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.

February 3, 2004

The Hockey News February 3, 2004

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>J</span></b>ust because you were a first round draft pick doesn&rsquo;t mean you have a free pass to the NHL. Nobody knows that better than 21-year-old Brad Boyes.</p><p>A key acquisition for the San Jose Shades when they sent Owen Nolan to Toronto last March, Boyes has no illusions his status as the 24th overall pick by the Maple Leafs in 2000 is his ticket to the big leagues, nor that his reputation as a reliable scorer will be enough to earn him a promotion.</p><p>&ldquo;What I learned last year is it&rsquo;s so much hard work,&rdquo; said Boyes, who scored 30 goals in his first pro season split between the St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs and the Cleveland Barons of the American League. &ldquo;Junior is different. You can get by sometimes if you&rsquo;re not going.</p><p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to work hard if you want to make it, because guys here are working just as hard so they can, too. You have to match that intensity.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0287/7738050-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg" title="f0058-02" width="644" height="838"></div><p>Boyes&rsquo;s innate offensive ability offers the Sharks high hopes for the future according to San - Jose assistant GM Wayne Thomas, who is not surprised Boyes sees the difference between junior and pro.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0348/7738043-1-eng-US/f0058-032.jpg" title="f0058-03" width="1017" height="1499"></div><p>&ldquo;To sign a pro contract, most guys have been the best player at college or junior,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;Most of them are pretty gifted guys who are in competition for ice time. The opposition is tougher, older and stronger, and it&rsquo;s a shock to a lot of the young pros.</p><p>&ldquo;For a lot of them it&rsquo;s the first time they have to work at different parts of their game so they have the opportunity to play the minutes that allows them to show their skills.&rdquo;</p><p>Boyes, the No. 36 prospect outside the NHL in Future Watch 2003, said it has been a learning process.</p><p>&ldquo;I know I have to learn to be patient,&rdquo; Boyes said.</p><p>&ldquo;One thing I learned last year after training camp in Toronto was to have patience. The first month or so, you wonder what&rsquo;s going to happen, but you shouldn&rsquo;t worry about it because you can&rsquo;t control it.&rdquo;</p><p>His departure after a brief stay as a member of Toronto&rsquo;s organization was bittersweet, especially since he grew up in neighboring Mississauga.</p><p>&ldquo;Yeah, there was both disappointment and excitement,&rdquo; said Boyes of being traded.</p><p>&ldquo;Disappointment in that it would have been great to be able to play in Toronto for the Leafs &agrave; in front of home fans, but also I was excited to come to a new team, a young &rsquo;team and exciting team with a lot of young prospects.&rdquo;</p><p>The Sharks thought Boyes would have a chance of making the team at the start of this season, but he was sent down after a disap-pointing training camp. Still, if he works hard, it&rsquo;s just a matter of time.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0438/7738036-1-eng-US/f0058-042.jpg" title="f0058-04" width="205" height="332"></div><p>&ldquo;We think he&rsquo;s very close,&rdquo; Thomas said.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0058-02

DEPARTMENTS

Scorer Boyes learning on the job

<p><i>Have you spotted these two personalities in the same room at the same time? Submitted (with apologies) by A.C. Buserfrom Mt. Laurel, N.J</i>.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0441/7738195-1-eng-US/f0061-042.jpg" title="f0061-04" width="305" height="496"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MIKA NORONEN</b> Buffalo goalie&rsquo;s mom was always saying &ldquo;Mika, Mika, Mika&rdquo;</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0533/7738188-1-eng-US/f0061-052.jpg" title="f0061-05" width="308" height="499"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>FLORENCE HENDERSON</b> Brady Bunch mom was always saying &ldquo;Marsha, Marsha, Marsha&rdquo;</figcaption></div><p><i>Submit ideas for Separated at Birth to <a href="mailto:jhodgson@thehockeynews.com">ihodgson@thehockeynews.com</a></i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0061-04

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

<div class="byline">- DAN WOOD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04351/7736180-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="270" height="602"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span></b>ackup goalie Martin Gerber is one of the very few Mighty; Ducks of Anaheim who can look back on the first four months of this; season and feel relatively good.</p><p>In addition to a 7-7-4 record, a 924 save percentage and a 2.07 goals-against average, Gerber had an unbeaten 3-0-3 record at Arrowhead Pond after; stopping 22 shots in a 2-2 tie with Detroit Jan. 21.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03509/7736187-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="231" height="312"></div><p>Gerber hadn&rsquo;t lost at the Pond since a 3-1 loss to New Jersey Jan. 24, 2003. Gerber had gone 6-0-3 in nine; home starts, with wins over Montreal, San Jose and Vancouver last season, and Cliicago, Dallas and San Jose this year. Gerber&rsquo;s home ties in 2003-04 came against Cliicago, Columbus and Detroit</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p>After signing him to a five-year, $16.5 [million contract in July, the! Ducks expected I significantly: more from winger Vinny Prospal than his eight: goals and 23 points through 48 games. Until scoring in a 2-1 victory &bull;: at Vancouver Jan. 17, Prospal had: gone 17 games without a goal, producing just four assists during that: stretch. With Prospal having received a $4-million signing bonus and; Anaheim on the hook for $2.5 million each of the next four seasons, the Ducks will consider dumping; him if Prospal&rsquo;s production doesn&rsquo;t improve.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Anaheim expected to; be without right winger Michael; Hohnqvist for about a week after; the rookie aggravated a strained abdominal muscle Jan. 17 in a 2-1; win at Vancouver&hellip;Blueliner Todd = Simpson, who has become offense-minded all of sudden, scored his; fourth goal in six games against the: Canucks, after having managed only; 10 in 502 NHL games&hellip; Defenseman; Lance Ward, who had played just once in the past nine games, was; assigned to Cincinnati (AHL) on a conditioning assignment Jan. 19.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-04

NHL TEAM REPORT SPOTLIGHT

Gerber a bright light on sad Ducks squad

<div class="byline">BY MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021108/7735665-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>M</span></b>ike Modano believes it&rsquo;s going to get better. No, really, he honestly thinks there&rsquo;s a light at the end of the tunnel, a rainbow after the I rain, a silver lining to this cloud.</p><p>Really.</p><p>&ldquo;I mean, you have to think that,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;don&rsquo;t you?&rdquo;</p><p>Modano is saying this as he is get-S ting treatment for a sore groin that will probably bother him for the <b>J</b> remainder of the 2003-04 season.</p><p>He&rsquo;s saying this as his team is struggling to stay in eighth place in the r Western Conference. He&rsquo;s saying this as he is looking at a season in which he will be lucky to get 50 points and A might end up a minus-10 or worse.</p><p>&ldquo;Those numbers would be pretty hard to swallow,&rdquo; said Modano, who has t been a point-a-game player throughout &rsquo; his NHL career and came into the 2003-04 campaign a plus-171 through his previous seven seasons.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even like looking at the numbers, because it&rsquo;s just been one thing after another this season.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>FINANCES A DISTRACTION</b></h2><p>Modano first struggled with financial problems he still is hesitant to talk about. He lost a significant amount of money because of bad investments. That led to a chain of events in which he had to try to recoup some of the losses and also replace his financial advisers. It was a distraction that led to the worst start of his career.</p><p>Modano had two goals and five points in the Stars&rsquo; first 11 games this season. What&rsquo;s worse, he was a minus-6. That, of course, led to more pressure to perform, which, in turn, led to worse performances.</p><h2><b>STAR&rsquo;S LAMENT</b></h2><p><i>Mike Modano understands defense is what wins, but he says it&rsquo;s harder to have fun in today&rsquo;s regimented NHL</i>.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03788/7735658-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="692" height="922"></div><p>Modano went on a run in which he was minus-10 over nine games and the Stars fell to below .500 for the first time in a long, long time.</p><p>&ldquo;It just all fell apart for a while there and it had to be rebuilt,&rdquo; said the native of Livonia, Mich. &ldquo;I think the team was in shock and I was in shock and we just had to simplify our game and try to get back step by step.&rdquo;</p><p>Unfortunately, &ldquo;simplifying&rdquo; mean! the Stars had to go back to the conservative, defense-first hockey that drove Modano crazy for years under coach Ken Hitchcock. He now admits that&rsquo;s the way a team has to win in today&rsquo;s clutch-and-grab NHL, but he said he doesn&rsquo;t have to like it.</p><h2><b>DEFENSIVE WINNERS</b></h2><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s harder to have fun in today&rsquo;s NHL,&rdquo; said the 33-year-old Modano. &ldquo;Coaches are trying to hold on to their jobs and it&rsquo;s worse than ever right now. But you look around and the teams that are winning are the teams playing defensive hockey. Hey, it&rsquo;s the way we won in &rsquo;99. You can&rsquo;t argue with it.</p><p>&ldquo;The irony is you could have a $20-million roster and do just as good a job. You&rsquo;re taking the skill out of the game, so why have skill players?&rdquo;</p><p>Maybe because there is a chance a skill player can still do something special and change a game - and maybe a season. Before Modano hurt his groin, he was on a six-game scoring streak and the Stars were climbing back into the post-season race. When he got back into the lineup, he said he started to feel a little jump again.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going in the right direction of late,&rdquo; Modano said. &ldquo;So I&rsquo;d like to think there are some good things coming.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>STILL AN HONOR</b></h2><p>Modano is hoping to start that trend by earning the place fans have given him as a starter in this season&rsquo;s All-Star Game. A starter last season and a five-time All-Star Game participant, Modano said he was a little embarrassed by the selection and he probably doesn&rsquo;t deserve to be going. But now that it has been decided, the 33-year-old who spent the first four years of his career playing in Minnesota said he doesn&rsquo;t want to disappoint the fans who voted for him.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s still an honor to be named by the fans,&rdquo; Modano said. &ldquo;I want to prove that they did make the right choice.&rdquo;</p><p>And he&rsquo;d also like to start having a hole more fun before the campaign is through.</p><p>&ldquo;(The season) can be salvaged,&rdquo; Modano said. &ldquo;We have a good team, we have a chance to come in and control things. If we get in the playoffs, we can be a difference maker.&rdquo;</p><p>And, honestly, really, that would make everything all right.</p><p>&ldquo;Are you kidding?&rdquo; Modano said. &ldquo;If we play well in the playoffs, this will be a great season.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04511/7735651-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="1443" height="952"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0018-02

FEATURES & COLUMNS

Modano looks for redemption

<div class="byline">Jason Kay Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011994/7735306-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="319" height="369"></div><h2><b>NO WORRIES</b></h2><p><i>Gary Bettman said the AHL&rsquo;s experiment with wider lines did not</i> &ldquo;<i>cause any problems</i>.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021327/7735299-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="1023" height="1506"></div><p><b>S</b>everal weeks ago, commissioner Gary Bettman said he was considering assembling a panel this summer, one that represents all constituencies, &ldquo;to look at the game.&rdquo; We thought we&rsquo;d give him a head start by soliciting 90 players in last week&rsquo;s issue on what they would recommend if they were asked to serve. Opinions varied, but one thing is clear: the players want change. Just seven per cent said the game is fine the way it is.</p><p>In light of the results, we decided to catch up with the commissioner and get an update on where things are headed. Here&rsquo;s an edited transcript of the conversation.</p><p><b>THN:</b> Are <i>you still looking at putting a committee together this summer?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> Absolutely. We&rsquo;re in the process of considering who might serve on it, but as we said, the timetable starts with the general managers&rsquo; meetings in February.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>Are you seeking concrete proposals from the GMs?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> We&rsquo;re going to get the general managers&rsquo; view first on what, if anything, should be done - and I say &ldquo;if anything.&rdquo; Then I&rsquo;m going to have the committee take a look at what the managers have done and add their own imprimatur to it</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>Do you anticipate this year&rsquo;s GMs meetings will be different from past years? Will the level of discussion about potential changes be intensified?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> As indicated by the poll you ran, there is no unanimity as to what, if anything, should be done. So what I want to do is make sure we have a very focused discussion.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>What has the feedback been like on the wider lines experiment in the AHL?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> It was hard to assess because the skill level of an AHL player isn&rsquo;t the same as we have in our game, but I think it was everybody&rsquo;s sentiment it didn&rsquo;t cause any problems.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>It didn&rsquo;t cause any problems, but it didn&rsquo;t add anything extra?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> That may have been a function as with a lot of the suggested rules experimentations - what you get at our game is always different than what you can get when you see lesser skilled players play.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>Anything else on the drawing board?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> There are a variety of things, but nothing we&rsquo;re ready to go into right now.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>Has your view on the level of excitement in the game changed or do you maintain it&rsquo;s where it has always been?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> It&rsquo;s interesting because in the last week Mark Messier,</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s something that could be accomplished</i>.<br><b>GARY BETTMAN, ON WIDENING RINKS</b></blockquote><p>Don Cherry and a variety of others have said, &ldquo;You know what, the game&rsquo;s great. Always has been. Maybe it needs a bit of fine-tuning.&rdquo; I think the game is fundamentally sound, but there are things we are going to have to do to make sure offense is appropriately balanced in the game.</p><p><b>1HN: So</b>&nbsp;<i>you recognize mere has seen a lot of call for change?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> No. Please don&rsquo;t put words in my mouth. I think the game is fundamentally sound, but we need to do everything we can to make sure the balance between offense and defense is as good as it can be.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>I wasn&rsquo;t saying you personally are calling for change, but that you recognize others are</i>.</p><p><b>GB:</b> Some people. Not all. Even if you look at your list, there isn&rsquo;t one idea that had more than 21 per cent support.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>Right, but we didn&rsquo;t ask players</i> &ldquo;<i>yes or no, do you support a particular idea?&rdquo; It was more open-ended:</i> &ldquo;<i>If you were part of the committee, what suggestion would you make?</i>&rdquo;</p><p><b>GB:</b> The point is there was not a mandate for any one of the ideas.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>The No. 1 item on the list was widening the rink. Any thoughts?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> As a practical matter, I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s something that could be accomplished.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>The last item on our top 10 list is</i>&hellip;</p><p><b>GB:</b> The last item is &ldquo;do nothing.&rdquo; (Laughs)</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>That only got seven per cent</i>.</p><p><b>GB:</b> On any given issue, if you were to poll the general managers, for example, half of them would tell you we&rsquo;re not calling enough penalties and half of them would tell you we&rsquo;re calling too many. Actually, it would be a third, a third, a third. A third would tell you &ldquo;too many,&rdquo; a third would tell you &ldquo;too few&rdquo; and a third would say &ldquo;just right.&rdquo; So one of the great things about our game is the passion people have for it and the fact there&rsquo;s no shortage of opinions.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>Assuming there&rsquo;s hockey to start next season</i>&hellip;</p><p><b>GB:</b> That&rsquo;s an assumption I&rsquo;m certainly hoping for.</p><p><b>THN:</b>. ..<i>assuming there is, do you see there being anything new instituted, anything significant?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> As I said, the purpose of the committee is to once and for all crystallize the debate and put a whole host of things behind us at the same time, be it a new collective bargaining agreement or rule changes, if any. Or a pronouncement that we&rsquo;re not going to make any, so let&rsquo;s end the debate.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>Is there anything you&rsquo;re particularly in favor of yourself?</i></p><p><b>GB:</b> Yes. There are a variety of things I want to look at, but this isn&rsquo;t the time for us to be discussing them.</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>Thanks, Gary. I appreciate the time</i>.</p><p><b>GB:</b> Is there anything else I can do for you?</p><p><b>THN:</b>&nbsp;<i>Umm</i>&hellip;<i>yeah. Get a CBA in place for next season</i>.</p><p><b>GB:</b> That would work nicely for me as well.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03782/7735292-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="436" height="234"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0006-01

Bettman: change not a given

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b>f you want to know why Wade Brookbank is in greater demand than soap at a coal miners&rsquo; convention, look no further than Andrew Peters and Garrett Burnett and Eric Godard and&hellip;</p><p>It&rsquo;s a dirty job, but more and more teams believe this year that somebody&rsquo;s got to do it Brookbank, a 26-year-old haymaker practitioner from Lanigan, Sask., does it better than most.</p><p>Signed by Ottawa as a free agent in 2001, the 6-foot-4, 221-pounder was considered by many the toughest hombre in the American League last season before he tore up his knee eight games in. This season hasn&rsquo;t been nearly as dull. He has been property of four NHL teams in less than four months and has now played for eight teams in five leagues over six seasons.</p><p>&ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t like it,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;I guess I can go do something else.&rdquo;</p><p>Oct. <i>3:</i> Nashville claims Brookbank from Ottawa in the waiver draft. He plays nine NHL games and another six in the AHL with Milwaukee.</p><p><i>Dec. 17:</i> Vancouver picks him up in a trade for future considerations.</p><p><i>Dec. 17:</i> The Canucks put him on waivers. Brookbank wisely stays in Nashville.</p><p><i>Dec. 19:</i> Ottawa claims him on waivers.</p><p><i>Dec. 20:</i> Sent down for conditioning, Brookbank flies to Worcester, where Ottawa&rsquo;s farm team Binghamton is playing that night.</p><p><i>Dec. 21-24:</i> Brookbank heads home. Something about Christmas break.</p><p><i>Dec. 25:</i> Brookbank rejoins Binghamton for the first of three games in three nights.</p><p><i>Dec. 27:</i> In the third game, Binghamton and Philadelphia combine for 311 penalty minutes - in the third period. A real character builder. After the game, Brookbank is told he&rsquo;s traded to Florida for futures.</p><p><i>Dec. 28:</i> Brookbank stays in Binghamton.</p><p>The Panthers put him on waivers.</p><p><i>Dec. 30:</i> Vancouver claims him on waivers.</p><p><i>Jan. 3:</i> In his first game with the Canucks, Brookbank plays 14 seconds, earns 10 minutes in penalties and scores a one-punch TKO over Calgary&rsquo;s Krzystzof Oliwa.</p><p>Brookbank dressed for four of his first 10 games on the Canuck roster and averaged 1:21 of ice time per game. If the Canucks want to send him down, they have to put him on waivers.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d be lying if I said it wasn&rsquo;t in the back of my mind, but I&rsquo;m putting it pretty far back there,&rdquo; Brookbank says.</p><p>Brookbank had 50 penalty minutes in 13 NHL games and 37 PIMs in 10 AHL games this season. He has 1,528 PIMs in 297 career minor pro games, an average of five minutes per game.</p><p><b>- MARK BRENDER</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021195/7735382-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="707" height="1522"></div><h2><b>NEXT STOP?</b></h2><p><i>Wade Brookbank is a popular role-playing NHL rookie</i>.</p><h2><b>PLUS</b></h2><p>Best of <i>the Hockey World</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011809/7735375-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="271" height="434"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>SCOTT CLEMMENSEN</b></figcaption></div><p><b>NASHVILLE CATS</b> Riding high on a seven-game undefeated streak (five wins, two ties), the Predators were sitting pretty in a playoff spot.</p><p><b>GREAT SCOTT</b> Rookie goalie Scott Clemmenson of the New Jersey Devils shuts out the Pittsburgh [Penguins 3-0 in his first NHL start.</p><p><b>YANKEE DOODLE DANDY</b> Phil Housley, the all-time points leader (1,232) among American-born NHLers, retires after 21 seasons.</p><h2><b>MINUS</b></h2><p><i>Worst of the Hockey World</i></p><p><b>GET REAL</b> Players who complain they can&rsquo;t see the puck while wearing a visor should defer to the NHL&rsquo;s scoring leaders who can.</p><p><b>STRUGGLING STARS</b> Mike Modano (eight goals, minus-18), Jere Lehtinen (six goals, 10 points in 31 games) need to crank it up.</p><p><b>BAD BRUIN</b> Boston&rsquo;s Doug Doull is suspended one game for charging at Petr Nedved of the New York Rangers.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03727/7735368-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="271" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DOUG DOULL</b></figcaption></div><h2>&ldquo;<b>SNAPSHOTS</b></h2><p><i>From around the NHL</i></p><p>&bull; The are some who feel the NHLPA did itself a disservice by negotiating a $1,000 maximum fine into the current CBA and that having fine increments of, say, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000 might actually save players money. If Toronto&rsquo;s Mats Sundin were slapped with a $25,000 fine for throwing his broken stick into the stands rather than being suspended for one game (which is accompanied by a loss of salary), he would have saved money. He missed the game and lost $47,685 in salary.</p><p>&bull; Former Quad City Mallards player Harold Hersh, a member of the 2001 United League champs, was one of 25 bachelors competing for the affections of <i>The Bacholerette</i> on the ABC television series. He was turfed in the second period.</p><p>&bull; Jacques Lemaire&rsquo;s game-improving idea: once the puck crosses the offensive blueline, the defending team has to get it out past the center red line in order to force the attacking team to have to &ldquo;clear the zone.&rdquo;</p><p>&bull; If composite sticks are so much better than wooden sticks, why is scoring on the decline?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-04475/7735361-1-eng-US/f0007-042.jpg" title="f0007-04" width="298" height="492"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MATS SUNDIN</b></figcaption></div><p><b>NOTE TO READERS:</b> The &lsquo;Inside the NHL&rsquo; page was mistakenly replaced by an advertising page in the Jan. 27, 2004, issue. The Hockey News regrets the error.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0007-02

Brookbank in demand

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021417/7735413-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg"></div><h2><b>The Hockey News</b></h2><h3><b>FROM THE EDITORS</b></h3><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b>t would be foolish to argue the recent spate of high sticks is a good thing because it has forced the issue of mandatory visors to the forefront.</p><p>Far better if players were more careful; if we could be sure the lightness of graphite sticks or the presence of visors weren&rsquo;t contributing factors to the players&rsquo; carelessness; if we had reason to believe hockey&rsquo;s macho culture isn&rsquo;t responsible for the refusal of more than 60 per cent of the league to protect their eyes.</p><p>But given the situation - Jeremy Roenick&rsquo;s public blow-up, Toronto&rsquo;s Owen Nolan and Darcy Tucker out for extended periods with eye injuries, Al Maclnnis possibly out for the season - the timing has to be considered opportune.</p><p>Mandatory visors - or grandfathering mandatory visor use so all players coming into the league will be forced to wear a shield - is an issue that has to be collectively bargained between the NHL and the NHL Players&rsquo; Association. CBA discussions are expected to kick into high gear this summer. Recent publicity has made it a lock that the visor issue will be on the table.</p><p>Perhaps surprisingly, it does not appear as if the insurance industry will force a visor rule through.</p><p>&ldquo;I have never seen a policy where an underwriter has said to me, &rsquo;If he wears a visor I&rsquo;ll give you a different premium,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Marc Blumencrantz, executive vice-president of BWD Group, a Long Island brokerage that insures top player contracts for NHL teams. &ldquo;While we&rsquo;ve had some eye activity, it&rsquo;s not driving any of our programs.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>These days, if a player takes off his visor in the NHL, it will be his first time without one</i>.</blockquote><p>Major knee, back and head injuries constitute a far greater risk to the insurance companies, but in none of those cases can players protect themselves and teams can protect their assets with a piece of plastic and a screwdriver.</p><p>There are indications the NHLPA is willing to engage in the visor conversation. Even as they maintain that visor use is a matter of personal preference, union officials including executive director Bob Goodenow now say players are encouraged to wear shields. Combine that with the chorus of management voices in favor of mandatory visors, plus rugged players such as Toronto&rsquo;s Tie Dom saying they are willing to give visors a chance, and the climate is ripe for progressive change.</p><p>Once again, the names at the top of the scoring list debunk the argument that visors impede performance. As of Jan. 22, seven of the top eight scorers in the league wore shields.</p><p>Virtually all the players in the NHL today made it there wearing visors, most of them for their entire lives. These days, if a player takes off a visor when he gets to the NHL, i will be his first time playing organized hockey without one.</p><p>The NHL must crack down hard on reck less use of the stick. Visors cannot become; justification for lax rule enforcement and any high stick coming in contact with a visor should be penalized as if it came in contact with skin. That said, there is no compelling reason for the NHLPA to reject a grandfathering clause in the next CBA.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-02

Grandfathering visor use logical next step for NHL

<h2>POINTS SYSTEM NEEDS REVAMP</h2><p>I think it is time the NHL stops awarding a point to teams that lose in overtime.</p><p>The league&rsquo;s standings look ridiculous when one team has more wins, yet is behind another team that has more overtime losses. To me, it&rsquo;s bad enough the NHL gives its division winners an automatic top-three playoff seeding.</p><p>If anything, division winners should be guaranteed the eighth and final playoff spot.</p><p><i>Michael Mortese, Roselle Park, N.I</i>.</p><h2><b>THE DOWNSIDE OF GUARANTEES</b></h2><p>bouaniel Alfredsson nas guaranteeo tne Senators will win the Stanley Cup this year. What will he do if they don&rsquo;t?</p><p>When all pro athletes make guarantees they should have to back up their words. Should he have his salary taken away for the year? How about having his head shaved at center ice?</p><p>I say he must buy two season tickets to be used by a non-profit organization in the Ottawa area.</p><p><i>Tom Denonville, Windsor, Ont</i>.</p><h2><b>LETTER OF THE WEEK</b></h2><p>Would somebody tell Oilers GM Kevin Lowe scratching Georges Laraque is not smart Lowe is following up his showdown with Mike Comrie by getting on Laraque, who, it seems, touched a nerve when he claimed he was trad bait. Quite a coincidence, then, that he was made a healthy scratch in seven of eight games shortly after his statement.</p><p>If Lowe wants do deal him, do it already. There are 29 other teams that would jump at the opportunity to have him on their roster.</p><p>I think it is a shame to see an upstanding person and powerful player like Laraque</p><p>put on the shelf over a simple spat with management.</p><p>But if you thought Oiler fans were up in arms when Lowe ran Comrie out of town, wait until their favorite enforcer gets the boot. I&rsquo;m pretty sure Mr. Lowe won&rsquo;t enjoy the feedback.</p><p><i>Brad Hastings, Waldo, Ohio</i></p><h2><b>J.R.&rsquo;S REFS RANT WRONG</b></h2><p>Will someone tell Jeremy Roenick to stop moaning about NHL officiating?</p><p>Yeah, the refs miss calls from time to time, but throwing a water bottle at an official? It&rsquo;s so obvious that the Flyers tailspin has the entire team frustrated and taking it out on anyone other than the competition.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s a novel idea, J.R.: suck it up and score some goals. Even better, if you are that upset, drop the gloves&hellip;with a player from another team, not the officials.</p><p><i>R.J. Nossan, Ridgefield, Conn</i>.</p><h2><b>J.R.&rsquo;S REF RANT RIGHT</b></h2><p>I watched the Flyers game and saw Roenick&rsquo;s outburst against the referees. I can&rsquo;t disagree with him.</p><p>The officiating in the game was less than acceptable. Is there any system of accountability for officials or is it a case of anything goes? If anyone associated with the NHL complains, they are fined or suspended and that&rsquo;s wrong.</p><p>It is time something is done before more fans leave &ldquo;the best damn sport on earth.&rdquo;</p><p><i>Keith Murray, Hatfield, Pa</i></p><h2><b>DRAPER FOR SELKE AWARD?</b></h2><p>When will Kris Draper start getting hyped for the Selke Award as the NHL&rsquo;s best defensive forward?</p><p>Long one of the league&rsquo;s best forecheckers, Draper&rsquo;s offensive numbers have skyrocketed thanks to his tenacious play this season. He has stepped it up big-time.</p><p><i>Tim Block, Lincoln Park, Mich</i>.</p><h2><b>AEBISCHER A-OK FOR AVS</b></h2><p>It is time everyone recognized the solid contribution David Aebischer has made with the Avalanche.</p><p>With 20 wins and counting, Aebischer has been great. Colorado may add a veteran backup, but that should be it. They&rsquo;ve got their No. 1.</p><p><i>Kenneth Knight, St. John&rsquo;s, Nfld</i>.</p><h2><b>LUONGO AN MVP CANDIDATE</b></h2><p>Shouldn&rsquo;t the MVP award go to the guy who plays on less talented teams? To wit: Roberto Luongo has been great, yet he won&rsquo;t be nominated for MVP, though he plays on a far worse team than Martin Brodeur. Luongo deserves to win.</p><p><i>Steven Baumann, Lynchburg, Va</i>.</p><h2><b>Got something to say?</b></h2><p>U.S.A.: Letters, Canada: Letters,</p><p>The Hockey News, The Hockey News, P.O. Box 904, 25 Sheppard Ave.W.,</p><p>Buffalo, N.Y., Suite 100,</p><p>14240-9947. Toronto, Ont.,</p><p>M2N 6S7</p><p>E-mail: <u>aproteau@thehockeynews.com</u> or visit <u>www.thehockeynews.com</u> Include name, hometown, province/state and phone number. <i>Submissions will be edited</i>.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

THE HOCKEY NEWS EDITORIAL

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

<div class="byline">Mark Brender&nbsp;Senior Writer</div><p>OTTAWA</p><p><b>T</b>he Senators carry the puck into the Boston zone midway through the first period and set up central command.</p><p>Someplace far away, a forest fire rages. Evacuation orders are given. Cars roll out. The planes are in the air now, spraying water bombs and pink powder over acres of timber. Hours turn into days turn into weeks. Winds die down. The flames lose their anger. Cars turn around, lives return to normal. Except the Brums&rsquo; lives. The Bruins still haven&rsquo;t been able to get a six-ounce piece of black rubber past the damn blueline.</p><p>And don&rsquo;t look now, but here comes the puck squirting loose into the high slot, and charging in with drool hanging from his lip is defenseman Brian Pothier - you&rsquo;d be drooling, too, if you hadn&rsquo;t scored since last March - and one Felix Potvin glove whiff later, it&rsquo;s one - zip Sens. That&rsquo;s one way to get the puck past the damn blueline.</p><h2><b>NEIL PROTECTS MATES</b></h2><p>The P.A. announcer has barely cleared his throat when Boston&rsquo;s Doug Doull picks a duel with Ottawa&rsquo;s Chris Neil. The gloves hit the ice and the theme song from <i>Rocky</i> fans across Corel Centre sound system, adding to the farce. A half-minute of slugging and call it a draw. On his way off the ice, Neil exhorts the fans to applaud louder. They do.</p><p>&ldquo;That happens a lot in games where tough guys try to fight tough guys to create some momentum,&rdquo; says Ottawa defenseman Chris Phillips. &ldquo;Neilsy&rsquo;s been doing a great job with that the whole year.&rdquo;</p><p>Which begs the question: if Neilsy&rsquo;s not around to do the job, who exactly is Doull going to fight? Spartacat? Hold that thought.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011764/7735475-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="316" height="420"></div><p>It&rsquo;s two-zip Ottawa less than two minutes into the second when Martin Havlat ups the count to three. Nine seconds later, Sean O&rsquo;Donnell hunts Neil down again. Neil oblig es. Same script, two survivors and, thankfully, no <i>Survivor</i>. One more Sens goal in the third and it&rsquo;s lights out for Beantown.</p><p>So you still say the Sens need toughness, as if Neilsy and Zdeno Chara aren&rsquo;t enough? For what, to provide the Doulls of the world with another dance partner? Just so the new acquisition can make like Rob Ray a year ago and earn his playoff living from the press box?</p><p>The only need Ottawa really has, and this is nitpicking at its finest, is for a little more size up front, another down-low mucker/banger to replace injured Vaclav Varada (who&rsquo;s out for the year). But that&rsquo;s not the kind of old-school toughness some people are talking about.</p><p>If a guy like Doull were to become available, the Sens should be leaping for &ldquo;the fire escape, not the checkbook.</p><p>Of course it&rsquo;d be great for Ottawa to have Georges Laraque on their bench. If the Sens could somehow get him for Petr Schastlivy and not a smidgen more (not likely), feel free. As long as they realize that if Laraque can&rsquo;t get more than a few minutes of ice per night in Edmonton in January, there&rsquo;s probably not much he can do for Ottawa in May. In the playoffs, a tough guy&rsquo;s foot speed becomes far more important than his hand speed. If Laraque was in good enough shape to be his usual force down low, why isn&rsquo;t he doing it for the Oilers?</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s teams out there that&hellip;try and come and intimidate us,&rdquo; Phillips says. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re always up for that challenge. Yeah, we have a lot of skill guys. Their main thing is putting the puck in the net and making plays, but when someone comes to hit them, they hit back. Everyone&rsquo;s part of it.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>SENS HAVE SWAGGER</b></h2><p>In post-instigator world, the only thing a one-dimensional fighter can really provide is swagger. That&rsquo;s why a lot of the up-and-coming teams have young fighters; they need the psychological assurance of knowing somebody will make sure they dor&rsquo;&rsquo; get run out of their own barn.</p><p>The Sens already have then-swagger. When Daniel Alfredsson guarantees a Stanley Cup, that&rsquo;s swagger. When | you&rsquo;re one of two teams averaging a power play goal every game, that&rsquo;s swagger.</p><p>Ottawa joined the NHL&rsquo;s big dogs with its Presidents&rsquo; Trophy and strong playoff run last year. <u>ajaHBI</u> The big dogs learned long ago there&rsquo;s more than one way to mark the fire hydrant.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03740/7735468-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="1888" height="2164"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0009-01

Senators tough enough

<div class="byline">BOB MCMANAMAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021344/7735520-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg"></div><p><b>DOAN&rsquo; IT</b>&nbsp;<i>Invested with the Coyotes captaincy, Shane Doan has become an elite power forward</i>.</p><p><b>I</b>t took some time, but the evolution of Shane Doan has come full circle.</p><p>Before he could emerge as a Hart Trophy candidate for the Phoenix Coyotes this season, a label bestowed upon him by none other than Wayne Gretzky, Doan had to <b>1</b> rediscover the game and redefine his role countless times. It was a process built by patience, mistakes maturity and a willingness to succeed.</p><p>&ldquo;Shane deserves a ton of credit for doing what he did,&rdquo; said Coyotes coach Bobby Francis.</p><p>&ldquo;But it&rsquo;s another illustration that you have to be careful in this \ league not to rush young, \ 1 players too early. He came up as an 18-year-old, was thrown into the NHL level and expectations were incredibly high.</p><p>&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t get the results immediately and when that happens, his confidence <b>L</b> dwindles, the ice time follows and now he&rsquo;s not being developed properly.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03832/7735513-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="640" height="830"></div><h2><b>WINNING CAME EASY</b></h2><p>Doan entered the NHL in 1995-96 as an eager teen who had known individual and team success as a member of the Western League&rsquo;s Kamloops Blazers. Winning came easy for the strapping, young right winger from Halkirk, Alta.</p><p>&ldquo;He was a big moose with a goofy smile, but man, could he play,&rdquo; said Tyson Nash, Doan&rsquo;s former teammate with the Blazers and now his teammate on the phoenix Coyotes.</p><p>&ldquo;He could do it all: skate, score, hit, play sound defensively, you name it.&rdquo;</p><p>But after a 37-goal, 94-point season and leading Kamloops to its second straight &ldquo;Memorial Cup championship, winning playoff MVP honors in the process, Doan had to start from scratch when he joined the Winnipeg Jets.</p><p>The scorer became a grinder and when the franchise moved to Phoenix the following year, questions followed. Would Doan develop into the elite power forward scouts projected, or would he remain a checking-line player with unrealized potential?</p><p>&ldquo;There are always questions,&rdquo; Doan said. &ldquo;Sometimes, you question yourself. I did that earlier in my career.&rdquo;</p><p>After three trying seasons, which included a humiliating demotion to the minors, Doan finally began building steam - and confidence. He produced four consecutive 20-goal campaigns, but it wasn&rsquo;t until being named captain at the start of this season that he began to dominate.</p><h2><b>TALK ABOUT HART</b></h2><p>He was averaging a point a I game through 46 games and I with 18 goals and 46 points, is enjoying a breakout season that Gretzky, the Coyotes managing partner, said warrants all-star and yes, even Hart Trophy, consideration.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s taken his game to another level,&rdquo; Gretzky <sup>563</sup>, said. &ldquo;We wouldn&rsquo;t be anywhere near where we - &ldquo;34&rdquo; are without him. His leadership qualities have been unmatched and in my opinion, he has to be considered among the top two or three MVP candidates in the league. (Markus) Naslund has been great in Vancouver and (Mats) Sundin is having a spectacular year for Toronto, but my God, Shane&rsquo;s been amazing. I don&rsquo;t know if anybody has meant more to his team this season than Doaner.&rdquo;</p><p>Following those remarks, Gretzky was asked to put his money where his mouth is. As executive director of the Canadian national team, will he consider naming Doan to Team Canada&rsquo;s World Cup team this summer and to its next Olympic team? &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s any question about that,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s really not even an issue. Heck, this kid is an all-star. Trust me, he&rsquo;ll be in the All-Star Game this year and he&rsquo;ll be invited to a lot of places after that.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04565/7735506-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="203" height="330"></div><p><b>The Hockey News</b>&nbsp;<i>scout says:</i></p><p>&ldquo;<b>They picked the right guy to wear the &lsquo;C.&rsquo; He&rsquo;s a great leader and a force down low</b>.</p><p>Doan, who was named to the Western Conference all-star team Jan. 22, gushed when told of Gretzky&rsquo;s comments.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re still not where we want to be as a team and I know I can be better, too, but to hear that, wow!&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Any opportunity to play for your country is something you relish.</p><p>&ldquo;But it&rsquo;s early. If (Gretzky) comes to me after 82 games, I&rsquo;m still playing well and he still feels that way and I get a chance to play for Team Canada, that would be amazing.&rdquo;</p><p>Barnett wasn&rsquo;t surprised at Gretzky&rsquo;s statements.</p><p>&ldquo;I think if you were picking a World Cup team for Canada right now, Shane would be nothing less than an automatic,&rdquo; Barnett said.</p><p>Doan&rsquo;s breakout year came after he worked to improve his shot, which already was the heaviest on the team. Francis wanted him to refine his quick release and make it more accurate. Taking extra shots after practice helped, but it wasn&rsquo;t until Doan made it a personal goal to shoot more often that it all came together.</p><p>He could already create time and space for himself on the ice and put himself in scoring positions, but he had to become selfish. He needed to be a puck hog.</p><h2><b>SLICK SHOOTER</b></h2><p>&ldquo;I told myself before this year started that I wanted to get at least four, five or six shots a night,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You look at the top goal-scorers in this league and that&rsquo;s what they&rsquo;re averaging.&rdquo;</p><p>With 148 shots overall, which ranked 16th in the league, Doan was only averaging a little more than three per game. He&rsquo;s intent on pulling the trigger even more now as the Coyotes continue to defy the critics and battle for a playoff spot. Without Doan, they wouldn&rsquo;t be.</p><p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to take your hat off to him,&rdquo; Gretzky said.</p><p>&ldquo;Shane&rsquo;s just been absolutely marvelous for us and he&rsquo;s put this team on his back. The guys have rallied around him and the younger guys are following his lead. It&rsquo;s exactly what we needed and I couldn&rsquo;t be happier about it.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-02

Doan shoots to stardom

<div class="byline">MARK BRENDER &#x2022; SENIOR WRITER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011807/7735558-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span></b>orn in the early 1980s, the New Jersey Devils burst into adulthood in the spring of &rsquo;94. That&rsquo;s when they realized they were onto something big. This thing they were building, it now had talent, it had backbone and it had staying power.</p><p>Naturally, nobody cared. &rsquo;Ninety-four will live forever as the year Mark Messier booked his lifetime reservation at the dinner table of New York sporting heroes. In &rsquo;94, Stephane Matteau became a household name, Mike Keenan became a soon-to-be-fired Stanley Cup winner and for the first time in 54 years, the shine was back on hockey in the Big Apple. Out of sight and out of mind, the Devils never; theless had a feeling their time would be next. And; unlike the rival Rangers, they could see theirs; would be no one-shot deal. It was because of the the Rock, the Roll and the Wall.</p><p>The treasures arrived one a year for three; years like stunning back-to-school gifts from: an out-of-touch uncle: Scott Stevens in: 1991, awarded in an historic compensation decision for St. Louis&rsquo;s free agent signing of Brendan Shanahan; Scott; Niedermayer in 1992, a year after the Devils made him the third overall pick in the draft; Martin Brodeur in 1993, three years after the Devils made him the 20th overall pick in 1990. The Rock, the Roll, the Wall.</p><p>In their first season together, they ran headfirst into destiny. Down 3-2 in the &rsquo;94 Eastern Conference final, Messier guaranteed victory in Game 6 and delivered with a hat trick; and Matteau threw the knockout punch with a Game 7 double-overtime wraparound. When the Devils&rsquo; pain dulled, the perspective kicked in.</p><p>&ldquo;I remember Scotty and me talking about that, saying we finally got things in place,&rdquo; said longtime New Jersey defender Ken Daneyko, now retired, of a post-series conversation with Stevens.</p><h2><b>MATURATION PROCESS</b></h2><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if we knew we were going to win the next year, but that kind of was a stepping stone&hellip; Anything less than a championship after losing to the Rangers there was going to be a disappointment. That&rsquo;s the mentality the organization took from then on. We knew there&rsquo;s no more excuses, we&rsquo;ve got the players now. We had a lot of heart, we had a lot of character along the way, but now we&rsquo;ve got enough talent, too.&rdquo;</p><p>The Devils had emerged from the embarrassment of the 1980s to post three winning seasons in four years, but the new recruits pushed things to an entirely new level. New Jersey never before had a fluid puck-mover who could lug the puck out and start the transition game by himself. They never before had a big-game goalie, so composed and confident. They never before had the most-feared hitter in the game and a perennial all-star anchoring the blueline.</p><p>With Rock and Roll protecting the Wall, Pink Floyd had nothing on these guys and Devils GM Lou Lamoriello for seizing on a concept and crafting a masterpiece. For the next decade at least, neither would the rest of the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;Scotty, Marty and Nieder are our franchise guys,&rdquo; said defenseman Cohn White recently to the Newark <i>Star-Ledger</i>. &ldquo;After that, we all just try to chip in.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021351/7735551-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="2466" height="1455"></div><p><b>THE WALL</b></p><p><i>The Devils make no bones about it: their team is built from goalie Martin Brodeur out</i>.</p><p>Defense may win championships, but it rarely wins hearts. Put aside whatever local allegiances pulled the heartstrings 20 years ago and fess up: if you were a hockey fan in the mid-1980s, you had to gawk enviously at the sweater-flapping flair of the Edmonton Oilers. They played the game with verve and with panache. To a fault, they&rsquo;d rather score a goal than prevent one.</p><p>The same goes for the Mario Lemieux-Jaromir Jagr-Ron Francis Penguins of the early 1990s, as well as, to a slightly lesser degree, the strong Colorado and Detroit teams in recent years. All played an up-tempo, attacking, puck-control game whose entertainment value was indisputable. Their excellence demanded admiration.</p><p>So it goes with the Devils. The novelty here is if they&rsquo;re more than a tad defensive in the way they go about things, the fans, for the moment, have forgiven.</p><p>It&rsquo;s fitting none of those other teams were ever granted the specific gesture of respect recently bestowed upon the Devils. When Brodeur and the two Scotts (Stevens&rsquo;s health pending) line up for the opening faceoff of the 54th All-Star Game Feb. 8 in Minneapolis, it will mark the first time in 18 years of fan voting that the two starting defensemen and goalie positions will be filled by members of the same team. Could there be a more appropriate tribute to the defensive epoch the three linchpins helped usher in with that first Stanley Cup in 1995?</p><h2><b>FANS APPRECIATE DEFENSE</b></h2><p>&ldquo;Scotty&rsquo;s been sick so (the three of us) haven&rsquo;t really talked about it, but I&rsquo;m sure well get to it,&rdquo; Brodeur said. &ldquo;I think the guys in the dressing room are really excited for us. We hear in New Jersey a lot of people say, you know, we&rsquo;re a boring team to watch&hellip;I think (the all-star votes) said a lot about the fans, that they appreciate our game.&rdquo;</p><p>Now in their 11th season together, Rock, Roll and Wall have been in New Jersey for all three Cups in 1995,2000 and 2003 (along with Sergei Brylin, a rookie in 1995, and Daneyko, a rookie in, oh, 1953). If Stevens plays in the All-Star Game it will be an extra treat for the Scotts; over all the years they&rsquo;ve rarely found themselves on the ice at the same time.</p><p>Only Detroit, with Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Kris Draper and Darren McCarty, has been able to keep three or more players together as long as New Jersey&rsquo;s trio. Colorado&rsquo;s Adam Foote, Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg, in Year 10, are close behind.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>It was on my jersey so I said, &rsquo;All right, sounds good to me.&rsquo; I figured I knew what to do with it</i>.<br><b>-NEW JERSEY DEFENSEMAN SCOTT NIEOERMAYER, ON WEARING THE X&rsquo; WHILE SCOTT STEVENS IS OUT</b></blockquote><p>&ldquo;I think winning the Cups as we have recently and going to the final three of the last four years, fans have seen these players perform, perform at the level that gave them the recognition that they readily deserve,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t really a surprise to me, in my mind in some cases, long overdue.&rdquo;</p><p>Although the Devils went 3-3-1-0 in their first seven games without the captain, who was diagnosed with first the flu and then post-concussion syndrome after feeling run down and &ldquo;down emotionally,&rdquo; the way they talked about his absence, as if they were all carrying an extra burden of responsibility, reinforced how crucial Stevens is to their collective identity. Even coach Pat Burns said it was strange not to have Stevens on the ice.</p><h2><b>RARELY MISSING IN ACTION</b></h2><p>In the 11 seasons since becoming captain in 1992, the all-time games played leader among defensemen with 1,635 had missed a total of 22 regular season games before his recent time off. It&rsquo;s not known when Stevens sustained the concussion, nor how long he&rsquo;ll be out of action.</p><p>But it also said much about the respect Niedermayer commands in the dressing room that, when Stevens was out for the first time Jan. 9 versus Tampa, Lamoriello and coach Pat Burns - OK, make that Lamoriello - put the &lsquo;C&rsquo; on Niedermayer&rsquo;s jersey. In other cases when Stevens was out during his time in New Jersey, the Devils opted to go without a replacement captain. As is the Devils&rsquo; way, they made the shift with zero fuss. Niedermayer didn&rsquo;t find out until just before game time.</p><p>&ldquo;I just got to the rink, it was on my jersey, so I said, &rsquo;All right, sounds good to me,&rdquo;</p><p>Niedermayer said. &ldquo;I figured I knew what to do with it.&rdquo;</p><p>He&rsquo;d Roll with it, naturally. It&rsquo;s a way of life for the 30-year-old skating machine, who would have been a worthy Conn Smythe Trophy recipient last year had it not gone to Anaheim&rsquo;s Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Often overlooked in the regular season, Niedermayer&rsquo;s playoff performances continually draw rave reviews as the Devils go deep into the playoffs each spring.</p><p>&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t get nearly the recognition and he likes it that way,&rdquo; Daneyko said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a lot more heart than people think because the game is so easy to him because he&rsquo;s so fluid, people don&rsquo;t understand. But I&rsquo;ve seen in the room how much he cares in the playoffs and he turns it up a notch.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s a description that still might qualify as an understatement for Stevens. From Slava Kozlov to Tie Domi, from Shane Willis to Ron Francis, from Eric Lindros to Paul Kariya, the Rock has made a habit of inflicting springtime damage, no less predictable than melting mountain snow flooding the valley. A crushing hit on Kozlov in the 1995 final against Detroit had the Wings vowing revenge until Stevens pointed to his shoulder and spat with venom at the Wings bench, <i>You&rsquo;re next!</i></p><p>&ldquo;I think that was the whole series right there,&rdquo; Daneyko said. &ldquo;He looked at their team and he meant it and I think they were well aware, it wasn&rsquo;t until the yapping stopped, that yeah, we might be.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>STEVENS GROWS UP</b></h2><p>Niedermayer and Brodeur are true homegrown Devils; Stevens might as well be, because he did his growing up in Jersey as well. When in Washington, Stevens would fly into a rage at the slightest provocation. The Devils used to talk about getting him mad as a matter of strategy. It was after the Rangers series in 1994, Daneyko said, that Stevens finally realized he&rsquo;d never be his best until he learned to keep his temper in check. That was the same season Brodeur came to town.</p><p>&ldquo;I was a Montreal Canadiens fan, so Scott Stevens, I never really saw and followed his career,&rdquo; Brodeur said. &ldquo;I kind of learned playing with him what kind of man he is.&rdquo;</p><p>The Devils learned the same of Brodeur. He was rarely among the league leaders in save percentage, yet his play under pressure has to rank among the all-time greats. Because of the Devils&rsquo; defensive focus, he has made a Hall of Fame career by winning tight, one-goal games, the kind where a bad goal can be a backbreaker. At 31, Brodeur has taken on a leadership role as well.</p><p>&ldquo;I think the year 2000, when we won the Cup, I kind of felt that I needed to take the team to a different level,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now we had young guys coming in for the first time, like (Scott) Gomez, White, (John) Madden, (Brian) Rafalski, so I needed to step up, along with other guys. But that&rsquo;s where I felt more that I was a veteran on this team than just one of the key players.&rdquo;</p><p>And if there&rsquo;s any team that needs strong leadership from core players, this is it. Lamoriello&rsquo;s ship isn&rsquo;t just tight; it&rsquo;s in a permavice. There&rsquo;s little room for dissent or outspokenness. There&rsquo;s not another team in the league that would have forced Pat Burns to shave his mustache. There&rsquo;s not another team in the league that, when asked to help contact &ldquo;special assignment coach&rdquo; Larry Robinson for an interview, would politely refuse to do so, explaining the Hall of Famer and six-time Cup winner falls under the category of assistant coach and sorry, Devils assistant coaches are not allowed to talk to the media.</p><p>The Rock, the Roll and the Wall, all-star starters all, provide the Devils with all the leadership they need.</p><p>&ldquo;It goes to show you finally, it&rsquo;s come full circle, cause I knew all along we had stars on our team,&rdquo; Daneyko said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just that we&rsquo;ve never promoted it, we&rsquo;ve been all within house, team h concept, and that&rsquo;s the way the players, even those guys, have wanted it as <b><i>1</i></b> well, because it is all about winning J championships for those guys. They should be awful proud and it&rsquo;s certainly well deserved.&rdquo;</p><p>Three Devils voted all-star starters. By the fans. It still amazes. And on the Eighth Day, the swamp shall be filled with champagne, the parking lot overrun with daffodils.</p><p>STEVENS.JIM LEARY/BBS<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

ON THE COVER

DEVILS IN 3-D

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-03926/7735589-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JIM MCISAAC/BBS)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><i><span>N</span>ew Jersey&rsquo;s all-star trio of Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens started playing together 11 seasons ago. Since that time, the Devils have posted the NHL&rsquo;s second-best regular season record, the league&rsquo;s top goals-against average and have tied Detroit with three Stanley Cups. Here are the top five teams since 1993-94:</i></p><p><i>Source: Elias Sports Bureau</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-03

DEVILS MAKE GOOD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021228/7735620-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><i><span>T</span>he anchor of New Jersey&rsquo;s defense, Scott Stevens is a cumulative plus-135 over the past five seasons, the highest such total in the league</i>.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-02

MONSTER PLUS

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY &#x2022; Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02880/7735710-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg"></div><p><b>LOOKIN&rsquo; UP</b></p><p><i>Martin St-Louis&rsquo;s on-ice production earned him plenty of recognition from fans.</i></p><p><b>M</b>artin St-Louis would like to thank the fans who voted and made him a starter for the Eastern Conference at this year&rsquo;s NHL All-Star game. It&rsquo;s nice, he said, to e recognized.</p><p>But even more than that, the leading scorer for the Tampa Bay Lightning hopes Wayne Gretzky, Steve Tambellini and whoever else is in charge of putting together Canada&rsquo;s entry for the 2004 World Cup has also noticed his A meteoric rise to be counted M among the most effective <b><i>r</i></b> two-way players in the NHL the past two seasons.</p><h2><b>WORLD CUP DREAM</b></h2><p>wnen this year started it was very important for me to have a good year so that I could at least give myself an opportunity to be considered for the team,&rdquo; said St-Louis, whose 19 goals and 44 points tied him for second with Brett Hull in scoring among Canadian-born right wingers behind Phoenix&rsquo;s Shane Doan, first among Canucks with 18 goals and 46 points. Brett Hull, it is worth noting, plays internationally for the United States.</p><p>&ldquo;It all depends what they are looking for,&rdquo; St-Louis continued. &ldquo;You always want to play for your country, but you know a lot of very good players don&rsquo;t get the opportunity.&rdquo;</p><p>If St-Louis continues to play as he has the past two seasons for the Lightning, it seems improbable th&agrave;f he would be overlooked. Far more than being just a point producer, the 28-year-old Laval, Que. native has made monumental strides toward being more than, &ldquo;just a good little hockey player.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03618/7735703-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="695" height="922"></div><p>Like 5-foot-6 Theoren Fleury, who has represented Canada on the international stage numerous times, including the 2002 Winter Olympics when he helped Canada win a gold medal, the 5-foot-8ish St-Louis has become such a force as a player, his height is no longer called into question. You think the Washington Capitals took much notice of his height as he scored three game-winning goals (one in overtime, another playing shorthanded) against them in the opening round of playoffs last season, a series won by Tampa Bay in seven games?</p><p>When coach John Tortorella sends St-Louis onto the ice, he doesn&rsquo;t see a small player.</p><p>&ldquo;What I see is the process,&rdquo; Tortorella said. &ldquo;He is a guy who a number of years ago wasn&rsquo;t in this league and a lot of people doubted he&rsquo;d get to this league. He stayed with it, he had an incredible amount of mental toughness to fight through people saying no, and he&rsquo;s a solid all-star.&rdquo;</p><p>St-Louis has surpassed Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Nikolai Khabibulin as the Lightning&rsquo;s best player. He plays a regular shifts, skates on the first power play unit and kills penalties. He hits, forechecks with reckless abandon and is one of the main reasons why the Lightning is challenging to capture a second straight Southeast Division championship.</p><h2><b>TOUGH ROAD</b></h2><p>It wasn&rsquo;t so long ago St-Louis was scratching and clawing for ice time. An NCAA East first-team all-American for three years with Vermont, St-Louis signed as a free agent with Calgary, but played just 69 games in two years with the Flames before signing as a free agent with the Lightning in 2000. He became a frontliner three years ago and last season scored 33 goals and 70 points, both personal bests, in 82 games.</p><p>&ldquo;When I came here I was a new guy on a new team trying to get noticed,&rdquo; St-Louis said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I was in the doghouse, but I certainly wasn&rsquo;t among the favorite players.</p><p>&ldquo;Since I started playing more and scoring, the biggest thing I have learned is you can&rsquo;t take anything for granted. You have to give it everything you have every night. Some nights things will work out for you, other nights they won&rsquo;t. The thing is, you have to work as hard as you can every night regardless.&rdquo;</p><p>St-Louis knows success can be fleeting, but he feels he is still on the upswing and even better days are ahead.</p><p>&ldquo;I want to be the guy who has it on every night,&rdquo; St-Louis said. &ldquo;You want to be the guy who makes an impact in every game. In this sport it&rsquo;s all about results - winning games and making the playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p>And perhaps playing with Team Canada at the World Cup.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04410/7735696-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="1444" height="952"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0020-02

St-Louis aiming for World Cup

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b>ith Al Maclnnis out of action, the hardest-shot competition on all-star weekend is open again. The St. Louis defenseman has posted the hardest blast at the all-star talent show a record seven times, but won&rsquo;t be at this year&rsquo;s event. Other 2003 winners not returning are Marian Gaborik as the fastest skater and Patrick Roy in the breakaway relay. This year&rsquo;s skills comp, tition will be held on the evening of Feb. 7, following the YoungStars Game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02807/7735769-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="770" height="465"></div><h2><b>FASTEST SKATER</b></h2><p>2003 Marian Gaborik, Min, 13.713 seconds</p><p>2002 Sami Kapanen, Car, 14.039 secs.</p><p>2001 Bill Guerin, Bos, 13.690 secs.</p><p>2000 Paul Kariya, Ana, 13.649 secs.</p><p>1999 Peter Bondra, Wsh, 14.640 secs.</p><p>1998 Scott Niedermayer, NJ, 13.560 secs.</p><p>1997 Peter Bondra, Wsh, 13.610 secs.</p><p>1996 Mike Gartner, Tor, 13.386 secs.</p><p>1995 <i>No All-Star Game</i></p><p>1994 Sergei Fedorov, Det, 13.525 secs.</p><p>1993 Mike Gartner, NYR, 13.510 secs.</p><p>1992 Sergei Fedorov, Det, 14.363 secs.</p><p>RECORD: Mike Gartner, Tor, 13.386 secs., 1996</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03591/7735762-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="762" height="462"></div><h2><b>PUCK CONTROL</b></h2><p>2003 Martin St-Louis, TB</p><p>2002 Paul Kariya, Ana</p><p>2001 Paul Kariya, Ana</p><p>2000 Paul Kariya, Ana</p><p><b>1999</b> Paul Kariya, Ana</p><p>1998 Teemu Selanne, Ana</p><p>1997 Geoff Sanderson, Hfd</p><p>1996 Pierre Turgeon, Mtl</p><p>1995 <i>No All-Star Game</i></p><p>1994 Russ Courtnail, Dal</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04412/7735755-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="1012" height="876"></div><h2><b>HARDEST SHOT</b></h2><p>2003 Al Maclnnis, StL, 98.9 mph</p><p>2002 Sergei Fedorov, Det, 101.5 mph</p><p>2001 Fredrik Modin, TB, 102.1 mph</p><p>2000 AL Maclnnis, StL, 99.9 mph</p><p>1999 Al Maclnnis, StL, 98.5 mph</p><p>1998 Al Maclnnis, StL, 100.4 mph</p><p>1997 Al Maclnnis, StL, 98.9 mph</p><p>1996 Dave Manson, Wpg, 98.0 mph</p><p>1995 <i>No All-Star Game</i></p><p>1994 Al lafrate, Wsh, 102.7 mph</p><p>1993 Al lafrate, Wsh, 105.2 mph</p><p>1992 Al Maclnnis, Cgy, 93.0 mph</p><p>1991 Al Maclnnis, Cgy, 94.0 mph</p><p>1990 Al lafrate, Tor, 96.0 mph</p><p>RECORD: Al lafrate, Wsh, 105.2 mph</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05302/7735748-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="764" height="467"></div><h2><b>BREAKAWAY RELAY</b></h2><p>2003 Patrick Roy, Col, 1 goal against</p><p>2002 Dominik Hasek, Det; Patrick Roy, Col, 1 GA</p><p>2001 Evgeni Nabokov, SJ; Sean Burke, Phx, 1 GA</p><p>2000 Tommy Salp, Edm, 1 GA</p><p>1999 Dominik Hasek, Det, 1 GA</p><p>1998 Dominik Hasek, Buf, 0 GA</p><p>1997 Dominik Hasek, Buf; Guy Hebert, Ana, 1 GA</p><p>1996 Dominik Hasek, Buf, 0 GA</p><p>1995 <i>No All-Star Game</i></p><p>1994 Curtis Joseph, StL, 0 GA</p><p>1993 Jon Casey, Min; Mike Vernon, Cgy;</p><p>Ed Belfour, Chi, 1 GA</p><p>1992 Mike Richter, NYR; Don Beaupre, Wsh, 1 GA</p><p>1991 Mike Vernon, Cgy, 1 GA</p><p>RECORD: Curtis Joseph, StL, 0 GA, 1994;</p><p>Dominik Hasek, Buf, 0 GA, 1996, 1998</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06235/7735741-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="765" height="457"></div><h2><b>ACCURATE SHOT</b></h2><p>2003 Jeremy Roenick, Phi, hit 4 targets in 6 shots</p><p>2002 Markus Naslud, Van; Jarome Iginla, Cgy, 4/6</p><p>2001 Ray Bourque, Col, 4/6</p><p>2000 Ray Bourque, Bos; Viktor Kozlov, Fla, 4/5</p><p>1999 Ray Bourque, Bos; Jeremy Roenick, Phx;</p><p>Keith Tkachuk, Phx, 4/6</p><p>1998 Ray Bourque, Bos; Peter Forsberg, Col;</p><p>Brendan Shanahan, Det, 4/6</p><p>1997 Ray Bourque, Bos, 4/7 &hellip;</p><p>1996 Mark Messier, NYR, 4/4</p><p>1995 <i>No All-Star Game</i></p><p>1994 Brendan Shanahan, Det, 4/5</p><p>1993 Ray Bourque, Bos, 4/4</p><p>1992 Ray Bourque, Bos, 4/4</p><p>1991 Mark Messier, Edm, 4/4</p><p>1990 Ray Bourque, Bos, 4/7</p><p>RECORD Ray Bourque, Bos, 4/4, 1992, 1993;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-02

IN THIS ISSUE

Superstars’ time to let talent shine

<div class="byline">BY TYLER STEWART </div><div class="byline">- WITH ADAM PROTEAU</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>O</span></b>f all the Barenaked Ladies, I&rsquo;m the biggest hockey fan. We each have our hobbies to keep us occupied and mine takes up all the time family and music do not.</p><p>For example, if the band is flying across the country, I have The Hockey News in my lap and <b>I</b> I&rsquo;m wondering whether Igor Kravchuk is still in <b>I</b> the NHL. (He&rsquo;s not.) Steve Page, our lead singer, is thumbing through <i>Wine Spectator Magazine</i>, deciding on a nice cabernet. Ed Robertson (our guitarist and singer) has a video-game magazine and he&rsquo;s figuring out the next title he&rsquo;ll master in five minutes. Jim Creegan (our bassist) is reading the manual to one of his small army of electronic gadgets. And Kevin Hearn (our keyboardist) is eyeing the stewardess and salivating.</p><p>But hockey is my thing. I played house league hockey from when I was five until I was 18.1 love the pro and amateur games. And I&rsquo;ve had the chance to meet some players. I&rsquo;m a lucky guy.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s one of the awesome things about being in a band: you realize many NHLers like what you do. Also, in their careers, players have experienced the same things rock bands have. They&rsquo;ve toiled on the junior circuit, worked their butts off and had success. I discovered that when Curtis Joseph, a childhood friend of mine, was with the Blues. Apparently, Brendan Shanahan was in charge of their dressing room music and he liked to play <i>Gordon</i>, our debut album. I thought that was great. So in 1993, Cujo invited me to Maple Leaf Gardens to watch a game and introduced me to Shanny. I was all like, &ldquo;Whoa, I&rsquo;m meeting Brendan Shanahan!&rdquo; Little did I know, he was all like, &ldquo;Whoa, I&rsquo;m meeting the guy from the Barenaked Ladies!&rdquo; That, folks, is very cool.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02759/7735807-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="311" height="524"></div><p>We have also met NHLers by singing national anthems and touring. We&rsquo;ve played many arenas and players say they enjoy our music, which is gratifying. The pinnacle for me was the 2002 Olympics. We d played the Olympic plaza, but I stayed two more weeks and saw every hockey game. Plus, I hung out with guys like Michael Peca, Chris Pronger and Owen Nolan in Canada&rsquo;s dressing room after their gold medal win. It was a huge thrill, so much so my wife had to come and drag me away. She didn&rsquo;t get it - the world&rsquo;s best players were duking it out and it was some of the best hockey I&rsquo;ve seen.</p><p><b>NAKED NHL FAN</b>&nbsp;<i>Barenaked</i></p><p><i>Ladies drummer Tyler Stewart - a subscriber to The Hockey News - will play with the band at the 2004 NHL All-Star Game in Minnesota Feb. 8. Here are some of his thoughts on the game:</i></p><p>The thing is, I could talk hockey all night long with NHLers, but they&rsquo;d rather talk music. Last year, we were in L.A. making <i>Everything To Everyone</i>, our new record, and Detroit was playing Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs. We met some Wings and learned Brett Hull has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of music - particularly, Canadian music. He&rsquo;s rhyming off names of old Canadian groups - Helix, Idle Eyes, Toronto - and I&rsquo;m in awe. If there was a <i>Rock dr Roll Jeopardy</i> showdown between NHLers, he&rsquo;d be The Man. (I&rsquo;ve been on <i>Rock & Roll Jeopardy</i>. If you saw how I did, in my defense, something was wrong with the buzzer. Scout&rsquo;s honor.)</p><h2><b>NO MORE BORING INTERVIEWS!</b></h2><p>I&rsquo;ve had a blast meeting all sorts of players, from Darryl Sittier and Bobby Clarke to Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark. The only thing I can say to you NHLers is this: get a new interview shtick. No more of this &ldquo;110 per cent, one-game-a-time&rdquo; business. (The musical equivalent of the sports cliche is as follows: Interviewer: <i>Tell us about the new CD</i>. Interviewee: <i>It&rsquo;s our best work to date, we&rsquo;re really proud of it, we really worked hard on it and we&rsquo;ve really advanced as a group. Really.)</i></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03516/7735800-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="1739" height="1165"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAN HAMLITON/VPS)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>Lifelong Leafs fan and Barenaked Ladies drummer Tyler Stewart, right, cheers on his team in the hostile territory of Ottawa&rsquo;s Corel Centre.</i></p><p>You should also know I am a lifelong, Stanley Cup-starved, Toronto Maple Leafs fan. You may have seen me in a different jersey, but that&rsquo;s only when I&rsquo;m working. I bleed blue-and-white.</p><p>That reminds me of my favorite all-star story. It was in 2000 in Toronto, when Cujo was starting for the Eastern Conference. He and I were walking past the barbershop near the Royal York Hotel and who comes walking out of it? Kerry Fraser, owner of hockey&rsquo;s best hair. The same guy whose blown call contributed to my beloved Leafs losing the Western Conference title in 1993. Thanks again for that, Kerry. But hey, now you know: some flimsy little personal grooming kit can&rsquo;t put together an all-star coif. You need a stylist.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-02

Passion for hockey music to Ladies’ ears

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01979/7735838-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"></div><p><b>(you probably won&rsquo;t use them much)</b></p><p>At the 2005 UHF World Junior Hockey Championship, you&rsquo;ll be leaping to your feet from some of the most luxurious, comfortable leather seats you&rsquo;ve ever almost sat in. The Ralph Engelstad Arenas in Grand Forks, N.D., and Ji Thief River Falls, Minn., are among the finest venues in the world.</p><p>So go early and spend a little time enjoying your seat. When the action starts, the sitting ends. The tournament runs December 25, 2004 MF fcau&hellip; through January 4, 2005. For jV^tickets, call 877.917.4689 or e.&rsquo;o to <a href="http://www.theralph.com">www.theralph.com</a>.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-01

In case anyone asks, the seats were great.

<div class="byline">BY DAVE MCMAHON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02755/7735876-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg"></div><h2>MINNEAPOLIS</h2><p><b>I</b>nside the Xcel Energy Center, fans are glued to murals, posters and presentations about Minnesota&rsquo;s storied hockey past.</p><p>Wild assistant coach and local legend Mike Ramsey is talking about the time he checked Wayne Gretzky in the 1986 All-Star Game in Hartford, claiming it &ldquo;wasn&rsquo;t that big of a deal.&rdquo;</p><p>Former North Star Neal Broten can&rsquo;t say enough good things about late coach Roger Neilson, including Neilson&rsquo;s decision to put Broten on a line with his North Star teammates Dino Ciccarelli and Tom McCarthy on the 1983 Campbell Conference team.</p><p>Can&rsquo;t we do this every year in St. Paul?</p><p>On Feb. 8, the midwest burg will host the NHL&rsquo;s 54th All-Star Game and St. Paul has already caught the buzz.</p><h2><b>YOUNGEST FRANCHISE TO HOST</b></h2><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a reflection of the great fan support we have,&rdquo; said Bill Robertson, the Wild&rsquo;s vice-president of communications and broadcasting.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re the youngest franchise to ever a host an NHL all-star weekend. Part of the vision was to give something back to our fans. The other part was to leave a lasting legacy when the AllStar Game is gone&hellip;our goal is to have out-ofstate visitors embrace winter in Minnesota.&rdquo;</p><p>Ramsey brought some hockey-style Minnesota hospitality with him to the 1986 game.</p><h2><b>XCEL ENERGY CENTER</b></h2><p>The Minneapolis native had already played in two All-Star Games, but left a lasting all-star stamp in his third appearance.</p><p>&ldquo;I checked Wayne Gretzky and they made a big deal about it,&rdquo; said the 1980 Olympic gold medal winner and University of Minnesota alum.</p><p>&ldquo;There really isn&rsquo;t too much hitting in the All-Star Game. I didn&rsquo;t think it was a big deal. Our first game after the all-star break was at Edmonton and I kept hearing about how it was going to be a long night. In the first period, I got in a fight with Marty McSorley, but after that, everything was quiet. And I&rsquo;m still standing here to talk about it, so it wasn&rsquo;t so bad.&rdquo;</p><p>The Minnesota faithful won&rsquo;t be any different even though it&rsquo;s not a Wild home game.</p><p>Fans have filled the arena for 167 consecutive games through Jan. 20 and there&rsquo;s 6,500 on the waiting fist for season tickets. Robertson said the Wild will have a record 1,200 volunteers for the mid-season classic. The economic impact in the Twin Cities will be between $15-$20 million with the help of 5,000 out-of-state visitors. Robertson expects more than 700 media members, many sure to tell a Minnesota hockey tale or two.</p><h2><b>MEMORIES OF MINNESOTA</b></h2><p>Broten, who played in the 1983 and 1986 All-Star Games, is the owner of a unique hockey hat trick: he scored the game-winning goal for the Golden Gophers&rsquo; 1979 national championship team; he captured Olympic gold in 1980; and, he won the inaugural Hobey Baker Award in 1981. Now he raises quarterhorses on a farm in River Falls, Wis., just east of the Twin Cities.</p><p>&ldquo;It was always fun to play in the All-Star Game,&rdquo; Broten said.</p><p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;d have guys like Gretzky and Mark Messier getting all the attention. I just felt lucky and fortunate to play. I just liked to go in there and play the game. Roger Neilson coached the team in 1983 and he rolled the lines a little by putting Dino and Tom out there with me.&rdquo;</p><p>As any Minnesota hockey fan will tell you, <i>that</i> was an all-star line.</p><p><b>-DAVE MCMAHON IS BASED IN MINNEAPOLIS AND IS THE EDITOR OF <i>LET&rsquo;S PLAY H0CKEY</i></b></p><h2><b>2004 ALL-STAR GAME</b></h2><p><b>DATE & LOCATION</b></p><p>Sun, Feb. 8, 3 p.m. (EST) Xcet Energy Center St. Pad, Min. <b>COACHES</b></p><p><b>Eastern:</b> Pat Quinn, Toronto</p><p><b>Western:</b> Dave Lewis, Detroit</p><p><b>COVERAGE</b> ABC, CBC, RDS</p><p><b>YOUNGSTARS GAME & SUPERSHLLS COMPETITION</b></p><p>Sat., Feb. 7, 7 p.m. (EST)</p><p><b>COVERAGE</b> ESPN, CBC, RDS</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-07220/7735869-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="199" height="128"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0026-02

Hockey’s home state gets ready to party

<div class="byline">-JOE STARKEY</div><p>ST. PAUL, Min.</p><p><b>T</b>hree days before the NHL&rsquo;s 54th All-Star Game, a bronze statue of the late Herb Brooks will be unveiled near the Xcel Energy Center.</p><p>It depicts Brooks pumping his fists after Mark Johnson&rsquo;s goal gave Team USA a 4-2 lead over Finland in the gold medal game at the 1980 Olympics. It will be life-sized, but not nearly big enough to capture Brooks&rsquo;s impact.</p><p>Born and raised on St. Paul&rsquo;s East Side, Brooks became famous for coaching the &ldquo;Miracle on Ice&rdquo; team. He was already well-known in St. Paul for his starring role on Johnson High School&rsquo;s 1955 state championship team and for coaching the University of Minnesota back to prominence in the 1970s.</p><p>&ldquo;He stayed close to his roots,&rdquo; says Brooks&rsquo;s son, Dan.</p><p>Everybody in St. Paul, it seems, knew &lsquo;Herbie&rsquo; Brooks, who died Aug. 11 in a one-car accident north of the Twin Cities. And at The St. Paul Hotel, Brooks is memorialized on a &ldquo;Wall of Fame&rsquo; with other famous Minnesotans. Under Brooks&rsquo;s photo is one line, chosen by his widow,</p><p>Patti, and his son. It reads: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just a guy from the East Side.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03604/7735907-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="269" height="438"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0026-03

Statue honors coach Brooks

<p><b>M</b>ichael Jackson has come up with a new look every few years, but he has got nothing on the guys who design NHL All-Star Game togs.</p><p>The designers have had a lot to work with.</p><p>The All-Star Game has featured the Campbell Conference against the Wales, the East versus the West and North America versus the World. Prominent influences have included European-style uniforms, stars and stripes, the San Jose Sharks and Halloween.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s a look at selected all-star uniforms since 1973, with this year&rsquo;s sweater for the 2004 All-Star Game in Minnesota at bottom right.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02738/7736001-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="852" height="886"></div><p><b>1973 TONY ESPOSITO</b></p><p>They should have saved the deep red for the &rsquo;80s, so goalies could blend with the goal light.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03531/7735994-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="572" height="840"></div><p><b>1962 GRANT FUHR</b></p><p>A literal-minded designer takes &ldquo;allstar&rdquo; too seriously.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06233/7735987-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="832" height="1134"></div><p><b>1984 DENIS POTVIN</b></p><p>Wales is suitably pleased; Ireland and Scotland take the snub hard.</p><p><b>1988 WAYNE GRETZKY</b></p><p>In which The Great One&rsquo; becomes The Great Pumpkin.&rsquo; 1989</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05273/7735980-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="513" height="838"></div><p><b>1989 DINO CICCARELLI</b></p><p>Not bad, but can&rsquo;t they do something to jazz up the crest?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-07207/7735973-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="858" height="1407"></div><p><b>1988 BRETT HULL</b></p><p>The untold story: Hull liked the colors so f much, he decided to play u for Team USA.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04361/7735966-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="742" height="994"></div><p><b>1988 PATRICK ROY</b></p><p>&rsquo;Did they have to soak it in starch? I&rsquo;ve never been so stiff in my life.&rsquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-08182/7735959-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="774" height="1323"></div><p><b>1984 MARK MESSIER</b></p><p>Til say it once and only once: I&rsquo;m never, ever, ever signing with the Sharks.&rsquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-09168/7735952-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="504" height="584"></div><p><b>2000 OLAF KOLZIG</b></p><p>Too bad the rugby shirt look went out of style back in &rsquo;92. &rsquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-10159/7735945-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="821" height="1265"></div><p><b>2003 MARIAN HOSSA</b></p><p>&rsquo;Wait until you see the Rubik&rsquo;s Cube patch on, the back.&rsquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-11150/7735938-1-eng-US/f0028-112.jpg" title="f0028-11" width="1157" height="289"></div><p><b>2004 WEST & EAST</b></p><p>Viktor Tikhonov liked the look so much, he went out and bought the company.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0028-02

Three dapper decades of all-star fashion

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div><p><b>F</b>orward-thinking defenseman Phil Housley was never confined by his position and his career won&rsquo;t be confined by the lack of a Stanley Cup.</p><p>As of his official retirement announcement in mid-January, the St. Paul, Minn., native is the all-time NHL points leader among U.S.-born players.</p><p>Housley, 39, recorded 1,232 points from 338 goals and 894 assists in 1,495 NHL games with Buffalo, Winnipeg, St. Louis, Calgary, New Jersey, Washington, Chicago and Toronto.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;m proud of,&rdquo; he said from his Stillwater, Minn., home.</p><p>After 21 NHL seasons straight out of South St. Paul High School, travel had taken a toll. Though he had some feelers, he didn&rsquo;t sign this season after his one hope, to play close to home for the Minnesota Wild, didn&rsquo;t pan out.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d been tossing it around in my head and my wife and I debated whether I should play any more,&rdquo; Housley said. &ldquo;As fall came, it was evident I didn&rsquo;t have the fire to play again.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05246/7736032-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="305" height="494"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHIL HOUSLEY)</span></figcaption></div><p>Through seven NHL All-Star Games, an NHL second-team allstar selection in 1992 and a silver medal with Team USA at the 2002 Olympics, Housley said he couldn&rsquo;t pinpoint one career highlight.</p><p>&ldquo;I think going from high school right to the NHL, I was pretty proud of that, being able to make that jump,&rdquo; said the sixth overall pick of 1982, who scored 66 points as a rookie in 77 games with the Sabres.</p><p>Housley cherishes his 2002 Olympic memories, which included a game-winning goal against Russia in the semifinal.</p><p>Housley&rsquo;s most productive years were the three he spent in Winnipeg after being dealt for Dale Hawerchuk in 1990. The fleet defenseman had years of 76, 86 and 97 points with the Jets, the last as a dynamic complement to then-rookie</p><p>Teemu Selanne&rsquo;s NHL-record-smashing year of 76 goals and 132 points.</p><p>&ldquo;That was a great memory,&rdquo; said Housley, who was on the ice for 56 of Selanne&rsquo;s goals that 1992-93 season. &ldquo;It was a fun time in my life. I had something to prove from that trade.&rdquo;</p><p>Housley said he would like to coach in the NHL in the future, but he&rsquo;s got other priorities right now.</p><p>He&rsquo;s helping coach his son Wilson&rsquo;s peewee team in Stillwater and his teenage daughters Taylor and Reide have returned to playing. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m doing driving duties again,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Housley, who served as an assistant coach for the U.S. team at the Four Nations Cup in November in Switzerland, says he will be coaching a local high school team next winter.</p><p>&ldquo;I can say my goal is to coach in the NHL, but this will be a good experience for me instead of jumping right in,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I wanted to be home with my family this year after two years of being away. They&rsquo;re getting older now, they&rsquo;ll be graduating and then be gone and I want to be around for that.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-05

Housley has eye on coaching

<h2><b>RYCHEL APPEALING DECISION</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>ormer NHL tough guy Warren Rychel is in an insurance disability fight with Lloyds of London that could have widespread implications for players. A judge in Colorado recently dismissed Rychel&rsquo;s disability claim, saying a hand injury the enforcer suffered in 199899, the last season of his contract with Colorado, did not disqualify him from playing and was a natural consequence of playing in the league. When Rychel was looking for employment the next season, teams told him he wouldn&rsquo;t be of use unless his hand was at 100 per cent. Rychel, now a pro scout for Phoenix, is appealing the decision. &ldquo;I think the judge&rsquo;s ruling was the most surprising because he was saying this is what happens in the NHL,&rdquo; said Rychel&rsquo;s agent, Tom Laidlaw. &ldquo;Well, you can say that about any injury in the NHL.&rdquo; NHL Players&rsquo; Association outside counsel Bob Riley is representing Rychel in his appeal.</p><h2><b>DRUG TESTING IN QUEBEC MIDGET</b></h2><p>Players in Quebec&rsquo;s triple-A midget league will be the first in Canada to be tested for performance-enhancing drugs. League president Martin Roy said there were indications many midget players (aged 15-17) were using drugs such as steroids. Players who test positive would be banned for two years.</p><h2><b>ORR PROSPECTS BEAT TEAM CHERRY</b></h2><p>London center Rob Schremp scored points on each of his first three shifts on home ice as Team Bobby Orr beat Team Don Cherry 6-2 in the Canadian Hockey League/NHL Top Prospects game. The annual game features top major junior prospects for the 2004 NHL draft playing in front of more than 100 scouts. Schremp is ranked fourth for the draft on International Scouting Services&rsquo; January list.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

HOCKEY WORLD IN BRIEF

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>hrowing a water bottle at a ref cost Jeremy Roenick a one-game suspension, <b>I</b> meaning $91,463 off his paycheck. The <b>I</b> alternative was a $1,000 fine and no suspension. Was that a good decision?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02632/7736087-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="694" height="677"></div><p>In a poll of 30 NHLers, one from each team, 22 (74 per cent) said the suspension was appropriate.</p><p>&ldquo;J.R. knows he&rsquo;s not supposed to do that,&rdquo; said Phoenix&rsquo;s Landon Wilson. &ldquo;We all know we&rsquo;re not supposed to do that.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a lot of money to sacrifice for something Like that,&rdquo; said Washington&rsquo;s Matt Pettinger. &ldquo;Maybe he would think twice before doing it again.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;The system needs to be fixed,&rdquo; said Detroit&rsquo;s Mathieu Schneider. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something that needs to be addressed in the next bargaining agreement.&rdquo;</p><p><b>- FOR COMPLETE PLAYER POLL RESULTS, VISIT <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-02

The Hockcy Mews PLAYER POLL

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span></b>hould labor issues wipe out the entire 2004-05 season, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft won&rsquo;t automatically go to the team finishing last this season, according to published reports.</p><p>Although a contingency plan is not official, the Toronto <i>Star</i> reports all 30 NHL teams would get a chance to select Sidney Crosby, the undisputed early-line top pick in June 2005. The lottery odds would be skewed towards non-playoff teams.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04296/7736118-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="405" height="369"></div><p>The current draft lottery gives only the bottom five teams a chance to win the No. 1 pick.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0029-04

2005 NHL draft likely a lottery

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02721/7736149-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg"></div><p><b>C</b>olumbus right winger David Vyborny has stepped tip for the Blue Jackets this year.</p><p>Vyborny, 29, is one of the first players over the boards on the power play and the penalty kill - and has had offensive success at both.</p><p>Vyborny has all three of the Blue ^Jackets&rsquo; shorthanded goals this year and is tied for second on the team in power play goals with four.</p><p>The 5-foot-10, 183-pound native of the Czech Republic has been skating on the first line with sophomore sensation Rick Nash, the NHL goal leader with 28, and third-year pivot Mark Hartigan.</p><p>I Drafted in the second round (33rd overall) by Edmonton in 1993, Vyborny played for years in Europe - as well as Cape Breton in the American League in 199493 - before signing with the Blue Jackets in 2000.</p><p>He&rsquo;s always demonstrated a scoring knack - he led the Czech league with 70 points in 1998-99 - Vyborny&rsquo;s 29 points in 47 games is second-most on Columbus.</p><p><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b> The player who is under the most pressure to perform on each team is featured in I the NHL team reports (pgs. 30-44). &rsquo;</p><h2><b>POWER PLAY POINTS IN</b></h2><p><b>SPOTLIGHT</b> The &lsquo;Spotlight&rsquo; boxes in the NHL team reports show the top five players on each club in power play points. The player who leads his team in power play points is pictured. Washington&rsquo;s Robert Lang leads the league with 28.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-02

NHL TEAM REPORTS

<div class="byline">- JOHN MANASSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06203/7736218-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="273" height="598"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JOHN RUSSELL/BBS)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>R</span></b>ight winger Dany Heatley skated with his teammates for the first time since his car crash that killed teammate Dan Snyder and in which he suffered torn knee ligaments.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05259/7736225-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="223" height="298"></div><p>Heatley, who had surgery Ort. 7 to repair complete tears of his ACL, MCL and a partial tear of his meniscus in his right knee, took part in the team&rsquo;s 90-minute, full contact practice Jan. 16 before Atlanta&rsquo;s home game against Carolina that night.</p><p>Heatley, who has addressed the media just once since the accident, didn&rsquo;t meet with reporters afterwards. His rehab was ahead of schedule and was on track for a return sometime: in early-to mid February.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re all very excited to see! him on the ice,&rdquo; &Iacute; said left winger Ilya Kovalchuk. I &ldquo;A couple of those 2-on-0s, it I was unbelievable. He&rsquo;s a great I player and it&rsquo;s easy to play with him.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p>Three times left winger Marc Savard has gone down with different injuries. If the Thrashers want to make the playoffs, they&rsquo;ll need a healthy and productive Savard. A sprained right MCL cost Savard all-star consideration.</p><p>With 15 goals and 41 points in 32 games, Savard has been one of the league&rsquo;s most productive scorers when healthy. His absence was felt when he missed nearly five full games in a nine-game winless streak in January.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Center Randy Robitaille had four goals and five points in six games in January&hellip; Several Thrashers broke out of slumps Jan. 20 against Buffalo: Left winger Slava Kozlov&rsquo;s two goals were his first in seven games, giving him 19; center Patrik Stefan had his first in nine games and right winger J-P Vigier had his first in 10 games&hellip;Goaltender Jani Hurme had a biopsy on his back to remove &ldquo;a thickness of mass around his spinal cord&rdquo; Jan. 16.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-06

NHL TEAM REPORT

Heatley shares ice with thrilled Thrashers

<div class="byline">- MIKE LOFTUS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05280/7736256-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="273" height="598"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he Boston Bruins, who used the same six defensemen for the season&rsquo;s first 27 games, ultimately decided competition may be better - especially if a competitor can produce a bit of offense.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02649/7736263-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="207" height="299"></div><p>That resulted in Boston obtaining 32-year-old Jiri Slegr from Vancouver Jan. 17 for future considerations - believed to be a sixth round draft pick, if the potential unrestricted free agent re-signs.</p><p>The Bruins didn&rsquo;t expect Slegr to maintain Iris early pace - he scored goals in bis first two games - but believed he&rsquo;d be steady in the defensive zone and adept at joining the rush.</p><p>&ldquo;He can help us move the puck,&rdquo; said coach Mike Sullivan of Slegr, a healthy scratch 30 times in Vancouver&rsquo;s first 46 games. &ldquo;He has the ability to see the ice and (pass) tapeto-tape. He&rsquo;ll help our transition game.&rdquo; Slegr&rsquo;s goals for the Bruins gave him four in 18 games this year. Blueliner Jeff Jillson, who was a healthy scratch for Slegr&rsquo;s first game, skated at forward in the next.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Glen Murray, RW</i>. With only 14 goals through 48 games after consecutive 40-goal seasons, he&rsquo;s an obvious candidate. But a strong finishing kick would help Boston while also making Murray a more attractive unrestricted free agent in the summer.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Center Joe Thornton, who&rsquo;d been playing some of his best hockey of the season, suffered a slight cheek fracture in a Jan. 19 fight with Rangers center Eric Lindros, and was unable to face the Rangers the next night in New York&hellip;Right winger Carl Corazzini became the sixth Bruin to make his NHL debut this season when he played Jan. 15 at Buffalo. The third-year pro from nearby Framingham, Mass., scored his first two goals in a 4-1 victory Jan. 20 at Madison Square Garden.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-05

Slegr’s early impact all about offense

<div class="byline">- JIM KELLEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06226/7736294-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="273" height="595"></div><p><b>T</b>he Sabres are a team under fire again, only this time it&rsquo;s not just coming from coach Lindy Ruff.</p><p>Ruff, who has been ratcheting up the criticism virtually all season, singled out Miro Satan, Curtis Brown and Ales Kotalik as not having strong outings after a 4-2 road loss to the Islanders Jan. 17, the first game of a critical five-game road trip. He specifically mentioned a lack of passion, especially on the road.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03478/7736301-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="231" height="301"></div><p>The next day, Chris Drury backed his coach. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it (a passion to win) is (always there),&rdquo; said the first-year Sabre. &ldquo;Some nights, it&rsquo;s more than others. I think it&rsquo;s the one thing in this</p><p>I game you have I control over, I your pr&eacute;parait tion and your I emotion.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re certainly not in any! position not to &Eacute; have a 100 pert cent effort every I night,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>&ldquo;Until we consistently find that, r we&rsquo;re going to be battling close to 500, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th spot (in the standings). That&rsquo;s not where we want to be.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Miroslav Satan, RW</i>. Satan has incurred the wrath of fans this year and there are whispers that teammates have become disenchanted, too. He has a tendency to run hot and cold and his road numbers and plus-minus (-12) are weak. The rap is Satan has become disinterested in being a Sabre since signing a two-year, $10-million deal in the summer and that he won&rsquo;t play any sort of physical or defensive game.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Owner Tom Golisano said in a radio interview there is enough money in the Sabres budget to take on a bit more salary if it would help the team make the playoffs. That was interpreted as setting the stage for some kind of trade&hellip; The Sabres are keeping an eye on OHL left winger Daniel Paille. Paille was Buffalo&rsquo;s first round pick (20th overall) in 2002, but he remains unsigned. If he&rsquo;s not signed before this June&rsquo;s draft, he can re-enter.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-06

Drury joins coach in blasting Sabres

<div class="byline">- ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-07196/7736332-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="274" height="594"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n the end, it was difficult to tell which player&rsquo;s return from the long-term injury list was more welcome, goaltender Roman Turek or center Craig Conroy.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04353/7736339-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="230" height="296"></div><p>Coincidentally, both turned in strong efforts in their second games back. Turek won for the first time this season beating Anaheim Jan. 19, a game in which Conroy recorded a career-high four assists.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got 39 games (to salvage his season),&rdquo; said coach-GM Darryl Sutter of Conroy. &ldquo;He was just starting to play better when he got injured.&rdquo;</p><p>Sutter was even more blunt about his expectations for Turek.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody talked about how a big part of our season would hinge on Roman Turek and I still believe it&rsquo;s going to,&rdquo; said Sutter. &ldquo;Because from here until the all-star break is &mdash; his season. We&rsquo;re going to get (Miikka) Kiprusoff back and if we&rsquo;re healthy, then we have a good problem. I&rsquo;m not going to keep all three. I mean, it&rsquo;s not hard to figure out. You&rsquo;ve got a guy making over $4 million. He sure as hell had better play well.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Roman Turek, G</i>. Turek missed 39 games recovering from a knee ligament tear and in his absence, the Flames received timely and effective goaltending from both replacements, Jamie McLennan and Kiprusoff. Sutter&rsquo;s promise he wouldn&rsquo;t keep all three netminders around makes the implication clear: it&rsquo;s Turek and his $4.25-million salary that&rsquo;s on the bubble, not Kiprusoff or McLennan, both of whom earn under $1 million per season.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>The Flames had a scare in a Jan. 17 home date with the Dallas Stars when right winger Jarome Iginla sprained his ankle in a collision with Dallas defenseman Richard Matvichuk. Iginla missed one game.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0031-07

Turek, Conroy healthy, can they fan Flames?

<div class="byline">- LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-07298/7736370-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="269" height="591"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span></b>esperate to perk up their NHL-worst offense, the Hurricanes acquired Justin Williams from Philadelphia for Danny Markov, who had emerged as Carolina&rsquo;s No. 1 defenseman after a draft-day trade from Phoenix.</p><p>Williams will play a much bigger role in Carolina <b>CAROLINA</b> than he did on the star-laden Flyers.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04456/7736377-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="229" height="249"></div><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of a younger group in this dressing room,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;There were a lot more veterans in Philadelphia and I need to take what I learned from those guys.&rdquo;</p><p>Williams, 22, walked into his new dressing room with six goals and 26 points, making him Carolina&rsquo;s leading scorer before his first shift with the team. &ldquo;I feel bad I had to add Danny Markov to this trade,&rdquo; said Carolina GM Jim Rutherford. &ldquo;But based on the way our team has played to this point we had to (tm)&mdash;do something to the structure of our forwards.&rdquo;</p><p>Markov played only 44 games for the Hurricanes, but led the team in ice time and Carolina defensemen in scoring.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Jeff O&rsquo;Neill, RW</i>. With his second career hat trick Jan. 16, O&rsquo;Neill scored as many goals in less than 34 minutes as he had in the previous 26 games and scored five goals in the first six games of the; second half. His scoring struggles I have crippled the NHL&rsquo;s lowest-scoring team and his contract is up at the end of the year. If O&rsquo;Neill can&rsquo;t produce, it won&rsquo;t be long before he is wearing another uniform.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>After starting the season in the American League, left winger Pavel Brendl was recalled Jan. 13 and had a goal and two assists in his first three games. &ldquo;I hope it&rsquo;s that easy,&rdquo; Brendl said. &ldquo;So far it&rsquo;s worked."&hellip;The Hurricanes haven&rsquo;t allowed a 5-on-3 goal since Nov. 2, but they did allow a rare 3-on-5 shorthanded goal to Atlanta&rsquo;s Daniel Tiarnqvist Jan. 18.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-07

Williams adds energy to moribund offense

<div class="byline">-TIM SASSONE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-08270/7736408-1-eng-US/f0034-082.jpg" title="f0034-08" width="268" height="593"></div><p>The Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; Eric Daze plans to play another eight to 10 years in the NHL - if his back will allow it.</p><p>Daze, coming off his third back surgery in as many B seasons, resumed off-ice workouts in January, planning to return to the lineup sometime after the all-star break.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05368/7736415-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="221" height="297"></div><p>&ldquo;I have a lot of work in front of me to come back and play,&rdquo; Daze said. &ldquo;Basically, what I&rsquo;ll have to do the rest of my career is do the rehab every day.&rdquo;</p><p>The 28-year-old claims not to be concerned about his contract status. He is making $3.2 million and will be a restricted free agent at season&rsquo;s end. The &iacute; question is, will the Hawks make him a strong qualifying offer knowing Daze&rsquo;s I back could go I out again? I It&rsquo;s believed the Hawks want to resign Daze, but at a much &rsquo; lower base salary. &ldquo;My contract situation will take care of itself,&rdquo; Daze said.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Steve Sullivan, RW</i>. Although he is healthy, Sullivan finds himself in a position similar to Daze&rsquo;s. Sullivan will be a restricted free agent after the season, but he hasn&rsquo;t put up the kind of numbers to justify the Hawks qualifying him at his present salary of $3 million.</p><p>There have been rumblings the team will try to move Sullivan before the trade deadline. He had only seven goals in 46 games, although he was the team&rsquo;s leading scorer (29).</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Right winger Theoren Fleury, still serving an indefinite league suspension for a self-reported: violation of his substance-abuse: aftercare program, told the Calgary <i>Sun</i>, &ldquo;If I did come back to play, the: Flames would be the only team I&rsquo;d play for.&rdquo;&hellip;Chicago&rsquo;s 4-2 loss at: Minnesota Jan. 21 was its 16th consecutive on the road, tying a 50-year-old franchise record&hellip;The Hawks hired former Washington coach Bruce Cassidy as a pro scout.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-08

Daze eyes long career I it ailing back allows

<div class="byline">- ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-09237/7736446-1-eng-US/f0034-092.jpg" title="f0034-09" width="268" height="598"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b>hen Teemu Selanne came to the Colorado Avalanche, the storybook script was supposed to run something like this: score lots of goals with best buddy Paul Kariya and live happily ever after.</p><p>But Selanne&rsquo;s infectious smile has been missing for much of the season, not only because of injuries to but, more importantly, a dip in his level of play. The Finnish Flash had just 11 goals through 44 games and was dropped to the third and fourth lines on occasion - even though Kariya had returned from sick bay.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06326/7736453-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="224" height="285"></div><p>The 33-year-old Selanne has been critical of the officiating this season, along with the overall style of play in the NHL. But he doesn&rsquo;t spare himself from criticism, either.</p><p>&ldquo;Of course I know I need to score more goals,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Kariya supported his struggling teammate: &ldquo;Teemu will be fine. He&rsquo;s going to score some big goals for us down the stretch.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Martin Skoula</i>. The fifth-year defenseman had a rough first third of the season, but started to improve near the midway point. Still, Skoula, the 17th overall pick in 1998, was widely considered to be one of the more likely candidates to be traded, perhaps for a backup goalie or another blueliner.</p><p>One reason Skoula&rsquo;s play picked up was his increased grittiness. Instead of being passive in the defensive zone, Skoula began using his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame to push opponents. If he wants to stay in Colorado, he&rsquo;ll need to keep doing it.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Center Peter Forsberg reinjured his troublesome groin area in mid-January. The injury wasn&rsquo;t as serious as earlier ones; he was listed: as day-to-day&hellip; Right winger Milan; Hejduk set an NHL record by scoring on penalty shots eight days; apart. The second, in Tampa Bay; Jan. 19, was the overtime winner in a 5-4 defeat of the Lightning.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-09

Flash yet to emerge as Selanne struggles

<div class="byline">- ROB TYCHKOWSK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03587/7736484-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="274" height="592"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>hree years ago he had 13 goals, was NHL heavyweight champ and a power forward in the making. Now he&rsquo;s just happy to be out of Craig MacTavish&rsquo;s doghouse.</p><p>&ldquo;Any game that I miss is a wake-up call,&rdquo; said Georges Laraque, a healthy scratch in eight of 10 games before returning to the lineup Jan. 20 against Dallas. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played almost 400 games in the league. This is the first time I&rsquo;m in the situation where I don&rsquo;t play every game.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02717/7736491-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="226" height="305"></div><p>With no goals and only four fights this season, Laraque has been guilty of focusing too much on off-ice activities (charities, appearances and his radio show) and not enough on hockey.</p><p>&ldquo;The one thing you don&rsquo;t want as a player is to think that everything outside the game is more important than the game itself,&rdquo; MacTavish said. &ldquo;The onus is on Georges to come back, to turn his game around. It&rsquo;s as simple as that. I know how valuable he can be when he&rsquo;s on his game.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Adam Oates, C</i>. The Oilers were counting on Oates, acquired in one of their very rare forays into the free agent market, to spark their power play and provide some of the offense lost in Mike Comrie. So far it hasn&rsquo;t happened.</p><p>He has shored up their faceoff problems (he was second in the league at 61.1 per cent) and provided leadership, but unless he becomes a steady offensive contributor it&rsquo;ll be tough for Edmonton to catch the eighth and final playoff spot.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Defenseman Cory Cross had two black eyes and a badly broken nose after being hit in the face with a dump in off the stick of Nashville left winger Scott Hartnell. &ldquo;I looked in the mirror and it broke,&rdquo; he laughed&hellip;Coach Craig</p><p>MacTavish says his feelings towards referees are probably mutual: Do they want to fight me as bad as I want to fight them? I think it&rsquo;s probably true of a lot of them."&hellip; Goalie Tommy Salo&rsquo;s 3-0 win over Dallas gave him three shutouts in six starts&hellip;Left winger Ryan Smyth is using custom made shafts from Hespeler. They&rsquo;re Canadian flag red and feature a Maple Leaf, his late grandmother&rsquo;s initials and the word &ldquo;Moo-lay,&rdquo; which the players jokingly use as the French pronunciation of mullet, Smyth&rsquo;s hairstyle of choice.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-03

Enforcer Laraque learning hard way to conserve energy for on ice

<div class="byline">- DAVID J. NEAL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05392/7736522-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="271" height="598"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he way the Florida Panthers have succumbed to injuries you would think Rob Laird, the Los Angeles pro scout who spent some time at the Office Depot Center in mid-January, had brought the bug over from the ever-ailing Kings.</p><p>A second X-ray taken of the foot that had defenseman Jay Bouwmeester walking like Fred Sanford for almost week revealed a broken foot. The day before that discovery, center Viktor Kozlov sustained another broken toe. Two home games later, Mike Van Ryn took a stick to the head and was out with a possible concussion.</p><p>That trio represents the Panthers&rsquo; top-two defensemen by ice time and scoring and their third-leading scorer.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04466/7736529-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="221" height="304"></div><p>All this a week after losing rookie right winger Nathan Horton to a torn rotator cuff. The swift mending of Horton&rsquo;s 18-year-old body convinced doctors to put off what had looked like season-ending surgery for at least a few weeks.</p><p>You know things are bad when the guy with the torn rotator cuff has the best news.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Olli Jokinen, C</i>. Talented, but long-slumping wingers Kristian Huselius and Niklas Hagman are discussed as trade bait, but it&rsquo;s Jokinen who&rsquo;s getting called out by interim coach-GM Rick Dudley and the media. Jokinen&rsquo;s ascension to captain and icetime leader means his leadership and production are necessities, even more so with recent injuries. The Panthers are 8-2-2-1 when Jokinen gets a goal, 11-5-4-2 when he gets a point.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Panthers owner Alan Cohen picked up the option on coach-GM Rick Dudley&rsquo;s contract for next year and insisted there&rsquo;s no way he will bring back former coach Mike Keenan in any capacity&hellip;</p><p>Florida signed free agent right winger Donald Audette to a one-year contract Jan. 16. The 34-year-old had three goals and eight points in 23 games with Montreal this season, before having his contract bought out Jan. 2&hellip;Counting the 1996 Stanley Cup final, the Panthers are 0-9-0-0 at home against Colorado since the Avalanche&rsquo;s move from Quebec. Three times the Avs have overcome three-goal deficits to win, most recently Jan. 21 in a 65 Florida loss. It was the seventh time this year the Panthers have taken a two-goal lead, yet failed to secure the win.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-05

Inopportune injuries hit Florida hard I as key Panthers out at mid-season

<div class="byline">- MATT MCHALE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07326/7736560-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="270" height="598"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b>lexander Frolov does not receive the attention of other top Russian youngsters such as Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya! Kovalchuk. But the 21-year left winger could be the key to the; Kings reaching the playoffs.</p><p>&Iacute; His third period goal Jan. 18 ended the Kings 14-game win; less streak and gave him 14 on the year, tying his output for last year&rsquo;s rookie season. &ldquo;He is one of the most skilled players in the league, no doubt,&rdquo; said Chicago coach Brian Sutter.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06356/7736567-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="213" height="289"></div><p>With Ziggy Palffy, Jason Allison, Adam Deadmarsh probably all out for the year with: injuries, Frolov&rsquo;s production is critical. Even with the winless streak, the Kings remained in the hunt for the: final playoff spot.</p><p>What impresses scouts is the way Frolov has picked up the tempo of his game. Although he does not possess the rifle shot; of Kovalchuk, Frolov exhibits strong puck possession skills and: on-ice vision.</p><p>And as student in the Russian hockey system, he also possesses impressive two way skills.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very happy with what we are seeing,&rdquo; said Kings GM Dave Taylor. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to need it out of him every night.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Luc Robitaille, LW</i>. With goal droughts of 12 and 10 games this season, Robitaille&rsquo;s future following this year is uncertain. The all-time goal scoring leader among left wingers, he was made a healthy scratch by coach Andy Murray for two games in mid-January, just the second and third scratches of his 18-year career. It also came during the Kings&rsquo; 14-game winless streak (Dec. 18-Jan. 18) when scoring was at a premium. He is on a one-year deal wortjj $12 million guaranteed with incentives that could make the package worth nearly $2.5 million.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Left winger Martin Straka finally underwent surgery almost two weeks after sustaining a knee-on-knee hit by Columbus blueliner Anders Eriksson. Straka tore the MCL in his left knee, but it was cartilage tears in both knees that were repaired. Straka, who had six goals and 11 points in 19 games since arriving from Pittsburgh in a trade, should be back by March 1&hellip;Right winger Scott Barney, who missed three seasons with back trouble, scored his first NHL goal in Minnesota Jan. 14.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-07

Frolov evolving into go-to performer for severely shorthanded Kings

<div class="byline">- AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03539/7736598-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="273" height="599"></div><p><b>T</b>he Blue Jackets&rsquo; season has been salvaged by two 19-year-old forwards.</p><p>Left winger Rick Nash and right winger Nikolai Zherdev sparked an offensive uprising that saw the Blue Jackets go 3-1-30 between Jan. 8-21, by far their hottest streak of the 2003-04 season.</p><p>&ldquo;It started with those two,&rdquo; said veteran Trevor Letowski. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re dynamic players and they&rsquo;ve been unbelievable lately; the confidence is spreading.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02650/7736605-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="226" height="300"></div><p>The offense choked and gagged until interim coach Gerard Gallant moved Zherdev to right wing on the team&rsquo;s second line, next to left winger Geoff Sanderson and center Todd Marchant. Now, finally, there&rsquo;s a No. 2 line to compliment Nash, who led the NHL with 28 goals through Jan. 22 and who is on pace to chase the 50-goal mark.</p><p>&ldquo;That line has a lot of speed and skill,&rdquo; Gallant said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no reason they can&rsquo;t create a lot of scoring chances.&rdquo;</p><h2>ON THE HOT SEAT</h2><p><i>Geoff Sanderson, LW</i>. Sanderson has shown signs of emerging from the most prolonged slump of his career. And that&rsquo;s good news for the Blue Jackets, who were hoping Sanderson would repeat his franchise-record 34-goal performance of last season.</p><p>A Sanderson hot streak could lead in two directions. Either he helps the Blue Jackets to a strong finish in their fourth NHL season, or he plays well enough to spark interest from playoff-bound clubs.</p><h2>NOTEBOOK</h2><p>If he can continue his goalscoring pace, 19-year-old left winger Rick Nash would become just the third teenager to score 50 goals in an NHL season. The others were Wayne Gretzky and Jimmy Carson&hellip;Defenseman JaroslavSpacek returned Jan. 21 from a torn groin that cost him 24 games this season. His return allowed the Blue Jackets to play with their top six defenseman in the lineup for only the fifth time all year and the first time since Nov. 14&hellip;Right winger David Vyborny had fun with Nash after a sweet, behind-the-back pass by Nash led to a Vyborny goal in a 4-4 tie with the Edmonton Oilers Jan. 18. Nash had amassed 28 goals, but only six assists through Jan. 22. &ldquo;It was Nasher&rsquo;s first pass of the New Year,&rdquo; Vyborny dead-panned.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-03

Big contributions from Nash, Zherdev have Bloe Jackets on winning track

<div class="byline">- MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05343/7736636-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="274" height="596"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>P</span></b>ierre Turgeon has been reborn. And as a center, no less. Who would have figured? When a groin injury felled Mike Modano for six games in January, Turgeon was moved back to center and responded with i the best hockey he has played in a Stars uniform. Turgeon wasn&rsquo;t a scoring ace, chipping in a goal and two assists in six games. He also was only a plus-1 in that span, so he didn&rsquo;t take control of the game, but he was a contributor for 19 minutes a game and showed he still has some talent at age 34.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve given Turgeon added responsibility, and he&rsquo;s grabbed that and given us very good, minutes,&rdquo; said coach Dave Tippett. &ldquo;His work ethic is very good.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04413/7736643-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="229" height="259"></div><p>Turgeon&rsquo;s is a nice story when you consider the Stars tried to! buy him out in the summer, put him on waivers and threatened! him with a trip to the minors.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just happy to be here and happy it&rsquo;s working out,&rdquo; said</p><p>Turgeon, who&rsquo;s making $7.5 million this season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always felt i if I got a chance, it would work out.&rdquo;</p><h2>ON THE HOT SEAT</h2><p><i>Marty Turco, G</i>. After a slow start to the season, Turco has been fantastic for the Stars, going 8-3-4-0 since Dec. 22 and is basically carrying a Stars team struggling to score two goals a game. What&rsquo;s more, the Stars are scared to even consider playing a backup goalie.</p><p>Turco not only will have to carry the Stars once they get to the playoffs, he also will have to carry them into the post-season. No player on Dallas&rsquo; roster faces more pressure the rest of the season.</p><h2>NOTEBOOK</h2><p>Right winger David Oliver scored his first NHL goal in more than four years Jan. 19 in a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. The goal, which won the game for Dallas, was Oliver&rsquo;s first since Dec. 11, 1999 when; he was a member of the Phoenix Coyotes&hellip;The Stars are unbeaten in 55 games in which they lead heading into the third; period (49-0-6-0)&hellip;Goaltender Marty Turco is 13-3-1-0 life-time when playing teams from Canada&hellip;The Stars were shut; out for the ninth time of the season Jan. 20 in a 3-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. The franchise record for times shut out in a season, set in 1974-75, is 11&hellip;The Stars are 16-1-2-0 when scoring three goals or more this season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-05

Oft-maligned Turgeon finds new life after moving from wing to center

<div class="byline">- NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07273/7736674-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="272" height="597"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>wenty games. Essentially, a quarter of a season. That&rsquo;s how long right winger Brett Hull had gone since scoring a goal - since scoring his 732nd goal, which ranked him third in NHL history behind only Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801).</p><p>&ldquo;Sometimes you see him shake his head a little bit and then at practice he might be quiet,&rdquo; said coach Dave Lewis, who broke Hull up with his center, Pavel Datsyuk, for a stretch. &ldquo;But the next day he&rsquo;s out doing all his normal things. I&rsquo;m sure he believes he&rsquo;ll get out of it, too. It&rsquo;s just (that) he&rsquo;d like to snap it sooner than later.&rdquo; At least Hull had earned 14 assists during the scoring drought.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06299/7736681-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="229" height="286"></div><p>&ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t totally just dried up or shut down or anything,&rdquo; Lewis said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s still very effective at what he does. He&rsquo;s a playmaker, too.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Jason Williams, RW</i>. After making a significant contribution to the Wings&rsquo; 2002 Stanley Cup championship - playing nine playoff games, even centering Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman in Game 3 of the Western Conference final against the Colorado Avalanche - Williams spent most of last season in the American League.</p><p>The 23-year-old right winger had a fantastic opportunity to estabfish himself as a contributor this season because of the Red Wings&rsquo; injury epidemic, but he didn&rsquo;t, and consequently has been a healthy scratch in recent games.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Right winger Steve Yzerman&rsquo;s assist Jan. 16 against Phoenix was point No. 1,700 of his career, making him the seventh player in league history to reach the mark. Yzerman then tied Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Mario Lemieux for sixth place on the NHL&rsquo;s alltime scoring list with his 1,701st point, Detroit&rsquo;s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks Jan. 19. He played down the accomplishments, as he usually plays down such things. &ldquo;If it&rsquo;s not important to him, I&rsquo;ll just take the puck then,&rdquo; said left winger Ray Whitney. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s very impressive. Because he&rsquo;s been injured the last couple of years and hasn&rsquo;t played a lot of games, you kind of lose sight of how high (on the NHL&rsquo;s all-time scoring list) he is. He&rsquo;s had to play well and play well for a long time.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-07

Hull suffers extended scoring slump, but contributes to cause other ways

<div class="byline">- BRIAN MURPHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04384/7736712-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="273" height="594"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he Minnesota Wild is on pace to finish with 24 ties, which would be the highest total in 30 years and, ahem, tie the record set by the 196970 Philadelphia Flyers during a 76-game season that had no overtime.</p><p>With eight ties in 13 games during one stretch in January, the Wild remained the only team in the NHL without a win or a loss in overtime (17-18-14-0).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03463/7736719-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="227" height="273"></div><p>Left winger Andrew Brunette was confounded by phenomenon, but he added the Wild and their opponents were equally culpable. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve gotten what we deserved,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve blown games late and we&rsquo;ve got some fortunate bounces to tie games. We&rsquo;re not opening up too much. But I don&rsquo;t think the other teams are, either, because they don&rsquo;t want: to give any points to us. That&rsquo;s not just overtime, that&rsquo;s the whole &rsquo; game.&rdquo;</p><p>Since the five-minute overtime was adopted in 1984-85, no team has had more than 20 ties in a single season.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Marian Gaborik, RW</i>. Gaborik&rsquo;s autumn of discontent has translated into a winter of misery and an 11-goal pace that will render his hard-won bonus clauses moot. His talent remains unmatched on a plodding team and he yearns to lead the Wild out of its offensive fog. But if his stick remains frozen, the patience of Minnesota fans will continue to melt.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>As expected, goalie Dwayne Roloson was picked to represent the Wild as the host team&rsquo;s lone all-star. His goals-against average and save percentage were consistently better than any other netminder in the Western Conference&hellip; Center Marc Chouinard, who had been out for more than two months with a broken jaw and subsequent viral infection, was finally cleared to play Jan. 21. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been antsy for a long time, trust me,&rdquo; he said.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0037-04

Minnesota on pace to match ties record

<div class="byline">- HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02650/7736750-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="275" height="601"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he guy who wasn&rsquo;t supposed to last until Christmas with the Montreal Canadiens is drawing high praise for the team&rsquo;s transformation into one of the NHL&rsquo;s biggest surprises this season.</p><p>Claude Julien, the soft-spoken and self-effacing coach, appears to have righted the perennial rebuilding Canadiens, who are playing some of their most spirited hockey in years. He marked his one-year anniversary on the job Jan. 17 with a 2-2 tie against the Rangers, giving Montreal a 7-12-0 record in its last 10 games and a 24-16-6-2 mark overall, good for seventh in the Eastern Conference.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01951/7736757-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="231" height="275"></div><p>&ldquo;Claude probably hasn&rsquo;t gotten enough credit for the job he&rsquo;s done,&rdquo; said defenseman Sheldon Souray.</p><p>Julien hasn&rsquo;t hesitated to bench anyone - underachievers, veterans and even leading scorer Mike Ribeiro, for taking longer than normal shifts. Most have returned with a new commitment and little rancor toward the coach.</p><p>&ldquo;Claude is earning respect from the players, fans and media,&rdquo; said center Joe Juneau. &ldquo;Respect has to be earned. You can&rsquo;t demand it.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Jose Theodore, G</i>. Theodore said he&rsquo;s prepared to play each of the Canadiens&rsquo; remaining 34 games this season - and he might have to if Montreal is to make the playoffs for only the second time in six years. Much like 2001-02, the last time the Canadiens qualified when they were backed by performances that earned him the Hart and Vezina Trophies, Theodore is doing everything but stand on his head. With a 20-14-5 record in 40 games, 1.99 goals-against average, five shutouts and save percentage of .929, Theodore provides the team with a chance to win every game.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Center <b>Joe Juneau</b> played his 800th career game against the Rangers, but won&rsquo;t retain it among his treasured memories. He played despite suffering from the flu, likely why he won only five of 14 faceoffs. He also was on the receiving end of a high stick from Anson Carter&hellip;Center Steve Begin, suffering from torn ligaments in his left shoulder, resumed practicing ahead of schedule, although he had yet to endure contact. He could resume playing following the all-star break.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-02

Coach Julien fools all the experts, has his job… and Canadiens flying

<div class="byline">- DAVID BOCLAII</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04410/7736788-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="271" height="595"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n one of the more absurd developments of a thus far improbable season, goalie Tomas Vokoun admitted he feels pressured by backup Chris Mason.</p><p>Vokoun had missed three of four contests due to illness prior to beating Phoenix 4-3 Jan. 15 and Mason went 2-0-1 with the tie being his first career shutout, a scoreless draw against Los Angeles.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03522/7736795-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="233" height="262"></div><p>Never mind that Vokoun has been among the league leaders in wins all season. Or that he had appeared in 39 of Nashville&rsquo;s first 41 games and had much to do with the fact the team is in legitimate playoff contention. Or that Mason had just 11 career appearances and no victories prior to that stretch.</p><p>&ldquo;If Tomas needs the reassurance of seeing it in print,&rdquo; said coach Barry Trotz, &ldquo;he&rsquo;s our No. 1.&rdquo;</p><p>In the next two games, Vokoun made 47 saves on 48 shots in critical victories over Edmonton (2-1) and Minnesota (2-0).</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Denis Arkhipov, C</i>. The Predators have waited for well over a season for him to regain the touch he displayed when he produced 20 goals in 2001-02. Despite a regular offensive role, including repeated opportunities on the power play, Arkhipov had just three goals through 46 games and 14 in his last 123. As the team makes it push for its first playoff appearance, it will need a reliable second line center and if Arkhipov is not the guy, the Predators could make a trade or possibly even recall veteran Tony Hrkac from the minors.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Through 46 games, right winger Jordin Tootoo had 76 penalty minutes, already the second most for a Predators&rsquo; rookie behind only Patrick Cote&rsquo;s 242 in 1998-99. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s a guy in the eagUe wjj0 (agitates) to that degree,&rdquo; Trotz said. &ldquo;Maybe Kirk Maltby in his heyday or (Tyson) Nash, but Toots fights his own battles.&rdquo;&hellip;Center Greg Johnson scored two shorthanded goals in a span of nine days when he converted against Colorado (Jan. 8) and Edmonton (Jan. 17). His previous shorthanded goal was during the 1998-99 season&hellip; Right winger Scott Walker scored the 90th goal of his career and his 80th for Nashville Jan. 17 against Edmonton&hellip; Defenseman Jamie Allison got assists in back-to-back games Jan. 17 and 19, equaling his point total for each of the past two seasons.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-04

Predators reassure goalie Vokoun he’s still No. 1 in their hearts

<div class="byline">- RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05321/7736826-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="273" height="596"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>O</span></b>nce again Scott Stevens may have changed the course of the Devils&rsquo; season. This time, however, it didn&rsquo;t happen because of one of the defenseman&rsquo;s devastating hits.</p><p>Feeling tired and sometimes depressed, Stevens went on his own to noted neurologist Dr. Karen Johnston in Montreal Jan. 15 and it was determined he was suffering from post-concussion syndrome.</p><p>It was not known what triggered the problem, but there was speculation Stevens suffered a concussion when hit in the left ear by a puck during the playoffs last April 28 in Tampa and may have compounded the injury when hit by Vaclav Varada Nov. 8 in Ottawa this season. &ldquo;It sounds like I have the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been run-down and feeling a little down emotionally. I kind of feel a little relieved knowing what is going on. I was concerned not knowing.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06277/7736833-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="201" height="295"></div><p>The Devils, who originally called it a severe case of the flu, were far from relieved. They braced for more than two weeks without their captain and could be without him for a month or more.</p><p>Stevens said there was no time frame. Asked if it was careerthreatening, he said: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;m even thinking about that right now.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ROOKIE REPORT</b></h2><p><i>Igor Larionov, C</i>.</p><p>Larionov maintained this will be his last NHL season, but the veteran&rsquo;s deteriorating relationship with coach Pat Burns made his immediate future with the Devils shaky. Larionov, who had no goals in 35 games, left the ice during a recent practice after Burns said to him: &ldquo;If I&rsquo;m boring you, get off the ice.&rdquo; He was a healthy scratch for two of the next three games and spent most of the Jan. 20 game in Pittsburgh on the bench, never seeing the ice during the third period. Larionov said he didn&rsquo;t regret signing with the Devils and Burns claimed - unconvincingly - there was no friction between the two.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Rookie goalie Scott Clemmensen, who had played all of 21 minutes in the NHL in two previous relief appearances, posted a shutout in his first NHL start Jan. 20 in Pittsburgh. Clemmensen, who stopped 25 shots, said he was more anxious to finally start a game than he was nervous&hellip;The Devils plan to start a Hall of Fame with an initial induction of about six key figures in franchise history.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-05

Stevens sits, stews on sidelines with nost-concussion syndrome

<div class="byline">- PETER BOTTE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03454/7736864-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="276" height="595"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he quest for offensive balance is a standard coaching cliche, but the Islanders have utilized that formula to become one of the NHL&rsquo;s highest-scoring teams this season.</p><p>Only five teams - the expectedly potent attacks of Detroit, Colorado, Ottawa and Vancouver, as well as Atlanta - had more goals than the Isles through Jan. 21. Still, almost 60 players across the NHL had totaled more points than anyone on the Isles, who boasted eight players within five points of the team scoring lead through that date. Mariusz Czerkawski, Jason Blake, Oleg Kvasha and rookie Trent Hunter took turns atop that list over a one-week stretch in mid-January.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02594/7736871-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="214" height="307"></div><p>&ldquo;With the guys we have out right now, we need production from everyone,&rdquo; said coach Steve Stirling.</p><p>In fact, in their first eight games without injured forwards Alexei Yashin and Mark Parrish, the Isles slightly raised their goals-per-game average. Youngsters Justin Papineau and Mattias Weinhandl, Michael Peca and the newly signed Cliff Ronning helped pick up the slack.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Rick DiPietro, G</i>. Veteran netminder Garth Snow carried the Islanders over an early-winter 15-game stretch, but management badly wants DiPietro to seize the No. 1 job in the second half of the season. The No. 1 overall pick in 2000 still handles the puck far too much, but his consistency has improved since returning from a brief two-game stint in the American League in December.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>The Islanders try hard to fight the perception they&rsquo;re not a together team, so they predictably downplayed the significance of a fight in practice Jan. 18 between goalie <b>Garth Snow</b> and center Oleg Kvasha. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to see it a lot&rdquo; coach Steve Stirling said of the inter-squad battle, &ldquo;but that&rsquo;s good sometimes to show some passion and some emotion."Defenseman <b>Roman Hamrlik</b>, a participant in last season&rsquo;s All-Star Game in Florida, ended a 48-game goal drought with his first this season, a game-winner that came Jan. 19 against Ottawa. Center <b>Cliff Ronning</b> buried his 300th career NHL goal in the same game.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-03

Team effort at offensive end helps overcome key injuries

<div class="byline">- LARRY BROOKS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05315/7736902-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="271" height="595"></div><p>Things can turn ugly quickly at Madison Square Garden, a fact Glen Sather is learning the tough way.</p><p>During the Rangers&rsquo; 4-1 loss to the Bruins Jan. 20, fans&rsquo; chant of &ldquo;fire Sather&rdquo; reverberated through the arena during the home team&rsquo;s second setback to Boston in two days.</p><p>After the game, Sather refused comment when asked both about the chants and his job status, which, despite the team&rsquo;s slide to 10th place, seems secure. Still, there was little doubt the franchise - out of the playoffs for six straight years - is facing a crisis.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04372/7736909-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="206" height="289"></div><p>&ldquo;Glen doesn&rsquo;t strap on the skates,&rdquo; said Eric Lindros. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m extremely disappointed with what we&rsquo;ve failed to accomplish. We&rsquo;re not pulling through. I don&rsquo;t know what else to say.&rdquo; Right winger Matthew Barnaby agreed it was up to the players to straighten things out.</p><p>&ldquo;When fans start yelling things like (fire Sather), every one of us should look in the mirror,&rdquo; Barnaby said. &ldquo;There are 35 games left. Soon there&rsquo;ll be 25. We can&rsquo;t wait until there are 10 games left; then it&rsquo;ll be too late.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Mike Dunham, G</i>. Dunham is among those goaltenders perceived as guilty until able to prove their innocence. Thus far, the eight-year veteran, who has yet to play in an NHL playoff game, has had a difficult time acquitting himself and establishing himself as a go-to No. 1. If the Rangers are to succeed, Dunham&rsquo;s second half must be at least equal to the second half he posted last year, when his often brilliant work kept the Blueshirts in the hunt until the final weekend. This season&rsquo;s first half - marred by injury and dramatic inconsistency - wasn&rsquo;t nearly good enough.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Center Eric Lindros fractured Joe Thornton&rsquo;s cheekbone during a fight in Boston Jan 19. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure Eric is cognizant that he put himself at risk (by fighting), but he didn&rsquo;t want to back down,&rdquo; said coach-GM Glen Sather. &ldquo;I hope (Thornton) isn&rsquo;t badly hurt; the league needs players like him. He&rsquo;s a star.&rdquo;&hellip;Center Jamie Lundmark, out since Dec. 4 with a knee sprain, began skating with the team Jan. 17&hellip;Through Jan. 20, the Rangers had not been involved in a game in which a hat trick was scored.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-05

Sather feels fans’ wrath in another year of crisis

<div class="byline">-BRUCE GARRIOCH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03275/7736940-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="271" height="595"></div><p><b>W</b>inning hockey games has paid off for the Senators.</p><p>For only the second time in the team&rsquo;s modern history, the Senators eclipsed the 10,000 mark in season-ticket sales; moreover, team president Roy Mlakar predicted the club will double its home sellouts at the Corel Centre.</p><p>While the Senators sold out only seven home games last season, Mlakar said the club will have more than 15 sellouts this year, which he credited to the stability new owner Eugene Melnyk has brought and to winning games. &ldquo;Success and stability sells,&rdquo; Mlakar said. &ldquo;Losing and negativity doesn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02377/7736947-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="222" height="294"></div><p>Mlakar also revealed the Senators ranked in the top 10 in the league in paid admissions in December. That&rsquo;s no small task, because the Senators try to fill 18,500 seats every night and have a lot of inventory to move on game days.</p><p>Though the Senators are thrilled with the numbers and are pleased with the response from the community, Mlakar maintained the club still must move closer to the league average of 12,500 season tickets.</p><p>&ldquo;(This) is a good step towards where we want to be next year,&rdquo; Mlakar said.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Radek Bonk, C</i>. They should just put this category in the dictionary and place Bonk&rsquo;s name beside it, as he is in this position every year. The Senators haven&rsquo;t been pleased with the inconsistent play of their No. 1 center his whole career, which means this season isn&rsquo;t any different. Management has actively shopped Bonk, but GM John Muckier can&rsquo;t find anybody to lift Bonk&rsquo;s $3.5-million salary off his hands. Bonk must produce at even strength and he must show up on a consistent basis. That isn&rsquo;t too much to ask, is it?</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Talks to get right winger Daniel Alfredsson signed to a contract extension have hit the critical stage. Alfredsson&rsquo;s Calgary-based agent J.P. Barry spent a day in Ottawa having a face-to-face meeting with Senators director of legal affairs Peter Chiarelli. The two sides made good progress and planned more discussions in late January. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just going to keep talking,&rdquo; said Barry, who was guarded about revealing any details of the talks. Alfredsson is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent July 1 and would be an attractive acquisition for many teams.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-03

Stable ownership, winning record nudge Sens’ attendance upward

<div class="byline">- WAYNE FISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05191/7736978-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="274" height="589"></div><p><b>I</b>t took three years, but defenseman Danny Markov s roundabout journey to Philadelphia finally ended on Jan. 20.</p><p>In 2001, Markov was offered as an alternative to Tomas Kaberle by Toronto in a trade package that included Nik Antropov and a first round draft pick for then-Flyers center Eric Lindros.</p><p>The Flyers had concerns about the health of Markov&rsquo;s back at the time and the deal fell through. But when blueliners Eric Desjardins (broken arm), Marcus Ragnarsson (strained rotator cuff) and Dennis Seidenberg (broken leg) went down in a span of three days in mid-January, the Flyers dealt right winger Justin Williams to Carolina for the guy they once spumed.</p><p>&ldquo;We might have had a different opinion at the time had he been healthy,&rdquo; said GM Bob Clarke of the failed 2001 trade. &ldquo;But I think it&rsquo;s a deal (now) that&rsquo;s going to help us. He&rsquo;s a solid, gritty defenseman, good with the puck and a fierce competitor.</p><p>&ldquo;We liked Williams a lot, but Markov fits into our top four and (top-four defensemen are) very hard to find.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04221/7736985-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="230" height="273"></div><p>Philadelphia also acquired depth defenseman Mattias Timander from the New York Islanders Jan. 22 for a seventh round draft pick.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Jeff Hackett, G</i>. After a strong start, Hackett has slumped. Since Dec. 8, he had a 2-8-2-0 record and saw his goals-against average jump from below 2.00 to 2.39. Coach Ken Hitchcock said Hackett is still adjusting to being in the spotlight on a team with high expectations. To compound his problems, Hackett developed an inner ear/sinus infection that resulted in what the Flyers were calling a &ldquo;vertigo&rdquo; condition. To reclaim his status as the team&rsquo;s No. 1 goalie for the playoffs, he has a lot of work to do in the final 35 games of the season.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Defenseman Danny Markov said he thought about one day coming to the Flyers. &ldquo;It was three years, a long time ago, but it happened,&rdquo; said Markov, who found out about the trade on the morning of Jan. 20, flew to Philadelphia and played that night. Was it tough picking up a new system so quickly? &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always tough the first day,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I learned a lot out there in the game.&rdquo;&hellip;Center Jeremy Roenick apologized for criticizing NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after receiving a one-game suspension for throwing a water bottle at referee Blaine Angus. &ldquo;I probably shouldn&rsquo;t have said those things,&rdquo; Roenick said. &ldquo;I was frustrated and I apologize.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-05

Flyers acquire Markov, deal Williams after injuries decimate defense corps

<div class="byline">- BOB MCMANAMAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07154/7737016-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="269" height="593"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span></b>is bullet-quick speed and uncanny puckhandling ability gave the Coyotes a weapon they&rsquo;ve rarely had on the blueline. But although defenseman David Tanabe has been felled for the rest of the season with a knee injury, Phoenix isn&rsquo;t terribly worried about shooting blanks in its pursuit of the playoffs.</p><p>As for finding a replacement, the team will be patient and prudent.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06169/7737023-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="203" height="300"></div><p>&ldquo;This is not a situation that we&rsquo;re going to react with a knee-jerk response to go out and get the first player available,&rdquo; said GM Mike Barnett. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t feel that urgency at all.&rdquo; Tanabe suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee when he was checked into the boards, knee first, by Detroit&rsquo;s Pavel Datsyuk in a Jan. 16 game at Joe Louis Arena. He expects to undergo surgery early next month and, assuming a new collective bargaining agreement is reached, hopes to be back for the start of training camp.</p><p>&ldquo;This is adversity for me and our team,&rdquo; Tanabe said. &ldquo;Ossi (Vaananen) and Paul (Mara) are capable of taking more minutes. I believe all of the (defensemen) are capable of doing that.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Paul Mara, D</i>. With Tanabe out for the year, the pressure will be on Mara to rekindle his offensive production and assume added responsibilities. Though already averaging 23 minutes a game, Mara will step into the first-unit power play rotation and be used even more frequently on the penalty kill. He had a career-high 19 assists and 22 points through 45 games, but the Coyotes will expect a lot more. For that to happen, Mara must take more chances, as Tanabe often did, and not be afraid to use his heavy slapshot when the puck comes his way. Meanwhile, stay-at-home defensemen Vaananen and Radoslav Suchy must chip in on offense more frequently.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>The Coyotes acquired 6-foot-5 defenseman Todd Reirden from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Jan. 17, a day after defenseman David Tanabe&rsquo;s knee injury, but the move was in the works days earlier solely to provide their AHL affiliate in Springfield with more toughness and grit&hellip;Left winger Ladislav Nagy missed two games after being high-sticked underneath his visor by Vancouver&rsquo;s Sami Salo in a Jan. 13 game. The incident, which received no penalty, swelled Nagy&rsquo;s left eye completely shut.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-07

Season-ending injury to Tanabe means other Coyotes must step up

<div class="byline">- JOE STARKEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04205/7737117-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="273" height="594"></div><p><b>T</b>he Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; forgotten man suddenly became their main man.</p><p>Goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin&rsquo;s stellar play to begin the new year prompted the Penguins to send? Sebastien Caron to the American League. Aubin was slated to share duties with Marc-Andre Fleury for the foreseeable future, or at least until Fleury is returned to junior, as expected.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03240/7737124-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="226" height="303"></div><p>Caron had the worst save percentage (.881) of any NHL goalie who had played 10 or more games this season. Aubin, who spent the end of last season and the start of this year in the minors, won two of five starts and had a .923 save percentage.</p><p>&ldquo;His attitude has changed a lot,&rdquo; said GM Craig Patrick. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a little different person today than when we sent him down last year. He&rsquo;s a much more confident guy now.&rdquo;</p><p>Caron, who signed a four-year, $3.2-million contract last summer, and Fleury still are expected to be the team&rsquo;s future duo. Aubin&rsquo;s contract expires after this season.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Aleksey Morozov, RW</i>. Pittsburgh&rsquo;s highest-paid healthy player - also the one with the longest continuous tenure - was mired in a hard-to-believe, 28-game goalless drought. Morozov&rsquo;s confidence appeared to take a hit coming out of camp when he was not paired with Mario Lemieux, the only player with whom he has enjoyed anything resembling chemistry. The Penguins would undoubtedly be willing to part with Morozov, if only they could find a taker. In the meantime, the NHL&rsquo;s lowest-scoring team desperately needs him to find the net.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Left winger Kelly Buchberger had played in more games (44) without a point than any player in the league&hellip;The Pens endured a stretch of seven home games (from Jan. 3-20) in which they scored just four goals.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05185/7737110-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="219" height="337"></div><p><b>Robert Lang</b> Washington <i>25 points</i> 16 games</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-06171/7737103-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="215" height="347"></div><p><b>Jaromir Jagr Washington</b>&nbsp;<i>20 points</i> 12 games</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-07156/7737096-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="212" height="347"></div><p><b>Brett Hull</b> Detroit <i>17 points</i> 12 games</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-08132/7737089-1-eng-US/f0041-082.jpg" title="f0041-08" width="216" height="346"></div><p><b>Alex Tanguay</b> Colorado <i>16 points</i> 9 games</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0999/7737082-1-eng-US/f0041-092.jpg" title="f0041-09" width="215" height="350"></div><p><b>Tony Amonte</b> Philadelphia <i>13 points</i> 9 games</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1076/7737075-1-eng-US/f0041-102.jpg" title="f0041-10" width="208" height="350"></div><p>Pavol Demitra St. Louis <i>13 points</i> 9 games</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1166/7737068-1-eng-US/f0041-112.jpg" title="f0041-11" width="220" height="355"></div><p><b>Radek Bonk</b> Ottawa <i>12 points</i> 9 games</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1254/7737061-1-eng-US/f0041-122.jpg" title="f0041-12" width="215" height="344"></div><p><b>Brendan Morrison</b> Vancouver <i>11 points</i> 9 games</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1346/7737054-1-eng-US/f0041-132.jpg" title="f0041-13" width="215" height="346"></div><p><b>Patrick Marleau</b> San Jose <i>10 points</i> 9 games<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-04

Aubin in, Caron out in ooalie on-round

<div class="byline">- DERRICK GOOLD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05176/7737155-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="269" height="593"></div><p><b>B</b>lues goalie Chris Osgood had a apt description of what happened to the formidable defense that once was before him.</p><p>&ldquo;Our defense has been decimated,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Al Maclnnis and Barret Jackman, the Blues&rsquo; top pairing from last season, are gone for the season after Jackman suffered a dislocated shoulder and after Maclnnis had eye surgeries that put his career in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Bryce Salvador is dealing with wrist pain and Jeff Finley is resting up for the post-season because of a rotator cuff that likely will require surgery.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02317/7737162-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="223" height="290"></div><p>So a position that used to be a strength has become a patchwork. And it leaves Murray Baron and Chris Pronger with a hefty load.</p><p>Luckily for them, Pronger is ready to handle it. His ice time was creeping toward an average of 30 minutes a game and although the Blues spiraled in January he has been superb for them. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s dominating games out there,&rdquo; said coach Joel Quenneville.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Chris Osgood, D</i>. It&rsquo;s hard to find a Blue who isn&rsquo;t on the hot seat, from the coach down to the journeymen. But Osgood is playing for a chance to be the Blues&rsquo; No. 1 goalie for the post-season and beyond.</p><p>He signed a one-year, $3-million contract last summer, but the Blues hold an option on another year, one they almost certainly won&rsquo;t pick up should Osgood let them down in the playoffs.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>The first of center Pavol Demitra&rsquo;s two goals against Florida Jan. 19 was his 500th career point. It came in his 525th NHL game&hellip;Defenseman Alexander Khavanov, frustrated by his own play on the right side, asked to be moved to his more comfortable left side. Rookie Christian Backman moved to the right to help fill out the Blues&rsquo; pairings.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-05

Pronger a powerhouse for battered blueline

<div class="byline">- ROSS MCKEON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06161/7737193-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="276" height="596"></div><p><b>S</b>uddenly people are aware of the Sharks.</p><p>In beating Vancouver, Colorado and Detroit - the top three teams in the West at the time - during a three-game stretch in mid-January, the Sharks served notice their intentions of rebounding are genuine.</p><p>Still, they weren&rsquo;t getting overconfident despite owning the largest bulge of the six division leaders by late January.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03252/7737200-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="229" height="306"></div><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we should get ahead of ourselves,&rdquo; said defenseman Mike Rathje. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re on a good thing here. And it has been going for a while. We&rsquo;re playing well, good defensively and we&rsquo;re getting goals when we need them.&rdquo;</p><p>Coach Ron Wilson is cognizant of not to give his young team too much to think about.</p><p>&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re constantly all over people you don&rsquo;t allow &rsquo; them to grow,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;I think these guys are growing so you have to sort of step away. I expect us at some point to have some sort of slump or a letdown or something. And then we&rsquo;ll have to respond to that.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Vincent Damphousse, LW</i>. The team&rsquo;s highest paid player, earning $4 million Damphousse has been an infrequent contributor, but served as a 10-game captain and figures to be an important cog as San Jose continues its march back to the post-season.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Goalie Evgeni Nabokov&rsquo;s wife, Tabitha, gave birth to a 7-pound, 10-ounce baby girl the couple named Emily Paige Jan. 16&hellip;Center Patrick Marleau missed the Jan. 17 game in Denver due to a sprained right ankle snapping his ironman streak of 181 consecutive games played&hellip;Right winger Marco Sturm returned Jan. 19 after missing two games with a chest injury&hellip; Defenseman Kyle McLaren also returned Jan 19 after missing seven games with sore ribs.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-06

Rebuilding Sharks bounce West leaders

<div class="byline">- DAMIAN CRISTODERO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-07143/7737231-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="276" height="598"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b> remarkable story that has flown under the radar is how healthy the Lightning has been this season. Tampa Bay had lost just 14 man-games to injury or illness through their first 46 games.</p><p>That was 48 mangames less than the next-healthiest team, the Hurricanes, who had lost 60; and 348 more than the Kings, who had lost 362.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04201/7737238-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="228" height="299"></div><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s huge,&rdquo; said center Brad Richards. &ldquo;Especially in the playoffs, the healthier team wins.&rdquo;</p><p>The source of the Lightning&rsquo;s good fortune?</p><p>&ldquo;Luck is very important,&rdquo; said trainer Tommy Mulligan.</p><p>But he also mentioned the team&rsquo;s summer conditioning program and its intense pre-season program.</p><p>Because of that, Mulligan said it was no coincidence the team avoided nagging training camp injuries such as groin pulls. And coach John Tortorella&rsquo;s willingness to give days off during the season has helped keep players healthy.</p><p>&ldquo;That extra day off for them to recover and not beat their bodies up (is) a big difference,&rdquo; Mulligan said.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Nikolai Khabibulin, G</i>. After <i>a</i> 5-4 loss to the Avalanche Jan. 19, Khabibulin had allowed 14 goals in his last three games. With trade rumors swirling and John Grahame playing well, questions about Khabibulin&rsquo;s longterm status with the team were arising. How will Khabibulin react? Will he continue his up-and-down season or will he put it all together as he did in 2002-03, when he went undefeated in 16 straight games to launch the Lightning into the playoffs?</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Lightning spokesman Bill Wickett said he received two phone calls Jan. 19 from TV stations in Winnipeg wanting to know if Tampa Bay was the franchise that inquired about moving to the city. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t us,&rdquo; Wickett said.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-07

Healthy Bolts lineup aided by training, luck

<div class="byline">- KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1460/7737339-1-eng-US/f0043-142.jpg" title="f0043-14" width="274" height="601"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b>f the NHL ever decided to mandate the use of visors for all players, it likely wouldn&rsquo;t hear an awful lot of carping from the Maple Leafs.</p><p>Serious eye injuries have hit the Maple Leafs in recent years at an alarming rate and another one struck Jan. 20 when Darcy Tucker was hit in the eye by a Jason Blake high stick in a 2-0 win over the Islanders.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1362/7737346-1-eng-US/f0043-132.jpg" title="f0043-13" width="208" height="307"></div><p>Tucker had retina surgery the next day and was expected to be out of the lineup until at least midFebruary. He was joined on Toronto&rsquo;s injured list by Owen Nolan, who also was out with a tom retina.</p><p>The Tucker injury once again fuelled the visor debate in Toronto and prompted Tie Domi, the franchise leader in penalty minutes to seriously consider putting one on. He said he would try it in practice before deciding whether to use one in a game.</p><p>&ldquo;I want to make sure I can see all three of my kids grow up with both my eyes with good vision,&rdquo; Domi said.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Nik Antropov, RW</i>. No player has been involved in more trade speculation than Antropov, a hulking forward who continues to struggle with injuries. He has displayed glimpses of the potential that made him the 10th overall pick in 1998, but every time Antropov moves forward, he seems to take a step back. He still is having trouble playing an aggressive game without staying out of the penalty box. Should he flounder, the Leafs might run out of patience and if they decided to trade him, they would likely have no shortage of interested teams.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>In three games against Philadelphia this season, the Leafs are 0-3-0-0 and have been outscored 152 with goalie Ed Belfour allowing 14 of those goals. They finish their four-game series against the Flyers in Philadelphia March 16.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03289/7737332-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="219" height="329"></div><p><b>Brett Hull Cgy</b>, StL, Dal, Det 1,231 games 106 GWG</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04207/7737325-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="221" height="345"></div><p><b>B. Shanahan NJ</b>, StL, Hfd, De 1,235 games 94 GWG</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05177/7737318-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="218" height="351"></div><p><b>Mark Messier Edm</b>, Van, NYR 1,726 games 92 GWG</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06145/7737311-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="218" height="349"></div><p><b>Jaromir Jagr Pit</b>, Wsh 996 games 91 GWG</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-07129/7737304-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="220" height="350"></div><p><b>Steve Yzerman</b> Detroit 1,420 games 90 GWG</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-08111/7737297-1-eng-US/f0043-082.jpg" title="f0043-08" width="216" height="355"></div><p><b>Joe Nieuwendyk Cgy</b>, Dal, NJ, Tor 1,150 games 86 GWG</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0997/7737290-1-eng-US/f0043-092.jpg" title="f0043-09" width="216" height="329"></div><p><b>Pierre Turgeor</b> Five teams 1,182 games 84 GWG</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1086/7737283-1-eng-US/f0043-102.jpg" title="f0043-10" width="221" height="354"></div><p><b>Luc Robitaille</b> Pit, NYR, Det, LA 1,331 games 84 GWG</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1175/7737276-1-eng-US/f0043-112.jpg" title="f0043-11" width="221" height="347"></div><p><b>Sergei Fedorov Det</b>, Ana 956 games 81 GWG</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1269/7737269-1-eng-US/f0043-122.jpg" title="f0043-12" width="213" height="353"></div><p><b>Mats Sundin</b> Que, Tor 1,053 games 81 GWG<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-14

Domi scared straight by latest eye injury

<div class="byline">- ELLIOTT PAP</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03171/7737377-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="271" height="592"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span></b>anucks GM Brian Burke has been fond of saying the &ldquo;beauty of this business&rdquo; is that managerial decisions can always be measured in the performance of the team.</p><p>Burke&rsquo;s record has been outstanding for the most part, as the Canucks have improved each year during his six-year regime. But even Burke can have his blunders. His three prize acquisitions last summer - goalie Johan Hedberg, left winger Magnus Arvedson and defenseman Jiri Slegr - have contributed very little to Vancouver&rsquo;s fortunes this season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02229/7737384-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="210" height="299"></div><p>Hedberg has been hurt four times and appeared in just nine of the Canucks&rsquo; first 49 games. Arvedson has been hurt twice and scored only four times before a herniated disc in his back threatened his season. And Slegr? He couldn&rsquo;t crack coach Marc Crawford&rsquo;s lineup, dressed for only 16 games and was finally dealt to Boston for a conditional draft pick Jan. 17.</p><p>&ldquo;We thought this was going to be a good situation for Jiri,&rdquo; explained Crawford. &ldquo;It ended up not being a good situation for him.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Todd Bertuzzi, RW</i>. The hulking Bertuzzi has been in a season-long goal slump and had just 13 after 49 games, including two in game 49. Although his plusminus is up considerably, the right winger has not been nearly dominant enough in front of the opposition&rsquo;s net. When the Canucks went into a mini-slump in January [1-3-1-0], Bertuzzi served as a lightning rod for criticism.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>After a 9-0-10 start on home ice this season, the Canucks became pushovers at GM Place and went 0-2-5-0 before beating Tampa Bay 5-4 in overtime Jan. 21. It was the 16th straight game in which an opponent had earned at least a point in Vancouver as the Canucks were 5-7-4-0 with all five win in overtime&hellip;After a relatively healthy season, the Canucks were missing five forwards for a Jan. 20 game against Tampa Bay. Left wingers Matt Cooke (knee) and Magnus Arvedson (back), centers Artem Chubarov (groin) and Mats Lindgren (back) and right winger Jason King (hand) all watched from the press box.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-03

Summertime acquisitions not ottering much help

<div class="byline">- JASON LA CANFORA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-05113/7737415-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="273" height="590"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>R</span></b>obert Lang&rsquo;s pursuit of the NHL scoring title shows no signs of slowing down as he vies to become the first scoring champ in Washington Capitals history.</p><p>Only one Capital has finished in the NHL&rsquo;s top five in scoring in the past two decades - Jaromir Jagr finished fifth in scoring in 2001-02 - and only one Capital has ever finished higher than fifth, when Dennis Maruk finished fourth in scoring in 1981-82.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-04133/7737422-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="210" height="304"></div><p>Lang surged back into the NHL scoring lead with a four-point effort against Pittsburgh, Jan. 18. He was happy to turn in a strong showing against his former mates.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s your old team so you try to play well,&rdquo; Lang said after beating the Penguins. &ldquo;But it was just one of those days where everything goes in the right place.&rdquo;</p><p>Lang admits he is thinking about the Art Ross Trophy. He has already surpassed the 22 goals he scored last season, his first in Washington after signing a five-year, $25-million free agent contract, and ranked in the NHL&rsquo;s top five in goals, assists and power play points as of mid-January.</p><h2><b>ON THE HOT SEAT</b></h2><p><i>Jaromir Jagr, RW</i>. The last bit of suspense about the Capitals&rsquo; dreadful season is whether or not Jagr and goalie Olaf Kolzig will still be in town after the March 9 trade deadline. Both are perennial all-stars and unloading them would put Washington in a drastically better position to handle a salary cap, should one come. Kolzig played his best hockey of the season in January, which should increase his trade value, while Jagr has been solid since November. Would a desperate Rangers team bid for both of them?</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Former Capitals coach Bruce Cassidy saw Washington play in New Jersey Jan. 18 in his first weekend as an East Coast scout for the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that drafted him 18th overall in 1983. Cassidy maintained a residence in Maryland which will serve as his base for scouting&hellip;Defenseman Josef Boumedienne was recalled from the American League Jan. 17. The Capitals are in need of another skilled defensemen, but remain adamant Boumedienne must solidify his play in the defensive zone.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-05

Dreadful season brightened by Lang’s surge in scoring

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span></b>regory Campbell has a wealth of family experience at his disposal, considering his father Colin has been an NHL defenseman, coach and is now league vice-president.</p><p>It doesn&rsquo;t exempt the younger Campbell from growing pains, however. The 20-year-old left winger started his rookie pro season with a Grade 2 medial collateral ligament sprain sustained during his first day at training camp with the Florida Panthers and has been trying to catch up ever since.</p><p>Campbell recovered in time to start the American League season with San Antonio, but also made his NHL debut.</p><p>&ldquo;I was down for two games and then they called me back up,&rdquo; Campbell said. &ldquo;I spent a week up there for two games and it was overwhelming, being injured then playing my first pro game and then my first NHL game in a matter of days.&rdquo; Campbell, who won a Memorial Cup with Kitchener last season, said advice from his dad had helped stem some of the frustration of having scored only six goals in 34 AHL games.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02193/7737453-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="236" height="385"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY CAMPBELL)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;He has told me many times that there&rsquo;s a lot of things you can&rsquo;t control - the peaks and valleys,&rdquo; Campbell said.</p><p>&ldquo;You can only work as hard as you can and there&rsquo;s not much else you can control.&rdquo; Florida assistant coach Steve Ludzik, who coached Campbell for the first six weeks of the season in San Antonio, isn&rsquo;t worried about the Panthers&rsquo; third round pick (67th overall) of 2002.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very, very smart, cerebral player,&rdquo; Ludzik said. &ldquo;He knows the game. Defensively, he&rsquo;s very aware of his position on the ice and that&rsquo;s going to hold him in good stead.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s one reason he&rsquo;ll be able to play in the NHL because he will be useful every night. On the nights he&rsquo;s not scoring, he&rsquo;ll be able to pick it up on the defensive end.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0046-02

Advice from dad big help to Campbel

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><p><b>T</b>he Utah Grizzlies can&rsquo;t buy a goal. They can&rsquo;t steal one, either. They just can&rsquo;t score.</p><p>Which is why after 44 games, the Grizzlies are on pace to set the dubious American League record for fewest goals scored in an 80-game season.</p><p>Heading into late January, the Grizzlies had just 86 goals in 44 games, an average of 1.95 goals a game. They were on pace to score just 156 goals. The record of 172 was set by the 2001-02 Albany River Rats. The Grizzlies also had been shut out eight times, only four shy of the record set by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2001-02. Hartford&rsquo;s Jason LaBarbera blanked Utah 1-0 and 5-0 at the E Center Jan. 17 and 19.</p><p>Thus, it&rsquo;s no surprise Utah had the worst record in the Western Conference (14-23-4-3).</p><p>Center Jarrod Skalde is the only player in double-digits in goals, leading the team with 16. Center David Gove and right winger Justin Cox each had eight goals.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-03137/7737491-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="256" height="257"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>AHL WEST NOTEBOOK</b></figcaption></div><p>Center Antti Miettinen was expected to bolster the offense (he had four goals and 10 points in 14 games), but he was often hurt, then was recalled by Dallas when he returned to action.</p><h2><b>HOME, SWEET HOME</b></h2><p>The next time the Manitoba Moose see an airport or a bus will be too soon. Way too soon.</p><p>The Moose traveled 5,800 miles - 4,200 through the air and 1,600 by bus - during an eight-game, 14-day road trip and compiled a sickly 1-4-2-1 record. There was just one day during the trip when they didn&rsquo;t play or travel.</p><p>&ldquo;This schedule is ridiculous,&rdquo; said coach Stan Smyl. &ldquo;No one travels like our team.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>BUT CAN HE SKATE?</b></h2><p>Future baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens, the six-time Cy Young Award winner who last month joined the Houston Astros, helped the Houston Aeros draw their largest crowd this season.</p><p>With 13,342 fans on hand, Clemens dropped the ceremonial first puck before the Aeros and San Antonio Rampage played Jan. 16. That was the largest AHL crowd ever for the Aeros and the largest for the fran-r chise since Game 7 of the 1998-99 final in the defunct International League, when more than 15,000 watched Houston defeat Orlando.</p><h2><b>NOTEBOOK</b></h2><p>Grand Rapids rookie winger Jiri Hudler has the AHL&rsquo;s longest point streak, at 12 games. He has eight goals and 25 points in 21 games. ..St. John&rsquo;s enforcer Greg Lakovic has re-retired, deciding playing in Newfoundland instead of being with his family in Kelowna, B.C., didn&rsquo;t make sense. Lakovic had one goal, one assist and 29 penalty minutes in 12 games.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-04115/7737484-1-eng-US/f0046-042.jpg" title="f0046-04" width="1057" height="1574"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Stay-at-home defenseman Libor Ustrnul is in his second year with Chicago. He&rsquo;s a top-rated prospect for Atlanta in Future Watch.</i></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0046-03

Two goals an outburst for Grizzlies

<div class="byline">BY ROB MUELLER </div><div class="byline">ROSS DETTIMAN</div><p>For Joe Exter, he refers to life and hockey these days as &ldquo;gifts from God.&rdquo;</p><p>Ten months after the former Merrimack goaltender sustained a near-fatal skull fracture in a game at Boston College last March 7, Exter is back on the ice with the Wheeling Nailers.</p><p>After signing an American League deal with Wilkes Barre-Scranton, the Penguins assigned him to Wheeling and Exter made his pro debut Jan. 10 for the Nailers in relief. He stopped four of six shots in a 5-2 loss to Cincinnati.</p><p>Probably not the result Exter wanted, but his moment was cause for celebration nonetheless.</p><p>On that fateful day, Exter&rsquo;s head hit the knee of Boston College right winger Patrick Eaves and slammed into the ice. He was in a coma for two weeks and spent months in the hospital.</p><p>After months of intense rehab, Exter was working out again by the summer and signed with the Penguins, who guaranteed him an invitation to Pittsburgh&rsquo;s NHL training camp next season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0683/7737522-1-eng-US/f0046-062.jpg" title="f0046-06" width="235" height="225"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>NOTEBOOK</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>SHE&rsquo;S THE BOSS</b></h2><p>The San Diego Gulls named Tera Black chief operating officer Jan. 15, making her the first female COO in ECHL history and only the fourth female club executive in league history.</p><p>Black, 31, was promoted from the team&rsquo;s director of public and media relations. She also will serve as alternate governor. Her husband, Jamie, is a former Gulls player.</p><h2><b>VITUCCI HONORED</b></h2><p>Toledo interim coach Nick Vitucci, the winningest goalie in league history (265 wins), had his No. 36 jersey retired by the Greenville Grrrowl when the Storm came to town Jan. 13. Vitucci was the first player signed by the Grrrowl in 1998. He played three seasons in Greenville before becoming an assistant coach.</p><h2>NOTEBOOK</h2><p>Officials in Salisbury, Md., are in preliminary discussions with the ECHL about moving a team to the area&hellip;Florence Pride goalie Matt Underhill raised $3,100 for victims of a local apartment complex fire.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0046-06

Exter fully recovered, back in crease

<div class="byline">BY DAVE SOTTILE</div><p><b>L</b>ess than 30 games into his American League career, Binghamton Senators center Brooks Laich has already made quite an impression.</p><p>&ldquo;When I see Brooks, I see a player who&rsquo;s going to play in the NHL,&rdquo; said Binghamton coach John Paddock. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a smart, strong, good two-way player. He&rsquo;ll probably be more of a checker than a goal-scorer in the NHL, but he does a lot of things well for us and that&rsquo;s good for a guy just turning pro.&rdquo;</p><p>Laich (pronounced &lsquo;laych&rsquo;) returned to the Sens lineup in late December after missing a month with mononucleosis. In 29 games, the 20-year-old had six goals and 15 points.</p><p>&ldquo;Right now I&rsquo;m definitely in the developmental stage of things,&rdquo; Laich said. &ldquo;I have the offensive instincts needed to get to the next level, but I have to make myself a better player away from the puck.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02243/7737553-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="234" height="387"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BROOKS LAICH)</span></figcaption></div><p>The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder said being off the ice for an extended period of time was harder than he could have imagined.</p><p>&ldquo;It was definitely the most frustrating month of my life,&rdquo; said the 20-year-old.</p><p>Instead of moping, Laich, who was</p><p>selected 193rd overall by Ottawa in 2001, used the time off to scout his own team.</p><p>&ldquo;Things look a lot different from upstairs than they do on the ice,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;For the first time, I really watched and studied our style of play and tried to put myself in the position of the players in various situations.&rdquo;</p><p>Once he got the OK from team medical personnel, he returned to action on New Year&rsquo;s Eve and hasn&rsquo;t looked back.</p><p>&ldquo;The first few games I was playing mostly on adrenaline,&rdquo; Laich said. &ldquo;After sitting out for a month I was like a kid in a candy store, but I&rsquo;ve settled down now.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0047-02

Laich’s layoff a learning experience

<div class="byline">BY DAVE SOTTILE </div><div class="byline">- PAVEL BARTA</div><p><b>T</b>he checkered NHL career of bad boy Billy Tibbetts looks like it&rsquo;s over after he was released by the Springfield Falcons.</p><p>When Falcons GM Bruce Landon signed right winger Billy Tibbetts in early January, he knew the risks. Tibbetts&rsquo;s checkered past includes a suspended sentence for a rape conviction, a 39month jail stay for violating probation and numerous run-ins with coaches and teammates. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sticking my neck out,&rdquo; said Landon at the time of the signing to the Springfield <i>Republican</i>, adding the 29-year-old would be gone at the first sign of trouble.</p><p>After six games, trouble surfaced when Tibbetts picked up a match penalty for attempting to injure Lowell winger Chris McNamara in a Jan. 18 game. The following day, Springfield released the former NHLer from his tryout contract.</p><p>Tibbetts had two assists and 25 penalty minutes in six games with the Falcons.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-03189/7737591-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg" title="f0047-03" width="256" height="257"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>AHL EAST NOTEBOOK</b></figcaption></div><p>The Boston native missed 1996-97 through 1999-2000 while in prison. He signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a free agent April 10, 2000, and made an impact the next two seasons as a willing enforcer. Tibbetts also played in the NHL with Philadelphia and the New York Rangers and has two goals, 10 points and 269 penalty minutes in 82 games.</p><p>He started this season with San Diego of the ECHL before signing with Springfield.</p><h2><b>PHANTOMS HAVE EDGE</b></h2><p>Long considered one of the American League&rsquo;s fiercest rivalries, the Philadelphia Phantoms-Hershey Bears season series has turned into a one-sided affair this year.</p><p>Philadelphia won the first seven meetings of a 12-game set with its East Division rival, outscoring Hershey by a combined 31-10 score.</p><p>The Bears&rsquo; frustration hit an all-time low Jan. 16 in a 4-0 loss to the Phantoms.</p><p>Hershey went the entire second period A without a shot on net, matching a franchise record. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to try to figure it out,&rdquo; said Philadelphia coach John Stevens. &ldquo;We know the games against Hershey are big, so obviously we get really geared up. They &rsquo; seem to bring out the best in us.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>POWER FAILURE</b></h2><p>Last year, Norfolk ranked 17th among 28 AHL teams with a power play conversion rate of 16.5 per cent. The Admirals wish their power play was that effective this season.</p><p>Heading into action Jan. 23, the Ads were stuck in a l-for-55 power play slump that dropped Norfolk into 24th place with the man advantage (12.3 per cent).</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-04139/7737584-1-eng-US/f0047-042.jpg" title="f0047-04" width="1057" height="1579"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>After being claimed by the Rangers in the waiver draft, Sheldon Keefe was re-claimed by Tampa Oct. 24 and has been in Hershey since.</i></figcaption></div><h2><b>EYE ON EUROPE</b></h2><p><i>Future and former NHLers are performing in Europe this season. Here are four such players with NHL rights in parentheses:</i></p><p>&bull; Dmitri Bykov, 26, D (Detroit). Selected 258th overall by the Wings in 2001, Bykov doesn&rsquo;t put up big numbers, but is tough and dependable. He has 10 points in 33 games with the Russian league&rsquo;s Ak Bars Kazan.</p><p>&bull; Jimmy Waite, 34, G (free agent). Waite played 106 NHL games over 11 seasons. In his third year in Germany, he leads the league with six shutouts and a .916 save percentage in 35 games with ERC Ingolstadt.</p><p>&bull; Kai Nurminen, 34, LW (free agent). Nurminen totaled 69 NHL games with L.A. and Minnesota. He is a leading scorer in the Finnish league with 16 goals and 31 points in 37 games with TPS Turku.</p><p>&bull; Brian Felsner, 31, C, (free agent). Felsner played 12 NHL games with Chicago in 1997-98. He is one of the top scorers on Linkoping of the Swedish league, with 24 points in 30 games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0047-03

Troubled Tibbetts gets axed

<div class="byline">- BRENDAN SAVAGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-05107/7737622-1-eng-US/f0047-052.jpg" title="f0047-05" width="206" height="109"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>E</span>SPN analyst Barry Melrose is part of a group that reached an agreement in mid-January to buy the cash-strapped Adirondack Icehawks, according to the Glens Falls <i>Post-Star</i>. Officials from the city and the United League began seeking a buyer after owners Art and Lori Shaver missed a Sept. 15 deadline to begin making payments on a $300,000 debt owed to the city. Melrose coached Adirondack in the American League from 1989 to 1992. The S Hawks are the third UHL team to run into money problems this season. The UHL took control of t= Missouri in December and Columbus folded Jan. 9.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0047-05

NOTEBOOK

<div class="byline">- DAVID HENRY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0688/7737653-1-eng-US/f0047-062.jpg" title="f0047-06" width="201" height="107"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>olorado Eagles left winger Lee Arnold didn&rsquo;t have all that fine a time with Amarillo&rsquo;s finest. Arnold received a three-game suspension from the Central League for an off-ice altercation with four Amarillo police officers. According to the police report, as many as four Colorado players were involved in a verbal exchange with officers following the Eagles&rsquo; 3-1 loss to the Gorillas at Amarillo&rsquo;s Cal Farley Coliseum. According to the report, another Colorado player grabbed an officer&rsquo;s arm on the way to the dressing room. No arrests were made.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0047-06

<div class="byline">- NICK GATES</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0776/7737684-1-eng-US/f0047-072.jpg" title="f0047-07" width="141" height="126"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span>untsville left winger Mike Degurse is on pace for a career-high 40-goal season and has been instrumental in the Channel Cats&rsquo; hot mid-season play, which included a 10-game winning streak. &ldquo;Playing with James Patterson and Allan Carr (the South East League&rsquo;s top scorers) helps,&rdquo; said the 29-year-old from Sarnia Reserve, Ont. Along with scoring, Degurse&rsquo;s role is to use his 6-foot-2, 220-pound frame to create room and protect his linemates (169 penalty minutes)&hellip;Citing philosophical differences, the SEHL issued a release dousing rumors of a merger with the WHA2.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0047-07

<div class="byline">- SCOTT ANDERA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0855/7737715-1-eng-US/f0047-082.jpg" title="f0047-08" width="157" height="118"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>t turns out an 11-year pro career wasn&rsquo;t enough for Orlando&rsquo;s Chris LiPuma. The 32-year-old defenseman retired after 2002-03 to become the Seals assistant coach. But a rash of injuries has pushed LiPuma back on the ice. LiPuma said he may continue playing the rest of the season, but it depends on how his body holds up. &ldquo;I missed it (playing), I missed it a lot,&rdquo; LiPuma said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s exciting, though, because instead of just telling people what to do, I can show them on the ice. And when I do make a mistake, I just say, &rsquo;Don&rsquo;t do that.&rsquo; &ldquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0047-08

<div class="byline">BY WILLY PALOV</div><p>Alexandre Picard continues to make a name for himself with NHL scouts.</p><p>The 18-year-old Lewiston Maineiacs left winger - who shouldn&rsquo;t be confused with the Cape Breton defenseman of the same name - checked in as the fourth-best North American skater eligible for the 2004 NHL draft in the mid-season Central Scouting Service rankings. Picard began 2003-04 as a virtual unknown.</p><p>&ldquo;I could see how his ranking would seem like a surprise to some people, but I think he deserves it,&rdquo; said Lewiston coach Mario Durocher. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very good power forward in this league and he has a real talent for scoring goals by crashing the net.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0831/7737753-1-eng-US/f0048-082.jpg" title="f0048-08" width="266" height="289"></div><p>Picard spent most of last season on Durocher&rsquo;s third line as he was pushed down the depth chart by a number of veterans.</p><p>&ldquo;We had an older team last year and he had to be patient,&rdquo; Durocher said. &ldquo;We would see him try a lot of skilled moves in practice and they would work, but the timing is a little different in a game and it took him a while before he could do the same moves in a game.&rdquo;</p><p>Last season, when the team was in Sherbrooke, Picard scored 14 goals and 29 points in 66 games. This season, Picard has netted a sizzling 30 goals and 59 points in 45 games.</p><p>Picard has been helped by the fact he put on weight in the summer. He used to be a slight 6-foot-l and 165 pounds, but is now a sturdier 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds.</p><p>&ldquo;Part of that is just normal maturing, but he worked hard on getting bigger in the summer,&rdquo; Durocher said. &ldquo;His upper-body strength is much better than it was.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01234/7737746-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="275" height="718"></div><p><b>EUROPE ROUND</b> Daniel Manzato left the Victoriaville Tigres to join the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss league.</p><p>The 19-year-old goalie is a Swiss native and stayed at home after the World Junior Championship in Finland. He was drafted 160th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2002.</p><p><b>NOTEBOOK</b> Alain Vigneault recorded his 300th career win when his P.E.I. Rocket defeated the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in mid-January. Vigneault took over the Rocket last year when the team was still in Montreal. He has also coached in Trois-Rivi&egrave;res, Hull and Beauport during 10 seasons in the Quebec League&hellip;Acadie-Bathurst sent defenseman Ondrej Wantulok home after he violated team rules. The 19-year-old native of the Czech Renublic was in his second season with the Titan.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0048-08

‘The other’ Picard has scouts excited

<div class="byline">BY JIM CRESSMAN</div><p>Marty St. Pierre has taken the Ontario League by storm this season.</p><p>The fourth-year Guelph Storm center was in a three-way battle with Corey Locke of the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s and Corey Perry of the London Knights for the scoring title in mid-January.</p><p>For the first three months of the season i was a two-player race between St. Pierre an Perry, but Locke, the defending champion, surged to the top by mid-season.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be tight to the end,&rdquo; said St. Pierre, who had 29 goals and 74 points in 4 games. &ldquo;I guess Locker (with 34 goals and 78 points in 41 games) must be eating something new and I know Perry (28 goals and 77 points in 42 games) a little bit and he&rsquo;s just a great hockey player. &ldquo;You&rsquo;d like to run away with it, but the tight race is good because it makes me show up every night.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0744/7737791-1-eng-US/f0048-072.jpg" title="f0048-07" width="305" height="209"></div><p>There were times last season St. Pierre didn&rsquo;t enjoy coming to the arena. Coach Jeff Jackson had clamped down on St. Pierre&rsquo;s style of play, wanting him to concentrate on defense.</p><p>St. Pierre said while Jackson was a very good tactical coach, it didn&rsquo;t allow much room for creativity. St. Pierre said it also made for tension in the dressing room.</p><p>But Jackson was fired just after Christma and assistant Shawn Camp was promoted.</p><p>&ldquo;Camper just loves the creativity, but you can&rsquo;t get too cute,&rdquo; said St. Pierre, who had 11 goals and 56 points last season after missing 13 games with a fractured kneecap.</p><p><b>MAJOR BLAST</b> The St Michael&rsquo;s Majors didn&rsquo;t think to bring a deck of cards for a road game against the Mississauga IceDogs. The bus ride usually takes 30 minutes, but a snowstorm Jan. 14 turned it into a three-hour adventure. Still, things ended well when the Majors&rsquo; Evgeny Kadatskiy scored 3:32 into overtime for a 4-3 win. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t prepared for that (three-hour ride),&rdquo; said Majors defenseman Dustin Van Ballegooie. &ldquo;The older guys had to make sure everybody stayed focused.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02149/7737784-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="267" height="714"></div><p><b>KARAGA IN WINDSOR</b> Right winger Vadim Karaga, whose seven goals helped Belarus return to the Group A pool at the World Junior Championship next year, reported to the Windsoi Spitfires following his trade from London.</p><p>There was concern Karaga, 18, wouldn&rsquo;t be back.</p><p>&ldquo;I like him a lot and so do a lot of people in hockey,&rdquo; said Spitfires GM Mike Kelly. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;ll be an NHL pick.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0048-07

St. Pierre shooting for OHL scoring title

<div class="byline">BY ROB VANSTONE</div><p class="dropcap"><span>K</span>yle Chipchura has grown accustomed to the pre-draft hype. When the Prince Albert Raiders chose Chipchura first overall in the Western League&rsquo;s 2001 bantam draft, he elicited comparisons to Mike Modano. The Dallas Stars center - a former Raider - was chosen first overall in the 1988 NHL draft.</p><p>&mdash; The 6-foot-3, 193-pound Chipchura is &rsquo; also projected to be a high selection. He J was the top North American skater in Central Scouting Service&rsquo;s mid-season rankings of players eligible for the 2004 NHL draft.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely on a bigger scale now and a bigger stage (than the bantam draft), but it&rsquo;s all the same thing, sort of,&rdquo; Chipchura said. &ldquo;You just learn how to deal with it, put it out of your mind, and play hockey. It has kind of helped that I went through it before.&rdquo; Despite the constant scrutiny, Chipchura is enjoying the predraft routine.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0654/7737829-1-eng-US/f0048-062.jpg" title="f0048-06" width="291" height="287"></div><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a really good experience,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;As far as the actual draft, I&rsquo;ll worry about that when the season&rsquo;s done or the draft comes closer.&rdquo;</p><p>The Vimy, Alta., native had 13 goals and 40 points through 47 games.</p><p><b>CANES HIRE HOFFORD</b> The Lethbridge Hurricanes hired former London Knights coach Lindsay Hofford to replace Mikko <b>Makela</b>, who was fired in mid-January.</p><p>Hofford coached London for the entire 2000-01 season and part of 2001-02. He was demoted to associate coach Nov. 7, 2001, when Knights co-owner and president Dale Hunter took over behind the bench. Hofford remained with London as associate coach until midway through last season.</p><p>Hurricanes GM Darren Stocker signed Hofford to a contract that rims through to the end of this season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-03105/7737822-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="273" height="720"></div><p><b>ROAD TO PROSPERITY</b> Swift Current coach Randy Smith sees logic in the Broncos&rsquo; 18-4-3-0 road record, which sits in contrast to their 12-10-2-0 home record.</p><p>&ldquo;Our guys feel comfortable on the road,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;A lot of teams are winning at home and having trouble on the road.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re kind of the opposite. At home, we&rsquo;re a little bit tense and we&rsquo;re putting pressure on ourselves to really do well to please our fans and ourselves. On the road, we just arrive at the game. There&rsquo;s not a whole lot of thinking. We get dressed and go out and play and usually it works.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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February 3, 2004

Scorer Boyes learning on the job

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

Gerber a bright light on sad Ducks squad

Modano looks for redemption