1983-84 WHL Regular Season Preview

There’s nothing like familiar faces to make Western Hockey League coaches breathe easier. In the here-today-gone-tomorrow world of junior hockey, success is often gauged by how many old faces return in familiar uniforms. Too many strangers cause a club’s fortunes to list like a ship in trouble. And nobody wants to rock the boat even before it sets sail. Portland Winter Hawks have a lot of familiar faces returning this season. With plenty of talent and few holes to fill, the Winter Hawks are expected to sail smoothly. Most believe the American club will be favored to defend its Canadian Major Junior Hockey League crown. Yet as strong as Portland appears this season, the game is still won on the ice—not on paper. That's why the Winter Hawks will fee! a challenge from the…

Quebec Hockey League

1983-84 AHL Regular Season Preview

For years, the American Hockey League has had the reputation of being the most stable league in minor pro hockey. That stability is even more pronounced as the AHL enters the 1983-84 season, its 48th. Like every other minor league in every other sport in North America, the AHL has enjoyed good years and suffered through bad ones, too. Economic conditions certainly have been a factor over the years but, principally, the unstable nature of the sport of professional hockey in the past 15 years has had a trickle down effect on the AHL. The rapid growth of the National Hockey League, beginning in the late 1960s, and the emergence of the World Hockey Association in the 1970s created an unsettled climate and diluted the amount of talent available. Through those uncertain…

Washington Capitals

For a team that came close to becoming the Tacoma Capitals. Washington didn't fare too badly last season—if the first-ever playoff berth in the history of the franchise is any indication. Abe Pollin, the Caps' owner, indicated in the summer of 1982 that he could not continue to lose money—he'd lost $25 million in eight seasons of paying the team's bills—and that he'd be forced to move the team to Tacoma unless certain economic conditions were met. Two of Pollin's demands—a reduction in admission tax and rent at the Capital Center—were satisfied. Two others—7,500 season's tickets sold and a sellout for the first 10 home games—fell ridiculously short, but Pollin was satisfied enough to stay in Washington. But he wasn't satisfied with general manager Roger Crozier and axed him. His replacement was David…