during the summer, many wondered whether Daneyko would realize his dream of finishing his career with the Devils.&ldquo;He determines that by how he plays and how he feels,&rdquo; said GM Lou Lamoriello. &ldquo;The decisions will be made in the best interest of the team.&rdquo;No one has appeared in more games as a Devil (1,070) than Daneyko and he is the only player to appear in all 131 of New Jersey&rsquo;s playoff games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m grateful for having had the owner in my corner, but I&rsquo;ve played hard and he respects that,&rdquo; said Daneyko, who has two years left on his contract.McMullen denied there is an unwritten no-trade clause.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t have done that because it would have interfered with the team,&rdquo; he said.ANALYSIS Seeing his No. 1 line destroyed by the absence of unsigned free agent Jason Arnott, coach Larry Robinson was using veteran Sergei Nemchinov between Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora. The coach rejected the idea of moving Bobby Holik between his two Czech countrymen because Holik and right winger Randy McKay are longtime linemates who skated well with Steve Kelly in the pre-season.ROOKIE WATCH Colin White was a given and the Devils had high hopes for Willie Mitchell in finalizing a defense corps. However, rookie Sascha Goc was impressive enough to earn a place on the 23-man roster. The Devils like Goc&rsquo;s shot and strength. &ldquo;He can go into the boards with any player in the NHL,&rdquo; Lamoriello said.NOTEBOOK Coach Larry Robinson on unsigned free agents Scott Niedermayer and center Jason Arnott: &ldquo;I hate to see kids throw their careers away It doesn&rsquo;t matter how long they hold out. They&rsquo;re not going to get that money back. Do something short-term and prove you can do it.&rdquo;&hellip;Defenseman Scott Stevens doesn&rsquo;t expect center Eric Lindros to retire after the concussion he suffered. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know all the (medical) circumstances, but you might think differently being single and not having a wife and kids.&rdquo;&mdash; Rich Chere &#9632;

f0023-02

Daneyko will decide own fate, GM says

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03579/8369366-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="208" height="238"></div>After espousing optimism about a playoff spot this season, the New York Islanders finished a six-game pre-season slate with a record of 0-5-1 and a grand total of seven goals.The Isles, who had the second-lowest goal output in the NHL (194) last season, were the only team in the league (expansion clubs included) not to win at least one pre-season game.Four of their losses came by the score of 2-1 - a sign the team simply &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t know how to win yet,&rdquo; said coach Butch Goring.The Isles, who have not qualified for the post-season since 1994, boosted their payroll by nearly $10 million to $25 million this summer after the team was sold to computer moguls Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar.Right winger Mark Parrish, a 26-goal scorer with Florida last season, was held scoreless in the pre-season.&ldquo;They brought in a couple of guys to bring some offense, and right now, we&rsquo;re not doing our job,&rdquo; Parrish said.ANALYSIS Goring said throughout camp he believes the Isles can compete for a playoff spot if they advance into the top 16 per cent in the NHL in power-play efficiency. But the team&rsquo;s man-advantage unit, which ranked 23rd last season, was just 5-for-53 (9.4 per cent) in the pre-season.The coach tried everything to jump-start his offense before the season began, even going so far as to rip into the team in a profanity-laced tirade after practice two days before the opener. Goring also experimented late in the pre-season by using 6-foot-4 left winger Brad Isbister at center on the power play.ROOKIE WATCH Left winger Taylor Pyatt, the Islanders&rsquo; second of four 1999 No. 1 picks (8th overall), made the team with a solid camp. He scored his first goal of the pre-season in the finale against the New Jersey Devils. Defenseman Evgeny Korolev also made the opening night roster because of an injury to regular Eric Cairns.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Eric Cairns will miss at least four weeks with a broken left thumb, sustained in a pre-season loss to the Rangers when he was driven into the boards from behind by one-time Islander defenseman Vladimir Malakhov. Cairns&rsquo; injury will create playing time for Korolev and veteran rearguard Aris Brimanis.&mdash; Peter Botte &#9632;

f0023-03

Islanders winless in pre-season games

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02849/8369397-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Islander Kenny Jonsson takes Ottawa&rsquo;s Colin Forbes for a ride.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011192/8369404-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="214" height="252"></div>When is a trade not a trade?When two teams weave a a waiver-wire conspiracy to avoid a clause in a player&rsquo;s contract.That&rsquo;s what seems to have happened when the Rangers put defenseman Stephane Quintal on waivers with an agreement Chicago would claim him, then send the Rangers left winger Michal Grosek and defenseman Brad Brown for &ldquo;future considerations.&rdquo;Rangers&rsquo; GM-president Glen Sather was unable to make a straight trade for Quintal because of a clause in his contract that adds a fifth year (2003-04) at $3 million on his four-year deal if he is traded.Under the agreement with the Hawks, the Rangers will pay about $1 million of the $7.45 million remaining on Quintal&rsquo;s pact.The Rangers had been trying to trade Quintal since the end of last season, when he was suspended for the final four games after making disparaging remarks about playing in New York.Quintal apologized before camp opened.ANALYSIS Coach Ron Low has moved Valeri Kamensky, a left winger virtually all his career, to right wing. Kamensky started the season on a line with Mark Messier and Adam Graves. Theo Fleury, who was expected to play on Messier&rsquo;s right side, started the year as Mike York&rsquo;s right winger.ROOKIE watch Goalie Jason Labarbera won the job backing up Kirk McLean until Mike Richter is ready to return from major knee surgery. One other rookie, defenseman Dale Purinton, was on the roster after pre-season ended, but was assigned to Hartford (American League) when the Rangers acquired Brown from Chicago. Purinton amassed 74 penalty minutes in five pre-season games, a mind-blowing pace of 1,214 minutes over an 82-game season.NOTEBOOK Rookie defenseman Mike Mottau signed a two-year, $l.85-million (plus incentives) contract Oct. 4, then was assigned to Hartford the next day to get playing time. Mottau&rsquo;s contract calls for him to be paid $75,000 in the minors&hellip;Center Manny Malhotra was sent to Hartford to learn to play left wing, a position he played in one preseason game&hellip;Goalie Mike Richter hopes to be ready to play around Oct. 22.&mdash; Rick Carpiniello &#9632;

f0024-02

Rangers, Hawks play waiver games

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03603/8369435-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="208" height="244"></div>Alexei Yashin is back, but the letter &lsquo;C&rsquo; he once sported on his jersey is not.While it didn&rsquo;t come as a shock, Yashin was not reinstated as captain by coach Jacques Martin when the season opened. Instead, Daniel Alfredsson, who took over the captaincy last season during Yashin&rsquo;s hold out, retained the title. Shawn McEachern and Wade Redden are the club&rsquo;s alternates.&ldquo;Just because Alexei doesn&rsquo;t have a letter, it doesn&rsquo;t mean he isn&rsquo;t a leader,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;He can show his leadership by going out on the ice and getting points for us.&rdquo;Said Yashin: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Jacques&rsquo; decision. He has been around hockey a long time. He knows what he&rsquo;s doing.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Yashin got his old linemates back when right winger Andreas Dackell agreed to a two-year contract and returned to the fold Oct. 1. McEachern is the left winger.The threesome of Magnus Arvedson, Radek Bonk and Marian Hossa is also back together. And the unit &mdash; which struggled against Toronto in last year&rsquo;s playoffs &mdash; combined for six points in the club&rsquo;s 4-4 tie with Boston in the opener Oct. 5.ROOKIE WATCHRight winger Martin Havlat, 19, started the regular season with Ottawa, but won&rsquo;t be kept with the big club if he&rsquo;s not seeing much ice time. Defenseman Karel Rachunek, the 227th overall pick in the 1997 draft, also made the club and has shown he has the potential to be in the Senators&rsquo; top four.NOTEBOOK The Senators started the season without defenseman Wade Redden, who was sidelined until at least Oct. 13 with a sore right hand. Redden suffered the injury in a fight with Edmonton&rsquo;s Mike Grier Sept. 25&hellip;GM Marshall Johnston is looking for blueline help and is dangling tough winger Andre Roy and possibly winger Colin Forbes as trade bait&hellip;Commissioner Gary Bettman said the NHL is pursuing $930,000 in damages from center Alexei Yashin because he should pay the pricefor his holdout. &ldquo;We are supporting the Senators in this matter,&rdquo; Bettman said.&mdash; Bruce Garrioch &#9632;

f0024-03

Yashin officially loses captaincy

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05288/8369466-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="826" height="1060"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Bruce Bennett Studios)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04418/8369473-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="202" height="232"></div>Back in late August, Flyers&rsquo; coach Craig Ramsay didn&rsquo;t know if Petr Hubacek had a chance of making the team.To be honest, Ramsay didn&rsquo;teven know who Hubacek was.He does now. Six weeks after arriving from the Czech Republic, the 21-year-old rookie center found himself in the Flyers&rsquo; opening-night lineup with Kevin Stevens on one flank and Rick Tocchet on the other.Hardly awed by his new surroundings, Hubacek scored his first NHL goal at 3:18 of the second period in the Flyers&rsquo; 6-3 win over Vancouver Oct. 5.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know him at all,&rdquo; admitted Ramsay. &ldquo;But he showed something to me, his commitment.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Ramsay has rebuilt his fourth line. With Jody Hull (separated shoulder) sidelined, he inserted Keith Jones at right wing and moved Kent Manderville from center to left wing. Peter White plays the pivot. Paul Ranheim started the season in the press box.rookie watch On Oct. 5, one day after turning 19, rookie Justin Williams scored just 3:14 into the Flyers&rsquo; win over Vancouver. Williams, a first round pick (28th overall) last June, and Petr Hubacek played key roles in the victory, with Williams adding two assists.NOTEBOOK Right winger Rick Tocchet flew to Vancouver for the Marty McSorley trial, but didn&rsquo;t have to testify on his friend&rsquo;s behalf. After a late-night dinner with Wayne Gretzky, Tocchet caught a red-eye flight and was home the next day. &ldquo;So I didn&rsquo;t sleep for two days just so I could go out there to have dinner,&rdquo; Tocchet kidded&hellip;Right winger Keith Jones was left unprotected in the waiver draft, but wasn&rsquo;t claimed.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if it was the money (he has two years, $3.5 million remaining) or the knee (surgery in &rsquo;99),&rdquo; Jones said, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;m very relieved.&rdquo;TO THE MAX Rookie Maxime Ouellet won the Flyers&rsquo; backup job, beating out free agent Roman Cechmanek.&mdash; Wayne Fish &#9632;

f0024-05

Unknown Hubacek impresses Flyers

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06226/8369504-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="208" height="271"></div>They might be skating on the third line, but they certainly aren&rsquo;t third-rate players to the Phoenix Coyotes.Rookie center Wyatt Smith and wingers Brad May and Landon Wilson stole the show during the Coyotes&rsquo; season-opening 4-1 victory over St. Louis Oct. 5. They accounted for five points and more than their share of big hits and spills.&ldquo;We just played our game, kept it simple, worked hard and battled down low,&rdquo; said Wilson, who scored a goal and added an assist.May, acquired from Vancouver in a draft-day trade, had a goal, an assist and a fight. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Game 1 and there&rsquo;s so many more to go,&rdquo; May said. &ldquo;One thing I&rsquo;ve learned is you&rsquo;ve got to keep that even keel. I thought we played pretty well together, though.&rdquo;Enough to maybe convince coach Bob Francis to keep them together.&ldquo;That line was a physical presence,&rdquo; Francis said. &ldquo;They got the Blues&rsquo; attention. And they&rsquo;ve got mine.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Francis has decided to go with second-year pro Mika Alatalo at right wing on the first line with left winger Keith Tkachuk and center Jeremy Roenick. That could change when and if unrestricted free agent Claude Lemieux signs with the club.rookie watch In a bit of a surprise, the Coyotes sent rookie left winger Ramzi Abid and center Ryan Lauzon to Springfield (American League) a day before the season opener &mdash; and signed rookie left winger Brad Ralph to a three-year contract and kept him on the roster.&ldquo;Ramzi came in with the attitude he was going to make the club and he almost did,&rdquo; said GM Bobby Smith.&ldquo;We just felt that he and Ryan needed some time at Springfield.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Incoming owners Steve Ellman and Wayne Gretzky made an additional $l-million down payment toward their purchase of the Coyotes from Richard Burke under an agreement that will prevent Burke and GM Bobby Smith from making any unauthorized trades until the team changes hands&hellip;Unsigned restricted free agent centerTrevor Letowski was close to agreeing to a one-year deal&hellip;The team opened the season without a replacement for departed assistant coach Wayne Fleming.&mdash; Bob McManaman &#9632;

f0024-06

New third line grabs spotlight

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011074/8369535-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="208" height="254"></div>Goalie Garth Snow saw a golden opportunity with the Pittsburgh Penguins and couldn&rsquo;t pass it up.An unrestricted free agent, Snow, 31, was expected to sign a one-year contract with the Penguins, who opened the season in Japan with two games against Nashville.Snow agreed to a 25-game &ldquo;professional tryout&rdquo; with the Penguins&rsquo; American League farm team in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., but he was expected to join the Penguins soon.He was to sign a one-year deal worth $700,000, the same amount incumbent Jean-Sebastien Aubin signed for. Snow is aiming for the top job.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t have signed here if I didn&rsquo;t have that opportunity,&rdquo; Snow said.Snow made $1.4 million with Vancouver last season.ANALYSIS Coach Ivan Hlinka used Roman Simicek as the center on his top line for most of camp. But that changed when free agent Kip Miller signed a one-year deal for $350,000 Sept. 26.Miller is a favorite of right winger Jaromir Jagr, so his arrival prompted a reshuffling. Jan Hrdina was moved from left wing to center, Miller was inserted at left wing and Simicek was displaced.Jagr denied having a hand in Miller&rsquo;s return, but at the same time fully endorsed the move.&ldquo;My best two years in the NHL were probably the last two years when I played with Kip,&rdquo; Jagr said.ROOKIE WATCH Goalie Sebastien Caron went to Japan as a back-up to Jean-Sebastien Aubin. However, the signing of Garth Snow means Caron is bound for the farm. Defenseman Josef Melichar was part of a fourth defense pairing with Hans Jonsson. Roman Simicek was bumped off the first line and Milan Kraft was slated to center either the third or fourth line.NOTEBOOK The travel time has taken its toll on other teams who went to Japan, but GM Craig Patrick saw positives, too. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to get your team away early in the season,&rdquo; Patrick said. &ldquo;They get to bond.&rdquo;&hellip;The Penguins reported no significant communication problems around coach Ivan Hlinka. &ldquo;He knows enough English to get his point across,&rdquo; said defenseman Bob Boughner. &ldquo;You understand his passion for the game, even at practice, just by his emotions.&rdquo;&mdash; Joe Starkey &#9632;

f0025-01

Snow to push Aubin for top job in goal

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02734/8369566-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="210" height="250"></div>St. Louis Blues&rsquo; center Michal Handzus is lost for at least the first four games of the season and possibly more.Handzus sustained a left abdominal strain in a 4-0 pre-season win Sept. 30 at Nashville. He was placed on injury reserve and remained in St. Louis when the team traveled West for a four-game trip to Phoenix, San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles.Handzus will not be able to skate and his off-ice workouts will be limited. Surgery is a possibility.&ldquo;The idea is for him not to do anything so he can heal,&rdquo; said GM Larry Pleau.Losing Handzus is a blow. A Selke Trophy finalist last season, Handzus is the defensive conscience of the &lsquo;Cycling Slovakian Line&rsquo; with Pavol Demitra and Lubos Bartecko.ANALYSIS Coach Joel Quenneville kept the Slovakian line together by inserting countryman Ladislav Nagy between Demitra and Bartecko. Center is the natural position for Nagy, the 21-year-old rookie who played left wing last season in Worcester. Before Handzus&rsquo; injury, Nagy was earmarked for Worcester of the American League. Pierre Turgeon, Handzus and Marty Reasoner are centers one through three, with Mike Eastwood switching to right wing to create a spot for Craig Conroy as the fourth line center.ROOKIE WATCH The Blues started the season with a half-dozen rookies and first-year players on their roster. In addition to Ladislav Nagy, enforcer Reed Low made the team at forward. On defense, the Blues have rookies Mike Van Ryn and Bryce Salvador, along with Alexei Khavanov, a 28-year-old Russian. Rookie Brent Johnson is the backup goalie. All but Khavanov and Low played in the opener, Oct. 5 at Phoenix. Salvador paired with Al Maclnnis and Van Ryn with veteran Jeff Finley.NOTEBOOK Winger Scott Young, who led the Blues in pre-season with four goals and seven points, scored the only goal in the opener, a 4-1 loss to Phoenix&hellip;Second-year wingers Tyson Nash and Jamal Mayers have more responsibility, landings spots as penaltykillers. Nash is paired with Craig Conroy, while Mayers is with Mike Eastwood&hellip;Winger Dallas Drake received a warm reception from the Phoenix crowd in his first game as a Blue.&mdash; Dave Luecking &#9632;

f0025-02

Handzus injury may need surgery

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03504/8369597-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="206" height="256"></div>The San Jose Sharks are having a youth movement.The team&rsquo;s 23-man roster to start the season included five rookies, 10 players aged 25 or younger and only six players over 30.How did the Sharks get so young so fast?&ldquo;The onus is on the young guys,&rdquo; said coach Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;Before, it was &lsquo;Ah, they&rsquo;re young, they&rsquo;re kids.&rsquo; You&rsquo;ve heard that for three years. That&rsquo;s not the case. If they don&rsquo;t do it, they&rsquo;re out.&rdquo;Since last Christmas, veterans Mike Vernon, Dave Lowry, Murray Craven, Bob Rouse, Ron Stern, Ron Sutter and Jeff Norton have departed. Now in their places are rookies Mark Smith, Matt Bradley, Scott Hannan, Shawn Heins, Evgeni Nabokov and young veteran Todd Harvey.Jeff Friesen, Marco Sturm, Alexander Korolyuk, Niklas Sundstrom and Brad Stuart fill out the 25-and-under crowd.ANALYSIS Coach Darryl Sutter opted to fill Owen Nolan&rsquo;s vacant spot on the top line with the fourth-year winger Sturm. Nolan is in a contract dispute. &ldquo;(Sturm) is the only one who can play there,&rdquo; Sutter said of the unit that includes Vincent Damphousse and Friesen. &ldquo;He has speed, defensive presence and the right grit.&rdquo;Stephane Matteau will skate in Sturm&rsquo;s third line spot alongside Mike Ricci and Sundstrom.ROOKIE WATCH Just as they&rsquo;ve played during two seasons in the minors, Smith and Bradley will be linemates as fourth-liners. &ldquo;Some of our other players their age can take lessons from them in terms of playing with energy,&rdquo; Darryl Sutter said. Hannan, 21, didn&rsquo;t have a great camp but makes the team as defenseman No. 6. Heins, 26, will be used as a seventh defenseman. Nabokov resumes his role as backup to goalie Steve Shields.NOTEBOOK After filling a role as fourth line center and providing leadership, Ron Sutter was released. (See pg. 3 for more.)&hellip; Journeyman defenseman Rudy Poeschek failed to land a spot as a tryout player in camp&hellip;Defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson, and wingers Alex Korolyuk and Todd Harvey ended holdouts by signing. Ragnarsson&rsquo;s deal is two years at an average of $1.6 million. Korolyuk signed for two years ($750,000 per season). Harvey&rsquo;s deal is for $925,000.&mdash; Ross McKeon &#9632;

f0025-03

Youth movement part of master plan

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011206/8369628-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="212" height="243"></div>There was a time in training camp when everyone expected the Tampa Bay Lightning would swing a deal.Whether it was for a scoring forward or a veteran defenseman. it seemed certain Tampa would make a trade or take a shot at a free agent.But as camp came to a close, GM Rick Dudley said he was &ldquo;not in active pursuit&rdquo; of new blood and was happy opening the season with the current roster.That will come as a disappointment to those who liked the idea Dudley was hot on the trail of Washington&rsquo;s Peter Bondra or that he might take a shot at sending a package of players to Ottawa in exchange for Alexei Yashin.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve decided we want to see what we&rsquo;ve got before we go making changes,&rdquo; Dudley said. &ldquo;We like our guys. Nothing has happened so far to change that.&rdquo;Dudley admitted he had thought over the summer about adding a No. 3 goalie. As for trades for Yashin or Bondra, Dudley said, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t count on it.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Brad Richards has shown maturity and a confidence on the ice that belies his 20 years. But it will be an awful lot to ask the rookie to play a point position on the power play Richards doesn&rsquo;t have to be the quarterback. That job belongs to center Vinny Lecavalier who will be along the boards, mostly below Richards&rsquo; position.Richards feeds well off Lecavalier and his playmaking ability will be a welcome addition to a power play ranked 24th last season.ROOKIE WATCH Richards will carry the biggest load, but confident left winger Alexander Kharitonov may make an impact. It will be interesting to see how the 5-foot-8,170-pounder handles the rough going. Evgeny Konstantinov is insurance in goal if Kevin Weekes&rsquo; balky back does not improve. At 19, he has shown remarkable quickness and a coolness under fire. He will go to Detroit of the International League when Weekes is deemed healthy.NOTEBOOK The 23-game suspension Gordie Dwyer received for leaving the penalty box and abusing officials Sept. 19 against Washington tied the longest nondrug suspension in NHL history It also cost Dwyer $39,510.66. Dwyer, who could return Nov. 27, said it will not alter his style. &ldquo;It might change how much I play the next few weeks,&rdquo; he joked&hellip;Tampa Bay tried to sneak left winger Dwayne Hay though waivers to get him to Detroit of the IHL, but Calgary picked him up&hellip;Tampa Bay signed 6-foot-6,240-pound defenseman Kristian Kudroc to a three-year deal worth about $3 million. He will start in Detroit.&mdash; Damian Cristodero &#9632;

f0026-01

GM Dudley satisfied to start season before attempting to fine-tune roster

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02859/8369659-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="211" height="250"></div>Defenseman Bryan McCabe&rsquo;s arrival in Toronto instantly cured the Maple Leafs of one headache and put them on the way to fixing another.McCabe, 25, was acquired from Chicago Oct. 2 for restricted free agent defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev and a fourth round draft pick in 2001.Karpovtsev&rsquo;s contract negotiations had become a maior pain for Toronto.Although the Leafs and Karpovtsev were only about $150,000 apart on a one-year agreement at just over $2 million, there was no optimism a deal would get done.Meanwhile, Toronto&rsquo;s defense was shockingly bad during the pre-season. The defenders particularly struggled at clearing the front of the net.Enter McCabe, playing for his fourth team in four years. He plays tough and with enthusiasm, but he is known for making frequent gaffes.&ldquo;He gives us a better feeling back there,&rdquo; said coach-GM Pat Quinn. &ldquo;Our defense has missed assignments. The issue for the defense is positioning and keeping the puck out of our own end.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Pat Quinn&rsquo;s worries about his defense cost hard-working rookie left winger Adam Mair a job. After a good camp, it was assumed the 21-year-old Mair had made the team. However,Quinn made a last-minute decision to carry eight blueliners instead of seven. Mair, who is on a two-way contract and didn&rsquo;t have to clear waivers to be demoted, became the easy victim.ROOKIE watch The Leafs start the season with two freshmen, center Don MacLean and defenseman Petr Svoboda. MacLean, 23, had a hot hand during the pre-season with five goals and two assists in eight games to lead the team. Svoboda (no relation to the Tampa Bay veteran) showed poise beyond his 20 years advancing the puck smartly while rarely getting caught out of position. The Leafs demoted Svoboda Sept. 26 but brought him back four days later when the defense corps struggled.NOTEBOOK Toronto&rsquo;s No. 1 line from last season, Mats Sundin between wingers Jonas Hoglund and Steve Thomas, was reunited to start the season&hellip;Center Yanic Perreault, who had reconstructive surgery on his right knee last spring, is ahead of schedule. He was to return Oct. 20, but that will be moved up a week&hellip; Goalie Curtis Joseph, bothered in the pre-season by a groin injury, played the entire 60 minutes of Toronto&rsquo;s final exhibition game, a 3-2 win over Detroit in which he made 23 saves&hellip;Goalie Jimmy Waite was put on injury reserve Oct. 3 because he was suffering from vertigo.&mdash; Paul Hunter &#9632;

f0026-02

McCabe offers youth and toughness, but is prone to making mistakes

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011153/8369690-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="212" height="255"></div>He&rsquo;s b-a-a-c-k! Defying large odds, little Steve Kariya again made the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; opening night roster.The 5-foot-5 winger, who finished last season in the American League after an excellent 1999 training camp, was on the outside looking in this fall. The Canucks didn&rsquo;t even bother taking Kariya to Sweden for their main camp and left him behind to skate with the remaining farmhands and junior draft picks.Kariya was undaunted, however, and clawed his way back up the depth chart.When it came time for the final roster decisions, Kariya stayed while young forwards Harold Druken and Josh Holden, who did go to Sweden, were shipped to Vancouver&rsquo;s new International League farm team in Kansas City.&ldquo;I knew it wasn&rsquo;t going to be easy,&rdquo; said Kariya, 22.Canucks&rsquo; coach Marc Crawford explained what Kariya did right.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard not to like a guy who works as hard as he does,&rdquo; Crawford said. &ldquo;I like Stevie. I think everybody in Vancouver likes Stevie and everybody in our organization likes Stevie. He&rsquo;s difficult to contain. And he&rsquo;s more aware than all of us what he has to overcome on a daily basis because of his size.&rdquo;ANALYSIS Marc Crawford opted to start the season with most of his proven scoring on one line, with Andrew Cassels centering left winger Todd Bertuzzi and right winger Markus Naslund. He also moved Naslund back to the right side after the silky Swede played most of last season on left wing.Crawford also flopped Steve Kariya from left wing to right wing on the second line with center Brendan Morrison and left winger Peter Schaefer.Crawford&rsquo;s healthy scratches for Game 1 were center Artem Chubarov and defensemen Greg Hawgood and Brent Sopel.ROOKIE WATCH After great fanfare heralding their arrival, the Sedin twins made no impact in their regular season debuts, a 6-3 loss in Philadelphia Oct. 5. Left winger Daniel did not have a shot on goal while center Henrik managed one shot and won just three of 10 faceoffs. Daniel&rsquo;s most noteworthy feat was drawing two penalties.NOTEBOOK Center Harold Druken was in shock when he was sent to the minors. &ldquo;I kind of strutted in here like I had a job and didn&rsquo;t earn it,&rdquo; Druken said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think it would happen. Now I have to recover.&rdquo;&hellip;The Canucks made it through the pre-season without an injury Last year, they entered the season with four significant camp injuries, three requiring surgery.&mdash; Elliott Pap &#9632;

f0027-01

Kariya plays his way onto Canuck team, Druken & Holden play their way off it

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02784/8369721-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="212" height="256"></div>With the punctuality of the swallows at Capistrano, defenseman Sergei Gonchar ended his holdout and signed a four-year deal with the Washington Capitals as training camp ended.It Gonchar wants to collect the entire $13.3 million, he will have to endure camp the next three Septembers.&ldquo;He has established himself as an elite defenseman,&rdquo; said GM George McPhee. &ldquo;He has led all defensemen in goal-scoring (39) the last couple seasons so we rewarded him with a long-term deal. We expect now for him to compete for a Norris Trophy, but the most important thing is playing well on this team.&rdquo;McPhee used Gonchar to explain why left winger Chris Simon is unsigned.&ldquo;As with Gonchar, we&rsquo;ve done deals with a one-year term, a two-year term until we knew what we had and (then) we lock &lsquo;em up,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re prepared to do that with Simon if he wants to come back on a one-year deal, have a similar year to last year, then we&rsquo;re prepared to lock him up after that.&rdquo;ANALYSIS That buzzing Adam Oates hears is from his new linemates, Jan Bulis and Richard Zednik, very quick skaters who now have the chance to take advantage of a very gifted center.It is Ron Wilson tinkering, trying to find people who are skilled enough to jump on Oates&rsquo; setups.Jeff Halpern&rsquo;s line is unchanged (Steve Konowalchuk, Ulf Dahlen) and Andrei Nikolishin&rsquo;s has two hard-core grinders in James Black and Joe Sacco.The other line will be interesting. Rookie Kris Beech is centering Peter Bondra on the right and Joe Murphy.ROOKIE WATCH Kris Beech made the team in his second camp, but defenseman Jakub Cutta, from Swift Current of the Western League, made it in his first. Defenseman Mike Farrell also had the team made until the final cut. Had Cutta been returned to junior, he would have to stay there for the season. Farrell, 22, can go to Portland of the American League and be recalled. The first-year player who made the biggest impression was center Brian Sutherby, from Moose Jaw of the WHL. He survived until the final week by playing an all-around game.NOTEBOOK Dmitri Mironov, a $3million defenseman, and Terry Yake, a utility forward, were assigned to Portland as the final cuts. Mironov was in better shape but did not play well; the club likes Yake but can&rsquo;t get around the player limit&hellip;Center Glen Metropolit also made the final cut based on his power play skills&hellip;The Caps finished the pre-season with a 2-4-l-l record.&mdash; Dave Fay &#9632;

f0027-02

Training camp ends, Gonchar signs deal that will ensure he’s at camp next year

Projected defense pairs and lines, including restricted free agents<h2>Anaheim Mighty Ducks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011194/8369955-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="609" height="483"></div><h2>Atlanta Thrashers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02832/8369948-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="597" height="480"></div><h2>Boston Bruins</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03614/8369941-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="601" height="491"></div><h2>Buffalo Sabres</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04426/8369934-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="618" height="492"></div><h2>Calgary Flames</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05323/8369927-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="602" height="499"></div><h2>Carolina Hurricanes</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06274/8369920-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="608" height="480"></div><h2>Chicago Blackhawks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-07236/8369913-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="618" height="518"></div><h2>Colorado Avalanche</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-08198/8369906-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="619" height="524"></div><h2>Columbus Blue Jackets</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-09181/8369899-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="601" height="505"></div><h2>Dallas Stars</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-10169/8369892-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="607" height="494"></div><h2>Detroit Red Wings</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-11157/8369885-1-eng-US/f0028-112.jpg" title="f0028-11" width="615" height="475"></div><h2>Edmonton Oilers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-12142/8369878-1-eng-US/f0028-122.jpg" title="f0028-12" width="605" height="478"></div><h2>Florida Panthers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-13130/8369871-1-eng-US/f0028-132.jpg" title="f0028-13" width="602" height="477"></div><h2>Los Angeles Kings</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-14115/8369864-1-eng-US/f0028-142.jpg" title="f0028-14" width="609" height="499"></div><h2>Minnesota Wild</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-15106/8369857-1-eng-US/f0028-152.jpg" title="f0028-15" width="609" height="481"></div><h2>Montreal Canadiens</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1686/8369850-1-eng-US/f0028-162.jpg" title="f0028-16" width="605" height="518"></div><h2>Nashville Predators</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1769/8369843-1-eng-US/f0028-172.jpg" title="f0028-17" width="603" height="517"></div><h2>New Jersey Devils</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1862/8369836-1-eng-US/f0028-182.jpg" title="f0028-18" width="602" height="485"></div><h2>New York Islanders</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1958/8369829-1-eng-US/f0028-192.jpg" title="f0028-19" width="613" height="524"></div><h2>New York Rangers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2047/8369822-1-eng-US/f0028-202.jpg" title="f0028-20" width="627" height="496"></div><h2>Ottawa Senators</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2145/8369815-1-eng-US/f0028-212.jpg" title="f0028-21" width="622" height="522"></div><h2>Philadelphia Flyers</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2242/8369808-1-eng-US/f0028-222.jpg" title="f0028-22" width="600" height="489"></div><h2>Phoenix Coyotes</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2338/8369801-1-eng-US/f0028-232.jpg" title="f0028-23" width="608" height="486"></div><h2>Pittsburgh Penguins</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2431/8369794-1-eng-US/f0028-242.jpg" title="f0028-24" width="613" height="485"></div><h2>St. Louis Blues</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2529/8369787-1-eng-US/f0028-252.jpg" title="f0028-25" width="617" height="523"></div><h2>San Jose Sharks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2624/8369780-1-eng-US/f0028-262.jpg" title="f0028-26" width="602" height="490"></div><h2>Tampa Bay Lightning</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2723/8369773-1-eng-US/f0028-272.jpg" title="f0028-27" width="604" height="493"></div><h2>Toronto Maple Leafs</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2821/8369766-1-eng-US/f0028-282.jpg" title="f0028-28" width="614" height="514"></div><h2>Vancouver Canucks</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2921/8369759-1-eng-US/f0028-292.jpg" title="f0028-29" width="612" height="530"></div><h2>Washington Capitals</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3020/8369752-1-eng-US/f0028-302.jpg" title="f0028-30" width="624" height="534"></div> &#9632;

f0028-01

NHL DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>Two years ago, Garth Snow and Corey Hirsch were splitting time in goal for the Vancouver Canucks.Now they&rsquo;re trying to resurrect their NHL careers in the American League, though in different cities.Snow, 31, signed a 25-game pro tryout contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, though he is expecting to join the parent Pittsburgh Penguins in short order.Hirsch, 28, agreed to a similar deal with Portland and he&rsquo;ll have a chance to move up to the Washington Capitals while Olaf Kolzig recovers from knee surgery.The two veteran goalies and former AHL stars had been sitting at home and working out on their own while NHL and AHL training camps got under way.Snow even turned down a chance to join the Boston Bruins after John Grahame broke his ankle, knowing of the interest shown by the Penguins since early September.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011061/8369986-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="265" height="316"><figcaption class="caption-body">Garth Snow</figcaption></div>When Pittsburgh left for Japan to play the Nashville Predators, their top three goalies were Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Rich Parent and rookie Sebastien Caron. Considering only Aubin is NHL-proven and the Penguins wanted Caron developing in Wilkes-Barre, Snow saw an opening.It appeared his gamble of turning down Vancouver&rsquo;s summer offer of $1 million over two years and instead opting for free agency would pay off.Hirsch, meanwhile, spent all of last season in the International League, starting in Milwaukee (9-8-1,2.68 goals-against average) before moving to Utah (9-5-1,2.69 GAA). He wasn&rsquo;t offered an NHL contract this year. His ties to Portland coach Glen Hanlon, a former assistant in Vancouver, provided the chance with the Pirates. &#9632;

f0029-01

Goaltenders in hunt for NHL jobs in AHL

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><h2>NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02715/8370038-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="294" height="264"></div>When Michael Henrich was cut by the Edmonton Oilers, his first reaction upon his arrival in Hamilton could have been: &ldquo;Oh no, not you again!&rdquo;After all, the right winger was cut from Canada&rsquo;s world junior team by Claude Julien, now the first-year coach of the American League&rsquo;s Bulldogs.But Henrich said he had no hard feelings toward Julien and the coach knows the rookie right winger has potential and should be a fine asset.&ldquo;Even when we parted company last year, he thanked me for the opportunity,&rdquo; Julien said. &ldquo;With the world junior team, you can only bring 22 players. There have been a lot of players cut, like Patrick Roy. Daniel Cleary was cut three times.&rdquo;The 6-foot-2, 206-pound Henrich was the Oilers&rsquo; first round pick (13th overall) in 1998. He&rsquo;s highly skilled, but must be assertive every night.&ldquo;Consistency has been the knock against him,&rdquo; Julien said.TOP CAT Rick Kohn, the former general manger of Boston Beer Co. and Samuel Adams brew, has agreed to buy controlling interest of the Worcester IceCats from Roy Boe.Boe, the team founder, must sell it because his new club, the expansion Bridgeport Sound Tigers, begin play next season. No price was disclosed, but it&rsquo;s assumed to be less than the reported $2 million paid by Boe for the suspended franchise owned by the Carolina Hurricanes.AHL TIDBITS The Worcester IceCats, lacking veteran experience, obtamed left winger Doug Friedman on loan from the San Jose Sharks. Friedman played with San Jose&rsquo;s AHL affiliate in Kentucky last season, but the Thoroughblades&rsquo; roster is stocked this year&hellip;Valentin Morozov, a talented but uninspired centerman, was cut by the Norfolk Admirals. Morozov played in the 1999 AHL All-Star Game, but last year had only 14 goals and 39 points with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&hellip;Defenseman Todd Gill, 35, was sent to the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks by Detroit. Gill is in his 16th pro season and hasn&rsquo;t been a regular in the AHL since 1985-86, his rookie season.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03498/8370031-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="1319" height="1807"><figcaption class="caption-body">Young Manny Malhotra was sent to Hartford after two seasons in the NHL.</figcaption></div><h2>AHL</h2>SCOUTlNGREPORT<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04358/8370024-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="330" height="416"><figcaption class="caption-body">Max Birbraer</figcaption></div>VITAL STATISTICSHometown: Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan Age: 19 Size: 6-2,185LAST AMATEUR CLUBNewmarket Hurricanes (Ontario Jr. A)POSITIONLeft winger1999-2000 SEASONNewmarket Hurricanes<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05296/8370017-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="382" height="81"></div>NHL AFFILIATIONNew Jersey DevilsNOTEWORTHYThe third round pick in 2000 fled to Israel as a teen to avoid religious persecution. He then went to Canada to play Jr. A and spent time in jail last year for skipping Israeli military obligations.BOTTOM UNEAn intriguing package of skill and size, the Devils feel he has potential and will fare well in his pro debut. &#9632;

f0029-02

Hamilton rookie holds no grudges

<div class="byline">By Rob Mueller</div><h2>NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-06240/8370069-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="210" height="220"></div>A pair of unsigned East Coast League MVPs kept their teams in suspense until the eve of training camp. But Birmingham Bulls&rsquo; captain Jamey Hicks and Toledo Storm right winger Andrew Williamson finally re-signed with their clubs.Hicks, 31, was mentioned in trade talks with the Arkansas Riverblades after he and the Bulls&rsquo; management reached a contract impasse in September. But three days before the Bulls were slated to begin camp under new coach Mike Zruna, the club came to terms with Hicks, the 1997-98 league MVP who had 88 points last season.&ldquo;You know you&rsquo;re going to get your 80 or 90 points, said Zruna ot Hicks. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s huge when you take a look at your roster and you know you need scoring.&rdquo;Williamson, meanwhile, scored 63 goals in 63 games for the Storm last season to capture MVP honors. The 24-year-old was waiting for offers from the American League or International League and had also considered Europe.The signing of Hicks ended another former MVP&rsquo;s days in a Bulls&rsquo; jersey. Two days after inking Hicks, Birmingham traded veteran center Hugo Belanger to Arkansas for future considerations.ECHL rules allow teams to carry only four veterans (players with 235 or more pro games) on their roster and Hicks&rsquo; signing put Birmingham over the limit.MORE CHANGES Besides the arrival of 4-on-4 overtime and a scaled-down playoff format, the ECHL board of governors has stiffened sanctions against players nabbed for charging, boarding and checking from behind.Other revisions include an injured reserve list that will allow teams one seven-day, one 14-day and an unlimited number of 30-day spots; and a provision that will see referees miked this season for announcing penalties.ONE-TIMERS Tallahassee delayed training camp because of a shortage of players. The Tiger Sharks had only one player under ECHL contract when camp was due to open Oct. 2, and waited until players were assigned from AHL affiliates in Quebec and Hamilton&hellip;The Augusta Lynx have severed ties with their two NHL affiliates, New Jersey and Vancouver. The Lynx will have a loose working agreement with the IHL&rsquo;s Cincinnati Cyclones. &#9632;

f0029-06

Sharpshooters sign contracts at 11th hour

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>To some, the IHL stands for Incredible shrinking Hockey League.But those on the inside have moved on to current business following the departures of Michigan and Long Beach last spring, reducing the International League to 11 teams. There were 19 just four years ago.&ldquo;Sure, I see our league surviving with 11 teams,&rdquo; said Kansas City Blades&rsquo; senior vice-president and GM Doug Soetaert. &ldquo;Somewhere down the line, we&rsquo;re going to want to add one or two teams out west if it&rsquo;s possible.&rdquo;Soetaert&rsquo;s Blades are part of the IHL trend toward more NHL affiliations. As the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; farm team, Kansas City is one of eight clubs which are main affiliates.&ldquo;I think we have a good handle on who we are as a league and where we&rsquo;re going,&rdquo; said league president and CEO Doug Moss.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011192/8370100-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="261" height="337"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Soetaert</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really enthused by our ownership, to see how teams are operating and the progress they&rsquo;re making as businesses. It&rsquo;s something we had to correct in order to ensure longevity.&ldquo;Would we like more teams? Yes. I&rsquo;d like to see what we&rsquo;re like at 14 and then see if we can handle 16.&rdquo;Manitoba Moose president Mark Chipman, in charge of the IHL&rsquo;s only Canadian-based franchise, said those dwelling on the league&rsquo;s reduced size have focused on the wrong issues.&ldquo;No, I don&rsquo;t think this is any crisis,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The league ran for years with six and eight (teams). While we&rsquo;ve lost teams, we&rsquo;ve also gained important NHL affiliations. I see that trend continuing. I think there&rsquo;s a sorting-out at this level of hockey that&rsquo;s still to come.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0030-01

Shrinking IHL says size doesn’t matter

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02806/8370152-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="439" height="179"></div>The Chicago Wolves have welcomed Rick DiPietro, the NHL&rsquo;s first overall draft pick last June by the New York Islanders.DiPietro&rsquo;s theatrics in his first game for the Wolves, though, weren&rsquo;t quite what they had in mind for the highly touted goalie.In an International League exhibition tilt against Manitoba, DiPietro fought Moose goalie Stan Reddick at center ice in the middle of a penalty-filled affair. The incident was sparked by Manitoba center Bruce Richardson, who flattened DiPietro with an illegal check.&ldquo;The adrenaline got going and I got caught up in the moment, I guess,&rdquo; DiPietro said.CRACKDOWN IHL president Doug Moss said his league expects to follow the NHL in its vigilance against checks to the head and unacceptable slashing.Though the IHL has tended to deal with most supplementary discipline in a lenient manner in recent years, Moss has ordered vice-president of hockey operations Bob McCammon and officiating supervisor Sam Sisco to be harsh with offenders.&ldquo;I want Bob and Sam to set the tone right from the beginning, that blows to the head will not be tolerated and will be punished big time,&rdquo; Moss said. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;ve had the same conversation with Larry Landon and the players&rsquo; association. We don&rsquo;t want our players hurt. We&rsquo;ve directed our officials. We&rsquo;re working closely with them and the NHL on this and we&rsquo;re not just doing it because it&rsquo;s the NHL, but because it&rsquo;s the right thing to do.&rdquo;DOTTING THE &lsquo;I&rsquo;IHL teams continued to benefit from last-minute NHL roster cuts. Orlando received goalie Scott Langkow and left wingers Yves Sarault and Dmitri Vlasenkov from the Atlanta Thrashers just before their Oct. 6 season opener&hellip;Kansas City got defensemen Bryan Helmer and Bryan Allen, centers Josh Holden and Harold Druken and right winger Brad Leeb from the Vancouver Canucks&hellip;Grand Rapids added defenseman Joel Bouchard from the Phoenix Coyotes and Ottawa Senator forwards Petr Schastlivy and John Emmons...Manitoba got center Steve Brule and goalie Ken Wregget from the Detroit Red Wings, right winger Scott Thomas from the Los Angeles Kings, last year&rsquo;s top IHL blueliner Brett Hauer from the Edmonton Oilers, goalie Johan Hedberg from the San Jose Sharks and left winger Jimmy Roy from the Dallas Stars.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03581/8370145-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="1284" height="1928"><figcaption class="caption-body">Defenseman John Gruden is back for a second season in Grand Rapids. (Ross Dettman)</figcaption></div><h2>IHL</h2>SCOUTING REPORT<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04416/8370138-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="328" height="454"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frederic Chabot</figcaption></div>VITAL STATISTICSHometown: Hebertville Station, Que. Age: 32 Size: 5-11,180LAST AMATEUR CLUBPrince Albert Raiders (WHL)POSITIONGoaltender1999-2000 SEASONHouston Aeros<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05309/8370131-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="317" height="79"></div>NHL AFFILIATIONColumbus Blue JacketsNOTEWORTHYEntering his 12th pro season, Chabot has won 116 IHL games the past five years. He was co-MVP with Nikolai Khabibulin in 1999-2000 and has seen NHL action with Montreal, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.BOTTOM LINEThe IHL&rsquo;s winningest goalie last season, Chabot dominates by foiling shooters with his quickness and energetic style. &#9632;

f0030-02

Top NHL draft pick enters Wolves’ den

Trying to give the league a more developmental flavor, governors voted to drop the number of veterans who can dress each game from eight to five. Each team can also dress one &lsquo;premier&rsquo; player, who does not count toward the five-veteran limit. That player&rsquo;s salary is not applied towards the salary cap, which is $250,000 per season, or $10,000 per week. Teams violating the cap will be taxed 200 per cent for every dollar over. Players who have appeared in 250 or more pro games are considered veterans. Each team must still dress at least three rookies per game.&mdash; Brendan Savage &#9632;

UNITED LEAGUE

Lubbock Cotton Kings&rsquo; coach Bill McDonald signed his son Walker, a 20-year-old right winger who played with the Wichita Thunder of the Central League last year. Lubbock also inked right winger Eric Landry, who was picked 193rd overall by San Jose in 1994&hellip;KSTR-TV in Fort Worth will carry three Brahmas&rsquo; games. Dates and times hadn&rsquo;t been determined&hellip;The WPHL announced five exhibition games with the CHI, starting Oct. 10 when two-time defending WPHL champion Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs visit the Texarkana Border City Bandits.&mdash; David Henry &#9632;

WESTERN PRO LEAGUE

His slapshot was feared in the NHL during the 1970s. And John Van Boxmeer was just as direct in explaining the Long Beach Ice Dogs&rsquo; jump from the International League to the WCHL. &ldquo;We averaged 4,700 per game and couldn&rsquo;t make money and there was no geographic rivalry &mdash; the closest team was Utah,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Travel and player costs were killing us.&rdquo; Van Boxmeer was promoted last June to vice-president of hockey operations for CoachSports, parent company of the Ice Dogs and the WCHL expansion entry in Ontario, Calif., which begins play in 2002.&mdash; Josh Brewster &#9632;

WEST COAST LEAGUE

Tulsa&rsquo;s Doug Lawrence will miss seven games for his part in an April 12 playoff brawl with Indianapolis. Lawrence, Tulsa&rsquo;s all-time top scorer, was one of 11 players ejected in a melee that started when Indianapolis took a 7-0 lead. A playoff-record 322 penalty minutes were called in the game&hellip;Former Wichita Thunder center Todd Howarth has filed a $2.2-million lawsuit against Simon Olivier and the Oklahoma City team after Olivier struck Howarth in the right eye with the butt end of his stick in a game on Feb. 9,1999. The injury ended Howarth&rsquo;s career.&mdash; Bob Stratton &#9632;

CENTRAL LEAGUE

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011098/8370279-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="379" height="202"></div>The Ontario League&rsquo;s 19-player lineup isn&rsquo;t working the way it was intended, one GM has charged.The league said one skater was trimmed from each roster for developmental purposes. However, the GM, who asked not to be identified because he serves on one of the league&rsquo;s high-profile committees, said teams are sitting out 16-year-olds rather than 19-year-olds or 20-year-old overagers.&ldquo;The rosters were trimmed under the guise of development,&rdquo; the GM said. &ldquo;The league put a spin on it that it was a development thing, but I think it is a moneysaving thing. If we want to do something to our rosters for reasons of development, cut one of the overage players.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s developmentally sound when the 20th kid sitting in the stands is a 16-year-old.&rdquo;The GM also said the 20th player is needed. (Teams dress 17 skaters and two goalies.) He said, &ldquo;We play a lot of weekends in this league where it&rsquo;s three games in three nights and to shorten the bench is a tough thing.&rdquo;But Ted Baker, the league&rsquo;s director of hockey operations, was asking for patience.&ldquo;Clearly it&rsquo;s too early to determine whether a developmental issue of this extent has been successful.&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The development of players is a marathon, not a sprint, which was the view of the people when this decision was made in an unemotional environment in August.&rdquo;The league&rsquo;s governors and GMs voted for the change. The two other leagues have stayed with 20-player lineups, so the OHL team going to the Memorial Cup will be able to dress 20 players.BLUE IN BRAMPTON The Columbus Blue Jackets put a potential damper on the Brampton Battalion&rsquo;s hopes for an OHL championship this season when the NHL team signed 18-year-old defenseman Rostislav Klesla. Klesla Played in the OHL all-star game last season and made the all-rookie team.&ldquo;At the end of the day the job at our level is as a development league,&rdquo; said Battalion coach-GM Stan Butler, whose club was ranked seventh in the Canadian Hockey League in The Hockey News&rsquo; major junior preview. &ldquo;Sometimes we do too good a job. It depends on how we develop our other kids, if we&rsquo;re a good team or not.&rdquo;The Blue Jackets have indicated they may yet return Klesla to the OHL.DALEY ON LEAVE Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds&rsquo; defenseman Trevor Daley, 16, left the team Oct. 3, citing personal reasons.&ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t tell me how long he would be away, but the hockey team supports his decision,&rdquo; said Greyhounds&rsquo; GM Dave Mayville.Mayville met in Sault Ste. Marie with Daley and Martin Ross, an assistant to player agent Harry Francis, after returning from a weekend road trip. Even at 16, the sophomore blueliner is considered one of the top defenseman in the league.&ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t tell me everything, but they did tell me enough for me to know it&rsquo;s a valid reason,&rdquo; Mayville said.Francis said because Daley is just 16, he doesn&rsquo;t want to go into the reasons why he was pulled out.&ldquo;I will say this decision was made jointly with his parents and it has nothing to do with the hockey team,&rdquo; the agent said., &ldquo;But until the situation is resolved, he won&rsquo;t be returning.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0031-01

Shortened benches subject of controversy

<div class="byline">By Willy Palov</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02732/8370310-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="384" height="296"></div>Hitting from behind is creeping back into the Quebec Major Junior League and league disciplinarian Maurice Filion wants to stem the tide.In the space of one week, Filion suspended Halifax Mooseheads&rsquo; winger Nick Greenough for four games and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies&rsquo; center Guillaume Lefebvre for nine. Lefebvre&rsquo;s hit, a vicious run at Montreal Rocket defenseman Tuuku Makela, was the low point for Filion.&ldquo;Players are getting seriously injured,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am making tough decisions and if they want to hit from behind, I&rsquo;m going to keep suspending them.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been giving big suspensions since the beginning of the season and if that&rsquo;s not enough I&rsquo;ll go to 10 (games). It doesn&rsquo;t bother me. I want to clean things up.&rdquo;Lefebvre&rsquo;s run at Makela left the Finnish rookie with a badly cut forehead, bloody nose and third degree concussion, the most severe kind. He will miss at least a month of action and witnesses said he was lucky he wasn&rsquo;t paralyzed.&ldquo;I was on the ice at the same time,&rdquo; said Montreal center Chris Montgomery. &ldquo;All I heard was a loud noise and then the fans&rsquo; reaction. I actually saw him as he dropped to the ice and when he did that he kind of folded up. It almost looked like he became frozen. It was pretty shocking.&rdquo;THE CATS&rsquo; MEOW Goalie Bill Ruggiero is turning into a prize find for the Moncton Wildcats. A backup in the Ontario League for two seasons, the 19-year-old came to the QMJHL as a free agent castoff from the Plymouth Whalers.Moncton GM Darrell Young signed him to be the starter and Ruggiero has responded by backstopping the rebuilding Wildcats to a winning record. He also was flirting with the league lead in save percentage and goals-against average.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a guy who played behind a star goalie in London (Gene Chiarello), then got traded to Plymouth and got stuck behind another one there (Rob Zepp),&rdquo; said Young. &ldquo;He just didn&rsquo;t get a chance to play.&ldquo;But he&rsquo;s proving, like a lot of our guys, that if you give him the opportunity, he can be successful. He&rsquo;s showing he can be a No. 1 goalie at the major junior level.&rdquo;VOLTS GET JOLT The Drummondville Voltigeurs will have to dig deeply to score goals.They lost their top two returning scorers from last year to injuries during a four-game swing through the Maritimes. Center Julien Desrosiers is expected to be out until November with a broken finger and left winger Frederic Faucher is sidelined indefinitely with a concussion.&ldquo;Frederic and Julien are two very big players for us,&rdquo; said Drummondville center Eric Dubois. &ldquo;We sure miss them.&rdquo;TRAILBLAZER CUT Goaltender Charline Labonte failed to secure the backup job with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.Rookie Adam Russo got the second-string assignment, while Labonte got a ticket to the St-Jerome Panthers of the Quebec Jr. AAA league. Labonte, 18, made history last season as the first female to see regular duty at the major junior level.<h2>Suds in the sin bin</h2>It&rsquo;s home sweet home for London Knights&rsquo; co-owner and president Dale Hunter.Dale&rsquo;s Penalty Box is a spot where Knights&rsquo; fans can enjoy a cold beverage during Ontario League games at the Ice House. The decor includes the old penalty box from the Capital Center in Landover, Md. The Washington Capitals presented the entire penalty box to Hunter during a retirement ceremony last March.&ldquo;I spent a lot of time in there,&rdquo; said Hunter, who served 3,565 minutes in the sin bin during his 19-year, 1,407-game NHL career with the Quebec Nordiques, Capitals and Colorado Avalanche. He added another NHL-record 729 penalty minutes in 186 playoff games.&ldquo;I kind of feel at home here,&rdquo; he said, looking into the penalty box, where a life-size cutout of him sits on the bench.&mdash; Jim Cressman &#9632;

f0031-02

Filion lowers the boom on hitting from behihd

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03548/8370341-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="382" height="267"></div>The return of Pavel Brendl was exciting news for the Calgary Hitmen.Brendl was informed Oct. 3 that he had not cracked the New York Rangers&rsquo; roster and would be rejoining the Western League&rsquo;s Hitmen.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if we were expecting him back, but it&rsquo;s certainly good news for us,&rdquo; said Calgary coach Dean Clark.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure that Pav will be disappointed that he didn&rsquo;t stay with the Rangers and we&rsquo;ll have to deal with that over the next little bit.&rdquo;Brendl, who scored 59 times last winter while playing center and left wing, has led the league in goals the past two seasons. After his 73-goal rookie season in 1998-99, the Rangers selected him fourth overall.&ldquo;Coming back from the NHL is tough,&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;But with Pav being a year older, he should be able to handle it better than last year, with all the expectations that were placed on him then.&ldquo;Hopefully, he&rsquo;s ready to come back here and prove that they should have kept him.&rdquo;Also on Oct. 3, the Rangers assigned 19-year-old center Jamie Lundmark to the Moose Jaw Warriors. Lundmark was chosen five picks after Brendl in 1999.FAST LAYNE Swift Current Broncos&rsquo; center Layne Ulmer enjoyed a torrid start, to say the least.Ulmer, 20, had league-high totals of nine goals and 16 points after four games. At that point, he had personally outscored the Prince Albert Raiders, who tallied eight times over their opening five games.&ldquo;I expected to put up good numbers, but this is kind of overwhelming so far,&rdquo; said Ulmer, who had 50 goals and 104 points last season.Ulmer and Brendl were the only 50-goal scorers in the WHL last year.The unsigned Ulmer was returned to Swift Current by the Ottawa Senators, who picked him in the seventh round (209th overall) in 1999. He helped Swift Current win its first four games.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s verv imDortant to have a good start,&rdquo; Ulmer said. &ldquo;Any time you can get four wins to start the season, it&rsquo;s nice to get those in the point bank. At the end of the season, those can come in handy.&rdquo;UP AND AWAY The Kootenay Ice began the regular season with 10 consecutive road games while awaiting the grand opening of its new arena.Kootenay&rsquo;s first home game at the 4,268-seat Cranbrook Recreational Complex was slated for Oct. 13 against the Regina Pats.The Ice, the defending WHL champion, won four of its first five games, despite being away from home the entire time.&ldquo;This has been quite the adventure,&rdquo; said director of hockey operations Bob Tory. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to hit every division (East, Central and West) during this trip. At least we got home for a day in between (two five-game excursions).&rdquo;NUMBER CRUNCHING Justin Mapletoft of the Red Deer Rebels had three goals and 15 points after four games&hellip;Konstantin Panov (Kamloops Blazers), Aaron Goldade (Brandon Wheat Kings) and Marek Svatos (Kootenay) boasted seven goals each after three, four and five games, respectively. &#9632;

f0031-03

Hitmen glad to have sniper Brendl back

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011169/8370568-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"></div><h2>2000-01 STANDINGS</h2>NHL Standings through games of Oct. 6 (82-game regular season). GP-games played; W-wins; L-losses; T-ties; RT-regualtion ties; GF-goals for; GA-goals against; Diff.-difference between goals for and against; P-points; Pct.-percentage of actual points versus possible points. Below is a comparison between games played through the first week of last season versus games played through Oct. 6/2000.<h2>DIVISIONAL STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02781/8370561-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="1376" height="564"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04407/8370554-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="1068" height="1082"><figcaption class="caption-body">Playoff combatants last year, Buffalo and Philadelphia are united in 2000-01 by winning their season-opening contests.</figcaption></div><h2>OVERALL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05313/8370547-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="482" height="782"></div><h2>RESULTS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-06261/8370540-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="480" height="242"></div><h2>GOALS-AGAINST AVE.</h2>GP-games played; Min.-total minutes; GA-goals against; SO-shutouts; GAA-goals-against average; League average is average GAA of all goalies.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-07216/8370533-1-eng-US/f0032-072.jpg" title="f0032-07" width="586" height="416"></div><h2>SAVE PERCENTAGE</h2>GP-games played; Min.-total minutes; SA-shots faced; GA-goals against; SP-save percentage; League average is average save percentage of all goalies.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-08186/8370526-1-eng-US/f0032-082.jpg" title="f0032-08" width="598" height="420"></div><h2>TOP SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-09155/8370519-1-eng-US/f0032-092.jpg" title="f0032-09" width="594" height="1076"></div><h2>TOP DEFENSMEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-10128/8370512-1-eng-US/f0032-102.jpg" title="f0032-10" width="594" height="538"></div><h2>TOP ROOKIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-11110/8370505-1-eng-US/f0032-112.jpg" title="f0032-11" width="596" height="162"></div><h2>ATTENDANCE</h2>Listed are unofficial NHL attendance figures, including number of home games, 1999-00 average at the same number of games, 2000-01 average, difference between the two, percentage difference and percentage of capacity.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1298/8370498-1-eng-US/f0032-122.jpg" title="f0032-12" width="608" height="188"></div><h2>TEAM PENALTIES</h2>PIM-total oenahv mnutes includm BMI-bench oenaltv minutes Avg.-averaqe penalty minutes per game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1390/8370491-1-eng-US/f0032-132.jpg" title="f0032-13" width="997" height="463"></div><h2>PENALTY KILLING</h2>TSH-total times shorthanded: PGA-power-play goals allowed; Pct.-penalty-killing percentage.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1478/8370484-1-eng-US/f0032-142.jpg" title="f0032-14" width="1004" height="465"></div><h2>POWER PLAY</h2>Adv-total advantages; PPG-power-play goals; Pct-power-play goals divided by total advantages.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-1570/8370477-1-eng-US/f0032-152.jpg" title="f0032-15" width="1036" height="460"></div><h2>BOSTON BRUINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011054/8370470-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="1008" height="520"></div><h2>BUFFALO SABRES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02716/8370463-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="1012" height="549"></div><h2>CALGARY FLAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03558/8370456-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="1015" height="521"></div><h2>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04441/8370449-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="1003" height="538"></div><h2>COLORADO AVALANCHE</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05365/8370442-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="1001" height="541"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06318/8370435-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="1002" height="1638"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Modano of the Stars keeps his eyes on the puck.</figcaption></div><h2>DALLAS STARS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07281/8370428-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="1016" height="516"></div><h2>DETROIT RED WINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-08229/8370421-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="1014" height="518"></div><h2>OTTAWA SENATORS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-09196/8370414-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="1014" height="128"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-10166/8370407-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="1012" height="481"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-11149/8370400-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="1018" height="562"></div><h2>PHOENIX COYOTES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-12134/8370393-1-eng-US/f0033-122.jpg" title="f0033-12" width="1008" height="572"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-13111/8370386-1-eng-US/f0033-132.jpg" title="f0033-13" width="1010" height="570"></div><h2>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1497/8370379-1-eng-US/f0033-142.jpg" title="f0033-14" width="1020" height="560"></div><h2>THN PLAYER OF THE PRE-SEASON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03568/8370372-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="258" height="326"><figcaption class="caption-body">Milan Hejduk</figcaption></div>When you think about the Colorado Avalanche, one of the first things that comes to mind is the great one-tow punch of Peter Forsberg and joe Sakic. Not to mention goalie Patrick Roy and ageless defensemen Ray BourqueBut if the Avalanche is going to make noise this season, it will be youngsters like Milan Hejduk and Chris Drury, the supporting cast, that must be counted on for greatness. And Hejduk, the 24-year-old right winger, looks like he&rsquo;s to the task.After finishing 21st in league scoring as sophomore last season with 36 goals and 72 points, the speedy Czech led all pre-season scorers this year with four goals and 11 points in seven games. For his efforts, Hejduk News&rsquo; player of the pre-season.Like Hejduk, Drury also made his mark in the pre-season. The NHL&rsquo; rookie of the year in 1998-99 was second in team scoring with two goals and 10 points in four games.Other who recevied consideration for the honor included Philadelphia rookie Justin Williams (two goals and five points in seven games), Toronto&rsquo;s Don MacLean (five goals seven points in eight games) and Florida goalie Roberto Luongo (0.84 goals-against average in four games). &#9632;

f0032-01

2000-01 REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

<h2>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS</h2>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONSStatistics provided by National Hockey League; Players are listed by uniform number, name, games played (GP), minutes played (Mini, goals-against average (GAA), wins (W), losses (L), ties (T), empty-net goals (EN), shutouts (SO), goals against (GA), shots against (SA), save percentage (SP), For goalies&rsquo; individual rankings see page 32.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1579/8370620-1-eng-US/f0033-152.jpg" title="f0033-15" width="739" height="103"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1669/8370613-1-eng-US/f0033-162.jpg" title="f0033-16" width="746" height="372"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1766/8370606-1-eng-US/f0033-172.jpg" title="f0033-17" width="746" height="375"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1858/8370599-1-eng-US/f0033-182.jpg" title="f0033-18" width="730" height="373"></div> &#9632;

f0033-15

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

NOTEUnofficial game summaries provided by National Hockey League: (shots on goal/plus-minus); SA-shots against; GA- goals against; ENG-empty net goals; Decdecision. charges to goaltenders of record when winning goal is scored.<h2>WEDNESDAY, OCT. 4</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011190/8370672-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="502" height="1360"></div><h2>THURSDAY, OCT. 5</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02809/8370665-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="508" height="1752"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03641/8370658-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="512" height="3556"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04504/8370651-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="494" height="1074"></div> &#9632;

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NHL GAME SUMMARIES

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04435/8371077-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="490" height="1348"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05387/8371070-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="499" height="3541"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06341/8371063-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="496" height="3046"></div><h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07307/8371056-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="484" height="427"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-08259/8371049-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="496" height="1381"></div><h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-09217/8371042-1-eng-US/f0037-092.jpg" title="f0037-09" width="493" height="1747"></div>WESTERN LEAGUE<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-10185/8371035-1-eng-US/f0037-102.jpg" title="f0037-10" width="484" height="247"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-11153/8371028-1-eng-US/f0037-112.jpg" title="f0037-11" width="496" height="1372"></div><h2>WOMEN&rsquo;S HOCKEY</h2><h3>TEAM USA</h3>USA Hockey has announced the roster tor the 2000-01 Women&rsquo;s National Team. The team is listed below by position. Information includes name, height, weight, hometown and most recent team.Goalies: Ali Brewer. 5&rsquo;5&rdquo;, 135, Racine, Wis., Brown University. Sara DeCosta, 5&rsquo;10&rdquo;, 130, Warwick, R.I., Providence College/2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Sarah Teuting, 5&rsquo;7&rdquo;, 140, Winnetka, III., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Defensemen: Chris Bailey, 5&rsquo;6&rdquo;, 160, Marietta, N.Y., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Winny Brodt, 5&rsquo;5&rdquo;, 130, Roseville. Minn., University of Minnesota/2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Annamarie Holmes, 5&rsquo;8&rdquo;, 150, Apple Valley. Minn., Princeton University. Nicki Luongo, 5&rsquo;4&rdquo;. 155, Tyngsboro, Mass, 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Sue Merz. 5&rsquo;5&rdquo;, 145, Greenwich, Conn., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. A.J. Mleczko, 5&rsquo;11&rdquo;, 160, Nantucket. Mass., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Tara Mounsey, 5&rsquo;6&rdquo;, 150, Concord, N.H. Brown University. Angela Ruggiero, 5&rsquo;9&rdquo;, 190, Simi Valley, Calif., Harvard University/2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Forwards: Laurie Baker, 5&rsquo;7&rdquo;, 135, Concord, Mass., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Alana Blahoski, 5&rsquo;7&rdquo;, 132, St. Paul, Minn., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Karen Bye, 5&rsquo;8&rdquo;, 165, River Falls, Wis., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. June Chu, 5&rsquo;8&rdquo;, 155, Fairfield, Conn., Choate Rosemary Hail H.S.; Natalie Darwitz, 5&rsquo;2&rdquo;, 130, Eagan, Minn., Eagan H.S72000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Tricia Dunn, 5&rsquo;8&rdquo;, 150, Derry, N.H., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Brandy Fisher, 5&rsquo;5&rdquo;, 145, Colton, N.Y., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Cammi Granato, 5&rsquo;7&rdquo;, 140, Downers Grove, III., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Katie King, 5&rsquo;9&rdquo;, 179, Salem, N.H., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Shelley Looney. 5&rsquo;5&rdquo;, 140, Brownstown Twp., Mich., 2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Erin Magee, 6&rsquo;0&rdquo;, 173, Troy. N.Y" 1999-2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s Select Team; Krissy Wendell, 5&rsquo;6&rdquo;, 155, Brooklyn Park, Minn., Park Center H.S./2000 U.S. Women&rsquo;s National Team. Brooke White, 5&rsquo;7&rdquo;, 145, Boston, Mass.. Northeastern University. Hillary Witt, 5&rsquo;6&rdquo;, 160, Canton, Mass., Northeastern University.<h3>TEAM CANADA</h3>The Canadian Hockey Association has invited 34 women to the National Women&rsquo;s Team Evaluation Camp at the Father David Bauer Memorial Arena in Calgary from Oct. 3-9.Players are listed by position and information includes name and hometown.Goalies: Danielle Dube. Vancouver, BC; Marie-France Morin, Gloucester, Ont; Sami-Jo Small, Winnipeg, Man; Kim St. Pierre, Chateauguay, Que.Defensemen: Correne Bredin, Warburg, Alta.; Therese Brisson, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que.; Isabelle Chartrand. Anjou. Que.; Delaney Collins, Pilot Mound, Man.; Judy Diduck, Sherwood Park, Alta.; Gillian Ferrari. Thornhill, Ont. Cara Gardner. Hensail, Ont.; Geraldine Heaney, Weston, Ont.; Becky Kellar, Hagersville, Ont.; Cheryl Pounder, Mississauga, Ont.; Nathalie Rivard. Cumberland, Ont.; Fiona Smith, Edam, Sask.Forwards: Kelly Bechard. Sedley, Sask,; Amanda Benoit-Wark, Welland. Ont., Jennifer Botterill, Winnipeg, Man.; Cassie Campbell, Brampton, Ont.; Nancy Drolet, Drummondville, Que.; Lori Dupuis, Cornwall, Ont.; Danielle Goyette, St. Nazaire, Que; Jayna Hefford, Kingston, Ont.; Samantha Holmes, Mississauga, Ont.; Gina Kingsbury, Rouyn-Noranda, Que.; Kathy McCormack, Blackville, NB; Nadine Muzerall. Mississauga, Ont.; Caroline Ouellette, Montreal, Que.; Cherie Piper, Scarborough, Ont.; Tammy Lee Shewchuk, St. Laurent, Que.; Vicky Sunohara, Scarborough, Ont.; Kiirsten Suurkask, Tsawwassen, BC; Amy Turek, Calstor Centre, Ont. &#9632;

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SUMMARIES

<div class="byline">Mike Brophy Senior Writer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01976/8371129-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="297" height="376"></div>There was a time Ted Nolan wanted people to fear him. Now that he doesn&rsquo;t, people are afraid of him.They think he can&rsquo;t be trusted. And that, more than anything else, is why he&rsquo;s not coaching in the NHL today.Nolan, a tough player and the NHL&rsquo;s coach of the year in 1997, hasn&rsquo;t worked a day in the league since accepting the prestigious Jack Adams Award. Some wonder if he ever will again. He is an outcast.There are GMs who believe the 42-year-old Nolan is a troublemaker. They think he wouldn&rsquo;t be happy just coaching the team; that he&rsquo;d try to usurp them power. True or not, that&rsquo;s the perception. And until that changes, he will not work in the NHL.Several GMs contacted by The Hockey News said the same thing: Would you hire a guy you thought might come after your job?&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of new GMs in the league who have heard about the problems he had with John Muckier in Buffalo,&rdquo; said one GM. &ldquo;The rumor is he went over Muckier&rsquo;s head to ownership to try to get things done his way It doesn&rsquo;t even matter if the rumor is true or not; it exists. Now if you&rsquo;re a new GM, are you going to hire a guy who you think might be after your job? Not a chance.&rdquo;Said another GM: &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t hire him. People are scared of him. When you hire a coach, you want to be sure he&rsquo;s somebody who will work with you as a team.&rdquo;GMs say Nolan trusts nobody outside his immediate circle of friends. They think he has a &ldquo;me-against-the-world&rdquo; mentality. And they worry that when he was with Buffalo, he couldn&rsquo;t get along with the team&rsquo;s best player, goalie Dominik Hasek.There have been more than 30 head coaching jobs that have come open since Nolan left the Sabres and he has been interviewed for only two &mdash; with Atlanta before Curt Fraser was hired and the Islanders before Butch Goring got the post.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02635/8371122-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="1436" height="1412"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ted Nolan has been interviewed for just two job openings since leaving Buffalo. (Jim Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption></div>One GM, Columbus Doug MacLean, went on the record in favor of Nolan. He said Nolan wasn&rsquo;t a leading candidate for the Blue Jackets&rsquo; job because the expansion team was looking for a teacher and eventually went with Dave King.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have a problem with Ted,&rdquo; MacLean said. &ldquo;I coached against him and his team was always tough to play against. He&rsquo;s a great motivator. I didn&rsquo;t hire him because he wasn&rsquo;t the fit I wanted for my team and that&rsquo;s the only reason.&rdquo;Nolan coached the Sabres for two seasons, 1995-96 and 1996-97, after spending one year as an assistant with Hartford and the previous six years coaching Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario League. During his time with the Sabres he feuded with GM Muckier, a well-liked, well-respected and, most importantly, well-connected member of the NHL community When Muckier was fired, a lot of people blamed Nolan. Nolan was offered a one-year contract to remain with the team as coach for $375,000, the same money he made in his second year with the team when he was named the league&rsquo;s top coach.He said it was an offer the Sabres wanted him to turn down. He obliged them and has been out of work since. Nolan has started a hockey program in Canada for indigenous peoples and keeps busy with other projects, such as motivational speaking. He said he has turned down offers to coach junior hockey and makes no bones about the fact he wants to get back to the NHL.&ldquo;For the life of me, I can&rsquo;t figure it out,&rdquo; said Nolan when asked why he&rsquo;s not in the NHL. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve done everything but get down on my hands and knees and beg. I&rsquo;m not going to do that. If an NHL GM thinks I&rsquo;m going to be after his job, he&rsquo;s wrong. There&rsquo;s absolutely nothing to be afraid of in hiring me. I don&rsquo;t want to be a GM. I&rsquo;m a coach&hellip;a damn good coach. I believe I have a gift. I believe I can coach and I can motivate people.&rdquo;And what of the rumors he went over Muckier&rsquo;s head?&ldquo;That&rsquo;s absolutely false,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was a second-year coach; if I was a 50year coach I would never do that.&rdquo;But Nolan has more than a tarnished reputation working against him. There are those who think he was only coach of the year because of the wonderful season Hasek enjoyed.&ldquo;If the Sabres had fallen apart after Nolan left, maybe I&rsquo;d think differently,&rdquo; said a GM. &ldquo;But they didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;One GM suggested Nolan should take a minor league job and prove he&rsquo;s willing to do what it takes to be a winner again. That&rsquo;s not what Nolan wants and he doesn&rsquo;t think he should have to prove himself all over again.But so far, being proud and stubborn hasn&rsquo;t worked for him.<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;I believe I have a gift. I believe I can coach and I can motivate people.&nbsp;Ted Nolan</blockquote><h2>Upcoming In The Hockey World</h2>Here&rsquo;s what to look for in the coming weeksThurs., Oct. 12 WPHL and ECHL regular seasons openFri., Oct. 13 CHL, UHL, WCHL, CCHA, ECAC and WCHA regular seasons openFri., Oct. 27 Regular season opens for Hockey EastFri., Oct. 27 Mark Messier scheduled to pass Wayne Gretzky for career gamesMon., Nov. 6 Women&rsquo;s Four Nations Cup begins in Salt Lake CitySat., Nov. 11 Chicago and Toronto play the Hall of Fame game in TorontoMon., Nov. 13 Joe Mullen and Denis Savard to be inducted into Hall of FameWed., Nov. 15 NHL general managers meet in TorontoFri., Nov. 17 Messier returns to Vancouver as the Rangers face the CanucksFor the latest news, visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03491/8371115-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="725" height="684"><figcaption class="caption-body">Karen Bye and Team USA play in Salt Lake (Dan Hamlton/VPS)</figcaption></div><h2>Next Issue</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04404/8371108-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="501" height="844"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>October 27, 2000&#10148; Is Islander legend Mike Bossy the purest goal-scorer of all-time?&#10148; Minor Pro preview, part II: The skinny on the secondary minor leagues&#10148; Open season: Get the buzz around the league in our team reports &#9632;

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October 20, 2000

TRANSACTIONS

2000-01 NCAA LEAGUE SCHEDULES

Karpovtsev, Quintal boost Hawk defense

NCAA PREVIEW