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

September 18, 2007

The Hockey News - Sep-18-07

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0464/9103259-1-eng-US/f0061-042.jpg" title="f0061-04" width="254" height="238"></div><h2>VILLE KOISTINEN</h2>Finnish League standout hopes to find identity in Nashville.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0551/9103252-1-eng-US/f0061-052.jpg" title="f0061-05" width="219" height="245"></div><h2>MATT&nbsp;DAMON</h2>As Jason Bourne, standout actor tried to remember his identity.Submit ideas for Separated at Birth to <a href="mailto:separated@thehockeynews.com">separated@thehockeynews.com</a> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MICHAEL RUSSO</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Can Marian Gaborik&rsquo;s groin hold up? After overhauling his off-season training regimen, Gaborik is &ldquo;confident&rdquo; his annual early-season groin troubles are a thing of the past &ndash; just as he was confident last year, when he played six games, then missed 34. Gaborik has proven, when healthy, he&rsquo;s as lethal as any star in the game. His goals-per-game average (.602) the past two seasons is second only to Ottawa&rsquo;s Dany Heatley (.610)..<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1063/9101729-1-eng-US/f0045-102.jpg" title="f0045-10" width="144" height="92"></div>2. Can Brent Burns become a bona fide star? The 22-year-old blossomed during the second half of 2006-07 into a high-end defenseman. He has all the tools to be a stud &ndash; offense, a stellar wrist shot, long reach, impressive speed and imposing size..3. Is the Wild deep enough down the middle? The answer is yes only if Mikko Koivu takes another big step and 19-year-old James Sheppard is ready for the big show.. &#9632;</div>

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DEPARTMENTS

Wild’s fate hinges on Gaborik’s health

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03374/9101205-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pierre Turgeon (TURGEON: DOUG PENSINGER/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05237/9101212-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="131" height="144"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>CANADA CRUISES</h2>While the Super Series lacked drama, Canada&rsquo;s juniors did what NHLers thought they could do in &lsquo;72: steamroll over an inferior Russian squad.<h2>MISSING MAX</h2>Max McNab was a true gentleman who was universally liked as a player and executive throughout his 50-year association with the NHL.<h2>SALUTING PIERRE</h2>He slowed down at the end, but for a while Pierre Turgeon was one of the NHL&rsquo;s most electrifying centers and point-producers.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04276/9101198-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="1059" height="795"><figcaption class="caption-body">Super Series (CANADA: CHRISTOPHER PIKE/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>WISHFUL THINKING</h2>They called it the Super series, but there was nothing super about the Canada vs. Russia blowout or the notion of recreating the Summit Series.<h2>ENOUGH, ALREADY</h2>Halifax GM Marcel Patenaude perpetuates a tired myth about Europeans by saying Jakub Voracek&rsquo;s passion is more like a Canadian&rsquo;s.<h2>WHAT&rsquo;S UP?</h2>The NHL has not done a good job in explaining exactly how its substance-abuse program works. Are they trying to hide something? &#9632;

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Plus/Minus

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PAUL SHAHEEN</div>A six-pack of Alpena IceDiggers from last season have earned NCAA Division I rides. The latest is 20-year-old, right-shot defenseman Ben Kitzmiller, who accepted a late summer scholarship to play for Lake Superior State this fall. Having permanently lost blueliner Ryan Baird to injury, the Lakers were in quick need of a defenseman and sizable Kitzmiller fit the bill. &ldquo;Alpena really helped us out,&rdquo; said Lakers coach Jim Roque. &ldquo;They encouraged Ben to come here when he could have played another year of junior.&rdquo; Kitzmiller had 13 goals and 32 points in 59 games last year. &ldquo;Ben&rsquo;s a strong kid who has good vision and can put up points,&rdquo; said Alpena coach-GM Kenny Miller. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll make the same impact at the college level.&rdquo;<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0716/9103007-1-eng-US/f0057-072.jpg" title="f0057-07" width="140" height="107"></div> &#9632;</div>

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IceDiggers striking D-I success

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012079/9100545-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Retro RompTeam Canada, sporting replicas of the sweaters worn by their countrymen in the original 1972 Summit Series, buried the Russians for a fifth straight game in Winnipeg Sept. 4.(COVER: BLAKE: CP IMAGES; THORNTON: DON SMITH/GETTY IMAGES; CONTENTS: CHRISTOPHER PIKE/GETTY IMAGES; OVECHKIN: ANDY MARLIN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Opening Faceoff

<div class="byline">with Jason Kay</div>TYPICALLY, WHEN WE RESPOND TO READERS who&rsquo;ve written us, we&rsquo;ll thank them for their feedback, whether it&rsquo;s positive or, ahem, constructive. And that&rsquo;s genuine. Your sentiments, suggestions, ideas and criticisms help shape our coverage.Naturally, the glow is a little stronger when the words support what we&rsquo;ve done. We have egos, too.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012068/9100583-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="496" height="496"></div>Occasionally, a note of praise will resonate for reasons we never fully intended, at least not consciously, and bring into sharper focus the broader picture and our responsibility.Exhibit A is the following e-mail we got from Eric Renkema of Orono, Ont., about a story that appeared in our 2007-08 Yearbook. It was one of a handful that shared a similar sentiment:&ldquo;Thank you, thank you for your recent article about Andrew Ference and Steve Montador&rsquo;s trip to Africa promoting the &lsquo;Right to Play&rsquo; campaign. In a summer of dog homicides, gambling allegations and convictions and DUI charges, it is almost therapeutic to finally hear some good news coming from the sports world.&rdquo;The piece, written by former THN senior writer Mark Brender, was indeed outstanding, which was our primary criterion when we assigned it: entertain and serve our readers well.That it acted as a welcome respite for some in a relentless bad-news summer has nudged us into reminding you the hockey world is brimming with good people who do good things. Each of the 30 franchises, the NHL as a whole and the Players&rsquo; Association are involved in multiple charities that support our communities. And that&rsquo;s just for starters. Be assured there are others in hockey of Ference&rsquo;s and Montador&rsquo;s ilk, professionals who go out of their way to donate time and money to enrich the lives of the less fortunate.We occasionally report on the white knights, but like the rest of the information/news industry, we tend to focus on the wrong that men do, at least outside the rinks. We&rsquo;ll leave the debate about the fairness of that trend for another day.In the meantime, we&rsquo;ll continue to be on the lookout for feel-good stories that help present a rounded picture of our part of the universe.And don&rsquo;t be afraid to send us a reminder to promote the good guys if that&rsquo;s what you want to see. Remember, we appreciate all feedback.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021746/9100576-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="407" height="218"></div> &#9632;

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White knights abound in NHL

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031429/9100614-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="843" height="833"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JEFF VINNICK/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>TAKE YOUR TIME, SCOTT</h2>Scott Niedermayer&rsquo;s decision to skip training camp, and perhaps part of this season, could save the Anaheim Ducks money (good thing), cap space (inconsequential) and maybe a top defenseman for a long playoff run (very good thing).In fact, if Ducks GM Brian Burke had his druthers, he&rsquo;d probably prefer Niedermayer skip training camp and the first half of the season. After all, we&rsquo;re talking about an elite NHL defenseman who keeps himself in top physical condition, not an entry-level player who&rsquo;s still developing. Niedermayer could easily skip half the season and step in Jan. 1 without missing a beat. Doing that would leave him well-rested for another run at the Stanley Cup.And it will save the Ducks both cap room and money, since Niedermayer&rsquo;s salary won&rsquo;t be on the books until he starts playing, if he chooses to continue his career. With 191 days this season, his salary would be pro-rated according to the number of days remaining in the season once he rejoins the team. If he does. &#9632;

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To the Point

<h3>SOUNDING OFF</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-012065/9100683-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="930" height="1031"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jason Spezza (SPEZZA: CP IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>Capital eyesore</h2>I see the Ottawa Senators have re-designed their uniforms again. And what a surprise&hellip;another cartoon logo. If the NHL wants to be taken seriously by the mainstream public they should not be putting laugh-able logos on their jerseys. The Original Six teams and some of the next 24 teams have stayed true to their look over the years which has helped foster a sense of continuity and tradition which actually helps sell the game.Maybe what I will do from now on is try and watch the games without looking at the ridiculously clad players. There is only so much absurdity my eyes can tolerate.STEPHEN LANG, PERTH-ANDOVER, N.B.<h2>Grilled on Weber</h2>Once again you guys have let me down with your hockey pool guides. You are so high on Dion Phaneuf. He gets ranked high in every-thing and not once do you mention Shea Weber. He&rsquo;s not even in your Top 50 in the yearbook.But there&rsquo;s Phaneuf ranked really high (#17). If Weber played for a Canadian team maybe you guys would be up to snuff on him. He is a much better defenseman than Phaneuf and trust me, he will get around 60 to 65 points this season.Weber is a big star about to explode with the absence of Kimmo Timonen in Nashville.SIMON STICKLER, KELOWNA, B.C.<h2>Skip the Summit</h2>I would like to thank Ken Campbell for his comments about the junior Summit Series (<a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>). I too was less than excited.As a teenager in 1972, although the Canadian comeback was very thrilling, to be honest, I was left with a kind of deep humiliation that hasn&rsquo;t passed with the years.The Canadian team was not vastly superior to the Russian team. In fact, the Russians were wonderful to watch. If they had the Canadians&rsquo; heart, they would have won.Secondly, no series today can even come close to the tension and paranoia that surrounded the original Summit Series. What Canadian kid today can relate to the Cold War? I agree with Ken, let&rsquo;s get over it and hopefully forget it.RYAN REAR, ROBLIN, MAN.<h2>Where&rsquo;s Vanek?</h2>I was just reading the 2007-08 yearbook when I realized Thomas Vanek had been &ldquo;forgotten&rdquo; on your Top 50 list. That&rsquo;s the same guy who last year was statistically the second-best left winger in the NHL behind only Alexander Ovechkin.I do not understand why players such as Mathieu Schneider and Zdeno Chara make the list when they are a) Old and fatigued or b) Under-achieving. Please tell me how they are better than the incredibly talented Vanek.KEVIN MURPHY, BUFFALO<h2>L.A. needs Cujo</h2>I have had it. I am a Kings fan. I love my team. But are they serious? How do they sign J-S Aubin to their goaltending corps? Did Dean Lombardi see the initials and just get excited (i.e. J-S Giguere)?We have two goalies yet to prove themselves worthy as starters &ndash; LaBarbera and Cloutier. Enough is enough. Why not get a guy who has proven he can stop rubber?Curtis Joseph is available. I know he isn&rsquo;t the ideal choice, but he has 446 career wins and loads of experience to provide a young organization.Handzus and Nagy were great pick-ups and our defensemen are tremendous. Let&rsquo;s focus on a real concern: we aren&rsquo;t going to get to the dance with nothing between the pipes.MATTHEW ONSTAD, VALENCIA, CALIF.<h2>What&rsquo;s the deal?</h2>Dustin Penner: one season, 29 goals, $4 million a year = bad. Chris Kunitz, one season, 25 goals, $3.9 million a year = good.Penner signs; Kevin Lowe is an anarchistic whiner, while Brian Burke is a smart master builder. Kunitz signs; everyone is quiet.ROBERT LOMBARDI, JERICHO, VT.<h2>The J.R. fan club</h2>What a classy move by Doug Wilson to give Jeremy Roenick not only a chance to get 500 goals, but also a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup.I have followed J.R. since his rookie season in Chicago and I always felt he was a special player who played the game the way it should be. Good luck, J.R. As always, I&rsquo;ll be rooting for you.FRANK REKAS, PLANTATION, FLA<a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><h2>POLL RESULTS</h2>WAS SIGNING JEREMY ROENICK A GOOD MOVE FOR THE SHARKS?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021489/9100676-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="392" height="776"><figcaption class="caption-body">(ROENICK: DON SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03960/9100669-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="280" height="233"></div>No 55%Yes 45%<h2>HOW TO REACH US</h2>E-MAIL<a href="mailto:letters@thehockeynews.com">letters@thehockeynews.com</a>WEB<a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>CANADALetters, The Hockey News, 25 Sheppard Ave. W., Suite 100, Toronto, Ont., M2N 6S7USALetters, The Hockey News, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y., 14240-9947Include your name, hometown & province/state.Submissions will be edited.<h2>SUBSCRIBE</h2>GET IT AT <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>OR CALL 1.888.361.9768 &#9632;

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Got something to say?

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JAMES MIRTLE</div>TED LEONSIS, the notoriously competitive Washington Capitals owner, is a big fan of progress. A multimedia magnate who helped transform America Online from a start-up into a global powerhouse, Leonsis purchased the team in 1999 for $80 million.Eight years later, AOL&rsquo;s vice-chairman of new media is as plugged in to the Caps&rsquo; fortunes as any contemporary in pro sports. But what Leonsis has never had is a winner &ndash; or any of the resultant attention that comes from footing the bill for a contending club. And while he&rsquo;s learned to keep his mitts off the hockey operations &ndash; a lesson taken from the Jaromir Jagr fiasco &ndash; Leonsis has been hard at work behind the scenes, tirelessly addressing fan complaints one by one, answering e-mails and establishing himself as hockey&rsquo;s most approachable gazillionaire.<blockquote class="pullQuote">Ted understands new media and cyberspace more than anyone on the planet &nbsp;George McPhee</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021523/9100721-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="286" height="315"></div>Fan relations are one thing, but the area where Leonsis most challenged the NHL norm last season was in the Capitals&rsquo; press box, where he employed his new-media background and reached out to traditionally shunned Internet pundits by offering full credentials to more than a dozen local bloggers.A year into the experiment, Washington has one of the most well-developed wings of hockey&rsquo;s blogosphere and a whole new branch of coverage in a city where only one print journalist regularly follows the team on the road.&ldquo;Ted understands new media and cyberspace more than anyone on the planet, and he&rsquo;s so far ahead of everyone in terms of what&rsquo;s coming,&rdquo; said Caps GM George McPhee. &ldquo;This is something that has worked very well for us in our market and it&rsquo;s given more places for our fans to go.&rdquo;Leonsis believes in the medium so much that, three weeks after the &rsquo;06-07 season ended, he picked up the tab to send two bloggers from the team&rsquo;s fan site (<a href="http://OnFrozenBlog.com">onfrozenblog.com</a>) to the World Championship in Moscow, a tournament where five Capitals &ndash; including prized pup Alex Ovechkin &ndash; featured prominently. Bloggers John Keeley and Mike Rucki, along with two of the team&rsquo;s staff writers, used a variety of multimedia tools to file news and photos from the Russian capital throughout the event, bringing what Leonsis calls a &ldquo;different perspective&rdquo; to a wider audience on <a href="http://washingtoncaps.com">washingtoncaps.com</a>.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012286/9100714-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="1348" height="1433"><figcaption class="caption-body">ONLINE OVECHKINCaps owner Ted Leonsis sent two bloggers to cover the World Championship in Moscow. (JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;The entire project &ndash; travel expenses, lodging, everything &ndash; cost less than a half-page ad in the Washington Post,&rdquo; Leonsis said. &ldquo;And here we&rsquo;re getting two weeks of 24/7 coverage and my bet is this info could get exposure to hundreds of thousands to millions of people and do it in a very rich format. I believe the investment will pay itself back many times over in goodwill, brand building and ticket sales.&rdquo;Leonsis often begins his days at the AOL compound by reading Caps message boards and interacting with fans and bloggers, something that warmed him up to the idea of online pundits in the press box.&ldquo;I have great respect for people who post on the message boards and who blog,&rdquo; Leonsis said. &ldquo;I think they show real passion and consistency and they really get it &ndash; they really understand hockey, they really understand the team and they&rsquo;re committed. As a league, that&rsquo;s what we need.&rdquo;Added McPhee: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a passionate guy who loves this hockey team&hellip;And any fan of the Capitals that wants to interact with our owner can do so &ndash; he responds to every e-mail.&rdquo;<h2>5</h2>Healthy NHL regular blueliners on Carolina&rsquo;s roster - before camp began<h2>4</h2>Different teams in four seasons for new Blue Jacket Michael Peca<h2>13</h2>Seasons in which new Shark Jeremy Roenick has played 70-plus games &#9632;

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Hockey blogging a CAPITAL idea

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DARRYL DOBBS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012057/9100759-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="486" height="638"><figcaption class="caption-body">ESSENTIALTHN&rsquo;s fantasy poolbook offers projections for the entire league and is on sale now.</figcaption></div>WHAT IS IT about the fourth season that acts as a catalyst for a player coming into his own offensively? There he is, plugging along with 30- or 40-point campaigns and suddenly &ndash; boom! An 80-point year comes out of nowhere.It happens all the time as experience and physical maturity combine to push a player over the top. Here are some of the intriguing players hitting this pivotal season in 2007-08:Derek Roy, Buffalo Suddenly finds himself the No. 1 center.Matthew Lombardi, Calgary Loads of offensive talent and speed to spare, but how will he handle coach Mike Keenan?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021391/9100752-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="231" height="313"><figcaption class="caption-body">Nikolai Zherdev</figcaption></div>Tuomo Ruutu, Chicago With a much improved supporting cast, his fourth season could not be better timed.Nikolai Zherdev, Columbus Talented winger has disappointed, to say the least. He needs that fourth-year magic.Joni Pitkanen, Edmonton A fresh start on a team that will stress offense from the defense &ndash; look for a career year.Nathan Horton, Florida He has improved every season. Now watch the skilled power forward take a giant step.Dustin Brown, Los Angeles With an all-new supporting cast and steadily increasing numbers, he&rsquo;ll surprise in a big way.Paul Martin, New Jersey Brian Rafalski is in Detroit, so it is Martin&rsquo;s turn to run the power play. A lot of potential here.Antoine Vermette, Ottawa It&rsquo;s also a contract year and he&rsquo;s playing under former Binghamton (AHL) coach John Paddock.Joffrey Lupul, Philadelphia After a forgettable third season as an Oiler, look for a memorable fourth season as a Flyer.Ryan Malone, Pittsburgh Any big pop in production will come courtesy of Sidney Crosby.Others: Patrice Bergeron, Bos; Chris Kunitz, Ana; and, Eric Staal, Car. (But, it can be argued they&rsquo;ve already broken out.) &#9632;

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Year 4 breakouts

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03883/9100790-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="701" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body">(PHILLIP MACCALLUM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>10 Matt Lashoff Bruins defenseman has some dazzling offensive moves.09 Derick Brassard Columbus center touted as the most talented on the team.08 Igor Grigorenko Another Detroit find, he&rsquo;s coming back from bad car crash.07 Karri Ramo The Finns are churning out goalies and Tampa certainly needs one.06 Jack Johnson Got a taste last year, now Kings defenseman is ready for 82 games.05 Jonathan Toews Hawks have great expectations for young star.04 Patrick Kane Toews may line up with this year&rsquo;s speedy first overall pick.03 Carey Price He&rsquo;s making a habit of winning, which is something the Habs like.02 Erik Johnson Bolsters an already formidable Blues defense corps.01 Nicklas Backstrom Whether he passes to Ovechkin or Semin, it&rsquo;ll be fun. &#9632;

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Who are we excited about seeing in the NHL this year?

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031156/9100821-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="286" height="315"></div><h2>CANADIAN JUNIORS BREEZE</h2>This is how the 1972 Summit Series was supposed to turn out. While Team Canada 1972 just scraped by the Soviets on Paul Henderson&rsquo;s last-minute goal, Canada&rsquo;s national junior team demonstrated clear dominance in the 2007 Super Series. The Russian team faced some heavy criticism at home over its showing. One of the country&rsquo;s leading daily sports newspapers, Sovietsky Sport, ran the headline &ldquo;Who needs these losers?&rdquo; after the Russians lost their sixth consecutive game. They had been outscored 29-8 by Canada at that point.<h2>BANNER DAYS</h2>Two of the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; greatest players will have their jerseys retired this season. The Habs will retire Larry Robinson&rsquo;s No. 19 before a game against Ottawa Nov. 19 and Bob Gainey&rsquo;s No. 23 before a game against Columbus Feb. 23. They will become the 13th and 14th players to be so honored. Robinson was on six Cup-winning teams in Montreal while Gainey, the team&rsquo;s current GM, won five.<h2>PIERRE BIDS ADIEU</h2>Pierre Turgeon is hanging up the blades after scoring 515 goals and 1327 points in 1294 games over 19 NHL seasons. Injuries finally caught up with the veteran center, who was able to play only 17 games with Colorado last season on account of groin and calf injuries. Turgeon was chosen first overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1987 NHL draft and went on to play for the Islanders, Habs, St. Louis and Dallas before finishing up in Colorado.<h2>PISANI OUT INDEFINITELY</h2>Fernando Pisani, who starred for the Edmonton Oilers in their drive to the 2006 Stanley Cup final, will be out of the lineup indefinitely after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disorder. &#9632;

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HOCKEY WORLD IN BRIEF

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MURRAY PAM</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012186/9100859-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="522" height="320"></div>THERE&nbsp;WERE MANY high-lights in the 1974-75 season for the Buffalo Sabres, but none brighter than advancing to the Stanley Cup final for the first time. It was Game 3 of the final, though &ndash; in which the Sabres faced off against the defending-champion Philadelphia Flyers &ndash; that produced two of the oddest occurrences in hockey history.As part of our 60th anniversary, The Hockey News is reflecting on memorable moments in the game.Game 3 was played in a heavy layer of fog that hovered just above ice level. Jim Lorentz, Buffalo&rsquo;s radio and TV analyst the past 27 years, was a member of the Sabres and a prominent player in that game.&ldquo;In those days there was no air conditioning,&rdquo; said Lorentz, now 60. &ldquo;I think they broke every fire-safety rule ever written&hellip;The standing room area was five or six (people) deep. It was also very hot outside.&rdquo;The fog settled over the ice and there were many delays. Lorentz remembers rink attendants skating around waving blankets to dissipate it.Buffalo goalie Gerry Desjardins, in fact, asked to be pulled from the game as he couldn&rsquo;t see the puck clearly. Roger Crozier replaced him. The game was a see-saw battle, with Sabres defenseman Bill Hajt scoring the tying goal in the closing minutes.With a minute remaining in the first overtime period, Buffalo&rsquo;s Rene Robert appeared out of the fog and beat a bewildered Flyers goalie Bernie Parent from a bad angle. Lorentz said he still gets &ldquo;an eerie feeling&rdquo; when he views old video of the game.But Game 3 was not only known as &ldquo;The Fog Game.&rdquo; It gained notoriety for something else &ndash; a bat that flew erratically throughout the rink. &ldquo;From the start of the game, it was dive-bombing the crowd,&rdquo; Lorentz said. &ldquo;People were screaming and reacting to it. A couple of times it got down near the ice&hellip;(Parent) took a swipe at it and missed. It was the only thing he missed in the series.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021647/9100852-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="971" height="633"><figcaption class="caption-body">NOT-S0 DARK KNIGHTBuffalo analyst and former Sabre Jim Lorentz played through fog and bats in the same game. (STEVE BABINEAU/SA/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>While setting up for a faceoff in the Flyers zone, Lorentz saw the bat flying towards him. &ldquo;It must have been tired,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He just got above me and I swung and nailed him.The linesmen looked at each other and didn&rsquo;t want to pick it up. Finally, (Philadelphia&rsquo;s) Rick MacLeish took off his gloves and scooped it up and put it in the penalty box.&rdquo;The legend of &lsquo;Batman&rsquo; was born. Lorentz became a celebrity and was presented with a silver bullet by a Buffalo policeman the next day. &#9632;

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Sabres won ‘Fog game’

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-04636/9100897-1-eng-US/f0009-042.jpg" title="f0009-04" width="286" height="315"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011968/9100890-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="572" height="448"><figcaption class="caption-body">(GUERIN: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&#9632; When Bill Guerin and Mike Comrie signed on with the Isles, one of the first things they did was purchase tickets so 50 youngsters can attend each home game. For the initiative, which is called Islanders Inspire, the pair will also help (in association with the Long Island business community) provide transportation for the kids to and from the games.&#9632; Kudos to Islanders V-P of Communications Chris Botta for being the first PR man with his own blog. Check it out at <a href="http://nyipointblank.blogspot.com/">http://nyipointblank.blogspot.com/</a>&#9632; It hasn&rsquo;t been approved yet, but the NHL is leaning toward having the linesman on the ice for pre-game warmups this season. This is in reaction to a couple of meathead players who taunted the opposition during warmups during the playoffs last season. The Hockey News thinks it would be easier to punish the meatheads than to add two more bodies on an already crowded ice surface.&#9632; Uh, really? New Blue Paul Kariya&rsquo;s take on getting older: &ldquo;When you get into your 30s, you&rsquo;re certainly not 20 anymore.&rdquo;&#9632; Forget his problems with the law and the NHL, the San Jose Sharks would rather have aging Jeremy Roenick as their third line center than Mark Bell. Ouch! &#9632;

f0009-04

SNAPSHOTS FROM AROUND THE NHL

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE BROPHY</div>WHEN DAVID MCNAB&rsquo;S name was added to the Stanley Cup this summer, it had a familiar ring to it.His father, Max, won an NHL title with the Detroit Red Wings in 1950, but a few years ago, that particular ring on the Cup was removed to make room for more recent winners. So when the Anaheim Ducks won last season, and David &ndash; the team&rsquo;s assistant GM &ndash; had his name engraved on it, it meant the world to his father.&ldquo;Having my name &ndash; our family name &ndash; go back on the Cup meant a tremendous amount to him,&rdquo; David said.Max McNab played 128 NHL games, had many successful years in the minors and later served as GM of the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils. He died Sept. 2 of a massive brain stroke. McNab, 83, was universally respected and considered one of the game&rsquo;s great gentlemen.McNab&rsquo;s son Peter played 954 NHL games with four teams, while David has been an NHL executive for 28 years and the Ducks&rsquo; assistant GM for 11 years.&ldquo;The thing I have found, over the years, was people would always say to me, &lsquo;Be sure to say hello to your father,&rsquo; &rdquo; David said. &ldquo;Many of the people who have called to offer their condolences are people who have been in the game for a long time. They feel very sorry for our family, but they feel sorry for themselves, too, because they know they have lost somebody in their lives that personified what this sport is supposed to be.&rdquo;NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also paid tribute to McNab, saying in a press release: &ldquo;Max McNab played and coached in dozens of cities and he made friends for hockey in every one of them. The only emotion that exceeded his pride in the game was the joy he derived from it. As a player, as an executive, as the patriarch of an outstanding hockey family and as the ambassador of our sport, Max McNab was a champion. The NHL will miss him dearly.&rdquo;David was only four years old when his dad retired as a player, but one of the son&rsquo;s favorite stories was from the elder McNab&rsquo;s playing days.&ldquo;It was 1949 or 1950 when they had a contest to see who was the fastest skater,&rdquo; David recalled. &ldquo;It was almost like the first skills competition and Max may have ruined it. They all assumed Gordie Howe would win the event, but Max won. So they did it again, and Max won again. Max was a tremendous skater, so after two or three attempts, I guess they decided that&rsquo;s the way it&rsquo;s going to be. Max, not Gordie, was the winner.&ldquo;My father was a great GM,&rdquo; David added, &ldquo;but didn&rsquo;t have the success most people need to be recognized because of the situations he went into. He helped the franchise in Washington grow, but was gone before it had real success and the same thing in New Jersey. Most people are recognized or remembered for their success, but in Max&rsquo;s case, he was held in such high esteem in the game without having enjoyed that type of success. To me that is the biggest tribute of a man.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021365/9100928-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="953" height="1175"><figcaption class="caption-body">(MCNAB: BBS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0009-02

McNab earned respect as GM

<div class="byline">Ken Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012155/9100959-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOP DOGEric Lindros was the best player in the game for a period of two seasons before injuries hit. (RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021561/9100966-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="202" height="218"></div>Eric Lindros has been many things to many people during his controversy-filled NHL career. At times he&rsquo;s been a petulant ground-breaking rebel; the best player in the game; perennial pain-in-the-ass for Bob Clarke; and, too often, a superstar whose concussed head and battered body derailed his path to sustained superstardom.But is he a Hall of Famer? It&rsquo;s a very, very interesting question.One thing is for sure, the NHL has seen the last of Lindros as a player. As of early September, he was still technically an active NHL participant, but no teams were soliciting his services, nor was he seeking out any teams to join. He spent the bulk of his summer doing committee work for the NHL Players&rsquo; Association instead of working out.The only reason he continues to retain active-player status at this point is that he&rsquo;s also the Dallas Stars player rep in the NHLPA. As long as he is still active on paper, he remains a part of the executive committee at the most crucial time in the union&rsquo;s history. As soon as he gets the union through some of the crucial decisions and votes as it rebuilds itself, look for No. 88 to retire, ending one of the most interesting NHL careers ever.But is Lindros a Hall of Famer? There&rsquo;s nothing to suggest which way the unwieldy and baffling selection committee will vote when Lindros&rsquo; name comes up for induction in three years, but he has certainly ruffled enough feathers around the league for hockey&rsquo;s biggest old boys&rsquo; network to keep him out.<h2>BETTER THAN NEELY</h2>But let&rsquo;s judge Lindros on the ice. Whether or not you believe Lindros deserves a place in the Hall of Fame largely depends on whether you think Cam Neely, who was inducted in 2005, is a worthy Hall of Famer, because the two have had remarkably similar careers in terms of achievements and off-ice injury issues.In 13 seasons, Neely was a fear-ful power forward whose style of play cut short his career. He played 726 games and had 395 goals with 694 points for an average of 0.96 points per game. In 93 playoff games, he scored 57 goals and 89 points, again giving him a per-game average of 0.96.Based on that, it would be impossible to keep Lindros out of the Hall. In 750 career games, Lindros scored 372 goals and 865 points for an average of 1.15 points per game and had 24 goals and 57 points in 53 playoff games for a per-game average of 1.08.Neither player won a Stanley Cup, but in terms of individual accolades, Lindros has Neely beaten hands-down. After winning a Memorial Cup and being named the top player in both the OHL and CHL in 1991, Lindros won a Hart Trophy and a scoring championship, was a first-team and second-team all-star at a far more competitive position than Neely and his points-per game is the 14th-best in NHL history. The only players with more points per game than Lindros who are not in the Hall of Fame are Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic and Jaromir Jagr and those three have their tickets punched already.<h2>DOOM RIDER</h2>For two years, Lindros was basically the best player in the game, a designation Neely never had in his best years with the Boston Bruins.So, compared to Neely, Lindros should certainly be in the Hall. But Neely is a marginal Hall of Famer at best and many observers, present company included, think Neely should have to pay to get into the Hall of Fame like everyone else.The Hall of Fame should be for the great, not the very good and inducting players based on others who are already in just perpetuates the notion that the Hall&rsquo;s criteria aren&rsquo;t demanding enough and further erodes the standard.<blockquote class="pullQuote">Don&rsquo;t be surprised if he&rsquo;s running the NHLPA some day</blockquote>If we used that kind of logic, every player as good as Bob Pulford or Dick Duff or Clark Gillies would be in the Hall of Fame.Even if he is deemed to be a Hall of Famer, there&rsquo;s a good chance Lindros will face some formidable competition in the summer of 2010. Wouldn&rsquo;t it be interesting if Peter Forsberg, who has been inexorably linked to Lindros by one of the biggest trades in NHL history, decides to retire and is eligible the same summer as Lindros?And that doesn&rsquo;t even take into account Scott Niedermayer, who was taken two spots after Lindros in the 1991 draft, who is a lock for the Hall in 2010 if he retires for good. So is Anaheim Ducks teammate Teemu Selanne.Also eligible for 2010 are Joe Nieuwendyk, Pierre Turgeon and former &lsquo;Legion of Doom&rsquo; linemate John LeClair. That&rsquo;s seven impressive players for four spots in the Hall and one of Lindros, Nieuwendyk or LeClair is bound to get frozen out of the process.All three will have a chance in later years, but the betting here is Lindros won&rsquo;t be selected. His career, while spectacular at times, wasn&rsquo;t good enough for long enough for him to be inducted in the players&rsquo; category.But stayed tuned. Lindros is a lawyer waiting to happen and once he&rsquo;s officially retired, he&rsquo;ll be a major management player in the NHLPA. Don&rsquo;t be surprised if he&rsquo;s running the place someday as the executive director. And if Lindros can rebuild the NHLPA and help retain its integrity, perhaps there will be a place for him in the Hall &ndash; in the builders&rsquo; category. &#9632;

f0010-01

Hall for ‘Big E’? Maybe as builder

<div class="byline">Matt Paulson</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021351/9101032-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">MUELLER&hellip;MUELLER&hellip;Peter Mueller&rsquo;s name is on the pre-season Calder Trophy candidate roll call. (ROBERT LABERGE/GETTY IMAGESI)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011865/9101039-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="202" height="220"></div>The Coyotes may be the worst team in the NHL this year &ndash; and that&rsquo;s OKIf the Phoenix Coyotes need a scapegoat for their troubles the past four seasons, they can always point to goalie Sean Burke.After all, if Burke hadn&rsquo;t put together an MVP-caliber season in 2001-02 and single-handedly carried them into the playoffs, the organization surely wouldn&rsquo;t have been in the dark for so long concerning its identity. It wouldn&rsquo;t have attempted so many stopgap measures or quick fixes and wouldn&rsquo;t have wasted money or roster spots on the likes of Tony Amonte, Brett Hull and Peter Nedved, among others.Since the start of the new millennium, Phoenix has been a mediocre team in desperate need of an overhaul. Just before last season&rsquo;s trade deadline, the front office finally came to grips with that fact and committed to a youth movement.While the organization&rsquo;s change in philosophy will require more patience from a shrinking fan base, it is clearly the right move.The cycle worked wonders for Pittsburgh and Buffalo in recent years. And, with a pipeline of top prospects as deep as any team in the league, there&rsquo;s no reason the same thing can&rsquo;t happen for the Coyotes.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really exciting that we see a picture of eight, nine, 10 guys that we really believe can play in the NHL and be impact players, not just fill a roster spot,&rdquo; said coach Wayne Gretzky.But what exactly does that mean for the immediate future?It&rsquo;s going to be a long process, Gretzky admits. In other words, Phoenix again will finish at or near the bottom of the Western Conference this season, but at least this time around that isn&rsquo;t a news flash for the front office.New GM Don Maloney, with supportive ownership behind him, won&rsquo;t hit the panic button even if things go from bad to worse. He is credited with being largely responsible for the New York Rangers&rsquo; post-lockout turnaround, so he&rsquo;s not afraid to sacrifice a few seasons with the potential reward of a consistent winner waiting at the other end.At this juncture of the rebuilding cycle, signs of progress will be more valuable than points.&ldquo;Everything we do is thinking long-term,&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just good for us. It&rsquo;s just good for our young players. It just makes sense. It&rsquo;s going to help us get better in September and December and February rather than just patch and fill and maybe look a little bit better on paper in July.&rdquo;Given the Coyotes lineup, which still is sorely lacking up front and in the net, points will be at a premium. How much can really be expected from a team with an average age of 26 and a payroll just above the cap floor?Consider: Last year, Phoenix had three legitimate 30-goal scorers in camp; this year it has one (Shane Doan). And since January it has traded away or lost via free agency four of its top nine scorers.In their place are two rookies (Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzal); a one-time rising star who is coming off a career-worst season (Mike York); and, a 26-year-old journeyman who has yet to play up to his potential (Radim Vrbata).Fighting for the starting job in goal are three 20-something veterans (David Aebischer, Mikael Tellqvist and Alex Auld) whom it can be argued aren&rsquo;t as good as 40-year-old Curtis Joseph, Phoenix&rsquo;s No. 1 the past two seasons.Fans can only hope one of them goes on a Burke-esque run because a roster like this certainly doesn&rsquo;t instill much confidence for 2007-08.The good news for the Coyotes this season is they will get the first indication of what to expect from the kids (alright, youngsters) who will lead them in the future. Mueller, 19 and a pre-season Calder Trophy candidate, and Hanzal, 20, will be the first of Phoenix&rsquo;s heralded prospects to arrive. The pair tore up the WHL last year &ndash; with 163 points in 111 games combined &ndash; and if they can produce half as much at the NHL level, there will be a silver lining to the season.On deck is defenseman Keith Yandle, an all-star in his first AHL season; Blake Wheeler, a top forward at the University of Minnesota; and, center Kyle Turris, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 draft. And if the club does indeed stumble its way to the cellar, it will have another good lottery pick, perhaps getting a shot to draft a stud prospect such as Steven Stamkos.There is always plenty of sunlight in Phoenix. At last some of it finally can be seen from the Coyotes&rsquo; den.<h2>TOUGH START</h2>Dressing a top rookie hasn&rsquo;t led to instant success in the standings, as these stars found in their first year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03905/9101025-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="204" height="245"></div>Phil KesselBoston2006-0723rd<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04684/9101018-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="204" height="252"></div>S. CrosbyPittsburgh2005-0629th<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-05532/9101011-1-eng-US/f0011-052.jpg" title="f0011-05" width="204" height="246"></div>A. OvechkinWashington 2005-0627th<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-06453/9101004-1-eng-US/f0011-062.jpg" title="f0011-06" width="204" height="246"></div>Eric StaalCarolina 2003-04T-23rd<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-07406/9100997-1-eng-US/f0011-072.jpg" title="f0011-07" width="204" height="241"></div>M. GaborikMinnesota 2000-0125th &#9632;

f0011-02

Phoenix’s plan worth riding out

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY & KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012098/9101091-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(DON SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>1 CAN JOE THORNTON LEAD THE SHARKS TO THE CUP?</h2>In the past four NHL seasons, there hasn&rsquo;t been a better playmaker on the planet than Joe Thornton. Since 2002-03, he has scored 413 points. Nobody in the NHL has even come close to matching his output. Thornton is a legitimate star and there is only one thing that stands between him and superstardom &ndash; a monster playoff run in which he leads his team to the Stanley Cup final and silences those who question whether or not he can deliver in the post-season.The results have been decidedly mixed so far. In his two years with San Jose, Thornton has actually played well in the post-season, and was dominant at times last spring, but the Sharks have just two first round series victories over the Nashville Predators to show for it.So can Thornton lead a team, in this case the Sharks, to a Stanley Cup?&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no doubt in my mind that by the end of his career, Joe will win a Stanley Cup,&rdquo; said San Jose coach Ron Wilson, &ldquo;no doubt in my mind whatsoever.&rdquo;Yeah, but that&rsquo;s not what we asked. What we want to know is: Can a team with Joe Thornton as its heartbeat, its go-to guy, win a Stanley Cup? Wilson thinks so. Some of those outside the organization compare Thornton to Mike Modano, a wonderfully talented, top-end player with the desire to win &ndash; but who couldn&rsquo;t do it on his own and needed some veteran help.&ldquo;When you look at Joe, you don&rsquo;t look at him and say, &lsquo;You can&rsquo;t win with him,&rsquo; like you do with some other guys,&rdquo; said an NHL pro scout. &ldquo;But I think he needs someone to help him. Unfortunately, the guy who plays behind him (Patrick Marleau) is the same kind of player.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s why the pre-free agency rumors about Chris Drury signing with San Jose made so much sense. Drury is precisely the kind of player who could have taken some of that pressure off Thornton and helped mentor him on what it takes to win championships.Even though the Sharks have all kinds of cap room, they don&rsquo;t appear to be looking for anyone to fit that role. They return this season with almost precisely the same team they had last year, but the expectations have been ratcheted up. The Sharks have committed more than $60 million in contract extensions to Thornton, Marleau and Milan Michalek.Wilson abhors the question, but realizes it will likely continue to follow Thornton until he wins a Cup. But Wilson sees a difference in Thornton that he doesn&rsquo;t see in many other players who can&rsquo;t deliver: Thornton, he says, has grown to enjoy the physical part of the game and has begun to embrace the battles that need to be waged in the playoffs. Wilson cut Thornton&rsquo;s ice time last year because he wanted him to be fresh for the playoffs, but critics argue that until Thornton begins to take the responsibility of playing in all crucial situations, his ability to take a team to a Cup will be compromised.Wilson doesn&rsquo;t buy it.&ldquo;Why did it take Chris Pronger so long? He was on some very good teams in St. Louis that never won,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;And Ray Bourque, he was on some great teams. But what a loser. He didn&rsquo;t win until he was in the league for 23 years.&rdquo;THN SAYS With some better performances from his supporting cast, Thornton will lead the Sharks to the Cup final before his contract expires in 2011.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012074/9101084-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="2992" height="2810"><figcaption class="caption-body">Thomas VanekPaul HolmgrenTodd deal(RAYCROFT & SUTTER: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES; VANEK: RICK STEWART/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>2 CAN THE MAPLE LEAFS AVOID ANOTHER DUBIOUS RECORD?</h2>The better question might be: Can you believe the Leafs have never missed the playoffs three seasons in a row? But it&rsquo;s true, they haven&rsquo;t. The last time it happened to the franchise was back in the 1920s when Chris Chelios was a young boy and the Toronto team was known as the St. Pat&rsquo;s.In an effort to get back into the playoffs, the Leafs made two major moves. They got a proven goalie in Vesa Toskala and a sniper in Jason Blake. But the last time we checked, Bryan McCabe and Pavel Kubina were still playing defense for them. Much was made of how much an upgrade Toskala is over incumbent Andrew Raycroft, but as maligned as Raycroft was, he still won a (bogus) franchise-record 37 games last season, while J-S Aubin won another three. How many more can the Toskala-Raycroft tandem possibly win?Much was made of how shaky Raycroft was last season, but few people mention that when the Leafs needed him most, Mats Sundin had one goal in his final 20 games.For all their changes, the Leafs are still too porous defensively to be taken seriously and with Sundin, Darcy Tucker, Blake and Mc-Cabe on the power play, they have too many shooters and not enough passers.THN SAYS The ice will be coming out of the Air Canada Centre the morning of April 6.<h2>3 HOW BADLY DID THE SABRES SCREW UP?</h2>It&rsquo;s one of those interesting statistics that seems to put everything in perspective for the Buffalo Sabres. Their top-scoring center going into this season is Derek Roy, who put together a decent &rsquo;06-07 campaign with 63 points.But that&rsquo;s how many assists Daniel Briere had last season and Briere represents only half of the 1-2 punch at center the Sabres let get away over the summer.To say the Sabres are a lesser team without Briere and Chris Drury is stating the obvious, even with the organization&rsquo;s seemingly bottomless well of young talent. The two combined for 69 goals, nine of them game-winners coming off Drury&rsquo;s stick alone. They were the Sabres&rsquo; top two scorers in the playoffs and Drury&rsquo;s penchant for raising his level of play proportionate to the importance of the game is something that Buffalo simply will not be able to replace.The frustrating thing for Sabres fans is if the team had not dithered in contract negotiations in the summer of &rsquo;06, Buffalo might have been able to secure one or both of them to long-term deals.As it is, the Sabres are hoping Tim Connolly, who played just two games last season before the playoffs, can help fill the void. Thomas Vanek, who received a monster offer from Edmonton that the Sabres had to match, will face the pressure of living up to the contract and to facing opponents&rsquo; top shutdown line every game. With an improving Ryan Miller in goal, Buffalo will almost certainly return to a more traditional Lindy Ruff-type of team that focuses far more on defense than counter-attacking and offensive opportunism.THN SAYS The Sabres will be fine, but they&rsquo;ve kissed their chances of winning a Stanley Cup goodbye by letting Drury walk.<h2>4 CAN BRENT SUTTER CHANGE DEVILS HOCKEY?</h2>Lou Lamoriello went out and got hockey&rsquo;s hottest coaching prospect and if he&rsquo;s smart, he&rsquo;ll allow Brent Sutter to do things his way. But it will be a challenge. You see, Lamoriello has a vision of how he likes things done &ndash; the Devils&rsquo; way. And why not? He has been the mastermind behind three Stanley Cups. But times change and the Devils must keep up. So look for Sutter to break the mold of New Jersey&rsquo;s traditional dump-and-chase system and go for more puck control. Sutter, like Lamoriello, is a no-nonsense leader with lofty expectations for his players. Allowed to be his own man, he&rsquo;ll be a great NHL coach.THN SAYS Lamoriello will try to influence Sutter, but will be pleased with the results his new coach gets doing things his own way.<h2>5 PAUL HOLMGREN: THE NHL&rsquo;S NEXT GREAT GM?</h2>Give Holmgren credit, he has been very aggressive in his attempt to get the Flyers back into the playoffs. Starting with the acquisition of goalie Martin Biron at last season&rsquo;s trade deadline, Holmgren has overhauled a team that has been a drastic underachiever coming out of the lockout. The additions of Scott Hartnell, Daniel Briere and Kimmo Timonen will make the Flyers a more &ldquo;new NHL&rdquo; friendly team while Jason Smith brings some much-needed leadership to the table. There are still questions to be answered, like is Biron a bona fide No. 1 goalie? And is John Stevens the man to guide this team back to respectability? But chances are the Flyers will be in the hunt for a playoff spot this season.THN SAYS Holmgren shoots out of the gate as the leading contender for executive of the year.<h2>6 WILL TODD BERTUZZI SINK THE DUCKS?</h2>A few years ago, before the Steve Moore incident, the answer would be a hands-down yes. Bertuzzi was unquestionably one of the most powerful and exciting players in the NHL, but he was also moody and often as apt to affect his team adversely as he was to help it. But with all he has been through, Bertuzzi has been humbled. He was well-liked by his teammates in Detroit last season and, even though he played in just eight regular season games which put him at a disadvantage, he was effective in the playoffs. Anaheim GM Brian Burke took a big gamble signing Bertuzzi to a two-year mega-bucks and he expects a big Bertuzzi return on his investment.THN SAYS The Ducks have afforded Bertuzzi his best shot at winning the Stanley Cup. He will not screw it up.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011850/9101077-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="1228" height="2838"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alex Ovechkin(JOKINEN: PHILLIP MACCALLUM/GETTY IMAGES; OVECHKIN: GREG FIUME/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>7 OLLI JOKINEN: THE 30-YEAR-OLD (PLAYOFF) VIRGIN?</h2>Somewhere Guy Charron is keeping his fingers crossed. Or is he? When you have played the most NHL games (734) without ever having made the playoffs, perhaps you wouldn&rsquo;t wish that record on your worst enemy. Jokinen, 28, is the Florida Panthers captain and has led the team in scoring the past four seasons. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound center is both gifted and hardworking. But, alas, he has yet to play an NHL playoff game. And, barring a trade to another team, don&rsquo;t count on that changing this season. With Tomas Vokoun in net, the Panthers will be more competitive than last year, but it will take a miracle for them to make the playoffs. And if Jokinen plays all 82 games, that would leave him just 11 games behind Charron&rsquo;s dubious record.THN SAYS Jokinen is a nice guy and we all know where nice guys finish, right? No playoffs again this year.<h2>8 CAN OVIE MATCH SID?</h2>Guess that all depends on what you mean by &ldquo;match.&rdquo; Can Alex Ovechkin win the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy as Crosby did last season? Of course he can. In two seasons the electrifying Ovechkin has amassed 98 goals and 198 points in 163 games, respectable numbers when compared to Crosby&rsquo;s 75 and 222 in 160. But if you are wondering if Ovechkin can carry his team deep into the playoffs, the way Crosby is expecting to this year after being eliminated in the first round by Ottawa last season, that&rsquo;s a different matter. The Capitals promise to be a better outfit this season, but just making the playoffs will be a significant accomplishment. To do that, Ovechkin must be motivated to match or even surpass his friendly nemesis. A year after being named the NHL&rsquo;s top rookie, he watched as Crosby passed him in the scoring race. He must use that as motivation.THN SAYS Ovechkin will exceed last season&rsquo;s 46 goals and 92 points, but will continue to take a back seat to &lsquo;Sid the Kid&rsquo; and the Penguins.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011852/9101070-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="2959" height="1502"><figcaption class="caption-body">Erik Johnson(JOHNSON: DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES; GROSSMAN: RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>9 WHO IS THIS YEAR&rsquo;S NIKLAS BACKSTROM?</h2>This is a mug&rsquo;s game from the get-go. After all, if we could predict which players were going to emerge from nowhere &ndash; like Backstrom, the Minnesota goalie, did last year &ndash; they wouldn&rsquo;t really surprise anybody, would they?Well, here goes&hellip;Nicklas Grossman is a 6-foot-4 defenseman who has played the past two seasons for the AHL&rsquo;s Iowa Stars, but most people in the Dallas organization (with the exception of coach Dave Tippett) will tell you he should&rsquo;ve been playing for the big team all of last year. In the eight games in which he appeared, the Stars went 7-0-1.When the Stars were looking for veteran help at the deadline last year, every team they spoke to asked for Grossman, but the Stars would have nothing to do with dealing the young Swede. Expect the Stars to trade one of Philippe Boucher, Trevor Daley or Stephane Robidas to make room for him. The only problem is that Grossman is a defensive defenseman, not a guy likely to get a lot of attention.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be a really good player,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;A great team guy and just like (Dallas teammate) Mattias Norstrom. Where this guy will get noticed is in the playoffs when all of a sudden, people will be saying, &lsquo;This guy is a great shutdown guy.&rsquo; &rdquo;THN SAYS Also watch for Brett Sterling in Atlanta, Sami Lepisto in Washington, Karri Ramo in Tampa Bay and Jari Viukola in New Jersey.<h2>10 WILL THE CALDER TROPHY BE BROUGHT TO YOU BY JOHNSON & JOHNSON?</h2>Not if history is any indicator. In the 73 years the NHL has been giving the Calder Trophy to its top rookie, just nine defensemen have captured the prize and just three in the past 20 seasons.That&rsquo;s not to say Erik Johnson of the St. Louis Blues and Jack Johnson of the Los Angeles Kings won&rsquo;t wage a spirited battle. Both come in with outstanding credentials and both play for teams where they&rsquo;re bound to get plenty of ice time and opportunity.But the fact remains defense is undoubtedly the most difficult position to adjust to for a first-year player and there tends to be a bias toward guys who put up big numbers, which first-year defensemen typically don&rsquo;t do. Of the nine defensemen who have won the Calder, only Barret Jackman (2003), Jacques Laperriere (1964) and Kent Douglas (1963) could be considered defensive defensemen. Bryan Berard, Brian Leetch, Gary Suter, Ray Bourque, Denis Potvin and Bobby Orr all won because of their offensive numbers and potential.Potvin, who won the Calder in 1974 and is now a color analyst for the Florida Panthers, said the learning curve for defensemen makes it difficult to win.&ldquo;In Florida, Jay Bouwmeester has been here five years and we&rsquo;re just now starting to say, &lsquo;He&rsquo;s almost there,&rsquo; &rdquo; Potvin said.THN SAYS Washington center Nicklas Backstrom and Chicago pivot Jonathan Toews are better bets. &#9632;

f0012-01

COVER STORY

BURNING QUESTIONS

<div class="byline">BY THN CORRESPONDENTS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02421/9101129-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="286" height="315"></div>&rarr;Nashville limping with Sullivan news&rarr;Kovalev survives motorcycle crash&rarr;Bruins hold &ldquo;town hall&rdquo; meetingPredators left winger Steve Sullivan had originally expected to start the season healthy, but underwent a second back surgery in August to remove a second fragmented portion of his disc. He&rsquo;s not expected back until December.<h2>NORTHEAST DIVISION</h2>BOSTON An estimated 400 season ticket-holders attended a &ldquo;town hall&rdquo; forum Aug. 28 at TD Banknorth Garden, with executive vice-president Charlie Jacobs, GM Peter Chiarelli, captain Zdeno Chara and center Marc Savard fielding questions. Also included: Hall of Famer Cam Neely, who is rumored to soon have his role as team &ldquo;ambassador&rdquo; expanded.BUFFALO Many figured Randy Cunneyworth would get an NHL job this summer with Florida or perhaps Ottawa, but he will return to AHL Rochester for an eighth season. Cunneyworth has been an unsung member of the Sabres&rsquo; success, helping to develop a large percentage of the current roster.MONTREAL Winger Alex Kovalev escaped serious injury in an August motorcycle accident in rural northeastern Quebec. Kovalev flew to Grande Riviere, Que., in his own plane to visit one of his fans. While there, he damaged a Harley Davidson belonging to the town&rsquo;s mayor. Kovalev told the politician he&rsquo;d pay for damages.OTTAWA The Sens signed 2007 No. 1 pick Jim O&rsquo;Brien (29th overall) and he was set to play in a rookie tournament Sept. 7-10 in Kitchener. Top prospects Cody Bass and Nick Foligno were also on the roster.TORONTO Matt Stajan, the Leafs&rsquo; player rep, said he didn&rsquo;t expect Mark Bell to miss any regular season games despite the fact Bell received an indefinite suspension from the league Sept 4. Bell, who entered Level 2 of the NHL&rsquo;s substance abuse program after entering a plea bargain relating to hit-and-run charges in San Jose last summer, must receive clearance from doctors, the NHL and the NHLPA before returning.<h2>ATLANTIC DIVISION</h2>NEW JERSEY GM Lou Lamori&nbsp;ello was undecided about bringing back free agent center Jim Dowd. Dowd said he didn&rsquo;t want to play anywhere else.NY ISLANDERS Defenseman Bryan Berard, the No. 1 overall pick in 1995 who won the Calder Trophy with the Isles in 1996-97 before his career was derailed by a serious eye injury and a positive Olympic test for performance-enhancing drugs, accepted an invitation to training camp. Berard, 30, spent his past two injury-riddled seasons in Columbus, where he was coached by Gerard Gallant, a recent addition to Ted Nolan&rsquo;s staff.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01687/9101122-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="1888" height="1217"><figcaption class="caption-body">DISC JOCKEYBack surgery will take out speedy Steve Sullivan until at least December. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>NY RANGERS Martin Straka underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in the Czech Republic Aug. 16, but wasn&rsquo;t expected to miss any time&hellip;Center Artem Anisimov, who will compete for a job in camp, sustained a minor knee injury in the Super Series between Russia and Canada while teammate Alexei Cherepanov, who will play in Russia this season, sustained a concussion on a high hit from Brandon Sutter in Game 2.PHILADELPHIA GM Paul Holmgren and Peter Forsberg&nbsp;were seen playing golf in late August, raising speculation the Flyers might be courting the free agent Swede. Holmgren downplayed the notion, stating the golf date had been arranged months ago.PITTSBURGH The Pens unveiled preliminary sketches of their new arena, which will be located across the street from Mellon Arena. Ground-breaking is expected in the spring of 2008 and is to be ready for the 2010-11 season.<h2>SOUTHEAST DIVISION</h2>ATLANTA At some point, the Thrashers will start negotiating with goalie Kari Lehtonen, a restricted free agent after this season. GM Don Waddell wasn&rsquo;t concerned another team would make a big qualifying offer. In fact, he said he&rsquo;d be thrilled. &ldquo;Then all I have to do is say yes,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;We have lots of room under the cap.&rdquo;CAROLINA The Canes&rsquo; thin blueline took a hit when Frantisek Kaberle underwent surgery to remove torn cartilage from his right knee. He&rsquo;s expected to miss at least the first week of training camp.FLORIDA Center Stephen Weiss&nbsp;signed a six-year, $18.6-million contract extension Aug. 23.TAMPA BAY Martin St-Louis joins Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards as an alternate captain while captain Tim Taylor recovers from hip surgery that will keep him out until at least February.WASHINGTON Two weeks after owner Ted Leonsis&nbsp;slammed WTEM, the team&rsquo;s radio affiliate, in his blog for not respecting hockey or soccer, the team announced a move to 3WT, a new Bonneville-owned talk outlet.<h2>CENTRAL DIVISION</h2>CHICAGO Coach Denis Savard doesn&rsquo;t plan on naming a captain to replace the departed Adrian Aucoin. &ldquo;We may go with three or four alternates,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When we name a captain we want it to be a guy who is going to be here a long time.&rdquo; What the Hawks may be doing, although nobody will admit to it, is holding the job for rookie Jonathan Toews.COLUMBUS GM Scott Howson and coach Ken Hitchcock&nbsp;had lunch in Detroit with center Sergei Fedorov shortly after the August signing of Michael Peca. Fedorov was told he was expected to produce more offense and accept fewer minutes, as well as lead the team&rsquo;s young players.DETROIT The club hopes a better-conditioned &nbsp;Jiri Hudler will be a step quicker and eclipse his rookie total of 15 goals.NASHVILLE Owner Craig Leipold has purchased a pair of season tickets in Section 303 for this season.ST. LOUIS Defenseman Jay McKee is skating without pain from the pelvis injury that bothered him in the second half of last season and into July. And he&rsquo;s taking no chances with his comeback: He&rsquo;s changing his number from the ill-fated 74 to 77.<h2>NORTHWEST DIVISION</h2>CALGARY A pair of prospects were lost to the Russia Super League. Defenseman Mark Giordano, likely eighth on Calgary&rsquo;s depth chart, left for Moscow Dynamo and &ndash; an even bigger hit &ndash; center Andrei Taratukhin, who was expected to earn a roster spot, chose at the last minute before training camp to bolt for Ufa&hellip; Left winger Brandon Prust, also expected to vie for a roster spot, will spend much of training camp recovering from hip surgery.COLORADO Goalie Jose Theodore could miss some or all of training camp after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee. The Avs said the procedure was minor and he should be back by the regular season.EDMONTON The Oilers held their rookie camp in Yellowknife, N.W.T&hellip;The team has asked season-ticket holders to donate their tickets for the Nov. 24 game vs. Chicago to members of the Canadian Forces stationed at the Edmonton base.MINNESOTA Three months after not signing 2004 first-rounder A.J. Thelen and taking a compensatory draft pick instead, the Wild signed the Minnesota native to a $50,000 minor league contract with its AHL affiliate, Houston. &ldquo;This gives us another chance to develop him,&rdquo; said GM Doug Risebrough.VANCOUVER The Canucks&rsquo; new uniforms &ndash; a hybrid of the team&rsquo;s original expansion colors (blue and green) and the current whale logo &ndash; were greeted with a lukewarm reception. What&rsquo;s new is the word &lsquo;Vancouver&rsquo; above the logo on the front.<h2>PACIFIC DIVISION</h2>ANAHEIM The Ducks signed left winger Chris Kunitz to a four-year, $14.9-million extension that begins in 2008-09&hellip;The Ducks hired former NHL defenseman and Chicago Blackhawks coach Trent Yawney as a pro scout.DALLAS&hellip;Dallas is taking shots at other sports with billboards this season. Among the slogans: &ldquo;The only things our refs shave is the ice&rdquo; and &ldquo;One game a week? Is the &lsquo;N&rsquo; in NFL for Nancy?&rdquo; Said team president Jim Lites: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s edgy. But we&rsquo;re really good friends with the (NBA&rsquo;s) Mavs. They&rsquo;re our partners in the building. I think we thought it would be taken the right way.&rdquo; Mavs owner Mark Cuban didn&rsquo;t complain: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s hysterical,&rdquo; he said.LOS ANGELES The Kings hired Dave Lewis, who coached in Detroit and Boston, as an assistant under Marc Crawford. Lewis played parts of four seasons with the Kings in the early 1980s&hellip;The Kings signed Jean-Sebastien Aubin, adding him to their ever-growing list of potential goalies.PHOENIX Phoenix signed a one-year agreement with the Arizona Sundogs of the Central League&hellip; Center Kyle Turris, drafted third overall in June, scored a goal in each of the first three games of the junior Super Series for Canada.SAN JOSE Trade rumors were put to rest when center Patrick Marleau signed a two-year, $12.6-million extension that will keep the team captain in San Jose through 2009-10&hellip;Left winger Milan Michalek inked a six-year, $26-million extension&hellip;Ex-Sharks Mike Ricci and Bryan Marchment were hired by the team. As well as instructing, Ricci will serve as an advisor and Marchment will concentrate on scouting. &#9632;

f0042-02

Lowdown

<h2>BIGGER FLOCK</h2>Anaheim began a waiting list for season tickets after capping sales at 15,000. The team anticipates selling out every home game this season at the 17,174-seat Honda Center.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01679/9101167-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="567" height="941"><figcaption class="caption-body">(KRONWALL: GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>IT&rsquo;S TIME</h2>Wings D-man Niklas Kronwall is ready for training camp after missing the last four games of the regular season and all of the playoffs with a fractured sacrum. Injuries have limited Kronwall to 115 games over three seasons.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02452/9101160-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="443" height="444"><figcaption class="caption-body">(JOKINEN: JEFF VINNICK/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>EARN THAT MONEY</h2>Stars left winger Jussi Jokinen, 24, signed a two-year, $3.6-million deal Aug. 31. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s determined he wants to get better and he understands that there are expectations for him,&rdquo; said coach Dave Tippett. &#9632;

f0043-01

Quick Hits

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-08101/9101257-1-eng-US/f0044-082.jpg" title="f0044-08" width="286" height="315"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01580/9101250-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="2291" height="1310"><figcaption class="caption-body">LEAP YEAR?The Kings need sophomore Anze Kopitar to build on his stellar rookie campaign and be a No. 1 center. (NOAH GRAHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>BURNING QUESTIONS Every team has them, the trick is having answers for them.This issue&rsquo;s NHL team stories expose three pertinent queries for each club and offer some explanation as to how the situation might play out.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02352/9101243-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="131" height="144"></div>Can Alexei Kovalev have the kind of bounce-back year that could buoy the Habs&rsquo; offense? He sure can, but it probably won&rsquo;t come until next season, when he&rsquo;s playing for a free agent contract in the summer of 2009.Anze Kopitar had a sensational rookie season in Los Angeles, but now the pressure is on to be not only a No. 1 center, but a leader on a young team currently without a captain. How will he respond?The Devils won three Stanley Cups with an air-tight defense corps. But is there enough blueline support left for coach Brent Sutter to lean on after years of erosion?Only time will tell. &#9632;</div>

f0044-08

Points to ponder for every team

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAN WOOD</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Whither Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne? While the two future Hall of Famers spent the summer contemplating retirement, neither had announced a decision through early September. Until they do, the Ducks won&rsquo;t give up on the idea of getting them back in uniform.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03260/9101288-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="258" height="62"></div>2. Is Jean-Sebastien Giguere set for an encore? The Ducks goalie faltered badly in 2003-04 on the heels of winning the Conn Smythe Trophy and receiving a hefty, multi-year contract. Now he has a Stanley Cup, another big-money deal (four years, $24 million) and is recovering from off-season sports hernia surgery.3. How does Anaheim offset the loss of Dustin Penner? If Selanne returns, free agent acquisition Todd Bertuzzi might step nicely into Penner&rsquo;s vacated role. Otherwise, the Ducks are short and the door is wide open for rookie Bobby Ryan, the No. 2 overall pick in 2005. &#9632;

f0044-03

Ducks in limbo as stars mull options

<div class="byline">&#x2013; CRAIG CUSTANCE</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Can the Thrashers build on their first trip to the playoffs? Disappointing sweep aside, last season was a break-through for Atlanta. It&rsquo;ll take another big season from Marian Hossa and continued growth from goalie Kari Lehtonen to take the next step.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-04204/9101319-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="144" height="121"></div>2. Can a younger roster thrive under coach Bob Hartley? Critics question Hartley&rsquo;s ability to develop young talent, although he points to a successful minor league coaching career. For the Thrashers to contend, they&rsquo;ll need big contributions from younger players such as defenseman Tobias Enstrom, left winger Brett Sterling and possibly center Bryan Little.3. Will Hossa&rsquo;s contract status be a distraction? GM Don Waddell made it clear that extending Hossa&rsquo;s contract is a priority. It appears Hossa is willing to listen, but if a deal doesn&rsquo;t get done, things will get interesting. Trade rumors started in the summer and will get louder. &#9632;</div>

f0044-04

Atlanta hopes hinge on Hossa contract

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE LOFTUS</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Will the real Zdeno Chara stand up? Yes, the NHL&rsquo;s ice time leader (27:57) was a respectable 13th with 203 hits, but he was minus-21 and had only 16 even-strength points &ndash; not quite the dominating two-way performance expected.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-05174/9101350-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="132" height="132"></div>2. Can they cut it? Only Philadelphia (303) surrendered more than Boston&rsquo;s 289 goals last year, prompting two major off-season moves &ndash; the hiring of defense-conscious Claude Julien to replace fired coach Dave Lewis, and acquiring likely No. 1 goalie Manny Fernandez from Minnesota. The emphasis must be on improving team defense.3. What about Bergeron and Murray? At 22, center Patrice Bergeron has the capacity to shake off his first poor season (70 points, but a team-low minus-28), partially a result of playing hurt. A full season is needed from right winger Glen Murray, who has lost 41 games to injury over the past two years. &#9632;</div>

f0044-05

Chara must play up to his gigantic size

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TIM GRAHAM</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Will Thomas Vanek justify his hefty contract? Highly doubtful. The Sabres had to match the Oilers&rsquo; seven-year, $50-million offer sheet to keep the third-year winger. Working in his favor is that his line can stay together. The bad news is that without Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, Vanek will be facing the best checking lines every night.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-06151/9101381-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="144" height="96"></div>2. Is Ryan Miller ready to carry a team? He is. If goalies could wear a &lsquo;C,&rsquo; Miller would be the obvious selection for Buffalo. There&rsquo;s little question the Sabres will go as far as he propels them.3. What impact will a healthy Tim Connolly have? The slick center came out of the lockout completely dedicated and enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2005-06. But he sustained his second significant concussion in the &lsquo;06 playoffs and missed the first 80 games last season. With a full summer of conditioning, expect him to be dazzling again. &#9632;</div>

f0044-06

Concussed Connolly healthy and ready

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RANDY SPORTAK</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Will Mike Keenan be OK with Darryl Sutter as his boss? For sure. They have immense respect for each other. It will be curious to see how Keenan and Jarome Iginla work together, as the captain stands up for his teammates when coaches go too far.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-07135/9101412-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="132" height="112"></div>2. Is Miikka Kiprusoff&nbsp;still an elite goalie? Last season wasn&rsquo;t Kiprusoff&rsquo;s best in Calgary. But when the team needed great goaltending to clinch a playoff spot &ndash; and in the post-season &ndash; he delivered. He&rsquo;s in the final year of his contract, but bigger motivation may come from being told he&rsquo;s not the best goalie in the Northwest Division anymore.3. Will the supporting cast build on career years? Tough call. Daymond Langkow can be a 35-goal, 80-point guy while Kristian Huselius struggled under Keenan in Florida. He has improved his all-around game, but you can&rsquo;t help but think he&rsquo;ll feel Keenan&rsquo;s wrath at some point. &#9632;</div>

f0044-07

Who will butt heads with coach Keenan?

<div class="byline">&#x2013; LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1152/9101450-1-eng-US/f0045-112.jpg" title="f0045-11" width="286" height="315"></div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Is this an &ldquo;up&rdquo; or a &ldquo;down&rdquo; year for Carolina? The Hurricanes have a pattern of following good seasons with bad ones. After going from the Stanley Cup in 2006 to the golf course in &rsquo;07, Carolina decided to reload instead of rebuild, counting on the long off-season to ensure a healthy, motivated roster.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01499/9101443-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="144" height="86"></div>2. Can less of Cam Ward do more? The 23-year-old couldn&rsquo;t match his 2006 playoff performance last year, his first as an NHL starter, but he stuck around Raleigh during the off-season and lost 20 pounds working out with trainer Pete Friesen, a condition of the three-year, $8-million contract he signed this summer.3. Will Carolina&rsquo;s defense leave the Canes blue? With Bret Hedican attempting to come back from career-threatening hip and back problems and Frantisek Kaberle recovering from pre-camp knee surgery, the Canes have only five NHL defensemen who are completely healthy. &#9632;</div>

f0045-11

Slimmer Ward hopes to play big

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TIM SASSONE</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Can Martin Havlat stay healthy? If he can&rsquo;t, the Hawks are in for another long season. Havlat is the go-to guy on offense and the one player opposing teams have to plan for. The Hawks got off to a 4-2-0 start last season when Havlat hurt his ankle and missed the next 19 games. The team won only six times without him.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02319/9101481-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="144" height="126"></div>2. Will the power play be better? It can&rsquo;t get much worse. A healthy Havlat plus the additions of Robert Lang, Yanic Perreault, Sergei Samsonov and Jonathan Toews make the Hawks at least a threat to score. Rookie Toews might be the kind of power play sparkplug the Hawks haven&rsquo;t had in years.3. Will fans ever return to the United Center? It has to start with entertaining skaters. Havlat, Toews and 2007 No. 1 pick Patrick Kane are the types of players to put fans in the seats and then lift them out with special play. &#9632;</div>

f0045-02

Hawks resurrection begins with Havlat

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADRIAN DATER</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Can Peter Budaj take it to the next level? The Avalanche upgraded in several areas in the off-season, but stood pat in goal. Budaj enters the season as the No. 1 &ndash; despite Jose Theodore&rsquo;s $6-million salary &ndash; but has yet to play in the post-season and has had trouble beating the best teams in the West.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-03265/9101512-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="136" height="112"></div>2. Can Joe Sakic turn back the clock again? The legendary Avs captain became the second-oldest player in NHL history to reach 100 points last season. Expecting him to do it again, at age 38, is asking a lot. But he got free agent help in winger Ryan Smyth, and few players take care of themselves like Sakic.3. Will Paul Stastny endure a sophomore slump? He was the best player on the ice more often than not in the second half last season, but the secret is out: teams will be more aware of him. Still, Stastny&rsquo;s very talented and has hockey smarts beyond his years. &#9632;</div>

f0045-03

All eyes on Budaj between the pipes

<div class="byline">&#x2013; AARON PORTZLINE</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Are the country club days over? The Jackets will have an eye-opener when they experience their first Ken Hitchcock training camp and new GM Scott Howson completes the makeover. How the players respond to tough love is the key.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-04233/9101543-1-eng-US/f0045-042.jpg" title="f0045-04" width="141" height="122"></div>2. Who&rsquo;s the No. 1 center? Sergei Fedorov is the presumptive choice to play between Rick Nash and David Vyborny, but it&rsquo;s hardly a lock. Michael Peca, though not an ideal No. 1, could get a shot, too. Two wildcards: Dan Fritsche, a headstrong young lad who opened eyes at right wing last season; or rookie Derick Brassard, the most skilled center in the organization.3. Is Nikolai Zherdev ready to compete? Last season was a disaster for Zherdev, who dipped from 27 goals to 10 and drew the ire of the coaching staff. Howson traveled to Ottawa before camp to meet with Zherdev and mend old wounds, but the proof will be seen on the ice. &#9632;</div>

f0045-04

Pressure on Zherdev to turn it around

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE HEIKA</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Where are the goals? It&rsquo;s not unrealistic to say there is not one player on the roster who you can pencil in for 30 goals. Jere Lehtinen and Brenden Morrow have the potential, but could easily fall short. Dallas plans on scoring by committee and hopes a healthy lineup &ndash; the Stars lost 297 man-games to injury last season &ndash; will help boost a goal total of 217 that ranked 21st last year.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-05207/9101574-1-eng-US/f0045-052.jpg" title="f0045-05" width="144" height="91"></div>2. When do they pull the trigger? The Stars have 15 forwards fighting for 14 roster spots, as well as 10 defensemen they consider NHL-caliber. With plenty of assets available, they will be searching for a goal-scoring winger &ndash; and hope to land one before Christmas.3. Can they win in the playoffs? Fans don&rsquo;t care about another 100-point regular season. The triumvirate of GM Doug Armstrong, coach Dave Tippett and goalie Marty Turco is 1-4 in playoff series (11-18 in games) and needs to produce &ndash; this season. &#9632;</div>

f0045-05

Lack of offense worrisome in Dallas

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ANSAR KHAN</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Will Dominik Hasek continue to flourish? He will if he again avoids groin troubles. Hasek turns 43 in January, so the odds aren&rsquo;t in his favor. But he&rsquo;s still driven to excel and has the ability and mindset to thrive in the playoffs.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-06179/9101605-1-eng-US/f0045-062.jpg" title="f0045-06" width="144" height="107"></div>2. Do the Wings have enough goal-scoring? Detroit essentially lost a whole scoring line in Robert Lang, Todd Bertuzzi and Kyle Calder. They didn&rsquo;t add any sniping forwards in the off-season, so they&rsquo;ll need players such as Dan Cleary, Mikael Samuelsson, Valtteri Filppula, Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler to step up offensively. With about $5 million in cap space, they&rsquo;ll likely acquire a top forward at some point this season.3. Are they too old? They actually have a good nucleus of under-30 talent (Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Kronwall). This is a well-conditioned skating team that gets stronger in the third period and doesn&rsquo;t wear down. &#9632;</div>

f0045-06

Wings not as gray as they seem

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ROB TYCHKOWSKI</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Who will provide the offense? Nobody knows. Last year it didn&rsquo;t come at all &ndash; Edmonton was the lowest-scoring team in the NHL, the only club that didn&rsquo;t reach 200 goals. And three of the leading scorers &ndash; Ryan Smyth, Petr Sykora and Joffrey Lupul &ndash; are gone.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-07160/9101636-1-eng-US/f0045-072.jpg" title="f0045-07" width="126" height="132"></div>2. Should fans be worried about the new blueliners&rsquo; plus-minus totals? Yes. If defensemen Sheldon Souray (minus-28 in Montreal) and Joni Pitkanen (minus-25 in Philadelphia) come anywhere near those totals in Edmonton, the Oilers are in big trouble.3. Will Dustin Penner be worth $4.25 million? No. It&rsquo;s hard to live up to a 1,000 per-cent pay hike and Penner, who made $450,000 last year, will be getting a lot more than he&rsquo;s worth in the first year of his five-year, $21.25-million deal. Yes, he can be an important contributor, but it may take a couple of years to grow into that salary. &#9632;</div>

f0045-07

Generating goals a genuine problem

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRIAN BIGGANE</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Can Tomas Vokoun be the next Roberto Luongo? Fifteen months after the trade, the stomachs of Panthers fans still churn over the idea Florida essentially handed Luongo to Vancouver for defenseman Bryan Allen. Vokoun has accepted the challenge of filling that void.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0897/9101667-1-eng-US/f0045-082.jpg" title="f0045-08" width="144" height="139"></div>2. When will Nathan Horton fulfill his vast potential? Rated ahead of Eric Staal, Thomas Vanek and Zach Parise in 2003, Horton has yet to approach his potential despite netting 28 and 31 goals the past two seasons. Expected to join Olli Jokinen on the top line, Horton insists the fire is there this year.3. Will Florida finally end its seven-year playoff drought? Jacques Martin has finally brought a sense of continuity to a franchise that had five coaches and five GMs in the past six years. The Cats have the pieces to make the playoffs and take a run at their first title in the relatively weak Southeast Division. &#9632;</div>

f0045-08

Outlook is sunny for maturing Cats

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RICH HAMMOND</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Can Anze Kopitar get even better? If not, the Kings are in trouble, again. Kopitar had an outstanding rookie season, but as the No. 1 center he will need to increase production, be a consistent contributor on the power play and be a leader on this up-and-coming team.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0981/9101698-1-eng-US/f0045-092.jpg" title="f0045-09" width="132" height="113"></div>2. Who&rsquo;s in charge? After trading Mattias Norstrom to Dallas last season, the Kings need a new captain. Rob Blake is the obvious replacement, since he preceded Norstrom in the role, but the Kings need some younger players, such as Kopitar and Michael Cammalleri, to start taking charge.3. Can Marc Crawford keep his temper? Crawford&rsquo;s a fiery guy to begin with and coaching the third-worst team in the NHL last season didn&rsquo;t do much for his blood pressure. He needs to have patience with a team that is still growing. To that end, Crawford brought in even-keeled Dave Lewis as an assistant. &#9632;</div>

f0045-09

Kopitar’s ascension critical for Kings

<div class="byline">&#x2013; HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0963/9101774-1-eng-US/f0046-092.jpg" title="f0046-09" width="286" height="315"></div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Will Carey Price make the team? The Canadiens are solid in net with veteran Cristobal Huet and sophomore Jaroslav Halak. But the position is pivotal and stellar play can change things dramatically. So it might be tempting for Montreal to retain Price, already tabbed the franchise&rsquo;s goalie of the future.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01485/9101767-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="144" height="97"></div>2. Will Alexei Kovalev rebound? The enigmatic Russian winger is unquestionably the Canadiens&rsquo; most gifted player. But last season, Kovalev gained notoriety more with his mouth than on-ice talents and appeared generally unmotivated. He&rsquo;ll likely stay that way until he&rsquo;s playing for a contract in 2008-09.3. Can Andrei Kostitsyn fulfill his potential? He&rsquo;s only 22, so his entire career lies ahead. But it also has been four years since the Habs selected the talented winger 10th overall in 2003 and his emergence on an offense-starved team would help matters immensely.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02313/9101760-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="1707" height="1342"><figcaption class="caption-body">SKILL AND WILL?Opposition defenders &ndash; not to mention fans &ndash; never know what to expect from Alexei Kovalev. (DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0046-09

Carey the Habs? Kid just might

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOHN GLENNON</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Will the sale of the team succeed? The group of primarily Nashville-based business leaders seeking to buy the Preds has completed its purchase agreement with owner Craig Leipold. But two big steps remain: The group said changes must be made in the lease between the city of Nashville and the Predators. And there is still the matter of NHL approval.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-03225/9101805-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="144" height="83"></div>2. Is the franchise stable beyond this season? Season-ticket sales are about 1,000 ahead of this time last year, making it more likely the team will average at least 14,000 fans per game this year &ndash; and thereby keep its current lease in place.3. Who will replace the lost offense? The Predators tied for the most goals in the West last season, but have since said goodbye to Kimmo Timonen, Paul Kariya, Scott Hartnell and Peter Forsberg. In addition, Steve Sullivan&rsquo;s back injury is likely to keep him out until December. &#9632;</div>

f0046-03

Ownership, offense remain unsettled

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RICH CHERE</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Is the defense corps good enough? The Devils are sick of hearing how they haven&rsquo;t won a Stanley Cup without Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Ken Daneyko. Now they&rsquo;re without Brian Rafalski, too. Paul Martin becomes the No. 1 D-man, with a lot resting on the shoulders of new-comers Vitaly Vishnevski and Karel Rachunek and sophomore Andy Greene.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-04181/9101836-1-eng-US/f0046-042.jpg" title="f0046-04" width="126" height="126"></div>2. How much will Scott Gomez be missed? The playmaking center left a big hole when he signed with the Rangers. If free agent signee Dainius Zubrus can&rsquo;t replace Gomez on the top line, Travis Zajac could be moved up.3. Does Martin Brodeur finally get some time off? He&rsquo;s the reigning Vezina winner, coming off a record-breaking 48-win season, but the Devils would like a fresher Brodeur come playoff time. The arrival of backup Kevin Weekes should mean more rest for Brodeur. &#9632;</div>

f0046-04

Gomez gone, defense dwindling

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PETER BOTTE</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Is Rick DiPietro healthy? The first season of a 15-year contract ended with concussion questions and summertime hip surgery, so DiPietro will have to prove he&rsquo;s 100 per cent and make those franchise-defining questions go away.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-05143/9101867-1-eng-US/f0046-052.jpg" title="f0046-05" width="126" height="122"></div>2. Is Mike Comrie a No. 1 center? Not that the Isles have boasted a true No. 1 pivot anyway &ndash; whither Alexei Yashin? &ndash; but the significance of the Comrie signing needs to be far greater than simply &ldquo;getting younger&rdquo; in replacing Carol Alt in the wives/girlfriends room with Hilary Duff. The Isles need the 27-year-old Comrie to reach 30 goals for the third time.3. Can even Ted Nolan win with this bunch? OK, we&rsquo;ve stubbornly learned not to count him out &ndash; but Nolan might need to pull off his best rah-rah coaching job to sneak this gutted group into the playoffs for a second straight year. There is a slew of question marks up front. &#9632;</div>

f0046-05

Underdog Islanders still have Nolan

<div class="byline">&#x2013; LARRY BROOKS</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Will Jaromir Jagr thrive with Scott Gomez as his center as he did with Michael Nylander? Gomez is the ultimate up-tempo, puck-moving pivot while Nylander was the ultimate slow-down, puck-posession center, so there will be an adjustment period for Jagr, but there&rsquo;s no reason to believe No. 68 won&rsquo;t adapt.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-06125/9101898-1-eng-US/f0046-062.jpg" title="f0046-06" width="126" height="121"></div>2. Will Marc Staal make the team? Publicly, the Rangers are keeping their expectations low-key for the 20-year-old defenseman who has graduated from the OHL with honors, but they do anticipate the 12th overall selection in the 2005 draft to not only make the club, but to make an impact.3. Will management allow precocious youngsters to claim supporting roles? The Rangers&rsquo; track record suggests kids such as Nigel Dawes and Lauri Korpikoski will be dispatched to Hartford (AHL) when training camp concludes. &#9632;</div>

f0046-06

Third Staal brother set to crack Rangers

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRUCE GARRIOCH</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Can Ottawa get back to the final? Yes. The club didn&rsquo;t have a massive exodus, with only Mike Comrie and Tom Preissing leaving. While Daniel Alfredsson is the club&rsquo;s heart-and-soul player, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley have to learn from their experience in the final to take the club over the top. With unrestricted free agency on the horizon for Heatley and Mike Fisher, the time for Ottawa is now.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-07102/9101929-1-eng-US/f0046-072.jpg" title="f0046-07" width="120" height="144"></div>2. Is Ray Emery the real deal? All evidence suggests he can take the Sens to the next level, but he has been told by GM Bryan Murray the off-ice antics have to stop; Murray wants Emery&rsquo;s focus on the ice.3. Is John Paddock the man? He worked with Spezza, Emery, Chris Neil, Anton Volchenkov and Antoine Vermette in the AHL. They&rsquo;ve all sung his praises, but Paddock has to prove he can help this team make the next step. He was the No. 1 choice for coach from the start. &#9632;</div>

f0046-07

Razor looking sharp as Sens’ go-to goalie

<div class="byline">&#x2013; WAYNE FISH</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Will the real John Stevens please stand up? Which coach will appear in 2007-08: The one who led the AHL&rsquo;s Phantoms to an upset-filled Calder Cup in 2005, or the one who inherited &ndash; and steered &ndash; the Flyers to the worst one-year dropoff in NHL history?<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0873/9101960-1-eng-US/f0046-082.jpg" title="f0046-08" width="138" height="96"></div>2. Does Martin Biron&nbsp;have the right stuff? The talented goalie never quite staked a claim to No. 1 in Buffalo, although second fiddle to names such as Hasek and Miller is not exactly chopped liver. The Flyers shoved aside Antero Niittymaki and Robert Esche to give Biron unquestioned control.3. Can a five-man injection take a team from worst to playoff contender? The Flyers made a lot of headlines by obtaining Daniel Briere, Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul and Jason Smith. That&rsquo;s a definite upgrade, but the Flyers have to find a way to keep the puck out of their own net. &#9632;</div>

f0046-08

Flyers much better, but work still ahead

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MATT PAULSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-1044/9101998-1-eng-US/f0047-102.jpg" title="f0047-10" width="286" height="315"></div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Is Wayne Gretzky the right coach for the job? Gretzky guides a rebuilding club &ndash; with an average age of 26 &ndash; and will do so without either of his handpicked assistants (Barry Smith and Rick Tocchet). If he gets 25 wins out of this group, the answer is yes.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01461/9101991-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="126" height="126"></div>2. How will the Coyotes stay relevant in Phoenix while rebuilding? Baseball&rsquo;s Arizona Diamondbacks have been in the playoff hunt most of the season and still have had trouble drawing fans. That doesn&rsquo;t bode well for the Coyotes, whose average attendance last season was 24th in the league.3. Is this the season Fredrik Sjostrom breaks out? Sjostrom clearly is the best of a dreadful group of first round picks Phoenix made from 1997-2003 (only two of the seven are in the NHL), but through three seasons has yet to play like a No. 1 selection. His contract is up after this season and his days in the desert are numbered. &#9632;</div>

f0047-10

Sjostrom on notice as Dogs rebuild

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOE STARKEY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0047-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-03247/9102029-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">GOING UP?Big things are expected from Penguins sophomore Jordan Staal. (BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. What can Sidney Crosby do for an encore? Besides win another scoring title and Hart Trophy and continue to flourish as the face of the new NHL? The next frontier is growing into his new job as team captain and finding a way to lead his club on a playoff run.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02309/9102036-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="138" height="129"></div>2. What does coach Michel&nbsp;Therrien need to do to secure an extension? At the least, he needs to win a playoff series. He led the team to a 47-point improvement last year, but did not receive a raise. Rather, he was rewarded with a pat-on-the-back, one-year extension that runs through 2008-09 and is geared heavily around bonuses.3. Where&rsquo;s the ceiling for second-year stars Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin? Hard to imagine it&rsquo;s not much higher. Staal just turned 19 on Sept. 10. Malkin didn&rsquo;t even have a full training camp last season and stepped right into a whole new world, with smaller rinks and bigger players.</div><div style="clear: both;"> &#9632;</div>

f0047-03

Therrien working for potential payday

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TOM TIMMERMANN</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Do the Blues have the best defense in the NHL? Well, Erik Johnson is a Calder Trophy candidate and he&rsquo;ll start the season no better than the No. 6 defenseman. Jay McKee, who played in 23 games last season, will have to stay healthy, and Eric Brewer will have to play how he did at the end of last season, not at the beginning.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-04189/9102067-1-eng-US/f0047-042.jpg" title="f0047-04" width="138" height="111"></div>2. Can Andy Murray get last year&rsquo;s effort over a full season? Teams frequently show progress from a coaching change in mid-season, but it&rsquo;s harder to do it from Day 1. Murray will be able to keep the wins coming after sending a positive message to key players on Canada&rsquo;s World Championship team.3. Can the Blues&rsquo; oldtimers still do it? Paul Kariya is turning 33, Keith Tkachuk is 35 and Doug Weight is 36. Their best seasons may have been in the 1990s, but the Blues are betting each of them has at least one more quality season left. &#9632;</div>

f0047-04

Coach Murray’s style building up Blues

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ROSS MCKEON</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Who&rsquo;ll eat up Scott Hannan&rsquo;s minutes? Hannan led the team for three straight seasons in ice time, but left for Colorado in the summer. Youngsters Christian Ehrhoff, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Matt Carle figure to take more shifts and support vets Craig Rivet and Kyle McLaren, but is that enough?<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-05141/9102098-1-eng-US/f0047-052.jpg" title="f0047-05" width="144" height="120"></div>2. Is coach Ron Wilson on shaky ground? An awkward period followed the playoffs in which GM Doug Wilson failed to deflect rumors of a possible coaching change for a couple weeks. He eventually stood behind his coach, but it allowed the thought that a change is possible.3. Can Patrick Marleau turn post-season criticism into a positive? Scoreless and a minus-5 against Detroit after an outstanding first round against Nashville, Marleau needs to show he can take directed and public criticism and use it as motivation to push his game to the highest level. &#9632;</div>

f0047-05

Captain Marleau must lead forcefully

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAMIAN CRISTODERO</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Can Marc Denis and Johan Holmqvist carry the load? This is key. At .884, the duo combined last season for the league&rsquo;s worst save percentage; Denis didn&rsquo;t even dress in the playoffs while Holmqvist showed promise, but didn&rsquo;t raise his game.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-06116/9102129-1-eng-US/f0047-062.jpg" title="f0047-06" width="130" height="124"></div>2. Can the &lsquo;Big 3&rsquo; be&nbsp;kept together? If Tampa is out of the playoff hunt, there could be pressure to trade Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards or Martin St-Louis. Only Lecavalier does not have a no-trade clause. The Lightning believes it can challenge for the Stanley Cup. It also knows that with defenseman Dan Boyle an unrestricted free agent this summer, the window is closing.3. Will new owners make changes? When Doug MacLean, Jeff Sherrin and Oren Koules announced they had signed a purchase agreement, they also said coach John Tortorella and GM Jay Feaster are safe. We&rsquo;ll see how patient they are. &#9632;</div>

f0047-06

Tampa’s elite four enter uncertainty

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE ZEISBERGER</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Is Mats Sundin too old? No. At 36, the veteran Swede is still the team&rsquo;s leader on and off the ice. True, his goal production dried up down the stretch last season, but he averaged a point per game in the final 20 contests. Don&rsquo;t be surprised if he&rsquo;s revitalized with speedy Jason Blake on his wing.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0792/9102160-1-eng-US/f0047-072.jpg" title="f0047-07" width="122" height="130"></div>2. Can Vesa Toskala carry the load if he wins the No. 1 job? Ottawa GM Bryan Murray obviously thinks so. Murray recently suggested the Battle of Ontario will be tighter this year now that the Leafs have a goalie.3. Is GM John Ferguson on a short leash? Absolutely. Why else would ownership back off a contract extension, leaving Ferguson with just one year remaining on his deal. The brass spent the summer un-successfully trying to land a so-called &ldquo;senior advisor&rdquo; for Ferguson, an attempt that shows an obvious lack of confidence in the GM. &#9632;</div>

f0047-07

Sundin has weapons to work with now

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ELLIOTT PAP</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Can Markus Naslund be a dominant player again? Naslund was the NHL&rsquo;s best left winger for three seasons prior to the lockout, but has since faded. He&rsquo;s in the final year of a contract that pays him $6 million, so this might be his swan song in Vancouver.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0868/9102191-1-eng-US/f0047-082.jpg" title="f0047-08" width="132" height="127"></div>2. How much will&nbsp;Roberto Luongo play? Luongo came as advertised last season, a talented goalie capable of playing every night. He appeared in 76 games, won a team-record 47 and led the Canucks to a surprise division title. It might be asking too much of him to remain injury-free and repeat that kind of season.3. Who will play with Daniel and Henrik Sedin? Two years ago, it was Anson Carter. Last season, mostly Taylor Pyatt. The twins seem to mesh better with a right-shot &ndash; Pyatt shoots left &ndash; so maybe reclamation project Brad Isbister will get an opportunity. If not, look for Pyatt, or Trevor Linden during power plays. &#9632;</div>

f0047-08

Former star Naslund seeks redemption

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PETER KERZEL</div>BURNING QUESTIONS&nbsp;1. Can Semin repeat? Winger Alexander Semin had a breakout 38-goal season and must consistently produce this year. Semin needs to ratchet up his maturity level, as Alex Ovechkin effectively counters the way teams defend him.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0955/9102222-1-eng-US/f0047-092.jpg" title="f0047-09" width="143" height="92"></div>2. Where will Chris Clark play? As Ovechkin&rsquo;s right winger, Clark sizzled with a career-best 30 goals last season. The arrivals of free agents Michael Nylander and Viktor Kozlov and rookie Nicklas Backstrom will jumble the top two units, and Clark is willing to assume a third line role, making the team stronger.3. What is Brian Pothier&rsquo;s role? Pothier was signed in 2006 to anchor the defense and quarterback the power play. This past summer, the Caps brought in Tom Poti to do the same thing. A young defense will benefit from Pothier&rsquo;s presence, but the consistent Milan Jurcina-Shaone Morrisonn pairing may be split up. &#9632;</div>

f0047-09

Washington defense beginning to harden

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01284/9102295-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="294" height="157"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01322/9102288-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="2932" height="2830"><figcaption class="caption-body">GIANT PRECEDENTVancouver were the happy hosts after winning last spring&rsquo;s Memorial Cup. (RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02196/9102281-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="1708" height="1051"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHANGE OF HEARTPat Kane committed to play in the NCAA, but was wooed to the OHL by London. (CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>The battle for players between the Canadian Hockey League and the U.S. college system has been waged for years now, but these days both the weapons and rules of engagement have radically changed. And as the stakes get higher, the age of the players is getting lower.&ldquo;I remember when I coached at Lake Superior State (in the early 1990s),&rdquo; said Jeff Jackson, the architect behind the revival of the hockey program at Notre Dame. &ldquo;We would recruit kids after their senior year in high school and we were dealing with kids who were 19 or 20. Now we&rsquo;re recruiting 14-year-olds.&rdquo;Jackson, who has seen the recruiting wars from the college, major junior and U.S. National Team Development Program levels, isn&rsquo;t exaggerating. Last year, he received a verbal commitment from Cam Fowler, one of the best young defensemen in the U.S., to play at Notre Dame&hellip;in 2009-10. Fowler was all of 14 years old at the time.That didn&rsquo;t stop the Kitchener Rangers, who also coveted Fowler, from drafting him 18th overall in the Ontario League draft last spring. Fowler still intends to play at Notre Dame and will play with the U.S. National Team under-17 program this year, but there is little doubt the Rangers will continue to try to sway Fowler their way.And those kinds of skirmishes are going on with a huge number of elite players on both sides of the border. Kyle Turris, who was taken third overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the draft last June, committed to the University of Wisconsin at the age of 15, but has faced enormous pressure to play major junior from the Memorial Cup-champion Vancouver Giants, who own his Western League playing rights.College coaches and recruiters will tell you they have to recruit 14- and 15-year-olds to give themselves a fighting chance at getting elite players because the CHL teams have such a huge advantage in accessing the best young players. The CHL has no restrictions on when teams can begin wooing players (but they can&rsquo;t draft them until they&rsquo;re 16, barring exceptional status), but until last year, college teams had to wait until after the player&rsquo;s senior year in high school.An indication of how things have changed occurred last spring when the NCAA passed a by-law lowering that restriction to July 1, after the players&rsquo; sophomore season. Players can then receive a call from a coach once a month and can be sent promotional material from the school. Players themselves can initiate contact with a school at any age, which is how Notre Dame got a verbal commitment from Fowler and Ferris State managed to recruit a 15-year-old Beau Schmitz. With the ninth overall pick, the Kingston Frontenacs took Ethan Werek, despite the fact he had already expressed his intention to play for Boston University starting in 2009.In fact, earlier this summer Ohio State announced it had verbally committed to 15-year-old Alex Lippincott, a dynamic winger from Cleveland, beginning in the 2010-11 season.Both sides can claim their share of victories and defeats, but there is no doubt both are being much more aggressive in their pursuit of young players. Take the OHL for example. Last season, it hired Joe Birch, a 29-year-old former OHL defenseman, to be its director of recruiting and educational services. Among other things, Birch&rsquo;s primary responsibility is to travel around Ontario and the United States extolling the virtues of major junior hockey to the best 14- and 15-year-old players. Last year, Birch spoke to 55 teams and this year the OHL will hold four development camps for under-16 players.In hiring Birch, the OHL followed the lead set by the Western League, which has Jim Donlevy as its director of education services.And the results have been positive. After committing to Michigan State, fifth overall pick Matt Dechene joined the Brampton Battalion this season and the London Knights, who lured Patrick Kane two years ago, managed to land Ferris State recruit Patrick Maroon and convinced center Tony Romano to leave Cornell.<blockquote class="pullQuote">(The NCAA) is losing players, there&rsquo;s no question about it Mike Eaves</blockquote>Nobody is keeping official score, but the sentiment is junior hockey is winning the battle.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re losing players, there&rsquo;s no question about it,&rdquo; said Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves. &ldquo;The major junior leagues have done an excellent job of getting their message out, but we haven&rsquo;t done that and it&rsquo;s something we have to address.&rdquo;To be sure, Eaves would love to have access to the best young players and be able to show them a power-point presentation the way Birch does. Last winter, Birch even flew to Florida to speak with and work with a prospect. Last December, he bought himself a Honda Accord and promptly put 34,000 kilometers (more than 20,000 miles) on it visiting prospects.Even the families who are set on a college scholarship are, for the most part, willing to listen. Others, he said, want nothing to do with major junior hockey.&ldquo;For some people, we&rsquo;re the mighty, evil OHL,&rdquo; Birch said. &ldquo;Sometimes they won&rsquo;t even take your calls. I can only be so forceful.&rdquo;As is the case in any battle, there are accusations of skullduggery thrown around by both sides. College recruiters will say the CHL exaggerates the success of its scholarship plan and the reason why many of the top-end players go the junior route is they are paid clandestine six-figure contracts. Major junior operators contend that, even though colleges aren&rsquo;t allowed to recruit young players, they often do so by coaching at hockey festivals and by other means, often going through agents that college players aren&rsquo;t supposed to have.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01272/9102274-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="538" height="817"><figcaption class="caption-body">BADGEREDKyle Turris committed to Wisconsin, but still faced pressure to play major junior. (DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;These guys are operating a business as well,&rdquo; one agent said of the U.S. colleges. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t admit it. They&rsquo;re not supposed to be developing players for the NHL, but everyone knows they&rsquo;re really not what they&rsquo;re supposed to be.&rdquo;The current situation creates a number of headaches for both sides. First, schools have to make verbal commitments, which are binding, to players who haven&rsquo;t even fully developed their skills yet and might not be in uniform for another four years. Then they have to worry about the player taking the scholarship as a fallback and jumping to junior hockey when he gets a better deal. From the major junior side, players often use the scholarship commitment as a means of getting the best deal for themselves and, in effect, choosing the teams for which they are willing to play.That&rsquo;s why coaches in college hockey are pushing to change the rules to allow players to jump to college hockey even if they have played major junior. As it stands now, the NCAA views the CHL as a professional league, which forces players to make the choice between junior and college by the time they&rsquo;re 16.&ldquo;The kids all want to play junior hockey,&rdquo; said one CHL coach. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the parents you must convince.&rdquo;<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03142/9102267-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="142" height="167"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 142px">Hodge</figcaption></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04124/9102260-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="142" height="166"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 142px">Cressman</figcaption></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0587/9102253-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="142" height="167"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 142px">Vanstone</figcaption></div>Neil Hodge of the Moncton Times & Transcript, Jim Cressman of the London Free Press and Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post make up our major junior panel in determining the top 10 CHL teams.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>TOP 10 RANKING</h2>London made it to the OHL Western Conference final last season. Now the Knights are ready to assume the CHL&rsquo;s No. 1 ranking01 London Knights, OHL Last Year: Lost Rd. 302 Everett Silvertips, WHL Last Year: Lost Rd. 203 Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL Last Year: Lost Rd. 204 Niagara IceDogs, OHL Last Year: Lost Rd. 105 P.E.I. Rocket, QMJHL Last Year: Lost Rd. 107 Calgary Hitmen, WHL Last Year: Lost Rd. 308 Oshawa Generals, OHL Last Year: Lost Rd. 209 Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL Last Year: Lost Rd. 310 Vancouver Giants, WHL&nbsp;Last Year: Won Memorial Cup &#9632;

f0049-01

Major battle taking place

<div class="byline">BY ROB VANSTONE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0051-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-02194/9102326-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Zach Hamill (CJ RELKE PHOTOGRAPH)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01267/9102333-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="207" height="157"></div>Zach Hamill is a strong MVP candidate &ndash; on his team. Hamill is THN&rsquo;s choice for Western League MVP, but he&rsquo;s got plenty of competition from his Everett Silvertips teammates.Consider the fact Everett&rsquo;s roster should also include goalie Leland Irving, whom the Calgary Flames chose 26th overall in the 2006 draft. Irving could end up being Canada&rsquo;s starter at the next World Junior Championship.Let&rsquo;s not forget Phoenix Coyotes first-rounder Peter Mueller, who went eighth overall in 2006. And then there is Kyle Beach, first round material for the 2008 draft.But Hamill&rsquo;s offensive numbers were unrivalled, at least in terms of points. He won the league scoring title with 93 points, including 31 goals, in 69 games.&ldquo;Last year, I had a pretty good season and we had a lot of good players,&rdquo; Hamill said. &ldquo;It was definitely a compliment to me, being named MVP of the team.&rdquo;At 18, Hamill became the WHL&rsquo;s youngest scoring champion since Pavel Brendl did it at 17 with Calgary in 1998-99.The Boston Bruins took notice of the 5-foot-11, 180-pound center, selecting him eighth overall last June. Before the summer was over, Boston had signed Hamill.&ldquo;My ultimate goal is to play in the NHL one day,&rdquo; Hamill said. &ldquo;If it happens this year, great. If it doesn&rsquo;t, no big deal. I go back to a team in Everett that hopefully is going to be competitive.&rdquo;Here&rsquo;s how the Western League teams rate.1. EVERETT&nbsp;SILVERTIPS Much depends on how many of the nine players ticketed for big-league camps Everett gets back.Mueller&rsquo;s return is said to be a 50-50 proposition, with a considerably greater probability of Hamill and Irving returning.One big name who will not return is Kevin Constantine, who has left to become coach of the AHL&rsquo;s Houston Aeros. Constantine, who coached the Silvertips their first four seasons, will be replaced by long-time assistant John Becanic.Becanic will work closely with Beach, who has considerable talent, but must control his temper.2. CALGARY HITMEN Calgary expects to welcome back at least five of its top seven scorers from last season, including 89-point man Ryan White.But the real strength of the Hitmen is their blueline. Calgary has two 2007 first-rounders &ndash; Karl Alzner (Washington) and Alex Plante (Edmonton) &ndash; on the back end. If that isn&rsquo;t enough, the team added Keith Seabrook, 19, who bolted the University of Denver.The net is also well protected by goalie Dan Spence.3. VANCOUVER GIANTS The defending CHL champs welcome back Milan Lucic, their leading scorer from last season and the Memorial Cup MVP. Smooth-skating Jonathon Blum, a Nashville first-rounder, anchors the blueline. Vancouver&rsquo;s goaltending will not be a concern for several seasons to come with 17-year-old Tyson Sexsmith around.Having Don Hay behind the bench is always an advantage.4. REGINA PATS The Pats are deepest on the blueline, where only Calgary boasts players of similar caliber. Rearguard Nick Ross went 30th overall to Phoenix last June and Colten Teubert is a sure-fire first-rounder in 2008.Regina is a little thin up front, but well-coached by Curtis Hunt and goalie Linden Rowat continues to improve.5. KAMLOOPS BLAZERS Veteran squad pushed Vancouver last season.6. SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS&nbsp;Additions of NHL first-rounders Jim O&rsquo;Brien and Riku Helenius is huge.7. SPOKANE CHIEFS&nbsp; Well-balanced team welcomes first overall bantam pick Jared Cowen.8. SWIFT CURRENT BRONCOS A solid nucleus returns intact.9. MEDICINE HAT TIGERS Small step back after key vets graduate.10. KOOTENAY ICE Center Ben Maxwell is one of the WHL&rsquo;s top crowd-pleasers.11. MOOSE JAW WARRIORS Terrific crew up front.12. LETHBRIDGE HURRICANES&nbsp;Speedy forwards are abundant, led by Zach Boychuk.13. KELOWNA ROCKETS A young team that keeps improving.14. SASKATOON BLADES Back end covered, but not much offense.15. BRANDON WHEAT KINGS&nbsp;Lost six of their top seven scorers.16. RED DEER REBELS One Sutter (Brian) replaces another (Brent) as coach.17. PORTLAND WINTER HAWKS Moving forward slowly with strong crop of 17-year-olds.18. CHILLIWACK BRUINS Oscar Moller can score from anywhere.19. TRI-CITY AMERICANS No Carey Price means trouble.20. PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS&nbsp;After a stirring playoff run, Prince George has lost most of its cogs.21. PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS&nbsp;37-goal man Matt Robertson is the only top gun.22. EDMONTON OIL KINGS First year means growing pains.<h2>TOP 10 FOR 2008 DRAFT</h2>The Western League has always produced more than its share of beefy, NHL-caliber blueliners and this year is no exception.01 Kyle Beach, C, (Eve) Just needs more discipline02 Luke Schenn, D, (Kel) Tough, stay-at-home type03 Colten Teubert, D, (Reg) Lots of size and skill04 Zach Boychuk, C, (Leth)&nbsp;Small, speedy points man05 James Wright, C, (Van) Fast and smart06 Mitch Wahl, C, (Spok)&nbsp;Creative California native07 Tyler Myers, D, (Kel)&nbsp;6-foot-6, surprisingly mobile08 Colby Robak, D, (Bran) Very calm and steady09 Tyler Shattock, RW, (Kam) Power forward potential10 Eric Mestery, D, (Tri-City)&nbsp;Great size and a good skater &#9632;

f0051-02

Hamill time in the West

<div class="byline">BY JIM CRESSMAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-02159/9102371-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="275" height="93"></div>In only two seasons, John Tavares has forced the OHL to rewrite its rules to allow the drafting of a 14-year-old exceptional player, then went about rewriting its record book with 72 goals as a 16-year-old, pushing aside Wayne Gretzky.Tavares, proclaimed the game&rsquo;s &ldquo;next prodigy&rdquo; by The Hockey News last year, has also been featured by Sports Illustrated, was named CHL rookie of the year in 2005-06 and last season was its player of the year.What&rsquo;s in store for the Oshawa Generals center this season? A league scoring title? Maybe a Memorial Cup ring? For the record, the OHL&rsquo;s mark for most goals in a season is 87, set by Ernie Godden with the Windsor Spitfires in 1980-81. The points record is 192, set by Bobby Smith with the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s in 1977-78.Tavares is THN&rsquo;s choice to repeat as league MVP and he stands a good chance at repeating as CHL player of the year. But he has his eye on team accolades.&ldquo;I want to be a winner,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;I want to win a championship and lead my team. So hopefully I can keep doing what I&rsquo;m doing and keep improving my numbers and myself.&rdquo;It must be noted the OHL has had no players apply to be granted exceptional player status for either its 2006 or 2007 drafts.&ldquo;John Tavares set the bar very high,&rdquo; said commissioner David Branch of the youngster.Here&rsquo;s how the Ontario League teams rate.1. LONDON KNIGHTS They&rsquo;re gunning for a fifth-straight regular season title. Even if Chicago keeps first overall pick Patrick Kane in the NHL, the offense will be there, led by Edmonton first-rounder Sam Gagner. Phil McRae, son of former NHLer Basil McRae, is poised for a breakout season. The wild card is Blackhawks pick Akim Aliu and whether coach Dale Hunter can bring the best out of him after others failed.Goalie Steve Mason is among the elite.2. NIAGARA ICEDOGS The defense is solid with the likes of Alex Pietrangelo, a potential top-five pick, Matt Corrente and Drew Schiestel. New bench boss Mario Cicchillo is a strong defensive coach, so expect them to be among the leaders in goals against.There&rsquo;s still enough firepower up front, led by what looks to be league&rsquo;s strongest group of overagers.3. SARNIA STING The long wait for Sarnia fans could be over. Led by rookie-of-the-year Steven Stamkos, the Sting have a high-octane offense.The blueline is headed up by Mark Katic and Steven Ferry, but might be an area of concern for coach Dave MacQueen if overage candidate Ryan Wilson doesn&rsquo;t return. Goaltending is solid with Finnish import Tomi Karhunen and Parker VanBuskirk<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01259/9102364-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="1929" height="1729"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Tavares (IAN GOODALL)</figcaption></div>4. OSHAWA GENERALS While many think the Generals begin and end with megastar Tavares, they return more goals than any other team. Aside from that kid&rsquo;s amazing production, returning forwards Brett MacLean, Dale Mitchell and Brett Parnham can all score.The defense will be led by potential first round pick Michael Del Zotto and San Jose pick James DeLory. But the coup was getting overage defenseman Ryan McGinnis from last year&rsquo;s champion Plymouth Whalers.5. KITCHENER RANGERS&nbsp;GM/coach Peter DeBoer will do whatever it takes to build a Cup host contender.6. SOO GREYHOUNDS Their ace in the crease is overage goalie Kyle Gajewski.7. BRAMPTON BATTALION&nbsp;Acquiring Bobby Sanguinetti solidifies the defense.8. BELLEVILLE BULLS Last season&rsquo;s conference final run bodes well.9. OTTAWA 67&rsquo;S Led up front by San Jose picks Logan Couture and Jamie McGinn.10. PLYMOUTH WHALERS&nbsp;Second-year forward A.J. Jenks will have a great draft year.11. GUELPH STORM Potential top-five pick Drew Doughty anchors the defense.12. WINDSOR SPITFIRES Stable ownership of Warren Rychel and Bob Boughner will do wonders.13. BARRIE COLTS Loss of superstar center Bryan Little hurts.14. PETERBOROUGH PETES&nbsp;Colorado pick Trevor Cann must shoulder the load in goal.15. ERIE OTTERS OHL&rsquo;s first pick overall, Ryan O&rsquo;Reilly, is a future captain.16. KINGSTON FRONTENACS&nbsp;Expect left winger Cory Emmerton to be traded this season.17. SAGINAW SPIRIT The rotating door of coaches and GMs can&rsquo;t be good.18. MISSISSAUGA ST. MIKE&rsquo;S MAJORS Return of coach Dave Cameron is a good thing.19. OWEN SOUND ATTACK The cupboard is pretty bare, making for a lean year.20. SUDBURY WOLVES Going for broke last season leaves a major rebuilding project.<h2>TOP 10 FOR 2008 DRAFT</h2>Will Steven Stamkos follow Patrick Kane and become the Ontario League&rsquo;s second-straight No. 1 overall pick? Stay tuned.01 Steven Stamkos, C, (Sar) Mature, complete game02 Drew Doughty, D, (Gue) Dynamic offensively, tough03 Alex Pietrangelo, D, (Nia) Puck-mover with size04 Cody Hodgson, C, (Bram)&nbsp;Intelligent, two-way player05 Michael Del Zotto, D, (Osh) Power play quarterback06 Zack Bogosian, D, (Pete) An under-exposed sleeper07 A.J. Jenks, LW, (Ply) Flashes of creativity08 Jamie Arniel, C, (Gue)&nbsp;Lots of smarts, intensity09 Josh Bailey, C, (Win) A tremendous skater10 Thomas McCollum, G, (Gue) Has NHL starter potential &#9632;

f0052-02

Another tier for Tavares?

<div class="byline">BY NEIL HODGE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0053-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-02163/9102402-1-eng-US/f0053-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jakub Voracek (MIKE DEMBECK)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01245/9102409-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg" title="f0053-01" width="213" height="197"></div>Jakub Voracek combines the best of both worlds.With deft skills and true grit, the Halifax Mooseheads right winger has taken the QMJHL by storm and he&rsquo;s the cornerstone for a top championship contender this season.Voracek, selected seventh overall by Columbus in 2007, was named rookie of the year last season after notching 23 goals and 86 points in 59 games. He&rsquo;s highly skilled, executes plays at top speed, has good passing ability and plays well in traffic.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s big expectations on our team this season and I like that,&rdquo; said Voracek, 18. &ldquo;I love the pressure. I want to be a bigger leader this season now that I have experience in the league. I want to show I&rsquo;m a two-way player, not just offense.&rdquo;Voracek, 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, has lived up to all expectations after being the first pick in the 2006 Canadian Hockey League import draft and he&rsquo;s THN&rsquo;s choice for Quebec League MVP.&ldquo;His intensity and passion level is more like a Canadian player,&rdquo; said Halifax GM Marcel Patenaude. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very committed. He&rsquo;s got the desire to go into traffic and compete hard. The tougher the games get, the better he becomes.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s never a dead play with Jakub. He&rsquo;s got a lot of creativity and that&rsquo;s his biggest asset. He makes something out of nothing and that&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s so interesting to watch him play.&rdquo;Here&rsquo;s how the Quebec League teams rate.1. HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS The squad&rsquo;s strength is its deep group of forwards with the biggest names being Voracek, Ryan Hillier, Colby Pridham, Logan MacMillan and Peter James-Corsi. The Mooseheads have six 20-goal scorers from last year returning.The biggest question mark is goaltending, with no established starter on board. Halifax will reportedly acquire goalie Pier-Olivier Pelletier, 20, from Drummondville if he returns to junior.&ldquo;We expect to be very good offensively and we&rsquo;ve got an experienced defense that played very well in the playoffs last season so I think we&rsquo;ll be okay there,&rdquo; said Patenaude. &ldquo;If we add anyone in a trade, I would think it will be a marquee player.&rdquo;2. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND&nbsp;ROCKET The back end will be solid with stopper Antoine Lafleur and an experienced defense led by Ottawa draft pick Pierre-Luc Lessard, Benoit Gervais and Jason Swit.Forwards Brett Morrison (90 points) and Geoff Walker (80) are expected back after finishing second and third in team scoring last season.GM Serge Savard Jr. has already stated the Rocket will be looking to get stronger when the trade period opens in mid-December.3. ROUYN-NORANDA HUSKIES&nbsp;The graduation of goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur creates the biggest hole on a young team that advanced to the league semifinal last spring. Can the void be filled by veteran Guillaume Blouin, a 20-year-old with an ordinary resume, or European rookie Milan Pucholt?The Huskies have a strong blueline and return their top two scorers from last season in forwards Michael Dubuc (73 points) and Yannick Riendeau (72).4. MONCTON WILDCATS&nbsp;Moncton is deep up front with 10 veteran forwards, including all but one player from the top three lines last season. Big things are expected from Columbus draft pick Matt Marquardt, a left winger who led the team with 41 goals and 70 points in 67 games last season.Goaltending will be a strength with Nicola Riopel. Mark Barberio and Alexi Pianosi are the marquee names on an inexperienced blueline.5. LEWISTON MAINEIACS Defending champs lost several key players, but still boast solid core.6. RIMOUSKI OCEANIC Coach Clement Jodoin left Lewiston to take over this talented young team.7. ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN&nbsp;Solid group of forwards led by last year&rsquo;s MVP, Mathieu Perreault.8. VICTORIAVILLE TIGRES&nbsp;Goalie Kevin Bureau-Poulin has first-rounder potential in 2008.9. GATINEAU OLYMPIQUES&nbsp;Claude Giroux will challenge for league scoring title.10. SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS&nbsp;Third-year team ready for first playoff appearance.11. QUEBEC&nbsp;REMPARTS Talented forwards, question marks on defense.12. ST. JOHN&rsquo;S FOG DEVILS Definitely moving forward.13. CHICOUTIMI SAGUENEENS&nbsp;Lost top five scorers from last year.14. BAIE-COMEAU DRAKKAR Francois Bouchard was league scoring champion last season.15. CAPE BRETON SCREAMING&nbsp;EAGLES Lost starter, top four blueliners and two of top three scorers.16. DRUMMONDVILLE&nbsp;VOLTIGEURS Start of a three-year building plan.17. SHAWINIGAN CATARACTES&nbsp;Only franchise that&rsquo;s existed since league began in 1969-70 still hasn&rsquo;t won a championship.18. VAL D&rsquo;OR FOREURS Center Brad Marchand is trade bait.<h2>TOP 10 FOR 2008 DRAFT</h2>A quick glance at the top draft-eligible players in the Quebec League reveals a glut of offensive talent up the middle.01 Kelsey Tessier, C, (Que) Skills, character and speed02 Patrice Cormier, C, (Rim) Has size and skill03 Yann Sauve, D, (SJ)&nbsp;Mobile and moves puck04 Chris Doyle, C, (P.E.I.)&nbsp;Pure goal-scorer with size05 Mark Barberio, D, (Mon) Stay-at-home defender06 Pascal Amyot, D, (SJ)&nbsp;Slick with offensive instincts07 Joel Champagne, C, (Chi)&nbsp;Tall power forward with skill08 Philippe Cornet, C, (Rim) Tremendous playmaker09 K. Bureau-Poulin, G, (Vic) Big, quick and athletic10 Peter Delmas, G, (Lew)&nbsp;All-rookie team last year &#9632;

f0053-02

Talented Moose busting loose

<div class="byline">BY NEIL HODGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01249/9102447-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg" title="f0054-01" width="930" height="1278"><figcaption class="caption-body">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>MATHIEU PERREAULT HAS&nbsp;A TOUGH ACT to follow this season: his own.The Acadie-Bathurst Titan center finished third in the scoring race last season and was named league MVP. He may prove to be a steal for Washington, which took him in the sixth round in 2006.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0638/9102454-1-eng-US/f0054-062.jpg" title="f0054-06" width="134" height="124"></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a small player so league MVP is a big honor for me,&rdquo; said the 5-foot-9, 166-pounder. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good for my confidence to be recognized like that. It also puts some pressure on me for this season. My goal is to keep improving and sign with Washington.&rdquo;Former Acadie-Bathurst coach John Chabot points out there are many dimensions to Perreault&rsquo;s game.&ldquo;Mathieu is obviously a great offensive player, but there&rsquo;s more to his game,&rdquo; said Chabot, who&rsquo;s now an assistant with the New York Islanders. &ldquo;He kills penalties, takes important faceoffs and blocks shots.&ldquo;He was my first 3-on-5 guy, my first 5-on-3 guy and my first 5-on-4 guy. If you have your best player buying into what you want and getting involved in every aspect of the game, it&rsquo;s easy to get the rest of the team to follow.&rdquo;Perreault, 19, is a quick and shifty skater, a dynamic playmaker who can lift fans out of their seat. The Drummondville, Que., native shows no fear despite his undersized frame. The second overall pick in the 2005 QMJHL draft has already proven himself as a big-game player over two seasons. The big thing for him now is to add some weight and improve his physical strength.&ldquo;In 1-on-1 battles for the puck, more often than not Mathieu comes out with it and that&rsquo;s something you can&rsquo;t teach,&rdquo; Chabot said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a competition level that makes him the hardest worker in both practices and games. He plays like he has something to prove every shift and that&rsquo;s his biggest attribute aside from his vision.&ldquo;He has the puck a lot and when he gets knocked down he gets right back up and into the play. He&rsquo;s got all the skill in the world and he complements it with great work ethic.&rdquo;Does Perreault have an NHL future?&ldquo;There&rsquo;s always been some place for players like him,&rdquo; Chabot said. &ldquo;With the new rules and the successes of Daniel Briere and Martin St-Louis, there&rsquo;s more spots now for small, quick guys that have great skills.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2>Spotlight</h2><h3>MATHIEU PERREAULT</h3>Height: 5-9 Weight: 166GP 67 G 41 A 78 Pts 119Draft Status: Selected 177th overall by Washington in the 2006 NHL draft<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-02142/9102440-1-eng-US/f0054-022.jpg" title="f0054-02" width="210" height="210"></div> &#9632;

f0054-01

Little big man making mark

<div class="byline">BY ROB VANSTONE</div>The Kamloops Blazers are a big-league team in one respect.NHLers and Blazers alumni Jarome Iginla, Shane Doan, Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor have teamed up with Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi to purchase the team for about $7 million, subject to approval from the WHL&rsquo;s board of governors Oct. 10.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0392/9102485-1-eng-US/f0054-032.jpg" title="f0054-03" width="144" height="109"></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m particularly excited about the involvement of the players,&rdquo; Gaglardi said. &ldquo;You can imagine if you&rsquo;re living in Saskatchewan or Manitoba and you get drafted by the Blazers. You&rsquo;re trying to decide what you want to do and you get a call from Shane Doan or Jarome Iginla. I think everyone in your town&rsquo;s going to know they called you.&rdquo;Gaglardi and the four NHL players are part of River City Hockey Inc., which bought the team from the Kamloops Blazers Sports Society after invoking a clause in the B.C. Society Act to force a vote on the offer by the Society&rsquo;s membership. A previous offer by the group in 2006 was not presented by the Society to its membership.NOTES Seattle has added two NHL first-rounders &ndash; Finnish goaltender Riku Helenius (15th overall, Tampa, 2006) and American center Jim O&rsquo;Brien (29th, Ottawa, 2007) &ndash; to their lineup. &#9632;</div>

f0054-03

Four NHL stars team up to buy share of Blazers

<div class="byline">BY JIM CRESSMAN</div>Dave Cameron is no stranger to the OHL, having coached the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Toronto St. Michael&rsquo;s Majors in the past.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0469/9102516-1-eng-US/f0054-042.jpg" title="f0054-04" width="172" height="59"></div>But he and the Majors are venturing into new territory as they make the move to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga.It&rsquo;s definitely a welcomed change after 10 years in the Toronto St. Michael&rsquo;s College School Arena, where the ice surface is 180 feet by 80 feet. The Hershey Centre is the standard NHL-sized 200 by 85.&ldquo;It was really difficult for (NHL) scouts to evaluate players in that building and quite frankly agents had issues with their kids coming there,&rdquo; said Cameron, 49, who coached the Majors for four seasons before spending the past two in the AHL.The Majors, now called the Mississauga-St. Michael&rsquo;s Majors, moved after the Mississauga IceDogs were sold and placed in St. Catharines. Majors owner Eugene Melnyk purchased the IceDogs with the sole purpose of selling them so his Majors could shift to the Hershey Centre.NOTES The Kitchener Rangers (Nov. 22) and Sudbury Wolves (Nov. 26) have been chosen to host the two CHL Canada/Russia Challenge games to be played in OHL markets. &#9632;

f0054-04

Cameron comes back to find much nicer digs

<div class="byline">BY NEIL HODGE</div>St. John&rsquo;s Fog Devils coach Real Paiement is in his 16th QMJHL season behind the bench and he has never seen this before.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0552/9102547-1-eng-US/f0054-052.jpg" title="f0054-05" width="134" height="124"></div>There are four European goalies in the league this season as a result of the 2007 Canadian Hockey League import draft.They are Robert Mayer in Saint John, Timo Pielmeier in St. John&rsquo;s, Milan Pucholt in Rouyn-Noranda and Marek Benda in Cape Breton. They all went in the top half of the first round.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not surprised this many teams went after European goalies,&rdquo; Paiement said. &ldquo;It was a dominant position in our league in the past. It definitely hasn&rsquo;t been in the past five years. Last year, for the first time (in a long time) there was no Quebec goalie on the (Canadian) national junior team.&rdquo;Maxime Clermont, chosen 13th overall by Gatineau, was the only goalie selected in the first round of the 2007 QM-JHL draft. Antoine Lafleur of P.E.I., a second round pick of the New York Rangers, was the only QMJHL goalie taken in the 2007 NHL draft.NOTES Linesman Daniel Bechard is wearing No. 22 in honor of his father, Claude Bechard, the league&rsquo;s former referee-in-chief who died this summer at age 68. Claude was an NHL official for 14 seasons. &#9632;</div>

f0054-05

Goalie factory no more as Euros invade ‘Q’ creases

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-1210/9102592-1-eng-US/f0055-122.jpg" title="f0055-12" width="247" height="245"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01225/9102585-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="254" height="339"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-139/9102578-1-eng-US/f0055-132.jpg" title="f0055-13" width="172" height="174"></div>Chris Porter admits there were some anxious moments as the summer dwindled.He had turned down an offer to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that drafted him in 2003, and decided to test the market when he became a free agent Aug. 15.Porter, 23, wasn&rsquo;t free very long. He signed with the St. Louis Blues five days later and will bring some grit and jam to training camp.&ldquo;This summer was definitely a long wait,&rdquo; said Porter, who last season was captain of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. &ldquo;I ran the risk of having no opportunity come Aug. 15, but I believed in my abilities.&rdquo;Porter will very likely end up with the American League&rsquo;s Peoria Rivermen as he learns the pro game, but the Blues like his skating, his size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) and his dedication to the game. He&rsquo;s not going to be their next 30-goal scorer at center or left wing, but he will be a pain to play against.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m an energy guy,&rdquo; Porter said. &ldquo;I want to finish my checks and be tough to play against.&rdquo;Besides showing a knack for being on the puck and a willingness to hit, Porter was amazingly durable at North Dakota. He set an WCHA ironman record by not missing a game, playing in 174 in a row. &#9632;

f0055-12

Patience pays off

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0055-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-02148/9102686-1-eng-US/f0055-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">ENCOREDon Lever and Ron Wilson will be back behind Hamilton&rsquo;s bench in search of another Calder Cup. (PROAMIMAGES.NET)</figcaption></div>He has gone from an organization where nothing less than a championship is good enough, the Detroit Red Wings, to one in serious need of a performance overhaul, the Phoenix Coyotes.But Greg Ireland&nbsp;is anxious to take on the challenge of helping rebuild a franchise.Told by the Red Wings they didn&rsquo;t want him back to coach the Grand Rapids Griffins, Ireland was hired by the Coyotes to guide the San Antonio Rampage.&ldquo;Phoenix is looking to create an identity and change their culture and that extends to San Antonio,&rdquo; Ireland said. &ldquo;We really want to change the dynamics and the culture.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-03104/9102679-1-eng-US/f0055-032.jpg" title="f0055-03" width="247" height="245"></div>&ldquo;To do that, it&rsquo;s going to be the actions that speak the loudest. The tempo in practice, the off-ice conditioning, the accountability when things aren&rsquo;t working.&rdquo;The Rampage will certainly welcome a change. They have missed the playoffs for four consecutive seasons and have the AHL&rsquo;s worst record over the past two years. Ireland, meanwhile, leaves a team that always expects to contend for the Calder Cup. In his two-and-a-half years as coach, the Griffins reached the conference final once and won the regular season title in 2004-05. The Griffins were 37-32-6-5 last season. Despite a 109-65-8-10 record overall, Ireland wasn&rsquo;t asked to return when Detroit assumed control of the coaching hirings in Grand Rapids.&ldquo;I think they really wanted as few people back who had been Griffins people,&rdquo; said Ireland, 42.CUP ENCORE While some players will certainly be on the move, coach Don Lever&nbsp;and assistant Ron Wilson were signed to new contracts by Hamilton after guiding the Bulldogs to their first championship in AHL history.In a league where development comes first, there hasn&rsquo;t been a repeat champion since the 1990-91 Springfield Indians.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll probably have about 11 guys back, so that&rsquo;s a good nucleus,&rdquo; Lever said, &ldquo;but the challenge is to start grooming a new set of young guys.&rdquo;Lever has coached four AHL seasons (two in Hamilton, two in Rochester in the early 1990s) and was an assistant in the NHL for 14 seasons (12 with Buffalo, two with St. Louis). He still dreams of being an NHL head coach.&ldquo;I want to give this a couple more years (in Hamilton) and hopefully something will work out for me,&rdquo; he said.SLY FAREWELL Defenseman Darryl Sly, a charter member of the Rochester Americans Hall of Fame and a gold medalist with Canada in the 1961 World Championship, died of cancer Aug. 28. He was 68.During his 10-year pro career, Sly played 79 NHL games with Toronto, Minnesota and Vancouver. He ranks first among defensemen in Rochester franchise history in games played (516) and goals (51). He won three Calder Cups (1965, &rsquo;66, and &rsquo;68).A tremendous skater, Sly was the playing partner of Don Cherry in Rochester. Cherry once told the Democrat and Chronicle: &ldquo;He carried me for six seasons.&rdquo;<h2>POWER RANKINGS</h2>Total Calder Cups, by cityAHL TOP 10<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0475/9102672-1-eng-US/f0055-042.jpg" title="f0055-04" width="512" height="649"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0550/9102665-1-eng-US/f0055-052.jpg" title="f0055-05" width="254" height="336"><figcaption class="caption-body">DARREN HAYDAR</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0636/9102658-1-eng-US/f0055-062.jpg" title="f0055-06" width="133" height="129"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0727/9102651-1-eng-US/f0055-072.jpg" title="f0055-07" width="242" height="82"></div>LONGEST ASSIST STREAK<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0818/9102644-1-eng-US/f0055-082.jpg" title="f0055-08" width="512" height="501"></div>PHILADELPHIA PHANTOMS12th Season in AHLBest Season49-18-10-3 in 1996-97ArenaWachovia SpectrumGM Paul HolmgrenCoachKjell SamuelssonAll-time Leaders(GP-G-A-Points)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-1114/9102637-1-eng-US/f0055-112.jpg" title="f0055-11" width="351" height="269"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0915/9102630-1-eng-US/f0055-092.jpg" title="f0055-09" width="152" height="140"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-1013/9102623-1-eng-US/f0055-102.jpg" title="f0055-10" width="189" height="253"></div> &#9632;

f0055-02

Counter hockey culture

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PHIL JANACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-02124/9102724-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg" title="f0056-02" width="254" height="338"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01188/9102731-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg" title="f0056-01" width="183" height="86"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0375/9102717-1-eng-US/f0056-032.jpg" title="f0056-03" width="136" height="129"></div>In Justin Peters and Daniel Manzato, the Carolina Hurricanes feel they have two solid young goaltending prospects. Now, they also have the proven veteran to mentor them.Michael Leighton, acquired from the Montreal Canadiens at the NHL draft in June, will be No. 3 on Carolina&rsquo;s depth chart and No. 1 between the pipes for the Albany River Rats.&ldquo;That was a huge hole that we needed to fill,&rdquo; said Rats coach-GM Tom Rowe. &ldquo;The kid&rsquo;s going to have a chance to play in Carolina at some point, so he&rsquo;s excited about it, too.&rdquo;Leighton, 26, was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks 165th overall in 1999. He spent parts of his first four pro seasons with the Norfolk Admirals and was named to the 2002 AHL all-rookie team after going 27-16-8 with a 2.14 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.Listed at 6-foot-3 and 192 pounds, he played for Rochester, Portland and Philadelphia in the AHL, as well as Nashville and the Flyers in the NHL over the past two seasons.&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be the No. 1 guy in Albany, for sure,&rdquo; Rowe said. &ldquo;At our free agent meetings, we talked about goaltending and having more depth there.&ldquo;Last year, we would have wrapped up a playoff spot a month earlier if we had a little more consistent goaltending.&rdquo; &#9632;</div>

f0056-02

Michael the mentor

<div class="byline">BY PHIL JANACK</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0056-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0458/9102776-1-eng-US/f0056-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">HALL BOUND?John Brophy is a strong candidate for election into the Admirals Hall of Fame this winter. (BBS/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0537/9102769-1-eng-US/f0056-052.jpg" title="f0056-05" width="343" height="446"></div>The city of Glens Falls, N.Y., is stepping up its pursuit to bring back an AHL team. In late August, the city&rsquo;s Common Council unanimously granted Barrett Sports Consulting exclusive rights to negotiate and obtain an AHL franchise for the 2008-09 season.As part of the agreement, the firm has a 90-day window to decide whether or not to move forward and will devise an alternate plan for attracting pro hockey should the AHL option not prove feasible.Firm associates Jeff Barrett and John Pettit&nbsp;both have ties to the city&rsquo;s original AHL franchise, the Adirondack Red Wings. Barrett, CEO of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and Pettit, replaced in May as president of the Iowa Stars, each worked in operations for the Glens Falls Civic Center.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0632/9102762-1-eng-US/f0056-062.jpg" title="f0056-06" width="262" height="262"></div>Already, the firm has spoken with a number of groups interested in investing in an AHL team. Civic Center executive director Suzanna Bernd said discussions have been held with NHL teams regarding a possible affiliation. In February, Bernd created the Bring Back Hockey Committee, whose purpose was to gauge local interest in having another AHL team.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had a meeting with (AHL president) Dave Andrews and he was very encouraging,&rdquo; Bernd said. &ldquo;It was a very positive meeting. It can&rsquo;t hurt to have friends in many places.&rdquo;The arena has not had a fulltime hockey tenant since the UHL&rsquo;s Adirondack Frostbite folded in 2006. The Adirondack Red Wings existed from 1979-99, capturing four Calder Cup championships.HALL OF AN IDEA The inaugural class of the Admirals Hall of Fame will be inducted in February and honored before a Norfolk game.In their 18th season of pro hockey and eighth in the AHL, the Admirals are accepting suggestions from fans to see who they believe should be considered for membership.The initial group will be announced in January. An induction dinner will be held Feb. 7, 2008, and the class honored in an on-ice ceremony prior to Norfolk&rsquo;s home game with the Binghamton Senators Feb. 8 at Scope Arena.&ldquo;We are thrilled to announce the creation of the Admirals Hall of Fame,&rdquo; said team vice president Mark Bernard. &ldquo;The Admirals have been one of the premiere teams in minor pro hockey over the past 18 seasons. You do not achieve that status without having premiere players and management. By creating the Admirals Hall of Fame, we feel those players and management will be justly honored.&rdquo;COME ON DOWN Hired as the Worcester Sharks radio play-by-play voice, Eric Lindquist has also had his share of television time.In 2002, Lindquist, now 28, was a contestant on the game show The Price Is Right, winning a trip to Germany among the prizes in a final showcase worth more than $18,000.When he was 14, Lindquist was the teen week champion on the game show Wheel of Fortune, going home with some $60,000 in cash and merchandise. &#9632;

f0056-04

Glens Falls making charge

<div class="byline">BY MIKE MASTOVICH</div>Veteran goalie Craig Kowalski has heard Gwinnett fans chant his name in a taunting tone.But this winter, when echoes of his name bellow in the Gwinnett Gladiators home rink, chances are the fans will be affectionately calling out to Kowalski.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0720/9102807-1-eng-US/f0056-072.jpg" title="f0056-07" width="164" height="157"></div>The Gladiators signed Kowalski as a free agent, and in the process transplanted a key part of divisional rival Florida&rsquo;s goaltending corps. As a contract player in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, Kowalski spent much of the past three seasons with Florida, the Canes&rsquo; ECHL affiliate.Kowalski posted career bests across the board last year (29 wins, 2.61 goals-against average, .918 save percentage) in helping the Everblades reach the American Conference final. As a rookie in 2004-05, Kowalski advanced to the Kelly Cup final with Florida.The 26-year-old believes Gwinnett will be a good fit.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m familiar with a few guys on their team and just the success they&rsquo;ve had over the last couple years,&rdquo; Kowalski told The News-Press in Fort Myers. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good opportunity. They&rsquo;ve always had good fans and a good atmosphere.&rdquo;STAR POWER Greg Rallo, a key player on the Idaho Steelheads&rsquo; championship squad and all-star game participant last season, re-signed with the team. He recorded a hat trick in Game 2 of the Kelly Cup final and had three game-winning goals in the title series.Matt Craig, a 2006 all-star game player, agreed to terms with Idaho after playing the past two seasons with Utah. &#9632;

f0056-07

New mask for Gladiator

<div class="byline">BY NICK GATES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-02123/9102838-1-eng-US/f0057-022.jpg" title="f0057-02" width="750" height="1425"><figcaption class="caption-body">TOP KNOXIce Bears center Kevin Swider knows there are perks to playing hockey in warm places. (PHOTO BY ANDY ARMSTRONG &copy; 2007)</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-01174/9102852-1-eng-US/f0057-012.jpg" title="f0057-01" width="136" height="126"></div>CONTRACTION in the ever-changing world of minor-league hockey is alarming.Teams come and go, but the Southern Professional Hockey League is here to stay.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-098/9102845-1-eng-US/f0057-092.jpg" title="f0057-09" width="166" height="130"></div>The Florida Seals shut down mid-season and the league scrambled to finish the year with seven teams. The Jacksonville Barracudas left an NHL-caliber arena for their tiny practice rink to stay solvent. The Pee Dee Cyclones did the same, fleeing Florence, S.C., where there were lease issues, for Winston-Salem and are now the Twin City Cyclones.Despite such instability, the three-year-old league is on solid ice. The reason: an economically sound business plan.Tickets cost about what you would pay to go to a movie. Annual team budgets are about $1 million per year. Squads averaging at least 3,000 fans per game are profitable. A $5,600 per week salary cap and an unbalanced schedule keep operating expenses down.Players don&rsquo;t get rich &ndash; average salary is about $300 per week &ndash; yet the talent pool grows each year as teams in higher leagues fold and the SPHL gains more credibility.The league provides a place for college and junior players to improve their skills. A few will advance to higher leagues, most won&rsquo;t.The league skimps on salaries, but not perks.Eighteen-man rosters result in significant playing time. Living in the South &ndash; Richmond (Va.) is the northernmost port of call &ndash; means time for golf and fishing after practice.Competition is improving, as evidenced by the declining offensive production of skilled players. There have been three different President&rsquo;s Cup champions in three years.The league needs one more team, but expansion isn&rsquo;t a priority. Owners prefer being small and strong to large and weak. &#9632;

f0057-02

Foundation for success

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RISTO PAKARINEN</div>Jere Karalahti was suspended from the NHL in 2002 because of his refusal to participate in the league&rsquo;s substance abuse program. Since then he&rsquo;s played for IFK Helsinki, in Finland, where his career began. But over the last five years Karalahti has missed games and practices on occasion and, after issuing a warning one year ago, IFK terminated his contract after he went missing in May and didn&rsquo;t report for the team&rsquo;s off-season training. Karalahti signed with defending league-champion Karpat on the condition he participate in a testing program. According to Karalahti&rsquo;s agent, the results are also sent to NHL-appointed doctors in an attempt to get that suspension lifted. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to change everything, from my diet to training regime,&rdquo; Karalahti said. &ldquo;My goals are to help Karpat win the Finnish championship again, play in the World Championship and perhaps return to the NHL.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0389/9102883-1-eng-US/f0057-032.jpg" title="f0057-03" width="174" height="106"></div> &#9632;

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September 18, 2007

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

Wild’s fate hinges on Gaborik’s health

Plus/Minus

IceDiggers striking D-I success