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.

November 24, 2000

The Hockey News November 24, 2000

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-05" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05205/7718523-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rob Blake and Trent Klatt battle for the puck near the end boards.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04313/7718530-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="214" height="259"></div><p>Washington Capital boosters projected a first place finish in the Southeast Division this season. Detractors pegged a sub-.5OO finish.</p><p>Who could have guessed both would be right as they neared the quarter-mark of the season.</p><p>With a disappointing record of 3-8-4 after 16 games, the Capitals still held down top spot in the Southeast thanks to lethargic starts by their division rivals.</p><p>The Caps won only one of their first 11 games, then won two out of three before the team started to sink back to earlier levels. All this from a team that had 102 points last season and made only cosmetic changes in the off-season.</p><p>So what&rsquo;s the problem? The forwards are not scoring (31 goals in 16 games), defenders are porous (sixth most shots allowed) and goalie Olie Kolzig is not coming up with timely saves. And no one player has hit a hot streak.</p><p>But at least they&rsquo;re still a first-place team.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> For a team that is struggling to make very few goals go a long way, the Caps are giving up far too many power play chances.</p><p>Washington was fifth in the league in shorthanded situations. The only saving grace has been improved penalty killing. But even so, two-thirds of the team watches while six penalty killing specialists burn themselves out.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Washington has been playing without its best defenseman, Calle Johansson, and without Dmitri Mironov, who improved after starting the season in Houston (IHL).</p><p>Both were sidelined with sore backs and there was no telling how long they would be out.</p><p>Johansson is used in all situations, but especially late in close games; Mironov had been playing better offensively.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Assistant coach <b>Tim Hunter</b> Bri and center <b>Andrei Nikolishin</b> have a bet concerning shots. The pivot must average two shots a game to collect. He was averaging 1.8 after 15 games &hellip; Two struggling forwards HR; have changed IBMB numbers, center Jan Bulis from No. 8 to 38 and left <b>winger James</b> Black from 28 to 21, as in Blackjack.</p><p><i>&mdash; Dave Fay</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0027-05

NHL TEAM REPORTS

Moribund Caps tops in Southeast

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-0941/7717184-1-eng-US/f0005-092.jpg" title="f0005-09" width="361" height="619"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Brian Boucher</b></figcaption></div><p><i>The Best of the Hockey World</i></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021257/7717233-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="89" height="32"></div><p><b>GREAT CHOICE</b> Wayne Gretzky is named executive director of Canada&rsquo;s entry into the 2002 Olympics to be held in Salt Lake City.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03802/7717226-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="85" height="31"></div><p><b>TAKING A STAND</b> Commissioner Gary Bettman makes a statement by extending Marty McSorley&rsquo;s suspension to one year.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04486/7717219-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="88" height="31"></div><p><b>600 AND COUNTING</b> Boston College&rsquo;s Jerry York becomes the sixth U.S. college coach to reach the 600-victory plateau.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05288/7717212-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="88" height="31"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 88px"><b>Jerry York</b></figcaption></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><i>The Worst of the Hockey World</i></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-06164/7717205-1-eng-US/f0005-062.jpg" title="f0005-06" width="88" height="31"></div><p><b>HUNTER NABBED</b> London Knights&rsquo; GM-owner Mark Hunter is suspended for the season for instructing one of his players to fight.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-0799/7717198-1-eng-US/f0005-072.jpg" title="f0005-07" width="88" height="31"></div><p><b>POINT ME TO TALLAHASSEE</b> The New Orleans Brass bus driver gets lost and turns a 4-1/2 hour trip to Tallahassee into a nine-hour adventure.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-0865/7717191-1-eng-US/f0005-082.jpg" title="f0005-08" width="85" height="31"></div><p><b>BOO-CHER</b> Philadelphia&rsquo;s Brian Boucher stumbles after a great rookie season with a 3.22 goals-against average and .881 save percentage.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>For Mike Brophy&rsquo;s daily Cheers & Jeers visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-09

IN THIS ISSUE

PLUS MINUS

<h2><b>UNITED LEAGUE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01339/7720263-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="513" height="3444"></div><h2><b>WESTERN PRO LEAGUE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02188/7720256-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="521" height="3428"></div><h2><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-03145/7720249-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="505" height="1600"></div><h2><b>WEST COAST LEAGUE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-04118/7720242-1-eng-US/f0045-042.jpg" title="f0045-04" width="513" height="1740"></div><h2><b>ONTARIO LEAGUE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-05100/7720235-1-eng-US/f0045-052.jpg" title="f0045-05" width="512" height="1672"></div><h2><b>QUEBEC LEAGUE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0688/7720228-1-eng-US/f0045-062.jpg" title="f0045-06" width="500" height="1672"></div><h2><b>WESTERN LEAGUE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0778/7720221-1-eng-US/f0045-072.jpg" title="f0045-07" width="509" height="1628"></div><h2><b>CENTRAL COLLEGIATE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0863/7720214-1-eng-US/f0045-082.jpg" title="f0045-08" width="493" height="596"></div><h2><b>EASTERN COLLEGIATE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0959/7720207-1-eng-US/f0045-092.jpg" title="f0045-09" width="485" height="468"></div><h2><b>HOCKEY EAST</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1052/7720200-1-eng-US/f0045-102.jpg" title="f0045-10" width="493" height="492"></div><h2><b>WESTERN COLLEGIATE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1147/7720193-1-eng-US/f0045-112.jpg" title="f0045-11" width="497" height="476"></div><h2><b>METRO ATLANTIC</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1239/7720186-1-eng-US/f0045-122.jpg" title="f0045-12" width="501" height="516"></div><h2><b>COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1335/7720179-1-eng-US/f0045-132.jpg" title="f0045-13" width="489" height="288"></div><h2><b>ATLANTIC UNIVERSITIES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1431/7720172-1-eng-US/f0045-142.jpg" title="f0045-14" width="485" height="440"></div><h2><b>CANADA WEST</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1528/7720165-1-eng-US/f0045-152.jpg" title="f0045-15" width="493" height="520"></div><h2><b>ONTARIO UNIVERSITIES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1622/7720158-1-eng-US/f0045-162.jpg" title="f0045-16" width="501" height="820"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0045-01

HOCKEY’S BEST STATS

SCOREBOARD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04409/7718237-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="220" height="253"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>rying to get rid of his salary and circumvent a $1-million trade clause in his contract, the Ottawa Senators placed defenseman Igor Kravchuk on waivers.</p><p>Injury-depleted Calgary claimed the Russian veteran Nov. 10, taking $2.5 million off the Ottawa payroll.</p><p>Kravchuk, 34, hadn&rsquo;t performed up to expectations but was still considered one of the club&rsquo;s leaders. He had one goal, six points and 14 penalty minutes in 15 games. Kravchuk was plus-4, fifth among defensemen on the Senators</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Once right winger Daniel Alfredsson returns from a torn hip flexor muscle that had sidelined him for 10 games, coach Jacques Martin will have to tinker with his lines. Right winger Andreas Dackell, who has been playing on the first line with left winger Shawn McEachern and center Alexei Yashin, will probably be moved to the fourth line. Martin likes the Magnus Arvedson-Radek Bonk-Marian Hossa and Rob Zamuner-Vaclav Prospal-Martin Havlat units too much to break them up.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Goaltender Patrick Lalime, who missed 10 games with a strained MCL in his left knee, looked good in his return, losing 2-1 to Boston Nov. 9. With rookie Jani Hurme going 6-1-3 in his absence, Ottawa appears solid in goal. It&rsquo;s expected Hurme and Lalime will share regular season duty with Martin declaring a No. 1 goaltender down the stretch.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Right winger and captain <b>Daniel Alfredsson</b> resumed skating Nov 10, but was still listed as indefinite&hellip;Defenseman <b>Chris Phillips</b> and right winger <b>Andre Roy</b> were day-to-day with back spasms while center <b>Mike Fisher</b> is out until mid&mdash;to late November with a strained muscle in his collarbone &hellip; The Senators signed free agent defenseman <b>Jamie Rivers</b> to replace waived defenseman <b>Igor Kravchuk</b> &hellip; Senators&rsquo; coach <b>Jacques Martin,</b> named an associate coach of Team Canada for the 2002 Games, will work under his NHL arch-rival, Maple Leafs&rsquo; coach <b>Pat Quinn.</b> &ldquo;I like Pat, he&rsquo;s a good coach.&rdquo; said a smiling Martin.</p><p><i>&mdash; Bruce Garrioch</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-04

Ottawa saves money by waiving Kravchuk

<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/f0002-011590/7717022-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>he first dream team</b>&nbsp;<i>Paul Henderson and Phil Esposito help unveil a Summit Series monument at the Hall of Fame in Toronto as the landmark 1972 Canada-Soviet confrontation is celebrated.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021340/7717015-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="293" height="344"></div><h2><b>Editor&rsquo;s Notebook</b></h2><p>The grey-haired man stood in splendid isolation amidst a sea of reporters &mdash; none of whom wanted to speak with him.</p><p>Wayne Fleming, associate coach of the Canadian Olympic team, could have stripped naked and wrapped himself in the Canadian flag and nobody would have taken notice Nov. 8 in Toronto.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-031001/7717008-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="221" height="368"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Wayne Fleming</b></figcaption></div><p>Fleming was introduced as a member of the Canadian coaching staff &mdash; sitting at the dais next to Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Lowe, Pat Quinn, Ken Hitchcock and Jacques Martin &mdash; and he admitted that he had to pinch himself to believe this was really happening. Fleming was lured from an assistant coaching job with Phoenix by the Canadian Hockey Association last summer on the promise he would be part of the 2002 Olympic coaching staff.</p><p>It is Fleming who will devote more time to preparing for the 2002 Olympics than any other coach. While his colleagues are coaching in the NHL, Fleming will be crisscrossing the hockey world updating his knowledge of the international scene &mdash; familiarizing himself with the players and tactics Canada is likely to face at the Salt Lake Games. Fleming will be the Canadian head coach at the 2001 World Championship, which could be a proving ground for potential Olympians.</p><p>Fleming, 50, was weaned on the national program during its formative years in his hometown of Winnipeg and tried out for the team before settling into a coaching career that included four years in Sweden. He was offered the Swedish national team head coaching job in 1995, but declined. Previously he was an assistant to longtime Canadian boss Dave King at the 1992 Olympics, when Canada won silver.</p><p>Considering the U.S. brain-trust includes head coach Herb Brooks, the Pittsburgh scout who will have significantly more flexibility in his schedule than Canadian head coach Quinn, Fleming is filling a crucial role. When Gretzky was offered the job of heading up Canada&rsquo;s delegation, he was told only one staff member had been chosen for him.</p><p>Fleming has a reputation for being tenacious. He&rsquo;s also known for being a shrewd judge of European talent. Those assets are expected to serve Canada well as the team enters competition under more pressure than at any time since 1972. Canada has lost two straight major championships, the 1996 World Cup and 1998 Olympics. If Canada doesn&rsquo;t win this time, it will have lost its crown.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0002-01

Just who is Wayne Fleming and why is he so important?

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011860/7717060-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Hayley Wickenheiser</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>Did NHL do right thing?</b></h2><p><i><u>Bettman goes hard, but not over the line</u></i></p><p>Was <b>Gary Bettman</b> excessive or making an important point with an exclamation mark when he suspended <b>Marty McSorley</b> for one calendar year? First impressions suggest the former; second thoughts suggest the latter.</p><p>The Hockey News has damned McSorley for dragging the game through the mud, but steadfastly pointed out the ex-Boston enforcer did not commit the most heinous crime in NHL history and should not be suspended for life. <i>(See pg. 7 for more on McSorley.)</i></p><p>We said that McSorley&rsquo;s attack on <b>Donald Brashear</b> was truly &ldquo;abhorrent and aberrant behavior&rdquo; and that it went &ldquo;beyond what is acceptable in hockey and society at large (today).&rdquo; Our points: This was no ordinary transgression and players should be held to a higher standard of behavior than in the past if for no other reason than the NHL is 84 years into its evolution.</p><p>In handing down his decision, Bettman said, &ldquo;It is difficult to imagine a more irresponsible and dangerous act on the ice.&rdquo; The commissioner also said: &ldquo;Even accepting, for purposes of argument, Mr. McSorley&rsquo;s contention that there may have been other similar ugly incidents of on-ice violence over the years, which, for whatever reason, received less severe sanction from the league, I am forced simply to note that the league has changed significantly over the years. I am firmly of the view that, in rendering this decision, the league is fulfilling its commitment to penalize more stringently irresponsible blows to the head. But, to the extent anyone is intent on construing this decision as effectively &lsquo;raising the bar&rsquo; &mdash; which we do not believe it does &mdash; then, I am comfortable with that conclusion as well.&rdquo;</p><p>The unprecedented year-long suspension represents the fifth time during McSorley&rsquo;s 17 seasons in the NHL that he has received supplementary discipline for a stick infraction. If we are to take McSorley at his word &mdash; that he wants to continue playing and finish his career &ldquo;with dignity&rdquo; &mdash; it should also be the last.</p><h2><b>Hayley heads MVP list</b></h2><p><i><u>New magazine hails Wickenheiser</u></i></p><p><b>Hayley Wickenheiser</b> and <b>Jaromir Jagr</b> earn top billing in <i>MVP,</i> a new magazine published by The Hockey News.</p><p>Wickenheiser is named the best women&rsquo;s player in the world and Jagr, her male counterpart, as part of features picking the best of hockey. Wickenheiser is a member of the Canadian national team and Jagr captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.</p><p>They are but two of the many players spotlighted in the new magazine. Among other NHL category winners are <b>Ed Belfour</b> (best goalie) and <b>Viktor Kozlov</b> (best stickhandler). Leading the women are Wickenheiser and <b>Angela James</b> (best player ever).</p><p>Also featured in <i>MVP</i> is Generation Y2K, 11 teenage stars. Players on the list range from <b>Ilya Kovalchuk,</b> 17, a Russian candidate to go first in the 2001 entry draft, to <b>Krissy Wendell,</b> a 19-year-old U.S. national team player with two straight 100-goal seasons.</p><p><b>The Hockey News MVP</b></p><p><i>MVP</i> also takes a close look at the growth of <b>Mike Modano</b> from a young player labeled a &lsquo;pretty boy&rsquo; to a pretty darn good, all-around player. &ldquo;What are you going to say to him now?&rdquo; asks former teammate <b>Craig Ludwig.</b> &ldquo;That he&rsquo;s the best center in the league. That he&rsquo;s gone to two finals in the last two years. That women worship him. Geez, we should all have it so bad.&rdquo;</p><p><i>MVP</i> is available on newsstands.</p><h2><b>THN ONE-TIMERS</b></h2><p><i>Goalie Moog&rsquo;s jersey has day in famed People&rsquo;s Court</i></p><p>Judge <b>Joseph A. Wapner</b> made a return to <i>The People&rsquo;s Court</i> in New York Oct. 30 to preside over cases for the 3,000th edition of the hit TV show. And the judge, with a little help from ex-NHL goalie <b>Andy Moog,</b> decided a &ldquo;game-worn&rdquo; jersey, purchased over the Internet by plaintiff <b>Jay Odoardi</b> of Peabody, Mass., was not authentic. The jersey was purchased for $400 from defendant <b>Rocky Marques</b> of Waithan, Mass., but when Odoardi had it examined by expert <b>Milton Byron,</b> it was determined to be a fake. So he took his case to <i>The People&rsquo;s Court.</i> Moog, owner and president of the Central League&rsquo;s Fort Worth Brahmas and Vancouver&rsquo;s goalie coach, was called to the stand and asked for his assessment of the jersey. &ldquo;It looked to me like somebody had worked on it to make it look game-worn,&rdquo; Moog told The Hockey News. &ldquo;It looked as though it had been laundered and somebody had rubbed pucks against it to add black marks.&rdquo; Odoardi was awarded his money back plus the amount it cost to have the jersey inspected. The show airs Nov. 16.</p><p><b>FORGIVE AND FORGET</b> Listen up Toronto Maple Leafs: If Bryan Berard holds no grudge against Ottawa&rsquo;s <b>Marian Hossa,</b> then neither should you. It was Hossa&rsquo;s stick that partially blinded Berard&rsquo;s right eye last season as the Senator followed through on a shot. On Oct. 14, in the dying moments of a 4-0 home loss to Ottawa, some members of the Leafs tried to goad the peaceful Hossa into a fight. &ldquo;I told Hossa there are no hard feelings,&rdquo; Berard said. &ldquo;I know he didn&rsquo;t mean it.&rdquo; The 23-year-old blueliner has begun skating and is hoping further operations &mdash; he has had five already &mdash; will restore enough vision for him to make a miraculous return to the NHL.</p><p><b>BLUELINER BRINGS TO MIND EINSTEIN</b> St. Louis defenseman <b>Alexander Khavanov,</b> a 28-year-old graduate of the Moscow School of Civil Engineering, says he didn&rsquo;t grow up obsessed with playing in the NHL: &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t part of my dream. Growing up, my heroes were guys like <b>Albert Einstein.</b>&rdquo; Khavanov was plus-7 with three points in 14 games this season&hellip;Highly regarded agent <b>Rick Curran</b> has formed an alliance with <b>Bobby Orr&rsquo;s</b> Woolf Associates agency. Curran&rsquo;s current client base, which features many established NHL stars (including Mark Recchi and Brendan Shanahan), will remain under his Representation Inc. banner. Curran brings 20 years of experience in the business to Woolf.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021490/7717053-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="325" height="432"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Bryan Berard</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0003-01

DEPARTMENTS

POWER PLAY

<p>Tom Reid is not only happy NHL hockey is back in Minnesota, he can&rsquo;t believe it ever left.</p><p>Reid, a defenseman who played 701 NHL games - the first 86 with Chicago, the last 615 with the North Stars - believes the NHL and Minnesota were made for each other.</p><p>It&rsquo;s something that should never have left town,&rdquo; said Reid of the old North Stars, who transferred to Dallas in 1993. &ldquo;Minnesota has put more players in the NHL than any other state. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, though. We got a new arena out of it.&rdquo;</p><p>The Minnesota Wild joined the NHL this season, along with the Columbus Blue Jackets, bringing the NHL to 30 teams. The North Stars joined the NHL in 1967 when the league doubled in size to 12 teams.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011785/7717091-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="236" height="280"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Tom Reid</b></figcaption></div><p>Reid, 54, is a native of Fort Erie, Ont., who never left Minnesota when his playing days were prematurely concluded in 1978 because of a mysterious skin rash &mdash; called gunk &mdash; that was linked to hockey equipment. He owns a sports bar in downtown St. Paul and has broadcast college and high school hockey games since retiring. He is also the color commentator for Wild TV games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0004-01

Reid: NHL back where it belongs in Minnesota

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011786/7717153-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Add Adam Deadmarsh&rsquo;s name to the concussion victim list.</i></figcaption></div><p>Even as you wonder about David Tanabe&rsquo;s judgement, you&rsquo;ve got to give him full marks for honesty.</p><p>Three weeks after suffering what he said was the first concussion of his life, the symptoms had not entirely disappeared for the Hurricanes&rsquo; defenseman. But, against the advice of his agent Brian Lawton, he was playing anyway</p><p>Tanabe, 20, still had the daily headaches and some of the lethargy and grogginess that have plagued him since Oct. 18, when he was nailed by a clean hit from Pittsburgh winger Ian Moran. Tanabe&rsquo;s head was sent spinning in a whiplash motion. He was helped off the ice. When he dried off from his shower he felt like throwing up. He stayed in bed for the next three days, sleeping 16 hours a day.</p><p>Tanabe returned to the lineup after five games, though still not quite himself.</p><p>&ldquo;If I&rsquo;m playing good, you can&rsquo;t see what I&rsquo;m feeling,&rdquo; he said Nov. 7. &ldquo;I do still feel it takes me about a period to get mentally up for the game.&rdquo;</p><p>Tanabe said baseline neurological tests conducted by the Canes&rsquo; doctors showed he was fine to return. He said he&rsquo;s well enough that he can stay out of potentially dangerous situations. As a concession, he&rsquo;s playing a more conservative game, sometimes dumping the puck into the offensive zone when he would otherwise try to challenge a defenseman.</p><p>&ldquo;I guess it&rsquo;s a decision that I&rsquo;ve made on my own,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;ve taken some good hits since the injury and I don&rsquo;t feel more susceptible.&rdquo;</p><p>The suck-it-up mentality dies hard. The concussions keep coming. According to NHL figures, about 100 concussions were diagnosed last season.</p><p>This season, THN counted nine players (not including Eric Lindros) who missed time due to concussions or concussion-like symptoms in the first month of the schedule. Five more players joined that group in early November, including Colorado&rsquo;s Adam Deadmarsh, who was hurt in a Nov. 1 fight with Vancouver&rsquo;s Ed Jovanovski. The man-games lost as of Nov. 10 was at 58.</p><p>&ldquo;If there&rsquo;s one, it&rsquo;s too many, but it&rsquo;s a contact sport,&rdquo; said NHL spokesman Frank Brown. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to happen.&rdquo;</p><p>And players, evidently, are going to try to fight through them, even when they know in their hearts what is happening.</p><p>Philadelphia&rsquo;s Mark Recchi took a clean check from Jovanovski on opening night, played the next two games, sat out four, came back for one and hasn&rsquo;t played since. He had two confirmed previous concussions. It took three weeks for him to acknowledge this was the third.</p><p>According to Flyer GM Bob Clarke, the baseline tests showed Recchi was OK, but symptoms persisted. Recchi was tested for mononucleosis and other illnesses to rule out other causes for his extreme fatigue before accepting the concussion diagnosis.</p><p>It has been more than four years since Brett Lindros retired due to repeated concussions and put head injuries in hockey under intense scrutiny Nick Kypreos, Jim Johnson, Jeff Beukeboom, Pat LaFontaine and Geoff Courtnall followed him to permanent seats on the sidelines. Paul Kariya missed nearly a full season. Over the past few years, Eric Lindros has missed at least that much.</p><p>NHL players are certainly more aware of the dangers of head injuries than ever before and so is the NHL. This is the fourth year of the league&rsquo;s con-cussion-tracking program. After every incident, team doctors fill out a detailed report, the player is subjected to the baseline testing and a videotape eventually makes its way to Charles Burke&rsquo;s office, where the Pittsburgh team doctor reviews the play that caused the injury. Burke, head of the NHL physicians&rsquo; concussion subcommittee, credits the NHL when he says the information gathering process has never been better.</p><p>And through it all, what have we learned conclusively about concussions since Brett Lindros? Next to nothing.</p><p>Video analysis will soon allow doctors to try to identify what kinds of plays result in concussions, Burke said.</p><p>They&rsquo;ll also soon have a good idea about how to best use baseline testing and precisely what kind of tests should be done.</p><p>But on a wide range of crucial questions &mdash; how to classify head injuries, minimum recovery times, the effect of previous concussions, which symptoms are most dangerous, what factors cause some people to be more susceptible than others &mdash; Burke said it will be a long time before the data pool is large enough to draw any conclusions.</p><p>That&rsquo;s one reason why firm, league-wide guidelines about return times aren&rsquo;t in place. There simply isn&rsquo;t the knowledge to back up any rule. There is a consensus forming, however, that the concussion numbers we&rsquo;ve seen are more than just a reflection of better tracking and awareness.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe that years ago, players had lots of concussions and nobody knew about it,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;If that happened 15 years ago, no player could play (with the symptoms).&rdquo;</p><p>Burke agrees. &ldquo;The game is a different game than what it was 20 years ago.&rdquo;</p><p>Clarke puts part of the blame on hard, bulky shoulder and elbow pads. They compound the impact of the hit and make the player throwing a check feel invincible, he said. He also would like players who know a hit is coming to be allowed to fend it off with their stick.</p><p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re supposed to just take the hit,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t agree with that. I think you should be able to protect yourself.&rdquo;</p><p>The more immediate question is who, if anyone, should protect players such as Tanabe?</p><p>Is he in increased danger? Perhaps. Players play with injuries all the time; is this an acceptable risk? Does the team have a moral obligation to make him sit out until he is totally symptom-free? If so, symptom-free for how long? There are no clear answers. &#9633;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe that years ago, players had lots of concussions and nobody knew about it.</i>&nbsp;<b>Flyers&rsquo; GM Bob Clarke</b></blockquote><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0005-01

FEATURES

Head fog won’t clear

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011990/7717264-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>One year not nearly enough</b></h2><p>This is a plea to true hockey fans who appreciate the game for its skill, speed and beauty.</p><p>Those of us who believe that Marty McSorley <i>should not</i> be reinstated must unite against NHL commissioner Gary Bettman&rsquo;s decision to allow the aging enforcer to return after serving a one-year suspension.</p><p>Bettman is being hypocritical about McSorley&rsquo;s slash on Vancouver&rsquo;s Donald Brashear. The commissioner said he doesn&rsquo;t see the logic in McSorley&rsquo;s attack; so, why is he reinstating him?</p><p>I don&rsquo;t know the answer, but as a fan, I feel McSorley shouldn&rsquo;t be reinstated. Does the league really want to send the message that an eight-time suspended player &mdash; including five stick-related incidents &mdash; is forgiven in full after such a brutal attack? I&rsquo;m for a physical game &mdash; I appreciate a good fight &mdash; but there must be harsh punishment in this case. To take a premeditated two-handed swing at a player&rsquo;s upper body and head is inexcusable.</p><p><i>Matthew Berg,</i></p><p><i>St. Louis</i></p><h3><b>Can&rsquo;t touch Cherry</b></h3><p>For years, Don Cherry has been driving home the point that touch icing is more dangerous than it&rsquo;s worth. Then there&rsquo;s columnist Damien Cox, who feels it&rsquo;s a worthwhile risk. (THN, Nov. 17).</p><p>But remember, Cox is the man who wrote in an earlier &lsquo;Shootout&rsquo; that a Hart Trophy is &ldquo;essentially equal&rdquo; to a Stanley Cup.</p><p>One thing Cherry can&rsquo;t be called is a wimp, yet touch icing terrifies him. It&rsquo;s time for no-touch icing and it would be nice to see the NHL make some proactive changes before there&rsquo;s a serious injury.</p><p><i>Mark Russian,</i></p><p><i>Ottawa</i></p><h3><b>Russian recognition</b></h3><p>Just two words are needed to sum up this letter: &ldquo;Thank you.&rdquo;</p><p>As in, thank you for the feature &ldquo;Fetisov ruled world game&rdquo; on Slava Fetisov (THN, Oct. 20).</p><p>I was too young to appreciate the Russian great&rsquo;s early years in the USSR, but I did see him in New Jersey. And now as a Devils&rsquo; assistant coach, he brings the same passion he had as a player.</p><p><i>Peter Militello,</i></p><p><i>Glendale, N.Y.</i></p><h2><b>Sharks will be swimming in June</b></h2><p>There has been a lot written about the hot starts of St. Louis, Colorado and Phoenix, but what about San Jose? Just because the Sharks reside in a forgotten time zone is no reason to forget about their early accomplishments. With goalie Evgeni Nabokov shining in place of Steve Shields, a rugged defense corps and a slew of young and talented forwards, San Jose is a legitimate contender.</p><p><i>Chris Simmons,</i></p><p><i>San Francisco</i></p><p>For all the talk about the Sedin twins in Vancouver, there&rsquo;s another rookie who is lighting up</p><p>NHL goalies. His name is Martin Havlat and he plays for Ottawa. Don&rsquo;t worry, you&rsquo;ll be hearing all about him after he skates away with the Calder Trophy.</p><p><i>Tim Gillis,</i></p><p><i>Halifax, N.S.</i></p><p>To Boston&rsquo;s management: If the early returns are any indication, Pat Burns was not the root of the Bruins&rsquo; problems. (Hint: Look in the mirror.) Give Mike Keenan a chance before deciding he isn&rsquo;t cheap, uh, good enough.</p><p><i>Andy Dawson,</i></p><p><i>Jamesville, Mass.</i></p><p>The end is near for Detroit. The Wings have had Steve Yzer man and Chris Chelios felled by knee injuries; Larry Murphy and Kris Draper have been healthy scratches; and Chris Osgood is now their second-best goalie.</p><p><i>Rich Dannings,</i></p><p><i>Detroit</i></p><h2><b>READERS&rsquo; ONE-TIMERS</b></h2><p>This is your spot for quick comments on current hockey events. Reader&rsquo;s One-Timers accepts opinions of 60 words or less, so please be concise.</p><h2><b>European flavor enhances</b></h2><p>I&rsquo;m glad to see THN and the rest of the North American hockey world are finally fully recognizing the wonder of European hockey players.</p><p>I don&rsquo;t believe the NHL talent pool has been &ldquo;watered down&rdquo; by expansion. On the contrary, the average NHLer has a much higher skill level than just 10 years ago &mdash; and much of that is due to the proliferation of Europeans.</p><p>As a whole, their finesse and ability to play a complete, two-way game have won the hearts of NHL GMs. The argument that Europeans couldn&rsquo;t adjust to the NHL&rsquo;s rugged style has been proven inaccurate many, many times over.</p><p>Go back to NHL trailblazer Borje Salming. When you consider his Hall of Fame career with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the fact that he was one of the few early Europeans to receive regular ice time, it illustrates the NHL never gave most of them the opportunity to succeed in the 1970s and early &rsquo;80s.</p><p><i>Derek Yerardi,</i></p><p><i>Belmont, Mass.</i></p><h3><b>Laud Savard, not Houle</b></h3><p>This is in regard to the letter &ldquo;Feeling Blue&rdquo; (THN, Nov. 10).</p><p>The writer says that Montreal GM Rejean Houle&rsquo;s best trade was when the Canadiens got Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov from the Islanders for Kirk Muller and Mathieu Schneider. There&rsquo;s just one problem: Houle was not the mastermind behind that April, 1995, deal; Serge Savard was!</p><p>Houle became Montreal&rsquo;s GM in October, 1995, and in my view, has made only one trade during his tenure that significantly benefited the Habs &mdash; the six-player swap with Chicago that netted Montreal Jeff Hackett.</p><p><i>John Schmidt,</i></p><p><i>Regina, Sask.</i></p><h3><b>Thanks for the memories</b></h3><p>Congratulations to Denis Savard and Joey Mullen on their induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.</p><p>They both gave their teams &mdash; and fans &mdash; plenty of goals, highlights and memories. I&rsquo;m at a loss in trying to figure out how Dale Hawerchuk was overlooked, but his absence shouldn&rsquo;t detract from Savard&rsquo;s and Mullen&rsquo;s big night.</p><p><i>Peter Fresnin,</i></p><p><i>Pittsburgh</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-01

LETTER OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011805/7717302-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Marty McSorley says the process that resulted in his one-year ban is &ldquo;an attack by the NHL.&rdquo; He can return Feb. 21, the anniversary of his slash on Donald Brashear.</i></figcaption></div><p><b>Bettman gets tough with McSorley</b></p><p>It was a typical good news, bad news day for former Boston Bruins&rsquo; defenseman Marty McSorley.</p><p>The good news was NHL commissioner Gary Bettman opened the door for McSorley to return following his conviction in a British Columbia courtroom on a charge of assault with a weapon.</p><p>The bad news was McSorley must wait until Feb. 21,2001 &mdash; the one-year anniversary of the stick-swinging incident which left Vancouver&rsquo;s Donald Brashear severely concussed &mdash; before he can play his next NHL game.</p><p>In handing down the longest suspension in NHL history for a stick-swinging incident, Bettman gave a stinging criticism of McSorley&rsquo;s slash.</p><p>&ldquo;It is difficult to imagine a more irresponsible and dangerous act on the ice than the one that was involved in this case,&rdquo; wrote Bettman, in an eight-page decision released Nov. 7.</p><p>The victim, Brashear, said he won&rsquo;t forgive McSorley, but added, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good Marty got a second chance because it was a little wild and he knows he was wrong &mdash; I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;ll do it again.&rdquo; <i>(See pg. 27 for more on Brashear).</i></p><p>Under the terms of his suspension, McSorley can sign with an NHL team at any time and can begin practising Jan. 1 &mdash; provided, of course, there&rsquo;s a team willing to make the 37-year-old an offer.</p><p>The NHL Players&rsquo; Association intends to respond to Bettman&rsquo;s decision, but had not done so through Nov. 10.</p><p>In an interview with CBS Sportsline prior to the ruling, McSorley contended Bettman held a grudge from harsh words the two exchanged across the bargaining table during the 1994-95 lockout.</p><p>&ldquo;I go into a trial in Vancouver with a video showing my stick coming off the guy&rsquo;s shoulder,&rdquo; McSorley said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the largest suspension in the league&rsquo;s history and they keep it open through a trial they knew I had to go through. That&rsquo;s an attack by the NHL. From Day 1, this has been all about PR. They could have squelched so much of it, but they didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>Bettman chided McSorley for comments he made after the trial, in which McSorley said he had &ldquo;sacrificed himself for the good of the game,&rdquo; and that he &ldquo;absolutely refused to put the game on trial&hellip; I could have showed hours of video which would have showed ugly incidents of what really happens in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>The commissioner said I McSorley&rsquo;s comments were &ldquo;extremely unfortunate &hellip; This incident was not &lsquo;ordinary&rsquo; by any reasonable construction of the term, nor was it &lsquo;simply part of the game.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>Essentially, Bettman ruled even if McSorley didn&rsquo;t intend to club Brashear on the side of the head, he was responsible for his actions. Bettman concluded:</p><p>&ldquo;NHL players have a necessary and, indeed, critical responsibility to themselves and to the game to avoid utilizing their sticks in such an improper and reckless manner so as to threaten serious injury to the head of an opponent&hellip;No matter how it is viewed &mdash; whether as an intentional blow to the head or as a reckless slash which accidentally made contact with the head &mdash; Mr. McSorley&rsquo;s conduct clearly &lsquo;crossed the line.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021191/7717295-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="924" height="744"></div><p>Bettman had many options, from banning McSorley for life to reinstating him immediately He chose a middle ground, noting the terms of his suspension would give McSorley a chance to play again.</p><p>&ldquo;I believe I owe it both to this player and to all other present and future NHL players to impose a suspension of a definite and ascertainable length. Having said that, I am not comfortable in the context of this case imposing a suspension for a fixed number of games. Specifically, given Mr. McSorley&rsquo;s personal circumstances, I believe that a suspension for a fixed number of games is much more likely to effectuate the end of Mr. McSorley&rsquo;s NHL career than is a suspension for a fixed period of time.&rdquo;</p><p>Did the commissioner&rsquo;s ruling raise the bar for supplementary discipline?</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we did, but if we did, I&rsquo;m comfortable with it,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;If it takes an act of this nature to raise the bar so we don&rsquo;t have an act of this nature again, then maybe we&rsquo;ll all have learned from this.&rdquo; &#9633;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0007-01

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011882/7717340-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Team Canada coach Pat Quinn and executive director Wayne Gretzky agree player creativity is essential in 2002.</i></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he last time Wayne Gretzky represented a changing of the guard for Canadian hockey, he was a 20-year-old phenom leading all scorers at the 1981 Canada Cup.</p><p>Nearly two decades later, he&rsquo;s back to lead another revolution, this time from on high as the man in charge of all hockey decisions for Canada&rsquo;s 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic team.</p><p>The savior returns amid a backdrop of failure: A second-place finish in the 1996 World Cup and a crushing fourth at the 1998 Games in Nagano.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a sense of urgency, no question,&rdquo; said Gretzky at a Nov. 8 press conference at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. &ldquo;This is a different era and a different time for Canadian hockey than it was in the &rsquo;87 or &rsquo;91 Canada Cup, or for that matter even the &rsquo;96 World Cup. The expectation in those days was that no one can beat the Canadians and now the thought is, &lsquo;Can the Canadians win?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>One thing is sure: Canada isn&rsquo;t able to win anymore on desire alone.</p><p>Yes, things will be different for Canada under the direction of the game&rsquo;s dominant icon. With his hiring, Canada&rsquo;s template for success has instantly changed, or, more accurately, been exchanged for a sleeker model.</p><p>The news conference introducing Team Canada&rsquo;s staff might have been the first time in a decade that words such as grit and heart and determination, the supposed bedrock of Canadian hockey, weren&rsquo;t the ones everyone wanted to talk about. In their place were words such as creativity and flow and, from Canada&rsquo;s head coach Pat Quinn, the daring phrase, &ldquo;offensive flair.&rdquo;</p><p>Canadian Hockey Association president Bob Nicholson chose Gretzky to be executive director of the team, citing his Olympic experience as a player and his obvious knowledge and stature in Canadian hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;He really wants to see a team that is very, very quick and he wants to make sure we have a highly skilled team,&rdquo; Nicholson said.</p><p>It was Gretzky who selected Quinn as coach. Of all potential coaching candidates, Quinn perhaps best shared Gretzky&rsquo;s phi losophy on how the game should be played.</p><p>&ldquo;What he mentioned as one of the reasons that he felt comfortable with me is &hellip; I have an open-minded concept to a little more creativity,&rdquo; Quinn said. &ldquo;I like freedom when we have the puck and we want to have that freedom tied to responsibility.&rdquo;</p><p>The shared philosophy will come in handy in player personnel decisions. Although Nicholson said Gretzky has the final say over the 23-man roster, Gretzky repeatedly stressed it would be a group decision. That&rsquo;s why there&rsquo;s not much concern about Gretzky&rsquo;s managerial inexperience. He said he and his hand-picked assistant, Edmonton GM and former Oilers&rsquo; teammate Kevin Lowe, won&rsquo;t do anything that would make the coaching staff the least bit uncomfortable given that it&rsquo;s only a 10-day tournament.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no place for any cronyism,&rdquo; said Quinn, who will have Ottawa&rsquo;s Jacques Martin, Dallas&rsquo; Ken Hitchcock and Wayne Fleming from the national program as his associate coaches. &ldquo;Certainly some prior experience would be important with some of the players, but we want a mobile team, obviously, and that will be more of a priority than, say, some of the old guys going back again.&rdquo;</p><p>The Canadian contingent would also like the opportunity for some its players to skate together prior to the tournament. Like all teams competing at the 2002 Games, Canada must name at least eight players by March 25. Nicholson said he&rsquo;d like those eight to work out together next summer, but the NHL&rsquo;s collective bargaining agreement doesn&rsquo;t permit it.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll go back to the NHL Players&rsquo; Association and see what can be done,&rdquo; Nicholson said.</p><p>The remainder of the team must be named by Dec. 22, 2001.</p><p>Gretzky said he and Lowe have the advantage of having faced off against many of the players under consideration.</p><p>&ldquo;Guys who play well under pressure, guys who are harder to play against than other guys, guys who are underrated, we have a good feel for that because we have played against a lot of those guys,&rdquo; Gretzky said.</p><p>&ldquo;But there is a new crop of players coming through the game now that are really starting to step up to the forefront, a lot of good young players that probably have a good chance to be part of this team.&rdquo;</p><p>It all sets up the question of whether Canada has the horses to pull off the heist using a strategy designed for, well, Gretzky, when there&rsquo;s no Gretzky and no Mario Lemieux. The closest thing Canada has to a defining offensive star is Paul Kariya. Nothing to sneeze at, but still a far cry from the days when everyone knew the best player in the world was wearing red and white.</p><p>Quinn said he won&rsquo;t know exactly what tactics he&rsquo;ll employ until the roster comes together, but his preference is to have four balanced lines rather than two offensive units, one designated checking line and a high-energy fourth line. He also said the team will do a shootout segment in practice every day.</p><p>Ouch. That semifinal shootout loss to the Czechs in Nagano is raw to the touch.</p><p>&ldquo;We all understand the pressure we&rsquo;re under. We all understand the position we&rsquo;re in,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;If we don&rsquo;t win a gold medal I&rsquo;ll take the responsibility. I have no problem with that.&rdquo; &#9633;</p><h2><b>Close call: Who&rsquo;ll get nod to play for Canada in 2002?</b></h2><p><i>The Canadian talent pool may not be as overwhelmingly deep as it once was, but decisionmakers will still have a tough time selecting the final 23-player roster. Canada must name at least eight Olympians by March 25 and the remaining 15 by Dec. 22, 2001. Here, in alphabetical order, are THN&rsquo;s projected candidates.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021414/7717333-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="840" height="696"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0008-01

Gretzky: Captain Canada

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy, Senior Writer</div><h2><b>NHL Coaches&rsquo; Contract Terms</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011850/7717392-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="453" height="3348"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021341/7717385-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="1580" height="2792"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Jacques Lemaire</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he easy thing to do, arguably the logical thing, would have been for Doug Risebrough to take the cheap route when hiring the first coach for the expansion Minnesota Wild.</p><p>That&rsquo;s what their expansion cousins, the Columbus Blue Jackets, did. The Blue Jackets signed Dave King, who had NHL and international experience, but are paying him just $400,000 this season which is considered an entry-level salary.</p><p>King, who entered this season with an impressive .576 winning percentage following two years as coach of the Calgary Flames, is under contract to Columbus for three years for a total of $1,275 million. That&rsquo;s just $75,000 more than Jacques Lemaire will earn as coach of the Wild <i>this season.</i></p><p>Lemaire, who coached the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup in 1994-95 and served as senior consultant to the GM with the Montreal Canadiens the past two years, will earn $1.2 million in 2000-01. That ties him with Scotty Bowman of the Detroit Red Wings as the highest-paid coach in the NHL. Pat Quinn of the Toronto Maple Leafs makes $1.5 million, but he&rsquo;s also the team&rsquo;s GM. (All figures for are in U.S. dollars).</p><p>It also makes the 55-year-old Lemaire one of six NHL coaches who are million-dollar men. Quinn, Bowman, Larry Robinson of the Devils, Joel Quenneville of the St. Louis Blues and Marc Crawford of the Vancouver Canucks are the others. And at least another four will receive $800,000 or more.</p><p>A year ago, there were four NHL coaches earning 7 at least $1 million &mdash; Quinn, Bowman, Crawford and John Muckier, since fired by the New York Rangers, though he is still collecting his salary for this season.</p><p>Lemaire, in fact, signed on with the Wild for $3.7 million over three years. For a first-year franchise, that sets an incredible precedent for the coaching industry.</p><p>Risebrough said money was not a consideration when he went searching for the first coach of the Wild. He wanted the right man.</p><p>&ldquo;I think it was a unique circumstance,&rdquo; said Risebrough. the Wild&rsquo;s executive vice-president and GM. &ldquo;Knowing Jacques and his history and knowing Jacques was interested in the job was enticing. When you&rsquo;re in this game for a long time, you realize the importance of head coaching. I looked at Jacques and what he could contribute before I looked at designing the team. I looked at what he could offer. His technical component is fabulous.</p><p>&ldquo;Just like (the late) Bob Johnson, Jacques has the ability to teach veteran players as well as young players. All players want to improve. Jacques&rsquo; knowledge of the game is unbelievable. He can teach the fundamentals of the game as well as the fundamentals of winning. If you&rsquo;re going to do it, you might as well do it right from the start.&rdquo;</p><p>Don&rsquo;t forget, this is Minnesota&rsquo;s second shot at the NHL. Unlike Columbus, a non-traditional hockey market, Minnesota is a hotbed for the game and fans have high expectations. It was important for the Wild to be competitive in a hurry.</p><p>Lemaire has a reputation for being an excellent teacher and has been associated with 11 Stanley Cup champions as a player, coach and executive. He&rsquo;s not a coach who simply steps on the ice and blows his whistle. He explains and demonstrates things thoroughly.</p><p>Lemaire said he doesn&rsquo;t like to speak publicly about his coaching philosophy.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very competitive business now,&rdquo; Lemaire said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to give away secrets.&rdquo;</p><p>He did, however, offer: &ldquo;Details. You pay attention and you want the players to pay attention, to the little things. It starts by always being ready to go on the ice on time. Have your helmet done up. Be ready. And then it carries over onto the ice.</p><p>Make the right pass at the right time. Take the shot at the right time. Details.&rdquo;</p><p>When The Hockey News began tracking coaches&rsquo; salaries in 1996-97, Lemaire, then with the Devils, was the league&rsquo;s highest-paid bench boss at $750,000 a season and the average salary for coaches was $386,000.</p><p>Only six coaches earned $500,000 or better and the entry level was around $250,000 to $300,000. By comparison, the NHL&rsquo;s rookie cap was $875,000.</p><p>Times have certainly changed for coaches. Now the average is $663,868, up from $615,000 a year ago. That&rsquo;s an eight per-cent increase and an increase of 72 per cent since THN began disclosing coaches&rsquo; salaries.</p><p>Not surprisingly, Lemaire thinks he and his counterparts deserve to be well-compensated.</p><p>&ldquo;When I started in New Jersey in 1993, some coaches were getting $275,000 a year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The worst player on the team was making more than that. Coaches spend a lot of sleepless nights and they have lots of things to do. Coaches are under a lot of pressure.&rdquo;</p><p>Only a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable for an NHL coach to earn $1 million a season. Money in the NHL has traditionally been reserved for players and owners. But coaches who have enjoyed the most success and have the most seniority have received massive pay hikes.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011655/7717378-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1712" height="1708"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Larry Robinson</b></figcaption></div><p>Quenneville, for example, signed on with the Blues in 1996-97 for $375,000. This year, after being named NHL coach of the year in 1999-2000, he signed an extension that pays him more than $1 million a season. Ken Hitchcock of the Dallas Stars earned $275,000 in 1996-97 and now commands $900,000. Winning the Stanley Cup will do that for you.</p><p>Ten coaches &mdash; one-third of the fraternity &mdash; now earn $800,000 a season or more.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to know we&rsquo;re participating (in sharing profits) with the players,&rdquo; Quenneville said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very pleased with the deal I got and knowing that the organization I&rsquo;m in is a great one.</p><p>The bottom end &mdash; $300,000 to $500,000 per season &mdash; remains cluttered with 14 coaches. This is where you typically find coaches who had very little leverage during contract negotiations.</p><p>Said one NHL bench boss: &ldquo;(Management) knows that and they squeeze the crap out of you to take the lowest offer.&rdquo;</p><p>Craig Ramsay of the Philadelphia Flyers, for instance, wanted a head coaching job in the NHL. He has been an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators, as well as with the Flyers.</p><p>Last season, when Roger Neilson became ill with cancer, Ramsay was promoted to head coach in Neilson&rsquo;s absence. The team started to roll under Ramsay and he was named the full-time head coach in the summer.</p><p>But like many new coaches, management gave him a take-it-or-leave-it offer.</p><p>He signed for $400,000 this season and $425,000 next year. The Flyers hold a $450,000-option for a third season.</p><p>&ldquo;As much as I had experience coaching in the NHL, I had no head coaching experience,&rdquo; Ramsay said.</p><p>&lsquo;The entry level salary isn&rsquo;t too bad,&rdquo; said Calgary&rsquo;s Don Hay who is in his first year with the Flames. Hay was the first-ever coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, but was fired after one year and returned to junior hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;You want to get back in and prove you can coach in the NHL,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;People want that opportunity, so they take what is offered.&rdquo; &#9633;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021174/7717371-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="1409" height="3592"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0010-01

COVER STORY

Bench

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011803/7717430-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021422/7717423-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="314" height="374"></div><p>Perennial playoff franchises never want to miss for fear their players will learn a dirty little secret: When it happens, you don&rsquo;t die.</p><p>Sure, the most competitive performers feel left out of the most fun part of the year, but all discover there is another world out there every spring they never knew existed.</p><p>Stuck on a bad team, you can either swallow the hemlock or prioritize other reasons to play, like lifestyle and celebrity. This is not to suggest the veterans the New York Rangers signed in the summer of 1999 came for big dollars they consciously knew they could no longer earn, only that once it became apparent this was the worst team ever bought, the money bags became a soft landing place for their sanity Booings and media criticism beat even the best intentions and strongest egos down into a basic mess, which Mess, basically, has been brought in to clean up.</p><p>&ldquo;When you haven&rsquo;t been successful in three years, there&rsquo;s a reason for it,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; captain Mark Messier. &ldquo;This season, we played on newness and adrenaline for the first couple games, but inevitably reverted back. This team had the talent to play well last January, but when it couldn&rsquo;t reverse a slide down the stretch, that showed how fragile it was mentally.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been playing worrying about the outcome. If you&rsquo;re down 2-0 early and play well the rest of the way, you still have a starting point even if don&rsquo;t win. For us, the job is freeing everybody up emotionally to play without fear of failure, forgetting about the past.&rdquo;</p><p>It wasn&rsquo;t quite like his prophecy six years ago when he guaranteed a playoff victory over New Jersey, but Messier&rsquo;s words rung true on Nov. 7, when the Rangers overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat Edmonton 4-2.</p><p>His ability to lead is why Messier is not just an echo from the past, doomed to fall on deaf ears when he can&rsquo;t carry the Rangers at near the same level that led them through the Canyon of Heroes in 1994. The wolf at the door was no less threatening because for $61 million, it could be answered by a butler.</p><p>Messier could come home again because he understands better than anybody the furniture has been rearranged. Adam Graves, Brian Leetch and Mike Richter are the only surviving Rangers who don&rsquo;t have to be sold on the truth there has been no leader in the history of the game so adept at cleaning out his teammates&rsquo; attics.</p><p>Granted, if the captain can only play 40 games, it&rsquo;s reasonable to ask exactly what there will be for a Radek Dvorak to follow. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still trying to be a top player,&rdquo; said Messier, who was third on the Rangers with seven goals and 18 points in 15 games. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t given up that idea and I need to carry myself that way so the other players see that.</p><p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t done anything yet for most of these guys. They don&rsquo;t know me. The relationship takes a while to get to the point where they know what I say is constructive and had no other motive other than to help us win. The biggest thing in leadership is making everybody feel important for the cause of the team. And that doesn&rsquo;t have anything to do with how I&rsquo;m playing.&rdquo;</p><p>Some nights, he has been like a soon-to-be 40-year-old, but Messier has played through a virus. His hands are still there and if the legs aren&rsquo;t for three games in four nights, he&rsquo;ll still earn his $11 million over the next two seasons by transfusing his commitment and relentless positivism into younger, more energetic, players.</p><p>Meanwhile, until his work is done, the Rangers have enough to make the playoffs if everybody&rsquo;s head is at proper tilt. Messier doesn&rsquo;t have to say a word to Leetch to take enormous pressure off the team&rsquo;s best player who sometimes skated in army boots trying to fill Messier&rsquo;s shoes. Theo Fleury didn&rsquo;t need &lsquo;The Look&rsquo; from No. 11 to be freed from all the negativity the fallen star brought upon himself last season.</p><p>&ldquo;In this city especially, you have to take your lumps like a man in the bad times and be honorable in the good times,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;If you are consistent in philosophy and approach, people will respect you.</p><p>&ldquo;Theo took it personally when the team didn&rsquo;t play well and things went (mentally) downhill from there. But he got himself ready over the summer and is playing like he must to be successful. Remember, in a bad year he still was only a few points from being a top-25 scorer. That&rsquo;s just like when a team forgets diming a losing streak that everything it does isn&rsquo;t wrong.&rdquo;</p><p>Having heard from Messier exactly what it is that he does, you now understand that in bringing him back, the Rangers couldn&rsquo;t go wrong.</p><h2><b>Power Ranger: Just like last time, Messier sets pace</b></h2><p>For the New York Rangers, nothing is better than a big Mess.</p><p>Mark Messier&rsquo;s impact on teammates since returning to the Rangers has been every bit as bone-rattling as one of No. Il&rsquo;s thunderous bodychecks.</p><p>A loose Moose rampaged for seven goals and 18 points through New York&rsquo;s first 15 games, but it&rsquo;s the efforts of other players that show how Messier&rsquo;s renowned leadership has inspired better results from last season&rsquo;s troupe of overpaid, under-performing Rangers.</p><p>Right winger Theo Fleury, the most disappointing Ranger last season, can erase memories of his 15-goal, 64-point debut performance on Broadway by continuing the pace that netted 13 goals and 21 points through 14 games this season.</p><p>Defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre was playing over three minutes per contest more this season and laying out more lickings, averaging more than three hits per game this year compared to just over two last season.</p><p>The return of the Rangers&rsquo; once and current captain seems to have especially benefitted two stalwarts of New York&rsquo;s Messier-led 1994 Stanley Cup run.</p><p>Left winger Adam Graves is seeing increased ice time and playing more physically while maintaining last season&rsquo;s 23-goal pace.</p><p>Former Norris Trophy winner Brian Leetch, coming off perhaps his worst season, an injury-plagued 50-game nightmare in which he scored just seven goals and 26 points, had nearly matched those totals with four goals and 21 points in 15 games.</p><p>Playing .500 hockey, the Rangers are an improved team and are hoping their big Mess will keep them off the non-playoff junk pile.</p><p><i><b>- Jeremy Sandler</b></i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

COLUMN

Winner. Leader. Legend. That’s why Messier is right as a Ranger

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden Editor-in-Chief</div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span>ale Hawerchuk won only six playoff rounds during a magnificent 16-year NHL career&hellip;but he ranks as one of the game&rsquo;s all-time great winners.</p><p>Hawerchuk won a league championship every single season of his minor hockey career and then became the only player in history to win two Memorial Cups and two Canada Cups.</p><p>About the only thing Hawerchuk didn&rsquo;t win was a Stanley Cup and immediate election to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Both of those circumstances were largely out of his control.</p><p>History and geography conspired against the playmaking pivot and his Winnipeg Jets during the 1980s; &lsquo;Ducky&rsquo; and the Jets had the misfortune of being aligned with Edmonton and Calgary in the powerhouse Smythe Division. Winnipeg lost to one or the other seven times during Hawerchuk&rsquo;s nine seasons with the Jets.</p><p>One more clash with history awaited Hawerchuk, nicknamed &lsquo;Ducky&rsquo; by a major junior teammate who said Hawerchuk skated like a duck. Inexplicably and illogically, the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee did not include Hawerchuk in the 2000 induction class &mdash; even though the six-time 100-point scorer had superior numbers and, arguably, superior achievements than both of this year&rsquo;s inductees, Denis Savard and Joe Mullen.</p><p>&ldquo;Speaking as an honest person, yeah, I think my numbers are good enough to get in there,&rdquo; says Hawerchuk, who averaged 1.18 points per game in his career. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d love to get in there one day.&rdquo;</p><p>Just how quickly Hawerchuk will be elected is unclear. The Hall of Fame is permitted to elect only four players per season. The 2001 slate of candidates includes Slava Fetisov, Jari Kurri, Rod Langway, Mike Gartner, Sergei Makarov and Pat LaFontaine.</p><p>Hawerchuk, now 37 and running a horse farm north of Toronto, had a magical run as a young player, culminating with a league championship as a 16-year-old with the Jr. B Oshawa Legionnaires in 1979. That summer, he was drafted by the Cornwall Royals of the Quebec League.</p><p>&ldquo;When (Royals&rsquo; scout Gord Wood) drafted me my mom told him, &lsquo;Well you know what: you guys are going to have to win it all because Dale has never played on a team that hasn&rsquo;t won a championship.&rsquo; Then we won two</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011653/7717468-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="613" height="1168"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021149/7717461-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="382" height="242"></div><p>Memorial Cups in a row. I was on a rim. Maybe I spent it all before I got to the NHL.&rdquo; Hawerchuk was a Memorial Cup all-star both years and the MVP in 1981. The Jets selected him first overall in the 1981 NHL entry draft. Hawerchuk immediately fulfilled their wildest expectations, winning the Calder Trophy after scoring 103 points, the second-highest total ever compiled by an 18-year-old. Only Gretzky, with 137, has had more. Mario Lemieux, 1984&rsquo;s top pick, is the only No. 1 choice to collect more career points than Hawerchuk&rsquo;s 1,409 &mdash; including 518 goals &mdash; with Winnipeg, Buffalo, St. Louis and Philadelphia. A degenerative hip ended his career in 1997. He continues to scout on a part-time basis for the Flyers.</p><p>While the NHL would prove unforgiving in terms of team triumphs, Hawerchuk was a major contributor to Canadian victories at the Canada Cup in 1987 and 1991. The 1987 Canadian team may be the best hockey team ever assembled, winning a dramatic three-game final against the Soviet Union.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if it was the best-ever team,&rdquo; Hawerchuk says, &ldquo;but if it wasn&rsquo;t, it was pretty darn close. At the same time, what we saw there was probably the best hockey ever played between two countries.&rdquo;</p><p>The Oshawa native was overshadowed by Wayne Gretzky throughout his career, but never shied away from competing with &lsquo;The Great One.&rsquo;</p><p>Kevin Lowe, one of Edmonton&rsquo;s foundation players during the 1980s, remembers Hawerchuk as a player with steely will.</p><p>&ldquo;He was a pretty fierce competitor &mdash; I could see it in his eyes,&rdquo; says Lowe, who remembers Hawerchuk owning up to his responsibility as the Jets&rsquo; cornerstone player, particularly when the two teams met in Winnipeg. Lowe says it was like Hawerchuk would say, &ldquo;&lsquo;Hey this is my building. I don&rsquo;t care who you guys are or who Wayne is &mdash; this is my budding.&rsquo; And he played like it.&rdquo;</p><p>Hawerchuk played just like that throughout a marvelous career that stretched beyond the boundaries of the NHL in championship style. &#9633;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-01

Superstar Hawerchuk was a winner

<h2><b>Hall inductees</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>ayne Gretzky was one of nine honorees inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame Nov. 9. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited about it,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;Growing up in Canada, you realize there are only so many great Canadian athletes.&rdquo; The former NHL great was joined by Dr. Tom Pashby, a pioneer in the development of protective hockey equipment, most notably helmets and visors. Pashby was honored in the builders category.</p><h2><b>Kings to host</b></h2><p>The Los Angeles Kings have been chosen to host the 52nd NHL All-Star Game in 2002. The Feb. 1-2 event will be held at the Staples Center and include the Heroes of Hockey game and SuperSkills competition. Los Angeles previously hosted the event at the Great Western Forum in 1981. Kings&rsquo; GM Dave Taylor was a member of the Wales Conference all-stars in 1981. The 2001 All-Star Game is being hosted by the Avalanche Feb. 4 in Denver.</p><h2><b>Howitzer shot</b></h2><p>Dallas&rsquo; Mike Modano took over the lead in the NHL SuperSkills individual team competition with a slapshot registered at 103.4 miles-per-hour. It is the hardest shot recorded since Al lafrate unleashed a 105.2 mph blast in 1993. Detroit&rsquo;s Jiri Fischer (100.5 mph) and St. Louis&rsquo; Bryce Salvador (100.2 mph) also registered hard shots. The fastest skater so far is Lubos Bartecko of St. Louis, who skated a lap in 13.786 seconds.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

INSIDE HOCKEY

<p>If the London Knights failed to get the message the first time, it has come through loud and clear the second time.</p><p>Knights&rsquo; co-owner and GM Mark Hunter was dealt the most severe off-ice suspension in the Ontario League&rsquo;s 68-year history.</p><p>Hunter was suspended Nov. 8 from performing any managerial duties for the balance of the regular season. He also cannot coach for one year and the team was fined $10,000.</p><p>Hunter was also banned from entering the Ice House arena at any time or attending any OHL game until the season ends March 23, but that was later rescinded. Hunter also cannot have any outside contact with his players, any other OHL players, or any league GMs. He can resume scouting Jan. 1.</p><p>This was the second time in a month OHL commissioner David Branch came down on the Knights after Hunter admitted he sent a player onto the ice to &ldquo;challenge&rdquo; a Guelph Storm player to fight during an Oct. 25 game in London.</p><p>Hunter was the interim coach in place of Lindsay Hofford, who was suspended 12 games Oct. 5 for a similar incident during a pre-season game.</p><p>The Knights were fined $5,000 on that occasion.</p><p>Hunter instructed lawyer Pat Ducharme of Windsor to file an appeal and Ducharme said legal action could follow if his client is not allowed back into his arena.</p><p>Hunter and his brother Dale, both retired NHLers, bought the team and arena in May for $3.8 million.</p><p>&ldquo;How can (Branch) ban me from my own building?&rdquo; Hunter said. &ldquo;He has all the jurisdiction for the GMs and so forth, that&rsquo;s within his power, but this is my business. I have to run an arena.&rdquo;</p><p>Two days after announcing the suspension, Branch lifted the ban preventing Hunter from entering his property Hunter can now enter the Ice House to fulfill his duties as arena manager.</p><p>During a hearing, Branch said Hunter, &ldquo;made reference to a certain player he did provide instructions to fight a player on the opposing team. He also acknowledged he attempted to humiliate the Guelph player when the incident concluded by making a turtling gesture.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011794/7717523-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="542" height="1002"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Bob Goodenow</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;Mr. Hunter has to work on handling the emotions of the game in a proper and acceptable fashion.&rdquo;</p><p>Hunter said he admitted, &ldquo;I told one player to challenge the Guelph player.&rdquo;</p><p>Storm center Brian Passmore told referee Terry Hobor before a faceoff in the third period that Knights&rsquo; players told him they&rsquo;d been sent out to fight him. After the puck was dropped, forward Daniel Bois initiated a fight with Passmore and that resulted in a 5-on-5 brawl.</p><p>The board of governors has 10 days to hear an appeal. The governors have never overturned a suspension in Branch&rsquo;s 21 years.</p><h2><b>Goodenow questioned</b></h2><p>NHL Players&rsquo; Association executive director Bob Goodenow was questioned by Bensenville, Ill., police after a cab driver claimed he was spat upon.</p><p>The Toronto <i>Sun</i> reported Goodenow was questioned for an alleged altercation with a cab driver near the Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; practice facility, but no charges were laid.</p><p>&ldquo;There are no charges, no future charges, nothing,&rdquo; said Bensenville police chief Tom Heriod. Heriod said the matter was blown out of proportion and the mixup was accidental. Goodenow was at the Blackhawks&rsquo; practice facility for a state-of-the-union meeting with the team.</p><h2><b>Four Nations Cup</b></h2><p>The U.S. national women&rsquo;s team beat Canada in the opening game of the 2000 Four Nations Cup and earned a berth in the final.</p><p>Cammi Granato had two goals and an assist in the 4-1 victory Nov. 8 in Provo, Utah. That guaranteed the U.S. team a spot in the Nov. 10 gold medal game against the winner of Canada vs. Finland.</p><p>The Americans beat Sweden 10-2 in a semifinal blowout.</p><p>The Four Nations Cup serves a test for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.</p><p><i><b>&mdash; with a file from Jim Cressman</b></i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-01

Hunter suspension most severe ever

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011641/7717554-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="211" height="249"></div><p>It&rsquo;s too early in the season to be thinking about the playoffs, but Anaheim has to be thinking about the playoffs.</p><p>Less than a year after a seven-game winless streak landed the Mighty Ducks in a hole that kept them out of the 1999-2000 post-season, the club stumbled through</p><p>a five-game skid that placed them in a familiar position &mdash; right behind the eight ball.</p><p>A 7-2 loss to Vancouver Nov. 8 left the Ducks in 11th place in the Western Conference, where 10 teams were at least two games above the .500 mark.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s adversity and you have to face it,&rdquo; said Anaheim coach Craig Hartsburg.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no sense trying to hide from the fact that we&rsquo;re struggling.&rdquo;</p><p>The Ducks faced a difficult road in their bid to get untracked, with two games against Colorado and one each against Detroit and Phoenix on the horizon.</p><p>&ldquo;There are a lot of teams that are going to have slumps,&rdquo; Hartsburg said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t worry about that.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> After watching sub-par performances from defenseman Patrick Traverse and left winger Andrei Nazarov, Hartsburg decided to give them some time off.</p><p>Traverse had one goal and was minus-4 in Anaheim&rsquo;s first 13 games. He was the victim when Edmonton defenseman Tom Poti&rsquo;s attempted centering pass deflected off his stick for the winning goal in a 5-3 Oilers&rsquo; triumph Oct. 30.</p><p>Traverse, who was a combined plus-29 the past two seasons with the Ottawa Senators, sat out the next four games.</p><p>Nazarov was a non-factor through 15 games, scoring one goal and registering a team-worst minus-9. He was scratched from the lineup Nov. 5 in Chicago.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> After falling four points short of a playoff berth last season largely because veteran Guy Hebert faltered down the stretch, Anaheim knew it would need better goaltending this year.</p><p>Through 17 games, Hebert and backup Dominic Roussel could not be faulted, but neither had they been the difference in winning games.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Center <b>German Titov</b>, who signed a three-year, $4.6-million free agent contract in July, scored just his second goal of the season Nov. 4 against Nashville&hellip;Defenseman <b>Ruslan Salei</b>, who sustained a badly bruised left foot in a 4-3 victory at Philadelphia Oct. 21, missed eight of the next nine games. X-rays and an MRI exam revealed no fractures.</p><p><i>&mdash; Dan Wood</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-01

Ducks fear history repeating, don’t want to miss playoffs again

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021157/7717585-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="210" height="244"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>fter a home loss to the Ottawa Senators, Atlanta Thrashers&rsquo; coach Curt Fraser jokingly suggested, &ldquo;Maybe we should start playing at a neutral site.&rdquo;</p><p>Only this is no joke.</p><p>The Thrashers were 0-4-2 at home and 2-1-3 on the road (including a five-game unbeaten streak). The 3-2 loss to the Senators Nov. 6 was distressing considering Atlanta thoroughly outplayed its opponent, outshooting the Sens 27-10 through two periods and 33-20 in the game.</p><p>Including last season, the Thrashers were winless in eight straight games at Philips Arena (0-6-2) and had just one victory in the last 26 games (1-21-4).</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re still making individual mistakes,&rdquo; said coach Curt Fraser.</p><p>&ldquo;We have to find our stride here. We&rsquo;ve improved, but we&rsquo;re not seeing any rewards for it yet.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Fraser has found a second line to give scoring support to the top line of Ray Ferraro, Donald Audette and Andrew Brunette.</p><p>Andreas Karlsson worked his way up to join center Finnish rookie left winger Tomi Kallio and right winger Shean Donovan to form an effective offensive unit.</p><p>Kallio had a hat trick in an 8-3 win at Boston Nov. 4 and five goals and three assists in nine games overall. Donovan had played well after starting the year as a penalty killer and spare forward.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> The Thrashers were outscored 6-2 on the power play in four home losses. Atlanta&rsquo;s two goals came on 27 chances (7.4 per cent).</p><p>Overall in 2000-01, the Thrashers were 0-4-1-0 when they failed to click with the man advantage and 2-1-4-0 when they scored at least once.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Goaltender <b>Damian Rhodes</b> missed one game with a sprained knee, came back, then strained his groin against Boston Nov. 4. He&rsquo;ll be sidelined until mid-November&hellip;Right winger <b>Donald Audette</b>, who burst out of the gates with 14 points in seven games, cooled off after returning from a strained groin, picking up just one assist in his first three games back&hellip;The home crowd of 12,109 on Nov. 6 &mdash; for a game against Ottawa &mdash; brought the season average to 13,429 through six dates. The team averaged 17,205 last season.</p><p><i>&mdash; Jeff Schultz</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-02

Thrashers prefer life on the road to Georgian home cooking

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04591/7717616-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="673" height="967"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03807/7717623-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="211" height="235"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>t took Mike Keenan just seven days to name Jason Allison his captain, but the Bruins&rsquo; new coach said the move amounted to more than sticking a &lsquo;C&rsquo; on the jersey of Boston&rsquo;s best player.</p><p>&ldquo;He has a level of competitiveness we&rsquo;re looking for and he certainly has recognition around the league,&rdquo; Keenan said of Allison, Boston&rsquo;s first captain since Ray Bourque was traded last March.</p><p>Allison, among the NHL scoring leaders with 23 points in 16 games, said he learned much from Bourque.</p><p>&ldquo;Ray really made people feel a part of the team and feel comfortable,&rdquo; Allison said. &ldquo;The important thing is making guys feel comfortable and accountable at the same time.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Left winger Ken Belanger and center Shawn Bates, who have been fourth-liners throughout their careers in Boston, were seeing more ice time than the No. 3 unit centered by Swedish rookie Samuel Pahlsson.</p><p>Belanger, the NHL penalty-minute leader (79 minutes in 15 games), responded with the third period winner in a 2-1 decision over Ottawa Nov. 9 &mdash; his first point of the season.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> In what may have been one of his final NHL appearances this season, rookie Andrew Raycroft made 32 saves to help Boston defeat Ottawa. With the return of Byron Dafoe (hamstring) imminent, Raycroft was expected to be sent to Providence (American League) for regular work as soon as the Bruins find a capable backup.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> New Boston GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell said the Bruins wouldn&rsquo;t resign defenseman Marty McSorley, whose suspension for last season&rsquo;s stick attack on Vancouver&rsquo;s Donald Brashear will last until Feb. 21 <i>(See pg. 7 for more on McSorley)&hellip;</i>Coach Mike Keenan said the blind-side hit that Toronto&rsquo;s Tie Domi laid on right winger Joe Hulbig Nov. 5 &lsquo;&hellip;was more dangerous than what Marty McSorley did. You can maim people that way.&rdquo; Domi escaped supplemental discipline by the league, while Hulbig was diagnosed with a concussion.</p><p><i>&mdash; Mike Loftus</i></p><p><b>PASS THE BUCK</b> Jason Allison, left, says if Boston isn&rsquo;t going to sign Anson Carter, the restricted free agent should be traded for immediate scoring help.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-04

New captain Allison says he’ll try to implement Bourque’s methods

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011583/7717654-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="209" height="250"></div><p>Martin Biron can only hope he has more success stopping pucks this season than, negotiating contracts.</p><p>The Sabres&rsquo; backup goalie Anally came to terms with the club Nov. 8 when he signed a two-year deal worth $1.3 million. That&rsquo;s an average of $650,000 per season, just $100,000 more than the qualifying offer he received months ago.</p><p>Without arbitration rights, Biron, 23, had almost no leverage in negotiations. The Sabres are known for moving little from their initial offer and weren&rsquo;t about to change for Biron.</p><p>&ldquo;The hockey part of it, I&rsquo;m glad,&rdquo; Biron said. &ldquo;The contract part, I&rsquo;m a little disappointed in what we got. We realized we weren&rsquo;t in the driver&rsquo;s seat.&rdquo;</p><p>Biron was 19-18-2 with a 2.42 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and Ave shutouts while subbing for an injured Hasek last season. Upon signing, he was sent to Rochester (AHL), where he recorded a 16-save shutout in his debut. He had been working out with restricted free agent center Michael Peca at the Sabres&rsquo; suburban practice facility.</p><p>The Sabres planned to get Biron work with Rochester before promoting him in time to relieve Dominik Hasek from a six-game stretch over 10 nights in mid-November.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Sabres opened the season with a 6-0-1-0 record at HSBC Arena, their best home start since going 13-0-1 in 1988 when they played in Memorial Auditorium.</p><p>On the down side, Buffalo started 1-4-0-1 on the road. Why? Scoring. The Sabres scored 25 goals in their first seven home games and 12 in their first six on the road. They were also shut out twice on the road.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Speedy winger Maxim Afinogenov was moved onto a line with Doug Gilmour and Chris Gratton, but the switch did not pay early dividends. Afinogenov went 12 games without a goal after scoring in the season opener. His three assists in a seven-game stretch after the move came on the power play. Afinogenov had been playing with center Stu Barnes and Dave Andreychuk.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Left winger <b>Dave Andreychuk&rsquo;s</b> goal against the Islanders Nov. 9 was the 556th of his career, tying him for 13th all-time with Boston great <b>John Bucyk</b>&hellip; The Sabres played eight consecutive games against backup goaltenders, going 4-2-1-1, before beating the Islanders&rsquo; <b>John Vanbiesbrouck</b> Nov. 9.</p><p><i>&mdash; Bucky Gleason</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-01

Biron happy to finally end stalemate, but not thrilled with financial results

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03917/7717685-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="836" height="1078"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021224/7717692-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="209" height="239"></div><p>Fires burning all over the Flames&rsquo; organization are threatening to incinerate any chances of a successful hockey season in Calgary.</p><p>Restricted free agent Derek Morris is making noise about playing in Europe. Their No. 1 goaltender, Fred Brathwaite, took a shot in the, urn, lower abdomen and he&rsquo;s out too. They lost their first three meetings with NHL expansion teams before finally eking out a 1-0 win over the Minnesota Wild Nov. 8.</p><p>Craig Button, the Flames&rsquo; first year GM, says that while he was unhappy with what he had seen so far, there was still a chance for a turnaround.</p><p>&ldquo;We got ourselves into this,&rdquo; said Button, &ldquo;so it&rsquo;s up to us to get ourselves out of this.&rdquo;</p><p>Button was primarily concerned with what he saw as lifeless play by his team. While former coach Brian Sutter&rsquo;s teams did not start any better, they seemed to have more passion.</p><p>The team has been doing a lot of collective navel-gazing, meeting endlessly in an attempt to talk their way into some solutions.</p><p>&ldquo;Everything&rsquo;s been said that needs to be said,&rdquo; said center Marc Savard. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just got to be done on the ice now.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Hoping to jump start an offense that scored just 32 goals through 16 games, Hay put three of his top offensive players on one line. Aborting the Cory Stillmanto-center experiment, Hay moved him to left wing, the position he&rsquo;d played most of his NHL career, alongside Marc Savard and Jarome Iginla. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re starting to click a bit,&rdquo; Savard said of his new line. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been creating a lot of chances and we just have to stick with it.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Injuries forced the Flames to use 14 different rearguards last season and it looks like this season could be more of the same.</p><p>Veteran defenseman Steve Smith suffered a concussion against Minnesota Nov. 8. He joined three other regulars, Robyn Regehr, Denis Gauthier and Tommy Albelin, on the sidelines. An unsigned Morris made it four regular blueliners unable to suit up for the Flames.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Reports the Flames were shopping right winger <b>Valeri Bure</b>, their leading scorer last season, were greatly exaggerated. Bure and coach <b>Don Hay</b> admitted they were not seeing eye-to-eye over a couple of issues, including the team&rsquo;s new system. However, Bure denied reports he wanted out, saying he just bought a new house in Calgary Trading Bure would represent a major shift in organizational thinking since among forwards, he is by far the team&rsquo;s most popular box office attraction.</p><p><i><b>&mdash; Eric Duhatschek</b></i></p><p><b>SAVING GRACE</b> one of the few bright spots during Calgary&rsquo;s lackluster start to 2000-01 has been the often spectacular play of goalie Fred Brathwaite.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-03

Passionless play burns up Flames’ GM, Button hopes season is salvageable

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04689/7717723-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="210" height="227"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>t the eye of the Hurricanes&rsquo; storm of early season struggles was Carolina captain Ron Francis, who suffered through an unusual stretch of ineffective play.</p><p>After scoring five points in three games, he had started regaining the pace that made him one of the league&rsquo;s best players. But with his team slumping to one win and one tie in nine games, a resurgent Francis may not be enough though he is happy to try and lead the way.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not that old yet,&rdquo; said the 37-year-old center.</p><p>Teammates still deem it a pleasure to be assigned to Francis&rsquo; line. Almost to a man, such assignments are greeted with anticipation because of what he has to offer. With every point, Francis makes a move on one of the NHL&rsquo;s all-time lists.</p><p>Through 14 games this season, Francis had passed Denis Savard and Bernie Nicholls on the career goal list and his 476 goals ranked No. 34 in NHL history His 1,092 assists and 1,568 career points both rank him in the top six all-time and by season&rsquo;s end he could pass Phil Esposito&rsquo;s 1,590 career points total for fifth place.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> When defenseman Kevin Hatcher came off the injured list in early November after missing eight games with a bruised hand, coach Maurice needed to find a good spot for the right-handed shooter.</p><p>If Hatcher gets permanentiy paired with the versatile Glen Wesley &mdash; who had bounced around between partners because of several blueline injuries &mdash; and the Sandis Ozolinsh-Dave Karpa duo remains together, the third pairing will be very young with Maurice choosing from second-year players David Tanabe, Steve Halko, Marek Malik and rookie Niclas Wallin.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Right winger Jeff O&rsquo;Neill and left winger Bates Battaglia were supposed to be two of the young Hurricanes picking up the scoring this season. But through 14 games, they had combined for 11 points and just three goals each.</p><p>O&rsquo;Neill led the team with 25 goals last season, but he and Battaglia lost ice time for sloppy play.</p><p>&ldquo;Me or Bates or somebody has to pick up the intensity,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Neill said.</p><p>The offense has shown little consistency. Toronto beat Carolina 5-0 Nov. 8, marking the Hurricanes&rsquo; first shutout loss since February.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Left winger <b>Bates Battaglia,</b> who received a charging penalty and game misconduct for his Nov. 4 concussion-inducing hit on San Jose center <b>Mark Smith,</b> was cleared of any further disciplinary action by the NHL &hellip; Right winger <b>Rob DiMaio</b> had been hampered by back spasms, but missed only one of the first four games since the problem developed &hellip; Facing his former Colorado Avalanche teammates in Denver Nov. 3, defenseman <b>Sandis Ozolinsh</b> had a goal and assist&hellip;Goalie <b>Jean-Marc Pelletier</b> didn&rsquo;t play during his brief call-up filling in for goalie <b>Arturs Irbe,</b> who was attending his grandmother&rsquo;s funeral in Latvia. <b>Tyler Moss</b> played in Irbe&rsquo;s absence.</p><p><i><b>&mdash; Bob Sutton</b></i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-04

Revitalized Francis breaking records, hopes Carolina season isn’t history

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011417/7717754-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="212" height="239"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>hicago Blackhawks&rsquo; GM Mike Smith continued his makeover of the defense with the acquisition of Jaroslav Spacek from Florida for Anders Eriksson.</p><p>Since training camp, Smith has replaced Eriksson, Bryan McCabe and Brad Brown with Spacek, Alexander Karpovtsev and Stephane Quintal.</p><p>&ldquo;If you go back to (February), when we got Kevin Dean, the only defenseman left from then is (Boris) Mironov,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;We think it&rsquo;s better.&rdquo;</p><p>While Eriksson had been playing his best hockey since arriving from Detroit in the Chris Chelios deal, Smith felt Spacek was a better fit.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s similar offensively and defensively to Anders, he moves the puck well and he has a good shot,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not a physical defenseman, but he competes physically. We just thought he was a guy who played a little stronger game than Eriksson.&rdquo;</p><p>Spacek wasn&rsquo;t surprised to be traded with the Panthers off to a terrible start and his role changed.</p><p>&ldquo;I guess they weren&rsquo;t happy with my game,&rdquo; Spacek said. &ldquo;I hope I will find my game back here.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Coach Alpo Suhonen changed the Hawks&rsquo; forechecking system and the switch resulted in 14 goals and two victories in three games, including a 6-1 drubbing of Detroit at Joe Louis Arena.</p><p>The Hawks are now sending two forwards in aggressively on the puck instead of one and doing less trapping in the neutral zone.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going more in straight lines so it creates more hits,&rdquo; Suhonen said.</p><p>The players favored the new system. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a working forecheck and the guys are committed to it,&rdquo; said Steve Sullivan.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Second-liners Sullivan and Michael Nylander, who combined for 115 points last season, were heating up after a slow start.</p><p>Nylander and Sullivan combined for nine goals in a four-game stretch that saw the Hawks go 2-1-0-1. Nylander was skating better after suffering through a groin problem in training camp. The line began to click again when Dean McAmmond was put back at left wing in place of struggling rookie Reto Von Arx.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> GM <b>Mike Smith</b> says he&rsquo;s in no hurry to trade left winger <b>Eric Daze</b>, who asked to be dealt Oct. 29. &ldquo;If people want to call we&rsquo;ll talk,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;I still think his request was more out of frustration.&rdquo;&hellip;<b>Mike Gillis</b>, <b>Tony Amonte&rsquo;s</b> new agent, had his first meeting with Smith to discuss a contract. &ldquo;Nothing really came of it,&rdquo; said Amonte, who will be an unrestricted free agent after 2001-02.</p><p><i>&mdash; Tim Sassone</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-01

Smith’s defense transformation includes a competitive Spacek

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03780/7717785-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="712" height="1026"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021093/7717792-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="209" height="240"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>olorado Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy pleaded innocent to a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief connected to domestic violence Nov. 7 in an Arapahoe County court.</p><p>Roy&rsquo;s wife, Michele Piuze, was in the courtroom when Roy and his attorney, Pamela Mackey, entered the plea. Judge Richard Jauch set a motions hearing for Jan. 31 and a trail date for March 5, the day after the Avalanche begins a four-game road trip.</p><p>As the couple left the courthouse Roy said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very disappointed. All I want is to see our family life back to normal.&rdquo;</p><p>Piuze said the case against Patrick was &ldquo;ridiculous.&rdquo; &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe this case is going forward,&rdquo; she added.</p><p>The Roys kissed outside the courthouse and then Patrick departed for a pre-game skate at the Pepsi Center. Roy and the Avalanche shut out Minnesota 2-0 that night.</p><p>If convicted, Roy could face a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Roy, a Canadian citizen, could be deported if he is found guilty. Roy was arrested at his home Oct. 22 after Michele called 911 and then hung up. The couple was arguing over in-laws. Roy admitted he tore two bedroom doors off their hinges, but Michele was not physically harmed. Piuze is not cooperating with prosecutors which makes their case harder to win.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> With injuries to forwards Chris Drury and Adam Deadmarsh, coach Bob Hartley has shuffled line combinations from shift to shift. He has been dressing 11 forwards and seven defenseman. In the game against Minnesota, he kept Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk together and used four different wingers with them. &ldquo;I try to keep Milan and Peter together because they are clicking well,&rdquo; Hartley said. &ldquo;As a coach I have to figure out who is coming out on the ice next for the other team. I&rsquo;m trying to put someone out there to work with Peter and Milan.&rdquo;</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Right winger Dan Hinote&rsquo;s playing time increased and he picked up three assists in the first two games that Drury and Deadmarsh were sidelined. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to see Danny coming in and taking advantage of the ice time he getting,&rdquo; Hartley said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been waiting for this occasion and he&rsquo;s a fierce competitor. He gives us a lot of speed and a spark.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Veteran defenseman <b>Alexei Gusarov</b> was the only player not to play in the first 14 games. He missed the first five games with a bruised foot and a healthy scratch in the next nine games.</p><p><i>&mdash; Jim Benton</i></p><p><b>NOTHING DOING</b> Boris Mironov plays more than any Hawk (23:49), but his production (three points) and plus-minus (minus-4) are down.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-03

Wife disappointed as Roy forced to stand trial for criminal mischief

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04572/7717823-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="213" height="244"></div><p>In the span of about two weeks, defenseman Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre evolved into an impact performer for the Columbus Blue Jackets.</p><p>First, rookie Rostislav Klesla was returned to major junior, clearing space on the blueline. Then enforcer Krzysztof Oliwa went down with a broken left arm, creating a need for muscle and grit. Grand-Pierre took advantage of his opportunity.</p><p>&ldquo;This is a 23-year-old kid with a lot of potential,&rdquo; said GM-president Doug MacLean. &ldquo;He has really found his game at a crucial time for us. He&rsquo;s still learning, but he&rsquo;s starting to live up to that potential.&rdquo;</p><p>Grand-Pierre showed he is capable of the big hit in a limited role with Buffalo the past two seasons. But he has become much more reliable with Columbus, much less apt to get beaten by speedy forwards.</p><p>&ldquo;I feel very confident with Jean-Luc back there for us,&rdquo; said coach Dave King. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve really come to trust him in the past few weeks.&rdquo;</p><p>Grand-Pierre skates well enough to suggest he may develop into a two-way defenseman. On Nov. 9, he scored his first NHL goal and earned his second NHL assist in a 5-2 win over San Jose. For his efforts, he was named The Hockey News defenseman of the week <i>(see pg. 36).</i></p><p>&ldquo;It felt great to get the first goal out of the way,&rdquo; said Grand-Pierre, who had 16 minutes of ice time against the Sharks.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> MacLean was tired of watching his top affiliate (Syracuse in the AHL) lose because of shoddy goaltending, so he demoted netminder Greg Gardner from the Crunch to Dayton (ECHL). Gardner was the first player signed by Columbus, but was getting drilled at the AHL level. To take his place, MacLean acquired proven minor-leaguer Jean-Francois Labbe from the Rangers for minor league defenseman Bert Robertsson. &ldquo;The guys (in Syracuse) are playing hard,&rdquo; MacLean said. &ldquo;They deserve better.&rdquo;</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> One of the biggest disappointments of the early season was the struggles of forward Robert Kron. He had 40 points in Carolina last season, but had just one assist through 16 games this season. He was skating well and creating chances, but wasn&rsquo;t converting. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s overdue,&rdquo; King said. &ldquo;If it all evens out in the end for Robert Kron, I&rsquo;d say look out.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The Jackets&rsquo; Nov. 9 victory over San Jose gave them a 3-3-1-0 record in a seven-game span. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve figured out the kind of team we have,&rdquo; said center <b>Kevyn Adams</b>. &ldquo;If teams take us for granted, we&rsquo;ll beat them. It&rsquo;s that simple.&rdquo; &hellip; Left winger <b>Geoff Sanderson</b> scored four goals in a six-game span &hellip; <b>Ron Tugnutt</b> and <b>Marc Denis</b> were sharing goaltending duties early in the season, but Tugnutt took the reigns with a 2-1-1 record and 2.00 goals-against average in a four-game stretch in early November.</p><p><i>&mdash; Aaron Portzline</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-04

Grand-Pierre taking full advantage of opportunity on Columbus blueline

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011461/7717854-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="244" height="252"></div><p>Bob Gainey was always willing to answer Team Canada&rsquo;s call. This time, the phone never rang.</p><p>So the Dallas Stars&rsquo; general manager, who hoped to be a part of Canada&rsquo;s Olympic team in 2002, will have a two-week break instead.</p><p>After serving as an assistant GM under Bob Clarke for the 1998 Games and building a team that reached consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, Gainey had been considered the front-runner for a management post with the 2002 effort.</p><p>But Team Canada opted to go with icon Wayne Gretzky as the team&rsquo;s top executive.</p><p>&ldquo;I always said I would be happy to do anything if asked,&rdquo; Gainey said. &ldquo;But I wasn&rsquo;t asked.&rdquo;</p><p>He declined further comment.</p><p>However, Stars&rsquo; coach Ken Hitchcock was named an associate coach. Gretzky called him personally and asked Hitchcock to join the staff, fulfilling one of Hitchcock&rsquo;s lifelong dreams.</p><p>&ldquo;I love hockey and I love my country and I&rsquo;d be happy to sweep up the floors for a chance to be involved,&rdquo; he said.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The biggest problem facing the Stars was a seven-day layoff &mdash; call it an unofficial bye week &mdash; created by a scheduling conflict at Reunion Arena and by the reluctance of other teams to host early in the week. The Stars were idle from Nov. 4 through Nov. 10. Hitchcock&rsquo;s main concern was his older players.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s like having to re-start the engine again,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;Practices become less relevant and playing becomes everything. That&rsquo;s a veteran player&rsquo;s mentality.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> After failing to maintain a third period lead in two of their last three games, Hitchcock was left pondering defensive breakdowns. &ldquo;You can take games that are 2-1 and make it 4-1 or 5-1 by doing it properly,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not there. It&rsquo;s not perplexing. It&rsquo;s just a good lesson for us as coaches. Assume nothing and re-teach everything.&rdquo;</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Right winger <b>Mike Keane&rsquo;s</b> junior team in Moose Jaw, Sask., where he played from 1984 through 1987, retired his No. 25 jersey &hellip; Center <b>Mike Modano</b> set a personal record and also recorded the fastest slap shot in Dallas&rsquo; NHL Super Skills competition when he registered a 103.4 mph shot. Modano&rsquo;s shot eclipsed the 102.9 mph shot he registered at the 1993 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal. Left winger <b>Jere Lehtinen</b> won the fastest skater competition in 14.074 seconds &hellip; With eight goals, including three in his last two games, center <b>Joe Nieuwendyk</b> is more than halfway to the 15 he scored all of last season.</p><p><i>&mdash; Chuck Carlton</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

Gainey shut out of 2002 Olympic posting, Hitchcock will serve as associate coach

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021104/7717885-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="210" height="240"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>amous for keeping his players off-balance, Detroit coach Scotty Bowman has been living up to his legend and creating tension in the camp of the up&mdash;and-down Detroit Red Wings.</p><p>After his team suffered two embarrassing losses in four days &mdash; a 6-2 whipping Oct. 31 from a Washington Capitals team that had won once in 11 games and a 6-1 hammering Nov. 3 by a Chicago Blackhawks squad that had previously beaten only expansion teams &mdash; Bowman went to work.</p><p>He conducted intense practices that seemed like sessions of a youth hockey school, full of basic drills stressing speed, crispness and concentration.</p><p>Twice he implied some players hadn&rsquo;t been earning the money doled out by management since the team won consecutive Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998.</p><p>&ldquo;The guys that have been rewarded for their play in &rsquo;97 and &rsquo;98, you&rsquo;ve got a whole bunch of them,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;Now they&rsquo;ve got to reward the team with better play It&rsquo;s as simple as that.&rdquo;</p><p>The result? The Wings won 4-2 at Phoenix Nov. 8, snapping the Coyotes&rsquo; 12-game unbeaten streak.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Wings&rsquo; penalty-killing unit has been the team&rsquo;s strength and one of the best in the league.</p><p>It didn&rsquo;t allow a power play goal in four straight games, shut out the opposition seven out of nine games and had scored three shorthanded goals.</p><p>Bowman was employing a wide variety of players, up to eight forwards and four defensemen, as penalty-killers in each game.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> The six goals allowed against Washington and Chicago annoyed Bowman.</p><p>&ldquo;We need more out of everybody,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get back to good defensive hockey. When you give up six goals, it&rsquo;s everything. It&rsquo;s not just one little thing. It&rsquo;s sloppy play. It&rsquo;s goaltending. It&rsquo;s the whole nine yards.&rdquo;</p><p>The Wings responded with an excellent defensive performance against Phoenix.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Goaltender <b>Manny Legace&rsquo;s</b> win over Phoenix Nov. 8 improved his record to 5-1-0. With No. 1 goalie <b>Chris Osgood</b> struggling and the team entering a stretch of 21 games in 39 days, the Red Wings plan to play Legace often &hellip; Watching his team struggle, GM <b>Ken Holland</b> remained patient, but wanted improvement. &ldquo;Until this point in time, I&rsquo;ve really sat and watched,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If we don&rsquo;t start to play the way we think we can play, we&rsquo;ll have to look at what options might be available to us, whether it be trades, whether it be callups, whatever moves might be available.&rdquo;</p><p><i>&mdash; Nicholas J. Cotsonika</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-02

Bowman says players rewarded for Cups owe more to team than they’re delivering

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021003/7717937-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="264" height="296"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Radek Dvorak Rangers</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011350/7717944-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="212" height="241"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>obody is expecting Ethan Moreau to rocket up the NHL&rsquo;s scoring chart, but the Oilers are hopeful his return will provide the club with a more balanced attack.</p><p>&ldquo;(It&rsquo;s) going to give us an opportunity to give ourselves increased production on our second or third line,&rdquo; said coach Craig MacTavish.</p><p>Moreau recorded a career-high 17 goals last season, but missed the first 13 games of 2000-01 after undergoing summer shoulder surgery. He was inserted on a line alongside center Dominic Pittis and right winger Dan Cleary, but had no points in four games.</p><p>Moreau wasn&rsquo;t worrying, however. &ldquo;I feel confident I can contribute,&rdquo; he said.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Pittis, a healthy scratch the first 12 games of the season, had a goal and three points in his first six games after being inserted into the lineup. &ldquo;Being in the press box isn&rsquo;t a very fun part of the game, so my attitude right now is I&rsquo;m in the lineup and I&rsquo;m going to do everything in my power so they can&rsquo;t take me out,&rdquo; said Pittis, who signed as an unrestricted free agent during the off-season.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Goalie Tommy Salo&rsquo;s goals-against average (2.42) and save percentage (.906) were slightly off last year&rsquo;s numbers (2.33 and .914), but Salo&rsquo;s value to the team isn&rsquo;t in question. &ldquo;Everybody knows the organization has been happy with Tommy, he has shown everybody how good he can be and what he can bring to our team &mdash; every night,&rdquo; said left winger Bill Guerin.</p><p>Salo brought the team a shutout Nov. 3 when he turned aside 20 shots in a 3-0 win over Minnesota. The 17th shutout of Salo&rsquo;s career came one day after he signed a three-year, $10.4-million contract extension.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> It was a tough start to November for defenseman <b>Igor Ulanov</b>. On a play eerily similar to the one that ended <b>Trent McLeary&rsquo;s</b> career last season, Ulanov was hit in the neck area by a <b>Petteri Nummelin</b> slap shot in Columbus Nov. 5. &ldquo;I was pretty scared,&rdquo; Ulanov said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t swallow or breathe and I started to see lights in my eyes.&rdquo; Fortunately, Ulanov wasn&rsquo;t seriously hurt and finished the game. But in the next game against the Islanders, he took a puck in the mouth that cut him for 20 stitches. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just one of those things,&rdquo; Ulanov smiled.</p><p><i>&mdash; Mario Annicchiarico</i></p><p><b>BEAUTIES AND BEASTS</b> The relationship between points and penalty minutes can be a unique one in the NHL. At left are players with the highest ratio (infinity) of points to penalty minutes and, at right, players with the highest ratio of penalty minutes to points.</p><h2><b>Points to Penalty Minutes</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03677/7717930-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="884" height="282"></div><h2><b>Penalty Minutes to Points (minimum one point)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04518/7717923-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="897" height="282"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05386/7717916-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="265" height="298"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Ken Belanger Boston</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0019-02

Healthy Moreau looks to contribute

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011244/7717975-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="212" height="250"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span>aving trouble scoring and floundering in a sea of injuries, the Panthers turned to 37-year-old unrestricted free agent left winger Greg Adams for help.</p><p>When Adams signed Nov. 6, the Panthers had just six healthy forwards with more than one year of NHL experience in the lineup. The club was also averaging fewer than two goals per game.</p><p>GM Bryan Murray said Adams&rsquo; size (6-foot-3,195 pounds), character and experience will give the Panthers a chance to &ldquo;compete&rdquo; in the offensive zone. In Adams&rsquo; first game, a 4-2 loss to Montreal Nov. 8, he did the grunt work along the boards to set up a Mike Sillinger goal.</p><p>Adams wasn&rsquo;t re-signed by Phoenix, despite offering to take a pay cut from $1 million to $500,000. He agreed to a one-year contract with the Panthers worth $700,00, but will only get about $575,000 because it&rsquo;s pro-rated.</p><p>Adams is relieved to be back.</p><p>&ldquo;It was a scary time for me,&rdquo; said Adams, who had 19 goals and 46 points in 69 games last season for the Coyotes. &ldquo;You get a whole new appreciation for something you love to do when it looks like it might be the end.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Defenseman Dan Boyle was a healthy scratch Nov. 8 against the Canadiens, his first press box assignment of the season. Boyle had only three assists and 16 shots in 12 games despite being a power play regular. Coach Terry Murray said he wasn&rsquo;t disappointed in Boyle, but needed more size and offense in the lineup.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Left winger Ray Whitney, who signed a new deal this summer, had two goals after 13 games. One of them came when the Panthers were down 4-0 to Colorado and the other when the Panthers were down 4-1 to Boston.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The Panthers picked up defenseman <b>Anders Eriksson</b> from Chicago Nov. 6 in exchange for blueliner <b>Jaroslav Spacek.</b> Eriksson and GM <b>Bryan Murray</b> have roots that go back to 1993 when Murray&rsquo;s Red Wings selected Eriksson 22nd overall in the entry draft&hellip;Coach <b>Terry Murray</b> voted in his first U.S. Presidential election since becoming an American citizen in 1998. He said his wife, Linda, ordered him out of the house to vote. Noting the uncertainty in the final tallies from Florida, Murray quipped, &ldquo;Now, I don&rsquo;t know how I did.&rdquo;</p><p><i>&mdash; David J. Neal</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

Panthers ink Adams for scoring, savvy

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02877/7718006-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="210" height="261"></div><p>Is Jamie Storr finally ready for prime time, full-time?</p><p>Having shared the Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; goaltending duties with Stephane Fiset the past four years, Storr took advantage of Fiset&rsquo;s absence (sprained left knee) to post a 4-0-1 record during a five-game stretch in early November.</p><p>Storr went on his run after a difficult loss to the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets on Halloween night.</p><p>&ldquo;The last few days might have been some of the biggest in Jamie&rsquo;s career,&rdquo; said coach Andy Murray. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to go overboard, but it has been a long, tough stretch and I really feel good for him.&rdquo;</p><p>Overall, the 24-year-old Storr was 8-4-2, with a 2.53 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.</p><p>Fiset, out since Sept. 22, hoped to be back by mid-November.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Storr&rsquo;s hot streak coincided with better defensive play from the Kings&rsquo; forwards, especially a new fourth line of Kelly Buchberger, Bryan Smolinski and Nelson Emerson. Buchberger had been filling an enforcer&rsquo;s role until Stu Grimson returned from injury.</p><p>&ldquo;All of us have been around,&rdquo; said Emerson, a five-time 20-goal scorer. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re older and know that to stick around you have to play two-way hockey.&rdquo; Murray was referring to the fourth unit as his &ldquo;energy line.&rdquo;</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Right winger Ziggy Palffy was leading the league in scoring (nine goals and 25 points) and set a personal best with assists in seven straight games. That was the good news. The bad was the fact Palffy went nine consecutive games without a goal. Palffy ended the skid with a goal against Vancouver Nov. 9. All in all, Murray thinks his No. 1 unit, which also features center Jozef Stumpel and left winger Tomas Vlasak, can do better. &ldquo;We need them at their best every night and I told them we hadn&rsquo;t seen that,&rdquo; Murray said.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Center Bryan Smolinski wasn&rsquo;t expected to play in the Kings&rsquo; 2-1 victory over the Devils Nov. 4 because he was due back in L.A. for the birth of his first child. Then, after being told the baby would be late, Smolinski stayed, scored a goal, then learned the child was born anyway.</p><p><i>&mdash; Matt McHale</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-02

Storr comes up big as ailing Fiset mends

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03615/7718037-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="224" height="230"></div><p>Being an expansion team, the Wild figured to have trouble scoring. But they didn&rsquo;t think it would be <i>this</i> bad.</p><p>In its first 16 games, the Wild was shut out five times and held to just one goal on four other occasions.</p><p>Minnesota was on pace to finish the season as the lowest scoring team (average goals per game) in NHL history With 26 goals, the Wild was averaging 1.63 goals per game. Projected over an 82-game schedule, the Wild would score 134 goals. The record for fewest goals over a minimum 70-game schedule is 133 goals (Chicago, 1953-54) or 1.90 goals per game.</p><p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s face it, we&rsquo;re not an offensive team,&rdquo; said coach Jacques Lemaire. &ldquo;We will struggle for goals.&rdquo;</p><p>It didn&rsquo;t help that right winger Sergei Krivokrasov was lost five games into the season with a sprained right knee, but he isn&rsquo;t the sole answer to the team&rsquo;s woes.</p><p>Left winger Scott Pellerin stood atop the Wild scoring list with two goals and nine points in 16 games.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Wild&rsquo;s power play isn&rsquo;t exactly threatening at home, but it&rsquo;s downright abysmal on the road. The Wild was 6-for-46 on the power play through its first eight home games (13.0 per cent), but 0-for-40 on the road through eight games. Overall, Minnesota had the NHL&rsquo;s worst power play at 7.0 per cent.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> The Wild continued to rotate goalies Manny Fernandez and Jamie McLennan, but Fernandez was starting to steal the spotlight. In his first six starts, he allowed only 14 goals. Overall, his goals-against average was 2.36 and his save percentage .911.</p><p>Now the rub: he only had two victories. His skinny win total likely has something to do with the fact the Wild scored only 12 goals in his six starts.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Coach <b>Jacques Lemaire</b> became the 34th coach in NHL history to win 250 games when the Wild beat Calgary in overtime Nov. 5. The win moved Lemaire into a tie for 32nd on the all-time list with <b>Milt Schmidt</b> and <b>Don Cherry</b>&hellip;Don&rsquo;t be surprised if defenseman <b>Curtis Leschyshyn</b> takes the odd game off. He&rsquo;s battling a strained groin, but the club doesn&rsquo;t want to put him on injured reserved. Instead, he&rsquo;ll practise less and miss the occasional game.</p><p><i><b>&mdash; Tom Jones</b></i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-03

Goals at premium for expansion Wild

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02611/7718068-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="661" height="874"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01999/7718075-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="208" height="247"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>hey&rsquo;ve played like clowns at times over the last two seasons so it&rsquo;s no surprise a circus would be interested in purchasing the Montreal Canadiens.</p><p>A report in Montreal&rsquo;s <i>La Presse</i> newspaper said a group led by singer Celine Dion&rsquo;s husband and manager Rene Angelil that includes the singer, the world famous Cirque du Soleil and the French-language TVA television network, is among the bidders for the team and the Molson Centre.</p><p>Angelil watched an early-season game from club president Pierre Boivin&rsquo;s private box and didn&rsquo;t deny rumors he would make a bid.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Through 15 games this season, the Canadiens&rsquo; had scored 17 more goals than last year but had also allowed 12 more. The team&rsquo;s 5-8-2-0 record was marginally better than last year&rsquo;s 3-10-1-1 mark. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re making mistakes early in every game and that has been hurting us,&rdquo; said center Sergei Zholtok said.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> The Canadiens lost five of six games after goaltender Jeff Hackett suffered a broken hand, partly because of backup Jose Theodore&rsquo;s sub-par play. Sound in a pair of 2-1 losses to the Islanders Oct. 27 and 28, Theodore allowed four goals against Detroit Nov. 1, three on five shots before being removed against Buffalo Nov. 3, and five on 23 shots against the Rangers Nov. 4. He rebounded with a 4-2 win at Florida Nov. 8 &mdash; the Canadiens&rsquo; first road victory of the season.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Veteran defenseman <b>Darryl Shannon,</b> an unrestricted free agent signee, was assigned to Quebec of the American League&hellip;Left winger <b>Enrico Ciccone</b>, who missed most of training camp and the first 12 games with a strained groin, made his season debut at Buffalo Nov. 3&hellip;The Canadiens could have some interest in unrestricted free agent forward <b>Alex Selivanov</b>, who scored 27 goals in 67 games last season with Edmonton. GM Rejean Houle has long been a fan of the player.</p><p><i>&mdash; Herb Zurkowsky</i></p><p><b>IDENTITY CRISIS</b> Trevor Linden feels the Canadiens&rsquo; biggest problem has been their inability to forge a team identity.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-02

Titanic group shows interest in Habs, investors include Dion, circus troupe

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03371/7718106-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="241" height="229"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span>oping to generate more offense, Nashville coach Barry Trotz has auditioned four players at center on the first line with wingers Cliff Ronning and Patric Kjellberg.</p><p>David Legwand, who centered Ronning all of last year, has been bumped and each of Greg Johnson, Randy Robitaille and Sebastien Bordeleau have seen time on the top unit.</p><p>Trotz&rsquo;s thinking is to get a four-line attack going by separating the top offensive players, but with a lineup of what he called &ldquo;interchangeable&rdquo; parts, Trotz has been quick to make moves if a lines don&rsquo;t click.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Versatility is usually a good thing, but center Greg Johnson&rsquo;s value as a two-way player is robbing the 29-year-old center of scoring chances. Though he scored 44 points last season, Johnson had been playing on a checking line with wingers Tom Fitzgerald and Rob Valicevic this year. Still, Johnson had been the most consistent center on a team that started a surprisingly strong 6-4-4-1. In the Predators&rsquo; 4-3 win at New Jersey Nov. 8, he pounced on a turnover and slipped a pass to Fitzgerald, who potted the winner</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> The addition of defenseman Cale Hulse &mdash; acquired from the Calgary Flames at last season&rsquo;s trade deadline &mdash; has made the Predators&rsquo; blueline far more consistent. Paired with Kimmo Timonen, Hulse&rsquo;s presence has allowed Trotz to spread out ice time. Karlis Skrastins and Drake Berehowsky remain the team&rsquo;s top pair, with steady veteran Bill Houlder partnered with Richard Lintner or Rory Fitzpatrick.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Goalie <b>Mike Dunham</b> skated for the first time Nov. 8 since suffering a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee Oct. 27. But he was at least a week&mdash;and-a-half away from returning to the lineup &hellip; Rookie center <b>Greg Classen,</b> an undrafted free agent out of Merrimack College and the biggest surprise of training camp, was sent to Milwaukee of the IHL. GM <b>David Poile</b> said he showed enough to be part of &ldquo;our long-term plans,&rdquo; but got caught in an ice time squeeze when center Sebastien Bordeleau rebounded from a sluggish start &hellip; With goalie Dunham injured and backup Tomas Vokoun playing with a small foot fracture, equipment assistant and former high school goalie Chris Moody played goal during a practice.</p><p><i>&mdash; Jeff Legwold</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-03

Trotz stuck in the middle with who? Revolving door at pivot on first line

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04267/7718137-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="214" height="253"></div><p>Had defenseman Brian Rafalski proved to be a one-year wonder, New Jersey Devils&rsquo; GM Lou Lamoriello might have signed restricted free agent</p><p>Scott Niedermayer no matter what the cost. Convinced the sophomore jinx would bypass Rafalski, Lamoriello was content to hold firm on his &ldquo;final offer&rdquo; to Niedermayer, a three-year deal for $3.5 million, $3.6 million and $3.7 million.</p><p>The reason: through the first 14 games of the season, Rafalski gave the Devils a lot of what Niedermayer offers &mdash; a speedy defenseman who moves the puck quickly up ice and plays well in his own end.</p><p>Signed as a free agent after playing one year in Sweden and three in Finland, Rafalski&rsquo;s adjustment to the NHL was made easier by being paired with veteran Scott Stevens. That duo faced the top opposing lines when the Devils won the Cup last season and continued to be the club&rsquo;s No. 1 unit.</p><p>&ldquo;What hurts a lot of guys is they come in and have success and then they sit on their laurels,&rdquo; said coach Larry Robinson. &ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>Perhaps to Niedermayer&rsquo;s dismay, Rafalski signed a four-year, $ll-million contract extension this summer.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Robinson&rsquo;s system encourages defensemen to join the offense, but the coach was not happy with his defense corps during the club&rsquo;s four-game (0-3-1) winless streak. &ldquo;Our defense wants to score goals,&rdquo; Robinson said. &ldquo;They forgot their first job is playing defense. Right now we&rsquo;re not willing to do the little things well. We want to do it the easy way and there are no easy ways.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> While the team struggled defensively, goalie Martin Brodeur came back from a groin injury he suffered Nov. 2 in Toronto. After removing himself from that game, Brodeur sat out the next contest before stopping 32 shots against Nashville Nov. 8. Brodeur played despite some lingering soreness. &ldquo;I felt it, but it didn&rsquo;t interfere with the way I played the game,&rdquo; Brodeur said.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> There was concern about unsigned free agent center <b>Jason Arnott&rsquo;s</b> conditioning if and when he signed. Arnott&rsquo;s agent <b>Don Meehan</b>, confirmed Arnott was on a hunting trip but said the concerns were unwarranted&hellip;Center <b>Bobby Holik</b>, who became an American citizen Nov. 4,1996, cast his first ballot in a presidential election&hellip;Rookie defenseman <b>Sascha Goc</b>, who suffered partially torn cartilage in his right knee Nov. 4, underwent successful arthroscopic surgery the following day and is out until mid-November.</p><p><i>&mdash; Rich Chere</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-04

No Rafalski slump in second season; play negates Niedermayer’s absence

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011122/7718168-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="208" height="238"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>udding star Brad Isbister, has been a tremendous bargain for the New York Islanders this season, thriving after coach Butch Goring shifted him from left wing to center.</p><p>After a brief training camp holdout, Isbister accepted the team&rsquo;s one-year, take-it-or-leave-it offer worth just $385,000.</p><p>Though he earns less than fourth line teammates Mike Stapleton ($450,000) and Jesse Belanger ($465,000), Isbister&rsquo;s eight goals through 13 games show he&rsquo;s quickly gaining leverage for his next negotiating session.</p><p>&ldquo;That stuff in the off-season is behind me,&rdquo; Isbister said.</p><p>&ldquo;I have to concentrate on playing hockey and prove to everyone what I can do and hopefully get a better offer next time around.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Goring moved Isbister to center mostly to find more ice time for rookie Taylor Pyatt, the club&rsquo;s 1999 first round draft pick, after Milbury decided against returning Pyatt to his Ontario League junior club, the Sudbury Wolves. Pyatt was getting only five minutes of fourth line ice time over the team&rsquo;s first 10 games, but he&rsquo;s now seeing action on the first line with Isbister and right winger Mariusz Czerkawski. The Isles expect to release Pyatt, 19, to play for Canada at the World Junior Championship in Russia over the Christmas holidays.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> The Islanders&rsquo; veteran netminding tandem of John Vanbiesbrouck and Wade Flaherty had combined for a 2.36 goals-against average over the team&rsquo;s eye-opening 6-4-2-1 start. Meanwhile Rick DiPietro, the first goalie ever selected No. 1 overall in the NHL draft, struggled with Chicago of the International League. DiPietro, 19, was 2-4 with a 4.44 goals-against average and an .830 save percentage.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Defenseman and captain <b>Kenny Jonsson</b> apologized to fans and media for blowing off reporters after his turnover led to a game-tying goal in the final minute of an overtime loss in Tampa Nov. 3&hellip;Goalie <b>Rick DiPietro</b> was recalled from Chicago of the IHL Nov. 5 but sent back one day later. He didn&rsquo;t see any action serving as an emergency backup to <b>Wade Flaherty</b> because starter <b>John Vanbiesbrouck&rsquo;s</b> wife was having a baby&hellip;Center Jesse Belanger was recalled from Chicago of the IHL Nov. 3.</p><p><i>&mdash; Peter Botte</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-01

Isbister rates raise, position shift scores

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03588/7718199-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="673" height="979"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02803/7718206-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="214" height="250"></div><p>Theo Fleury&rsquo;s 400 career goals meant little to New York Rangers&rsquo; fans.</p><p>Though the left winger scored the milestone goal Nov. 4 in Montreal, the Ranger faithful were happier about his 11 goals in 13 games this season.</p><p>Fleury scored 15 all season, by far the worst of his career,.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great hockey player.&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; coach Ron Low. &ldquo;What you saw last year was an aberration.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Rangers&rsquo; resurgence began when Low developed four balanced lines he could use fairly evenly. Low&rsquo;s four lines were formed when the coach put Fleury on the fourth line, with center Tim Taylor and right winger Sandy McCarthy as punishment for taking needless slashing penalties. &ldquo;That stroke of genius,&rdquo; Low laughed, &ldquo;would not have taken place (without the penalties).&rdquo;</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> The Rangers scored 25 goals in a five-game span, going 4-1. Their best game in that stretch was the loss, 6-5 in Ottawa. The reason for the goal explosion was balance. Every Rangers&rsquo; skater who had played at least 12 games had at least one goal, except defensemen Rich Pilon and Brad Brown.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Defenseman <b>Kim Johnsson</b> suffered a broken bone in his right hand Nov. 2 and was expected to be out until mid-November. That enabled defenseman <b>Dale Purinton</b> to make his season debut&hellip;Defenseman <b>Brian Leetch</b> scored his 800th point Nov. 7 and was within three assists of tying <b>Rod Gilbert&rsquo;s</b> all-time franchise record of 615 &hellip; Disgruntled right winger <b>John MacLean</b> met with Rangers&rsquo; GM-president <b>Glen Sather,</b> but there was no resolution to his situation. Sather has threatened to negotiate a buyout of his contract, or send MacLean to a minor league team other than Hartford of the AHL.</p><p><i>&mdash; Rick Carpiniello</i></p><p><b>ENERGIZED</b> He&rsquo;s scoring again and Theoren Fleury says it&rsquo;s partly due to a motivational summertime phone call from new Rangers&rsquo; GM Glen Sather.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-03

Fleury’s flying start includes 400th goal

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011011/7718268-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="217" height="238"></div><p>This time Roman Cechmanek didn&rsquo;t have to let only his performance do the talking.</p><p>Philadelphia&rsquo;s first-year goalie shut out Edmonton 2-0 Nov. 9, then eschewed regular translator Michal Sykora for the first time.</p><p>Perhaps Cechmanek wanted to make sure for himself there was no budding goaltender controversy on the Flyers. Brian Boucher is considered the regular starter, Cechmanek the backup.</p><p>But after back-to-back shutouts, Cechmanek may have changed the order for a while.</p><p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Cechmanek, a native of the Czech Republic. &ldquo;Brian is the No. 1.&rdquo;</p><p>At 29, Cechmanek isn&rsquo;t eligible for rookie of the year, but he&rsquo;s playing like one. And playing more often. Both players say they understand the situation.</p><p>Said coach Craig Ramsay: &ldquo;It appears he (Cechmanek) is really getting comfortable now because he&rsquo;s adjusting to the style here, expecting shots from anywhere, anytime.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Special teams continue to be one of the Flyers&rsquo; biggest problems. Their power play was stuck in a l-for-28 skid while their penalty killing was last in the NHL, barely topping 70 per cent. They&rsquo;d also allowed a league-high six shorthanded goals and scored none of their own. &ldquo;We aren&rsquo;t winning enough battles for the puck,&rdquo; said captain Eric Desjardins. The absence of Mark Recchi and John LeClair has hurt the power play, which finished second last season.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Ramsay has been pairing Sykora, who spent the past two seasons in Europe, with Desjardins. The coach is hoping that will help Sykora get re-acclimated to the North American game. But he scratched Sykora for the Edmonton game and put Desjardins back with regular partner Chris Therien. Chris McAllister stepped in for Sykora and played well, assisting on Paul Ranheim&rsquo;s insurance goal.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> GM <b>Bob Clarke</b> requested a meeting with center <b>Eric Lindros</b> in Toronto to discuss a possible reconciliation or guidelines for a potential trade. Lindros did not contact Clarke directly, but let it be known through his advisor, Gordon Kirke, that he was not interested in a meeting.</p><p><i><b>&mdash; Wayne Fish</b></i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-01

Cechmanek speaks following shutout

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02685/7718299-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="211" height="262"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>S</span>aying they&rsquo;re only trying to prevent more distractions, owner Richard Burke and GM Bobby Smith confirmed they have put restrictions on access to the Phoenix Coyotes&rsquo; training facility to unsigned free agents Claude Lemieux and Nikolai Khabibulin.</p><p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t need those players or anyone else wandering around the locker room or the coaches&rsquo; offices if they&rsquo;re not signed,&rdquo; said Burke, soon to be replaced by a new ownership group led by Wayne Gretzky and Steve Ellman. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not fair to the players here or anyone.&rdquo;</p><p>The Coyotes had allowed both players, in addition to former Coyote players Greg Adams, Michel Petit and Benoit Hogue, full access to the team&rsquo;s training center in Scottsdale while they awaited contract signings with Phoenix or other teams.</p><p>&ldquo;Stop and feel what it feels like for Sean Burke, who was just the Player of the Month,&rdquo; said Richard Burke (no relation).</p><p>&ldquo;Every time he turns around, somebody&rsquo;s pointing out there&rsquo;s this guy (Khabibulin) on the ice who&rsquo;s going to replace him in a month. Where&rsquo;s team morale?&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Searching for a little more jump, coach Bob Francis replaced Mika Alatalo on the first line with second-year pro Trevor Letowski. Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk were already clicking on all cylinders (41 points in 16 games), but the move seemed to rev them up, too.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> After a slow start, defenseman Keith Carney has roared back to life with a vengeance. He was a plus-11, leading the NHL with 23 takeaways, leading the Coyotes with 49 hits, and third on the team with 23 blocked shots.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The Coyotes stretched their unbeaten streak to 12 games (seven wins, five ties) before losing 4-2 to Detroit Nov. 8. It marked the third-longest streak in team history. &ldquo;It was fine while it lasted, but we probably deserved to win this game, to tell you the truth,&rdquo; said defenseman <b>Jyrki Lumme</b> &hellip; Owner <b>Richard Burke</b> refused to explain why he put <b>Mark Peterson,</b> the team&rsquo;s chief financial officer, on paid administrative leave for one month just before an outside audit was to be conducted on the team. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to comment on internal personnel matters at all,&rdquo; Burke said</p><p><i><b>&mdash; Bob McManaman</b></i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-02

Burke closes door to free agents

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03488/7718330-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="211" height="253"></div><p>Jaromir Jagr said it was all a misunderstanding.</p><p>The Penguins&rsquo; captain and coach Ivan Hlinka appeared to be at odds diming a 5-2 victory Nov. 8 against the Flyers, but Jagr said the next day he was frustrated with himself, not Hlinka.</p><p>Jagr had a respectable 18 points in 14 games, but had one goal in five games and had missed a number of point-blank opportunities. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not happy with the way I&rsquo;ve played because I&rsquo;m not helping the team,&rdquo; Jagr said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re still OK, but with the talent we have, we could have the best record in the league if I was playing well.&rdquo;</p><p>The interactions between Jagr and Hlinka during the Flyers&rsquo; game became the focus of ESPN&rsquo;s national telecast. The two met behind closed doors for at least 20 minutes after the game.</p><p>&ldquo;We had a little meeting about everything,&rdquo; Hlinka said. &ldquo;It was a quiet meeting.&rdquo;</p><p>Four days before the Flyers&rsquo; game, Jagr called a meeting of the team&rsquo;s top two units of five and the players mapped out some changes to their forechecking scheme. They cleared it with the coaches before a 1-1 tie Nov. 4 at Calgary.</p><p>The day after the Flyers&rsquo; game, Jagr made it clear that he has no personal problems with Hlinka.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great guy I like him a lot,&rdquo; Jagr said. &ldquo;I love him and everybody else does.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Left winger Rene Corbet, a healthy scratch for the season&rsquo;s first 11 games, scored three goals in his first three games on a newly formed third line with rookie center Milan Kraft and right winger Aleksey Morozov. &ldquo;When you don&rsquo;t play much, it&rsquo;s what you do off the ice that keeps you in shape,&rdquo; Corbet said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been riding the bike a lot &mdash; every day for 30 minutes &mdash; and I&rsquo;ve been working out.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> It looks like Garth Snow and Jean-Sebastien Aubin are going to share the goaltending duties for the foreseeable future. Hlinka had not chosen a No. 1 goalie 14 games into the season. Both were playing well. &ldquo;I think the competition is healthy for the team,&rdquo; Snow said.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> When left winger Matthew Barnaby was demoted to the fourth line, he came out swinging. In his first three games on the fourth unit, Barnaby dropped the gloves in the first period.</p><p><b><i>&mdash; Joe Starkey</i></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-03

Everything A-OK with Jagr, Hlinka

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011089/7718361-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="208" height="253"></div><p>The St. Louis Blues are off to one of their best starts in franchise history, but the feeling is they could be better.</p><p>Goalies Roman Turek and Brent Johnson have been brilliant. Through 15 games, Turek was 5-2-3 with a 1.91 goals-against average and .906 save</p><p>percentage playing mostly against top-flight teams. Johnson was 5-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .958 SP playing against second tier teams.</p><p>After allowing five goals on 25 power plays in the first four games of the season, they allowed only two goals on 61 chances through Nov. 10 &mdash; a sterling 96.7 per-cent kill rate.</p><p>Pierre Turgeon led the Blues with 19 points. Scott Young was off to his best start with 13 goals. Beyond them, the only reliable point producers were defensemen Chris Pronger and Al Maclnnis.</p><p>Slovakians Pavol Demitra, Michal Handzus and Lubos Bartecko were struggling, while Jochen Hecht had cooled off. Marty Reasoner had only one goal and was a frequent scratch.</p><p>&ldquo;We need scoring from all four lines and even the defense has to chip in,&rdquo; Maclnnis said. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t expect Turgeon and Young to keep up this pace all year.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> In an effort to get the Slovakians cycling, coach Joel Quenneville has juggled that line. In one game, he subbed Reasoner into the center slot, with Demitra on right wing, Handzus shifting to the left wing and Bartecko scratched. In another, he slotted Hecht into Handzus&rsquo; center spot with Demitra and Bartecko on the wings.</p><p>Nothing worked. Through 15 games, Demitra had five goals and seven points, Bartecko a goal and six points, and Handzus two goals and five points.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> The Blues penalty killing was exceptional. The forward pairings of Hecht and Craig Conroy, and Handzus and Mike Eastwood, relentlessly pressure the opposition, putting the defensemen into position to pick off errant passes and clear the zone.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Right winger <b>Reed Low</b> had a fight in nine of 10 games he had played. &ldquo;If anybody takes liberties with our players, they&rsquo;ll have to answer to me,&rdquo; he said&hellip;. Defenseman <b>Marc Bergevin</b> was close to coming off the injured reserve list after missing almost two months with a broken right thumb.</p><p><i>&mdash; Dave Luecking</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-01

Blues start quickly, but could be better

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02751/7718392-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="211" height="262"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>R</span>ookie center Mark Smith spent the first few days resting after getting knocked unconscious on a blindside hit delivered from Carolina&rsquo;s Bates Battaglia Nov. 4. Smith was carried out on a stretcher after medical personnel carefully evaluated his condition before removing him from the ice.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen anything like that,&rdquo; said veteran teammate Stephane Matteau. &ldquo;He couldn&rsquo;t move for five minutes. It&rsquo;s a very scary thing to look at.&rdquo;</p><p>Smith, 23, suffered a concussion and needed stitches to close a gash on the back of his head that was opened when he struck the sideboards after his impact with Battaglia at the 6:07 mark of the second period in San Jose&rsquo;s 4-1 victory.</p><p>&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t see it coming at all,&rdquo; said coach Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;The first thing you look for is movement. When we didn&rsquo;t see movement, we got worried. He&rsquo;s a very, very lucky young man.&rdquo;</p><p>Out indefinitely, Smith needs to pass the league&rsquo;s mandatory tests given to players who have suffered a concussion before he returns.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Goalie Steve Shields returned to action Nov. 9 for the first time since spraining his right ankle during the final minute of San Jose&rsquo;s second game of the season &mdash; a 2-1 win over Phoenix Oct. 12. However, Shields sat while rookie Evgeni Nabokov continued to play well. In 11 starts while filling in for the injured Shields, Nabokov went 8-1-2 and held opponents to two or fewer goals in all but one game.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really good for the team,&rdquo; Sutter said of the competition in goal. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long year and the best situation to get into is where there&rsquo;s a real competition.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Veteran Bobby Dollas was signed Nov. 3 to add depth and veteran leadership to the blueline. &ldquo;I was a little surprised considering they&rsquo;re pretty good,&rdquo; said Dollas, who started the season with Manitoba of the IHL.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> By scoring two goals 22 seconds apart in Vancouver Nov. 5, left winger <b>Scott Thornton</b> beat right winger <b>Tony Granato&rsquo;s</b> record of 29 seconds for the fastest two goals by the same Shark &hellip; The Sharks tied a club-record nine-game unbeaten streak by going 7-0-2 from Oct. 20-Nov. 8&hellip;Rookie right winger <b>Matt Bradley</b> scored his first career goal in his sixth NHL game Nov. 9.</p><p><i>&mdash; Ross McKeon</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-02

Rookie concussed after hit into boards

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03600/7718423-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="208" height="259"></div><p>A little pressure from above never hurt anybody.</p><p>Lightning ownership made it clear Nov. 3 that it was looking for improvement on an impending four-game homestand from a Lightning team which, at the time, sat at the bottom of the NHL with six points.</p><p>Tom Wilson, president of Palace Sports & Entertainment, which owns the team, didn&rsquo;t say the team had to win, just that it had to be competitive. If not, an evaluation of the team &mdash; players and coaches &mdash; might be undertaken.</p><p>&ldquo;Now we&rsquo;re home, and we&rsquo;re home for a period of time,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll practice at home, play at home and get into our own routine. You&rsquo;d think if we were going to find a solution to this, we really could do it now.&rdquo;</p><p>Tampa Bay responded with a dramatic 4-3 overtime victory over the New York Islanders and a 5-2 whipping of the Washington Capitals. That seemed to relieve some of the pressure and GM Rick Dudley reiterated that coach Steve Ludzik&rsquo;s job was not in jeopardy.</p><p>&ldquo;There are things we need to think about,&rdquo; Dudley said, &ldquo;and that is not one of them.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Lightning was having a terrible time clearing the defensive zone. The problem was traced to the forwards cheating too far up the ice in an attempt to get the offensive flow started. So</p><p>Ludzik drilled his troops during practice, forcing the forwards to stay back more and help pick up the pucks the defense were wrapping around the boards. The result was more Lightning control of the puck, cleaner breakouts and the ability to better utilize good team speed.</p><p><b>OFFENSE</b> Tampa Bay was getting offensive help from two surprising sources. Forward Stan Drulia had a goal and three assists in a three-game stretch. Drulia is a defensive specialist used primarily on the penalty kill. Andrei Zyuzin had five assists and was finally showing the speed and spark that have been expected of him.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK Todd Warriner</b> was moved from left wing to center, a position he had not played since he was 14. Coach <b>Steve Ludzik</b> wanted to exploit Warriner&rsquo;s speed and faceoff prowess &hellip; After taking an inadvertent stick to the face and getting five stitches, defenseman <b>Andrei Zyuzin</b> began wearing a visor.</p><p><b><i>&mdash; Damian Cristodero</i></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-03

Vistories at home help lift pressure

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011039/7718454-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="211" height="262"></div><p>Many observers believe it&rsquo;s inevitable restricted free agent Eric Lindros will end up with Toronto.</p><p>Confirmation the Maple Leafs had trade talks with Philadelphia last summer to could acquire the injured center&rsquo;s rights will only fuel that speculation.</p><p>&ldquo;There were discussions, no deals were talked about,&rdquo; said Leafs&rsquo; coach-GM Pat Quinn.</p><p>According to sources, the Leafs made an offer in July that would have seen Philadelphia receive up to five first round draft picks for Lindros, depending on how many games he was able to play. Lindros has a history of concussions and Toronto made the offer conditional.</p><p>Quinn discussed a potential contract with Lindros before the center had to decide whether to accept the Flyers&rsquo; $8.5-million qualifying offer Aug. 1.</p><p>&ldquo;We had a brief telephone meeting,&rdquo; Quinn said. &ldquo;Since then there has been nothing.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Coming into this season, Quinn&rsquo;s hope was he could balance his lines to the point where each unit was capable of producing. Quinn wants to roll his lines most games in order to keep all his forwards fresh for the postseason. A 12-goal outburst in consecutive games against Boston and Carolina indicates that might be happening. In those two games, the Leafs had nine different scorers.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> It&rsquo;s nothing new, but Curtis Joseph is again proving his value. Joseph put together a brilliant three-game stretch against St. Louis, Boston and Carolina in early November, shutting out both the Blues and Hurricanes and allowing just one goal against the Bruins. In those three games, Joseph stopped 84 of 85 shots and posted a 2-0-1 record.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Defenseman <b>Bryan Berard,</b> whose right eye was badly damaged by an errant stick in March, optimistically put the odds of his return to the NHL at 50-50. Berard is skating again, but he still has limited sight in the eye. He&rsquo;s hoping a special contact lens will act like a functioning iris, filtering the light and allowing him to see better&hellip;Left winger <b>Gary Roberts</b> had two goals and an assist against his former team, Carolina, Nov. 8 &hellip; After going all last season without a goal, defenseman <b>Danny Markov</b> scored in consecutive games against Boston and Carolina.</p><p><i>&mdash; Paul Hunter</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0027-01

Leafs confirm interest in Lindros

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03463/7718485-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="526" height="964"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02681/7718492-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="211" height="256"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>V</span>ancouver Canucks&rsquo; left winger Donald Brashear says he&rsquo;ll never forgive Marty McSorley, but he does concede everyone deserves a second chance.</p><p>Brashear, the victim of McSorley&rsquo;s stick attack last Feb. 21, made his comments following NHL commissioner Gary Bettman&rsquo;s decision to extend McSorley&rsquo;s suspension for an entire calendar year. <i>(See pg. 7 for more on McSorley.)</i></p><p>&ldquo;If somebody does something bad, it doesn&rsquo;t mean it&rsquo;s the end of the world or you have to die,&rdquo; said Brashear, 28. &ldquo;A lot of people do bad things and get back on the right track after they get help. I don&rsquo;t wish anybody bad luck. If I was him, I would want a second chance and hope for a second chance.&rdquo;</p><p>Brashear, who was having a career year until McSorley&rsquo;s blow sidelined him for 20 games, is still bitter.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;m never going to forget the rest of my life,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to be forgiving; you don&rsquo;t forgive that kind of thing. It was wild what he did.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> The Canucks are analyzing the opposition to select a line against which the Sedin twins would be most suited to play.</p><p>Coach Marc Crawford does not want to expose his prize rookies, and linemate Trent Klatt, to the opposition&rsquo;s top two lines, feeling they&rsquo;re not yet ready for prime time.</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b> Despite losing key blueliner Mattias Ohlund to eye surgery, the Canucks have not collapsed defensively thanks to the inspired play of two off-season signings.</p><p>Scott Lachance and Bryan Helmer were added as insurance and have rose to the occasion. Neither is flashy, but both have been efficient.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> It took center <b>Andrew Cassels</b> 743 games to collect his first hat trick. He scored all three goals in one period against Anaheim Nov. 8.</p><p><i>&mdash; Elliott Pap</i></p><h2><b>NO PAIN, NO GAIN A</b></h2><p>Defenseman Murray Baron has been praised in Vancouver for his shot-blocking bravery.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0027-03

Brashear reflective, but not forgiving

<p>Projected defense pairs and lines, including restricted free agents</p><h2><b>Anaheim Mighty Ducks</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011075/7718764-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="581" height="500"></div><h2><b>Carolina Hurricanes</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02734/7718757-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="593" height="484"></div><h2><b>Detroit Red Wings</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03527/7718750-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="593" height="520"></div><h2><b>Montreal Canadiens</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04357/7718743-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="601" height="520"></div><h2><b>Ottawa Senators</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05271/7718736-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="601" height="524"></div><h2><b>San Jose Sharks</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06231/7718729-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="581" height="524"></div><h2><b>Atlanta Thrashers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-07205/7718722-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="585" height="496"></div><h2><b>Chicago Blackhawks</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-08180/7718715-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="597" height="488"></div><h2><b>Edmonton Oilers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-09166/7718708-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="613" height="488"></div><h2><b>Nashville Predators</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-10158/7718701-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="593" height="492"></div><h2><b>Philadelphia Flyers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-11149/7718694-1-eng-US/f0028-112.jpg" title="f0028-11" width="593" height="512"></div><h2><b>Tampa Bay Lightning</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-12137/7718687-1-eng-US/f0028-122.jpg" title="f0028-12" width="585" height="520"></div><h2><b>Boston Bruins</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-13125/7718680-1-eng-US/f0028-132.jpg" title="f0028-13" width="588" height="524"></div><h2><b>Colorado Avalanche</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-14110/7718673-1-eng-US/f0028-142.jpg" title="f0028-14" width="584" height="492"></div><h2><b>Florida Panthers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-15102/7718666-1-eng-US/f0028-152.jpg" title="f0028-15" width="596" height="516"></div><h2><b>New Jersey Devils</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1682/7718659-1-eng-US/f0028-162.jpg" title="f0028-16" width="596" height="520"></div><h2><b>Phoenix Coyotes</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1766/7718652-1-eng-US/f0028-172.jpg" title="f0028-17" width="612" height="488"></div><h2><b>Toronto Maple Leafs</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1859/7718645-1-eng-US/f0028-182.jpg" title="f0028-18" width="584" height="488"></div><h2><b>Buffalo Sabres</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1955/7718638-1-eng-US/f0028-192.jpg" title="f0028-19" width="589" height="488"></div><h2><b>Columbus Blue Jackets</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2044/7718631-1-eng-US/f0028-202.jpg" title="f0028-20" width="589" height="484"></div><h2><b>Los Angeles Kings</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2143/7718624-1-eng-US/f0028-212.jpg" title="f0028-21" width="605" height="484"></div><h2><b>New York Islander</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2240/7718617-1-eng-US/f0028-222.jpg" title="f0028-22" width="593" height="480"></div><h2><b>Pittsburgh Penguins</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2336/7718610-1-eng-US/f0028-232.jpg" title="f0028-23" width="597" height="476"></div><h2><b>Vancouver Canucks</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2429/7718603-1-eng-US/f0028-242.jpg" title="f0028-24" width="589" height="532"></div><h2><b>Calgary Flames</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2527/7718596-1-eng-US/f0028-252.jpg" title="f0028-25" width="594" height="490"></div><h2><b>Dallas Stars</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2622/7718589-1-eng-US/f0028-262.jpg" title="f0028-26" width="588" height="490"></div><h2><b>Minnesota Wild</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2721/7718582-1-eng-US/f0028-272.jpg" title="f0028-27" width="596" height="476"></div><h2><b>New York Rangers</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2819/7718575-1-eng-US/f0028-282.jpg" title="f0028-28" width="602" height="494"></div><h2><b>St. Louis Blues</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-2919/7718568-1-eng-US/f0028-292.jpg" title="f0028-29" width="598" height="518"></div><h2><b>Washington Capitals</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-3018/7718561-1-eng-US/f0028-302.jpg" title="f0028-30" width="582" height="484"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0028-01

NHL DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>hat Toby Petersen has taken the American League by storm, scoring 10 roals in 13 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, really shouldn&rsquo;t be a huge surprise.</p><p>After all, this is a guy who bypassed his senior year of high school to get his NCAA career started at Colorado College.</p><p>Petersen shared the AHL lead in goals and led rookies in goals and points (17).</p><p>&ldquo;This is the most ridiculous time in my career, at least since bantam,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I had no idea what to expect, but after the first week of camp I realized I could produce at this level. But I didn&rsquo;t think it would be like this.&rdquo;</p><p>The 5-foot-10,195-pound center needed only October to go from rookie to impact performer.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01953/7718795-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="260" height="332"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Toby Petersen</b></figcaption></div><p>A ninth round draft pick (244th overall) by Pittsburgh in 1998, Petersen just hoped to contribute during his first pro season. Instead, he has helped propel a potent attack that was averaging four goals a game. Wilkes-Barre (9-3-1) sat in first place in the Mid-Atlantic Division as of Nov. 7.</p><p>&ldquo;Funny thing is, my freshman year in college was one of my best,&rdquo; Petersen said.</p><p>Indeed, he had career-highs for goals (17) and points (38) in his first year at Colorado College. Petersen left Bloomington Jefferson in Minnesota early after his junior year.</p><p>With a degree in psychology, Petersen is smart enough to know his scoring pace won&rsquo;t continue. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long season, it&rsquo;s definitely going to cool off,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>That&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s ensuring his game is well-rounded. He has found faceoffs difficult to win and knows he must become stronger to win battles for the puck.</p><p>&ldquo;Whether he is scoring or not, he&rsquo;s a smart player,&rdquo; said coach Glenn Patrick.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-01

Pens’ rookie Petersen has Midas touch

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02630/7718847-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="257" height="272"></div><p><b>Brandon Sugden</b> knows if he&rsquo;s going to make a living in pro hockey, fighting must remain a part of the game.</p><p>Otherwise, his decision as a teenager to keep playing hockey instead of pursuing a boxing career will turn out to be a bad one.</p><p>&ldquo;I wanted to box, but I knew my mom (<b>Jonna</b>) didn&rsquo;t like the idea because boxers get a little punch-drunk later in life,&rdquo; said the Worcester IceCats&rsquo; right winger. &ldquo;I was told over the summer the Kentucky Thoroughblades didn&rsquo;t want him back, even though he scored 25 goals last season.</p><p>But when the Thoroughblades started 2-6-1 and scored just 18 goals in nine games, Lipsett was on his way back from Mississippi of the East Coast League.</p><p>Lipsett might be staying for a while. The right winger scored twice in a 4-3 win at Springfield, then two more times the next night in a 6-0 victory at Albany.</p><p>&ldquo;He has a great pair of hands,&rdquo; said coach Roy Sommer.</p><p><b>AHL TIDBITS</b> St. John&rsquo;s defenseman Allen Rourke scored his first pro goal as the Leafs shut out Hamilton 1-0 behind Jimmy Waite&rsquo;s 37 saves. Rourke led Ontario League defensemen with 31 goals last season &hellip; The Saint John Flames won a team-record sixth straight game when they rallied to beat Springfield 3-2 Nov. 4 &hellip; Flames&rsquo; goalie Levente Szuper continues to do Hungary proud. The first Hungarian to play pro in North America, Szuper was 2-1-0 with a 1.54 goals-against average and .941 save percentage. Szuper, indeed.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03422/7718840-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="1304" height="1784"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Right winger Bobby House led St. John&rsquo;s with 14points through 12games</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>AHL SCOUTING REPORT</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04294/7718833-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="313" height="440"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Lee Gorenn</b></figcaption></div><p><b>VITAL STATISTICS</b></p><p>Hometown: Winnipeg</p><p>Age: 22</p><p>Size: 6-3, 200</p><p><b>LAST AMATEUR CLUB</b></p><p>North Dakota (WCHA)</p><p><b>POSITION</b> Right wing</p><p><b>2000-01 SEASON</b></p><p>Providence Bruins</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05244/7718826-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="365" height="92"></div><p><b>NHL AFFILIATION</b></p><p>Boston Bruins</p><p><b>NOTEWORTHY</b></p><p>Boston drafted Goren 63rd overall out of North Dakota in 1997 despite the winger sitting out all season as penalty for playing two major junior games in 1995-96. He led the NCAA in goals (34) as a junior.</p><p><b>BOTTOM UNE</b></p><p>He isn&rsquo;t physically dominating the opposition like he did in college, but he is generating offense. The Bruins&rsquo; woes may spur a recall.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-02

IceCats’ Sugden feeling boxed in

<div class="byline">By Rob Mueller</div><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-06200/7718878-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="212" height="220"></div><p>Mobile Mysticks&rsquo; defenseman Benoit Cotnoir&rsquo;s off-season workout was rewarding in more than fitness and muscle.</p><p>Over the summer, the 25-year-old bicycled 3,600 miles from Seattle to Washington, D.C., as part of Bike-Aid 2000, which raised awareness and funds for the Youth Action for Global Justice.</p><p>Highlighting the Rouyn-Noranda, Que., native&rsquo;s nine-week goodwill tour were the 11,000-foot mountain peak of Bear Tooth Pass in southern Montana, a soup kitchen in Columbus, Ohio, and a monastery in North Dakota.</p><p>While the pedaling helped whip Cotnoir into shape, the Mysticks&rsquo; defense, ranked near the bottom of the league in goals-against, has been getting whipped.</p><p>In a four-game stretch from Oct. 28 through Nov. 4, they went 1-3-0 and were outscored 25-17, including losses of 9-8 and 8-4 to the surging Pensacola Ice Pilots, which won a franchise-record seven straight games after opening 0-4-0.</p><p><b>BRASS DERAILS</b> The New Orleans Brass did not arrive for their Oct. 28 game against the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks until 21 minutes after the scheduled starting time.</p><p>An easy 4-1/2-hour drive from Birmingham, Ala., to Tallahassee became a nine-hour odyssey after the team&rsquo;s bus driver got lost en route.</p><p>&ldquo;I think (the driver) slalomed his way here,&rdquo; said Brass coach Ted Sator.</p><p>New Orleans lost 6-3.</p><p><b>CHARITABLE CHIEF</b> For each goal he scores this season, Johnstown Chiefs&rsquo; center <b>Andrew Dale</b> is donating $50 to breast cancer research in honor of his cousin, who is suffering from the disease.</p><p>Dale also helped raise more than $10,000 for a fund to help pay for a Johnstown boy&rsquo;s organ transplant last season.</p><p>Dale scored 26 goals for the Chiefs in 1999-2000.</p><p><b>ONE-TIMERS</b> Two-time ECHL scoring champion, center <b>John Spoltore</b> of the Louisiana IceGators, signed on for a 25-game tryout with the Springfield Falcons of the American League&hellip;The ECHL expansion team set to begin play next season in Reading, Pa., will be called the Royals. The team&rsquo;s logo features a roaring lion wearing a crown. The Atlantic City Admirals and Columbia (S.C.) Inferno are also scheduled to join the league in 2001-02.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-06

Mystick’s magical mystery tour of a summer

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div><p>If Detroit Vipers&rsquo; rookie coach Brad Shaw was insulted, he didn&rsquo;t admit it.</p><p>Neither did he let on that remarks made in October by Chicago Wolves&rsquo; coach John Anderson might have sparked the Vipers to a second win over the International League champions Nov. 2.</p><p>After the struggling Vipers upended the Wolves Oct. 27, Anderson told the Chicago <i>Sun-Times,</i> &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a growing embarrassment &mdash; to get beat by Detroit. You just don&rsquo;t throw your sticks on the ice and win.&rdquo;</p><p>Anderson&rsquo;s comments reflected the Wolves&rsquo; early-season funk of five losses in nine games, including two to Detroit. And Shaw was quick to deny he or the Vipers, the IHL&rsquo;s worst team last season, were taking any offense.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011069/7718909-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="260" height="336"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Brad Shaw</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;Oh, that&rsquo;s not surprising,&rdquo; Shaw said.</p><p>&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re viewed as the doormat of the league, it becomes one of the problems every night, that teams have no respect for us. They play a little more at ease.&rdquo;</p><p>Detroit&rsquo;s 5-3 and 6-5 wins over Chicago were part of a five-game span in which the Vipers won four times. It was an about-face after opening the season with five straight losses.</p><p>&ldquo;Chicago took us too lightly and didn&rsquo;t play as hard,&rdquo; Shaw said.</p><p>Shaw is coaching the IHL&rsquo;s youngest team, averaging 22 years, 10 months. But in knocking off Chicago twice, he has identified some building blocks.</p><p>&ldquo;When we apply ourselves, we can put a lot of forechecking pressure on teams,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We can also move the puck well at times, but we still have to learn to be able to withstand the other team&rsquo;s best effort.&rdquo;</p><p>The Vipers, who are Tampa Bay&rsquo;s top affiliate, were 10th in penalty killing and last in power play efficiency as of Nov. 7.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-01

Vipers turn tables on champion Wolves

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02720/7718961-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="433" height="212"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he early November acquisition of Jeff Tory by the Houston Aeros from the Utah Grizzlies is worth more than the footnote it received in most International League city newspapers.</p><p>It may turn out to be the most important pickup of the season for the Aeros.</p><p>The 27-year-old blueliner was assigned to Utah by the parent Dallas Stars at the start of the season. After a slow start and Utah receiving rearguard Richard Jackman from Dallas, Tory was moved to Houston, an independent club and the site of past glories.</p><p>Tory played two seasons in Houston, including a 19-goal campaign in 1998-99, before moving to the American League&rsquo;s Philadelphia Phantoms last season. He&rsquo;s being counted on as the key in kick-starting a sluggish Aeros&rsquo; team, 3-5-2 at the time of his arrival.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see it as pressure,&rdquo; Tory said. &ldquo;At some point every season you&rsquo;ll have troubles and this team&rsquo;s was at the start.&rdquo;</p><p><b>BYE BYE BOBBY</b> It&rsquo;s November. That must mean Bobby Dollas is off to the NHL.</p><p>The Manitoba Moose will miss the services of the veteran defenseman after he left the league for the second straight season due to an NHL contract signed in November.</p><p>Dollas signed a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks Nov. 3. He signed with the Ottawa Senators last season (before moving on to the Calgary</p><p>Flames) after starting with the Long Beach Ice Dogs.</p><p>&ldquo;When we got into the situation with Bobby, we knew this was a strong possibility,&rdquo; said Moose coach-GM Randy Carlyle. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good deal for Bobby and it&rsquo;s a good deal for the Manitoba Moose because we helped a player get back to the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p><b>DOTTING THE &lsquo;I&rsquo;</b> While short a goalie during a road trip to Grand Rapids, the Cincinnati Cyclones dressed 38-year-old Grand Rapids&rsquo; resident Myron Molotky as its backup for two games. Molotky has been to four Grifiins&rsquo; training camps and practises with Griffins when they need a netminder &hellip; Grand Rapids (9-1-1) didn&rsquo;t miss a beat Nov. 3 or 4, beating Cincinnati twice despite having center John Emmons and right winger David Oliver on recall to Ottawa &hellip; Cincinnati goalie Jean-Marc Pelletier, out early in the season with a high ankle sprain, was recalled by Carolina Nov. 1, but returned Nov. 2.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03508/7718954-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="1244" height="1844"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Houston Aeros&rsquo; captain Brian Wiseman uses his body to prevent Chicago Wolves&rsquo; defenseman Tom Tilley from getting to the puck.</i></figcaption></div><h2><b>IHL SCOUTING REPORT</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04350/7718947-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="317" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Bryan Allen</b></figcaption></div><p><b>VITAL STATISTICS</b></p><p>Hometown: Kingston, Ont.</p><p>Age: 20</p><p>Size: 6-4,210</p><p><b>LAST AMATEUR CLUB</b> Oshawa Generals (OHL)</p><p><b>POSITION</b> Defense</p><p><b>2000-01 SEASON</b></p><p>Kansas City Blades</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05258/7718940-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="353" height="84"></div><p><b>NHL AFFILIATION</b> Vancouver Canucks</p><p><b>NOTEWORTHY</b></p><p>The fourth overall draft pick from 1998 has had a slow development because of knee and shoulder injuries. A heady defenseman who makes good passes, he draws upside comparisons to Wade Redden and Jay McKee.</p><p><b>BOTTOM UNE</b></p><p>A full, healthy season in the IHL is what the doctors &mdash; and Canucks &mdash; prescribe. His timing and pace need work, but steady improvement could prompt a recall.</p><h2><b>UNITED LEAGUE</b></h2><p>Muskegon&rsquo;s Todd Robinson was October&rsquo;s United League player of the month after scoring five goals and 18 points while helping the Fury to a franchise-best 5-0-3 start. Quad City&rsquo;s Martin Villeneuve, who had a 6-0-0 record, 2.17 goals-against average and .910 save percentage, was goalie of the month &hellip; Mohawk Valley (4-2-0) was in first place for the first time time in the Prowlers&rsquo; three-year history &hellip; After setting a UHL record with only 14 regulation losses a year ago, defending champion Flint got off to a 2-7-1 start.</p><p><i>-Brendan Savage</i></p><h2><b>WESTERN PRO LEAGUE</b></h2><p>For Odessa Jackalopes&rsquo; goalie Joe Harris, it wasn&rsquo;t as nice as winning back-to-back Western Pro League titles, but he&rsquo;ll take the consolation of beating the team that deemed him expendable last season. Harris, released by the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs prior to 1999-2000, had 30 saves against his former team Oct. 28 to earn his first win of the season. Odessa beat the two-time defending President&rsquo;s Cup champions 4-2. &ldquo;I wanted revenge on these guys,&rdquo; Harris said. &ldquo;It feels amazing, confidence-wise. It was great to beat them.&rdquo;</p><p><i>&mdash; David Henry</i></p><h2><b>WEST COAST LEAGUE</b></h2><p>West Coast League turnstiles are spinning faster than ever before in its six-year history. Opening-weekend games had an average attendance of 5,916, breaking the record of 5,205 set last season. The top gate came in San Diego, where 12,419 turned out to see the birth of a new rivalry with Long Beach, a former International League franchise that dropped down to the WCHL. Fresno, which last season was at times without a lease or an owner, opened 2000-01 before a record-setting home-opener crowd of 8,123.</p><p><i>&mdash; Don Ruiz</i></p><h2><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h2><p>Defenseman Chris Felix of the Topeka ScareCrows is the Central League&rsquo;s ancient and happy wanderer. At 36, Felix has played three seasons with the Canadian national team, part of three seasons in the NHL and seven seasons in Europe along with some minor pro experience. He said he&rsquo;ll play as long as he can produce.&ldquo;I still really enjoy the game. I still hate losing,&rdquo; Felix said. &ldquo;Age doesn&rsquo;t matter. It matters what shape you are in.&rdquo; Nicknamed &lsquo;The Cat,&rsquo; Felix said he wants to get into coaching someday.</p><p><i>-Bob Stratton</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-02

Unsung rearguard sure to help Aeros

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div><p class="dropcap"><span>S</span>eason Spezza is tired of living a log&rsquo;s life. One of the most prized prospects for the 2001 NHL entry draft, Spezza asked for a trade from Don Cherry&rsquo;s Mississauga IceDogs.</p><p>It all boiled down to a question of development and the 17-year-old center was concerned his best interests were not being served playing with the worst earn in major junior hockey.</p><p>The IceDogs had won only two games this season and, playing in their third Ontario League season, they had won only 13 of 137 games. They have failed to make the playoffs their first two years and are already destined to miss the post-season for a third straight year.</p><p>Spezza, who had seven goals and 30 points in 16 games this season, joined the IceDogs last season after spending a year as a 15-year-old with the Brampton Battalion. He was able to play for the Battalion under an OHL rule that permits a player to play with his hometown team until he&rsquo;s taken in the midget draft.</p><p>Spezza&rsquo;s parents moved from Mississauga to Brampton in the summer of 1998 to accommodate their son, who was told he likely wouldn&rsquo;t fit into the IceDogs&rsquo; plans as a 15-year-old.</p><p>Spezza was then selected first overall by the IceDogs in the 1999 OHL draft.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s for personal reasons,&rdquo; Spezza said of his trade request Nov. 4. &ldquo;All the losses contributed to it.&rdquo;</p><p>A few days later, coach Rick Vaive decided it was best that Spezza leave the team and await a deal at home. Vaive didn&rsquo;t want Spezza being a disruptive influence in the dressing room.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to get into a war of words, but I don&rsquo;t think losing is why he wants to be traded,&rdquo; Vaive said. &ldquo;I was disappointed he asked for a trade, but not surprised.&rdquo;</p><p>Spezza is represented by Bobby Orr, a close friend of Cherry&rsquo;s.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Bobby feels awful about it,&rdquo; Cherry said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s embarrassing to me, but it hurts more than embarrasses me.&rdquo;</p><p>A big reason for the trade request could be the perception that by playing for the lowly IceDogs, Spezza has slipped to No. 2 in the eyes of NHL scouts behind Russian left winger Ilya Kovalchuk.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01987/7718992-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="560" height="1312"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Jason Spezza</b></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;I think right now it&rsquo;s a fair statement,&rdquo; one scout said when asked if Spezza is No. 2.</p><p>&ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t know if that&rsquo;s as much a reflection on Jason as much on Kovalchuk. He&rsquo;s outstanding and it&rsquo;s a case of having two outstanding players in one year. It will come down to what a team prefers.&rdquo;</p><p>Though Spezza hasn&rsquo;t fallen dramatically, he was once considered a shoo-in to go first in 2001. That he played a few games for Canada&rsquo;s senior national teams as a 15&mdash;and 16-year-old, then competed at the World Junior Championship at 16 boosted his value. And while he has continued to play well for Mississauga, Kovalchuk has come on in a big way.</p><p>The scout said the IceDogs aren&rsquo;t to blame for what has transpired.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s because he&rsquo;s playing for Mississauga. I think it&rsquo;s just because the other guy is that good,&rdquo; the scout said. &ldquo;Obviously, Jason&rsquo;s people don&rsquo;t know how good Kovalchuk is and they think a change of scenery will do him good and put him back to the No. 1 spot.&rdquo;</p><p>The scout said most NHL people are of two minds about the trade request.</p><p>&ldquo;You feel some sympathy for all the kids playing in Mississauga, but on the other side you never like to see a player quit his team,&rdquo; the scout said. &ldquo;You always worry, especially with the problems we already have in the NHL with holdouts and guys wanting to be traded. You worry if a player is going to be a headache in pro. This is a dangerous precedent to set in junior.&rdquo;</p><p>The scout said it would be good if Spezza goes to an OHL contender. Speculated destinations include Brampton, Sarnia, Windsor, Erie, Ottawa and Barrie, all solid teams.</p><p>&ldquo;From a scouting perspective it would be good. We would be able to see what kind of player he&rsquo;ll be with an NHL team in the playoffs, if he can carry a team to the championship.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not going to carry Mississauga to a championship, no matter how hard he tries.&rdquo; &#9633;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-01

Highly regarded Spezza ends Dog days

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011053/7719023-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="376" height="204"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>ow that Jeff Jackson has had the opportunity to see it from the other side of fence, he knows it&rsquo;s time the NCAA change its eligibility rules.</p><p>Jackson, the coach of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Guelph Storm, said he has favored all along a proposed change to U.S. college eligibility rules that would allow a player to play two or three years in major junior, then switch to a U.S. university or college.</p><p>Currently, once a player participates in the Canadian Hockey League, he&rsquo;s ineligible for an NCAA scholarship.</p><p>&ldquo;It would be great for the American kid and even greater for the Canadian kid to go to major junior for two or three years and then make a decision, rather than making a decision (after 48 hours) at training camp,&rdquo; said Jackson, who wontwo NCAA titles while coaching the Lake Superior State Lakers in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.</p><p>&ldquo;When I was at Lake State, I was a big fan of the (Sault Ste. Marie) Greyhounds and had a great relationship with them. Sure we recruited against each other, but I looked at it differently. There is a place for both and I think with the (proposed eligibility) change, maybe we can get along.&rdquo;</p><p>Jackson, a native of Roseville, Mich., spent 10 years at Lake Superior State, then four years with USA Hockey. He was hired by the Storm July 21.</p><p>&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t that much of a stretch for me (to come to the OHL); hockey is hockey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;From a recruiting standpoint, this year I was not going to make any attempt to go after kids who had alreadymade a commitment (to a school). But next year, they&rsquo;re all fair game.&rdquo;</p><p>Storm GM Alan Millar said: &ldquo;Before July 21, I didn&rsquo;t care what Jeff Jackson was saying about major junior hockey. He was the best coach available and that&rsquo;s what I based my decision on.&rsquo;</p><p>In his six years at Lake State, Jackson had a 192-52-25 record.</p><p>His .760 winning percentage is the highest for NCAA Division I coaches with more than 200 games.</p><p><b>DOG DAYS</b> Just when Rick Valve must have been thinking that having the worst record in the Canadian Hockey League was as bad as it could get, the Mississauga IceDogs&rsquo; coach lost his home and most of the family&rsquo;s belongings to a fire on Halloween. Damage was estimated at $200,000.</p><p>No one was at home at the time and Vaive said the fire likely began when something fell on a lit candle.</p><p>Firefighters were able to save most of Valve&rsquo;s hockey memorabilia. In 1981-82, became the first Toronto Maple Leaf to score 50 goals (he got 54), a feat he repeated the next two seasons (51 and 52).</p><p>This is his first season as coach of the IceDogs, who were in the OHL basement with a 2-11-2-0 record.</p><p><b>ON THE SHELF</b> Brampton Battalion&rsquo;s to scorer, Raffi Torres, was expected to be out until mid-November with a sprained ligament in his left thumb.</p><p>The injury happened in a fight during; game against the Owen Sound Attack on Nov. 4.</p><p>The left winger, the New York Islanders&rsquo; fifth overall draft pick in 2000, had 11 go; and 23 points in 13 games. He scored 43 goals and 91 points in 68 games last season<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-01

Jackson likes proposed NCAA rule change

<div class="byline">By Willy Palov</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02712/7719054-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="389" height="296"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Quebec League&rsquo;s coaching carousel continued turning with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan turfing coach <b>Roger Dejoie</b> just a week after Chicoutimi dumped <b>Martin Daoust.</b></p><p>&ldquo;It was very difficult (to fire Dejoie) because he was like a son for me and he was a friend,&rdquo; said Bathurst GM-president <b>Leo-Guy Morrissette</b>. &ldquo;But we won only one game in the last 13 and the last six games at home we (did) not win. That&rsquo;s the reason we could not wait anymore. The players did not want to play for Mr. Dejoie anymore.&rdquo;</p><p>Both teams hired league veterans as replacements, with <b>Alain Rajotte</b> taking over in Chicoutimi and the Titan bringing in former Granby, Chicoutimi and Moncton coach <b>Real Paiement.</b></p><p>Paiement joins Bathurst with a 288-24738 career record over nine seasons. He made one trip to the Memorial Cup in 1997 with Chicoutimi and had been out of hockey since being fired by the Wildcats May 7.</p><p>&ldquo;I really enjoyed being with my kids and being present in their lives in a way I&rsquo;d never been,&rdquo; said Paiement of his time off from coaching.</p><p>&ldquo;But I got a little bit of an itch to compete again and when the opportunity came up, I went for it.&rdquo;</p><p>Paiement, who was also the Wildcats&rsquo; GM for two years, made two trades with the Titan last season that saw seven players go from Moncton to Bathurst. Six are still with the Titan.</p><p>&ldquo;That was important in my decision,&rdquo; Morrissette said. &ldquo;He already knows many players we have because he coached them last year and the year before, too. But the most important thing is he is an experienced coach. He is a winner.&rdquo;</p><p><b>ROUX MOVED</b> The axe also fell on Victoriaville GM <b>Pierre Roux</b>. He got the chop after one too many clashes with the team&rsquo;s executive.</p><p>&ldquo;We have a new board and I think Mr. Roux had some difficulties working with the board. It was only that,&rdquo; said team president <b>Martin Halle</b>, declining to get into specifics.</p><p>A likely factor in Roux&rsquo;s dismissal was his abysmal track record in trades for import players. In four separate deals for European players, only one, defenseman <b>Sergei Kaltygen</b>, reported to the Tigres.</p><p>Halle was looking at five candidates to replace Roux and hoped to have his man by the end of November. &ldquo;We will take our time, but for sure we will have a new person before the trade period (opens) on Dec. 15,&rdquo; Halle said. &ldquo;We are a small market so I don&rsquo;t know if we have to have a full-time GM. Maybe it will be half-time.&rdquo;</p><p><b>RECOVERY</b> Moncton winger <b>Jonathan Roy&rsquo;s</b> recovery from testicular cancer is almost complete.</p><p>Out since being diagnosed April 19 with a rare but aggressive form of the disease, Roy, 20, is in the final stage of his comeback.</p><p>After surgery in Boston April 21 and four months of chemotherapy in Quebec City, the cancer is in remission and the prognosis is good.</p><p>He returned to full practices in early November and was hoping to be in game shape by the end of the month.</p><p>Roy had 64 goals and 125 points in 73 games last season and was named the CHL&rsquo;s most sportsmanlike player.</p><h2><b>Another Mosienko</b></h2><p>Tyler Mosienko&rsquo;s name will be famous whether or not he achieves stardom with the Western League&rsquo;s Kelowna Rockets.</p><p>The 16-year-old center is the grandson of late Hall of Famer Bill Mosienko, who had a memorable offensive explosion against the New York Rangers on March 23,1952. Skating for Chicago, the elder Mosienko potted the fastest hat trick in NHL history, scoring three times in 21 seconds.</p><p>&ldquo;I got to know him pretty well, even though he passed away when I was young,&rdquo; said Tyler Mosienko, who &mdash; just like his grandfather &mdash; is a 5-foot-8,160-pound Winnipeg native.</p><p>&ldquo;He was really nice, a real gentleman. I used to build a rink in my backyard every winter. He used to come out there with his old leather skates and show me some stuff.</p><p>&ldquo;People ask me what it&rsquo;s like being his grandson. It&rsquo;s a pleasure. I&rsquo;m very proud.&rdquo;</p><p><b><i>&mdash; Rob Vanstone</i></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-02

Titan dump Dejoie bring in Paiement

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03508/7719085-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="373" height="276"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n memory of athletic therapist <b>Chris Fleming</b>, who suffered a fatal heart attack Nov. 2, the Calgary Hitmen will wear patches bearing Fleming&rsquo;s initials for the remainder of the season.</p><p>Fleming, 34, collapsed on the bench while playing in a weekly pickup hockey game with staff members of the Western League&rsquo;s Hitmen and the NHL&rsquo;s Calgary Flames at the Pengrowth Saddledome.</p><p>&ldquo;He came off the ice, was joking around, and a minute later someone looked over and he was on the floor,&rdquo; said Hitmen GM <b>Kelly Kisio</b>. &ldquo;This is very difficult. Everyone is in shock.&rdquo;</p><p>Flames&rsquo; assistant equipment manager <b>Les Jarvis</b> performed CPR on Fleming, who was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.</p><p>Fleming was an athletic therapist with the Canadian Football League&rsquo;s Calgary Stampeders for 10 years before joining the Hitmen in 1998.</p><p>Hitmen players learned of the death upon arriving for practice Nov. 2. Instead of practising, the players met with grief counselors.</p><p>Postponing Calgary&rsquo;s next game &mdash; a 4-4 tie with the visiting Saskatoon Blades Nov. 3 &mdash; was considered, but the team decided to Play</p><p><b>WINNER HAWKS</b> After two difficult years, the Portland Winter Hawks are enjoying a renaissance.</p><p>Memorial Cup champions in 1998, Portland slipped to 23-36-13 in1998-99 and were an atrocious 16-49-7-0 last year.</p><p>But through the first week of Novembei this season, a six-game winning streak saw Portland (9-3-1-0) in first place in the West Division, one point ahead of the Kamloops Blazers, with three games in hand.</p><p>&ldquo;I kind of expected this,&rdquo; said Winter Hawks&rsquo; coach <b>Mike Williamson</b>.</p><p>&ldquo;A few people kind of laughed at me when I said that I thought we had a team that could fight for first.&rdquo;</p><p>The 26-year-old Williamson was a Winter Hawks&rsquo; assistant before assuming head coaching duties last February <b>when Harold Snepsts</b> resigned.</p><p><b>BIG DEALS</b> Seattle Thunderbirds&rsquo; GM <b>Russ Farwell</b> &mdash; architect of the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; mammoth deal for Eric Lindros in 1992 &mdash; specializes in blockbuster trades.</p><p>On Oct. 27, Farwell acquired center <b>Jamie Lundmark</b> &mdash; chosen ninth overal by the New York Rangers in 1999 &mdash; from the Moose Jaw Warriors.</p><p>Four days later, as part of a four-playei deal, Farwell shipped right winger <b>Bret DeCecco</b> &mdash; a 57-goal man for the Thunderbirds in 1998-99 &mdash; and defenseman Brennan Evans to the Kootenay let for defenseman Dion Lassu, right winger Brad Tutschek and future considerations.</p><p>&ldquo;We got a defenseman who can play in the top four and an experienced guy we were after,&rdquo; Farwell said.</p><p><b>NOTES</b> Calgary left winger Jordan Krestanovich&rsquo;s 13-game point streak ended Nov. 3 &hellip; Kootenay center Mike Comrie scored 20 goals and 56 points during his 19-game point streak to begin the season &hellip; Saskatoon center <b>David Cameron</b> scored five goals &mdash; giving him eight for the season in a 7-4 victory over Medicine Hat Nov. 5.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-03

Hitmen pay tribute with memorial patch

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01957/7719116-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="382" height="223"></div><p>The recurring theme put forth by rookie Princeton Bach <b>Len Quesnelle</b> during the pre-season was at the Tigers have more depth this year.</p><p>It didn&rsquo;t take long to prove.</p><p>Playing without two of their senior leaders, the gers gave Quesnelle a 3-1 win over Niagara in debut behind the Princeton bench Nov. 3 and time back with a 1-1 tie the next right, with yet lother senior out of the lineup.</p><p>Senior captain <b>Kirk Lamb</b> ano assistant capin <b>Shane Campbell</b> both missed the weekend; Lamb with a knee injury suffered in an exhibition game and ampbell due to a death in the family.</p><p>The Tigers also played without mior defenseman <b>Peter Zavodny</b> Nov. after he sustained a shoulder injury lat could sideline him from Eastern College thletic Conference action for a couple months. &ldquo;I like our depth up front,&rdquo; said Quesnelle, a ead coach for the first time after serving as an ssistant at his alma mater for 12 years. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s ime thing we didn&rsquo;t have last year. But it can rode on you pretty quickly.&rdquo;</p><p>Quesnelle, a 1988 Princeton grad who was amed the coach after <b>Don Cahoon</b> left for Mass-Amherst, is confident he&rsquo;ll make a smooth ansition from an assistant.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like I&rsquo;m coming in off the street cold,&rdquo; le said. &ldquo;I have a good idea of what we have in louse and I have a good idea of what the freshmen are capable of because I&rsquo;ve recruited these guys. Sure, I&rsquo;m going to establish my own identity, but that will be established over time.&rdquo;</p><p>Underclassmen played a key role in the 1-1 tie with the Pimple Eagles. <b>Dan Hursh</b>, a native of Calgary, scored his first career NCAA goal at 5:57 of the third period to pull the Tigers even and sophomore goalie <b>Nate Nomeland</b>, a native of Fargo, N.D., made 29 saves in just his third career start.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> Special teams haven&rsquo;t been so special for the RPI Engineers this season.</p><p>In four games, the Engineers (2-2-0) converted just three of 26 power play opportunities (12 per cent), while opponents had a 28 per-cent success rate with the man advantage.</p><p>The weaknesses of the special teams were never more evident than in RPI&rsquo;s 4-2 loss to rival Union Nov. 4.</p><p>Union scored all four of its goals on power plays, while RPI was l-for-9.</p><p><b>SPOTLIGHT</b> Brown junior defenseman Josh Barker probably wishes the Bears played crosstown rival Providence more often.</p><p>Barker scored the winning goal in the Bears&rsquo; 5-1 win over the Friars Nov. 4. The goal was the sixth of Barker&rsquo;s career and three have come against Providence.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Union&rsquo;s 3-1-0 start is the team&rsquo;s best since 1994-95, when the Skating Dutchmen won five of their first six games &hellip; Vermont sophomore forward <b>Ryan Miller</b> is the only native of Arizona playing in the ECAC.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

Princeton answers depth questions in new coach Quesnelle’s debut

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02650/7719147-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="382" height="220"></div><p>Joston College&rsquo;s Jerry York became the sixth collage coach to reach the 600-win plateau when his Cagles beat UMass-Lowell 6-1 Nov. 4.</p><p>The victory gave York a 600-437-53 record in 29 ears with Clarkson, Bowling Green and BC.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty excited about it,&rdquo; said the 55-year-old York. &ldquo;I remember my old Boston College High chool coach, Father Leo Pollard, talking about now good players make coaches look good and I nought that was pretty fitting.&rdquo;</p><p>In reflecting upon his career, the loston College graduate recalled some md memories.</p><p>&ldquo;When I first got started, Dave Taylor was such an instrumental player at Clarkson,&rdquo; said York referring to re former NHLer and Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; GM. He&rsquo;s a real good guy and a good friend now. It&rsquo;s iteresting how player-coach relationships evolve rhen they get out of school. They become pretty ood friends. It&rsquo;s a nice aspect of this job.&rdquo;</p><p>York, whose first NCAA victory came with larkson back on Nov. 10,1972, said he has no Ians to retire.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll stay as long as they&rsquo;ll have me,&rdquo; he said.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> It&rsquo;s easy to see why Northeastern has been a surprise team this season.</p><p>A veteran defense and a high-powered scoring ne have lifted the Huskies to a 4-2-1 record. They were picked to finish sixth in the nine-team lockey East by The Hockey News this season.</p><p>Five of the six defensemen had at least 65 career games entering the season and coach <b>Bruce Crowder</b> found magic when he put senior <b>Graig Mischler</b> between sophomore left winger <b>Mike Ryan</b> and freshman right winger <b>Scott Selig</b>. They combined for 11 goals and 25 points through the Huskies&rsquo; first seven games.</p><p><b>SPOTLIGHT</b> UMass-Amherst goalie <b>Markus Helanen</b> is one of the most underrated players in college hockey.</p><p>Two years ago, he had the third-best save percentage in Hockey East (.898), despite playing on a team that won only eight of 24 games.</p><p>Last season, the Vantaa, Fin., native was 5-12-3, but had a 2.85 goals-against average and .903 save percentage for a team that finished 5-15-4.</p><p>The 6-foot-3,205-pound free agent got off to a terrific start this season with two shutouts in three games, 1.98 GAA and .939 save percentage. He had a home shutout streak spanning 133 minutes and 45 seconds.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> The formation of a Hockey East women&rsquo;s league is a hot topic among athletic directors. Providence, Boston College, Maine, New Hampshire and Northeastern have full-fledged Division I women&rsquo;s programs. UMass-Amherst could provide a sixth team &hellip; Boston University goalie <b>Sean Fields</b> made 25 saves in his debut, a 3-0 triumph over Merrimack Nov. 4. It came on the 11th anniversary of the last Terriers&rsquo; goalie, <b>Scott Cashman</b>, to post a shutout in his first game.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-02

York pauses, barely, for reflection after securing 600th bench victory

<div class="byline">By Andy Baggot</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011078/7719178-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="373" height="220"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>t&rsquo;s not unusual to see coaching changes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, but the one that took place Nov. 7 was out of the ordinary.</p><p><b>Tim Watters</b> resigned after four-plus seasons at Michigan Tech and was replaced on an interim basis by former Minnesota-Duluth coach Mike Sertich.</p><p>This is the ninth coaching change in the WCHA since 1993 &mdash; involving every team except St. Cloud State and Wisconsin &mdash; but this is the first time league observers recall it taking place during the season.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re most appreciative of all the efforts put forth by Tim,&rdquo; said Tech athletic director <b>Rick Yeo</b>. &ldquo;Tim is a good man, (but) unfortunately things didn&rsquo;t work out.&rdquo;</p><p>The Huskies were 39-116-9 overall and 1-7-1 this season under Watters. The slow start is reminiscent of last year when Tech lost 34 of 38 games, setting a league record for most losses in a season.</p><p>Sertich, a four-time WCHA coach of the year, resigned last spring after 18 seasons at Minnesota-Duluth.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s flattering to get a call from someone who needs your help and wants you,&rdquo; Sertich said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going because a friend asked me to do this as a favor.&rdquo;</p><p>Sertich, who won 350 games in 18 seasons with Minnesota-Duluth and led the Bulldogs to three league titles, will finish out the season and a national search will be conducted for a full-time coach. Peter Wilkinson and Marc Boxer, assistants under Watters, were retained.</p><p><b>ANALYSIS</b> One reason Wisconsin started quickly was the fact it never trailed en route to sweeps of UMass-Amherst and Michigan Tech.</p><p>But in losing three straight to begin November, the Badgers never had the lead against Northeastern (5-4 loss in overtime) and a sweep at the hands of Minnesota (4-0 and 5-2).</p><p><b>SPOTLIGHT</b> Minnesota (7-0-1) is off to its best start since 1987-88, when it won eight straight games to open the season.</p><p>The Gophers have been especially effective on special teams, going 17-for-46 (37 per cent) on the power play and 41-for-43 (95 per cent) killing penalties.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Minnesota State-Mankato winger <b>Jerry Cunningham</b> returned from a six-game suspension &mdash; imposed by coach Troy Jutting for violating team rules &mdash; in style with three assists in a 5-1 win over Michigan Tech Nov. 4&hellip;Colorado College&rsquo;s 6-0-0 start was powered by its penalty-killing prowess. The Tigers were 30-for-33 on the penalty kill and had converted three shorthanded goals.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-01

Sertich replaces Watters as Huskies’ woes continue

<div class="byline">By Paul Harris</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02738/7719209-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="376" height="217"></div><p>Western Michigan senior forward <b>Steve Rymsha</b> responded to a personal loss with a goal explosion.</p><p>During a one-month period in which he had a grandfather and grandmother pass away, Rymsha scored three hat tricks. His latest three-goal game came in a 5-4 victory over Dartmouth Nov. 3.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m proud of Steve, the way he has handled it,&rdquo; said Western Michigan coach <b>Jim Culhane</b>. &ldquo;He is pooling the emotional adrenaline from his personal situation. I told him there must be an angel on his shoulder because everything he shoots goes in.&rdquo;</p><p>Culhane, a long-time Bronco assistant before becoming head coach two years ago, knows Rymsha&rsquo;s family well because Rymsha&rsquo;s older brother, Andy, also played at Western Michigan.</p><p>Steve Rymsha, who had 13 goals and 24 points in 34 games last season, had 10 goals and 17 points in his first eight Central Collegiate Hockey Association games this season.</p><p><b>PROSPECT WATCH</b> Michigan State goalie <b>Ryan Miller</b> continues to exhibit outstanding pro potential.</p><p>Drafted by Buffalo 138th overall in 1999, Miller has actually improved upon his gaudy stats as a freshman. In the Spartans&rsquo; first seven games, Miller was if 1-1 with a 1.56 goals-against average, .9451 save percentage and one shutout.</p><p>As a freshman, Miller set school recorc for GAA (1.53), SP (.932) and shutouts (eight) while splitting time with <b>Joe Blackburn.</b></p><p>Miller, 6-foot-2 and 160 pounds, is a classic butterfly goalie who takes away everything low. But he&rsquo;s sometimes out of control when he has to go post to post.</p><p><b>DRAFT WATCH</b> Michigan freshman defenseman <b>Mike Komisarek</b> not only looks like a clone of Wolverines&rsquo; junior defenseman <b>Jeff Jillson</b>, he plays like him, to</p><p>The 6-foot-4,235-pound Komisarek was on the seconc defense pairing and was more than holding his own. Not only did the native of Islip Terrace, N.Y., have two goals, five points an a plus-4 rating through nine games, but he had demonstrated great agility for his size.</p><p>Komisarek, 18, is rated 37th for the 2001 NHL draft by <i>Red Line Report.</i></p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Despite being without six regulars, including two top scorers &mdash; senior captain <b>Ryan Knox</b> and junior cen ter <b>Jeremy Bachusz</b> &mdash; Lake Superior State managed its first conference win, 4-3 over Nebraska-Omaha Nov. 3. The Lakers&rsquo; lineup included three freshmen, two of whom were playing their first game.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-02

Bucking Bronco Rymsha riding red-hot goal streak

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01978/7719352-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>2000-01 STANDINGS</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>HL Standings through games of Nov. 9 (82-game regular season). <b>GP</b>-games played; <b>W</b>-wins; <b>L</b>-tosses; <b>T</b>-ties; R<b>T</b>- regualtion ties; <b>GF</b>-goals for; <b>GA</b>-goals against; Diff.-difference between goals for and against; <b>P</b>- points; Pc<b>T</b>- percentage of actual points versus possible points. Below is a comparison between games played through Nov. 11/1999 versus games played through Nov. 9/2000.</p><p>The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. Division leaders are seeded No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. Otherwise, seeding is detennined by: 1. point total: 2. wins: 3. points obtained in games against tied teams; 4. goal differential. The regular season ends April 8.</p><h2><b>DIVISIONAL STANDINGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02648/7719345-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="1363" height="562"></div><h2><b>OVERALL</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07272/7719338-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="486" height="841"></div><h2><b>RESULTS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08247/7719331-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="486" height="1378"></div><h2><b>GOALS-AGAINST AVE.</b></h2><p><b>GP</b>-games played. <b>Min</b>.-total minutes; <b>GA</b>-goals against; <b>SO</b>-shutouts; <b>GAA</b>-goals-against average; League average is average GAA of all goalies who have played a minimum of 300 minutes.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-09226/7719324-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="585" height="994"></div><h2><b>SAVE PERCENTAGE</b></h2><p><b>GP</b>-games played: <b>Min</b>.-total minutes; <b>SA</b>-shots faced; <b>GA</b>-goals against; S<b>P</b>-save percentage; League average is average save percentage of all goalies who have played a minimum of 300 minutes.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-10209/7719317-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="585" height="1007"></div><h2><b>TOP SCORERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-11198/7719310-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="544" height="538"></div><h2><b>TOP DEFENSEMEN</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-12186/7719303-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="558" height="288"></div><h2><b>TOP ROOKIES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-13175/7719296-1-eng-US/f0036-132.jpg" title="f0036-13" width="558" height="333"></div><h2><b>ATTENDANCE</b></h2><p>Listed are unofficial NHL attendance figures, including number of home games, 1999-00 average at the san number of games, 2000-01 average, difference between the two, percentage difference and percentage of capacit</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-14163/7719289-1-eng-US/f0036-142.jpg" title="f0036-14" width="560" height="791"></div><h2><b>TEAM PENALTIES</b></h2><p><b>PIM</b>-total penalty minutes including <b>BMI</b>-bench penalty minutes; <b>Avg</b>.-average penalty minutes per game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-15159/7719282-1-eng-US/f0036-152.jpg" title="f0036-15" width="986" height="461"></div><h2><b>PENALTY KILLING</b></h2><p><b>TSH</b>-total times shorthanded; <b>PGA</b>-power-play goals allowed; <b>Pct</b>-penalty-killing percentage.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-16154/7719275-1-eng-US/f0036-162.jpg" title="f0036-16" width="995" height="461"></div><h2><b>POWER PLAY</b></h2><p><b>Adv</b>-total advantages; <b>PPG</b>-power-play goals; <b>Pct</b>.-power-play goals divided by total advantages</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-17145/7719268-1-eng-US/f0036-172.jpg" title="f0036-17" width="983" height="465"></div><h2><b>THN THREE STARS OF THE WEEK</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03537/7719261-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="247" height="325"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Steve Sullivan</b></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04411/7719254-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="73" height="76"></div><p>Sparkplug Steve Sullivan had five goals and two assists for the Chicago Blackhawks, leading his team to a 2-1-0 record for the week.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05342/7719247-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="80" height="74"></div><p>Rookie Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre&rsquo;s solid play helped the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 1-1-1 record. He was a plus-5, notching his first NHL goal and an assist in a 5-2 win over San Jose Nov. 9.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06298/7719240-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="85" height="83"></div><p>Toronto&rsquo;s Curtis Joseph allowed one goal on 81 shots going 2-0-1 for the week, including two shutouts, a 0-0 tie in St. Louis and a 5-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Toronto.</p><p><b>For daily news and stats visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0036-01

2 0 0 0 - 01 REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01873/7719670-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>S</span>tatistics provided by National Hockey League: PLAYER-listed by uniform number, position (F-forward; D-defenseman; G-goane), name; <b>GP</b>-games played; G-goals; A-assists; <b>P</b>-points; <b>+/-</b>-plus/minus; PIM-penalties; P<b>P</b>-power-play goals; SH-shor<b>T</b>-handed goals; G<b>W</b>-game-winning goals; G<b>T</b>-game-tying goals; S-shots; S<b>P</b>-shooting percentage; H-hits. A hit is any legal contact by a player on an opposing player that exerts enough force as to prevent the player from controlling the puck, knocks him off the puck, or significantly impedes his progress; <b>GV</b>-giveaways. A giveaway is when a player&rsquo;s own actions result in the loss of possession to the other team; <b>TK</b>-takeaways. A takeaway occurs when pressure by a defending player results in gaining possession of the puck; <b>MIN</b>-average minutes played per game is expressed in minutes and seconds. Players indicated by an asterisk (*) are eligible for the Calder Trophy.</p><p><b>NOTE:</b> Statistics provided by NHL are incomplete. Extended stats for Columbus, Minnesota, Nashville and Pittsburgh were not available. Individual player stats are also not complete in some cases.</p><h2><b>ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS</b></h2><h2><b>ATLANTA THRASHERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02593/7719663-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="1014" height="660"></div><h2><b>BOSTON BRUINS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03462/7719656-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="1012" height="709"></div><h2><b>BUFFALO SABRES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04383/7719649-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="1016" height="141"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05339/7719642-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="1013" height="546"></div><h2><b>CALGARY FLAMES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06299/7719635-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="1022" height="731"></div><h2><b>CAROLINA HURRICANES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07269/7719628-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="1014" height="647"></div><h2><b>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-08228/7719621-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="1016" height="699"></div><h2><b>COLORADO AVALANCHE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-09195/7719614-1-eng-US/f0037-092.jpg" title="f0037-09" width="1010" height="112"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-10174/7719607-1-eng-US/f0037-102.jpg" title="f0037-10" width="1028" height="550"></div><h2><b>COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-11145/7719600-1-eng-US/f0037-112.jpg" title="f0037-11" width="1006" height="628"></div><h2><b>DALLAS STARS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-12127/7719593-1-eng-US/f0037-122.jpg" title="f0037-12" width="1020" height="634"></div><h2><b>DETROIT RED WINGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-13116/7719586-1-eng-US/f0037-132.jpg" title="f0037-13" width="1012" height="682"></div><h2><b>EDMONTON OILERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-14106/7719579-1-eng-US/f0037-142.jpg" title="f0037-14" width="1020" height="258"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01948/7719572-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="999" height="378"></div><h2><b>FLORIDA PANTHERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02649/7719565-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="1000" height="811"></div><h2><b>LOS ANGELES KINGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03521/7719558-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="994" height="621"></div><h2><b>MINNESOTA WILD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04409/7719551-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="998" height="675"></div><h2><b>MONTREAL CANADIANS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05320/7719544-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="999" height="719"></div><h2><b>NASHVILLE PREDATORS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06276/7719537-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="1011" height="625"></div><h2><b>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-07252/7719530-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="992" height="658"></div><h2><b>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-08217/7719523-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="994" height="629"></div><h2><b>NEW YORK RANGERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-09194/7719516-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="994" height="630"></div><h2><b>OTTAWA SENATORS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-10171/7719509-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="1001" height="565"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-11157/7719502-1-eng-US/f0038-112.jpg" title="f0038-11" width="997" height="165"></div><h2><b>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-12146/7719495-1-eng-US/f0038-122.jpg" title="f0038-12" width="1002" height="712"></div><h2><b>PHOENIX COYOTES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-13134/7719488-1-eng-US/f0038-132.jpg" title="f0038-13" width="994" height="658"></div><h2><b>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-14124/7719481-1-eng-US/f0038-142.jpg" title="f0038-14" width="995" height="628"></div><h2><b>SAN JOSE SHARKS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-15115/7719474-1-eng-US/f0038-152.jpg" title="f0038-15" width="991" height="682"></div><h2><b>ST. LOUIS BLUES</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-16104/7719467-1-eng-US/f0038-162.jpg" title="f0038-16" width="991" height="280"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01902/7719460-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="1018" height="424"></div><h2><b>TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02592/7719453-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="1030" height="772"></div><h2><b>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03452/7719446-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="1032" height="640"></div><h2><b>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04370/7719439-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="1020" height="314"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05313/7719432-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="1017" height="373"></div><h2><b>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06267/7719425-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="1023" height="659"></div><h2><b>REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07243/7719418-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="1026" height="1220"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-08214/7719411-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="1064" height="2410"></div><h2><b>NHL GOALT ENDING STATISTICS</b></h2><h3><b>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p>Statistics provided by National Hockey League; Players are listed by uniform number, name games played <b>(GP)</b>. minutes played <b>(Min)</b>, goals-against average <b>(GAA)</b>, wins <b>(W)</b>, losses <b>(L)</b>, ties <b>(T)</b>. empty-net goals <b>(EN)</b>, shutouts <b>(SO)</b>, goals against <b>(GA)</b>, shots against <b>(SA)</b>, save percentage <b>(SP)</b>. For goalies&rsquo; individual rankings see page 36.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-09180/7719404-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="754" height="768"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-10155/7719397-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="787" height="1027"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-11137/7719390-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="754" height="1024"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-12121/7719383-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="752" height="1020"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0037-01

2000-01 REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS

<h2><b>NOTE</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>U</span>nofficial game summaries provided by National Hockey League; (shots on goal/plus-minus). <b>SA</b>-shots against; <b>GA</b>- goals against; <b>ENG</b>-empty net goals; Decdecision, charges to goaltenders of record when winning goal is scored.</b></p><h2><b>FRIDAY, NOV. 3</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01599/7719855-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="530" height="3156"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02376/7719848-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="522" height="3534"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03273/7719841-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="502" height="1648"></div><h2><b>SATURDAY, NOV. 4</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04219/7719834-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="526" height="1818"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05189/7719827-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="522" height="3526"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06168/7719820-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="518" height="3536"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07153/7719813-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="526" height="2250"></div><h2><b>SUNDAY, NOV. 5</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-08138/7719806-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="512" height="1226"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01500/7719799-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="548" height="3542"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02311/7719792-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="532" height="3108"></div><h2><b>MONDAY, NOV. 6</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03239/7719785-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="512" height="348"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04204/7719778-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="522" height="685"></div><h2><b>TUESDAY, NOV. 7</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05184/7719771-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="525" height="2777"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-06170/7719764-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="521" height="1396"></div><h2><b>WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-07155/7719757-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="524" height="2071"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-08131/7719750-1-eng-US/f0041-082.jpg" title="f0041-08" width="526" height="3536"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0998/7719743-1-eng-US/f0041-092.jpg" title="f0041-09" width="550" height="3524"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01508/7719736-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="490" height="248"></div><h2><b>THURSDAY, NOV. 9</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02315/7719729-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="533" height="3181"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03251/7719722-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="506" height="1811"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04200/7719715-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="512" height="1810"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05175/7719708-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="508" height="792"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06160/7719701-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="1978" height="1600"><figcaption class="caption-body">Two teams enjoying better starts this season are Atlanta and San Jose, seen here converging on the puck along the boards.</figcaption></div><h2><b>TRANSACTIONS</b></h2><p><b>Transactions include NHL personnel moves from Nov. 3-10. Injuries include target return date or time frame.</b></p><h3><b>ANAHEIM</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Ruslan Salei,</b> D, bruised foot, day-to-day. Pavel Tmka. D, sprained ankle, day-to-day.</p><h3><b>ATLANTA</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None</p><p><b>INJURIES Petr Buzek. D.</b> concussion-like symptoms, day-to-day. Gord Murphy, D. sore shoulder, Dec. 1. Damian Rhodes. G, strained groin, day-to-day.</p><h3><b>BOSTON</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> Nov. 7 Marquis Mathieu, C, and Cameron Mann, RW, assigned to Providence (AHL). Pavel Kolarik, D, recalled from Providence.</p><p><b>INJURIES Paul Coffey,</b> D, concussion, day-to-day. Joe Hulbig, RW, concussion, day-to-day. John Grahame. G, ankle surgery, February Kyle McLaren, D, left knee strain, indefinite. Andre Savage, C, shoulder surgery, late December.</p><h3><b>BUFFALO</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> Nov. 7 Martin Biron, G, signed two-year contract and assigned to Rochester (AHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Doug Gilmour. LW,</b> sore pelvis, day-to-day. Dave Andreychuk. LW, so ribs, day-to-day.</p><h3><b>CALGARY</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> Nov. 6 Dallas Eakins, D, recalled from Chicago (IHL). Nov. 8 Martin Brochu, G, recalled from Saint John (AHL). Nov. 10 Mike Martin, D, recalled from Saint John.</p><p><b>INJURIES Fred Brathwaite, G,</b> strained groin, day-to-day. Robyn Regehr, D, sore knee, day-to-day. Steve Smith. D, concussion, day-to-day. Tommy Albelin, D, concussion, day-to-day. Denis Gauthier. D, bruised wrist, mid-November. Ronald Petrovicky, RW, surgery to repair wrist tendon, indefinite.</p><h3><b>CAROLINA</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> Nov. 3 Jean-Marc Pelletier, G, assigned to Cincinnati (IHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Rob DiMaio.</b> RW. back spasms, day-to-day.</p><h3><b>CHICAGO</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> Nov. 3 Josef Martia, C, assigned to Norfolk (AHL). Nov. 6 Anders Eriksson, D, traded to Florida for Jaroslav Spacek. D.</p><p><b>INJURIES</b> None.</p><h3><b>COLORADO</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None</p><p><b>INJURIES Adam Deadmarsh.</b> RW, concussion, indefinite. Chris Drury, LW, sprained left knee, mid-December.</p><h3><b>COLUMBUS</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> Nov. 10 Bert Robertsson, D, traded to N.Y. Rangers for Jean-Francois Labbe. 6. Labbe assigned to Syracuse (AHL)</p><p><b>INJURIES Krzysztof Oliwa,</b> LW, broken arm, February. DALLAS.</p><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> Nov. 6 Dan Jancevski, D, signed three-year contract.</p><p><b>INJURIES</b> None.</p><h3><b>DETROIT</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Steve Yzerman</b>. C, tom cartilage in right knee, late November.</p><h3><b>EDMONTON</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 8</b> Patrick Cote, LW. and Joaquin Gage, G, assigned to Hamilton (AHL). Eric Heftier, G, recalled from Hamilton.</p><p><b>INJURIES Paul Comrie</b>, LW, pos<b>T</b>-concussion, indefinite. Josh Green. LW, shoulder surgery, mid-February.</p><h3><b>FLORIDA</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 6</b> Jaroslav Spacek, D, traded to Chicago for Anders Eriksson, D. Greg Adams, LW. signed contract as free agent.</p><p><b>INJURIES Len Barrie</b>, C. bruised kidney, mid-November Igor Larionov. C, pulled stomach muscle, late November. Scott Mellanby, RW, herniated disc, mid-November. Lance Pitlick, D, bruised hand, mid-November. Mike Sillinger. C, bruised foot, mid-November. Nick Smith. C, knee surgery, mid-November. Mike Wilson. D, dislocated shoulder and broken arm, February.</p><h3><b>LOS ANGELES</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES</b> None.</p><h3><b>MINNESOTA</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Sergei Krivokrasov</b>. RW, sprained right knee, indefinite. Curtis Leschyshyn. D, strained groin, day to day.</p><h3><b>MONTREAL</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 6</b> Darryl Shannon, D, assigned to Quebec (AHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Patrick Poulin</b>, LW, strained groin, Nov. 11. Jeff Hackett. G, broken right hand, late November. Saku Koivu, C, left knee surgery. mid-January. Christian Laflamme, D, concussion, day-to-day. Sheldon Souray, D, tom abdominal muscle, mid-January.</p><h3><b>NASHVILLE</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 3</b> Chris Mason, 6, assigned to Milwaukee (IHL). Jan Lasak, G. recalled from Milwaukee. Nov. 5 Greg Classen, C, assigned to Milwaukee. Mason recalled from Milwaukee. Lasak assigned to Milwaukee.</p><p><b>INJURIES Mike Dunham</b>, G, sprained left knee ligament, Nov. 18.</p><h3><b>NEW JERSEY</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 3</b> Frederic Henry, G, recalled from Albany (AHL). Nov. 6 Future considerations traded to Atlanta for Geordie Kinnear. D. Kinnear assigned to Albany.</p><p><b>INJURIES Sascha Goc</b>. D, right knee surgery, Nov. 20. Jay Pandolfo. LW broken left shoulder, day-to-day.</p><h3><b>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 3</b> Jesse Belanger. C. recalled from Chicago (IHL) Nov. 5 Rick DiPietro, G, recalled from Chicago. Nov. 6 DiPitfro assigned to Chicago.</p><p><b>INJURIES Eric Coins</b>, D, broken left thumb, mid-November. Bill Muc alt, RW. dislocated right shoulder, early December.</p><h3><b>NEW YORK RANGERS</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 2</b> Johan Holmqvist. G. assigned to Hartford (AHL). Nov. 6 Tomas Kloucek, D, recalled from Hartford. Nov. 8 Kloucek and Johan Witehall, RW, assigned to Hartford. Nov. 9 Kloucek recalled from Hartford.</p><p><b>INJURIES Kim Johnsson</b>. D. broken bone in right hand, Nov 16 Vladimir Malakhov. D. sprained left knee, Nov. 16.</p><h3><b>OTTAWA</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 3</b> John Emmons, C. and David Oliver, RW, recalled from Grand Rapids (IHL). Nov. 9 Mike Fountain, G. assigned to Grand Rapids. Nov. 10 Igor Kravchuk, D, claimed on waivers by Calgary. Jamie Rivers, D, signed contract as free agent.</p><p><b>INJURIES Daniel Alfredsson</b>, RW, right hip flexor, indefinite. Mike Fisher, C. sprained left shoulder, Dec. 1 Ricard I Persson, D. broken right ankle, indefinite. Chris Phillips, I D. back spasms, day-to-day. Andre Roy, RW, back spasms. day-to-day.</p><h3><b>PHILADELPHIA</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Jody Hull</b>. RW, bruised left foot, day-to-day. <b>Keith Jones</b>. LW, concussion, day-to-day. <b>John LeClair</b>. LW. back surgery, indefinite. <b>Mark Recchi</b>. RW, concussion, day-to-day.</p><h3><b>PHOENIX</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Joe Juneau</b>, C, separated right shoulder, late November. Mike Sullivan, LW, strained abdominal muscle, day-to-day.</p><h3><b>PITTSBURGH</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 6</b> Dennis Bonvie, RW, assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL)</p><p><b>INJURIES Roman Simicek</b>, C, strained hamstring, day-to-day.</p><h3><b>ST. LOUIS</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None.</p><p><b>INJURIES Marc Bergevin</b>. D. sore right thumb, day-to-day Todd Reirden. D, sore left foot. mid-November.</p><h3><b>SAN JOSE</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 3</b> Miikka Kiprusoff. G, assigned to Kentucky (AHL). Nov. 4 Bobby Dollas, D, signed one-year contract as free agent.</p><p><b>INJURIES Owen Nolan</b>, RW, sore abdomen. mid-November. Marcus Ragnarsson. D, sprained knee ligament mid-November. Mark Smith, C, concussion, indefinite.</p><h3><b>TAMPA BAY</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 3</b> Maxim Galanov. D, claimed on waivers from Florida. Ben Clymer, D, assigned to Detroit (IHL) Nov. 4 Cory Sarich, D, and Bryan Muir. D, recalled from Detroit (IHL). Nils Ekman, LW, assigned to Detroit (IHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Sergey Gusev</b>. D, right knee surgery, indefinite. <b>Dan Cloutier</b>. G, biceps tendonitis, day-to-day. <b>Petr Svoboda</b>. D lower back strain, day-to-day. <b>Pavel Kubina</b>, D, concussion, day-to-day. <b>Craig Millar</b>. D, hip flexor injury, day-to-day.</p><h3><b>TORONTO</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None</p><p><b>INJURIES Nik Antropov</b>, C, right knee surgery, Nov. 23. Bryan Berard, D, eye surgery, indefinite.</p><h3><b>VANCOUVER</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS</b> None</p><p><b>INJURIES Adrian Aucoin</b>. D, strained groin, day-to-day. Mattias Ohlund. D, eye surgery, Dec. 1.</p><h3><b>WASHINGTON</b></h3><p><b>TRANSACTIONS Nov. 5</b> Rob Zettler, D, recalled from Portland (AHL).</p><p><b>INJURIES Calle Johansson</b>. D, sore back, day-to-day. Dmitri Mironov. D, sore back, day-to-day.</p><h2><b>THE WEEK THAT WAS</b></h2><p><b>A weekly compendium of significant events anti developments (Nov. 3-10).</b></p><p><b>Nov 4:</b> A group that reportedly includes pop sensation Celine Dion is reported to be among the bidders to purchase the Montreal Canadlens and the Molson Centre.</p><p><b>Nov. 5:</b> Goalie Rick DiPietro, the No. 1 pick in the 2000 entry draft, is recalled from Chicago ot the International League by the New York Islanders.</p><p><b>Nov. 6:</b> Jason Spezza is sent home to await a trade after requesting one from the Ontario League&rsquo;s Mississauga IceOogs</p><p><b>Nov. 7:</b> NHL commissioner Gary Bettman rules Marty McSorley&rsquo;s suspension will conclude Feb. 21, 2001, exactly one year after it began. McSorley will be allowed to sign with a team and begin practicing Jan. 1.</p><p>Michele Piuze. wife of Colorado goalie Patrick Roy, says a judge&rsquo;s decision to proceed to a jury trial is &ldquo;ridiculous.&rdquo; Roy was arrested on a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge Oct. 22 after arguing with his wife about in-laws.</p><p>The NHL announces the Los Angeles Kings have been awarded the 2002 NHL All-Star Game.</p><p>Restricted free agent goalie Martin Biron signs a two-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres and is assigned to Rochester of lhe American League.</p><p><b>Nov. 8:</b> Wayne Gretzky is named executive director tor Canada&rsquo;s entry in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Former Edmonton Oiler and New York Ranger teammate Kevin Lowe is his assistant. Pat Ouinn of Toronto is named Canada&rsquo;s head coach with Jacques Martin of Ottawa. Ken Hitchcock of Dallas and Wayne Fleming, coach of Canada&rsquo;s national team, named associate coaches.</p><p>The Ontario League suspends London co-owner and director of hockey operations Mark Hunter for the remainder of the season far sending a player out to fight while he was filling in as coach.</p><p>Mats Sundin records his 800th career point, an assist, in Toronto&rsquo;s 5-0 win over Carolina.</p><p><b>Nov. 9:</b> Phoenix GM Bobby Smith Informs free agents Claude Lemieux and Nikolai Khabibulan they no longer have unlimited access to the team&rsquo;s training facility. Both are waiting for Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s group to purchase the team so they can sign contracts.</p><p>Buffalo&rsquo;s Dave Andreychuk scores in his 1,300th career game, one of 26 NHLers to play that long. The goal was his 556th. tying him with Johnny Bucyk for 16th all-time.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-01

NHL GAME SUMMARIES

<h2><b>AMERICAN LEAGUE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01528/7719935-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="512" height="3458"></div><h2><b>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02354/7719928-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="526" height="3454"></div><h2><b>EAST COAST LEAGUE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03288/7719921-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="517" height="3450"></div><h2><b>ARKANSAS RIVERBLADES (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04206/7719914-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="494" height="535"></div><h2><b>AUGUSTA LYNX (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05176/7719907-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="490" height="595"></div><h2><b>BATON ROUGE KINGFISH (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06144/7719900-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="489" height="650"></div><h2><b>BIRMINGHAM BULLS (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-07128/7719893-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="500" height="592"></div><h2><b>CHARLOTTE CHECKERS (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-08110/7719886-1-eng-US/f0043-082.jpg" title="f0043-08" width="489" height="585"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0043-01

MINOR LEAGUE STATS

<h2><b>DAYTON BOMBERS (Columbus)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01412/7720127-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="498" height="571"></div><h2><b>FLORIDA EVERBLADES (Carolina)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02226/7720120-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="495" height="563"></div><h2><b>GREENSBORO GENERALS (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03168/7720113-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="493" height="561"></div><h2><b>GREENVILLE GRRROWL (Atlanta/Boston)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-04131/7720106-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="496" height="591"></div><h2><b>JACKSON BANDITS (Minnesota)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-05111/7720099-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="483" height="655"></div><h2><b>JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS (Calgary/Tampa Bay)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-06100/7720092-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="493" height="650"></div><h2><b>LOUISIANA ICEGATORS (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0792/7720085-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="487" height="573"></div><h2><b>MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES (Phoenix)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0878/7720078-1-eng-US/f0044-082.jpg" title="f0044-08" width="492" height="598"></div><h2><b>MOBILE MYSTICKS (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0973/7720071-1-eng-US/f0044-092.jpg" title="f0044-09" width="491" height="622"></div><h2><b>NEW ORLEANS BRASS (Nashville/San Jose)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1064/7720064-1-eng-US/f0044-102.jpg" title="f0044-10" width="500" height="510"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1155/7720057-1-eng-US/f0044-112.jpg" title="f0044-11" width="486" height="124"></div><h2><b>PEE DEE PRIDE (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1249/7720050-1-eng-US/f0044-122.jpg" title="f0044-12" width="491" height="571"></div><h2><b>PENSACOLA ICE PILOTS (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1346/7720043-1-eng-US/f0044-132.jpg" title="f0044-13" width="498" height="602"></div><h2><b>PEORIA RIVERMEN (St. Louis)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1443/7720036-1-eng-US/f0044-142.jpg" title="f0044-14" width="503" height="651"></div><h2><b>RICHMOND RENEGADES (San Jose)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1542/7720029-1-eng-US/f0044-152.jpg" title="f0044-15" width="492" height="567"></div><h2><b>ROANOKE EXPRESS (Independent)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1639/7720022-1-eng-US/f0044-162.jpg" title="f0044-16" width="486" height="446"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1737/7720015-1-eng-US/f0044-172.jpg" title="f0044-17" width="484" height="175"></div><h2><b>SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS (Buffalo)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1834/7720008-1-eng-US/f0044-182.jpg" title="f0044-18" width="488" height="570"></div><h2><b>TALLAHASSEE TIGER SHARKS (Edmonton/Montreal)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1930/7720001-1-eng-US/f0044-192.jpg" title="f0044-19" width="483" height="534"></div><h2><b>TOLEDO STORM (Detroit)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-2028/7719994-1-eng-US/f0044-202.jpg" title="f0044-20" width="492" height="558"></div><h2><b>TRENTON TITANS (NY Islanders/Philadelphia)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-2124/7719987-1-eng-US/f0044-212.jpg" title="f0044-21" width="490" height="595"></div><h2><b>WHEELING NAILERS (Pittsburgh)</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-2224/7719980-1-eng-US/f0044-222.jpg" title="f0044-22" width="481" height="528"></div><h3><b>Goaltender Statistics</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-2322/7719973-1-eng-US/f0044-232.jpg" title="f0044-23" width="494" height="3550"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-2420/7719966-1-eng-US/f0044-242.jpg" title="f0044-24" width="478" height="3558"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0044-01

EAST COAST LEAGUE

<div class="byline">Mike Brophy Senior Write</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01366/7720301-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="245" height="400"></div><p>Michael Peca always wanted to be a professional hockey player. He got his wish.</p><p>But now the 26-year-old center is involved in a game of hardball. And he&rsquo;s not alone.</p><p>Joining Peca on the sidelines as unsigned restricted free agents (RFA) are: New Jersey&rsquo;s Scott Niedermayer and Jason Arnott; Calgary&rsquo;s Derek Morris; Boston&rsquo;s Anson Carter; Phoenix&rsquo;s Nikolai Khabibulin; and Philadelphia&rsquo;s Eric Lindros.</p><p>The RFA saga has had a similar storyline the past few seasons: While most players come to terms in the days or weeks just before or after the season opens, a handful remain out of action for an extended period. In each of the last four seasons, there have been six or seven unsigned RFAs entering November as some teams attempted to curb salary inflation.</p><p>But this season&rsquo;s group is of a higher quality than usual. With the exception of Morris, all the others could represent their countries in the 2002 Olympics.</p><p>At this point, Peca, who has asked for a trade, is just wondering who he will represent this season.</p><p>&ldquo;Where they&rsquo;re at is almost as far as they can go in terms of their budget, or so they tell me,&rdquo; said Peca of the Sabres. &ldquo;And I understand that, even if I don&rsquo;t agree with it. It seems like they want to be a role model for (commissioner) Gary Bettman&rsquo;s ideas or maybe they want to set the example for guys coming up (in contract talks) after me.&rdquo;</p><p>Peca, who is seeking $4 million a season and has been offered $2.2 million, figures the Sabres will move him. Carter has also asked to be traded. Only New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello has said he will not trade his players who are out.</p><p>Lindros won&rsquo;t return to Philadelphia. He reportedly wants to join Toronto as soon as he&rsquo;s given a clean bill of health.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-03188/7720294-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg" title="f0047-03" width="1448" height="1412"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Buffalo&rsquo;s Michael Peca is convinced the Sabres will trade him rather than pay him.</i></figcaption></div><p>Here, in alphabetical order, are updates on the unsigned restricted free agents.</p><p><b>Jason Arnott,</b> 26, C, New Jersey.</p><p>Offered: Arnott has been offered three deals &mdash; $1.8 million for one year, $5.1 million for two years and $8.4 million for three years.</p><p>Seeking: $10.5 million for three years.</p><p>Currently: Skating with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Barrie Colts.</p><p><i>Overtime says:</i> Arnott has reemerged as a dependable front-line player and tied for third in playoff scoring last season. Loosen the purse strings, Lou.</p><p><b>Anson Carter,</b> 26, RW, Boston.</p><p>Offered: $1.5 million a season.</p><p>Seeking: It&rsquo;s believed he wants $2.5 million per season.</p><p>Currently: Working out in Los Angeles.</p><p><i>Overtime says:</i> The money Carter is seeking would be considered reasonable in any city other than Boston.</p><p><b>Nikolai Khabibulin,</b> 27, G, Phoenix.</p><p>Offered: $9 million for three years.</p><p>Seeking: Between $4-5 million a season.</p><p>Currently: Working out with Claude and Jocelyn Lemieux and Michel Petit in Phoenix.</p><p><i>Overtime says:</i> Greed cost Khabibulin $3 million last year and continues to cost him this season.</p><p><b>Eric Lindros,</b> 27, C, Philadelphia.</p><p>Offered: $8.5 million for one year.</p><p>Seeking: Philadelphia freedom.</p><p>Currently: Working out in Toronto while recovering from post-concussion syndrome.</p><p><i>Overtime says:</i> Expect to see Lindros skating with the Maple Leafs in 2001.</p><p><b>Derek Morris,</b> 22, D, Calgary.</p><p>Offered: $6.8 million over four years.</p><p>Seeking: $9.6 million over four years.</p><p>Currently: Skating with an oldtimers&rsquo; team in Calgary.</p><p><i>Overtime says:</i> Morris should sign for what he is being offered or risk missing the season. If the Flames fall out of playoff contention, they won&rsquo;t need him.</p><p><b>Scott Niedermayer,</b> 27, D, New Jersey.</p><p>Offered: $3.25 million over one year; $7 million over two years and $10.8 million over three years.</p><p>Seeking: Originally between $4-4.5 million a year in a multi-year deal, but will accept $3.75 million for one year.</p><p>Currently: Working out in Cranbrook, B.C.</p><p><i>Overtime says:</i> Niedermayer&rsquo;s speed has never really translated into huge offensive numbers. The Devils are offering fair bang for his buck.</p><p><b>Michael Peca,</b> 26, C, Buffalo.</p><p>Offered: Between $2.3-2.4 million a year on a four-year deal.</p><p>Seeking: $4 million a season.</p><p>Currently: Training in Buffalo with 39-year-old UFA defenseman Grant Ledyard.</p><p><i>Overtime says:</i> What Peca provides doesn&rsquo;t always appear on the scoresheet, but he&rsquo;s not quite a $4-million player yet. A $3.5-million player? Absolutely.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;8(Buffalo) is almost as far as they can go in terms of their budget, or so they tell me. Andi understand that, even if I don&rsquo;t agree with it.</blockquote><p>Michael Peca<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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November 24, 2000

Moribund Caps tops in Southeast

PLUS MINUS

SCOREBOARD

Ottawa saves money by waiving Kravchuk