The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

February 15, 2005

The Hockey News February 15, 2005

<div class="byline">&#x2013;RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02983/8374313-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="212" height="232"></div>During his dozen years as the Devils&rsquo; director of scouting, David Conte always had a solution for the cold, dark nights on the road.Whether he was in Russia, the Czech Republic or some Canadian outpost, Conte could always turn on the TV, pick up a newspaper or telephone to find out how the Devils were doing. That has changed during this lockout season.&ldquo;It is pretty much business as usual, but it affects you emotionally,&rdquo; Conte said of the question of whether there will be a 2005 draft. &ldquo;There might not be a draft, but I have to prepare as if there will be one.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Right winger Jamie Langenbrunner is playing for ERC Ingolstadt in Germany, while left winger Krzysztof Oliwa has signed on to skate for Podhale Nowy Targ in his native Poland. &#9632;

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NHL TEAM REPORTS

Devils scouting chief feels toll of labor war

<div class="byline">&#x2013;KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02706/8374630-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="208" height="243"></div>Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin and right winger Darcy Tucker won&rsquo;t be facing each other on the ice anytime soon. Both turned down the Swedish Elite League just prior to the Jan. 31 signing deadline.Sundin&rsquo;s decision came as something of a surprise, since most assumed he would join his former club team, Djurgarden, if it looked like the NHL season would be cancelled.&ldquo;I love the game and I want to keep playing, but I felt during the break after the World Cup, the rest was really good for me,&rdquo; Sundin said.NOTEBOOK Maple Leaf management and players made nice for a good cause. GM John Ferguson and assistant coach Keith Acton took part in a charity fundraiser Jan. 30 along with players Tie Domi, Gary Roberts, Joe Nieuwendyk and Ed Belfour. Belfour played defense in the charity game. &#9632;

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Maple Leafs veterans decide to stay home

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div>The season was perhaps a month old and anyone looking through goaltending statistics needed a bloodhound or a search warrant to find Ryan Miller&rsquo;s name.One of the top NHL prospects playing in the AHL, Miller&rsquo;s goals-against average would have been solid - if it was a grade point average.But all along, the third-year Rochester American kept telling people he knew how to stop the puck, that the numbers were a temporary aberration as he incorporated subtle changes to his game.He knew what he was talking about. As the AHL season headed into February, Miller was the league leader in wins, had climbed into the top 10 in GAA and save percentage and shared the lead for shutouts.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011238/8374723-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="219" height="350"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN MILLER</figcaption></div>Miller, 24, made alterations after studying a video package put together by the parent Buffalo Sabres.&ldquo;Lindy (Ruff, the Sabres coach) took time to break down all the goaltenders in the NHL and identified situations where all of us in the organization were a little outside the norm,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;There were some small things in my game that needed to be addressed.&rdquo;A great 1-on-1 goalie, one of those changes meant being less aggressive when challenging a shooter with play already in the zone.&ldquo;I want to keep the play in front of me,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;If I challenge too much, half the play is to my left or to my right. If I keep it in front of me, you seal off situations and know all of their options.&rdquo;He is also making adaptations with his footwork and mental approach.&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t climbing Mt. Everest, but there were changes,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If you watched Patrick Roy when he came into the league, he wasn&rsquo;t the goalie he finished as. You want to get better.&rdquo; &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

Small adjustment means it’s Miller time

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011957/8373020-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">NOWCASTING&hellip;MoDo&rsquo;s Peter Forsberg shows off his plaster after surgery to repair a broken arm. Just like the NHL, Forsberg appears done for the season.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Opening Faceoff

<div class="byline">Jason Kay Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011911/8373072-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="295" height="322"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021609/8373065-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="2576" height="3140"><figcaption class="caption-body">GRAND PRIZESidney Crosby&rsquo;s talents would be up for grabs in a new draft system suggested by a fan.</figcaption></div>At the risk of embarrassment to myself and the pubheation I represent, I&rsquo;ve decided to come out of the closet - the broom closet. I&rsquo;m a curler and have been for some time. No fooling.I love to throw rocks and sweep, to share post-game drinks with my teammates and opponents and, above all else, blame my skip whenever we lose.Skips, of course, are responsible for team strategy and delivering the final stones of each end. They fancy themselves natural born leaders, with higher IQs, more * savvy and fresher breath than us common folk.For the most part, we see them as delusional.Every so often, though, they come through with a remarkable shot or an inspired call. That was the case a couple weeks back when The Hockey News solicited responses for our &ldquo;My NHL Includes&hellip;&rdquo; cover story.Stefan Procak, my former skip, informed us his vision of the new hockey world includes an entry draft where teams actually have to win something on the ice in order to secure the first overall pick. Imagine that. Here&rsquo;s how it could work:The clubs that finish 23rd through 30th overall would enter into a post-season of their own, with the winner of the tournament securing the No. 1 overall pick, the runner-up No. 2 and so on. Teams which finished the regular season ranked 17th through 22nd would vie for the No. 9 overall pick. Best-of-seven series may be excessive, so best-of-five or best-of-three could suffice.The benefits are plentiful and obvious.&bull; There would be no upside to finishing last overall; in fact, it would be a detriment as the higher-seeded teams would secure home-ice advantage so the specter of &ldquo;tanking&rdquo; would be eliminated.&bull; Stretch drive games would become meaningful to the lower-echelon clubs, which would translate into higher gate receipts.&bull; The parallel playoff for the No. 1 overall selection would generate significantly more interest in the game, not to mention increased revenue. Imagine a playoff system among the bottom-feeders where Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin was the prize. Buildings would be full, concessions and parking revenue would rise, TV deals would become more lucrative.&bull; Existing players on non-playoff teams would have something to compete for and feel as though they were having a direct impact on improving their franchise.&bull; The trade deadline would become less of a feeding frenzy for the rich. Teams out of playoff contention may want to hang onto that savvy veteran or important role player for their draft tournament push.Detractors will point out this type of system defeats the purpose of the draft selection process; that truly bad teams will be penalized. We&rsquo;re not convinced that&rsquo;s necessarily true.Despite the presence of the draft lottery, there&rsquo;s reason to believe teams still position themselves for a good chance to draft first overall. Both Pittsburgh and Washington more closely resembled American League teams by the end of last season than NHL clubs. Nobody&rsquo;s saying they lost games on purpose, but it&rsquo;s clear both teams could have iced more experienced lineups.Further, there isn&rsquo;t typically a huge gap in points between teams No. 23 and 30. Over the past four seasons, that dis-crepancy hasn&rsquo;t exceeded 19 points. Last year, for example, Carolina (No. 23) had just five more wins than Pittsburgh (No. 30). Chances are that difference would shrink if there was more disincentive to finish last overall.At the very least, it&rsquo;s a progressive idea that merits further consideration.A few other random thoughts during the lockout stretch drive:&bull; If the season is lost, the NHL should consider a 19-year-old draft going forward. We have long believed 18 is too young and the layoff gives the league the impetus for change.&bull; The AHL rules experiment may have helped open up the game, but it hasn&rsquo;t produced a flood of offense. Through the end of January, scoring stood at 5.36 goals per game, up marginally from the paltry 5.11 last season. The year before, however, scoring was at 5.70 GPG. If this is any indication of how it may translate to The Show, the NHL needs to up the ante in terms of change.&bull; We agree with Damien Cox of the Toronto Star, who suggests there should be a mandatory deadline (he floats Nov. 1) for future NHL seasons to begin. If they want cost certainty, the very least they owe us is deadline certainty.<h2>SCORING UP, BUT&hellip;</h2>Creative rules changes in the AHL this season hasn&rsquo;t led to a cornucopia of goals.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031309/8373058-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="842" height="633"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-041064/8373051-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="404" height="208"></div> &#9632;

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Skip old draft system?

<div class="byline">&#x2013;JON MCCARTHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011916/8373127-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="662" height="1133"><figcaption class="caption-body">PAUL DEVORSKI (SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The migration of many NHLers to Europe during the lockout means it shouldn&rsquo;t take long for players to return to form if the season is saved.But what about NHL officials?The league&rsquo;s referees and linesman have been unemployed since September and, unlike the players, they decided not to accept jobs in lesser leagues.&ldquo;I would love to do it, but I&rsquo;d be taking away somebody else&rsquo;s experience,&rdquo; said veteran referee Paul Devorski. &ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t be fair to all the other referees that are there year-round.&rdquo;Considering most of Devorski&rsquo;s colleagues are an older group than the players and many were forced to find other jobs during the lockout, the question is, would the officials be ready if the season were to suddenly start? David Smith, director of fitness and medical for NHL officials, has confidence his group would be ready to go.&ldquo;They are professional people and know they have to stay somewhat ready,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;I have to hope when I weigh them in that they respected some of the protocols we set forth.&rdquo;Some officials have worked the odd game during the layoff to keep active, including Devorski, who traveled to Russia to referee Igor Larionov&rsquo;s tribute game; and Bill McCreary, who was an official at the Spengler Cup in Switzerland.Most workouts, however, have taken place in local arenas.&ldquo;From what I gather, most of the guys are playing pick-up hockey,&rdquo; said Devorski, who skates four times a week with his son&rsquo;s squirt rep team.For many officials, the lockout has been frustrating: &ldquo;You hear something that sounds like there might be a deal, then a day later you hear that it&rsquo;s squashed,&rdquo; Devorski said. &ldquo;There is no incentive to push yourself, because we don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s going on.&rdquo;If a new CBA is reached in time for a season, Smith has a 3-4 day camp planned, similar to one he ran prior to last summer&rsquo;s World Cup. Besides medicals and blood tests, Smith figures he will put the crew through a stationary bike cardio test, a body fat analysis and one skating test.Smith says there are other hurdles to a shortened season besides the physical aspect.&ldquo;There is a huge mental side to officiating,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The amount of pressure on each game is going to be big-time because you don&rsquo;t have as many games.&rdquo;Devorski says there is no need to worry.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty confident we could have everyone ready to go in two weeks or whenever they want to step on the ice,&rdquo; he said. &#9632;

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Will officials be in shape?

<h2>Best of the Hockey World</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021367/8373172-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="250" height="397"><figcaption class="caption-body">DICK TODD</figcaption></div>TRICKY DICKY 500 Dick Todd of the Peterborough Petes becomes the fastest coach to record 500 OHL wins, doing it in 813 games.YOU GO GIRL Angela Ruggiero draws an assist and is plus-2 skating a regular shift in the Central League with the Tulsa Oilers.KERR TALKS All-time minor league goal king Kevin Kerr lashes out against NHLers in UHL&hellip;and doesn&rsquo;t retract his statement the next day.<h2>Worst of the Hockey World</h2>TAKE OFF On the same night Dick Todd wins his 500th game, London coach Dale Hunter receives his third suspension of the year for gesturing at a ref.FOLLOWERS Say what you will about the job Bettman and Goodenow have done, but what about those who have blindly followed them off the cliff?HEAD CASE Mississauga&rsquo;s Daniel Carcillo is suspended for the balance of the OHL season after cross-checking an opponent in the head.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03890/8373165-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="250" height="397"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANIEL CARCILLO</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04565/8373158-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="898" height="784"><figcaption class="caption-body">OFFICIAL LOSSESNHL referees and linesmen have taken a 100 per cent pay cut this season. Here&rsquo;s how much they&rsquo;ve lost so far, based on mid-point salaries:</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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PLUS MINUS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-06228/8373203-1-eng-US/f0005-062.jpg" title="f0005-06" width="283" height="445"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRENT SUTTER</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05361/8373210-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="167" height="141"></div>From around the NHL&bull; Though it has been reported Wayne Gretzky is prepared to coach his Phoenix Coyotes, another strong candidate is Brent Sutter, owner, GM and coach of the Western League&rsquo;s Red Deer Rebels. The Coyotes are said to have been courting Sutter, who led the Canada to a perfect 7-0 record at the World Junior Championship, for some time.&bull; Although he still supports cost-certainty, Maple Leafs governor Larry Tannenbaum recently took a veiled shot at both Bob Goodenow and Gary Bettman. &ldquo;If left to the players and the owners, we will have a deal,&rdquo; Tannenbaum told the National Post. Meaning, we presume, that the embattled leaders on both sides are the biggest obstacle to a new CBA.&bull; Jacques Martin says, &ldquo;We have to improve scoring chances and encourage offensive play and skill players to be creative.&rdquo; This coming from the guy who, when in Ottawa, wouldn&rsquo;t play scoring ace Jason Spezza.&bull; So Oilers&rsquo; part-owner Cal Nichols would suspend operations before agreeing to a system without cost certainty? Puhlease. What about the reported profit the club turned last season? Or the fact the Oilers would have to increase their payroll to get to the salary cap floor? Or all the cash he would save with a 24% reduction in player costs under a luxury tax system? &#9632;

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SNAPSHOTS

It seems redundant to talk of missed opportunities when the NHL and NHL Players&rsquo; Association have thrown so many by the wayside already. Take one look at where the hockey world sits at the beginning of February 2005, on the edge of the precipice to unprecedented pro sport labor disaster, and it&rsquo;s clear all those hours and days spent in CBA meetings over the past two years didn&rsquo;t amount to a hill of beans.This summer, though, the players and league execs have another chance to get their act together to clean up the game. (They could start by giving the boot to Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow and bringing in two leaders that could actually stand to be in the same room with one anther, but that&rsquo;s an old suggestion).No, we&rsquo;re talking here about injecting life back into the long-neglected on-ice product - which, come to think of it, is also an old suggestion.All those obstruction crackdowns of years gone by resemble so many Elvis sightings; a very small number of people get tremendously excited while the rest just wait for it to go away. It always does.But onward we march. We&rsquo;ve seen how the chest-puffing, line-in-the-sand determination from players and owners works when they&rsquo;re talking about money. All that&rsquo;s needed now is for them to take that same hardline attitude towards improving the game, because that&rsquo;s really about money, too. They&rsquo;ll get more of it if they make the changes the vast majority of the hockey world wants to see. If it takes an appeal to the bottom line, so be it.Rushing in sloppily-made, poorly understood changes into a shortened season is not the way to go about it. Instead, hold some secret summer meetings at an undisclosed locations, boys, just so it doesn&rsquo;t have to look like you&rsquo;re actually talking. Go over the issues discussed in Brendan Shanahan&rsquo;s progressive summit this fall. Go over the issues discussed in the coaches&rsquo; meeting convened by NHL vice-president Colin Campbell in late January. Involve Scotty Bowman, who has a host of intriguing ideas.Talk about smaller goal equipment. Talk to the equipment manufacturers. Talk to the goalies. If at the end of it all goalies don&rsquo;t like the changes that have to be made for the good of the game, tough.Whenever hockey comes back it will be a sudden transition from talks to faceoffs. But the changes to the game needed to open up offense and increase scoring do not have to be haphazard. They should be implemented before a full season, with tunnel vision on results.All it takes is a hint of courage and longterm vision to stick with the program. We&rsquo;re hoping against hope that&rsquo;s not too much to ask. This much is certain: As long as the product continues to be given the same lip service each fall that a disinterested high school student gives to homework, the NHL will continue to elicit yawns - when it&rsquo;s not eliciting laughter.Another opportunity, boys. Are you determined to mess up this one, too?<blockquote class="pullQuote">Whenever hockey returns it will be a sudden transition, but changes to the game need not be haphazard.</blockquote> &#9632;

Refuse to compromise on improving excitement

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012129/8373265-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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Elston

<h2>MY THN INCLUDES&hellip;</h2>When I am editor of The Hockey News:I will stop referring to &lsquo;NHLers&rsquo; playing in Europe, as they are pro players being paid to work in Europe; I&rsquo;ll ensure players realize NHL fans are loyal to the crest on the sweater, not the player in it; and I&rsquo;ll tell players who see a salary cap is an insult that, after a two year lockout, no one will care what they think.Fans will cheer just as loudly for players earning 40 per cent of what NHLers earn now.Bernie Green, Naples, Fla.<h2>GOODENOW, PLAYERS ARE WRONG</h2>After reading all the lockout-related comments from players, owners and management I have come to the conclusion that Bob Goodenow and the greedy players haven&rsquo;t shown any character at all.The players are nothing more than scabs taking jobs away from their peers in Europe.And if I were an NHL owner, I would want someone like Gary Bettman protecting my interests.Doug Landon, Beaufort, S.C.<h2>LETTER OF THE WEEK</h2>I realize The Hockey News has good reasons for changing to a bi-weekly publication, but I wanted you to know how much I&rsquo;ve enjoyed the magazine during the lockout.I started following hockey in the mid-1990s, when my sons and I bought rollerblades and began playing street hockey. It wasn&rsquo;t long before we purchased season tickets for L.A. Kings games; soon after, I subscribed to The Hockey News to immerse myself in the hockey world.The problem with not growing up a hockey fan is too often I feel like an outsider. But, during this lockout, The Hockey News has had little choice but to focus on the bigger world of hockey - as well as its history - which has helped me feel better connected to this great game.Thank you for your commitment to the sport, which is an exciting place even without the NHL.Greg Gose, Camarillo, Calif.<h2>STANLEY OR BUST</h2>There is no NHL right now, but there is plenty of hockey to watch. So why am I not watching any other games&rsquo;Simple - I don&rsquo;t care! I have no vested interest in these leagues, or in watching NHLers play in other leagues. What am I a fan of? The Stanley Cup and its rich history.If the NHLPA formed a league and the NHL used replacement players, I&rsquo;d watch the league that has the rights to the Stanley Cup. End of story.Normand Pawluck, Newmarket, Ont.<h2>BROPH&rsquo;S DREAM TOO SWEET</h2>After reading Mike Brophy&rsquo;s &lsquo;Wishful Thinking&rsquo; piece, I was pleasantly distracted from the frustration of the NHL lockout. (THN, Jan. 25)I was intrigued by Brophy&rsquo;s conjecture about where players and teams would be.Kariya a member of the Flyers&rsquo; Lindros with his hometown Leafs? Gretzky coaching Phoenix back to the playoffs? Now that&rsquo;s the kind of news I&rsquo;ve been yearning to hear!Christopher Crandell, Langhorne, Penn.<h2>LOCKOUT BETTERS HOME LIFE</h2>It&rsquo;s a chinook Saturday night in my hometown of Calgary and I have just enjoyed a wonderful dinner with my wife and children. There are no NHL games on TV in the background. And to top it off. I&rsquo;ve booked a trip to Disneyland for the family, using the money I&rsquo;ve been saving this year.I&rsquo;ve loved this game since I was a child. But I couldn&rsquo;t care less if I see another NHL game this season - or any season.The 2004-05 campaign might be known as The Year Without The NHL, but in my household it will always be known as The Year Of The Family.Greg Smith, Calgary<h2>ARNASON NO WILD CHILD</h2>I want to clarify the facts on my son Tyler Arnason&rsquo;s recent trip to Sweden.He and the team severed ties amicably and Tyler was not out partying the night before a game. He was not scheduled to play, as he and the GM of the Brynas team had agreed Ty would return home to continue training the day before the game.Chuck Amason, WinnipegGot something to say?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">Adam Proteau&nbsp;Writer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011929/8373327-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="292" height="382"></div>So you&rsquo;re ready to give up on the NHL, but have neither the time nor the thesaurus to document your disgust.Not to worry. We&rsquo;ve got the remedy you require: a clip-&rsquo;n-ship, one-size-rips-all missive that can be directed to the attention of either Gary Bettman or Bob Goodenow. All you&rsquo;re responsible for is filling in the blanks with your own particular poison, and voila!&mdash;you&rsquo;ve got a tailor-made &lsquo;Dear John&rsquo; letter by which to bid goodbye to a sporting spouse that extracted more from your wallet than it ever put back in your heart.Dear (cirde one)&nbsp;Bob/Gary,I&rsquo;m sorry it has Come to this, but your actions leave me with no other choice but to end our relationship.I&rsquo;ve given you the last&mdash;&mdash;years of my life and I haven&rsquo;t asked for much in return; a night or two of genuine excitement once in a while, a chance to score every so often - that&rsquo;s all I&rsquo;ve ever wanted.But that, apparently, was too much to ask of you. You were so worried about the business, about making (circle one)&nbsp;Bill Wirtz/Bill Guerin happy, about your fading public image, that you abandoned the one person who gave you all the (circle all that apply)&nbsp;time/devotion/disposable income that (s)he could: me. You chose to make the boardroom your primary focus, but in doing so you allowed NHL arenas to become bored rooms.I don&rsquo;t want to think about the money I&rsquo;ve thrown your way over the years - although if I had to put a number on it, it&rsquo;d be somewhere in the neighborhood of $&mdash;&mdash;. I bet you see that commitment as little more than water under the bridge. In your eyes, I guess all the times I drove&mdash;&mdash;hours from&mdash;&mdash;to buy what you were selling must fall under the category of (arde one)&nbsp;&lsquo;what have you done for me lately?&rsquo;/&lsquo;there&rsquo;s a sucker bom every minute&rsquo;/&lsquo;stupid is as stupid does.&rsquo;In a way, this is my fault too. I gave you the benefit of the doubt when we had problems back in 1994. I thought you had learned not to take me for granted. I thought you&rsquo;d realized that without me, there is no us; and without us, there is no you Now, some 10 years later, I feel more taken advantage of than (arete one)&nbsp;Mike Modano/Steve Thomas/Pierre Dagenais trapped in a room with a dastardly reporter champing at the bit to twist his words into an anti-NHLPA rant.Even after all that, I thought we could work something out. I suggested bringing in a counselor, somebody without a vested interest in the problems you&rsquo;ve gone to extraordinary lengths to publicize. I volunteered to help in any way I could. But like (circle one)&nbsp;a megalomanical dictator/the post office/Loverboy, you had to have it your way or no way at all. You had to have&rdquo; your own &ldquo;private time&rdquo; to figure out what was best for you.Guess what? The time we&rsquo;ve spent apart this fall and winter has helped me figure out what&rsquo;s best for me. And what&rsquo;s best for me is to forget I ever invested a cent of my money or a second of my time on an ungrateful&mdash;&mdash;like youI know what you&rsquo;re thinking. You&rsquo;re thinking&rsquo;l&rsquo;ll come running back to you the instant you come knockin&rsquo; on my door again Trust me when I say there&rsquo;s a better chance of (circle one)&nbsp;the Blackhawks outspending the Rangers/Woody Allen dating someone his own age/Don Cherry renouncing his Canadian citizenship than there is of that happening. This breakup is as permanent as (circle one)&nbsp;Kerry Fraser&rsquo;s lid/the annual crackdown on obstruction/annoying pledge drives on public TV, but only time will prove that to be a fact.(circle one)&nbsp;Bob/Gary, I hope you&rsquo;re satisfied with the route you&rsquo;ve chosen to travel, which I&rsquo;ve nicknamed (circle one)&nbsp;Dead Man&rsquo;s Curve/Cluster&mdash;&mdash;Crescent/The Road To Perdition. I hope your wildest dream comes true and (circle one)&nbsp;there are no more unions/there are no more owners/fans have to auction off a vital organ on the black market in order to afford tickets.Unfortunately, I won&rsquo;t be around to see whether that happens. Because when you took something away from me that I once thought was my life, you actually gave my life back to me.And you showed me that a passion unrequited is a passion not worth clinging to.(circle one)&nbsp;Sincerely/Formerly/Up yours,SIGNATURE HERE<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021285/8373320-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="1961" height="830"></div> &#9632;

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Bye-bye, Bob and Gary!

<div class="byline">&#x2013;MARK BRENDER</div>The small-group discussions had run their course with no progress made. Now it was up to Bob Goodenow and Gary Bettman to join the fray and save the NHL season.Long-shots don&rsquo;t get much longer than that.After several weeks of non-productive on-again, off-again talks involving lieutenants Bill Daly of the NHL and Ted Saskin of the NHLPA, along with outside lawyers and, at times, board of governors chairman Harley Hotchkiss, New Jersey president-GM Lou Lamoriello and NHLPA president Trevor Linden, hopes for a season were as faint as they had ever been. The NHL presented a written proposal Feb. 3 based on discussions the previous week. Both sides stayed true to their longstanding principles. The proposal contained a hard salary cap and linkage between revenues and player costs, as the NHL said any solution must (see chart on opposite page). The union rejected it for exactly that reason.Enter Bob and Gary, who last faced each other in mid-December. It was the union&rsquo;s idea that they return to the talks Feb. 4 at an undisclosed location in New York.&ldquo;They are the principal decision makers and at a certain time in the process it&rsquo;s appropriate to get them into the room,&rdquo; Saskin said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the proposals further the process. We have to find solutions together and that&rsquo;s why Gary and Bob should be brought back&hellip;It&rsquo;s better to be optimistic than pessimistic, but I don&rsquo;t want to mislead anyone by saying I&rsquo;m optimistic.&rdquo;Through it all, the league continued its position of not announcing a drop-dead date to the season. It was suggested, however, that the time was approaching when a Stanley Cup winner might have to play more games in the playoffs than there&rsquo;s time to play in the regular season - a thought that in itself makes a mockery of legitimate competition.Others believe that the season was already lost in early February no matter what the parties said, given that the process of defining revenues and putting the final wording to lawyers&rsquo; scrutiny would take weeks.No professional sports league has ever lost a full season due to a labor dispute.&ldquo;There is an understanding that we really are at the end with respect to playing hockey this season,&rdquo; Daly said. &ldquo;But the broader objective is to do a deal in whatever time it takes.&rdquo; &#9632;

Bettman, Goodenow called in for final showdown

<div class="byline">Mark Brender Senior Writer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012017/8373372-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="292" height="376"></div>Steeling years ago for the high-stakes labor battle to come, the NHLPA created its own private website for players. The NHL instituted its own private gag order for owners. Not wanting to be left out, we at The Hockey News introduced our own high-stakes CBA pool. In mid-January, a few of the boys scribbled a crystal-ball date on the dry erase board, put down &lsquo;C&rsquo; or &lsquo;S&rsquo; for &lsquo;cancellation&rsquo; or &lsquo;settlement&rsquo; and laid a dollar on the table. A player agent even got in on the action, via email. His line was &ldquo;Feb. 1 - S.&rdquo;The agent&rsquo;s day came and went.&ldquo;Let me know when and where to send the loonie,&rdquo; he wrote back two days later. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll see my banker today and I&rsquo;ll hit him for a loan.&rdquo;The members of the working class whose jobs have been lost or income slashed because of this greed-fest number in the thousands, and no one should hold it against them if they are consumed by anger. Still, it&rsquo;s a good sign to be able to see the Monty Python-esque humor embedded in the NHL dispute.Players are fond of saying &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a joke&rdquo; to disparage the quality of refereeing or proposed rule changes. Gentlemen, you are wrong. We&rsquo;ve been covering the CBA circus for half a year. This is a joke. It&rsquo;s a joke because the owners and players have conspired to shut down the game and make professional sports history by becoming the first league to miss a full season - and they&rsquo;ve done it by breaking every rule in the book.The most important broken rule is one learned by a close observer of these talks back when he was a &ldquo;baby lawyer.&rdquo; He learned never to draw public lines in the sand you might later have to smudge out. Bettman and Goodenow drew their lines years ago and, surprise, surprise, can&rsquo;t bring themselves to smudge.So cue the comedy sketch. NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly and NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin held separate conference calls Feb. 3 after bargaining talks marked by &ldquo;strong philosophical differences.&rdquo; Daly, who came into this round of discussions claiming the two sides weren&rsquo;t nearly as far apart as the players were portraying, continued to talk about dialogue and understanding hopefully leading to progress. (Arthur: &ldquo;Look, you stupid bastard, you&rsquo;ve got no arms left!&rdquo;&hellip;Black Knight: &ldquo;Yes I do&hellip;Just a flesh wound.&rdquo; Black Knight headbutts Arthur in chest.)<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021508/8373365-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="1514" height="980"><figcaption class="caption-body">NHL comtnsioner Gary Bettman warned the players: No cost certainty, no season. He wasn&rsquo;t joking.</figcaption></div>Saskin, when pressed repeatedly on his state of mind, said it was better to be optimistic than pessimistic, but when it comes right down to it, he was neither. Let&rsquo;s not get attached to labels like salary cap and all that, Saskin said; if the goal is to bring down payrolls, the players have some ideas how do to that and that&rsquo;s how we&rsquo;re going to proceed. (Black Knight: Come &lsquo;ere! Arthur: what are you going to do, bleed on me?).And then, the capper. Saskin said the return of Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow, who couldn&rsquo;t bear to meet face-to-face for a month and at last sighting still hadn&rsquo;t learned to share their toys, will be &ldquo;helpful to the process.&rdquo;Goodenow, though, was telling the truth when he told the players through an audio message on their secure website that he was looking forward to getting back in the room with Gary and discussing concepts. Six weeks of venom built up inside eventually has to get out.Sources say Goodenow wasn&rsquo;t particularly enamored of NHLPA president Trevor Linden&rsquo;s much-lauded initiative to get talks started again in mid-January. He probably anticipated little good could come of it, but Linden and executive member Bob Boughner were pushing hard to get a deal done.Much of the time spent in those small-group meetings was spent with the two sides in separate rooms, digesting what they just heard and plotting strategy. The caucusing was also part of the hardball &ldquo;negotiating&rdquo; strategy. It&rsquo;s something they apparently teach young lawyers at Proskauer Rose, Gary Bettman&rsquo;s old firm. At one point Daly told Linden and Co. they needed to caucus for a few minutes. They left Linden sitting there, stewing, for two hours.The one-time baby lawyer, still close to these talks, said in early February both sides know how their respective ideal scenarios unfold, but neither side really knows what will happen. It&rsquo;s all best guesses and gambles. The ex-baby lawyer was asked if he was talking about a week and a half from now or a year from now.&ldquo;Both,&rdquo; he said.On a phone interview with a Toronto radio station, Brendan Morrison, now playing in Sweden, said players have been told for several years to prepare for this, so they&rsquo;re not really hurting. (There&rsquo;s no way of knowing if they are hurting; the only people who know for sure are their wives and their financial planners.) But Morrison also said he never in his wildest dreams expected things would actually reach the point of a lost season.That disconnect between tough talk and hard reality is about to hit home. Many of the players had believed, in the face of all evidence, that the leadership on both sides was too smart to be so stupid as to cancel an entire season. So when the roof finally caves they can be furious; they can call Bettman ungentlemanly names; but they won&rsquo;t be nearly as confident when August rolls around. They have seen what happens when they play chicken and won&rsquo;t take kindly sitting in the same position, with the same result possible, in January of 2006 - which happens to be when Goodenow now believes he can get his best deal.Are the players willing to let Goodenow and the union executive play chicken with the entire sport and their million-dollar salaries again? If not, it&rsquo;ll be fun watching the palace coup.Of course, the hard-line players would take issue with the bias in the question: Why isn&rsquo;t Bettman seen as the daredevil? He&rsquo;s driving this ship, too.The answer is simple. What the league has been asking for on a macro basis - the linkage between revenues and salaries - is not unreasonable. Go ahead and carve the owners&rsquo; tepid proposals on arbitration, entry level system and revenue sharing, but on the deal-breaking issue, few outside the PA office believe any more in the sacred nature of the union&rsquo;s ideological stance. The rest is all up for discussion. (Case in point: Gary Bettman huffing after an earlier press conference, talking about arbitration: &ldquo;It will be eliminated.&rdquo;)If the atmosphere of mistrust is to blame for the union&rsquo;s reluctance to define revenue, players have to realize it&rsquo;s the union that has been fostering that mistrust, deliberately, over a long period of time.Naive question of the day: What is it about human nature that leads people to believe they will get the best deal only at the 11th hour, when all the pressure is on - but only in negotiations over money?Pull this kind of stunt in any other relationship - in marriage, friendship, the workplace - and it&rsquo;ll bring nothing but scorn. Do it here and it&rsquo;s called shrewd.There&rsquo;s another discord here. We&rsquo;re told that what makes hockey different is the people within it, the small-town values, the backyard rinks, the history and tradition of the Stanley Cup. This is a game at its core about family, about heart, about trusting teammates, about friendship, about playing for the love of the game, about if-anyone-needs-motivation-to-get-up-for-this-game, they&rsquo;re-in-the-wrong-sport. The NHL sells the image. It makes millions off the image.Those who always believed there would be a season had faith in the working class common sense that comes with part of that package. But the humility is gone. If those values still formed the core of the NHL, we wouldn&rsquo;t be where we are.So keep the myths for the actual backyard rink; the NHL has no part of that world anymore, no matter what it tries to sell us. Anyone with distance knows our documentary on big egos and pitiful judgement has deteriorated into a slapstick comedy - and a bad one at that.Below is a breakdown of the NHL&rsquo;s CBA proposal of Feb. 2, alongside the last NHL Players&rsquo; Association proposal of Dec. 9. Both offers were quickly rejected by the other side. While they have some similarities - the union&rsquo;s 24-per-cent salary rollback offer chief among them, as the players wryly point out - they differ markedly on the core economic system issue of salary cap versus luxury tax. The NHL&rsquo;s proposal also includes the linkage between league-wide revenues and player salaries that players say is a non-starter. The NHL proposal may yet figure prominently in the labor wars; it could form the basis of working conditions offered to replacement players if the NHL decides on an &ldquo;impasse and implementation&rdquo; strategy.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011849/8373358-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="2229" height="2545"></div> &#9632;

f0008-01

Hockey tradition takes a beating

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011986/8373448-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div>Astrong case could be made that no player was as important to the success of his team as Jarome Iginla was to the Calgary Flames last season.Sure, Martin St-Louis won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and Miikka Kiprusoff posted unbelievable numbers, but the Flames are Iginla&rsquo;s team and he took them so much further than anyone could have imagined. Not only that, he may be the best all-around player in the NHL, to boot.When the league starts up again, it will have its work cut out trying to win back old fans and lure new ones. On the bright side, teenage phenom Sidney Crosby is NHL-ready and waiting right around the corner, but there&rsquo;s no guarantee he&rsquo;ll be an immediate big league superstar.Iginla, on the other hand, already is. And he&rsquo;s just 27, which means he has several years of improvement ahead of him.That&rsquo;s good news for the league because it desperately needs a man like Iginla to lead the charge. Not only is he supremely skilled, he&rsquo;s eminently charming, a stellar ambassador and a respected role model.The Flames&rsquo; captain took time out from&hellip;well&hellip;from not playing, to chat with senior writer Mike Brophy about his vision of the NHL&rsquo;s future, his place as a black hockey player and playing for Calgary and coach Darryl Sutter.THE HOCKEY NEWS&nbsp;How long did it take you to get over losing the Stanley Cup final, particularly since Game 6 was in Calgary and went into overtime with the Flames leading the series 3-2?JAROME IGINLA I would say it took a couple of months before it didn&rsquo;t hurt to think about it. But at the same time, you have to look at what a great time it was and how fortunate you were to get to experience such an amazing playoff run. It was a great time for the city of Calgary. The end result wasn&rsquo;t there, but the dream run was unbelievable. The way I look at it now is, how much better will it be to win the Stanley Cup after having* gone through losing the final? I thought I was hungry before, but when you get that close, I can honestly say I&rsquo;m hungrier than ever.THN As you are going along in the playoffs beating teams that ranked higher than the Flames in the regular season, did you start to feel like you were a team of destiny?IGINLA In the Vancouver series we didn&rsquo;t have time to think. It was a back-and-forth series. After we won the first series, we had to face Detroit and we knew we just had to keep on plugging. We won that first game after being outplayed hugely. &lsquo;Kipper&rsquo; was unbelievable which was great because the rest of us were flat-footed. We got out-shot something like 202 in the first period of the opening game after playing Game 7 of the first round just a few nights earlier. When we won Game 1 against Detroit, we really started to believe in ourselves. Our goaltending was so good and we had watched other teams have other runs with great goaltending, so we started to believe we could do the same thing. Detroit was a top team so we figured if we could beat them, we could beat anybody.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011758/8373441-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1511" height="1654"><figcaption class="caption-body">FURTHER REVIEWJarome Iginla regrets not prompting the Flames to get a review of the phantom goal by Martin Gelinas in Game 6.</figcaption></div>THN&nbsp;When you look back on the final and replay it in your mind, is there a single shift or a play in Game 6 that may have altered the outcome of the series?IGINLA It was the possible goal by Martin Gelinas. I was on the bench and I honestly thought it may have gone in, but the play just went on so quickly. Maybe I could have banged my stick and caused a bit of a delay to get Darryl (Sutter) to check it. Then they scored in overtime in Game 6 and I was on the ice, so I think about that one, too.THN&nbsp;Baseball needed an injection of offense of historic proportions&mdash;the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run chase - to help recapture fans. What will it take for the NHL to attract people back to the game after the lockout?IGINLA I think the Shanahan Summit had a lot of good points.THN&nbsp;Such as?IGINLA I like the idea of the shootout. I remember watching the Battle of Alberta on TV when I was a kid and the Flames and Oilers were 1-2 in the standings. When they played to a tie, it gave you nothing to talk about at school. If your team won, you would talk about the win. If your team lost, you would talk about what went wrong. Ties just don&rsquo;t do it for me. I think the shootout would be great for the game.THN&nbsp;What other changes would you propose?IGINLA I think the goalie pads are too big. You want to make sure they are big enough so that goalies don&rsquo;t get injured, but at the same time I like watching some of the classic games on TV when the goalie pads were smaller and there was a lot more movement. You could see the net and goalies had to move more. They are an exciting part of the game. (Martin) Brodeur doesn&rsquo;t have big pads and he moves and makes some pretty exciting saves. I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s a selfish thing because I want to score more goals; I think it would be great for the game. Everybody would score more goals and you would still have comparatively great goaltending. I think any new rules on pads should be strictly enforced so there is no cheating.THN&nbsp;What do you think about wider bluelines?IGINLA I haven&rsquo;t really put a lot of thought into that one, but the one I have thought about is the tag-up offside. I like that because it keeps the play moving.THN&nbsp;Would you like to see the center red line removed to allow two-line passes?IGINLA I think we should. I think it will be a different game than overseas because of the smaller ice surface. I think it would create more chances and more excitement and it would change the trap&hellip;for at least a minute.THN&nbsp;What about bigger nets?IGINLA No, I don&rsquo;t like bigger nets. I think the net is big enough, there are just so many times you come in off the wing and you shoot and a lot of times there&rsquo;s nothing to look at. So many times you just nick the outside of the pad or the outside of the blocker and those would be goals if the equipment were smaller. I think it was exciting in the old days to see a guy rip a shot and catch the far corner.THN&nbsp;It sounds as though you are in favor of some radical changes.IGINLA Yeah, I am. If you look at other sports - basketball comes to mind with the three-point line and look at how good that has been for that sport. Games evolve and I think it&rsquo;s time for us to try to take some bold steps forward. Fans have indicated for the past 10 or so years they have been less than happy with the product. Even as a player, I think hockey is a great game; I love the intensity and the skill, but I think there could be some improvements and hopefully we could get back to playing a little bit more thrilling hockey.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011936/8373434-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="2281" height="1343"><figcaption class="caption-body">STARS COLLIDEIginla figures his memorable fight in the Stanley Cup final with Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Vinny Lecavalier ended in a draw.</figcaption></div>THN&nbsp;What role do you see yourself playing in helping grow the game?IGINLA That&rsquo;s a hard one. I think everybody in the game has to be involved. It&rsquo;s tough to make some of the changes that have been proposed, but we have to be bold. Once you get the right changes in, the skill level in hockey is great and I think we&rsquo;ll see exciting hockey. If we change the on-ice product, I think it will take care of itself. The game has been growing, but it would grow at an even quicker rate and hopefully excite fans even more.THN&nbsp;How do do feel about your ethnicity being discussed when people talk about your impact on the game.IGINLA I feel good about it. I know what it meant to me when I was younger. It meant a lot for me to see other black players in the NHL and think it is possible for me to play in the league. I think if kids want to be NHL players, no matter what their background is, they should have that opportunity.THN&nbsp;Do you strive to be a role model for black children?IGINLA Yeah, I&rsquo;m proud to be a black NHL player. I have had parents of children who are minorities tell me their kids really look up to me and that makes me proud. It&rsquo;s an honor. I had my picture taken with Grant Fuhr in our baseball uniforms when I was nine and it meant so much for me. Kids would say to me there are no black players in the NHL and I would say, &lsquo;Are you kidding me? Look at Grant Fuhr winning those Stanley Cups.&rsquo; I want kids, no matter what their nationality or background, to dream big and think it&rsquo;s possible. Don&rsquo;t think about race, just go out and follow their dream.THN&nbsp;When you looked at the roster for Team Canada at the World Cup, did it cross your mind that you could go undefeated in the tournament?IGINLA It was pretty cool to look at the lineup and see the talent all the way through the lines. I think we believed we could do it, but there&rsquo;s a difference between believing you can do it and actually going out and proving it.THN&nbsp;Did you and Team Canada teammate Vinny Lecavalier discuss your fight in the Stanley Cup final?IGINLA Yeah, we talked about it a little bit. We didn&rsquo;t go into great detail about it. We talked a lot about the final, too. It was interesting to hear the point of view from Vinny, Brad Richards and Martin St-Louis to find out how tired they were, too. And about how tough it was for them.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021521/8373427-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="1513" height="700"><figcaption class="caption-body">IGGY&rsquo;S NEW MATHGoal-scoring in the 1980s averaged 7.6 per game, about 41 per cent higher than the 5.4 mark during Jarome Iginla&rsquo;s eight NHL seasons to date. If you adjust Iginla&rsquo;s goal totals upwards by 41 per cent, he would have had a single-season high of 73 in 2001-02.</figcaption></div>THN&nbsp;Who won the fight between you and Vinny?IGINLA (Laughs) I&rsquo;d say it was a draw.THN&nbsp;A lot has been made about today&rsquo;s game being more about clutch and grab than speed and skill. Would it have been bad for the game to have a team like the Flames beat a skilled team like the Lightning in the final in terms of how it might have influenced other teams to play in the future?IGINLA I do think it would be great if they shut down obstruction and call it tighter, but I think our team was exciting. We were as skilled as other teams, but we had exciting goaltending and we were a team that loved to dish out big hits. I think we shut teams down by skating well. I don&rsquo;t think we fit the clutch-and-grab mold. We shut other teams down by hitting. We have punishing defensemen in Rhett Warrener, Denis Gauthier and Robyn Regehr who don&rsquo;t clutch and grab.THN&nbsp;Who is the one player you most hate playing against and why?IGINLA Hmmm, there&rsquo;s a number of them. Usually those players take pride in being that player, so I&rsquo;d hate to say who. One of the toughest guys to play against is Adam Foote. He&rsquo;s not so much dirty as he competes hard and he&rsquo;s strong. He&rsquo;d be one of them. Chris Pronger is very tough.THN&nbsp;You are one of the most affable players in the game, but everybody gets upset now and then. What gets your blood boiling?IGINLA I should handle bad drivers better.THN&nbsp;You&rsquo;re breaking in 2-on-1 and you can choose any player in NHL history to be with you; who do you pick?IGINLA Do I have the puck?THN&nbsp;First one you have the puck; second one you don&rsquo;t have the puck.IGINLA If I have the puck and I&rsquo;m on the right wing, I&rsquo;d be pretty excited to be passing to Brett Hull. If I don&rsquo;t have the puck, I&rsquo;ve had a good chemistry with Craig Conroy over the years, but Joe Sakic is awesome, too. One of those two guys.THN&nbsp;Darryl Sutter has a very dry sense of humor. Has he ever said anything that cracked you up on the bench?IGINLA I&rsquo;ve got to be careful here. He&rsquo;s definitely got a sense of humor, but you don&rsquo;t want to be on the other end of it if he&rsquo;s upset with you. One time we were in Montreal and Craig Conroy and I had an absolutely terrible game. We&rsquo;d had a meeting the night before discussing ways we could be better and turn things around, and then we go out and have a horrible game. It was near the end of the game and we were sitting on the bench, and Darryl says, &lsquo;Hey, you two, did you bring your dresses tonight?&rsquo; He didn&rsquo;t say who he was talking to, but we knew it was us. Then he says, &lsquo;You should have, you&rsquo;re playing like a couple of women.&rsquo; He&rsquo;s got a lot of those one-liners. &#9632;

f0010-01

JAROMEIGINLA A MAN FOR ALL REASONS

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY &#x2022; Senior Writer</div>It was already a near-perfect night.Angela Ruggiero had proved to the world - and more importantly, to herself-that she could skate with the big boys. The first female skater to compete in a North American men&rsquo;s professional league for more than a single shift, she had done herself proud. And with time running out, Ruggiero was determined to put the icing on the cake.With her team, the Central League&rsquo;s Tulsa Oilers, leading 6-2, the 25-year-old defenseman decided to add to an historic performance. She wanted her name on the scoresheet&hellip;and not in the penalty column.Having held back most of the game, not taking many risks on offense, Ruggiero got the puck at the right point. She surveyed the ice and spied teammate Jason Birmingham uncovered at the far faceoff circle. Ruggiero fed a perfect pass to Birmingham and he, in turn, spied Doug Pirnak in his familiar spot battling for ground in the slot. Pirnak scored and Ruggiero had her assist.&ldquo;It was awesome,&rdquo; said Tulsa coach Butch Kaebel. &ldquo;And it was funny. When the puck went in, all the players on the ice went directly to Angela to congratulate her instead of going to Doug. And the crowd went wild.&rdquo;The Hockey Hall of Fame has the puck that was used to open the game with Ruggiero in the starting lineup, but she wouldn&rsquo;t dare part with her souvenir puck from her first point as a pro.A few months ago, the Tulsa Oilers were short a defenseman and their goalie, Bill Ruggiero, jokingly offered up a suggestion to his teammates.&ldquo;My sister should come out,&rdquo; he said.A few seconds later he offered, &ldquo;She really should. She&rsquo;s good, you know. She&rsquo;d fit in.&rdquo;Angela Ruggiero is considered by many to be the best women&rsquo;s player in the world, even though U.S. captain Cammi Granato and Canada&rsquo;s Hayley Wickenheiser have generated more publicity. A two-time Olympian, Ruggiero helped Team USA win a gold medal in 1998 in Nagano and a silver in 2002 in Salt Lake City. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Harvard grad plays with an edge and has always wondered how she would fare against men.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011763/8373493-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="752" height="786"><figcaption class="caption-body">Angela and Bill Ruggiero became the first sisterbrother tag team in professional hockey.</figcaption></div>Angela had been working full-time in commercial real estate in Boston until December, when she decided to turn her full focus to hockey in preparation for the women&rsquo;s 2005 World Championship. To play in a men&rsquo;s pro league and with her brother was a dream come true.&ldquo;Bill has been my biggest fan since I was a kid and he asked me what I thought about the idea of playing with his team,&rdquo; Angela recalled. &ldquo;I played boys&rsquo; hockey until I was 14 and I skate with Bill and the guys every summer. They invited me to skate with the team at Christmas time and originally wanted me to play with the team then, but I had camp with Team USA. I flew in and skated with the team, watched a couple of their games and then flew back to Boston.&rdquo;Ruggiero was confident in her ability, but she wasn&rsquo;t naive. Adjustments to her game were in order.&ldquo;The guys are big, but when I practiced with the team I knew I could move the puck just as well as the guys,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I could read the game just as well as these guys. The biggest difference is they&rsquo;re a step quicker and a little more explosive, so I knew I&rsquo;d really have to play my position.&rdquo;Ruggiero is not the first female to play pro with men. U.S. goalie Erin Whitten played four games with the Dallas Freeze in 1993-94 and skated a shift at forward with Flint of the Colonial League in 1996. Wickenheiser played professionally in Finland and scored a goal. The most famous female to cross over was Canadian goalie Manon Rheaume, who played a period of an NHL pre-season game in 1992 with Tampa.&ldquo;In the women&rsquo;s game I think of myself as Bobby Orr-esque,&rdquo; Ruggiero said. &ldquo;I really like to go from end-to-end with the puck and create opportunities. I&rsquo;m a very offense-minded defenseman. I knew I wouldn&rsquo;t be able to do that with the men. I just wanted to play good, solid defense and keep things simple.&rdquo;There was one catch that didn&rsquo;t thrill her. CHL teams dress 18 players per game and in order to get her into a game, the Oilers needed permission from the league to dress one additional player. The league gave Tulsa the green light, but said she could only participate in the first period. In the end, though, it was decided after the second period with Tulsa leading 4-0, Ruggiero would be allowed to compete in the third. All told, Ruggiero took 13 shifts, played 13 minutes and was plus-2 over two periods.&ldquo;When I got off the ice after the first period, I didn&rsquo;t sit down,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I got bombarded by the media. I put on my helmet and went out and watched the second period. I had adrenaline pumping through my body. It was a great game to be a part of, so when I was told I was going back in for the third period I was thrilled.&rdquo;Ruggiero got involved physically, which excited the crowd.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021234/8373486-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="486" height="712"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03902/8373479-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="1882" height="1684"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOUGH DEFENDERPlaying against men didn&rsquo;t discourage Angela Ruggiero from getting involved in physical battles in front of the net.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;On my third shift I got thrown against the boards and I think I hit someone else,&rdquo; she said.&ldquo;It was a hip check and the fans went crazy. I wasn&rsquo;t shy about mucking it up in the corners. I wasn&rsquo;t afraid at all and I didn&rsquo;t want special treatment. I didn&rsquo;t want them saying, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t hit the girl out there, let&rsquo;s take it easy on her.&rsquo; If I have my head down and I have the puck, then someone hit me. That&rsquo;s hockey.&rdquo;Added Bill: &ldquo;She played a very physical game, knocking a few guys down in the corner. Once, in front of the net, there was a scramble and she was going at it hard with a big guy. The ref told me he was going to penalize her. I said, &lsquo;Go ahead.&rdquo; Angela&rsquo;s mom, Karen, said she wasn&rsquo;t worried about her daughter&rsquo;s safety.&ldquo;I had a few people ask me if I was afraid of Angela losing her teeth because it&rsquo;s unbelievable how many players in the Central League don&rsquo;t have their front teeth,&rdquo; Karen said, &ldquo;and I always say to them, &lsquo;No, I&rsquo;m afraid of Angela knocking out their front teeth.&rsquo; She can get pretty physical, you know.&rdquo;In the end no teeth were lost, and there were plenty of smiles to go around. &#9632;

f0013-01

Rugged Ruggiero makes her point

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY &#x2022; Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021452/8373531-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHUCKKOBASEW LOWELL LOCK MONSTERS</figcaption></div>There are two things you need to know about playing professional hockey. One, a goal, no matter how ugly, is a goal. And two, when it comes to playing the game, you never stop learning.Chuck Kobasew understands both principles as well as anybody.His first NHL goal two years ago was a seeing-eye shot that hit a couple of legs before finding the Vancouver Canucks net. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t pretty, but at least it was the game-winner,&rdquo; Kobasew recalled.As far as learning the game, the offense-oriented Kobasew became a more well-rounded player after taking on a defensive role with the Calgary Flames last season.That&rsquo;s why his lockout-induced trip to the minors this season, where he has been able to get back to being an offensive force, is so palatable to him.<h2>MEMORABLE MAY</h2>Not long ago Kobasew and the Flames were within one goal of reaching their ultimate dream: winning the Stanley Cup. Of course, the Tampa Bay Lightning won Game 6 in overtime in Calgary and the Cup at home in Game 7, and now the 22-year-old right winger so close to Cup glory last spring finds himself toiling for the AHL&rsquo;s Lowell Lock Monsters.&ldquo;This is a good opportunity for me to play and get better,&rdquo; Kobasew said. &ldquo;It beats sitting around and being locked out. I thought about it all summer and I knew that I wanted to play. I just wasn&rsquo;t sure where Calgary wanted me to play, here or in Europe. This seemed like the best idea.&rdquo;Judging by his numbers, it certainly is a good idea. Selected to play in the AHL All-Star Game, Kobasew has rediscovered his scoring touch with 25 goals (fifth-best in the league), 48 points and a plus-25 rating in 43 games. Playing on a line with would-be Carolina center Eric Staal and Colin Forbes on left wing, Kobasew is once again an offensive force after being limited to a single assist in 26 playoff games with the Flames last year.To be fair, the Flames&rsquo; mission last season was to make Kobasew a better defensive player. Also, the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder spent a portion of time playing out of position, at center.In 70 regular season games, Kobasew scored six goals and 17 points, decent but hardly mind-blowing numbers for a kid who once led the British Columbia Junior League with 54 goals in 58 games and later scored 41 in 55 games with Kelowna of the Western League.&ldquo;Last year and so far this year has been really, really good for his career,&rdquo; said Calgary coach-GM Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;It is typical for people to expect a high draft pick on a weak team to step in and score 20 or 30 goals, especially a player who was a high scorer in college and junior. But there were parts of his game where he was not even close to being an NHLer.&rdquo;<h2>DEFENSE HAS ITS REWARDS</h2>The Flames were successful in getting Kobasew to embrace the defensive side of the game. He now understands how crucial defense is to team success.&ldquo;The thing for me is to learn every day from guys like Jarome (Iginla),&rdquo; Kobasew said. &ldquo;I want to be a top-six forward, a guy who produces. To do that I have to learn all aspects of the game.&rdquo;The Flames have been monitoring Kobasew&rsquo;s progress and are delighted with his season to date. The fact he was named team captain in Lowell speaks volumes about his leadership.&ldquo;The NHL lockout may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Chuck,&rdquo; said Lowell coach Tom Rowe. &ldquo;His confidence in his game is probably as high as it has ever been since he turned pro. I have been pleased with the leadership role he has taken with the team and he has scored some amazing goals for us. He beats guys 1-on-1, he has great hands and he can really fly.&rdquo;In a perfect world, he would be Calgary&rsquo;s No. 2 right winger behind Iginla. Calgary&rsquo;s first pick, 14th overall in 2001, Kobasew believes he is destined to be a scorer in the NHL.&ldquo;I have been a goal-scorer at every level. All I need is the opportunity.&rdquo;Rowe agrees. &ldquo;I think Chuck will go back into the NHL as a very dangerous third-liner who has the potential to move up to the second line and be very effective,&rdquo; Rowe said.When Kobasew returns to Calgary he will be brimming with confidence. He has been used in all situations, averaging upwards of 25 minutes a game, skating a regular shift, playing the power play and killing penalties.&ldquo;The expectations for him to be successful in the NHL are still there because he is such a natural scorer,&rdquo; Sutter said.And no defensive slouch, either.<h2>BIDING THEIR TIME</h2>Here is a list of some proven NHLers who are suiting up in the American League during the lockout, listed in order of points.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011915/8373524-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="614" height="572"></div> &#9632;

f0014-02

Kobasew steps it up

<div class="byline">&#x2013;MIKE BROPHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031010/8373562-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="718" height="832"></div>Lowell was not on Eric Staat&rsquo;s radar screen when he envisioned his life as a professional hockey player.Then again, neither was an NHL lockout.But the two became a reality for the 20-year-old center this season, and he is making the most of it. Staal is one of a number of young NHLers who were able to secure work in the American League while the NHL tries to straighten out its finances.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not hating it here,&rdquo; said Stall, who was first in team scoring with 14 goals and 51 points in 41 games. &ldquo;Obviously I&rsquo;d rather be in the NHL, but I&rsquo;m not complaining. Hey, it&rsquo;s better than not playing at all.&rdquo;Staal scored high marks as a 19-year-old rookie with the hapless Carolina Hurricanes - who drafted him second overall in 2003 - by scoring 11 goals and 31 points in 81 games. He is considered the heir apparent to Ron Francis in Carolina, a high-scoring center who makes others around him better. That is exactly what he has been doing with the Lock Monsters this season, playing on a line with Chuck Kobasew and Colin Forbes.&ldquo;I think the most impressive thing about Eric (this season) is how much poise he has with the puck and how dangerous he is down low,&rdquo; said Lowell coach Tom Rowe.Clearly there are certain aspects of Staal&rsquo;s game that need work and one he acknowledges is shooting the puck more often.&ldquo;The thing is, every time I pass the puck to Chuck he seems to score, so I just keep looking for him,&rdquo; Staal said.Another goal for the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder is to add strength, which will come in time.&ldquo;He gets whacked and hacked, but he never backs down,&rdquo; Rowe said. &#9632;

f0014-03

One step back OK with Staal

<div class="byline">BY THN STAFF</div>A Brigham Young University IceCat player died after being struck in the chest by a puck during a game between BYU and Northern Colorado.Late in the second period of a Jan. 21 game, freshman Jaxon Logan dropped to the ice to block a slapshot. The puck missed Logan&rsquo;s shoulder pad before striking the IceCat forward on the lower left side of his rib cage.Logan, 18, clearly struggling, got to his feet and made it to his team&rsquo;s bench where he lost consciousness.When the period ended teams went to their dressing rooms unaware Logan had suffered cardiac arrest or that training staff was fighting to save his life.&ldquo;When I left the bench, I thought it was a concussion,&rdquo; captain Mark Ostebo told The BYU Daily Universe. &ldquo;But when I came back from the locker room, that&rsquo;s when I thought it was a little more serious and I saw he wasn&rsquo;t breathing and they were doing CPR.&rdquo;For the next 15 minutes fans silently watched as emergency personnel tried to revive him. Unsuccessful, they placed Logan on a stretcher and he was carried to a nearby ambulance by fellow IceCats Ostebo and close friend Ryan Newton.The third period of the game was canceled and the IceCat players followed their teammate to the emergency room.&ldquo;We were there probably 10 minutes when Matt (BYU coach Beaudry) told us they stopped resuscitation efforts,&rdquo; Ostebo said. &ldquo;It was tough. A lot of crying.&rdquo;Team athletic trainer Beaudry, who contacted paramedics and performed CPR on Logan, said doctors confirmed there was nothing that could have been done differently as far as treatment or protection.Logan grew up in Alaska, where he began playing hockey at seven. He was described by teammates as strong, hardworking and a good student.A Jaxon Logan Memorial Fund is set up through <a href="http://www.byuhockey.com">www.byuhockey.com</a>.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011746/8373593-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="253" height="401"><figcaption class="caption-body">JAXON LOGAN</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0015-01

Shot to chest kills player

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE FISH</div>Former Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars skating coach David Roy has made a career teaching people how to get from one spot to another in a hurry.But even the veteran mentor, who was vacationing with his family on an island off the coast of Thailand in late December, was at a loss how to get away quickly enough when the killer tsunami struck without warning.David and his wife, Jamie, were relaxing at their beachfront cabin when people began running past screaming in terror. The Roys made a run for a taller building inland. Jamie managed to climb up several flights of stairs, but David had to wait in line behind other people.That&rsquo;s when the massive wave hit.&ldquo;It was like being blasted into a giant washing machine,&rdquo; recalled Roy in a statement released by the Flyers public relations office. &ldquo;In just a few seconds the wave carried me at least three blocks inland from one side of the. (Phi Phi) island to the other. I was being tossed around underwater like a rag doll.&rdquo;Trapped by debris, Roy had doubts he could make it back to the surface. &ldquo;My mouth was full of water and I was running out of air,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;I could see light shining through the water. I was about a foot below the water surface.&rdquo;Summoning all his remaining strength and energy, the coach made a final attempt at reaching the surface.&ldquo;I was just about out of breath when I got this final rush of adrenaline, this inner strength, to fight one last time,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really one of those things that you really don&rsquo;t have the strength to do it but somehow you find it.&rdquo;Fortunately, a man from New Zealand floating on some debris offered assistance and Roy was pulled to safety. The Kelowna, B.C. native had suffered a deep gash in his leg that went all the way to the bone. He had to be evacuated by hel-icopter to a hospital on the mainland.While all this was going on, there were other matters to be resolved. David didn&rsquo;t know if Jamie had made it to safety and feared for her life as well as the lives of his son, Michael, and daughterin-law, Sarah, both of whom were in town shopping. All three avoided injury.Roy, a man of deep religious conviction, believes there might have been some outside force at work that helped allow him to escape death.&ldquo;All I knew is that when I was hit, it was so forceful I had no control of my body,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;I figured I was gone, I was dead.&rdquo; &#9632;

Coach a tsunami survivor

<h2>RYCHEL CASE HITS COURT</h2>Lawyer Bob Riley will be in a Denver courtroom Feb. 8 representing retired NHL forward Warren Rychel in an injury insurance case that could have precedent-setting implications for NHL players. Rychel and Lloyd&rsquo;s of London are locked in a dispute over a $l-million insui ance policy dating back to 1998. Rychel is appealing a Lower court&rsquo;s ruling that a hand injury he suffered during a fight on Dec. 17, 1998, while with the Colorado Avalanche, was an &ldquo;expected event&rdquo; and was therefore not covered by the policy. Riley is expected to argue that such an interpretation would jeopardize all injury insurance claims, since it is expected players will get hurt from time to time simply by playing a contact sport such as hockey. Part of the case will revolve around whether Rychel could still perform his role as a player even if he was no longer able to fight due to his injury. Rychel returned to the Avalanche lineup for the 1999 playoffs - a permissible window under the policy - but was under doctor&rsquo;s orders not to fight and wasn&rsquo;t offered a job the following year. Rychel is now a professional scout for the Phoenix Coyotes.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021254/8373655-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="283" height="452"><figcaption class="caption-body">WARREN RYCHEL</figcaption></div><h2>ROCKET KEEPSAKES UP FOR BID</h2>The last signature of Maurice Richard is among controversial &lsquo;Rocket memorabilia up for auction in a showcase event that runs until Feb. 22. Sonia Raymond, companion of the late Hall of Fame great who died in 2000, has placed a number of pieces for auction through Classic Collectibles. In addition to jerseys, lithographs, autographed books, photos and pucks, three other items have caused a stir. They include Richard&rsquo;s driver&rsquo;s license - the final autograph he signed - his passport and a collection of Christmas and sympathy cards. All are part of the 195-piece showcase offered by Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau. (See pg. 20 for more on the Beliveau memorabilia auction.)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03882/8373648-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="280" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">MAURICE RICHARD</figcaption></div><h2>SLOVAKIAN FACING LENGTHY BAN</h2>Slovakian first division player Marcel Hanzal is faring a two-year ban from competitive hockey after a second sample confirmed he tested positive for a banned substance. The presence of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a metabolic of marijuana, was found in both of Hanzal&rsquo;s samples, said Miroslav Motyrik, an official at the Slovak Anti-Doping committee. Hanzal, 30, has denied any wrongdoing and is scheduled to appear at a disciplinary hearing. &#9632;

f0015-02

HOCKEY WORLD IN BRIEF

<div class="byline">BY JON MCCARTHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011707/8373686-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Four people died when a bus carrying a women&rsquo;s hockey team collided with a truck.</figcaption></div>Members of the Windsor Wildcats women&rsquo;s team felt an outpouring of support from both sides of the border following the bus accident that killed four people including the team&rsquo;s coach.The Wildcats - on an annual Jan. 29 weekend hockey trip - were headed to Swain ski resort following a morning game versus the Rochester Edge when their bus struck a parked tractor-trailer on Interstate 390. The impact sent the truck hurtling 23 meters and nearly split the Wildcat&rsquo;s bus in half lengthwise.Coach Richard Edwards, his son Brian, and Catherine Roach, mother of one of the players, were killed in the crash along with the driver of the truck.&ldquo;It was like something you&rsquo;d see in a horror movie&hellip;something you&rsquo;d never think could happen,&rdquo; Roach&rsquo;s daughter Erin told the Windsor Star.In a press conference days after the accident, the team - made up of 18-22-year-olds - thanked the Rochester Edge and the community of Rochester for their support, donations and thoughts.The girls received words of comfort from many including hockey icon Don Cherry and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin who spoke by phone during a candle light vigil held at the team&rsquo;s home arena in Windsor.Despite a number of players injured in the accident, the Wildcats plan to continue towards their goal of qualifying for the Ontario championship.&ldquo;I know Mr. Edwards had a big dream for us as a team to go to the provincials and fare well,&rdquo; said Wildcat Meagan Godwin at the team press conference. &ldquo;It was his dream and it was ours and we share it and it&rsquo;s only fair to keep going.&rdquo;The Rochester Edge youth team - a squad the Wildcats beat the day of the crash - collected donations at two recent Rochester Americans games proving the hockey community is a tight-knit group.There was a family center set up at Rochester&rsquo;s Strong Memorial hospital shortly after the accident and social workers were assigned to each family to help them through the crisis.Investigation into the accident continue and police hope the information found in the recovered black box can shed light into, the events leading up to the crash. Bus driver Ryan Comfort, 24, of St. Thomas, Ont., was charged with four traffic and transportation violations. He pleaded not guilty.A trust fund has been established with the Windsor Family Credit Union. &#9632;

f0016-01

Bus crash claims four

<div class="byline">BY THN STAFF</div>What started off as a seemingly innocent tour of duty with the Motor City faithful mushroomed into a controversial decision for three members of the Detroit Red Wings.Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher and Kris Draper signed Feb. 1 to play with the United League&rsquo;s Motor City Mechanics, based in Fraser, Mich., for the duration of the NHL lockout. Less than two days later, they were criticized by some observers as being &ldquo;hypocrites.&rdquo;&ldquo;Here they are, fighting for more money and they&rsquo;ll come down to our league and play for free,&rdquo; Flint&rsquo;s Kevin Kerr, the top career scorer in the minor leagues, told the Globe and Mail. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re a bunch of hypocrites. They&rsquo;ve taken three veteran guys&rsquo; jobs at an average of $500, or $600 or $700 a week. Now where are these guys going to play?&ldquo;What these (locked-out NHLers) make in a day, we make in a year, and here they come and want to take away our guys&rsquo; livelihood at this level. It just doesn&rsquo;t make sense.&rdquo;Nolan Baumgartner of the American League&rsquo;s Manitoba Moose told Sun Media the three Red Wings didn&rsquo;t consider the ramifications of their decision.&ldquo;They have enough money in their bank account that they can afford to not play,&rdquo; Baumgartner said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s unfortunate that some guys aren&rsquo;t going to be able to play because these (Red Wings) guys signed.&rdquo;The UHL has a bylaw that allows each team to dress a maximum of seven players with more than 280 games pro expe-rience. So it&rsquo;s three veterans, rather than three inexperienced fringe players, who feel the pinch caused by the three Wings.Hatcher scored, but was minus-3 in his Feb. 2 debut, a-5-1 loss in Flint. Draper and Chelios will play Feb. 4.Kerr said if the locked-out NHLers want so badly to play, they should band together rather than take jobs.&ldquo;Go start your own league,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;Go get all your buddies together and play pickup hockey once or twice a week - and leave everybody else alone.&rdquo; &#9632;

Wings stir Motor City frenzy

<h2>NHL ASKS FOR RETRACTION</h2>The NHL is requesting the Calgary Herald retract a story that claimed NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has a bonus in his contract linking his personal compensation to success in the collective bargaining negotiations. The story, written by Herald columnist Bruce Dowbiggin and citing anonymous sources, said Bettman was in line for a bonus of $1 million or more if he achieves formal linkage between league revenues and player costs in the CBA. In an e-mail, NHL spokesman Frank Brown called the story &ldquo;utter fiction.&rdquo; A few days later, at the NHL&rsquo;s request, Dowbiggin interviewed NHL board of governors chairman and Calgary owner Harley Hotchkiss, who said the earlier report was wrong. Hotchkiss said he negotiated Bettman&rsquo;s contract with the help of three other senior owners and it contains no incentive clauses. Herald sports editor Dale Oviatt confirmed he had received the retraction demand and could not be reached for further comment.<h2>DEVILS GETTING NEW ARENA</h2>The New Jersey Devils and Newark city officials, after more than six years of negotiations and aborted plans, signed an agreement to build an 18,000-seat arena that will be ready for the start of 2007-08. Newark will pay $210 million, while the team will pay $100 million plus cost overruns that occur during construction.<h2>ALERT TO FLASHERS</h2>A retired University of Calgary professor may have too much time on her hands. Researcher Mary Valentich is on the lookout for any young women who bared their breasts during the revelry surrounding the Calgary Flames unlikely run to the 2003-04 Stanley Cup final. She&rsquo;s hoping these girts gone wild will shed some light on what trends or changing attitudes these actions may reflect. Valentich became interested in the study after discovering that nobody had spoken to these women regarding their motivation. Besides looking into the Red Mile - Calgary&rsquo;s main party drag - during last year&rsquo;s playoffs, Valentich plans to investigate worldwide parties such as Oktoberfest to discover if any patterns exist. She plans to present a paper based on her findings at the World Congress of Sexology in Montreal this summer.<h2>FLEURY MAKES DEBUT</h2>Theo Fleury had a goal and three points in his first game for the Horse Lake Thunder, a team in the North Peace Sr. League. The former NHL star was cleared to play after a second appeal to Hockey Alberta, which initially blocked his signing because Fleury is technically still under NHL contract - although suspended for substance abuse. &ldquo;It felt great,&rdquo; Fleury said. &ldquo;It was a long time coming.&rdquo;<h2>HABS AFFILIATE IN LONG BEACH</h2>The Feb. 1 issue of The Hockey News incorrectly reported the Montreal Canadiens do not have an affiliate in the ECHL. The Long Beach Ice Dogs are, in fact, the affiliate of the Canadiens as of this season.<h2>NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER!</h2>NHLers who have gotten older - technically - during the lockout:Feb. 1Mark Recchi, Pit, 37Geoff Sanderson, Clb, 33Feb. 2Arturs Irbe, Clb, 38Todd Bertuzzi, Van, 30Mark Parrish, NYI, 28Jordin Tootoo, Nsh, 22Feb. 3Keith Carney, Ana, 35M. Dandenault, Det, 29Marek Zidlicky, Nsh, 28Steve McCarthy, Chi, 24Feb. 4Dallas Drake, StL, 36Manny Legace, Det, 32Feb. 5R. Matvichuk, NJ, 32Jan Hrdina, NJ, 29Feb. 6Tim Taylor, TB, 26Feb. 7Alexandre Daigle, Min, 30Jody Shelley, Clb, 29David Aebischer, Col, 27Matthew Spiller, Pho, 22Feb. 10Mike Ribeiro, Mtl, 25Feb. 11Jaroslav Spacek, Clb, 31Bryce Salvador, StL, 29Feb. 12Owen Nolan, Tor, 33Curtis Brown, Chi, 29Rico Fata, Pit, 25Oleg Saprykin, Pho, 24Feb. 13Mats Sundin, Tor, 34Todd Fedoruk, Phi, 26Feb. 14Sean Hill, Fla, 35Viktor Kozlov, NJ, 30Milan Hejduk, Col, 29Marian Gaborik, Min, 23 &#9632;

<div class="byline">&#x2013;DAN WOOD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011528/8373772-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="762" height="1300"><figcaption class="caption-body">Providence&rsquo;s Andy Hilbert has had success in the AHL this year playing alongside Patrice Bergeron.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021193/8373765-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="213" height="242"></div>The Mighty Ducks can feel good about at least one development during the NHL lockout: the increasingly strong play by right winger Joffrey Lupul at American League affiliate Cincinnati.Lupul has followed up a solid rookie season in Anaheim last season by earning a spot on the Canadian team at the Feb. 14 AHL All-Star Game. Lupul, 21, was Cincinnati&rsquo;s team leader with 15 goals, 37 points, five power play goals and four game-winning goals in 45 games.Anaheim&rsquo;s seventh overall selection in the 2002 draft, Lupul was fifth among the team&rsquo;s scorers with 13 goals and 34 points in 75 games last season.NOTEBOOK Right winger Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim&rsquo;s top pick (19th overall) in 2003, fig-ured to be sidelined a week or two from the Calgary Hitmen&rsquo;s lineup due to a concussion he suffered in a Western League game Jan. 25. The concussion was Getzlaf&rsquo;s first&hellip;Right winger Rob Niedermayer signed to play with Ferencvaros in Hungary during the lockout, while goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere joined the Hamburg Freezers in Germany. &#9632;

f0017-01

Lupul’s minor league play excites Ducks in major way

<div class="byline">&#x2013;JOHN MANASSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03871/8373803-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="219" height="240"></div>Thrashers GM Don Waddell said the franchise has altered some of its scouting duties to deal with the lockout and estimates the team easily has saved 40 per cent on its pro scouting.In the past, director of player personnel Jack Ferreira handled the scouting of four West Coast NHL teams and their AHL affiliates, while pro scouts Mark Dobson and Peter Mahovlich took 13 teams apiece with their affiliates.With no NHL to scout, the pro scouts will see 140 AHL games, up from 120 with Ferreira&rsquo;s AHL duties expanded to include San Antonio, Houston, Salt Lake, Edmonton and Winnipeg.NOTEBOOK Lawyers for right winger Dany Heatley expected to have a plea completed by Feb. 4 on charges of vehicular homicide that Heatley faces in connection with the death of teammate Dan Snyder. Heatley scored three goals Jan. 30 for his Swiss Club, SC Bern, before returning to Atlanta for a possible court appearance&hellip;Chicago Wolves defenseman Travis Roche was named to the AHL All-Star Game. Roche, a free agent signing of the Thrashers in the off-season, signed a contract with the Wolves after being locked out. &#9632;

f0017-03

No NHL hockey to scout, so Thrashers switch up staff

<div class="byline">&#x2013;NANCY MARRAPESE-BURRELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04641/8373834-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="215" height="239"></div>When Patrice Bergeron was lighting it up for Team Canada during the World Junior Championship, he came to the realization that, if the NHL had been operating, he wouldn&rsquo;t have been part of the gold medal-winning team.Instead, Bergeron has been leading the American League&rsquo;s Providence Bruins, playing on a line with left winger Andy Hilbert and right winger Keith Aucoin.It is likely Hilbert would be playing with Bergeron in Boston if the NHL season were fact rather than fantasy. But Hilbert also is making the most of his time with the Baby Bruins.Hilbert had his team season-high and careerbest five-game goal streak snapped Jan. 30 as he was bearing down on the franchise&rsquo;s scoring record. Through early February, he had 185 points in 203 games, just one shy of the mark held by the late Sergei Zholtok.NOTEBOOK The Providence Bruins have struggled in the AHL standings, but have per-formed well on the power play. During three weekend games from Jan. 28-30, the club generated nine goals with the man advantage. &#9632;

f0017-04

Hilbert, Bergeron make most of stint in American League

<div class="byline">&#x2013;JIM KELLEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05448/8373872-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="762" height="1295"><figcaption class="caption-body">Defenseman James Patrick, 42, says he&rsquo;d hate to see his NHL career end because of a lockout.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06346/8373865-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="215" height="239"></div>Defenseman James Patrick, an unrestricted free agent, had expected to re-sign with the Sabres whenever play resumed, but as the clock clicks down on a season that may never be, the soon-to-be 42-year-old knows his time may be coming to an end.&ldquo;Some people believe we can start the season in the middle of February and make it work; I don&rsquo;t see it happening,&rdquo; Patrick said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d hate to see my career end with a lockout.&rdquo;Patrick isn&rsquo;t Buffalo&rsquo;s only unrestricted free agent, but he is the one most likely to be finished if the season is canceled. Defenseman Alexei Zhitnik, 32, very likely will get offers once the league returns to action.NOTEBOOK The Sabres&rsquo; situation in goal will be very interesting should the season resume. Presumed No.l Martin Biron is doing next to nothing during the lockout, but Mika Noronen and Ryan Miller are active and ready to put up a fight. Noronen, who at one point wrested the No. 1 role from Biron only to lose it late in 2003-04, is playing in his native Finland. Miller had a slow start in Rochester this season, but has rebounded and is slated to play in the AHL All-Star Game. &#9632;

f0017-05

Patrick fears canceled year could put end to his career

<div class="byline">&#x2013;RANDY SPORTAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-07280/8373903-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="212" height="241"></div>Steve Montador decided to cut short his French invasion.The Flames defenseman returned home in late January after playing his trade for Mulhouse of the French league.&ldquo;It was a great experience,&rdquo; Montador said. &ldquo;Everything about it was excellent. There just (weren&rsquo;t) enough games.&rdquo;Forward Steve Reinprecht remains with the team and has no intention of returning before the French league&rsquo;s season concludes - unless the NHL lockout ends.NOTEBOOK The hiccup preventing the Flames from placing their minor league affiliate in Omaha, Neb., is the quest for local ownership. Calgary&rsquo;s AHL team, dormant since the end of 2002-03 after it was pulled out of Saint John, N.B., is expected to get off the ground in soon; Flames president Ken King said the organization wants to ensure a local group is partially involved to give the community a sense of ownership&hellip;Defenseman Rhett Warrener raised about $10,000 for Special Olympics and KidSport - a charity that helps underprivileged children play sports - with a one-night bowling event that included many Flames players. &#9632;

f0017-07

Montador ends French stint due to lack of game action

<div class="byline">&#x2013;LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-08231/8373934-1-eng-US/f0017-082.jpg" title="f0017-08" width="215" height="195"></div>When the Hurricanes laid off 15 per cent of their staff last April, many other team employees were told they would be laid off in September if the season didn&rsquo;t start on time.That deadline was extended to January, but when the day rolled around enough employees had left the organization, so no further layoffs were necessary.&ldquo;Many people left for other jobs,&rdquo; Hurricanes GM-president Jim Rutherford said of the lack of personnel moves. &ldquo;The targeted list really got smaller.&rdquo;.NOTEBOOK Hurricanes defenseman Glen Wesley is coaching his son&rsquo;s squirt team during the lockout. &ldquo;Coaching in the pros or minors would not interest me,&rdquo; Wesley said, &ldquo;but working with kids has been a really fun experience.&rdquo; Wesley also went on a 12-day church mission to Italy in the fall&hellip;Right winger Justin Williams is spending the lockout playing with teammate and defenseman Niclas Wallin in Lulea, Sweden, 100 miles below the Arctic Circle. &ldquo;Reindeer meat is big, ox is big, stuff like that,&rdquo; Williams said of the experience. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a little different. I tried reindeer once - and I don&rsquo;t want to try it again.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0017-08

Hurricanes halt staff cuts as many left on their own

<div class="byline">&#x2013;TIM SASSONE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011588/8373965-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="213" height="241"></div>Mika Sundlov, the GM for Brynas in Sweden, thinks Tyler Arnason is getting bad rap.Sundlov told Arlington Heights Daily&rsquo;Herald columnist Barry Rozner Arnason was not released from the team for being out of shape.&ldquo;He was in good hockey shape and didn&rsquo;t want to lose that and he felt he could do better back home,&rdquo; Sundlov said. &ldquo;It was his decision. He was a pro. He didn&rsquo;t act bad. He came here with a good attitude.&ldquo;Sometimes with (North American) players it just doesn&rsquo;t work right here. It&rsquo;s not uncommon.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK The Blackhawks sent letters to season ticket-holders saying they could begin receiving refunds (with two per cent interest) Feb. 15&hellip;Goalie Jocelyn Thibault has instructed his agent, Bob Sauve, to find a place in Europe for him to play in the fall. &#9632;

f0018-01

Swedish GM sticks up for embattled Arnason

<div class="byline">&#x2013;ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03894/8373996-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="612" height="1296"><figcaption class="caption-body">Avalanche enforcer Peter Worrell masqueraded as ex-teammate Andreas Lilja.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021225/8374003-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="211" height="230"></div>Avalanche winger Peter Worrell appears in court March 4 and surely won&rsquo;t make the same mistake of trying to pass himself off as former Florida teammate Andreas Lilja.Worrell, 6-foot-7 and black, claimed to be Lilja, 6-foot-3 and white, after being pulled over in December by police for driving with expired plates.Worrell, who was driving Lilja&rsquo;s SUV but is not allowed to drive because of a pair of DUI convictions, was arrested for knowingly driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest without violence.His true identity was discovered when the officer found his passport in the center console. Worrell was also cited for driving with a suspended license in August.NOTEBOOK Coach Joel Quenne-ville was one of six NHL coaches to take part in a discussion regarding how to make the game better. &#9632;

f0018-03

Just call him ‘Andy,’ or ‘The Big Swede’

<div class="byline">&#x2013;AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04604/8374034-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="215" height="239"></div>Left winger Jody Shelley didn&rsquo;t want to head overseas unless he was sure the NHL season would be wiped out by the lockout.In late January, Shelley signed to play with Jyvaskyla of the Finnish Elite League.It helped that Blue Jackets defenseman Duvie Westcott started the season with Jyvaskyla.&ldquo;Duvie told me it was a great city with great fans,&rdquo; Shelley said. &ldquo;A great place to play.&rdquo;Shelley was greeted in Finland by questions about being a &lsquo;goon.&rsquo;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not here to be a sideshow,&rdquo; he said.NOTEBOOK Goalie Arturs Irbe, a member of the NHLPA executive committee, returned to his native Latvia in late January, although it wasn&rsquo;t clear if Irbe was visiting family or planning to play hockey. Irbe has been recovering from a knee injury since the end of last season. &#9632;

f0018-04

Shelley joins Westcott in Finnish Elite League

<div class="byline">&#x2013;MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-05411/8374065-1-eng-US/f0018-052.jpg" title="f0018-05" width="223" height="203"></div>The Stars are among the first teams to announce they will lower ticket prices when hockey returns.Dallas will offer several hundred upstairs tickets at $10 each, down from the current minimum of $24. They also will reduce a section of downstairs seats from $75 to $50.&ldquo;We have to change our approach to selling tickets,&rdquo; said team president Jim Lites. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve sold a legacy of winning and individual players. We&rsquo;ve got to sell the game and what&rsquo;s great about watching hockey.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Stars GM Doug Armstrong faces some difficult decisions on a large group of unrestricted free agents come July 1. The list includes Mike Modano and Sergei Zubov. His other free agents are a coaching staff in which every contract will expire this summer. Expect Armstrong to retain coach Dave Tippett and his assistants. &#9632;

f0018-05

Stars drop prices to lure ‘hockey’ fans

<div class="byline">&#x2013;NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011459/8374096-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="214" height="223"></div>Kris Draper faced a dilemma: He wanted to play in some real games, because shinny only goes so far. But he didn&rsquo;t want to go to Europe, because he didn&rsquo;t want to uproot or leave his family.So, along with two other locked-out Red Wings - defensemen Chris Chelios and Derian Hatcher - the center signed with the Motor City Mechanics of the United League. It&rsquo;s just a drive across the Detroit suburbs to the Mechanics&rsquo; rink.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s time to change things up,&rdquo; Draper said, &ldquo;and your options are limited over here.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Left winger Kirk Maltby also was considering playing for the Mechanics. He thought about playing in England, but decided against it&hellip;After returning from Russia, goaltender Manny Legace said he didn&rsquo;t like playing overseas and wasn&rsquo;t going back. &#9632;

f0019-01

Draper won’t travel far to play In minors

<div class="byline">&#x2013;ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03773/8374127-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="213" height="243"></div>Jarret Stoll feared the worst. Blood was pouring from the gash on his right leg and the Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; center couldn&rsquo;t feel his foot.After slicing his right calf to the bone and severing a nerve on Manitoba defenseman Tomas Mojzis&rsquo;s skate blade, Stoll, who&rsquo;s been playing for the AHL Edmonton Road Runners since the lockout began, will be out at least until mid-March.&ldquo;It scared me when the doctor explained the muscle I cut was the one I needed to move my foot up and down,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Once the surgery was done everything was positive.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Goalie Ty Conklin signed with Wolfsburg of the German Elite League, Steve Staios is off to Lulea of the Swedish Elite League and defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron, who had contemplated signing with the Road Runners, joined Brynas of the Swedish League. &#9632;

f0019-03

Stoll gets good news after injury scare

<div class="byline">&#x2013;MICHAEL RUSSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05441/8374158-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="215" height="242"></div>Nathan Horton is an integral part of the Panthers&rsquo; future, but the right winger&rsquo;s shoulder problems have become a considerable concern.Horton had season-ending surgery Feb. 1 for the second straight year. He missed the first seven games of the San Antonio Rampage&rsquo;s season while recovering from surgery in March. But he separated his shoulder in December, missed 14 games and re-injured himself Jan. 11 in Vancouver.NOTEBOOK Rampage left winger Gregory Campbell, underwent surgery Feb. 1 on a broken cheekbone and other fractures after he was hit in the face with a slapshot. He could miss up to six weeks&hellip;Part of a NHL coaching &lsquo;think tank,&rsquo; coach Jacques Martin said the meeting was to try to improve the on-ice product: &ldquo;We have to promote scoring chances and encourage offensive play and skill players to be creative,&rdquo; Martin said. &#9632;

f0019-05

Horton’s shoulder cause for concern

<div class="byline">&#x2013;MATT MCHALE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021107/8374189-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="204" height="232"></div>After last season, left winger Luc Robitaille did not expect to play again if a lockout cancelled the 2004-05 NHL season. Now he isn&rsquo;t so sure.Although the league&rsquo;s most recent proposal was flatly rejected by the players, Robitaille now says he isn&rsquo;t prepared to call it quits. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not ready to make that decision,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been working out a lot and think I will be ready whenever play resumes.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov has made quite a come-back since playing just 43 games last year at Manchester (AHL) because of a wrist injury. Grebeshkov had just two goals and seven assists in 200304, but after 43 games this year, he had four goals and 30 points&hellip;Manchester was again leading the league in average per game attendance at 8,962. The Monarchs led with an average of 8,986 in 2002-03 and 9,140 last season. &#9632;

f0019-02

Robitaille backs off idea of retirement

<div class="byline">&#x2013;BRIAN MURPHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04596/8374220-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="216" height="213"></div>Mikko Koivu has proven great things come for those who wait.The Wild&rsquo;s premier prospect is having a monster rookie season for the American League&rsquo;s Houston Aeros, averaging almost a point per game. The 21-year-old Finnish center will represent the Aeros on the PlanetUSA team during all-star festivities Feb. 13-14 in Manchester, N.H.&ldquo;I know it&rsquo;s a great honor,&rdquo; said Koivu, who had 12 goals and 24 points through 29 games despite being sidelined a month because of an appendectomy. &ldquo;There are great players all over the league.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK The Wild said it will lay off 10-12 more employees if the season is cancelled, which would bring to 50 the number of full-time workers who resigned or were let go during the lockout. &#9632;

f0019-04

Koivu wowing Wild with all-star output

<div class="byline">&#x2013;HERB ZURKUWSKY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-06328/8374251-1-eng-US/f0019-062.jpg" title="f0019-06" width="211" height="210"></div>Jean Beliveau has become the latest, and arguably greatest, former Canadiens player to auction virtually all of his hockey memorabilia.&ldquo;Sometimes in life you have to make decisions,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a sad day for me to let these things go, but I hope it will prove to be a great day for my family.&rdquo;Beliveau has put 195 items - everything from championship rings to milestone pucks - up for bid with Classic Collectibles. Should the pieces sell at their minimum, Beliveau will make about $110,000 U.S., less a commission he must pay Classic. But, in reality, he&rsquo;ll likely earn four times that amount.NOTEBOOK Jacques Demers, who coached Montreal to its last Stanley Cup in 1993, has put the stick Wayne Gretzky used in the last game of that year&rsquo;s final on the auction block. Demers asked Gretzky for the stick following the Canadiens&rsquo; triumph. &#9632;

f0019-06

Beliveau auctions off pieces of Habs history

<div class="byline">&#x2013;DAVID BOCLAIR</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011356/8374282-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="219" height="205"></div>For the past several seasons, Predators officials have admitted their development of defenseman lagged behind that of forwards.Things have started to even out, though, as three of the four Milwaukee players selected to the AHL All-Star Game were Predators minorleaguers Dan Hamhuis, Andrew Hutchinson and Brad Tiley.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Ryan Suter&rsquo;s production has dipped since he returned from the World Junior Championship, where he was captain of Team USA. In his first professional season, Suter had one goal and seven points in six games for Milwaukee before the tournament, but hasn&rsquo;t scored and has had three assists in 14 games since his return&hellip;Center David Legwand is the latest Predator headed to Europe. He signed with EHC Basel in Switzerland&rsquo;s first division. &#9632;

f0020-01

Predators’ blueline has promising future

<div class="byline">&#x2013;PETER BOTTE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03712/8374344-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="215" height="245"></div>For years, many Islanders fans, have wanted to tell GM Mike Milbury what they think of his work. During the lockout, they got to do just that.Milbury and coach Steve Stirling have been phoning the team&rsquo;s seasonticket base, thanking them for their support.&ldquo;What the heck else have I got to do?,&rdquo; Milbury told Newsday. &ldquo;People have said, &lsquo;This is who? Mike Milbury? Awww, your team (stinks) And you&rsquo;re a loser, too.&rsquo; They tell me about various trades I&rsquo;ve made - and I readily admit some of them were boneheaded.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Left winger Jason Blake aborted his decision to play in Switzerland, returning to his family in Minnesota after playing seven games with HC Lugano. He is skating with a high school team and will represent Team USA in the World Championship in Austria in April. &#9632;

f0020-03

Milbury gets on horn to soothe angry fans

<div class="byline">&#x2013;LARRY BROOKS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05298/8374375-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="216" height="234"></div>Confronted by another obstacle in his attempt to resume his career, goalie Dan Blackburn is expected to sign with the ECHL&rsquo;s Victoria Salmon Kings after immigration issues prevented him from joining the Rangers&rsquo; affiliate in Charlotte.Blackburn has not played since suffering severe left shoulder nerve damage in an August 2003 off-ice workout.He still has range-of-motion limitations, but has been practicing for a month with Charlotte using a modified double-blocker that has been approved for game-use by the ECHL. Blackburn will be reunited in Victoria with defenseman Dale Purinton, a Rangers teammate.NOTEBOOK Goalie prospect Henrik Lundqvist, 22, was named to the Swedish national team that will compete in the Swedish Hockey Games tournament that takes place Feb. 10-13. &#9632;

f0020-05

Blackburn goes north to resume pro career

<div class="byline">&#x2013;BRUCE GARRIOCH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-07203/8374406-1-eng-US/f0020-072.jpg" title="f0020-07" width="212" height="229"></div>After being turned down for a job with Frolunda in the Swedish Elite League, Wade Redden has elected not to play hockey this season.Redden was preparing to join teammate Daniel Alfredsson in Europe, but the club chose not to sign him. There were calls from Gavle (Sweden) and a team in Switzerland, but Redden decided not to play.&ldquo;You have to wonder how much hockey you&rsquo;re really going to get to play,&rdquo; Redden said. &ldquo;You get over there and play for a month - is it really worth it?&rdquo;NOTEBOOK The Senators drew a crowd of 14,210 for a game at the Corel Centre involving AHL affiliate Binghamton and the St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d be lying if we said we didn&rsquo;t want to stay here,&rdquo; said center Jason Spezza&hellip;Defenseman Chris Phillips has settled on playing in Gavle for the rest of the season. &#9632;

f0020-07

Redden on sidelines for rest of season?

<div class="byline">&#x2013;WAYNE FISH</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-09" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-09105/8374444-1-eng-US/f0020-092.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Center Keith Primeau has been one of the more vocal NHLers during the lockout.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04496/8374437-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="218" height="212"></div>Coach Ken Hitchcock returned from the NHL coaches conference in Toronto in high spirits.A review of rule changes and their implementation could make for a more open, free-flowing game, Hitchcock believes. He said applying several of the AHL&rsquo;s rule changes (tag-up offsides, wider blue lines) would help.-&ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t surprise me if some rules get adapted,&rdquo; Hitchcock said.NOTEBOOK Center Keith Primeau doesn&rsquo;t know why there&rsquo;s a public perception that the players&rsquo; recent overtures to resume talks were a sign of weakness. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t understand how people can continue to believe that the players are greedy when we recognize there are problems with the game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to not only salvage the season, but salvage the league. Now we&rsquo;re accused of being weak. It&rsquo;s the contrary. We want to be playing.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0020-09

Potential rule changes exciting to Hitchcock

<div class="byline">&#x2013;JERRY BROWN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-06242/8374475-1-eng-US/f0020-062.jpg" title="f0020-06" width="214" height="236"></div>If labor peace somehow comes to the NHL in time for a shrunken season, the Coyotes are one of the few teams who would be able to hit the ground skating.While some teams have less than 10 players under contract, the Coyotes are ready to go right now after a busy summer of free agent shopping.With the exception of a veteran defenseman and perhaps a tweak in goal, Phoenix has its entire squad ready to go and interim coach Rick Bowness already has sketched out a seven-day training camp.NOTEBOOK Some in the Coyotes front office were frowning when they saw the condition of winger Brett Hull at a celebrity golf tournament last month. Hull, who struggled last summer in the World Cup of Hockey and was ultimately benched, appeared to have added several more pounds during the lockout. &#9632;

f0020-06

Coyotes ready to go if lockout war ends

<div class="byline">&#x2013;JOE STARKEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-08144/8374506-1-eng-US/f0020-082.jpg" title="f0020-08" width="213" height="243"></div>Michel Therrien rarely has trouble expressing his feelings. That was never more obvious than after his Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pens blew a two-goal lead losing to Hershey.That gave Wilkes-Barre a 4-8 record in January.&ldquo;This team plays with no emotion,&rdquo; Therrien said after the loss. &ldquo;Win or lose, you think they care? The only thing they care about is the way they get treated. They go to the Arena Bar & Grill, order a couple of beers, try to have fun, play some poker until 4, 5 o&rsquo;clock in the morning, show up tired to practice.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK After missing 39 games due to shoulder surgery, defenseman Josef Melichar returned to Sparta Prague&rsquo;s lineup in the Czech league&hellip;Prospect Ryan Stone is one of the WHL&rsquo;s top scorers this season. But the center hasn&rsquo;t lost his edge, recently surpassing the 100 PIM-mark for a fourth consecutive year. &#9632;

f0020-08

Baby Penguins coach lashes out at players

<div class="byline">&#x2013;DERRICK GOOLD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011097/8374537-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="212" height="228"></div>Realizing he was about to have played just 24 games - NHL or otherwise - in 24 months, defenseman Barret Jackman made plans in case of a canceled season. And those plans don&rsquo;t include a change of zip codes.Jackman was working with team officials to join the UHL&rsquo;s Missouri River Otters. The 2003 NHL rookie of the year and Blues teammate Ryan Johnson were to join the Otters Feb. 4 or 5 - but only &ldquo;with no resolution or no indications that there will be a resolution,&rdquo; Jackman said.Because of a shoulder injury, Jackman played 15 games last season and recently played nine games in the European tour of NHLers.NOTEBOOK The River Otters have undergone an ownership shift in their sixth season. They now are owned by Mike Shanahan Jr., whose father was chairman of the Blues in the 1990s. &#9632;

f0021-01

Jackman turns to UHL in order to play again

<div class="byline">&#x2013;ROSS MCKEON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03456/8374568-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="212" height="244"></div>Sharks&rsquo; GM Doug Wilson recently accepted an invitation from Positive Coaching Alliance to become a member of their national advisory board, a group that includes influential and successful figures from other pro and college sports.Wilson will speak with youth coaches about the importance of creating a positive playing environment, sharing personal experiences and offering advice on how to handle real-life situations.&ldquo;I am honored to join such a group of sports figures that have made a positive impact within sports, on both academic and athletic levels,&rdquo; Wilson said.NOTEBOOK Defense prospect Christian Ehrhoff was the lone Cleveland Baron selected to play in the AHL All-Star Game&hellip;Assistant GM Wayne Thomas became a United States citizen in January. &#9632;

f0021-03

GM Wilson helps sell positive side of sport

<div class="byline">&#x2013;TOM JONES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-05238/8374599-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg" title="f0021-05" width="211" height="235"></div>Even if the lockout ends, the Lightning will be without one of its top players.Conn Smyth winner Brad Richards had surgery in late January to repair a tear in his abdominal wall and won&rsquo;t play again until at least mid-March.&ldquo;It just kept getting worse and worse,&rdquo; Richards said from his home in Prince Edward Island a day after the surgery.&ldquo;I knew that if tried to play with it, I would only be playing at half-speed for fear of it getting worse. I figured it was best to go ahead and have it now.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Defenseman Nolan Pratt signed to play for EV Duisberg in Germany. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to it,&rdquo; Pratt said. &ldquo;And I should get there in time to play 20 or 25 games. I miss playing and I need to get some games in.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0021-05

Richards sidelined, could play in March

<div class="byline">&#x2013;ELLIOTT PAP</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04343/8374661-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="195" height="241"></div>Vancouver Canucks owner John McCaw&rsquo;s 50 per-cent sale of the NHL team and GM Place to local businessman Francesco Aquilini may be heading for the courts.Two other Vancouver businessmen, Tom Gaglardi and Ryan Beedie, filed suit claiming the sale breached an &ldquo;exclusive access&rdquo; deal they had to buy 100 per cent of the operation.In a statement of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Gaglardi and Beedie say McCaw and Aquilini acted in bad faith and ignored legal agreements. Further adding intrigue to the matter is Aquilini was originally a partner in the Gaglardi-Bee-die group, but dropped out claiming he didn&rsquo;t have finances to continue.NOTEBOOK The Canucks placed three players in the American League All-Star Game: defenseman Nolan Baumgartner and forwards Jason King and Ryan Kesler. &#9632;

f0021-04

Canuck ownership faces day In court

<div class="byline">&#x2013;DAVE FAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-06184/8374692-1-eng-US/f0021-062.jpg" title="f0021-06" width="211" height="238"></div>If the 2004-05 season suddenly starts, the Washington Capitals are set in goal with starter Olie Kolzig and backup Maxime Ouellet.The question then becomes, who backs up the backup? The answer: no one knows.Rastislav Stana is in Sweden and will complete the season there. Jason Eddy, a recent college grad, has been sent from Portland (AHL) to South Carolina (ECHL) to get more playing time.Kirk Daubenspeck, a 30-year-old journeyman in the minors, was recently called up by Portland and responded with perfect hockey in his first two appearances, including the Pirates&rsquo; first shutout of the season.NOTEBOOK The Caps are donating their unused morning practice rink ice time to area colleges, high schools and youth teams. About 25 hours a month is being snapped up on a first-come, first-served basis. &#9632;

f0021-06

Capitals try to find third piece of puzzle

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><h2>AHL WEST NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02913/8374782-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="240" height="232"></div>The Cleveland Barons don&rsquo;t want to move, but they will if necessary.That&rsquo;s the simple fact of business, according to club president Michael Lehr. The Barons and parent San Jose Sharks have been courted by Quad Cities to relocate the AHL franchise, which has, according to Lehr, &ldquo;lost millions&rdquo; in the 3 1/2 seasons it has played in Gund Arena.&ldquo;Our preference is to stay,&rdquo; Lehr said. &ldquo;But whether you made widgets or sold hockey tickets, you have to look at it from a business perspective.&rdquo;The Barons average announced crowds of 4,290 this season, which ranks 22nd in the 28-team AHL.&ldquo;We need commitment and support from the political, business and fan community,&rdquo; Lehr said. &ldquo;Frankly, we&rsquo;ve had the door closed in our faces a lot by businesses. They have to realize we are an asset to the community. We bring tax dollars, we bring people downtown.&rdquo;Quad Cities, comprised of the border communities&rsquo; of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline, Ill., has a United League team. The locale would fit into the AHL&rsquo;s growing midwest bloc with Peoria (next year&rsquo;s home for the St. Louis Blues affiliate) only 95 miles away and Des Moines (next year&rsquo;s AHL home for Dallas Stars prospects), Chicago and Milwaukee all within 200 miles.WELCOME BACK The Grand Rapids Griffins hope the return of center Jiri Hudler will spark a team turnaround after a 3-13-1 swoon.Hudler returned home to the Czech Republic in November to spend time with his ailing father, who is awaiting a liver transplant. The Griffins were 8-3-1-0 when he left, and he was producing a point a game (five goals and seven assists in 12 games).AND YOU ARE? After returning home from a 12-game, 24-day road trip, the St.John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs may have been worried if family members would even recognize them.The Leafs went 7-4-0-1 on the 11,000-mile tour that seemed endless. &ldquo;It was like Groundhog Day,&rdquo; said captain Marc Moro.It was good for one thing: brain work. Coach Doug Shedden read four books.WELCOME BACK, PART II Left winger Antti Miettinen will try to make up for lost time in the second half. Miettinen hurt his shoulder in camp and didn&rsquo;t play until Jan. 26.The skilled winger, voted best player in the Finnish League in 2002-03, may be the perfect complement for center Tomas Plekanic and winger Chris Higgins.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03693/8374775-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="987" height="1420"><figcaption class="caption-body">With 162 penalty minutes in 35 games, Milwaukee right winger Jordin Tootoo ranks among the league&rsquo;s top 20 bad boys.</figcaption></div><h2>HOCKEY NATION AT A GLANCE</h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04504/8374768-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="145" 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.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05376/8374761-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="559" height="268"></div><h2>KOREA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06295/8374754-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="490" height="646"></div>Major league (seven teams)Korean League2004 champion Haifa Winia2003-04 top scorersSong Dong-Hwan, Haifa WiniaKim Wong-Joon, YonseiKim Hong-Sik, YonseiAssociationwebsite <a href="http://www.kiha.or.kr">www.kiha.or.kr</a>Head office Seoul2005 world ranking No. 30Best world rank No. 23 (1989) &#9632;

f0022-02

Quad Cities courting Cleveland

<div class="byline">BY MIKE MASTOVICH</div><h2>NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-07242/8374813-1-eng-US/f0022-072.jpg" title="f0022-07" width="217" height="205"></div>After 578 ECHL games, Pee Dee&rsquo;s Allan Sirois knows when he&rsquo;s part of a good thing.The veteran left winger anchors a productive line on a Pride team that surprised in the first half with a 22-14-2 record at the all-star break.&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re younger, you want to play in the NHL,&rdquo; said Sirois, 29, in his 10th year as a pro. &ldquo;A guy like me, I&rsquo;ll be 30 next month, I want to win a championship. I&rsquo;ve been in Florence (S.C.) for seven years and it would be great for a city that&rsquo;s been so great to me.&rdquo; Sirois has done his part since joining center Chad Spurr and right winger Greg Johnson on the top scoring line. He had a 10-game point streak at the break with seven goals and 18 points.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m the slow guy,&rdquo; joked Sirois, eighth in career games and 20th with 516 points. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a physical player. I work the corners. Greg is fast and Chad is a playmaker.WESTWARD BOUND Despite winning a Kelly Cup title only two years ago and leading their division much of this season, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies are on the move.The ECHL approved the transfer of the team&rsquo;s controlling interest to Stockton Hockey Franchise group headed by Michael A. Reinsdorf. The ECHL board also approved a transfer of home territory from Atlantic City to Stockton, Ca., where the team is scheduled to begin play in 2005-06 in a 10,000-seat arena.Atlantic City ranks 24th in the league with an average 2,451 fans per game.NOTEBOOK Bakersfield&rsquo;s Lars-Peder Nagel and Yutaka Fukufuji will compete for Olympic spots. A center, Nagel will join Norway, and Fukufuji, a goalie, will play for Japan during an Olympic qualifying tournament beginning Feb. 10 in Kloten, Switz&hellip;Brothers Chris and Mike Minard were named all-stars on opposing teams in the Jan. 26 All-Star Game in Reading. Chris had 26 goals with Alaska and made the National Conference roster. Columbia&rsquo;s Mike is the American Conference&rsquo;s starting goalie. &#9632;

f0022-07

Seasoned Sirois bursting with Pride

<div class="byline">BY ROBIN SHORT</div>After sitting out the entire 2003-04 season because of a contract impasse, R.J. Umberger has come home again and is thriving in his native Pennsylvania.Umberger, who hails from the Pittsburgh suburb of Plum, Pa., is on pace for a 48-point rookie season with the Philadelphia Phantoms. That&rsquo;s impressive considering the 22-year-old center spent part of last winter training with the U.S. national team development program rather than playing.Umberger was drafted 16th overall by Vancouver in 2001 after winning CCHA rookie of the year honors with a 37-point campaign with Ohio State.He left the Buckeyes following his junior year, but couldn&rsquo;t agree to contract terms with the Canucks. So he watched from the sidelines last winter until Vancouver dealt him to the New York Rangers at the NHL trade deadline.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011118/8374844-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="222" height="351"><figcaption class="caption-body">R.J. UMBERGER</figcaption></div>Umberger and the Rangers couldn&rsquo;t come to a deal either, and he eventually signed a two-year entry level deal with Philadelphia last summer after becoming an unrestricted free agent June 1.&ldquo;I came in here with the attitude that I needed a good first impression and I had something to prove,&rdquo; he told the Delaware County Daily Times. &ldquo;I believe in myself and I&rsquo;m confident it will work out in the end.&rdquo;Umberger was among the AHL&rsquo;s rookie scoring leaders at the halfway mark with 11 goals and 25 points in 42 games, trailing Zach Parise of Albany and Rochester&rsquo;s Thomas Vanek.&ldquo;He has been asked to fill some big shoes,&rdquo; said Phantoms coach John Stevens. &ldquo;He has shown an ability to play in every situation, which is a bit unusual for a first-year player.&ldquo;You want to develop players, but he showed an ability early on to play in important situations. He&rsquo;s very accountable.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0023-01

Umberger not rusty after year in limbo

<div class="byline">BY ROBIN SHORT</div><h2>AHL EAST NOTEBOOK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02784/8374882-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="242" height="232"></div>Despite sustaining a season-ending knee injury and facing the daunting task of rebounding from reconstructive surgery, Yanick Lehoux is convinced he showed enough in his brief 2004-05 AHL campaign to impress NHL scouts.The Manchester Monarchs center tore the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee after a collision with Brendan Buckley of Worcester.Buckley was suspended four games for clipping Lehoux, who underwent surgery five days later.Lehoux was third in league scoring with 23 goals and 54 points in 38 games. The 22-year-old from Repentigny, Que., was on target to score 50 goals, a feat not accomplished in the AHL since Manchester teammate Brad Smyth, then with Hartford, hit the mark in 2000-01.&ldquo;The people who were doubting me, I think I did more than they thought I&rsquo;d ever do,&rdquo; said Lehoux, drafted 86th overall by Los Angeles in 2000. &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve opened eyes. I think people realize I can play and play at a high level.&rdquo;Despite the debilitating hit, Lehoux isn&rsquo;t bitter with Buckley.&ldquo;For sure, maybe it was a little bit of a dirty hit,&rdquo; Lehoux said. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s always dirty hits and sometimes you just run into bad luck.&rdquo;THERRIEN TICKED Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Michel Therrien unloaded on his team after recent back-to-back losses.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve coached 14 years, and I&rsquo;ve never remembered coaching a group as flat as that, even some millionaires in the NHL,&rdquo; said the former Montreal coach. &ldquo;I could go on. They think they are a good team? Some of those guys think they could play in the NHL? Ha!&rdquo;The Pens responded with a win.BIDING TIME Jason Spezza was the league&rsquo;s leading scorer after 50 games, but the Binghamton center made no bones about where he wants to be.&ldquo;You have to make do with whatever comes to you, like me in the AHL,&rdquo; he said to the Ottawa Citizen. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not happy here, but I&rsquo;m here willingly.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK Bridgeport signed veteran defenseman Ed Campbell, who joins his brother, Jim, in Connecticut. &ldquo;I forgot how much fun it is to play with him,&rdquo;Ed said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve only done it in file summer.&rdquo;&hellip;Bridgeport&rsquo;s Blaine Down broke three vertebrae after taking a hit from Hartford&rsquo;s Garth Murray. He didn&rsquo;t regain feeling in his fingers or toes until two hours after the game. There is a chance Down may miss the rest of the season, although doctors are confident he will play again.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03580/8374875-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="991" height="1435"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fifth-year defenseman Lawrence Nycholat is enjoying his most productive season with 28 points in 43 games with Hartford.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0023-02

Illegal hit puts tear in MVP season

<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/f0023-04422/8374913-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="93" height="98"></div>Future and former NHLers are playing in Europe this season. Here are four such players with NHL rights in parentheses:&bull; Vaclav Prospal, 29, C (Tampa Bay). Leads all scorers in the Czech second division with 27 goals and 80 points in 35 games (plus nine missed) with hometown team Ceske Budejovice.&bull; Brandon Reid, 23, C (free agent). Former QMJHL all-star played 10 games in two seasons with Vancouver before signing with Hamburg in Germany. He&rsquo;s second in scoring with 16 goals and 39 points in 37 games.&bull; Evgeni Malkin, 18, C (Pittsburgh). Second pick in 2004 is flourishing in Russian league. He surpassed Alexander Ovechkin in scoring with 10 goals and 25 points in 41 games with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.&bull; Brian Campbell, 25, D (Buffalo). Sabres blueliner found haven in Finland playing with Jokerit Helsinki. He shares the goal-scoring lead among defensemen with 11 and has 22 points in 31 games. &#9632;</div>

f0023-04

EYE ON EUROPE

<div class="byline">&#x2013;BRENDAN SAVAGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-05310/8374944-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="186" height="94"></div>The United League&rsquo;s All-Star Game in Glens Falls, N.Y. featured a warm-up act that included ESPN&rsquo;s Barry Melrose, Steve Levy, John Saunders and Darren Pang as well as former NHLers Garry Unger and Peter Mahovlich. All took part in a game between Adirondack Red Wings alumni and a team representing the UHL. The Wings&rsquo; alumni won 11-8 despite seeing referee Don Koharski award the UHL team four straight penalty shots. Melrose, who along with Levy is one of the Adirondack Frostbite&rsquo;s owners, was the driving force behind the alumni game. In the All-Star Game, Adirondack&rsquo;s Hugo Belanger was MVP with a goal and two assists in Team Mountain Dew&rsquo;s 7-6 win over Team Pepsi. The UHL claims the game marked the first time in history all-star teams were named after a corporate sponsor. &#9632;

f0023-05

NOTEBOOK

<div class="byline">&#x2013;DAVID HENRY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-06247/8374975-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="164" height="88"></div>Lubbock Cotton Kings Left winger Paul Fioroni has 74 goals in eight seasons of pro hockey. However, he has a more meaningful goal to reach. Fioroni and his &lsquo;24 Foundation&rsquo; raised $20,407 in one night during a Cotton Kings&rsquo; game against Odessa. Through a jersey auction along with the auction of a die-cast semi-truck, quilt and crowd donations, the foundation raised funds for Jeremy Green, a football player from nearby Levelland, Tex., who sustained a paralyzing injury on the field. Fioroni, 28, spearheaded the event. Combined with previous donations, the one-night take pushed the foundation past its initial goal of $25,000. The Calgary native is planning a charity bowling tournament and a casino night during a future Lubbock game to reach the new goal of $40,000. &#9632;

f0023-06

<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/f0023-07205/8375006-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="148" height="112"></div>Dr. Richard Hoodenpyle&rsquo;s love for hockey and his commitment to keep the Aces in Asheville compelled the local dental surgeon to purchase the struggling team from Florida businessman David Waronker. &ldquo;A lot of people were hurt by the Smoke when they left,&rdquo; Hoodenpyle said, referring to the United League team, which went bankrupt after 2001-02. The six-man ownership group also includes Aces coach-GM Jeff Brubaker and former NHLers Wendell Young and Bill Stewart. Asheville (12-22) was in danger of missing the playoffs and has drawn fewer than 2,200 per game. &lsquo;The attendance numbers concern me, but we&rsquo;re confident in what we have in mind,&rdquo; said Stewart, who owned part of the Colorado Eagles (Central League) before joining the Aces&rsquo; ownership group. &#9632;</div>

f0023-07

<div class="byline">BY NEIL HODGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011193/8375044-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="260" height="268"></div>Rimouski Oceanic superstar Sidney Crosby doesn&rsquo;t know what his future holds.The 17-year-old center is the consensus first overall pick for the 2005 draft and is a sure bet to play in the NHL next season - if there is a season. But what happens if there&rsquo;s no draft and next season is wiped out because of the lockout?According to Quebec League commissioner Gilles Courteau, Crosby is legally bound to remain in the QMJHL.&ldquo;The only thing I can say is he&rsquo;s under contract with Rimouski and the QMJHL for the next three years,&rdquo; Courteau told the Canadian Press. &ldquo;If there&rsquo;s no NHL, I don&rsquo;t know what Sidney&rsquo;s going to do, but I know on our side that according to his contract he has to come back.&rdquo;Crosby, 17, is still leaving his options open.&ldquo;I could come back here and play in the QMJHL,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You never know what&rsquo;s going to happen with the WHA. There&rsquo;s Europe. Maybe one of the minor pro leagues, depending on the rules (for age eligibility). Those are my options and I&rsquo;m not sure which one is going to be the best.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll wait until after the season and then make a decision. It&rsquo;s a lot of stress and I don&rsquo;t want to be focusing on that right now. I just want&hellip;the opportunity to go to the best league possible next season.&rdquo;Crosby is the QMJHL&rsquo;s top scorer and most marketable player and the league will do everything it can to keep him if there&rsquo;s no NHL next season. He had 90 goals and 233 points in 100 career QMJHL games - an average of 2.33 points per game.Patrice Lefebvre is the career scoring leader with 595 points in 276 games, an average of 2.15 points per game. The highest points-per-game average in the QMJHL is 3.21 for Guy Lafleur.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02850/8375037-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="284" height="678"></div>EXPANSION DRAWS The QMJHL will hold a draft draw March 7 for St. John&rsquo;s, Nfld. and Saint John, N.B., as the two expansion franchises prepare for next season.The winner will have a choice. It can have the first overall pick in the 2005 midget draft or it can own the top pick in both the 2005 CHL European draft and 2005 QMJHL expansion draft.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure yet what we&rsquo;ll do if we win the draw,&rdquo; said St. John&rsquo;s coach-GM Real Paiement. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not there yet.&rdquo;RECORD TO FALL The QMJHL shutout record will soon be broken. Two-thirds of the way through 2004-05 there were 49 shutouts. The single-season high of 53 was set in 2002-03. &#9632;

f0024-01

Courteau says pact ties Crosby to league

<div class="byline">BY JIM CRESSMAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03604/8375082-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="271" height="212"></div>Baseball gave Dick Todd his introduction to a legendary junior coaching career. Todd grew up on the playgrounds of Toronto and one of his ball coaches was Roger Neilson.Todd&rsquo;s dream was to play in the big leagues, but after a stint in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system, the dream ended.Neilson was coaching the Peterborough Petes and in 1973 he invited the 28-year-old Todd to join him as team trainer. Todd was promoted to coach in 1981 and 813 games later, he registered his 500th career win with a 6-2 victory win over London Jan. 20.Todd, eighth on the CHL&rsquo;s all-time wins list, is the quickest to reach the 500-win plateau. He also has the best winning percentage (.653). But he has no visions of catching Brian Kilrea of the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s who, at 70 and is in his 28th season, has 1,052 wins.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll take pride in reaching 500 the fastest, but I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ll be around as long as Killer,&rdquo; said Todd, now 59.Todd returned to the Petes after an 11year absence. He left in 1993 after winning his second OHL title to join the New York Rangers. He was an assistant coach for five seasons, then was re-assigned to scouting.He retired to Florida in 2001, but Todd and his wife Mary had maintained a home in Peterborough. During a visit last spring, he got talking with Petes GM Jeff Twohey, who was the trainer, then assistant coach/assistant GM during Todd&rsquo;s first run.The Petes were hiring a coach after missing the playoffs for the first time in a leaguerecord 27 years. Todd said he&rsquo;d take the job.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d had numerous offers the last five or six years, but I wouldn&rsquo;t have come back to any other team,&rdquo; he said.Todd&rsquo;s Petes are battling for first place in the conference. &ldquo;Dick doesn&rsquo;t need to do this to survive,&rdquo; Twohey said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not coaching to stroke his ego. He&rsquo;s coaching because he has a passion for the game.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04419/8375075-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="286" height="682"></div>STIFF PENALTY Mississauga IceDogs left winger Daniel Carcillo, a Pittsburgh third-round pick in 2003, was suspended the balance of the regular season (23 games) for a cross-check to the head of Sudbury defenseman Adam McQuaid. Carcillo, who can apply for playoff reinstatement, returned Dec. 3 from a 15-game suspension for a similar incidentNOTEBOOK London Knights coach Dale Hunter was suspended two games and fined $5,000 after being ejected a third time for mocking officials. &#9632;

f0024-03

In Todd Petes trust: magical win No. 500

<div class="byline">BY ROB VANSTONE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05289/8375120-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="267" height="262"></div>The Regina Pats are well below. 500 despite the presence of a Hall of Famer.Jovan Matic was recognized as part of a display in hockey&rsquo;s shrine after scoring the first goal in Everett Silvertips&rsquo; history. The puck and Matic&rsquo;s stick were sent to the Toronto-based Hall after he scored the goal Sept. 19, 2003.&ldquo;It was a big thrill,&rdquo; said Matic, 18, whom the Western League&rsquo;s Pats claimed in late December after he was cut by the Silvertips. &ldquo;When I was in Everett, the trainer told me the puck&rsquo;s going in the Hall of Fame. I thought it was the Everett Hall of Fame. I wasn&rsquo;t aware what he was talking about. After the game, he told me it was the Hockey Hall of Fame.&ldquo;It was kind of a shock and a thrill at the same time.&rdquo;Matic has also experienced thrills at the big-league level.During the 2003 NHL playoffs, Matic skated around the ice at GM Place as part of a marketing skit while carrying a Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; flag.&ldquo;The mascot would drop down from the rafters waving the flag,&rdquo; recalled Matic, who hails from Burnaby, B.C. &ldquo;It would be dark. All of a sudden, I would jump out of nowhere with my face painted and Canucks gear on and I would grab the flag and do two quick laps around the rink before the game would start to get the fans into it. It was pretty exciting.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06227/8375113-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="280" height="677"></div>SHOOTING FOR MORE Tyler Redenbach, who won the WHL&rsquo;s scoring title last season, is aiming for a more prestigious award.The 20-year-old left winger would like to help his new team, the Lethbridge Hurricanes, win the WHL crown.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a huge thing - going far in the playoffs,&rdquo; said Redenbach, whom the Hurricanes acquired from the Swift Current Broncos Jan. 10. &ldquo;Getting to the Memorial Cup would be the ultimate goal.&rdquo;Redenbach had hoped to accomplish that goal in 2003-04.&ldquo;We had a great team on paper and we were a great team for three-quarters of the season,&rdquo; Redenbach said. &ldquo;Then, just about a month before the end of the season, we kind of fell apart. That was tough as a team. Now I get another chance.&rdquo;CLASS OF 2005 The WHL has presented its inaugural Governors Award to Bill Hicke, Ernie &lsquo;Punch&rsquo; McLean, Del Wilson and the late Paddy Ginnell.The award is presented to individuals who have contributed to the growth and development of the WHL. &#9632;

f0024-05

Life’s a highlight reel for ubiquitous Matic

<div class="byline">&#x2013;PAUL SHAHEEN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-07186/8375151-1-eng-US/f0024-072.jpg" title="f0024-07" width="372" height="111"></div>Sitting pretty atop their perch in the USHL standings, the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders haven&rsquo;t met expectations. They&rsquo;ve exceeded them.And to what do they attribute their success? Balance.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re definitely a team without a star,&rdquo; said Rough Riders coach Mark Carlson. &ldquo;But I think that has been a plus. We&rsquo;ve had different guys on different nights make plays to help us win.&rdquo;Cedar Rapids, with just five losses in 36 games, is getting contributions from several performers. Goalie Dan Tonney was 14-1-1 with a 1.86 goals-against average and. 934 save percentage, while Matt Vokes led the offense with 20 goals.Vokes will play at Brown next year, while three others recently made college commitments: goalie Alex Stalock wilt play for Minnesota-Duluth in 2006-07, forward Billy Loupee will head to Miami of Ohio, while Brampton, Ont., native and captain Rob Ried will skate in Merrimack. &#9632;

f0024-07

UNITED STATES LEAGUE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-08147/8375196-1-eng-US/f0024-082.jpg" title="f0024-08" width="259" height="202"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-09129/8375189-1-eng-US/f0024-092.jpg" title="f0024-09" width="136" height="48"></div>Arena Hershey Centre Capacity 5,420 GM Mario Forgione Coach Greg Gilbert7th SEASON IN OHLBEST 36-21-7-4 in 2003-04ACTIVE NHL DRAFT PICKSDavid Shantz, 37th, Fla, &rsquo;04Pat O&rsquo;Sullivan, 56th, Min, &rsquo;03B. Elliott, 158th, TB, &rsquo;04</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-10112/8375182-1-eng-US/f0024-102.jpg" title="f0024-10" width="451" height="244"></div> &#9632;

f0024-08

MISSISSAUGA ICEDOGS

<div class="byline">BY PHILIP COLVIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011075/8375227-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="272" height="220"></div>When Ryan Mahrle gets the jitters it&rsquo;s more than just pre-game nerves.The Western Michigan sophomore defenseman was six when diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a disease where the body produces insufficient amounts of insulin. Mahrle, like millions of others worldwide, learned to inject himself with medication and his daily routine has included three meals, three tests and three shots.While he sometimes gets clammy, or starts to shake when his insulin level is low, Mahrle hasn&rsquo;t missed a game all season.&ldquo;At practice he&rsquo;ll get some oranges or Pow-erade, take a 20-minute break, then he&rsquo;s back out there,&rdquo; said Broncos coach Jim Culhane.A smooth skater who moves the puck well, Mahrle hasn&rsquo;t let his disease get in the way of becoming a top defenseman.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really impressed with Ryan&rsquo;s ability on the ice and the fabric of his character,&rdquo; Culhane said. &ldquo;He is a wonderful example that you can live a normal life even with difficulties.&rdquo;Mahrle decided to go public with his condition in the hopes of being a role model for kids with diabetes.&ldquo;I wanted to let kids know to not let anyone tell them &lsquo;you can&rsquo;t do it,&rdquo; Mahrle said. &ldquo;You can realize your dreams and there&rsquo;s nothing that can hold you back.&rdquo;NHL PROSPECT WATCH Northern Michigan junior captain Nathan Oystrick&rsquo;s value can&rsquo;t be measured by statistics alone.Drafted 198th overall by Atlanta in 2002, Oystrick has developed into one of the top defensemen in the CCHA. He loves the physical side, skates well and makes plays in all three zones. He regularly plays 30 minutes a night and his tenacity, work ethic and leadership have helped make the Wildcats one of the league&rsquo;s top defensive teams.&ldquo;There is no give in him,&rdquo; said coach Walt Kyle.NOTEBOOK Nebraska-Omaha&rsquo;s Bill Thomas is one reason the Mavericks are in third place and a good bet to host a first-round series. A 21-year-old freshman forward, Thomas is the leading rookie scorer in the nation. His maturity has helped him avoid inconsistencies. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been an impact player since he got &bull; here,&rdquo; said coach Mike Kemp. &#9632;

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Mahrle hopes his story inspires challenged kids

<div class="byline">BY LARRY MAHONEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03505/8375265-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="274" height="231"></div>Before he stepped foot on the ice his freshman year, Northeastern defenseman Tim Judy was a rarity in college sports.Judy was already married. He still is.A senior now, Judy has done a nice job juggling marriage, studies, hockey and a part-time job in the school&rsquo;s accounting office.&ldquo;Pound for pound, he&rsquo;s one of the best (defensemen) in the league,&rdquo; said Huskies coach Bruce Crowder, who was skeptical when Judy first arrived. &ldquo;I thought, &lsquo;What the heck are you doing?&rsquo; But it has been great. His wife, Jessi, is fantastic. And he&rsquo;s very comfortable with it.&rdquo;&ldquo;We knew going in it was going to be a challenge, but we were up to it,&rdquo; said Judy, who had 61 points in 132 career games. &ldquo;We knew we loved each other and that was all that mattered. As long as we stayed in love, we knew we&rsquo;d get through the challenges.&rdquo;Jessi Judy is a nursing student at Northeastern who also works part time in the labor and delivery room at a local hospital.&ldquo;We make sure we spend quality time together at night,&rdquo; Tim Judy said. &ldquo;We make sure we have fun. That&rsquo;s the most important thing. She&rsquo;s a great wife. She&rsquo;s very supportive of what I do. We&rsquo;re there for each other.&rdquo;Jess goes to as many of her husband&rsquo;s games as she can and Tim said she isn&rsquo;t afraid to assess his performance.&ldquo;She&rsquo;ll tell me when I played bad. Definitely. And I listen to her because she knows the game pretty well now,&rdquo; Judy said.NHL PROSPECT WATCH New Hampshire sophomore center Daniel Winnik has devel-oped into a point-producer for the Wildcats.An eighth round draft pick of Phoenix in 2004, he had 23 points through 26 games after having 14 in 38 games a year ago.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big kid (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) who has a very good stick, moves well and understands the game,&rdquo; said New Hampshire coach Dick Umile. &ldquo;When he plays aggressively, he&rsquo;s as good as anybody. He&rsquo;s one of our best faceoff guys.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK New Hampshire set a Hockey East record with four power play goals in the third period of an 8-3 win over UMass Lowell Jan. 29. The previous record of three was equaled by various teams.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02735/8375258-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="472" height="729"></div> &#9632;

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Judy juggles school, hockey and…marriage

<div class="byline">BY TOM BOGGIE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04332/8375303-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="257" height="220"></div>The editors of Webster&rsquo;s dictionary need to come up with a new adjective. The ones that exist now don&rsquo;t do justice to Princeton junior goalie Eric Leroux. Consider:After spending part of the summer of 2004 working as a volunteer in a malaria clinic at a hospital in Ecuador, Leroux returned to Princeton and founded the Princeton World Health Initiative, a campus organization whose goal is to recover unused medical supplies from area hospitals to send to hospitals in South America.He also started a program called PUCK (Providing Underprivileged Communities and Kids), which distributes used hockey equipment to kids around the Trenton, N.J., area who can&rsquo;t afford to buy their own equipment.And then there&rsquo;s his relationship with Tigers freshman goalie Jeff Mansfield, who is totally deaf and doesn&rsquo;t read lips.&ldquo;Early in the year, I would bring in translators for Jeff,&rdquo; said Princeton coach Guy Gad-owsky. &ldquo;Then, one day, I&rsquo;m talking to the team and I realize some of the things I&rsquo;m saying have goaltender implications. I look over at the goalies and Eric is signing for Jeff. He learned sign language on his own so he could communicate with Jeff. The kid is unbelievable.&rdquo;An ecology and evolutionary biology major from London, Ont., Leroux is also a good player. After beginning his college career with nine losses, Leroux has a 3.56 goals-against average and. 895 save percentage. The highlight of his season came in November, when he made 41 saves in a 3-0 win at Dartmouth.NHL PROSPECT WATCH Cornell freshman winger Raymond Sawada hasn&rsquo;t lost his aggressiveness. He has just become more disciplined.The Dallas Stars&rsquo; second-rounder from 2004 still loves to bang and crash, but has cut down on the number of penalties he took in his final year with Nanaimo of the B.C. Jr. League. Through 20 games, Sawada had four goals, seven points and just 32 PIM.NOTEBOOK Locked-out Philadelphia goalie Robert Esche, a native of Whitesboro, N.Y., is spending time working with Colgate. Esche and Colgate coach Don Vaughan know each other through youth hockey; Esche&rsquo;s brother played on a team with one of Vaughan&rsquo;s sons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-05238/8375296-1-eng-US/f0025-052.jpg" title="f0025-05" width="469" height="732"></div> &#9632;

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February 15, 2005

Devils scouting chief feels toll of labor war

Maple Leafs veterans decide to stay home

Small adjustment means it’s Miller time

Opening Faceoff