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Yearbook 1982

The Hockey News Yearbook 1982

f0120-02

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Ontario Major League Statistics

f0122-02

Western Hockey League Statistics

<div class="byline">Gerry Cheevers</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011969/10144624-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="652" height="646"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021449/10144617-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="696" height="687"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he Bruins were caught in transition last year and whether they will emerge and ascend towards the top of the NHL or plummet like they did in the preliminary playoff round at the hands of Minnesota, will be the main test facing sophomore coach Gerry Cheevers.</p><p>Cheevers admittedly had a lot to learn in his rookie season and he and his team, which was beginning to undergo some changes after being the NHL&rsquo;s oldest club for the past few years, got off to one of the shakiest starts in the club&rsquo;s history &mdash; after 12 games, the Bruins were 21st, last, in the league.</p><p>Eventually they seemed to turn things around, rolling through the second half in 22-12-6 fashion, second only to Montreal, to finish a decent 37-30-13 for eighth overall. Then came those playoffs.</p><p>The three-game sweep by Minnesota pointed out a number of things about the Bruins, not the least of which was that the team relied heavilly upon their defensemen for a sizeable percentage of their goal production and that, if you could stop the blueliners from getting their shots away, that the Bruins could be controlled. That&rsquo;s what the North Stars did and the pressure put on by their great skaters was too much for the Bruins and their modest goaltending to withstand.</p><p>After Rick Middleton (44-59-103), Peter McNab (37-46-83) and captain Wayne Cashman (25-35-60) the Bruins found very little offense from their forwards. Instead Brad Park (14-52-66), Ray Bourque (27-29-56), Mike O&rsquo;Connell (15-38-53), Dick Redmond (15-20-35) and even sophomore Brad McCrimmon (11-18-29), all defensemen, contributed heavily to the Bruins&rsquo; offense, which ranked a modest 10th in the league. Meanwhile, only rookie Steve Kasper (21 goals) and Don Marcotte (20 goals) cracked the 20-goal barrier among the rest of the Boston forwards.</p><p>That meant some disappointing seasons for players such as Terry O&rsquo;Reilly (seven goals), Stan Jonathan (17), Jean Ratelie (11 in 47 games) and Bobby Lalonde (four). Ratelie will now be working with Cheevers as an assistant coach, joining defenseman Gary Doak who slipped into the assistant&rsquo;s role during the course of last season, while Lalonde will most likely not make the club.</p><p>Another Bruin not returning is Dwight Foster, the much-injured forward who had his best NHL season &mdash; 24 goals &mdash; who became a free agent and was signed to a contract by Colorado. Jonathan also went the free agent route but signed a two-year pact with the club in early summer.</p><p>Help for the Bruins is expected to come from the younger ranks. Kasper made the lineup right out of junior last year and proved to be one of the best checkers in the league. Offensive star Barry Pederson, who played in nine games for the Bruins before returning to Victoria, collected 147 points in only 55 games. He&rsquo;s a super-smooth center whose style is already being compared to Ratelle&rsquo;s and should provide a boost for the offense. Then there&rsquo;s Keith Crowder and Mike Gillis who spent most of last season in the NHL and Gord MacTavish and Doug Morrison who played the majority of the year in the minors.</p><p>The Bruins are particularly high on Swedish defenseman Anders Brostrom, a rugged 6-4, 220-pounder whom they expect will make the lineup. Brostrom attended last year&rsquo;s training camp and made a favorable impression, but he had one more year&rsquo;s service to Vastra Frolunda to take care of first. But he should be joining Park, Bourque, O&rsquo;Connell, Redmond, McCrimmon and Massachusetts native Mike Mil-bury on the Bruins competent blueline corps.</p><p>In this year&rsquo;s Entry Draft, the Bruins turned again to the Quebec Major Junior League which produced Bourque and drafted a couple of forwards with their first two picks. Left winger Normand Leveille, 5-8, 175 pounds, produced 55-46-101 stats for Chicoutimi, while teammate Luc Dufour, a right winger, had 43-53-96 figures. The latter is 5-11, 180 pounds. Both of these players are expected to remain in junior for another year at least.</p><p>So, too, will goalie Joe Mantione, a cocky, 5-10, 160-pounder who turned in a 4.00 goals-against average in 29 games for Cornwall in his first year of major junior hockey. He&rsquo;s a future hope in an area where the Bruins are particularly thin &mdash; goaltending.</p><p>Rogie Vachon&rsquo;s 3.34 GAA and 25-19-6 regular season marks and the 3.68 GAA turned in by Jim Craig in 23 games were not up to the standards expected by the Bruins. Vachon has had three mediocre seasons in a row and many feel he is past his peak at the age of 36. Craig balked at going to the minors for extra work, so he sat on the sidelines when the Bruins brought up Marco Baron from their farm team. Baron had a 2.84 GAA in 10 NHL games, but is somewhat inconsistent. Roy Schultz, the Bruins&rsquo; next highest ranked minor league goalie, played in 37 games, with a not-so impressive goals-against mark of 4.54.</p><p>A tough battle for third place.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011713/10144610-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="1590" height="3165"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>When it comes to scoring in Boston, center Peter McNab always rates near the top of the list. McNab had his fifth straight season of over 35 goals to finish second behind Rick Middleton.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>BOSTON BRUINS (9)</b></h3><p>1. Norm Leveille, LW, Chicoutimi</p><p>2. Luc Dufour, RW, Chicoutimi</p><p>4. Scott McLellan, RW, Niagara Falls</p><p>5. Joe Mantione, G, Cornwall</p><p>6. Bruce Milton, D, Boston U.</p><p>7. Mats Thelin, D, Zaik Soina</p><p>8. Armel Parisee, D, Chicoutimi</p><p>9. Don Sylvestri, G, Clarkson</p><p>10. Richard Bourque, LW, Sherbrooke</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021276/10144603-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="756" height="2236"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011722/10144596-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="1037" height="1227"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>As the Bruins changed from big and bad to not-so-big and pesky, super checker Steve Kasper was in the spotlight shadowing the NHL&rsquo;s top snipers.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021233/10144589-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="1155" height="1376"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03862/10144582-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="2213" height="1396"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011379/10144575-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="2408" height="1232"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02898/10144568-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="2425" height="1248"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP _ Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A &mdash; Assists; PTS &mdash; Points; S &mdash; Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT-Game-Tying Goals; F-First Goal of Game; T-Score-Tying Goals; L-Goals giving a team the lead; I-Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P-Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT-Total Important Goals (F. T, L. I. P); PCTG-Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to&rsquo; Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice. PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

1981-82 NHL PREVIEW

Boston Bruins

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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

<div class="byline">BY PAT CALABRIA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011668/10144245-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mike Bossy is headed for new heights as an NHL goal scorer. Last season he equalled the legendary Maurice (Rocket) Richard&rsquo;s feat of scoring 50 goals in 50 games in route to leading the NHL with 68 goals.</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span></b>e pumps his fist as if it were a piston, shakes his head from side to side and slams his stick to the ice like an exclamation point. Mike Bossy knows how to score goals and he knows how to greet them. He says, &ldquo;I love to score goals&rdquo; and he says he remembers each and every one. He remembers some better than others.</p><p>He remembers his 50th goal. That came in his rookie season. He remembers the 69th goal he scored in the 1978-79 season. He remembers the 49th and 50th goals he scored last season. Few of Bossy&rsquo;s goals appear in danger of being forgotten. He makes every one an art form &mdash; twisting, jerking, faking, and then sliding the puck into the net. Or whipping it. Or flipping it. Or nudging it with his knees on the ice, but his stick wagging like the tail of an Irish Setter.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the biggest thing I notice about Mike,&rdquo; Glenn Resch, his former Islander teammate said. &ldquo;No matter what position Mike is in, no matter where he is, he always keeps his arms free and his stick moving. You may think you&rsquo;ve got him tied, but you don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>Ever since Bossy bolted into the National Hockey League with his rookie-record 53 goals four years ago, coaches, teammates, opponents (especially goalies) have tried to pinpoint the reasons for Bossy&rsquo;s success. He must practice a lot. Bossy: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t, really.&rdquo; He must keep his eyes fixed to the net. Bossy: &ldquo;Actually, I hardly ever look at the goalie or the net.&rdquo; He must be choosy with the sticks that are shipped to him. Bossy: &ldquo;To tell you the truth, 1 pick up the stick and if it feels good in my hand, I use it.&rdquo;</p><p>The real reason Bossy has scored 231 goals is probably linked to his determination to be exceptional as much as it is to his lightning-quick wrists which launch shots often before goaltenders can position themselves. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mean to sound immodest,&rdquo; Bossy said. &ldquo;But I think I would be good at whatever I tried. I mean, not that I can master everything, but I would want to be good at whatever I did. If I was a lawyer instead of a hockey player, I like to think I&rsquo;d be a good lawyer.&rdquo;</p><p>Fact is. Bossy is a good golfer. He plays tennis well. About the only place he can be checked is on the chess board, where he could use some improvement in distributing his pieces more equally. Bossy may be lean, he may be generally quiet, he may not be strong and he may not be fearsome, but he is determined. &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m very hard on myself,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If I fall or if I do something wrong, no one is madder at me than lam.&rdquo;</p><p>Scene: The first month in the regular-season of Bossy&rsquo;s rookie year, 1977-78. Bossy and the Islanders head into Detroit. The Islanders are on a winning streak. Bossy is on a goal-scoring streak. At the opening faceoff, Dan Maloney mugs Bossy, rubbing his face into the ice. The incident has its effect. Bossy does not score. The Islanders lose.</p><p>Later, in the dressing room, Bossy says: &ldquo;I feel I let myself down and I let my teammates down. 1 didn&rsquo;t respond to that kind of thing the way I should have. I was kind of expecting that, but I still let it bother me. I&rsquo;m disappointed in myself.&rdquo;</p><p>Scene: The Islanders lose a precious game in Boston in 1979-80. They try to shoot it out with the Bruins and lose. Bossy wonders if he had been a bad influence on a team that used to win with textbook defense.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012248/10144238-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="2747" height="3607"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012311/10144231-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="1590" height="1576"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Islanders&rsquo; hot scorer Mike Bossy is constantly shadowed in much the same manner as Montreal&rsquo;s Pierre Mondou, left, displays in checking Bossy closely.</b></figcaption></div><p>Later, in the dressing room, Bossy says: &ldquo;Maybe it&rsquo;s me. Maybe because of the way I play it affects the other guys. Maybe we score too much, or try to score too much. Maybe I&rsquo;m responsible for that. There are times when I wonder just how good I am for this team.&rdquo;</p><p>Wonder no more. You want stats? Bossy has scored 53, 69, 51 and 68 goals. His 69 and 68 totals are the second-highest behind Phil Esposito&rsquo;s record 76. He scored the fastest 100 goals in NHL history and the fastest 200. Last season, he became only the second player, and the first since Rocket Richard in 1944-45 to score 50 goals in the first 50 games. And he did that with two goals in the last four minutes of the 50th game.</p><p>Believe it or not, that was the crowning achievement of Bossy&rsquo;s personal career. He grew up in Laval, outside Montreal, and unabashedly says that Maurice Richard was a hero of his. He rooted for the Canadiens. Once, after Bossy had been named the MVP of a peewee tournament, he got to pose with Richard for photographs. They appeared in the Montreal newspapers the next day.</p><p>Besides that, no one had made more of a fuss about the 50 goals in 50 games than Bossy had. In Los Angeles, where Charlie Simmer also had a chance to tie or break the record, it was no big deal. Technically, the NHL no longer recognizes it as a record. But on Long Island, it was very big stuff.</p><p>&ldquo;I knew I had to at least tie it,&rdquo; Bossy said. &rsquo;&rsquo;I mean, I was the one who had made such a big thing out of it. If I hadn&rsquo;t tied it, it would have been very embarrassing to me. Here I would have gotten everyone all excited about it, just to let them down. I had talked about it, the newspapers kept writing about it, so not to do it wouldn&rsquo;t have looked very good, would it?&rdquo;</p><p>It wouldn&rsquo;t have, but then Bossy never had to worry about that. While filling the net with pucks, he also continued to establish himself as an all-around player, checking persistently, if somewhat softly, poking the puck away from opponents more than hammering them off it. Still, the result was the same. Bossy did his utmost at both ends of the ice.</p><p>&ldquo;Mike Bossy,&rdquo; said coach Al Arbour, &ldquo;does a lot of things.&rdquo; From Arbour, that&rsquo;s high praise.</p><p>Then again, what is there not to praise? When the Islanders clinched their second straight Stanley Cup last season, it was Bossy who set a playoff record with 35 points. He was indestructible, although the target of crushing, teeth-chattering bodychecks. He is both an individual artist and a player with a deep belief in the team concept.</p><p>&ldquo;Mike has a very good blend of that,&rdquo; Arbour said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to stifle a player&rsquo;s individuality and you don&rsquo;t want a player to be too individual. Mike has a pretty good idea how to combine both points.&rdquo;</p><p>All the while, Bossy has emerged as a spokesman against fighting in the league, a noble if not universally popular cause. He has stated that, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never fight, and. I don&rsquo;t care who knows it.&rdquo; His beliefs, some believe, should have already made Bossy a hands-down choice for the Lady Byng award, given to a player with &ldquo;sportsmanlike and gentlemanly qualities,&rdquo; but Bossy has yet to win the trophy. It doesn&rsquo;t matter.</p><p>He led his team in scoring last season and his team was the best in the league. He has won a Calder trophy as Rookie of the Year and doesn&rsquo;t think a Ross trophy as scoring champion is out of the question. He made a strong bid for the Conn Smythe award as playoff MVP last season and only Butch Goring&rsquo;s heroics in the final denied Bossy the award.</p><p>With all of that, Bossy still retains a subtle, but marvelous sense of humor. Once, when it seemed that all the professional and personal questions that could possibly be asked of Bossy had already been answered by him, he was asked what his favorite color was. Bossy smiled.</p><p>&ldquo;Red,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the color of the goal light, isn&rsquo;t it?<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0002-01

OUR FEATURED ARTICLES

MIKE BOSSY: A SUPER SCORER

f0006-01

College Hockey Changed By Division Realignment

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012156/10144363-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>There are a couple of upcoming youngsters to watch in the NHL this year, but none more exciting than Wayne Gretzky, a two-time winner of the Hart Trophy at the age of 20.</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>here were a few rather important coin tosses for the National Hockey League this fall which could have a rather significant effect on who gets to house Lord Stanley&rsquo;s Cup in May of 1982.</p><p>The coin tosses decided which two of four divisional finalists will be awarded home ice for the 1982 conference finals. And even the conference which will receive the home ice advantage for the Stanley Cup finals in the first year of the newly unbalanced schedule had been decided before the first puck of the 1981-82 season had been dropped.</p><p>Before we discuss the winners of those historic coin tosses, here&rsquo;s an illustration of how the playoff set-up will work. Sixteen teams, the top four in each division, will begin the playoffs. The first round, now called the division semifinals, will match the first-place team of a division against the fourth-place team and the second-place team against the third-place team in best-of-five series. The first-place and the second-place finishers will have the extra home game should the series require the full five games.</p><p>The second round of the playoffs is the division finals, a best-of-seven affair, the same as all subsequent rounds. Following that the playoffs will be left with four divisional winners. For the sake of argument, let us assume that Montreal wins the Adams Division and the New York Islanders win the Patrick Division championship, these two would then meet in the conference championships with the Prince of Wales title at stake.</p><p>The Patrick Division, thanks to Islanders&rsquo; owner John Pickett&rsquo;s correct call of the coin toss, have won the home ice advantage of the 1982 Wales conference final. Next year, the Adams Division playoff champion will get to host the conference finals and then it alternates between the two divisions each year.</p><p>Meanwhile, in the Clarence Campbell Conference, Maple Leafs&rsquo; owner Harold Ballard captured the coin toss, thus giving his Norris Division, home ice honors for this year. The Smythe Division will have to wait until 1982-83 to gain the home ice edge.</p><p>The third coin toss was for the Stanley Cup finals and the defending champion Islanders, representing the Wales Conference, secured the right to host, the 1982 finals when general manager Bill Torrey won the toss. Next year, the Campbell Conference will be the host and after that it will continue to alternate between the conferences.</p><p>This is a major change in the NHL&rsquo;s usual formula of awarding the team with the most points the home ice advantage. At first glance this might seem unfair, but the reasoning behind it lies in the newly created unbalanced schedule. With teams playing many more times against the teams within their own divisions, it is conceivable that a strong club could pile up a large number of points by consistently beating very weak teams in its division, while a team competing in say, the Adams Division, where Montreal, Boston, Buffalo and Quebec are contained, will have a difficult time piling up a high number of points.</p><p>Closely connected with that, is the fact that having 21 teams in <i>four</i> divisions is going to create some scheduling differences right from the start. The Norris Division is the odd one in the NHL with six teams in it, while each of the other three divisions have five teams. Taking the Norris &mdash; made up of St. Louis, Minnesota, Chicago, Toronto, Winnipeg and Detroit &mdash; first, each team will play each of their five division-mates seven times for a total of 35 games. They will also play each of the other 15 teams in the league three times for 45 games, giving them 80 on the season.</p><p>Teams in the Adams, Patrick and Smythe Divisions will play their divisional opponents eight times (four home, four away) for a total of 32 games and play each of the other 16 teams in the league three times for 48. games bringing the total for all teams to 80 games, the same as the 1980-81 schedule.</p><p>In one of the most sensible moves in years by the NHL, the league has constructed divisions which are geographically linked, so the benefits for the game&rsquo;s fans are two-fold in that 1) the unbalanced schedule pits more games between cities which are close together, affording the cities a chance to cement natural rivalries, but also 2) cuts down on travel time and costs, television expenses and so on, factors which will help to prevent ticket prices from escalating out of sight.</p><p>Undoubtedly, the restructuring of the league&rsquo;s division will be one of the most exciting facets of NHL play for the 1981-82 season. The league should also continue their trend towards younger players as more and more youngsters step right into the league out of junior hockey. Perhaps the two most enlightening features of the 1981 playoffs were the showings by the inexperienced but exuberant skaters of Minnesota and Edmonton and the display of violence-free hockey, yet hockey played at an entertainingly-brisk pace, which became the norm of the playoffs.</p><p>All eyes will be on a couple of youngsters fresh out of the Entry Draft. Winnipeg took Dale Hawerchuk, who scored 183 points for the Cornwall Royals as the first player in the draft, while Washington made some last-minute deals with Colorado to secure Massachusetts schoolboy Bobby Carpenter, who was selected third overall, the first American player to be chosen in the first round of the draft.</p><p>Six new coaches will be in charge behind NHL benches, although there are some familiar faces included in the ranks. Scotty Bowman, the coach with the highest winning percentage in NHL history, returns to bench duty after one year of serving solely as Buffalo&rsquo;s general manager. Bob Berry has moved from Los Angeles to Montreal. Replacing him with the Kings is assistant coach Park MacDonald, while Vancouver assistant Tom Watt, who won so many Canadian national collegiate titles with the University of Toronto, tries his hand as the bossman of the Winnipeg Jets. Also out of the college ranks, with notable stops as the U.S. Olympic team coach and a year of European coaching experience is Herb Brooks, reunited in New York with former assistant, and now boss, Craig Patrick. The sixth new coach is Bert Marshall, reunited with former teammate Billy MacMillan in Colorado with the Rockies.</p><p>Who&rsquo;s going to win it all? Well, the Islanders are trying to make a hat trick of Cups as they attempt to become only the fourth team to have won three Stanley Cups in a row and they certainly have the team to do it. Last year&rsquo;s playoffs produced some surprising performances by Minnesota, Calgary and Edmonton. On the other hand, Boston, Montreal and Buffalo disappointed. For a team by team breakdown, read on.</p><h2><b>How They&rsquo;ll Finish In 1981-82 Races</b></h2><h3><b>Wales Conference</b></h3><p>ADAMS DIVISION</p><p>1. Montreal</p><p>2. Buffalo</p><p>3. Boston</p><p>4. Quebec</p><p>5. Hartford</p><p>PATRICK DIVISION</p><p>1. Islanders</p><p>2. Philadelphia</p><p>3. Rangers</p><p>4. Pittsburgh</p><p>5. Washington</p><h3><b>Campbell Conference</b></h3><p>SMYTHE DIVISION</p><p>1. Los Angeles</p><p>2. Calgary</p><p>3. Edmonton</p><p>4. Vancouver</p><p>5. Colorado</p><p>NORRIS DIVISION</p><p>1. St. Louis</p><p>2. Minnesota</p><p>3. Chicago</p><p>4. Toronto</p><p>5. Winnipeg</p><p>6. Detroit</p><p><b>To miss playoffs: Hartford, Washington, Colorado, Winnipeg, Detroit Most Improved: Minnesota, Edmonton Stanley Cup champions: Islanders</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

NHL Begins ’82 Anew Thanks To Unbalanced Schedule, Rivalries

<div class="byline">Bob Berry</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012410/10144450-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="694" height="466"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021765/10144443-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="656" height="636"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b>ith due respect to Herb Brooks&rsquo; position with the New York Rangers, Bob Berry has accepted the toughest challenge in hockey-coaching the Montreal Canadiens.</p><p>After guiding the Los Angeles Kings to fourth overall in the NHL, just behind Montreal, Berry was not feeling that secure when Kings&rsquo; owner Dr. Jerry Buss merely gave him a one-year contract at a very small raise. So he stepped into the Montreal coaching sweepstakes and pulled down the job in a couple of weeks ahead of about a dozen candidates for the spot vacated by Claude Ruel after the Habs&rsquo; ignominious playoff defeat in three games to the Edmonton Oilers. Ruel will go back to doing what he does best-working with the young Canadiens&rsquo; prospects while not having to put up with the pressures and demands of the head coaching job, a cross Berry seems prepared to bear.</p><p>Of course, managing director Irving Grundman is banking his future, too, on the success of Berry because after winning a Stanley Cup in his rookie year as successor to Sam Pollock, Grundman has swung and missed with his. two choices to replace ex-coach Scotty Bowman, Bernie Geoffrion and Ruel. Berry represents his third kick at the cat, and again, pressure being what it is in Montreal, Grundman had better come up successful this time around.</p><p>Berry&rsquo;s immediate task will be to remove all of the traces of what went wrong with the Canadiens last year from the innumerable absences of Guy Lafleur from the lineup due to injury to the sudden ineffectiveness of the team in the preliminary round of the playoffs after completing the second half of the season with the best record of any club in the NHL and the Vezina Trophy as the team allowing the least goals in the league, the fifth such honor in the past half dozen years.</p><p>That Lafleur could miss 29 games and still come within three points of the team scoring championship with 70 points as compared to Steve Shutt&rsquo;s 73 does point out one of the areas that Berry will have to improve, although, overall, the Canadiens stood fifth in the league in goals with 332.</p><p>Shutt and Mark Napier were the top marksmen with 35 goals and the Canadiens still had their usual foot soldiers checking in over the 2Q-goaI mark including Rejean Houle (27), Mario Tremblay (25), Bob Gainey (23) and Yvon Lambert (22). Pierre Mondou added 17 despite missing 23 games.</p><p>But Lafleur was held to 27, the second lowest total of his career and Pierre LarouChe had to be a disappointment with 25 after 50 the year before. Larouche, too, though, missed 19 games through injuries.</p><p>Perhaps the biggest non-story or failure to register an effect was highly-touted Doug Wickenheiser, the No. 1 pick of the 1980 draft who made such fleeting appearances in only 41 games that he practically wasted his rookie year, contributing only seven goals.</p><p>Ruel was reluctant to use Wickenheiser and some of the other younger Canadiens, including defenseman Bill Baker who was eventually dealt to Colorado and his reliance on the veterans wore them out by the playoffs, leaving them unable to keep up with pesky Edmonton.</p><p>Two veterans who ended the season on particularly down notes were defensemen Serge Savard, who ultimately announced his retirement before the 1981-82 campaign began and Guy Lapointe, who missed 47 games due to a deep thigh injury and being in Ruel&rsquo;s doghouse for most of the season.</p><p>But while the Canadiens were losing the past excellence of Savard and Lapointe, two of their young veterans, came into their own, Brian Engblom and Rod Langway. Both were among the best in the league in plus-minus statistics and drew strong support in both the All Star balloting (Langway was fifth, Engblom eighth) as well as for the Norris Trophy (Langway fifth, Engblom sixth). They joined with Larry Robinson (12-38-50) to give the Canadiens a new Big Three, a trio of highly talented defensemen. Robert Picard, over from Toronto in exchange for goalie Bunny Larocque, and promising Gaston Gingras round out the NHL&rsquo;s most mobile defense.</p><p>In goal, Richard Sevigny was a big surprise. turning in a 20-4-3 record and a 2.40 goals-against average to take the No. 1 spot away from Larocque and Denis Herron. The latter seemed to lose a lot of confidence and could be pushed right out of the back-up spot by Rick Wamsley, who posted a 1.80 GAA in five starts last year.</p><p>The Habs&rsquo; top two draft picks could have a much more dramatic effect on the club than Wickenheiser did as both Mark Hunter, a 6-2, 200-pound right wing from Brantford and defenseman Gilbert Delorme, a 5-11, 202-pounder from Chicoutimi. appear to have the talent to, at least, rate a long look. Hunter&rsquo;s older brothers Dave and Dale are solid NHLers and he&rsquo;s supposed to be even better, while Delorme was an offensive workhorse (29-79-107) who was coveted by St. Louis, among others.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011999/10144436-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1575" height="3120"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Brian Engblom, above, along with Rod Langway, were two young Montreal defensemen who moved into star status last year, providing a solid foundation for the team&rsquo;s defense.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>MONTREAL CANADIENS (13)</b></h3><p>1. Mark Hunter, RW, Brantford</p><p>1. Gilbert Delorme, D, Chicoutimi</p><p>1. Jan Ingman, LW, Farjestads</p><p>2. Lars Eriksson, G, Brynas</p><p>2. Chris Chelios, D. Moose Jaw</p><p>3. Dieter Hegen, C, Kaufberen</p><p>4. Kjell Dahlin, C, Timra</p><p>5. Steve Rooney, C, Hamden, MA</p><p>6. Tom Anastros, RW, Paddock Pool. MI</p><p>7. Tom Kurvers, D, Minnesota-Duluth</p><p>8. Paul Gess, RW, Bloomington, MN</p><p>9. Scott Ferguson, D, Edina, MN</p><p>10. Danny Burrows. G, Belleville</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021453/10144429-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="750" height="2123"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012350/10144422-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="1012" height="1238"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Pierre Larouche did not have a banner season last year, as his production dropped way oft from the 50 goals he had scored in 1979-80.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021847/10144415-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="1118" height="1368"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031198/10144408-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="2172" height="1405"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-012048/10144401-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="2403" height="1228"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021426/10144394-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="2401" height="1248"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G-Goals. A-Assists: PTS &mdash; Points, S-Shots on goal; SC PCTG-Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals: GT &mdash; Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game: T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals: L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead: I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score): TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F. T, L, I. P); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played. TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice: PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played: TGA-Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA-Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice, DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

Montreal Canadiens

<div class="byline">Scotty Bowman</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012328/10144537-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="728" height="646"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021750/10144530-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="682" height="674"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span></b>cotty&rsquo;s back and he&rsquo;s putting his National Hockey League all-time best winning percentage of .692 on the line. Or maybe he has his sights set on becoming the second coach ever to win 600 games in the NHL, following in the footsteps of Dick Irvin who heads the list with 690.</p><p>Yes Scotty Bowman is back behind the Buffalo bench with right-hand man Jim Roberts, who for a time appeared to be the successor to deposed coach Roger Neilson who apparently didn&rsquo;t provoke his athletes with the spark that Bowman had kindled in his first year with the club. Neilson&rsquo;s Sabres finished fifth overall as compared to second when Scotty was the bench jockey and they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by ninth-place Minnesota, while Bowman&rsquo;s club at least made the semifinals before losing to the eventual champion Islanders.</p><p>When Bowman&rsquo;s team was knocked out by the Islanders, he said that he wanted some big, physical forwards added to the lineup to give his team more punch, but under Neilson, the team seemed to be more concerned with their defensive duties and the offense seemed to stagnate. The Sabres finished only seventh best offensively and the former big guns of the attack, Gil Perreault and Rick Martin, were plagued by injuries and suffered off-years, Martin subsequently dealt to Los Angeles, along with Don Luce for future draft picks.</p><p>The emphasis in Buffalo is definitely on youth and the Entry Draft was an excellent example of how the Sabres are preparing for the future. They selected Jiri Dudacek, rated the finest junior player in the world. but unavailable in Czechoslovakia barring his defection and then followed with Hannu Virta of Finland, another player who might not be a Sabre for a couple of years. The Sabres&rsquo; next two picks were big kids: 6-1, 183-pound left winger/defenseman Jim Aldred who had 20-28-48 stats for Kingston, followed by 6-2, 185-pound defenseman Colin Chisholm of Calgary.</p><p>These two youngsters will likely also fall into the futures category as Bowman, Roberts and newly-appointed assistant Nick Polano of the Eastern League champion Erie Blades will have plenty of depth to build their team from.</p><p>Of course, there are a few holdovers, led by captain Danny Gare who led the team with 46-39-85 stats and Tony McKegney, who came into his own with a fine 37-goaI season. One big surprise came from center Andre Savard, who came back from the minors to produce a 31-43-74 season and become an important part of the club&rsquo;s offense. Perreault, who played only 56 regular season games, scoring 20 goals, showed he was back in form in the Canada Cup tourney before breaking his ankle. He&rsquo;ll be out Until November.</p><p>Several youthful Sabre forwards were impressive last season, headed by Alan Haworth, who scored 16 regular season goals with the Sabres in addition to eight points in the playoffs, plus Jean-Francois Sauve, goalie Bob Sauve&rsquo;s little (5-6) brother and Pierre Hamel.</p><p>Then there&rsquo;s Ric Seiling (30 goals), veteran Craig Ramsay (24 goals) and Derek Smith (21 goals), plus Rob McClanahan. Lindy Ruff and Steve Patrick. The Sabres also have several 1980 Entry Draft selections which they have recently signed including Mike Moller, 39-69-108 with Lethbridge and Sean McKenna, 57-47-104 with Sherbrooke and Randy Cunneyworth with Ottawa and Jim Weimer with Peterborough who could also move into the lineup in the near future.</p><p>Buffalo&rsquo;s defense is not nearly as deep, but then again, it&rsquo;s much more settled. Greybeard of the group is Bill Hajt, who&rsquo;ll be 30 in November, while Jim Schoenfeld and John Van Boxmeer (18-51-69, club records for a defenseman) have had nine and eight years, respectively, in the NHL. Richie Dunn is now solidly entrenched along the blueline and the Sabres still hold high hopes for Larry Playfair and Mike Ramsey developing into competent defensemen.</p><p>During the regular season, the Sabres gradually turned more towards Don Edwards to handle their goaltending chores with Edwards performing in 45 contests as compared to 35 starts for Bob Sauve. Edwards held the edge in stats, too. with 23 wins compared to 16 and a 2.96 goals-against average, while Sauve came in at 3.17. In the playoffs, it was all Edwards as he won four and lost the same number with a 3.34 GAA while Sauve was the idle backup.</p><p>The club&rsquo;s hottest prospect may be goalie Rick Knickle who led Erie to that EHL crown and might make one of the two Sabres&rsquo; backstops expendable. Bowman offered Edwards to Winnipeg in exchange for the Jets&rsquo; first pick in the Entry Draft, but the Jets held out for Dale Hawerchuk and eventually secured goalie Ed Staniowski from St. Louis.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-012010/10144523-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="1586" height="3151"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Left winger Tony McKegney rose to new heights for the Buffalo Sabres last year providing them with speed and plenty of scoring punch when they needed it.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>BUFFALO SABRES (12)</b></h3><p>1. Jiri Dudacek, RW, Kladno</p><p>2. Hannu Virta, D, TPS</p><p>3. Jim Aldred, D-LW, Kingston</p><p>3. Colin Chisholm, D, Calgary</p><p>4. Jeff Eatough, RW, Cornwall</p><p>4. Anders Wikberg, LW, Timra</p><p>5. Mauri Eivola, C, Finland</p><p>6. Ali Butorac, D, Ottawa</p><p>7. Heikki Leime, D, Finland</p><p>8. Gates Orlando, C, Providence</p><p>9. Venci Sebek, D, Niagara Falls</p><p>10. Warren Harper, RW, Prince Albert</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021429/10144516-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="753" height="2194"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-012095/10144509-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="1133" height="1357"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Sabres are counting on their youngsters to keep them among the front-runners in the NHL, including big Steve Patrick, the club&rsquo;s No. 1 1980 pick.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021594/10144502-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="1270" height="1513"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031152/10144495-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="2431" height="1553"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011790/10144488-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="2409" height="1233"></div><h2><b>Plus-minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021352/10144481-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="2416" height="1266"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A &mdash; Assists, PTS &mdash; Points: S &mdash; Shots on goal. SC PCTG-Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW-Game-Winning Goals; GT-Game-Tying Goals; F-First Goal of Game. T-Score-Tying Goals, L-Goals giving a team the lead; I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead), P-Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponents score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T, L. I P); PCTG-Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals, IP-Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG-Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice. PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of teams even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice: PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-01

Buffalo Sabres

<div class="byline">Michel Bergeron</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011602/10144711-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="625" height="628"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-021166/10144704-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="627" height="687"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he arrival of Marian Stasfiiy in Quebec to join younger brothers Peter and Anton is a heart-warming story which has drawn a multitude of media attention. Two Stastnys playing on the same line was a beautiful sight to behold &mdash; intricate patterns, drop passes, keen anticipation and wondrous talent. Now there are three Stastnys with the 28-year-old Marian set to patrol the right side with Rookie of the Year Peter (39-70-109) in the center and 21-year-old Anton (39-46-85) on the opposite side. The line should be devastating.</p><p>There is no doubt that they will further enhance the Nordiques&rsquo; breathtaking style of hockey, one of the fastest-paced attacks in the NHL and one of the most interesting to watch. But there is one problem. Even with the offensive abilities of the Stastnys and several of the other talented Nordiques, the team did not become a force to be reckoned with until the arrival of goalie Dan Bouchard. And the word prior to the start of the 1981-82 season was that Bouchard was not so sure if playing in Quebec was what he thought it might be.</p><p>When Bouchard came from Calgary in exchange for popular Jamie Hislop he immediately injected an aura of confidence into the Nordiques&rsquo; psyches. In 29 games he compiled a 3.17 goals against average (the team average was nearly 4.00 for the season) and fashioned a record of 19-5-5. The Nordiques went into the playoffs against Philadelphia and very nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the first round, extending the Flyers to five hardfought games and very probably softened up Philly for their defeat at the hands of Calgary in the next round.</p><p>Bouchard, however, became a free agent after the season, as did the Nordiques&rsquo; top goal-scorer Jacques Richard (52 goals, 103 points), but unlike Richard, who was able to settle quickly with the club, Bouchard appeared to have a few more negatives in his path.</p><p>Bouchard complained about the taxes being deducted from his contract (Quebec has provincial and federal income taxes) and although he is a native of the province, his American-born wife was reportedly not that enamored of living in a predominantly French culture. So Bouchard remains the key cog in the Nordiques&rsquo; lineup and whether they will challenge Boston for third place, Buffalo for second or even Montreal for first, will be determined by his play or absence.</p><p>Bouchard&rsquo;s back-up was 33-year-old Michel Plasse, who performed adequately with a 3.66 GAA in 33 contests but only a 10-14-9 record. The third man on the scene is Ron Grahame who saw action in five games for the Nordiques with a 3.99 average, but he&rsquo;s past 30, too, and hasn&rsquo;t played all that much in the past few years.</p><p>Most of the good news for the Nordiques, other than Marian Stastny occurred in the Entry Draft where the team appeared to help themselves quite nicely.</p><p>Their first pick is Randy Moller, a highly-touted 6-2, 205-pound defenseman from Lethbridge who was rated a first-round choice on everybody&rsquo;s scorecard. Moller&rsquo;s tough, mobile and appears to have leadership credentials and should fit in well on the Nordiques&rsquo; defense, a very underrated, but well-balanced unit.</p><p>For experience, the Nordiques have Andre (Moose) Dupont and Dale Hoganson; then young veterans such as Mario Marois, Kim Clackson and Wally Weir and promising youngsters like Andre Lacroix (who topped the rearguards in points with 38) and Normand Rochefort. Dave Pichette, Lee Norwood, and Terry Johnson are also waiting in the wings.</p><p>Where the Nordiques would like to see more balance is among their forwards. After the Stastnys and Richard, Quebec received strong support from captain Robbie Ftorek (24-49-73), Michel Goulet (32-39-71) and Dale Hunter (19-44-63), but Marc Tardif was in-and-out, collecting 23 goals and a number of enemies and Real Cloutier struggled to 15 goals in only 34 games after missing most of the season due to a summer ankle injury. The latter two will have to bounce back and the Nordiques could use some more scoring punch from the likes of John Wensink, John Paddock or Alain Cote.</p><p>Perhaps some aid in the scoring department could come from homebrew JeanMarc Gaulin, a 5-10,178-pound right winger who knocked in 50 goals for Sorel in the Quebec Major Junior loop. He was taken in the third round and is 19 years old.</p><p>The Nordiques&rsquo; third selection in the Entry Draft may also get a chance to move into the lineup rapidly. He&rsquo;s Clint Malarchuk, a 20-year-old goalie who played for Portland in the Western League and appeared in 38 games with commendable 3.81 goals-against average. He&rsquo;ll likely report to the Nordiques&rsquo; top farm club in Fredericton, N.B. to start the season where he&rsquo;ll get plenty of work and a chance to move up should Bouchard change addresses or Plasse or Grahame falter.</p><p>Will likely battle Boston for third.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011373/10144697-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="1563" height="3155"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Now there are three Stastny brothers in the NHL, but Peter, above, was definitely number one in his first season in the NHL as the Nordiques&rsquo; center won the Calder Trophy.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>QUEBEC NORDIQUES (8)</b></h3><p>1. Randy Moller, D, Lethbridge</p><p>3. Jean-Marc Gaulin, RW, Sorel</p><p>4. Clint Malarchuk, G, Portland</p><p>5. Ed Lee, RW, Princeton</p><p>6. Mike Eagles, LW, Kitchener</p><p>8. Andre Cote, RW, Quebec</p><p>9. Marc Brisebois, RW, Sorel</p><p>10. Kari Takko, G, Assat</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02988/10144690-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="755" height="2288"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011543/10144683-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="1018" height="1234"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The play of the Nordiques In the playoffs brought joy to the faces of a great many people, but when Dale Hunter was doing the checking, few opponents smiled.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021110/10144676-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="1124" height="1372"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03769/10144669-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="2183" height="1411"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011349/10144662-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="2415" height="1357"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02954/10144655-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="2403" height="1229"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A &mdash; Assists; PTS &mdash; Points; S &mdash; Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT &mdash; Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead; I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T, L, I. P); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals, IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice, PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice, OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-01

Quebec Nordiques

<div class="byline">Larry Pleau</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011556/10144798-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="726" height="625"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-021118/10144791-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="657" height="676"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>L</span></b>arry Pleau, who went from assistant coach to coach and general manager of the Hartford Whalers in a space of a few short weeks last spring, made it clear from the start that I8th-place teams don&rsquo;t stand still. They can&rsquo;t afford to.</p><p>Pleau&rsquo;s Whalers missed the playoffs, which isn&rsquo;t easy to do when nearly 75 per cent of the team in the league get in, but at least the Whalers realized that changes had to be made in the team&rsquo;s player personnel.</p><p>One of the first things that Pleau did was to obtain an up and coming goaltender in Greg Millen, the free agent who was the NHL&rsquo;s lowest paid goaltender with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Millen played in 63 regular season games for the Penguins and was 25-27-10 for a team which finished seven games under .500. He was also spectacular in the playoffs, turning in a 3.51 goals-against average in five games against the high-scoring St. Louis Blues, upstaging the man regarded as the NHL&rsquo;s No. 1 goalie, Mike Liut.</p><p>To get Millen, though, the Penguins had to pay Pittsburgh compensation and although the Whalers offered their former No. 1 goalie John Garrett and forward Jordy Douglas, the arbitrator liked Pittsburgh&rsquo;s idea of compensation better and awarded forward Pat Boutette, who enjoyed his best year ever &mdash; 28 goals, 52 assists-and 1980 Entry Draft pick Kevin McClelland, another forward to Pittsburgh.</p><p>But Pleau wasn&rsquo;t through wheeling and dealing, yet, either. To replace the fire-power of Boutette, Pleau traded for Philadelphia&rsquo;s Rick MacLeish, 31, who merely scored 38 goals last season and then added 5-5-10 stats in the playoffs. The Whalers also received Blake Wesley, the Flyers&rsquo; second round pick from 1979 who played 50 games for Philadelphia last year and Don Gillen, a 30-goal scorer in the American League.</p><p>In return, the Whalers gave up two former No. 1 draft choices, 6-5, 200-pound Fred Arthur, who wants to combine hockey and a career in medicine and who did not have an especially impressive final year in junior as well as Ray Allison, then 1979 top choice, who spent most of the year in the AHL with Binghamton, scoring 31 goals. Their was also a swap of several draft choices, but the early edge in the deal appears to have been in Hartford&rsquo;s favor.</p><p>That the Whalers could use help on the forward lines was apparent when it is considered that the team had but four 20-goal plus scorers. Including Boutette, only Blaine Stoughton (43), Mike Rogers (40) and Warren Miller (22) were able to find the range. Thus several other players fell into the disappointing ranks including Douglas (1.3 goals), Don Nachbaur (16), Tommy Rowe (13), Mike Fidler (14), Dave Debol (14) and even Dave Keon (13) who has signed to return as the NHL&rsquo;s oldest player at age 41.</p><p>Wesley will get a chance to break into the Whalers&rsquo; defense, along with Jeff Brown-schidle from Notre Dame, brother of St. Louis Blues&rsquo; blueliner Jack Brownschidle. Heading up the corps is Mark Howe, one of the NHL&rsquo;s most versatile players, who has excelled at left wing and on defense. Howe totalled 65 points last year, including 19 goals, to rank fourth in team scoring.</p><p>Other NHL clubs supplied the bulk of the remainder of the Whalers&rsquo; defense with Norm Barnes and Jack Mcllhargey coming over from the Philadelphia Flyers, Gilles Lupien from the Pittsburgh Penguins all in the last year, while Al Sims (16-36-52) came from Boston in the expansion draft two seasons ago. The only other member to see regular duty was Mickey Volcan, a rookie out of the University of North Dakota.</p><p>The big story of the Whalers&rsquo; expedition into the Entry Draft, of course, was how the club missed out on St. John&rsquo;s Prep star center Bobby Carpenter when the Washington Capitals beat the Whalers to the punch by making a deal with Colorado which enabled them to choose third, one spot in front of the Whalers. Losing out on Carpenter was a disappointment to be sure, but the fact remains that Carpenter wasn&rsquo;t likely to be playing for the Whalers for a couple of more years anyway.</p><p>Instead the Whalers drafted another center, Sault Ste. Marie&rsquo;s Ron Francis, who is built like Carpenter, at 5-11, 174 pounds and is said to have many of the same type of puckhandling and shooting skills. Francis had 69 points in his first year of junior A hockey after 149 points in Midget A the season before.</p><p>Elsewhere in the lineup. Millen will most likely be backed up by Mike Veisor who used to caddy for Tony Esposito in Chicago and saw action in 29 Whaler games last year with a 4.46 goals-against average with University of Michigan signee Paul Fricker a darkhorse candidate to earn a spot on (he roster.</p><p>The Whalers are destined for fifth in perhaps the league&rsquo;s toughest division.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011427/10144784-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="1596" height="3125"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Whether standing back on defense or flying down the wing for the Hartford Whalers, Mark Howe is a natural leader for the club and one of the NHL&rsquo;s most versatile players.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>HARTFORD WHALERS (9)</b></h3><p>1. Ron Francis, C, Sault Ste. Marie</p><p>3. Paul MacDermid; C, Windsor</p><p>3. Michael Hoffman, LW, Brantford</p><p>5. Bill Maguire, D, Niagara Falls</p><p>5. Dan Bourbonnais, LW, Calgary</p><p>6. John Mokosak, D, Victoria</p><p>8. Dennis Dore, RW, Chicoutimi</p><p>9. Jeff Poeschl, G, Northern Michigan</p><p>10. Larry Power, C, Kitchener</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-021003/10144777-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="764" height="2260"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011532/10144770-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="1129" height="1344"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Blaine Stoughton was a training camp holdout a year ago, but he showed he had lost little of his effectiveness when he rejoined the Whalers&rsquo; lineup.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-021075/10144763-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="1237" height="1504"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03795/10144756-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="2405" height="1546"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011344/10144749-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="2453" height="1327"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02923/10144742-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="2454" height="1249"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP-Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A-Assists; PTS &mdash; Points; S-Shots on goal; SC PCTG-Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal): GW-Game-Winning Goals. GT-Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T-Score-Tying Goals; L-Goals giving a team the lead; I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponents score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T, L. I. P); PCTG-Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played, TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice. PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-01

Hartford Whalers

<div class="byline">Al Arbour</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011543/10144885-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="704" height="686"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-021064/10144878-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="678" height="672"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span></b>ontinuity, as Sam Pollock often explained, was one of the major reasons for the success of the Montreal Canadiens. Now the same can be said of the New York Islanders who are seeking to become only the fourth team to win three consecutive Stanley Cup championships, a feat which serves as the benchmark of a sports dynasty.</p><p>To help ensure the Islanders&rsquo; future success, the club signed coach Al Arbour, a man who works extremely well with general manager Bill Torrey, to what amounts to a lifetime contract with the organization. Although Arbour does not intend to coach for very much longer, probably one or two years, his expertise will be applied in other areas of the Islanders&rsquo; hierarchy.</p><p>Naturally, merely having a superior 1-2 front office set-up doesn&rsquo;t preclude any more Stanley Cups if the player personnel doesn&rsquo;t keep pace with the rest of the league, but the Islanders certainly aren&rsquo;t taking any back seats in that regard either.</p><p>The Islanders have managed very well to hit peak form in time for the playoffs and it has been the addition of one player late in the season that has been a key factor in their surge. First, it was the trade for Butch Goring which gave the Islanders the offensive center they needed to take some of the pressure off Bryan Trottier&rsquo;s shoulders and led to their first Stanley Cup.</p><p>Then in March of 1981, the Islanders obtained defenseman Mike McEwen from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Chico Resch and the trade seemed to get the whole club going.</p><p>McEwen prompted the other Islanders&rsquo; defensemen to sharpen up to assure playing time, and when center Billy Carroll was promoted from the minors to replace Steve Tambellini, who went to the Rockies in the McEwen-Resch trade, his performance put pressure on Goring and Wayne Merrick. Suddenly the Islanders were all building towards a peak and were able to surpass St. Louis on the second to last day of the schedule to win their second regular season NHL crown in the past three seasons. From there, all they did was to go 14-3 in the playoffs with Goring winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player.</p><p>As far as personnel goes, the Islanders have it all and they are still capable&rsquo; of being better. Now they are believing in themselves and are finally convinced that other people, read the media and fans, are paying them their just desserts as winners.</p><p>The Islanders have leaders at every position. The club led the NHL in scoring with 355 goals and was third in least number of goals allowed, 260. When you talk offense, Mike Bossy (see story page 2), is No. 1 in the Islanders&rsquo; arsenal after his record-setting 85-goal campaign a year ago (68 regular season, 17 playoffs). He also set a new NHL record for playoff points with 35. In Bryan Trottier (31-72-103 regular; 11-18-29 playoffs) they may have the league&rsquo;s most complete all-around player. And three other players, Anders Kallur, Bob Bourne and Clark Gillies, contributed more than 30 goals apiece (36, 35 and 33, respectively) to the attack.</p><p>After that the Islanders can still call upon more firepower. Five other forwards, Goring, Carroll, Merrick, Bob Nystrom and John Tonelli each scored in double figures in the playoffs. And there&rsquo;s more.</p><p>Like the Sutter brothers. Or, two of them at least, Duane and Brent. Duane suffered two injuries last year which kept him out of all but 35 playoff and regular season games, but would have been a regular otherwise. Brent, the Islanders&rsquo; top 1980 draft, excelled in his first year at the junior A level, scoring 54 goals and the same number of assists to lead his Lethbridge club in scoring. He&rsquo;ll definitely be in the running to crack the Islanders&rsquo; lineup.</p><p>Denis Potvin was merely ordinary during the regular season &mdash; 20-56-76 stats being mediocre for him &mdash; but played to his potential as a first team All Star with an 8-17-25 playoff record. He is the cornerstone of the Isles&rsquo; defense which features the offensive capabilities of Potvin, Stefan Persson (9-52-61) and McEwen (11-38-49), who picked up the slack when Persson broke his jaw early in post-season action and the defensive strength of rearguards such as Bob Lorimer, Dave Langevin, Gord Lane and Ken Morrow. In short, the NHL&rsquo;s deepest unit.</p><p>Billy Smith was unflappable in shouldering the No. 1 goaltending assignment and the Islanders had to be pleased by the development of Roland Melanson who came straight out of junior to post an 8-1-1 record and a 3.10 goals-against average during the regular season. Smith&rsquo;s average was 3.28 during the regular season, but 2.54 for the playoffs.</p><p>Unfortunately for Islanders&rsquo; opponents, there&rsquo;s more to come. Blessed with a bulging lineup, the Islanders were able to make provisions for the future in the Entry Draft. They started with a pair of defensemen, Paul Boutilier, a 6-0, 188-pounder from Sherbrooke with fair offensive stats (10-29-39) and chose Sault Ste. Marie&rsquo;s Gord Dineen, 5-11, 180 pounds with their second choice. Third pick was left winger Ron Handy, Dineen&rsquo;s teammate, who scored 86 points.</p><p>The Islanders are set to defend their title.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011396/10144871-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="1601" height="3155"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Islanders seem to continue to grow stronger and add more depth each year as they produce players such as Anders Kallur, who topped the 30-goal mark in his sophomore season.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>NEW YORK ISLANDERS (11)</b></h3><p>1. Paul Boutilier, D, Sherbrooke</p><p>2. Gord Dineen, D, Sault Ste. Marie</p><p>3. Ron Handy, LW, Sault Ste. Marie</p><p>3. Neal Coulter, RW, Toronto</p><p>4. Todd Lombard, G, Brandon</p><p>5. Jacques Sylvestre, C, Sorel</p><p>6. Chuck Brimmer, C, Kingston</p><p>7. Teppo Virta, RW, TPS</p><p>8. Bill Dowd, D, Ottawa</p><p>9. Scott MacLellan, RW, Burlington</p><p>10. Dave Randerson, RW, Stratford</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02949/10144864-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="752" height="2260"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011518/10144857-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="1094" height="1341"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Butch Goring came out from cover with his showing in the Stanley Cup playoffs as he fired 10 goals and 10 assists to win the Conn Smythe MVP Trophy award.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-021027/10144850-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="1235" height="1497"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03745/10144843-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="2350" height="1506"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011344/10144836-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="2391" height="1233"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02935/10144829-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="2398" height="1246"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP-Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A-Assists; PTS-Points; S-Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal), GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT-Game-Tying Goals; F-First Goal of Game; T-Score-Tying Goals; L-Goals giving a team the lead. I-Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P-Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F. T, L, I. P); PCTG-Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP-Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG-Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played, TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice. DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-01

New York Islanders

<div class="byline">Pat Quinn</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011543/10144972-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="700" height="619"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-021080/10144965-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="674" height="686"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>hat the Flyers would lose the seventh game of a playoff series right in Philadelphia was not nearly as amazing as the fact that this team, which finished sixth overall in the NHL last season, probably should not even have been there to prolong the series to the extent that they did.</p><p>Few teams could lose two of their top defensemen for the playoffs and employ a goaltender who had never played an NHL playoff game before and still come within one game of reaching the semifinals. But it says something for the heart and the desire still apparently burning in the Flyers to have pushed the Calgary Flames to a seventh game at the Spectrum when they were without the services of defensemen Jimmy Watson (back surgery) and Bob Dailey (knee problems) and were mainly counting on Rick St. Croix, who prior to last season had worked only 10 NHL regular season games, while Pete Peeters searched for his ebbing confidence.</p><p>Even before this summer&rsquo;s trade with Hartford which sent Rick MacLeish, Blake Wesley and minor leaguer Don Gillen to the Whalers for former first-round draft picks Fred Arthur (1980) and Ray Allison (1979), the Flyers&rsquo; roster was undergoing a number of changes.</p><p>Goalie Phil Myre, defensemen Andre Dupont, Norm Barnes and Jack Mcllhargey and forward Bob Kelly were all in the lineup which closed the 1979-80 season, but were gone by the mid-point of 1981 or sooner. Still, the Flyers stayed near the top.</p><p>During the regular season, some of the familiar Flyer names like Clarke, Barber, Leach and MacLeish were the mainstays of the Philadelphia offense, but by playoff time, with the exception of Bill Barber, who followed a team-leading 43-42-85 point regular season with a solid 11-5-16 playoff log, the names of the Flyers&rsquo; leaders belonged to people such as Ken Linseman (4-16-20), Paul Holmgren (5-9-14), Brian Propp (6-6-12) and defenseman Behn Wilson (2-10-12).</p><p>Wilson&rsquo;s development as a leader was significant because of the load thrust upon him by the absences of Watson and Dailey. But in his third year in the league, Wilson had matured enough to combine his offensive talents (16-47-63) with the more disciplined defensive style sought by coach Pat Quinn.</p><p>Three graduates of the Flyers&rsquo; minor league system &mdash; Frank Bathe, Mike Busniuk and Terry Murray &mdash; became starters on the defense and the Flyers brought up blueliner Thomas Eriksson from their Maine farm club for the latter stages of the season. Eriksson, who had 10-21-31 figures for Maine is a clever puckhandler who is considered a top-notch prospect by the Flyers.</p><p>Yet another Maine star waiting for his chance at the NHL is goaltender Pelle Lindbergh, a Swede who saw plenty of action in his first year as a pro. Lindbergh, who played in 51 regular season games and 20 playoff matches for Maine with 3.26 and 3.54 goals-against averages, respectively, is expected to begin the 1981-82 season with Maine once again, but may be in the NHL before the year is out.</p><p>Uncertainty may have been a constant companion of the Flyers&rsquo; goaltending crew, but the figures reveal they still got the job done well enough to finish with the second best goals-against average in the NHL, allowing only 249 goals.</p><p>Pete Peeters, who had such an outstanding rookie season in 1979-80, carried the bulk of the load, appearing in 40 games with a fine 2.96 GAA and a record of 22-12-5. Down the homestretch, however, Peeters seemed to lose faith in his abilities and he was not the same goaltender. He saw action in three playoff games with a 2-1 record, but a 4.00 GAA.</p><p>St. Croix, meanwhile, made it difficult for the Flyers to keep him out of the lineup. His 2.49 GAA in 27 regular season games and his 13-7-6 record made him the No. 1 man for the playoffs. There, he was again impressive, despite a 4-5 record, with a 2.99 GAA.</p><p>The 1981-82 season shapes up as another year of change for the Flyers. There&rsquo;s the three goal tenders who will be vying for regular duty; there will be some competition on the Flyers&rsquo; defense as Arthur, a 6-5, 204-pounder, who stayed in junior hockey after a brief fling with the Whalers, and perhaps even Steve Smith, the Flyers&rsquo; top choice in the 1981 Entry Draft, a 5-9, 202-pounder who had 3-37-40 stats for Sault Ste. Marie in/he Ontario Hockey League, may challenge for jobs. The Flyers were surprised and delighted that Smith, a rugged hitter, was still available when it came time for the 16th selection in the draft.</p><p>Down on the Maine farm, a few prospects such as Mark Taylor, Mike Greeder, Peter Dineen and Reid Bailey are making noises that they would like a shot at NHL duty and the Flyers also obtained Ray Allison, who knocked in 31 goals in Binghamton in the MacLeish trade.</p><p>Expect a battle from the Flyers.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011421/10144958-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="1589" height="3163"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Often maligned for errors of exuberance or trying to carry the load by himself, the Flyers&rsquo; defenseman Behn Wilson stood tall last season as he became a dominant figure on the blueline.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (13)</b></h3><p>1. Steve Smith, D, Sault Ste. Marie</p><p>2. Rich Costello, C, Boston</p><p>3. Barry Tabobondung, LW, Oshawa</p><p>3. Ken Strong, LW, Peterborough</p><p>4. Dave Michayluk, RW,. Regina</p><p>4. Ken Latta, RW, Sault Ste. Marie</p><p>5. Justin Hanley, C, Kingston</p><p>6. Andre Villeneuve, D, Chicoutimi</p><p>7. Vladimir Svitek, RW, Czechoslovakia</p><p>7. Gil Hudon, G, Prince Albert</p><p>8. Steve Taylor, LW, Providence College</p><p>9. Leonard Hachborn, C, Brantford</p><p>10. Steve Tsujiura, C, Medicine Hat</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-021014/10144951-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="748" height="2126"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011444/10144944-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="1146" height="1359"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Flyers&rsquo; old reliable Bill Barber turned in another impressive all-around performance as he hit the 40-goal mark in leading the Philadelphia attack.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02985/10144937-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="1235" height="1493"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03813/10144930-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="2477" height="1553"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011280/10144923-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="2435" height="1224"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02907/10144916-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="2438" height="1289"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP-Games Played: G-Goals; A-Assists; PTS-Points; S-Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT &mdash; Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead; I-Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P-Proximate Goals (Moving*the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T, L. I. P); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG-Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; PGF-Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice: OFFENSE PERCENTAGE-Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA-Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA-Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) tor which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-01

Philadelphia Flyers

<div class="byline">Herb Brooks</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011400/10145059-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="682" height="656"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02975/10145052-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="667" height="688"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span></b>an Herb Brooks find happiness as a coach in the National Hockey League? Or is he destined to become another Ned Harkness who worked wonders in the college ranks but found the sledding much tougher when he tried to whip the Detroit Red Wings into a contender? (In fairness to Harkness, who was the general manager of the American League champions in 1980-81, Detroit has had eight coaches since him who haven&rsquo;t fared much better).</p><p>Brooks was destined to coach in the NHL, he just took a rather circuitous route to the NHL from the University of Minnesota after first turning down a chance from Lou Nanne to coach the Minnesota North Stars.</p><p>He, of course, went on to great fame as the coach of the U.S. Olympic team which captured the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Games at Lake Placid, and then amid speculation that he would open the 1980-81 season with an NHL club, signed instead with Davos in Switzerland. Brooks managed to extricate himself from a two-year pact with Davos early in 1981 but not soon enough to finish the season with an NHL team. But by the summer meeting in Montreal he was signed to a lucrative deal by the New York Rangers under director of operations (genera) manager) Craig Patrick, Brooks&rsquo; right hand man on the Olympic team who was the assistant general manager and assistant coach. Patrick increased his portfolio last year when he handled coaching the Rangers in addition to his other duties but was very agreeable to letting Brooks handle the coaching despite the Rangers&rsquo; late-season surge.</p><p>From a struggling 13th place in the regular season, the Rangers advanced to the semifinals by upsetting fourth-place Los Angeles and then second-place St. Louis before receiving a come-uppance at the hands of their cross-town rival, the Islanders, bowing in four games straight.</p><p>What Brooks has to work with, then is a basically young club which may have turned the corner in terms of confidence and appears to have the talent to rank in the upper level of the league instead of battling into the final weeks of the schedule trying to secure a playoff spot.</p><p>Much of the Rangers&rsquo; strength lies in the forward ranks where several players emerged with the potential for top-notch contributions. One of the biggest surprises was hustling Eddie Johnstone who produced a 30-goal season and was a favorite of the fans. Don Maloney just missed the 30-goal mark with 29 despite missing nearly a quarter of the season with mononucleosis Anders Hedberg topped the club in scoring with 30-40-70 stats, while Ulf Nilsson, another injury-plagued Ranger managed 14 goals in 51 games and shone in the playoffs He was hurt again at season&rsquo;s start.</p><p>Ron Greschner was shifted from defense to left wing alongside Hedberg and Nilsson and came through with a significant offensive showing, totalling 27-41-68 during the regular season-and 4-8-12 in the playoffs. Rookie Mike Allison also came through in a big way with 26 goals and 64 points and with up-and-coming players like Dave Silk and Lance Nethery, who had 25 goals between them in limited appearances, the Rangers are laying a solid offensive foundation. Peter Wallin, from Sweden who joined the club late in the season, could also be a valuable addition.</p><p>Relatively old hands such as Steve Vickers, 20, and Ron Duguay, 24, made up for disappointing regular seasons, with inspired play in post-season action, with Duguay leading the team with 17 points and Vickers chipping in with 11.</p><p>The most heartening development on defense was the re-emergence of a confident Barry Beck. Previously hampered by the weight of being traded for several important Rangers, Beck didn&rsquo;t really settle into playing on Broadway until the final third of the regular season when he took over the captaincy of the club. Beck then played with his old style and determination and kept on through the playoffs as a dominant figure, producing 5-8-13 stats and leading the team by example.</p><p>Dave Maloney had an up-and-down season but finished strongly and the Rangers were steadied by veteran Carol Vadnais as they worked three young blueliners into their lineup &mdash; Tom Laidlaw, Chris Kotsopoulos and Ed Hospodar.</p><p>One of the Bropks&rsquo; priorities will have to be settling the Rangers&rsquo; goaltending alignment. Steve Baker, who was 10-6-5 in the regular season handled the post-season chores with a 4.00 average and a 7-7 record. Doug Soetaert, who never seems to be in the right place at the right time, played the majority of the regular season games, 39, with a 16-16-7 record and a 3.93 goals-against average, but hasn&rsquo;t been given the luxury of knowing that he would be the starting goalie. John Davidson, who backstopped the Rangers into the finals two years previously, played in only 10 games before knee surgery ended his season. His abilities to help the club are as big a mystery as what Brooks&rsquo; effect will be-but should be answered quickly.</p><p>The pieces are there for Brooks to assemble.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011280/10145045-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="1598" height="3171"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>When Barry Beck got his game straightened out and started to play up to his considerable potential, the Rangers seemed to put it all together as a team to reach the playoff semifinals.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>NEW YORK RANGERS (10)</b></h3><p>1. Jim Patrick, D, Prince Albert</p><p>2. Jan Erixon, RW, Skelleftea</p><p>3. Peter Sundstrom, LW, Bjorkloven</p><p>4. Mark Morrison, C, Victoria</p><p>5. John Vanbiesbrouck, G, Sault Ste. Marie</p><p>6. Eric Magnuson, C, RPI</p><p>7. Mike Guentzel, D, Greenway, MN</p><p>8. Ari Lahtenmaki, RW, Finland</p><p>9. Paul Reifenberger, C, Anoka, MN</p><p>10. Mario Proulx, G, Providence College</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02873/10145038-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="760" height="2275"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01997/10145031-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="1105" height="1350"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Rangers have turned to feisty, young forwards to produce their offense such as Don Maloney who came back from mononucleosis for a strong finish.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02657/10145024-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="1262" height="1488"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03510/10145017-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="2364" height="1533"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01872/10145010-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="2204" height="1302"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02582/10145003-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="2217" height="1226"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G-Goals. A-Assists: PTS &mdash; Points, S-Shots on goal; SC PCTG-Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals: GT &mdash; Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game: T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals: L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead: I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score): TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F. T, L, I. P); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played. TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice: PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played: TGA-Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA-Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice, DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-01

New York Rangers

<div class="byline">Ed Johnston</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01928/10145146-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="719" height="674"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02610/10145139-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="674" height="680"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he Pittsburgh Penguins may be on the verge of some long-awaited success following a summer full of positive happenings, but the one dark cloud on their horizon may prove to be a costly one. Questionable goaltending.</p><p>Greg Millen was the backbone of the Penguins between the pipes, playing in 63 games with a 4.16 goals-against average. He contributed 25 of the Penguins&rsquo; 30 victories last season and was sparkling in the playoffs, outperforming St. Louis&rsquo; Mike Liut, although the Penguins eventually fell in five games to the Blues in their preliminary round series. But Millen, a free agent, shopped his talents around the league and wound up with the Hartford Whalers where he is expected to handle the bulk of the load.</p><p>Normally that would have left the Penguins in rather desperate straits with only their No. 2 and 3 goalies, Rob Holland, 5.01 goals-against average in 10 games, (who will play elsewhere) and Nick Ricci, 3.89 GAA in nine games, but fortune seems to be smiling in the Penguins&rsquo; direction of late as the club was fortunate enough to have announced the signing of two free agent goalies, Michel Dion of Winnipeg, who signed just a few days before Millen&rsquo;s departure to Hartford, and Paul Harrison, who was traded by Toronto just before training camp.</p><p>Still Dion&rsquo;s ability or that of either Harrison of Ricci to become an NHL regular is still up in the air. Dion appeared in a total of 26 games for Winnipeg and Quebec last season with an average in the vicinity of 5.00. Along the way, he was winless in 11 games for the Nordiques before walking off the ice during a game with the Bruins and being suspended from the team. He was loaned to Indianapolis of the Central League, a city where he had starred in the World Hockey Association and then was dealt to Winnipeg where he worked the majority of their games to close the season.</p><p>If Dion can play like in his WHA days, or even like in the 1979-80 season when he played in 50 games for the Nordiques with a pair of shutouts, the Penguins may not regret losing Millen. Still, it&rsquo;s an iffy situation.</p><p>The bright spot of Millen&rsquo;s departure, though, was the compensation received by the Penguins. Although he won&rsquo;t stop many pucks, feisty left winger Pat Boutette will perk up the Penguins&rsquo; offense. Boutette is coming off his best NHL season &mdash; 80 points, including 28 goals in 80 games &mdash; and he and junior player Kevin McClelland were awarded to Pittsburgh. McClelland, a 1980 draftee by the Whalers, was the third leading scorer for his Niagara Falls junior team with 36 goals and 72 assists.</p><p>Individually, the summer of 1981 brought the Penguins their greatest success when two players were chosen for NHL awards. Randy Carlyle became the first Penguin selected to an NHL official All Star team when he was made a first-team All Star and was also voted as the winner of the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in the league. Carlyle, who thrived under the nearly 40 minutes-a-game workload offered to him by coach Eddie Johnston, was the leading scorer among NHL defensemen with 16 goals and 83 points and a key leader for the Penguins.</p><p>Rick Kehoe, the Penguins&rsquo; leading scorer with a club-record 55 goals and 33 assists and only six minutes in penalties was the other major award winner, being voted to the Lady Byng Trophy for his efforts, as he enjoyed his finest year and neared the 300-mark in career goals.</p><p>Among the other forwards, the Penguins are a strange, but promising mixture. For example, Paul Gardner, who played the first two months of the season in the minors, but was traded to the Penguins where he produced 34 goals and 40 assists. And Peter Lee, who scored a very quiet 30 goals and the 25-goal efforts of George Ferguson and Rod Schutt.</p><p>The most disappointing spot was at center where Greg Malone missed nearly 30 games (although he did manage 50 points), Orest Kindrachuk was out of the lineup for most of the year and Gregg Sheppard (11 goals, also injured a great deal) and Mark Johnson (10 goals) did not have the kinds of years expected. Kindrachuk played out his option and was replaced by Washington&rsquo;s Paul Mulvey.</p><p>Top draft choice Steve Gatzos, a 5-10, 177-pound right winger, may add some punch after a 78-goal season with Sault Ste. Marie and the Penguins also had two 1980 draft picks, Mike Bullard and Doug Shedden, who enjoyed fine years in the junior ranks and may be ready.</p><p>Besides Carlyle on defense, there&rsquo;s veterans Ron Stackhouse and Dave Burrows, Mario Faubert, Russ Anderson, who was injured, and rugged Paul Baxter and Pat Price, a late addition from Edmonton. The Penguins are also high on North Dakota defenseman Marc Chorney who signed with them late in the season and could become a regular soon.</p><p>Following Gatzos, the Penguins selected four defensemen in the draft, three from the Ontario Junior League. It&rsquo;s obviously a position the Pens hope to improve in the future.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01899/10145132-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="1627" height="3161"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Randy Carlyle became the first Pittsburgh Penguin to win a major NHL award when he was voted to the Norris Trophy as the league&rsquo;s best defenseman over the course of the 1980-81 season.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (9)</b></h3><p>2. Steve Gatzos, RW, Sault Ste. Marie</p><p>3. Tom Thornbury, D, Niagara Falls</p><p>4. Norm Schmidt, D, Oshawa</p><p>5. Paul Edwards, D, Oshawa</p><p>6. Rod Buskas, D, Medicine Hat</p><p>7. Geoff Wilson, RW, Winnipeg</p><p>8. Mitch Lamoureux, C, Oshawa</p><p>9. Dean Defazio, LW, Brantford</p><p>10. David Hanna, C, Brantford</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02632/10145125-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="749" height="2243"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01808/10145118-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="1125" height="1392"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Deadly accurate from in close, center Paul Gardner was rescued from the minors by the Penguins and went on to have his fourth 30-goal season.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02532/10145111-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="1258" height="1514"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03404/10145104-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="2397" height="1548"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01711/10145097-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="2451" height="1227"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02483/10145090-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="2440" height="1260"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A &mdash; Assists; PTS &mdash; Points; S &mdash; Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT &mdash; Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead; I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T, L, I. P); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals, IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice. OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played: TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-01

Pittsburgh Penguins

<div class="byline">Gary Green</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01721/10145233-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="738" height="600"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02482/10145226-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="698" height="658"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b>hile the more intriguing question posed to the Washington Capitals might be: How did you steal Bobby &ldquo;Carpenter from the Whalers? The more intrinsic question in the hearts of the Capitals&rsquo; faithful followers was: How did you guys miss the playoffs?</p><p>With veterans Mike Palmateer and Wayne Stephenson eager to furnish the Caps with the kind of goaltending which would make them winners; with the creative genius of Gary Green to coach them; with the assortment of experienced and talented players throughout the lineup; the sprinkling of Europeans; the progress of the youngsters, the Caps were thought ready to perhaps challenge the Rangers in the Patrick Division and the playoffs were virtually guaranteed. On the last night of the regular season, the Capitals&rsquo; fate was confirmed: 17th place and out of the playoffs for the seventh consecutive time.</p><p>Why? That&rsquo;s a very good question. Let&rsquo;s begin in goal. Palmateer, 18-19-9 with a 3.87 goals-against average in 49 appearances wasn&rsquo;t the miracle worker that the Caps thought he would be when they sent defenseman Robert Picard and forward Tim Coulis to the Toronto Maple Leafs for his services. Always a gambling type goalie with the Leafs, Palmateer&rsquo;s years of wandering seemed to catch up to him and assorted injuries combined to limit his effectiveness and lower his confidence. The Caps were getting into far too many shootouts and with an offense which ranked 17th in the league, they were on the short end too many times.</p><p>Stephenson was caught up in the injury seige which once again plagued the Caps and saw action in only 20 games with a 3.92 GAA and a 4-7-5 record. The bright spot was rookie Dave Parro&rsquo;s emergence as a bona fide big league backstop after elevation from the Hershey farm club. Parro was 4-7-2 in 18 games and compiled an average of 3.63, but often, such as was the case for Palmateer and Stephenson, behind an extremely make-shift defense which was riddled with injury. The Caps picked up young goalie Al Jensen as insurance from Detroit in exchange for forward Mark Lofthouse.</p><p>Promising Paul MacKinnon played in only 14 games last year; captain Yvon Labre suited up for just 25; the veteran Rick Smith played in only 40 after coming from Detroit early in the campaign; Pierre Bouchard missed 30 games due to various injuries. Rookies Darren Veitch and Howard Walker spent part of the season in the minors, and even among the &ldquo;healthy&rdquo; defensemen, Rick Green, who topped the rearguards with 8-23-31 stats, was absent for 15 matches and the Washington blueline leader in appearances, Pat Ribble, missed 13 games.</p><p>While the defense did not meet expectations because of an absurd number of injuries, the offense &mdash; with a few notable exceptions &mdash; also did not measure up to the lofty figures which were ordained them by the majority of prognosticators.</p><p>The exceptions included 50-goal man Dennis Maruk who finally managed to stay healthy for an entire season and finished with 94 points; right winger Mike Gartner, the Caps&rsquo; leading point-getter with 97 who is rapidly closing in on All Star status; steady captain Ryan Walter (24-45-69) who makes so many contributions to the club besides his offensive capabilities plus veterans Bob Kelly (26-36-62) and Jean Pronovost (22-36-58), who served as the kind of additions which should have moved the Capitals into the ranks of, if not contender, then at least, stubborn opposition.</p><p>Far too often, though, they did not play that way.</p><p>Too many of the Capitals&rsquo; forwards, for one reason or another, did not have the kinds of years forecasted for them. Bengt Gustafsson slumped to 21 goals; Dennis Ververgaert to 14; Alan Hangsleben did not score as much as the Caps figured he would; Rolf Edberg dipped from 23 goals to eight; Wes Jarvis was not a factor, etc.</p><p>Ironically, the Capitals&rsquo; American League farm club, Hershey, which was the defending AHL champions and finished in first place during the regular season before falling in the playoffs, does seem to have the talent to bolster the Caps&rsquo; spirits and confidence, including several promising forwards such as Tim Tookey, Glen Currie, Harvie Pocza, and Lou Franceschetti, so help could be on the way.</p><p>The Capitals also figured to have helped themselves when they announced the signing of Finnish defenseman Timo Blomqvist, 20, who was one of their selections in the 1980 Entry Draft. Blomqvist, a mobile and physical player, was a member of Team Finland in the World Junior Championships and was playing for a First Division club, Kiekkoreipas.</p><p>As for Carpenter, it was believed that the Capitals would not benefit from his talents until perhaps two years down the line. The most highly-touted American hockey prospect ever, Carpenter had signed a letter of intent with Providence College but changed his mind and signed with the club and had such a strong training camp that he made the starting lineup.</p><p>The Capitals also selected a pair of large sized defensemen in the early stages of the Entry Draft: Eric Calder, from the Memorial Cup champion Cornwall Royals, a 6-1, 184-pounder who produced 9-34-43 stats and Tony Kellin, a 6-2, 195-pounder Minnesota high school star.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01648/10145219-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="1629" height="3155"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Acrobatic goaltender Mike Palmateer did not turn out to be the answer to all of the Washington Capitals&rsquo; problems as his up and down year counted heavily in the team missing the playoffs.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>WASHINGTON CAPITALS (10)</b></h3><p>1. Bob Carpenter, C, St. John&rsquo;s Prep</p><p>3. Eric Calder, D, Cornwall</p><p>4. Tony Kellin, D, Grand Rapids</p><p>5. Mike Siltala, RW, Kingston</p><p>5. Peter Sidorkiewicz, G, Oshawa</p><p>6. Jim McGeough, C, Billings</p><p>7. Risto Jalo, C, Finland</p><p>8. Gaetan Duchesne, LW, Quebec</p><p>9. George White, LW, New Hampshire</p><p>10. Chris Valentine, C, Sorel</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02423/10145212-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="792" height="2271"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01511/10145205-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="1100" height="1367"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>One little guy who came through for the Capitals in a big way was centerman Dennis Maruk who had his best year ever in the NHL &mdash; 50 goals.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02329/10145198-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="1229" height="1506"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-03229/10145191-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="2345" height="1556"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01507/10145184-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="2498" height="1335"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02389/10145177-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="2514" height="1268"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G &mdash; Goals, A &mdash; Assists. PTS &mdash; Points. S &mdash; Shots on goal, SC, PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT <sup>1</sup> &mdash; Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead. I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T. L. I. P); PCTG-Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice. PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; evenstrength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played, DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0046-01

Washington Capitals

f0050-01

IT WAS A ZANY YEAR FOR GOALTENDERS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0055-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01326/10145386-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg"></div><p>Do you want back issues of the Basketball News Yearbook, the Hockey News Yearbook or The Gridiron News Yearbook?</p><p>If so, simply fill out the order form below and mail with $2.75 (U.S.) per yearbook to:</p><p>Back Issues</p><p>850 Third Ave.</p><p>13th Floor</p><p>New York, N.Y. 10022<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0055-01

IN THIS ISSUE

BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE!!!

<div class="byline">Parker MacDonald</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-01246/10145473-1-eng-US/f0062-012.jpg" title="f0062-01" width="730" height="618"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-02138/10145466-1-eng-US/f0062-022.jpg" title="f0062-02" width="677" height="675"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b>fter several years of finishing second in the Norris Division to the Montreal Canadiens, the much-improved Los Angeles Kings should finally be in position to find out what it&rsquo;s like to finish in first place.</p><p>That&rsquo;s because they&rsquo;ve been shifted into the Smythe Division under the National Hockey League&rsquo;s new alignment structure and while the Smythe is much stronger than it used to be when Chicago was dominating the division with a record around the .500 mark, it probably ranks as either the third toughest or second easiest set-up in terms of overall strength.</p><p>Last year, the Kings enjoyed their second-most productive season ever in terms of points with 99 and finished fourth overall in the NHL standings. Their subsequent playoff failure at the hands of the Rangers ultimately cost coach Bob Berry his job, but his successor, Parker MacDonald, who was one of Berry&rsquo;s assistants last year, will be dealing with a pretty talented line-up.</p><p>It used to be that the Kings&rsquo; jewels were limited to the one line where Marcel Dionne. Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor performed. But while they may still be the undisputed leaders of the Kings, at least they are now beginning to get some first-rate support from other members of the cast.</p><p>Success on any hockey team has to begin in goal and the Kings are delighted to have discovered young Mario Lessard, who has been providing them with goaltending caliber of the sort the Kings briefly enjoyed when Rogie Vachon was at the top of his game.</p><p>Lessard was not only one of the NHL&rsquo;s busiest goalies last term with 64 appearances, but he was also one of the best with a 3.25 goals-against average and a league-leading 35 wins. He&rsquo;s quick, he&rsquo;s durable and at 27, with three NHL seasons behind him, he is just now emerging as one of the top goaltenders in the game. Jim Rutherford figures to be the back-up.</p><p>Defense has long been a problem for the Kings who so often relied upon the scoring exploits of the Dionne-Simmer-Taylor trio to outscore the opposition. Now, however, there&rsquo;s sophomore pro Larry Murphy who is being called upon to play a large leadership role with the club. Murphy had excellent 16-60-76 stats, setting a new record for points by a first-year NHL defenseman and is a calm and collected puck carrier who understands his job well.</p><p>When you add in the experience of Jerry Korab and the steadiness of Dave Lewis plus the improvement shown by rearguards Mark Hardy and Jay Wells, the formation of a solid nucleus is now a reality.</p><p>To add some depth to their defense, the Kings also used their second and fourth picks in the 1981 draft to choose some rather large-sized blueliners-6-2, 180-pound Dean Kennedy from Brandon and 6-3, 184-pound Brad Thompson from London.</p><p>Up front, the fact remains that the Kings could use some more scoring, despite the fact that they were third overall in goals last year with 337.</p><p>Much of that was still supplied by the Big Three, the Triple Crown Line. Dionne finished second in the league in goals and points with 58 and 135; Simmer had 56 goals and 105 points before breaking his leg and Taylor, the most effective two-way player on the team, finished with 47 goals and 112 points.</p><p>After that, the scoring was sparse. Billy Harris had 20 goals, Steve Jensen 19 and Mike Murphy 16 to lead the second brigade. The Kings are hoping that Rick Martin, who only had eight goals in 24 games, will be completely healed from last year&rsquo;s injuries.</p><p>The Kings&rsquo; top draft pick was center Doug Smith of Ottawa, who, although he won&rsquo;t be a 50-goal scorer, is the type of player who can boost a team in so many ways. He can kill penalties, is an excellent skater, a very opportune player and he still managed 101 points.</p><p>He&rsquo;s the type of player the Kings were lacking in their earlier years when they were left empty-handed when it came time for the draft after sacrificing their young picks in exchange for the more immediate aid of some journeymen performers.</p><p>General manager George Maguire now seems to have his program directed towards bringing in a variety of players who can perform different functions for the team and of a group of young players, including Bernie Nicholls (152 points). Alan Graves (47 goals), Daryl Evans (61-58-119), all from the junior ranks and collegians Steve Bozek and Bill O&rsquo;Dwyer, the Kings may just find some quality starters.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-01188/10145459-1-eng-US/f0063-012.jpg" title="f0063-01" width="1598" height="3107"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Otten overlooked and underrated, Kings&rsquo; right winger Dave Taylor may be the club&rsquo;s best all-around performer. Taylor scored 112 points last year to finish among the NHL&rsquo;s Top 10.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>LOS ANGELES KINGS (9)</b></h3><p>1. Doug Smith, C, Ottawa</p><p>2. Dean Kennedy, D, Brandon</p><p>4. Marty Dallman, C, RPI</p><p>6. Brad Thompson, D, London</p><p>7. Craig Hurley, D, Saskatoon</p><p>7. Peter Sawkins, D, St. Paul, MN</p><p>8. Dan Brennan, LW, North Dakota</p><p>9. Allan Tuer, D, Regina</p><p>10. Jeff Baikie, LW, Cornell</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-02121/10145452-1-eng-US/f0063-022.jpg" title="f0063-02" width="764" height="2220"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-01202/10145445-1-eng-US/f0064-012.jpg" title="f0064-01" width="1120" height="1376"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Highly touted rookie defenseman Larry Murphy lived up to his credentials as the Kings&rsquo; No. 1 draft choice with a splendid first year and great future potential.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-02121/10145438-1-eng-US/f0064-022.jpg" title="f0064-02" width="1252" height="1516"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-0366/10145431-1-eng-US/f0064-032.jpg" title="f0064-03" width="2366" height="1539"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-01204/10145424-1-eng-US/f0065-012.jpg" title="f0065-01" width="2450" height="1218"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-02146/10145417-1-eng-US/f0065-022.jpg" title="f0065-02" width="2427" height="1242"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP-Games Played: G-Goals; A-Assists; PTS-Points; S-Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT &mdash; Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead; I-Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P-Proximate Goals (Moving*the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T, L. I. P); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG-Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; PGF-Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice: OFFENSE PERCENTAGE-Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA-Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA-Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) tor which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0062-01

L.A. Kings

<div class="byline">Al MacNeil</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-01204/10145560-1-eng-US/f0066-012.jpg" title="f0066-01" width="720" height="632"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-02124/10145553-1-eng-US/f0066-022.jpg" title="f0066-02" width="669" height="685"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span></b>ow that the CHOKE tag has been removed from the Calgary Flames, perhaps they can proceed with their efforts towards proving that they are a contending team and eventually move into the running for a Stanley Cup championship.</p><p>It was a desperate struggle removing the millstone which had been attached to their necks way back in their early days in the sunny south of the United States, in Atlanta. Five series had passed, a total of 17 playoff games, and the Flames had won but two games. But all that was to change in Calgary.</p><p>The Flames put together a 39-27-14 record for seventh place overall in the standings, but all of that would mean nothing if they couldn&rsquo;t advance past the first round of the playoffs.</p><p>Chicago was the Flames&rsquo; opponent and they quickly proved that they were related to their Atlanta predecessors in name only when they swept away the Black Hawks in three straight games.</p><p>Then it was on to the quarterfinals where they met the Philadelphia Flyers and things would be much different, or so the critics said. But after losing the first game in Philly, the Flames won three in a row to put the Flyers on the ropes. When the Flyers stormed back to win at home and then at Calgary, tying the series at 3-3 with Game Seven in the Philadelphia Spectrum, the old lump in the throats of the Flames theory was raised once more. But it was put to rest forever when Calgary rode roughshod over the Flyers to move into the semifinals.</p><p>Along the way to their greatest post-regular season success to date, the Flames had the fortune of trading away a discontented goalie in Dan Bouchard, who was scintillating for the Nordiques, yet the Flames received an honest worker in Jamie Hislop and then discovered that their two young goaltenders-Reggie Lemelin and Pat Riggin &mdash; could more than adequately handle the load.</p><p>During the regular season, Lemelin produced a 14-6-7 record and a 3.24 goals-against average in 29 games, while Riggin was even busier with 42 appearances and a 3.83 GAA to go along with a record of 21-16-4.</p><p>The pair also continued their excellent showings in the playoffs. Again, Riggin was the busier as coach Al MacNeil chose to stick with the same goalie when he was hot. Riggin played in 11 games, was 6-4 and had a 3.53 goals-against average. Lemelin was 3-3 with a mark of 3.61 and both of them came up with some outstanding saves along the way. So the Flames appear to be set in goal and also have an excellent prospect in Tim Bernhardt, who&rsquo;s had three years of experience in the Central League.</p><p>On offense, the Flames are led by Kent (Magic) Nilsson who finished third in NHL scoring with 131 points, including 49 goals. Nilsson&rsquo;s play in the post-season go-round was somewhat disappointing, but he still managed 12 points, while many of the Flames&rsquo; other big guns also came through with top-flight performances in the playoffs.</p><p>Guy Chouinard was the playoff scoring leader with 3-14-17 after a 31-52-83 regular season that was plagued with injuries; Ken Houston, who fought hepatitis and missed half the season, produced 15 points in the playoffs, while Bob MacMillan rebounded from a so-so year with an 8-6-14 playoff log.</p><p>Among the hitters on the Flames, Willi Plett followed his 38-goal campaign with a dozen more points in the playoffs, while rookie Jim Peplinski drew a full workload and impressed. Eric Vail, a 28-goal man in the regular season, was not as effective in the playoffs.</p><p>But the Flames do have plenty of depth in their forward brigade including Don Lever, Bill Clement, Hislop, Dan Labraaten and youngsters such as Kevin Lavallee, Denis Cyr, who should stick with the club this season and Mike Dwyer.</p><p>Slowly, but steadily, the Flames&rsquo; defense corps has improved as well. Paul Reinhart appears on the verge of stardom, popping in 15 playoff points after leading the rearguards in scoring during the regular season. Pekka Rautakallio emerged as a versatile veteran and captain Brad Marsh, Phil Russell and Bob Murdoch lend stability to the defensive efforts of the Flames.</p><p>Destined to step right into the blueline brigade is Karl Eloranta, a Finnish defenseman who was much sought after. His countryman Kari Jalonen will accompany him, vying for a center spot.</p><p>Waiting in the wings for the Flames are defenseman Dave Hindmarch, a former Canadian Olympic teammate of Reinhart and Rick Vasko, the most valuable player of the AHL playoffs last spring who was traded by the Red Wings. The Flames&rsquo; top draft pick, Allan Maclnnis, a defenseman from Kitchener, could also be a factor.</p><p>The Flames should give Edmonton quite a battle for second place.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0067-01142/10145546-1-eng-US/f0067-012.jpg" title="f0067-01" width="1644" height="3175"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Kent Nilson performed feats of magic for the Calgary offense throughout most of 1980-81. With his dazzling shifts and artful stickhandling, Nilson finished third overall in NHL scoring.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>CALGARY FLAMES (9)</b></h3><p>1. Allan Maclnnis, D, Kitchener</p><p>3. Mike Vernon, G, Calgary</p><p>4. Peter Madach, C, Sweden</p><p>5. Mario Simioni, RW, Toronto</p><p>6. Todd Hooey, RW, Windsor</p><p>7. Rick Heppner, D., Mt. View, MN.</p><p>8. Dale Degray, D, Oshawa</p><p>9. George Boudreau, D, Cambridge, MA</p><p>10. Bruce Eakin, C, Saskatoon</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0067-0282/10145539-1-eng-US/f0067-022.jpg" title="f0067-02" width="777" height="2251"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-01154/10145532-1-eng-US/f0068-012.jpg" title="f0068-01" width="1133" height="1380"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Rugged rookie Jim Peplinskl surprised more than a few people with his work in the playoffs as the Flames began a new Image in the hockey hotbed of Calgary.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-0279/10145525-1-eng-US/f0068-022.jpg" title="f0068-02" width="1284" height="1517"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-0348/10145518-1-eng-US/f0068-032.jpg" title="f0068-03" width="2429" height="1558"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0069-01132/10145511-1-eng-US/f0069-012.jpg" title="f0069-01" width="2492" height="1313"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0069-0288/10145504-1-eng-US/f0069-022.jpg" title="f0069-02" width="2483" height="1218"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP-Games Played; G-Goals; A-Assists; PTS-Points; S-Shots on goal, SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals: GT-Game-Tying Goals; F-First Goal of Game; T-Score-Tying Goals. L-Goals giving a team the lead; I-Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P-Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score), TOT-Total Important Goals (F. T, L, I. P): PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals: IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice, PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice: OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0066-01

Calgary Flames

<div class="byline">Glen Sather</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0070-01135/10145647-1-eng-US/f0070-012.jpg" title="f0070-01" width="689" height="675"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0070-0275/10145640-1-eng-US/f0070-022.jpg" title="f0070-02" width="647" height="659"></div><p><b>A</b>re the Edmonton Oilers for real?</p><p>That&rsquo;s a question which may or may not be answered during the course of the 1981-82 season, but one thing is certain: Watch out for the Oilers down the backstretch of the season. And as the Montreal Canadiens can attest, they can be awfully difficult to subdue in the playoffs as well.</p><p>For the second season in a row, the Oilers burned up the National Hockey League when the schedule moved from February into March as they parlayed three basic ingredients into success.</p><p>First there was hot goaltending, from Ron Low their first year in the NHL, from Andy Moog their second; next came a large sampling of Wayne Gretzky. He was merely phenomenal his first year; last season he was seemingly from another solar system as he materialized from out of nowhere time after time to become not only the first player to average more than two points a game for the entire season, but an equally pervasive force in the playoffs when he scored 21 points in only nine games.</p><p>And the third ingredient is the growing confidence of the Oilers&rsquo; supporting cast. Their first trip to the playoffs, they gave Philadelphia a tough time, but lost out in the first round. Last season, they turned the Canadiens away in three straight matches and then proceeded to give the Islanders their toughest fight of the playoffs before bowing in six games.</p><p>Where do the Oilers go from here? &rsquo;</p><p>Last season, they were disappointments in the regular portion of the schedule, settling for a 14th place finish despite scoring a commendable 328 goals. Their major problem was that they allowed 327 goals.</p><p>That deficiency could be in the past tense, at least from the goalmouth out, because the Oilers have rather suddenly become rich in goaltenders. Besides Moog, who turned in a 3.65 average in nine playoff games and a 5-4 won-lost record, the Oilers also have Eddie Mio. a 27-year-old who handled most of their regular season play before breaking a thumb, and Low, who filled in for Mio until he, too, broke his hand. Then there&rsquo;s the future &mdash; spelled FUHR &mdash; and the way youngsters, like Moog who is only 21, are moving into the NHL these days, the future might not be that far away.</p><p>Young Mr. Fuhr, first name Grant, was the Oilers&rsquo; top draft pick in the 1981 Entry Draft, and came to the club touted as the best junior hockey goalie since Bernie Parent. The 5-10, 180-pound goalie who played for Victoria and compiled a remarkable 2.78 goals-against average in 58 games, is used to pressure as well. He is black and is known almost as much for that oddity, rather than for his considerable talents. A black hockey player making the pros is rare, a black goalie is a first. But all indications are that Fuhr Will make it.</p><p>Among the Oilers&rsquo; forwards, the team seems to have all of the ingredients for success, starting naturally with Gretzky.</p><p>Fifty-five goals, 109 assists, 164 points, the Hart and Ross Trophies and he&rsquo;s only 20. Just wait until he matures. But to be fair, Gretzky didn&rsquo;t do it all alone. He had some pretty fair company from among the Oilers&rsquo; forward contingent.</p><p>Topping the list is Finland&rsquo;s Jari Kurri who was second on the club in scoring with 75 points, including 32 goals. Close behind is Glenn Anderson, a former member of the Canadian Olympic team who also hit the 30-goal mark and had 58 points in only 58 games.</p><p>Solid contributors included Mark Messier, 23-40-63. Brett Callighen, 25-35-60 despite injuries, plus centers Matti Hagman and Stan Weir. The Oilers also have a number of rugged forwards who can get the job done including Dave Hunter, Dave Lumley, Curt Brackenbury and Pat Hughes.</p><p>On defense, the Oilers are also building a strong group. Lee Fogolin has blossomed in his role as team captain and is a seasoned veteran at the age of 26. Risto Siltanen, another Finn, developed into the club&rsquo;s top offensive threat from the blueline with 17 goals and 53 points. Kevin Lowe is unspectacular but increasingly steady and Paul Coffey impressed so much in the second half of his rookie year that he was invited to try out for Team Canada. Rounding out the corps are Glenn Lariviere, Doug Hicks, Charlie Huddy and newly acquired Don Jackson, who came from Minnesota in the deal for Don Murdoch.</p><p>A couple of other longshots to crack the Oilers are Tom Roulston, who burned up the Central League and second draft pick Todd Strueby, a rugged 6-1, 186-pound defensive specialist from Regina.</p><p>Edmonton should be more consistent in the regular season which will help to build their confidence and when that occurs, anything can happen.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0071-0272/10145633-1-eng-US/f0071-022.jpg" title="f0071-02" width="1624" height="3160"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Although he&rsquo;s even younger than Wayne Gretzky, sophomore defenseman Paul Coffey proved in his first year in the NHL that he has the talent, desire and leadership to make the Oilers a contender.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICE</b></h2><h3><b>EDMONTON OILERS (9)</b></h3><p>1. Grant Fuhr, G, Victoria</p><p>2. Todd Strueby, LW, Regina</p><p>4. Paul Houck, RW, Kelowna</p><p>5. Phil Drouillard, LW, Niagara Falls</p><p>6. Steve Smith, RW, London</p><p>6. Marc Habscheid, C, Saskatoon</p><p>8. Mike Sturgeon, D, Kelowna</p><p>9. Miloslav Horava, D, Czechoslovakia</p><p>10. Gord Sherven, C, Weyburn, Sask.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0071-01131/10145626-1-eng-US/f0071-012.jpg" title="f0071-01" width="763" height="2247"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0072-01130/10145619-1-eng-US/f0072-012.jpg" title="f0072-01" width="1110" height="1375"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Every team needs their grinders and tough checkers to shut down the opposition and few performers did their job more effectively than the Oilers Dave Hunter.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0072-0340/10145612-1-eng-US/f0072-032.jpg" title="f0072-03" width="1237" height="1528"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0072-0266/10145605-1-eng-US/f0072-022.jpg" title="f0072-02" width="2392" height="1546"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0073-01123/10145598-1-eng-US/f0073-012.jpg" title="f0073-01" width="2441" height="1303"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0073-0280/10145591-1-eng-US/f0073-022.jpg" title="f0073-02" width="2419" height="1198"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A &mdash; Assists. PTS &mdash; Points; S &mdash; Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT-Game-Tying Goals; F-First Goal of Game; T-Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead. I-Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P-Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T, L, I P); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP-Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG-Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice, PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals socred by team while player was on ice OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0070-01

Edmonton Oilers

<div class="byline">Harry Neale</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0074-01125/10145734-1-eng-US/f0074-012.jpg" title="f0074-01" width="754" height="656"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0074-0260/10145727-1-eng-US/f0074-022.jpg" title="f0074-02" width="686" height="673"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b> few seasons back, the Vancouver Canucks enlisted the aid of a psychologist to help redesign their uniforms into more intimidating and aggressive colors. Since that time, the Canucks have been No. 1 only in garishness.</p><p>But that psychologist can always find work when it comes to the Canucks. Trying to figure out what makes the Canucks tick would be a full-time assignment for a dozen specialists. They always seemed to combine the best and worst of play into the same season and then top it off with a lukewarm showing in the playoffs before packing it in for the summer.</p><p>The grueling travel grind of operating out of Vancouver was always a factor in the demise of the club and the way the schedule was arranged each year was that the Canucks would reach the Christmas-New Year&rsquo;s holiday period in reasonably, sometimes in even very good shape. Then, they&rsquo;d depart on a long road trip in early January and by the time they returned home would be in the midst of a long slump and about to disintegrate.</p><p>Once again, the Canucks, who finished 12th overall last season with a 28-32-20 mark, are a team filled with question marks.</p><p>There&rsquo;s somewhat of a changing of the guard underway on the management side where Jake Milford is in his last season as the club&rsquo;s general manager, with coach Harry Neale ready to replace him and newly hired assistant coach Roger Neilson slated for Neale&rsquo;s duties next year as well.</p><p>You can expect a far different player roster for the Canucks this year as well with the removal of veterans such as Bobby Schmautz, Dennis Kearns, Chris Oddieifson, Rick Blight, Bob Manno and Brent Ashton, who was lost to Colorado as payment for Vancouver keeping Czechoslovakians Jiri Bubla and Ivan Hlinka.</p><p>Two other Europeans have been added to the Canucks&rsquo; lineup as well, highly-touted Lars Molin, a center and winger who scored 17 goals in 30 games last year and defense-man Anders Eldebrink, both natives of Sweden.</p><p>Like most of the teams in the bottom half of the standings, the Canucks could use help at several positions, but none more so than goal-scoring in general, and on right wing, in particular.</p><p>The team goal-scoring champion was left winger Tiger Williams with 35, but after that, the next highest dropped&rsquo; off to Schmautz with 27 and he&rsquo;s gone. The Canucks&rsquo; coterie of 20-goal men included Ivan Boldirev with 26, Curt Fraser, Stan Smyl and Darcy Rota, 25, B. J. MacDonald, 24, Per-Olov Brasar, 22 and team points leader Thomas Gradin, who had 21 goals among his 69 points. Molin and Hlinka, who is an unknown quality because of knee surgery a little over a year ago, are expected to add considerable punch.</p><p>The problem on the right side is that the club had only MacDonald and defensive specialist Jerry Butler as natural right wingers. This might open the door for second-round draft choice Jean-Marc Gauthier, a rangy 6-2, 181-pounder out of Sorel of the Quebec League, who produced 19-65-84 stats last season.</p><p>Other than that, the Canucks will have to count on improvement from players such as Gary Lupul, Gerry Minor and Kevin Primeau for increased production.</p><p>Defense is one area where the Canucks have been making steady progress and it looks like they will continue to be strengthened this year once again. Kevin McCarthy came into his own as an offensive p, ormer with 16-37-53 stats and Lars Lindgren has been extremely good although he was hit by a series of injuries last season. The Canucks have a couple of experienced, physical players in Harold Snepsts and Colin Campbell and Doug Halward has shown well for Los Angeles in the past, although he did not really have time to fit in with the Canucks last year.</p><p>Of course the hopes for the future lie in players like sophomore Rick Lanz, who received a baptism under fire, but responded quite well, along with No. 1 pick Garth Butcher from Regina. Butcher, 6-0 and 194 pounds had 86 points and 230 penalty minutes and is generally regarded as a prime pick. Then, throw in Eldebrink and the much-experienced Bubla. a world class competitor and things brighten.</p><p>Things could not have been darker than in the Canucks&rsquo; goaltending department last year when Glen Hanlon was injured at the start of the year. But Hanlon is recovered and in his absence, Richard Brodeur established himself as a bona fide NHL goalie, playing in 52 games with a 3.51 goals-against average. They&rsquo;ll battle it out for the starter&rsquo;s role and their success will have a major bearing on how questionable the Canucks are as <i>a</i> team this season.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0075-01104/10145720-1-eng-US/f0075-012.jpg" title="f0075-01" width="1597" height="3157"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Vancouver Canucks were never accused of being a team with a lot of heart until Dave (Tiger) Williams came along. Williams showed plenty of his mates what going all out really meant.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>VANCOUVER CANUCKS (9)</b></h3><p>1. Garth Butcher, D, Regina</p><p>3. Jean Marc Lanthier, RW, Sorel</p><p>4. Wendell Young, G, Kitchener</p><p>5. Moe Lemay, LW, Ottawa</p><p>6. Stu Kulak, RW, Victoria</p><p>7. Bruce Holloway, D, Regina</p><p>8. Petri Skriko, RW, Lapeenranta</p><p>9. Frank Caprice, G, London</p><p>10. Rejean Vigmola, C, Shawinigan</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0075-0262/10145713-1-eng-US/f0075-022.jpg" title="f0075-02" width="743" height="2249"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0076-01116/10145706-1-eng-US/f0076-012.jpg" title="f0076-01" width="1003" height="1263"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Kevin McCarthy developed into the steady hand that all good defenses need last year and promises to remain in the forefront of the Canucks&rsquo; progress.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0076-0259/10145699-1-eng-US/f0076-022.jpg" title="f0076-02" width="1119" height="1381"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0076-0340/10145692-1-eng-US/f0076-032.jpg" title="f0076-03" width="2155" height="1399"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0077-01115/10145685-1-eng-US/f0077-012.jpg" title="f0077-01" width="2447" height="1250"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0077-0264/10145678-1-eng-US/f0077-022.jpg" title="f0077-02" width="2474" height="1258"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A &mdash; Assists; PTS &mdash; Points; S &mdash; Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT &mdash; Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead; I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T, L. I. P). PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played, TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice, OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0074-01

Vancouver Canucks

<div class="byline">Bert Marshall</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0078-01111/10145821-1-eng-US/f0078-012.jpg" title="f0078-01" width="657" height="578"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0078-0250/10145814-1-eng-US/f0078-022.jpg" title="f0078-02" width="600" height="600"></div><p><b>A</b>re the Rockies over the mountain or the hump you ask? Or are they forever destined to be a hockey no-no in nanno-nanno-land?</p><p>Billy MacMillan took a good look after his year as the coach of the Rockies and decided that the place to be was as the team&rsquo;s general manager. Bert Marshall, a former teammate of MacMillan&rsquo;s with the Islanders, was lured in as coach. And owner Peter Gilbert has given the team the firm foundation they have longed for since their days as the Kansas City Scouts.</p><p>Stability at the cash box will certainly be a blessing for the Rockies, but the real games are won and lost on the ice and only when the team starts to win more than they lose will the fans turn out in consistent numbers.</p><p>Over the years, the Rockies have had some talented players, but they&rsquo;ve also seemed to have had their share of veterans who fizzled, youngsters who left their greatest glories behind in junior hockey and never-wases who never were.</p><p>Since MacMillan has been in their employ, however, the least that can be said is that the team has been going through a lot of changes to come up with the kind of lineup he feels can be a winner in the National Hockey League.</p><p>The European influence will weigh heavily on the Rockies&rsquo; success or failure this coming season. Although they lost out on getting Czechoslovakian defenseman Jiri Bubla, the Rockies signed five other Europeans to play, three from Finland, two from Sweden.</p><p>The most familiar name to North Americans is center Veli-Pekka Ketola, who used to play for Winnipeg in the World Hockey Association. He captained Finland in the 1981 Canada Cup series and has plenty of experience to show his Rockie teammates a thing or two.</p><p>Tapio Levo, a 26-year-old defenseman who saw action in the 1976 Canada Cup competition should also give the Rockies a boost as will right winger Juka Porvari, who can supply some much-needed scoring punch.</p><p>From Sweden come Christer Kellgren and Peter Gustavsson, two more potential first stringers. But the Rockies have plenty of new faces from within the NHL as well.</p><p>There&rsquo;s Brent Ashton who came to them as part of the Bubla deal, Bobby Miller who came in a late deal with the Bruins, Dwight Foster, a Bruins&rsquo; free agent who was dealt to Colorado, Aaron Broten from the University of Minnesota, plus defensemen Craig Norwich and Bill Baker, obtained in March deals from St. Louis and Montreal respectively.</p><p>Perhaps the Rockies&rsquo; biggest improvement will be in goal where they have signed Glenn (Chico) Resch to a long-term contract after obtaining him from the Islanders. There&rsquo;s also Phil Myre who was the odd-man out in Philadelphia, but could be a valuable addition to the Rockies, who dropped both of last year&rsquo;s mainstays, veteran Al Smith and Hardy Astrom.</p><p>The Rockies&rsquo; defense is led by Rob Ramage, who collected 20-42-62 stats last season and has adjusted well to a heavy load with the Rockies, and Joel Quenneville, a former first round pick of Toronto who is steadily developing into a capable blueline performer. Bill Baker from the U.S. Olympic team and Montrealwas a late season addition as was Craig Norwich, another American, who played for St. Louis and Winnipeg in the NHL and Cincinnati in the WHA.</p><p>Also expected to become a starter is Joe Cirella, &rsquo;the Rockies&rsquo; first choice in the Entry Draft and fifth selection overall. The 6-2, 193-pounder played for Oshawa last year and contributed 36 points plus 220 penalty minutes. The Rockies picked up Rich Chernomaz, a center from Victoria who scored 113 points last season, with their second draft choice and they certainly hope that he can add to their anemic offense in the near future.</p><p>After Lanny McDonald&rsquo;s 35 goals and 81 points, the Colorado offense dropped off to Merlin Malinowski, who had 25 goals and 62 points. Paul Gagne and Steve Tambellini also chipped in with 25 goals but that was about it a&rsquo;s the Rockies&rsquo; offense ranked 19th.</p><p>Undoubtedly, the Rockies will be better, but realistically, the most they can hope to do is to move up two or three notches.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0079-0198/10145807-1-eng-US/f0079-012.jpg" title="f0079-01" width="1454" height="2872"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>When the management of the Colorado Rockies looks for leadership they don&rsquo;t have to go beyond the presence of sharpshooting right winger Lanny McDonald, the team&rsquo;s captain.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>COLORADO ROCKIES (10)</b></h3><p>1. Joe Cirella, D, Oshawa</p><p>2. Rich Chernomaz, C, Victoria</p><p>3. Ulrich Heimer, D, West Germany</p><p>4. Gus Greco, C, Windsor</p><p>5. Doug Speck, D, Peterborough</p><p>6. Bruce Driver, D, Wisconsin</p><p>7. Jeff Larmer, LW, Kitchener</p><p>8. Tony Arima, LW, Finland</p><p>9. Tim Army, C, Providence College</p><p>10. John Johansson, C, Wisconsin</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0079-0251/10145800-1-eng-US/f0079-022.jpg" title="f0079-02" width="697" height="2015"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0080-0199/10145793-1-eng-US/f0080-012.jpg" title="f0080-01" width="1121" height="1368"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The talents of former Maple Leaf defenseman Joel Quenneville have been put to work in Colorado where he Joins with Rob Ramage as the team&rsquo;s top blueliner.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0080-0250/10145786-1-eng-US/f0080-022.jpg" title="f0080-02" width="1232" height="1523"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0080-0328/10145779-1-eng-US/f0080-032.jpg" title="f0080-03" width="2387" height="1564"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0081-01107/10145772-1-eng-US/f0081-012.jpg" title="f0081-01" width="2383" height="1472"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0081-0269/10145765-1-eng-US/f0081-022.jpg" title="f0081-02" width="2392" height="1401"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0078-01

Colorado Rockies

<div class="byline">Red Berenson</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0082-0196/10145908-1-eng-US/f0082-012.jpg" title="f0082-01" width="700" height="673"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0082-0248/10145901-1-eng-US/f0082-022.jpg" title="f0082-02" width="651" height="689"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span></b>o, Virginia, the St. Louis Blues will not be the most improved team in the National Hockey League for the 1981-82 season. Or if they are, the league had better send out a team of investigators to find out which level they&rsquo;re playing on because you can&rsquo;t go much higher than where the Blues have risen to in the last couple of years.</p><p>After showing the most improvement during the 1978-79 season when they rose from 48 points and 17th in an 18-team league to 80 points and a ranking of tenth in 1979-80, the Blues climbed all the way to second overall last year with 107 points, just three behind the New York Islanders. Keeping up in such esteemed company is where the hopes of the Blues lie in the immediate future.</p><p>There are only two clouds on the horizon to darken the outlook for the Blues, but they&rsquo;re interrelated which might make the storm a little more severe than might be the case otherwise. Call them problems No. 1 and 1 A, but they are: First, that the Blues (and three-quarters of the rest of the NHL clubs) don&rsquo;t have a single take-charge, stand-out defenseman like Larry Robinson or Denis Potvin to bail them out of difficulties and 2) the team got into trouble in the playoffs and were in fact eliminated in the quarterfinals by the New York Rangers because the Rangers effectively forechecked the laborious Blues&rsquo; defense corps into numerous mistakes.</p><p>Industrious general manager Emile Francis and master-polisher of personnel, coach Red Berenson, are very much aware of their shortcomings on defense and moved to rectify the situation right away.</p><p>Their first three picks in the Entry Draft were defensemen and one or more may step right into the lineup. Top choice was 6-1, 185-pound Marty Ruff of Lethbridge, a brother of Buffalo&rsquo;s Randy Ruff and-a hard-nosed customer with 9-37-46 stats last season. The No. 2 man is from Sweden, Hakan Nordin. who may be set to join the Blues the following year, and the third player was strapping Gordie Donnelly, 6-2, 195 pounds from Sherbrooke where he collected 252 penalty minutes and 38 points.</p><p>Then there&rsquo;s Scott Campbell, originally a Blues&rsquo; draft pick in 1977 who played in the WHA for several seasons and then was traded by Winnipeg to the Blues along with John Markell for defenseman Bryan Maxwell, Paul MacLeah and Ed Staniowski. The Blues say they aren&rsquo;t expecting Campbell to be another Robinson, only to play up to his potential.</p><p>The holdover crew of St. Louis isn&rsquo;t exactly shabby to begin with. Fine young players like Rick LaPointe, Joe Micheletti (13 points in the playoffs). Jack Brown-schidle and Bill Stewart combine with the seasoned Gerry Hart and Ed Kea to form a pretty solid nucleus. 1980 pick Rick Wilson is also ready to move up after remaining in Junior for another year.</p><p>When you want to talk about strengths, you talk about Mike Liut and the Blues&rsquo; scorers. Let&rsquo;s start with the latter.</p><p>As a team, they produced 352 goals to rank second in the league to the Islanders. Wayne Babych topped the goal-scorers with 54; Bernie Federko was the point leader with 104. Four other Blues had 30 or more goals, Swedish sensation Jorgen Pettersson was second on the team with 37. followed by Brian Sutter (35), Perry Turnbull (34) and Federko (31). Another five players had at least 20 goals. Mike Zuke, Tony Currie. Larry Patey, Blake Dunlop and Blair Chapman, which meant that any unit the Blues put on the ice was a threat to score. Patey. in fact led the league in shorthanded goals.</p><p>There&rsquo;s also Ralph Klassen and Mike Crombeen to round out the forwards, plus Joe Mullen, who&rsquo;s produced 99 goals in the last two seasons on the Blues&rsquo; Salt Lake farm club.</p><p>Liut, though, remains a major key to the Blues&rsquo; success and they must guard against leaving him too tired when the-hectic playoffs get underway. Liut was in 61 regular season games with a 33-14-13 record and a 3.34 goals-against average, but he should handle a lighter load this time around even though he prefers to keep busy.</p><p>Lending support will likely be Rick Heinz, the Blues&rsquo; top minor league goalie, who replace Staniowski in the back-up role. In the somewhat distant future, there&rsquo;s likely to be a place reserved for Peter Aslin, a Swedish goaltender, who isn&rsquo;t available to the Blues at the moment.</p><p>The Blues appear to be on a course similar to the New York Islanders except that they are accomplishing their turnabout in even less time, which spells trouble for their NHL foes.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0083-0186/10145894-1-eng-US/f0083-012.jpg" title="f0083-01" width="1590" height="3140"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>In St. Louis, the puck stops with Mike Liut who rose to the heights of being acclaimed the NHL&rsquo;s top goaltender in the space of less than two seasons after a stint in the WHA.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>ST. LOUIS BLUES (9)</b></h3><p>1. Marty Ruff, D, Lethbridge</p><p>2. Hakan Nordin, D, Farjestads</p><p>3. Gord Donnelly, D, Sherbrooke</p><p>5. Mike Hickey, C, Sudbury</p><p>6. Peter Aslin, G. AIK Soina</p><p>7. Erik Holmberg, C, Sweden</p><p>8. Alain Vigneault, D, Trois-Rivieres</p><p>9. Dan Wood, RW, Kingston</p><p>10. Richard Zemlak, C, Spokane</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0083-0251/10145887-1-eng-US/f0083-022.jpg" title="f0083-02" width="737" height="2242"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0084-0189/10145880-1-eng-US/f0084-012.jpg" title="f0084-01" width="1025" height="1269"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Wayne Babych became the first St. Louis Blue to top the 50-goal mark as the No. 1 draft choice led the Blues in goals helping them to top the NHL in scoring.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0084-0242/10145873-1-eng-US/f0084-022.jpg" title="f0084-02" width="1147" height="1394"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0084-0326/10145866-1-eng-US/f0084-032.jpg" title="f0084-03" width="2204" height="1408"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0085-0185/10145859-1-eng-US/f0085-012.jpg" title="f0085-01" width="2402" height="1250"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0085-0248/10145852-1-eng-US/f0085-022.jpg" title="f0085-02" width="2383" height="1266"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A &mdash; Assists; PTS &mdash; Points; S &mdash; Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT &mdash; Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead; I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T. L. I. P); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played, TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0082-01

St. Louis Blues

<div class="byline">Glen Sonmor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0086-0193/10145995-1-eng-US/f0086-012.jpg" title="f0086-01" width="758" height="686"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0086-0246/10145988-1-eng-US/f0086-022.jpg" title="f0086-02" width="680" height="677"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>Y</span></b>oung, industrious, fast-skating &mdash; those are some of the qualities around which success is being fashioned in the National Hockey League these days, and they&rsquo;re also a pretty good summary of the strengths of the Minnesota North Stars.</p><p>The North Stars were certainly in line for Sandbaggers of the Decade last season. Not only when general manager Lou Nanne waved a white flag of surrender in front of the islanders before the start of the Stanley Cup finals, but also during the regular season when the North Stars limped home ninth overall after reaching the semifinals the year before.</p><p>The North Stars even had a chance for the home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but that would have been too easy. Instead they lost their final game of the schedule and opened the preliminary round in Boston Garden where they had never won a game before. Two games and two victories later and the North Stars were two-thirds of the way to the quarterfinals.</p><p>Once there, they made quick work of favored Buffalo in five games and advanced to the semis against Calgary where, once more, without benefit of the home ice edge, they polished off the Flames in six games. The Islanders, alas, proved to be one obstacle too big for the North Stars last season, but you can bet they&rsquo;ll be in there scrapping again this coming spring.</p><p>One of the most noticeable features of the North Stars&rsquo; lineup in the playoffs was their abundance of talented forwards. Everyone knew that Bobby Smith, Steve Payne, Al MacAdam and Tim Young could play the game, but then the North Stars brought out second-year pros like Tom McCarthy and Steve Christoff (who actually qualified as a rookie after setting a club playoff goalscoring record in the 1980 playoffs).</p><p>And if that wasn&rsquo;t enough, the North Stars were loaded with rookies who played like seasoned veterans. Dino Ciccarelli became almost an overnight sensation when he produced 18 goals in the second half of the regular season and then set the playoffs on fire with an additional 14 goals and a total of 21 points. Brad Palmer missed out on a chance to play with Victoria in the Memorial Cup championship to instead play in the Stanley Cup finals. He merely blasted in eight goals in the playoffs, several of them screaming drives which seared the net, one actually traveling right through the mesh.</p><p>Want more? How about Neal Broten who looked so good that Nanne cancelled Broten&rsquo;s trip to Sweden as a member of Team U.S.A, to get him into the lineup. Then there&rsquo;s Kevin Maxwell, another swirling forward and junior recruit Ken Solheim, who was obtained from Chicago.</p><p>By the time the playoffs rolled around, there wasn&rsquo;t any surprise to the fact that 19-year-old Don Beaupre was No. 1A in the North Stars&rsquo; goaltending alignment, sharing top status with Gilles Meloche. Beaupre saw action in six playoff games after 44 matches in the regular season and a 3.20 goals-against average.</p><p>Meloche, following his success in the 1980 playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens, was the busier of the two during postseason play, playing 13 games with a 3.52 average after compiling 17 wins and a 3.25 GAA in 38 regular season appearances.</p><p>Cracking the North Stars&rsquo; lineup, then, appears to be a rather dubious chore, although there are expected to be some changes on defense. The first was the trading of Greg Smith, an effective performer, but one who was unhappy with a reduced workload thanks to Minnesota&rsquo;s crowded blueline condition. Craig Hartsburg and Brad Maxwell were two of the rearguard stalwarts during the playoffs with 15 and 14 points, respectively, while veteran Fred Barrett carried on effectively despite a broken finger. So, too, did Curt Giles, who is becoming more and more noticeable as his confidence grows.</p><p>Gordie Roberts, obtained in an excellent swap with Hartford for Mike Fidler, is top-notch offensively with 50 points and could be ready to step into his own at age 23 after six pro years. Also hoping to remain in the picture is team captain Paul Shmyr.</p><p>The North Stars are counting somewhat on the return of a couple of familiar faces to their lineup this season. One is defenseman Gary Sargent, who missed most of last year with back miseries and finally had back surgery and the other is Bill Nyrop, the ex-Canadiens&rsquo; star who has sat out the last three years. Minor League prospect Daniel Poulin has been making some noises after leading the Eastern League in scoring and there&rsquo;s also the possibility that the Stars&rsquo; 1981 top draft choice, Ron Meighan, a Niagara Falls defenseman could make it.</p><p>Highly-touted Anders Hakansson of Sweden may be the only new North Stars&rsquo; forward.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0087-0181/10145981-1-eng-US/f0087-012.jpg" title="f0087-01" width="1596" height="3141"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>After 40-plus goals in the 1979-80 season the North Stars were expecting big things from Steve Payne. Although they didn&rsquo;t come during the regular season, Payne exploded in the playoffs helping the Stars to the finals.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>MINNESOTA STARS (14)</b></h3><p>1. Ron Meighan, D, Niagara Falls</p><p>2. Dave Donnelly, C. St. Albert</p><p>2. Mike Sands, G, Sudbury</p><p>2. Tom Hirsch, D, Minneapolis</p><p>2. Dave Preuss, RW, St. Paul</p><p>2. Jali Wahlsten, C, TPS</p><p>4. Terry Tait, C, Sault Ste. Marie</p><p>4. Jim Malwitz, C, Grand Rapids</p><p>5. Kelly Hubbard, D, Portland</p><p>6. Paul Guay, RW, St. Charles, RI</p><p>7. Jim Archibald, RW, Moose Jaw</p><p>8. Kari Kanervo, C, Finland</p><p>9. Scott Bjugstad, C, U. Minnesota</p><p>10. Steve Kudebeh, G, Minneapolis</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0087-0240/10145974-1-eng-US/f0087-022.jpg" title="f0087-02" width="761" height="2137"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0088-0198/10145967-1-eng-US/f0088-012.jpg" title="f0088-01" width="1016" height="1248"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>While much of the credit for Minnesota&rsquo;s success went to its young forwards, Curt Giles quietly and efficiently patrolled the bluetine as a steady regular.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0088-0241/10145960-1-eng-US/f0088-022.jpg" title="f0088-02" width="1118" height="1368"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0088-0324/10145953-1-eng-US/f0088-032.jpg" title="f0088-03" width="2164" height="1402"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0089-0187/10145946-1-eng-US/f0089-012.jpg" title="f0089-01" width="2457" height="1450"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0089-0249/10145939-1-eng-US/f0089-022.jpg" title="f0089-02" width="2472" height="1435"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0086-01

Minnesota North Stars

<div class="byline">Keith Magnuson</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0090-0192/10146082-1-eng-US/f0090-012.jpg" title="f0090-01" width="637" height="591"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0090-0245/10146075-1-eng-US/f0090-022.jpg" title="f0090-02" width="605" height="613"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span></b>o long as Tony Esposito continues his often miraculous play in the Chicago nets, the Black Hawks will remain a team which can give the opposition plenty of trouble. And Tony O&rsquo;s even starting to find he&rsquo;s being surrounded by a few guys that can score which means that he doesn&rsquo;t have to throw a shutout at the other team in order for the Hawks to earn a tie.</p><p>The 37-year-old Esposito made a league-leading 66 appearances last season and was still going strong when the playoffs rolled around. Unfortunately his teammates were not as sharp as Tony and went down to defeat in three straight at the hands of Calgary.</p><p>Esposito&rsquo;s back-up man now is Murray Bannerman, who&rsquo;s starting his second year at the position. Bannerman played in 15 games in the 1980-81 campaign with a 4.30 goals-against average, but a not too impressive 2-10-2 won-lost-tied record. He&rsquo;ll catch on, though, if he watches the master closely.</p><p>That Esposito was his usual self was pretty much something the Hawks could count on, but they are most pleased by their sudden development of firepower, specifically the S and S boys, Darryl Sutter and Denis Savard.</p><p>Sutter, in his first full year with the club, racked up 40 goals to lead the club in that department and 62 points to rank third in scoring behind veteran center Tom Lysiak who had 76 points, and Savard, who had 75.</p><p>The No. 1 pick of the Hawks in 1980, Savard, a native of Montreal, drove the French press in that city wild with several of his performances against Montreal, while the Habs&rsquo; No. 1 choice Doug Wickenheiser saw most of his action in a business suit in the pressbox.</p><p>Savard collected 28 goals and gave the Black Hawksa Mikita-like stickhandler who could dipsy-doodle with practically anyone in the NHL. The Hawks also benefitted from the 30 goals of Reggie Kerr, a 59-point effort by Tim Higgins which included 24 goals and Lysiak&rsquo;s offensive contributions.</p><p>At the same time, the club hopes that several of its veterans can bounce back from seasons which ran from mildly disappointing to downright disheartening. In this sizeable grouping were Terry Ruskowski who had 59 points, but only eight goals. Rich Preston, who had only seven goals in 47 games, Grant Mulvey, who had 17 goals in 48 games and John Marks and Ted Bulley, who missed much of the season with injuries.</p><p>Three new forwards joined the Hawks during the course of the season and could play important roles with the club in the coming year. They are: Glen Sharpley, who came from the North Stars and wound up with 22 goals; Peter Marsh, who was obtained from Winnipeg and never did get it together, finishing with 10 goals in 53 games and rugged Al Secord, in from Boston, who collected 14 goals in 59 games in Chicago.</p><p>But if the Black Hawks were worried about scoring (they ranked 13th in the league with 304 goals) they couldn&rsquo;t have found a better solution than to chose Tony Tanti as their first pick in the Entry Draft.</p><p>All Tanti did was to erase Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s Ontario Hockey League record of 70 goals by a rookie with an 81-goal season for the Oshawa generals. Tanti was a virtual unknown coming out of midget hockey and then not only had to endure the pressures of attempting to better one of Gretzky&rsquo;s substantial records, but also the criticism that even if he was a junior scoring whiz, that he was too small for the pros. The 5-9, 180-pound Tanti then proceeded to follow a rigorous physical conditioning schedule to build up for life in the pros as well as putting in numerous hours prepping goaltenders at a summer hockey school, a practice he credits for his remarkable sharpshooting skills.</p><p>On defense, the Hawks have established a young, but experienced crew which promises to get better. Greybeard of the group is Dave Hutchison, who appears to have found a home in Chicago. He&rsquo;s the eldest at 29.</p><p>Bob Murray, a six-year Hawk at the age of 26, enjoyed his finest campaign with 60 points with Doug Wilson also approaching star status with a solid 12-39-51 scoring record. Keith Brown is the youngest Hawk blueline regular with two years under his belt and is coming off a much-improved sophomore season. Add in Miles Zaharko and Greg Fox, a couple of former teammates in Atlanta and the Hawks have reasons for optimism.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0091-0175/10146068-1-eng-US/f0091-012.jpg" title="f0091-01" width="1468" height="2876"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The scoring explosion for the Black Hawks came from youngsters like Darryl Sutter and Denis Savard, but it also came from center Reggie Kerr, who blossomed into a 30-goal man.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS (10)</b></h3><p>1. Tony Tanti, RW, Oshawa</p><p>2. Kevin Griffin, LW, Portland</p><p>3. Darrel Anholt, D, Calgary</p><p>4. Perry Pelensky, RW, Portland</p><p>5. Doug Chessell, G, London</p><p>6. Bill Schafhauser, D, Northern Michigan</p><p>8. John Mellstron, LW, Sweden</p><p>9. John Benns, LW Billings</p><p>10. Sylvain Roy, D, Hull</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0091-0240/10146061-1-eng-US/f0091-022.jpg" title="f0091-02" width="684" height="2051"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0092-0194/10146054-1-eng-US/f0092-012.jpg" title="f0092-01" width="1017" height="1256"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Denis Savard, the No. 3 pick in the 1980 draft, set a Black Hawks&rsquo; rookie scoring record and finished just one point behind Tom Lysiak for the team lead.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0092-0245/10146047-1-eng-US/f0092-022.jpg" title="f0092-02" width="1133" height="1386"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0092-0326/10146040-1-eng-US/f0092-032.jpg" title="f0092-03" width="2191" height="1412"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0093-0181/10146033-1-eng-US/f0093-012.jpg" title="f0093-01" width="2419" height="1229"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0093-0244/10146026-1-eng-US/f0093-022.jpg" title="f0093-02" width="2387" height="1220"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A &mdash; Assists; PTS &mdash; Points; S &mdash; Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT &mdash; Game-Tying Goals. F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead; I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F. T, L, I. P); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals. IP &mdash; Important Pointe (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Pointe</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP-Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice, PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice. OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT-Percentage of opponents even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF-Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0090-01

Chicago Black Hawks

<div class="byline">Mike Nykoluk</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0094-0186/10146169-1-eng-US/f0094-012.jpg" title="f0094-01" width="687" height="673"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0094-0233/10146162-1-eng-US/f0094-022.jpg" title="f0094-02" width="687" height="672"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span></b>or the third season in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs are starting another campaign with a coach who is operating the team&rsquo;s training camp for the first time. Three years ago it was Floyd Smith; last year, Joe Crozier; and now, Mike Nykoluk has the opportunity to see what he can do with getting the boys to operate a game plan that can re-establish them as something more than one of the foremost losing teams in a city of losing professional sports teams.</p><p>The Leafs qualified, or were delegated to be the first victims of. the New York Islanders in the playoffs when they became the 16th and final playoff hopeful on the last evening of the season when they managed a victory over the Quebec Nordiques.</p><p>Their playoff existence was negligible. Three quick kicks at the cat and they were blown away by the Islanders and Nykoluk and general manager Punch Imlach were allowed more time to begin unravelling what it is that ails the Leafs and what they can do to try and stop it.</p><p>Taking a page from most of the successful teams in the National Hockey League, the Leafs looked to the Entry Draft and in this area, at least, they appear to have made some progress. Their first choice was Jim Benning, the best offensive defenseman in junior hockey; their second selection was a great two-way performer, center Gary Yaremchuk and on their third pick, the Leafs tabbed super scorer Ernie Godden, also a center.</p><p>Scoring hasn&rsquo;t been that big a problem with the Leafs of late &mdash; in fact, it&rsquo;s one of their few assets &mdash; but the insertion of their top three draft picks into the scramble for starting positions has to at least get a few people stirred up.</p><p>Benning, who had 28 goals and an amazing 111 assists for Portland last season is naturally a favorite to break into the Leafs&rsquo; blueline alignment, a crew which features experience, but a total lack of cohesion and competency in following a game plan. Last season the Leafs ranked 19th in the league in defense, allowing a whopping 367 goals, some 45 more goals than they scored.</p><p>Borje Salming and Ian Turnbull may have collected 66 points from their defense positions with the Leafs, but their grasp on spots on the team has never been less secure. Salming had undoubtedly his worst season ever in the NHL, and Turnbull continued his recent pattern of totally unpredictable play &mdash; solid one night; hopeless the next.</p><p>Slava Duris, Barry Melrose, Dave Farrish and Dave Shand collected most of the rest of the playing time on the Leafs&rsquo; defense corps and any and all of them are expected to be pushed for jobs by three 1980 Leaf draft picks, Fred Boimistruck of the Memorial Cup champion Cornwall Royals, Bob McGill from Victoria and Craig Muni, another Ontario League product, not to mention Benning.</p><p>Yaremchuk and Godden, though, will have their work cut out for them because the Leafs&rsquo; strongest point is their center contingent, starting of course, with Darryl Sittier.</p><p>Sittler led the Leafs in goals with 43 and finished a point behind right winger Wilf Paiement in the team scoring race with 96. Third-leading scorer Bill Derlago, 35-39-74, is also a center, while Laurie Boschman, Bruce Boudreau (10 goals in half a season) and newly acquired Don Luce, from Los Angeles, also crowd the pivot position. Sophomore pro Normand Aubin led the New Brunswick farm team in scoring, so he, too rates a look.</p><p>Among the Leafs&rsquo; wingers, Rick Vaive rated right up there with Paiement with 33 goals in his first full year with the Leafs. But after Terry Martin&rsquo;s 23 goals and 20 by assistant coach Dan Maloney, the Leafs lacked scoring punch from their wingers.</p><p>In the latter regard, John Anderson, Pat Hickey and Rocky Saganiuk all were disappointments after their earlier promise. Youngsters like Paul Marshall, Stewart Gavin, Bill McCreary and Kim Davis also did not make much of an impact upon the Leafs&rsquo; offense, while veteran Rene Robert was plagued by injuries last season and never had a chance to show what he can do.</p><p>The Leafs&rsquo; goaltenders will also be on the spot to prove how much of the blame for last year&rsquo;s ineptitude should be placed upon them. Michel Larocque looked like the answer to the club&rsquo;s woes until he was decimated in a late-season loss in Buffalo. That eroded what little confidence the porous Leaf defense allowed him and Larocque finished up the year with a 5.23 goals-against average for Toronto.</p><p>Jiri Crha should have won some award for finishing with a .500 record (20-20-11) with the haphazard Leafs, but the jury is still out on whether the ex-Czech player can be a top-notch NHLer. His average in 54 appearances was 4.07.</p><p>Lots of questions to be answered; lots of changes to still come.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0095-0181/10146155-1-eng-US/f0095-012.jpg" title="f0095-01" width="1629" height="3149"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Spirit and erthuslasm returned to the Maple Leafs in the form of Rick Vaive the roughhouse right winger who wound up fourth on the club in scoring and had 33 goals in his first full year in Toronto.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (9)</b></h3><p>1. Jim Benning, D, Portland</p><p>2. Gary Yaremchuk, C, Portland</p><p>3. Ernie Godden, C, Windsor</p><p>5. Normand LeFrancois, LW, Trois-Rivieres</p><p>5. Barry Brigley, C, Calgary</p><p>7. Andrew Wright, D, Peterborough</p><p>8. Richard Turmel, D, Shawinigan</p><p>9. Greg Barber, D, Victoria</p><p>10. Mark Magnan, LW, Lethbridge</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0095-0237/10146148-1-eng-US/f0095-022.jpg" title="f0095-02" width="757" height="2235"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0096-0198/10146141-1-eng-US/f0096-012.jpg" title="f0096-01" width="1119" height="1375"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The epitome of the enigmatic Leaf* last season was defenseman Ian Turnbull who continued to confound with his flashes of brilliance and repeated mistakes.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0096-0245/10146134-1-eng-US/f0096-022.jpg" title="f0096-02" width="1262" height="1521"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0096-0329/10146127-1-eng-US/f0096-032.jpg" title="f0096-03" width="2427" height="1562"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0097-0194/10146120-1-eng-US/f0097-012.jpg" title="f0097-01" width="2405" height="1232"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0097-0257/10146113-1-eng-US/f0097-022.jpg" title="f0097-02" width="2398" height="1241"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP-Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A-Assists; PTS &mdash; Points; S &mdash; Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT-Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T &mdash; Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead; I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F, T, L, I P); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0094-01

Toronto Maple Leafs

<div class="byline">Tom Watt</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0098-01111/10146256-1-eng-US/f0098-012.jpg" title="f0098-01" width="591" height="570"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0098-0252/10146249-1-eng-US/f0098-022.jpg" title="f0098-02" width="585" height="598"></div><p>&ldquo;<b>T</b>his is the last time we&rsquo;ll be picking first.&rdquo;</p><p>Those words, soon to be immortalized if those who predict success in the National Hockey League are proven correct, were uttered by ertswhile Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; general manager John Bowie Ferguson, a nice guy who has had his fill of finishing last.</p><p>Successive seasons at the bottom of the NHL heap led to the Jets selecting first in the 1980 and 1981 Entry Drafts with defenseman David Babych their initial choice and Cornwall Royals&rsquo; center Dale Hawerchuk, the &ldquo;NHL&rsquo;s next Wayne Gretzky&rdquo; their most recent acquisition. From here on, it&rsquo;s upward all the way for the Jets, who could not possibly be any worse than their 9-57-14 record of 1980-81 when they were dead last in offense, dead last in defense.</p><p>Knowing that one or even two No. 1 draft selections aren&rsquo;t enough to raise the Jets out of the depths of the basement, Ferguson nonetheless resisted the temptation of relinquishing their quality players to assorted offers from NHL powers willing to trade two rowboats for a battleship. The result is that the Jets, much like the St. Louis Blues, although they may never experience the same degree of success, appear to be in a position to make some rather significant jumps up the NHL ladder in a short period of time.</p><p>The reasons for this are numerous. One, they have a very young roster which will improve with experience. Two, they have managed to add a sprinkling of talented European players. Three, their draft picks are rapidly becoming solid starters. And Four, their goaltending is finally NHL caliber.</p><p>Defenseman Barry Long and winger Rick Dudley, both 32, are the only Jets who have passed their 30th birthdays. In fact, most of them aren&rsquo;t even close which suits new coach Tom Watt, the assistant from Vancouver, who worked so successfully with the University of Toronto teams in the past.</p><p>And some of the young Jets can play, too. Team leader Dave Christian turned in 28-43-71 stats last year to top the club in scoring, a bit ahead of &lsquo;old&rsquo; (25-year-old) stand-by Morris Lukowich, the goal-scoring champ on the club with 33. Ex-Montreal organization chattels Normand Dupont and Danny Geoffrion also benefitted the Jets&rsquo; attack with 27-26-53 and 20-26-46 stats, respectively. Veteran Willy Lindstrom also chipped in with 22 goals and center Ron Wilson produced 18-33-51 figures.</p><p>From Europe, the Jets have added two newcomers to forward Anders Steen who split last season between the Jets and their Tulsa farm and goalie Markus Mattsson. Thomas Steen, no relation to Anders, is a 21-year-old center who performed in the Canada Cup and averaged better than a point a game for Farjestad in the Swedish First Division. He is another of the up-and-coming young Europeans who are stepping right into the NHL and more than holding their own. The Jets also have left winger Bengt Lundholm slated for a spot in their lineup. He&rsquo;s not as flashy as the two Steens but he does have considerable experience having played nearly 100 international matches for the Swedish national team including the 1981 Canada Cup.</p><p>Besides Christian and Babych who became immediate starters with (he Jets right out of the draft, Winnipeg also moved defenseman Moe Mantha directly into their lineup, plus Doug Smail and Sandy Beadle after his college team finished their season.</p><p>The Jets also had some other interesting picks in the latest draft, claiming Hawerchuk&rsquo;s linemate Scott Amiel, a left winger who collected 52 goals and 123 points, figures which look good even next to Hawerchuk&rsquo;s phenomenal 81-102-183 totals. The last time that an NHL team had two linemates as 1-2 picks in the draft, by the way, they worked out rather successfully. Minnesota chose Bobby Smith and Steve Payne one after the other in the 1978 draft.</p><p>After selecting the pair from the Cornwall Royals, the Jets turned their attentions towards the college scene where they picked Kirk McCaskill, a 6-2, 199-pound center who scored 28 goals and 51 points in 32 games for the University of Vermont and then a pair of goaltenders, Marc Behrend of Wisconsin, which won the NCAA title, and Bob O&rsquo;Connor of Boston College who fashioned a fine 2.99 goals-against average in 24 games.</p><p>That will give the Jets a couple of goalies for the future, but right now they&rsquo;re pretty elated with the acquisition of Ed Staniowski from the St. Louis Blues. Not only did the Jets get Staniowski, who had a 10-3-3 record last season, but they also receive defenseman Bryan Maxwell and 36-goal scorer (with Salt Lake of the Central League) Paul MacLean in exchange for defenseman Scott Campbell, who was injured most of last season and forward John Markell.</p><p>Markus Mattsson, who played in 31 games last year and was Team Finland&rsquo;s No. 1 goalie for the Canada Cup, will likely share the load with Staniowski and has considerable pro experience already at the age of 24.</p><p>One other late addition saw the Jets receive Lucien DeBlois, a 26-goal scorer last year, when they relinquished the rights to Czechoslovakian center Ivan Hlinka.</p><p>The Jets fly enough to escape the cellar.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0099-0174/10146242-1-eng-US/f0099-012.jpg" title="f0099-01" width="1607" height="3141"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dave Christian continued his rapid rise towards NHL stardom as he led the Jets in scoring with 71 points.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>WINNIPEG JETS (11)</b></h3><p>1. Dale Hawerchuk, C, Cornwall</p><p>2. Scott Arniel, LW, Cornwall</p><p>3. Jyrki Seppa, D, Ilves</p><p>4. Kirk McCaskill, C, Vermont</p><p>5. Marc Behrend, G, Wisconsin</p><p>6. Bob O&rsquo;Connor, G, Boston College</p><p>7. Peter Nilsson, C, Hammarby</p><p>8. Dan McFaul, D, Buffalo</p><p>9. Greg Dick, G, St. Mary&rsquo;s, MN</p><p>10. Vladimir Kadlec, D, Czechoslovakia</p><p>11. Dave Kirwin, D, Irondale, MN</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0099-0234/10146235-1-eng-US/f0099-022.jpg" title="f0099-02" width="771" height="2231"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0100-0184/10146228-1-eng-US/f0100-012.jpg" title="f0100-01" width="1083" height="1353"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dave Babych, the Jets&rsquo; No. 1 choice in 1980, and second overall in the NHL, proved worthy to his high billing, with an unspectacular, but solid season.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0100-0240/10146221-1-eng-US/f0100-022.jpg" title="f0100-02" width="1222" height="1505"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0100-0323/10146214-1-eng-US/f0100-032.jpg" title="f0100-03" width="2345" height="1527"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0101-0177/10146207-1-eng-US/f0101-012.jpg" title="f0101-01" width="2501" height="1488"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0101-0244/10146200-1-eng-US/f0101-022.jpg" title="f0101-02" width="2470" height="1409"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0098-01

Winnipeg Jets

<div class="byline">Wayne Maxner</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0102-0180/10146343-1-eng-US/f0102-012.jpg" title="f0102-01" width="691" height="529"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0102-0236/10146336-1-eng-US/f0102-022.jpg" title="f0102-02" width="682" height="665"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b>oe are the Red Wings. Or at least it&rsquo;s been a part of their name for the greatest part of the last decade. And the bad news is that the Red Wings aren&rsquo;t likely to be that much better this year, either.</p><p>In fact, the Minnesota North Stars felt that the Red Wings have such a good chance of finishing last in the entire National Hockey League standings that they traded Don Murdoch whom they obtained from Edmonton plus defenseman Greg Smith and their first round draft choice to Detroit in order to get the Red Wings&rsquo; No. 1 pick. Last year, the Wings finished 20th overall, giving them second pick in the draft, although they lost that pick to Los Angeles in a previous deal. Minnesota is now banking that the Winnipeg Jets have improved more than the Red Wings and that Detroit will finish last thus giving the North Stars first crack at junior sensation Brian Bellows from Kitchener.</p><p>Coach Wayne Maxner, who is working on a new one-year deal with the Red Wings, went through a number of postures last season, trying to get some consistency out of a lineup that does include talented people. He sent veterans like Pete Mahovlich and Dennis Polonich to the minors; he gave his younger players a fair chance; he brought up several prospects from the minors, but the only consistency the Red Wings displayed was to add to their bulging losses column.</p><p>With an offense which ranked next to last with only 252 goals, the Red Wings still figured to have a firm foundation on which to build in the form of three young defensemen who are highly regarded.</p><p>Reed Larson is the best of the three with his booming shot from the right point on the power play or from his defense position or when the Wings move him up to the wing. Larson connected on 27 goals last year to hold down fourth-place in the team goalscoring and also collected 58 points to rank fourth overall in scoring as well.</p><p>Joining him as blueline stars are Willie Huber, the 6-5, 220-pound three-year pro and Jim Korn, a graduate of Providence College and a considerably-sized player himself at 6-3, 210. Huber had his most consistent year with 15-34-49 stats, while Korn was one of the few Red Wings to play the body and accumulated 246 penalty minutes to lead the club.</p><p>Now, with the addition of Greg Smith, the Red Wings figure to have a fourth stellar defenseman to balance out their alignments and try and cut down on their rather significant goals-against total. Jean Hamel and Perry Miller were other regularson the Wings&rsquo; defense last year and former Philadelphia Flyer Tom Bladon will attempt to crack the lineup this year.</p><p>The Red Wings managed to sign veteran Gilles Gilbert to a new contract and he will remain their No. 1 hope in the goaltending, department. He appeared in 48 games last year after the trade from Boston where he exchanged places with Rogie Vachon, with a 4.01 goals-against average and an 11-24-9 record.</p><p>Larry Lozinski, the 219th player taken in the 1978 draft, handled most of the back-up load last season, getting into 30 games with a 4.32 GAA. He&rsquo;ll be fighting off Claude Legris from the international league or possibly draft pick Corrado Micalef of Sherbrooke to retain the relief assignment.</p><p>The most disappointing aspect of the Red Wings&rsquo; play last season had to be their offense, which had only three forwards score more than 20 goals. Dale McCourt was once again the points leader with 86, including 30 goals, while John Ogrodnick led in goals with 35. Sophomore Mike Foligno was the only other distinguised performer with 28-35-63 stats, with the exception of center Mark Kirton, who turned in 18 goals in only 61 games and gave the team some much needed speed.</p><p>Several Detroit forwards were way off their games, however. Vaclav Nedomansky scored only 12 goals. George Lyle had 10, Paul Woods and Gary McAdam chipped in with only eight. Brent Peterson, a 6-1, 195-pounder who&rsquo;s supposed to score, had only six in 53 games, while rookie Mike Blaisdell also was not impressive.</p><p>The Red Wings can only hope that help is on the way. Youngsters Earl Ingarfield and Brad Smith came to the Red Wings in trades last season so the jury is still out on them. Veteran Walt McKechnie was signed as a free agent for his second go-round with the Wings, while Murdoch was red-hot for Wichita in the Central League and could be ready to develop some of his earlier promise. Mark Lofthouse is another free agent forward who could help.</p><p>The Wings&rsquo; first pick in the draft was a Windsor player, center Claude Loiselle who had 38-56-94 stats, but is probably a couple of years away.</p><p>So, too. are the Wings.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0103-0173/10146329-1-eng-US/f0103-012.jpg" title="f0103-01" width="1631" height="3130"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Reed Larson has perhaps the hardest shot in hockey and he ranked third on the Red Wings in goal-scoring, but the frustrations of the team&rsquo;s lack of success, have to weigh heavily.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><h3><b>DETROIT RED WINGS (8)</b></h3><p>1. Claude Loiselle, C, Windsor</p><p>2. Corrado Micalef, G, Sherbrooke</p><p>4. Larry Trader, D, London</p><p>5. Gerard Gallant, C, Sherbrooke</p><p>6. Greg Stefan, G, Oshawa</p><p>7. Rick Zombo, D, Austin</p><p>8. Don Leblanc, LW, Moncton</p><p>9. Robert Nordmark, D, Lulea</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0103-0235/10146322-1-eng-US/f0103-022.jpg" title="f0103-02" width="770" height="2257"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0104-0184/10146315-1-eng-US/f0104-012.jpg" title="f0104-01" width="1026" height="1262"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Gilles Gilbert saw plenty of action as the Wings&rsquo; No. 1 goaltender after his trade from Boston, but most of the play, unfortunately, was in the Detroit end.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0104-0246/10146308-1-eng-US/f0104-022.jpg" title="f0104-02" width="1149" height="1360"></div><h2><b>Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0104-0329/10146301-1-eng-US/f0104-032.jpg" title="f0104-03" width="2219" height="1383"></div><h2><b>1980-81 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0105-0175/10146294-1-eng-US/f0105-012.jpg" title="f0105-01" width="2453" height="1315"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0105-0243/10146287-1-eng-US/f0105-022.jpg" title="f0105-02" width="2417" height="1208"></div><h3>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; G &mdash; Goals; A &mdash; Assists; PTS &mdash; Points; S &mdash; Shots on goal; SC PCTG &mdash; Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); GW &mdash; Game-Winning Goals; GT &mdash; Game-Tying Goals; F &mdash; First Goal of Game; T-Score-Tying Goals; L &mdash; Goals giving a team the lead; I &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); P &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent&rsquo;s score); TOT &mdash; Total Important Goals (F. T. L, I. P); PCTG-Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; IP &mdash; Important Points (Goals and assists); PCTG &mdash; Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</h3><p>GP &mdash; Games Played; TGF &mdash; Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; PGF &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; OFFENSE PERCENTAGE &mdash; Percentage of team&rsquo;s even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; TGA &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; PGA &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; DEFENSE PERCENT &mdash; Percentage of opponents&rsquo; even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; DIFF &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0102-01

Detroit Red Wings

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0111-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0111-0178/10146440-1-eng-US/f0111-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>L</span></b><i>ast spring, Vincent DeMarco, a New York City-based hockey buff, introduced to readers of THE</i> HOCKEY NEWS <i>his method of charting the &ldquo;Fielding Averages&rsquo;&rsquo; of the goalies in the National Hockey League &mdash; which DeMarco claims give a much more accurate idea of a goalie&rsquo;s workload than does the traditional formula, wherein the number of goals allowed are divided by the number of games played.</i></p><p><i>In the space below, DeMarco presents his final installment of Fielding Averages, which represent the work of the NHL&rsquo;s goalies through the entire 80-game schedule, 1981. Here&rsquo;s how the DeMarco System works:</i></p><p><i>Using Rick St. Croix as an example and reading across the column from left to right, the figures</i> show that <i>St. Croix has played 26 games for the Flyers, for a total of 1567 minutes, and compiled a 13-7-6 record. With St. Croix in goal the Flyers took 842 shots on the opposing team&rsquo;s goalie and scored 89 goals. While they were doing that, St. Croix was allowing 65 goals on 746 shots taken by the opposition for a league-leading .9128 percentage. The last four columns show that St. Croix had two open net goals charged against him and recorded two shutouts. With him in goal the Flyers averaged 3.42 goals per game and St. Croix allowed the opposition an average of only 2.48 goals per game.</i></p><p><i>One other note of interest. DeMarco notes that &ldquo;with goals being scored at a faster pace than at any other; time in NHL history, goalie Fielding Averages are at their lowest level ever. The final league Fielding Average is at a .8786 percentage. This is calculated by dividing the shots on goal into the shots saved. There were only three goalies able to achieve a .9000 percent or better average this season.&rdquo;</i></p><h2><b>DEMARCO&rsquo;S FINAL GOALTENDING STATISTICS FOR 1980-81</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0111-0237/10146433-1-eng-US/f0111-022.jpg" title="f0111-02" width="691" height="838"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RICK ST. CROIX</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0111-0326/10146426-1-eng-US/f0111-032.jpg" title="f0111-03" width="685" height="840"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DON EDWARDS</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0111-0414/10146419-1-eng-US/f0111-042.jpg" title="f0111-04" width="691" height="827"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MIKE LIUT</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0111-01

NHL Goaltenders’ Fielding Averages

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0112-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0112-0188/10146478-1-eng-US/f0112-012.jpg"></div><p><b>The Islanders became the third team in eight years to win back to back Stanley Cup championships when they triumphed last May.</b></p><p><b>They swept Toronto in the preliminaries; had considerable trouble against the Edmonton Oilers, losing two games but eventually won out; made a mockery of the battle of New York by eliminating the Rangers in four semifinal contests and then took five games to defeat the Minnesota North Stars.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0114-0183/10146471-1-eng-US/f0114-012.jpg" title="f0114-01" width="2747" height="3607"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0112-01

Isles Champs Again

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0115-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0115-0171/10146509-1-eng-US/f0115-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Randy Carlyle was all smiles accepting The Norris Trophy.</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>here was a distinctive new look surrounding the National Hockey League&rsquo;s annual awards&rsquo; presentation at Montreal&rsquo;s fashionable Queen Elizabeth Hotel this year.</p><p>Watching the customary silverware show under the glitter of lights and popping of photographers&rsquo; bulbs, you couldn&rsquo;t help but notice that the cast of players had definitely changed.</p><p>Some of the NHL&rsquo;s top names, such as Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer, Larry Robinson and Raymond Bourque, were back to be acclaimed for their efforts during the 1980-81 NHL season, but beyond these great stars, everyone else among the actual 21 trophy and All Star winners were new.</p><p>Of the 10 major individual trophy winners, eight were new. Of the 12 players who stepped up to receive first and second All Star team plaques, seven were not picked last year and four of them were honored for the very first time in their pro careers.</p><p>Two major factors contributed to the many new faces at the awards&rsquo; show. Voting for the individual NHL awards was the closest in years and the All Star balloting was distributed among a record-equalling eight teams. Selections were made by the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association and there were no easy picks.</p><p>Not even the irrepressible Gretzky, despite his magnificent season, totally dominated the voting. The Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; ace, who won the 1980-81 NHL point scoring championship, walked away with two trophies, the Ross, as scoring champ and the Hart, as the league&rsquo;s most valuable player. Winning the Hart seemed a lot tougher for Gretzky than winning the Ross. He collected 242 points to narrowly edge out goaltender Mike Liut of St. Louis in the MVP balloting among the writers in the 21 league cities. Liut earned 237 points in the virtual two-man voting for the award.</p><p>Even though he was hard pressed by Liut to win his second straight Hart award, the 20-year-old Gretzky still emerged as the big winner as he pocketed $11,700 in bonus money. He received $1,500 for winning the Hart, $750 as runnerup in the Byng Trophy voting, $2,000 as a first team All Star, $1,750 as the Ross Trophy winner and another $5,700 as his share of the Oilers&rsquo; team award money from the NHL.</p><p>The only other trophy winner to make a return appearance was Bob Gainey of the Montreal Canadiens, who has a lock on the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s best defensive forward. It marked the fourth year in succession Gainey has won the award since it was first presented in 1978.</p><p>The closeness of the NHL&rsquo;s regular season races appear to have been reflected in the trophy voting by the PHWA Actually, there was only one award that could be termed &lsquo;one sided.&rsquo; That was Peter Stastny&rsquo;s selection as Rookie of the Year. The Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; center, who defected from Czechoslovakia before the start of last season, won the Calder Trophy with an eye-popping 230 points. Runner-up Larry Murphy of the Los Angeles Kings received 127 points and Minnesota goalie Don Beaupre had only 82 points.</p><p>Balloting in all other trophy voting was extremely close. Randy Carlyle of the Pittsburgh Penguins capped his best NHL season ever by winning the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the league. But the 25-year-old Carlyle encountered plenty of opposition from Denis Potvin of the Islandersand Montreal&rsquo;s Larry Robinson. Carlyle received 120 points, Potvin 113 and Robinson 100.</p><p>The same situation prevailed in the Selke Trophy voting. Gainey drew 142 points as he finished only 12 ahead of Buffalo&rsquo;s Craig Ramsay and 43 up on Larry Patey of St. Louis. Rick Kehoe of the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Lady Byng Trophy as the player who best combined sportsmanship and hockey skills. But it wasn&rsquo;t easy for Keough either. He gained 138 points to beat out Gretzky, who had 120 and Boston&rsquo;s Rick Middleton, who had 82.</p><p>All the other NHL trophy recipients were newcomers to the awards&rsquo; table The Islanders&rsquo; Butch Goring captured the Smythe Trophy as the best player in the playoffs; Blake Dunlop of the St. Louis Blues won the Masterton Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s Unsung Hero&rsquo; Red Berenson, also of the Blues, was named coach of the year and received the Jack Adams Award; and the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; goaltending team of Richard Sevigny Dems Herron and Bunny Larocque combined to win the Vezina Trophy with the best goals against average despite the fact Larocque was traded and finished the final eight games of the season with Toronto. It was the first time in NHL history that three goalies had their name on the Vezina in the same year.</p><p>Following are the complete results of the voting for the 1980-81 individual trophy awards:</p><p>HART: Gretzky, 242; Liut, 237; Dionne, 24; Bossy, 20; Bryan Trottier, NY Islanders, 9; Robinson, 7; Dan Bouchard, Quebec, 6; Kent Nilsson, Calgary, 5; Potvin, 4; Danny Gare, Buffalo, 3; Carlyle, 2; Peter Stastny, 2; Lessard, 2; Don Edwards, Buffalo, 1; Dave Williams, Vancouver, 1; Lafleur, 1; Bourque 1.</p><p>CALDER: Peter Stastny, 230; Larry Murphy, 127; Beaupre, 82; Darryl Sutter, Chicago, 40; Denis Savard, Chicago, 30; Jorgen Pettersson, St. Louis, 20; Steve Kasper, Boston, 11; Sevigny, 10; Dave Christian, Winnipeg, 8; Anton Stastny, Quebec, 6; Glenn Anderson, Edmonton, 1; Mike Allison, NY Rangers, 1; Steve Christoff, Minnesota, 1.</p><p>SELKE: Gainey, 142; Ramsay, 125; Patey, 99; Kasper, 70; Bob Bourne, NY Islanders, 31; Robbie Ftorek, Quebec, 15; Taylor, 9; Mel Bridgman, Philadelphia, 7; Trottier, 7; Don Lever, Calgary, 6; Goring, 6; Anders Kallur, NY Islanders, 6; Mike Zuke, St. Louis, 6; Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, Boston, 5; Tony Currie, St. Louis, 4; Paul Holmgren? Philadelphia, 4; Paul Woods, Detroit, 3; Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia, 3; Wayne Merrick, NY Islanders, 3; Don Marcotte, Boston, 2; Jerry Butler, Vancouver, 2; Bill Clement, Calgary, 2; Doug Jarvis, Montreal, 2; Al MacAdam, Minnesota, 1; Dave Langevin, NY Islanders, 1; Gerry Minor, Vancouver, 1; Ric Seiling, Buffalo, 1; Ed Johnstone, NY Rangers, 1; Don Maloney, NY Rangers, 1; Tom Gorence, Philadelphia, 1; Wayne Babych, St. Louis, 1.</p><p>NORRIS: Carlyle, 120; Potvin, 113; Robinson, 100; Bourque, 53; Rod Langway, Montreal, 38; Brian Engblom, Montreal, 21; Murphy, 16; Rob Ramage, Colorado 15; Brad Park, Boston, 14; Borje Salming, Toronto, 11; Mark Howe, Hartford, 11; Jim Schoenfeld, Buffalo, 10; Dave Langevin, NY Islanders, 9; Ron Greschner, NY Rangers, 8; Bill Hajt, Buffalo, 5; Stefan Persson, NY Islanders, 5; Kevin McCarthy, Vancouver, 5; John Van Boxeer, Buffalo, 4; Reed Larson, Detroit, 4; Dave Lewis, Los Angeles, 2; Risto Siltanen, Edmonton, 1; Curt Giles, Minnesota, 1; Rick Lapointe, St. Louis, 1.</p><p>BYNG: Kehoe, 138; Gretzky, 120; Middleton, Boston, 82; Kent Nilsson, Calgary, 69; Bossy, 60; Dionne, 26; Goring, 25; Ramsay, 8; Tom Lysiak, Chicago, 7; Peter McNab, Boston, 5; Dunlop, 5; Tony McKegney, Buffalo, 3; Mark Napier, Montreal, 3; Lafleur, 3; Mike Rogers, Hartford, 2; Bernie Federko, St. Louis, 1; Gainey, 1; Peter Stastny, 1; Pettersson, 1; Christian, 1; Robinson, 1; Chico Resch, Colorado, 1; Dave Keon, Hartford, 1; Ed Kea, St. Louis, 1; Anton Stastny, Quebec, 1; Per-Olov Brasar, Vancouver, 1.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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NEW FACES COLLECT NHL SILVERWARE

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American Hockey League Statistics

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Central Hockey League Statistics

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International League Statistics

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U.S. College Statistics

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<h2><b>Michigan Tech</b> (29-14-1, 2nd in WCHA, 3rd in NCAA)</h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he top two defensive players for the Huskies of last season will not be available this time around, John Maclnnes&rsquo; 26th year of coaching in Houghton. Goalie Frank Krieber (3.28) graduated and defenseman Tim Watters (12-38-50) turned pro with Winnipeg. But Tech still figures to be battling to cop the top spot in the newly expanded CCHA.</p><p>Junior goalie Rob PolmanTuin came highly regarded but has been inconsistent for two seasons. He posted a 3.7 average in nine games last season, and will be pressed hard by freshman Kerry Poole. Tony Stiles (10-20-30) and Jeff Johnston (3-20-23) were worthy understudies to Watters at defense last season. They are the leaders of an experienced defense, so Watters&rsquo; departure will be felt most acutely on the power plays.</p><p>Of the forwards, six of the top eight scorers return to action. Center is strong with Rick Boehm (21-37-58) and Bill Terry (23-19-42). Boehm led the squad in scoring a year ago. Right wing Mike Lauen is available too. He led the Huskies in goal scoring with 24-20-44. Tech looks good at every position and is a logical choice for the CCHA crown. Of all three major races, however, this is the toughest to pick; just a few things out of whack, like injuries and unexpected development of freshmen in key spots, could turn the whole race upside down.</p><h2><b>Michigan State</b> (12-22-2, tenth in WCHA)</h2><p>A third recruited class is on its way to East Lansing for respected coach Ron Mason&rsquo;s rebuilding campaign. Even though State brought up the rear of the WCHA in 1980-81, there were definite signs of a revival which should become evident as the Spartans enter CCHA play. MSU is picked to be this year&rsquo;s big improved team if the youngsters come along and the injured from last year can stay fit.</p><p>For last season, Mason concentrated on bringing in bodies to aid his defense. Now, three of last year&rsquo;s defense regulars-Gary Haight (5-17-22), Andre LaMarche and Jeff Eisley &mdash; are back for a soph season. They combined with freshman goalie Ron Scott to lower State&rsquo;s goals against average from 5.97 to 3.88. Scott was the team MVP and WCHA Freshman of the Year. They&rsquo;re all eager to get working again, and have junior Ken Leiter and senior Bill Shutt on the blueline to help out.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0135-0173/10146959-1-eng-US/f0135-012.jpg" title="f0135-01" width="750" height="868"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Jeff Johnston, above, teams with Tony Stiles as the leaders of Michigan Tech&rsquo;s defense.</b></figcaption></div><p>The offense has enough experience on hand to project an upswing. The question is whether there will be enough raw power to go along with the savvy. None of the four leading scorers, all back in action, cracked the 20-goal mark. Those four are right wings Mark Hamway (18-15-33) and Bob Martin (11-14-25) and centers Frank Finn (15-16-31) and Newell Brown. A sputtering offense caused a lot of close losses last season, so if the expected improvement comes from the top four and if freshmen like Tom Anastos, Kelly Miller, and Gord Flegel contribute immediately, MSU will move up several notches. This one is just a hunch, as there are many better CCHA teams, on paper.</p><h2><b>Bowling Green</b> (13-24-2, 4th in CCHA)</h2><p>Like Jerry Welsh at Ohio State, Jerry York needs a goalie for the 1981-82 season and beyond. The transplanted Bostonian came East and recruited two of them &mdash; Wayne Collins and Art Langley. One of them will probably beat out reserves Mark Mazur and Mike David. Since there are 19 lettering skaters back in tow, how well the netminders play is the key to York&rsquo;s third season at BG.</p><p>The defense is a bit on the young side. Senior co-captain Brian McLellan and sophomore Dave O&rsquo;Brian will continue to play on the backline. Both were moved to defense in the latter stages of last season. There are three other lettermen at defense to pitch in too.</p><p>Four forward lines are intact and three freshmen will be pushing for ice time. Here, too, the emphasis is on the sophomore class but the leaders are junior Brian Hills (26-29-55) and senior George McPhee (25-29-54). Soph John Samanski had 17-22-31 as a freshman last year. He&rsquo;ll be a big factor.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0135-0247/10146952-1-eng-US/f0135-022.jpg" title="f0135-02" width="747" height="869"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Right winger Mike Lauen led the Huskies in goalscoring a year ago, potting 24 goals.</b></figcaption></div><p>The Falcons could go quite a distance in either direction in the expanded CCHA. Most of the key players are just sophomores but there&rsquo;s a lot of experience. Provided the goalie comes through, BG could indeed move up several notches.</p><h2><b>Lake Superior State</b> (14-21-1, sixth in CCHA)</h2><p>It didn&rsquo;t take long for new coach Bill Selman to bring fresh blood into the flagging Laker program. A 3-13 second half finished the coaching incumbent, Rick Yeo, but he left behind several good forwards and two experienced goaltenders. Then the ebullient Selman brought in nine recruits &mdash; a goalie, three defensemen, and five forwards &mdash; to compete for positions. The defense crew is a problem, but a strong turnaround is quite possible for LSSC.</p><p>Seven of last year&rsquo;s eight players who scored goals in double figures are around for Selman&rsquo;s first year in the Soo. Left wing is the best position, with senior Steve Sherman (23-28-51), soph Monty Beauchamp (20-23-43) and soph Mickey Candler (18-22-40). Candler can play center too. Overall, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer was right wing Steve Mulholland (25-30-55).</p><p>In goal, soph Larry Dyck posted a 5.4 average and senior Pat Ansell was 5.7, but these numbers should decline somewhat with a better team playing in front of the Laker cage. Selman teams are always strong skating, offense minded crews, so all eyes will be on the defensemen. Just soph Dave Keegan (13-32-45) numbers among blueline returnees. Chris Guy, Chris Dalquist, and George Kiser will all be expected to play as freshman regulars. As they go, so may go the season.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0136-0179/10146945-1-eng-US/f0136-012.jpg" title="f0136-01" width="1138" height="1705"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Ohio State coach Jerry Welsh will look towards freshmen goalies John Dougan and Grant Hanbury to replace departed goalie Mike Blake.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0136-0250/10146938-1-eng-US/f0136-022.jpg" title="f0136-02" width="1135" height="1695"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>One of Ohio State&rsquo;s leading scorers from a year ago, Steve Amoruso, who tallied 46 points, returns to provide excellent firepower.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>Ohio State</b> (24-12-3, second in CCHA)</h2><p>If someone can replace Mike Blake (3.57) effectively in goal, then Ohio State will be in the upper bracket of the CCHA once more. John Dougan and Grant Hanbury are the freshmen recruited by Jerry Welsh for the task.</p><p>Just two skaters graduate. All-CCHA defensemen Dan Mandich (20-26-46) and Brent Morrow, both seniors, are the backline bellwethers, although Mandich also plays right wing. That&rsquo;s been a problem spot for the Buckeyes, so he may play there again.</p><p>Co-rookie of the Year Paul Pooley had 28-31-59 to lead the team in scoring in 1980-81. There is good balance behind him as eight returnees collected at least 24 points apiece on the year. Steve Amoruso joined Mandich at the 46-point mark while co-captain Larry Marson had 45. Dave Kobryn (36 points) and Jamie Crapper (30) represent good depth and extra fire power up front.</p><p>Several new foes will be visiting inhospitable OSU Arena for the first time in 1981-82. That alone will give the Buckeyes, thrice bridesmaids, an upper hand starting off. A good goalie will mean the difference between home and road ice for the playoffs.</p><h2><b>Notre Dame</b> (13-21-2, ninth in WCHA)</h2><p>If the Fighting Irish can play all their games on the road, they may be among the top contenders in the CCHA. They went 4-13-1 at South Bend last year, and lost 12 one-goal games overall. Just four players, three of them defensemen, graduate, leaving Lefty Smith a rebuilding task at the backline but an experienced if less than awesome scoring punch.</p><p>There is good balance among the eleven regular forwards who will be back for this year. The experience is there, too, with five seniors and five juniors on the front line. Senior right wing Jeff Logan (24-18-42) is the only one of the bunch who scored at least 20 goals. His main support comes from centers Dave Poulin and Rex Bellomy and left wings Kurt Bjork and Bill Rothstein. Among themselves they tallied 78 of ND&rsquo;s 135 goals in 1980-1981. Smith thinks that three of his recruits up front can play immediately.</p><p>Defense is another story. Jeff Brownschidle, Scott Cameron, and Don Lucia all graduated, leaving the leadership to seniors John Schmidt and Jim Brown. Senior Dave Laurion and junior Bob McNamara are dependable goalies. You can&rsquo;t really call this a rebuilding year, with all those upperclassmen around. ND could challenge for the CCHA title, but would need greatly improved showings by the older forwards in order to do it.</p><h2><b>Northern Michigan</b> (27-14-3, First in CCHA, Fourth in NCAA&rsquo;s)</h2><p>Now that Northern Michigan is firmly entrenched as a member of the college hockey establishment, many are touting the Wildcats for a third consecutive CCHA title. That seems unlikely unless some tremendous scorers emerge from the freshman class. Rick Comley&rsquo;s well orchestrated building plans got wrenched off course this past spring when centers Steve Bozek (35-55-90) and Jeff Pyle (35-53-88) left school a year early to turn pro. In addition, the graduated Walter Kyle won&rsquo;t be around to lend his enthusiasm to the cause. A good deal of help is needed on offense, as just wing Bruce Martin (21-16-37) and center Eric Ponath (10-13-23) had ten goals or more from among the veterans.</p><p>While the forwards are developing, Northern&rsquo;s defense will be effective in turning away the enemy attackers. Soph goalie Jeff Poeschl (3.27) lived up to his advance billing and will be a fixture. Sophomore defenseman Bill Schafhauser impressed tremendously in his rookie season and will team up with regulars Dave Smith, Jeff Tascoff, and Brian Verigin for a solid rear guard. They&rsquo;ll win their share of games, but it&rsquo;s a building year for NMU.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0137-0171/10146931-1-eng-US/f0137-012.jpg" title="f0137-01" width="746" height="917"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Defenseman BUI Schafauser is coming off an excellent rookie season for Northern Michigan.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>Michigan</b> (23-17, fifth in WCHA)</h2><p>No goalies and no scorers. That&rsquo;s what John Giordano gets to work with this season, his first full one at Ann Arbor.</p><p>Well, it&rsquo;s not quite that bad. Defense can be pretty good, and a few of the forwards played well last season. But it will be very interesting to watch how Giordano does with this squad; he took over a floundering program early last season and guided the team almost to the NCAA&rsquo;s.</p><p>Three goalies depart, including All-America Paul Fricker who signed pro after his sophomore season. Senior Peter Mason played in just one game last year. That&rsquo;s all the varsity experience available in goal, but either he or rookie Mark Chiamp or Jon Elliott will win the starting goalie job.</p><p>Even though John Blum and Tim Manning graduated, the defense is solid. Steve Richmond (22-32-54) leads three other seniors at the blueline. He played up front on the power plays and netted 16 of the goals when the Wolverines were a man up. Paul Brandrup is another senior who played forward and defense too; he chipped in with 6-11-17. How much action either of them sees at forward might depend on the performance of frosh defenders John Hawkins and Mike Neff. Right wing looks set with junior Ted Speers (22-23-45) and senior Dennis May (15-21-36) holding two of the jobs. Even though ten of the available forwards have lettered before, freshmen will have to play well immediately for Michigan to pose a threat to the leaders.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0137-0247/10146924-1-eng-US/f0137-022.jpg" title="f0137-02" width="750" height="918"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Jeff Tascoff is a veteran defenseman who will help NMU defend its CCHA championship.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>Western Michigan</b> (15-19-2, fifth in CCHA)</h2><p>The predicted surge to the top of the CCHA never happened to the Broncos last season. There&rsquo;s ample chance, on paper, for a big improvement this time around. Western is a veteran team; the only unknown is whether the veterans will have gotten used to being also-rans.</p><p>Scoring should be better for Glen Weller&rsquo;s charges. Only center Kelly Mitchell graduated from among the top point getters; he had 48 to tie with fellow pivot Bob Scurfield for second spot on the club.</p><p>Scurfield and classmate Ross Fitzpatrick, a left winger who had 28-43-71, are two of the seven seniors who should provide on-ice leadership for Weller. Ther are also seven juniors around, making WMU the most experienced of the Division One teams in America. The big achievement in Kalamazoo, it seems, would be to overcome any selfdoubts spawned by the disappointing 1980-81 season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0137-0414/10146917-1-eng-US/f0137-042.jpg" title="f0137-04" width="759" height="968"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Although Michigan&rsquo;s attack was hurt by graduation, Ted Speers (22 goals) aids the right side.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0137-0332/10146910-1-eng-US/f0137-032.jpg" title="f0137-03" width="745" height="923"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The strength of the Wildcats lies in its defense led by veterans like Brian Verigin.</b></figcaption></div><p>Senior Ralph Murphy is tops among lettering defensemen. &ldquo;the team&rsquo;s overall defensive performance of last year didn&rsquo;t please Weller. He may look to freshman goalie Glen Healy, even though Steve Abbott (4.10) and Jim Doyle (5.52) are still around.</p><p>There are, notwithstanding, a lot of ifs on this outfit. At least WMU is starting off with more known players than most teams. They could place much higher if they can put together a streak and begin believing in themselves.</p><h2><b>Ferris State</b> (20-14-2, third in CCHA)</h2><p>Last year was another strong season despite a number of injuries at Big Rapids. Ferris would do well just to maintain third spot in the improved CCHA, but that is not likely as much of the scoring punch graduated. All the left wings have gone.</p><p>Rick Duffett still has a good bunch to begin working with. The Ice Pack isn&rsquo;t likely to melt away, even though they&rsquo;re picked quite low in pre-season. Centers Jim Baker, a senior (19-25-44) and Paul Cook, a junior (14-24-38) led the scoring and are expected to do so again. Junior Tom Rudrud (10-15-25) will be switched to left wing from the right side to compete for one of the four open slots. Veterans Randy Strong (14-18-32), Jim Watchorn, and Steve Banonis will hold down right wing positions.</p><p>Sophomore Jim File was all-league at defense, and he heads five veteran defenders. Only File (7-23-30) collected an appreciable number of points from the backline. Senior Ted Ykema (3.75) has an edge on soph John Morris (4.19) and Greg Davis (4.67) in goal. Duffett brought in nine recruits to fill in. Ferris could be a lot better than this prediction, but someone&rsquo;s got to bring up the rear.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0138-0170/10146903-1-eng-US/f0138-012.jpg" title="f0138-01" width="1014" height="1166"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Junior Paul Cook was a top playmaker for Ferris State with 24 assists a year ago, including 14 goals, from his center spot.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0138-0248/10146896-1-eng-US/f0138-022.jpg" title="f0138-02" width="1027" height="1173"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Sophomore defenseman Jim File was All-CCHA last year and heads one of the deepest blueline contingents around for Ferris State.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>Miami of Ohio</b> (16-17-2 as probationary member of CCHA)</h2><p>Spoiler&rsquo;s role seems realistic for the Redskins this season. Everybody will be looking past them in their first season as a full CCHA member. That alone should earn a few upsets.</p><p>Steve Cady has been building towards this entrance, as he emphasized youth during the last two years. Every forward who played regularly save one is back at Oxford. The attack is balanced with Rick Kuraly (31-20-51) and Steve Morris (MVP at 13-38-51) heading the charge and followed closely by Bill Bok (14-31-45), Mike Norton (16-23-39) and Vern Sketchly (20-16-36).</p><p>Scott Bye (4-22-36) was the best scoring defenseman and he&rsquo;s gone but Cady will look to Kevin Beaton (6-19-25) for leadership of his six veterans. Cady thinks his goalie combo of Don Kodastsky (4.38) and Alain Chevrier (3.40) as one of the better ones in the league. We&rsquo;ll see.</p><p>On paper, this will be a good team. The new league and the formidable opposition week after week will give up little hope that Miami will move up from the cellar for at least a year. Illinois-Chicago Circle (9-17 as Division Two independent)</p><p>The Circle will be on probation. Only three forwards graduated, so there will be some experience to take on the heavyweights who show up with regularity on the schedule. All the CCHA teams will have a good time meeting UICC at the Pavilion, capacity 8,802. Wait a few years, folks.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Newcomer May Top CCHA

<h2><b>North Dakota</b> (21-15-2, fifth in WCHA)</h2><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>round Grand Forks, they&rsquo;re wishing that this year, not 1982-83, were the one for the Sioux to host the NCAA Final Four. With a very young but still typically mean and ornery sextet last season, North Dakota stayed right with the WHCA&rsquo;s leaders most of the way before fading in the stretch. Just All-America defenseman Marc Chorney will be a serious graduation loss.</p><p>Gino Gasparini cleaned up in his recruiting. Five of the six Sioux rookies were drafted by NHL teams, putting the Sioux on a par with Providence back East for draftees. The five included defenseman Jim Patrick, the ninth player selected in the first round, and forward Dave Donnelly, selected in the second round.</p><p>The returning veterans are stong, too. Sophomore center Troy Murray splashed into college hockey with 33-45-78 last season. Six of the other top eight point getters are back in Grand Forks, including senior Phil Sykes (28-34-62) and Cary Eades (21-21-42).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0138-0330/10147018-1-eng-US/f0138-032.jpg" title="f0138-03" width="716" height="988"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0139-0156/10147011-1-eng-US/f0139-012.jpg" title="f0139-01" width="1144" height="1739"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>24-goal scorer Ed Beers is expected to produce a lot of offense for Denver, a team which should have all the ingredients of a winner.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0139-0237/10147004-1-eng-US/f0139-022.jpg" title="f0139-02" width="1128" height="1726"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Darrell Morrow rebounded from an injury plagued sophomore season to score 41 points as a junior which makes him Denver&rsquo;s leading returnee.</b></figcaption></div><p>Mike Stone and Craig Ludwig head a bruising group of defenders in front of junior goalie Darren Jensen (4.40).</p><p>Of course, the NoDaks have an additional bit of motivation for this season. As one of the six faithful remnant teams of the WCHA, they&rsquo;d like nothing better than to hang up another NCAA title while CCHA defectors and devotees look on with envy. They have the personnel to do just that.</p><h2><b>Wisconsin</b> (27-41-1, second in WCHA, NCAA champ)</h2><p>News that senior defenseman Jay McFarlane left school a year early to turn pro was the downer of the off season for Bob Johnson&rsquo;s National Champs. The Badgers, you&rsquo;ll recall, did it the hard way last year after getting a reprieve by the NCAA seeding committee and journeying to Potsdam to knock off Clarkson in the NCAA quarterfinals. They then easily polished off Northern Michigan and Minnesota at Duluth. Wisco did it with a patchwork defense and an opportunistic, bruising checking game that forced a lot of breaks their way.</p><p>Johnson can look for more heroics from big sophomore John Newberry (30-32-62); more than a few are surprised he didn&rsquo;t turn pro. Two of last year&rsquo;s six top scorers in the over-50 point bracket, seniors Ron Vincent (20-45-65) and Pete Johnson (30-23-53) will make the badger attack a potent one again. Sophs Brian Mullen (11-13-24) and Ted Pearson (6-9-15) looked good in Duluth and should move up the scoring ladder.</p><p>The goaltending is a strong point with NCAA MVP Marc Behrend (3.29) and Terry Kleisinger (3.61) both back. McFarlane&rsquo;s departure leaves three regulars at defense, best of whom is sophomore Bruce Driver. Theran Welsh, a big point scorer from defense, is graduated but with a clicking offense he won&rsquo;t be a big loss.</p><p>Wisconsin will be one of the top teams in the shrunken WCHA, and could even wind up in Providence to defend its NCAA title.</p><h2><b>Denver</b> (23-15-2, fourth in WCHA)</h2><p>Eight seniors and ten other letterwinners are on hand for the debut of new coach Ralph Backstrom, who succeeds Marshall Johnston. DU was a very good team last year and only suffers one critical loss to graduation &mdash; leading scorer Ken Berry (22-34-56). How well Backstrom can work with the available talent, installing his system and stirring up enthusiasm in a veteran club, will determine how far the Pioneers go this season.</p><p>DU is strong at center with Andy Hill (37 points), Don Fraser (34) and John Liprando (31). Wings Darrell Morrow (20-21-41) and Ed Beers (24-15-39) are the premier returning point getters. Sophomore defenseman Jim Leavins had a fine rookie season with 8-18-26 and heads up five veteran rearguards. DU will again have two good goalies in senior Scott Robinson (3.50) and soph Pat Tierney (3.83)</p><p>The ability is there. Since the roster is virtually the same, we can only wait to see if the psych will be likewise under the old Montreal Canadien, Backstrom.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0140-0165/10146997-1-eng-US/f0140-012.jpg" title="f0140-01" width="1117" height="1414"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Minnesota coach Brad Buetow seems to operate with a bottomless pool of reserve talent, but his talents will be put to test this year.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0140-0239/10146990-1-eng-US/f0140-022.jpg" title="f0140-02" width="1119" height="1411"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Junior Paul Butters shared Minnesota&rsquo;s goaltending position last season with Jim Jetland and can be counted on to perform that task once again.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>Minnesota</b> (33-12, first in WCHA, NCAA runnerup)</h2><p>Year after year, the Gophers are the diametric opposite of Colorado College. No matter how many players graduate, quit the team, or get hurt, the coach has a virtually bottomless well of talent to call on.</p><p>Brad Buetow is the coach again this year, his third, and he&rsquo;s going to that well to draw deeply this season. He lost six forwards and four defensemen, representing 60 percent of the scoring punch, to graduation and pro signings. Neal and Aaron Broten are the best known of the departed skaters, but we can&rsquo;t overlook 93-point scorer Steve Ulseth of the blueliners either. Still, Buetow doesn&rsquo;t appear overly concerned.</p><p>He still has wing Bryan Erickson (39-47-86) and center Kevin Hartzell (27-32-59) of 1980-81&rsquo;s big point makers. The important issue is whether the second liners and the fillins can run up the big numbers now that the monkey is on their backs. The players who must come through in this category are Scott Bjugstad, Jeff Langevin, Jeff Teal, and Tom Rothstein.</p><p>Defensively, the problem is a lot more pronounced. Just senior Dave Dillon and junior Dave Jensen played the full year. Frosh and jayvees will simply have to play right away. Senior Jim Jetland (4.03) and junior Paul Butter split the goalie job last year and will face many more shots while they do it again. You can never count the Gophers out, but it looks like they&rsquo;ll be in for an off-year.</p><h2><b>Minnesota-Duluth</b> (17-21-1, eighth in WCHA)</h2><p>UMD must find a goalie to replace Bill Perkl (4.54) and jazz up its offense if it&rsquo;s to make a run at the WCHA upper strata. In a switch from traditional patterns, the Bulldogs bolted from the gate and looked super early on last season, then flopped to 3-9 in their last six series. There&rsquo;s a lot of experience returning to Gus Hendrickson&rsquo;s fold. He has to find some outstanding talent among that experience if UMD is to menace the big boys.</p><p>Beginning with the goal, freshmen Bob Mason and Jon Downing will probably wrest the starting assignment from reserve Ron Erickson (5.29). Hendrickson is high on sophomore defenseman Tom Kurvers for point scoring and junior Jim Graven for muscle. They&rsquo;ll have to help break in a freshman or two.</p><p>The best of the forwards is senior right wing Gary DeGrio, the only returning veteran who had more than 16 goals. He checked in with 25-8-33. His classmates, left wings Bill Oleksuk (12-27-39) and Scott Carlston (16-25-41) are among several Bulldog shooters in the &ldquo;solid dependable&rdquo; category. If one or two of these players flashes up to full brillance, UMD will be very tough.</p><h2><b>Colorado College</b> (17-19, seventh in WCHA)</h2><p>The old Tiger nemesis, injuries, will have to be avoided if CC is to better its topsy turvy showing of a year ago. Jeff Sauer brought in four freshmen to replace four departed seniors, so the numbers are equal. Injuries did hold back CC in 1980-81. Since three of the grads &mdash; forwards Greg Whyte and Dale Maksymyk and goalie Tom Frame &mdash; were outstanding seniors, CC will probably have less overall talent available for Sauer.</p><p>Opponents will be gunning to shoot down wings Bruce Aikens (23-36-59) and Ron Reichart (25-16-41). Seniors Tom Kelly, Bob Mancini, and Scott Hampson are known quantities at forward. Sauer has six defensemen available to fend off enemy attackers. The biggest name here is junior Doug Lidster (10-30-40).</p><p>Senior Randy Struch will do the bulk of the goaltending after posting a 5.2 average as Frame&rsquo;s backup. Sauer traditionally gets the most out of his material, which is usually less bountiful than that available to most of the teams in the West. Still, it&rsquo;s improbable that the long grind will be injury free for the Tigers. Their best hope is to get hot in the playoffs once again.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0138-03

Sioux Picked For Crown

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0141-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0141-0155/10147077-1-eng-US/f0141-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Islanders successfully defended their Stanley Cup championship in May of 1981 and paraded through the streets of Nassau County Above, Wayne Merrick, Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy acknowledge their fans.</b></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0141-0237/10147070-1-eng-US/f0141-022.jpg" title="f0141-02" width="1151" height="1411"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Anders Kallur with the Cup</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0141-0324/10147063-1-eng-US/f0141-032.jpg" title="f0141-03" width="1131" height="1405"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>John Tonelli pushing past Bryan Maxwell en route to the Cup.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0142-0158/10147056-1-eng-US/f0142-012.jpg" title="f0142-01" width="2344" height="1578"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Winning was a family affair for the Islanders as frienas as relatives joined in the locker-room celebration. Denis Potvin and his dad enjoyed a victory cigar, while Mrs. Potvin stayed close to an obviously pleased Jean Potvin.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0142-0232/10147049-1-eng-US/f0142-022.jpg" title="f0142-02" width="2336" height="1574"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Islanders&rsquo; defenseman Bob Lorimer helped his wife sip from the Cup, while Lorimer&rsquo;s father also lent a hand.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0141-01

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0143-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0143-0159/10147129-1-eng-US/f0143-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Montreal Canadians&rsquo; goaltenders Denis Herron and Richard Sevigny shared the Vezina Trophy, above, with their exteammate Bunny Larocque who was traded to Toronto.</b></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0143-0235/10147122-1-eng-US/f0143-022.jpg" title="f0143-02" width="2400" height="1461"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>St. Louis Blues&rsquo; forward Blake Dunlop, left, was awarded the Masterton Trophy, while his coach Red Berenson captured the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0144-0161/10147115-1-eng-US/f0144-012.jpg" title="f0144-01" width="2353" height="1528"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The NHL&rsquo;s first All Star team was honored in Montreal and included from left to right, Charlie Simmer, Los Angeles Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton, Randy Carlyle, Pittsburgh, Mike Bossy, Islanders, Mike Llut, St. Louis and Denis Potvin of the Hart Trophy</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0144-0235/10147108-1-eng-US/f0144-022.jpg" title="f0144-02" width="2330" height="1531"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Wayne Gretzky needs a wheelbarrow to cart home all his NHL awards. Bobby Clarke, right, delivered the Hart Trophy.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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