End of Hasek era no cause for alarm

Dominik Hasek is gone. Michael Peca is gone. Doug Gilmour is gone. Dave Andreychuk, Donald Audette and Steve Heinze? Gone, gone and gone. The Buffalo Sabres insist they are retooling their lineup rather than rebuilding it after trading away one of their best all-time players in Hasek and their captain in Peca. While Hasek was seen as “the franchise” for much of his nine-year stay in Buffalo, the Sabres are deep 1 in candidates to replace him, led by Martin Biron, and have a good spread of talent throughout their roster. They got left winger Slava Kozlov from Detroit in the Hasek deal-along with a 2002 first round pick-and forwards Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt from the New York Islanders in the Peca trade to bolster their skill level up front. The Sabres…

Quebec Hockey League 2000-2001

Free agent pickups boost skill level

Their season had been over for more than a month when Dallas Stars’ coach Ken Hitchcock was meeting with players about performances past and expectations to come. If nothing else, Hitchcock liked what he saw in the eyes of his players as they sat down to chat. The last time Hitchcock saw it was in 1998 and the Stars won the Stanley Cup the next season. “There’s an attitude,” Hitchcock said. “The feeling on our team is the same feeling that was there when we got beat out by Detroit (in 1998). There’s a real hunger. There’s a real determination, which is good.” The Stars are coming off five straight division titles and another 100-point season. But they also face considerable change as key forwards Brett Hull and Mike Keane won’t be back. In…

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