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.

May 17, 2002

The Hockey News May 17, 2002

<h2>4 GUYS WHO MADE 20</h2>Before 2001-02, only 27 skaters had ever played in 20 NHL seasons. This year, Dave Andreychuk, Phil Housley, Scott Stevens and Pat Verbeek joined the ranks. Interestingly, each was drafted in .1982 (draft picks nos. 16, 6, 5 and 43, respectively) and each got his start in 1982-83. They were also born within a mere eight months of each other (with Andreychuk the oldest and Verbeek the youngest). To top it off, among active players, they now rank third through sixth in games played (spots one and two belong to Mark Messier and Ron Francis) with each averaging more than 70 games per season over the 20-year span. One more thing: in 1981-82, the year before they jumped to the NHL, Andreychuk, Stevens and Verbeek all played against each other in the OHL (for Oshawa, Kitchener and Sudbury, respectively). Housley was back in his hometown of St. Paul, Minn., playing high school hockey. As for playing together, Andreychuk and Housley were both Buffalo Sabres from 1982 to 1990. They were temmates again in the latter part of 1996 in New Jersey, joining Scott Stevens this time. Verbeek has never played with any of the other three.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-0117/7999884-1-eng-US/s0022-012.jpg" title="S0022-01" width="582" height="366"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Andreychuk (Photos: Andreychuk: Dave Sanford/Alsport)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-0210/7999877-1-eng-US/s0022-022.jpg" title="S0022-02" width="579" height="369"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Housley (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images/NHLI)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-0310/7999870-1-eng-US/s0022-032.jpg" title="S0022-03" width="583" height="371"><figcaption class="caption-body">Scott Stevens (Rick Stewart/Getty Images/NHLI)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-0410/7999863-1-eng-US/s0022-042.jpg" title="S0022-04" width="580" height="371"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat Verbeek (Jeff Gross/Getty Images/NHLI)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-056/7999856-1-eng-US/s0022-052.jpg" title="S0022-05" width="1127" height="946"></div><h2>JOHN VANBIESBROUCK TERRY, GUMP & ME</h2>(NYR/FLA/PHI/NYI/NJ)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-065/7999849-1-eng-US/s0022-062.jpg" title="S0022-06" width="1139" height="162"></div>With his return to the New Jersey Devils this year, John Vanbiesbrouck did something that only two goalies before him had ever done: play in 20 or more NHL seasons. This addition to the club has been a long time coming. The last time a netminder suited up for a 20th season in the NHL was 29 years ago, in 1972-73, when Gump Worsley tended goal for the Minnesota North Stars. Worsley returned the following season for his last, bringing his total to 21 campaigns to match the career high mark that Terry Sawchuk had set in 1969-70. In career games played, the Beezer ranks fifth all-time (only four games back of Tony Esposito) and second among active goalies, behind Patrick Roy. In career wins, he ranks eighth all-time, third among active goalies, behind Roy and 19-year veteran Mike Vernon.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-075/7999842-1-eng-US/s0022-072.jpg" title="S0022-07" width="582" height="529"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Jeff Gross/Alsport)</figcaption></div><h2>ADAM OATES NO SIGN OF SLOWING</h2>(DET/STUBOS/WASH/PHI)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-085/7999835-1-eng-US/s0022-082.jpg" title="S0022-08" width="1133" height="157"></div>This year, two players got their 1,000th career assist: Adam Oates and Steve Yzerman. They were only the eight and ninth players ever to do so. In the case of Oates, he is the second-fastest, after Wayne Gretzky, to reach the mark. Incredibly, despite his age (he will be 40 in August), Oates&rsquo; ability to pile on the assists continues to go untouched. His 64 assists this season were tops in the league - the third time he&rsquo;s led the category in his career. As for his assist-. per-game ratio, since 1994-95 it has stood at 0.785. His ratio of the past three seasons? 0.778 per game. As steady as ever. One can only wonder how many more assists he&rsquo;d have garnered had he turned pro earlier than age 23. Sure enough, Oates was never drafted and instead signed with Detroit in 1985 as a free agent after playing three years with RPI in the NCAA.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-095/7999828-1-eng-US/s0022-092.jpg" title="S0022-09" width="578" height="528"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Rick Solomon/Getty Images/NHLI)</figcaption></div><h2>LUC ROBITAILLE ANOTHER RECORD</h2>(LA/PITT/NYR/LA/DET)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-105/7999821-1-eng-US/s0022-102.jpg" title="S0022-10" width="1134" height="162"></div>After reaching a slew of milestones and plateaus in 2000-01 (including moving into second place all-time in assists and goals by a left winger, and getting his 500th goal and 1,000th point as a Los Angeles King), Luc Robitaille, now a Detroit Red Wing, reached another big one this season: his 611th career goal, putting him past Bobby Hull to become the all-time goal leader among left wingers. Robitaille is now 10th in goals overall and fifth among active players (behind Brett Hull, Steve Yzerman, Mark Messier and Mario Lemieux). He sits just 81 points behind John Bucyk for top spot all-time in points by a left winger. As for his 30 goals this year, it was his fourth 30+ output in a row and the 12th of his career.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/s0022-113/7999814-1-eng-US/s0022-112.jpg" title="S0022-11" width="573" height="693"><figcaption class="caption-body">(Tom Pidgeon/NHLI/Getty Images)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

THE KUDOS CORNER

<div class="byline">- David Boclair</div>Center Greg Johnson, one of four Nashville players taken in the expansion draft still with the team, will be with the Predators a while longer courtesy of a two-year extension signed April 17. The 31-year-old who is second all-time in goals, assists and points for Nashville had one year remaining on his last deal. &ldquo;I was honored and very surprised,&rdquo; Johnson said&hellip;Defenseman Bill&nbsp;Houlder signed a one-year deal for 2002-03 that will extend his tenure with Nashville. He has played more games for the Predators (220) than any other team during his 15-year career. &ldquo;Ihope people don&rsquo;t think I stayed because I didn&rsquo;t want to move again,&rdquo; Houlder said. &ldquo;If I felt this wasn&rsquo;t a good situation, I would have moved.&rdquo;&hellip;A franchise-record 10 players and prospects were chosen to play in this year&rsquo;s World Championship in Sweden&hellip;Right winger Scott Walker has played 439 games with Nashville and Vancouver, but never has appeared in a playoff contest. &ldquo;You can feel bad about the fact that I&rsquo;ve never played in the playoffs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I like to look at it as the teams that I&rsquo;ve been on have both tried to build, and they didn&rsquo;t feel I was one of the guys who needed to be moved so they could get better.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-09116/7998497-1-eng-US/f0024-092.jpg" title="f0024-09" width="240" height="223"></div> &#9632;

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NHL TEAM REPORTS

Johnson, Houlder sticking around

<div class="byline">- Matt McHale</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02851/7997973-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">While Steve Sullivan&rsquo;splayoff production of one goal in five games left much to be desired, his Chicago teammates fared little better.</figcaption></div>In the end, the Los Angeles Kings had nothing left in the tank.After battling back from a 3-1 deficit in the first round against defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado, the Kings were bounced by the Avs for the second consecutive season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03634/7997966-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="213" height="261"></div>A year ago, the Kings lost the final game of the second round 5-1 and the franchise rejoiced. This year expectations were higher and after a 4-0 loss, the club was extremely disappointed by its early exit.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very difficult to go out this way,&rdquo; said grinding forward Ian Laperriere. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t happy just to be here, we were here to win. We took it to them and played hard, but unlike last year, we&rsquo;ll wonder all summer what went wrong.&rdquo;One answer was two poor stretches during the season that cost them home ice advantage. Maybe it is unfair to remember two shutout losses to lowly Tampa Bay early in the year, but a late season road collapse dropped the Kings out of the top spot in the Pacific Division and caused them to lose home ice advantage and a chance to face a less formidable opponent.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Ziggy Palffy, RW. He did not play particularly well in his previous two playoffs, but brought his offensive skill to the bigger stage with a pair of two-goal games against Colorado.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Cliff Ronning, LW. Ronning provided little offense down the stretch and actually was a healthy scratch in Game 7 against Colorado.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Los Angeles&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Aaron Miller, D (26:27).Faceoff percentage: Brad Chartrand, C (59.2).Hits: Mattias Norstrom, D (47).Blocked Shots: Aaron Miller, D (20).Power play points: Cliff Ronning, C; Jaroslav Modry, D; Brian Smolinski, C, (1).Shots: Ziggy Palffy, RW (23).NOTEBOOK Defenseman Philippe Boucher could cash in on a successful season, but perhaps not with the Kings. Boucher, who earned $575,000 this season, is a Group 5 unrestricted free agent, not yet 31, but a 10-year veteran who earns less than the league average salary. The Kings don&rsquo;t want to lose him, but have depth on defense, including rookie Andreas Lilja. &#9632;

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Kings done in again by rival Avalanche

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0029-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01996/7998969-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011124/7998962-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="3132" height="3503"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011035/7998955-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="3117" height="2930"></div><h2>NHL PLAYOFF GOALTENDING STATISTICS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02683/7998948-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="3094" height="481"></div> &#9632;

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HOCKEY’S BEST STATS

2002 NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011887/7996849-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021510/7996842-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="300" height="538"></div>Barring a Canes mutiny, it&rsquo;ll be a Canada-U.S. Stanley Cup final, which, depending on your perspective, is either paradise or a powder keg.Great White Northerners are embracing the notion that one of their small market teams (or Toronto) could have the chance to slay an American Goliath.The flip side is the potential for nasty nationalistic overtones (not to mention a U.S. ratings nightmare). Maple Leaf fans showed class by cheering the Star Spangled Banner at the last two home games of the Islander series, but common sense doesn&rsquo;t always triumph where patriotism is concerned. The friendly neighbors have already lustily booed each other&rsquo;s anthem this spring and as the stakes get higher, so too could the jingoism.So how about this for a quickfix, pre-emptive solution: Play only the anthem of the home country.The performing of anthems is directed primarily at the fans in the stands. The players are made to stand uncomfortably on the bluelines, shuffling their feet, thinking about the imminent task or post-game meal. Surely they&rsquo;d be in favor of getting on with the game. TV viewers would have a couple less minutes to make a beer or bathroom run, but otherwise the visitor&rsquo;s song wouldn&rsquo;t be missed. And it wouldn&rsquo;t be dissed.Other random post-season thoughts:&#10065; A Pulitzer prize to the reporter who uncovers what incriminating, job-saving photos Bob Clarke possesses.&#10065; The big winner in Round 1 was the NHL Foundation. The leaguerun charitable organization became $155,000 richer thanks to fines given to GMs and coaches who think they&rsquo;re either Ray Romano or Ray Mancini.&#10065; Is it safe to start calling Ottawa&rsquo;s goalie &ldquo;Patrick Roy-Lime&rdquo; again? That was Lalime&rsquo;s nickname in 1996-97 when he set an NHL record by going undefeated in his first 16 appearances.&#10065; Voting for the NHLPA&rsquo;s Pearson Award is conducted during the last two weeks of the season, which may help explain why Jose Theodore isn&rsquo;t a finalist. The Habs may have still been on the playoff bubble when some of the players cast their ballots.&#10065; The Nassau Coliseum is a great Webb site until you go beyond the home page.&#10065; Just wondering: Saku Koivu is a slam dunk for the Masterton Trophy, but why did the New York chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association select Mike Richter as its nominee? Richter may have worked hard to return from major surgery - and he&rsquo;s media-friendly - but Bryan Berard and Eric Lindros both had more compelling comeback stories.&#10065; If only Darcy Tucker&rsquo;s skin was as thick as his hair.<h2>You again?</h2>Regular season rivals Detroit and St. Louis get reacquainted following Keith Tkachuk&rsquo;s bump into Dominik Hasek in Game 1 of the Wings-Blues second round battle. &#9632;

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If we’ve got to have anthems why not just one per game?

<div class="byline">&#x2013; Adam Proteau</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011833/7996880-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"></div>For Keith Crowder, getting into the NHL was more difficult than staying there.&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t find my way into the arena for my first game,&rdquo; said Crowder, who &bull; spent the first nine of his 10 NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins. &ldquo;At the old Boston Garden, players had to enter via an adjoining building; of course, nobody told me, so there I was, carrying my equipment and I had no idea how to get in.&rdquo;Once his directional dilemma was solved, Crowder went on to carve out a name for himself as an offensively gifted right winger with a mean streak. After a stellar junior career with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Peterborough Petes, the Bruins drafted Crowder 57th overall in 1979. Crowder had a five-game stint with the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s Birmingham Bulls, then toiled in the minors for two seasons before sticking with the Bruins.When he retired from the Los Angeles Kings in 1990, Crowder had 223 goals, 494 points and 1,354 penalty minutes in 662 NHL games. His best season came in 1985-86, when he led the Bruins with 38 goals and 84 points.The Montreal Canadiens swept the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs that year, the second of four consecutive seasons the Bruins would fall to the Canadiens in the opening round. That the 2001-02 Eastern Conference-championBruins suffered the same fate doesn&rsquo;t shock Crowder at all.&ldquo;It was always pretty tough for us to win in Montreal,&rdquo; said Crowder, downplaying the notion of a Canadiens&rsquo; post-season jinx on the Bruins. &ldquo;We just couldn&rsquo;t seem to get past them. To me, there weren&rsquo;t a lot of ghosts to deal with at the (Montreal) Forum, but somehow, the Canadiens just found a way to beat you.&rdquo;The 1986-87 season saw the Bruins eliminate the Canadiens in the second round of the playoffs. The Bruins would make it to the Stanley Cup final that year and, although they were swept by Edmonton, Crowder said emerging with a series win over Montreal was a big breakthrough.&ldquo;It was funny,&rdquo; Crowder said. &ldquo;On the plane ride home after we eliminated Montreal, (then-Bruins GM) Harry Sinden was just so happy. He was saying, &lsquo;That was my Stanley Cup!&rsquo; - but it wasn&rsquo;t mine!&rdquo;Now 43, Crowder owns and operates six Tim Hortons franchises just south of his hometown of Windsor, Ont. He has many fond memories of his NHL days, among them being voted the team&rsquo;s &ldquo;Seventh Man&rdquo; by Bruins fans after the 1984-85 season.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s one thing about the fans in Boston,&rdquo; Crowder said. &ldquo;They really appreciate somebody who comes to play every night.&rdquo; &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

Crowder knows Bruins’ playoff woes

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011839/7996935-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"></div>The Carolina Hurricanes opened many eyes by knocking off New Jersey, the defending beasts of the East, in the first round of the playoffs. Few gave the Canes a hope in hell against the Devils.&ldquo;We felt we would have a good season, but we still had to go out and get the job done,&rdquo; said Carolina GM Jim Rutherford.For Rutherford and Co., it was a long time coming. Making it to Round 2 is monumental for an organization that had not been this far since 1986 and is still trying to carve its niche in a nontraditional hockey market. Who knows, perhaps all the boys born in Raleigh won&rsquo;t be named in honor of Dale Earnhardt. Maybe we&rsquo;ll see a few more Rons and Jeffs&hellip;heck, maybe a Sami or two.In an Eastern Conference that became even more wide open after the elimination of the Devils and No. 1-seeded Boston Bruins - two heavy favorites to make it to the final - suddenly the Hurricanes look good. At the very least, they&rsquo;re not an ideal opponent.&ldquo;Any team that gets 90 points, well, that&rsquo;s a good team,&rdquo; Rutherford said. &ldquo;If you talk to the teams that play us, they&rsquo;ll tell you they respect us. From a competitive point of view, I didn&rsquo;t see teams lining up to play us in the playoffs. Teams could have lost games down the stretch to play us, but they didn&rsquo;t. Ottawa didn&rsquo;t do it. The Islanders didn&rsquo;t do it.&rdquo;The Hurricanes won full marks for their first round performance. Though they scored two fewer goals than they surrendered to the Devils in Round 1, they got superb goal tending from pinch-hitting stopper Kevin Weekes, not to mention timely performances from the likes of youngsters Eric Cole and Jaroslav Svoboda. Weekes, in particular, was superb in Games 5 and 6 after taking over for starter Arturs Irbe. Not that the team is looking to put its best and oldest player, 39-year-old Ron Francis, out to pasture, but it&rsquo;s nice to know there is some quality youth on the way up.Right winger Jeff&nbsp;O&rsquo;Neill said the team learned a great deal from losing to the Devils in six games last year. For one, they were better prepared. &ldquo;Also, we spent so much energy just getting into the playoffs last year, there wasn&rsquo;t much left in the tank when they started,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Neill said.Carolina operates in relative obscurity, which, according to coach Paul Maurice, isn&rsquo;t all bad.&ldquo;It allows us to develop our younger players,&rdquo; Maurice said. &ldquo;They can go through a bad stretch without the fans and media demanding they be taken out of the lineup.&rdquo;That might not be the case much longer.<h2>PLAYOFF MVPs SO FAF</h2>Here are THN&rsquo;s top five picks for the Conn Smythe Trophy based on first round action.1. Patrick Lallme, G, Ottawa3 shutouts, 2 goals against2. Steve Yzerman, C, DetroitEight points on one good leg3. Brent Johnson, G, St. Louis3 shutouts, .959 SP4. Evgeni Nabokov, G, San Jose134 saves on 141 shots5. Doug Gilmour, C, MontrealSeven points in six games<h2>FOLLOW THE LEADER</h2>Two-time Stanley Cup champion Ron Francis is no stranger to playoff success, but it&rsquo;s all new to the Carolina franchise, which advanced to Round 2 for the first time in 16 years. &#9632;

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Canes earn respect

Brad Watson made the most controversial call in the first round, awarding a penalty shot to Islanders winger Shawn Bates late in Game 4 versus Toronto when a tripping penalty was in order, but that didn&rsquo;t stop the NHL from pushing the ref through to Round 2. Watson, a favorite of NHL director of officiating Andy Van Hellemond, is joined by Paul Devorski, Kerry Fraser, Dave&nbsp;Jackson, Don Koharski, Dennis LaRue,&nbsp;Dan Marouelli, Bill McCreary, Dan&nbsp;O&rsquo;Halloran, Kevin Pollock, Rob&nbsp;Shick, Don Van Massenhoven and Stephen Walkom.WHAT GOES AROUND&hellip; At least one NHL GM believes the Islanders Mike Peca was lying in wait on the controversial hit from Darcy Tucker. The GM claims Peca does it all the time; he looks away when he knows a hit is coming, then blasts an unsuspecting opponent at the last second with a shoulder or elbow - and all the referees know it, too. Peca&rsquo;s mistake was not being prepared for Tucker to come in low&hellip;According to safety committee recommendations adopted by the NHL last fall, players must wear chin straps adjusted &ldquo;so as to ensure the helmet remains on the player&rsquo;s head at all times.&rdquo; One look at Montreal&rsquo;s Doug Gilmour or Toronto&rsquo;s Shayne Corson - or dozens of others - and you know it&rsquo;s another rule that has gone by the wayside&hellip;Our THN lipreader swears Detroit coach Scotty Bowman said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so proud of you for the year that you&rsquo;ve had,&rdquo; to Vancouver&rsquo;s Todd&nbsp;Bertuzzi in the post-series handshake&hellip;Four rule changes the game needs: 1. Wave off offsides when the offensive player is pushed over the blueline by an opponent (or else call an interference penalty); 2. Wave off icings that are passes that failed to connect; 3. Wave off icings when a defenseman pinches; and, 4. Hello, hurry-up faceoff&hellip;Just wondering: will this year&rsquo;s crop of unrestricted free agents (Bill Guerin, Bobby Holik, Curtis Joseph. Ed Belfour, etc.) be hurt because of the collective bargaining uncertainty in 2004? Will teams want to sign them to long-term, big-dollar deals not knowing if there will be salary cap or luxury cap implications in a new CBA?.. Hey Don Cherry, be honest: if it was a European who tried to kick an opponent, would you go on TV and make the case it wasn&rsquo;t meant to be a kick, just &ldquo;a knee to the head&rdquo; as you did for Shayne Corson? No way. You would&rsquo;ve crucified the Euro&hellip;OK, so we picked the Flyers to win the Cup before the season. How were we to know they&rsquo;d become allergic to scoring? &#9632;

THN ONE-TIMERS

<div class="byline">By Scott Burnside</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012048/7996990-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Robbie Ftorek is a Jack Adams frontrunner after leading Boston to the East title. (Steve Babineau/SA)</figcaption></div>Pat Quinn was sitting in a cramped washroom across from the visitors&rsquo; dressing room at Joe Louis Arena making notes when he was handed his first of two Jack Adams Awards as coach of the year.So much for pomp and circumstance.Since that day back in 1980, the award has grown in estimation both within the coaching fraternity and in the greater hockey community. &ldquo;The bottom line is certainly it&rsquo;s a great recognition,&rdquo; Quinn said recently. &ldquo;It has come to mean much, much more to people in the game.&rdquo;Still, the Jack Adams Award, voted on by the NHL Broadcasters&rsquo; Association based on regular season performance, is a little like being given the Hope Diamond. It looks nice on the mantle, but sometimes bad things happen to the owner.Only once, in 1977, has a coach won the Jack Adams and the Stanley Cup in the same year. That man was Scotty Bowman, widely acknowledged as the greatest coach ever, yet he has been honored only twice since the award was introduced in 1974.The trophy has also become synonymous with job jeopardy, a fact that prompted former coach and current broadcaster Harry Neale to quip he&rsquo;d &ldquo;rather be coach for a year than coach of the year.&rdquo;Montreal Canadiens coach Alain Vigneault was a runner-up for the award in 2001 only to be dismissed early the following season. Roger Neilson was a runner-up in 1992 and was replaced mid-way through the following season. And then there&rsquo;s the grandaddy of all Jack Adams curses, Ted Nolan, who was coach of the year with the Sabres in 1997, but hasn&rsquo;t coached an NHL game since.Like the Hart Trophy, the wording defining the award - to wit, recognizing the coach who contributed most to his team&rsquo;s success - is slightly ambiguous. In recent years, the award has recognized coaches whose teams have done more with less - like Vigneault, whose undermanned Habs didn&rsquo;t even make the playoffs.Given that The Hockey News confers our own coach-of-the-year award after the playoffs, here then, are our top contenders (with apologies to those who may end up in the unemployment line):1. ROBBIE FTOREK, BOSTON Took a ninth-place Bruins team to a 101-point season, an Eastern Conference crown and, unfortunately, a first round exit at the hands of the Canadiens. Ftorek endured an early holdout by captain Jason Allison (and his subsequent trade to Los Angeles) and a late-season injury to Joe Thornton to keep his club on track. Unlike many coaches who move from team to team, Ftorek learned from his experiences in New Jersey2. PETER LAVIOLETTE, ISLANDERS Laviolette was blessed with three critical elements for success: Alexei Yashin, Michael Peca and Chris Osgood. Still, when things threatened to come apart at the three-quarter pole, the Isles righted the ship and finished fifth in the Eastern Conference, posting a heady 44-point improvement over last year&rsquo;s last-place finish.3. SCOTTY BOWMAN, DETROIT Bowman guided the Red Wings to a leaguebest 116 points even though they coasted into the playoffs. The question remains whether he&rsquo;ll be a victim of his own greatness, whether his legendary status somehow eclipses the award itself. Voters will also be put off by a payroll that surged to about $65 million (U.S.) and included free agents Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and the theft of Dominik Hasek from Buffalo.4. BOBBY FRANCIS, PHOENIX Francis was expected to get the boot when Wayne Gretzky and company took over, but he has justified Gretzky&rsquo;s faith as the Coyotes jettisoned the team&rsquo;s most expensive players, Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick, and got better with a no-name, hard-working cast that finished sixth in the ultra-competitive West with 95 points.5. MARC CRAWFORD, VANCOUVER Abrasive and sometimes sullen, Crawford nonetheless should be credited for a dramatic in-season turnaround as the Canucks shook off a soft first half to become the NHL&rsquo;s best team down the stretch. They went 28-9-3-3 with a marvelous 8-0-1-0 run to the end of the regular season and put a scare into the Wings in the first round. Crawford side-stepped a potential goalie conflict and helped Todd Bertuzzi become a top-10 player.6. DARRYL SUTTER, SAN JOSE Incredibly, the Sharks have improved in each of the last seven seasons, finishing with 99 points, their first-ever division title and a first round win over Phoenix. Sutter overcame a widely-reported dispute with sniper Teemu Selanne to forge a deep, disciplined team now eyeing the final prize.7. BRIAN SUTTER, CHICAGO All Sutter did was take a team with a disgruntled star (Tony Amonte) and a host of underachievers and aging veterans (Boris Mironov, Alexander Karpovtsev, Phil Housley, Steve Thomas) and guide them to the playoffs for the first time in five years. The team&rsquo;s 25-point turnaround is impressive.8. PAT QUINN, TORONTO Anti Toronto bias (and a generous payroll) will likely keep Quinn from appearing on many ballots, but he may have done his best coaching in the last half of the season as he kept a team minus Curtis Joseph, Gary Roberts, Alexander Mogilny, Dmitry Yushkevich and Robert Reichel, among others, from imploding. Instead, the Leafs finished with 100 points, matching a franchise best.<h2>JACK ADAMS JINX?</h2>Here are the last five coaches to win the Jack Adams Award and their subsequent fate.2000-01 Bill Barber, PhiFired after players quit on him1999-00 Joel Quennvllle, StLKeeps winning&hellip;in regular season1998-99 Jacques Martin, OttThird-longest active tenure in NHL1997-98 Pat Burns, BosLasted two more years in Beantown1996 97 Ted Nolan, BufHasn&rsquo;t coached in NHL since &#9632;

f0006-01

Adams alert for coaches

SHUTOUT KINGS Ottawa&rsquo;s Patrick Lalime and St. Louis&rsquo;s Brent Johnson each record three straight shutouts in the first round of the playoffs.CAROLINA CONQUERS The Hurricanes eliminate the New Jersey Devils to advance to the post-season&rsquo;s second round for the first time in 16 years.DOUG SHEDDEN The coach of the Memphis River-Kings wins his third championship in the past four Central League seasons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021365/7997021-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="360" height="619"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brent Johnson</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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PLUS

GM BLABBERMOUTHS Vancouver&rsquo;s Brian Burke, Toronto&rsquo;s Pat Quinn and Islanders&rsquo; Mike Milbury are each fined $30,000 for whining about the refereeing.FLYER FOLLIES The lame Philadelphia Flyers show more energy in ganging up on coach Bill Barber than they did in their playoff series against Ottawa.KICKED, THEN KICKED OUT Toronto&rsquo;s Shayne Corson kicks at the Eric Cairns and is subsequently suspended for Game 7 of the Leafs-Islanders series.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03797/7997052-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="353" height="617"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Burke (BBS)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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MINUS

Just when the NHL was getting exciting again after a disappointing regular season - in which there were fewer goals than fans at a Hurricanes game - Boston&rsquo;s Kyle McLaren jolted me back to realityI was disgusted by McLaren&rsquo;s forearm shiver on Montreal&rsquo;s Richard Zednik, not just because of the sheer brutality of it, but because Zednik was victimized due to his scoring prowess.If the NHL really wants to attract fans, the league would&rsquo;ve made an example of McLaren and tried to ensure garbage like that won&rsquo;t happen again.Jay MacRaild, Calgary<h2>Players, league share shame</h2>There was a lot to be embarrassed about in the first round of the NHL playoffs.Colin Campbell and Gary Bettman should be embarrassed by the post-season anarchy. Kyle McLaren should be embarrassed for his irresponsible hit on Richard Zednik. Gary Roberts should be embarrassed for driving Kenny Jonsson&rsquo;s head into the boards. And it&rsquo;s embarrassing that Darcy Tucker wasn&rsquo;t disciplined for his hit on Mike Peca, which was clearly late and low.Brian Huempfner, Greenwich, Ct.<h2>Obstruction overload</h2>I&rsquo;m a 32-year-old who has been a hockey fan for 25 years and I think NHL playoff hockey is the best thing in pro sports.But this year I&rsquo;ve been disgusted. The interference, grabbing and holding - by every team - is ruining a great game. Teams can&rsquo;t even forecheck because they have to fight through a maze of sticks and bodies. The NHL product is becoming an absolute joke.Craig Levitz, Warwick, Pa.<h2>Just plain ugly</h2>I can&rsquo;t remember an uglier NHL post-season. No respect among players; fans throwing garbage; the booing of national anthems; and weak suspensions - or none at all - for flagrant violations.Come on, settle down and play some hockey!Ted Clair, Kingston, Ont. &#9632;

Playoff violence too much

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011935/7997107-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"></div>Is anyone complaining now about an American owning the Habs? George Gillett Jr. has been terrific. He&rsquo;s committed to improving the team. Way to go, George!Zack Carruthers, Duncan, B.C.Olympic hockey is better than the playoffs. Anybody disagree?Herbert Richter, Albuquerque, N.M.Shame on Islander fans! What if Canadians booed the U.S. anthem? I&rsquo;m not a fan of any team; I love the game. But one thing is certain: I&rsquo;ll never be an Islander fan!Elisabeth Bender, Sandusky, OhioNHL refs are the most inconsistent in sports. I&rsquo;m sick of games hinging on bad calls and non-calls. Call the penalties as they&rsquo;re written or skip the rules altogether!James Piscitelli, Brooklyn, N. YJarome Iginla for MVP? Give me a break! Calgary didn&rsquo;t even make the playoffs! Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi were mere points behind Iginla and Vancouver made the playoffs. How come they&rsquo;re not getting any MVP play?Lewis Earnshaw,Sooke, B.C.It&rsquo;s not Bill Barber&rsquo;s fault the Flyers were eliminated. They lost because JeremyRoenick and John LeClair didn&rsquo;t deliver. Roenick has loads of talent, but is a coach-killer and LeClair played with Yashin-like playoff intensityGary Weishaar, MapleRidge, B.C.<h2>READERS&rsquo; ONE-TIMERS</h2>This is your place for quick comments on current hockey events. Readers&rsquo; One-Timers accepts opinions of 60 words or less, so please be concise. &#9632;

f0008-01

U.S. owner best thing for Canadiens

It seems everyone wants more scoring in the NHL. But have you been watching the playoffs?The story has been goaltending and it has been one of the most exciting post-seasons in memory Goalies such as Brent Johnson, Patrick Lalime, Patrick Roy and Kevin Weekes almost single-handedly carried their teams with amazing stops. They&rsquo;ve been making the types of saves that can swing the momentum of a series.Changing the game to induce more scoring would come at the expense of these exhilarating, edge-of-your-seat tilts that I&rsquo;ve come to love and expect in the Stanley Cup playoffs.So, I say keep your goals and think about this: would you rather see Roy mystifying opponents with dazzling saves, or lacrosse-style games ending in 9-5 and 8-7 scores?Tom Gidlow, Benson, N.C.<h2>It&rsquo;s Ottawa&rsquo;s time</h2>Beware of the Ottawa Senators!They&rsquo;re fast and skilled and have a strong commitment to defense and a fine goalie in Patrick Lalime. And they should be motivated after flopping in recent playoffs.Ottawa can beat any team in the East, especially if they score like they did during the regular season and if Lalime plays as well as he did against the Flyers. The Sens are the team that can bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada, where it belongs!Scott Laplante, Ottawa<h2>No. 1 comeback? No. 88</h2>What a year for comebacks in the NHL! With all due respect to Saku Koivu and Peter Forsberg, who are in the midst of great returns, no one staged a better comeback this year than Eric Lindros.His numbers (37 goals, 73 points, plus-19) are phenomenal for someone who has suffered so many concussions and was out of action for more than a year. So what if he has altered his game slightly? He remains an on-ice presence and a threat to score on every shift. And it should be pointed out that Lindros has not been the subject of any controversies since arriving in New York.Lindros has been saying for years that he just wants to play hockey; now, he&rsquo;s proving it.Kim Sullivan, Hazelton, Pa.<h2>Got something to say?</h2>MAIL: U.S.A.: Letters, THN, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y, 14240-9947.Canada: Letters, THN, 25 Sheppard Ave. W, Suite 100, Toronto, Ont., M2N 6S7E-MAIL: (<a href="mailto:mccaigs@transcontinental.ca">mccaigs@transcontinental.ca</a> or visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a>. Include name, hometown, province/state and phone number. Submissions will be edited. &#9632;

No goals, but great goalies

<div class="byline">By Nicholas J. Cotsonika</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011792/7997162-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dominik Hasek feels the pressure of Cup expectations in Detroit.</figcaption></div>He asked for a trade. He went to a contender. He finally won his first Stanley Cup. He ended his Hall of Fame career. And he was satisfied.This was the story of Ray Bourque.And this could become the story of Dominik Hasek.If the longtime Buffalo Sabre wins his first Cup this year with the Detroit Red Wings at age 37, he just might hang &rsquo;em up as the long-time Boston Bruin did when he won his first Cup last year with the Colorado Avalanche at age 40.&ldquo;Anything&rsquo;s possible,&rdquo; Hasek said.Hasek has talked about retiring in the past. After the Wings acquired him last summer for Slava Kozlov and a first round pick, they expressed hope he would enjoy Detroit so much he would prolong his career as many as three years.Hasek signed a three-year contract, with the second and third years as options.By all accounts Hasek has been having fun. The six-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s top goaltender won more games than ever before and the Wings claimed the Presidents&rsquo; Trophy as the league&rsquo;s top regular season team. He went 41-15-8 with a 2.17 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and five shutouts.But Hasek isn&rsquo;t ready to contemplate his future, not while his main task is still in front of him.&ldquo;After playoffs, we can sit down with the organization,&rdquo; Hasek said. &ldquo;Right now, I don&rsquo;t even want to think about it.&rdquo;Hasek has enough on his plate.He has those six Vezinas and two Hart Trophies as the league&rsquo;s most valuable player; his contemporary, Patrick Roy, has won three Vezinas and no Harts. But Roy has the more meaningful postseason hardware, four Stanley Cups and three Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP.For Hasek, there is an upside and a downside to the fact he doesn&rsquo;t have to be &lsquo;the man&rsquo; in Detroit as he did in Buffalo. The biggest difference between the two teams, Hasek said, is with the Wings &ldquo;you can make a mistake.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to make a mistake,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But on this team, if the guys need it, they can score four goals, maybe even five. You can give up two, sometimes even three goals, and we still win these games.&rdquo;On the other hand, Hasek knows he has more pressure on him than eVer before.He led the Czech Republic to the gold medal in the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, but that wasn&rsquo;t expectedHe led the Sabres to the Stanley Cup finals in 1999, but that wasn&rsquo;t expected, either.The Wings expect nothing less than to win the franchise&rsquo;s tenth Stanley Cup.&ldquo;In Detroit,&rdquo; Hasek said, &ldquo;every day I can feel the expectations.&rdquo;Hasek struggled early in the first-round series with Vancouver. Of the eight goals the Wings allowed in Games 1 and 2 (not including the empty-netter that iced Game 2), one resulted from a turnover, three went in off Detroit players and four were softies by Hasek standards.The Joe Louis Arena fans rode Hasek during Game 2 as they used to ride his predecessor, Chris Osgood. At one point, two Hasek sweaters hit the ice. This was their savior, the $8-million man?But the Wings themselves never wavered.&ldquo;Before the series is over,&rdquo; captain Steve Yzerman said then, &ldquo;you&rsquo;re going to say, &lsquo;That Dom, he&rsquo;s an unbelievable goalie. He played fantastic for Detroit.&rsquo; I&rsquo;m not concerned about goaltending at all. He&rsquo;s a fantastic goalie and will prove it.&rdquo;Sure enough, Hasek did. He won four straight games, including one by a shutout, as the Wings advanced to a second round series with St. Louis. Then he shut out the Blues in Game 1.Hasek went from being the reason the Wings were going to win the Cup, to the reason they were going to get swept by the Canucks, to the reason they were going to win the Cup again, all in a span of a couple of weeks.The question now is: where will Hasek go from here?Having already decided to leave Buffalo, Hasek rooted for Bourque last year.&ldquo;He inspired me,&rdquo; Hasek said.Is that a hint?We&rsquo;ll only know for sure if Hasek and the Wings make good on the only mission that matters. &#9632;

f0009-01

FEATURES

Hasek’s Ray of inspiration

<div class="byline">- Nicholas J. Cotsonika</div>Luc Robitaille sat down with his wife, Stacia, after last season, and they had a long talk.Luc had played 15 years in the NHL, 12 of them in Los Angeles. They loved it there. But after a 37-goal, 88-point season, the Kings had offered a one-year, $2.5-million contract. That was a $l-million pay cut.What&rsquo;s more, to the Robitailles, the Kings weren&rsquo;t making a commitment to win, and Luc was longing for a Stanley Cup.Stacia told Luc the time had come for him to go - and go to a winner.&ldquo;I agreed with her,&rdquo; Robitaille said.So when the Detroit Red Wings offered him a contract in July and guaranteed him two years for a total of $9 million - and a shot at Stanley - Robitaille signed in a heartbeat.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021235/7997193-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="285" height="401"><figcaption class="caption-body">Luc Robitaille</figcaption></div>He had to leave Stacia and their two sons in L.A. during the season.He had to take a lesser role with the Wings than he had with the Kings, and with that came lesser ice time-14:51 this season compared to 18:25 last - and a lower profile.Still, he managed to rack up 30 goals and 50 points. And the three-time 50-goal scorer and five-time NHL all-star left winger has never stopped smiling.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got one thing missing in my career,&rdquo; Robitaille said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s to hold the Cup. It&rsquo;s the best situation for me. I&rsquo;m so happy to be in Detroit.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-02

Opportunity to hold Cup moves Robitaille

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender </div><div class="byline">Contributina Editor</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011904/7997231-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The KickerShayne Corson was assessed a one-game suspension for kicking Islander defenseman Eric Cairns during this fight.Head shotOpinion on Kyle McLaren&rsquo;s devastating forearm to, Richard Zednik's head ranged from heinous crime to unfortunate accident.Tragic hipDarcy Tucker's borderline hit on Michael Peca went unpunished, but the Islander forward didn't escape unscathed - he suffered a torn left knee ligament.</figcaption></div>First the good news: Eight teams did in fact advance through to the second round of the NHL playoffs, exactly according to script. There was even unanimous agreement on who those teams should be and who they should play in Round II.So we raise a glass to the dependable best-of-seven format: Even in this most tantrum-laced, complaint filled, sarcasm-laden, throat-slashing, cheap-shot, zebra-bashing concussion-producing of post-seasons, first-to-four emerges safe from criticism once again.As for everything else, it&rsquo;s open season. Drink up, quick, before someone on the losing team rips that goblet from your hand and smashes it against the boards.Reckless hits to the head, controversial calls, chilling threats, off-ice charades that belong in the Tonya Harding ice capades - they&rsquo;ve all become part of our playoff landscape.Is it overstating things to say this is a league spun out of control? Perhaps. On an objective scale of hockey violence, no doubt things were far worse in the 1970s when goon hockey raged, or even in the early 1980s when line brawls were the norm whenever Montreal and Quebec hooked up. Further, we have not yet seen a tarnishing of the Stanley Cup final as it was by the toe-in-the-crease controversy of 2000 (though something similar may yet be in store). And as for the ref-bashing, it is as old as the game itself.Yet the defining characteristic of the 2002 playoffs thus far, all these items put together, is chaos. In the midst of it all, there has been some terrific hockey and fantastic stories underplayed - Carolina&rsquo;s historic win over the Devils and the goaltending performances of St. Louis&rsquo;s Brent Johnson and Ottawa&rsquo;s Patrick Lalime among them. Ultimately, though, the league and the game have become unglued and under attack on so many fronts, the respect and credibility levels shrunk so small, that the impression of a game out of control has become hard to shake.The NHL has given only the smallest signs it has a plan to fix things for next week, let alone long-term. We have read the latest standards of enforcement for officiating, seen the results of the injury and safety studies, witnessed the two-man officiating system for three years, and after all that all we&rsquo;re left with is a dirty muck.To wit: The first round saw a match penalty for intent to injure (a Shayne Corson slash on Dave Scatchard) for which no supplementary discipline was applied. Corson was later suspended for kicking Eric Cairns. The first round saw a vicious cross-check to a player&rsquo;s face (Lyle Odelein on Jamal Mayers), that, in a year supposedly boasting zero tolerance for hits to the head, merited just a one-game suspension. A two-handed slash to the wrist (Matt Cooke on Steve Yzerman) that could easily have broken bones went by without a whistle being blown. This, too, was supposed to be a crack-down area.The first round saw a clearly dangerous hit from behind (Gary Roberts on Kenny Jonsson) instead called charging (five minute major only, no supplementary discipline) because Jonsson supposedly &ldquo;turned into&rdquo; the hit and knew it was coming. &ldquo;If he goes with the flow I&rsquo;d probably rub him out,&rdquo; Roberts said. &ldquo;I know what I did and I don&rsquo;t feel I did anything wrong.&rdquo;A submarine style hip check (Darcy Tucker on Michael Peca) was not called anything except for season-ending on Peca&rsquo;s knee. The referees and the league maintain it was a clean hit according to the rules of the game. So apparently, was a Bill Guerin low-hit takeout on Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov.Problem is, the rules of the game may soon kill someone.Peca is no angel himself, but he was right when he said the league needs to make a choice what is more important: &ldquo;the value of the game or the value of somebody&rsquo;s health. Until they do, these things will keep happening.&rdquo;And that assumes, of course, that anyone knows exactly what the playoff rules are. A penalty shot was called late in the third period of a one-goal Toronto-Islanders game that was clear cut by the statute law of the NHL rulebook and clearly out of order by playoff common law. Which one should have priority? Not even the men at the top are sure.&ldquo;On the one hand you can ask that question,&rdquo; said Colin Campbell, NHL vice-president and director of hockey operations. &ldquo;On the other hand you&rsquo;ve got to give this young referee (Brad Watson) credit that he made a (tough) call.&rdquo;So which is it? Should a playoff game be called any differently than a regular season game?&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think so,&rdquo; said director of officiating Andy VanHellemond. &ldquo;The players play differently, though. Guys are making hits (who) never hit anybody the whole year&hellip;and when they get called for it, they get upset. They go, &lsquo;You never called that all year.&rsquo; Well you know what, you didn&rsquo;t do that all year.&rdquo;True enough, Roberts says. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t play this way for 82 games. There&rsquo;d only be half a league left.&rdquo;And the other half, we suppose, would live in fear of gangland-styleretribution. That&rsquo;s the signal Montreal coach Michel Therrien intended to send out to the Boston bench with his ugly throat-slashing gesture after Kyle McLaren&rsquo;s straight-arm blow on Richard Zednik. Actually, Therrien did send one message loud and clear: You can take the man out of the Quebec League, but you can&rsquo;t take all the Quebec League out of the man.And the best part of it all is, while the Habs were calling for a suspension of eight games or more a la Tie Domi - an over-the-top complaint, since McLaren&rsquo;s devastation was clearly not intentional - the Bruins would have us believe the McLaren hit was entirely legal! Boston president Harry Sinden&rsquo;s public release on behalf of the Bruins said the team respected the NHL&rsquo;s decision to suspend McLaren. but disagreed with it, saying the hit was &ldquo;within the playing rules.&rdquo;For the NHL&rsquo;s credibility, this is akin to a speeding driver acknowledging an officer&rsquo;s right to hand him a ticket while reserving the right to spit in the officer's face as a form of free expression.<blockquote class="pullQuote">want to win a playoff series? Then ice a roster of thugs. Greg Dulli, Cleveland</blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote">Hey owners: how Much of your payroll is sitting on the injury list? Morley Deters, Regina, Sask.</blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote">The NHL has become an on&mdash;ice version of the WWF. John Hila, Keansburg, N.J.</blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote">I cannot believe the lawlessness in this year's playoffs Richard Goller, Buffalo</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011857/7997224-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="3139" height="3591"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fall SUVSome wonder whether San Jose's Bryan Marchment tangling here with Colorado's Eric Messier, would have had the book thrown at him if he'd been on the giving end of one of this post-season's controversial hits.(Ref: Bruce Benet/BS; Marchment: Canapres)</figcaption></div>Some more of the same: Islanders GM Mike Milbury and Vancouver GM Brian Burke staging news conferences for no other reason than to make a mockery of NHL officiating. Milbury came armed with video clips and a pointer; Burke with script of woe written by Groucho Marx: &ldquo;Sedin is not English for punch me or headlock me in a scrum &hellip; Our goaltender is the goaltender on the ice who does not dive when he gets brushed.&rdquo;Therrien, Milbury, Burke and I Toronto&rsquo;s Pat Quinn (ref-baiting through the media) were all fined $30,000 for their antics, but even that was not without controversy. The fines were made public more than a week after, some of the comments, a time lag that exposed the NHL&rsquo;s uncertainty over how to deal with its showboating critics. Campbell even took calls from a number of GMs.&ldquo;That was my question (to Campbell), now what happens?&rdquo; said Carolina GM Jim Rutherford. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t hear the winning teams complaining.&rdquo;Now consider the environment in which the NHL operates. Every on-ice call or non-call is dissected in slow-motion, analyzed more times than a presidential assassination attempt. That goes even more for markets such as Toronto, New York and Montreal, where the majority of the early-round ruckuses took place. Furthermore, when VanHellemond began his officiating career in 1973 there were six camera angles available in NHL arenas; today there are 25. Half the hockey world bemoans the officials&rsquo; reluctance to call obvious penalties in the playoffs; the other half says they call too manyScotty Bowman says reporters aren&rsquo;t allowed in an area of a Detroit dressing room that is open to reporters. He is fined $10,000 for pushing Detroit Free Press writer and THN correspondent Nick Cotsonika and the Wings an additional $25,000 for violating league media policy.Ah, the playoffs.In case you were wondering, scoring is down half a goal a game.VanHellemond used to hear the barbs during his refereeing days; &ldquo;Andy, are you finished calling penalties? Nobody paid money to see you call penalties.&rdquo; And he would reply: &ldquo;You&rsquo;re right, actually they came to see you score a goal.&rdquo;And that would be it. It would stay on the ice. But these days, VanHellemond says, players go running back to the bench, complaining to the coach or GM about how terribly they&rsquo;re being treated.VanHellemond takes it in stride, the new value system and the criticism his troops are under. He&rsquo;s like the guy on the old Supertramp album cover, sitting in lawn chair with umbrella and sipping orange juice amid a garbage-strewn industrial wasteland: Crisis? What crisis?This isn&rsquo;t the first time he has seen GMs try to deflect attention from their team. Neither Milbury nor Burke had been in the first round of the playoffs in a while and he believes they were starting to sweat.As for the officiating, VanHellemond said players haven&rsquo;t yet realized that the two-referee system is changing the way the game is called. He says more calls like Watson&rsquo;s penalty shot call are being made because for the first time, referees are in the proper position to make the call. Under the one man-system, Bryan McCabe&rsquo;s trip on Shawn Bates doesn&rsquo;t get ruled a penalty shot because the referee is two zones behind the play trying to catch up.If that is the case, though, the NHL hasn&rsquo;t done a very effective job of communicating that change, just as it has sent no clear signals about how many injuries it will tolerate before cracking down in a severe fashion.And because of that, the frustration mounts. Count Bernie Nicholls among the frustrated. Usually it&rsquo;s reporters who try to get hold of players, but this time it was the other way around - he called The Hockey News.Nicholls retired from the NHL in 1999 and is on the celebrity golf tour now, but he has been watching the playoff madness and can&rsquo;t stand it any longer. Never one to bite his tongue, he is disgusted.Nicholls on Burke and Milbury: &ldquo;I think that was totally embarrassing for their franchises. If I was their owner, I&rsquo;d fine these guys. And I like Brian Burke, but that was embarrassing.&rdquo;Nicholls on Gary Roberts&rsquo;s explanation that Jonsson turned into the hit: &ldquo;All (Roberts) has got to do is go shoulder to shoulder. As a player you know (Jonsson) is going to turn one way or the other. He can&rsquo;t skate through the boards. But don&rsquo;t elbow him in the back of the head.&rdquo;Nicholls on Tucker&rsquo;s hit and preferential treatment for the Leafs: &ldquo;If Bryan Marchment had hit Mats Sundin (like that) and blew his knee out, 10 games, easy You&rsquo;re telling me that&rsquo;s not dirty?&rdquo;Nicholls&rsquo;s message: Clean it up. Clean it all up. &ldquo;When&rsquo;s&mdash;happens, hit them. Hit them hard.&rdquo;The fines to the GMs - and making them public - are a good start. Next in line might be clamping down on the on-ice yapping to the officials, who, as part of old-time hockey&rsquo;s culture, are forced to put up with more trashing from players and coaches than officials in any other sport.Cut it all out, we say - the after-the-whistle facewashes, the crosschecks to the back, the pushing and shoving. Dangerous hits have to be punished, period; if the rulebook allows them, it&rsquo;s the rulebook that has to be changed.Maybe it&rsquo;s time the NHL took a page from how the players act come playoff time.When someone or something comes at you with something you don&rsquo;t like, you do whatever it takes to make it go away.<h2>Playoff Rap Sheet</h2>Offender:&nbsp;Islanders GM Mike MilburyOffense:&nbsp;Showing media videotape of &ldquo;questionable" calls in Toronto seriesPunishment:&nbsp;$30,000fineOffender:&nbsp;Chicago&rsquo;s Lyle OdeleinOffense:&nbsp;Cross-check to face of St. Louis&rsquo;s Jamal MayersPunishment:&nbsp;One-game suspensionOffender:&nbsp;Vancouver GM Brian BurkeOffense:&nbsp;Comedy-style news conference criticizing NHL officialsPunishment:&nbsp;$30,000fineOffender:&nbsp;Boston&rsquo;s Kyle McLarenOffense:&nbsp;Vicious forearm to face of Montreal&rsquo;s Richard ZednikPunishment:&nbsp;Two-game suspensionOffender:&nbsp;Habs coach Michel TherrienOffense:&nbsp;Threatens Bruin players and gives throat-slashing gesture in wake of McLaren hitPunishment:&nbsp;$30,000 fineOffender:&nbsp;Detroit coach Scotty BowmanOffense:&nbsp;Shoves reporter when journalist tries to enter dressing roomPunishment:&nbsp;$10,000 fine to Bowman, $25,000fine to teamOffenders:&nbsp;Toronto's Darcy Tucker and Gary RobertsOffenses:&nbsp;Questionable hits that injure Islander opponentsPunishment:&nbsp;No supplemental disciplineOffender:&nbsp;Toronto&rsquo;s Shayne CorsonOffense:&nbsp;Kicking at Islander Eric Cairns during a fightPunishment:&nbsp;One-game suspension<h2>Blowing The Whistle</h2>Whether it's players being more careful, referees being more lenient or a combination of the two, fewer power plays are handed out in the third periods of playoff games. Here are the numbers for the past three years, including-fighting majors (FM) and overtime calls. This year&rsquo;s tally is through the first round. The accompanying graphic is the three-year total. &#9632;

f0010-01

COVER STORY

Out of Control?

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011697/7997276-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">RICK DUDLET'S PLAYOFF REPORTDANDY DRAFTINGCaptain Daniel Alfredsson is one of 11 Ottawa draft choices on the team&rsquo;s NHL roster. (Dan Hamilton/VPS)</figcaption></div>Rick Dudley is a former GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators and a long-time NHL scout, coach and executive. This is his sixth in a series of exclusive stretch-drive and playoff reports for The Hockey News.So you want to have a successful NHL franchise in a small market with a limited budget? Follow the model of the Ottawa Senators.The Senators have been an elite team for the past four years. And they will remain an elite team, always having a chance to win it all, because of a proven mission statement stressing patient and steady growth and a disdain for the short-term, get-a-little-better-to-survive mentality.Ottawa has always accomplished its mission statement using certain key principles:&#10065; THE DRAFT IS king If you&rsquo;re ever to reach the ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup, you must draft successfully. In Ottawa, this means director of player personnel Jarmo Kekalainen and director of hockey operations Trevor Timmins must be kept on board and continue to find the Martin Havlats (26th overall in 1999 draft) and Sami Salos (239th, 1996) of the world.&#10065; KNOW THE PRO TALENT POOL The Senators wouldn&rsquo;t be where they are today without pro scouts Phil Myre and Bob Janecyk, who do an outstanding job of identifying players such Todd White, Patrick Lalime, Shawn McEachern and many others who fit into the organizational structure, both from on-ice and financial standpoints.&#10065; BIRD'S EYE BOSS To support Points 1 and 2, teams need a top-notch talent evaluator as GM, someone who realizes that mistakes in the draft or via trade or free agency are a death knell to a limited-budget team. The man who makes the final decisions must be someone who has extensive knowledge of any potential key acquisitions. Ottawa GM Marshall Johnston fits this criteria perfectly. He knows the biggest difference between a big-budget team and a small-budget team is that the latter cannot afford mistakes. I remember once discussing with Johnston a young player who was playing in the New York Islanders organization. Marshall said he was sure this player would become a good NHL defenseman. A third-round draft pick, the player was not playing regularly in the NHL at the time, but he most certainly is now:. Zdeno Chara is paired with Wade Redden on Ottawa&rsquo;s top defense unit.&#10065; CALM BEHIND THE&nbsp;BENCH The coach of such a team has to be patient and capable of visualizing and teaching for the future. In this respect, Jacques Martin fits like a glove. When fans, the media and many within the Senators&rsquo; organization wanted Radek Bonk traded, it was Martin who stood up and said he believed that eventually Bonk would grow into a fine two-way player. Today, Bonk is one of the better two-way centers in the league.&#10065; GOOD SENSE IN OWNER&rsquo;S BOX The team owner and president must buy in totally to the mission statement. Rod Bryden and Roy Mlakar completely understand the process to which they and the Senators are committed. While Bryden is willing to spend money to enhance the team&rsquo;s playoff chances, he and Mlakar never put pressures on a GM to mortgage the team&rsquo;s future to make a small improvement in the present. This allows the GM to do what his instincts tell him to do: stay the course.&#10065; HONEST ambitions The city of Ottawa craves a Stanley Cup and there are often demands for short-term successes. The Senators, however, have never tried to fool the public and have in fact shared with them the organizational goals and the plan to accomplish those goals. It may take a little longer, but everybody knows and understands the game plan.&#10065; INTEGRITY MATTERS When I was Ottawa&rsquo;s GM in 1998-99,1 was reviewing budgets with Roy Mlakar late in the season when we realized that one of our goalies would get a huge bonus if he played and had success in our final two games of the regular season. The amount of the bonus was staggering, well into six figures. and the team was already locked into a playoff position.This is the kind of thing you almost wish you didn&rsquo;t know. It can lead to very tricky ethical ground. In this case, Mlakar&rsquo;s phone call to Bryden provided the guidance: Rod said not to instruct Jacques one way or another in any manner, even if the end result damaged the balance sheet.It was the right thing for Rod to do and it ended up costing him a lot of money. The goalie earned his bonus. Though it was never openly discussed, I am sure employees within the organization understood what had happened. Players and employees respect acts like that and it becomes part of the reason for pride in the organization.When Martin Havlat scored to vault the Senators past Philadelphia in Round 1 of this year&rsquo;s playoffs, I took no joy in watching the Flyers lose. At the same time, it was wonderful to see that in the world of big-time sports with corporate funding and limitless budgets, the little guys can still win if they&rsquo;re willing to stay true to their plan.<h2>READER&rsquo;S CHOICE ALL STARS</h2><h3>CANDIDATES</h3><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021184/7997269-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="1562" height="854"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03866/7997262-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="1695" height="1500"></div> &#9632;

f0013-01

COLUMNS

Surging Senators do it right

<h2>Bakersfield bungle</h2>The West Coast League suspended referee Mike Pearce and issued a public apology to the Bakersfield Condors ownership and staff after a review determined Pearce made an incorrect ruling during a playoff game. The league said Pearce wrongly disallowed a game-tying goal by Condor Ryan Foster against San Diego April 19. The Gulls went on to win 3-2 and the series 3-1. WCHL acting commissioner Adam Keller said extraordinary circumstances which he would not divulge led to the unusual act of contrition. &ldquo;We are not interested in setting any precedents or anything like that.&rdquo; Keller said Pearce was also fined.<h2>Bowman gets pushy</h2>Detroit coach Scotty Bowman was fined $10,000 for a pushing incident involving Detroit Free Press reporter Nick Cotsonika. According to a witness, Bowman blocked Cotsonika&rsquo;s entrance into a section of the Wings&rsquo; dressing room and pushed him away It happened in Vancouver during a first-round series. &ldquo;I saw Scotty in a pass-block stance blocking Cotsonika&rsquo;s entrance,&rdquo; said Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a room that should be open to the media. They mutually pushed against each other. Scotty said &lsquo;You&rsquo;re not getting in here?&rdquo; The Wings were fined $25,000 for violating NHL media regulations.<h2>Tisdale stops Crosby</h2>The Tisdale Trojans found a way to stop 14-year-old phenom Sidney Crosby to win the Air Canada Cup midget AAA national title in Bathurst, N.B. Myles Zimmer scored three times to lead the Saskatchewan team to a 6-2 win over Dartmouth in the final. Adam Flick, Brett Parker and Ryan Kienas had the other Tisdale goals. But it was blanket coverage by Tisdale&rsquo;s sturdy blueline corps on Crosby that made the difference. Crosby, the tournament MVP, could only muster a goal and an assist in the final. He won the tournament scoring title by factoring in on 24 of Dartmouth&rsquo;s 28 goals in seven games.<h2>Coach busted, fired</h2>Trent Eigner was fired as coach of the Central League&rsquo;s El Paso Buzzards following an arrest and second-degree felony charges of marijuana possession. Eigner, a former El Paso player who has been with the team since 1996, turned himself in and was released hours before the Buzzards final playoff game April 15. According to the El Paso County sheriff&rsquo;s department, deputies were called to Eigner&rsquo;s home Jan. 31 on reports of suspicious activity A search of a car on Eigner&rsquo;s property revealed 96 pounds of marijuana. The car belonged to an acquaintance of Eigner. Eigner has maintained his innocence. &#9632;

INSIDE HOCKEY

<div class="byline">By Andrew Podnieks</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011838/7997338-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sweden&rsquo;s Jorgen Jonsson tries to squeeze a puck past Russian goalie Igor Podomatski after getting tripped up by Anton Volchenkov.</figcaption></div>KARLSTAD, Sweden - Both Canada and the United States came to the 2002 World Championship with less than their best available players.Traditionally, these countries send NHLers from teams that didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs or who were knocked out in the first round. What is most disappointing this year is an inordinate number of star players could have played, but declined invitations.Canada&rsquo;s gold-medal Olympic team could have been at least half re-created had players decided to come. Notable absentees in Karlstad include Eric Lindros and Theoren Fleury from the Rangers, Paul Kariya (Anaheim), Jarome Iginla (Calgary), Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer, and Joe Nieuwendyk (New Jersey), Simon Gagne (Philadelphia), and Ed Jovanovski (Vancouver).The rate of absenteeism for the Americans is even more pronounced. Some 15 players from the 23-man roster of Team USA&rsquo;s silver medal team did not make it to the second round of the playoffs and could have made the trip to Sweden. Not a single one did. The most prominent Team USA player here is Derian Hatcher of the Dallas Stars.USA&rsquo;s director of player personnel, Art Berglund, doesn&rsquo;t make much of this fact.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t even invite most of the Olympians,&rdquo; Berglund said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very simple. They&rsquo;ve been playing all year, 20-30 minutes a game, and as much at the Olympics. They&rsquo;re all tired.&rdquo;Berglund sees an ancillary reason for avoiding the big ticket names.&ldquo;This is a tournament that gives us a chance to develop that second tier of player. We wanted (David) Legwand and (Tim) Connolly, but they said no. Then Eric Weinrich phoned us. He wants to play (Brian) Gionta was asked, but Lou Lamoriello told us he can&rsquo;t come because he has to start training for next year.&rdquo;&ldquo;Remember also,&rdquo; Berglund rationalized, &ldquo;that Leetch, Richter, Roenick, Modano, all these guys have been here before. We don&rsquo;t expect them to keep coming and coming.&rdquo;For Canada, there were no worries about developing a second tier, and for team GM Lanny McDonald, the calls went out to the Olympians out of courtesy and respect regardless of their mental or physical health or history of participation.&ldquo;We called just about all of them, gave them their option,&rdquo; McDonald said. &ldquo;Obviously some had played a tremendous amount of hockey. Others were playing hurt at the end trying to help their team in the playoffs, so we were cognizant of the fact guys may have been grinding it out down the stretch. It was up to them.&rdquo;In the end, McDonald knew he&rsquo;d get more nays than yeahs. &ldquo;The Olympics makes it a long year, and for some of these guys it has been a grind, from the orientation camp before their team camp, through the season and All-Star Game and Olympics and playoffs,&rdquo; McDonald said.Just two Canadian Olympians are here: Ryan Smyth and Eric Brewer.Smyth was named captain prior to Canada&rsquo;s first game against Latvia. The irony is Smyth, before any other Canadian Olympian begged off, was slated to have seven screws and a plate removed from his ankle May 1, but he postponed the surgery so he could put on the maple leaf sweater one more time.&ldquo;Our doctor, Dr. Reed, the GM, and trainer and myself were all together,&rdquo; Smyth said, &ldquo;and they said you can get it done then (May 1), or you can wait until the 15th. I said I would love to play at the Worlds, so let&rsquo;s wait.&rdquo;Smyth scored the tying goal early in the third period to start Canada&rsquo;s rally against the U.S. en route to a 2-1 win early in the tournament, and then in the first game of the qualifying round he scored one of the prettiest goals of the event against Germany. Not bad for a guy with screws and plates in his ankle - and the Canadian flag tattooed over his heart.U.S. WINS UNDER-18 TITLE The United States captured the gold medal at the World Under-18 Championship in Slovakia with a 3-1 victory over the Russians in the championship game.The Americans won six of seven games by a combined score of 40-6. Their only loss was 1-0 to the Czech Republic.The Czechs took the bronze with a 4-2 win over Finland.Canada finished in sixth place behind Belarus with a 3-4 record, losing 10-3 to th Americans in a round-robin game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021390/7997331-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="760" height="560"></div><h2>Hey, Mom! I&rsquo;m in the NHL</h2>Weekly report of players making their NHL debuts.Adam Hall, 21, Nsh, April 14 vs. Pho. Michigan State right winger best suited to physical pro game. Had assist in debut.Trent Hunter, 21, RW, April 24 vs. Tor. Bridgeport top scorer acquitted himself well in replacing Brad Isbister from Game 4 on. &#9632;

f0014-01

Worlds lacking star names

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello </div><div class="byline">Senior Editor</div>Calgary&rsquo;s Jarome Iginla is vying to become just the sixth non-playoff performer in NHL history to win the Hart Trophy.The league&rsquo;s regular season scoring leader is one of three finalists for the award given to the player &ldquo;adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.&rdquo; Iginla, 24, led the NHL with 52 goals and 96 points, but Calgary finished 11th in the Western Conference.Goalies Patrick Roy of Colorado and Jose Theodore of Montreal join Iginla as finalists for the Hart, selected in an April poll by the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association. The winner will be announced June 20 in Toronto.The last non-playoff participant to win the Hart was Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Mario Lemieux in 1988. The other four were Andy Bathgate (Rangers, 1959); Al Rollins (Chicago, 1954); Tom Anderson (Brooklyn, 1942); and Billy Burch (Hamilton, 1925).The above graphic illustrates the three finalists in the six major award categories and THN&rsquo;s favored choice. Other awards to be determined later are the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP and the Masterton Trophy for perseverance.Nominees for the Jack Adams Award for top coach include Bob Francis of Phoenix, Robbie Ftorek of Boston and Brian Sutter of Chicago. THN waits until after the playoffs to determine a winner and blends post-season fortune with regular season success.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011677/7997404-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="260" height="301"><figcaption class="caption-body">THN PickJarome Iginla</figcaption></div><h2>Hart Trophy</h2>NHL NomineesJarome Iginla CalgaryScored 26 per pent of Flames&rsquo; goalsPatrick Roy ColoradoWon fifth Jennings Trophy for GAAJose Theodore Montreal.931 save percentage second-best ever<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021192/7997397-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="263" height="303"><figcaption class="caption-body">THN PickDany Heatley</figcaption></div><h2>Calder Trophy</h2>NHL NomineesDany Heatley AtlantaLed rookies in most offensive depts.Kristian Huselius FloridaLed team in goals, shooting percentageIlya Kovalchuk AtlantaWas Calder favorite until late injury<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03833/7997390-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="260" height="302"><figcaption class="caption-body">THN PickMichael Peca</figcaption></div><h2>Seike Trophy</h2>NHL NomineesCraig Conroy CalgaryTwo-way forward had career yearJere Lehtinen DallasTwo-time winner No. 2 Stars scorerMichael Peca IslandersCaptain excels in shorthanded dept.<h2>Norris Trophy</h2>NHL NomineesRob Blake Colorado1998 winner was fourth in ice timeChris Chellos DetroitAgeless warrior won plus-minus titleNicklas Lidstrom DetroitFinalist for fifth straight season<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04610/7997383-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="258" height="304"><figcaption class="caption-body">THN PickChris Chelios</figcaption></div><h2>Vezina Trophy</h2>NHL NomineesSeah Burke PhoenixHad 18-9-5 record when outshotPatrick Roy ColoradoCollected 12th 30-plus win seasonJose Theodore MontrealGuided Habs playoff berth<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-05424/7997376-1-eng-US/f0015-052.jpg" title="f0015-05" width="257" height="303"><figcaption class="caption-body">THN PickJose Theodore</figcaption></div><h2>Byng Trophy</h2>NHL NomineesRon Francis CarolinaTwo-time winner passed 1,700 pointsNicklas Udstrom DetroitRunner-up last three seasonsJoe Sakic ColoradoLast year&rsquo;s winner epitome of class<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-06341/7997369-1-eng-US/f0015-062.jpg" title="f0015-06" width="260" height="303"><figcaption class="caption-body">THN PickRon Francis</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0015-01

And the award finalists are…

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello </div><div class="byline">Senior Editor</div>Jay Bouwmeester has gone wire-to-wire this season as the top prospect for the 2002 NHL draft.The slick-skating Medicine Hat Tigers defenseman had that status confirmed when the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Service slotted the Edmonton native as the No. 1 North American skater eligible for selection June 22 in Toronto.&ldquo;The kid&rsquo;s a jewel,&rdquo; said Red Deer Rebels coach Brent Sutter on the CSS&rsquo;s website. &ldquo;Since he was 15 or 16, scouts have been drooling over him.&rdquo;Bouwmeester has been No. 1 on the list of CSS and Red Line Report all season. And he&rsquo;ll be the top prospect in THN&rsquo;s Draft Preview, due out in early June. He has been the odds-on favorite to go No. 1 in 2002 since breaking into the Western League as a 15-year-old in 1998-99.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a pretty unique individual,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;His skating is so good and he&rsquo;s such an intelligent player. He understands the game so well.&rdquo;The Florida Panthers won the NHL&rsquo;s draft lottery among non-playoff teams and are sure to take the promising 6-foot-4,206-pound blueliner first overall.Bouwmeester&rsquo;s scouting report says he &ldquo;possesses very quick acceleration and has the ability to control the flow of the game with his speed and change of pace&hellip; has excellent agility and plays an exceptional transition game&hellip;is very confident with the puck and has strong passing and puck-handling skills&hellip;has impressive size and strength&hellip;does not play a punishing game, but effectively takes the man and finishes his checks&hellip;has an excellent slapshot, especially on one-time shots.&rdquo;London Knights left winger Rick Nash is the No. 2-ranked North American skater.Nash will battle for the second overall spot with a pair of Finns, Karpat rearguard Joni Pitkanen and Jokerit goalie Kari Lehtonen. All three are expected to be among the top four picks.The Atlanta Thrashers have second pick overall in the draft followed by Columbus and Tampa Bay. (See pgs. 35-36 for complete CSS final rankings.) &#9632;

Bouwmeester gets No. 1 slot

<div class="byline">By Adrian Dater</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011634/7997459-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">FUN & GAMEPeter Forsberg&rsquo;s return to the ice gives the Avs a passionate player who&rsquo;s a two-way force. (Canapress)</figcaption></div>When the spleen went into the medical wastebasket, so did the Stanley Cup.When Peter Forsbergbid a sad adieu to the playoff party his Colorado Avalanche had been enjoying to that point last spring, nobody gave the Avs a shot at putting another silver punch bowl in the company trophy case.And rightfully so. &ldquo;The Producers&rdquo; winning the Tony award without Nathan Lane? No way. White carpet staying that way in a roomful of finger-painting toddlers? Not a chance. The Avalanche winning two playoff rounds - the Western Conference and Stanley Cup finals - without the wondrous &lsquo;Foppa?&rsquo; Get serious.But it happened. Behind the providence of perhaps Lord Stanley himself - and a whole lot of Patrick Roy - the Avalanche somehow did win the Cup without the player many fashionably now call the best in the world.Then came the following season, one in which the Avalanche went the whole way without Forsberg and still finished second in the West. Suddenly, it became fashionable to question whether the Avalanche really needed that injured Forsberg guy at all.They won the Cup without him, didn&rsquo;t they? They got 99 points this year without him, didn&rsquo;t they?And then came Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinal, Colorado versus the Los Angeles Kings. A No. 21 in a white sweater stepped onto the ice after the game&rsquo;s opening shift and the Pepsi Center crowd didn&rsquo;t just cheer the player with the name &ldquo;Forsberg&rdquo;stitched on his back, it assaulted him with noise.Those who were on hand for both games actually believe the noise was louder for Forsberg&rsquo;s return than on the night last June when Colorado won the Stanley Cup.All of which proves the following point: yes, the Avalanche won two playoff rounds without Forsberg and, yes, they placed second in the West.No, the hockey wasn&rsquo; nearly as much fun to watch without him. Not even close.The fans didn&rsquo;t even seem to care about a win or loss the night &lsquo;Foppa&rsquo; came back. They just wanted to see him.Of course, wins have always followed Forsberg around, which explains much of his appeal in Denver. Although the Avs were still winners without him, the victories came a lot harder.Colorado set a franchise low in goals scored this season, with 212, and was shut out a record 10 times. If it wasn&rsquo;t for Roy having a Hart Trophy-caliberseason, the Avs might have had real trouble making the playoffs.Forsberg&rsquo;s impact on his team in that Game 1 against the Kings was dramatic, but hardly surprising. In his first game in nearly a year - a playoff game, no less - Forsberg assisted on two goals in Colorado&rsquo;s 4-3 victory The next game, Forsberg scored a goal and added two assists in a 5-3 win. His presence was felt up and down the lineup. Joe Sakic, who had a pair of two-goal games in the regular season, had one such performance after two post-season games. Chris Drury had waited 11 months for the kind of gorgeous drop pass he received from Forsberg to slap past Felix Potvin for the clinching goal in Game 2.In his first seven games back (he missed one game with an undisclosed leg injury), Forsberg had two goals and nine points. His comeback bore a similarity to that of Mario Lemieux in 2000. Avs defenseman Darius Kasparaitis was there for both and was no less amazed at Forsberg&rsquo;s play than his former teammate Lemieux.&ldquo;Peter had to step right in during a playoff game after not playing at all for a year,&rdquo; Kasparaitis said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a pretty unfair thing to ask a guy to do. But he was the best player in the series for us.&rdquo;And yet, the Avalanche had iust a 4-4 record through its first eight playoff games. There&rsquo;s doubt of a Stanley Cup repeat. But you know what?People in Denver didn&rsquo;t seem all that bothered. That&rsquo;s because the games were fun to watch again, win or lose, Peter Forsberg was the reason and fans are just glad to have him back. &#9632;

f0016-01

Forsberg’s thrills back in style

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021133/7997490-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="559" height="2391"></div>Montreal&rsquo;s dominance in the postseason isn&rsquo;t exactly late-breaking news, but do you realize just how good they&rsquo;ve been over the years? Since the NHL formed in 1917, the Habs have won 10 more Stanley Cups and 30 more playoff series than the next-closest team (Toronto) and their 381 post-season wins dwarfs runner-up Boston&rsquo;s 236. Listed in order of Cups are each NHL team&rsquo;s playoff record (in series and games), with winning percentage.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011460/7997497-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="210" height="200"></div> &#9632;

f0017-02

Surprise, surprise… Habs rule playoffs

<div class="byline">- Luke DeCock</div>Carolina Hurricanes rookie Erik Cole is not a finalist for the Calder Trophy.Florida&rsquo;s Kristian Huselius was named the third finalist instead, along with Atlanta&rsquo;s two phenoms, Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk. However, things might be different had the voting happened after the first round of the playoffs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03818/7997535-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="229" height="216"></div>Cole&rsquo;s play in Carolina&rsquo;s six-game series win over New Jersey was news for those who hadn&rsquo;t seen the gritty 23-year-old right winger before, but it didn&rsquo;t surprise anyone who had seen him play all season.&ldquo;Awesome,&rdquo; Carolina center Rod Brind&rsquo; Amour said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all I&rsquo;m going to say about him.&rdquo;Cole leveled Alexei Kovalev and Sergei Gonchar with big hits during the regular season and was a physical force against the Devils - especially in Games 1 and 2, where he scored a goal in each game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04598/7997528-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="217" height="272"><figcaption class="caption-body">Erik Cole</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to do what got me on this team and kept me on the roster through the season,&rdquo; Cole said.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Kevin Weekes, G. Thrown into the fire when Arturs Irbe stumbled, his overtime save on John Madden in Game 5 - Weekes first playoff start - and Game 6 shutout are already local legend.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Sami Kapanen, LW. Carolina&rsquo;s leading scorer in the playoffs last season, he struggled along with the rest of the Hurricanes top line. The Devils held him off the scoreboard until Game 6.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Carolina&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Sean Hill, D (24:44).Faceoff percentage: Rod Brind&rsquo; Amour, C (62.1).Hits: Erik Cole, LW (28).Blocked shots: Aaron Ward, D (17).Power play points: Ron Francis, C (3).Shots: Erik Cole, LW (18).NOTEBOOK Center Ron Francis was named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy. He won the award in 1995 and 1998&hellip;Carolina&rsquo;s win over the Devils not only avenged last season&rsquo;s first round loss but gave the franchise its first playoff series win since 1986, when the team played in Hartford. &#9632;

f0017-03

Calder snub doesn’t affect Canes’ Cole

<div class="byline">- Herb Zurkowsky</div>With every passing week, it becomes clearer Jose Theodore is the latest in a long line of sensational Montreal Canadiens goaltenders.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05416/7997566-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="211" height="222"></div>Two days after helping Montreal to an opening round six-game upset of Boston and a date with Carolina in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, Theodore was named a finalist for two of the league&rsquo;s top trophies - the Hart, as the NHL&rsquo;s most valuable player, and the Vezina, given to the top goalie.Theodore, 25, was characteristically low-key about his achievements.&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t have done it without the guys playing well in front of me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Right now, the only trophy I want is the Stanley Cup.&rdquo;Playing in a career-high 67 games, Theodore went 30-24-10, posting seven shutouts and a 2.11 goals-against average along with a league-high save percentage of .931. Theodore was at his best down the stretch, recording seven consecutive victories to catapult the Canadiens into the post-season.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the reason we made the playoffs and he&rsquo;s the reason we got this far. That&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s up for both awards,&rdquo; said defenseman Stephane Quintal.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Doug Gilmour, C. He might be nearing his 39th birthday, but Gilmour is playing like a young pup. His second intermission pep talk in Game 3 changed the team&rsquo;s fortunes.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Patrice Brisebois, D. Brisebois didn&rsquo;t perform like the offensive star he supposedly is. His errant pass in Game 6 resulted in the Bruins only goal.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Montreal&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Stephane Quintal, D (23:35).Faceoff percentage: Yanic Perreault, C (57.3).Hits: Chad Kilger, LW (19).Blocked shots: Sheldon Souray, D (15).Power play points: Donald Audette, RW, and Saku Koivu, C (4).Shots: Richard Zednik, LW (22).NOTEBOOK Left winger Richard Zednik was on hand to greet his teammates after the Boston series, but he is unlikely to be available against the Hurricanes. He suffered a concussion and facial lacerations after taking a straight-arm to the head from Bruins defenseman Kyle McLaren in Game 4. &#9632;

f0017-05

Theodore key to Canadiens success

<div class="byline">- Ken Campbell</div>The Toronto Maple Leafs have learned to go without this season, so it was with a business-like attitude that they faced the loss of their best player and captain.Mats Sundin, undisputably the Leafs best player during the regular season, was knocked out of the first-round series against the New York Islanders after Game 3. If that wasn&rsquo;t bad enough, a groin injury shut down Mikael Renberg for the series after playing the first two games, effectively leaving the Leafs without a first line.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06327/7997597-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="210" height="237"></div>Sundin broke a bone in his left wrist in Game 1 April 18 when he was hit by a puck. He aggravated the injury in Game 3 April 23 when Steve Webb jammed him into the boards.There was speculation both players might re-join the team sometime during the second-round against Ottawa. That might be wishful thinking, but Sundin insisted he had a chance.&ldquo;If it is healed and I feel comfortable with it, it&rsquo;s no problem,&rdquo; Sundin said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see.&rdquo;FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Alyn McCauley, C. When Sundin went down, McCauley was thrust into an offensive role. He responded by playing some of the best hockey of his career. If McCauley had decent linemates, he would be capable of producing 50-60 point seasons.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Curtis Joseph, G. He will never admit it, but Joseph was clearly not fully recovered from his broken left hand.Although he played very well in Game 7, his first round save percentage was .888.BY THE NUMBERS Here a Toronto&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Bryan McCabe, D (28:55).Faceoff percentage: Travis Green, C (59.25).Hits: Gary Roberts, LW (31).Blocked shots: JyrkiLumme, D (16).Power play points: Jonas Hoglund, RW, and Alyn McCauley, C (4).Shots: Alexander Mogilny, RW and Bryan McCabe, D (28).NOTEBOOK The Maple Leafs named Barry Trapp director of amateur scouting April 29. &#9632;

f0017-06

Leafs’ Sundin aims for rapid recovery

<div class="byline">- Bruce Garrioch</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-08" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-08220/7997628-1-eng-US/f0017-082.jpg"></div>This was Patrick Lalime&rsquo;s first round dream.Much-maligned entering the playoffs, the Senators goalie not only wrote himself into the record book with three straight shutouts, he led the club to a first round series victory over Philadelphia. He added a fourth with a 5-0 win over Toronto in Game 1 of the second round.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-07266/7997635-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="225" height="241"></div>&ldquo;I would say that Patrick was our MVP. He really stepped up and did a good job for us,&rdquo; said coach Jacques Martin.Lalime was one of the biggest question marks entering the first round. He hadn&rsquo;t played his best down the stretch and a 5-2 loss to the Leafs had some calling for backup Jani Hurme to play.&ldquo;I just try to do the same thing all the time: Stop the puck,&rdquo; Lalime said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot easier if the guys are playing well in front of me.&rdquo;FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Daniel Alfredsson, RW. Alfredsson has taken his play to another level and played a huge role in helping the club move forward.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Bill Muckalt, RW. A healthy scratch for the first round, he likely won&rsquo;t be back next season.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Ottawa&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Wade Redden, D (27:57).Faceoff percentage: Todd White, C (48.84).Hits: Chris Neil, RW, and Zdeno Chara, D (20).Blocked shots: Curtis Leschyshyn, D (12).Power play points: Daniel Alfredsson, RW (2).Shots: Daniel Alfredsson, RW, (25).NOTEBOOK&nbsp;The Senators elected not to recall center Jason Spezza from Grand Rapids (AHL) when he Griffins were eliminated.<div class="sidebar"><h2>QUICK HEALER?</h2>Maple Leafs center Mats Sundin hopes to return from a wrist injury before the end of the second round of Toronto&rsquo;s series against Ottawa. &#9632;</div>

f0017-08

Sens lean on Lalime for first round win

<div class="byline">- Nicholas J. Cotsonika</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021155/7997666-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg"></div>Steve Yzerman played only one regular season game after aggravating his injured right knee at the Olympics.He is wearing a special brace. When he gets knocked down, he uses his stick as a crutch to get up again.Yet he led the Detroit Red Wings to a first round victory over Vancouver and a win in the opener of the second-round series with St. Louis.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011515/7997673-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="224" height="249"></div>&ldquo;Our captain, he&rsquo;s pretty amazing,&rdquo; said defenseman Mathieu Dandenault. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell you what, we wouldn&rsquo;t be here if he wasn&rsquo;t playing.&rdquo;After the Wings dropped the first two games to the Canucks, Yzerman addressed his team before practice. He didn&rsquo;t peel the paint off the walls. He was what the Wings call &ldquo;typical Stevie.&rdquo; He was calm, direct, brief.Yzerman said his speech &ldquo;wasn&rsquo;t anything brilliant,&rdquo; and forward Kris Draper agreed.&ldquo;He just said the things we all knew,&rdquo; Draper said. &ldquo;We knew we just had to be better and get better.&rdquo;Still, Draper added, &ldquo;A guy can say things, but he goes out and backs everything up.&rdquo;The Wings won four straight games, and Yzerman might have been their best player in the series. Along with winning faceoffs, blocking shots and even throwing hits, he tied for the team lead in goals (three) and points (eight). Yzerman had 160 points in his playoff career, two more than Gordie Howe, making him the Wings&rsquo; all-time leading playoff scorer.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Chris Chelios, D. The 40-year-old, 190-pounder took on 250-pound Todd Bertuzzi each night. Bertuzzi drilled him; he popped right back up.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Uwe Krupp, D. He gave an honest effort and had some bad breaks, but was minus-5 after two games and pulled from the lineup.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Detroit&rsquo;s leaders through Round 1:Ice time: Nicklas Lidstrom, D (31:10).Faceoff percentage: Steve Yzerman, C(64.8).Hits: Darren McCarty, RW (28).Blocked shots: JiriFischer, D (15)Power play points: Brendan Shanahan, LW (5).Shots: Brett Hull, RW (22).NOTEBOOK The Wings have Tshirts with the No. 16 printed over the Winged Wheel logo. Beneath that is the phrase &lsquo;nothing less.&rsquo; &ldquo;It&rsquo;s obvious that it&rsquo;s 16 wins to the Stanley Cup,&rdquo; said trainer John Wharton, who had the shirts made, &ldquo;and we feel the same way everyone else does in this town: Anything less is not what we&rsquo;re looking for.&rdquo; On the back is a blank four-round slate for the players to fill in.<div class="sidebar"><h2>CAPTAIN FANTASTIC</h2>Detroit&rsquo;s Steve Yzerman maybe nursing a sore right knee, but you&rsquo;d never know it by watching his stellar play in the nnst-season &#9632;</div>

f0018-02

Ailing captain Yzerman an inspirational leader

<div class="byline">- Derrick Goold</div>Brent Johnson&rsquo;s reward for making history was a trip back into historyThe Blues 25-year-old and oft-questioned goaltender became the first since 1945 to author three consecutive playoff shutouts with a 1-0 victory against Chicago in Game 4 of the first round. Aided by his defense in the first two shutouts, Johnson made 27 saves and stymied the Blackhawks for his third. The three shutouts were his first three career playoff victories. And then he got to face his grandfather&rsquo;s team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03830/7997704-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="210" height="241"></div>The Blues advanced to the Western Conference semifinals against Detroit, the franchise Johnson&rsquo;s granddad Sid Abel played, coached, managed and later broadcasted for. Johnson has a No. 12 on the back of his helmet in honor of the Red Wings Hall of Famer, whose retired number Johnson peeked at before Game l&rsquo;s morning skate.&ldquo;I guess I did want to follow in Gramps&rsquo; footsteps and play for the Wings,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;Now I want to beat them.&rdquo;Johnson had a .959 save percentage during the first round and put to rest some of the doubts about his ability to carry the Blues&rsquo; high-dollar roster through the post-season. After being pulled from a loss in Phoenix April 1, he won nine of his next 10 games.&ldquo;The last 25 games he has proven to everybody in this room he&rsquo;s a goalie of our present and not a goalie of the future,&rdquo; said captain Chris Pronger. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the guy that&rsquo;s gonna have to bring us as far as we&rsquo;re going to go.&rdquo;FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Brent Johnson, G. Supported by clingy defense, Johnson had the three consecutive shutouts, but his ability to play the puck foiled Chicago&rsquo;s forecheck and power play throughout the series.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Bryce Salvador, D. Once projected as the Blues&rsquo; third defenseman, Salvador saw his ice time shrink to 9:33 as Jeff Finley and Mike Van Ryn moved up in rank. His lost penalty-kill time to Marc Bergevin. Here are St. Louis&rsquo;s team leaders through Round 1:Ice time: Chris Pronger, D (30:19).Faceoff percentage: Mike Eastwood, C (55.1).Hits: chris Pronger, D (19).Blocked Shots:&nbsp;Chris Pronger, D (16).Power play&nbsp;points: Pavol Demitra, C (4).Shots: Keith Tkachuk, LW (21).NOTEBOOK Rookie defenseman Mike Van Ryn was a healthy scratch for Game 1 against Chicago as coach Joel Quenneville opted for experience over youth. But by Game 2, Van Ryn was back in the lineup, alongside Chris Pronger and locking down Chicago winger Tony Amonte. &#9632;

f0018-03

Johnson’s shutout binge solidfies No. 1 status

<div class="byline">- Jim Benton</div>Chris Drury can&rsquo;t come up with an explanation of how exactly he does it and coach Bob Hartley doesn&rsquo;t care.Drury added to his reputation as a clutch player when he scored the game-winning goal in Colorado&rsquo;s 4-0 victory over Los Angeles in Game 7 of the Western Conference quarterfinal.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04548/7997735-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="210" height="231"></div>It marked the second consecutive season a game-winning goal by Drury eliminated the Kings. The 1998 Hobey Baker winner from Boston University and NHL rookie of the year in 1999 has at least one winning goal in seven of Colorado&rsquo;s past 11 playoff series during the past four seasons.Drury is constantly asked about his clutch goals - nine of his 23 playoff goals after the first round have provided the margin of victory.&ldquo;I have no answer,&rdquo; Drury said. &ldquo;The goals just come. I&rsquo;ve been fortunate to play with some great players. As long as I keep getting asked the question, that&rsquo;s good. I watch tapes of the goals. I&rsquo;m glad it works out and they go in.&rdquo;So is Hartley&ldquo;He always finds a way to give us the big goals,&rdquo; Hartley said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even try to analyze why he&rsquo;s giving us the big goals as long as he keeps on giving them. There&rsquo;s no questions asked.&ldquo;Chris is a proud athlete. He always pays attention to details and that&rsquo;s the reason he always seems to be at the right place at the right time.&rdquo;FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Greg de Vries, D. DeVries played steady in his team&rsquo;s zone and also was active jumping into the play. He was plus-4 and contributed a game-winning goal and four assists.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Joe Sakic, C. Sakic&rsquo;s effort can&rsquo;t be faulted, but his production slipped after getting three goals and an assist in the first two games. He was pointless in the last five games.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Colorado&rsquo;s leaders through Round 1:Ice time: Rob Blake, D (27:31).Faceoff percentage: Chris Drury, C (56.1).Hits: Rob Blake, D (37).Blocked shots: Rob Blake, D (21).Power play points: Peter Forsberg, LW, Joe Sakic, C (2).Shots: Rob Blake, D (29).NOTEBOOK Left winger Milan Hejduk returned to the Colorado lineup April 27 after missing the final 20 regular season games and the first five playoff contests with an abdominal strain injury&hellip; Goalie Patrick Roy increased his all-time playoff leading shutout total to 21 after posting two in the opening round&hellip;Rookie left winger Brad Larsen and rookie center Riku Hahl collected their first career goals against the Kings. &#9632;

f0018-04

Drury seems to find ways to score game-winners

<div class="byline">- Ross McKeon</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-06" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-06287/7997766-1-eng-US/f0018-062.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(All: BBS)</figcaption></div>Great goaltending is a must for success in the post-season.It was the story in San Jose&rsquo;s five-game dispatch of Phoenix and it was huge at the outset of Round 2 against Colorado.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-05368/7997773-1-eng-US/f0018-052.jpg" title="f0018-05" width="210" height="246"></div>Evgeni Nabokov was outstanding against Phoenix, stopping 127 of 134 shots in the series, and allowing just one goal in each of the last three games. He saved 27 more in a Game 1 win over the Avalanche.&ldquo;He told the truth publicly when the Phoenix series started,&rdquo; coach Darryl Sutter said. &ldquo;He said it didn&rsquo;t matter about the other goalie. He said winning the series was the most important thing and he did that. Give him full marks.&rdquo;Nabokov&rsquo;s list of accomplishments during his first two years is long and impressive. Honored as the NHL&rsquo;s top rookie after winning 32 games and posting six shutouts in 2000-01, the 26-year-old set franchise marks this season for wins (37) plus shutouts in a season (7) and career (14).The native of Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan not only became the first foreign-born netminder to score a goal, but his length-of-the-ice shot into an empty net at Vancouver March 10 counted as the only power play goal scored by an NHL goaltender.FIRST ROUND STUD Patrick Marleau, C. He picked right up in the playoffs where he left off in the regular season. Marleau&rsquo;s speed, nose for the net and new-found confidence were all evident. He had points in every game against Phoenix to lead San Jose in goals (3) and points (6).FIRST ROUND DUD Teemu Selanne, RW. The team&rsquo;s leading goal scorer in the regular season, Selanne was held without a goal in the first round for a second straight year. Selanne assisted on what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the opener, added a second assist on the team&rsquo;s only goal in Game 2 and didn&rsquo;t hit the scoresheet again in the series.BY THE NUMBERS Here are San Jose&rsquo;s leaders through Round 1:Ice time: Marcus Ragnarsson, D (22:15).Faceoff percentage: Owen Nolan, RW (60.9).Hits: Scott Thornton, LW (23).Blocked shots: Mike Rathje, D; Bryan Marchment, D (9).Power play points: Vincent Damphousse, C; Patrick Marleau, C; Gary Suter, D; Mike Rathje, D; Nolan and Thornton (1).Shots: Nolan (17).NOTEBOOK Senior pro scout John (Fergusonwas released from a San Jose area hospital March 26, one week following heart bypass surgery&hellip;Defenseman Gary Suter&rsquo;s 10 shots in Game 3 against Phoenix broke the San Jose franchise mark of nine by center Vincent Damphousse, set three I years ago.<div class="sidebar"><h2>TOP GUN</h2>Colorado&rsquo;s Chris Drury scored the series winner against Los Angeles two years in a row. &#9632;</div>

f0018-06

Sharks feed off Nabokov, goaltender gets job done

<div class="byline">- Mike Loftus</div>It may forever be remembered outside Boston for Kyle McLaren&rsquo;s arm-extended hit that knocked Montreal&rsquo;s Richard Zednik out of the series and cost McLaren a suspension, but the Bruins didn&rsquo;t think their first round upset hinged on that one play in Game 4.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011393/7997804-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="213" height="243"></div>Rather, it was their inability to overcome their mistakes, and their failure to stop committing the same errors, that doomed them. Boston&rsquo;s main shortcoming was its inability to handle Montreal&rsquo;s quickness, particularly in the defensive zone where constant giveaways led to pressure that produced goals or power-play opportunities for the Canadiens.The six-game exit cast a pall on a 101-point season, which earned the B&rsquo;s first-place honors in the Eastern Conference after two straight failures to qualify for the playoffs. It also directed an earlier-than-expected spotlight on decisions regarding Dafoe and 41-goalscorer BUI Guerin, both of whom achieve Group 3 free agency as of July 1.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Brian Ralston, C. Boston&rsquo;s faceoff and shot-blocking leader, he was the team&rsquo;s most consistent all-around player.FIRST ROUND DUD Though gulity of allowing few, if any soft goals, Dafoe didn&rsquo;t steal any games with a 3.19 goals-against average and .865 save percentage.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Boston&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Sean O&rsquo;Donnell, D (24:57).Faceoff percentage: Brian Rolston, C (53.1).Hits: Martin Lapointe (21).Blocked shots: Brian Rolston, C (10).Power play points: Bill Guerin, RW (4).Shots: Brian Rolston, C (33).NOTEBOOK Though Kyle McLaren and the Bruins didn&rsquo;t agree that the big defenseman should have been suspended for the balance of the first round, they were satisfied that NHL executive vice-president Colin Campbell tuned out the Canadiens&rsquo; comments and public outrage over the hit that injured right winger Richard Zednik. &ldquo;People that I haven&rsquo;t seen in my seven years have passed judgment,&rdquo; McLaren said. &ldquo;I know what kind of player I am&hellip;1 think my record speaks for itself. There&rsquo;s nothing on it. I&rsquo;m sorry (Zednik) got hurt. I never intended that.&rdquo;&hellip;Center Joe Thornton was scheduled to have shoulder surgery May 1. &#9632;

f0019-01

McLaren not blamed for Bruin downfall

<div class="byline">- Rich Chere</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021046/7997842-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kyle McLaren missed Boston&rsquo;s season-ending loss to the Canadiens after his hit on Montreal&rsquo;s Richard Zednik drew a suspension.</figcaption></div>Before they had even secured a spot in the playoffs, the New Jersey Devils were hoping for another first round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03719/7997835-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="212" height="230"></div>Unfortunately for the Devils, they got then wish. The team they had bullied a year ago knocked them out in six games.&ldquo;Everybody thought we wanted to play Carolina, but you see how difficult it is. Right now I think it was a bad matchup,&rdquo; said goalie Martin Brodeur.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t really scared of them when we started. I was respectful. I thought we&rsquo;d be able to get to them offensively, but the four games they won was because of their goalie (two by Arturs Irbe and two by Kevin Weekes). I didn&rsquo;t believe they would be able to handle us in their offensive zone. Most surprising is the way they handled our offense.&rdquo;The inability to score is what doomed the Devils. In their four losses, the Devils didn&rsquo;t get a single goal from anyone other than Bobby Holik and Patrik Elias (two goals apiece).Injuries were partly to blame. Scott Gomez missed the entire series with a broken hand, Petr Sykora missed two games with a bruised right ankle and was never at full strength while Joe Nieuwendyk never fully recovered from a stomach virus that sidelined him for Game 1.In his effort to rebuild the offense, GM Lou Lamoriello&rsquo;s first task is to try to resign Holik, an unrestricted free agent July 1.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Brian Gionta, RW. Expected to play a checking role, the diminutive rookie became one of the few Devils able to generate offense. Gionta scored both of the Devils&rsquo; game-winning goals and virtually assured himself a roster spot next season.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Joe Nieuwendyk, C. Although he did well enough on faceoffs, Nieuwendyk did not score in the series and had just one assist.BY THE NUMBERS Here are New Jersey&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Scott Niedermayer, D (26:36).Faceoff percentage: Joe Nieuwendyk, C (58.0).Hits: Jim McKenzie, LW (28).Blocked shots: Colin White, D (21).Power play points: Patrik Elias, LW (6).Shots: Bobby Holik, C (28).NOTEBOOK GM LOU Lamoriello left the door open for the return of backup goalie John Vanbiesbrouck, who turns 39 in September. &#9632;

f0019-02

Offensive frailties painfully exposed

<div class="byline">- Peter Botte</div>The New York Islanders&rsquo; seven-game ouster in an vicious series against Toronto sent them into &ldquo;next-year&rdquo; mode later than in any of the seven previous seasons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04549/7997873-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="213" height="238"></div>It also left them seething that captain Michael Peca likely won&rsquo;t be around for the start of it after what they believed was a low and premeditated check by Toronto&rsquo;s Darcy Tucker that ended his season.Peca was to undergo reconstructive surgery on his left knee (torn ACL, sprained MCL) in the weeks after the season ended, depending on when the swelling subsided. He optimistically hopes to resume skating by training camp, but the Isles&rsquo; six-month prognosis means he likely will miss at least the first month of next season and possibly more.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to really anticipate when I&rsquo;ll be back,&rdquo; Peca said. &ldquo;When I look at the start of the regular season, it&rsquo;d be nice to be back by then, but it&rsquo;s hard to guess.&rdquo;Defenseman Kenny Jonsson also missed the final two games of the series following a controversial, concussion-inducing check from behind by Gary Roberts.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Alexei Yashin, C. Yo, Canada, can we put this to rest, finally? Particularly after Peca went out, Yashin carried the Isles and a slew of Leafs defenders on his back. Peter Laviolette called him &ldquo;the best player, by far, in the series,&rdquo; which he led in scoring (tied with a few others with seven points) and shots on goal.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Mariusz Czerkawski, RW. One strong game at home (two goals in Game 6) isn&rsquo;t enough to absolve Stupor Mariusz from an otherwise invisible showing.BY THE NUMBERS Here are. New York&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Adrian Aucoin, D (32:35).Faceoff percentage: Dave Scatchard, C (57.4).Hits: Adrian Aucoin, D (30).Blocked shots: Roman Hamrlik, D (12).Power play points: Adrian Aucoin, D (six).Shots: Alexei Yashin, RW (29).NOTEBOOK Center Michael Peca was named a finalist for the Seike Trophy (best defensive forward), but coach Peter Laviolette was snubbed for the Jack Adams Award (best coach) despite the Isles&rsquo; 44-point improvement over last season. &#9632;

f0019-04

2003 season opener unlikely for Peca

<div class="byline">- Wayne Fish</div>Players have been &ldquo;lost&rdquo; by coaches a number of times in the Flyers&rsquo; 35-year history, but nothing compares with the disillusionment of 2002.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05408/7997904-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="213" height="217"></div>Just days after their exit from an embarrassing playoff series-one in which they scored an NHL record-low two goals in a five-game elimination by Ottawa - Flyers players tore into coach Bill Barber. Several key veterans said Barber ignored their suggestions in meetings, yelled at players on the bench and refused to practice a power play that languished at the bottom of the league.A day later, on April 30, Barber was fired.The series was lost because the Flyers couldn&rsquo;t generate offense. They failed to score an even-strength regulation-time goal in the series.Team chairman Ed Snider conducted what he termed &ldquo;a thorough investigation,&rdquo; including player interviews. and decided a coaching change was the only option.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of fault to go around in this organization, starting with me,&rdquo; Snider said. &ldquo;Certainly we&rsquo;re not going to point a finger at Billy Barber and say it&rsquo;s all his fault.&rdquo;Snider said Bob Clarke will remain as GM. But Snider will have a more prominent say in the hiring of the next coach.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Adam Oates, C. Oates won a number of key faceoffs, assisted on the only goal in Game 5 (which gave the Flyers brief hope) and tried to back his coach when most players didn&rsquo;t.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;John LeClair, RW. The $9-million man didn&rsquo;t come close to scoring and says he will work hard in the off-season on his balance and strength, two things that have been lacking since his back surgery in 2000.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Philadelphia&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Kim Johnsson, D (22:47).Faceoff percentage: Adam Oates, C (61.6)Hits: Chris Therien (21)Blocked shots: Chris Therien (IDPower play points: Eric Desjardins, Dan McGillis, Adam Oates (1).NOTEBOOK The day before he was fired, coach Bill Barber said he would &ldquo;not dwell on negatives, not get into finger pointing&rdquo; with his players. Barber endured a difficult year from a personal standpoint. He lost his wife, Jenny, to lung cancer in December. &#9632;

f0019-05

Fired Barber mum after players’ rip job

<div class="byline">- Tim Sassone</div>Explaining what happened to the Chicago Blackhawks in their first-round loss to St. Louis is as easy as 1-2-3.Too much Brent Johnson. Too much Chris Pronger. Too much Keith Tkachuk.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011172/7997935-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="213" height="246"></div>The Hawks scored five goals in the five-game series and were shut out three times by Johnson, who went more than 200 minutes without allowing a goal from late in Game 1 to midway through Game 5.On those rare occasions the Hawks&rsquo; smallish forwards made their way through the airtight Blues defense, led by Pronger, there was Johnson slamming the door. And with Boris Mironov sidelined by a torn groin muscle, the Hawks simply had no answer for Tkachuk&rsquo;s physical play.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question Tkachuk had a heck of a series,&rdquo; said Chicago coach Brian Sutter. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very disappointed, but I&rsquo;m very proud just to get to this stage. We accomplished something this year not too many people thought we would.&rdquo;Eric Daze and Alex Zhamnov, the Hawks&rsquo; two top scorers during the regular season, went without a point against the Blues while Tony Amonte had one assist. The power play, so strong from October through March, went l-for-17.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very disappointed in myself,&rdquo; said Amonte, who is headed for unrestricted free agency and may have played his last game with the Hawks.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Kyle Calder, RW. He scored two of the Hawks five goals in the series and was the only forward who created chances by working hard enough to fight through the Blues checking.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Tony Amonte, RW. No goals and nine shots in five games says it all for the captain who didn&rsquo;t give Hawks fans much to remember him by.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Chicago&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Lyle Odelein (24:08).Faceoff percentage: Michael Nylander, Tom Fitzgerald (49.0).Hits: Steve Poapst (28).Blocked shots: Alexander Karpovtsev (17).Power-play points: Kyle Calder, Phil Housley and Michael Nylander (1).Shots: Alex Zhamnov (14).NOTEBOOK When coach Brian Sutter started Steve Passmore in Games 4 and 5 against St. Louis, it raised all kinds of questions about Jocelyn Thibault&rsquo;s status for next season. &#9632;

f0022-01

Blackhawks hit wall, still proud of season

<div class="byline">- Bob McManaman</div>Though they never gave their best effort against the San Jose Sharks in a first round series decided in just five games, the Phoenix Coyotes reluctantly acknowledged they probably wouldn&rsquo;t have won anyway.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04452/7998004-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="213" height="243"></div>&ldquo;We went as far as we could go,&rdquo; said coach Bobby Francis. &ldquo;We got beat by a better team. I think it was a very valuable lesson and experience, to learn what it takes this time of year, what we need to improve upon. San Jose&rsquo;s gone through this lesson as well. It&rsquo;s a step at a time, and we made a gigantic leap this year.&rdquo;The problem most predicted for the new-look Coyotes - the inability to score at crunch time-was magnified and exposed against the Sharks. Nobody stood up and delivered amongst the young players or the spattering of veterans in a series that was decided by six goals.Sean Burke was dependable (allowing 2.6 goals per game), but was outplayed by Evgeni Nabokov and couldn&rsquo;t steal the Coyotes a win. The power play (l-for-25) was catastrophic and chaotic and cause for managing partner Wayne Gretzky to consider hiring a power play coach in the off-season.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Shane Doan, RW. After being non-existent in Game 1, Doan was the Coyotes&rsquo; most physical player the rest of the way and was one of the few bright spots, offensively, leading Phoenix in scoring with two goals and four points.FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Claude Lemieux, RW. Lemieux was held pointless for the first time in his storied playoff career.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Phoenix&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Teppo Numminen, D (25:32).Faceoff percentage: Daymond Langkow, C (53.3).Hits: Shane Doan, RW (29).Blocked Shots: Todd Simpson, D (7).Power play points: Daniel Briere, C, and Drake Berehowsky, D (1).Shots: Shane Doan, RW (14).NOTEBOOK A name that surfaced as a potential power play coach for next season was former Edmonton star Paul Coffey. &ldquo;Oh, absolutely,&rdquo; said managing partner Wayne Gretzky. &ldquo;I happen to think he was the best point man on the power play other than Bobby Orr. I don&rsquo;t even know if he&rsquo;d want to do it. I don&rsquo;t know if we could work it out. But obviously, he&rsquo;d be high on our list.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0022-04

Coyotes best effort simply not enough

<div class="byline">- Elliott Pap</div>After entering the playoffs as the NHL&rsquo;s hottest team and winning their opening two games against the Detroit Red Wings, the Vancouver Canucks ran headlong into reality<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05332/7998035-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="212" height="243"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BBS)</figcaption></div>The Canucks simply didn&rsquo;t have the talent or experience to overcome Detroit once the Wings started to roll.The giddiness of winning twice at Joe Louis Arena turned to despair when the series returned to Vancouver. Canuck goalie Dan Cloutier, in just his second playoff series and first as a No. 1 man, whiffed Nicklas Lidstrom&rsquo;s shot from center ice with the score tied 1-1 late in the second period of Game 3.Lidstrom&rsquo;s goal was the winner and gave the Wings the confidence boost they needed.Detroit never trailed at any time for the remainder of the series while Cloutier fell apart, allowing 10 goals on the final 33 shots he faced in the series. Cloutier did not survive the first period in either Game 5 (three goals on nine shots) or Game 6 (two goals on three shots) and left everyone wondering whether he had the mettle to be a playoff goalie.FIRST ROUND STUD&nbsp;Matt Cooke, LW. The feisty thirdliner stayed away from undisciplined penalties, led the team in hits and tied for the lead in goals (three) and points (five).FIRST ROUND DUD&nbsp;Markus Naslund, LW. The Canuck captain could not shake the Red Wings suffocating checking - he faced either Chris Chelios or Nicklas Lidstrom on virtually every shift - and wound up with just two points.BY THE NUMBERS Here are Vancouver&rsquo;s leaders in Round 1:Ice time: Mattias Ohlund, D (28:48).Faceoff percentage: Brendan Morrison, C (51.2).Hits: Matt Cooke, LW (26).Blocked shots: Scott Lachance, D, Brent Sopel, D, (12).Power play points: Ed Jovanovski, D, Todd Bertuzzi, RW, Andrew Cassels, C (2).Shots: Markus Naslund, LW (18).NOTEBOOK Center Andrew Cassels, an impending unrestricted free agent, said he does not intend to accept a pay cut to re-sign with the Canucks. He earned $3.2 million this season&hellip; By losing all three playoff home games to Detroit, the Canucks extended their postseason losing streak at GM Place to six games. Vancouver is on a 1-11 home game rim. &#9632;

f0022-05

When reality sets in, Canucks sent home

<div class="byline">- Jeff Schultz</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011055/7998066-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="212" height="237"></div>Atlanta&rsquo;s plan to create a quasi-recruiting video this summer in hopes of influencing free agents had a mixed response from player agents. &ldquo;Knowing how (GM Don Waddell) operated in Detroit and in the minors, he&rsquo;s always trying to sell having a quality operation,&rdquo; said agent Jay Grossman. &ldquo;If that further enhances his ability to do that, it&rsquo;s welcome. Players and teams want to know the attitude of an organization going in. Will it help getting a $10-million player for $5 million? No. But it could help enhance the team&rsquo;s image.&rdquo; Said agent Rich Winter: &ldquo;If they just show pretty neighborhoods and nice ownership, it won&rsquo;t be enough. If they show a clear, laid-out plan for the organization, it might.&rdquo; Waddell said the video will highlight rookies Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley, facilities, the Braves and their shared owners, AOL/Time Warner&hellip;Ilya Kovalchuk&rsquo;s collarbone was not sufficiently healed for the team to give him clearance to play in the World Championship&hellip;Waddell on 1999 top pick center Patrik Stefan: &ldquo;We think he turned a page in the second half of the season.&rdquo;&hellip; Defenseman Yannick Tremblay had surgery on his left shoulder. He should be ready for camp. &#9632;

f0023-01

The best of Atlanta…on videotape

<div class="byline">- Bucky Gleason</div>Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff has only one year remaining on his contract and is hoping to meet with GM Darcy Regier before next season to discuss his future. Regier has said he wants Ruff to remain in Buffalo for the foreseeable future. &ldquo;One of the things we&rsquo;ve been able to do, aside from the obvious disappointment this season, is grow together,&rdquo; Regier said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just Lindy being the head coach and me being the general manager. It extends to everyone in the organization.&rdquo; The decision will ultimately be made by the Rigas family, which owns the team&hellip;The Sabres could get into a bind if they have contract hassles with their goalies. Martin Biron and backup Mika Noronen are restricted free agents. Noronen said he wants to be in the NHL next season or he will play in Europe. Buffalo must decide whether to sign goalie Ghyslain Rousseau, a fourth-round pick in 2000, before June 1 or lose him to free agency. They also have prospect Ryan Miller from Michigan State&hellip;The Sabres have until June 30 to exercise options on defenseman Jay McKee and center Curtis Brown, both of whom are due to make about $1.5 million next season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02725/7998097-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="211" height="232"></div> &#9632;

f0023-02

Regier wants Ruff to stick around

<div class="byline">- David J. Neal</div>Tracking the courting/flirtation/half-hearted pickup line between the Rangers and Florida coach Mike Keenan occupied almost a week of the off-season. The final official story from both sides was that either Rangers GM Glen Sather or center Mark Messier, with the support of Pavel Bure, called to ask about Keenan&rsquo;s contract status. Keenan told whichever New Yorker called that he was under contract to the Panthers for two more years. That&rsquo;s everybody&rsquo;s story and they&rsquo;re sticking to it&hellip;. After consecutive years of the Panthers being out of the playoff race before Valentine&rsquo;s Day, the franchise concentrated on holding onto their 9,200 full or partial season ticket holders from 2001-02. Most renewing season ticket holders had their prices hold steady and others had them reduced. All renewing season ticket holders will get a chance to buy 2003 all-star weekend tickets. All 2002-03 season ticket holders will get five per cent off their 2003-04 renewal if Florida misses the playoffs next year&hellip;The honor of finishing third in the Calder Trophy voting behind Atlanta&rsquo;s Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk will go to left winger Kristian Huselius, who was announced as a Calder finalist.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03528/7998128-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="212" height="252"></div> &#9632;

f0023-03

Official word has Keenan staying put

<div class="byline">- Rick Carpiniello</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-05279/7998166-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="971" height="1941"><figcaption class="caption-body">Defenseman Brian Campbell will be after a full-time job in Buffalo next year after playing 29 games in 2001-02.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04376/7998173-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="217" height="184"></div>Of the seven teams now golfing in the East, Washington is kicking itself the hardest. The Caps could have done some damage in the post-season - if only they had played well enough to get there.The Rangers&rsquo; search for a new coach was progressing slowly as team president-GM Glen Sather vowed to explore all options. Still, it appeared the favorite for the job remained former Dallas Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. Sather interviewed Hitchcock and took him on a tour of the team&rsquo;s new practice facility, being built in suburban Greenburgh, N.Y., prior to Hitchcock&rsquo;s flight to Sweden, where he served as an assistant coach for Canada in the World Championship. The only other outside candidate known to have been interviewed by Sather was ex-Buffalo coach Ted Nolan. Ranger insider Walt Kyle, who for two years was an assistant under fired coach Ron Low, also had a meeting with Sather. Sather visited John Paddock, coach of the Rangers&rsquo; American League affiliate in Hartford, during the AHL playoffs. Herb Brooks had been contacted by the team, but had yet to have an interview scheduled. The Rangers reportedly contacted the Devils for permission to talk to their assistant coach, Larry Robinson&hellip; Right winger Sandy McCarthy underwent a routine arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder April 30&hellip;Right winger Radek Dvorak underwent reconstructive knee surgery April 12.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-06220/7998159-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="212" height="242"></div> &#9632;

f0023-05

Hitchcock best bet for coaching job

<div class="byline">- Joe Starkey</div>Even though the Pittsburgh Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time in 12 years, GM Craig Patrick isn&rsquo;t planning major changes. Patrick knows that his four best players - Alexei Kovalev, Mario Lemieux, Martin Straka and Robert Lang - shared the ice just twice in 82 games. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d be happy to start the season with everybody healthy with the people we have,&rdquo; Patrick said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to be not only a competitive team, but a team that will compete at a very high level next year&hellip;There&rsquo;s no particular area that&rsquo;s weak.&rdquo; Some might argue that defense and team toughness are weak areas, but if Patrick agrees, he isn&rsquo;t letting on&hellip;Two of the biggest decisions facing Patrick are the plights of Lang and backup goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin. Lang made $2.9 million this season and can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He has expressed a desire to remain in Pittsburgh and an intention to test the open market. Those might be mutually exclusive wishes. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see what (the Penguins) are going to come up with,&rdquo; Lang said. Aubin, meanwhile, had a miserable season and is just 3-13-1 since the team acquired Johan Hedberg at the trade deadline in 2001.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-07190/7998204-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="212" height="248"></div> &#9632;

f0023-07

Lang willing to listen to Pens’ offer

<div class="byline">- Damian Cristodero</div>Unable to overcome the headaches, dizziness and nausea that have plagued him since sustaining a concussion on Dec. 14, 2000, on a check from Phoenix winger Shane Doan, defenseman Petr Svoboda announced his retirement. The 36-year-old played 17 seasons. His 18th was spent off the ice hopeful of a recovery that would allow him to continue his career. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult,&rdquo; Svoboda said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I did not understand until I was sitting here today. You try to put things aside and try not to deal with them. The camaraderie between the guys and the game, I&rsquo;ll miss it tremendously.&rdquo; Svoboda said he will stay close to the game by becoming an agent. His first client is Tampa Bay defenseman Pavel Kubina. Svoboda played 1,028 games with Montreal, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, winning the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1986&hellip;Center Vinny Lecavalier will not need surgery on the inflamed tendon on the back of his right hand. By scoring 20 goals, Lecavalier became the first Lightning player to hit that mark in three consecutive seasons&hellip; GM Jay Feaster said he may try to sign retired 600-goal scorer and former Lightning star Dino Ciccarelli.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-08160/7998235-1-eng-US/f0023-082.jpg" title="f0023-08" width="218" height="255"></div> &#9632;

f0023-08

Svoboda reluctantly calls it quits

<div class="byline">- Dave Fay</div>The Washington Capitals have three picks in each of the first three rounds of the 2002 entry draft, making scouting coordinator Kris Wagner more than earn his salary. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen so much paperwork in my life; you&rsquo;d think I worked for the government,&rdquo; he said, preparing for the Toronto event June 22-23. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure there can&rsquo;t be a kid in the world we don&rsquo;t have some sort of note on and I can attest to that because it all comes through me.&rdquo; The Capitals are scheduled to pick 12th overall in the first round&hellip;The wounded are walking and soon will be skating. Center Jeff Halpern, recovering from knee surgery, is on schedule and should be skating by late May, four months after surgery. Defenseman Calle Johansson continues to rehab in Sweden from his rotator cuff surgery. The true test for him will be when he has to go against somebody on the ice. Defenseman Ken Klee&rsquo;s broken foot is healing properly and he has been cleared to resume most of his normal activity. Defenseman Frantisek Kucera is said to be over the effects of a concussion and should be able to return&hellip;Left winger Steve Konowalchuk was named captain of the U.S. team in the World Championship in Sweden.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-09134/7998266-1-eng-US/f0023-092.jpg" title="f0023-09" width="211" height="253"></div> &#9632;

f0023-09

Busy draft day keeps staff hopping

<div class="byline">- Dan Wood</div>Walt Disney Company executive Paul Pressler, who took over as president of Anaheim Sports Inc. in January, is banking on Bryan Murray&rsquo;s vast track record to turn around the struggling Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. &ldquo;He has just an incredible amount of experience, and he&rsquo;s so good at identifying and nurturing talent,&rdquo; Pressler said May 2 after naming Murray the club&rsquo;s senior vice-president and GM, succeeding the fired Pierre Gauthier. &ldquo;We all have tremendous respect for Bryan. He has clearly proven himself, both behind the bench and in the front office.&rdquo; Murray, 59, I formerly served as GM in Detroit and Florida, helping build the powerful Red Wings teams of the 1990s and the third-year Panthers squad that made a Cinderella run to the 1996 Stanley Cup final. Murray also ranks seventh on the NHL&rsquo;s regular season coaching victory list with 513, but he will give up his coaching duties after just one season. &ldquo;You kind of get caught up in the challenge,&rdquo; Murray said, explaining his move upstairs. &ldquo;I genuinely like coaching, but this is an interesting job and certainly an interesting challenge. I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it.&rdquo; Murray will concentrate first on picking his successor as coach.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011128/7998297-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="214" height="243"></div> &#9632;

f0024-01

Murray in as Mighty Ducks new GM

<div class="byline">- Eric Duhatschek</div>In the immediate aftermath of another season out of the playoffs, the Calgary Flames sixth in a row, one of the key questions was: will coach Greg Gilbert return for a second full season behind the bench? Gilbert, who took over from Don Hay near the end of the 2000-01 season, oversaw a strong start, in which Calgary lost just twice in its first 21 games. The team fell off dramatically after December and missed the playoffs by 15 points. With a year to go on Gilbert&rsquo;s contract, GM Craig Button had a decision to make, stay with Gilbert, or seek yet another new face behind the bench. After meeting with his coach following the season, the decision was made: Gilbert would be back. &ldquo;The players like Greg,&rdquo; Button said. &ldquo;He has their respect. That became clear at the end of the year, after we met. Change just to change, I don&rsquo;t think is good. I don&rsquo;t believe in that.&rdquo; Gilbert received mixed reviews for his performance. He coaxed career years out of Jarome Iginla, the NHL&rsquo;s leading scorer, and Craig Conroy, one of the league&rsquo;s most complete forwards. However, penalty killing did not improve and the team&rsquo;s young defense corps continues to develop erratically.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02794/7998328-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="214" height="250"></div> &#9632;

f0024-02

Odds are Gilbert will return as coach

<div class="byline">- Aaron Portzline</div>Ron Tugnutt was able to cope for the past several years with sporadic pain in his left ankle. This season, though, the pain was worse and it lingered longer, prompting the Columbus Blue Jackets goalie to have surgery one week after the season ended. &ldquo;As soon as (the team doctors) looked at it, they knew what was up,&rdquo; Tugnutt said. &ldquo;So, I decided to get it taken care of, rather than wait until training camp and see if it&rsquo;s still there. It&rsquo;s good to have it behind me.&rdquo; Tugnutt, who was 12-27-3 with a .900 save percentage this season, should be 100 per cent healthy before training camp. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m somewhat relieved they found something in there and were able to remove it,&rdquo; Tugnutt said. &ldquo;Now I&rsquo;ll have the confidence that I can load up and push on that ankle. That&rsquo;s peace of mind.&rdquo;&hellip;Left winger Jody Shelley, the Blue Jackets enforcer, signed a two-year deal worth about $1.1 million. Shelley led Columbus with a plus-1 rating and had a club record 206 penalty minutes in 52 games this season&hellip;Columbus signed goalie Pascal Leclaire to a three-year contract worth about $5.3 million. Leclaire was the Blue Jackets top pick (eighth overall) in last year&rsquo;s entry draft.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03549/7998359-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="212" height="253"></div> &#9632;

f0024-03

Tugnutt addresses injured ankle

<div class="byline">- Chuck Carlton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05249/7998397-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="974" height="1951"><figcaption class="caption-body">Calgary&rsquo;s flameout after a strong start wasn&rsquo;t due to lack of production from Hart Trophy finalist Jarome Iginla.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04370/7998404-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="179" height="155"></div>The Western Conference arms race didn't turn out like everyone thought it would. Most notably, the Dallas Stars loaded up with firepower, then fizzled to their first non-playoff year in six seasons.Never mind a short list, even though the Dallas Stars undoubtedly have a rough pecking order for then head coaching job. First-year GM Doug Armstrong is beginning with a very long list. Armstrong said he was opening his coaching search &ldquo;to the entire universe.&rdquo; The only known candidate is a little closer to the Texas-speaking part of the galaxy. Rick Wilson, who compiled a 13-11-7-1 record after replacing the fired Ken Hitchcock Jan. 25, is the only acknowledged candidate by Armstrong. Other names who might be in the mix: Hitchcock, for an improbable sequel; Montreal assistant Guy Carbonneau, a former Star; Colorado assistant Bryan&nbsp;Trottier; Los Angeles assistant Dave Tippett and former NHL coaches Jim Schoenfeld and Craig Hartsburg&hellip;Armstrong&rsquo;s interview process was delayed by his duties as Canada&rsquo;s assistant GM at the World Championship&hellip;Goalie Marty Turco took special pride in representing Canada. &ldquo;It has almost been more of a goal to play for Team Canada than it was to play in the NHL,&rdquo; Turco said. &ldquo;Everybody else was pretending they were Wayne Gretzky in road hockey and I was pretending I was playing in the World Juniors.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06194/7998390-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="213" height="220"></div> &#9632;

f0024-05

Many candidates for coaching job

<div class="byline">- Rob Tychkowski</div>After two of the most hectic off-seasons in club history, Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe finally has a fairly easy summer. The Oilers only have nine free agents and most of them are of the foot-soldier variety. That&rsquo;s a far cry from the 13 of two seasons ago, when the likes of Ryan Smyth, Doug Weight and Janne Niinimaa needed deals, or the 12 last year. The only high profile players who need to be signed this time are right winger Anson Carter, who&rsquo;ll want a substantial bump from the $1.9 million he made last season, defensemen Eric Brewer and Jason Smith&hellip; After waging five straight post-seasons wars with the Dallas Stars, the Oilers are now sharing a dressing room with a handful of Dallas players at the World Championship. Four Stars and five Oilers play for Team Canada&hellip;Defenseman Steve Staios was a late addition to the Canadian lineup. It&rsquo;s his first taste of international hockey&hellip;Right winger Mike Grier underwent surgery right after the season to have a pin removed from his shoulder. He had major surgery on the shoulder last summer&hellip;The Oilers will lose approximately $3 million this season, about what they budgeted for.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-07164/7998435-1-eng-US/f0024-072.jpg" title="f0024-07" width="212" height="248"></div> &#9632;

f0024-07

GM Lowe can kick back and relax

<div class="byline">- Tom Jones</div>The Minnesota Wild&rsquo;s goaltending went from being a strength in its expansion season to a question mark in 2001-02. But it appears GM Doug Risebrough will stand pat over the summer. That means it&rsquo;s likely the two goalies from this season - Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson - will be the Wild goalies at the start of next season. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way it looks now,&rdquo; Risebrough said. &ldquo;Something unforeseen could happen, but my guess is those guys will be in uniform on opening night (next season).&rdquo;&hellip;The Wild did not move in the NHL&rsquo;s lottery for the draft and will have the eighth pick in the first round&hellip;The Wild has four players in the World Championship: Richard Park (USA), Michal Bros (Czech Republic), Filip Kuba (Czech Republic) and Sergei Zholtok (Latvia)&hellip; The Wild signed free agent goalie Kyle Kettles of Moose Jaw from the Western League. Kettles was 24-25-4 with a 905 save percentage in 54 games this season. He was a seventh round pick (205th overall) by Nashville in the 1999 draft&hellip;Eric Reitz, the Wild&rsquo;s sixth round pick in the 2000 NHL entry draft, was named the Ontario League&rsquo;s most outstanding defenseman.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-08132/7998466-1-eng-US/f0024-082.jpg" title="f0024-08" width="233" height="227"></div> &#9632;

f0024-08

Goaltending situation status quo

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02681/7998535-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011013/7998528-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="1173" height="1611"><figcaption class="caption-body">New Jersey&rsquo;s Turner Stevenson roughs up Carolina&rsquo;s Aaron Ward.</figcaption></div><h2>PLAYOFF DEPTH CHARTS</h2>As the number of NHL teams still in the playoffs shrinks, so too does the scope of THN&rsquo;s depth charts. Team information on this page reflects the latest line combinations and defense pairings for the eight clubs that advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. &#9632;

f0025-02

NHL PLAYOFF DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>For three seasons with the St. Louis Blues, Jamie McLennan was the perfect backup.He went a combined 38-27-8 with a 2.21 goals-against average, playing from 19 to 33 games a year. He even won the Bill Masterton Trophy for dedication to hockey in 1997-98, his first full NHL campaign.Which is why the Minnesota Wild were wild to claim him from the Blues during the 2000 expansion draft.But McLennan&rsquo;s stay in Minnesota lasted just one season. He lost his job last fall to Dwayne Roloson and ended up with the Houston Aeros as the American League&rsquo;s highest-paid goaltender (nearly $1 million a year).But for much of the season, he didn&rsquo;t play up to his earnings. McLennan went 25-18-4 with a 2.74 GAA and .905 save percentage.&ldquo;It was an up and down season, just inconsistent,&rdquo; McLennan said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect to be in the minors and it&rsquo;s a shock to your system.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011140/7998566-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="253" height="333"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jamie McLennan</figcaption></div>The shock has been on opponents in the playoffs. Through seven games, McLennan allowed just nine goals as the Aeros slipped past Utah 3-2 and opened a 2-0 lead on Hershey in the best-of-7 conference semifinal.McLennan was 5-2 with an AHL best 1.19 GAA and .955 save percentage.&ldquo;As an llth-year pro, I think people know if I can play or not,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But when you have a chance to do something, you seize the moment.&rdquo;McLennan, 30, expected to be traded during the season. He figures his salary scared teams away.&ldquo;You get sent down and you&rsquo;re wondering what&rsquo;s in store for you,&rdquo; McLennan said. &ldquo;I just had to deal with the hand I was dealt. Minnesota owned me and I had to play where they sent me.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0026-01

McLennan has minor inconvenience

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>The Houston Aeros very likely will not be the lone American League team in the Lone Star State next season.The NBA&rsquo;s San Antonio Spurs, in conjunction with the NHL&rsquo;s Florida Panthers, plan to operate an AHL team in San Antonio.The Spurs and Panthers were seeking approval from the board of governors at the AHL&rsquo;s spring meeting May 5-6. The group planned to purchase the dormant Louisville Panthers franchise from the Afrfamily. The Afrs operated the Louisville team in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, then shut down because of poor attendance and difficulty in scheduling dates at Freedom Hall.The San Antonio team, if approved, would play in the new SBC Center. It seats 18,500 for the NBA, but the upper deck would be curtained off and there&rsquo;d be a capacity of 7,000 for hockey.The Spurs own the arena and want to book as many dates as possible. That&rsquo;s why an AHL team is attractive. But there may be a problem. The San Antonio Iguanas of the Central League are owned by Dave Elmore, co-owner of the Utah Grizzlies. He called the development &ldquo;bizarre&rdquo; in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02798/7998604-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="244" height="243"></div>DUCKS RE-UP The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim renewed then-affiliation with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, agreeing to be the sole parent team now that the Detroit Red Wings are headed to Grand Rapids next season.The length of the extension wasn&rsquo;t revealed, apparently at the request of Anaheim&rsquo;s owners, the Disney Corp.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had a great relationship, they&rsquo;re a fabulous partner and we&rsquo;re proud that players like Andy McDonald,&nbsp;Matt Cullen. Jean-&nbsp;Sebastien Giguere&nbsp;and Vitaly Vishnev-&nbsp;ski were groomed here,&rdquo; said Cincinnati president Pete Robinson.WOTTON STAYING PUT Eighth year defenseman Mark Wotton signed a two-year contract with the parent Dallas Stars, ensuring the Utah Grizzlies captain will be returning to Salt Lake City.Wotton scored nine goals and 36 points in 57 games. He missed 21 games because of a shoulder injury that will require surgery.FRANCHISE RUMORS The sale of the dormant P.E.I. Senators franchise to car dealer David Wright is apparently dead, but new investors in Binghamton have surfaced and Ottawa may very well still have their prospects playing in New York&rsquo;s southern tier next season.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03643/7998597-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="1274" height="1856"><figcaption class="caption-body">Syracuse&rsquo;s No. 2 scorer David Ling was off to a slow start in the playoffs, but the Crunch were even through four games with the Chicago Wolves.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0026-02

NBA aims for AHL: Spurs want a team

<h2>QUALIFYING ROUND</h2>(Best-of-3)Philadelphia 2 Rochester 0Chicago 2 Cincinnati 1<h2>QUARTERFINALS</h2>(Best-of-5)Houston 3 Utah 2Hershey 3 Norfolk 1Syracuse 3 Philadelphia 0Chicago 3 Grand Rapids 2<h2>SEMIFINALS</h2>(Best-of-7)Houston 3 Hershey 0Syracuse 2 Chicago 2<h2>THE HOCKEY NEWS TOP PERFORMERS</h2>1. Marc Beaufait scored 6:02 into the second overtime to give Houston a 3-2 victory over Hershey and a 2-0 series lead. Three nights later, Beaufait&rsquo;s second period goal became his third game-winner of the playoffs as the Aeros won 4-2.2. Dan Snyder&rsquo;s shorthanded goal 5:19 into the second period broke a 1-1 tie as Chicago went on to defeat Syracuse 3-1 to tie their conference semifinal series 2-2.3. Ben Simon&rsquo;s goal with 6:32 to play snapped a 2-2 deadlock as Chicago eliminated Grand Rapids with a 4-2 win in decisive Game 5.4. Syracuse outscored Philadelphia 12-5 to sweep their quarterfinal series 3-0. &#9632;

AHL WEST PLAYOFFS

<div class="byline">By Rob Mueller</div>All Simon Gamache wanted was a little more ice time.That was the objective when the 21-year-old center asked Chicago Wolves GM Kevin Cheveldayoff for a demotion to the East Coast League. Gamache&rsquo;s request was granted, and the Greenville Grrrowl have reaped the benefits.The Atlanta Thrashers&rsquo; ninth round * pick in 2000 (290th overall) was first in ECHL playoff scoring and led the Grrrowl to the Kelly Cup final for the first time in team history. Greenville won the Southern final series against Mississippi 3-1.Gamache&rsquo;s 74 goals and 184 points for Val-d&rsquo;Or of the Quebec League last season led all of major junior and his 57 points in 21 playoff games broke Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s scoring recordIn 31 games with Greenville, the native of Thetford Mines, Que., had 19 goals and 38 points. The Grrrowl went 26-11-1 following his arrival to win their first Southeast Division title.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04460/7998659-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="200" height="209"></div>THAT STINGS One year after leading the South Carolina Stingrays to a Kelly Cup, Rick Adduono was fired as coach and director of operations.Adduono posted a 156-94-34 record in four years with the club, including a 39-26-7 mark this season. But the Stingrays lost to Florida in a one-game wild card playoff, which was held at a 1,000-seat practice rink because of a rap concert at AHLNorth Charleston Coliseum.Team owners also fired president Matthew Klidjian and replaced him with Sean O&rsquo;Connell, 27, who had been the team&rsquo;s vice-president of sales and marketing.NOTEBOOK Dennis Holland had expected to be fired by the Toledo Storm and his prophecy came true April 22 in the wake of a last-place finish in the Northwest Division. Holland, brother of Detroit GM Ken Holland, led the Storm to a 65-61-18 record in two seasons&hellip;The Pee Dee Pride were sold to a local ownership group April 22, temporarily quashing rumors of a move from Florence, S.C., to Myrtle Beach, S.C., or Fayetteville, N.C. &#9632;

f0026-04

Grrrowl happy Gamache called for demotion

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>The numbers game is a phrase that has meant mostly disappointment for Hamilton Bulldogs center Chad Hinz. Until now.The early numbers from the Calder Cup playoffs indicate a breakthrough for the 23-year-old Saskatoon native and his fourth line wingers, Adam Dewan, 22, and Sean Selmser, 27. The trio put up 13 points in seven post-season games, including Hinz&rsquo;s.five points and Dewan&rsquo;s three goals.&ldquo;When your energy line does a job like that, it can only pick up the team,&rdquo; said Bulldogs coach Claude Julien to the Hamilton Spectator. &ldquo;The rest of the guys are happy for these guys because they see them working hard every day and they know what they bring to the table. It&rsquo;s nice to see them rewarded with goals.&rdquo;Julien has found a role for the fourth line with rosters expanded to 20 players.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011085/7998690-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="253" height="333"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chad Hinz</figcaption></div>And Hinz, who was a scorer in his final year of-junior-117 points in 1997-98 with the Western League&rsquo;s Moose Jaw Warriors - caught his coach&rsquo;s attention.&ldquo;He was a scorer in junior and got tons of ice time,&rdquo; Julien said. &ldquo;But he has had to adapt to the job of role player and has done that well. We&rsquo;ve had great success this year killing penalties and Chad has been a part of that.&rdquo;Hinz played most of the season', his second in Hamilton, behind Brian Swanson, Peter Sarno and Greg Leeb and said he worked hard on his defensive play in order to survive. He scored only six goals this season.&ldquo;Last year I was called upon for some offensive roles,&rdquo; Hinz said. &ldquo;This year, with the team that we have, it&rsquo;s a numbers game and I have to be more of a role player. But when a guy goes down, I can step into a more offensive role.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0027-01

Hinz sparks Hamilton’s energy line

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>The Portland Pirates didn&rsquo;t make the Calder Cup playoffs, but goalie Sebastien Charpentier may have finally opened the door to his NHL dreams.The 25-year-old native of Drummondville, Que., was recalled by the Washington Capitals for the final two games of the NHL season, something of a reward for a 20-18-10 record and .923 save percentage on a struggling AHL club.It may also have been an incentive recall, indicating an opportunity may be waiting for Charpentier in the fall.The goalie was diagnosed with a rare arthritic condition three years ago, which left his ankles swollen, stiff and prone to pain at every move. With constantly adjusted medication, Charpentier gradually found his way back to health - and possibly into the Capitals crease.&ldquo;I do believe, and have for some time, he has the ability to play in the NHL,&rdquo; said Capitals goalie coach Dave Prior to the Portland Press Herald, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;ve been sort, of loyal to him through all the medical (problems).&ldquo;He was still worth hanging in there for.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02722/7998728-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="242" height="240"></div>WORKING TANDEM Hamilton coach Claude Julien has employed an interesting strategy in the Calder Cup playoffs.He unexpectedly started rookie Ty Conklin in goal for three games against Quebec in the conference quarterfinal and got a sweep over the Citadelles.Then Julien switched gears and spotlighted veteran Marc Lamothe for Hamilton&rsquo;s first four games against Hartford in the next round - and took a 3-1 series lead.POP-GUN OFFENSE The Lowell Lock Monsters were shocked when they blew a 2-0 lead in the conference quarterfinal against St. John&rsquo;s and lost the series. Lowell was blanked 2-0 and 3-0 in the fourth and fifth games.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to beat anybody when you don&rsquo;t score two games in a row,&rdquo; said Lowell coach Ron Smith. &ldquo;When you don&rsquo;t have an intimidating offense you can&rsquo;t back a team up. There&rsquo;s no fear in the other team.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Game 3 of the Hamilton-Hartford series was postponed for one day at Copps Coliseum because a dirt bike event left the ice in unplayable condition&hellip;The AHL playoffs featured seven multiple-overtime games through two rounds, tying a 16-year-old AHL record.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03502/7998721-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="1265" height="1860"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marc Lamothe and goaltending platoon mate Ty Conklin were stumping Hamilton&rsquo;s playoff opponents to the tune of a combined .930 save percentage.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0027-02

Opportunity awaits for Pirates stopper

<h2>QUALIFYING ROUND</h2>(Best-of-3)St. John&rsquo;s 2 Providence 0Manitoba 2 Worcester 1<h2>QUARTERFINALS</h2>(Best-of-5)Bridgeport 3 Manitoba 1St. John&rsquo;s 3 Lowell 2Hamilton 3 Quebec 0Hartford 3 Manchester 2<h2>SEMIFINALS</h2>(Best-of-7)Bridgeport 4 St. John&rsquo;s 0Hamilton 4 Hartford 1<h2>THE HOCKEY NEWS TOP PERFORMERS</h2>1. Jason Krog&rsquo;s three goals, giving him 12 playoff points in seven games, powered Bridgeport to a 7-2 pasting of St. John&rsquo;s, putting the Leafs out of their misery in four games.2. Brian Swanson&rsquo;s sixth goal in eight games broke a tie and sparked a three-goal third period as Hamilton eliminated Hartford with a 5-2 in Game 5.3. Rookie Raffi Torres scored 7:44 into overtime, lifting the Sound Tigers to a 2-1 win in Game 2.4. Fernando Pisani forced overtime with a goal at 19:49 of the third and Hamilton&rsquo;s Alex Henry scored in overtime in Game 1 in Hartford. &#9632;

AHL EAST PLAYOFFS

<div class="byline">- Brendan Savage</div>The Quad City Mallards streak of five straight appearances in the Colonial Cup final ended with a seven-game semifinal loss to the Muskegon Fury. Muskegon goalie Sylvain Daigle backstopped a 4-0 win in Game 7 at Quad City to put the Fury in the final for the second time in four years&hellip;Daigle was named the United League&rsquo;s best goalie in voting by coaches, GMs and media. Adirondack&rsquo;s Hugo Belanger repeated as MVP. Other awards went to Flint&rsquo;s Martin Woods as top defenseman; Missouri&rsquo;s Dustin Whitecotton as most sportsmanlike; Quad City&rsquo;s Steve Gibson as best defensive forward; Asheville&rsquo;s J.F. Dufour as top rookie; Missouri&rsquo;s Mark Reeds as top coach; and Quad City&rsquo;s Howard Cornfield as top GM. &#9632;

UNITED LEAGUE

<div class="byline">- Don Ruiz</div>The West Coast League set a single-season attendance record in 2001-02, averaging 4,682 fans per game. This marks the sixth yearly attendance gain in the league&rsquo;s seven seasons. That figure also put the WCHL behind only the American League in per-game attendance among all North American minor leagues. Among individual cities, San Diego led the WCHL with an average of 6,832 fans per game, the second-highest mark in league history. Fresno and Colorado increased attendance over last season. However, Tacoma fell to a franchise low of 2,854, and the tumble proved fatal. The Sabercats will cease operations after the playoffs. WCHL crowds showed their usual dramatic drop through the first round of post-season action. &#9632;

WEST COAST LEAGUE

<div class="byline">- David Henry</div>The home of the king of rock &rsquo;n&rsquo; roll, Elvis Presley, is now home to royalty of a different sort. The Memphis RiverKings won their first-ever league title April 28 with a 5-4 overtime win over the Austin Ice Bats, capturing the Central League&rsquo;s President&rsquo;s Cup 4-1. Winger Michal Stastny, nephew of Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, scored the winner at 5:48 of the first overtime. It was Stastny&rsquo;s second overtime goal of the post-season - he had the clincher in Game 5 of the Northern Conference final against Bossier-Shreveport. It wasn&rsquo;t difficult to see why RiverKings coach Doug Shedden claimed he was &ldquo;dumbfounded&rdquo; at the overtime goal. Memphis&rsquo; four wins in the final came by a combined five goals, including an empty-netter in a 4-2 win in Game 3. &#9632;

CENTRAL LEAGUE

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>Brad Boyes and Alyn McCauley share more than the fact that some day they could be teammates on the Toronto Maple Leafs. They&rsquo;re also two of only four players to twice win the Red Tilson Trophy as the Ontario League&rsquo;s most outstanding player.Boyes repeated, despite missing 21 games with mononucleosis and playing for Canada&rsquo;s junior team. The first-rounder, who signed a $3.125-million (U.S.) deal with the Leafs in late March, also won last season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011125/7998855-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="408" height="202"></div>The Leafs told Boyes that, depending on how the Otters fared, he might be called up for the Stanley Cup playoffs.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m down in Erie for a reason,&rdquo; said Boyes of how he has kept his mind on the OHL playoffs. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been here for four years and I&rsquo;m here to play hockey for them. There&rsquo;s a job to do and it&rsquo;s not done until the last game&rsquo;s over.&rdquo;The award, presented since 1945 and voted on by writers and broadcasters, is in honor of Albert &lsquo;Red&rsquo; Tilson, who was killed in action during World War II. Boyes received 52 voting points, while Sault Ste. Marie goalie Ray Emery had 21 and Barrie goalie David Chant 19.McCauley won with the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s in 1996 and 1997.Andre Lacroix won with Peterborough in 1965 and 1966, while George Armstrong won with the Stratford Kroehlers in 1948 and the Toronto Marlboros in 1950.Boyes was surprised to win because of all the games he&rsquo;d missed. He had 36 goals and 77 points in 47 games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just really honored,&rdquo; he said.Boyes and teammate Cory Pecker, the OHL&rsquo;s overage player of the year, were leading playoff scoring with 32 points each entering the league final against the Colts.Boyes had scored six game-winners in the post-season.&ldquo;After he signed, it would have been easy for him to shut it down, but he keeps playing like it&rsquo;s his last game,&rdquo; said Otters coach Dave MacQueen.&ldquo;He has his new car sitting in the parking lot. He has got a pocketful of money. He could say he doesn&rsquo;t want to go through it, but that&rsquo;s not the kind of player he is.&rdquo;COMEBACK COLTS The Colts were heading into the final with a 9-2 record when giving up the opening goal in the playoffs.Barrie won the championship in 1999.&ldquo;There are four guys in our dressing room (David Chant, OHL defenseman of the year Erik Reitz, defenseman Andrew Power and left winger Blaine&nbsp;Down) who have believed all season,&rdquo; said Colts coach Bud Stefanski of why the franchise is back in the final.HANGING up WHISTLE Referee Bill Prisniak, a veteran of four Memorial Cups, was forced to retire during the conference finals because of a knee injury. He spent 26 years with the league, 22 as a referee.Pat Smola, Brad Beer and Dave Wright were named to referee the final. Smola is working his fourth championship, Beer his third and Wright, who&rsquo;ll be the OHL&rsquo;s referee at the Memorial Cup, his first.<h2>ONTARIO LEAGUE PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>WESTERN CONFERENCE</h3>London 4 Plymouth 2Erie 4 Sarnia 1Windsor 4 S.S. Marie 2Guelph 4 Kitchener 0<h3>EASTERN CONFERENCE</h3>St. Mike&rsquo;s 4 North Bay 0Belleville 4 Oshawa 1Barrie 4 Sudbury 1Ottawa 4 Peterborough 2<h3>CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS</h3>Erie 4 London 2Windsor 4 Guelph 1St. Mike&rsquo;s 4 Ottawa 3Barrie 4 Belleville 2<h3>CONFERENCE FINALS</h3>Erie 4 Windsor 1Barrie 4 St. Mike&rsquo;s 0<h3>CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL</h3>Erie 1 Barrie 0 &#9632;

f0028-01

Otter misses 21 games, but Boyes still pulls off back-to-back MVP feat

<div class="byline">By Willy Palov</div>The Quebec Remparts showed Guy Chouinard the door, but the veteran coach didn&rsquo;t go quietly.The Quebec League&rsquo;s all-time leader in games coached (1,128), wins (515) and playoff wins (74) lashed out after he was fired following Quebec&rsquo;s second round loss to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.&ldquo;Being the coach here for five years and going through the rebuilding for the last two years with the Memorial Cup here next year, I find this tough to accept,&rdquo; Chouinard said. &ldquo;It was something I thought was really unnecessary.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02777/7998886-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="382" height="312"></div>Chouinard guided a young team to a 31-32-7-2 record and a first round sweep of the East Division-champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens, but Remparts GM Raymond Bolduc still wasn&rsquo;t satisfied.&ldquo;Our team wasn&rsquo;t playing the way we wanted to see our team play,&rdquo; Bolduc said. &ldquo;When our crowd pays for tickets, they want to see our team play every game - not some games good, some games bad and some games with passion and some without.&rdquo;Chouinard said Bolduc should share the blame because the GM hadn&rsquo;t given him much with which to work. &ldquo;The last two years we had a young team and it was tough at times to play the young players, but we knew we had to give them experience,&rdquo; Chouinard said. &ldquo;By waiting until now (to fire Chouinard) he protects himself.&rdquo;Bolduc shrugged off the criticism.&ldquo;If you believe everything Guy said in the papers, everything was my fault,&rdquo; Bolduc said. &ldquo;He can say what he wants, but some people act with class and some people don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;HARD TO PLEASE Everyone seems to be impressed by Adam Russo&rsquo;s numbers except his coach.Real Paiement said the Acadie-Bathurst goalie deserves the 8-2 record, 1.50 goals-against average and .951 save percentage he has built during the Titan&rsquo;s run to the league final, but sees the goalie more as a cog in a finely tuned defensive machine than a one-man show.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like Adam hasn&rsquo;t played well, but everyone on our team is doing a great job defensively,&rdquo; Paiement said. &ldquo;Every player has a specific job to do on defense and Adam&rsquo;s is to stop the pucks that get to him.&ldquo;Adam has done his part just like a lot of guys.&rdquo;LECLAIRE SIGNS Montreal Rocket goalie Pascal Leclaire signed a three-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets in late April.Leclaire compiled a 15-23-4 record, 3.29 GAA and .895 save percentage and helped Canada to a silver medal at the World Junior Championship after being selected eighth overall in the 2001 NHL draft.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great thrill for me,&rdquo; Leclaire said. &ldquo;Obviously there&rsquo;s still a lot of work to do, but it&rsquo;s a big weight off my shoulders.&rdquo;<h2>QUEBEC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>LEBEL CONFERENCE</h3>Bye: ShawiniganHull 4 Montreal 3Victoriaville 4 Rouyn-Noranda 0Drummondville 4 Vai d&rsquo;Or 3<h3>DILIO CONFERENCE</h3>Bye: Acadie-BathurstQuebec 4 Chicoutimi 0Halifax 4 Rimouski 3C. Breton 4 Bale-Comeau 1<h3>CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS</h3>Shawinigan 4 Drummondville 1Victoriaville 4 Hull 1Cape Breton 4 Halifax 2Aca.-Bathurst 4 Quebec 1<h3>CONFERENCE FINALS</h3>Victoriaville 4 Shawinigan 3Aca.-Bathurst 4 C. Breton 1<h3>CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL</h3>Victoriaville vs. Acadie-Bathurst &#9632;

f0028-02

Ex-Remparts coach takes aim at GM for 'unnecessary’ firing

<div class="byline">By Gregg Drinnan</div>Three was the lucky number for Boyd Gordon and the Red Deer Rebels.Red Deer rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the Western League&rsquo;s Eastern Conference final by winning its final three games against the Brandon Wheat Kings. Gordon registered his first WHL hat trick in the seventh and deciding game - a 5-2 Rebels&rsquo; win April 30. All three of Gordon&rsquo;s goals came in the second period.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03566/7998917-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="382" height="273"></div>&ldquo;The hat trick was a nice bonus, but we got the win and that&rsquo;s the most important thing,&rdquo; said Gordon, an 18-year-old right winger in his third season with the Rebels.Red Deer advanced to the championship series against the Kootenay Ice, which eliminated the Kelowna Rockets in the Western final.Red Deer - which finished the regular season as the Canadian Hockey League&rsquo;s top-ranked team - is the defending Memorial Cup champion.OWNERLESS IN SEATTLE The WHL officially added a 20th franchise, albeit one without a playing facility.The league announced April 19 that Bill Yuill, owner of Everett Hockey Team, Inc., will operate the team that begins play in 2003-04. Yuill has owned the Seattle Thunderbirds since 1989.The Everett franchise was conditionally approved by governors during the 2001-02 regular season.The addition of Everett will allow the WHL to have four five-team divisions. Everett will be in the U.S. Division with the Portland Winter Hawks, Spokane Chiefs, Tri-City Americans and Seattle.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got real good enthusiasm in Everett,&rdquo; said WHL commissioner Ron Robison.Yuill has signed a lease - Robison said its minimum term is 10 years, plus options - on a building that has yet to be built. The city is about to start construction of a $62.5-million (U.S.) multi-purpose facility that would seat 8,250 fans for hockey.Yuill must divest himself of the Thunderbirds.&ldquo;Our preference is to find local ownership and we hope to do it quickly,&rdquo; Robison said.The future of Seattle GM Russ Farwell, coach Dean Chynoweth and other staff members had yet to be determined.&ldquo;That&rsquo;ll be part of the sale, whether the staff goes with the sale of the club,&rdquo; Robison said.HE&rsquo;S OFF ICE Kootenay defenseman Andy Thompson left the team four days before the Western Conference final. The organization was tight-lipped as to why Thompson departed.A press release stated Thompson left &ldquo;to deal with family issues and is expected to be out of the lineup for the remainder of the playoffs.&rdquo;Thompson, 18, was rated 37th among North American skaters in the Central Scouting Bureau final rankings for the 2002 NHL draft.<h2>WESTERN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS</h2><h3>WESTERN CONFERENCE</h3>Kelowna 4 Kamloops 0Kootenay 4 Prince George 3Seattle 4 Portland 3Spokane 4 Tri-City 1<h3>EASTERN CONFERENCE</h3>Brandon 4 Saskatoon 3Moose Jaw 4 Regina 2Red Deer 4 Lethbridge 0Swift Current 4 Calgary 3<h3>CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS</h3>Kelowna 4 Spokane 2Kootenay 4 Seattle 0Brandon 4 Swift Current 1Red Deer 4 Moose Jaw 2<h3>CONFERENCE FINALS</h3>Kootenay 4 Kelowna 1Red Deer 4 Brandon 3<h3>CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL</h3>Kootenay vs. Red Deer &#9632;

f0028-03

Defending champions rally from 3-1 deficit to reach league final

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011107/7999007-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011004/7999000-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="3093" height="3507"></div> &#9632;

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May 17, 2002

THE KUDOS CORNER

Johnson, Houlder sticking around

Kings done in again by rival Avalanche

2002 NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS