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Yearbook 1983

The Hockey News Yearbook 1983

f0107-01

STATISTICS

HOCKEY NEWS STATISTICS

f0120-01

American Hockey League

<div class="byline">Mario Lessard</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0074-0264/10185088-1-eng-US/f0074-022.jpg" title="f0074-02" width="573" height="722"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0074-01129/10185081-1-eng-US/f0074-012.jpg" title="f0074-01" width="733" height="428"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b>ill the real Los Angeles Kings please stand up! Are they the terrors who checked the Edmonton Oilers into submission in the opening round of the Smythe Division playoffs or the outfit that failed to win at home in the second round, falling to Vancouver in five games? Or is it the team that finished 17thoverall in the standings, 17 games below.500. Or the club that, one year before, rose to fourth overall before failing abysmally in the playoffs?</p><p>Apparently the Kings are confident &mdash; a rather strange feeling for this franchise &mdash; that they are indeed for real; that they will take the positive aspects of last season and with their impressive array of young telent, will become both a regular season and a playoff threat in the same year. Hopefully, this year.</p><p>For too long, the Kings have been Dionne, Taylor and Simmer and hope the goalie has a good game. That changed under the reign of Bob Berry, who instilled discipline in his players. But when Berry left for the thankless task of leading the Canadiens, Parker MacDonald came in with a kid-glove approach and the Kings went from promising contenders to uninspired wretches.</p><p>Enter Don Perry. The discipline and teamwork were restored and the Kings suddenly became a team to be reckoned with.</p><p>So with Perry calling the shots from the start of the season and the team&rsquo;s bolstered confidence, it figures that the Kings should be in the thick of things, right? Right, if &hellip;</p><p>&bull; If the Marcel Dionne who showed up for the playoffs for a change with 7-4-11 stats doesn't reverse his history and have a bad regular season. Before the 1982 playoffs, Dionne had 29 points in 30 playoff games over six years but only eight of those points were scored in the latest four years. Finally he broke loose this past spring and, after leading the Kings in scoring during the regular season for the seventh consecutive year (50-67-117), he&rsquo;s still an important cog in their offense.</p><p>&bull; If the Charlie Simmer who scored 11 points in 10 playoff matches is the Charlie Simmer of old. During the regular season, Simmer, still recovering from a badly shattered leg, limped to only 15 goals in 50 games. He, too, must be among the most productive Kings.</p><p>&bull; If youngsters such as Bernie Nicholls and Daryl Evans are as good as they looked. Promoted from New Haven, Nicholls, a center, scored 32 points in 22 regular season games and had four playoff goals. Left winger Evans had 2-6-8 stats in 14 regular season games and then went wild in the playoffs leading the club with 13 points.</p><p>&bull; If goaltender Mario Lessard can regain his form of two years ago. Lessard had a 4.36 goals-against average in 52 regular season starts and a dismal 13-28-8 record after being among the league leaders in wins the season before when he checked in with a 3.25 GAA. Lessard played well against the Oilers but not nearly as well when the Kings lost to the Canucks.</p><p>&bull; If defensemen Larry Murphy and Mark Hardy continue to improve. Murphy, an offensive defenseman had 22-44-66 regular season marks and 2-8-10 in the playoffs. Hardy, who can hit as well as skate and pass, is considered a key by the Kings who feel he has leadership qualities yet to be displayed.</p><p>The Kings may now have the personnel to dismantle the Dionne-Simmer-Taylor trio. Taylor, who recently signed a multi-year pact with the club, was the second leading scorer with 39-67-106 figures last season. But Nicholls might be brought in between Taylor and Simmer while Dionne could line up with Jim Fox (30-38-68) on the right side and either Evans or Steve Bozek, who can also play center, on the left. Bozek, 4-1-5 in the playoffs, wound up with 33 goals his rookie season as a sometimes linemate for Dionne and Taylor but slumped very badly in the second half after Simmer returned to fulltime duty.</p><p>Another promising youngster is center Doug Smith, the Kings&rsquo; top 1981 draft choice who was brought along slowly last year. Smith managed 16 goals among his 30 points and looked more comfortable during the playoffs where he produced 3-2-5 stats.</p><p>That leaves ex-captain Mike Murphy, J. P. Kelly, Dan Bonar, Greg Terrion and Dean Hopkins as forwards looking for addtional action.</p><p>Helping out on defense are veterans such as Jerry Korab, captain Dave Lewis, plus Jay Wells and Rick Chartraw. Few changes are expected there although Ian Turnbull, who finished in the minors last season, is expected to vie for a spot in training camp.</p><p>One outsider with a chance is Soviet center Victor Nechaev, 27, who was selected in the '82 draft. A former Soviet first division player, although not a member of the national team, Nechaev is supposed to be confident of cracking the lineup. Another prospect to watch is Phil Sykes, a winger from the University of North Dakota. Sykes, who can score, was the Hobey Baker Trophy winner as college hockey&rsquo;s best player last year.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0075-01110/10185074-1-eng-US/f0075-012.jpg" title="f0075-01" width="1625" height="3161"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>For a first-round draft choice, Doug Smith was worked into the Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; lineup very slowly but a strong playoff showing revealed some of his great potential.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>LOS ANGELES KINGS (12)</b></p><p>1. Mike Heidt, D, Calgary</p><p>2. Steve Seguin, RW, Kingston</p><p>3. Dave Gans, C, Oshawa</p><p>4. Dave Ross, G, Seattle</p><p>5. Darcy Roy, LW, Ottawa</p><p>6. Ulf Isaacson, LW, Sweden</p><p>7. Victor Nechaev, C, Red Army</p><p>8. Peter Helander, D, Sweden</p><p>9. Dave Chartier, D, Saskatoon</p><p>10. John Franzosa, G, Brown</p><p>11. Ray Shero, LW, St. Lawrence</p><p>12. Matts Ulander, RW, Sweden</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0075-0268/10185067-1-eng-US/f0075-022.jpg" title="f0075-02" width="765" height="2400"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0076-01123/10185060-1-eng-US/f0076-012.jpg" title="f0076-01" width="1113" height="1369"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>This season will be an important one for Charlie Simmer If he expects to make it back all the way from the broken leg that hampered him a great deal last season.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0076-0266/10185053-1-eng-US/f0076-022.jpg" title="f0076-02" width="1227" height="1507"></div><h2><b>Los Angeles Kings Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0076-0347/10185046-1-eng-US/f0076-032.jpg" title="f0076-03" width="2346" height="1531"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0077-01122/10185039-1-eng-US/f0077-012.jpg" title="f0077-01" width="2487" height="1449"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0077-0271/10185032-1-eng-US/f0077-022.jpg" title="f0077-02" width="2495" height="1441"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0074-02

IN THIS ISSUE

L. A. Kings

f0121-02

Central Hockey League

<div class="byline">By Allen Abel</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011669/10183607-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he Edmonton Oilers were in Washington, D.C., one day last season when their hunger for victory was momentarily overcome by a yearning for more earthly fare. Sold out at home, handsomely rewarded for their labors by the munificent Peter Pocklington, lavished with daily meal money sufficient to gorge a wallowing hippo with caviar, they repaired without dissent to McDonald&rsquo;s for a two-buck lunch. &ldquo;Food!&rdquo; chanted the icemen. &ldquo;Food! Food! Food!&rdquo;</p><p>This was in a neighborhood of the capital not yet uplifted by an application of supply-side Reaganomics. A sign in a corner of the store offered a reward of $500 to any Samaritan who stymied a robbery in progress, assuming he was still alive to collect the dough. A television camera suspended from the ceiling surveyed the scene.</p><p>And Dave Semenko called out, &ldquo;Hey, Wayne! Why don&rsquo;t you jump in front of that camera, too?&rdquo;</p><p>Said Wayne Gretzky, &ldquo;Very funny. Ha, ha, ha.&rdquo;</p><p>The Kid &mdash; one of the team&rsquo;s elders, he would turn 21 a week later &mdash; retreated amusedly to the end of the line; at the head of the queue was Grant Fuhr, the goaltender, who was being presented with a birthday cake by a couple of giggling counterwomen who assumed that he must have sprung from the immediate vicinity. Fuhr blushed and said &ldquo;Thank you,&rdquo; for him a major oration. The Oilers munched contentedly on their lunches. Somebody creeped up behind assistant coach Ted Green and pulled his pants down.</p><p>Wayne Gretzky was sitting in the moonlight and talking about making professional ice hockey a major sport in the United States, which it never has become although it has been available to American audiences since 1904, when an iron magnate in Upper Michigan first lured Canadian players south for pay. It was noted that Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr, though wondrous in their deeds, failed to excite the average citizen of Mobile or Albuquerque, to whom ice is something that tinkles contentedly in tall glasses. Even in a member city of the National Hockey League, a few of the vast unwashed did not recognize a hockey team when they saw one. When the Oilers, still in their practice pants and pads and colored sweaters, filed off the bus at McDonald&rsquo;s in Washington, the customers already inside did not know if they were being joined by the Alvin Ailey dance troupe, or various manifestations of The Thing.</p><p>&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s a real challenge,&rdquo; said Gretzky, and it may be that popularizing hockey in the U.S. is the task that intrigues him most, beyond the more mundane assignments, common to all the men who play this game, of scoring goals and winning prizes and waltzing around a warm, arena in May with an ancient silver bowl. It is a bilateral arrangement &mdash; he sells the sport, the sport sells him &mdash; and it occupies far more time than the 30-odd hours a player spends on skates in a typical week of his season.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012251/10183600-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="1797" height="2361"></div><p>As a junior in Sault Ste. Marie and a professional in Indianapolis and Edmonton, as a bearer of the red maple leaf in the Canada Cup tournament and at Helsinki for the watered-down world title, Gretzky has lifted no mug above his head to dance a merry lap. He has played in 14 Stanley Cup playoff games and his team has won seven of them, losing out to the Los Angeles Kings in 1982 after placing first in the NHL&rsquo;s Western Division by a laughable margin; first place was already assured in mid January, in the hamburgery in Washington. But Bobby Orr&rsquo;s Bruins did not win the Cup until his fourth season; Gordie Howe&rsquo;s Red Wings not until his fourth; Bobby Hull&rsquo;s Black Hawks not until his fourth, and never again. Gretzky&rsquo;s fourth season begins in a moment&rsquo;s time.</p><p>It is not a one-man sport &mdash; the Oilers, to be certain, are not a one-man team &mdash; but Gretzky is so completely the sport&rsquo;s one cynosure that even a surveillance camera in a restaurant becomes the stuff of a teammate&rsquo;s wisecrack. He is equally a star, and star-struck, embracing Goldie Hawn and &mdash; real men don&rsquo;t hug each other &mdash; Burt Reynolds after scoring goal No. 77 in Buffalo, crooning along with Dottie West, guest-spotting on the Carson show. When the phone rang in his hotel room at the summer meetings at Montreal, at 3 in the <i>morning,</i> it was Mick Jagger on his earphone from New Orleans, just wanting to say hello.</p><p>A comparison that springs to mind is, interestingly, with Muhammad Ali. When Ali, staggered and exhausted, narrowly held on to defeat the destructive Ernie Shavers one night at Madison Square Garden, his first words to the attendant scribes were, &ldquo;did you see who was at ringside &mdash; Kris Kristofferson, the great white actor!&rdquo; When Gretzky, cornered at a practice arena in Washington, was asked by local televisionnaries about some of the highlights of his career, he said, &ldquo;meeting Paul Anka.&rdquo;</p><p>Now there is talk of Gretzky pursuing an acting career, as Ali did, with some success, of his harmonizing with his girlfriend, the beauteous Vicki Moss of Edmonton, an analogy to All&rsquo;s pungent poetry. It would seem that in the sporting superstar beats a heart that yearns for other conquests; hence, Phil Esposito&rsquo;s crooning, which was bad, and Joe Namath&rsquo;s acting, which was worse.</p><p>Offers to expand the Kid&rsquo;s horizons arrive in ceaseless profusion. Says Walt Gretzky, the prodigy&rsquo;s progenitor, &ldquo;the phone rings at 2 o&rsquo;clock in the morning, and it&rsquo;s real, legitimate business people calling. Some guy called us about a deal for jackets with Wayne&rsquo;s name on them or something, and it was 2:30 a.m.! I said, &lsquo;Do you know what time it is?&rsquo; He said, &lsquo;Hey this is important.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Said the son, during that same excursion along the Eastern Seaboard, &ldquo;J bleed, too. The people think I sleep from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. &mdash; charge me up and away I go. They call me at 4 o&rsquo;clock in the morning and say, &lsquo;Oh! I didn&rsquo;t think you'd be asleep.&rsquo;-Or they call me at the hotel on the day of a game and I tell them I have to go to our meal and they say, &lsquo;Oh, do you <i>eat, too?&rsquo;</i> People think my day lasts 30 hours. They think I&rsquo;m not human.</p><p>&ldquo;Our life, it&rsquo;s so different. Hockey players and other athletes, they understand what each of us is going through, but people who&rsquo;ve never been on a team or travelled with a team, they have no idea. I meet people who say, &lsquo;I thought hockey players got to the rink at a quarter to 8 and when the game ends, they go home until the next game. There&rsquo;s so much more to being a professional than that.</p><p>&ldquo;My father used to tell me, &lsquo;either you go out and practice now or you&rsquo;ll be getting up at 6 o&rsquo;clock in the morning the rest of your life to go to work.&rsquo; Now, I have to get up at 5:30 to catch airplanes. We laugh about that a lot.&rdquo;</p><p>There have been moments in Gretzky&rsquo;s career when laughter was not an accompanying sound. The Oilers&rsquo; elimination by the New York Islanders in 1981 was accepted for what it was &mdash; a six-game, near upset by unranked upstarts of what is clearly the sport&rsquo;s dominant team. But the 8-1 thrashing in the final of the Canada Cup tournament was a heavier blow; said Gretzky, &ldquo;everybody had been saying, &lsquo;you&rsquo;re the best, you can&rsquo;t lose.&rsquo; I guess when I was a kid I used to say the same thing &mdash; &lsquo;our best players can&rsquo;t possibly lose.&rsquo; It wasn&rsquo;t just that one game, to lose, 8-1. It was all the training, all those years of people telling you, &lsquo;Do it this way. It&rsquo;s our way.&rsquo; &rdquo; Against the Soviets, Gretzky was pointless in the final; said a smirking Soviet coach, &ldquo;Is easy to stop him &mdash; he thinks like one of us.&rdquo;</p><p>Then came the most splendid of all seasons, the 92 goals, the easy cruise to first place, though a divisional championship under the NHL&rsquo;s sappy alignment offers no reward sufficient to balance the risk of a premature elimination by a team of undeserving petunias in the first playoff round. The Kings were not exactly pansies, though they had won only 27 games of 80; no team could be considered valueless that contained Marcel Dionne, who will be remembered someday as the last league scoring champion before Gretzky&rsquo;s reign began.</p><p>Strung out by the six-months&rsquo; effort to finish first, or perhaps overwhelmed by the task of attaining what so many had conceded before the first puck was dropped &mdash; Mark Messier fainted on the bench &mdash; the Oilers fell in five acrimonious games, and one of them was attended by a Russian immigrant and former first-division center who later would be drafted by the Kings, the first Soviet-trained player ever chosen. Said Victor Nechaev, &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t believe it! People knew nothing of hockey play and tactics. They came only to shout &lsquo;Gretzky sucks.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Bundled off to Helsinki - his first trip to Europe - immediately after the fifth playoff game, Gretzky was overwhelmed by his reception abroad and conveniently escaped the recriminations that blanketed Edmonton like the winter&rsquo;s snow. Blasphemed in the local prints as &ldquo;weak-kneed wimps,&rdquo; the Oilers retreated to their fishing holes uncrowned but wiser, perhaps more ready to face the truth that a long season&rsquo;s success means nothing once the true test begins.</p><p>In Finland, crowds of the curious formed outside the hotel where Team Canada, culled from early playoff losers that included the shamed minions of Montreal, Buffalo, Minnesota and Winnipeg, was residing during the official world championship event. The Canadians, eight months after the debacle at the Forum, would earn second place but be denied it when the Soviets and Czechoslovaks played to a 0-0 tie that reeked of collusion. The total of a Kid&rsquo;s reward for a year of labor: a bronze medal; a screen test; a scoring record; a million bucks.</p><p>It was reported during the season that Oiler sweaters with the No. 99 on the back were outselling all Canadiens jerseys <i>combined</i> at the souvenir shop in the Forum in Montreal; at Maple Leaf Gardens, sales of Gretzky&rsquo;s totemic vestments far outstripped those of the uniform sported by Rick Vaive, the hard-shooting Toronto captain whose splendid season gave him a team record of 54 and goals brought him within 40 of the league lead.</p><p>The idol of millions, except when he opens his mouth to sing, Gretzky cautions young players against too closely emulating his style of play. His style of life &mdash; the fine suits; the attendant flacks; the Carson show &mdash; is accepted without audible complaint.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s good for kids to try to be just like me on the ice,&rdquo; he said last winter. &ldquo;Maybe when they&rsquo;re real young, it&rsquo;s okay to have aspirations, but when they are 14 or 15 and thinking about Major A, they have to do what they do best. Not everybody can be a Bobby Orr, a Bob Gainey; they can&rsquo;t skate as fast as Perreault or shoot as hard as Lafleur. Look at Dave Hunter on our team, he&rsquo;s an important part of our hockey club, but how many kids say, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m going to check hard and work in the corners and be just like Dave Hunter?&rsquo; They don&rsquo;t say that, but you can&rsquo;t have a winning hockey team without a guy like him. But you see kids who should be working like Hunter and they&rsquo;re trying to score goals like Lafleur. I don&rsquo;t know if it&rsquo;s the coach or the agents or what.&rdquo;</p><p>If the Kid expects to talk young players out of copying him, he fights a hopeless battle. He explains his phenomenal success with a shrug of meatless shoulders: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel that I&rsquo;m changing the game. I just watch what the other guys do, and wait for their mistakes.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;m a good teacher at what I do. We&rsquo;ve got a young player, Marc Habscheid, he&rsquo;s so much like me, eh? He comes off the ice and says, &lsquo;What do you do in such and such a situation? How should I do it?&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;And all I can tell him is, &lsquo;I-don&rsquo;t know. I can&rsquo;t explain it. It just happens. I do it. I don&rsquo;t know <i>why.&rsquo; &rdquo;</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0002-01

FEATURES

99: Not Even He Can Explain What It Is Makes Him ‘The Greatest’

<div class="byline">By Tony Gallagher</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012553/10183638-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div><p><b>T</b>here is an opening for an author who wishes to write Volume Twoof Great <i>Expectations</i> in Vancouver.</p><p>When the Canucks entered the 1982-83 season, there was more pressure on the National Hockey League team than they had ever felt in the past.</p><p>The run to the Stanley Cup final had a lot of stars dancing in the heads of some of the fans, and the Canucks will be expected in many ways to continue the breath-taking pace they set for themselves in the playoffs. But the players know that this will be almost impossible to accomplish unless they improve the talent and goal-scoring ability on the club.</p><p>For there is no way they could have a season the equivalent of 11-6 (their playoff record) without rising a little higher than 17th overall in total offense. Further, they can hardly expect Richard Brodeur to turn in performances every game like he did in the playoffs, although last season his play was so consistent that they eventually felt they could part with Glen Hanlon in the St. Louis trade.</p><p>And all these expectations arise at just the time when the Smythe Division is developing into one of the better balanced in the league. In the past, the Canucks, and every other team in the division for that matter, had the playoffs made before they broke training camp. There was always Colorado in the division, a team that wasn&rsquo;t able to improve or get the fans excited in Denver.</p><p>Now, with Winnipeg coming over from the Norris to join what used to be the Sweathog division, there are no guarantees. It is possible for the Canucks to actually make the Stanley Cup final one year and miss the playoffs the next if they aren&rsquo;t careful. That may be a bit far-fetched, but there are no free rides in a division that contains the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames and the Jets.</p><p>So the Canucks need to improve. And while that is likely, there is also a nagging situation created by the absence of Hanlon and the return of Rick Heinz back to the St. Louis Blues.</p><p>The Canucks are in need of a backup goaltender for Brodeur. They feel the man they&rsquo;ve had in Dallas for the past three seasons, Ken Ellacott, will be able to do the job, though until a goaltender has some NHL experience under his belt, who knows?</p><p>&ldquo;This is the first time Ellacott will be coming to camp knowing that the deck isn&rsquo;t stacked against him,&rdquo; said general manager and former coach Harry Neale. &ldquo;We expect that this will really help him work harder, knowing that he has a chance to be in the National Hockey League.&rdquo;</p><p>If Ellacott falters, there is a trio of juniors ready to fight for the right to pick his bones. London Knight grad Frank Caprice, the youngster who looked good for the Canadian junior team in the world tournament, and who was impressive in his first pro camp, is the leading contender followed by Wendell Young and Darrell May, probably in that order.</p><p>It is expected that among those four, there will be a man who will be able to take some of the heat off Brodeur&rsquo;s shoulders and give him a few nights off.</p><p>On defense, the Canucks are so loaded one wonders why they haven&rsquo;t been hearing the phone ring more. Considering the nature of some of the defenses around the NHL, the Canucks expect to be exporters of defensemen this season. They have 10 defensemen on the roster with NHL experience. And this is not to say any of them are passengers or over the hill. Clearly all of those numbered are perfectly capable of playing, though Andy Schliebener, who was taken by the club from junior during last season&rsquo;s crisis on defense, may benefit from another year playing pro in the minors. The rest are bona fide contenders for positions. On the right side, there is captain Kevin McCarthy, Rick Lanz, Garth Butcher, Jiri Bubla, Anders Eldebrink and possibly Neil Belland, though he is capable of playing on either side. On the other side are Doug Halward, Harold Snepsts, Lars Lindgren and Schliebener and this doesn&rsquo;t even count the Canucks&rsquo; No. 1 draft pick, Michel Petit.</p><p>&ldquo;With the people we&rsquo;ve got I can&rsquo;t believe some of the other teams haven&rsquo;t shown much interest in making a deal,&rdquo; says Neale. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re strong and deep on defense and that&rsquo;s good, because the way things can go you never know how many you are going to need.&rdquo;</p><p>Up front, there are decisions to make as well, for certainly the goals-for must be improved if the Canucks are going to make life easier on themselves.</p><p>Among those expected to aid in this area are Patrick Sundstrom, the Swede who will essentially take retired Per-Olov Brasar&rsquo;s spot on the roster although he&rsquo;ll likely play right wing, and Moe Lemay. Lemay is a left winger who led the OHL in goals last season and he&rsquo;ll join a pretty competent crew of left wingers that includes Curt Fraser, Dave Williams, Darcy Rota and Marc Crawford.</p><p>Center is the decision-making position. With right wing now much stronger, Lars Molin has been freed up to play center, though his presence creates a logjam with Ivan Hlinka, Ivan Boldirev, Gary Lupul and Gerry Minor to accompany the outstanding Thomas Gradin. Just who plays here remains to be seen, though it is believed that if coach Roger Neilson has his druthers, he&rsquo;d prefer not to use both Ivans. The problem is, if you trade or sit one of the Ivans, how do you replace their offensive capabilities.</p><p>One thing is certain. The Canucks will be going into the season with as much depth as they could possibly hope for, as much as they&rsquo;ve had in the 13-year history of the franchise. For at right wing, there is Blair MacDonald, Stan Smyl, Jim Nill, Tony Currie, Ron Delorme and now Sundstrom, which means the club has two players with NHL experience at each forward position who will not make the lineup for some reason.</p><p>Expectations are high and interest in hockey hasn&rsquo;t been like it is since Vancouver was awarded the franchise in 1970. With any luck, this team will keep it there.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-01

What Do The Canucks Do For An Encore?

<div class="byline">By Pat Calabria</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012434/10183676-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he team that can beat the New York Islanders lives only in the imagination of Bill Torrey, exists only in his fears and thrives only in his nightmares. There hasn&rsquo;t been a team in three years that could beat the Islanders and there may not be a team that will for another three years. &ldquo;When our turn does come,&rdquo; Torrey said, &ldquo;the other team will be awfully good.&rdquo;</p><p>It will have to be good. It may even have to be great. So superior are the Islanders that they do not have one single tender spot. So magnificent has been Torrey&rsquo;s reign as general manager that two of this minor league teams also produced championships last season. So careful is the planning, that the Islanders retain a delicate blend of speed and power, of youth and experience.</p><p>After three consecutive Stanley Cups, the dynasty appears to be in no danger. Even the Islanders like to believe an end to their string of championships would be merely a temporary setback. Their confidence is surpassed only by their talent.</p><p>&ldquo;Eventually, we&rsquo;re not going to win the Cup,&rdquo; Bob Bourne said. &ldquo;We all know that. We&rsquo;re not going to win forever. But I think we&rsquo;ve got a team that could win for a few more years. I think Mr. Torrey is looking at six Cups in a row, I really do. And it&rsquo;s not impossible. And even if we lost one year, we could win five of six or six of seven. We think that.&rdquo;</p><p>Bourne is not alone in that estimation. Minnesota general manager Lou Nanne labels the Islanders, &ldquo;awesome.&rdquo; Quebec coach Michel Bergeon, whose team was swept by the Islanders in the semi-finals last season, agrees the Islanders are the standard by which all other teams must be judged.</p><p>&ldquo;Tell me, where are they weak?&rdquo; Bergeron said. &ldquo;Trottier, Bossy, Smith, Gillies, Nystrom, Tonelli. It goes on and on.&rdquo;</p><p>Another championship this season would put the Islanders on the threshold of tying the National Hockey League record of five straight Stanley Cups held by Montreal. The Islanders are already the first team based in an American city to win three straight times. It goes on and on.</p><p>The success of the team begins with Torrey, born in Montreal of American parents and raised near the Forum. He was, in fact, born in Children&rsquo;s Hospital right across the street from the Forum where a six-tiered shopping mall presently stands. Now 47 years later, Torrey rules an empire seeking to challenge the legacy of the Canadiens. Not bad for someone who as a young boy was chased out of the Forum by none other than Frank Selke.</p><p>&ldquo;I got chased out a few times,&rdquo; Torrey said, &ldquo;but not that many.&rdquo;</p><p>Torrey is the man in charge now, a force throughout the league as well as on his own team. When Nanne first became a general manager, he picked Torrey&rsquo;s brains. &ldquo;I could see he was smart,&rdquo; Nanne remembers. &ldquo;I was picking his brains and he knew what I was doing. He&rsquo;s hard to put one over on.&rdquo;</p><p>Torrey managed to carve a place on league committees &mdash; and in the standings &mdash; earning himself respect of young and old alike. That he did it in the most excruciating circumstances is even more remarkable. For years, the only bankroll Torrey was given to work was the loose change in the empty pockets of Roy Boe, the team&rsquo;s original owner.</p><p>By the time Boe was finished mismanaging team funds and removed as owner by court order, the Islanders were $20 million in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. Nevetheless, Torrey was able to assemble the core of players that would take him to the Cup. &ldquo;What Bill Torrey did, in regards to salvaging the Islanders, was nothing short of remarkable,&rdquo; NHL president John Ziegler said.</p><p>Along with John 0. Pickett, who succeeded Boe as principal owner, the Islanders assembled a team off the ice that could match the team they had on the ice. It wasn&rsquo;t easy. Many times during the team financial overhaul in 1978 it appeared the team could not be saved, would be dissolved and the players would be distributed to other teams.</p><p>&ldquo;There would be days when John and I would be on our way to another meeting with lawyers and accountants and the league,&rdquo; Torrey said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d be in a bad mood and I&rsquo;d say, &lsquo;Oh, let&rsquo;s forget about it, we can&rsquo;t do it.&rsquo; And John would say, &lsquo;No, let&rsquo;s go on. We can do it.&rsquo; And there would be days when John would be in a bad mood and I&rsquo;d talk him into another try. It was a good thing we were never in a bad mood on the same day.&rdquo;</p><p>And then shortly after the franchise was restructured, Torrey went to Pickett and said he needed $50,000 to secure the signature of a player on a contract to play for the Islanders. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll help us win the Stanley Cup someday,&rdquo; Torrey told Pickett. So Pickett arranged a hasty withdrawal of funds and the contract was signed. Last season, John Tonelli was voted the best left winger in the NHL.</p><p>That&rsquo;s the kind of foresight with which Torrey always has operated. While the team&rsquo;s financial fortunes have improved &mdash; the Islanders have wiped out almost all their debt and had a profit of more than $1 million last season &mdash; the team has become stronger and better. Once the league&rsquo;s pauper, the Islanders&rsquo; payroll is one of the largest in the league. &ldquo;And deservedly so,&rdquo; said Pickett.</p><p>Mike Bossy makes an estimated $600,000. Free agent Denis Potvin probably will sign for about $450,000. Butch Goring makes $230,000. Trottier will likely renegotiate a contract to equal Bossy&rsquo;s. All three left wingers &mdash; Tonelli, Bob Bourne and Clark Gillies - make in the neighborhood of $200,000. So does goalie Bill Smith. They have earned those hefty salaries.</p><p>But far from easily satisfying the demands of the players, Torrey always has left them a little hungry. Nearly every player has lucrative bonus clauses which can add $50,000 to a base salary. And although Torrey has a reputation as a reluctant trader, he keeps the Islanders on their toes with timely, earth-shaking deals. &ldquo;Just a good horse trader,&rdquo; Nanne said.</p><p>When the Islanders needed a center to backup Trottier in their chase of their first Cup in 1980, Torrey delivered Butch Goring from Los Angeles in exchange for Billy Harris and Dave Lewis. Goring helped immeasureably that first season, and was voted the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when the Islanders repeated in 1981. A year after the Goring trade, Torrey dealt Glenn Resch and Steve Tambellini to Colorado for Mike McEwen. When Stefan Persson got hurt in the 1981 quarter-finals, McEwen stepped in and played well.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012161/10183669-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="1569" height="1186"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>New York Islanders&rsquo; coach Al Arbour and the Stanley Cup have become nearly inseparable companions following three straight NHL championships for the Long Island squad.</b></figcaption></div><p>Last season, Torrey added Tomas Jonsson, who played well in a limited role on defense. More to the point, Jonsson became the 10th Islander to win a Stanley Cup in his first season with the team, an indication of the slow, prudent turnover orchestrated by Torrey.</p><p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re smart,&rdquo; said Bobby Nystrom. &ldquo;They bring in one or two new players every year. They do it slowly. They never rush into anything. And they always seem to make the right decision.&rdquo;</p><p>When Torrey traded Bob Lorimer to Colorado for a No. 1 draft choice, there were Islanders who resented the departure of the popular Lorimer, a steady defenseman. But Torrey and coach Al Arbour had concluded that Jonsson was ready to play, and they were right. And next season, the Islanders might wind up with the first pick overall in the entire draft.</p><p>There are bound to be changes for this season. Dave Simpson, a third-round draft choice in 1981, was the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year last season. He is expected to fill in at center. Paul Boutilier was the best defenseman in the world junior tournament and will be fighting for a spot on the team. He was not selected in the 1980 draft until 20 other players had been chosen.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the Islanders for you,&rdquo; said Billy MacMillian, coach and general manager of the New Jersey team and a former Islander player and assistant coach. &ldquo;They pick last in the draft and they still get the best players.&rdquo;</p><p>In fact, in 1979 and 1980 when the Islanders picked last, they emerged with a harvest of picks each time. In 1979, they drafted Duane Sutter, Tomas Jonsson, Bill Carroll and Roland Melanson. All played for the Islanders last season. In 1980, the Islanders selected Brent Sutter, Kelly Hrudey, Dave Simpson and Monty Trottier. Brent Sutter played for the Islanders last season, Kelly Hrudey is the leading goalie prospect in the Central Hockey League and a teammate of Monty Trottier and Simpson is a smart, skilled center.</p><p>Not only does Torrey have Al Arbour, one of the best coaches, to develop the talent, but he has had probably the NHL&rsquo;s best scouting staff to unearth it. Chief scout and assistant general manager Jim Devellano, who left the Isles to become GM of the Detroit Red Wings, and western scout Gerry Ehman headed a staff that produced such low, but successful picks as Bossy, Persson, Dave Langevin, Tonelli, Ken Morrow and Bryan Trottier. In Bossy&rsquo;s case, six right wingers were taken before him in the first round, but he has become one of the best goal scorers in history. There were 21 players taken before Trottier, 67 before Morrow, 111 before Langevin, 32 before Tonelli and 213 before Persson.</p><p>Not only have the Islanders been able to land powerful players such as Tonelli and Gillies, but they also have been able to mix power with speed and adjust to any kind of game. Pittsburgh coach Ed Johnston said, &ldquo;The Islanders are so tough. They can play physical or they can skate, they score and they play good defense and they find ways to win even when they&rsquo;re not playing well.&rdquo;</p><p>Chances are that the Islanders will continue to find ways to win. Arbour, a product of the old school, has been instrumental in the team&rsquo;s success because of a refusal to do things the old way. A clutch-and-grab defenseman in his day, Arbour runs one of the most inventive offenses around. &ldquo;People always talk about the good old days, when they did things this way or that way,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Well, you can&rsquo;t live in the past. You have to keep up with the new things. Besides, the good old days weren&rsquo;t all that good.&rdquo;</p><p>For the Islanders, the good, old days may only get better.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-01

AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR?

f0010-01

PREVIEWS

Limos, Sedans And Putt-Putts Give It That Old College Try

<div class="byline">By Alan Greenberg</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0017-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011794/10183787-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>ime was when a hockey coach had the lifestyle of a drill sergeant. He had respect, security and earned more than his charges. He was able to plant fear into them by the mere suggestion of a trip to the minors. All this went the way of the six team NHL and overnight train ride.</p><p>A brief scan of the last twelve months of NHL action is enough to convince any security minded ex-jock to seek other work. The 1981-82 season had begun with the modest total of six new coaches. Heads rolled as soon as the first puck was dropped. Nine coaches were iced during the season. As of this writing, five additional offseason replacements were made. In the last year fourteen teams made at least one coaching change.</p><p>There was turnover, controversy, feuding and fisticuffs. Coaches were in the news as often as the players.</p><p>Of the six new coaches a year back, three remain. The most publicized, Herb Brooks with the Rangers, and one of the least known, Tom Watt in Winnipeg, ironically both came from the college ranks and had been rivals during the 1980 Olympics. Watt coached the Canadian Olympic Team and Brooks, as the world knows, had unprecedented success with Team USA.</p><p>Bob Berry was a surprise selection by Montreal, jumping from Los Angeles. With the move of Roger Neilson from Buffalo to Vancouver, Scotty Bowman began and ended last season behind the Sabres&rsquo; bench. Bowman has announced that he will be back behind the bench this season.</p><p>The two other new coaches last year, Parker MacDonald in Los Angeles and Bert Marshall in Colorado, did not last the season.</p><p>Perhaps the success of Brooks and Watt dispelled the myth that college coaches were not NHL material. Brooks, courted on and off for a year before his signing, like Watt, stresses conditioning, discipline and team play. A Brooksism is posted on a plaque in the Rangers&rsquo; dressing room. &ldquo;The name in front of the sweater is more important than the one on the back.&rdquo;</p><p>Brooks now works for Craig Patrick, who had been his assistant during the Olympics. In New York, he was clearly under pressure but he handled the job and the probing Big Apple media well. &ldquo;If I had any hesitancy I would have stayed back home in St. Paul,&rdquo; said Brooks.</p><p>Considering the Rangers&rsquo; slow start last year (three wins and eight losses in October) and the devastating injuries to key players (more than 500 manpower games lost), Brooks had a good year. The team slowly gained momentum. As he pointed out, &ldquo;Since November 1st, we had the fifth best record in the league.&rdquo; Deft trades (Mike Rogers, Robbie Ftorek, Ed Mio) and skillful deployment of no-names such as walk-on Mark Pavelich and rookie Steve Weeks did much to compensate for injury losses of Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson, Ron Greschner and John Davidson.</p><p>In Winnipeg, Watt didn&rsquo;t face the scrutiny of Brooks but made his mark in many ways. He earned Coach of the Year honors by improving the Jets&rsquo; record by 48 points over the season before, the largest one year improvement in NHL history.</p><p>Watt, who in 14 seasons at the University of Toronto won 11 conference championships, was rather low keyed about his first year. &ldquo;After 22 years (at high school and college level) I <i>hope</i> I know how to coach. Coaching is coaching at any level.&rdquo;</p><p>Watt found his share of controversy. Rival coaches Glen Sonmor, Ed Johnston and his old adversary, Brooks, all had directed accusations his way, particularly involving his use of hitman Jimmy Mann. After the Paul Gardner-Jimmy Mann incident Johnston referred to Watt&rsquo;s college days as &ldquo;sitting in an ivory tower,&rdquo; implying that he could not control a pro team. Brooks challenged Watt to fisticuffs after Mann cut down Mike Allison. &ldquo;Anywhere, anytime,&rdquo; said Brooks. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll even wait for the draft meetings in June.&rdquo;</p><p>Cooler heads prevailed. The meetings went by without incident.</p><p>As the season progressed, former saviors became scapegoats.</p><p>The first to fall was Colorado&rsquo;s Bert Marshall, the team&rsquo;s sixth coach in five years. His credentials had been a long association with GM Billy MacMillan and two successful years coaching Indianapolis of the Central Hockey League for the Islanders. When Marshall couldn&rsquo;t move the lowly Rockoves he switched jobs with Assistant Coach and Assistant GM Marshall Johnson less than two months into the season.</p><p>In New Jersey, Billy MacMillan has come full circle. He returns to the bench along with his general manager duties. Marshall Johnson will be Assistant Coach and Bert Marshall is Director of Player Personnel.</p><p>In Detroit, Wayne Maxner was gassed just days after former Director of Hockey Operations Jimmy Skinner said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not changing coaches.&rdquo; Maxner, who had only a handshake contract, was the Wings&rsquo; 14th coach in as many seasons. At the time Detroit had won but 18 of 69 games. Billy Dea, Wings&rsquo; special assignment man who does not like coaching, finished the season. Newly appointed GM Jim Devellano chose Nick Polano, a successful minor league coach who spent last season as an assistant coach in Buffalo, to take over behind the Wings&rsquo; bench.</p><p>No coach had his fortunes reverse last season as abruptly as the Blues&rsquo; Red Berenson. A season earlier Berenson was NHL Coach of the Year after bringing the Blues to within four points of the NHL regular season championship. Last season proved again that you are only as good as your last performance.</p><p>With only 12 games remaining in the season Berenson got the axe from GM Emile Francis. A shocked Berenson said, &ldquo;I felt like I had my pins knocked out from under me.&rdquo; It should not have been a surprise. The Blues had lost 10 straight road games during which they were outscored 70-30. The finale was an 8-1 blowout in Minnesota.</p><p>Francis, who in New York twice took over from his coach while he still handled the GM duties, again assumed a dual role. &ldquo;We were getting away from fundamentals,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;I was hoping the losing streak would turn around but we were being embarrassed. Washington beat us 9-1 and 9-3, Detroit beat us 8-3 and Los Angeles beat us 8-2. After the Minnesota game, 1 had to make a move.&rdquo;</p><p>Francis never backs away from a challenge. &ldquo;If someone has to be put on the spot it might as well be me. You don&rsquo;t forget, how to coach. I have an abundance of energy. I was comfortable the first game I was back.&rdquo; Francis will have an entire season to be comfortable. He does not intend to appoint a successor this year. Meanwhile, Berenson filled the vacancy in Buffalo created by Polano&rsquo;s move to the Red Wings.</p><p>Popular Keith Magnuson, coach for a year and a half and with 15 years with the Black Hawks, took an involuntary &ldquo;leave of absence&rdquo; in February, during which time he did scouting. The club had been winless in 10 starts. GM Bob Pulford announced that he would be behind the bench for six games, regardless of the outcome.</p><p>The Hawks were 4-2 during Pulford&rsquo;s tour and Magnuson returned Feburary 15th against Vancouver. The sensitive Magnuson could no longer cope. He made his decision between the second and third periods of the 4-1 loss. He had had enough. After the game he said, &ldquo;I am resigning in the best interests of the team and because the team is much more important than one person.&rdquo;</p><p>Pulford, with seven years of coaching experience, remained in a dual role for the balance of the year, amid rumors that Orval Tessier would immediately be brought in from New Brunswick (AHL). There were even reports that Billy Reay, who coached Chicago for 14 seasons, would be back.</p><p>Tessier, who coached New Brunswick to a league championship, was chosen coach in the off-season.</p><p>In Washington, Gary Green, who two seasons back became the NHL&rsquo;s youngest coach at 26, last year became its youngest ex-coach at 28.</p><p>In early November, with the hapless Caps on an 11-game losing streak, owner Abe Pollin swept his house clean with the dismissal of Green and GM Max McNab. Roger Crozier became general manager and Hershey&rsquo;s Bryan Murray was confirmed as new coach. Pollin, who also interviewed Don Cherry for the job (Cherry wanted too many conditions if he took over), had met Murray for the first time the day before he hired him as the Capitals&rsquo; eighth coach in as many seasons.</p><p>Murray, THE HOCKEY NEWS Minor League Coach of the Year in 1980-81, kept many of his hopefuls on a shuttle between Washington and Hershey, indicating his committment to youth. &ldquo;Some of the youngsters are still in awe of the places we play in,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;But they know I have certain expectations. If they want to stay in Washington, they&rsquo;ve got to play the way I know they can.&rdquo;</p><p>A familiar story for the Caps, still searching for their first playoff berth.</p><p>If any NHL teams have been short-shifted by the media over the years, the list would include the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks. Last season, however, their coaches kept them in print all season long.</p><p>In Los Angeles, Bob Berry resigned shortly before the 1981 Draft. He was invited back for a fourth season, and tentatively accepted terms, but the outspoken Berry considered owner Jerry Buss&rsquo; one-year contract offer a vote of no confidence. The Kings had just completed their winningest season ever and finished fourth overall in the NHL. Berry immediately moved to Montreal, replacing Claude Ruel, the Habs&rsquo; Mr. Everything who happily stepped down.</p><p>Parker MacDonald, Berry&rsquo;s assistant and a successful minor-league coach and executive, was immediately elevated. MacDonald, a crusty hockey veteran, couldn&rsquo;t get the offense oriented Kings going. He saw the writing on the wall early in the season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve coached for a long time,&rdquo; MacDonald stated. &ldquo;Longer than Bob Berry. I do my job and don&rsquo;t worry about anything. If it doesn&rsquo;t work they can get someone else.&rdquo;</p><p>Get someone else they did. In January, in a rather strange announcement, the Kings advised that MacDonald&rsquo;s administrative talents were needed in the front office. He was moved upstairs and Don Perry was hired as bench boss. Unfortunately, the media was told before Perry accepted the job, forcing LA to deploy MacDonald for an additional game.</p><p>Perry, for 31 years played and coached in places that would make <i>Slapshot</i> seem like Sunday School. The day he tapped Paul Mulvey&rsquo;s shoulder and said &ldquo;Go over and don&rsquo;t dance,&rdquo; he became an NHL legend. His 15-day suspension and the team&rsquo;s $5,000 fine was one of the more decisive NHL stands against violence.</p><p>In Vancouver, peace-loving Harry Neale, hockey&rsquo;s answer to Henny Youngman, had his own problems. In March, he scuffled with fans in Quebec. In a sentence he termed &ldquo;one day less than life,&rdquo; Neale was slapped with a 10-game suspension, five of which carried into the playoffs. He also faced assault charges in Quebec. Associate coach Roger Neilson was tapped for 10 games. He was scheduled for head coaching duties in 1982-83 anyway, with Neale moving into the GM spot.</p><p>With Vancouver&rsquo;s early success in the playoffs, Neale in effect fired himself in favor of Neilson. &ldquo;Roger has been doing a masterful job and the team has been reacting to him in a very positive fashion. Why should I come back and screw it up?&rdquo;</p><p>When Neilson took over he quickly made news with the Chicago towel-waving incident, starting a cult of sorts and boosting white towel sales in Western Canada. NHL President John Ziegler, not amused, called Neilson&rsquo;s action &ldquo;bush&rdquo; and fined him $1,000 and the team $10,000. Strange, considering the Kings were fined only $5,000 when their coach promoted violence.</p><p>Philadelphia&rsquo;s Pat Quinn, Coach of the Year in 1980, also fell from grace. He was sacked with only eight games remaining in the season. Bob McCammon, the man Quinn had succeeded as coach, was brought back from Maine as coach and assistant general manager. The latter title appeared more as a symbolic move to assure McCammon of a little security.</p><p>&ldquo;The first time I was here (50 games in &rsquo;78-79),&rdquo; said McCammon, &ldquo;I was following Fred Shero. It was a tough situation. His players had good years but were aging. Twelve of the players I have now were with me in Maine. I have confidence in them.&rdquo;</p><p>As for priorities, McCammon perhaps gave an early tipoff of a changing system. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to cut down the power play goals against us. That means no foolish penalties. We can&rsquo;t beat ourselves by taking chippy or retaliatory penalties.&rdquo;</p><p>Two other men on the spot this year will be Larry Kish in Hartford and Bob Johnson in Calgary. Kish, with 18 years in the minors, moves up from the Whalers&rsquo; Binghamton (AHL) farm. GM Larry Pleau handled the coaching duties in 1981-82. Looking at the Whalers&rsquo; talent, Kish has a tough job ahead.</p><p>In Calgary, Bob Johnson, coach at University of Wisconsin for 15 years and coach of Team USA in the latest Canada Cup Tournament, replaces Al MacNeil who was eased out with his appointment as Director of Player Development and Scouting.</p><p>This appointment was not without a few faces as red as the Flames&rsquo; jersey. Word was leaked that GM Cliff Fletcher was negotiating with Johnson before the formal announcement was made, putting MacNeil in a difficult situation. He had difficulty all season, slowly losing control of his players. Typical of his experiences last year was the Willi Plett incident. MacNeil benched Plett (since traded) for a game because Plett laughed at him in the dressing room. Plett called the benching an &ldquo;insult&rdquo; and claimed he wasn&rsquo;t laughing at MacNeil, but that he merely had a case of the giggles.</p><p>Coaching is no laughing matter to its practitioners. As the 1982-83 season begins, more than half of the NHL teams are coached by a different person than at the start of the season before. Job security? You&rsquo;ve come to the wrong place.</p><p><i>Allan Greenberg is a freelance hockey writer based in New York.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-01

Hired To Be Fired: Losing his job — It’s the only thing a coach can count on

<div class="byline">By Frank Orr</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011718/10183832-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="722" height="810"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Harold Ballard</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021280/10183825-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="724" height="808"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Roger Neilson</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03871/10183818-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="728" height="806"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dave Keon</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b> new National Hockey League season and, undoubtedly, everyone interested in the game has a batch of features they would like to see in the 1982-83 campaign.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s one man&rsquo;s list of a few happenings he hopes to witness.</p><p>&bull; Referee Andy van Hellemond makes it through the 1982-83 schedule and isn&rsquo;t punched, whacked or drilled by a player. The way his 1981-82 season went, it would be no surprise if Andy appeared in a boxer&rsquo;s headgear, catcher&rsquo;s mask and a flak jacket.</p><p>&bull; The Washington Capitals will have a season well above .500 and test the much voiced theory that a successful team will draw large crowds to the Capital Centre.</p><p>&bull; The NHL&rsquo;s blue-chip committee will arrive at a set series of punishments for such crimes as ref-reaming, fan-flailing and scribe-dodging and end the constant whining that NHL executive vice-president Brian O&rsquo;Neill is either a cruel hanging judge or an over-lenient softie.</p><p>&bull; Someone will discover that hockey games that drag on for more than three hours aren&rsquo;t really necessary and decide that all the baloney on faceoffs, the never ending player changes by genius coaches and dumb freezing of the puck don&rsquo;t do all that much to improve the product.</p><p>&bull; Wayne Gretzky will score 213 points and prove that his &rsquo;81-82 performance was no fluke and he&rsquo;ll also get 50 goals in 38 games and 100 goals for the season. Maybe then a few people will stop saying that he&rsquo;s no Rocket Richard or Gordie Howe and just rejoice in the fact that he&rsquo;s Wayne Gretzky.</p><p>&bull; Harry Sinden will be recognized for what he is &mdash; a shrewd, wise general manager, among the very best the NHL owns. The Boston Bruins have been in the front ranks during his time at the controls and when they&rsquo;ve appeared to be sliding, Sinden has bolstered the club. Check his record and name a GM who has made more sound deals than Sinden.</p><p>&bull; A few more teams will discover that all players in their 30s aren&rsquo;t antiques and the oldies have much to contribute, the way Serge Savard helped the Winnipeg Jets last season. Youth, speed and offense are fine but savvy, experience and defensive knowledge aren&rsquo;t handicaps, either.</p><p>&bull; The Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; reconstruction project will pay off, their crop of good kids will become fine NHL players and the team will attract capacity crowds. After all, Los Angeles is the only warm weather spot that remains in the NHL line-up, a much-needed respite after trips to Edmonton in January.</p><p>&bull; Rob Ramage, a talented but troubled young man for the past two seasons in Denver with the Colorado Rockies, will find peace, contentment and his potential with the St. Louis Blues.</p><p>&bull; Roger Neilson, an inventive, innovative coach, will have success for the first time in two consecutive seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. In his previous NHL stops, at Toronto and Buffalo, Neilson made a strong start, then things went sour for him. Really, outside of Gretzky&rsquo;s incredible year, wasn&rsquo;t Neilson&rsquo;s playoff towel-waving the most memorable event of &rsquo;81-82?</p><p>&bull; Harold Ballard&rsquo;s Toronto Maple Leafs, in rebuilding job No. 2,789 in the past decade, will give the old lad at least a modicum of success. Ballard is a remarkable old codger. Think not? Name another 80-year-old with his zip and energy or one who has more fun?</p><p>&bull; The Quebec Nordiques, one of the NHL&rsquo;s classiest operations from top to bottom will have a sizeable amount of good fortune. They play the game beautifully and a few teams could examine the Nordique approach to learn how public and media relations are conducted by a big league organization.</p><p>&bull; A pregnant camel will break water over the beds of the lunkheads who still mouth off that the league should place a low quota on the number of Europeans a team can have. Those of us who like skill and flair hope the fence around Czechoslovakia falls down and a couple dozen more players like the Stastny boys escape the Soviet Union allows some players to move to the National Hockey League.</p><p>&bull; I would like to see all games between the Nordiques and New York Islanders because a fine one-on-one feud developed in (the playoffs) between two of the league&rsquo;s best halfdozen players, the Nords&rsquo; Peter Stastny and Bryan Trottier of the Islanders. It&rsquo;s a battle fought with guile, great skill and pure strength.</p><p>&bull; Pizza baron Mike Hitch, the new owner of the Detroit Red Wings, will have anchovies on his entire operation and find the hockey folks who can revitalize what should be one of the league&rsquo;s premier franchises. A team above .500 would fill Joe Louis Arena.</p><p>&bull; The good teams &mdash; the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Black Hawks, and Minnesota North Stars will continue to improve. If they do the NHL will have an extremely interesting log-jam at the top.</p><p>&bull; The NHL&rsquo;s few remaining &ldquo;golden oldies&rdquo;, players over 30, will continue to prosper, thrive and show the kids how it&rsquo;s done. Included in that category are Bobby Clarke, Darryl Sittier, Tony Esposito, Butch Goring, Marcel Dionne, Serge Savard, Larry Robinson, Guy Lafleur and Gil Perreault.</p><p>&bull; One thing I won&rsquo;t like about the NHL this season is that Dave Keon isn&rsquo;t in it. He retired from the Hartford Whalers after a 23-year career. Has anyone seen a better player than Keon when he didn&rsquo;t have the puck?</p><p>&bull; The amount of fist fighting in the NHL will decline. Or doesn&rsquo;t anyone else think the same way I do? Fighting is an enormous bore, a sham, a charade that the game doesn&rsquo;t need.</p><p>&bull; The NHL will find a way to work a tour of a couple of top Soviet clubs, say, Moscow Dinamo and Central Red Army, into its plans. A season minus Soviets lacks something.</p><p>&bull; The New York Rangers will continue their excellent work under coach Herb Brooks, play that game which emphasizes skill in hockey basics. Brooks proved that there&rsquo;s plenty of room for new ideas in the NHL.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0019-01

Wouldn’t You Like To See…

<div class="byline">BY MIKE DENNIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011729/10183870-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he only thing certain about the National Hockey League&rsquo;s 1982-83 season is that there shouldn&rsquo;t be as many upsets and surprises as there were in the 1982 playoffs. The fact that Edmon-ton, Montreal and Minnesota were knocked out in the opening round of last spring&rsquo;s playoffs only served to prove that the playoffs were a far different season than the regular campaign. As a result, when it comes time to predict the survivors of the 80-game schedule the margin of error among &ldquo;expert&rdquo; prognosticators will be greatly diminished.</p><p>That&rsquo;s not to say that it won&rsquo;t be an exciting season. Although it&rsquo;s fairly certain that teams such as the New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers and either Toronto or Detroit won&rsquo;t be in the playoffs, there will be some wide open races in perhaps all of the divisions.</p><p>Take the Adams, for example. At the beginning of last season, Buffalo was a slight favorite to edge out Montreal. Boston would be lucky to make third ahead of Quebec. Now that picture has changed; reversed in fact. Boston is probably the favorite for first because of the improvements of players such as Rick Middleton, Ray Bourque, Steve Kasper and the emergence of Barry Pederson and a crew of talented youngsters. Quebec is the defending Adams Division playoff champion, defeating Boston and Montreal along the way. Montreal is in a state of turmoil, or at least it was before training camp because of unsigned and disgruntled players. Buffalo, although Scotty Bowman has done an excellent job in the drafting department, could wind up as low as fourth, even with a talented, albeit inexperienced, team.</p><p>Or what about the Smythe Division? Edmonton, still smarting from their early playoff dismissal, is conceded first place. There&rsquo;s too much potential there to be smothered by the memories of their breakdown against the Los Angeles Kings. Winnipeg, the most improved team in NHL history, jumping from 21st to 10th place, is expected to continue its improvement, although not at the same pace. But the Jets should be good enough to emerge as the division&rsquo;s second best outfit. Then things get sticky. Los Angeles, Vancouver and Calgary &mdash; one must miss the playoffs. So, will it be Los Angeles, the team that knocked off Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers; the Campbell conference champion Canucks who played in the Stanley Cup final; or the Flames under new coach Bob Johnson, who gave up a shot at coaching the 1984 U.S. Olympians for life as a professional coach in the NHL? Johnson has players such as Kent Nilsson, Guy Chouinard, Don Edwards, players who have always made it into the playoffs, even if they haven&rsquo;t fared particularly well once there.</p><p>One of the main areas of interest during the off-season has been the movement towards resolution of the free-agent situation. Realizing that they couldn&rsquo;t get the freedom that major league baseball players enjoy, but still wishing to have the ability to change teams more readily without the new team being punished by losing top-flight players as compensation, the players and owners met several times to determine a policy that would be acceptable to both sides. Minnesota&rsquo;s Bobby Smith, the biggest name among free agents, didn&rsquo;t wait for the new ground rules to be established, choosing instead to re-sign with the North Stars on a multi-year contract. Others, such as the Islanders&rsquo; Denis Potvin and Montreal&rsquo;s Mark Napier appeared ready to go to camp without a signed contract, but thus far there&rsquo;s been very little movement between clubs.</p><p>New players coming into the league also showed some restraint when it came to dealing with the owners for contracts. Even a top talent such as Brian Bellows, the No. 2 pick in the 1982 entry draft by the Minnesota North Stars, signed a relatively modest pact (compared to other pro sports), close to $1 million for a five-year deal. Compare that to a sport such as baseball, where utility infielders and mediocre relief pitchers are earning as much as $750,000 per season and more after being drafted as free agents.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011385/10183863-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="2413" height="3013"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>While Bobby Smith, below, became a free agent but chose to re-sign with the North Stars, Montreal&rsquo;s Larry Robinson, right, threatened not to play with Montreal unless they renegotiated his contract. Both of these players will play large roles in determining the success of their teams this year.</b></figcaption></div><p>The NHL appears much more solid than it was just a short time ago. The shifting of the Colorado Rockies&rsquo; franchise to the Meadowlands to become the New Jersey Devils has practically guaranteed the box office success of the team although the once product still has a long way to go. The Washington Capitals situation has been steadied, at least temporarily and attendances at most of the other cities in the league indicate they will improve as the divisional rivalries heat up.</p><p>Of last year&rsquo;s divisional champions, Montreal is probably the only club who&rsquo;s in danger of not repeating. The unsettled futures of so many key players such as Larry Robinson, Rod Langway, free agent Napier, Steve Shutt and Rejean Houle, cloud the strength of the squad. The Islanders, Oilers and North Stars should repeat and of the teams that didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs a year ago, Detroit probably has the best chance at finishing fourth in their division, having to beat out Toronto for a chance at post-season play.</p><p>New Red Wing general manager Jim Devellano intends to stick firmly to the path of success employed by organizations such as the Islanders and the Canadiens by hanging onto his draft choices, sacrificing a bit in the present for a chance to build a strong nucleus of future NHL stars.</p><p>Players over the age of 30 and many even in their mid-to-late 20s are being cast aside as clubs employ youngsters who gain NHL experience in on-the-job training.</p><p>Thus, a basic truth has emerged: the ones who survive &mdash; veterans and teams alike &mdash; are those most able to adapt.</p><h2><b>Editor&rsquo;s Note</b></h2><p>While THE HOCKEY NEWS 1983 Yearbook was in production, a number of major National Hockey League trades were made. We regret that not all of the information in the NHL team-by-team preview could be updated. Instead, we invite you to read regular issues of THE HOCKEY NEWS and keep up to date on the latest developments as they happen.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

With Few Exceptions, The Races Will Be Wide-Open Affairs This Season

<div class="byline">Bill Smith</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-021171/10183957-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="679" height="721"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011609/10183950-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="661" height="628"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span></b>ow that the Islanders, the first U.S-based team to win three consecutive Stanley Cups, have finally convinced everyone that they are an excellent and exceptional team, the odds will clearly be in their favor to become the third team in NHL history to win four successive Cups &mdash; a feat accomplished only by the 1956-60 and 1976-79 editions of the Montreal Canadiens.</p><p>Those teams were ranked as the most dominant and powerful forces in the game. One thing looks to be increasingly clear. The Islanders aren&rsquo;t going to fade away.</p><p>Some team of talented performers will have to combine skill, perseverance and whatever breaks they can make along the way to wrest the NHL title away from the Long Island skaters, who appear so comfortable in the role of champions.</p><p>In the year of the Playoff Upset, even the Islanders could have been among the surprising knockouts. The Pittsburgh Penguins had them on the ropes, leading by two goals late in the final period of the rubber game of the best-of-five preliminary series. But the Isles got away to reign for not just another day, but for another offseason as they righted themselves against the Rangers and then simply overwhelmed the Wales Conference finalist Nordiques and the Campbell Conference champion Canucks in four straight fashion to win going away.</p><p>A number of factors evolve in the success of the Islanders but the qualities that set them apart from the rest of the league are: team work, depth and adaptability.</p><p>The club seems to be able to get their athletes to peak at just the right time of the season. The players who have been carrying the scoring load throughout the season seem to get a second wind come playoff time and the lesser lights, the foot soldiers, flourish in the performance of their duties and relish the increased attention directed their way.</p><p>The Islanders are extremely solid throughout their lineup and deep to the point where they have to sit out players who would be front-line starters with other teams. Pius, their drafts and acquisitions keep turning out to be the type of player who can be inserted in the lineup wherever needed.</p><p>And the Islanders can play the game anyway you want to play. Skate, hit, free flowing attack &mdash; it doesn&rsquo;t matter. The Isles have the skaters, the grinders, the shooters to top their opponents.</p><p>Their weakness? Well, perhaps overconfidence as exhibited by their pair of losses to the Penguins, their near-disastrous fifth game against Pittsburgh and the home-ice losses suffered in Games One and Five of the Patrick Division final against the Rangers. The Isles were criticized in recent years for their failure to finish off a team they had on the ropes (Pittsburgh was 0-2; the Rangers had lost three straight when they took Game Five at Long Island to prolong the series). But perhaps the Isles even answered that criticism when they polished off their last two series in the minimum amount of games.</p><p>How solid are the Isles? Take a look at the personnel:</p><p>Goalie Billy Smith was 15-3 in the playoffs and is running close to .750 as a post-season winning percentage of his career. He was rested enough (46 appearances) in the regular season to not be worn out for the playoffs and his 32 wins led all NHL goalies. His goals-against average was under 3.00 for both the regular season and playoffs as well and, at 31, Smith figures to be around another four or five years. Backup Roland Melanson did what was expected, appearing in 36 regular season games with a 3.23 goals-against average and a record of 22-7-6.</p><p>Denis Potvin, 29 this season, and 27-year-old Stefan Persson give the Isles two outstanding offensive defensemen and point men on the power play. A third is Mike McEwen, but the Isles are so deep in defensive defensemen &mdash; Gord Lane, Dave Langevin, Ken Morrow and Swedish sophomore Tomas Jonsson &mdash; that McEwen doesn&rsquo;t always even dress. The Isles&rsquo; 1981 top pick, Paul Boutilier (20-60-80 for Memorial Cup finalist Sherbrooke) will also be vying for a spot on the blueline.</p><p>With goaltending and defense well in hand, we haven&rsquo;t even come to the Islanders famous one-two punch of Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy. The latter was second in regular season scoring, first in playoff goals; Trottier, considered by many the game&rsquo;s best all-round player, had 129 regular season points and 29 more in the playoffs. The pair undoubtedly helped left wingers John Tonelli (93 points regular season) and Bob Bourne (16 playoff points) whenever they joined the Big Two.</p><p>Quality abounds throughout the rest of the forward ranks: Left winger Clark Gillies; centers Butch Goring, Billy Carroll and Brent Sutter probably replacing Wayne Merrick; right wingers Bob Nystrom, Anders Kallur and Duane Sutter. Coach Al Arbour&rsquo;s biggest task will be finding room for 155-point junior Dave Simpson from London. Don&rsquo;t bet against him doing it.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011377/10183943-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="1629" height="3189"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Were it not for the exploits of Edmonton&rsquo;s Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy&rsquo;s figures, which placed him second in the league in goals and in scoring, would have been fantastic.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>NEW YORK ISLANDERS (12)</b></p><p>1. Pat Flatley, RW, Wisconsin</p><p>2. Vern Smith, D, Lethbridge</p><p>3. Garry Lacey, LW, Toronto</p><p>4. Alan Kerr, LW, Seattle</p><p>5. Rene Breton, C, Granby</p><p>6. Roger Kortko, C, Saskatoon</p><p>7. John Tiano, C, Mass HS</p><p>8. Todd Okerlund, RW, Minn HS</p><p>9 Gord Paddock, D, Saskatoon</p><p>10. Eric Faust, D, Toronto HS</p><p>11. Pat Goff, D, Minn HS</p><p>12. Jim Koudys, D, Sudbury</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03738/10183936-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="788" height="2278"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011548/10183929-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="1095" height="1329"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Super digger John Tonelll continued his history of scoring clutch goals for the Islanders, scoring the tying and winning goals In Game Five of the divisional semifinals.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021114/10183922-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="1211" height="1499"></div><h2><b>New York Islanders Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03773/10183915-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="2325" height="1534"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011354/10183908-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="2452" height="1276"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02958/10183901-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="2446" height="1282"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> Games Plaved <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points: <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b>-Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal). <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals; <b>GT</b> Game Tying Goals; <b>F</b> First goal of Game; <b>T-</b>Score-Tying Goals; <b>L-</b>Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b>&ndash;Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead), <b>P</b> &ndash; Proximate Goals(Moving the losing them to within one goal of the opponent's score); <b>TOT</b>&mdash; Total important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> &mdash; Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals <b>IP</b> &mdash; Important points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>TGF</b> - Total Goals scored by player&rsquo;s team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> - Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played, <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> - Percentage of opponent's even strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) tor which the player was on ice in games in which he played; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-02

New York Islanders

<div class="byline">Herb Brooks</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-021122/10184044-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="675" height="709"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011563/10184037-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="647" height="644"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span></b>hange was the catch-phrase last season with the Rangers under the guidance of the Craig Patrick-Herb Brooks tandem as the U.S.Olympic front office duo tried to achieve similar success on Broadway.</p><p>To some extent, they did succeed, leading the Rangers to second-place in the Patrick and then wiping out the Flyers in a first-round playoff set before losing out to the Islanders in the division finals in six competitive games. But more importantly, the Rangers changed style and personnel throughout the course of the 1981-82 campaign and have now emerged with the nucleus of a strong, contending team for the early 80s.</p><p>Brooks proved along the way that not only could he adapt his teachings to fit in with professional hockey players rather than eager collegians who were carefully nurtured towards a psychological high that coincided with the seven games they needed to win to become Olympic champions, but also that he could, in fact, get the Rangers to execute his style, a free-flowing, move-without-the-puck offense that incorporates the skating of the European game with the aggressive forechecking of an NHL-style game.</p><p>Certainly the most changed portion of the Rangers lineup was at center, were Mike Rogers, Mark Pavelich, Robbie Ftorek and Mikko Leinonen became the starting contingent in the playoffs where the year before the team skated with Phil Esposito, Walt Tkaczuk and Ulf Nilsson playing the pivot. The first two have retired and unless his knee has strengthened over the summer, Nilsson may also be facing the end of the line.</p><p>But youth must be served and with Espo and Tkaczuk well into their 30s and Nilsson now 32, the Rangers have gained several years of potential performance from players expected to be among the team&rsquo;s leaders.</p><p>Rogers, obtained just prior to last season from the Hartford Whalers, was indeed a leader with 103 points, his third consecutive 100-point plus season in the NHL. The 38-goal scorer turns 28 in the first month of the season and is able to play the free-wheeling attacking style Brooks favors.</p><p>So can Pavelich, 24, an ex-Olympian, one of the smallest (5-7, 170 pounds) skaters in the league. He turned in 33-43-76 stats and allowed Ron Duguay, another 76-point man and the Rangers&rsquo; leading goal-scorer with 40, to be employed on the right wing where the team needed some offensive punch.</p><p>Ftorek, obtained in a trade that eventually sent Jere Gillis and Pat Hickey to Quebec, totalled only 41 points during the regular season (in 49 games) but was the club&rsquo;s leading playoff scorer with 7-4-11 figures. Ftorek is 30 and one of the league&rsquo;s fastest skaters.</p><p>And don&rsquo;t overlook Leinonen, a 27-year-old Finn who was skating in his first NHL season. He displayed some of his talents with a six-assist effort in a playoff game against the Flyers so he could be a scoring threat if he gets to play regularly. Also in the picture is Rob McClanahan, another former Olympian under Brooks, who had 2-5-7 stats in the playoffs.</p><p>Another area where the Rangers have changed is in goal, where Steve Weeks and Ed Mio lined up as the heir apparents for the main load of duties, supplanting Steve Baker and John Davidson.</p><p>Baker appeared in only six games last season with a 1-5 record while injuries limited Davidson to one regular game (he allowed only one goal) and then one desperation playoff stint in which he was reinjured. Mio, who came from Edmonton, was the playoff mainstay, getting into eight games with a 4-3 record and 3.79 goals-against average, while Weeks, who handled the bulk of the regular season chores (49 games, 3.71 GAA, 23-16-9 record) also played three times in the playoffs.</p><p>Perhaps the least changed position for the Rangers was on defense where Barry Beck, now the captain, and Dave Maloney led the way. Carol Vadnais was still back there, although he played less as did Ron Greschner, sidelined by back woes. Tim Bothwell was also bothered by injuries making room for Tom Laidlaw who became a regular and stocky Reijo Ruotsalainen, the Finnish Bobby Orr. Ruotsalainen led &bull; the defense in scoring with 56 regular season points and 4-5-9 playoff stats. Andre Dore and Ed Hospodar are also looking to fit in somewhere.</p><p>The Rangers&rsquo; biggest concern is probably left wing where Don Maloney was the only goal-scorer in double figures. Nick Fotiu, more valuable for his aggressiveness, still has to contribute more than eight goals and Mike Allison must play closer to his 26-goal rookie form than to his seven-goal production (in 48 games) of last season. Help may arrive in the form of Peter Sundstrom, the highly-touted left winger from the Swedish national team or from Peter Wallin, another Swede who was injured last year.</p><p>On right wing, steady Eddie Johnstone backs up Duguay in the scoring department (30-28-58) with Dave Silk (15 goals) and Tom Younghans^ handling the rest of the assignments. The Rangers are hopeful that Anders Hedberg will win the battle of wounded knee and be back in form. Center Mark Morrison (48-66-114 for Victoria) may make it.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011432/10184030-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="1597" height="3221"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>TradecHo the Rangers Just prior to the start of the 1981-82 season, center Mike Rogers enjoyed his third consecutive 100-plus point season In the National Hockey League.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>NEW YORK RANGERS (13)</b></p><p>1 Chris Kontos, C, Toronto</p><p>2 Thomas Sundstrom, RW, Sweden</p><p>3 Corey Millen, C, Minn HS</p><p>4 Chris Jensen, C, Kelowna</p><p>5 Tony Granato, C, New York HS</p><p>6 Sergei Kapustin, LW, Spartak</p><p>7. Brian Glynn, C, Buffalo Jrs.</p><p>8. Jan Karlsson, D, Sweden</p><p>9. Kelly Miller, C, Mich. State</p><p>10. Simo Saarinen, D, Finland</p><p>11. Bob Lowes, C, Prince Albert</p><p>12. Andy Otto, D, New York HS</p><p>13. Dwayne Robinson, D, New Hampshire</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-021006/10184023-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="774" height="2256"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011538/10184016-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="1137" height="1407"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Ranger heart throb Ron Duguay put his great speed to work as he topped the 40-goal mark for the first time, led his team in goals and put some zip in the offense.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-021079/10184009-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="1257" height="1529"></div><h2><b>New York Rangers Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03799/10184002-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="2419" height="1565"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011348/10183995-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="2403" height="1311"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02927/10183988-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="2403" height="1307"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points, <b>S</b> - Shots on goal, <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals; <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game. <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> &mdash; Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> &mdash; Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the-opponent's score); <b>TOT</b> - Total Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice. <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played; <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &mdash; Percentage of opponent's evenstrength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-02

New York Rangers

<div class="byline">Bobby Clarke</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-021068/10184131-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="688" height="714"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011550/10184124-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="602" height="407"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b> lot of people are still trying to figure out which direction the Flyers are about to take after the late-season sacking of coach Pat Quinn and the replacement by Bob McCammon, who was replaced midway through his rookie season with the Flyers by, who else, but Quinn.</p><p>McCammon, who took over the club with only eight games remaining in the regular season, didn&rsquo;t have much of a chance to change all of the conditions that had turned the Flyers into a lukewarm threat in the NHL. They proved to be a mild irritant to the Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs, winning the first game on Ranger ice but after that, they turned in only two good periods of hockey in three subsequent games to bow out quickly, dropping a pair of matches on home ice.</p><p>A large part of the Flyers&rsquo; problem is that they are overloaded with talent in some areas, woefully understaffed in others and, with a fair number of injuries thrown in, they haven&rsquo;t been able to get any consistency on the club since their record 35-game unbeaten streak of three years ago.</p><p>Part of the solution may be provided by the use of two goaltenders or perhaps a main man and a backup instead of the three-goalie musical chairs set-up of recent seasons. This area was made clearer by the trade of Pete Peeters to Boston for defenseman Brad McCrimmon after it became apparent at the entry draft that the Flyers weren&rsquo;t going to be able to come away with either Gord Kluzak or Gary Nylund, a pair of rearguards they had long coveted.</p><p>It was Peeters that the Flyers turned to against the Rangers and when he helped to lose a 3-0 lead in the third game in Philadelphia &mdash; with the series tied at a game each &mdash; it probably sealed his fate with the club.</p><p>That shifts the load onto the shoulders of Rick St. Croix, a 27-year-old who posted a 3.89 goals-against average and 13-9-6 record for the Flyers a year ago. In the playoffs, he saw 20 minutes of action, mopping up for Peeters and allowing one goal.</p><p>The third man in the picture last season was Pelle Lindbergh, the talented Swedish netminder who had starred with the Flyers&rsquo; American League Maine farm club. Lindbergh got into eight games for the Flyers with a 2-4-2 record and a 4.38 GAA. He&rsquo;s been waiting in the wings for two seasons.</p><p>Another tangle for the Philadelphia organization had been on defense, where McCrimmon joined several other defensive-minded and assorted injury-scarred players. Behn Wilson remains a multi-talented puzzle who has yet to produce the kind of leadership the Flyers expect and need with Bob Dailey who missed most of last season due to a bad ankle, having announced his retirement. Jim Watson is still a question mark after back surgery the season before. Frank Bathe was the best Flyer blueliner for much of last season, but he, too, was injured while Brad Marsh and now sophomore Fred Arthur were also starters who experienced ups and downs.</p><p>Mark Botell, Bob Hoffmeyer and Glen Cochrane are Flyer farm products who may lend a hand and the club also has high hopes that 1981 top draft picks Steve Smith, who returned to junior in Sault Ste. Marie last year, will make the squad this time around.</p><p>In mid-summer the Flyers relieved some congestion in their deepest spot &mdash; center &mdash; by trading Ken Linseman, last year&rsquo;s leading scorer (24-68-96) along with winger Greg Adams and a No. 1 draft choice to Hartford in exchange for Mark Howe, their long-awaited offensive defenseman whom they hope will solidify their defense. That cleared the path for Ron Flockhart (33-39-72), Darryl Sittier (32-38-70) and Bobby Clarke (17-46-63) as centers with Ron Sutter (38-54-92 with Lethbridge) their first draft pick, also playing the position. Sutter will be watched closely in training camp although another year in junior is a distinct possibility.</p><p>The Flyers&rsquo; two leading goal scorers, Bill Barber (45-44-89) and Brian Propp (44-47-91) also happen to patrol the left side so the team should be in good shape in that area. Ilkka Sinisalo, who scored 15 times in limited duty, got to play more at the end of the year and should draw a regular assignment.</p><p>Right wing is where the Flyers could use some scoring punch. Ray Allison topped the returning players with 17 goals, but teamed with former junior linemate Propp and Flockhart, Allison figures to probably double his goal totals and increase his 54-point output. Paul Holmgren scored 31 points in only 41 games for Philadelphia but he&rsquo;s made a habit of missing bunches of games either because of injuries or due to suspensions. Speedy Tom Gorence&rsquo;s <i>point</i> total, 13, was only half of the departed Reg Leach&rsquo;s goal-total and he was the third right winger so it is apparent that he&rsquo;ll have to contribute much more. The Flyers will also take a look at Dave Michayluk, the Regina right winger who was second in the Western League in scoring with 173 points, including 111 assists.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011400/10184117-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="1633" height="3177"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Steady Bill Barber continued his unflashy but quietly effective work as he averaged better than a point a game to place second on the Philadelphia team in scoring.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (12)</b></p><p>1. Ron Sutter, C, Lethbridge</p><p>2. Miroslav Dvorak, D, Czechoslovakia</p><p>3. Billy Campbell, D, Montreal</p><p>4. Mikael Hjalm, LW, Sweden</p><p>5. Todd Bergen, C, Prince Albert</p><p>6. Ron Hextail, G, Brandon</p><p>7. Dave Brown, RW, Saskatoon</p><p>8. Alain Lavigne, RW, Shawinigan</p><p>9. Magnus Roupe, LW, Sweden</p><p>10. Tom Allen, G, Michigan Tech</p><p>11. Rick Gal, LW, Lethbridge</p><p>12. Mark Vichorek, D, Sioux City</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02952/10184110-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="795" height="2271"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011525/10184103-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="1123" height="1349"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Darryl Sittler finally es</b>cap<b>ed from the pressures and turmoil of the Maple Leafs for a chance to play on a contending team and he bolstered the Flyers in the stretch drive.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-021032/10184096-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="1245" height="1521"></div><h2><b>Philadelphia Flyers Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03749/10184089-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="2355" height="1528"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011348/10184082-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="2432" height="1276"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02939/10184075-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="2425" height="1307"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> &mdash; Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &mdash; Percentage of opponents' evenstrength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-02

Philadelphia Flyers

<div class="byline">Eddie Johnston</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-021085/10184218-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="671" height="707"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011550/10184211-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="657" height="635"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>P</span></b>ittsburgh Penguins are definitely the most frightening sub .500 hockey team in the business. Just ask the St. Louis Blues and the Stanley Cup champion Islanders.</p><p>Two playoffs ago, the Penguins went to double overtime of the fifth and deciding game of the preliminary series before losing out to the second-place (overall) St. Louis Blues. Last spring, they employed the same script against the first-place Islanders, this time only making it into the first overtime period before being eliminated, but also throwing one heck of a scare into the haughty Islanders by actually leading the New Yorkers by two goals in the decisive match with less than half a period to go. As it was, the Isles managed to tie it up in regulation and then move on towards their third consecutive Stanley Cup when John Tonelli put the Penguins on the sidelines in the overtime period.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Penguins have obviously earned the reputation of being <i>the</i> team that all NHL squads would most like to avoid in the best-of-five preliminary round.</p><p>What got the Penguins there &mdash; despite an ill-timed suggestion by their owner, who intimated fans stay away from the first playoff game in Pittsburgh after the Pens&rsquo; horrid showing in the first two playoff contests on Long Island &mdash; was outstanding goaltending and timely scoring. It is from these areas that the Penguins would like to reverse their previous two regular season records of 30-37-13 (1980-81) and 31-36-13 (last season) and come out with something closer to 38-30-12, a mark which would have moved them ahead of Philadelphia.</p><p>Two seasons back, the Penguins rode the goaltending of Greg Millen in the playoffs against the Blues. The team looked to be in trouble when Millen departed as a free agent to Hartford Whalers and even though the Pens received Pat Boutette and then-junior Kevin McClelland as compensation, they appeared to have a big hole in their nets. But in stepped Michel Dion and the 28-year-old netminder, ex of the Quebec Nordiques and briefly the Winnipeg Jets, proved to be among the busiest goalies in the league, making 62 appearances with a record of 25-24-12 and a commendable 3.79 goals-against average. Dion then went 2-3 in the playoffs but with a bit of luck it might have been 3-2 and the Rangers would have had to tussle with the Penguins for the Patrick Division crown instead of the Islanders.</p><p>Backing up Dion is an underrated defense led by offensive-minded Randy Carlyle. The former Norris Trophy winner (two years ago) dished out 64 assists to go along with 11 goals. Paul Baxter (9-34-43) and Pat Price (7-31-38), two players not previously regarded as offensively potent, helped to offset the loss of Mario Faubert, who played but 14 games. The Pens also had the experience of Ron Stackhouse and Greg Hotham, acquired from Toronto, to help out while working Marc Chorney and Randy Boyd into the lineup. Both of these players, with North Dakota U. and the Ottawa juniors respectively, have shown some offensive prowess in the past.</p><p>Although the Penguins&rsquo; total of 310 goals was well down in the league, they became the first NHL club to score more than 90 power-play goals in a season twice, zipping in 109 when they held a manpower advantage. And with Faubert&rsquo;s return, their power play gains even more depth.</p><p>Center Paul Gardner, despite missing 21 games with a broken jaw, still led the league in power play goals with 21 of his 36 goals coming with the opposition at less than full strength.</p><p>Rick Kehoe, the Penguins&rsquo; leading scorer with 85 points, scored more than half (17) of his 33 goals on the power play while Boutette added 14 and rookie center Mike Bullard chipped in with 10.</p><p>Bullard, by the way, very quietly led the club in goal-scoring with 37 giving the club a very solid foundation in the center spot when you consider that Rick MacLeish, 32, who finished with 19-28-47 stats after splitting the season between Hartford and the Penguins, Greg Malone (15 goals) and Andre St. Laurent are available for action.</p><p>Kehoe leads the right side contingent, followed by steady George Ferguson (22-31-53) and Peter Lee (18 goals). Youngsters such as McClelland, Steve Gatzos, the Pens&rsquo; No. 1 1981 draft pick and Doug Shedden (10 goals for Pittsburgh in 38 games) are battling to stick.</p><p>The Penguins selected Rich Sutter of Lethbridge as their top 1982 pick, a right winger with 38-31-69 stats for the junior Broncos. He was the 10th pick overall, following his brother Ron, a center, chosen fourth by the Flyers.</p><p>Looking to beef up the left side, where Boutette (23-51-74) was the only skater to hit double figures in goals, the Penguins drafted a couple of left wingers with their second and third picks, Tim Hrynewich of Sudbury, a 70-point man, and Troy Loney, Sutter&rsquo;s other linemate, who tallied 26-33-59. They must be given long, hard looks as challengers for Bobby Simpson and Pat Graham, who closed the season on the Pens&rsquo; roster and Rod Schutt, shuttled back and forth between the minors.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011426/10184204-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="1609" height="3169"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Penguins thought they were in trouble when they lost goaltender GregMillen to free agency but Michel Dion, himself a free agent, came from Winnipegto sparkle for the Pens.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (10)</b></p><p>1. Rick Sutter, RW, Lethbridge</p><p>2. Tim Hrynewich, LW, Sudbury</p><p>3. Troy Loney, LW, Lethbridge</p><p>4. Grant Sasser, C, Portland</p><p>5. Grant Couture, D, Lethbridge</p><p>6. Peter Derksen, LW, Portland</p><p>7. Greg Gravel, C, Windsor</p><p>8. Steve Wenass, D, Winnipeg</p><p>9. Chris McCauley, RW, London</p><p>10. Stan Bautch, C, Minn HS</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-021017/10184197-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="773" height="2365"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011450/10184190-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="1141" height="1333"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Randy Carlyle may not have been as brilliant last year as in the previous year when he won the Norris Trophy, but the Penguin blueliner was still a key man in the club&rsquo;s attack.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02990/10184183-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="1261" height="1487"></div><h2><b>Pittsburgh Penguins Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03817/10184176-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="2415" height="1557"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011284/10184169-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="2447" 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/f0037-02911/10184162-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="2452" height="1300"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> &mdash; Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &mdash; Percentage of opponents' evenstrength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-02

Pittsburgh Penguins

<div class="byline">Bryan Murray</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02979/10184305-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="657" height="705"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011406/10184298-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="665" height="374"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span></b>ow that the Washington Capitals have been assured of making it into the 1982-83 season as the Washington Capitals in Landover, MD, both good news and bad news awaits them. The good news is that they probably won&rsquo;t finish last in the Patrick Division. The bad news? Now that the New Jersey Devils have joined the Patrick and made it into a six-team division, <i>two</i> of the clubs won&rsquo;t make the playoffs, a fact of life for the Capitals in each of their eight years in the league.</p><p>Caps&rsquo; owner Abe Pollin faced a number of possibilities over the summer. He could sell the team, move the team, merge it with another NHL club or fold it. Or &mdash; and this was his preferred choice &mdash; he could convince other investors or partners to come aboard and pump some money into the franchise and keep it in the Capital Centre. And that&rsquo;s what happened.</p><p>Why they haven&rsquo;t drawn well is a problem Pollin has been attempting to answer throughout the club&rsquo;s lifespan, but it isn&rsquo;t that they&rsquo;re <i>that</i> bad of a club. Although they were 15 games below .500 last season, they did have a better record than the Los Angeles Kings, who managed to send the Edmonton Oilers packing in the first round of the playoffs. The Caps have some talented players, although the team has never managed to put it together to get into the playoffs.</p><p>Deciding that the future is now the Caps dealt away a number of draft picks to Calgary for goalie Pat Riggin and forward Ken Houston, and to Buffalo for winger Alan Haworth. They should add to the Caps&rsquo; main strengths: Two solid forward lines and pretty fair goaltending. They might even be enough to vault the Caps past Pittsburgh and into their first taste of postseason action. But let&rsquo;s not get too far ahead of ourselves just yet.</p><p>After two seasons of being eliminated from the playoffs on the last day of the schedule, the Capitals were supposed to change things around last season but things didn&rsquo;t work out that way.</p><p>Mike Palmateer, expected to be the workhorse and stopper of the goalkeeping unit, saw service in only 11 games before he was finished for the season due to knee surgery. Palmateer, 28, had a record of 2-7-2 to go along with a not-so impressive 4.83 goals-against average.</p><p>Palmateer will likely have to step aside for Riggin, who&rsquo;s only 23, and saw action in 52 games for Calgary last season, with <i>a</i> 19-19-11 record. He played well for the Flames in the playoffs, too, with a 3.10 GAA even though his team was swept out in consecutive games.</p><p>Dave Parro, who assumed the No. 1 role in Washington once Palmateer went down, finished the season with a 4.20 GAA and a record of 16-27-7 while Al Jensen was 8-8-4 with a 3.81 GAA in 26 games. Coach Bryan Murray then will have four backstops to choose among.</p><p>Dennis Maruk, 27, the second oldest forward on the squad, is coming off a career best season of 60 goals and 136 points, good enough for third and fourth in goals and scoring in the league. He&rsquo;s at center between Ryan Walter (38-49-87) and Mike Gartner (35-45-80) putting the Caps&rsquo; three big scorers together.</p><p>But they have additional offensive strength elsewhere in the lineup. The second line is composed of Chris Valentine at center, a 10th-round draft choice who had 30 goals and 67 points in only 60 games after being called up from Hershey; Swedish right winger Bengt Gustafsson (26-34-60) and highly-touted Bob Carpenter, the highest-drafted U.S. born player ever (third overall in 1981) who was converted from a center to play the left side and did so very effectively with 32 goals, 35 assists.</p><p>Right winger Houston (22-22-44) and Haworth (21-18-39 in 57 games) a left winger who can also play center could be the main ingredients in a third line with Glen Currie as the center.</p><p>John Gould, who totalled 21 goals, gives the Capitals some experience on the right side while 1981 draft choice Mike Siltala, a center, will be watched to see if he can contribute. Siltala compiled 38-49-97 stats for Kingston in the Ontario League last season.</p><p>Left wingers Gaetan Duchesne and Torrie Robertson will also be vying to be a part of the Caps picture as will Ted Bulley, picked up from Chicago along with defenseman Dave Hutchison, are free agents.</p><p>The Caps&rsquo; defense is led by Rick Green, the No. 1 pick of the 1976 draft and a six-year veteran of the club. Offensive prowess is provided by Darren Veitch (9-44-53) and Greg Theberge (5-32-37), two youngsters who saw regular duty last year.</p><p>The eldest of the defense crew happens to be the coach&rsquo;s brother, Terry. He&rsquo;s 32 and a steady defensive defenseman but the best prospect of the lot may be Finnish blueliner Timo Blomqvist, a 6-0, 198-pounder with a year of pro experience under his belt at the age of 21.</p><p>Two veteran defensemen, Randy Holt from Calgary and Doug Hicks from Edmonton also bolstered the Caps&rsquo; defense coming via trades last season and the Caps are hoping Paul MacKinnon, who spent part of last season in Hershey, can play well enough to stick with them and contribute all season long.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011285/10184291-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="1637" height="3169"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Rookie Bobby Carpenter came to the</b> Cap<b>itals with a lot of pressure on his shoulders after being the highest American draft selection ever, but he resoonded with a strong season.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>WASHINGTON CAPS (10)</b></p><p>1. Scott Stevens, D, Kitchener</p><p>2. Milan Novy, C, Czechoslovakia</p><p>3. Dean Evason, C, Kamloops</p><p>4. Ed Kastelic, RW, London</p><p>5. Wally Schreiber, RW, Regina</p><p>6. Jamie Reeves, G, Saskatoon</p><p>7. Juha Nurmi, C, Finland</p><p>8. Wayne Prestage, C, Seattle</p><p>9. Jon Holden, G, Peterborough</p><p>10. Marco Callas, C, St. Louis Jrs.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02876/10184284-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="781" height="2348"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-011004/10184277-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="1069" height="1309"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Center Dennis Maruk experienced a banner season even though his team didn't make the playoffs. Maruk scored 60 goals and finished fourth in the NHL scoring race.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02661/10184270-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="1187" height="1493"></div><h2><b>Washington Capitals Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03514/10184263-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="2271" height="1547"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01877/10184256-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="2449" height="1457"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02586/10184249-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="2447" height="1465"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0038-02

Washington Capitals

<div class="byline">Billy MacMillan</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02614/10184392-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="615" height="719"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01934/10184385-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="498" height="493"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he Year of the Import didn&rsquo;t work for the Colorado Rockies in the 1981-82 season. Instead of importing three players from Finland, two from Sweden, one from Boston and another from the Canadian major junior ranks, the Rockies should have imported some fans.</p><p>They didn&rsquo;t, at least not enough, and that&rsquo;s why they have been reincarnated as the New Jersey Devils under the ownership of John McMullen of the Houston Astros baseball team fame and his group of New Jersey-based partners. All it cost them was a nice tidy sum of about $30 million, which gave them the Rockies&rsquo; players and satisfied the territorial infringements visited upon the Rangers, Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers. Oh yes, the Devils do get to play in the sparkling Meadowlands complex, the Brendan Byrne Arena, so at least their fans &mdash; and they are expected to draw well &mdash; will have comfortable surroundings to watch what&rsquo;s inflicted upon the poor Devils.</p><p>How bad will the Devils be?</p><p>Certainly not as bad as last year even though they traded away their top defenseman. The St. Louis Blues took Rob Ramage off the Devils&rsquo; hands by sending their first-round draft picks for 1982 and &rsquo;83. The first pick (eighth over-all) brought Rocky Trottier, brother of the Islanders&rsquo; Bryan, who played for Billings in the Western League. Trottier, a right winger, was injured most of last season so his statistics weren&rsquo;t all that impressive, but he&rsquo;s supposed to be a talented kid who may be able to step right into the lineup.</p><p>Of course, the Imported Seven were also supposed to revitalize last year&rsquo;s crew but it didn&rsquo;t unfold that way. Finnish defenseman Tapio Levo was the best of the lot. Unfortunately, he was lost for the final 46 games of the season with a broken ankle. Two other Finns, Veli-Pekka Ketola, now 34, and Juka Porvari, 28, were disappointments. Ketola, a center and a national hero in Finland, scored but nine goals in limited action; Porvari, a right winger, played but 31 games for the Rockies, plus a few in the minors and was injured. The Swedish duo, left winger Christer Kellgren and right winger Peter Gustavsson, were also found wanting and spent most of the season in Fort Worth, where they didn&rsquo;t exactly set the Central League on fire.</p><p>Right winger Dwight Foster, obtained from the Bruins, had an extremely difficult year. The Rockies swapped first-round picks with the Bruins and also gave them their second-round selection in exchange for Foster, who went nearly half the season before scoring a goal and finally wound up with 12-19-31 stats when he was supposed to be a main offensive cog. The seventh player was Joe Cirella, the Rockies&rsquo; top 1981 draft choice. He had a baptism under fire on the Rockies&rsquo; defense and was finally returned to his junior team late in the season, most likely to build his confidence back up.</p><p>Although the Devils pretty well can use help in all areas, increasing their offensive output of only 241 goals &mdash; last in the league &mdash; is undoubtedly their major concern for the coming season.</p><p>Don Lever and Bob MacMillan, both 29, obtained from Calgary for Lanny McDonald, were the main wheels in the Colorado attack. Lever led in goals and points with 30 and 69; MacMillan was second in scoring with 61 points, including 22 goals.</p><p>The Devils are quite high on a couple of their left wingers, Brent Ashton, who had a good year, and Paul Gagne, a victim of the sophomore jinx. Ashton came by way of Vancouver when the Rockies relinquished their rights to Czechoslovak Ivan Hlinka. The 6-1, 210-pounder collected 24 goals and 60 points to rank third on the club, just ahead of linemate center Steve Tambellini, a former Islander, who turned in 29-30-59 stats.</p><p>Gagne, a 25-goal scorer as a rookie, fell way off to 10 goals last season, but at the age of 20, the Devils are confident that he can get straightened away this time around.</p><p>The Devils have a number of prospects at the center spot including Aaron Broten, who chalked up 15 goals in 58 games, holdovers Bobby Miller and Merlin Malinowski and youngsters Dave Cameron and Kevin Maxwell. Right winger Rich Chernomaz, 36-62-98 with Victoria in the Western League and Jeff Larmer, a left winger who produced 51-44-95 stats for Kitchener in the Ontario League can also be expected to challenge for forward positions.</p><p>The club&rsquo;s goaltending would appear to be solid in the hands of veteran Chico Resch. Phil Myre was told he was to free to look for employment elsewhere and Lindsay Middlebrook was signed as a free agent.</p><p>On defense, Cirella and Levo will lead the way with help from veteran Bob Lorimer as well as Joel Quenneville. Grahame Nicolson moved into a starting role late in the season and the Devils also have Mike Kitchen to help out.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01905/10184378-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="1633" height="3157"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Bob Lorimer experienced the frustrations of being traded from the Stanley Cup, champion Islanders to the lowly Colorado Rockies who finished last in the league.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>NEW JERSEY (12)</b></p><p>1. Rocky Trottier, RW, Billings</p><p>2. Ken Daneyko, D, Seattle</p><p>3. Pat Verbeek, C, Sudbury</p><p>4. Dave Kasper, C, Sherbrooke</p><p>5. Scott Brydges, D, Minn HS</p><p>6. Mike Moher, RW, Kitchener</p><p>7. Paul Fulcher, LW, London</p><p>8. John Hutchings, D, Oshawa</p><p>9. Alan Hepple, D, Ottawa</p><p>10. Brent Shaw, RW, Seattle</p><p>11. Scott Fusco, LW, Harvard</p><p>12. Dan Dorion, C, Austin</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02635/10184371-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="772" height="2329"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01815/10184364-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="1091" height="1331"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Bob MacMillan came from Calgary to play under his general manager brother Billy along with Don Lever in exchange for the most popular Rockie player, Lanny McDonald.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02537/10184357-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="1209" height="1509"></div><h2><b>New Jersey Devils Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03409/10184350-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="2313" height="1567"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01715/10184343-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="2407" height="1459"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02487/10184336-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="2391" height="1473"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0042-02

New Jersey Devils

<div class="byline">Terry O&#x2019;Reilly</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02487/10184479-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="662" height="711"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01727/10184472-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="626" height="642"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b>hen Bruin general manager Harry Sinden was deliberating about the player that the team would chose with the first pick in the 1982 entry draft, he said he was waiting to see the results of the playoffs to determine whether the Bruins were a good club or not and if they were on the right track towards obtaining another Stanley Cup or two.</p><p>At that time, Sinden said that Brian Bellows &mdash; generally regarded as the top available player &mdash; would fit in well, but only if he went to a good club. With that bit of logic established, the Bruins proved to Sinden that they were, indeed, a good club, even though they lost in the Adams Division final to the Quebec Nordiques.</p><p>Sinden then went out and fooled everyone, including, it seems, the Minnesota North Stars, by taking defenseman Gord Kluzak as the No. 1 pick in the draft and receiving from Minnesota, right winger Brad Palmer and collegian Dave Donnelly, for leaving Bellows behind to be selected by the North Stars.</p><p>Sinden reasoned that Brad Park was soon to wind up his starry career with the Bruins and that Kluzak was the player he wanted to fill Park&rsquo;s shoes. Receiving Palmer and Donnelly was an attractive bonus for the Bruins and Sinden further enhanced the club&rsquo;s position by dealing disenchanted defenseman Brad McCrimmon to Philadelphia for goalie Pete Peeters, who&rsquo;s been an all-star a couple of times and was the Flyers&rsquo; most employed netminder the last few years.</p><p>The bottom line for the Bruins is that Sinden has taken a club that finished with the fourth best record overall last season and instantly upgraded it. The Bruins shouldn&rsquo;t settle for less than the Adams Division title this time around.</p><p>Beginning in goal, the Bruins will have to choose between four performers who have proven they can handle a NHL load. Peeters, 25, played in 44 games for the Flyers last season with a 3.71 goals-against average and a record of 23-18-3. He&rsquo;s been bothered by inconsistency since a brilliant rookie campaign three years ago, but perhaps his confidence will be buoyed by the trade to Boston. Peeters will probably have the inside track for the No. 1 spot on what looks to be, for the start of the season, a three-man goaltender puzzle.</p><p>Mike Moffat, with two NHL regular season games plus 11 playoff appearances (3.44 GAA, 6-5 record) under his belt, will most likely be in the picture somewhere. That leaves the other spot for last year&rsquo;s incumbents, Rogie Vachon (3.66, 19-11-6) and Marco Baron (3.44, 22-16-4) to dispute. Vachon, now 37, could be a victim of the numbers and age game, while Baron, 23, though inconsistent, is too valuable a commodity to abandon at this stage.</p><p>All-star defenseman Ray Bourque, (17-49-66) just 21, heads an increasingly mobile defense. Park figures to be back for one more year, getting the job done with his head instead of his legs. Mike Milbury, 30, and Mike O&rsquo;Connell, 26, are other experienced pros and the Bruins were impressed enough by youngsters Larry Melnyk and Randy Hillier to allow McCrimmon to be traded away. Kluzak, 6-4, 220 pounds, is said to possess puckhandling skills and the tough, physical style Bruins&rsquo; fans expect.</p><p>Offensively, the Bruins are strongest at center, where they have a fine assemblage of youngsters led by Barry Pederson, who finished second on the team in scoring and was the club&rsquo;s top plus player (plus 27).</p><p>Pederson also led the Bruins in playoff scoring with 7-11-18 stats and, at 21, with a 92-point rookie season behind him, is rated as one of the league&rsquo;s brightest young stars. Selke Trophy winner Steve Kasper is already considered the league's top defensive forward and also contributed 20 goals and 51 points while shadowing the top centers in the league. His defensive handling of Wayne Gretzky is enough to convince anyone of his value to the Bruins.</p><p>Behind Pederson and Kasper, the Bruins have a couple of more fine young centermen, Tom Fergus, a rangy skater who had 31 points in 61 games and Mike Krushelnyski, who played most of the season in Erie of the American League, where he produced 83 points in 62 games. Peter McNab, who has said he doesn&rsquo;t expect to be back for the Bruins in 1982-83, still collected 36 goals and 76 points despite limited ice time.</p><p>Sharing the spotlight with Pederson is linemate Rick Middleton, known as Shifty. Middleton topped the club with 94 points, including 51 goals, added 15 points in the playoffs and was the Lady Byng Trophy winner. Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, who will sit out a 10-game suspension to start the year for hitting referee Andy van Hellemond in the playoffs, knocked in 22 goals on the right side for the Bruins, who also have the Crowder brothers, Keith and Bruce (23 and 16 goals), as right wingers. Another hopeful is Luc Dufour, a 1981 draftee who scored 55 goals in junior.</p><p>Palmer, usually a right winger, could also be used on the left side where the Bruins need help. Veteran Don Marcotte won&rsquo;t be back and Wayne Cashman is questionable. That leaves 19-year-old Normand Leveille (14 goals), Mike Gillis (nine goals) and Stan Jonathan (six goals) competing for duty.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01653/10184465-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="1613" height="3161"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Defenseman Ray Bourque has rapidly progressed in his years In the NHL to become a first team all-star and the Bruins will count on him to lead their club in many ways.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>BOSTON BRUINS (12)</b></p><p>1. Gord Kluzak, D, Billings</p><p>2. Brian Curran, D, Portland</p><p>3. Lyndon Byers, RW, Regina</p><p>4. Dave Reid, LW, Peterborough</p><p>5. Bob Nicholson, D, London</p><p>6. Bob Sweeney, C, Mass HS</p><p>7. John Meulenbroeks, D, Brantford</p><p>8. Tony Fiore, C, Montreal</p><p>9. Doug Kostynski, C, Kamloops</p><p>10. Tony Gilliard, LW, Niagara Falls</p><p>11. Tommy Lehman, C, Sweden</p><p>12. Bruno Campese, G, No. Michigan</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02426/10184458-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="764" height="2294"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01518/10184451-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="1095" height="1331"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Nifty Rick Middleton topped the 50-goal mark for the Bruins last year and teamed with Barry Pederson to form one of the NHL&rsquo;s most exciting and most dangerous combinations.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02333/10184444-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="1213" height="1511"></div><h2><b>Boston Bruins Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-03232/10184437-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="2321" height="1545"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01510/10184430-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="2443" height="1261"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02392/10184423-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="2445" height="1303"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> &mdash; Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &mdash; Percentage of opponents' evenstrength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0046-02

Boston Bruins

<div class="byline">Peter Stastny</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02380/10184566-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="553" height="710"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01504/10184559-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="573" height="572"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he most amazing aspect of the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; playoff success in the spring of 1982 wasn&rsquo;t the fact that they made believers out of the Canadiens and the Bruins en route to the Adams Division championship, it was the way they did it. It&rsquo;s spelled D-E-F-E-N-S-E.</p><p>Yes, the free-wheeling Nordiques, with all those great shooters and skaters, turned their attention towards the checking game and outworked, outhustled and outbumped Montreal and Boston out of the playoffs. It was only too bad that the Islanders had to spoil their fun.</p><p>But the Nordiques came away with invaluable playoff experience and the championship of the province of Quebec, adding fervor to the momentum generated by their enthusiastic fans.</p><p>The Nordiques are a young team and bound to improve even more, perhaps along the same lines as the Edmonton Oilers, who went from 14th to second overall in the space of a year. And the way they can score, the Nordiques are as exciting a team to watch as any in the NHL.</p><p>Want an example of how awesome the Nordiques can be? No NHL team has ever had three players at the same position each score 80 or more points in a season but this year, the Nordiques stand an excellent chance. The position? Right wing. The trio of potent scorers are Marian Stastny, Real (Buddy) Cloutier and Wilf Paiement.</p><p>Cloutier, 26, was the second leading scorer for Quebec last season with 97 points, including 37 goals; Stastny, 29, in his first NHL season had 35-54-89 stats; Paiement, 27, had 71 points, splitting last season between Toronto and Quebec. Then in the playoffs, playing on three separate lines, Stastny had 17 points while Cloutier and Paiement each had 12. Basil McRae is the fourth right winger.</p><p>Center Peter Stastny, 26, though, is the man who orchestrates the Nordique attack. In his sophomore NHL campaign, Stastny placed third in the scoring race with 139 points including a team-high 46 goals. He also led the Nordiques in playoff scoring with 7-11-18 stats, despite missing four games due to a kidney injury. Adding further strength to the center spot are Dale Hunter, who found enough time away from hounding opponents to score 72 points; Alain Cote, a rugged checker and promising Serge Aubry, who also plays left wing. Veterans Marc Tardif and Jacques Richard, who both slumped dramatically in the second half, will be subject to playing duty according to how fast the youngsters develop.</p><p>Over on the left side, the fireworks continue. Michel Goulet, 22, is front and center. He had 42-42-84 statistics last season and added 13 points in the playoffs. Anton Stastny, 23, had two more points than Goulet in the playoffs after a regular season of 26-46-72. The Nordiques are also hopeful that Richard David, who scored 50 goals in the American League, can translate some of that proficiency into NHL goals. One other dark horse to crack the forward brigade is Jean-Marc Gaulin, a right winger who scored 50 goals for Hull in the Quebec League.</p><p>In the playoffs, goalie Dan Bouchard shot down some of the critics&rsquo; theories about not being able to come through in the clutch, winning deciding games in Montreal and Boston. Bouchard was a workhorse during the regular season with 60 appearances with a 27-22-11 record and a 3.86 goals-against average. He was 3.40 in 10 playoff games.</p><p>At the same time, the Nordiques also discovered that John Garrett was a more than adequate backup. He was 3-2 in the playoffs with a 3.90 GAA after seeing action in 12 regular season games for Quebec.</p><p>With Bouchard and Garrett both 31 and young Clint Malarchuk waiting in the wings, the Nordiques seem in good shape in goal for the next few years, but they are even more pleased with the way their defense corps is shaping up.</p><p>Last season, it was pretty much a mixture of the old and the new &mdash; veterans Andre (Moose) Dupont and Dale Hoganson represent the greybeards and players in their young 20s such as Dave Pichette (2-4-6 to lead the defense in playoff scoring), Normand Rochefort and Pierre Lacroix. Add Mario Marois, who led the club&rsquo;s blueliners in regular-season scoring, and Wally Weir, who also played forward, and you have a pretty fair mixture. Throw in Jean Hamel and Gaston Therrien, who spent most of the last season in the minors, and you have some interesting possibilities.</p><p>One certainty is that 1981 first draft choice Randy Moller, who saw brief playoff service after playing in Lethbridge last season, will be inserted into the lineup. The Nordiques also went for a defenseman with their first pick in 1982, Dave Shaw from Kitchener, who will most likely be permitted another year in junior play before he attempts to break into the lineup.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01380/10184552-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="1637" height="3185"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>If Real Cloutier can stay healthy the Nordiques have one of the game's top offensive performers. Last season, Cloutier finished second on the club In scoring behind Peter Stastny.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>QUEBEC NORDIQUES (11)</b></p><p>1. Dave Shaw, D, Kitchener</p><p>2. Paul Gillis, C, Niagara Falls</p><p>3. Mario Gosselin, G, Shawinigan</p><p>4. Jiri Lala, RW, Czechoslovakia</p><p>5. Phil Stanger, LW, Seattle</p><p>6. Daniel Poudrier, D, Shawinigan</p><p>7. Mike Hough, LW, Kitchener</p><p>8. Vincent Lukac, LW, Czechoslovakia</p><p>9. Andre Martin, D, Montreal</p><p>10. Jozef Lukac, C, Czechoslovakia</p><p>11. Jan Jasko, LW, Czechoslovakia</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-02273/10184545-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg" title="f0051-02" width="792" height="2252"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01387/10184538-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="1179" height="1365"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Everyone knew the Nordiques could score but goaltender Dan Bouchard, with help from John Garrett, proved that the Nordiques could excel at defensive hockey in clutch situations.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-02250/10184531-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="1295" height="1545"></div><h2><b>Quebec Nordiques Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-03177/10184524-1-eng-US/f0052-032.jpg" title="f0052-03" width="2485" height="1577"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01359/10184517-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg" title="f0053-01" width="2401" height="1289"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-02247/10184510-1-eng-US/f0053-022.jpg" title="f0053-02" width="2399" height="1307"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> &mdash; Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &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; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0050-02

Quebec Nordiques

<div class="byline">Bob Gainey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-02226/10184653-1-eng-US/f0054-022.jpg" title="f0054-02" width="632" height="710"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01375/10184646-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg" title="f0054-01" width="657" height="449"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>here was a time when the Canadiens used to be taken pretty much for granted. Just get them in the playoffs and the odds were always in their favor for coming out on top. The Canadiens must long for the good, old days, because recent history has seen their fate, especially in the playoffs, take the opposite track.</p><p>For the third consecutive year, the Canadiens bowed out quickly in the playoffs. Two years ago, it was at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers. Last season, provincial rival Quebec defeated the Habsin five games, winning two of the contests in Montreal. So time for some changes, right? Well, perhaps, but not exactly the changes the club needs at this time to regain its prestige.</p><p>Over the summer, several Canadiens put their homes up for sale, indicating they don&rsquo;t expect to be wearing red, white and blue this season. Left winger Mark Napier, the club&rsquo;s leading goal scorer with 40, was also testing the free-agent market, waiting for the agreement to be reached between the Players Association and the NHL owners. Napier is reported to be eyeing U.S.-based teams as is defenseman Rod Langway, who has been unable to renegotiate his contract.</p><p>Others are disgruntled as well, primarily center Doug Wickenheiser, who&rsquo;s done little and played little in two years after being the first player taken in the 1980 draft. Plus, Larry Robinson, Guy Lafleur and Mario Tremblay are among other Hab players who let it be known in the summer that they&rsquo;re not happy with their financial deals.</p><p>With all of the turmoil surrounding his team, one might think that second-year coach Bob Berry would be ready to ask for some kind of government assistance, but let&rsquo;s not overlook the fact that the Canadiens have finished first in their division eight consecutive years and nine out of 10.</p><p>Of course, they had some pretty fine hockey players helping them who are no longer there - Ken Dryden, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Jacques Lemaire, Yvan Cournoyer &mdash; but the current edition of the Canadiens still uses many of the same essentials of the former teams: Strong defense and explosive scoring.</p><p>As usual, the Canadiens topped the NHL in defense last season. Rick Wamsley, Denis Herron and Richard Sevigny allowed 223 opposition goals, the only team to allow less than three goals per game in the scoring-mad NHL.</p><p>Wamsley, 23, played the most during the regular schedule (38 games, 2.75 GAA, 23-7-7 record) and was the one the Canadiens turned to in the playoffs, giving up just 2.20 goals per game in the five games against the Nordiques. Herron, 30, shared the Bill Jennings Trophy with Wamsley for his regular season play, but figures to be little more than the backup. Sevigny, who was 11-4-2, is 25 and would like to be No. 1. Depending upon his offers, either he or Herron will likely be playing elsewhere this season.</p><p>During the Canadiens&rsquo; glory days of the 70s, besides great goaltending, the team thrived because of three dominant players on defense - Savard, Lapointe and Larry Robinson. Robinson, 31, led the defensemen in scoring last season with 12-47-59 stats and was the third best among NHL defensemen in the plus-minus category with a plus 57.</p><p>The only defensemen ahead of Robinson also happened to be teammates Brian Engblom (plus 78) and Rod Langway (plus 66), so the team still has defensive strength. Those three are joined by sophomore Gilbert Delorme, Gaston Gingras and Robert Picard, who settled nicely into the Canadiens&rsquo; scheme of things in the second half of last year. Bill Kitchen, who played for Nova Scotia the past two seasons, is also a possibility.</p><p>But despite their 360 goals last season, the Canadiens' offense appears to be waning. The most depth lies on the right side where Guy Lafleur produced 84 points (although only 27 goals in 66 games). Mario Tremblay checked in with 33-40-73 stats and Mark Hunter (18 goals) and Craig Laughlin (23 points in 36 games) are up and coming talents.</p><p>At center, Keith Acton pivoted the big line and led the team in scoring with 88 points; Pierre Mondou had 68 points in 73 games and led the team in playoff scoring; defensive specialist Doug Jarvis also chipped in with a 20-goal campaign. Minor leaguer Guy Charbonneau will also be given a shot at sticking.</p><p>The left side is the biggest question mark. Napier may not be back; Steve Shutt (55 points in 57 games) is also said to be less than enamored with his role with the club. Veterans Bob Gainey (21-24-45) and Reggie Houle (43 points in 51 games) will be back but left winger-center Doug Rise-brough may not fit into the teams plans.</p><p>Other than Delorme and Mats Naslund, a speedy little (5-7) Swedish left winger who could move into the lineup, the Canadiens haven&rsquo;t benefitted that much from their last two drafts. This year&rsquo;s No. 1, left winger Alain Heroux of Chicoutimi, will likely see another year in junior.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01332/10184639-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="1661" height="3153"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Despite rumors that he&rsquo;s &ldquo;over the hill,&rdquo; Montreal&rsquo;s Guy Lafleur finished second on the club in scoring and should be satisfied with his recently renegotiated long-term contract.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>MONTREAL CANADIENS (17)</b></p><p>1. Alain Heroux, LW, Chicoutimi</p><p>2. Jocelyn Gauvreau, D, Granby</p><p>3. Kent Carlson, D, St. Lawrence</p><p>4. David Maley, C, Minn HS</p><p>5. Scott Sandelin, D, Minn HS</p><p>6. Scott Harlow, LW, Mass HS</p><p>7. John Devoe, RW, Minn HS</p><p>8. Kevin Houle, LW, Mass HS</p><p>9. Ernie Vargas, C, Minn HS</p><p>10. Michael Dark, D, Sarnia</p><p>11. Hannu Jarvenpaa, RW, Finland</p><p>12. Steve Smith, D, St. Lawrence</p><p>13. Tom Koliouspoulos, RW, Mich HS</p><p>14. Brian Williams, C, Sioux City</p><p>15. Bob Emery, D, Mass HS</p><p>16. Darren Acheson, C, Fort. Sask</p><p>17. Bill Brauer, D, Minn HS</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-02216/10184632-1-eng-US/f0055-022.jpg" title="f0055-02" width="808" height="2207"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01306/10184625-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg" title="f0056-01" width="1129" height="1337"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Rick Wamsley has apparently beaten out Richard Sevigny and Denis Herron tor the No. 1 goaltending job with the Candiens. Wamsley played well In the playoffs despite the Habs loss.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-02200/10184618-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg" title="f0056-02" width="1249" height="1517"></div><h2><b>Montreal Canadians Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-03127/10184611-1-eng-US/f0056-032.jpg" title="f0056-03" width="2387" height="1575"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-01285/10184604-1-eng-US/f0057-012.jpg" title="f0057-01" width="2421" 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/f0057-02202/10184597-1-eng-US/f0057-022.jpg" title="f0057-02" width="2419" height="1311"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> &mdash; Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &mdash; Percentage of opponents' evenstrength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0054-02

Montreal Canadiens

<div class="byline">Gilbert Perreault</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-02207/10184740-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg" title="f0058-02" width="674" height="720"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01308/10184733-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg" title="f0058-01" width="603" height="602"></div><p><b>O</b>n paper, the Sabres should be one of the foremost teams in the National Hockey League, but they&rsquo;re not. Not yet, anyway.</p><p>Sabres&rsquo; general manager and coach Scotty Bowman has been wheeling and dealing but despite the fact that he keeps showing signs of having a lineup filled with aces, come playoff time, the Sabres seem to be full of jokers.</p><p>Consider this:</p><p>&bull; The Sabres pulled off one of the best trades in recent memory when they obtained right winger Mike Foligno and centers Dale McCourt and Brent Peterson from Detroit in exchange for Danny Gare, Jim Schoenfeld and Derek Smith.</p><p>&bull; In a related trade, with the Red Wings, the Sabres parted with goalie Bob Sauve, preferring to go with Don Edwards as their top netminder. But in an arrangement with the Wings, the Sabres received Sauve&rsquo;s rights when he became a free agent at the end of the season and did not sign with Detroit. Instead, he signed with Buffalo, which dealt Edwards, along with defenseman Richie Dunn to the Calgary Flames in return for several draft picks.</p><p>&bull; With one of those Calgary draft picks, plus a pick from Los Angeles from the 1980 Jerry Korab trade, plus their own first-round selection, the Sabres wound up with three players who should have promising NHL careers: Phil Housley, a high school defenseman/center who was the top-rated American in the draft; left winger Paul Cyr, a 52-goal scorer for Victoria in the Western League, and Dave Andreychuk, a 6-3, 200-pounder who scored 58 goals for Oshawa in the Ontario League.</p><p>&bull; In addition, the Sabres, not withstanding the trades of young forwards with promise such as Rob McClanahan and Alan Haworth, have still stockpiled an impressive collection of forwards in the past couple of seasons including Mike Moller (122 points in Lethbridge), Jeff Eatough (57 goals for Cornwall), Sean McKenna (57 goals for Sherbrooke), Randy Cunneyworth, who played for Rochester last year and Steve Patrick, who played 41 games for the Sabres.</p><p>When you add in some of the veteran Sabres such as Gil Perreault, Craig Ramsay, Ric Seiling, Tony McKegney, John Van Boxmeer and Bill Hajt, the team has the nucleus to be among the top clubs in the NHL. Getting them there is Bowman&rsquo;s task as he begins the 1982-83 season behind the bench once again after relinquishing the reins to Jimmy Roberts for part of the previous year before reclaiming them late in the season.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how Bowman&rsquo;s boys will shape up:</p><p>Although Edwards played well enough in goal (3.51 GAA in 62 appearances) for the Sabres to finish with the third least goals allowed, they might be even better off with Sauve in charge.</p><p>Sauve, 27, has a 2.76 GAA in 14 starts for the Sabres before going to Detroit where he was 4.19 in 41 appearances for the 20th-place Red Wings.</p><p>He&rsquo;ll likely be backed up by Jacques Cloutier, 22, who turned in a 2.51 GAA in seven starts for the Sabres last season. Injuries moved Paul Harrison into the backup role late in the season, but the Sabres will likely opt for the younger Cloutier.</p><p>Versatile John Van Boxmeer, the Sabres&rsquo; highest plus player (plus 23) heads up the unspectacular, but efficient defense crew. Van Boxmeer, who plays one of the powerplay points, had 68 points in 69 games, missing the all-star game due to a broken finger. Mike Ramsey (7-23-30), Hajt and Larry Playfair are best at keeping the puck out of the net, while Lindy Ruff has been used more at forward than on defense. The Sabres have high hopes for Finn Hannu Virta who joined them late in the schedule.</p><p>Center is the Sabres&rsquo; deepest forward position with Perreault (31-42-73 in 62 games), McCourt (33-36-69), Andre Savard (18 goals), J.F. Sauve (19 goals), Cunneyworth and Bob Mongrain, who also bounced between the Sabres and the minors.</p><p>Foligno heads up the right side with 33-44-77 stats, followed by Seiling who had 22 goals and 47 points in a season shortened to 57 games by an eye injury. Patrick, Moller and perhaps Eatough will compete for additional right wing posts.</p><p>On left wing, 32-year-old Yvon Lambert, picked up in the waiver draft from the Canadiens, led the team in goals (25) and points (64). Defensive specialist Ramsay pitched in with 51 points, while McKegney, a 37-goal scorer two years ago, slumped to only 23 last season. Gilles Hamel, a 31-goal scorer with Rochester, who saw some action in Buffalo, and perhaps Cyr and McKenna, will earn a look as possible major leaguers.</p><p>The Sabres then are a mixture of some talented performers but until they are blended into a cohesive unit they may experience difficulties trying to move up in the highly-competitive Adams Division. In fact, unless the team jells throughout the coming season, they will probably relinquish third spot in the division.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-01245/10184726-1-eng-US/f0059-012.jpg" title="f0059-01" width="1661" height="3201"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mike Follgno was the key tlgure In last year&rsquo;s big trade between the Sabres and the Red Wings, the player Buffalo GM Scotty Bowman desired because of his talent and determination.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>BUFFALO SABRES (15)</b></p><p>1. Phil Housley, D, Minn HS</p><p>2. Paul Cyr, LW, Victoria</p><p>3. Dave Andreychuk, C, Oshawa</p><p>4. Mike Anderson, Minn HS</p><p>5. Jens Johansson, D, Sweden</p><p>6. Timo Jutila, D, Finland</p><p>7. Jeff Hamilton, LW, Prov. College</p><p>8. Bob Logan, RW, Mtl. Jr B</p><p>9. Jeff Parker, C, Minn HS</p><p>10. Jacob Gustavsson, G, Sweden</p><p>11. Allen Bishop, D, Niagara Falls</p><p>12. Claude Verret, C, T-Rivieres</p><p>13. Rob Norman, RW, Cornwall</p><p>14. Mike Craig, G, Billings</p><p>15. Jim Plakers, D, Minn HS</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-02162/10184719-1-eng-US/f0059-022.jpg" title="f0059-02" width="807" height="2244"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-01257/10184712-1-eng-US/f0060-012.jpg" title="f0060-01" width="1111" height="1329"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>It&rsquo;s not often that a team gets a second chance at a player they traded away but the Sabres regained the rights and re-signed Bob Sauve to handle their goaltending load.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-02160/10184705-1-eng-US/f0060-022.jpg" title="f0060-02" width="1233" height="1511"></div><h2><b>Buffalo Sabres Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-03113/10184698-1-eng-US/f0060-032.jpg" title="f0060-03" width="2367" height="1565"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-01229/10184691-1-eng-US/f0061-012.jpg" title="f0061-01" width="2375" height="1457"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-02158/10184684-1-eng-US/f0061-022.jpg" title="f0061-02" width="2379" height="1425"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0058-02

Buffalo Sabres

<div class="byline">Larry Kish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-02142/10184827-1-eng-US/f0062-022.jpg" title="f0062-02" width="668" height="722"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-01251/10184820-1-eng-US/f0062-012.jpg" title="f0062-01" width="667" height="605"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>alk about your impossible assignments. Try stepping into the shoes of the Hartford Whalers and then making the playoffs in the Adams Division. Sure, you only have to beat out one team. Who&rsquo;s it going to be: Montreal, Boston, Buffalo or Quebec? The Whalers&rsquo; best bet &mdash; realignment.</p><p>Whaler general manager Larry Pleau who turned over the coaching duties after the 1981-82 season to Larry Kish, has set 500 hockey as one of the team&rsquo;s immediate goals. Last season, they finished 20 wins shy of that pace and even had they attained a break-even record, the Whalers would have been last in the division and again out of the playoffs.</p><p>Still, the Whalers appeared to make progress last season, at least in the sense of moving towards a younger team that canonly get better in the future. If the Winnipeg Jets can go from 20th to 10th in the overall standings, by passing such established NHL clubs as St. Louis and Chicago, couldn&rsquo;t the Whalers improve enough to get past one club into fourth place in the Adams?</p><p>Perhaps, but not this year. The one advantage that Winnipeg employed to vault from obscurity into second place in its division was the possession of two high first-round draft choices, enabling them to take Dave Babych as the second player in 1980 and Dale Hawerchuk as the first player the following year. For their part, the Whalers nabbed a super prospect in Ron Francis as the fourth pick in 1981, but probably won&rsquo;t see any dividends from their 1982 draft for a couple of years yet.</p><p>Still, the Whalers are laying their foundation with youth at every position on the club. They do not yet have the depth to compete as an equal in the toughest division in hockey, but they are most certainly on the right road to improvement.</p><p>Pleau maintained the dual responsibilities of general manager and coach because he enjoyed the opportunity of working with the players he felt would be of greatest benefit to the Whalers&rsquo; organization. Now, with his health preventing him from continuing in both capacities, he will hand over the prospects to Kish, who directed the Whalers&rsquo; Binghamton farm team to the Southern Division championship of the American League and was voted by THE HOCKEY NEWS as the Minor League Coach of the Year. Pleau will now have additional time to ponder where the Whalers need the most immediate help.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how they stack up:</p><p>The Whalers appear set in goal with 25-year-old Greg Millen handling the bulk of the load. Signed as a free agent after three years with the Penguins, Millen suffered the growing pains of the Whalers, posting an 11-30-12 mark in 55 outings and a 4.29 goals-against average, which isn&rsquo;t too bad when it&rsquo;s considered that the Whalers went through 18 games with divisional opponents before earning their first victory. Over the final 14 games against Adams&rsquo; foes, however, the Whalers were 5-5-4.</p><p>Helping Millen next season will be either Mike Veisor, who inherited the back-up job when John Garrett was traded to Quebec or Ken Holland, the main man in Binghamton.</p><p>Defense is an area where the Whalers like to point for their expected improvement. The corps is headed' by 27-year-old Russ Anderson, another former Penguin who came to the Whalers when they found that Rick MacLeish did not fit into their scheme. Anderson is a shining example of a defensive defenseman. Handling the offensive side of things for the defensemen will be Risto Siltanen, obtained along with left winger Brent Loney from Edmonton after the Whalers sent Mark Howe to Philadelphia for Ken Linseman, left winger Greg Adams and a No. 1 draft choice in 1983. The Whalers then sent Siltanen and Don Nachbaur to Edmonton for Siltanen and Loney. Youngsters Blake Wesley and Chris Kotsopoulos, obtained in trades with Philadelphia and the Rangers, respectively, were starters last season for the Whalers, while farmhands Mark Renaud, who played in 48 Hartford games, Stuart Smith and Jeff Brownschidle, all examples of homegrown talent, are expected to compete for jobs, replacing Paul Shmyr and Jack Mcllhargey from last year&rsquo;s squad.</p><p>Two of the Whalers&rsquo; top scorers last year were right wingers, Blaine Stoughton, 52-39-91 and Doug Sulliman, 29-40-69, with Pierre Larouche, 71 points and Francis, 68 points in only 59 games, the top two centers. Rick Meagher quietly produced 24 goals as the third center, while the Whalers will watch to see if Paul MacDermid (26-45-71 in junior) is ready for NHL service. Minor league scoring star Bob Sullivan (47-43-90 with Binghamton and 7-8-15 in the AHL playoffs) will also vie for a spot with Dave Keen now retired.</p><p>The Whalers need a lot more punch from the left side where 30-year-old Garry Howatt, who is a free agent and looking at moving to another team, led the position with 18 goals. Jordy Douglas had 10 goals while missing 50 games because of injuries and will be counted on for at least 30 goals if he can stay healthy, while the Whalers will also look at Dan Bourbonnais, their fifth draft choice in 1981.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-01193/10184813-1-eng-US/f0063-012.jpg" title="f0063-01" width="1693" height="3197"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Ron Francis was returned to the junior ranks to begin last season but when the Whalers found they lacked scoring punch, they recalled the center who looked good right away.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>HARTFORD WHALERS (11)</b></p><p>1. Paul Lawless, LW, Windsor</p><p>2. Mark Paterson, D, Ottawa</p><p>3. Kevin Dineen, D, Denver</p><p>4. Ulf Samuelsson, D, Sweden</p><p>5. Ray Ferraro, C, Penticton</p><p>6. Randy Gilhen, LW, Winnipeg</p><p>7. Jim Johannson, C, Rochester HS</p><p>8. Mickey Krampotich, C, Minn HS</p><p>9. Kevin Skilliter, D, Cornwall</p><p>10. Martin Linse, C, Sweden</p><p>11. Randy Cameron, D, Winnipeg</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-02125/10184806-1-eng-US/f0063-022.jpg" title="f0063-02" width="821" height="2383"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-01208/10184799-1-eng-US/f0064-012.jpg" title="f0064-01" width="1119" height="1339"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>When the Whalers traded away their top scorer, Mike Rogers, to the Rangers last season, they were hopeful Doug Sulllman could play a major role In picking up the slack. He did.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-02127/10184792-1-eng-US/f0064-022.jpg" title="f0064-02" width="1237" height="1515"></div><h2><b>Hartford Whalers Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-0371/10184785-1-eng-US/f0064-032.jpg" title="f0064-03" width="2382" height="1541"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-01211/10184778-1-eng-US/f0065-012.jpg" title="f0065-01" width="2445" height="1421"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-02151/10184771-1-eng-US/f0065-022.jpg" title="f0065-02" width="2447" height="1441"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0062-02

Hartford Whalers

<div class="byline">Gien Sather</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-02131/10184914-1-eng-US/f0066-022.jpg" title="f0066-02" width="641" height="711"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-01211/10184907-1-eng-US/f0066-012.jpg" title="f0066-01" width="685" height="664"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b>ccording to Edmonton Oiler president, general manager and coach Glen Sather, his club is ahead of schedule. Well, make that slightly off schedule since losing to the Los Angeles Kings in the semi-finals of the Smythe Division definitely wasn&rsquo;t in the plans of the Oilers. What Sather was referring to, in-stead, was the fact that the Oilers finished in second place overall in 1981-82, undoubtedly a few notches above where they expected to be when they began the season.</p><p>But then Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr and numerous others went on to establish themselves as one of the top teams in hockey throughout the regular season campaign. The Oilers were expected to breeze through the Smythe playdowns, be challenged by Minnesota for the Campbell Conference title and then report to the finals against the Islanders.</p><p>Say hello to the Kings, the Vancouver Canucks and now that the Winnipeg Jets have joined the division, the Oilers aren&rsquo;t exactly playing in the cakewalk division anymore. Don&rsquo;t forget that Calgary had done a rapid remodelling job and just as the Oilers did the year before, could come up with a superlative effort.</p><p>Hopefully, from an Oilers&rsquo; standpoint, last season was the kind of painful learning experience that is provided by the road to maturity. The regular season &mdash; in which Edmonton set a new league standard with 417 goals - showed how well the team could play; the playoffs revealed what can happen when the team doesn&rsquo;t perform up to expectations.</p><p>So, how will the Oilers do this season? There seems no reason to believe that the squad won&rsquo;t repeat as division winners en route to restoring their tarnished playoff reputation with a solid post-season showing as well.</p><p>The team has an outstanding nucleus of <i>young</i> talent and has several top-flight individuals ready to step in and add to the solid foundation.</p><p>Gretzky, naturally, leads the way after his phenomenal 92-goal, 120-assist, 212-point season. Even though the Oilers were around for only five playoff games, Gretzky managed to chalk up 5-7-12 stats. Somehow, though it seems beyond the realm of possibility, he&rsquo;ll probably be even more impressive in &rsquo;82-83. It&rsquo;s been his history.</p><p>Jari Kurri is slated to draw the right wing spot on the Gretzky line, an enviable position for anyone. The 22-year-old Finn is tabbed as the first superstar from his homeland after an 86-point sophomore season. The third member of the line could be Czechoslovak left winger Jaroslav Pouzar, a 31-year-old veteran who has been released from his country for NHL duty.</p><p>The second line of the Oilers has two all star caliber wingers in Glenn Anderson (38-67-105) and Mark Messier (50-38-88) on the right and left side, respectively. Matti Hagman, who played center for the pair for most of the season, will stay in Finland this year, but the Oilers are expected to fill with Ken Linseman, an 89-point scorer, obtained along with forward Don Nachbaur from Hartford for Risto Siltanen.</p><p>By the time you&rsquo;re into the third and fourth lines of the Oilers, you&rsquo;re still talking about quality hockey players. Right wingers Dave Lumley (32-42-74) and Pat Hughes (24 goals) who can also play center or the left side, will be important cogs for the Oilers. At center, Laurie Boschman and Tom Roulston will see duty with Marc Habscheid, a star of Team Canada juniors expected to move onto the roster.</p><p>The left side after Messier and Dave Hunter, the tenacious checker who chipped in with 16 goals, is somewhat of a question mark. Brett Callighen has left for Europe and Dave Semenko was eyeing greener pastures in the United States. But the Oilers can fill with Pouzar, Nachbaur and possibly Todd Strueby, who popped in 60 goals for Saskatoon in the Western League.</p><p>Defensively, the Oilers are a nice mixture of styles and the accent is on youth. Garry Lariviere and captain Lee Fogolin are defensive defensemen with several years of experience and they&rsquo;re both 27. Coffey, the NHL&rsquo;s highest-scoring defenseman with 89 points, gets most of the publicity for his offensive endeavors. Then there&rsquo;s Kevin Lowe, the Oilers&rsquo; top 1979 draft choice, who&rsquo;s 6-2, 200 pounds and may be the Oilers&rsquo; best all-round defenseman. Also fitting into the picture are Randy Gregg, a 6-4, 215-pounder who played in Japan before joining the Oilers for the playoffs and Charlie Huddy, 6-0, 200 pounds. Jim Playfair of Portland, another behemoth, the Oilers&rsquo; top 1982 draft, will likely spend another year in junior.</p><p>Goaltending is well in hand with the tandem of Grant Fuhr and Ron Low. Fuhr fashioned a 28-5-14 rookie season record with a 3.31 goals-against average. He was 2-3 in the playoffs then had off-season surgery to correct a long-standing shoulder problem which restricted his glove hand mobility.</p><p>Low, an excellent team man, was called into 29 regular season games and came through with a 17-7-1 record with a 3.86 GAA. He&rsquo;s the second oldest on the club at 32. Former playoff hero Andy Moog waits in the wings in Moncton.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0067-01149/10184900-1-eng-US/f0067-012.jpg" title="f0067-01" width="1633" height="3165"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Edmonton swifty Glenn Anderson gave Oiler opponents more to worry about than just Wayne Gretzky as he topped the 100-polnt mark in his sophomore season in the NHL.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>EDMONTON OILERS (12)</b></p><p>1. Jim Playfair, D, Portland</p><p>2. Steve Graves, C, S.S. Marie</p><p>3. Brent Loney, LW, Cornwall</p><p>4. Jaroslav Pouzar, LW, Czechoslovakia</p><p>5. Dwayne Boettger, D, Toronto</p><p>6. Raimo Summanen, RW, Finland</p><p>7. Brian Small, RW, Ottawa</p><p>8. Dean Clark, St. Albert</p><p>9. Ian Wood, G, Penticton</p><p>10. Grant Dion, D, Cowichan</p><p>11. Chris Smith, G, Regina</p><p>12. Jeff Crawford, LW, Regina</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0067-0289/10184893-1-eng-US/f0067-022.jpg" title="f0067-02" width="785" height="2340"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-01161/10184886-1-eng-US/f0068-012.jpg" title="f0068-01" width="1123" height="1345"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>One of the most underrated players in the game is Edmonton defenseman Kevin Lowe, the former first-round draft pick of the Oilers. He might be their best all-around defender.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-0285/10184879-1-eng-US/f0068-022.jpg" title="f0068-02" width="1243" height="1525"></div><h2><b>Edmonton Oilers Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-0353/10184872-1-eng-US/f0068-032.jpg" title="f0068-03" width="2395" height="1563"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0069-01138/10184865-1-eng-US/f0069-012.jpg" title="f0069-01" width="2432" height="1306"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0069-0294/10184858-1-eng-US/f0069-022.jpg" title="f0069-02" width="2433" height="1278"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> &mdash; Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &mdash; Percentage of opponents' evenstrength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on ice in games in which he played; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0066-02

Edmonton Oilers

<div class="byline">Tom Watt</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0070-0282/10185001-1-eng-US/f0070-022.jpg" title="f0070-02" width="654" height="716"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0070-01142/10184994-1-eng-US/f0070-012.jpg" title="f0070-01" width="566" height="564"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he Jets may not have Wayne Gretzky, but then again they may have the closest thing to him with Dale Hawerchuk. And that, along with some competent goaltending, some additional scoring punch and the presence of Serge Savard was enough to allow the Jets to vault from 21st in the league all the way to 10th in the space of a single season, the most improved showing ever &mdash; 48 points&mdash;by an NHL team. Only a disappointing first-round loss to St. Louis put a damper on the season of success.</p><p>But things may be tougher on the Jets this time around. For one thing, they won&rsquo;t have the element of surprise going for them. They are now respected and teams will take precautions. The second factor is the club&rsquo;s switch to the Smythe Division. Instead of having to beat out Toronto and Detroit for a playoff spot, it will be Vancouver, Calgary and Los Angeles providing the roadblocks to the Jets&rsquo; intended improvement.</p><p>Jets&rsquo; general manager John Ferguson and coach Tom Watt, chosen as THE HOCKEY NEWS Executive and Coach of the Year, respectively, were able to make dramatic progress in each of three areas last season: The forwards, mainly because of Hawerchuk; defense, mainly because of Savard; and goaltending because of both Ed Staniowski and Doug Soetaert, enabling the Jets to fly high in the standings.</p><p>Hawerchuk, selected as the Rookie of the Year by the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association, set 17 club records in becoming the first rookie ever to collect 40 goals <i>and</i> 100 points (45-58-103). The shifty centerman was teamed with Paul MacLean, obtained by Ferguson in a trade with St. Louis, who produced 36 goals and Larry Hopkins, who picked up 25 points in half a season.</p><p>That allowed Watt to employ Dave Christian (25-51-76) as the center on the second line, often with Morris Lukowich, the club&rsquo;s second-leading scorer with 43-49-92 statistics. Lucien DeBlois, who played for Ferguson when he was coach of the Rangers, and came in a trade with Colorado, usually played the right side and contributed 25 goals.</p><p>Winnipeg&rsquo;s third line was the all-Swedish combo of veteran Willy Lindstrom on right wing and rookies Thomas Steen and Bengt Lundholm at center and right wing. Lindstrom led the offense for the trio with 32 goals, his best since his sophomore World Hockey Association season with the Jets in 1976-77, while the other pair each had 44 points and had the best plus-minus rating as a line among the Jets&rsquo; forwards.</p><p>Also vying for regular duty will be left winger Scott Arniel, a teammate of Hawerchuk&rsquo;s at Cornwall who played well before being sidelined by a freak practice injury. Arniel began the season with Cornwall, scoring 44 points in 24 games, and was a member of the world championship Canadian juniors before being recalled to Winnipeg. Another left winger, Doug Smail, who set a NHL record for the fastest goal from the start of a game, five seconds, also signed a new contract and will see considerable action. Normand Dupont (38 points, two playoff goals), Tim Trimper and Jimmy Mann will try to fit into the lineup as well.</p><p>Adding Savard to the Jets&rsquo; up and coming defense was a masterful move by Ferguson as the 36-year-old former Canadien provided excellent leadership with his disciplined style of play. He also helped take away much of the pressure on sophomore rearguard Dave Babych, who went on to a superb 19-49-68 point season. Bryan Maxwell, obtained with MacLean from St. Louis, was the other veteran of the defense and the team&rsquo;s main hitter at 6-3,215 pounds. Youngsters Don Spring and Tim Watters became blueline regulars and were joined by Craig Levie, picked off from the Canadiens&rsquo; organization in the waiver draft.</p><p>The Jets will be closely watching their 1982 No. 1 draft choice Jim Kyte as a possible to step right into the lineup on defense. The 6-4, 205 pounder was injured part of last season and had 4-13-17 stats in 52 games for Cornwall in the Ontario League. He&rsquo;s still growing so the Jets may wish to postpone his pro indoctrination for another season.</p><p>Meanwhile Moe Mantha, a second-round pick in the 1980 draft who split last season between Winnipeg and Tulsa, may be ready for a return to the NHL.</p><p>Arguments continue about the effectiveness of the two-goaltender system but there weren&rsquo;t any arguments about the strong showing supplied by Ed Staniowski and Doug Soetaert as they pretty much alternated in the Winnipeg goal. Staniowski, the third starter from that St. Louis trade (the Jets gave up Scott Campbell who was sidelined with severe headaches and John Markell who went to the minors) appeared in 45 games with one shutout and a 3.95 goals-against average. He was 0-2 in the playoffs. Soetaert, signed as a free agent after leaving the Rangers, was 1-1 in the playoffs, had two shutouts and a 4.31 GAA. During the regular season he was one game below .500, Staniowski was one game above .500. With each of them 27 years of age, the Jets seem in good shape in goal for some time to come.</p><p>So the Jets have pretty much the same lineup, although one that has gained maturity after the experience of last year. They were second in the Norris last year; they&rsquo;ll aim for the same in the Smythe.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0071-01138/10184987-1-eng-US/f0071-012.jpg" title="f0071-01" width="1633" height="3169"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Morris Lukowich was the troubleshooter for the Jets. Whenever a line was having trouble, Lukowich was sent out to patrol left wing and his hustle and talent usually paid dividends.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>WINNIPEG JETS (10)</b></p><p>1. Jim Kyte, D, Cornwall</p><p>2. Tom Martin, LW, Kelowna</p><p>3. Dave Ellett, D, Ottawa</p><p>4. Tim Mishler, C, No. Dakota HS</p><p>5. Derek Ray, LW, Wash Jrs</p><p>6. Guy Gosselin, D, Minn HS</p><p>7. Tom Ward, D, Minn HS</p><p>8. Mike Savage, LW, Sudbury</p><p>9. Bob Shaw, LW, Penticton</p><p>10. Jan Ericson, LW, Sweden</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0071-0279/10184980-1-eng-US/f0071-022.jpg" title="f0071-02" width="782" height="2377"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0072-01137/10184973-1-eng-US/f0072-012.jpg" title="f0072-01" width="1107" height="1327"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Jets proved they dratted wisely when they chose Dale Hawerchuk No. 1 in the 1981 entry draft and he rewarded them with the Calder Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0072-0271/10184966-1-eng-US/f0072-022.jpg" title="f0072-02" width="1233" height="1505"></div><h2><b>Winnipeg Jets Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0072-0344/10184959-1-eng-US/f0072-032.jpg" title="f0072-03" width="2367" height="1561"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0073-01128/10184952-1-eng-US/f0073-012.jpg" title="f0073-01" width="2413" height="1317"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0073-0284/10184945-1-eng-US/f0073-022.jpg" title="f0073-02" width="2407" height="1303"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> &mdash; Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &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; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0070-02

Winnipeg Jets

<div class="byline">Thomas Gradin</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0078-0255/10185175-1-eng-US/f0078-022.jpg" title="f0078-02" width="662" height="699"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0078-01118/10185168-1-eng-US/f0078-012.jpg" title="f0078-01" width="574" height="442"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>J</span></b>ust as the St. Louis Blues advanced to the Stanley Cup finals in their first three years in the National Hockey League because they were the Western Division representative, the rise of the Vancouver Canucks to Cup finalist in 1981-82 must be taken for what it was: The result of three of the top four teams in the Campbell Conference falling by the wayside in the opening round. The Canucks, who we must admit played better than they had all season, simply didn&rsquo;t have that much opposition (Calgary, Los Ange-les and Chicago) en route to being demolished in the final by the Islanders. Their 30-33-17 regular season record, in fact, is infinitely more indicative of their strength than their qualifying for the final and their290 total goals, a figure that ranked them17th in the league, points out one of their major problems in an offensive-minded loop.</p><p>That&rsquo;s not to say that the Canucks will suddenly go back to being the post-season non-entity they were in their first 12 years when they went 0-for-five in playoff series action. They do have some quality performers, starting with Richard Brodeur in goal, and for once, the club seems to have built up a measure of depth.</p><p>Brodeur, now 30, came along so steadily in his second year as a Canuck that the club was willing to trade away the oft-injured Glen Hanlon in return for some forward depth in the form of Tony Currie and Jim Nill. Brodeur was 20-18-2 with a pair of shutoutsand a 3.35 goals-against average in 52 starts during the regular season and as the playoff adage says, &ldquo;You win with a hot goaltender.&rdquo; The Canucks, with Brodeur playing the role perfectly, won their way right into the final. He was 10-3 until running into the unbeatable Islanders and still wound up the playoffs with a 2.70 GAA in his 17 games.</p><p>Unfortunately for the Canucks, they didn&rsquo;t get the puck past the Islanders enough to take advantage of Brodeur&rsquo;s stingy netminding. When you take a glance down the Canucks&rsquo; lineup and note that Thomas Gradin, a center who would rather pass than shoot, led the club in goals with 37 and points with 86, it&rsquo;s not difficult to fathom that the Vancouver attack doesn&rsquo;t scare that many opponents.</p><p>Gradin usually centered Curt Fraser (28-39-67) and Stan Smyl (34-44-78) putting most of the offense on one line. They were most effective in the playoffs as well, with Gradin leading the way with 19 points, Smyl collecting 18 and Fraser chipping in with 10. In post-season play, only Ivan Boldirev, the No. 2 center, and Lars Molin, a right winger-center, had more than Fraser, with 11 apiece.</p><p>Other than that, the Canucks have a yeoman assemblage of forwards battling for ice time. At center, Ivan Hlinka popped in 23 goals in his NHL debut with Per Olav Brasar (not returning) and Gary Lupul taking care of defensive duties.</p><p>Tiger Williams (slumping to 17 goals) and Darcy Rota (20-20-40 in 51 games) are the veterans of the left wing while rookie Marc Crawford saw service in 40 games. Other possibilities for the position include Ottawa's Moe Lemay who scored 68 goals and 138 points in the Ontario League or the Canucks&rsquo; second pick of the 1982 draft, Yves Lapointe of Shawinigan.</p><p>Once you get past Smyl, right wing has long been a problem for the Canucks. But with Molin and Lupul capable of playing there and the addition of Nill and Currie (who had 23 goals last year), the position is deeper than it has ever been. And the Canucks are most excited by the prospects of having Swedish sensation Patrick Sundstrom on the right flank in the coming season. He finally signed in the off-season after an extensive period of courting.</p><p>Defense, too, is an area filled with capable NHL experience. Captain Kevin McCarthy rates as the best all-around blueliner and had 45 points in the regular season before missing the playoffs with an injury. Injuries also cost the Canucks the services of Rick Lanz, Jiri Bubla and Anders Eldebrink for prolonged periods, none of them playing even half of last season. That put quite a load on Harold Snepsts, who, outside of an errant pass to Mike Bossy&rsquo;s stick that cost the Canucks the first game of the finals, was an outstanding post-season performer as was Lars Lindgren, the Canucks&rsquo; leading scorer among defensemen with six points in the playoffs.</p><p>Also contributing were Doug Halward and youngsters Neil Belland, Joe McDonnell and Andy Schliebener. There&rsquo;s more support on the way. The Canucks&rsquo; top draft choices the past two seasons have been defensemen &mdash; Garth Butcher of Regina, who&rsquo;s expected to make the club this time around, and Sherbrooke&rsquo;s Michel Petit, a highly-regarded rear guard who could force his way onto the roster but will probably benefit from another year in the junior ranks.</p><p>The Canucks should be improved, they should rise above the .500 mark, but don&rsquo;t count on a return trip to the Stanley Cup finals. Edmonton and Minnesota plan to make sure of that.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0079-01103/10185161-1-eng-US/f0079-012.jpg" title="f0079-01" width="1621" height="3181"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Outstanding was one of the many compliments paid to Canucks&rsquo; goaltender Richard Brodeur for his work during the playoffs that allowed Vancouver to reach the Cup finals.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>VANCOUVER CANUCKS (10)</b></p><p>1. Michel Petit, D, Sherbrooke</p><p>2. Yves Lapointe, LW, Shawinigan</p><p>3. Shawn Kilroy, G, Peterborough</p><p>4. Taylor Hall, LW, Regina</p><p>5. Parle Proft, D, Calgary</p><p>6. Newell Brown, C, Mich. State</p><p>7. Don McLaren, RW, Ottawa</p><p>8. Al Raymond, LW, Niagara Falls</p><p>9. Steve Driscoll, LW, Cornwall</p><p>10. Shawn Green, RW, Victoria</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0079-0256/10185154-1-eng-US/f0079-022.jpg" title="f0079-02" width="768" height="2316"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0080-01104/10185147-1-eng-US/f0080-012.jpg" title="f0080-01" width="1107" height="1349"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Stan Smyl is not a particularly big or exceptionally talented hockey player but he&rsquo;s a successful one because of the determination and the effort he puts into each of his shifts.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0080-0255/10185140-1-eng-US/f0080-022.jpg" title="f0080-02" width="1225" height="1523"></div><h2><b>Vancouver Canucks Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0080-0333/10185133-1-eng-US/f0080-032.jpg" title="f0080-03" width="2347" height="1547"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0081-01114/10185126-1-eng-US/f0081-012.jpg" title="f0081-01" width="2427" height="1319"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0081-0275/10185119-1-eng-US/f0081-022.jpg" title="f0081-02" width="2417" height="1255"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> &mdash; Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &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; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0078-02

Vancouver Canucks

<div class="byline">Lanny McDonald</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0082-0255/10185262-1-eng-US/f0082-022.jpg" title="f0082-02" width="517" height="714"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0082-01103/10185255-1-eng-US/f0082-012.jpg" title="f0082-01" width="649" height="573"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he team has talent. Players such as Kent Nilsson, Guy Chouinard, Lanny McDonald, Mel Bridgman, Paul Reinhart, Phil Russell, Don Edwards, Reggie Lemelin. And they could miss the playoffs.</p><p>That&rsquo;s right, the Flames, 13th overall in the 1981-82 season but a dismal first-round sweep victim of the Vancouver Canucks when they amassed a mighty five goals in three games, are in danger of failing to qualify for the &rsquo;82-83 playoffs now that Winnipeg has joined the division, replacing Colorado, and both Vancouver and Los Angeles are riding the crest of their recent playoff success.</p><p>The Flames&rsquo; record of 29-34-17 was their poorest since their second year of operation and their first non-winning season in eight. It would have left them ahead of only Los Angeles in the realigned division and the Kings are intent on getting back to the season before when they had the fourth best record in the NHL.</p><p>Not so for the Flames. Figuring the mediocrity had gone on long enough, Calgary general manager Cliff Fletcher first decided to bring in a new coach. And when Bob Johnson, the former Wisconsin mentor arrived, he quickly began to clean house, eliminating eight players from last year&rsquo;s Flames&rsquo; roster even before the club packed for training camp.</p><p>Goaltender Pat Riggin, wingers Willi Plett and Ken Houston, were traded away. Pekka Rautakallio decided to return to Finland while Bob Murdoch retired and the contracts of Gary McAdam, Dan Labraaten and Bill Clement were purchased by the club.</p><p>If the Flames don&rsquo;t come up winners in their 11th season in the NHL, at least the blame will be directed towards a new set of faces.</p><p>What Johnson has to work with basically is a pared-down forward corps to be supplemented by a couple of key additions, a crowded defense picture even with the loss of Rautakallio and Murdoch and a more settled and secure goaltending spot with the acquisition of Don Edwards replacing the recalcitrant Pat Riggin, who was dealt to Washington.</p><p>Starting with the forwards, the Flames have their most strength at center where Chouinard (23-57-80 in 64 games), Nilsson, (out for half the season but still managed 55 points) and converted right winger Jim Peplinski (30-37-67) orchestrate the attack.</p><p>The Flames&rsquo; leading scorer, Mel Bridgman (33-54-87), heads up the left side along with 32-goal scorer Kevin Lavallee and Steve Christoff, over from Minnesota along with defenseman Bill Nyrop (who chose Europe instead) in exchange for Willi Plett. Ed Beers, who played late in the season, is the fourth left winger.</p><p>Lanny McDonald (40-42-82) is really the only gunner on the Flames&rsquo; right wing, but Calgary is banking on Mario Simioni, a 1981 draftee who fashioned 58-60-118 stats in the Ontario League with Toronto, to step into the lineup which also contains Jamie Hislop and Denis Cyr, a pair of skaters coming off disappointing &rsquo;81-82 campaigns.</p><p>Reinhart, who recovered from a Team Canada ankle injury to post nearly a point a game (13-48-61 in 62 games) will likely have to shoulder more offensive duty with the absence of Rautakallio, although Richie Dunn, who came from Buffalo with Edwards in a trade for two first-round draft choices, does have some offensive capabilities. The other newcomer, Howard Walker of Washington is a defensive defenseman, a trait shared by Flame holdovers Russell, Steve Konroyd, Charles Bourgeois, Kari Eloranta, Gord Wappel and Pat Ribble, all of whom saw action at various times last season.</p><p>One of the Flames&rsquo; biggest problems was keeping a number of them healthy at the same time as only Russell played more than 70 games for the Flames&rsquo; defense. Konroyd and Bourgeois played in 63 and 54 games respectively plus a dozen or so each in the Central League while Wappel, Ribble and Eloranta, who also played briefly for St. Louis, saw action in less than 20 Flames&rsquo; games.</p><p>Also challenging for a spot on the blueline will be the Flames&rsquo; top 1981 draft pick, Allan Maclnnis who showed some offensive spark with 25 goals and 50 assists for Kitchener in the Ontario League as he took advantage of another year of junior experience.</p><p>With so much change going on in the lineup, perhaps the key to the Flames&rsquo; success will lie with the goaltenders. Lemelin was 10-15-6 with a 4.34 goals-against average in 34 appearances in the regular season but the Flames went exclusively with Riggin in the playoffs, losing three straight games as he surrendered 10 goals. Buffalo, of course, went all the way with Edwards in the playoffs after he had compiled a record of 26-23-9 and a 3.51 GAA during the regular schedule in 62 appearances. But the Sabres decided to put their fate in Bob Sauve&rsquo;s hands freeing Edwards for shipment to Calgary and paving the way for Riggin&rsquo;s transplant to Washington. The Flames also have some good young goalies. Sault Ste. Marie grad Marc D&rsquo;Amour, the top OHL goalie last season, will vie for a spot as will Calgary Wrangler underage Mike Vernon, who was the WHL&rsquo;s MVP last season.</p><p>The Flames had to change to improve but the changes may prove costly in such a competitive division.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0083-0193/10185248-1-eng-US/f0083-012.jpg" title="f0083-01" width="1613" height="3145"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>With Pekka Rautakallio returned to Finland, defenseman Paul Reinhart will be hard-pressed to orchestrate the Flames&rsquo; attack from behind the blueline without much help.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>CALGARY FLAMES (14)</b></p><p>1. Dave Reierson, D, Prince Albert</p><p>2. Richard Kromm, LW, Portland</p><p>3. Jim Laing, D, Clarkson</p><p>4. Dave Meszaros, G, Toronto</p><p>5. Mark Lamb, D, Billings</p><p>6. Lou Kiriakou, D, Toronto</p><p>7. Jeff Vaive, C, Ottawa</p><p>8. Mats Kihlstron, D, Sweden</p><p>9. Brad Ramsden, RW, Peterborough</p><p>10. Roy Myllari, D, Cornwall</p><p>11. Ted Pearson, LW, Wisconsin</p><p>12. Jim Uens, C, Oshawa</p><p>13. Rick Erdall, C, Minn. Univ</p><p>14. Dean Thompson, RW, Calgary</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0083-0258/10185241-1-eng-US/f0083-022.jpg" title="f0083-02" width="765" height="2262"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0084-0196/10185234-1-eng-US/f0084-012.jpg" title="f0084-01" width="1113" height="1329"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>One of the best trades the Flames ever made was obtaining Mel Bridgman from Philadelphia as the versatile forward played the best offensive hockey of his career with 87 points.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0084-0247/10185227-1-eng-US/f0084-022.jpg" title="f0084-02" width="1222" height="1521"></div><h2><b>Calgary Flames Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0084-0331/10185220-1-eng-US/f0084-032.jpg" title="f0084-03" width="2345" height="1547"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0085-0192/10185213-1-eng-US/f0085-012.jpg" title="f0085-01" width="2413" height="1441"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0085-0255/10185206-1-eng-US/f0085-022.jpg" title="f0085-02" width="2413" height="1471"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0082-02

Calgary Flames

<div class="byline">Craig Hartsburg</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0086-0253/10185349-1-eng-US/f0086-022.jpg" title="f0086-02" width="588" height="714"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0086-01100/10185342-1-eng-US/f0086-012.jpg" title="f0086-01" width="710" height="628"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span></b>elping the North Stars over their heartache &mdash; caused by their rapid playoff demise &mdash; was the drafting and signing of Brian Bellows, the acquisition of winger Willi Plett and there-signing of center Bobby Smith, the first North Star to crack the 100-point season.</p><p>The North Stars were obviously the class of the Norris Division last season as they finished with a team record 94 points and fifth overall in the league standings. But they were ineffective against the Black Hawks in the playoffs, losing the home-ice advantage in the first game and then never recovering, only managing to avert a three-game sweep with a lopsided victory in Chicago before folding in the fourth game of the series.</p><p>Based on their showing in the playoffs, general manager Lou Nanne was determined to add some character to his team, an objective he hopes to have accomplished with the addition of Bellows and Plett. Neither came cheaply.</p><p>To make sure he got Bellows, a sturdy right winger who chalked up 45-52-97 stats in 47 games and then led Kitchener to the Memorial Cup championship with a three-goal performance in the deciding game, Nanne sent left winger Brad Palmer and promising collegian Dave Donnelly to Boston for the assurance that the Bruins, who had first pick in the draft, would leave Bellows for the North Stars.</p><p>At 16, Bellows was made the captain of Kitchener and at 17, he coached the club when Joe Crozier was briefly suspended. Not a fancy player, Bellows just puts his head down and goes for the net. Most of the time he gets there and the goals follow. A confident but not cocky competitor, Bellows has the type of leadership drive that is essential for winning games.</p><p>Plett, over from Calgary, waged a battle with ex-Flames&rsquo; coach Al MacNeil last season and had an off-year as a result, 21-36-57. The former Calder Trophy winner as 1976-77 Rookie of the Year tailed off from the previous year&rsquo;s career-high mark of 38 goals. Nanne is obviously banking that Plett can be inspired to play his physical brand of hockey that will enable some of the Stars&rsquo; smoothies more room to operate. To get Plett, the North Stars sent Steve Christoff and Bill Nyrop to Calgary.</p><p>With Bellows and Plett joining the right side of the forward brigade, that position is the club&rsquo;s strongest when you consider that Minnesota also has 55-goal scorer Dino Ciccarelli, as well as Al MacAdam, Anders Hakansson and Kent-Erik Andersson.</p><p>Smith, who signed a seven-year pact for more than $2 million, heads the strong center brigade with his 43-71-114 stats. Close behind is Neal Broten, the North Stars&rsquo; version of Wayne Gretzky, who tallied 97 points including 38 goals. There&rsquo;s also Tim Young, a 41-point man in 49 games after starting off the season with an ankle injury, Mark Johnson (12 goals) obtained from Pittsburgh, and health permitting, Mike Eaves who produced 11 goals in 25 games before back spasms forced him out of the lineup.</p><p>Steve Payne continued to team with Smith on the left side to spearhead the team&rsquo;s potent attack. Payne had 33-45-78 regular season stats and led the team in the playoffs with 4-2-6. Promising Tom McCarthy was limited to half a season by injuries but turned in 42 points and can be expected to play a large role in the offense. Ken Solheim played in 29 games for the physical forward before the arrival of Bellows and Plett.</p><p>The one-two goaltending punch of Gilles Meloche and Don Beaupre is one of the classiest in the league. Meloche, 32, had a 26-15-9 regular season record and a 2.61 goals-against average in the playoffs despite the North Stars&rsquo; defeat. Beaupre, just 21, got off to a late start due to injury but appeared in 29 games with a 3.71 GAA and a record of 11-8-9. He also saw action in two playoff games.</p><p>The North Stars allowed just 288 goals, sixth best in the league and their goals-scored total of 346 was the fifth best, showing the club&rsquo;s overall consistency.</p><p>Despite losing Nyrop from their defense and the question mark surrounding the return of Gary Sargent, plagued by back problems, the North Stars&rsquo; defense remains solid. Craig Hartsburg bloomed both offensively and defensively, leading the blueliners with 77 points and sound positional play. Curt Giles and Fred Barrett led the hitting department and kept the goals-against down with their solid, stay at-home style of play. Gord Roberts, the second leading scorer on the defense with 4-30-34 stats and Brad Maxwell combined their puck handling talents with stand-up defense at the blueline to add greater versatility to the defense. Also in the plans of the club are defensemen Murray Brumwell, who played 21 games for the big club last season and Daniel Poulin, a high-scoring defenseman who played mostly in the Central League.</p><p>The North Stars may have to make room for Ron Meighan, their 1981 top draft choice who stayed at Niagara Falls for another year of junior action. He had 27-41-68 figures in 58 games on defense, so he&rsquo;ll rate a long look.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0087-0187/10185335-1-eng-US/f0087-012.jpg" title="f0087-01" width="1657" height="3141"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>High-scoring Dino Ciccarelli set a North Stars&rsquo; record for goals in his first full season in the NHL. He&rsquo;ll be joined on the right side by Brian Bellows and Willi Plett.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>MINNESOTA NORTH STARS (11)</b></p><p>1. Brian Bellows, RW, Kitchener</p><p>2. Wally Chapman, C, Minn HS</p><p>3. Bob Rorse, D, Billings</p><p>4. Dusan Pasek, C, Czechoslovakia</p><p>5. Marty Wiitala, C, Wisconsin HS</p><p>6. Todd Carlile, D, Minn HS</p><p>7. Victor Zhluktov, LW, Red Army</p><p>8. Paul Miller, D, Minn HS</p><p>9. Pat Micheletti, C, Minn HS</p><p>10 Arnold Kadlec, D, Czechoslovakia</p><p>11. Scott Knutson, C, Minn HS</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0087-0246/10185328-1-eng-US/f0087-022.jpg" title="f0087-02" width="801" height="2275"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0088-01105/10185321-1-eng-US/f0088-012.jpg" title="f0088-01" width="1111" height="1325"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Neal Broten emerged from the U.S. college scene to become the North Stars&rsquo; third leading scorer as a rookie. Speed and Gretzky-like anticipation make Broten a constant threat.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0088-0246/10185314-1-eng-US/f0088-022.jpg" title="f0088-02" width="1219" height="1511"></div><h2><b>Minnesota North Stars Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0088-0329/10185307-1-eng-US/f0088-032.jpg" title="f0088-03" width="2337" height="1537"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0089-0192/10185300-1-eng-US/f0089-012.jpg" title="f0089-01" width="2449" height="1471"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0089-0254/10185293-1-eng-US/f0089-022.jpg" title="f0089-02" width="2435" height="1445"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0086-02

Minnesota North Stars

<div class="byline">Mike Liut</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0090-0252/10185436-1-eng-US/f0090-022.jpg" title="f0090-02" width="654" height="705"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0090-0199/10185429-1-eng-US/f0090-012.jpg" title="f0090-01" width="635" height="635"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span></b>ince things didn&rsquo;t go as expected during the regular season for the third-place (Norris Division) St. Louis Blues, perhaps Emile Francis thought the club&rsquo;s luck had changed when the Blues upset second-place Winnipeg in the opening round of post-season play. That moved the Blues to the division final where they met, not the champion Minnesota North Stars, but instead the supposedly lowly Chicago Black Hawks. In a knock &rsquo;emdown, drag &rsquo;em out series, it was the upstart Hawks who came out on top. St. Louis just didn&rsquo;t have the horses.</p><p>While it&rsquo;s true that the Blues top three marksmen had good post-seasons &mdash; Bernie Federko and Joe Mullen each produced 18 points; Brian Sutter led the club with eight goals and had 14 points - others counted upon for a large share of the offensive were muffled. Wayne Babych, never fully healthy after a series of injuries had only five points, Jorgen Pettersson was held to three, Blake Dunlop four and Perry Turnbull was lost with a tendon injury after five points in five games.</p><p>Goaltending &mdash; somewhat of a problem during the regular season when the best that Blues&rsquo; mainstay Mike Liut could produce was a 28-28-7 record and a 4.06 goals-against average &mdash; was not a negative factor in the playoffs. Liut was 5-3 with a 3.28 GAA in 10 games &mdash; not bad at all.</p><p>And he&rsquo;ll have Glen Hanlon pushing him from the start this time around, giving the 26-year-old Liut his stiffest competition since he&rsquo;s been in the NHL. Hanlon, obtained from Vancouver for Tony Currie and Jim Nili, appeared in 28 games with the Canucks with one shutout and a 3.95 GAA.</p><p>Francis, who relieved Red Berenson of the coaching duties in the spring and had the club on an upswing when they entered the playoffs, figured the main priority on the club was getting a mobile defenseman and just before the entry draft, he did just that, grabbing Rob Ramage from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a pair of first-round draft picks.</p><p>Ramage, 13-29-42 for the lowly Colorado Rockies, had been sought by several clubs when he asked to be traded after failing to reach his potential with the last-place club. Surrounded by experienced players such as Guy Lapointe, Ed Kea, Jack Brownschidle and Gerry Hart and promising talents such as Rik Wilson and Jim Pavese, Ramage should be able to play a strong role with the club with able support from the rest of the blueline corps.</p><p>Statistically speaking, the Blues&rsquo; greatest assets lie at left wing where captain Sutter, the oldest of the six Sutters signed by NHL clubs, is into his seventh NHL season. The captain led the Blues in goals with 39, one more than Pettersson who had a very slow start and a mediocre finish to dampen a 69-point season. Turnbull (33-26-59) was progressing well ahead of schedule from his playoff injury and Perry Anderson will likely be the fourth left winger. Salt Lake City&rsquo;s Alain Lemieux, 41-42-83 in regular season games and 6-4-10 in the Central League playoffs will also compete for a left wing berth as will Pat Hickey, who can also play center, a forward obtained in the off-season deal for defenseman Rick LaPointe.</p><p>At center, Federko led the way for the Blues with another 90-point plus season (30-62-92) the fourth consecutive season he has exceeded that plateau. Dunlop was solid with 25-53-78 stats with Larry Patey, Mike Zuke and Ralph Klassen supplying most of the manpower at the center spot. Of the trio, Zuke was a disappointment in the scoring department with only 13 goals after 22 and 24-goal seasons the two previous years.</p><p>Mullen, who had 99 goals in his two years in the Central League, began last season with Salt Lake before seizing a spot in the lineup and eventually emerging as last season&rsquo;s top right winger on the club as he was teamed with Federko and Sutter. He had 25-34-59 stats during the regular season and also had more than 20 goals at Salt Lake becoming the first player ever to score more than 20 goals in the minors and the NHL in the same campaign. His 7-11-18 statistics in the playoffs have the Blues eyeing him as a major contributor to their offense. They are also hoping that Wayne Babych can regain his form of two years ago when he blasted 54 goals. Last season he had 19 in 51 games, bothered mainly by a separated shoulder.</p><p>Defensive specialist Mike Crombeen was the-Blues&rsquo; third right sider, collecting 19 goals while Blair Chapman was limited to 19 games because of back problems. He&rsquo;s another the Blues hope to have healthy. Mark Reeds, a 22-goal man with Salt Lake played nine regular season and all 10 postseason Blues&rsquo; games.</p><p>Probably the only draftee to join the club this season will be defenseman Marty Ruff, younger brother to Buffalo&rsquo;s Lindy, who last season played for Lethbridge in the Western League.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0091-0182/10185422-1-eng-US/f0091-012.jpg" title="f0091-01" width="1653" height="3169"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Joe Mullen last season became the first player in hockey history to score 20 goals or more in both the minors and the NHL in the same season. The Blues figure he&rsquo;ll score plenty.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>ST. LOUIS BLUES (9)</b></p><p>1. Mike Posavad, D, Peterborough</p><p>2. Scott Machej, C, Calgary</p><p>3. Perry Ganchar, RW, Saskatoon</p><p>4. Doug Gilmour, C, Cornwall</p><p>5. Chris Delaney, LW, Boston College</p><p>6. Matt Christensen, Matt, Minn HS</p><p>7. John Shumski, C, RPI</p><p>8. Brian Ahern, LW, Minn HS</p><p>9. Peter Smith, G, Maine</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0091-0247/10185415-1-eng-US/f0091-022.jpg" title="f0091-02" width="789" height="2326"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0092-01101/10185408-1-eng-US/f0092-012.jpg" title="f0092-01" width="1072" height="1267"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>You couldn&rsquo;t say that Brian Sutter was one of a kind but he was the first of the Sutter clan to crack the NHL. The 26-year-old Sutter led the Blues in goals in the 1981-82 season.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0092-0252/10185401-1-eng-US/f0092-022.jpg" title="f0092-02" width="1195" height="1467"></div><h2><b>St. Louis Blues Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0092-0333/10185394-1-eng-US/f0092-032.jpg" title="f0092-03" width="2301" height="1519"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0093-0185/10185387-1-eng-US/f0093-012.jpg" title="f0093-01" width="2363" 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/f0093-0248/10185380-1-eng-US/f0093-022.jpg" title="f0093-02" width="2357" height="1291"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> &mdash; Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &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; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0090-02

St. Louis Blues

<div class="byline">Doug Wilson</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0094-0237/10185523-1-eng-US/f0094-022.jpg" title="f0094-02" width="641" height="720"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0094-0192/10185516-1-eng-US/f0094-012.jpg" title="f0094-01" width="600" height="556"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he best lineup that the Black Hawks, a surprise survivor of the Norris Division, iced during their Play off run last year didn&rsquo;t have a single player 30 years of age.</p><p>That&rsquo;s right, it featured Murray Bannerman, now 25, in goal with Greg Fox, now 29, the eldest of the starting defensemen and Rich Preston, who has since turned 30 as the oldest forward. The lineup featured the explosive offense generated by Denis Savard, 21, the controlled attack orchestrated by Tom Lysiak, 29 and a lot of hard work by the rest of the digging offense. Defenseman Doug Wilson, 3-10-13 in the playoffs, spearheaded the power play with his booming drives from the point as the Hawks rolled up 11 goals with the man advantage, the fourth best power play in the playoffs.</p><p>Clearly, the Hawks have changed their style and approach.</p><p>And they will continue to change under the direction of new coach Orval Tessier, summoned from Moncton after leading the Hawks-Leafs&rsquo; farm team to the American League Calder Cup championship. General manager Bob Pulford was only too happy to step aside for Tessier who has been a winner at every level he has coached.</p><p>Tessier believes in discipline and puck control as the basics of a winning club. With the young Hawks, he and Pulford feel they have a club that can force opponents into mistakes and then capitalize upon them with opportunistic play.</p><p>Throughout most of the regular season, the Hawks struggled, winding up fourth in the Norris and nearly losing a playoff spot to Toronto or Detroit, who didn&rsquo;t so much rush as the Hawks collapsed. But when the bell rang for the playoffs, the team played with unexpected vigor.</p><p>Bannerman may have been one of the keys of the youth movement. He played in 29 regular season games as compared to 52 for 39-year-old Tony Esposito. Bannerman had a better goals-against average &mdash; 4.17 as compared to Esposito&rsquo;s 4.52 &mdash; and had a better record in the playoffs, 5-4, while Tony 0, who did come through with a 2.52 GAA in the playoffs,, was 3-3. So look for Bannerman to assume a greater workload this season, perhaps splitting the assignment right down the middle with Espo.</p><p>Up front, the superstar is Savard, a 5-10, 170-pound magician who blossomed with 119 points in his sophomore season plus 11-7-18 stats in the playoffs. Savard was instrumental in helping rugged left winger Al Secord to a 44-goal regular season, which nearly doubled his previous high.</p><p>Tom Lysiak is another player who has come into his own with the Hawks. Lysiak followed up a 32-50-82 regular season by trailing only Savard in the post-season scoring department. He contributed 6-9-15 stats and kept some of the pressure off Savard with his steady performance.</p><p>Behind these two, the center spots are the object of much speculation. Reg Kerr, a one-time 30-goal man, was injured last year and produced only 11 goals in 59 games. Terry Ruskowski was largely ineffective as a scorer, potting only seven goals and may have seen the end of his Hawk days. Rookie Bill Gardner did an excellent job killing penalties and Glen Sharpley suffered a serious eye injury, although he did come back to score six goals in the playoffs. He&rsquo;s still undecided for this season.</p><p>But more centers are on the horizon. One is Troy Murray, a North Dakota University skater who also played for Canada&rsquo;s World junior championship squad. He&rsquo;s labelled as a can&rsquo;t miss prospect and so is Ken Yaremchuk, the Hawks' No. 1 draft choice out of Portland, a 157-point man last season. He may be a year away, though. Then there&rsquo;s 21-year-old Steve Ludzik, who played his rookie pro season in New Brunswick last year.</p><p>The Hawks could use some scoring from their wings if they expect to move up. Darryl Sutter had 23 goals, although playing only 40 games and next among left wingers came Ted Bulley, since departed, with a disappointing 12, although Rich Preston, who played both sides finished with 15.</p><p>Grant Mulvey led the right wingers with 30 goals, but had only 19 assists; Tim Higgins had 20 goals but tailed off badly and Peter Marsh dipped to 10 goals in 57 games. Here, again, the Hawks are turning towards youth.</p><p>Tony Tanti, the No. 1 pick from 1981, may be ready after 62-64-126 figures for Oshawa in the Ontario League. Then there&rsquo;s Steve Larmer a left winger who tallied 38 goals for Tessier in Moncton. Flo Robidoux, a left winger with 31 goals for Tessier, was another candidate but will miss much of the season due to a broken leg in an off-season auto accident.</p><p>Joining Wilson on the blueline are Keith Brown, back from an injury, Doug Crossman, Fox, Dave Feamster and Bob Murray. Jerome Dupont, who saw action in 34 games a year ago, will have the inside track to make The Varsity.</p><p>The Hawks should be better during the regular season but aren&rsquo;t really ready to threaten Minnesota quite yet.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0095-0187/10185509-1-eng-US/f0095-012.jpg" title="f0095-01" width="1565" height="3213"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Al Secord may have been one of the more unlikely 40-goal scorers in the NHL last year but all it took was a chance to play and an increase in confidence.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS (12)</b></p><p>1. Ken Yaremchuk, C, Portland</p><p>2. Rene Badeau, D, Quebec</p><p>3. Tom McMurchy, RW, Brandon</p><p>4. Bill Watson, RW, Prince Albert</p><p>5. Brad Beck, D, Penticton</p><p>6. Mark Hatcher, D, Niagara Falls</p><p>7. Jay Ness, C, Minn HS</p><p>8. Jeff Smith, LW, London</p><p>9. Phil Patterson, RW, Ottawa</p><p>10. Jim Camazzola, LW, Penticton</p><p>11. Mike James, D, Ottawa</p><p>12. Bob Andrea, D, Dartmouth</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0095-0243/10185502-1-eng-US/f0095-022.jpg" title="f0095-02" width="760" height="2323"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0096-01104/10185495-1-eng-US/f0096-012.jpg" title="f0096-01" width="1099" height="1375"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>It took him awhile to settle in as a Hawk but once he did, Tom Lysiak performed a valuable service as an offensive contributor who could center the team's second line.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0096-0250/10185488-1-eng-US/f0096-022.jpg" title="f0096-02" width="1219" height="1525"></div><h2><b>Chicago Black Hawks Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0096-0332/10185481-1-eng-US/f0096-032.jpg" title="f0096-03" width="2339" height="1555"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0097-0199/10185474-1-eng-US/f0097-012.jpg" title="f0097-01" width="2443" 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/f0097-0262/10185467-1-eng-US/f0097-022.jpg" title="f0097-02" width="2435" height="1279"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &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; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0094-02

Chicago Black Hawks

<div class="byline">Mike Nykoluk</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0098-0257/10185610-1-eng-US/f0098-022.jpg" title="f0098-02" width="657" height="712"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0098-01118/10185603-1-eng-US/f0098-012.jpg" title="f0098-01" width="605" height="648"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span></b>ot so long ago, the Maple Leafs were attempting to build around a five-man nucleus. Their stars were Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald, Mike Palmateer, Ian Turnbull and Borje Salming. Today, only Salming is a Leaf and, at age 31, he&rsquo;s one of only three starters over the age of 30, the oldest in fact with winger Billy Harris and goalie Michel Larocque each at 30. The Leafs are well caught up in the youth movement.</p><p>Average age for the club this season will be near 23, making the Leafs one of the youngest teams in the league. Two of the starting defensemen are likely to be teenagers with No. 1 draft choice Gary Nylund, 18, joining Jim Benning, a sophomore pro at 19. With Fred Boimistruck and Craig Muni, both 20, also expected to start, the Leafs will once again have a kiddie corps at the blueline.</p><p>Lack of experience was one of the factors that led the Leafs to their 20-44-6 record, the least number of wins for the club since the 1945-46 season. The Leafs allowed a league-high 380 goals, a figure they feel will improve as their players gain more confidence and composure. Nor did the team have an overabundance of battle-scarred veterans in the forward ranks. With the constant reshaping of the center spot &mdash; only Bill Derlago played the position for a full season &mdash; it&rsquo;s easy to see why the offense lagged behind that of previous years.</p><p>If things go according to plan for the Leafs, here&rsquo;s how they shape up:</p><p>Derlago centers the Leafs&rsquo; top line and is the man who most makes the offense go. At the age of 24, he&rsquo;s regarded as one of the kingpin&rsquo;s of the team and had 34-50-84 statistics to show for his second full campaign in Toronto, some 10 points better than his first year&rsquo;s production. Basically he&rsquo;s still developing his potential and can be expected to improve his goals and points total.</p><p>The player expected to become the No. 2 pivot is 25-year-old Peter Ihnacak, who moved to the United States after defecting from Czechoslovakia. The former member of the Czech national team and Sparta Praha may be teamed with right winger Mirko Frycer, obtained by the Leafs from Quebec for Wilf Paiement.</p><p>Behind him are Norm Aubin, a 14-goal man in part of a season, Mike Kaszycki, 26, who starred for Moncton in the American League leading the AHL in scoring with a near-record 118 points and Fred Perlini. Kaszycki, strangely enough, wasn&rsquo;t called up by the Leafs last season but signed over the summer and thus has been added to the Leafs plans. Toronto also is counting heavily on Perlini, their biggest center at 6-2, 185 pounds, who scored a couple of goals in brief action last season. He played for the junior Marlies, where he produced 47-64-111 stats.</p><p>Right wing looms as the most explosive offensive position for the Leafs because of the presence of captain Rick Vaive. The 23-year-old native of Prince Edward Island set a club record with 54 goals en route to leading the team in scoring with 89 points. He&rsquo;s big, strong and determined.</p><p>Frycer, who finished his rookie year with 24 goals could also blossom when joined by Ihnacak. He&rsquo;s just 23 and has probably the best moves on the club. Billy Harris, coming off the first serious injury of his NHL career, a shoulder separation, could play on either side of center while Rocky Saganiuk is in line for the same kind of sporadic duty as last season unless Harris plays the left side.</p><p>The left wing is in the hands of John Anderson, who compliments Derlago and Vaive on the top line with his outstanding speed. Anderson had a great start last season, tailed off in the second half but still wound up with 31 goals. Terry Martin did his usual effective all-around job as the second-line left winger, finishing with 25 goals. Stewart Gavin, injured a good part of last season, and Walt Poddubny, picked up from Edmonton for Laurie Boschman, are also slated as regulars who could provide some offensive punch.</p><p>Youngsters Ernie Godden (32 goals for Cincinnati) and Gary Yaremchuk (21 at Cincy) are standing by to help when needed.</p><p>Although the Leafs goals-against average was bad, the play of Larocque and 23-year-old Vince Tremblay was more than adequate. They should pretty well evenly divide the netminding unless Bob Parent can force his way into the lineup after handling the load at Cincy.</p><p>The Leafs will be without the offensive help of defenseman Bob Manno (50 points), who is slated to play in Italy, but the club won't miss his work behind the Leafs&rsquo; blueline. Battling to remain with the big club are Dave Farrish and Slava Duris, both of whom were in the minors last season, as well as Bob McGill, 20, Jim Korn, 25, and Barry Melrose, 26.</p><p>The Leafs won&rsquo;t have to play that well to be better than last season so their main concern will be edging out Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Norris Division.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0099-0181/10185596-1-eng-US/f0099-012.jpg" title="f0099-01" width="1585" height="3149"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Last season Rick Valve became the</b> cap<b>tain of the Maple Leafs and Toronto&rsquo;s highest single-season goalscorer when he knocked in 54 goals to break Frank Mahovlich&rsquo;s record.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (15)</b></p><p>1. Gary Nylund, D, Portland</p><p>2. Gary Leeman, D, Regina</p><p>3. Peter Ihnacak, 0, Czechoslovakia</p><p>4. Ken Wregget, G, Lethbridge</p><p>5. Vladimir Ruzicka, C, Czechoslovakia</p><p>6. Eduard Uvara, D, Czechoslovakia</p><p>7. Sylvain Charland, LW, Shawinigan</p><p>8. Ron Dreger, LW, Saskatoon</p><p>9. Craig Kales, RW, Niagara Falls</p><p>10. Don Campedelli, D, Mass HS</p><p>11. Jeff Triano, D, Toronto</p><p>12. Miroslav Ihnacak, LW, Czechoslovakia</p><p>13. Leigh Verstraete, RW, Calgary</p><p>14. Tim Loven, D, No. Dakota HS</p><p>15. Jim Appleby, G, Winnipeg</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0099-0239/10185589-1-eng-US/f0099-022.jpg" title="f0099-02" width="760" height="2172"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0100-0191/10185582-1-eng-US/f0100-012.jpg" title="f0100-01" width="1097" height="1371"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Bill Derlago centered the Leafs' top line, finished second on the team in scoring and is being counted upon as one of the mainstays of the club in its rebuilding program.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0100-0246/10185575-1-eng-US/f0100-022.jpg" title="f0100-02" width="1211" height="1509"></div><h2><b>Toronto Maple Leafs Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0100-0327/10185568-1-eng-US/f0100-032.jpg" title="f0100-03" width="2327" height="1553"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0101-0183/10185561-1-eng-US/f0101-012.jpg" title="f0101-01" width="2411" height="1469"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0101-0250/10185554-1-eng-US/f0101-022.jpg" title="f0101-02" width="2411" height="1433"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0098-02

Toronto Maple Leafs

<div class="byline">Reed Larson</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0102-0241/10185697-1-eng-US/f0102-022.jpg" title="f0102-02" width="617" height="712"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0102-0187/10185690-1-eng-US/f0102-012.jpg" title="f0102-01" width="603" height="389"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he Red Wings took the first step on the road to respectability when new owner Mike Hitch hired Jim Devellano, former super scout and assistant general manager of the Islanders, to get the Wings flying again.</p><p>Devellano, vowing that he&rsquo;ll hang onto draft choices and ruing the fact that the Wings would have had a chance to choose Brian Bellows if they hadn&rsquo;t traded away their first 1982 selection, rapidly began to put the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle in order. In his opinion, the Red Wings had six good hockey players around which the organization could build. Devellano&rsquo;s first step was to hire Nick Polano away from the Buffalo Sabres as coach of the team to guide the six prospects and the others that Devellano would deliver. Polano, an assistant to Scotty Bowman in Buffalo, had, as coach and general manager, led the Erie Blades to three consecutive Eastern League crowns.</p><p>Of the top six Wing players, three play the same positions, right wing, while two are on defense and the third, the club&rsquo;s leading scorer last season, was a left winger, Mark Osborne.</p><p>The three right wingers, John Ogrodnick, 23, Mike Blaisdell, 21 and Danny Gare, 28, were the only other forwards on the club to score even as many as 20 goals. The two defensemen &mdash; Reed Larson and Willie Huber &mdash; finished second and fifth on the squad in scoring so it is apparent that the offense is going to be a major concern of Devellano and Polano.</p><p>Osborne, another 21-year-old, collected 67 points including 26 goals, just two short of Ogrodnick&rsquo;s team-leading total of 28. However, the team received very little additional help from any of its other left wingers.</p><p>The Red Wings did get one break, though, when Winnipeg was switched to the Smythe Division leaving the Norris Division with five teams, four of which will qualify for the playoffs. Last season, Detroit nearly caught division mate Toronto at the wire, failing by two points and it will likely be these two again which will battle for the final playoff spot in the division.</p><p>Shortly after taking over the operation of the Red Wings, Devellano began to display some of the subtle movements necessary to get his club headed in the right direction. First, he picked up defenseman Colin Campbell from Vancouver. Caught in a crowded blueline scene there, the 29-year-old defenseman opted for a chance to play regularly with the Wings rather than fighting it out for a job with the Canucks despite his excellent showing in the 1982 playoffs. In early August, the Wings added right winger Tommy Rowe, a tough 26-year-old free agent who once scored 30 goals in the NHL. Next came Reg Leach, a 30-goal scorer with Philadelphia despite part-time duty.</p><p>The spots where the Wings need the most help are at center and in goal, two areas crucial to any team&rsquo;s success. Derek Smith, who was to fill Dale McCourt&rsquo;s position following the big trade between the Sabres and the Red Wings, was in and out of the lineup with injuries and only scored nine goals a year ago. Vaclav Nedomansky contributed but 12, Mark Kirton slumped to 14 and veteran Walt McKechnie, 35, was the leader with 18-37-55 stats.</p><p>Ironically, help for the pivot position may be on the way via the entry draft Devellano holds so dear. In 1981, the Wings drafted Claude Loiselle of Windsor as their first pick. He stayed in the junior ranks last year compiling 36-73-109 stats. Another 1981 choice, Gerard Gallant of Sherbrooke, a winger, had 34-58-92 figures. Detroit&rsquo;s first pick, 17th overall this season, was another center Murray Craven, who collected 81 points for Medicine Hat, a team he&rsquo;ll likely play for again this coming season.</p><p>The Red Wings failed to sign goaltender Bob Sauve, their main starter last season, while playing rights reverted to the Sabres. That left the club with 33-year-old Gilles Gilbert, who appeared 27 times a year ago with a 4.26 goals-against average and a 6-10-6 record. Battling for the backup spot are Adirondack goalie Greg Stefan and Corrado Micalef, who saw 18 games of service for the Wings as a rookie with a 4-10-1 record and a GAA of 4.67. Devellano also expressed interest in relieving the Washington Capitals of one of their goaltenders after the Caps had designated Pat Riggin as their No. 1 stopper. Mike Palmateer, coming off knee surgery, was mentioned as a possible for the Wings who in the meantime signed free agent and former Red Wing backstop Jim Rutherford.</p><p>One other player who shouldn&rsquo;t be overlooked is 30-year-old warhorse Jim Schoenfeld, who is considered by some to be a seventh good Detroit player. He&rsquo;ll be teamed with Larson, Huber, Greg Smith, John Barrett and perhaps Greg Joly, who spent the latter protion of the campaign with the Red Wings after starting the season in the minors.</p><p>On paper, the Wings&rsquo; defense doesn&rsquo;t look that bad and now that they have a clearer idea of where they are going, the Red Wings may get out of the basement for a change.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0103-0177/10185683-1-eng-US/f0103-012.jpg" title="f0103-01" width="1669" height="3173"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Mark Osborne was perhaps the most pleasant surprise for the Red Wings last season as he stepped right out of junior hockey to lead the team in scoring with a total of 67 points.</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>DRAFT CHOICES</b></h2><p><b>DETROIT RED WINGS (12)</b></p><p>1. Murray Craven, C, Medicine Hat</p><p>2. Yves Courteau, RW, Laval</p><p>3. Carmine Vani, LW, Kingston</p><p>4. Craig Coxe, C, St. Albert</p><p>5. Brad Shaw, D, Ottawa</p><p>6. Claude Vilgrain, C, Laval</p><p>7. Greg Hudas, D, Redford, Ml</p><p>8. Pat Lahey, C, Windsor</p><p>9. Gary Cullen, C, Cornell</p><p>10. Brent Meckling, D, Calgary</p><p>11. Mike Stern, LW, Oshawa</p><p>12. Shaun Reagan, RW, Brantford</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0103-0239/10185676-1-eng-US/f0103-022.jpg" title="f0103-02" width="799" height="2353"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0104-0189/10185669-1-eng-US/f0104-012.jpg" title="f0104-01" width="1097" height="1335"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Red Wings are trying to put together a contending team once again and will be counting on their high draft picks, such as Mike Blaisdell, to lead the way for them.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0104-0249/10185662-1-eng-US/f0104-022.jpg" title="f0104-02" width="1213" height="1499"></div><h2><b>Detroit Red Wings Roster</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0104-0331/10185655-1-eng-US/f0104-032.jpg" title="f0104-03" width="2335" height="1551"></div><h2><b>1982-83 Statistical Review</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0105-0182/10185648-1-eng-US/f0105-012.jpg" title="f0105-01" width="2395" height="1301"></div><h2><b>Plus-Minus Statistics</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0105-0250/10185641-1-eng-US/f0105-022.jpg" title="f0105-02" width="2393" height="1269"></div><h3><b>STATISTICAL REVIEW ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> - Games Played; <b>G</b> - Goals; <b>A</b> - Assists; <b>PTS</b> - Points; <b>S</b> - Shots on goal; <b>SC PCTG</b> - Scoring Percentage (Goals and shots on goal); <b>GW</b> - Game-Winning Goals, <b>GT</b> - Game-Tying Goals. <b>F</b> - First Goal of Game; <b>T</b> - Score-Tying Goals; <b>L</b> - Goals giving a team the lead; <b>I</b> - Insurance Goals (Putting a team two goals ahead); <b>P</b> - Proximate Goals (Moving the losing team to within one goal of the opponent s score); <b>TOT</b> - Tota Important Goals (F, T, L, I, P); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Goals compared to Total Goals; <b>IP</b> - Important Points (Goals and assists); <b>PCTG</b> - Percentage of Important Points compared to Total Points.</p><h3><b>PLUS-MINUS ABBREVIATIONS</b></h3><p><b>GP</b> &mdash; Games Played; <b>TGF</b> &mdash; Total Goals scored by player's team while he was on the ice; <b>PGF</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals scored by team while player was on ice; <b>OFFENSE PERCENTAGE</b> &mdash; Percentage of team's even-strength and shorthand goals (Not power-play goals) for which the player was on the ice in games in which he played. <b>TGA</b> &mdash; Total Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>PGA</b> &mdash; Power-Play Goals Against a team while player on ice; <b>DEFENSE PERCENT</b> &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; <b>DIFF</b> &mdash; Difference between Offense Percent and Defense Percent.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0102-02

Detroit Red Wings

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0112-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0112-0195/10185850-1-eng-US/f0112-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span></b>enis Herron of the Montreal Canadiens didn&rsquo;t get to play as often as some of his rival goal-tenders in the National Hockey League but when he did get into a game he was the most effective a she led the league in fielding percentages for the second time in the last three years.</p><p>Herron was the only NHL goalie able to produce better than a 90 percent average. The veteran Montreal net-minder posted a .9105 percentage for 26 games, according to fielding averages compiled by statistician Vincent DeMarco of New York. Edmonton&rsquo;s rookie sensation, Grant Fuhr, finished second with a mark of .8995 and the Islanders&rsquo; goaltending duo of Billy Smith and Roland Melanson ended third and fourth respectively. Smith had a percentage of .8980 and Melanson was .8963.</p><p>The four leading goalies and seven out of the top eight all performed with first place divisional winners.</p><p>Mike Liut of the St. Louis Blues was the NHL&rsquo;s workhorse goalie for 1981-82. Liut played 3,691 minutes. Michel Dion of Pittsburgh was second to Liut and Dan Bouchard of Quebec was third. Smith of the Islanders won the most games, 32, and Herron led in shutouts with three.</p><p>DeMarco maintains his method of charting fielding averages for goaltenders is a more accurate method of determining a goalie&rsquo;s workload than the traditional formula employed by the NHL wherein the number of goals allowed are divided by the number of games played.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how DeMarco&rsquo;s system works. Using Herron as an example and reading across the chart from left to right, the figures show that Herron played 26 games for Montreal, for a total of 1,547 minutes, and compiled a 12-6-8 record. With Herron in goal, the Canadiens took 895 shots on the opposing team&rsquo;s net and scored 111 goals. While they were doing that, Herron was allowing only 68 goals on 760 shots taken by the opposition for a league-leading .9105 percentage.</p><p>Here is a complete breakdown of NHL netminders using DeMarco&rsquo;s system:</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0112-0243/10185843-1-eng-US/f0112-022.jpg" title="f0112-02" width="596" height="1032"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DENIS HERRON</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0112-0322/10185836-1-eng-US/f0112-032.jpg" title="f0112-03" width="592" height="1038"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GRANT FUHR</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0112-0412/10185829-1-eng-US/f0112-042.jpg" title="f0112-04" width="605" height="1045"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BILLY SMITH</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>The NHL's Leading Shooters</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0113-0179/10185822-1-eng-US/f0113-012.jpg" title="f0113-01" width="1168" height="940"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0113-0248/10185815-1-eng-US/f0113-022.jpg" title="f0113-02" width="1144" height="868"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0113-0331/10185808-1-eng-US/f0113-032.jpg" title="f0113-03" width="1128" height="870"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0113-0417/10185801-1-eng-US/f0113-042.jpg" title="f0113-04" width="1156" height="1418"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Boston&rsquo;s Rick Middleton was the NHL&rsquo;s most accurate shooter with a.25.2 percentage.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0113-0512/10185794-1-eng-US/f0113-052.jpg" title="f0113-05" width="1154" height="1416"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Wayne Gretzky of Edmonton actually led all NHL shooters with 369 shots at the net.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0112-01

NHL Goaltenders' Fielding Averages

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0114-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0114-0188/10185895-1-eng-US/f0114-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Islanders' Duane Sutter sips champagne from the Stanley Cup.</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he New York Islanders made history when they won the Stanley Cup in 1981-82 as they became the first United States team in the National Hockey League to win three successive playoff titles.</p><p>The Islanders made it look awfully easy as they won 15 of 19 playoff games to capture their third straight Stanley Cup.</p><p>Heavily favored to win it all from the outset, the New Yorkers ran true to form as they swept the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup final outscoring the Campbell Conference titleholders 18-10 in the four games.</p><p>After receiving a preliminary round scare from the Pittsburgh Penguins, who extended them to the full five games in their first series, the Islanders came back to dispose of their crosstown rivals, the Rangers, in six games in their Patrick Division final. With the upstart Quebec Nordiques their only remaining barrier to the cup final, the Islanders turned on all the jets as they overpowered the Quebecers winning four straight and managing an 18-9 edge on offense.</p><p>The Islanders finished off the Canucks in the Stanley Cup final without too much difficulty as they captured four in a row. Coupled with their Quebec sweep and a sixth-game victory over the Rangers, the Islanders won their final nine playoff games in succession to establish their true superiority as NHL champions.</p><h2><b>STANLEY CUP PICTURE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0115-0176/10185888-1-eng-US/f0115-012.jpg" title="f0115-01" width="2465" height="3373"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0116-0189/10185881-1-eng-US/f0116-012.jpg" title="f0116-01" width="5283" height="3386"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0114-01

Islanders First U.S. Team To Win Three Straight Cups

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0118-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0118-0183/10185926-1-eng-US/f0118-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Oiler superstar Wayne Gretzky made a big Impact on the NHL awards last season with his record-setting year. He&rsquo;s shown here with the Hart Trophy, left, for being the MVP, and the Art Ross Trophy for being league scoring champion.</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b>n an Academy Awards-style presentation, the National Hockey League distributed six major awards during its summer meetings in Montreal with clear-cut winners in just about every category.</p><p>Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky, the automatic recipient of the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring champion (with records for goals, 92, assists, 120, and points, 212) earned one other trophy &mdash; the Hart &mdash; but he did it in his inimitable fashion, earning a unanimous selection from the voting members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the first player ever to be chosen by every voter. It was Gretzky&rsquo;s third consecutive Hart as the league&rsquo;s most valuable player, matching Bobby Orr&rsquo;s feat of three Harts in succession. New York Islander Bryan Trottier was the runner-up in the balloting.</p><p>The closest race was in the selection of the Frank Selke Award for the best defensive forward. Boston&rsquo;s Steve Kasper edged Montreal Canadien Bob Gainey 178-157. Gainey had captured the Selke award since its inception five years ago, but Kasper, who has had more success than anyone in the NHL in controlling Gretzky, ended Gainey&rsquo;s reign.</p><p>Other winners included Chicago Black Hawk Doug Wilson (Norris Trophy); Winnipeg Jet Dale Hawerchuk (Calder Trophy); Boston Bruin Rick Middleton (Lady Byng Trophy) and Islander Billy Smith (Vezina Trophy).</p><p>Wilson became the third new claimant to the Norris as the top defenseman since Denis Potvin was a repeat winner in 1978 and 1979. Last season&rsquo;s winner, Pittsburgh Penguin Randy Carlyle, finished 13th in the voting with Boston&rsquo;s Ray Bourque as the runner-up, more than 100 points behind Wilson.</p><p>Middleton, with only one minor penalty and one misconduct for the entire season in which he topped 50 goals and led Boston in scoring, captured the Byng ahead of runner-up Mike Bossy of the Islanders and Gretzky.</p><p>Smith, who had the most wins during the regular season (32), and tied his own record for playoff wins in leading the Islanders to a third Stanley Cup, was voted as the outstanding goaltender by the NHL&rsquo;s general managers. Edmonton&rsquo;s Grant Fuhr placed second.</p><p>Montreal goaltenders Rick Wamsley and Denis Herron were previously awarded the newly created William Jennings Award as the goaltenders for the team that allowed the fewest goals.</p><p>The NHL also honored its 1981-82 All Star team members with individual plaques. Those selected on the first team included Smith in goal, Wilson and Bourque on defense, Gretzky at center with Bossy at right wing and Edmonton&rsquo;s Mark Messier at left wing. The second team was comprised of Fuhr in goal, Paul Coffey, also of the Oilers, and Montreal&rsquo;s Brian Engblom on defense, Trottier was named at center with John Tonelli of the Islanders at left wing and Middleton on the right side.</p><p>Bossy emerged as the leading All Star votegetter with 309 of a possible 315 points to gain the first-team center spot for the second straight year and the fourth time in his five NHL seasons that he has been named to either the first or second team. There were 63 ballots cast by the Professional Hockey Writers&rsquo; Association and Bossy was named on 60 of them.</p><p>Gretzky picked up 305 points on 58 first-team ballots and five second-team picks.</p><p>The Islanders and Oilers each placed two players on both teams to dominate the All Star voting. The Boston Bruins picked up a berth on both teanjs as well. In all the Islanders, Oilers and Bruins accounted f6r 10 of the 12 selections with only Wilson and' Engblom breaking through the monopoly.</p><p>Of the 12 All Stars named, eight were making their very first appearance on an NHL post-season team, a good indication of the changing face of the league because of influx of younger players and 18- and 19-year-old draft picks the past few years.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0118-01

Gretzky Star Of Awards Show

<p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>ollowing are the complete voting results of the various NHL awards, with the numbers in brackets indicating the number of first (5 points), second (3 points) and third place (1 point) votes. A unanimous choice required 315 points.</p><p><b>Hart Trophy &mdash; most valuable player Winner - WAYNE GRETZKY, Edm.</b></p><p>1. Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers 315 (63, 0, 0); 2. Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders 130 (0, 41, 7); 3. Mike Bossy, New York Islanders 34 (0, 10, 4); 4. Peter Stastny, Quebec Nordiques 15 (0, 2, 9); 5. Dale Hawerchuk, Winnipeg Jets 13 (0, 2, 7); 6. Barry Beck, New York Rangers 10 (0, 3, 1); 7. Dennis Maruk, Washington Capitals 10 (0, 0, 10); 8. Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins 7 (0, 1, 4); 9. Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks 6 (0, 0, 6); 10. Bobby Smith, Minnesota North Stars 5 (0, 1, 2); 11. Denis Savard, Chicago 5 (0, 1, 2); 12. Glenn &bull;&lsquo;Chico&rdquo; Resch, Colorado Rockies 3 (0, 1, 1,); 13. Gilles Meloche, Minnesota 3 (0, 1, 0); 14. Richard Brodeur, Vancouver Canucks 2 (0, 0, 2); 15. Terry O&rsquo;Reilly, Boston 1 (0, 0, 1); 16. Brad Park, Boston 1 (0, 0, 1); 17. Dino Ciccarelli, Minnesota 1 (0, 0, 1); 18. Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens 1 (0, 0, 1); 19. Paul Gardner, Pittsburgh Penguins 1 (0, 0, 1); 20. Raymond Bourque, Boston 1 (0, 0, 1); 21. Al Secord, Chicago 1 (0, 0, 1); 22. Bill Barber. Philadelphia Flyers 1 (0, 0, 1); 23. Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues 1 (0, 0, 1).</p><p><b>Norris Trophy &mdash; top defenseman Winner - DOUG WILSON, Chicago</b></p><p>1. Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks 177 (29, 8, 8); 2. Raymond Bourque, Boston Bruins 80 (8, 10. 10); 3. Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers 55 (4, 7, 14); 4. Craig Hartsburg, Minnesota North Stars 54 (7, 5, 4); 5. Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens 50 (4, 9, 3); 6. Brian Engblom, Montreal 31 (0, 8, 7); 7. Barry Beck, New York Rangers 28 (3, 3, 4); 8. Denis Potvin, New York Islanders 27 (4, 1, 4); 9. Rod Langway, Montreal 24 (2, 4, 2); 10. Kevin Lowe, Edmonton 20 (1, 4, 3); 11. John Van Boxmeer, Buffalo Sabres 6 (0, 2, 0); 12. Ken Morrow, New York Islanders 5 (1, 0, 0); 13. Randy Carlyle, Pittsburgh Penguins 4 (0, 1. 1); 14. Borje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs 4 (0, 1, 1); 15. Brad Park, Boston 1 (0, 0, 1); 16. Mike Ramsey, Buffalo 1 (0, 0, 1).</p><p><b>Selke Trophy &mdash; top defensive forward Winner &mdash; STEVE KASPER, Boston</b></p><p>1. Steve Kasper, Boston Bruins 178 (26, 12, 12); 2. Bob Gainey. Montreal Canadiens 157 (17, 19. 15); 3. Craig Ramsay, Buffalo Sabres 76 (4, 15, 11); 4 Doug Jarvis, Montreal 37 (7, 0, 2); 5. John Tonelli, New York Islanders 22 (3, 2, 1); 6. Larry Patey, St. Louis Blues 11 (1, 1, 3); 7. Dale Hunter, Quebec Nordiques 8 (1, 0, 3); 8. Ryan Walter, Washington Capitals 6(1, 0, 1); 9. Dave Keon, Hartford Whalers 5 (1, 0, 0); 10. Jorgen Pettersson, St. Louis 5 (1, 0, 0); 11. Don Marcotte, Boston 4 (0, 1, 1); 12. George Ferguson, Pittsburgh Penguins 4 (0, 1, 1); 13. Neal Broten, Minnesota North Stars 3 (0, 1, 0); 14. Al Secord, Chicago Black Hawks 3 (0. 1,0); 15. Terry O'Reilly, Boston 3 (0, 1, 0); 16. Keith Acton, Montreal 3 (0, 1, 0); 17. Morris Lukowich, Winnipeg Jets 3 (0, 1, 0); 18. Butch Goring, New York Islanders 3 (0, 1, 0); 19. Bob Bourne, New York Islanders 3 (0, 1, 0); 20. Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers 3 (0, 0, 3); 21. Al Mac Adam, Minnesota 2 (0, 0, 2); 22. Michel Goulet, Quebec 1 (0, 0, 1); 23. Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia 1 (0, 0, 1); 24. Bobby Smith, Minnesota 1 (0, 0, 1); 25. Ric Seiling, Buffalo 1 (0, 0, 1); 26. Dave Christian, Winnipeg 1 (0, 0, 1); 27. Anders Kallur, New York Islanders 1 (0, 0, 1); 28. Lindy Ruff, Buffalo 1 (0, 0, 1).</p><p><b>Calder Trophy &mdash; rookie of year Winner &mdash; DALE HAWERCHUK, Wpg.</b></p><p>1. Dale Hawerchuk, Winnipeg Jets 258 (46, 7, 7); 2. Barry Pederson, Boston Bruins 93 (7, 14, 16); 3. Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers 87 (5, 16, 14); 4. Neal Broten, Minnesota North Stars 85 (5, 15, 15); 5. Mark Pavelich, New York Rangers 17 (0, 5, 2); 6. Rick Wamsley, Montreal Canadiens 8 (0, 2, 2); 7. Ron Flockhart, Philadelphia Flyers 7 (0, 2, 1); 8. Marian Stastny, Quebec Nordiques 4 (0, 1, 1); 9. Bobby Carpenter, Washington Capitals 4 (0, 1, 1); 10. Ron Francis, Hartford Whalers 3 (0, 0, 3); 11. Joe Mullen, St. Louis Blues 1 (0, 0, 1).</p><p><b>Lady Byng Trophy &mdash; sportsmanship Winner - RICK MIDDLETON, Boston</b></p><p>1. Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins 211 (33, 13, 7); 2. Mike Bossy, New York Islanders 116 (10, 19, 9), 3. Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers 105 (15, 7, 9);4. Rick Kehoe, Pittsburgh Penguins 23 (0, 4, 11); 5. Mark Napier, Montreal Canadiens 22 (0, 5, 7); 6. Craig Ramsay, Buffalo Sabres 16 (1, 3, 2); 7. Peter McNab, Boston Bruins 8 (1, 1, 0); 8. Neal Broten, Minnesota North Stars 8 (1, 1, 0); 9. Real Cloutier, Quebec Nordiques 6 (1, 0, 1); 10 Bob Gainey, Montreal 6 (0, 2, 0); 11. Steve Shutt, Montreal 5 (1, 0, 0); 12. Guy Lafleur, Montreal 5 (0, 1, 2); 13. Denis Savard, Chicago Black Hawks 5 (0. 1,2); 14. Thomas Gradin, Vancouver Canucks 5 (0, 1, 2); 15. Mike Rogers, New York Rangers 4 (0, 1, 1); 16. Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings 4 (0, 1, 1); 17. Mark Messier, Edmonton 3 (0, 1, 0); 18. Morris Lukowich, Winnipeg Jets 3 (0, 1, 0); 19. Jorgen Pettersson, St. Louis Blues 3 (0, 1, 0); 20. Steve Christoff, Minnesota 1 (0, 0, 1); 21. Ken Morrow, New York Islanders 1 (0, 0, 1); 22. Paul Reinhart, Calgary Flames 1 (0, 0, 1); 23. Dale Hawerchuk, Winnipeg.l (0, 0, 1); 24. Doug Jarvis, Montreal 1 (0, 0, 1); 25. Glenn &ldquo;Chico&rdquo; Resch, Colorado Rockies 1 (0, 0, 1); 26. Barry Pederson, Boston 1 (0, 0, 1); 27 Don Marcotte, Boston 1 (0, 0, 1); 28. Pierre Larouche, Montreal-Hartford 1 (0,0, 1).</p><p><b>Vezina Trophy &mdash; outstanding goalie Winner &mdash; BILL SMITH, Islanders</b></p><p>1. Bill Smith, New York Islanders 51 (8, 3, 2); 2. Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers 31 (2, 5, 6); 3. Michel Dion, Pittsburgh Penguins 30 (3, 3, 6); 4. Daniel Bouchard, Quebec Nordiques 19 (2, 3, 0); 5. Rick Wamsley, Montreal Canadiens 18 (3, 1, 0); 6. Richaf-d Brodeur, Vancouver Canucks 16 (1, 3, 2); 7. Don Edwards, Buffalo Sabres 10 (1, 1, 2); 8. Glenn &ldquo;Chico&rdquo; Resch, Colorado Rockies 5 (1, 0, 0); 9. Gilles Meloche, Minnesota North Stars 5 (0, 1, 2).</p><p><b>All-Star Teams</b></p><p>Following are the complete voting results, for the NHL All Star teams, with the numbers in brackets indicating the number of first (5 points), second (3 points) and third place (1 point) votes. A unanimous choice required 315 points.</p><p><b>GOALTENDER</b> 1. Bill Smith, New York Islanders 236 (40, 10, 5); 2. Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers 98 (6, 17, 17); 3. Rick Wamsley, Montrel Canadiens 70 (5, 12, 9); 4. Glenn &ldquo;Chico&rdquo; Resch, Colorado Rockies 41 (2, 9, 4); 5. Don Edwards, Buffalo Sabres 40 (5, 6, 5); 6. Richard Brodeur, Vancouver Canucks 35 (1, 7, 9); 7. Michel Dion, Pittsburgh Penguins 24 (3, 2, 3); 8. Gilles Meloche, Minnesota North Stars 13 (1, 2, 2); 9. Denis Herron, Montreal 4 (0, 1, 1); 10. Mike Liut, St. Louis Blues 4 (0, 1, 1); 11. Daniel Bouchard, Quebec Nordiques 2 (0, 0, 2); 12. Don Beaupre, Minnesota 1 (0, 0, 1).</p><p><b>DEFENSE</b>: 1. Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks 235 (39, 12, 4); 2. Raymond Bourque, Boston Bruins, 170 (19,23, 6); 3. Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers 123 (13, 16, 10); 4. Brian Engblom, Montreal Canadiens 112 (11, 16, 9); 5. Craig Hartsburg, Minnesota North Stars 108 (14, 10, 8); 6. Larry Robinson, Montreal 91 (10, 11, 8); 7. Kevin Lowe, Edmonton 55 (5, 7, 9); 8. Rod Langway, Montreal 54 (5, 6, 11); 9. Barry Beck, New York Rangers 45 (4, 4, 13); 10. Denis Potvin, New York Islanders 35 (2, 3, 16); 11. John Van Boxmeer, Buffalo Sabres 29 (2, 4, 7); 12. Randy Carlyle, Pittsburgh Penguins 15 (0, 4, 3); 13. Borje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs 14 (1, 2, 30; 14. Dave Babych, Winnipeg Jets 12 (0, 2, 6); 15. Brad Park, Boston Bruins 8(0, 2, 1); 16. Ken Morrow, New York Islanders 7 (0, 2, 1); 17. Dave Langevin, New York islanders 5 (1, 0, 0); 18. Serge Savard, Winnipeg 4 (0, 1, 1); 19. Stefan Persson, New York Islanders 4 (0, 0, 4); 20. Brian Maxwell, Minnesota 3 (0, 1, 0); 21. Harold Snepsts, Vancouver Canucks 2, (0, 0, 2); 22. Clark Gillies, New York Islanders 1 (0, 0, 1); 23. Ron Stackhouse. Pittsburgh 1 (0, 0, 1); 24. Reed Larson, Detroit Red Wings 1 (0, 0, 1).</p><p><b>CENTER:</b> 1. Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers 305 (58, 5, 0); 2. Bryan Trottier, New York islanders 181 (5,50, 6); 3. Peter Stastny, Quebec Nordiques 45 (0, 6, 270; 4 Dennis Maruk, Washington Capitals 19 (0, 1, 16); 5. Denis Savard, Chicago Black Hawks 10 (0, 1, 7); 6. Dale Hawerchuk. Winnipeg Jets 3 (0, 0, 3); 7. Bobby Smith, Minnesota North Stars 2 (0, 0, 2); 8. Marcel Dionne, Los Angeles Kings 1 (0, 0, 1); 9. Neal Broten, Minnesota 1 (0,0, 1).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0119-0175/10185964-1-eng-US/f0119-012.jpg" title="f0119-01" width="644" height="1027"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Steve Kasper</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0119-0243/10185957-1-eng-US/f0119-022.jpg" title="f0119-02" width="652" height="1016"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Dale Hawerchuk</b></figcaption></div><p><b>LEFT WING:</b> 1. Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers 189 (25, 19, 7); 2. John Tonelli, New York Islanders 87 (9, 10, 12); 3. Bill Barber, Philadelphia Flyers 74 (12, 5, 3); 4. Morris Lukowich, Winnipeg Jets 44 (4, 6, 6); Clark Gillies, New York Islanders 43 (5, 4, 6); 6. Al Secord, Chicago Black Hawks 38 (6, 7, 3); 7. Glenn Anderson, Edmonton 37 (5, 3, 3); 8. Brian Propp, Philadelphia 14 (3, 5, 0); 9. Ryan Walter, Washington Capitals 13 (2, 2, 1); 10. Michel Goulet, Quebec Nordiques 9 (1, 3, 0); 11. Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens6 (0, 1,3); 12. Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues 4 (0, 1, 1); 13. Bobby Smith, Minnesota 3 (0, 1, 0); 14. Steve Shutt. Montreal 3 (0, 1, 0); 15. Anton Stastny, Quebec 2 (0, 0, 2); 16. Jorgen Pattersson, St. Louis 1 (0, 0, 1).</p><p><b>RIGHT WING</b> 1. Mike Bossy, New York Islanders 309 (60, 3, 0); 2. Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins 102 (2, 26, 14); 3. Dino Ciccarelli, Minnestoa North Stars 64 (0, 15, 19); 4 Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings 44 (1, 8, 15); 5. Glenn Anderson, Edmonton Oilers 30 (0, 8, 6); 6. Rick Vaive, Toronto Maple Leags 9 (0, 2, 3); 7. Dennis Maruk, Washington Capitals 3 (0, 1. 0); 8. Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens 2 (0, 0, 2); 9. Marian Stastny, Quebec Nordiques 1 (0, 0, 1); 10. Blaine Stoughton, Hartford Whalers 1 (0, 0, 1); 11. Ron Duguay, New York Rangers 1 (0, 0, 1); 12. Mark Napier, Montreal 1 (0, 0, 1).<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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How They Voted For NHL's Awards

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International League

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Atlantic Coast League

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Ontario Hockey League

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Western Hockey League

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Quebec Hockey League

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NHL 1982-83 Schedule

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U.S. College Statistics

<div class="byline">By Patrick Lyon</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0133-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0133-0180/10186323-1-eng-US/f0133-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>M</span></b>inor league hockey is a sport filled with failing franchises and leagues that wonder from one year to the next whether they will still exist, but in those regards, the American Hockey League is truly an enigma.</p><p>The highly successful circuit will return for its 47th season and has proved to be more stable than ever before with 13 teams slated to compete in the chase for Calder Cup.</p><p>Things have changed dramatically since the 1976-77 season when the AHL was struggling with only six teams.</p><p>In the past six years, the growth of hockey&rsquo;s top minor league has been quite im-pressive with the AHL expanding to nine teams in 77-78 and 78-79. That was followed by ten clubs for 1979-80, back to nine for1980-81, a jump to 11 franchises a year ago and now to the present number of 13.</p><p>AHL vice-president Gordie Anziano doesn&rsquo;t see 13 as an unlucky number and cites two reasons for the continued growth of the league. &ldquo;There are two main reasons for the success of the league,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Number one is the NHL clubs&rsquo; interest in the American Hockey League through their purchases of teams in this league. This has given us a lot of stability.</p><p>&ldquo;The second reason is the administration has been solid. (AHL president) Jack Butter field has done a great job and the owners and governors have also helped with their input. All of this has helped us to make smart decisions. We&rsquo;ve made some mis-takes, but basically we&rsquo;ve made all the right moves.&rdquo;</p><p>The AHL will be playing an 80-game unbalanced schedule with a North and South Division. Comprising the North Division will be Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Fredericton, Maine, Sherbrooke and Adirondack while the South Division will house St. Catharines, Rochester, Bingham-ton, Hershey, Baltimore, New Haven and Springfield.</p><p>St. Catharines and Sherbrooke are the newest franchises with Baltimore taking over for Erie as the farm club of the Pitts-burgh Penguins and Boston Bruins with Moncton now being owned by the Edmonton Oilers.</p><p>The American Hockey League has always been the place for coaches as well as the players to showcase their talents with hopes of making the final jump to the NHL.</p><p>After leading their respective clubs to the finals of the Calder Cup championship, both coaches Larry Kish (Binghamton) and Orval Tessier (New Brunswick) were rewarded by being named head coaches in the NHL as Kish made the move to Hartford and Tessier to Chicago.</p><p>Both Kish and Tessier joined Maine&rsquo;s Bob McCammon, who made the shift behind the Philadelphia Flyers bench, and it will be anew season with AHL mentors hoping they will also get that call to the NHL.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s a capsule on how the AHL clubs may finish this season:</p><h2><b>NORTH</b></h2><p>MAINE &mdash; The Mariners have never had less than 93 points in any of their five previous seasons and there is no reason for them to be any different this year.</p><p>The parent Flyers took their time in finding a successor to Bob McCammon and new coach Tom McVie should keep the Mariner fans happy with Maine the pick for the Northern title.</p><p>The loss of all-star and Europe bound Gordie Clark will be hard to overcome, but the Flyers have many good prospects that will help the Mariners.</p><p>FREDERICTON &mdash; After setting a record for futility a year ago in their first AHL season, the Express should be the most improved club.</p><p>Fredericton struggled a year ago as injuries depleted the squad, but the fans remained loyal as they constantly sold out the compact Aitken Center late in the season.</p><p>The main reason for Fredericton&rsquo;s rise up the ladder is the fact that they will now have the pick of Vancouver&rsquo;s top minor-league players. That, combined with the best from the parent Quebec Nordiques, should make it a much more enjoyable experience this time around for all concerned in Fredericton.</p><p>NOVA SCOTIA &mdash; The Voyageurs were ecstatic with the announcement that Moncton would remain in the AHL and this may finally be the year when the Vees can surpass their nearby rival in the standings.</p><p>In four years the Halifax crew has always finished behind their Moncton neighbor, but things could be different this time around.</p><p>The rivalry between Fredericton, Moncton and Halifax which spurred great interest last season should be even more intense this year.</p><p>NEW BRUNSWICK - The city of Moncton has had a winning tradition which culminated last year with their first ever Calder Cup, but gone are the Leafs&rsquo; and Black Hawks&rsquo; players that made this team tops in the AHL.</p><p>In their four years in the league, Moncton has never had a losing season and the new parent club, the Edmonton Oilers, should be able to keep that tradition going as they will shift their CHL franchise from Wichita to the AHL and Moncton.</p><p>Wichita did capture first place honors in the CHL&rsquo;s Southern Division last year and many of those players figure to play in Moncton, but hopes for a Calder Cup repeat performance seem slim.</p><p>SHERBROOKE - The Jets will be another of the new clubs in the league with Winnipeg shifting their top minor league affiliation from Tulsa to Sherbrooke.</p><p>Winnipeg would be extremely pleased to have their first-year team equal Tulsa&rsquo;s second-place finish from 1981-82, but the toughness of the division would make that seem doubtful.</p><p>ADIRONDACK - The Red Wings have never had a winning record despite having one of the most experienced teams around.</p><p>More of Detroit&rsquo;s elder statesman could find themselves playing in Glens Falls this year as new Detroit GM Jim Devellano will rely and build around his younger players.</p><p>The Calder Cup king from two years ago should be in the playoff hunt once again.</p><h2><b>SOUTH</b></h2><p>SPRINGFIELD &mdash; The Indians have gone four straight seasons without a winning record, but a new working agreement will give them a new look in the standings.</p><p>During the off-season the Indians inked a new working agreement with the Chicago Black Hawks and Springfield will be the home for some of the players who competed on New Brunswick&rsquo;s championship team in Moncton.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0134-0181/10186316-1-eng-US/f0134-012.jpg" title="f0134-01" width="1535" height="1315"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Orval Tessier used last season&rsquo;s Calder Cup championship in New Brunswick as a launching pad to the parent Chicago Black Hawks.</b></figcaption></div><p>This will be Springfield&rsquo;s third working relationship with an NHL team in three years and this should prove to be a banner year for the Indians.</p><p>ROCHESTER &mdash; Coach Mike Keenan did an outstanding job behind the bench last season as he guided the Americans to their best finish in four years.</p><p>The Amerks struggled midway through last season until goaltender Tim Bernhardt caught fire and combined with Rick Knickle to give Rochester a dependable shot blocking duo.</p><p>The top farm team of the Buffalo Sabres, who finished second behind Binghamton last season, will again need outstanding goaltending if they harbor any hopes of ascending to the champion&rsquo;s throne.</p><p>NEW HAVEN &mdash; It&rsquo;s been ten years since the Nighthawks first entered the AHL and the New Haven franchise is still seeking its first Calder Cup title.</p><p>Nick Beverley guided the Nighthawks to a third-place finish after taking over for coach Don Perry and will try to climb in the standings with the backing of the parent Los Angeles Kings.</p><p>Beverley and his Nighthawks will face a tough task in what figures to be a very tough division.</p><p>ST. CATHARINES &mdash; This new AHL entry should field a representative club right from the start when you consider that as many as ten players from last year&rsquo;s championship club in Moncton could be displaying their talents in St. Catharines.</p><p>The team should be particularly explosive up front as the parent Toronto Maple Leafs supplied many of the high scoring forwards in Moncton&rsquo;s Calder Cup drive.</p><p>BINGHAMTON - New Whaler coach John Cunniff faces a hard task this season as he tries to continue the work of Larry Kish, who led Binghamton to the Calder Cup finals.</p><p>The Whalers&rsquo; one-year reign as Southern Division kings could be in jeopardy with Kish sure to take a close look at his Binghamton players from last season for the parent club in Hartford.</p><p>The return of Rookie-Of-The-Year Bob Sullivan would prove an asset to Binghamton should he remain in the AHL.</p><p>HERSHEY &mdash; Coach Gary Inness will be able to call the shots from the start of the season after taking over for Bryan Murray early last year and if injuries and recalls are held to a minimum by the parent Capitals, the Bears could show a slight improvement.</p><p>Players were shuffled constantly between Hershey and Washington a year ago and a new working agreement that will guarantee the Bears more players should prove to be an aid in Chocolate Town.</p><p>BALTIMORE &mdash; The AHL is making its return to Baltimore for the first time since the 1975-76 season and fans shouldn&rsquo;t hope for any Calder Cups &mdash; at least not this year.</p><p>The Skipjacks will be inheriting a team that finished last a year ago in Erie and while there should be some improvement it won&rsquo;t be anything dramatic.</p><p>Pittsburgh will be the main supplier of the talent to Baltimore and Erie was their first attempt at having their own farm club. The Penguins&rsquo; farmclub is still some time away from a championship while they slowly build up their players through the draft.</p><p>Boston will also supply players to Baltimore.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0133-01

1982-3 AHL Preview

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1982-83 WHL Preview

<div class="byline">By John Herbert</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0139-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0139-0162/10186427-1-eng-US/f0139-012.jpg"></div><p><b>K</b>ITCHENER RANGERS - Probable finish &mdash; First</p><p>The headlines around the OHL this season could well read The Crow flys again. Good reason, too.</p><p>Coach Joe (The Crow) Crozier stepped into a difficult situation in Kitchener as the last-minute replacement a year ago for pro-bound Orval Tessier. Crozier, the cynics judged, couldn&rsquo;t go wrong with Brian Bellows and Co. For Crozier, it was a no-win situation.</p><p>The Rangers won big alright, topping the season off with a Memorial Cup victory in Hull, Que.</p><p>Exit Bellows.</p><p>Enter (again) Crozier.</p><p>Crozier should have the Rangers flying high again this season with a third straight trip to the Memorial Cup not out of the question. Sure Bellows, Grant Martin and Jeff Larmer are gone to the pros. But what else have the Rangers lost? The Rangers carried 24 players most of last season and figure to start the season &mdash; if the pros back off draft picks &mdash; with as many as 19-20 returnees.</p><p>The Rangers&rsquo; biggest worry is which star under-age juniors the pros will keep.</p><p>The Rangers have the best money goalkeeper in Wendall Young. But will Vancouver Canucks send him back for another year of junior? The Rangers have the best defense. But will Washington Capitals return Scott Stevens. Will Dave Shaw be back from Quebec? Will Calgary Flames return all-star Allan Maclnnis?</p><p>Even without the Bellows-Martin-Larmer line the Rangers have a good blend up front. Perhaps they won&rsquo;t be as high-scoring. Rival coaches would love to have returnees such as Mike Hough or Mike Eagles. Crozier is also counting on first-round draft pick Brian Wilks, a center from the Toronto Marlboros midgets.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody talks about what they&rsquo;re losing but don&rsquo;t forget what they&rsquo;ve got back,&rdquo; Ottawa coach Brian Kilrea said.</p><p>SAULT STE. MARIE GREYHOUNDS-Probable finish &mdash; Second.</p><p>The billboards in downtown Sault Ste. Marie a few seasons back read &ldquo;Greyhounds Under Construction.&rdquo; Hound Power was the slogan general manager Sam McMaster used to promote the club when he came to the north to join coach Terry Crisp.</p><p>What a combo.</p><p>The past two season, the Greyhounds filled Sault Memorial Gardens, turning a profit for the first time in their 10 seasons. They were also one of the main attractions on the road because of their physical style and winning way. Crisp called it a rebuilding season last year, and the Hounds, relying on defense and no-name forwards, rolled to a second-place finish. A year earlier they used a high-power offense to finish first.</p><p>This season promises to be better yet. The Hounds may be sniffing for first. The top two scorers &mdash; Wayne Groulx (25-41) and Richard Beaulne (40-24) &mdash; are back along with defense star Steve Smith and goalie John Vanbiesbrouck. The Hounds had yet another good draft with defenseman Jeff Beukeboom of Newmarket junior. As their first pick. Kenora midget Mike Neill was the No. 2 pick.</p><p>NORTH BAY CENTENNIALS Probable finish &mdash; Third</p><p>Club owner Reg Quinn is banking on a love affair with fans in the honeymoon year at North Bay after divorcing his Niagara Falls Flyers and moving them out of the honeymoon capital.</p><p>He may be a winner in more ways than one.</p><p>The Centennials (nee Flyers) are about ready to take off in the standings after a fourth-place finish last season, and give pursuit of the Rangers and Greyhounds.</p><p>Bert Templeton is back as general manager-coach.</p><p>Southern clubs have always complained it was difficult to go north and sweep both Sudbury Wolves and Sault Ste. Marie with all the travel involved. Now, they could find it even tougher going against a physical club like Templeton's on a three-game northern swing.</p><p>Paul Gillis, the captain and leading scorer with the Flyers (27-62), is Templeton&rsquo;s trump card and should be one of the league&rsquo;s top attractions this season. Rick Morocco, Ron Meighan, Andrew McBain, Tom Thornbury, Ari Vuori and Al Raymond are a sampling of a strong crop of returnees. McBain should be another of the league&rsquo;s top stars this season. Tim Helmer from the Ottawa junior A club is the Centennials No. 1 draft pick.</p><p>WINDSOR SPITFIRES &ndash; Probable finish &mdash; Fourth</p><p>The Spits used to be the flagship franchise of the Ontario Hockey League with average crowds around the 4,000 mark just a few seasons back.</p><p>Last year they couldn&rsquo;t draw 2,000.</p><p>Part of the problem, club owner Fred Sorrell has admitted, is the Windsor fans weren&rsquo;t getting the lunch bucket, bump-and-muck-it in the corners brand of hockey they were accustomed to watching in the Wayne Maxner years. The Spits first draft pick, Graeme Bonar, a 6-5 center from Toronto Henry Carr junior Bs, should be an intimidating figure on the small Windsor Arena ice.</p><p>The Spits could be the flagship franchise again. They are loaded with veterans to supply scoring punch. This year&rsquo;s edition will also have good size, and on the Windsor ice, that can be intimidating to visiting teams. If general manager-coach Marcel Pronovost has a weakness, it&rsquo;s back of the blueline. The Spits also require better goalkeeping to move up in the standings. Veteran forwards include Claude Loiselle (36-73), Todd Hooey (39-62), Paul MacDermid (26-45) and Gus Greco (31-38).</p><p>LONDON KNIGHTS &ndash; Probable finish &mdash; Fifth</p><p>The Knights suffered some huge losses in scoring champion Dave Simpson, captain Paul Fulcher and goalie Frank Caprice, but the development of others could keep Paul McIntosh&rsquo;s club in contention after a third-place finish a year ago.</p><p>Improvement from rookies stars Brian Bradley (34-44) and Scott Morrison (25-52) should make up for the loss of goals and assists supplied by Simpson. The Knights have goalie Doug Chessell back for a third season along with rookie Chris Pusey &mdash; the No. 1 rated goalie in the midget crop &mdash; to take over from Caprice.</p><p>A leader must surface for Fulcher, who the coach called &ldquo;the heart of the hockey club.&rdquo;</p><p>The Knights&rsquo; strong point this time around could be their weakness of the past three or four seasons: defense. At least they are counting on Larry Trader, Steve Smith, Brad Thompson, Bill Hill, Bob Nicholson and No. 1 draft Bob Halkidis to form a strong backline.</p><p>There are some unanswered questions around the London camp: Will general manager Bill Long lend a helping hand to McIntosh behind the bench again this season? Can the Knights shake a reputation for being pushed around? Will the crowds &mdash; the season average dropped to an all time low of less than 2,000 a game - return to the Gardens after the collapse in the playoffs, the loss of Simpson, Caprice and Fulcher?</p><p>Chris McCauley (47-67), Jeff Smith (28-51), Bradley and Morrison head the returning list of forwards.</p><p>BRANTFORD ALEXANDERS - Probable finish &mdash; Sixth</p><p>Keith Gretzky, 15, will wear sweater No. 13 with the Alexanders and is certain to be the drawing attraction of the OHL. Wayne jumped from junior B to Sault Greyhounds at age 16, scoring 70 goals and finishing second to Bobby Smith in the scoring race. Keith will be trying to jump from bantam ranks.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b><i>Wayne Gretzky says his brother Keith is good enough to play</i></b></blockquote><p>Wayne says Keith is good enough.</p><p>The emergence of Keith Gretzky, and the notoriety and attention it will attract, takes away from an improving Brantford club which fooled the experts last season and might do it again this season. Mike Hoffman (34-47), Dave Gagner (30-46) and Steve Linseman (14-26) are among the leading returnees. Jeff Jackson of Newmarket junior As is the leading rookie.</p><p>More rebuilding may be ahead for coach-general manager Dave Draper.</p><p>SUDBURY WOLVES &ndash; Probable finish &mdash; Seventh</p><p>The past few seasons Sudbury Wolves have been feasting on dollar bills &mdash; not other clubs.</p><p>The Wolves, with help from the banks, hope to turn things around this season under new coach Ken Gratton. Crowds the past two seasons seldom were over the 1,000 mark in a league which requires about 2,500-3,000 a game to break even. This could be the make or break year.</p><p>Gratton, a one-time center with the Kitchener Rangers, has taken over from Joe Drago, the Chelmsford high school principal who took a year&rsquo;s leave of absence to run the club last season. Gratton coached the Orillia junior A club last season after getting a taste of OHL coaching a season earlier with his hometown Brantford Alexanders.</p><p>The Wolves are led by last year&rsquo;s rookie of the year Pat Verbeek (37-51) and linemate Tim Hrynewich (29-41). Dean Defazio and Jim Koudys are other key returnees. Mike Sands has the potential to be one of the league&rsquo;s best goalies. Defenseman Jeff Brown from Hawkesbury Hawks was the Wolves&rsquo; first draft pick.</p><p>GUELPH PLATERS Probable finish &mdash; Seventh</p><p>Kirk Muller.</p><p>That name says it all for the league&rsquo;s newest franchise, owned by Joe Holody of Guelph. The Platers hadn&rsquo;t even named a coach as the month of August approached, finally selecting</p><p>The Platers plucked Muller first overall to kickoff the OHL midget priority draft in Toronto. But the Platers, a very successful Tier Two operation for several years, have very little else in the way of proven players in their return to junior A.</p><p>Muller, 15, with four seasons of eligibility remaining, played for the Kingston Canadians last season, scoring 12 goals and 39 assists. His coach in Kingston, Jim Morrison, called him his best player in the playoffs.</p><p>The Platers second pick in the draft was defenseman Darren Mclvor from the Hamilton Tier 2 junior A team.</p><p>&ldquo;There were a lot of rumors,&rdquo; Muller said. &ldquo;Let me clear it up. I&rsquo;m completely satisfied going to Guelph.&rdquo;</p><p>He will be playing in a city steeped in junior A tradition. The New York Rangers operated a junior A club in Guelph for many years before it was shifted to Kitchener for the 1964-65 season. Andy Bathgate, Harry Howell, Rod Gilbert, Dean Prentice, Jean Ratelie, Ron Stewart, The Plager brothers and Eddie Shack are just a few of the stars who went onto the NHL careers from Guelph.</p><p>OTTAWA 67&rsquo;s &ndash; Probable finish &mdash; First</p><p>Every year about this time, Brian Kilrea &mdash; heading into his ninth season with Ottawa 67&rsquo;s &mdash; starts talking about it being a rebuilding year for his club. This time he&rsquo;s not trying to buffalo anyone by playing down his club&rsquo;s chances. In fact, his sales pitch is just the opposite.</p><p>&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ll have a good club and challenge 40 wins again,&rdquo; Kilrea said. The 67&rsquo;s have won 40 or more games and posted more than 100 points in each of their past three seasons. Last season, they led the entire OHL with a 47-19-2 record despite losing center Doug Smith to the Los Angeles Kings and defenseman Randy Boud to the Pittsburgh Penguins after the season was underway. &ldquo;Everybody under-estimated my defense, they sort of forgot Bill Dowd and Alan Hepple played well for me. With Jim Ralph in goal, I was never really strapped either.&rdquo;</p><p>Ralph is gone but Dowd and Hepple are back to lead the defense. The 67&rsquo;s could start 16 returnees this season including Jeff Vaive, the runner-up in the scoring race with a 56-95-151 scoring slate. John Ollson, Larry Power and Brad Shaw also figure prominently in the 67&rsquo;s plans along with Adam Crighton and Mark Paterson.</p><p>Danny Longe, who had 15 starts last season, takes over in goal for Ralph. The 67&rsquo;s first pick in the midget draft is defenseman Jeff Cassidy from Hawkesbury.</p><p>TORONTO MARLBOROS - Probable finish &mdash; Second</p><p>The Fat Fella from Maple Leaf Gardens could have himself a winner.</p><p>Harold Ballard, who has long maintained his first love is junior hockey, has a club this season under the guidance of coach Jim Jones, the ex-Leaf center, which could knock the 67&rsquo;s out of first. There&rsquo;s a big hitch. Will Mario Simioni (58-60) and Chris Kontos (42-62) be back in junior?</p><p>&ldquo;Simioni has an excellent chance of playing in Calgary,&rdquo; Jones said. &ldquo;If the team was picked today, he would be playing in Calgary. Kontos was picked in the first round by the New York Rangers so there&rsquo;s a good chance he could be playing for New York. Everybody&rsquo;s in the same boat (the uncertainty of their stars being returned by NHL clubs) so we&rsquo;ll just have to wait and see.&rdquo;</p><p>The Marlies could start the season with about 15 returnees including promising goaltending star Dave Meszaros and their entire defense led by Mike Rowe, Lou Kiriakou and Scott McKay. Neal Coulter, Jim Byrne and Gary Lacey are other quality returnees.</p><p>Marlies first draft was Barrie midget winger Greg Johnson.</p><p>CORNWALL ROYALS &ndash; Probable finish &mdash; Third</p><p>The OHL held a Royal wedding last year with Cornwall coming into the circuit from the Quebec League after two straight appearances in the Memorial Cup. Bob Kilger, the ex-NHL referee, said it was a rebuilding campaign and it was.</p><p>Now it&rsquo;s over.</p><p>The Royals are ready to challenge for the top again led by high-scoring Doug Gilmour (46-73) and Jeff Eatough (53-37). Other top returnees include Jim Kyte, Todd Annand, Scott Driscoll and Brent Loney.</p><p>The Royals&rsquo; first draft pick was defenceman Dave Sikorski, an American, from the Detroit Compuware midgets, who went 83-2 last season and won seven tournaments in Ontario. The Royals have always had a reputation for drafting well, and with a &bull; good crop this year, the club could move to the top of the standings.</p><p>PETERBOROUGH PETES &ndash; Probable finish &mdash; Fourth</p><p>Dick Todd, a former pro baseball player who turned to training hockey players when Roger Neilson went to Peterborough to coach in the early 1970s, begins his first full term as head coach.</p><p>Todd took the job on an interim basis halfway through last season when Dave Dryden was released.</p><p>The Petes climbed to a third-place finish last season with a second-half surge under Todd. Steve Yzerman (21-43), pest Doug Evans (17-49) and Ken Strong figure to be the Petes big guns this season along with defensemen Mike Posavad and Doug Speck.</p><p>Paul Bellamy a winter with the Petrolia Jets junior B club which produced OHL rookie of the year Pat Verbeek last year and Mark Hunter a few seasons earlier, was the first draft pick.</p><p>OSHAWA GENERALS &ndash; Probable finish &mdash; Fifth</p><p>The Generals have some individuals stars such as Tony Tanti, Dave Andreychuk and Norm Schmidt who can make Paul Theriault&rsquo;s team a first-place challenger.</p><p>Like the Marlies, the Generals will also be playing a waiting game as the pros give Tanti, Andreychuk and Schmidt a look-see. With them, the Generals figure to be strong. Without the trio, the Gens may be just another run-of-the-mill team.</p><p>Tanti, who scored more than 80 goals as a rookie and then had a 62-64 scoring slate in an injury-riddled sophomore season, has an excellent shot at remaining in the NHL with Chicago Black Hawks. Andreychuk (58-43) and Schmidt (13-48) could also make it with Buffalo and Pittsburgh respectively.</p><p>The Generals other top returnees include Dave Gans, John Hutchings and John McLean. Dan Gratton, a center from the Guelph Platers, was the first draft pick. Gratton&rsquo;s father, Ken, is the rookie coach of the Sudbury Wolves.</p><p>KINGSTON CANADIANS &ndash; Probable finish &mdash; Sixth</p><p>The time isn&rsquo;t ripe in terms of expecting overnight success for rookie coach Rod Graham, stepping in for Jim Morrison who remains with the Canadians as general manager. The Canadians are rebuilding.</p><p>Ron Handy (50 goals), Mike Siltala (38-49) and Keith Knight (26-42) head the list of returnees up front, but the Canadians could have problems on defense and in goal. Goalie Mike Moffat is with the Boston Bruins and the defense has been wiped out by graduation. Morrison went for defensemen the first two rounds of the midget draft, Chris Brant from the Trenton junior B club and John Landry from the Markham junior A team.</p><p>Winger Carmine Vani could develop into one of the league&rsquo;s top performers.</p><p>BELLEVILLE BULLS &ndash; Probable finish &mdash; Seventh</p><p>Wayne Gretzky is back in junior. He&rsquo;s an owner.</p><p>The NHL scoring champion, himself just a few years out of junior, acquired half-interest in the club in the off-season to fulfill an ambition he has had for several years. Gretzky spent a week at training camp trying to pass on some of his magic to a young club entering its second season in the OHL.</p><p>Also joining the club as a goaltending coach is Gump Worsley.</p><p>Coach Larry Mavety is looking for more development from Danny Quinn, the No. 1 pick in the midget draft of 1981, who had a 19-32 scoring slate. Other top returnees include Dune MacIntyre (28-53), Scott Gardiner and goalie Darren Pang. The Bulls gambled &mdash; and lost &mdash; at the midget draft this year choosing center Pat Lafontaine from the Detroit Compuware team. Lafontaine had warned the OHL he would report only to Cornwall or Sault Ste. Marie, and he stuck to the threat. He decided to play for the Montreal juniors even after being wined and dined by Gretzky.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough to lose a guy like that because he has a lot of talent,&rdquo; Mavety said. &ldquo;He was the best player available and he said he&rsquo;d come to Cornwall or the Sault. If he said he&rsquo;d go to those places why wouldn&rsquo;t he go someplace else?</p><p>Bulls&rsquo; co-owner Dr. Robert Vaughan said he was disappointed to lose Lafontaine. &ldquo;We were aware of the risk,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I guess we have to live by it.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0141-0162/10186420-1-eng-US/f0141-012.jpg" title="f0141-01" width="763" height="924"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Scott Stevens is one of several Kitchener players who have a chance to jump into the NHL.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0141-0243/10186413-1-eng-US/f0141-022.jpg" title="f0141-02" width="758" height="887"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Ottawa&rsquo;s Jeff Vaive was the runner-up in the OHL scoring race last season after scoring 151 points.</b></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0140-0330/10186406-1-eng-US/f0140-032.jpg" title="f0140-03" width="761" height="916"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Highly regarded Kirk Muller, who played in Kingston last year at age 15, will be the franchise In Guelph.</b></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0139-01

1982-83 OHL Preview

<div class="byline">By Marc Lachapelle</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0142-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0142-0165/10186493-1-eng-US/f0142-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>he Quebec Major Junior Hockey League opened this season with two new franchises and two others that sport familiar faces but new locations. The total number of clubs was brought to 11 when the Longueuil Chevaliers and Drummondville Voltigeurs were granted entry as expansion teams.</p><p>Meanwhile, the defending QMJHL champion Sherbrooke Beavers moved to St. Jean, a city about 20 miles southwest of Montreal, and the Montreal Juniors shifted their operation to Verdun in suburban Montreal.</p><p>Hull, Laval, Verdun, Longueuil, St. Jeanand Granby will play in the Lebel Division while Chicoutimi, Quebec, Shawinigan, Trois Rivieres and Drummondville comprise the Dilio Division.</p><p>The regular schedule will see each teamplay 70 games, seven against each rival. For the playoffs, the divisions will be forgotten and the eight teams with the most points overall will advance to the best-of-seven quarter-final series.</p><p>How does the championship race shapeup?</p><p>For starters, the Verdun Juniors opened a lot of eyes during training camp. Despite losing a number of good quality players, the club&rsquo;s management has brought together a group of talented rookies.</p><p>Atop that list is Pat Lafontaine, a 17-year-old center who starred last season for the amazing Detroit Compuware mid get team that dominated opposition both in Canada and the United States. The speedy center is not only under the spotlight in Verdun, the entire league is watching him. QMJHL president Jean Rougeau predicts that Lafontaine wifi become a second Mike Bossy.</p><p>Much of the attention focused on him is due to the fact that he was courted by the Ontario Hockey-League and Western Hockey League. The OHL&rsquo;s Belleville Bulls made Lafontaine the fourth player chosen in the midget draft last spring. And the WHL&rsquo;s Nanaimo Islanders also made a pitch for Lafontaine&rsquo;s services.</p><p>The Islanders are coached by Real Turcotte, who was behind the Detroit Compuware bench last season. His son, Alfie Turcotte, who is said to be similar to Lafontaine, will play in the west and they had hoped to get Lafontaine to join them.</p><p>After discussions with the three teams, Lafontaine opted for Verdun, mainly because he believes he will have more opportunities to make his talent blossom. He will also be close the Montreal Forum, home of his hero. Guy Lafleur. Montreal Canadien managing director Irving Grundman and his associate, Claude Ruel, are already helping to guide the youngster.</p><p>But with all this talk of Lafontaine, let&rsquo;s not forget about coach Pierre Creamer. He doesn&rsquo;t like a lot of publicity and is soft spoken, but after only two seasons in junior hockey, he is well respected around the league.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0143-0166/10186486-1-eng-US/f0143-012.jpg" title="f0143-01" width="2607" height="3415"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Chicoutimi&rsquo;s Normand Leveille, right, made the Boston Bruins last season as an underage and it hurt the Sags. This season, the Sags look in good shape with a blend of veterans and rookies.</b></figcaption></div><p>QMJHL observers have high hopes for the Shawinigan Cataracts, guided by coach Ron Lapointe, who has had stints in Montreal, Sorel and Quebec City. He replaces Ron Racette, who has graduated to coach the Sherbrooke Jets of the American Hockey League. The Cataracts are strong from the net out, with netminder Mario Gosselin being the key figure. The Cataracts also have a balanced defense and experienced forwards.</p><p>Last year, the Chicoutimi Sagueneens were a contending team but the under-age draft prevented them from icing their best possible squad. They lost defenseman Gilbert Delorme to the Montreal Canadiens and forward Normand Leveille to the Boston Brunis.</p><p>This season, coach Michel Morin can count on a good mixure of veterans and rookies. The big problem in Chicoutimi is the travelling. Their closest rival is 130 miles away and they often have to play two and three games on the same trip.</p><p>The Laval Voisins will be the offensive powerhouse of the league but their defense is a year too young. Mario Lemieux will be the big attraction in Laval.</p><p>Remember the Sherbrooke Beavers, who represented Quebec at the Memorial Cup last spring and were beaten in the championship game by Kitchener Rangers? Well, the Sherbrooke Beavers are gone, but the St.-Jean Beavers are alive.</p><p>So if Michel Morrisette, Michel Petit and Paul Boutilier all return from National Hockey League training camps, the Beavers will be a contending team. If they don&rsquo;t return, then the Beavers&rsquo; chances of repeating as playoff champions are greatly reduced.</p><p>It is a good bet, though, that Verdun, Shawinigan, Chicoutimi, Laval and St.- Jean will form the top part of the overall league standings.</p><p>Last season, the Quebec Remparts missed the playoffs for the first time. They experienced a variety of problems and almost died when they ran into serious financial difficulties. Now, guided by new management and financial backing from the Quebec Nordiques, the Remparts could surprise a lot of people this season.</p><p>They have dismissed a lot of last year&rsquo;s players, who did not want to give 100 per cent effort each night. They drafted a group of talented rookies and many of them have made the team.</p><p>They will be led by first-round pick Sylvain Cote, who first gained rominence for his performance four years ago in the Quebec International Peewee tournament.</p><p>In Quebec City, there are people who think that Cote has many of the same qualities as previous Quebec stars and that he, like Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur, will fill the Colisee and generate a great deal of excitement.</p><p>The Trois Rivieres Draveurs have retained their scoring champion Claude Verret and have some other good players to back him up, but this will not be their year.</p><p>In Granby, coach Gaston Drapeau has to put his confidence in two rookie goaltenders because star netminder Jacques Sylvestre entered law school at the University of Montreal. Sylvestre will be travelling everyday from Montreal to Granby and that will be hard for both him and the Bisons, who are entering their second QMJHL season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0144-0168/10186479-1-eng-US/f0144-012.jpg" title="f0144-01" width="732" height="1065"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0144-0239/10186472-1-eng-US/f0144-022.jpg" title="f0144-02" width="731" height="1060"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0144-0324/10186465-1-eng-US/f0144-032.jpg" title="f0144-03" width="734" height="1073"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0144-0415/10186458-1-eng-US/f0144-042.jpg" title="f0144-04" width="738" height="1073"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>If Michel Petit (upper left) and Paul Boutilier (upper right) return from pro camps to the Beavers, St. Jean can look forward to a strong showing. Meanwhile, Laval will be led by Mario Lemieux (lower left) and Trois Rivieres will have scoring ace Claude Verret (lower right) back in the line up</b></figcaption></div><p>In Hull, Jean Begin took over the coaching reins from Jean Lachapelle and the Olympiques have lost some top players to graduation. Therefore, Hull is in a rebuilding year. One player to watch, though, is left winger Sylvain Turgeon, a 17-year-&rsquo;old who is thought by many to the No. 1 candidate as the first player selected in the 1983 National Hockey League entry draft.</p><p>Finally, the two expansion teams. For them, the motto is &ldquo;wait&rsquo;til next year.&rdquo;</p><p>Both teams have prominent figures behind the bench.</p><p>In Drummondville, former pro Jocelyn Guevremont will coach the Voltigeurs. He played with Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers before retiring.</p><p>In Longueuil, the Chevaliers will be handled by former Montreal Canadien star Jacques Lemaire. Lemaire, who was a member of eight Stanley Cup-winning teams in Montreal, has spent three years as a coach in Sierre, Switzerland, and last season he was an assistant coach at Plattsburgh University in upstate New York.</p><p>So this is the way things look in the QMJHL for 82-83, but there is a long way to go from pre-season predictions to postseason finishes.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0142-01

1982-83 QMJHL Preview

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