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.

January 18, 2005

The Hockey News January 18, 2005

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IN THIS ISSUE

UNITED LEAGUE STATISTICS

<div class="byline">By ROBIN SHORT</div>Marc-Andre Fleury took it easy over Christmas in Sorel, Que., the first time in two years he was home for the holidays.It has been a whirlwind for Fleury since Pittsburgh made him the first pick in the 2003 NHL draft. He was the Penguins&rsquo; starter on opening night in 2003-04, earning first-star honors even though Pittsburgh was blanked 3-0 by Los Angeles. Fleury finished the night with 45 saves.Fleury flamed out, losing eight of nine starts and was sent to Canada&rsquo;s national junior team. Canada settled for silver at the World Junior Championship in Finland after Fleury conceded a flukey third-period goal.He returned to Pittsburgh, but was soon shipped to junior in Cape Breton.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011095/8361181-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="221" height="355"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARC-ANDRE FLEURY</figcaption></div>The Screaming Eagles were eliminated from the Quebec League playoffs, Fleury was then assigned to Wilkes-Barre of the American League and watched as Andy Chiodo and the Baby Pens went all the way to the Calder Cup final.Whew!This season, stability has clearly helped Fleury.After losing three of his first four games in Wilkes-Barre, he went 13-1-1-2 erasing any doubts over his potential.&ldquo;The pressure is still there,&rdquo; Fleury said. &ldquo;It always will be there when you&rsquo;re a No. 1 pick. But there doesn&rsquo;t seem to be as much as there was last year.&rdquo;&ldquo;We all know he has talent,&rdquo; said Pens coach Michel Therrien said. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s playing under control right now. Before, he was trying to do too much. He&rsquo;s working on being in the right position now.&rdquo;Said Fleury: &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m maturing as a goalie. I&rsquo;m getting a chance to play in the AHL and I&rsquo;m learning quite a bit here, too.&rdquo; &#9632;

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Fleury still developing with Baby Pens

<div class="byline">&#x2013;PAVEL BARTA</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04341/8361250-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="94" height="99"></div>Future and former NHLers are playing in Europe this season. Here are four such players with NHL rights in parentheses:&bull; Martin Rucinsky, 34, LW (Vancouver). With Jaromir Jagr now playing in Russia, Rucinsky has grabbed the scoring lead, with 12 goals and 36 points in 33 games with Litvinov.&bull; Daniel Tkaczuk, 25, C (free agent). Tkaczuk, who played 19 games with Calgary in 2000-01, is the top scorer with the Milano Vipers of the Italian League, netting 14 goals and 36 points in 19 games.&bull; Vitaly Vishnevski, 24, D (Anaheim). Locked out Mighty Duck owns a share of the Russian league goal-scoring lead among blueliners, notching six in 30 games with Khimik Voskresensk.&bull; Ivan Ciernik, 27, RW, (free agent). A veteran of 54 NHL games with Ottawa and Washington, Ciernik is the leading scorer on Wolfsburg of the German league with 15 goals and 28 points in 29 games. &#9632;</div>

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EYE ON EUROPE

<div class="byline">&#x2013;MICHAEL RUSSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06345/8360485-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="219" height="282"></div>After becoming the most successful expansion team in NHL history in 1993-94 and advancing to the Stanley Cup final in their third year, the Panthers have been a poster child for dysfunction. Since 2000, they have employed six coaches and five GMs. And they haven&rsquo;t won a playoff game.LOCAL BUZZ Unless you&rsquo;re talking about Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and the Heat, there&rsquo;s no buzz. The Panthers always have been the fourth pro sport in town.CAP IMPACT With a $38-million cap and 24 percent rollback, Florida would have some $20 million to spend. The team feels it is in good position to nab quality players from teams trying to get under the cap.LAST HURRAH Blueliner Alexander Karpovtsev was signed for one year, but it&rsquo;s questionable if he&rsquo;ll ever be in a Florida uniform.LAST SCORER Donald Audette.LAST SIGHTING After falling behind 4-0 in their home finale to Carolina, the Panthers stormed back with six straight goals - only to give up two more and finish with a 6-6 tie.LAST WORD Unless they teach Shaq to skate, the Panthers will be hard-pressed to fill Office Depot Center. &#9632;

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NHL TEAM REPORTS

Panthers’ lack of success breeds indifference in fans

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011954/8359433-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">UNTIL NEXT TIMETeen phenoms Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby shake hands after Canada&rsquo;s gold medal win at the 2005 World Junior Championship.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Opening Faceoff

<div class="byline">Jason Kay Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011908/8359485-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="294" height="322"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021606/8359478-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="2537" height="3149"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEXANDER OVECHKIN</figcaption></div>As far as pilots go, it was darned near spectacular.The Crosby show may not have completely dominated the ratings at the World Junior Championship in North Dakota, but like an early episode of Seinfeld or The Simpsons, it wasn&rsquo;t difficult to detect glimpses of greatness. The hands, feet, vision and sense scouts have been raving about for years didn&rsquo;t fail the 17-year-old prodigy despite the enormous pressure of a nation bearing down on his shoulders.For Sidney Crosby, this is just the beginning.The NHL, whenever it returns, needs saving. It&rsquo;s limping in virtually every area that matters, from quality of play, to TV ratings in the U.S., to its increasingly violent image, to out-of-control ticket prices.Baseball suffered through a relatively similar spiral following its 1994 strike and canceled World Series. It took an injection of excitement - we won&rsquo;t get into the ingestion of performance-enhancing substances - generated by the home run feats of the Mark McGwires, Sammy Sosas and Barry Bonds to help re-establish the game&rsquo;s popularity.For the NHL to have any hope of recovering its place as No. 4, it needs another No. 4 - or another No. 99 or No. 66 or reasonable facsimiles. The league must follow through on suggestions it will take steps to make the game more entertaining, to permit its skilled players to truly shine through and to push its top assets to reach out to the public.Superstars such as Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky soared because of their immense ability, but also because their wings weren&rsquo;t clipped. They had room to roam, weren&rsquo;t treated as tow-trucks through the neutral zone and could actually see some of the mesh behind the goalies.This is where Crosby comes in. Given a real opportunity to chase scoring records or at least establish more respectable goal standards, the down-to-earth kid headlines a group of players to become the next Messiah. He has the required elements we think &lsquo;The Savior&rsquo; will need, namely:Wayne&rsquo;s Goal Record Gretzky&rsquo;s goal total in 1981-82 vs. the top goal-scorer in 2003-04NHL Goals Per Game 1981-82 vs. 2003-04OFFENSIVE ABILITY The player(s) who leads hockey back to the promised land, (behind football, baseball and basketball), must be a supremely gifted scorer/playmaker. Defense may win, but it doesn&rsquo;t win over new fans. Only the zealots get really excited about shutouts and plus/minus standards.CHARISMA Hockey&rsquo;s saviors don&rsquo;t necessarily have to have nice personalities, they just have to have some personality. Barry Bonds has an undeniable aura despite the fact he is as well liked as measles.YOUTH Not all miracles happen instantaneously. This one is going to take some time, so the candidates need to have some of it on their side.With that criteria in mind, here, in order of savior potential, are hockey&rsquo;s most likely Messiahs:Sidney Crosby, C, 17, Rimouski (QMJHL). The superlatives continue to flow and so do comparisons to all-time greats. So far, Crosby hasn&rsquo;t disappointed and has displayed a poise beyond his years.Alexander Ovechkin, LW, 19, Moscow Dynamo (Rus.). A dude with a &lsquo;tude, Ovechkin is opening eyes with his flashy style on and off the ice. He already does everything at an extremely high level and, with his english maturing, should quickly become a media favorite.Jarome Iginla, RW, 27, Calgary. Iginla is the current NHLer who best fits the mold. He consistently lights up goalies and rooms. His potential as a black role model, meantime, can only be viewed as a positive.Ilya Kovalchuk, LW, 21, Atlanta. When he&rsquo;s on, he is the NHL&rsquo;s most exciting player and has the ability to carry his team for prolonged stretches. And he does it with flair.There are other players with some of the required traits who could join the Fab Four. Vincent Lecavalier, 24, had something of a coming-out party in last year&rsquo;s playoffs and the World Cup and has the requisite persona. Rick Nash, 20, tied for the NHL lead in goal-scoring as a 19-year-old. How many more could he score as a veteran in an offense-oriented league? Dany Heatley, 23, was projected as the new face of the NHL before his tragic accident. Can he return to form?And you could probably extend the list; talent is not the issue. It&rsquo;s all about direction. The NHL would do well to listen to some basic coaching advice: keep your feet moving. Standing still will kill you every time.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031306/8359471-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="404" height="210"></div><h2>Passing of THN icon Halpin</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-041062/8359464-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="224" height="218"></div>It is with sadness The Hockey News reports Charlie Hatpin, an original member of the editorial staff in 1947, passed away Jan. 5 peacefully at The Veterans Hospital in Toronto. He was 82. Halpin was integral in the launch and growth of The Hockey News for more than 40 years. &ldquo;Charlie set a high standard that we all try to maintain to this day,&rdquo; said editor Jason Kay. Halpin leaves behind wife Viola, sons Charlie Jr., Glenn and Neill, daughter Lisa and four grandchildren. Services will be held Jan. 12 at The Simple Alternative in Toronto. &#9632;

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Who will save the NHL?

<div class="byline">&#x2013;MIKE BROPHY</div>It&rsquo;s not as though Brent Sutter came out of nowhere at the World Junior Championship to become a leading candidate for an NHL coaching position.Sutter is, after all, an enormously successful junior coach who led the Western League&rsquo;s Red Deer Rebels to a Memorial Cup title in 2001. Respected for his skill and grit when he played in the NHL, Sutter&rsquo;s coaching star has been on the rise for some time.But with Canada&rsquo;s overwhelming success at the WJC, Sutter is unquestionably on the radar screen as a top candidate to take his clipboard and whistle to the NHL. Once there, he would join his brothers Brian (Chicago) and Darryl (Calgary), who have blazed a trail for him just as they did when they were players.Though few coaches have been able to make a successful jump to the NHL straight from junior, many feel Brent is qualified. Like Brian and Darryl, Brent has a reputation for getting his teams to compete consistently.&ldquo;His teams are always good,&rdquo; said one NHL team executive. &ldquo;He helps his players grow and develop.&rdquo;Here are others, in alphabetical order, who might soon be behind an NHL bench:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011914/8359540-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="693" height="575"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brent Sutter was demanding but fair with his gold medal-winning Canadian juniors.</figcaption></div>PETER DEBOER, KITCHENER RANGERS An assistant with the Canadian junior team this year, DeBoer guided the Ontario League&rsquo;s Rangers to the Memorial Cup in 2003. He has a solid reputation as both a coach and manager, although he&rsquo;s considered to be a few years behind the other candidates.MIKE EAVES, WISCONSIN Eaves led the U.S. to its only WJC gold medal in 2004 and has had success at the University of Wisconsin. The former NHLer prepares well and his teams always play with a purpose.WAYNE GRETZKY, PHOENIX Sources say it is a done deal - that when the NHL returns, Coyotes managing partner Gretzky will be behind the bench with Rick Tocchet as his assistant coach.JIM PLAYFAIR, CALGARY ASSISTANT He turned down Calgary&rsquo;s head coaching job two years ago when he couldn&rsquo;t secure a long-term contract, but has been invaluable as an assistant to Darryl Sutter. Playfair was The Hockey News&rsquo;s minor league coach of the year in 2001 after leading Saint John to the American League&rsquo;s Calder Cup. He is intelligent and a stickler for details.CRAIG RAMSAY, TAMPA BAY ASSISTANT Hockey is a sport known for recycling former coaches and in that regard, Ramsay stands at the head of the class. Having coached in Buffalo and Philadelphia previously, Ramsay encourages players to develop their knowledge of the game and to exploit the weaknesses of opponents. He is direct in his approach with his players.Other coaching candidates include: John Anderson, Chicago (AHL); Randy Carlyle, Manitoba (AHL); Claude Noel, Milwaukee (AHL); John Stevens, Philadelphia (AHL). &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

NHL job awaits Sutter

<h2>Best of the Hockey World</h2>MINING GOLD Canada goes undefeated, outscoring the opposition 41-7 in six games to claim World Junior Championship gold.MAKING HIS MARKS Former NHLer John Marks records his 700th pro coaching win as Greenville beats Gwinnett in ECHL action.KID KESSEL Phil Kessel, 17, leads the U.S. at the WJC in shots (34) and is second on the team in goals (four in seven games).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021364/8359592-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="251" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN MARKS</figcaption></div><h2>Worst of the Hockey World</h2>NO DEAL Welcome to the New Year, where owners and players remain stubbornly dug in and there&rsquo;s still no NHL. Time to wake up, boys.HEROES TAKE FALL A loss to Belarus and some soft goals allowed by last year&rsquo;s hero, goalie Al Montoya, leaves Team USA fourth at the WJC.BAD DECISION Donald Brashear&rsquo;s season-long suspension in a Quebec senior league for beating a defenseless opponent is reduced to 12 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03888/8359585-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="251" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">AL MONTOYA</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04563/8359578-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="373" height="344"><figcaption class="caption-body">BEFORE NHLHere&rsquo;s what the league&rsquo;s 29 coaches (not includingPhoenix) did in the season before landing their first NHL head coaching gig. Calgary&rsquo;s Darryl Sutter was in the IHL</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05359/8359571-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="856" height="419"></div> &#9632;

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PLUS MINUS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-07133/8359623-1-eng-US/f0005-072.jpg" title="f0005-07" width="283" height="447"><figcaption class="caption-body">PAT BURNS</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-06226/8359630-1-eng-US/f0005-062.jpg" title="f0005-06" width="169" height="140"></div>From around the NHL&bull; New Jersey Devils coach Pat Burns is feeling much better after undergoing an operation and radiation treatments in his battle with colon cancer. Burns, who is living in Florida, has lost weight and is concentrating on getting healthy and back in shape.&bull; The Hockey News was almost perfect in our predictions for the 2005 World Junior Championship. We picked Canada to win gold, Russia silver and the Czech Republic bronze. We also picked Finland fifth, Slovakia seventh, Switzerland eighth, Germany ninth and Belarus 10th. Our only blemish was flopping Sweden and the U.S. We had them fourth and sixth; they finished sixth and fourth.&bull; Fans have enough trouble identifying players who wear helmets and visors. So when a rising star like Russia&rsquo;s Alexander Ovechkin wears a tinted visor, it makes it even more difficult for spectators to see his face.&bull; Great bit of scheduling having the WJC gold medal game up against the Orange Bowl. Even if the host Team USA was in the final, would anybody have watched?&bull; The good news for the NHLPA is Bob Goodenow (No. 39) beat out Gary Bettman (No. 40) on The Sporting News Power 100 list. The bad news: they were both beat out by a nipple - Janet Jackson&rsquo;s right breast at No. 38. &#9632;

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SNAPSHOTS

Barring an improbable last-minute deal to save the season, the NHL is now faced with two choices - to extinguish the flickering hopes with a bucket of water or to let the flames whimper away and die.For millions of hockey fans who want nothing more than closure, the bucket is the far preferable option.So our plea to the board of governors who will meet in New York on Jan. 14: give us life or give us the poison, but don&rsquo;t leave us endlessly hanging.Our message to fans: don&rsquo;t hold your breath. As you&rsquo;ve seen for the past five months, both sides are quite experienced by now at taking your third-party transactions for granted.Seeing as the NHL refuses to disclose an agenda for the gathering, what happens Jan. 14 is anyone&rsquo;s guess. One team governor contacted by The Hockey News a week before the meeting said he had no idea what will happen and all three short-term scenarios - a CBA deal, an official cancellation, or letting the calendar do the league&rsquo;s dirty business - are still possible.The only sure thing is commissioner Gary Bettman will not announce a drop-dead date. It would provide the NHLPA&rsquo;s Bob Goodenow with the deadline he has been seeking and besides, if Bettman did give a date, would anyone believe him?The hunch here is the commissioner will emerge out of the governors&rsquo; meeting with nothing new to say. His standard party line has always been that the NHL is prepared to keep &ldquo;negotiating&rdquo; and will decide once a deal is in place if there is time for a season. Nothing has changed since he last said it in mid-December.<blockquote class="pullQuote">What would possibly motivate the parties to get back to the bargaining table if they haven&rsquo;t done so already?</blockquote>Yet if this is the message Bettman intends to deliver to the fans, accompanied by the insistence (contrary to reports) there have been no back-door, top-secret meetings (brokered in Zurich by the Swiss, naturally), it will be met by the same indifferent eye-rolling from a public long past frustration. At this late date, the comedy of such a statement would be lost on no one.Those who have maintained there will be a season have always argued things would have to get down to the wire. before either side would feel the urgency to strike a deal. Yet there Bettman would stand, telling us there is no wire, and so no urgency, either? How can anyone claim with a straight face the point of urgency has not yet arrived? What would possibly motivate the parties to get back to the table if they haven&rsquo;t done so already&hellip;and when would they do it, early March?In 1995, an abbreviated 48-game season began on Jan. 20. That date is already impossible. If there are no talks happening and no new NHL proposal emerges out of the governors&rsquo; meeting, the latest unofficial Feb. 1 &ldquo;deadline&rdquo; to start a season is a no-go as well.It is possible Bettman could announce on Jan. 14 that the 2004-05 NHL season is officially cancelled. If so, it would be a welcome recognition of the obvious.As we said, don&rsquo;t hold your breath. &#9632;

If NHL season is dead, fans owed official burial

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Elston

<h2>SOUND ARGUMENT FOR SHOOTOUTS</h2>For the most part, I was against adding a shootout to NHL games, as I think the skills involved in a shootout are different from the game itself and shouldn&rsquo;t impact standings.My opinion changed after I saw one. I&rsquo;m the public address announcer for the American League&rsquo;s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. We recently hosted our first shootout. Once anyone sees a shootout live, they, like myself, will be sold on the excitement it brings to the game.Adam Goodman, Bridgeport, Ct.<h2>THN: A BUNCH OF SOFTIES?</h2>I see The Hockey News is as soft in the head as others regarding shootouts. I am against shootouts, but they could resolve decade-old controversies such as obstruction, poor officiating, instigator penalties, fighting, etc.How? Let&rsquo;s just have a two-hour shootout and forget the game altogether! Shootouts are stupid and if the NHL brings them in, I&rsquo;ll leave my seat before I see any of the &ldquo;action&rdquo;.Wake up and protect the game, THN!Don Vlcek, Plymouth, Mich.<h2>LETTER OF THE WEEK</h2>I can&rsquo;t believe locked-out NHL players are receiving monthly checks for as much as $10,000 from the NHLPA. That is ridiculous.I work my butt off, working between 45-80 hours a week and I only bring home half of that amount each month.However, the lockout hasn&rsquo;t been all bad. I just saw my first San Diego Gulls game last week with three of my buddies and we had a blast.The best part was how little I spent to watch the ECHL game: $12 for a ticket - we were in the second tier, third row back at center ice - and somewhere in the area of $30 on food and beer.The Gulls lost the battle to the Alaska Aces that night, but the energy the whole game was awesome.I want to thank the players for a great game. I know that I, along with my friends, are looking forward to seeing them play more often.James Gagen, Coto De Caza, Chlif.<h2>THE BETTMAN WATCH</h2>Larry Brooks is right to say that Gary Bettman&rsquo;s days as NHL commissioner should be numbered. (THN, Dec. 28)It&rsquo;s obvious Bettman has convinced the owners they can bust the NHLPA, but I don&rsquo;t think they can. And I don&rsquo;t believe anything will change if the owners get their way. Ticket prices won&rsquo;t come down and fans will get the shaft as they always have.Bettman must go and his replacement must do what&rsquo;s best for the game - get the players back playing!Thomas Staab, Denver<h2>MORE THAN JUST NHL TO SEE</h2>The NHL needs to realize it isn&rsquo;t the only game in town.If the league folded, I wouldn&rsquo;t lose any sleep. I&rsquo;d love to see great minor leagues - such as the AHL, ECHL, UHL and CHL - get more attention because of the lockout.The NHL needs to realize they might be the &ldquo;pros&rdquo;, but in my opinion, they are just another league.Keith Holm, St. Louis<h2>JUST THE FACTS, NHLPA</h2>The lockout is now more than four months old and in my opinion, the NHLPA has yet to present a single definitive argument as to why a salary cap is a fate worse than death.Come on, NHLPA, where are the facts? Or perhaps you don&rsquo;t have any?Paul Krill, San Jose<h2>LOSE FOURTH-LINERS</h2>There&rsquo;s a lot of talk about the NHL saving money, but I haven&rsquo;t heard a suggestion to reduce the number of players on the roster.I have a hard time convincing non-NHL fans of the necessity of a fourth line. How do you explain that someone makes as much as $1 million to skate for five minutes a game?Eliminating fourth-liners would free up millions of dollars for each team and also allow prospects more time to develop in the minors.Besides, every time I hear a commentator describing a trapping team, they say the coach is &ldquo;rolling four lines&rdquo; To me, having four lines is a waste of time - and money.Jonathan Davison, Adams, Ore.<h2>Got something to say?</h2>U.S.A.: Letters, The Hockey News, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y., 14240-9947.Canada: Letters, The Hockey News, 25 Sheppard Ave. W., Suite. 100, Toronto, Ont., M2N 6S7E-mail: <a href="mailto:aproteau@thehockeynews.com">aproteau@thehockeynews.com</a> or visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a> Include name, hometown, province/state and phone number.Submissions will be edited. &#9632;

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

<div class="byline">Stan Fischler&nbsp;Guest Columnist</div>Before we get into the heavy stuff, let&rsquo;s understand one thing about me and The Establishment.In the decades during which I had the pleasure of writing a column called &ldquo;On The Contrary&rdquo; for The Hockey News, I invariably took the underdog&rsquo;s side in David-and-Goliath ice battles.You can look it up. During Mike Milbury&rsquo;s lonesome battle as a player with the then-almighty NHL Players&rsquo; Association boss, Al Eagleson, I fought for Mike. On other occasions, I challenged NHL presidents Clarence Campbell and John Ziegler. New York Rangers president Bill Jennings once convinced The Hockey News publisher Ken McKenzie to fire me because Bill didn&rsquo;t like some of things I wrote. McKenzie temporarily put me out to writing pasture.After Gary Bettman became the NHL&rsquo;s first commissioner, I took so many shots at him I had enough material for a book, Cracked Ice, a tome that didn&rsquo;t exactly endear me to the commish.<h2>NHLPA NOT A UNION</h2>Backing the underdog still is in my blood and - surprise! - that&rsquo;s why I have no qualms about supporting the owners against Bob Goodenow&rsquo;s NHLPA. I realize, as a lifetime union guy, it my sentiments would seem to belong on the &ldquo;union&rdquo; side. But in my view, the association of millionaires known as the NHLPA is no more a union than Paris Hilton is a candidate for an Oscar.During Goodenow&rsquo;s rule, the NHLPA has virtually annexed the league from the folks who should be in charge&mdash;the owners. If this isn&rsquo;t a case of the inmates running the asylum, what is?Remarkably, NHL players have switched allegiance from the people who actually pay them to folks like Goodenow and Ted Saskin.It is strange, but true: wealthy owners have managed to become underdogs and every fan poll commissioned so far underlines the point.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011926/8359747-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="292" height="377"></div>The fans are not stupid. They know the score.To some media types, it is a sin to say a good word about ownership, but I&rsquo;ll take the gamble anyway.Take Ed Snider of the Flyers, for example. He has sunk millions into his team, turning Philadelphia into one of the continent&rsquo;s best hockey towns. In the process, he has made John LeClair, Jeremy Roenick and many, many others into millionaires beyond their wildest dreams.Ditto for Charles Wang on Long Island. He bought a failed franchise, propped it up with big bucks and made multi-millionaires out of Alexei Yashin, Michael Peca and pals.But at some point during the Goodenow regime, the players forgot about their allegiance to such owners and to the franchises for which the stickhandlers play. Hark for a moment back to a time when there was NHL hockey. It&rsquo;s the post-game interview. The player is wearing a t-shirt. The t-shirt is emblazoned with the NHLPA logo, not his team&rsquo;s crest. Then the player puts on his NHLPA cap and is ready to be interviewed.Watching players in their post-game NHLPA garb, one might get the impression Goodenow and Saskin are signing their checks rather than Snider, Wang and the likes of Mike Hitch, Cal Nichols and Jeremy Jacobs.Here&rsquo;s another example: the NHL tries to streamline its game and pushes for goalie pads measuring 10 inches instead of 12. Poof! With knee-jerk reaction, the NHLPA fights a sensible move with overwhelming zeal. It often appears anything the NHL tries to do in a constructive sense is automatically rejected by the &ldquo;union&rdquo;.Not surprisingly, the chorus of dissent has reached the commissioner&rsquo;s office. Insulting Bettman has become a theme for such scholars as Chris Chelios, Bryan McCabe, Tie Domi and their brethren, each of whom has forgotten what happened to the Sabres and Senators not long ago. When checks threatened to bounce in those cities, Bettman easily could have abandoned big-league hockey in Ottawa and Buffalo, neither of which are strong TV markets.<blockquote class="pullQuote">The association of millionaires known as the NHLPA is no more a union than Paris Hilton is an Oscar candidate.</blockquote>The league would have been trimmed to 28 teams and approximately 50 NHLPA members would have lost their jobs. Instead, Bettman found responsible ownership in both cities and, naturally, received virtually no credit.<h2>WELL-WORN PATH</h2>Blasting the head of the NHL has been a popular pastime ever since Hall of Fame builder Jack Adams called for original president Frank Calder&rsquo;s scalp in 1942.Campbell was widely criticized as a Conn Smythe-Frank Selke stooge, while his successor, Ziegler, took more hits than a bad blackjack player. Bettman is in good company.Speaking of Bettman, is there a wizard in captivity who could do a better job? Has anyone stopped to think that the players may be angry at Bettman because, for a change, he&rsquo;s standing up to the previously omnipotent Goodenow? And that the commissioner has unprecedented support from his 30 owners?Why are the governors so supportive? It could be that they&rsquo;re tired of being underdogs; tired of being insulted; tired of being told what to do by the hired help; and, tired of being told how to spend their own money. Right or wrong, the owners want their game back where they believe it belongs. Union member that I am, I believe they happen to be right.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021282/8359740-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="925" height="1780"><figcaption class="caption-body">ME & MIKEStan Fischler supported Mike Milbury when he played; now he backs Milbury&rsquo;s management stance.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0007-01

It’s owners’ game to fix

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012014/8359813-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"></div>Every era needs its time capsule, and like the dying days of the Original Six in 1967, we have reached the end of one now. With apologies to REM, it&rsquo;s the end of the hockey world as we know it&hellip;and we hear whine.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re ruining the sport&hellip;The other side won&rsquo;t negotiate&hellip;I don&rsquo;t care if my career is over &lsquo;cause I&rsquo;ll never give in&hellip;These players must be thicker than a telephone book not to realize the gravy train is over.&rdquo;Whatever. It&rsquo;s not like the rest of us are missing out on Gretzky and Lemieux in the primes as the NHL fuddle-duddles its way into irrelevance. It&rsquo;s not as if the past decade will go down in history as hockey&rsquo;s golden years. Really, if all goodbyes were this easy, there&rsquo;d be far fewer tears at the airport.So long, Dirty Thirty, it&rsquo;s been a slice.It&rsquo;s the end of an era because although there may be 30 teams standing at the end of this CBA mess, the game won&rsquo;t be the same. Be thankful for small graces.Looking back, it&rsquo;s incredible the powers that be - and the NHL and the players&rsquo; leadership are both to blame here - allowed things to sink so low since the last CBA was signed on Jan. 13,1995.The bright future predicted by Sports Illustrated was all there on the plate: an inherently dynamic, exciting sport; the blessing of increasingly talented, better-conditioned athletes; the excitement of the Rangers&rsquo; first Stanley Cup in 40 years; the growth of an expanding NHL landscape that would be propelled by a booming economy flush with <a href="http://dot.com">dot.com</a> money&hellip;and what happened? Ten years later it&rsquo;s like the league has been stuck with a decade-long flu bug - goals down, excitement down, the regular season product hacking and wheezing and most of the time miserable.The NFL made its game more offense-friendly by clamping down on hits against the quarterback and pass interference. The NBA got rid of hand checks and travelling calls and does everything possible to promote its high flyers. Major League Baseball found steroids&hellip;and home run derbies.And the NHL? In response to its lowest-scoring years since the 1950s, the NHL moved its goal two feet forwards (against the advice of the game&rsquo;s greatest player, Wayne Gretzky); created the toe-in-the-crease and no-hit rules to help out the goalies-, and, announced a handful of obstruction crackdowns, none of which were evident come playoff time.Such will be the legacy of the Dirty Thirty.The game will be improved on hockey&rsquo;s return only became millions of dollars are at stake if it isn t; fans won&rsquo;t come back unless they&rsquo;re given a much more compelling product on the ice, one that caters to the stars that should be driving the game. Somewhere deep in its nether regions, the NHL knows this. If nothing else could spring them into action, the prospect of more empty rinks when games are back on surely will.It is the end of an era because the expired CBA saw the end of the remaining Original Six arenas - Maple Leafs Gardens, the Montreal Forum, Chicago Stadium, the Boston Gahden - all of them replaced by shiny rinks packed with revenue-producing luxury suites.Just how much revenue these buildings and the rest of the cookie cutters produce is one of the reasons we are where we are. Of the 26 teams that existed pre-1995, four - Detroit, New Jersey, the Rangers and Pittsburgh - are still playing in outdated rinks that haven&rsquo;t been replaced or been renovated to improve their revenue-generating capacity. (Madison Square Garden will get a facelift by 2006.) In the process, the new buildings changed the sport&rsquo;s economics.It is the end of an era because it looks as if the big rivalries that defined the last decade will be no more. Every Colorado-Detroit game was a grudge match, but if the NHL puts its hard team salary cap in place, it won&rsquo;t be that way for long - and the Rangers won&rsquo;t be able to keep pretending. Too bad on all counts.Time to put the capsule in the ground. Thanks for the memories, Dirty Thirty. Enjoy the view from six feet under&hellip;ANAHEIM A diagram of the Paul Kariya-Teemu Selanne own-zone, home-run pass faceoff play. When it worked, it was a thing of beauty.A container of J-S Giguere&rsquo;s sweat after his 63-save, triple-overtime performance against Detroit in Game 1 of the 2003 playoffs - an omen of things to come.Kariya&rsquo;s fogged up-visor following the crushing Scott Stevens hit in Game 6 of the 2003 final.The red light behind New Jersey&rsquo;s net after Kariya&rsquo;s slapshot goal five minutes later.ATLANTA Dan Snyder&rsquo;s No. 37 sweater.Dany Heatley&rsquo;s crumpled Ferrari.The press box seat once occupied by a healthy Ilya Kovalchuk, to remind him of the early days and keep him honest.Glowing prospect reports on Kari Lehtonen, to remember the days before he was a superstar.BOSTON Marty McSorley&rsquo;s swinging stick.Ray Bourque&rsquo;s dressing room stall after his final Bruins game on March 5, 2000.The Bruins&rsquo; financial statements, filled year after year with black ink, just as Jeremy Jacobs demands.The chip on Jacobs&rsquo; shoulder reserved for Detroit owner Mike Hitch; is there anything else to explain Boston&rsquo;s four-year, $20-million contract to Martin Lapointe?Mike Barnett&rsquo;s copy of the 1995 CBA. You know, the one he used to make a mockery of the entry-level system in Joe Thornton&rsquo;s rookie contract.BUFFALO A can of blue paint, for Brett Hull&rsquo;s toe in the crease.A tape of Rick Jeanneret&rsquo;s all-time top-10 goal calls.The number for the shrink Ted Nolan and Dominik Hasek should have seen.Handcuffs worn by John Rigas on his way to jail.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011846/8359806-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="814" height="1087"></div>CALGARY A revolving door for three coaches - Brian Sutter, Don Hay and Greg Gilbert - fired within a four-year span.The Art Ross and Rocket Richard Trophies from Jarome Iginla&rsquo;s 52-goal, 96-point year in 2001-02.A thank-you note to fired GM Al Coates, for getting Iginla in the first place.A thank-you not to Calgary fans, for putting up with seven playoff-less seasons.A picture of The Red Mile during the 2004 playoffs.CAROLINA Arturs Irbe&rsquo;s battered pads and Jofa bucket helmet.A Chuck Kaiton cigar in a Whalers ashtray.The black curtain that sealed off the upper deck in Greensboro.The keys, which somebody should have held, to Steve Chiasson&rsquo;s truck.One of Ron Francis&rsquo;s suit jackets, for a touch of that &lsquo;Ronnie Franchise&rsquo; class.CHICAGO A shock of Bob Pulford&rsquo;s white hair, to symbolize a franchise gone crusty.In recognition of hockey&rsquo;s Windy City death, an obituary from Aug. 16, 1996, the day Jeremy Roenick was traded.COLORADO The Stanley Cup rings forever stuck in Patrick Roy&rsquo;s ears.Tickets stubs from the 439 consecutive sellouts dating back to November, 1995.A video loop of Joe Sakic wrist shots.Custom skates for Peter Forsberg&rsquo;s feet.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021266/8359799-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="403" height="544"></div>COLUMBUS A snippet of netting from Nationwide Arena, in memory of Brittanie Cecil.All of Doug MacLean&rsquo;s hats, some fitting better than others.The podium used to draft Rick Nash, introducing the building block to Columbus&rsquo;s first professional sports team&hellip;finally!DALLAS Ed Belfour&rsquo;s handcuffs and FUBU jersey on the night he went to jail.The empty space around Belfour on every game day, a symbol of his legendary intensity.Back-to-back Presidents&rsquo; Trophies in 1998 and 1999, a source pride for then-GM Bob Gainey.Brett Hull&rsquo;s cigar after his 1999 overtime winner.Tom Hicks&rsquo;s wallet.Mike Modano&rsquo;s flapping sweater.DETROIT Vladimir Konstantinov&rsquo;s wheelchair and walker, and eternal anger at the drunk limousine driver.The skates Scotty Bowman slipped on in 2002 to take a victory skate with the Cup before announcing his retirement.A stage for the Russian Five, any time they want it.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011983/8359792-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="446" height="488"></div>The notepad associate coach Barry Smith took back from Sweden that outlined the leftwing lock, a system that changed the Wings and the NHL.EDMONTON An Oilers-Stars playoff program, good for 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,2001 and 2003.The boarding passes Doug Weight, Bill Guerin and Curtis Joseph - among others - used on their way out of town for greener, richer pastures.A toque from the Heritage Classic.Glen Sather&rsquo;s smirk.Sweaters from retirement ceremonies: Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s 99, Jari Kurri&rsquo;s 17 and Grant Fuhr&rsquo;s 31.FLORIDA The rat Scott Mellanby swatted dead in Florida&rsquo;s dressing room before the 1995-96 home opener; combined with Mellanby&rsquo;s two goals that night, it gave him a &ldquo;rat trick&rdquo;.Considering how well he managed his love triangle with Anna Kournikova and Sergei Fedorov while getting Terry Murray fired and lobbying for Mike Keenan while having back-to-back 58- and 59-goal seasons, Pavel Bure&rsquo;s daytimer.A pair of owner Alan Cohen&rsquo;s flip-flops, to illustrate his thinking on Keenan.The cannon in Roberto Luongo&rsquo;s dreams that would allow him to shoot back.LOS ANGELES The Honus Wagner baseball card once belonging to Bruce McNall; it turned out to be the only thing that was real about him.The fleece GM Sam McMaster received when he traded Wayne Gretzky to the Blues in 1996; of the five players L.A. obtained, the best of the lot turned out to be Craig Johnson.All of Luc Robitaille&rsquo;s equipment; in L.A., it has always been a great fit.MINNESOTA A photo of Andrew Brunette - eyes wide, jaw dropped - seconds after he scored the Game 7 overtime winner that eliminated the Avs, drove Patrick Roy into retirement and launched the Wild on their mad dash to the 2003 Western Conference final.Skates worn by Marian Gaborik to winfastest-skater competition at the 2003 All-Star Game.Sergei Zholtok&rsquo;s retired No. 33 jersey.Pages of newspaper clippings filled with stories of Jacques Lemaire&rsquo;s coaching magic.MONTREAL The seat occupied by former president Ron Corey on Dec. 2,1995, the night a humiliated Patrick Roy told him, in full view of a national television audience, he would never play for the Canadiens again.A Habs dishcloth, for all the handwringing over the sale of the team to George Gillett, an American.The thousands of inspirational letters received by Saku Koivu during his battle with cancer.The surge of electricity felt in the Bell Centre when Koivu returned.NASHVILLE A huge poster of Stu Grimson, the-Grim-Reaper-turned-concussion-victim.The game sheet from Nashville&rsquo;s first home playoff game, dedicated to coach Barry Trotz and GM David Poile, for their uncommon patience.A game program from any time, any season; they always have the same guys anyway.NEW JERSEY David Conte&rsquo;s crystal ball.A calendar set to the second week of March, the time when Lou Lamoriello makes his crucial, under-the-radar late-season moves.The neutral zone from Meadowlands Arena, forever clogged.NEW YORK ISLANDERS One of the Mariner-crested Islander fisherman jerseys, the U.S.&rsquo;s worst fashion statement since parachute pants.Mike Milbury&rsquo;s cell phone, the cause of so many Islander problems.The &lsquo;C&rsquo; off the sweater of 22-year-old Bryan McCabe; it never belonged in the first place.Alexei Yashin&rsquo;s outrageous 10-year, $90-million contract. On second thought, cancel that: it will take up too much capsule space.NEW YORK RANGERS Glen Sather&rsquo;s smirk.Dollars to burn.A team of scientists to dissect all the bad chemistry experiments.OTTAWA Blueprints of Rod Bryden&rsquo;s grand plans.Ex-GM Marshall Johnston&rsquo;s &lsquo;Get Out of Jail Free&rsquo; card, used after his theft ofZdeno Chara and Jason Spezza in the Alexei Yashin trade.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03893/8359785-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="451" height="492"></div>&lsquo;I Hate Toronto&rsquo; pins.Audiotape of Eugene Melnyk&rsquo;s expletive-filled tirade after Ottawa&rsquo;s Game 7 loss to the Leafs in the first round of2004.PHILADELPHIA The shoulder pads worn by Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Darius Kasparaitis in 1998 when he laid the first big hit on Eric Lindros, triggering a series of head injuries that eventually led to Lindros&rsquo;s exit from Philadelphia in 2001.Garth Snow&rsquo;s shoulder pads from 1998, when it was speculated deceased union boss Jimmy Hoffa might be buried underneath them.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021434/8359778-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="1551" height="1072"></div>A note to Bob Clarke: Nobody asked Roger Neilson to get cancer.PHOENIX One of 3,000 obstructed seats from America West Arena.A giant goose egg for Brian Boucher&rsquo;s NHL-recordfive consecutive shutouts.A road map to the second round of the playoffs, written in invisible ink.A white horse named Gretzky.PITTSBURGH Two white horses named Mario, one wearing skates, another wearing a suit.Rolls of masking tape to cover up the heartache of a 2-1 loss to the Flyers in the fifth overtime of Game 4 of a second round series in 2000. Keith Primeau beat Ron Tugnutt in the third-longest game ever played.A bagel, representing what the Pens got back in the Jaromir Jagr trade.Johan &lsquo;Moose&rsquo; Hedberg&rsquo;s mask.ST. LOUIS A balloon with the air sucked out of it, for all the times Blues fans were let down.Chris Pronger&rsquo;s Hart and Norris Trophies in 2000.A Blues&rsquo; net painted with suspicious eyes, searching for someone, anyone, to protect it.A penny for Mike Danton&rsquo;s true thoughts.SAN JOSE The glove Owen Nolan used to point at Dominik Hasek in the 1997 All-Star Game, just as he pointed the way for the Sharks for so many years.All those forgotten tributes to Dean Lombardi, the man who orchestrated six seasons of continual improvement and ended up getting burned for trying to keep control of player costs.Noisemakers for arguably the loudest fans in the league.TAMPA BAY A bio of Michael Jordan, so former owner Art Williams can tell the difference between the NBA icon and Vincent Lecavalier.Minutes from the franchise-altering discussions in early 2002 between then-assistant GM Jay Feaster and president Ron Campbell, in which Campbell decided not to back GM Rick Dudley in his desire to trade Lecavalier. Dudley was fired, Feaster took his boss&rsquo;s spot, Lecavalier and coach John Tortorella worked out their problems. We all know what followed after that.Martin St-Louis&rsquo;s pillow in 2003-04, to remind him of his dreamy season.TORONTO Gary Roberts&rsquo; protein shake recipe.The three audio tapes containing Ken Dryden&rsquo;s shortest speech.Those aluminum-foil-wrapped Stanley Cups that appear in Toronto every time the Leafs win a playoff round, since they&rsquo;re too old and creased themselves to win the real thing.The biggest church in Toronto, where the faithful can pray that their boys someday meet Ottawa in the Eastern Conference final.VANCOUVER All of Ed Jovanovski&rsquo;s positive press clippings, to be used by GM Brian Burke as vindication for the Pavel Bure trade.The bed Todd Bertuzzi used for his pre-game nap on March 8, 2004. Specifically, the wrong side of it.&rdquo;The 2003-04 Northwest Division title banner, the first in eight years not won by Colorado.The reason owner Stan McCammon fired Burke, if anyone can find one.An hourglass, for time running out on Dan Cloutier.WASHINGTON Olie Kolzig&rsquo;s 2000 Vezina Trophy: good, hardworking guy gets his just reward.A listing of Ted Leonsis&rsquo;s AOL stock.The smell left behind after Jaromir Jagr left town.A souvenir from the Caps&rsquo; trip to the Cup final in 1998. Actually, make it a suitcase full of souvenirs, so people will believe it really happened.&ndash;WITH FILES FROM THN CORRESPONDENTS &#9632;

f0008-01

So Long, Dirty Thirty

<div class="byline">By ANDY BAGGOT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011755/8359851-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">PUCK PURSUITHockey is a healthy diversion for Jake Dowell, an NHL prospect with an uncertain future.</figcaption></div>It was a summertime ritual that wracked Jake Dowell with simultaneous pangs of dread and eagerness.Before he climbed into his Jeep, made his way out of Madison, Wis., to Interstate 90/94 and began the 175-mile journey home to Eau Claire, Wis., each weekend, he spoke on telephone with his mother.After some parental pleasantries, Vicki Dowell would give her youngest son, a 19-year-old sophomore center on Wisconsin, a headsup on his father, John.The news was, and is, never very good.John Dowell, 49, was diagnosed two years ago with Huntington&rsquo;s disease, an incurable genetic brain disorder that leads to a steady regression in mental and physical capabilities. The former smallcollege offensive lineman and exercise devotee - runner, weight trainer, biker and racquetball player - is gradually losing ground to a fatal illness that is present in one of every 10,000 Americans.During those calls, Vicki, 54, clued Jake into the latest news regarding his father. On the drive home, Jake would process the developments as best he could.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s when he thinks about it a lot and he&rsquo;ll be kind of down when he gets here,&rdquo; Vicki said. &ldquo;Once he&rsquo;s here, he kids around, with his dad. (Jake) knows he&rsquo;s a real positive person in his (father&rsquo;s) life, a force in his life that makes him smile and makes him break his routine and makes him forget that he&rsquo;s sick at that moment.&ldquo;The one thing his dad holds onto is Jake&rsquo;s hockey and. Jake as his son, who lives his life and has so many wonderful experiences.&rdquo;Jake stayed in Madison last summer to work out with his teammates in preparation for this season. Sometimes he drove home alone. Sometimes he was accompanied by teammate Andrew Joudrey, who struck up a friendship with Dowell when the two arrived on campus as freshmen in the summer of 2003.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how much time I have with my dad,&rdquo; Jake said. &ldquo;I try to make as much time as possible.&rdquo;<h2>PROGNOSIS BLEAK</h2>Those stricken with Huntington&rsquo;s disease gradually lose control of their voluntary muscles until they&rsquo;re almost immobile. At the same time, the ability to process information deteriorates. Death typically comes 10 to 20 years after diagnosis.In Jake&rsquo;s case, the torture of Huntington&rsquo;s goes beyond seeing his father slip away. Children of a person with the disease have a 50 percent chance of inheriting the gene. Everyone who has the gene develops the disease, which rarely strikes before age 35.That terrifying threat runs counter to Jake&rsquo;s dreams of playing in the NHL - he was drafted 140th overall by Chicago in 2004 - and having a wife and family.Those realities accompany Jake everywhere, but their voices were especially loud during those trips back home. While part of him couldn&rsquo;t wait to see his father, a part of Jake cringed at the thought.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m wondering if it&rsquo;s going to be a lot worse or if it&rsquo;s going to be a good visit with him,&rdquo; Jake said. &ldquo;For the most part, the last few have (been good).&rdquo;The favorite activity for father and son over the summer was to head to a nearby golf course, sit down and catch up on the world while acquaintances came and went. Jake didn&rsquo;t mind carrying the conversational load.&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t say much now,&rdquo; Jake said of his father. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s basically yes, no, one-word phrase answers. He can&rsquo;t elaborate on anything.&rdquo; How does Jake know it&rsquo;s been a good visit with John?&ldquo;When I leave and he&rsquo;s smiling,&rdquo; the son said. &ldquo;Like he&rsquo;s been happy to see me.&rdquo;<h2>TALKING IS THERAPEUTIC</h2>You might be wondering how Jake can do this. How can he talk so freely about something so ongoing and painful?&ldquo;It is hard,&rdquo; Jake said, &ldquo;but at the same time I look at it, it&rsquo;s a way for me to express myself and let people know about it. Kind of get things off my chest. Otherwise I&rsquo;d hold it in.&rdquo;His mother, a special education teacher, is the same way.&ldquo;(Jake) has his moments where he&rsquo;ll look at something and be down for a bit, but he really does have my personality,&rdquo; Vicki said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not good at staying down. It&rsquo;s too much work.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021255/8359844-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="491" height="727"></div>Mother and son subsist on multiple phone conversations every day, a wide-open dialogue and their faith in God.&ldquo;Jake&rsquo;s faith is strong,&rdquo; Vicki said. &ldquo;Mine, I think, is stronger. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d survive without it. I try to look at things and problem-solve. How can I make the most of this? What can I learn from this?&rdquo;One of the most difficult conversations between mother and son came the day it was learned John had Huntington&rsquo;s disease. Amid tears, Vicki outlined the diagnosis to Jake over the phone - he was attending Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Mich., while skating for the U.S. national team development program - then gently lowered the boom that the disease can be inherited.<h2>JAKE WUN&rsquo;T BE TESTED</h2>&ldquo;I ended it up by saying, &ldquo;But you know what, Jake? We&rsquo;re not going to worry about you right now because by the time you have to deal with it, there&rsquo;s going to be a cure,&rdquo; Vicki said.Jake says he won&rsquo;t be tested for the disease until he has to be&mdash;when he turns 35 or when he gets married - because of the crushing impact it could have on him and his mother.&ldquo;If it came back positive, she doesn&rsquo;t think I would deal with it well and I don&rsquo;t think so, either,&rdquo; Jake said. &ldquo;If I have that hanging over my head - that I have it and there isn&rsquo;t a cure - it wouldn&rsquo;t do anything but hurt me.&rdquo;Mother and son have talked more than once about the cruelty of it all. &ldquo;But God is a good God and the one thing going right in this family is what Jake&rsquo;s got going for him,&rdquo; Vicki said. &ldquo;We just can&rsquo;t believe that somehow he would have to go through this whole thing.&rdquo;Through 18 games this season - almost all with his parents in attendance - Jake stood second on the Badgers with nine goals and fourth in points with 15. He spent the holidays making his second appearance with Team USA at the World Junior Championship in Grand Forks, N.D., where he had three assists in seven games.Harder times may be ahead, but Jake is cultivating a sense of readiness.&ldquo;I feel through this whole process that mentally I&rsquo;ve become a lot stronger and learned how to deal with things,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Each and every day is a gift. That&rsquo;s why they call it the present.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-01

Jake’s sobering journey

<div class="byline">Scott Burnside&nbsp;Guest Columnist</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011933/8359896-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="290" height="384"></div>GRAND FORKS, N.D.From every vantage point, from every perspective, from top to bottom, there is but one word for Canada&rsquo;s 2005 gold medal-winning world junior team: Wow!OK, there might be a few more, such as stunning, dominating or juggernaut.But what made this team so? What made them different from a similarly powerful team that, 12 months ago in Helsinki, was shocked by the U.S. in the gold medal game?After all, many of Canada&rsquo;s faces were the same. The goaltending wasn&rsquo;t as talented. Still, the 2005 Canadian juniors left Grand Forks considered to be the best team ever iced by the red-and-white.Whether they are or not is moot. What is fascinating is how they established themselves so clearly as the dominant team in a tournament filled with NHL-caliber talent thanks to the lockout.It begins and ends with coach Brent Sutter.Using an NHL mentality in terms of first selecting the team and then instilling a system, Sutter found a way to forge a unified vision throughout his roster. Try getting teenagers to agree to anything and you understand the challenge that faced Sutter, as it does every junior or minor hockey league coach.<h2>A TEAM FULL OF STARS</h2>Virtually every player named to Sutter&rsquo;s team was a star at the junior level - or, in the case of tournament MVP Patrice Bergeron, a burgeoning star at the NHL level. Of the non-goalies, 19 were either captains or assistants with then-junior teams. Yet every player took on the role demanded by Sutter. It meant that Anthony Stewart, a top Panthers prospect who might be in the NHL this season if not for the lockout, saw less power play time, but so be it. In fact, when it appeared Stewart wasn&rsquo;t giving it his all in the early going, Sutter immediately dropped him down the depth chart.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a winner and that&rsquo;s all he&rsquo;s ever done,&rdquo; said Brent&rsquo;s brother Brian, coach of the NHL&rsquo;s Blackhawks, prior to the WJC. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very simple. He knows what it takes to be a pro. There&rsquo;s a lot of people in junior (who) don&rsquo;t seem to turn out the quality or the commitment it takes to make good pros. He knows what it takes to play in the NHL.&rdquo;That trait was passed along to a group who were expected to win - and instead of shrinking from the pressure, they rose to the challenge.Whether it was a talented, but underachieving U.S. team or a gifted Russian side that collapsed in the face of. Canada&rsquo;s relentless physical style, what separated the rest of the world from the gold were breakdowns. In style or discipline or goaltending. Canada, quite simply, did not have them.They never trailed and their ability to quickly pounce on opposing teams allowed them to dictate the pace and flow at the start of every game.In the gold medal game against Russia and its vaunted offense, Canada virtually eliminated odd-man rushes. For teenagers facing the biggest game of their lives, such discipline is almost unheard of.The sole team to stay within two goals of Canada was the bronze medal-winning Czech Republic, but it essentially made no effort to score in losing 3-1 in the semifinal, preferring to play possum and pray for divine intervention (as attested by their 11-shot total).Opposing coaches never complained of Canada&rsquo;s physical play; rather, there was almost universal reverence offered up in regards to Canada&rsquo;s game plan and execution.<h2>2005 WJC FINISH STANDINGS</h2>1. Canada2. Russia3. Czech Republic4. United States5. Finland6. Sweden7. Slovakia8. Switzerland9. Germany10. BelarusAfter dispatching Russia 6-1 in the final to roll to a 6-0-0 record, Sutter said what pleased him most was watching his players accept the system. Even in practice there was always intensity, a crispness other teams couldn&rsquo;t match.There&rsquo;s no question the memory of last year&rsquo;s stinging 4-3 loss to the U.S. was a powerful motivating force. Certainly, Canada and Sutter (who wouldn&rsquo;t say whether he wants to return to defend the gold) will be hard-pressed to repeat the script. With only two players eligible to return&mdash;Sidney Crosby and Cam Barker - it is unrealistic to think a younger team could reproduce the feat.In that sense, what was seen and achieved at the 2005 WJC is a once-in-a-lifetime feat.WJC NOTEBOOK The best one-game performance belonged to 17-year-old U.S. sensation Phil Kessel, who scored three times and added an assist in an 8-2 thumping of Sweden. Two of Kessel&rsquo;s goals came on brilliant individual rushes. He&rsquo;s no Sidney Crosby - not yet - but he is the player around whom the U.S. will build next year&rsquo;s team. And don&rsquo;t be surprised if Kessel starts garnering Crosby-like talk heading into the 2006 draft&hellip;If there was a disappointing trend, it was the lack of solid netminding. Only Marek Schwarz of the Czech Republic, named the tourney&rsquo;s top goalie, lived up to expectations. Canada&rsquo;s Jeff Glass was tested so rarely it&rsquo;s hard to judge his impact. But Al Montoya of the U.S., both Swedish goalies (David Rautio Berguv and Christoper Heino-Lindberg) and Finland&rsquo;s Tuukka Rask all turned in shaky performances which prevented their teams from greater success&hellip;The Ralph Engelstad Arena, home of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, is a great facility. But it&rsquo;s odd that Team USA didn&rsquo;t sell out one of its games during the tournament, leaving the Canada-Russia final as the only capacity crowd (11,862). Although attendance isn&rsquo;t the only measuring stick for success at the WJC, Vancouver organizers - where the WJC will be held in 2006 - feel they&rsquo;ll be able to sell out all 31 games held in Vancouver, Kelowna and Kamloops. If they are successful in that regard, it could put more pressure on the IIHF to acquiesce to Hockey Canada&rsquo;s aim to hold the WJC in Canada every two years.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021519/8359889-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="1551" height="1429"><figcaption class="caption-body">GLORY DAY&nbsp;Patrice Bergeron (left), Sidney Crosby (center) and Corey Perry (right) celebrate Canada&rsquo;s gold medal at the WJC.</figcaption></div><h2>BIG DIFFERENCE</h2>Canada&rsquo;s plus-34 goal differential (41 goals for, seven against) ranks fifth-best in WJC history.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03991/8359882-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="578" height="346"></div> &#9632;

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Canada’s run one for ages

<div class="byline">From goaltending to goal-scoring, Americans just weren&#x2019;t up to snuff </div><div class="byline">By SCOTT BURNSIDE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011761/8359934-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">A dejected U.S. squad looks on after their loss to the Czechs for the bronze medal.</figcaption></div>GRAND FORKS, N.D.There&rsquo;s little doubt U.S. goaltender Al Montoya will be the poster boy for his team&rsquo;s disappointing turn at the 2005 World Junior Championship.Had the flashy netminder who wowed fans with his play a year ago in Finland been able to replicate that gold-medal caliber performance, the Americans might have avoided the disappointment of a fourth-place finish on home soil. As good as he was last year in leading the Americans to their first WJC gold, Montoya was suspect all tournament.But to pin the blame solely on Montoya, in spite of his uneven play in this year&rsquo;s event, would be to ignore greater problems with this American team.<h2>FEAR OF FAILURE?</h2>From the outset, USA Hockey officials quietly wondered if they could reproduce the on-ice cohesiveness that marked the 2004 squad under coach Mike Eaves. That team went undefeated in Helsinki and most players had come up through USA Hockey&rsquo;s national development program in Ann Arbor, Michigan.Their fears were justified.Scott Sandelin was brought in as coach to fill the void left when hometown favorite Dean Blais left both the University of North Dakota and USA Hockey for an assistant&rsquo;s job with Columbus.The understated, soft-spoken Sandelin was never able to get his team into the rhythm necessary to have success at the tournament. The result was spotty, inconsistent play that included a shocking 5-3 loss to Belarus that cost the U.S. a bye to the semifinal.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a totally different tournament and it comes down to whether you can come together as a team, having the chemistry and being successful out there in such a short period of time,&rdquo; said Sabres prospect Drew Stafford, who led the Americans in scoring with nine points and who was also a member of last year&rsquo;s gold medal team. &ldquo;It just didn&rsquo;t work out. It wasn&rsquo;t meant to be this year.&rdquo;Defensively, the team was a nightly horror show.Ill-advised, blind passes and turnovers led to repeated scoring chances for American opponents. Neither the defensemen nor forwards seemed capable of tying up opponents one-on-one and battles were consistently lost against more tenacious players.Nothing illustrates the Americans&rsquo; woes more succinctly than the winning goal, in overtime, in the bronze medal game against the Czech Republic.<h2>BACK IN &lsquo;06</h2>The number of players from the 2005 WJC eligible for 2006:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021233/8359927-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="301" height="372"></div>Defenseman Jeff Likens was caught flat-footed at the blueline, unable to decide whether to challenge Czech captain Petr Vrana or retreat. He did neither and Vrana swooped around Likens to the net. The University of Wisconsin sophomore turned and although he caught Vrana, Likens couldn&rsquo;t stop the Czech player from dribbling the puck through Montoya.Game over. Dreams of back-to-back medals for the first time, gone.In light of the team&rsquo;s inconsistencies, especially on defense, one has to wonder about the selection process that excluded highly regarded players such as AJ. Thelen, the 12th overall pick in last year&rsquo;s draft. Or Jack Johnson, a national team development program prodigy ranked just below Sidney Crosby in this year&rsquo;s draft class. Or Matt Lashoff of the Kitchener Rangers, whom scouts say has played well in the highly competitive Ontario League.That said, with eight possible returning players available for the 2006 tournament in Vancouver, there are many reasons for optimism.The emergence of Phil Kessel as an electrifying presence bodes well, as did the play of Chris Bourque, an important offensive element of the U.S. team until a knee injury ended his tournament. Brian Lee, a highly touted high school defenseman named to this year&rsquo;s squad, also will be expected to shoulder a greater load defensively. &#9632;

f0013-01

USA letdown a team effort

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011912/8359965-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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THE DOMINATORS

<h2>JAN. 14 MEETING CALLED OFF BY NHL</h2>Citing a lack of developments in collective bargaining, the NHL cancelled a board of governors meeting for Jan. 14. NHL executive vicepresident Bill Daly sent out a cancellation memo Jan. 6 to all 30 teams. &ldquo;The clubs were unanimously of the view there is no need for a meeting at this point in time,&rdquo; Daly told Canadian Press. It had been speculated that the NHL was going to use the meeting to announce the cancellation of the season.<h2>BUD PDILE DIES AT 80</h2>Bud Poile, a Hall of Fame builder who was the first GM of both Philadelphia and Vancouver, died in Vancouver at 80. The father of Nashville GM David Poile, he also played seven seasons in the NHL as a winger with Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, New York and Boston in the 1940s. The Fort William, Ont., native won a Cup with the Maple Leafs in 1947. Poile was also commissioner of the Central League and International League. He won the Lester Patrick award for service to hockey in the U.S. in 1989 and inducted into the Hall of Fame a year later.<h2>BETTMAN FIFTH ON WORST LIST</h2>NHL commissioner Gary Bettman received a dubious mention in BusinessWeek when he was ranked fifth on its list of the seven worst managers of 2004. The U.S. business magazine said Bettman was selected because &ldquo;NHL finances are in shambles, and the weak TV deal signed with NBC last spring suggests the league has little leverage and is now a second-tier sport.&rdquo;<h2>TEAM WEST IS BEST</h2>Team West beat Team Pacific 3-1 to win gold in the Canadian final at the World Under-17 Challenge in Lethbridge, Alta. Team Atlantic beat Team Ontario 5-4 in the bronze medal game. Other teams included Slovakia, USA, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and Quebec. Team West&rsquo;s Jonathan Toews led the tournament with eight goals and 12 points in six games.<h2>NO DEADLINE ON OLYMPICS</h2>International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel is &ldquo;keeping it loose,&rdquo; regarding the deadline for NHL involvement in the 2006 Olympics. Fasel said earlier this season he wanted an answer on NHL involvement by January. But he has since softened his stance. &ldquo;I would like the door to be open as long as possible,&rdquo; Fasel said.<h2>NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER!</h2>NHLers who have gotten older - technically - during the lockout:Jan. 9Mathieu Garon, LA, 27Radek Bonk, Mtl, 29Scott Thornton, SJ, 34Jan. 10Henrik Tallinder, Buf, 26Jan. 12Jocelyn Thibault, Chi, 30Marian Hossa, Ott, 26J. Boumedienne, Wsh, 27Jan. 13N. Khabibulin, TB, 32Jan. 14Nick Boynton, Bos, 26Jan. 15Alex Korolyuk, SJ, 29 &#9632;

HOCKEY WORLD IN BRIEF

<div class="byline">By THN STAFF</div>Mike Danton, the disgraced formerNHLer sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for plotting a failed murder-for-hire last season, has filed a notice of libel in a Canadian court against two newspapers that suggested he was homosexual.In the notice, which preserves Danton&rsquo;s right to sue, he claims the Toronto Sun and Ottawa Sun and their parent company were &ldquo;false, defamatory and malicious,&rdquo; in their coverage of his April arrest.Early in the coverage of Danton&rsquo;s arrest for attempting to put a hit on his agent, David Frost, some news outlets speculated Danton was gay, perhaps because the criminal complaint, in an attempt to hide the target&rsquo;s identity, used language that implied a romantic samesex relationship.&ldquo;That interpretation was incorrect,&rdquo; said Alan Shanoff, a lawyer for Sun media, to the Ottawa Citizen. &ldquo;The Ottawa and Toronto Sun, just like many newspapers across North America, covered the wire service implication.&rdquo;Among the passages at issue in the Sun newspapers was a headline that stated: &lsquo;NHLer charged in gay hit plot.&rsquo;BACK ON ICE Theo Fleury is back playing hockey, albeit in a senior men&rsquo;s league in northern Alberta.The former NHL star, under suspension since violating substance abuse rules in 2003, is with the Horse Lake Thunder in the North Peace League. The Thunder is based on the Horse Lake First Nations reserve in northern Alberta.&ldquo;He wants to get back playing some hockey and have some fun,&rdquo; said Thunder coach Glen Watson.Fleury, 36, is listed in the retired player index of the NHL Official Guide & Record Book even though he hasn&rsquo;t officially retired. &#9632;

Danton takes legal action

<div class="byline">By THN STAFF</div>Hockey icon Wayne Gretzky has been hesitant to take an active role in the stalemate between the NHL and its union, but he did offer his two cents.Speaking to the media at the World Junior Championship in North Dakota early in the new year, Gretzky said he fears the lockout might last two full seasons.&ldquo;It could be a long time,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m scared we may be looking at a year-and-a-half, maybe two years. To me, that&rsquo;s what is really alarming.&rdquo;Gretzky wields considerable power as the greatest player to ever play the game. But as part-owner and managing partner of the Phoenix Coyotes, he is dearly aware any constructive input he&rsquo;d put forth would naturally be skewed to the owners/league camp.&ldquo;I know it sounds strange, but we&rsquo;re losing less money by not playing (under the old collective bargaining agreement format),&rdquo; said Gretzky, who denied rumors the Coyotes are for sale. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;re also losing credibility in the market, we&rsquo;re losing fan support and we&rsquo;re losing corporate support.&ldquo;I miss hockey as much as anyone, but I just hope you can come to some sort of conclusion on this because we&rsquo;re looking at a long time here if this is not decided in the next few days.&rdquo;Meanwhile, as the NHL cancelled a Jan. 14 meeting with team owners and governors, an initiative published by Hall of Fame-honored journalist Russ Conway in the Lawrence Eagle Tribune proposes another compromise.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011743/8360044-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="253" height="402"><figcaption class="caption-body">WAYNE GRETZKY</figcaption></div>The report, based on consultation with a panel of 36 prominent hockey voices including current NHL executives, strikes a balance between cost certainty and a free market so both sides can claim they didn&rsquo;t lose.The proposal involves a tiered salary structure ranging from a $400,000 minimum to one unlimited franchise player. A second three-player tier has a $3 to 5 million range, while a third has a three-player $1.5 to 3 million window.Both sides make a variety of sacrifices for the greater good of compromise. Players lose salary arbitration, long-term deals (maximum two-year contracts), qualifying offers and the advantages of a restricted market for free agents.Owners, meanwhile, compromise on the unlimited value of franchise players, revenue sharing and absolute control of players until they are 31 (outright free agency clicks in at 500 NHL games or age 28). &#9632;

f0015-01

Gretzky fears lengthy lockout

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011704/8360082-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="732" height="467"><figcaption class="caption-body">MILAN HEJDUK</figcaption></div>The NHL team reports look at the fortunes of each club, from the 1994 lockout through to the current one. The focus is on the past few seasons. Also included are memorable &ldquo;last&rdquo; events, in case the CBA wipes out 2004-05.LOCAL BUZZ A short description of what the fans and media are saying in the NHL&rsquo;s 30 cities.CAP IMPACT If a $38-million salary cap is introduced, what would that mean for teams?LAST HURRAH A look at a player who, perhaps due to the lockout, won&rsquo;t be back with his 200304 team - and may not be back in the NHL at all.LAST SCORER The player who scored the team&rsquo;s final goal (regular season or playoffs). For Colorado, it was Milan Hejduk (pictured).LAST SIGHTING What was the team doing when it was last seen?LAST WORD A final thought on each team.<h2>LAST HOME GAME</h2>Here&rsquo;s the score, opponent, date and attendance for each NHL team&rsquo;s final home game in 2003-04 (includes regular season and playoffs). Asterisk (*) denotes a sellout.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021335/8360075-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="740" height="1220"></div> &#9632;

f0016-01

<div class="byline">&#x2013;DAN WOOD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031009/8360113-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="217" height="281"></div>When the Ducks had Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne in the mid- to late 1990s, the parent Walt Disney Co. wouldn&rsquo;t spend the cash to build a strong supporting cast. Then, thanks in part to goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the Ducks nearly won the 2003 Stanley Cup. Anaheim fell back out of the playoffs in 2003-04 and, with the team still for sale, the future is uncertain.LOCAL BUZZ Orange County&rsquo;s few diehard hockey fans miss the NHL as much as anyone, but the general populace likely doesn&rsquo;t realize there is a lockout.CAP IMPACT A $38-million salary cap would mean the Ducks would have to shave significant money off their payroll.LAST HURRAH Center Jason Krog, a key role player the past two years, is playing in Austria after not being offered a contract by Anaheim.LAST SCORER Sergei Fedorov.LAST SIGHTING The Ducks ended their prelockout existence with a hollow 2-1 victory over the playoff-bound Flames.LAST WORD A cancelled season will have the Ducks and NHL resembling Mickey Mouse operations. &#9632;

f0016-03

Giguereled Stanley Cup run one of few Ducks highlights

<div class="byline">&#x2013;JOHN MANASSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05555/8360144-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="217" height="274"></div>The Thrashers are sure to contend for the playoffs when the NHL resumes. Some uncertainty surrounds Dany Heatley, who must deal with vehicular homicide charges related to the death of teammate Dan Snyder, but this is the deepest, most talented team in Thrashers history.LOCAL BUZZ With the end of college football&rsquo;s season and the Falcons one of the NFL&rsquo;s top teams, the NHL lockout has hardly registered in Atlanta.CAP IMPACT With all but Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk signed, the Thrashers, whose payroll stands at $25 million, would benefit from a cap by being able to lock up those two long term.LAST HURRAH Defenseman Chris Tamer is a favorite of Thrashers fans. But with the team trying to get bigger and faster, he won&rsquo;t be back.LAST SCORER Shawn McEachern.LAST SIGHTING Playing their final game of the season on the road, the Thrashers defeated eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay 2-1.LAST WORD With Atlanta&rsquo;s 2004 All-Star Game canceled and local fans cheated of perhaps their first playoff games, hockey&rsquo;s popularity in Atlanta already has been set back a few years. &#9632;

f0016-05

Thrashers certain to contend when NHL starts up again

<div class="byline">&#x2013;NANCY MARRAPESE-BURRELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07400/8360175-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="218" height="274"></div>In the decade since the Boston Garden closed, the Bruins have missed the playoffs three times and lost in the first round six times.LOCAL BUZZ Fans are frustrated by the situation, but because of the many college programs and proximity to AHL teams in Providence, Lowell and Manchester, people can see good hockey elsewhere.CAP IMPACT The Bruins&rsquo; longtime, ownership-imposed salary cap and their player purge at the end of the year makes them among the teams most ready to deal with a new CBA.LAST HURRAH Goalie Felix Potvin had a shot at returning before the lockout, but Boston wants a young backup to Andrew Raycroft. With so many goalies available, it won&rsquo;t be easy for Potvin to hook on somewhere else.LAST SCORER Glen Murray.LAST SIGHTING High expectations for a long playoff run ended when the Bruins blew a 3-1 series lead, falling to Montreal in seven games.LAST WORD The Red Sox&rsquo;s World Series win has muted fan disappointment there is no hockey. But when the NHL returns, the backlash will be huge. &#9632;

f0016-07

Fans frustrated by lockout, but alternatives are plenty

<div class="byline">&#x2013;JIM KELLEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04763/8360206-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="214" height="277"></div>The more things change in Buffalo, the more they stay the same. They have a new owner in Tom Golisano, but the same management team that was there when both the Rigas family and the Knox family had controlling interests.LOCAL BUZZ Fans miss hockey, but side with ownership in the dispute. That&rsquo;s a surprise in a union town with bad memories of owners who were crooks.CAP IMPACT Management repeatedly asks the NHLPA what&rsquo;s wrong with a cap, but from a fan&rsquo;s point of view, a cap won&rsquo;t help. The Sabres try to keep payroll at $30 million and claim they lose millions; If a cap comes in at $38 million, what do they gain?LAST HURRAH Defenseman James Patrick, soon to be 41, is likely finished as an NHLer.LAST SCORER J-P Dumont.LAST SIGHTING The blank spot on the out-of-town scoreboard where Sabres management opted to turn off the power so players wouldn&rsquo;t know that Carolina was eliminating them from the playoffs as they were losing to the Leafs.LAST WORD No NFL playoffs, no college sports of consequence, no Sabres. Little reason for hope in what is always a long Buffalo winter. &#9632;

f0016-04

New ownership has old woes as Sabres look to future

<div class="byline">&#x2013;RANDY SPORTAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06457/8360237-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="217" height="275"></div>One spring can wipe away a decade of disappointment. Most of the past 10 years have seen the Flames a bottom-feeder, including seven straight seasons without reaching the playoffs. Then came the run of 2004, which brought back the Sea of Red and ended one win shy of a most improbable Stanley Cup championship.LOCAL BUZZ Despite losing the momentum from the play-off run, Calgary fans support the owners. Having lost so many stars in the 1990s and seeing it almost destroy the franchise makes sacrificing a season worth it if it restores parity.CAP IMPACT A $38-million cap would be right about where the Flames&rsquo; payroll was expected to be, even with a signed Jarome Iginla - which is an unfinished order of business.LAST HURRAH Los Angeles signed unrestricted free agent (and Iginla favorite) Craig Conroy.LAST SCORER Craig Conroy.LAST SIGHTING The Flames came oh-so-close in Game 7, but it was Tampa hoisting the Cup.LAST WORD The pride in the flaming &lsquo;C&rsquo; was back after years of disappointment - and so were the fans - but a lockout caused by greed has extinguished all the excitement. &#9632;

f0016-06

Buzz of Stanley Cup run smothered by lockout talk

<div class="byline">&#x2013;LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08347/8360268-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="213" height="229"></div>The Hurricanes started the decade as the Hartford Whalers, spent two horrible years in Greensboro and brought the Stanley Cup final to Raleigh in 2002 before falling to last place overall the next season. It&rsquo;s too soon to say whether hockey can survive in Carolina, but there&rsquo;s no doubt fans here will support a winner&mdash;and shun a loser.LOCAL BUZZ The small core of diehard fans are stricken by the absence of hockey, but with North Carolina, Duke, N.C. State and Wake Forest in college basketball&rsquo;s top 25, casual fans have their sporting needs met.CAP IMPACT With only Josef Vasicek unsigned and the payroll at about $33 million before any rollback, a $38-million salary cap would require the Canes to spend money.LAST HURRAH With no contract for 2005-06 and his 37th birthday in October, Glen Wesley&rsquo;s career on the blueline could be at its end.LAST SCORER Brad Fast.LAST SIGHTING A crowd of 15,672 filled the RBC Center for the NHL entry draft in June.LAST WORD With a tenuous hold on the community, &lsquo;out of sight/out of mind&rsquo; could leave the Canes out of fans. &#9632;

f0016-08

Plethora of basketball teams distracts fans from lockout

<div class="byline">&#x2013;TIM SASSONE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011525/8360299-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="213" height="277"></div>A decade ago, the Blackhawks were contenders and the brand new United Center was full most nights. Then the stars left - and so did the fans. The Hawks have had six coaches since Darryl Sutter&rsquo;s departure in 1995 and they have missed the playoffs six times in the past seven years.LOCAL BUZZ What buzz? The Hawks are gone and forgotten by the fans and the media. For the diehards, there is always the AHUs entertaining Wolves.CAP IMPACT With a a payroll at about $26 million before a 24 percent rollback, the Hawks would have lots of money to sign a couple of free agents if there is a season.LAST HURRAH Defenseman Steve Poapst, 36, spent most of his career in the minors before joining Chicago in 2001. An unrestricted free agent, he might have played his last NHL game.LAST SCORER Ryan VandenBussche.LAST SIGHTING In their next-to-last game of the 2003-04 season at Phoenix, the Hawks lost 2-1 in overtime. The point prevented them from finishing with the NHL&rsquo;s worst record and might have cost them Alexander Ovechkin.LAST WORD In what was once a great hockey town, few would notice if the season is canceled. &#9632;

f0017-01

Decade of disappointment curbs interest in Hawks

<div class="byline">&#x2013;ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03868/8360330-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="216" height="269"></div>Eight division titles in nine years, two Stanley Cups, six Western Conference final appearances in its first seven years in Colorado - all in all, not a bad first near-decade for the Avalanche.LOCAL BUZZ Denver misses the NHL more than most cities. The Avs regularly thump other local teams in TV ratings and have the longest sellout streak in NHL history.CAP IMPACT Even with the 24 percent rollback, the Avs still would have a payroll of more than $50 million. Colorado likely wouldn&rsquo;t be able to afford Peter Forsberg if he returned to the NHL.LAST HURRAH Center Vincent Damphousse signed a one-year deal with the Avs; if there&rsquo;s no season, the 38-year-old&rsquo;s career could be over.LAST SCORER Milan Hejduk.LAST SIGHTING Other than watching their heroes shake hands as playoff losers to San Jose, the most lasting memory was seeing Peter Forsberg skate off for what many fans believed would be the last time in a Colorado uniform.LAST WORD With several veterans nearing the end of high-priced contracts, the lockout could do what other teams couldn&rsquo;t: end the Avs&rsquo; long string of excellence. &#9632;

f0017-03

Stunning streak of success gives Avs abundance of fans

<div class="byline">&#x2013;AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05447/8360361-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="221" height="277"></div>The Blue Jackets haven&rsquo;t been a hit on the ice, but they&rsquo;ve been a smash at the box office and have some major building blocks in place, such as offensive stars-in-the-making Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev.LOCAL BUZZ Now that Ohio State is done playing football for the year, Columbus fans have started clamoring for hockey.CAP IMPACT No matter how many games they sell out, the Blue Jackets never will have the revenue of the Maple Leafs or Rangers. A cap would help them immensely, even though owner John H. McConnell seems all too willing to spend.LAST HURRAH It was hoped goalie Fred Brathwaite would push Marc Denis to new heights. Instead, Brathwaite never got on one of his hot streaks and was bogged down by injuries.LAST SCORER David Vyborny.LAST SIGHTING Nash&rsquo;s flurry of goals. The 19-year-old shared the Maurice Richard Trophy after scoring his 41st goal in the last game of the season, a 4-1 win in Detroit.LAST WORD There&rsquo;s no last-place finish in the Western Conference to explain this off-season. &#9632;

f0017-05

Zherdev, Nash vital cogs in Blue Jackets’ attack

<div class="byline">&#x2013;MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-07279/8360392-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="220" height="240"></div>After a run that included six division championships in eight years, the Stars have little idea if a new economic system will allow the steady stream of veteran free agents to continue.LOCAL BUZZ While there is a fervent foundation of hockey fans, the general feeling in Dallas is &ldquo;So what?&rdquo; The media has filled space not with lower levels of hockey, but with more football, basketball, baseball and auto racing.CAP IMPACT While the Stars are behind a cap, fans are likely to hate it. Management says the Stars still can woo free agents, as there is no state income tax in Texas and the cost of living is low. We&rsquo;ll see.LAST HURRAH The Stars might like to buy out Pierre Turgeon&rsquo;s contract, but he still has a year left on his deal. More interesting will be the decisions on Mike Modano, Jason Arnott and Sergei Zubov, whose contracts expire this season.LAST SCORER Chris Therien.LAST SIGHTING Marty Turco allows a Peter Forsberg goal early in the third period of Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs to put the Stars down 3-1 and end any hope of a comebackLAST WORD The Stars have built a strong youth program and can survive a long lockout. &#9632;

f0017-07

Modanu, Arnott, Zubov may be victims of new CBA

<div class="byline">&#x2013;NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021190/8360423-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="214" height="260"></div>Not since the glory days of the 1950s have the Red Wings enjoyed so much success. Then, it was Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and co., winning the Stanley Cup in &lsquo;50, &lsquo;52, &lsquo;54 and &lsquo;55. Recently, it was Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom and co., winning the Cup in &lsquo;97, &lsquo;98 and 02.LOCAL BUZZ Hockey has been taken out of a place that calls itself Hockeytown. There is anguish, by American standards, but life has moved on.CAP IMPACT Even with a 24 percent rollback, the Wings would have to trim pricey veterans to be under a $38 million cap.LAST HURRAH If this season is canceled, Chris Chelios and Steve Yzerman may retire, while Curtis Joseph will be moving on as well.LAST SCORER Amazingly, no one scored for the Wings in their final two playoff games, as the Flames shut them out both times. Henrik Zetterberg&rsquo;s empty-netter in Game 4 of the second round series stands as the last goal.LAST SIGHTING The last image of Yzerman&rsquo;s career might be of him getting hit in the eye with a puck and being helped off the ice.LAST WORD No season? No swan song for some of the Wings&rsquo; - and the game&rsquo;s - greats. &#9632;

f0017-02

Many veterans would leave under new labor system

<div class="byline">&#x2013;ROB TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04638/8360454-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="214" height="280"></div>For the past decade, the Oilers have been fast-paced, exciting, competitive, financially responsible - and scrambling to gain ground like a mouse on a treadmill. They have had a steady diet of eighth- or ninth-place finishes, first round playoff exits and top players dealt away to ensure the franchise&rsquo;s stability.LOCAL BUZZ Fans miss their hockey, but are willing to wait as long as it takes until the system is fixed and Edmonton can get off the treadmill.CAP IMPACT It would put them in the running for free agents they never had a shot at before and allow them to keep their own talent.LAST HURRAH Depth defenseman Scott Ferguson, an unrestricted free agent, is 32 and might not be able to fend off younger, cheaper talent whenever play resumes.LAST SCORER Igor Ulanov.LAST SIGHTING The whole season came down to Game 82. Win and the Oilers make the playoffs; lose and they&rsquo;re out. They lost 5-2 in Vancouver.LAST WORD As far as the Oilers go, the lockout is short term pain for long term gain. A new system gives Edmonton a fighting chance. &#9632;

f0017-04

Oilers fans willing to wait for more balanced league

<div class="byline">&#x2013;MATT MCHALE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-08230/8360516-1-eng-US/f0017-082.jpg" title="f0017-08" width="212" height="265"></div>The Kings have some young stars in Alexander Frolov and Lubomir Visnovsky and perhaps a budding one in goaltender Mathieu Garon. But by missing the playoffs the past two years, any momentum has slowed.LOCAL BUZZ USC has claimed the national championship of college football, the Lakers are always controversial and the Dodgers and Angels are coming off division tides. The loss of hockey has been all but ignored.CAP IMPACT The cost-conscious Kings have been preparing for a cap. They did not re-sign Ziggy Palffy and are prepared to go with youngsters more than ever.LAST HURRAH If the season is canceled, Luc Robitaille says he is done. At 38, he says it would be too difficult to give it another season.LAST SCORER John Tripp.LAST SIGHTING Kings fans won&rsquo;t remember the team dropped its final 11 games, including two in overtime. They&rsquo;ll wonder what might have been if the team hadn&rsquo;t lost Jason Allison, Adam Deadmarsh and Ziggy Palffy to injuries.LAST WORD With the lack of attention the lockout has received, it is unlikely there will be any great cry for hockey this summer. &#9632;

f0017-08

Lack of post-season action slows Kings’ momentum

<div class="byline">&#x2013;BRIAN MURPHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011585/8360547-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="220" height="250"></div>Last season&rsquo;s backslide in the standings and purge of veterans was more correction than relapse. A combination of laissez-faire ownership, synergic management and coaching, a convenient payroll, a core of flourishing prospects and a passionate fan base has positioned the Wild to emerge relatively robust.LOCAL BUZZ Having suffered seven years without the NHL after the Stars migrated to Dallas, Minnesota has a surplus of college and high school alternatives to keep a fan revolt in check.CAP IMPACT If the 20 players under contract accepted 24 percent pay cuts, the Wild only would be on the hook for $21.8 million - leaving plenty of room to maneuver.LAST HURRAH With only two job openings and an average age of 26, the roster should remain intact through a lengthy work stoppage.LAST SCORER Marc Chouinard.LAST SIGHTING Season-ending home wins over Colorado, Dallas and St. Louis pulled the Wild above. 500 for the first time in 2003-04.LAST WORD If the NHL torches every village, the Wild have the bunker and supplies to survive. &#9632;

f0018-01

Hearty market for hockey keeps Wild in bullish mood

<div class="byline">&#x2013;HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03891/8360578-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="216" height="246"></div>The Canadiens haven&rsquo;t won or played for a Cup in the past decade - an unprecedented streak for this franchise - and missed the playoffs in four of five years, beginning in 1999. But with the hiring of GM Bob Gainey and, after advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinal last season, a sense of optimism exists.LOCAL BUZZ It&rsquo;s as though fans have resigned themselves to the inevitable - a winter without hockey.CAP IMPACT The Canadiens likely would have to abandon any hope of resigning unrestricted free agent Alex Kovalev. Others, such as defenseman Karl Dykhuis ($1.7 million) and winger Niklas Sundstrom ($1.2 million), also might be jettisoned.LAST HURRAH Veteran center Jim Dowd is unrestricted.LAST SCORER Niklas Sundstrom.LAST SIGHTING The Canadiens leaving the Bell Centre ice after being swept in the playoffs for only the fourth time in the franchise&rsquo;s storied history, the first time since 1998.LAST WORD With the tickets already sold - most to large corporations - life will continue as though the lockout never occurred. &#9632;

f0018-03

Rough times still fresh; Gainey brings optimism

<div class="byline">&#x2013;DAVID BOCLAIR</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-05409/8360609-1-eng-US/f0018-052.jpg" title="f0018-05" width="219" height="239"></div>Nashville has been the poster child for the small market teams while maintaining a tight grip on the purse strings for all of its six seasons. However, with shrewd decisions in the expansion draft (Scott Walker, Greg Johnson, Tomas Vokoun), the entry draft (Adam Hall, Jordin Tootoo, Dan Hamhuis) and trades (Steve Sullivan, Kimmo Timonen), the Preds prove that money isn&rsquo;t everything.LOCAL BUZZ There&rsquo;s not much. A crowd of fewer than 100 staged a &ldquo;rally&rdquo; outside the arena Jan. 1.CAP IMPACT A $34-million salary floor would mean a roughly 40 percent salary hike, but likely also the survival of the franchise.LAST HURRAH Winger Jim McKenzie will be in tough for a job whenever the puck drops.LAST SCORER Sergei Zholtok.LAST SIGHTING Detroit&rsquo;s Robert Lang dominated the series-clinching playoff game last April, highlighting the Predators&rsquo; lack of spending power and star power.LAST WORD The Preds figured they would lose $10 million this season either way, so they decided it was best to do so while supporting a cause they believe will make them profitable. &#9632;

f0018-05

Loyal small market soldiers waiting for GBA salvation

<div class="byline">&#x2013;RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-07263/8360640-1-eng-US/f0018-072.jpg" title="f0018-07" width="216" height="270"></div>There are many who believe the Devils were this close to being a true dynasty between 1994 and 2003. They won three Stanley Cups, but with a little luck it could have been six.LOCAL BUZZ The Devils Fan Club continues to meet, but beyond the diehards there seemed to be little distress that the season might be canceled.CAP IMPACT GM Lou Lamoriello had already begun looking to deal veteran Viktor Kozlov, but that wouldn&rsquo;t be enough with a $38-million cap since Stevens, Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer and Patrik Elias would eat up $20 million.LAST HURRAH Defenseman Tommy Albelin, 40, has likely played his last game.LAST SCORER Scott Niedermayer.LAST SIGHTING With hopes of seeing the Devils repeat as Stanley Cup champions, fans were left with the memory of the team lining up to shake hands with the Flyers after being eliminated in five games in the first round.LAST WORD Canceling the season would move the team one year closer to a new arena in Newark&hellip;but it also would leave everyone wondering if we&rsquo;ve seen the last of Stevens. &#9632;

f0018-07

Devils don’t always win, but they are in the hunt

<div class="byline">&#x2013;PETER BOTTE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021222/8360671-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="219" height="278"></div>From Treasure Island to Gilligans Island, the Islanders went from the NHL&rsquo;s model franchise - winning four Cups in the 1980s - to its shipwreck franchise by the mid-1990s. The end of that decade featured one embarrassing blow after another, but the Isles have qualified for the playoffs the last three seasons under owner Charles Wang.LOCAL BUZZ Radio airwaves were abuzz with nothing but baseball throughout the winter and local papers haven&rsquo;t offered more than occasional updates on the NHL.CAP IMPACT A $38-million cap would be a welcome development for the Isles, whose pay-roll from last season barely topped $40 million. The new figure wouldn&rsquo;t greatly affect them.LAST HURRAH Mariusz Czerkawski is committed to Djugarden in Sweden for the season, regardless of the lockout situation.LAST SCORER Mark Parrish.LAST SIGHTING Shaking hands with eventual champion Tampa Bay after the Lightning eliminated the Isles in the first round.LAST WORD Isles ownership has claimed losses of more than $20 million per year. Might they lose less without a season? &#9632;

f0018-02

Brief highs, lengthy lows comprise Isles’ last decade

<div class="byline">&#x2013;LARRY BROOKS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04602/8360702-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="216" height="268"></div>The Demise and Fall of the Ranger Empire between the lockouts of 1994-95 and 200405 mirrors the decline of the NHL. Stanley Cup champions entering the first lockout, the Rangers&rsquo; abject failure in missing the playoffs the past seven years despite spending nearly $500 million in payroll has made the organization a continent-wide laughingstock.LOCAL BUZZ The once-electric atmosphere surrounding the team has faded into an inaudible white noise of indifference.CAP IMPACT The Rangers would come out of the lockout with a disproportionate pre-roll-back 2005-06 commitment of $24.25 million to Jaromir Jagr, Bobby Holik and Darius Kaspar - aitis - and not much room to maneuver.LAST HURRAH Goalie Mike Dunham will not return to the Rangers.LAST SCORER Bobby Holik.LAST SIGHTING Mark Messier, bowing in all directions after possibly his final NHL game.LAST WORD No season in 2004-05 means the elimination of New York&rsquo;s best chance to finish last overall and earn the right to pick Sidney Crosby in the entry draft. &#9632;

f0018-04

Buffoonery on Broadway breeds mass indifference

<div class="byline">&#x2013;BRUCE GARRIOCH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-06320/8360733-1-eng-US/f0018-062.jpg" title="f0018-06" width="214" height="265"></div>The Ottawa Senators have always dreamed about winning a Stanley Cup, but haven&rsquo;t been able to climb the mountain in the playoffs. A last-minute goal in Game 7 to drop the Eastern Conference final to New Jersey in 2003 broke many hearts, while the Toronto Maple Leafs remain a huge hurdle.LOCAL BUZZ Fans in Ottawa want to see Dominik Hasek in goal and Bryan Murray behind the bench this season.CAP IMPACT The Senators could afford to spend a little more under a $38-million cap, which means they might be able to find a gritty winger with playoff experience.LAST HURRAH Center Shaun Van Allen won&rsquo;t be brought back even if there is a shortened season.LAST SCORER Vaclav Varada.LAST SIGHTING Goalie Patrick Lalime&rsquo;s shaky performance in Game 7 against the Leafs. Lalime allowed three bad goals as the Senators were sent packing in the spring&hellip;and so, too, was Lalime, to St. Louis.LAST WORD Well, at least there&rsquo;s little chance of the Senators being eliminated by the Leafs this spring. &#9632;

f0018-06

Loss to Devils in 2003 still stings Senators, fans

<div class="byline">&#x2013;WAYNE FISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-08194/8360764-1-eng-US/f0018-082.jpg" title="f0018-08" width="216" height="250"></div>The Flyers needed the first half of the 1990s to build a team around Eric Lindros and the second half to realize that experiment wasn&rsquo;t going to work. There was a Cup final appearance in 1997, but even that was tarnished by internal squabbling during Detroit&rsquo;s four-game sweep.LOCAL BUZZ Because the Flyers performed well in last year&rsquo;s playoffs, fans are disappointed by the lockout and possible loss of the season.CAP IMPACT Even with a 24 percent rollback, the Flyers will have trouble cutting a $66-million payroll to $38 million. GM Bob Clarke has mentioned buyouts.LAST HURRAH Center Claude Lapointe was ordered into a substance-abuse program for a second time in less than a year, but hadn&rsquo;t reported - according to Clarke - as of late fall.LAST SCORER Simon Gagne.LAST SIGHTING Emotionally-spent players slowly skating back to their bench after a gritty 2-1 loss at Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final.LAST WORD Hockey has an Original Six feel to it in Philadelphia; no season will hurt, but not seriously damage, interest in the sport. &#9632;

f0018-08

Flyers built around Lindros, then had to change plans

<div class="byline">&#x2013;JERRY BROWN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011456/8360795-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="221" height="278"></div>From the time the Jets touched down in Phoenix, the Coyotes have never advanced past fourth place in a four-team pro sports city or past the first round of the playoffs in a 30-team NHL. Some big names have worn the ever-changing crest, but the results haven&rsquo;t matched the roster.LOCAL BUZZ For a team that had problems drawing a crowd at the best of times, Arizona fans are starting to think the NHL was just a mirage.CAP IMPACT As one of the few teams that had compiled a full roster (with a salary cap in mind) before the lockout, the Coyotes would have to make very few moves if any of the proposed rollbacks are adopted.LAST HURRAH He signed a two-year deal and is on posters and billboards all over town, but Brett Hull will likely see his 42nd birthday before the NHL returns. Will he ever play again?LAST SCORER Krys Kolanos.LAST SIGHTING During the season finale, it was announced Phoenix would host the 2006 All-Star Game. Will the lockout be over in time?LAST WORD If a hockey season disappears in the desert, would anyone notice? &#9632;

f0019-01

The verdict from Arizona: Lockout? What lockout?

<div class="byline">&#x2013;JOE STARKEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03770/8360826-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="215" height="281"></div>The Penguins have suffered a steady decline in local popularity over the past 10 years since their golden era of the early 1990s. The best news for the franchise is that it has survived, but the future remains in doubt without a new arena.LOCAL BUZZ The Pittsburgh Steelers have the city&rsquo;s undivided attention and that will be the case until their NFL season ends. The Penguins retain a small but passionate base that would be heartbroken if the 2004-05 season is canceled.CAP IMPACT The Penguins lost money last season with a payroll in the low $20-million range. If they&rsquo;re going to suddenly shoot to $34 million, there has to be some serious revenuesharing involved.LAST HURRAH Steve McKenna, 31, played the enforcer role, but he won&rsquo;t be back.LAST SCORER Milan Kraft.LAST SIGHTING Fans gave the last-place Pens a standing &lsquo;O&rsquo; after the finale; coach Eddie O grabbed a microphone to thank the crowd.LAST WORD Anything that gives the team a chance to retain its star players will leave fans thankful in the long run. &#9632;

f0019-03

Serious revenue sharing needed for Pens’ survival

<div class="byline">&#x2013;DERRICK GOOLD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05438/8360857-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="214" height="266"></div>The Blues haven&rsquo;t had many problems making the post-season the past decade, but struggled to make a dent once there. They enjoyed many opportunities to win, but injuries and lack of depth squandered chances they had.LOCAL BUZZ Hardcore fans are resigned to accept hockey&rsquo;s hiatus - as long as it produces results. Others are fine to find other pursuits. The hint of apathy should worry some.CAP IMPACT Under a $38-million cap, the salaries of stars such as Keith Tkachuk, Chris Pronger and Doug Weight would need revising and replenishing the farm system would be a priority.LAST HURRAH Lockout or not, Al MacInnis&rsquo;s future was in question heading into this season. With no season, the questions should end - and so should the legendary defenseman&rsquo;s career.LAST SCORER Brian Savage.LAST SIGHTING A 10-4-2-0 finish to preserve their playoff streak - and then the yin to that yang: a fabulous first-round flop in the playoffs.LAST WORD The Blues, a stale team with a weary fan base, could use the break as a chance to renovate their house and ensure current ownership remains interested in its investment. &#9632;

f0019-05

Blues must improve depth when NHL returns to action

<div class="byline">&#x2013;ROSS MCKEON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-07276/8360888-1-eng-US/f0019-072.jpg" title="f0019-07" width="212" height="281"></div>San Jose is a focused franchise under GM Doug Wilson. The Sharks try to dictate the pace of games and are a versatile team that is comfortable playing any style.LOCAL BUZZ There is little or no buzz in San Jose regarding the lockout. People are finding things to do, other sporting events to attend and ways to fill their time rather than pining for the NHL.CAP IMPACT Considering all Sharks were signed before the lockout - and the payroll was at $32.4 million - the Sharks would have money to spend; a 24 percent rollback would drop their payroll to $24.6 million.LAST HURRAH Since all Sharks are signed, none will have to look for work elsewhere.LAST SCORER Alyn McCauley.LAST SIGHTING A disappointing outcome in Game 5 of the Western Conference final. The Sharks were shut out by Calgary as the Flames completed a three-game sweep of games in the series played on San Jose ice.LAST WORD &lsquo;Wake me when it&rsquo;s over&rsquo; is the sentiment in San Jose. Loyal fans will return when the NHL resumes, but don&rsquo;t expect much commotion in the meantime. &#9632;

f0019-07

Fans’ opinion on lockout: ‘Wake me when it’s over’

<div class="byline">&#x2013;TOM JONES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021104/8360919-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="218" height="275"></div>Finally, it appears Tampa Bay is on solid ground after years of floundering and looking for a permanent spot in the community. Long-suffering fans were rewarded with a Stanley Cup in 2004 and that championship introduced the game to fans who had not paid attention before.LOCAL BUZZ Lightning diehards miss the team and more than 13,000 showed up to watch an American League game in Tampa, but the area&rsquo;s sports fans have gone back to the NFL, college football and baseball.CAP IMPACT Club president Ron Campbell has repeatedly said the small-market Lightning needs a salary cap to remain a competitive entity-LAST HURRAH Captain Dave Andreychuk waited two decades to win a Stanley Cup and if the lockout lasts into next season, hoisting it may have been his last hurrah.LAST SCORER Ruslan Fedotenko.LAST SIGHTING The Stanley Cup being raised by the home team at the St. Pete Times Forum.LAST WORD The Lightning hope to keep the Stanley Cup for a few years&hellip;but not this way. &#9632;

f0019-02

Locals sit up and notice Bolts in championship year

<div class="byline">&#x2013;KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04593/8360950-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="207" height="284"></div>For a team that professes to have a wanton lust for the Stanley Cup, the Toronto Maple Leafs haven&rsquo;t gotten very close to it. They&rsquo;ve made the Eastern Conference final twice in the past decade, but haven&rsquo;t been to the Cup final since 1967.LOCAL BUZZ There is still an enormous passion for hockey in Toronto, but even in the self-anointed center of the hockey universe, boredom seems to have set in.CAP IMPACT Any Leaf fan who truly wants a hard salary cap had better watch what they wish for. Not only would it take away the Leafs&rsquo; biggest competitive advantage, they&rsquo;d have to start dumping players at a prodigious rate.LAST HURRAH Forwards Mikael Renberg and Robert Reichel, who arrived in the worst trade of the Pat Quinn era, are done as Maple Leafs.LAST SCORER Mats Sundin.LAST SIGHTING The Leafs felt they had the veteran leadership to win the Cup, but were too old, slow and beat up to even come close.LAST WORD About $2 million every home game, which has the board of directors in a state of apoplexy. &#9632;

f0019-04

Profitable Leafs can’t find formula tor Cup victory

<div class="byline">&#x2013;ELLIOTT PAP</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-06327/8360981-1-eng-US/f0019-062.jpg" title="f0019-06" width="195" height="279"></div>The Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore case has drawn most of the attention in Vancouver, but there&rsquo;s also a lot happening behind the scenes as the Canucks - with new ownership and contracts set to expire - plot their postlockout direction.LOCAL BUZZ The big buzz centered around the future of both Bertuzzi (will he be rein-stated and remain a Canuck post-lockout?) and captain Markus Naslund (will he return to the Canucks with his contract set to expire in 2005?)CAP IMPACT Assuming there&rsquo;s a 24 percent rollback, the Canucks would have no trouble meeting a $38-million salary cap. All core players are under contract.LAST HURRAH Magnus Arvedson returned to Sweden and announced his retirement.LAST SCORER Matt Cooke.LAST SIGHTING The Canucks leaving the ice in first round defeat after Martin Gelinas&rsquo;s power play goal for Calgary in overtime of Game 7.LAST WORD Swede dreams may be over for the Canucks as the contracts of Markus Naslund, Mattias Ohlund and Daniel and Henrik Sedin all set to expire on June 30, 2005. &#9632;

f0019-06

Future of Naslund, Bertuzzi hot topic in Vancouver

<div class="byline">&#x2013;DAVE FAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-08237/8361012-1-eng-US/f0019-082.jpg" title="f0019-08" width="212" height="280"></div>The Capitals have found their core audience, but unfortunately, it is tiny. To make it grow, a period of sustained success will be necessary - and it would help a great deal if that success was led by a home-grown talent, providing leadership in the way Olie Kolzig has.LOCAL BUZZ It is quite easy to find people in Washington who are unaware the NHL season never started - and who wish to remain uninformed.CAP IMPACT To get to a $38-million cap, the Caps would have to go out and spend some money, hopefully on experienced players.LAST HURRAH Center Kip Miller, 34, was acquired to feed Jaromir Jagr. With Jagr gone, there is no room for an older player who is an unrestricted free agent.LAST SCORER Jeff Halpern.LAST SIGHTING Fans warmly applauded the effort made by a very young club and wonder what lies ahead for a team that always seems to be rebuilding.LAST WORD The Caps luck out: their cadre of youngsters get a whole season of familiarization. &#9632;

f0019-08

Caps hope to grow fan base with group of youngsters

<div class="byline">By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div>Kip Miller learned one thing by sitting out the first three months of the season: it&rsquo;s not easy to catch up.&ldquo;These guys are miles ahead of me,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;The young kids are flying along.&rdquo;Which is exactly why the 35-year-old Miller is back playing in the American League with the Grand Rapids Griffins. When the NHL does resume, he wants to be ready, not left behind.&ldquo;If I sit out and sit and wait, sit and wait for the NHL to start, I know I might not be ready and might not make it back,&rdquo; said Miller, who signed an AHL contract Dec. 26. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a free agent. I need a job when the league comes back.&rdquo;Miller hasn&rsquo;t been in the AHL since January 2002, when he was plucked away from Grand Rapids by the New York Islanders. He played the past two and a half seasons in the NHL with the Islanders and Capitals (nine goals, 31 points in 66 games with Washington last season).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011354/8361043-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="226" height="353"><figcaption class="caption-body">KIP MILLER</figcaption></div>He initially wanted to be playing when the season began, but off-season shoulder surgery kept him off the iceuntil December. Since the Lansing, Mich., native lives close to Grand Rapids, the Griffins were a perfect fit. He had no interest in joining the 300 or so NHLers in Europe.&ldquo;If I wanted to play in Europe, I would have gone there a long time ago,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;I want to play NHL-style hockey.&rdquo;Miller returned to big-time expectations. He was quite possibly on his way to AHL MVP honors in 2001-02 with 21 goals and 56 points in 41 games before he signed with the Islanders. The Griffins have needed a go-to scorer ever since Jiri Hudler returned to the Czech Republic in November. &#9632;

f0020-01

Miller playing catch-up in Grand Rapids

<div class="byline">By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02981/8361081-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="241" height="233"></div><h2>AHL WEST NOTEBOOK</h2>Jean-Sebastien Aubin went from the unemployment line to the first-star spotlight in all of seven weeks.Unwanted when the Pittsburgh Penguins didn&rsquo;t re-sign him after last season, Aubin is proving to the St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs - and the American League - that he can still stop pucks. In fact, his motto appears to be the more, the better.Aubin made 63 saves and carried the Leafs to a 5-3 win over Syracuse Dec. 30, the most saves in an AHL AHL regular season game since Travis Scott turned aside 64 in a 3-2 Worcester win over Providence April 4, 1997.Just one night earlier, Aubin made 47 saves in a 4-1 win over Syracuse. In his previous start, he posted a 33-save, 1-0 shutout over Binghamton, meaning he stopped 143 of 147 shots in the three games (.973 save percentage).Signed as a free agent Nov. 13, Aubin headed into the new year with a sterling 6-2 record, 1.74 goals-against average and. 957 save percentage.&ldquo;You know he&rsquo;s a great goalie when he doesn&rsquo;t have to make the big save,&rdquo; said Leafs defenseman Marc Moro. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s consistently in the proper position. He&rsquo;s always there to make it look routine.&rdquo;SIGN HERE When U.S. customs authorities pulled Finnish winger Tony Salmelainen off the Edmonton Road Runners bus headed for Buffalo to fill out paperwork, he almost missed a Dec. 28 game against Rochester.But when all was in order, another immigration official drove Salmelainen and Road Runners assistant coach Kelly Buchberger to the rink. The fee: one autographed puck.NOTEBOOK After scoring just four goals the first two months, Cincinnati right winger Joffrey Lupul produced seven goals and 11 points in 14 December games. Lupul spent all but three games of last season in the NHL with Anaheim&hellip;Buffalo fans showed they&rsquo;re starving for hockey as 17,898 entered HSBC Arena to watch Rochester defeat Edmonton 2-0 Dec. 28. It was the eighth largest regular season crowd in AHL history&hellip;The Edmonton Road Runners and San Antonio Rampage swapped forwards. Left winger Eric Beaudoin (six goals, 10 points in 32 games) heads to Edmonton, where he&rsquo;ll play for his old junior coach, Geoff Ward, while center Joe Cullen (three goals, 12 points in 30 games) goes to Texas. Since players on NHL contracts can&rsquo;t be traded during the lockout, the deal officially was a two-way loan.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03710/8361074-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="1002" height="1439"><figcaption class="caption-body">Second-year pro David LeNeveu has seen his goals-against average go up (3.08) and save percentage drop (.902) with Utah.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0020-02

More work, more saves for Aubin

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05296/8361112-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="540" height="260"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04494/8361119-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="150" height="140"></div>The International Ice Hockey Federation is the world&rsquo;s governing body for hockey. In each issue this season, we profile one of 63 national association members.ITALYMember of IIHF since 1923Pop. of country 58,057,477Registered players 7,452No. of ice facilities 55Major league (15 teams)Serie A2004 champ Milano Vipers2003-04 top scorersDino Felicetti, MilanoDrew Omiccioli, BolzanoMike Omiccioli, BolzanoAssociation email <a href="http://www.@fisg.it">www.@fisg.it</a>Head office Milano2004 world ranking No. 19Best world rank No. 4 (1953) &#9632;

f0020-05

HOCKEY NATION, AT A GLANCE

<div class="byline">By MIKE MASTOVICH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-06240/8361150-1-eng-US/f0020-062.jpg" title="f0020-06" width="219" height="207"></div><h2>NOTEBOOK</h2>As the new year rang in, the Long Beach Ice Dogs were the West&rsquo;s top dogs after one of the ECHL&rsquo;s most remarkable turnarounds.The Dogs sported the second-best record among the 28 teams through Jan. 2. They had won six straight and were 18-8-3 overall with only five fewer wins than in all of 2003-04.By comparison, Long Beach had a paltry eight wins in its first 32 games on Jan. 2,2004.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s exciting to see where we are at today from where we were a year ago,&rdquo; Ice Dogs coach Malcolm Cameron told The Press Telegram. &ldquo;The organization is proud.&rdquo;One reason for the about face is goalie Chris Madden, who led the league with a 1.39 goals-against average, a. 962 save percentage and a 12-1-0 record.The line of Evan Cheverie, Chris Kenady and Nathan Martz had 33 goals and 68 points through 29 games.&ldquo;Now that we&rsquo;re in first, our goal is to continue to improve,&rdquo; Cameron said. &ldquo;The guys have been playing fundamentally sound. It&rsquo;s a credit to the guys finding ways to win.&rdquo;SEEING DOUBLE The list of league leaders in shorthanded goals isn&rsquo;t redundant. It only looks that way.South Carolina&rsquo;s Matt W. Reid had five shorthanded goals. Johnstown&rsquo;s Matt J. Reid was tied for second with three.RELIEF EFFORT Some proceeds from the Texas Wildcatters&rsquo; Jan. 8 game against Mississippi went toward Tsunami Relief Night in an effort to assist victims of the tragedy.&ldquo;The devastation caused by this catastrophic event is unimaginable,&rdquo; said Rick Adams, the Wildcatters&rsquo; majority owner. &ldquo;On behalf of the entire organization, we look forward to assisting the American Red Cross in its relief efforts.&rdquo;MILESTONE NUMBERS Greenville coach John Marks won his 700th pro game in a 3-2 victory over Gwinnett Dec. 30. That same game, Gwinnett&rsquo;s Cam Brown tied the ECHL games-played record. He later set a new mark by playing his 679th game against Augusta Jan. 1. &#9632;

f0020-06

Ice Dogs taking charge as best in west

<div class="byline">By ROBIN SHORT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03454/8361212-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">A former point-per-game performer his first three AHL seasons, Hershey&rsquo;s Andre Savage is struggling with 16 points in 33 games.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02704/8361219-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="237" height="236"></div><h2>AHL EAST NOTEBOOK</h2>Hartford has been among the AHL&rsquo;s best teams this season, challenging Manchester and Philadelphia for first overall, but the Wolf Pack would be even more ferocious in the second half if Jozef Balej could get it going.Balej has just six goals and 17 points through 33 games. ThaAs well off last year&rsquo;s pace, when he scored 62 points in 60 games with Hamilton and, after a trade in March from the Montreal organization to the Rangers, with Hartford.For his part, Balej, who played 17 games with the Canadiens and Rangers last year, says he&rsquo;s trying to develop an all-around game in the American League.&ldquo;I want to become more of a complete player,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;not just have one thing I&rsquo;m good at and everybody knows I&rsquo;m good at.&ldquo;If you want to be the best, you have to work on your weaknesses. I&rsquo;m trying to do new stuff and get physical if I can and hit some guys.&rdquo;CASSIDY CRITICIZES CAPS Bruce Cassidy took over behind the Norfolk bench while Trent Yawney served a 10-game suspension.Cassidy, a former Washington Capitals coach, was hired as an assistant for the Admirals&rsquo; parent team in Chicago. He likes what he sees in Norfolk&rsquo;s dressing room.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not one clique over here and one clique over there and that&rsquo;s refreshing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;In Washington, I sometimes wondered if certain guys in our room had respect for other guys who weren&rsquo;t earning their paycheck.&rdquo;OMAHA BOUND The Calgary Flames were expected to announce in early January that the location of their AHL affiliate will be Omaha, which will begin playing next season.The Flames pulled out of Saint John, N.B., after 2002-03 and have been sending their prospects to the Lowell Lock Monsters, which is the AHL affiliate of Carolina.NOTEBOOK The league&rsquo;s board of governors approved the relocation of the Worcester IceCats to Peoria, Ill., starting next season. The Peoria Rivermen will be the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; affiliate&hellip;After sitting out last season with a wrist injury, center Brian Bonin signed with Worcester in December and scored in his first game against Bridgeport. Bonin, the Hobey Baker Award winner from 1996, broke his wrist at the end of 2002-03 while playing in Switzerland&hellip;Hershey beat Worcester 5-1 early in January to reach the. 500 mark for the first time since opening day. The win was the team&rsquo;s fourth straight. Said coach Paul Fixter: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a damn good hockey team.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0021-03

Pack’s Balej struggles to find scoring

<div class="byline">&#x2013;BRENDAN SAVAGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-05236/8361281-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg" title="f0021-05" width="191" height="99"></div>Flint right winger Kevin Kerr tied the modern minor league record for career goals in a familiar manner. In his first game of the year after undergoing off-season knee surgery, Kerr tied Scott Gruht at 663 Dec. 22 when he redirected a shot from the point past Muskegon goalie Brent Belecki. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always scored goals standing around in front of the net&hellip;banging in a rebound or a tic-tac-toe back door,&rdquo; said Kerr, 37. &ldquo;I just got a piece of it and knocked it down.&rdquo; Kerr failed to score the record-breaker in his next four games while missing two others because of a death in the family&hellip;Coaches, GMs and media will select the teams for the United League All-Star Game Jan. 24 at Glens Falls, N.Y., but fans will pick the starting lineups for both teams by voting at the UHL website. &#9632;

f0021-05

NOTEBOOK

<div class="byline">&#x2013;DAVID HENRY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-06182/8361312-1-eng-US/f0021-062.jpg" title="f0021-06" width="165" height="91"></div>The New Mexico Scorpions took community involvement to a new level when captain Daniel Tetrault and rookie Alexandre Piche, after hearing calls for help while inside the team&rsquo;s offices in Albuquerque, chased a purse snatcher through a nearby shopping center parking lot and an apartment complex. While the suspect eluded the pair, Albuquerque police nabbed the suspect minutes later in the apartment complex along with a suspected getaway driver. Tetrault suffered minor cuts on his hand during the chase. Piche was not injured. Scorpions senior vice-president and GM Geoff Kent said the team was proud of Tetrault and Piche for &ldquo;helping out a person in need and putting themselves in danger, however minimal it may have turned out to be.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0021-06

<div class="byline">&#x2013;NICK GATES</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-07154/8361343-1-eng-US/f0021-072.jpg" title="f0021-07" width="149" height="115"></div>Every week is rivalry week in the Southern Pro League. The Asheville-Fayetteville interstate matchup is the best, according to an internet poll. But, the Asheville-Knoxville border war, with roots in the United League, also rages and the fiery Macon-Columbus series, first stoked in Central League days, has heated up. Jacksonville-Macon has survived despite changing leagues each of the past three seasons. Huntsville and Knoxville met 25 times in the South East League last season creating a robust series. Such matchups are just one reason average league attendance is 2,267. Another is parity. &ldquo;Nobody in this league is going to dominate anyone else,&rdquo; said Aces coach Jeff Brubaker. &ldquo;Any team in this league can kick any other team&rsquo;s butt - on the road or at home - on any given night.&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

f0021-07

<div class="byline">By NEIL HODGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011235/8361381-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="267" height="266"></div>The expansion St. John&rsquo;s Fog Devils went after experience in hiring Real Paiement as coach-GM.The Newfoundland club, which begins play next season, becomes the fifth stop in the Quebec League for Paiement, 45. The 13-year veteran is among the all-time league leaders for coaches in several categories. He&rsquo;s third in games (840) and fourth in wins (419) during the regular season. And he&rsquo;s second in games (131), second in series (25) and third in wins (66) during the playoffs.Paiement, who coached Team Canada at the 1998 World Junior Championship, was scouting the QMJHL this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He began working for St. John&rsquo;s on Jan. 1.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s special to be part of something when you start at zero,&rdquo; Paiement said. &ldquo;I want to put my footprint on this franchise and I&rsquo;m looking forward to giving it a solid base to start it up. It&rsquo;s a challenge and I&rsquo;m looking forward to it. I&rsquo;m very excited.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02910/8361374-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="283" height="681"></div>&ldquo;This is definitely a good opportunity. I know there&rsquo;s going to be some growing pains and some tough times and there will also be good times.&rdquo;LEBLANC GETS POST Saint John, the other expansion franchise that begins play next season, named Bob LeBlanc as GM. He has 25 years of experience in the QMJHL as a scout for Trois-Rivieres, Hull and Halifax.&ldquo;The building blocks for this franchise are being laid now and this individual is just outstanding,&rdquo; said Wayne Long, president of the ownership group for the New Brunswickbased club. &ldquo;He has a great knowledge of the league and the players.&ldquo;We were looking for one person to double as coach and GM, but we later decided to separate the two jobs. Very few teams win in this league when there&rsquo;s one person doing both jobs.&rdquo;The hiring of LeBlanc, 53, was the first step for Saint John.&ldquo;Now, we&rsquo;ll put together a scouting staff immediately,&rdquo; Long said. &ldquo;We hope to have our team name by the end of January. We hope to hire a coach by March or April. There&rsquo;s lots of startup work to do and we&rsquo;re taking time to get it right.&rdquo;MONCTON TO HOST? The Moncton Wildcats submitted the only bid to the QMJHL by the Dec. 31 deadline to host the 2006 Memorial Cup.&ldquo;Now, it&rsquo;s a matter of the league reviewing our submission and making a decision on whether it&rsquo;s the bid that they&rsquo;re looking for,&rdquo; said GM Bill Schurman. &#9632;

f0022-01

St. John’s Fog Devils hire the Real deal

<div class="byline">By JIM CRESSMAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03690/8361419-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="270" height="211"></div>The game is alive and well in the nation&rsquo;s capital. Ottawa fans, seeking a fix during the NHL lockout, packed the Corel Centre for an Ottawa 67&rsquo;s game against Kingston.The 20,081 fans who passed through the turnstiles Dec. 30 established a Canadian Hockey League single-game attendance record. Several hundred fans were late in arriving because of huge traffic jams.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen anything like this,&rdquo; said Kingston center Todd Griffith. &ldquo;Going from 3,000 or 4,000 fans to 20,000, you try not to look in the stands, but when you get a penalty and they&rsquo;re doing something like the wave, it&rsquo;s tough not to notice.&rdquo;The old mark of 19,875 was set Feb. 5,1995, at Joe Louis Arena for an Ontario League game between the Detroit Junior Wings (now the Plymouth Whalers) and the Windsor Spitfires.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04502/8361412-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="281" height="678"></div>Drawing the record crowd was a combined effort between the 67&rsquo;s and the Senators. City council voted in November to increase the capacity from 18,500 to 20,500.The Senators and Corel Centre presented a commemorative plaque to 67&rsquo;s owner Jeff Hunt prior to the game.Under Hunt, the 67&rsquo;s set the OHL singleseason attendance record (309,761) during 2001-02 at the Civic Centre.NAME GAME Carolina Hurricanes scout Randy Ladouceur is expected to replace Bob McGill as coach of the Oshawa Generals.McGill, a former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman, was a rookie OHL coach. At the time of his firing, the Generals sat last in the Eastern Conference at 10-21-1-0.GM Brad Sellwood went behind the bench on an interim basis while trying to secure a new coach. Ladouceur was an assistant coach in the Hurricanes organization from 1996 to 2003.Meanwhile, the Generals are still attempting to move brothers Justin and Tyler Donati after they requested a trade.SOO-WEET DEAL Ottawa defenseman Kyle Wharton was dealt to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for rearguard David Jarram.Wharton, 18, a second round pick (59th overall) of Columbus in 2004, asked to be traded because he was upset he wasn&rsquo;t allowed to utilize his wide-open style.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know about other teams, but we move the puck up and down here,&rdquo; said 67&rsquo;s coach-GM Brian Kilrea. &ldquo;Kyle felt if he could go somewhere that they could use his offensive skills on the blueline, he&rsquo;d be open to a trade.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0022-03

67’s fans set record: 20,081 in Ottawa

<div class="byline">By ROB VANSTONE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05374/8361457-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="267" height="259"></div>At 6-foot-6, Kamloops Blazers goalie Devan Dubnyk stands tall under any circumstances.Dubnyk loomed larger than usual Jan. 1, when he backstopped Kamloops to a 4-2 Western League victory over the Kelowna Rockets. Thanks to Dubnyk, Kamloops was able to prevail despite being outshot 66-17.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve ever really been through a game like that before,&rdquo; said Dubnyk, who had not faced more than 45 shots in a WHL game until being bombarded by hometown Kelowna.Despite the barrage, Dubnyk emerged with few bumps and bruises.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s mostly just (sore) muscles from just working,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re down and up so much when the puck&rsquo;s in your zone and you&rsquo;re just in a squat for so long that you feel the effects in your muscles the day after, that&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06293/8361450-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="281" height="676"></div>Dubynk was hoping to ring in the new year with Canada&rsquo;s national junior team. He was one of four goaltenders invited to Canada&rsquo;s selection camp, but did not make the team.&ldquo;(Playing in the world junior) was something I wanted to do for a long time,&rdquo; said Dubnyk, picked 14th overall in the 2004 NHL draft by the Montreal Canadiens.&ldquo;To have the opportunity and have it missed is pretty disappointing, but at the same time it&rsquo;s always fun to watch them.&rdquo;TIRED TIGER Medicine Hat Tigers defenseman Cam Barker is sidelined for an indefinite period with mononucleosis.Barker was diagnosed while playing with Canada at the World Junior Championship. The Tigers were uncertain how long Barker would be sidelined.&ldquo;Mono can vary anywhere from two weeks to real long,&rdquo; said Tigers GM Mike Moore, &ldquo;ft just depends on how bad the symptoms are.&rdquo;Barker, 18, has seven goals and 33 points in 31 games this season. The Chicago Blackhawks drafted him third overall in 2004.&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be a loss,&rdquo; Moore said. &ldquo;We have some good depth on our blueline and it&rsquo;ll give our young guys an opportunity to play but, at the same time, we&rsquo;ll miss Cam a lot.&rdquo;HOUND HIRED The Moose Jaw Warriors hired Rene Lemire as assistant coach. Lemire, 42, spent 4-1/2 seasons as coach-GM of the Saskatchewan Jr. League&rsquo;s Notre Dame Hounds. The twotime SJHL coach of the year will work with Steve Young, who was promoted from assistant after Parry Shockey was fired. &#9632;

f0022-05

Dubnyk doubly tough in one-sided victory

<div class="byline">&#x2013;PAUL SHAHEEN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-07240/8361488-1-eng-US/f0022-072.jpg" title="f0022-07" width="369" height="112"></div>The &lsquo;Windy City&rsquo; of Chicago became &lsquo;Scout City&rsquo; recently as no less than four Div. I coaches showed up for a game between the Chicago Steel and Sioux City.Traditionally, Div. I assistant coaches flood United States League rinks, but why were there so many college head coaches in one setting? With their teams on break, Michigan&rsquo;s Red Berenson and Boston College&rsquo;s Jerry York checked in to look at some potential recruits, particularly 17-year-old Steel goalie Billy Sauer who, with a. 910 save percentage in 16 games, is the league&rsquo;s hottest commodity.A high school junior, Sauer is accelerating academically so he can attend a U.S. college next season.Sauer was facing Musketeers&rsquo; prospect Corey Elkins, a 19-year-old center with creativity and a powerful shot, traits which Massachusetts coach Don Cahoon and Michigan State coach Rick Comley were watching. Sioux City winger Travis Turnbull was also under the microscope. &#9632;

f0022-07

UNITED STATES LEAGUE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-10149/8361519-1-eng-US/f0022-102.jpg" title="f0022-10" width="449" height="249"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-08190/8361533-1-eng-US/f0022-082.jpg" title="f0022-08" width="204" height="235"></div>Arena John Labatt Centre Capacity 9,100 GM Mark Hunter Coach Dale Hunter<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-09169/8361526-1-eng-US/f0022-092.jpg" title="f0022-09" width="199" height="71"></div>31St SEASON IN OHL BEST 51-13-2 in 1976-77ACTIVE NHL DRAFT PICKSRob Schremp, 25th, Edm, &rsquo;04Corey Perry, 28th, Ana, &rsquo;03Dave Bolland, 32nd, Chi, &rsquo;04 &#9632;

f0022-10

LONDON KNIGHTS

<div class="byline">BY PHILIP COLVIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011115/8361585-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="275" height="228"></div>Michigan State&rsquo;s 10th Great Lakes Invitational title couldn&rsquo;t have come at a better time. The underachieving Spartans entered the tournament at Detroit&rsquo;s Joe Louis Arena in eighth place in the CCHA and struggling to find their groove.Overtime wins over New Hampshire and Michigan lifted team spirit going into the second half. &ldquo;To come in and beat teams ranked sixth and third in the country is tremendous for us,&rdquo; said Michigan State coach Rick Comley. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve worked very hard this season and haven&rsquo;t had a lot to show for it. This is exactly what the doctor ordered.&rdquo;The Spartans got solid goaltending from sophomore Dominic Vicari and junior forward Colton Fretter scored the winner against the Wolverines in the title game. Senior forward Jim Slater, the tournament MVP, notched the overtime winner to beat the Wildcats in the semifinal.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve ever scored a bigger goal,&rdquo; said Fretter, who leads Michigan State with 12 goals. &ldquo;Hopefully these two wins will mean better things to come.&rdquo;DRAFT PROSPECT 2005 Bowling Green sophomore Jonathan Sigalet has always been a top offensive defenseman.Ranked third among collegiate players for the 2005 NHL draft in Central Scouting&rsquo;s preliminary rankings, Sigalet had three goals and nine points in 18 games. He led the Falcons in power play points (11) as a freshman last year.A smooth skater who moves the puck well, Sigalet worked hard in the weight room last summer and the added strength has helped his play away from the puck.&ldquo;He just wanted to take the next step,&rdquo; said his brother and teammate Jordan Sigalet, the Falcons star senior goaltender.NOTEBOOK Ferris State senior center Jeff Legue is back among the CCHA&rsquo;s top offensive players. After a breakout sophomore season where he scored 24 goals and 59 points in 42 games, Legue struggled last year, finishing with 13 goals and 29 points in 37 games. The slick playmaker reeled off 10 goals and 14 points during a nine-game scoring streak in December and had 14 goals and 20 points through 18 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02781/8361578-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="280" height="293"></div>Top PlayerPatrick Eaves<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03577/8361571-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="189" height="66"></div>BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04420/8361564-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="184" height="70"></div>Chestnut Hill, Mass.Arena Conte Forum (7,884)Coach Jerry York, 11th yr.NCAA Titles Two2004-05 roster breakdownU.S.-born 22 (8 Mass, 4 Minn.)Cdn.-born 2 (1 Alta., 1 Ont.)Highest NHL draft picksCraig Janney, 13th, Bos, &rsquo;86Marty Reasoner, 14th, StL, &rsquo;96Chuck Kobasew, 14th, Cgy, &rsquo;01 &#9632;

f0023-01

Spartans catch second wind; aim high in ’05

<div class="byline">BY LARRY MAHONEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-05308/8361616-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="272" height="231"></div>Inside Hockey East, a 30-minute television show devoted to promoting the league&rsquo;s coaches, players and officials, is new to the New England Sports Network in mid-January.Dan Hannigan and Eric Frede will produce the show and be the on-air talent. There will be six shows starting Jan. 14, one every two weeks, and they will be shown every Friday night. It may be expanded to a weekly show next season.&ldquo;It will be a feature-oriented show,&rdquo; Hannigan said. &ldquo;There will be two segments. One will be &lsquo;spotlight&rsquo; and will profile a player or some story that is unique. It will be something people don&rsquo;t know about. We want the fans to look at a player or a coach in a new light-&ldquo;The other segment will be &lsquo;insider&rsquo; and will involve going behind the scenes. We may put a mic on a coach or ref and follow him around off the ice as well as on the ice to give fans a chance to see what goes on behind the scenes.&rdquo; Their first &lsquo;spotlight&rsquo; segment will profile Northeastern senior defenseman Tim Judy and his wife, Jessi, and their &lsquo;insider&rsquo; bit will feature mic&rsquo;d-up UMass Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald before, during and after a game.In addition, there will be shorter segments on each of the nine Hockey East schools during each show.NHL PROSPECT WATCH Northeastern freshman right winger Josh Robertson is &ldquo;really coming on,&rdquo; said his coach Bruce Crowder.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s learning to play and compete every shift,&rdquo; Crowder said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very good with the puck, he&rsquo;s good along the wall and he sees the ice real well.&rdquo;A fourth round draft pick of Washington in 2003, Robertson had just two goals and an assist in 14 games. He spent the previous two years with Proctor Academy where he had 141 points in 54 high school games.NOTEBOOK Minnesota won the last game at Boston University&rsquo;s 3,684-seat Walter Brown Arena 2-1 Jan. 2, but the Terriers triumphed 2-1 the next night in front of 6,224 at their new $100 million 6,300-seat Agganis Arena. Brad Zan-canaro scored the last goal at Brown Arena, where BU went 362-129-37 since 1971, and the first goal at Agganis Arena. &#9632;

f0023-05

Hockey show to spotlight personalities

<div class="byline">BY TOM BOGGIE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-06245/8361668-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="255" height="221"></div>Most coaches wouldn&rsquo;t tolerate a player who showed up late for practice or asked to leave early.But in the case of Colgate senior defenseman Justin Spencer, Raiders coach Don Vaughan will make an exception.Spencer, a native of Tweed, Ont., is in the honors physics program at Colgate and also has a double major in math. He has already co-authored papers that have been published in the American Journal of Physics.&ldquo;Justin has a very demanding curriculum,&rdquo; Vaughan said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have a lot of physics majors come through here, so we give him concessions because he&rsquo;s down to such a tight schedule. But he holds up both ends very well.&rdquo;The 6-foot, 210-pound Spencer, isn&rsquo;t just a physics major who happens to play hockey. He was a star performer with the Ottawa Senators of the Central Jr. A League.After playing 18 games as a freshman at Colgate, he earned a starting spot on the blueline and has been there ever since. Last season, he had his most productive year, scoring four goals and seven points in 32 games. He had three assists in 17 games this season.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great skater and there&rsquo;s nothing flashy about his game,&rdquo; Vaughan said. &ldquo;He could lug it more, but he chooses to keep things simple. He&rsquo;s strong in front of the net.&rdquo;The world of science awaits the undrafted 23-year-old. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll have a bright future, no matter what he chooses,&rdquo; Vaughan said.DRAFT WATCH 2005 Freshman Sasha Pokulok is the latest in a long line of big defenseman to play at Cornell.At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, Pokulok reminds Big Red fans of Doug Murray, a twotime all-America who was a Hobey Baker finalist in 2002.Pokulok was the top-ranked ECAC skater, at No. 8 overall among college prospects, in the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Service&rsquo;s preliminary rankings.Like Murray, he&rsquo;s big, strong, and effective with the puck. Pokulok was Cornell&rsquo;s highest-scoring rookie, with three goals and eight points in 13 games.NOTEBOOK Thanks to freshman goalie Adam D&rsquo;Alba, who made 16 saves and earned MVP honors, Brown defeated Holy Cross 5-2 to win the UConn Hockey Classic.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-07204/8361661-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="277" height="291"></div>Top PlayerTravis Zajac<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-08171/8361654-1-eng-US/f0023-082.jpg" title="f0023-08" width="187" height="65"></div>NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING SIOUX<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-09140/8361647-1-eng-US/f0023-092.jpg" title="f0023-09" width="187" height="69"></div>Grand Forks, N.D.Arena The Ralph&rsquo; (11,500)Coach Dave Hakstol, 1st yr.NCAA Titles Seven2004-05 roster breakdownU.S.-born 16 (7 Minn., 6 N.D.)Cdn.-born 8 (3 Man., 3 Sask.)Highest NHL draft picksJason Herter, 8th, Van, &rsquo;89Drew Stafford, 13th, Buf, &rsquo;04Zac Parise, 17th, NJ, &rsquo;03 &#9632;

f0023-06

Spencer dances line between hockey, physics

<div class="byline">BY ANDY BAGGOT</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-10123/8361699-1-eng-US/f0023-102.jpg" title="f0023-10" width="267" height="195"></div>The tumultuous association between Alaska-Anchorage and Brett Arcand-Kootenay ended when the sophomore center was kicked off the team.Seawolves coach John Hill said he took action Dec. 11 because Arcand-Kootenay - tied for second on the team with three goals and eight points in 10 games - repeatedly violated team policies.&ldquo;Any player we&rsquo;ve had to dismiss, we&rsquo;ve given him at least a second chance, and in some cases, more than that,&rdquo; Hill told the Anchorage Daily News.Hill jettisoned Arcand-Kootenay after he failed to join the team in its Sullivan Arena dressing room after a loss to Colorado College Dec. 11. Arcand-Kootenay sat out the game while serving a two-game suspension for breaking team rules on a November road trip.The dismissal took place three months after Arcand-Kootenay suffered a broken jaw when teammate Lee Green punched him in the team&rsquo;s dressing room in a dispute over a training session. Green still faces an assault charge.Anchorage senior captain Jimmy Dahl said veteran leaders of the team asked Hill to remove Arcand-Kootenay from the squad at the end of 2003-2004, but Hill elected to give Arcand-Kootenay a second chance.&ldquo;Everyone deserves a second chance,&rdquo; Dahl said. &ldquo;But it turned into a third chance and fourth chance and at some point you have to pull the plug.&rdquo;NHL PROSPECT WATCH Wisconsin junior right winger Ryan MacMurchy has seen his production drop off noticeably this season.After scoring 10 goals as a freshman and 15 as a sophomore, the St. Louis draft pick had four in 18 games this season.&ldquo;Mac&rsquo;s the type of guy that wants to do well so bad that sometimes he over-prepares and it hurts his play,&rdquo; said Badgers coach Mike Eaves. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s trying to find that balance between being prepared emotionally and letting things happen as they should.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Alaska Anchorage coach John Hill is on the mend after fusion surgery on his back in December. He watched holiday practices from the stands and was questionable for the opening weekend of the second half. &#9632;

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January 18, 2005

UNITED LEAGUE STATISTICS

Fleury still developing with Baby Pens

EYE ON EUROPE

Panthers’ lack of success breeds indifference in fans