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.

May 27, 2008

The Hockey News - May-27-08

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012084/9142332-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(COVER: CROSBY: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES; MALKIN: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES CONTENTS: GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="70" height="71"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>Check out <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> to see photos of the week.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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IN THIS ISSUE

LOOK OUT BELOW!

<div class="byline">&#x2013; LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07393/9143632-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Owner Peter Karmanos has yet to hear from the Leafs, a team reportedly interested in GM Jim Rutherford &ndash; and said he isn&rsquo;t sure he&rsquo;d grant them permission to talk to him, anyway. Though the GM indirectly criticized coach Peter Laviolette&rsquo;s work a few days after the Canes missed the playoffs for the second straight season, Rutherford and Karmanos both said they would like to let emotions recede before they make any decisions going forward.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Laviolette has three years remaining on the contract he signed after leading the Canes to the Cup in 2006. Among Canes fans, 93 percent of voters in an online poll wanted the team to retain the coach. The re-signing of Sergei Samsonov also seems to indicate Laviolette will be back.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THE STANDARDS

CAROLINA

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TIM SASSONE</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon022.jpg" title="common02" width="105" height="118"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011223/9143663-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="213" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Dale Tallon has made mistakes, but drafting Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, as well as trading for Martin Havlat and Patrick Sharp, makes up for it. The question now is, can Tallon take the Hawks to the next level? This is a big summer for the GM. He has money to spend and young assets to deal if necessary. He plans on courting free agents and with Chicago now an attractive place to play, Tallon must close those deals.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Denis Savard, the Hawks&rsquo; eighth coach since 1998, led a 17-point turnaround this season and nearly earned a playoff spot. Savard is prepared, a good motivator and has shown patience in helping the Hawks develop. He&rsquo;s signed only through next season and some are wondering why an extension hasn&rsquo;t been announced.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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CHICAGO

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JIM CRESSMAN</div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span> Nanos Research/Sun Media poll found 68 percent of Ontarians want fighting banned in the OHL. The poll was conducted after the brawl between Quebec and Chicoutimi early in the QMJHL playoffs. &ldquo;The poll reflects the attitude of our league from the standpoint that we recognize we don&rsquo;t need fighting in our game to market it and for that reason we have been putting in a number of initiatives to reduce fighting,&rdquo; said commissioner David Branch. &ldquo;What happened in the QMJHL was bullying and was terrible and should be removed from our game. You will never legislate fighting out of hockey, but we have to continue to challenge ways and means in which it will become something that does not occur very often.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06209/9144684-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="210" height="211"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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PROSPECTS UNLIMITED

Fighting on the ropes?

<div class="byline">with Jason Kay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012075/9142370-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="713" height="604"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK WILSON)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031433/9142377-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="213" height="212"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HE HOCKEY NEWS BRAIN TRUST made a decision several years ago to wait until the playoffs conclude before naming our selections for coach and executive of the year.</p><p>It only makes sense. The regular season, as much as we enjoy/endure it, is an excess of hors d&rsquo;oeuvres, a lengthy warm-up act, those 30 minutes of trailers and commercials we sit through while waiting for the main feature to begin.</p><p>The post-season is business time and should be accounted for when considering the league&rsquo;s ultimate architect and bench general. That&rsquo;s why, a couple issues back when we named our individual trophy winners, the coach- and exec-of-the-year honors were (conspicuously, we hope) absent.</p><p>Now that we can see the post-season finish line, however, we can safely identify the candidates, listed below in alphabetical order. If you want to have your say, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a> to cast your ballots. Our winners, and your choices, will be published in the July edition.</p><h2><b>SCOTTY BOWMAN COACH-OF-THE-YEAR AWARD</b></h2><p>CLAUDE JULIEN, BOSTON We picked the Bruins for 15th in the East last summer, primarily because they couldn&rsquo;t place 16th. Instead, Julien got them into the playoffs and within a hair of knocking off the No. 1 seed.</p><p>JOHN STEVENS, PHILADELPHIA Everyone liked the Flyers&rsquo; makeover, but few believed they&rsquo;d come this far, this fast. Kudos to Stevens and his mentoring and the example he sets with an even-keeled demeanor behind the bench.</p><p>MICHEL THERRIEN, PITTSBURGH Yes, he has the best young talent in the game, but he also has their ears, which shouldn&rsquo;t be undervalued. He has taught them, and convinced them, to play defense when it matters most.</p><p>Shout out to: Barry Trotz, Guy Carbonneau, Dave Tippett, Bruce Boudreau.</p><h2><b>SAM POLLOCK EXECUTIVE-OF-THE-YEAR AWARD</b></h2><p>KEN HOLLAND, DETROIT This is more about a stellar long-term body of work, consistently unearthing gems, than any blockbusters this year. That said, infusing the blueline with Brian Rafalski has proven pivotal.</p><p>PAUL HOLMGREN, PHILADELPHIA The Philly overhaul demanded foresight and fortitude. Holmgren proved he was up to it by clearing deadwood and getting Biron, Timonen, Hartnell, Upshall and Lupul, among others.</p><p>RAY SHERO, PITTSBURGH The Pens&rsquo; young GM made a loud splash by landing Marian Hossa at the deadline, and a ripple by securing Hal Gill. Both players have had big hands in Pittsburgh&rsquo;s playoff push.</p><p>Shout out to: Bob Gainey.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021754/9142363-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="408" height="218"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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HAVE YOUR SAY ON NHL’S TOP BRASS

<h2><b>CARBO OVERLOAD</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>hat we witnessed in the second round elimination of the Montreal Canadiens was not a goaltending meltdown. Rather, it was a coaching meltdown.</p><p>Now, I&rsquo;m not trying to take anything away from Guy Carbonneau. He is a fantastic coach and deserving finalist for the Jack Adams Award. But what he did to Carey Price was like kicking a man when he&rsquo;s down.</p><p>Price&rsquo;s confidence was obviously shaky when he was pulled in Game 3, but Carbonneau&rsquo;s comment afterwards shattered what little confidence Price had left. The reality is, Carey Price is 20 years old and he can&rsquo;t be expected to work the same magic he did last year with Hamilton (AHL).</p><p>GM Bob Gainey&rsquo;s biggest concern this off-season should be either patching up the relationship between coach and goalie or finding a new coach altogether.</p><p>DAVID CAMPBELL, INGERSOLL, ONT.</p><h2>BROAD STREET REBIRTH</h2><p>Being a die-hard fan of the Philadelphia Flyers and having to go through a terrible season a year ago and being the butt of jokes by everyone in the hockey world, it&rsquo;s about time the hockey experts who didn&rsquo;t even have Philly in the playoffs give them the respect they deserve. Remember this, all you experts: Will beats skill!</p><p>STEVE LOURENCO, BOLIVAR, OHIO</p><h2><b>KEEP THE SELKE</b></h2><p>I am writing in response to Ken Campbell&rsquo;s column about the Selke Trophy in the April 29 edition.</p><p>Defensive forwards are an important part of any hockey team and their contribution should be rewarded. It takes a fair bit of talent to check a high-scoring player successfully without accumulating numerous penalties.</p><p>The fact that Bob Gainey was selected eighth overall in his draft year (1973) shows many teams value the contributions of the so-called &ldquo;skill killers.&rdquo;</p><p>While it is true many defensive forwards lack goal-scoring ability and are not truly complete players, neither are goal-scorers who lack a defensive or physical component to their game.</p><p>Again, one only has to read <i>The Game</i> by Ken Dryden to recognize the value Gainey and others like him bring to their team. The Selke Trophy is not a travesty, but a well-deserved honor for many players whose contributions were overlooked in the past.</p><p>NIGEL SALTS, SOMERS, N.Y.</p><h2><b>CHOICE WORDS</b></h2><p>Please! One of the most disgusting covers ever was Sean Avery (May 13).</p><p>You don&rsquo;t need to be an English major to know the name &ldquo;Sean Avery&rdquo; does not belong in the same sentence with the word &ldquo;genius.&rdquo; This guy is and always will be a first-class jerk. My first look at the cover, I thought I was going to be ill.</p><p>ED NYBERG, GLENDALE, ARIZ.</p><h2><b>NAME THAT PLAYER</b></h2><p>Although it is just a small thing in the large world of hockey, teams putting player numbers on the fronts of jerseys is a big assist to fans.</p><p>Sure, we can spot our own team&rsquo;s players just by the way they skate, but it helps with the visiting teams. This is especially true on television, where the cameras usually don&rsquo;t follow a player long enough to see his back.</p><p>Nice effort Dallas, but move the front number towards the shoulder; on the stomach isn&rsquo;t cutting it. I hope the whole league mounts front numbers.</p><p>PAUL KRAMER, COOPERSBURG, PA.</p><h2><b>PLAYOFF RECAP</b></h2><p>The NHL has the most incredibly talented and dedicated athletes in all of sports, but bad officials who decide games and an idiot commissioner who completely undermines the integrity of what, otherwise, is the greatest game there is.</p><p>MARK HICKS TAMPA BAY</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021496/9142460-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="881" height="1019"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03962/9142453-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="179" height="179"></div><h3><b>SOUNDING OFF</b></h3><h2><b>SHUT OUT IN DETROIT</b></h2><p>Here I sit in Hockeytown as we enter Round 3. I&rsquo;ve got my drinks, my snacks and my very most favorite Red Wings Jersey.</p><p>But wait, I&rsquo;ve got no game.</p><p>My cable company doesn&rsquo;t have Versus or TSN or anything else that isn&rsquo;t part of their $170 &ldquo;Center Ice&rdquo; package. It&rsquo;s truly sad the NHL made this kind of deal for televising the most important games of the season. So, I have two options for the game. Sit by the radio (Holy 1960s, Batman) or go to a smoky, expensive sports bar and endure a hard chair, watery drinks and a surly waitress.</p><p>Or, I could watch the Pistons.</p><p>SUE PARKIN, FENTON, MICH.</p><h2><b>POLL RESULTS</b></h2><p><i>Has Jaromir Jagr played his last game in the NHL?</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06299/9142446-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="475" height="71"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05426/9142439-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="421" height="640"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JAGR: GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>SPIT IT OUT!</b></h2><p>GET IT OFF YOUR CHEST</p><p><i>SEND US AN E-MAIL</i> <a href="mailto:letters@thehockeynews.com">LETTERS@THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a></p><p><i>OR LOG ON</i> <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">WWW.THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a></p><p><i>SEND US SNAIL MAIL</i></p><p>Letters, The Hockey News 25 Sheppard Ave. W., Suite 100 Toronto, ON., M2N 6S7, Canada</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="70" height="71"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>BONUS!</b></h2><p>All subscribers get exclusive content on <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> with an ALL-ACCESS PASS!<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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CROWD SHOTS

<div class="byline">WITH RYAN WHITNEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012297/9142498-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="519" height="484"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(WHITNEY: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021534/9142505-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="47" height="44"></span><p><i>DOUGLAS GRAHAM FROM TORONTO, ASKS</i> How do you get yourself physically ready for back-to-back games?</p><p>I try to drink plenty of water, get a good night&rsquo;s of sleep and I always ride the bike after the game.</p><p><i>KYLE RICHARDSON FROM HAMILTON, ONT., ASKS</i> If you could change one thing about your skill set, what would it be?</p><p>I wish I had a shot like Al MacInnis.</p><p><i>KINLEY GEE FROM OTTAWA, ASKS</i> Who is your best friend in the NHL who doesn&rsquo;t play for the Pens?</p><p>Colby Armstrong of the Atlanta Thrashers &ndash; he&rsquo;s a beauty!</p><p><i>HILLARY WYSE FROM BUFFALO, ASKS</i> In which building is it hardest to keep your focus on the road?</p><p>Dallas, Los Angeles, Florida and Tampa, for obvious reasons.</p><p><i>DAVID MARTIN FROM ST. JOHN&rsquo;S, NFLD., ASKS</i> How often do you have your skates sharpened?</p><p>I have them sharpened the day before each game.</p><p><i>CASANDRA PASQUERELL FROM ERIE, PA., ASKS</i> What is it about Pittsburgh that made you sign a long-term contract there?</p><p>We have the best fans in the league and the city is a great place to live.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="70" height="71"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>Visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> to ask your questions of NHL stars!<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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FAN SHOOTOUT

<p>THN,</p><p class="dropcap"><span>S</span>everal years ago, the NHL started to have its referees wear microphones so they could announce penalties. But I am wondering why they don&rsquo;t use these microphones to better explain to the fans what is happening on the ice, especially on disputed goals? I&rsquo;ve seen Kerry Fraser do it before.</p><p>Jack Papegaay</p><p>Jack,</p><p>According to the NHL, this is something officials hope to do consistently next year. Since it is an important act and referees need to be comfortable with the process, there will be training on the practise before next season kicks off.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04551/9142543-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="564" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(REF: ANDY MARLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>THN,</p><p>Why do teams switch sides at the beginning of overtime? Since it puts both teams at a disadvantage with the long change, is it an effort to get games done sooner? Do they just do this in the playoffs?</p><p>Jeff Wang, Ithaca, N.Y.</p><p>Jeff,</p><p>Way back in the day, when hockey was still played outdoors on occasion, the teams switched sides each period because the wind could be a factor (they also switched at the 10-minute mark in the third period to be really fair). The tradition has continued to this day, obviously without the third-period swap.</p><p>SEND YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS TO <a href="mailto:experts@thehockeynews.com">experts@thehockeynews.com</a></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="70" height="71"></div><p>Need more of your questions answered?</p><p>Read Proteau&rsquo;s &lsquo;Ask Adam&rsquo; column every Tuesday and Friday at <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

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ASK THE EXPERTS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE BROPHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012064/9142581-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Martin Biron</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDY MARLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon022.jpg" title="common02" width="105" height="118"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>ARTIN BIRON HAD PLENTY of playoff experience prior to this spring. It&rsquo;s just that it&rsquo;s difficult for the Philadelphia Flyers goalie to remember any of it.</p><p>That&rsquo;s because it had been nine long years since Biron had played in a playoff game.</p><p>&ldquo;The first few (seasons) I played in the NHL we made the playoffs and we had some pretty exciting moments,&rdquo; said Biron, 30. &ldquo;I was playing behind Dominik Hasek (in Buffalo) and he was the reason why we had success. We were a minute-and-a-half away from making the conference final my second year (2001) before Mario (Lemieux) decided to tie it up and they beat us in OT in Game 7.</p><p>&ldquo;You learn a lot from that. After that, it was very frustrating not being able to get back to the playoffs. I went to the World Championship one year and I worked on TSN (last) year.&rdquo;</p><p>Television&rsquo;s loss is Philadelphia&rsquo;s gain. Acquired by the Flyers late last season, Biron took over as the No. 1 goalie this year and has been stellar between the pipes in the playoffs. His goals-against average through two rounds, 1.76, was third-best in the league and his save percentage, .914, ranked sixth.</p><p>While he had never appeared in an NHL playoff game before this season, it&rsquo;s not as though he didn&rsquo;t have any post-season experience to call upon. Biron led the Quebec League in playoff games (19) and wins (12) in 1996 with Beauport and also led the AHL in appearances (20) and GAA (2.16) with Rochester in 1999. That was the last time he saw post-season action.</p><p>&ldquo;There was a little bit of the fear of the unknown,&rdquo; Biron said. &ldquo;The last time I was in the playoffs was nine years ago in the Calder Cup. I remember how much fun it was, but before the playoffs began this year I wouldn&rsquo;t have been able to tell you many details about those games. You kind of forget about it. But it comes back to you pretty quickly once you get back in.&rdquo;</p><p>Each of the four conference finalists got strong goaltending through two rounds. Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Marc-Andre Fleury, Detroit&rsquo;s Chris Osgood and Dallas&rsquo; Marty Turco have all shone.</p><p>Fleury, 23, has finally arrived as an NHL goalie. As recently as midway through this season, there was doubt as to whether or not he&rsquo;d even be the starter come playoff time. Ty Conklin played superbly in resurrecting his NHL career and helping the Penguins to a second-place finish in the East.</p><p>Turco finally achieved playoff credibility last season when he recorded three shutouts in the first round. He also wound up with the best GAA in the 2007 playoffs (1.30). That was the good news. The bad news is the Stars were eliminated by the Canucks so there was still some lingering doubt about his ability to carry a team deep into the post-season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012197/9142574-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="889" height="592"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marty Turco exercised some playoff ghosts in 2007 before a final-four showing this year. <span class="photo-credit">(TURCO: CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>That has been eliminated.</p><p>Now, Turco is going head-to-head against Osgood, who has all but made fans in Detroit forget about Hasek (who was pulled in the first round after losing Games 3 and 4 to Nashville). Through two rounds, Osgood was leading the playoffs in GAA (1.52) and was third in save percentage (.937), both slightly better than Turco&rsquo;s 1.73 and .929.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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BIRON GOES BEYOND A REGULAR SHOWING

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04641/9142626-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="407" height="408"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ZETTERBERG: MICHAEL MARTIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021657/9142640-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="134" height="134"></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/f0008-031163/9142633-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="134" height="134"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>FLYING HIGH AGAIN Who had the Flyers going to the final four after a 56-point season just one year ago?</p><p>LAST SHOT OF JAGR? If we&rsquo;ve seen the last of Jaromir Jagr, at least he left playing great hockey in the playoffs.</p><p>WINGS SCOUTS Lidstrom 53rd overall; Franzen 97th; Datsyuk 171st; Zetterberg 210th&hellip;talk about theft in Detroit.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-05455/9142619-1-eng-US/f0008-052.jpg" title="f0008-05" width="407" height="408"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HALPERN: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>BIG NO It&rsquo;s not all on Joe Thornton, but truly great players find a way to elevate their game in the spring.</p><p>A LITTLE HALP? Team USA and Tampa Bay both dealt a blow when Jeff Halpern ruptured his ACL, putting him on the shelf for six to eight months.</p><p>PRICE HIKE Kings and Hawks both raise ticket prices after missing playoffs.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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PLUS/MINUS

<p>10 STEPHANE ROBIDAS is playing with a full cage thanks to a puck in the nose.</p><p>9 Talk about &lsquo;upper body,&rsquo; big ZDENO CHARA played through shoulder woes.</p><p>8 Despite a hamstring injury, MIKE KNUBLE returned and contributed in Philadelphia.</p><p>7 Tough to stop the Wings when you have a flu like JOSE THEODORE did.</p><p>6 CHRIS DRURY left everything &ndash; including a pint of blood &ndash; on the ice vs. Pens.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-06349/9142671-1-eng-US/f0008-062.jpg" title="f0008-06" width="518" height="404"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARLEAU: GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>5 PATRICK MARLEAU was bloodied several times against Calgary.</p><p>4 JASON ARNOTT played through a concussion in Game 4 against Detroit.</p><p>3 Sports hernias are tough, but SERGEI ZUBOV had to come back for Dallas.</p><p>2 PATRICK THORESEN took an excruciating shot in the, uh, midsection in Round 1.</p><p>1 In a scary incident, SEAN AVERY lacerated his spleen in the quest for Stanley.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-06

Starting from 10

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ALLAN HOUGAARD</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011975/9142702-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The NHL and IIHF are on the verge of being without a transfer agreement for the first time since 1994. <span class="photo-credit">(CHRISTOF KOEPSEL/BONGARTS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>AFTER YEARS OF COOPERATION, the NHL and International Ice Hockey Federation are at a crossroads.</p><p>The two sides have not been able to reach an agreement on an extension of the existing player-transfer agreement, which expires at the end of this season.</p><p>Since 1994, the flow of players from Europe and Russia to the NHL has been regulated by a number of successive IIHF transfer agreements. In 2005, Russia withdrew from the arrangement, as Russian League clubs were unhappy with the compensation they received from the NHL.</p><p>The lack of satisfaction has spread to western Europe and the IIHF hasn&rsquo;t been able to obtain the necessary member support to continue the collaboration on transatlantic transfers.</p><p>According to the current agreement, the NHL pays a development fee of $200,000 to the IIHF for every player signed from a European club. (The IIHF then distributes that money among the European teams the player has represented in the past four years.) At the same time, the agreement gives NHL teams the right to sign players under contract to a European club until June 15.</p><p>Last December, the NHL and IIHF both exercised their right to re-open the transfer agreement, which therefore also means it expires at the end of this season. At a reconciliatory meeting in New York in January, the NHL and IIHF agreed to attempt to work out a one-year extension of the existing agreement in order to gain time to negotiate a multi-year pact.</p><p>The NHL wanted the six main player-providing European nations &ndash; the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland &ndash; to consent to an extension.</p><p>Finland, Germany, Slovakia and Switzerland were receptive towards the proposal from the outset. Sweden was against an extension at the beginning, but got on board shortly before the expiration of the deadline. The Czech Republic was the last country to weigh in on the matter, and the decision was placed in the hands of the 14 Czech League clubs. At the end of April, the Czechs announced they refused to consent to an extension of the IIHF agreement, which then fell.</p><p>As the transfer agreement runs until the end of this season, NHL teams can continue to sign players under contract until June 15.</p><p>After the expiration of the transfer agreement, when an NHL team signs a player under contract with a European club, the NHL team will have to negotiate directly with the European team about the conditions for buying the player out.</p><p>The managers of the top European clubs and European player agents do not expect a drastic change in the number of players making the jump to the NHL. They anticipate that top European players will sign one-year contracts with their European teams in order to be able to transfer to the NHL after the season.</p><p>However, IIHF president Rene Fasel sees dangers in that the top European players are increasingly adding release clauses to their contracts. He fears this development will cost the European clubs money and spoil their planning for the upcoming season. Fasel is afraid of ending up in the same situation as the Russian teams, which pick up players from the European clubs in mid-season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

EUROPE OPTS OUT

<div class="byline">with Kyle Turris</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021372/9142761-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="208" height="260"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03840/9142754-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="134" height="134"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-04640/9142747-1-eng-US/f0009-042.jpg" title="f0009-04" width="225" height="189"></div><p>NAME</p><p>Love in this Club</p><p>ARTIST</p><p>Usher</p><p>KT: I always find myself dancing to this.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-05479/9142740-1-eng-US/f0009-052.jpg" title="f0009-05" width="224" height="189"></div><p>NAME</p><p>Banana Pancake</p><p>ARTIST</p><p>Jack Johnson</p><p>KT: It&rsquo;s kinda relaxing. I like country music, as well.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-06395/9142733-1-eng-US/f0009-062.jpg" title="f0009-06" width="224" height="189"></div><p>NAME</p><p>Don&rsquo;t Matter</p><p>ARTIST</p><p>Akon</p><p>KT: I like anything by Akon right now.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-02

ROCKIN’ OUT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-07339/9142792-1-eng-US/f0009-072.jpg" title="f0009-07" width="309" height="389"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-08306/9142799-1-eng-US/f0009-082.jpg" title="f0009-08" width="40" height="256"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>CLARE DRAKE: THE COACHES&rsquo; COACH</b></h2><p>by Derek Drager $30</p><p>This thorough biography of a little-known yet hugely influential hockey mind weaves an interesting history which stretches across the globe. Former University of Alberta bench boss Clare Drake has mentored everyone from Ken Hitchcock to Andy Murray and is credited with many innovations, including the concept of rolling four lines. Also features Drake&rsquo;s tips on running a practice.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-07

BEST OF THE BOOKS

<div class="byline">- RAND SIMON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012166/9142830-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tom Gilbert</figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HE NHL&rsquo;S CLIMBING average salary is a boon for the players, but it may also come in handy for teams considering the pursuit of a restricted free agent.</p><p>That&rsquo;s because as the average stipend rises, clubs can sign RFAs to offer sheets without as much risk.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how the system works: If a team fails to match an offer sheet, it receives draft pick compensation based on the average annual value of the new contract. The catch is, the compensation level effectively decreases as the average salary increases. The first season after the lockout, the average salary was $1.46 million, but after a 17 percent increase last season and an anticipated 10 percent jump this year, the average salary will be around $1.9 million.</p><p>In other words, teams can submit offer sheets to RFAs and if the contract is not matched, the signing team will be on the hook for less compensation.</p><p>For example, in the first year of the CBA, a one-year offer sheet of $800,000 would have required the signing team to give up a third round pick. This summer, though, such an offer would require no compensation. At the higher end, an offer sheet with an average annual value of $2.5 million will only require the signing team to give up a second round pick &ndash; compared to the first and third round picks a team would&rsquo;ve had to relinquish in the summer of 2006. The highest level of compensation &ndash; four first round picks &ndash; used to kick in when the average annual value of an offer sheet was $5 million; that number will be somewhere around $6.5 million this summer.</p><p>On the flip side, more and more teams are locking up RFAs to long term deals. For example, Edmonton recently signed defenseman Tom Gilbert to a six-year, $24-million contract. Gilbert, 25, has played only 94 career NHL games and had 33 points this season.</p><p>By contrast, Pittsburgh defenseman Ryan Whitney signed a six-year, $24-million pact just nine months ago. He had played 149 NHL games and recorded 59 points the season before he signed.</p><p><i>(Rand Simon is a player agent for Newport Sports and blogs regularly for <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a>)</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

MORE RFA MOVES?

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04683/9142861-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="334" height="509"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03987/9142868-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="179" height="179"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>hen fans stand, as they did in Game 6 of the Dallas-San Jose series, it causes a serious distraction for those watching on TV. The bottom half of the TV screen captured the first 10 rows of heads.</p><p>Does the World Championship have to last the entire gestation period of the African elephant? What&rsquo;s the merit in watching the likes of Chad and Papua New Guinea before the event gets serious?<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-04

WHAT’S IRRITATING BROPHY + CAMPBELL THIS WEEK?

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-06376/9142906-1-eng-US/f0010-062.jpg" title="f0010-06" width="511" height="793"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(EARL: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-05498/9142913-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="119" height="119"></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/f0010-07266/9142899-1-eng-US/f0010-072.jpg" title="f0010-07" width="78" height="85"></div><p>ROBBIE EARL</p><p>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS, LW</p><p>DEBUT Feb. 2, 2008</p><p>VS. Ottawa (4-2 win)</p><p>ICE TIME 15:03, 18 shifts</p><p>KEY STAT 1 assist, plus-1 rating</p><p>&ldquo;MY FIRST GAME came in Toronto against our arch rivals, the Senators. Because of injuries, there were a couple of us guys up from the AHL Marlies.</p><p>I played with Dominic Moore and Boyd Devereaux and got my first point on a goal by Moore. Before the game a lot of guys came up to me and gave me insight on how it&rsquo;s going to be out there and what the NHL is like. During the game, the guys just kept reminding me to keep it simple.</p><p>My first shift is a bit of a fog to me. I remember just trying to get a feel for the pace of the game. In a way it&rsquo;s easier to play in the NHL as opposed to the AHL, because everybody is where they&rsquo;re supposed to be and you don&rsquo;t have to guess as much. On the other side, you gotta be in the right spot too, which isn&rsquo;t always easy.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0010-06

FRESH LEGS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011875/9142944-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="934" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">The NHL isn&rsquo;t sure about marketing scruffy heroes. <span class="photo-credit">(NIEDERMAYERS: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021360/9142951-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="118" height="118"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HE DETROIT RED WINGS, like may other teams, were on the lookout for secondary scoring and thanks to Johan Franzen&rsquo;s emergence, they have finally found it in Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.</p><p>DO YOU LIKE playoff beards? Well, the NHL does not. The league is concerned it cannot market pictures of players with scruffy playoff beards to ad agencies.</p><p>IMAGINE HOLDING a winning lottery ticket only to have it blown away on your way to cashing it in. When Siskinds Sports Management and agent Bryan Deasley parted ways, it meant Deasley would no longer be representing John Tavares, who will definitely sign a hefty contract some-day. Deasley had represented the Oshawa Generals star since he entered the OHL in 2005.</p><p>FROM THE WHO&rsquo;D-HAVE-THUNK-IT department: Two goalies named Marty in the conference finals and neither is Brodeur.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-01

SNAPSHOTS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04690/9142989-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="986" height="700"><figcaption class="caption-body">Robert Kristan <span class="photo-credit">(KRISTAN: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-05535/9142982-1-eng-US/f0011-052.jpg" title="f0011-05" width="235" height="349"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>Y VIRTUE OF name recognition, it&rsquo;s the NHLers &ndash; the Heatleys and Ovechkins &ndash; who draw the most attention at the World Championship. But for players who don&rsquo;t play on the North American side of the pond, the tourney offers a chance to get their names out in a big way. With that in mind, here&rsquo;s a starting lineup of internationals who raised eyebrows in Halifax and Quebec City:</p><p><b>Robert Kristan, G, Slovenia</b> Pity the goalie who faced 138 shots in the three round-robin games, the first two of which came against Canada and the U.S. Or maybe not &ndash; Kristan became an instant fan-favorite thanks to his old-school-style pads and a save percentage that actually trumped that of Cam Ward and Cristobal Huet.</p><p><b>Morten Ask, C, Norway</b> When the Norwegians needed a key goal, they just asked Ask. The Djur-gardens (Swe.) pivot pumped a slapshot past Germany to give Norway a surprising 3-2 win and bump Slovakia to the relegation round.</p><p><b>Julien Sprunger, RW, Switzerland</b> Another player with very good timing, Sprunger had both goals in a win over Belarus and an assist on the game-winner in Switzerland&rsquo;s upset over Sweden.</p><p><b>Fredrik Warg, LW, Sweden</b> Never a big scorer in the Swedish Elite League, Warg nevertheless got off to a big start at the worlds with six points in three round-robin games.</p><p><b>Oleg Leontiev, D, Belarus</b> The Kostitsyns are great and all, but Leontiev was steady on the back end at plus-4 through three matches.</p><p><b>Jonas Frogren, D, Sweden</b> A lack of big-name NHLers on the Tre Kronor this year has allowed home-grown products such as Frogren to step up and play well on a big stage.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-04

TAKING ON THE WORLDS

<div class="byline">AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021646/9143027-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012109/9143034-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="187" height="222"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>N THE BIG-BUSINESS world of modern professional sports, the love affair between the city of Columbus and Blue Jackets majority owner John H. McConnell was unique.</p><p>The Jackets, seven seasons into their existence, have never come close to making the playoffs. They haven&rsquo;t even played any meaningful games, really.</p><p>But when McConnell was shown on the scoreboard, puffing his cigar in his private suite, it never failed to draw a roar from the crowd in Nationwide Arena, sometimes a standing ovation. Louder than the cheers for Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev or Jody Shelley, louder than the cheers for coach Ken Hitchcock.</p><p>&ldquo;As a hockey player, you wanted to tap your stick on the ice every time they showed him,&rdquo; said Jackets winger Dan Fritsche.</p><p>McConnell, 84, died April 25 after a long illness.</p><p>&ldquo;It was special here between Mr. McConnell and the fans,&rdquo; said NHL commission Gary Bettman, who attended McConnell&rsquo;s memorial service May 7.</p><p>&ldquo;It was special because fans understood what he did for them. They understood the NHL wouldn&rsquo;t be here if it were not for that man. And they knew his intentions were pure.&rdquo;</p><p>McConnell put down $80 million to buy an expansion franchise in 1997, at a time when it looked like Columbus &ndash; a sprawling city with a passionate fan base &ndash; was on the verge of forever losing its chance to become &ldquo;major league.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t do it to make money,&rdquo; said McConnell before the start of this season. &ldquo;I did it as a gift to this city.&rdquo;</p><p>Everybody believed him, too, right on down to the most cynical of skeptics, because people in central Ohio knew of McConnell&rsquo;s dynamic life story. Columbus <i>Dispatch</i> columnist Michael Arace described it best: &ldquo;<i>It began in a house that did not have electricity. It ended in a hospital where he donated a tower.&rdquo;</i></p><p>What a story it is.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031062/9143020-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="309" height="425"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jackets owner John McConnell was a true-Blue hockey booster. <span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>In 1955, McConnell borrowed $600 against his 1952 Oldsmobile to buy a load of steel. He had $1,200 in his checking account and one heck of an idea.</p><p>&ldquo;He drove out of Pughtown, West Virginia, with a load of steel in the back of his car and turned it into a multi-billion industry,&rdquo; said former Columbus mayor Greg Lashutka.</p><p>That industry was Worthington Industries, which revolutionized the steel business and became a Fortune 500 company with more than 8,000 employees.</p><p>McConnell is one of America&rsquo;s great business success stories, but not just because of how it started or all the money he made.</p><p>In the early years of Worthington Industries, McConnell would spend his mornings in a salesman&rsquo;s suit and his afternoons and evenings in a factory worker&rsquo;s garb. Even after the company was printing money, he had close friends in the board room and on the assembly line.</p><p>&ldquo;Mr. Mac didn&rsquo;t see blue collar or white collar,&rdquo; said family friend John Kasich, a former U.S. Senator. &ldquo;He saw people and he treated them all the same.&rdquo;</p><p>McConnell drove a Lexus, but it was 10 years old. He loved martinis, cigars, horses, country music&hellip;and the Blue Jackets. He was the everyman&rsquo;s multi-millionaire.</p><p>In fact, nobody could remember the last time anybody called him &ldquo;John.&rdquo; It was &ldquo;Mr. Mac.&rdquo;</p><p>McConnell&rsquo;s philanthropy was staggering, too.</p><p>He funded a sprawling new building at a local hospital to focus on heart health and research. Price tag: $15 million. He helped keep the Columbus Zoo afloat with a series of contributions.</p><p>Some of his giving was less known &ndash; the $30,000 he gave to help refurbish an ice rink in a small town 40 miles east of Columbus; a $10,000 check he wrote on the spot for a young soft ball player selling candy bars to support her league.</p><p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re not going to meet a more genuine man,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;His legacy is all over this city. Everybody has a Mr. Mac story.&rdquo;</p><p>The Jackets players and coaches all have them. After the first season, he approached fan-favorite Tyler Wright and asked if a private plane would help the club.</p><p>&ldquo;The next year, we had one,&rdquo; Wright said.</p><p>McConnell passed on a football scholarship at West Virginia University to work in the steel mills. He was a passionate sports fan and, in his later years, a rabid hockey fan.</p><p>When the Jackets needed a lift, McConnell made his way to the dressing room for a brief chat.</p><p>&ldquo;Honestly, Mr. Mac was more like a friend and a grandfather to a lot of the players,&rdquo; said GM Scott Howson.</p><p>That&rsquo;s why saying goodbye was so difficult.</p><p>The Blue Jackets are in no danger of being sold or moved. McConnell&rsquo;s son, John P. McConnell, becomes the majority owner.</p><p>&ldquo;Mr. Mac probably would have liked it if we won more often,&rdquo; said Rick Nash during his eulogy, &ldquo;and we will, Mr. Mac, I promise.</p><p>&ldquo;We know you&rsquo;ll be with us when we hit the ice next season.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-02

JACKETS LOSE SPECIAL OWNER

<div class="byline">with Ken Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021567/9143079-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Adam Foote can fling himself in front of shots and feel pretty safe. <span class="photo-credit">(DOUG PENSINGER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012085/9143086-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="187" height="222"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HE ESTABLISHMENT OF the Goalie Equipment Working Group by the NHL and its players&rsquo; union reminds me a little of a few years ago when the league decided to get tough on divers.</p><p>There we were at the height of the dead-puck era with more excitement being choked out of the game with each passing season and the league decided a suitable way to improve the on-ice product would be to crack down on divers with an arbitrary set of rules and penalties that didn&rsquo;t pass the smell test with the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.</p><p>Nobody, it seems, responds to its problems in a more misdirected and ham-handed way than the people who run professional hockey in North America.</p><p>Does the size of goalie equipment need to be addressed? Of course it does. But what the NHL never seems to realize or acknowledge is tapering down goalies &ndash; or, if that doesn&rsquo;t work, the inevitable increase in net size &ndash; won&rsquo;t create one single additional scoring chance. What the power brokers in hockey refuse to do is take a critical look at how to generate more opportunities to score and establishing another committee to focus exclusively on the size of goalies is another in a long line of examples of that.</p><p>For instance, while goaltenders have indeed become Michelin Men in the past two decades, what nobody seems to acknowledge is skaters have effectively evolved into bulked up Transformers wearing expanding, hard-rock equipment that makes them feel secure enough to throw their bodies in front of slapshot after slapshot, despite the fact shots have never been harder or faster.</p><p>The result is far fewer pucks are getting to the net and the reality is goalies could wear Chuck Rayner&rsquo;s gear and still not have to worry about stopping the puck. Today&rsquo;s style of game encourages forwards and defensemen alike to collapse in the defensive zone and, with no fear of injury, stand in front of any puck that comes their way. That leaves only the most accurate and those with the best sense of timing &ndash; Chris Pronger and Dion Phaneuf come to mind &ndash; with any hope of hitting the net from beyond the faceoff circles.</p><p>The NHL did not make public the statistics for blocked shots until after the lockout, but consider that since the start of the 2005-06 season, a total of 94,797 shots have been blocked &ndash; including 31,959 this season &ndash; for an average of 25.7 per game that haven&rsquo;t reached the net. When the league began charting blocked shots in 1997-98, 21 players recorded 100 or more blocked shots with Richard Matvichuk leading the way at 142. Compare that to 2006-07 when 98 players blocked 100-plus shots with Anton Volchenkov leading the league with 273. This season, 75 players blocked 100 or more shots; Mike Komisarek was tops with 227.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011858/9143072-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="1435" height="1035"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Komisarek blocks so many shots he should have a GAA. <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>New York Islanders pro scout Ken Morrow was one of the premier shot-blockers of his 1980s era and he figured he blocked an average of about one per game and no more than 100 in a season. In his time, players who were courageous or crazy enough to block shots basically discovered a method of doing so on their own and went about it with no instruction at all. At that time, shot-blocking was an interesting method of playing defense, but was hardly accepted as standard practice on a league-wide level.</p><p>Now, as Morrow points out, shot-blocking has become a strategy every bit as important as backchecking and positioning.</p><p>&ldquo;I was scouting a minor league game the other night and here&rsquo;s Boris Valabik, a 6-foot-7 guy who&rsquo;s just standing in front of the net,&rdquo; Morrow said. &ldquo;I watched him block three shots on one penalty kill and I said to myself, &lsquo;This guy is playing goalie, not defense.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>An epiphany of sorts for Morrow occurred two years ago when he borrowed equipment from current players to suit up in a game involving NHL scouts. As he slipped on the shoulder and elbow pads, Morrow made an interesting observation.</p><p>&ldquo;I figured this stuff was at least twice as big as the stuff I wore when I played,&rdquo; Morrow said.</p><p>And at least twice as hard, too. New Jersey stopper Martin Brodeur, who is a member of the goalie committee, said there&rsquo;s no reason why equipment for forwards and defensemen can&rsquo;t be altered as well.</p><p>&ldquo;I think we have to get all the hard plastic out of the equipment,&rdquo; Brodeur said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t wear any plastic in our equipment, so why should they? Their shoulder pads could be made of foam and I know that weight might be an issue, but I&rsquo;m sure there&rsquo;s technology that could take care of that.&rdquo;</p><p>Anyone who advocates trimming down equipment for players is accused of wanting to take protection away from them and thus, make the working environment more dangerous. Yes, it would run the risk of increased injuries from blocking shots, but there&rsquo;s a good chance it would cut down on the number of concussions players sustain when they get drilled in the chops with a hard-plastic shoulder pad.</p><p>Does upper-body equipment really have to be that big? Do the players need that much space between their bodies and their pants and do shin pads have to be as big as they are? Is it so bad to instill some sense of fear and apprehension into players before they throw their bodies in front of shots?</p><p>The NHL rule book contains 12 pages that cover equipment and the only two rules that affect skaters concern sweater size and call for a half-inch covering of sponge rubber on elbow pads. But while goalies are subject to measurements on every piece of equipment they wear, skaters are free to wear shoulder pads, shin pads and pants of unlimited size.</p><p>Nobody is advocating players return to the days when Rod Langway&rsquo;s shoulder pads consisted of two small plastic caps attached to the top of his suspenders. But the NHL is placing an awful lot of its offensive focus on a plan to scale down goalie equipment. And as one powerful GM told me, there is absolutely no doubt in his mind the league will make nets bigger if it doesn&rsquo;t work out.</p><p>Perhaps nothing can be done from an equipment standpoint to discourage players from blocking hundreds of shots that would otherwise hit the net. After all, it&rsquo;s difficult to go backward when it comes to player safety. But to focus exclusively on goalie equipment to the exclusion of everything else is the height of narrow-mindedness.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="70" height="71"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For Ken&rsquo;s web-exclusive Campbell&rsquo;s Cuts column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-02

DON’T JUST GANG UP ON GOALIE PADDING

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011863/9143124-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JENNIFER POTTHEISER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>NHL coaches don&rsquo;t always have input on the players their team acquires.</b></p><p><b>So it was with a little trepidation that Dallas Stars coach Dave Tippett welcomed center Mike Ribeiro into the fold at the start of the 2006-07 season. Ribeiro arrived in town with a reputation of having an offensive upside, but also as a player who hadn&rsquo;t lived up to expectations playing in his hometown with the Montreal Canadiens.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011642/9143117-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="1850" height="1414"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Ribeiro is a magic man when the puck gets on his stick. <span class="photo-credit">(CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d watched him, and I have to say with a little wariness, I didn&rsquo;t know him as a person,&rdquo; Tippett said. &ldquo;When you are a coach and you watch games, you&rsquo;d see things and go, &lsquo;Uh oh.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>It didn&rsquo;t take long for Tippett to get to know Ribeiro and get a better understanding of his potential. And it has been under Tippett&rsquo;s tutelage that the 28-year-old has blossomed into a more consistent scorer and a player who can be counted on at both ends of the rink. He led the Stars in scoring this season with career highs in goals (27) and points (83) and was an impressive plus-21. He also led the Stars in scoring through two playoff rounds with three goals and 14 points in 12 games.</p><p>Ribeiro was rewarded with a five-year contract extension worth $25 million over the life of the deal and Tippett said the changes in his game have been remarkable.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve gone through a process with him here and he&rsquo;s fully engaged,&rdquo; Tippett said. &ldquo;I want him to use all the skill package he has. Probably the biggest thing I said to him was, &lsquo;Mike, you are unbelievable with the puck. What I don&rsquo;t understand is, why do you just stand around waiting for the puck to come to you? Why don&rsquo;t you go and get it? When you don&rsquo;t have the puck, go get it. Or get in a position for somebody to get it to you. We need you to have the puck.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Ribeiro said he was all ears when it came to trusting his bench boss. &ldquo;He gave me a lot of confidence. He trusts me on the ice.&rdquo;</p><p>You probably couldn&rsquo;t find a person who looks less like a hockey player than Ribeiro if you did a Google search. He stands 6-feet tall, weighs in the neighborhood of 175 pounds and looks like he&rsquo;d have to run around in the shower to get wet. He may have the skinniest legs in all of hockey.</p><p>That said, Ribeiro has added a physical element to his game and, unlike when he played in Montreal, has shown a willingness to be in the areas where players pay a price for touching the puck. He acknowledges his eagerness to be involved physically now, but says he does so selectively.</p><p>&ldquo;I try to be physical when they don&rsquo;t actually see me coming,&rdquo; Ribeiro said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s because if they see me coming, I don&rsquo;t really make as big an impact. I just try to pick my spots.</p><p>&ldquo;Come playoff time, players do stuff that maybe they don&rsquo;t always do during the year and for me, hitting more is one of those things I have been doing.&rdquo;</p><p>Playing parts of five seasons with the Canadiens, Ribeiro never truly delivered as a frontline player. With Dallas though, he is expected to produce; as evidenced by the fact he plays with the team&rsquo;s top two wingers, Brenden Morrow and Jere Lehtinen. Tippett has been pleased with the manner in which his center has responded.</p><p>&ldquo;I think this season he has been so good,&rdquo; Tippett said. &ldquo;His all-around game has really blossomed. He was always a great offensive player, but his play without the puck, his compete level and grittiness has emerged in his game. It&rsquo;s maturity. He has been around for a while and I think he recognizes what he has to do to get the most out of his skills. He recognizes what he has to do to help our group win.&rdquo;</p><p>There were some who worried Ribeiro&rsquo;s play might slip after he was rewarded with his contract extension that basically set him up for life financially. Tippett, however, never felt the player would falter.</p><p>&ldquo;He cares too much about the team right now,&rdquo; the coach said. &ldquo;Everybody knows he&rsquo;s a bit of a quirky guy, but he really cares about this group and he feels like if he doesn&rsquo;t do what he&rsquo;s capable of doing, he&rsquo;d be letting the group down. He&rsquo;s not going to let that happen.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-01

STAR SIGHTING

<div class="byline">BY ANSAR KHAN</div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>HEN DETROIT GM KEN HOLLAND watched Johan Franzen play in Sweden, he saw a big man with good hands who moved well and had more to give offensively, rather than a player who had accepted being pigeon-holed in a defensive role.</p><p>&ldquo;He needed to believe he could score,&rsquo;&rsquo; said Holland, who selected Franzen with Detroit&rsquo;s first pick &ndash; 97th overall &ndash; in the 2004 entry draft.</p><p>It took nearly three full NHL seasons, but the late-blooming Franzen finally has faith in his offensive ability. So does the rest of the hockey world, after witnessing, almost overnight, the blossoming of a premier power forward. After scoring 15 goals in the final 16 regular season games, Franzen added 12 more in his first 11 playoff games. Suddenly, &lsquo;The Mule&rsquo; &ndash; as tabbed by former captain Steve Yzerman during Franzen&rsquo;s first training camp &ndash; is a household nickname.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011739/9143155-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="365" height="509"></div><p>&ldquo;I see myself as a little bit of a goal-scorer now,&rsquo;&rsquo; said Franzen, 28. &ldquo;I try to get in front of the net and get rebounds and just keep playing the same way. Hard work comes first. You start with that and the opportunities come. I have great confidence out there.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder was unstoppable during a second round sweep of Colorado. His nine goals in one series broke the club mark held by Gordie Howe (eight vs. Montreal in 1949) and set an NHL record for a four-game series. He became the first player to record two hat tricks in a series since Edmonton&rsquo;s Jari Kurri had three against Chicago in 1985. It took Franzen only two rounds to break the single-season franchise record for playoff goals (10), previously shared by Petr Klima (1988), Sergei Fedorov (1998) and Brett Hull (2002).</p><p>&ldquo;I think he finally realizes how good he really is,&rsquo;&rsquo; said defenseman Niklas Kronwall, Franzen&rsquo;s roommate on the road.</p><p>Franzen didn&rsquo;t score more than 12 goals in four seasons in the Swedish Elite League or his first two in the NHL. But he never got the opportunity. The off-season departures of Robert Lang and Todd Bertuzzi left holes on the top two lines. Franzen responded with a stellar pre-season, but hurt his knee in the second game of the regular season and missed 10 games. When he returned, he was back to being a role player.</p><p>But when Dan Cleary was idled by a broken jaw Feb. 9 and Tomas Holmstrom pulled his groin March 5, Franzen got his chance. He was paired with either Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg &ndash; sometimes both &ndash; and took Holmstrom&rsquo;s spot on the first power play unit. Holmstrom returned in the regular season finale, but Franzen&rsquo;s offensive onslaught continued.</p><p>In what has become a daily scene in the dressing room, Franzen is surrounded by a barrage of media. He has received a lot of attention in a short amount of time for a low-key guy who Kronwall said spends much of his free time on the road sleeping and watching nature shows.</p><p>&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s been handling it real well,&rsquo;&rsquo; said Nicklas Lidstrom.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s kind of a quiet guy and he says he doesn&rsquo;t want to be in the spotlight too much, but the way he&rsquo;s playing he&rsquo;s going to be there.&rsquo;&rsquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

‘THE MULE’ BECOMES A STALLION IN DETROIT

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE FISH</div><p>THEY SAY THE HIGHEST OF HIGH and lowest of low career moments can transpire in the playoffs and R.J. Umberger will give that an amen.</p><p>He remembers, but tries to forget, the train-wreck hit put on him by Buffalo&rsquo;s Brian Campbell in the 2006 post-season &ndash; and the concussion he didn&rsquo;t really recover from for the better part of a year. To help erase that memory, he now has a one-for-the-ages, eight-goal performance in the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; five-game elimination of Montreal this spring.</p><p>Umberger, who turned 26 on the night of goals seven and eight against the Canadiens, gives an indication of vindication when discussing his situation. Thanks to a rigorous off-season training program last summer, Umberger turned a dismal 28-point, minus-32 season in 2006-07 into a 50-point, even plus-minus campaign this year.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021323/9143186-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="365" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(L-R: DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;That hit (by Campbell) definitely influenced my summer and my next season,&rsquo;&rsquo; Umberger said. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t able to work out the way I wanted to. I don&rsquo;t know how long I had the concussion, I had some other sinus issues.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>The symptoms were so profound he had to abort his participation in the 2006 World Championship for the U.S. and fly home early.</p><p>&ldquo;When the next season started, I wasn&rsquo;t myself,&rsquo;&rsquo; he said. &ldquo;I was second-guessing myself. I was probably a little tentative. I wasn&rsquo;t the go-after-it player I need to be.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>In a way, the adversity eventually made Umberger a mentally tougher player. Although he only scored 13 goals this season, his 37 assists were third on the team. And many of those points were generated in high-traffic areas.</p><p>&ldquo;It definitely took a lot for me to put that (hit) past me and move on,&rsquo;&rsquo; Umberger said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s going to drag on, but it did. When the year was over, I sat down with the coaches and put it behind me. I just fully concentrated on this season and it hasn&rsquo;t been an issue anymore.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>Umberger started the 2008 playoffs on the fourth line, but worked his way onto one of the top three units. Occasionally he plays with Daniel Briere, a skilled center who appreciates what the Ohio State graduate and Pittsburgh native has achieved this season. Briere was playing for Buffalo the night Umberger had to be carried off on a stretcher.</p><p>&ldquo;I had a hit like that earlier in my career,&rdquo; Briere said. &ldquo;Knocked out on the ice. It took nearly a year to feel like the player I used to be.</p><p>&ldquo;(Umberger) has been key for us, especially against Montreal. That first goal in the last game&hellip;(was) a very confident goal. The move he made to take it to the inside, keep going &ndash; when you&rsquo;re in a zone, you&rsquo;ll do things with more confidence than when you&rsquo;re not too sure of yourself.&rdquo;</p><p>Umberger is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer and has arbitration rights. No doubt this playoff run will help his case.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a lot of confidence right now,&rdquo; said coach John Stevens. &ldquo;Now he knows he can score this time of year. He&rsquo;s scoring big goals in the playoffs for us.&rdquo;</p><p>Which would fall under the heading, highest of highs.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-02

YOU CAN’T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0019-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011569/9143224-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(L-R: JOHN RUSSELL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>VS. FRANZEN AND UMBERGER WERE ON FIRE IN RDS. 1 AND 2</b></p><h2>TALE OF THE TAPE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021189/9143217-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="904" height="585"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0019-01

JOHAN FRANZEN VS. R.J. UMBERGER

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011500/9143283-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>AN, ARE THEY EVER GOING TO NEED a lot of windows. But hey, when your future is this bright, no sense in hiding behind a bunch of concrete, is there?</p><p>Yup, things are rolling along just splendidly for the Pittsburgh Penguins these days. While they were cooling their heels waiting for their Eastern Conference final series to start, the guys who wear the expensive suits &ndash; the same ones who were scouting out a new building in Kansas City a little more than a year ago &ndash; learned that the city&rsquo;s planning committee had finally approved the final design for the (Name Of Highest Corporate Bidder Here) Arena, a $290-million taxpayer-funded structure on which the Penguins hope to break ground shortly after the Stanley Cup parade this summer.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011386/9143276-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="1435" height="964"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pittsburgh hopes their stars are still Pens when the new digs open in 2010. <span class="photo-credit">(HOK SPORT)</span></figcaption></div><p>The city&rsquo;s planning committee asked for a couple of modifications, given that taxpayers are putting up a vast majority of the dough for the new building and a lot more of those hardworking folks will see the outside of the building than the inside. So, they changed a few things up. But the building, which is scheduled to open in time for the 2010-11 season, will still have a stunning glass atrium that will face downtown Pittsburgh and a lot of room for future development and storefronts, which translates into multiple revenue streams.</p><p>&ldquo;Everything is falling into place,&rdquo; Penguins CEO Ken Sawyer told the media after the vote. We weren&rsquo;t there, but we can just imagine Sawyer drumming his fingers together the way Mr. Burns does on <i>The Simpsons.</i></p><p>On the ice, they&rsquo;ve parlayed years of futility and high draft picks into an embarrassment of riches in terms of player personnel and a potential dynasty&hellip;or at least a legitimate contender for the foreseeable future. Off the ice, they&rsquo;re building a home that will go a long way toward guaranteeing their long-term future and prosperity.</p><p>They have their star player and scraggly-bearded face of the franchise under contract for a reasonable $8.7 million (relatively speaking) for the next five seasons and young Sidney Crosby, annoying high-ankle sprain aside, is showing no signs of slippage from the superstar status he has forged for himself in three short NHL seasons. The Penguins&rsquo; other superstar, Evgeni Malkin, has emerged as one of the NHL&rsquo;s most awesome physical talents. And, by the time the Pens begin paying him serious dollars, they&rsquo;ll be in their new arena and the thinking is the duo will shine so brightly on game nights through those windows that they&rsquo;ll light up all of downtown.</p><p>If it all sounds too good to be true that&rsquo;s because it just might be. In case you haven&rsquo;t noticed, the new NHL isn&rsquo;t real big on having one team win too much and the economic landscape is such that too many elite players taking up too much salary cap space can also cause headaches bigger than Hal Gill.</p><p>And that is the potential problem facing the Penguins, particularly with Malkin&rsquo;s deal coming up for renewal after 2008-09. Essentially, the Pens have to find a way to keep their two superstars together and have enough left over for a supporting cast that will prevent them from morphing into the Tampa Bay Lightning.</p><p>And it ain&rsquo;t going to be easy. The Penguins are not the first team to be staring down the barrel of this kind of dilemma and it will continue to face elite teams as long as they have restrictions on how much they can spend while still being forced to dole out guaranteed contracts.</p><p>And it&rsquo;s not like we didn&rsquo;t see this coming. In the four drafts between 2003 and 2006, the Penguins selected Marc-Andre Fleury (first overall), Malkin (second), Crosby (first) and Jordan Staal (second) in the space of the top six combined picks. When you consider Ryan Whitney went fifth overall in 2002, that gave the Pens five players in 11 combined spots.</p><p>To be realistic, even the worst talent hounds in NHL history would have had a difficult time screwing those picks up. And when you have a cabal of players that good all around the same age, the contracts start getting larger in a big hurry.</p><p>But at least now teams such as the Penguins are getting some templates they didn&rsquo;t have before. The Lightning, for example, has provided valuable insight into what can happen when a team mismanages its salary cap and fails to draft and develop any good players. The Ducks introduced the hockey world to the tagging concept.</p><p>One thing seems certain, however: The prospect of sacrificing one of Crosby or Malkin to ensure the Penguins have enough in other areas of their roster is not in the plan.</p><p>&ldquo;You know what, I have two kids at home, I got my daughter and my son,&rdquo; said coach Michel Therrien. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;m not going to answer a question on which I would keep at home, my daughter or my son.&rdquo;</p><p>Added Pens GM Ray Shero: &ldquo;When I think about the Pittsburgh Penguins in branding this franchise, you think of Crosby and Malkin. They&rsquo;re two franchise players and Pittsburgh is very lucky to have them. Our plan is to keep both these players moving forward and I think we can.&rdquo;</p><p>Yes, but can the Penguins keep the core of their team together in the long-term? Probably not. In fact, the chances of Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Malone, Marian Hossa and Petr Sykora remaining intact as their top six forwards is remote.</p><p>Before the Penguins even think about resigning Malkin and integral third-line center Staal &ndash; both scheduled to become restricted free agents after next season &ndash; they&rsquo;re going to have to decide what to do with pending unrestricted free agents Hossa, Malone, Gary Roberts, Brooks Orpik, Jarkko Ruutu, Pascal Dupuis, Georges Laraque, Ty Conklin, Mark Eaton, Kris Beech and Adam Hall and restricted free agent Fleury.</p><p>And if the Penguins want to keep their status as a top team, two things are going to have to happen. First, they&rsquo;re going to have to take low drafting positions and select and develop players who can step into the lineup and fill a role at a reasonable price. The early returns on that one aren&rsquo;t real good, considering they gave up a first-, second- and third-round pick and their best prospect in Angelo Esposito in order to land Hossa and Gill at the deadline.</p><p>Second, the Penguins will have to begin making choices they&rsquo;ve never had to make before. As one NHL GM recently said, as your team gets better it&rsquo;s a little like getting cramps before the appendectomy. The first year you feel a little pain because you&rsquo;re up against the salary cap and then comes the major surgery, where you have to let integral parts of your team go for nothing.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve all been trained to hang on to every asset and not give away anything,&rdquo; said Ducks GM Brian Burke. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;re all going to have to get used to letting guys go. I remember sitting in (Indianapolis Colts president) Bill Polian&rsquo;s office a couple of years ago and he was showing me a depth chart and three guys had squares next to their names. I said, &lsquo;What&rsquo;s with those guys?&rsquo; And he said, &lsquo;They&rsquo;re all unrestricted.&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;Oh my god, three starters, all on offense.&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;What are you going to do?&rsquo; and he said, &lsquo;Let &rsquo;em go.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Shero realizes that himself, but if his statements are any indication, he plans on putting much of his salary cap room in being strong down the middle, a strategy that could either be a stroke of genius or fraught with peril. Anything can happen, one would think, but Shero certainly doesn&rsquo;t sound like a man who will allow Staal to walk away from the team. Only problem is, Staal scored 29 goals his first year and 12 his second, so what exactly is he worth? The Penguins likely won&rsquo;t have to wait long to find out because they can begin negotiating with both Malkin and Staal on contract extensions on July 1.</p><p>&ldquo;To me, the value in Jordan Staal is he has made us a better hockey team,&rdquo; Shero said. &ldquo;He played his best hockey of the season in the second half and he has been tremendous for us in the playoffs as a 19-year-old. He&rsquo;s 6-foot-4 and he&rsquo;s going to be 230 pounds. The way he&rsquo;s developing is perfect. Defensively, he&rsquo;s one of the better forwards in the league. His faceoffs are coming, he&rsquo;s a great penalty-killer, very smart, great reach, strong skater, strong on the puck. He&rsquo;s a horse.&rdquo;</p><p>Sounds an awful lot as though Shero has made his decision on that one. Another GM said the Penguins will be able to either keep Hossa long-term or Staal and Malone, but not both.</p><p>&ldquo;You have to make agonizing choices,&rdquo; one GM said. &ldquo;You have two guys and you have to decide which one is more valuable. He&rsquo;s staying and the other guy is packing his sh--.&rdquo;</p><p>So expect to see Hossa packing his sh-- shortly after the Pens stop playing hockey this season.</p><p>The Penguins have clearly identified Crosby and Ryan Whitney as core players, with Whitney taking up $4 million in cap space each of the next five seasons. Sergei Gonchar, who might be the next Sergei Zubov, accounts for $5 million for the next two years.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011233/9143269-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="1623" height="1304"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jordan Staal is a signing priority for the Penguins in the near future. <span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE SABAU/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011335/9143262-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="2182" height="1438"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ryan Malone could walk away from Pittsburgh this summer. <span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The cap is expected to rise to $56-57 million next season, and perhaps as high as $60 million in 2009-10. Assuming the Pens will want to negotiate with Malkin as soon as possible, he could be in a position to ask for in excess of $11 million.</p><p>It&rsquo;s interesting to note Malkin is represented by J.P. Barry and Crosby by Pat Brisson, who are partners in the CAA agency. But just because Crosby took less than he could have demanded, Barry said the Malkin camp does not necessarily view the Crosby salary as a de facto Penguins cap. In fact, Barry views Alex Ovechkin&rsquo;s $9.5-million yearly stipend as every bit of a comparable as Crosby&rsquo;s annual salary.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to go in and advocate for Evgeni Malkin because it&rsquo;s Evgeni Malkin&rsquo;s negotiation and that&rsquo;s how I intend to move forward,&rdquo; Barry said. &ldquo;The market has changed and the Crosby deal is relevant in the negotiations, as is the Ovechkin deal. Each of those contracts is important, but it should be pointed out that markets change and caps change.&rdquo;</p><p>Here&rsquo;s one veteran GM&rsquo;s projection on how things might go down for the Penguins, based upon a $60-million cap in 2009-10 and the assumption the Penguins will spend to the cap.</p><p>&#9733; Even if Malkin demands in excess of $10 million, it means the Pens will have him and Cros-by under contract long-term for somewhere about $19 million. &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s how I look at it,&rdquo; said the GM. &ldquo;One-third of your players can take two-thirds of your cap. So you&rsquo;re looking at a third of your team taking up about $40 million in cap space.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo; One-third of your players can take up two-thirds of your cap</blockquote><p>&#9733; As far as existing contracts to top players go, the Penguins have Gonchar at $5 million, Whitney at $4 million to bring the total to $28 million.</p><p>&#9733; Forget about paying Hossa the minimum $7 million he&rsquo;ll want and instead use that money to sign Malone and Staal, giving Malone about $4 million and Staal $3 million, taking you up to $35 million for six players.</p><p>&#9733; Now you have to deal with Fleury, who will be coming off his first sustained stretch of high-level play and here&rsquo;s where the Penguins will have to make a difficult choice. Do they offer Fleury big money on a long-term deal or do they keep it short term at a lower number and buy themselves more time? &ldquo;Instead of going to Fleury and saying, &lsquo;We&rsquo;ll give you five years at $6 million a year,&rsquo; maybe you give him two years at $4 million,&rdquo; the GM said. Now you&rsquo;re at $39 million for seven players, but you run the risk of either losing Fleury in two years or having to double his pay if he becomes one of the NHL&rsquo;s top goalies.</p><p>One thing is a virtual certainty &ndash; there will be no contract dispute with Fleury. He is the only Penguins free agent with arbitration rights and while it&rsquo;s doubtful his numbers will prompt him to file, Pittsburgh will almost certainly elect to take him through the process. If that happens, you&rsquo;re looking at a one-year deal at Ryan Miller-type numbers, which is about $3.5 million. Not bad, but significantly more than the $1.8 million the Penguins are spending combined on Fleury and backup Ty Conklin this season.</p><p>&#9733; Who gets squeezed in all of this? Perhaps a couple of defensemen and that&rsquo;s where the Pens might be playing with fire. Orpik, a solid blueliner, would represent a significant hit on Pittsburgh&rsquo;s depth if he left. He represents excellent value at $1 million, but is he that far removed from, say, Willie Mitchell, who is at $3.5 million?</p><p>Hey, Brooks, can you say hometown/contender discount?</p><p>And what to do with Gonchar, who is at $5 million on a contract that expires after 2009-10? Gonchar has had 50-plus assists each of the past two seasons and will be 36 when his deal expires. If the Pens loaded up so much at forward to the point where they couldn&rsquo;t afford both Gonchar and Orpik, they would risk being a one-trick offensive pony with little depth or skill on the blueline.</p><p>And that could be enough of a tipping point for the Penguins to go on a downward spiral.</p><p>Of course, the Penguins might be able to replace Gonchar with Alex Goligoski, a rookie pro defenseman who was second among all scorers in the AHL playoffs. But generally speaking, scouts from other teams are lukewarm on the Penguins&rsquo; non-NHL prospects. Wingers Luca Caputi and Ryan Stone are seen as possible NHLers, but hardly stars. And then there&rsquo;s that thing about the Pens not even needing to show up for the first day of the draft this June&hellip;</p><p>So, can the Pens keep Crosby and Malkin together long-term? Yes. Does that mean the two of them will play their entire careers in Pittsburgh? Not likely.</p><p>Let&rsquo;s face it, the chances of two superstars staying with the same team for their entire careers is almost a statistical impossibility these days. Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr couldn&rsquo;t do it in Pittsburgh. Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier moved around throughout their careers. Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov couldn&rsquo;t both stay in Detroit.</p><p>Which brings us to an interesting question: If the Penguins were forced to choose, which superstar would be the better option?</p><p>Malkin&rsquo;s play this season certainly doesn&rsquo;t make it the slam dunk it might have been six months ago. When Crosby was hurt this season, Malkin carried the Penguins so impressively he earned a nomination for the Hart Trophy.</p><p>Had Crosby played the entire season, his scoring pace would have given him five more points than Malkin&rsquo;s 106, but 10 fewer goals. With just two goals in the first two rounds of the playoffs, Crosby is clearly not the goal-scorer Malkin is and likely never will be.</p><p>And one thing that cannot be discounted is the possibility that Crosby&rsquo;s relentless approach to the game might shorten his career. After missing only three games in his first two seasons in the league, Crosby sat out 29 this year and isn&rsquo;t exactly a guy who picks his spots when it comes to entering the fray. It was also Crosby&rsquo;s rather concerning penchant for falling to the ice so frequently that led to his ankle injury. It&rsquo;s that approach, combined with his talent, that makes Crosby such a special player, but it could also prove to be his undoing.</p><p>Malkin, on the other hand, can do much of his work further away from the fray and still be effective.</p><p>In fact, Philadelphia Flyers veteran defenseman Kimmo Timonen recently compared Malkin to Crosby and Ovechkin in a Philadelphia newspaper, saying, &ldquo;I think Malkin right now is the best player of those three.&rdquo;</p><p>The most important player, however, is the GM.</p><p>&ldquo;For the last little while I&rsquo;ve been using Lou Lamoriello&rsquo;s line, &lsquo;I have a five-year plan and it changes every day,&rsquo; &rdquo; Shero said. &ldquo;I know one thing, whatever you have on paper today, trust me, next October it&rsquo;s going to be different.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>PITTSBURGH&rsquo;S PAYROLL; THE LONG VIEW</b></h2><p>Pittsburgh has already locked in a couple of its young building blocks to long-term deals, but the ledger gets very thin very quickly after that. Decisions on other key players must be made soon. Players are listed with annual cap hit.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02962/9143255-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="1455" height="1101"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0020-01

THE PERFECT PROBLEM

<div class="byline">with Adam Proteau</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02968/9143321-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Skilled players like Daniel Briere have shone during this post-season. <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011346/9143328-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="187" height="222"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>T IS ONE OF LIFE&rsquo;S COUNTLESS injustices that any pop culture item or product of reasonably good taste is often ignored by the masses in favor of soft, safe, formulaic crud.</p><p>For every White Stripes the music industry has to offer, there are 10 Creeds clogging up the airwaves.</p><p>For every enriching, engrossing, utterly enchanting TV series like <i>The Wire</i>, there are 100 <i>So-You-Think-You-Can-Be-Smarter-Than-A-Fifth-Grader-Who-Wants-Either-A-Deal-Or-No-Deal-On-Rock-Of-Love</i>-type shows receiving quadruple the ratings.</p><p>For every <i>What About Bob?</i>- quality comedy that has graced the silver screen, there have been 10,000 crimes against celluloid, most featuring noticeably mismatched cops who team up to catch a very bad person and in the process learn their partner is actually a decent enough soul he could grudgingly see his cute sister marrying someday.</p><p>I digress. But it&rsquo;s really not that much of a digression, because the NHL has not been immune to society&rsquo;s preference for the crap of the crop over the crop&rsquo;s cream. Because for a long time, the league stood idly by as its game backslid into the middling, entertainment-challenged territory usually occupied by Maroon 5, <i>King Of Queens</i>, and any movie that&rsquo;s starred somebody from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour.</p><p>For a long time, the planet&rsquo;s best league let a style of hockey flourish that drove its most skilled players to the periphery to make way for soulless systems and offense inhibitors. That kind of play best served the needs of coaches hoping for contract extensions. Unfortunately, it also manifested in a sleepy on-ice product that sometimes won titles, but rarely built bases of fans.</p><p>By the looks of things this postseason, though, that trend may be on the verge of changing. To which I say: hosannas all around, followed by a definition of &lsquo;hosanna&rsquo; for those who require it.</p><p>You know things are changing because in the first round of this spring&rsquo;s playoffs, trapaholic teams such as the Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins and the grandpappy of them all, the New Jersey Devils, all saw their reliance on patient, low-risk, low-reward hockey fail them terribly. At the same time, exciting teams that dared to lean on their offensive talent to produce wins, such as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, found their high-octane approach good enough to propel them into their respective conference finals.</p><p>For once, there are no discernible benefits for playing one of your five skaters deep and asking the rest to form a human fort two feet in front of your goalie. No more rewards for games that ended with only 20 shots for both teams combined.</p><p>What a breath of fresh air that is. Even better, it&rsquo;s not as if every one of the final four playoff relied on the power of physical play and/or intimidation to win games this year, either.</p><p>Detroit was the least-penalized team in the league during the regular season and the Stars didn&rsquo;t have a single fighting major through the first two rounds. Even the big, bad Philadelphia Flyers averaged just 12.7 penalty minutes in their first 12 playoff games, which was only the seventh-highest total of any team in the post-season.</p><p>Contrast that with the Wild, a franchise that attempted to improve this year by adding a couple of heavyweight fighters to its roster. Minnesota led the NHL in post-season PIMs per game (23.5) and were assessed six misconduct penalties against Colorado, but all the Wild had to show for it was a six-game first round exit.</p><p>So much for teams trying to copy the Anaheim Ducks&rsquo; blueprint for a championship. Hopefully.</p><p>Sure, the Stars and Flyers play a style that&rsquo;s closer to Anaheim&rsquo;s, but even then, both of those teams also employ offense-minded young players &ndash; e.g. Dallas&rsquo; Mike Ribeiro and Philly&rsquo;s Daniel Briere &ndash; who can deke, stickhandle shoot and score with the best in the business.</p><p>As well, the Flyers had seven 20-goal scorers in the regular season and the Stars had five. In other words, neither of those franchises depend on a single line to do all their offensive damage a la the Ottawa Senators.</p><p>When I look back at this season&rsquo;s playoffs, this is a large part of what I&rsquo;ll remember: The Bruins got taken out by a stupendously skilled Canadiens team. The Wild had their behinds handed to them by an Avalanche squad whose smoke-and-mirrors, golden oldies act subsequently abandoned them against Detroit. Yeah, the trap-utilizing Rangers won their first round series, but that was only because they were up against a similar type of team in the Devils.</p><p>For once, the cream rose to the top. Let&rsquo;s pray it&rsquo;s a trend with legs, not a passing fad.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="70" height="71"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For Adam&rsquo;s web-exclusive Screen Shots column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-02

FUN TEAMS CLIMB CHARTS THIS YEAR

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011174/9143373-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>E</span>ach of the NHL&rsquo;s Final Four teams already have at least one Stanley Cup in their history; Detroit leads the way with 10 while Philadelphia hasn&rsquo;t won it all since 1975. The conference finalists also have all-time winning records in playoff series and games; an impressive feat.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03632/9143366-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="2144" height="1027"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02802/9143359-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="72" height="72"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For up-to-the-minute playoff information, visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

Quest FOR THE Cup CONTINUES

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TERRY KOSHAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011328/9143432-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="303" height="344"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02905/9143425-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="214" height="214"></div><h2><b>TORONTO</b></h2><p>ABOUT THE SAME TIME Toronto&rsquo;s search for a GM was picking up steam, they became buyers on the coach&rsquo;s market.</p><p>The ink barely was dry on Paul Maurice&rsquo;s pink slip May 13 when it became public the Leafs had asked for permission to interview Dave Nonis and Doug Wilson for the vacant GM job. Nonis, fired from the Vancouver GM job in mid-April, appeared set to be interviewed, while Wilson&rsquo;s bosses in San Jose kindly requested the Leafs hang up the phone.</p><p>One story that was getting a lot of play was that Brian Burke, once he fulfilled the final year of his contract with Anaheim, would join Nonis in Toronto and take over as president.</p><p>Others who have been linked to the top Leafs job included a who&rsquo;s who of hockey, from Lou Lamoriello to Ken Holland to Jim Rutherford to Colin Campbell.</p><p>Little was clear on the coaching front, only that the new GM will have the ability to pick his own man. Whether it&rsquo;s a coach with a lot of NHL experience, such as Bob Hartley or John Tortorella (thought to be on thin ice in Tampa) or an up-and-comer such as Peter DeBoer or Dale Hunter, remains to be seen.</p><p>Meanwhile, interim GM Cliff Fletcher has backed out of the GM search, leaving the task to Gord Kirke and Richard Peddie. There has been speculation that Peddie, Larry Tanenbaum and the rest of the Leafs&rsquo; board of directors is calling the shots, not Fletcher. But the latter was given the green light in January when he was hired to make changes as he saw fit. &ldquo;I was involved when the list (of candidates) was prepared, but I don&rsquo;t want to be privy to the process now,&rdquo; Fletcher said. &ldquo;Most of the people on the list I have pretty good connections with.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03719/9143418-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="1211" height="1030"><figcaption class="caption-body">Leafs interim GM Cliff Fletcher and team president Richard Peddie.<span class="photo-credit">(FLETCHER: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; HARTLEY)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>TOP 5 COACH CANDIDATES</b></h2><p>Atlanta, Colorado, Florida, Ottawa and Toronto are all seeking new coaches. Along with ex-Leafs Pat Burns and Pat Quinn, here are five NHL bench-bosses-in-waiting:</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04576/9143411-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="475" height="1228"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HARTLEY: LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>BOB HARTLEY</p><p>PETER DEBOER</p><p>JOEL QUENNEVILLE</p><p>DOUG MACLEAN</p><p>BARRY MELROSE</p><h2><b>JUST THE FACTS</b></h2><p>4 The number of selections the Maple Leafs have in the first three rounds of the 2008 draft; just one less than in the past three drafts combined.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="70" height="71"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For daily updates on all 30 NHL teams, visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-01

`ANALYSIS: GM + COACH

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAN WOOD</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02875/9143463-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Hurricanes fans want to see Peter Laviolette return as coach. <span class="photo-credit">(GREGG FORWERCK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon022.jpg" title="common02" width="105" height="118"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011245/9143470-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="213" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Just when it appeared Brian Burke might be on his way to Toronto, the Ducks GM announced he will remain in Anaheim at least through the end of 2008-09, when his current contract is set to expire. While Burke has been vocal regarding his professional happiness in Anaheim and his affinity for owners Henry and Susan Samueli, his personal life could eventually draw him East. The club is working to sign Burke to a contract extension, if possible.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Randy Carlyle, meanwhile, also has a contract that runs only through next season and his future could be tied to Burke&rsquo;s. Carlyle&rsquo;s immediate objective will be to re-instill the hunger and intensity that fueled a championship team two seasons ago, but wasn&rsquo;t nearly so evident this season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-02

ANAHEIM

<div class="byline">&#x2013; CRAIG CUSTANCE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03722/9143508-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>OACH-GM</b> Don Waddell, who fired Bob Hartley and stepped behind the bench after Atlanta started 0-6-0 this season, has already waited this long to bring in a new coach, so there&rsquo;s no sense of rush.</p><p>That associate coach Brad McCrimmon turned down the job shortly after the all-star break doesn&rsquo;t mean he has been ruled out. But Waddell is flushing out the list of candidates, and names such as Kitchener&rsquo;s (OHL) Peter DeBoer, Tampa assistant Mike Sullivan, Providence (AHL) coach Scott Gordon and Chicago&rsquo;s (AHL) John Anderson have all been rumored to be in the mix.</p><p>Waddell said he plans on making the hire before the draft June 20, in which the team has two first-rounders, including the No. 3 overall pick.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-03

ATLANTA

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE LOFTUS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04586/9143539-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="213" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Peter Chiarelli has free agents to re-sign, potential arbitration cases to prepare &ndash; and the issue of scoring to address. The projected return of Patrice Bergeron (concussion) will be a boost, but Boston is expected to seek outside help and unrestricted free agent Marian Hossa is considered the primary target. Chiarelli said scoring &ldquo;isn&rsquo;t hard to find, but it&rsquo;s hard to get&rdquo; in the free agent market, a reference to Boston&rsquo;s relatively tight fit beneath the salary cap. Speculation about buyouts is widespread, with right winger Glen Murray, 35, topping the list.</p><p><b>COACH</b> A year after replacing Dave Lewis with Claude Julien, who coached the Bruins to their first playoff berth since 2004, there&rsquo;s stability behind the bench in Boston.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-04

BOSTON

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOHN VOGL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05495/9143570-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Darcy Regier huddled with coach Lindy Ruff at Team USA&rsquo;s games at the World Championship, intently watching Jason Pominville. For Regier, the interest was because the right winger is at the top of his &ldquo;re-sign list,&rdquo; next to goalie Ryan Miller. The players each have one year remaining on their contracts and Regier wants to renegotiate as soon as possible. The GM&rsquo;s goal is to keep the 80-point player from leaving like Chris Drury and Daniel Briere.</p><p><b>COACH</b> It may be in Ruff&rsquo;s best interest to anoint a single player to be Buffalo&rsquo;s main leader. The coach used a rotating captaincy last season, including Pominville, but Ruff may go with one captain in 2008-09 and the Sabres&rsquo; Lady Byng candidate is quickly gaining an inside track.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-05

BUFFALO

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RANDY SPORTAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06450/9143601-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Darryl Sutter&rsquo;s task list is loaded with unrestricted free agents. Top center Daymond Langkow and the whole second line &ndash; Kristian Huselius, Craig Conroy and Owen Nolan &ndash; headline a group that runs a dozen deep. Also, he&rsquo;ll need to find a backup goalie, be it by resigning Curtis Joseph, promoting potential UFA Curtis McElhinney or finding one on the market.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Mike Keenan was immediately given a vote of confidence at season&rsquo;s end by Sutter, who emphatically stated Keenan was an &ldquo;elite coach.&rdquo; That said, he&rsquo;ll have something of a fence to mend with goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who was upset &ndash; so were his teammates &ndash; about being pulled after surrendering four goals in the Game 7 loss to San Jose. Time and a short chat should heal those wounds.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-06

CALGARY

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02811/9143701-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M-COACH</b> It was termed a mutual parting, but there were plenty of clues that Avalanche GM Francois Giguere was going to make a coaching change. It happened May 9, when, after three seasons, the Avs and Joel Quenneville decided to go their separate ways.</p><p>It might seem shocking for a team to not want a coach back who guided it to a final-eight finish despite a slew of key injuries. But Giguere had strongly indicated his moves at the trade deadline were most responsible for getting the team into the post-season.</p><p>Quenneville guided the Avs to the playoffs twice in three years, but had an 0-8 record in Round 2 and was the first Avs coach to miss the playoffs. A top candidate is Pat Burns; other names included Patrick Roy and Kevin Dineen.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-02

COLORADO

<div class="byline">&#x2013; AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03668/9143732-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Scott Howson&rsquo;s task this summer is to reshape the Blue Jackets. Howson, hired last June, has been directed by club president Mike Priest to worry less about the future and adopt a &ldquo;win now&rdquo; policy. Asked if the Jackets might be the Philadelphia Flyers of this summer, Howson fought back a smile: &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t put that kind of pressure on me.&rdquo; Howson may have to be Trader Scott. The free agent market is sparse and, let&rsquo;s be honest, high-end UFAs don&rsquo;t see Columbus as a prime destination. Armed with two first round picks (Nos. 6 and 19), the Jackets figure to be busy, starting with the draft.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Ken Hitchcock has brought stability behind the bench. His contract runs through next season and it looks like he&rsquo;ll get a long-term extension this summer.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-03

COLUMBUS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04526/9143763-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Officially, co-GMs Les Jackson and Brett Hull are still on an interim basis, as owner Tom Hicks said his plan remains to review the unique situation he created in November with all parties at the end of the season. That said, Dallas&rsquo; march to the Western Conference final probably means the duo will return intact. Jackson&rsquo;s decision to push kids into the lineup now looks like genius and the risk to take on the three remaining years of Brad Richards&rsquo; annual $7.8-million contract also looks like a good one.</p><p><b>COACH</b> The first thing the co-GMs did was lock up the coaching staff for next season, so Dave Tippett will be back for his sixth season with the Stars. The biggest concern is whether or not assistant Ulf Dahlen will try to find a more significant job elsewhere.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-04

DALLAS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ANSAR KHAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05446/9143794-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="213" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Ken Holland has three more years remaining on his contract and isn&rsquo;t going anywhere. Holland took care of Detroit&rsquo;s major free agent signings during the regular season. The biggest off-season priority is signing a No. 4 defenseman, and he hopes it will be Brad Stuart, whom the team acquired at the trade deadline.</p><p><b>COACH</b> When Mike Babcock was hired by the Wings in 2005 he wanted to make the team harder to play against and he wanted to stick around for 10 years or so. He has done the former, leading a battle-tested bunch into the conference final the past two seasons. He might be on pace for the latter too, after he signs a multi-year contract extension. Holland said he expects to have the deal finalized after the playoffs.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-05

DETROIT

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ROB TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06392/9143825-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Kevin Lowe, signed through 2012, has built one of the youngest and most exciting teams in the league. With youngsters Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, Robert Nilsson, Tom Gilbert and Kyle Brodziak, the foundation is in place for now and tomorrow. Lowe said at season&rsquo;s end he likes his roster and doesn&rsquo;t anticipate any major moves, but nobody&rsquo;s ruling out a July 1 pitch at a mid-level unrestricted free agent.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Craig MacTavish is signed through 2011, so he&rsquo;s not looking over his shoulder. MacTavish did a masterful job down the stretch, leading an injury-riddled team full of rookies to within a whisper of the playoffs. His work didn&rsquo;t go unnoticed as he was added to Team Canada&rsquo;s coaching staff for the World Championship.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-06

EDMONTON

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRIAN BIGGANE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07342/9143856-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M-COACH</b> This marks the first time in three years Jacques Martin&rsquo;s duties will strictly involve managing the Panthers, and not coaching as well.</p><p>Choosing his own successor as coach is an important task for Martin. Candidates who emerged early in the process included Pat Quinn, Pat Burns, Doug MacLean, Perry Pearn and Randy Cunneyworth. All but Burns has worked with Martin in the past.</p><p>The direction of the franchise is Martin&rsquo;s greatest concern. His biggest challenge will be locking up Jay Bouwmeester to a long-term deal before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in July, 2009.</p><p>He also needs to decide whether to keep or trade captain Olli Jokinen, with whom he has not had the best relationship.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-07

FLORIDA

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RICH HAMMOND</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08291/9143887-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Given the massive rebuilding effort the Kings are undertaking, Dean Lombardi has some job security, but it&rsquo;s time to start producing results. Lombardi has succeeded in filling the Kings&rsquo; system with highly regarded prospects, but largely has failed at the task of signing veteran free agents to bridge the gap. His immediate task is determining what to do with the No. 2 pick in the draft. Zach Bogosian and Drew Doughty are options, which works out well, because the Kings&rsquo; greatest need is for young defensemen.</p><p><b>COACH</b> When next season starts, Marc Crawford&rsquo;s name should be atop the list of &ldquo;coaches on the hot seat.&rdquo; But his job figures to be secure this summer. If the Kings get off to a poor start in October, he is unlikely to survive.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-08

LOS ANGELES

<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon022.jpg" title="common02" width="105" height="118"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>hrough the first two rounds of the playoffs, teams were scoring (slightly) more often than in the regular season. The last time that happened was in 1994-95, which saw 6.36 goals per game (GPG) in the playoffs versus 5.97 in the regular campaign.</p><p>2007-08 REG. SEASON GPG 5.44</p><p>2008 PLAYOFFS GPG 5.49</p><p>2006-07 REG. SEASON GPG 5.76</p><p>2007 PLAYOFFS GPG 4.92</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="70" height="71"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>Miss the game? <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> has video highlights.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

common02

GOAL LINE: NO DECLINE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MICHAEL RUSSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011094/9143956-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Doug Risebrough&rsquo;s top priority is determining whether Jacques Lemaire will return for an eighth season. Lemaire, 62, indicated after the season that he has some thinking to do. Risebrough, who could be a Toronto GM candidate, hoped to know that decision after meetings in May. Roster-wise, Risebrough will almost certainly let Pavol Demitra walk and make an attempt to re-sign Brian Rolston.</p><p><b>COACH</b> The Wild might have won its first Northwest Division title in 2007-08, but Lemaire was frustrated with the group. Risebrough said Lemaire&rsquo;s &ldquo;frustrations were poor management decisions. I might have had too many guys (10) playing in their unrestricted years. That led to potentially more guys playing outside of the team. That was my mistake.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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MINNESOTA

<div class="byline">&#x2013; HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02754/9143987-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Bob Gainey proved he could walk on water this season. The Canadiens finished first overall in the East after many thought they wouldn&rsquo;t make the playoffs. But there&rsquo;s still work to be done. The structure is in place to be competitive for years. Now Montreal needs some size along the blueline and a center to take the team to the next level. The onus is on Gainey to attract some free agents.</p><p><b>COACH</b> This is Montreal, so they love you, win or tie. Considering the Habs lasted only five games against Philadelphia in the East semifinal, questions about Guy Carbonneau and some criticism of his coaching decisions will arise &ndash; especially since Montreal was favored. Carbonneau, a Jack Adams finalist, is a work in progress, and will continue to improve.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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MONTREAL

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOHN GLENNON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03604/9144018-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> David Poile has consistently earned high praise from Nashville&rsquo;s new ownership, so there is no doubt about his security. But Poile has a busy summer in front of him. A top priority is to re-sign three key RFAs &ndash; defensemen Shea Weber and Ryan Suter and winger Martin Erat. Poile also wants to re-sign goalie Dan Ellis, a potential UFA. And he needs to determine the status of injured winger Steve Sullivan.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Barry Trotz and his staff just received two-year extensions, with a team option for a third year. One of Trotz&rsquo;s chief objectives for next season is to improve team defense. He&rsquo;ll also be looking to spark a languishing power play and get more consistent performances from young talents Weber and Alexander Radulov.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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NASHVILLE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04510/9144049-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="213" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> For the first time since the summer of 2003, Lou Lamoriello is not searching for a new coach. But he is searching for a way to reverse his team&rsquo;s inability to get past the first two rounds of the playoffs since their last Cup. Ideally, Lamoriello&rsquo;s priorities are to land a No. 1 center that can get the puck to Zach Parise and score goals. They also want to bolster the blueline by adding a quality top-four defenseman to solidify a group that played over its head this season.</p><p><b>COACH</b> In Lamoriello&rsquo;s words, Brent Sutter &ldquo;did an excellent job&rdquo; in his first season behind the bench. There will be no coaching change. In fact, Sutter is lined up to be Lamoriello&rsquo;s eventual successor in the front office, even if that is not on the immediate horizon.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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NEW JERSEY

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PETER BOTTE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05460/9144080-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Garth Snow fully believes the Isles should have been a legit playoff contender before a glut of injuries hit. On record recently that he&rsquo;s &ldquo;sick of being average,&rdquo; Snow believes several veterans failed to play up to their capabilities this season. And he now appears committed to pushing a youth movement on coach Ted Nolan, who has been reluctant to trust prospects with significant ice time.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Nolan is headed into the final year of his three-year contract without the promise of an extension, a notion that seems, well, fishy, even for the Islanders. He said in early May he has no choice but to embrace his lame-duck status, but hopes another strong year either will prompt the team to re-sign him or help him land another job &ldquo;somewhere.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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NY ISLANDERS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; LARRY BROOKS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06407/9144111-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Team CEO Jim Dolan says Glen Sather has the job, &ldquo;for as long as he wants it.&rdquo; Armed with that kind of security, Sather&rsquo;s biggest immediate challenge is the impending unrestricted free agency of Jaromir Jagr. Sather also faces the loss of potential free agents Sean Avery, Brendan Shanahan, Martin Straka, Michal Rozsival and Paul Mara.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Tom Renney has overseen the birth of a renaissance immediately following the franchise&rsquo;s dark ages. His strengths include his ability to relate on a personal level to disparate personalties in Jagr, Shanahan, Avery, Henrik Lundqvist and Scott Gomez, and his patience with young players like Marc Staal and Brandon Dubinsky. His weakness is his loyalty to a fault with players. He&rsquo;s safe after three straight playoff berths.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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NY RANGERS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BRUCE GARRIOCH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07356/9144142-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M-COACH</b> Bryan Murray faces a long summer. Not only does he have to find a way to fix a team that rolled over and died in the first round of the playoffs against Pittsburgh, he also has to find a coach.</p><p>After giving John Paddock his walking papers on Feb. 25 and going back behind the bench, Murray has held off on a serious search for a new coach. First and foremost, Murray wants a taskmaster who isn&rsquo;t going to be afraid to make demands on the likes of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Antoine Vermette. The names of former Leafs coach Pat Quinn, ex-New Jersey coach Pat Burns and Tampa Bay&rsquo;s John Tortorella are all in the mix.</p><p>With Wade Redden likely gone, a puck-moving defenseman will be a top priority this summer.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0037-07

OTTAWA

<div class="byline">&#x2013; WAYNE FISH</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon022.jpg" title="common02" width="105" height="118"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011179/9144173-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="213" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> When the team owner says the GM should be the leading candidate for executive of the year and the GM calls the coach one of the best young minds in the business, it&rsquo;s safe to say all is well in Flyer Nation. Conference final appearances &ndash; one year after the worst record in hockey &ndash; have a way of doing that to grown men. Paul Holmgren, however, still has to sign RFAs Jeff Carter and R.J. Umberger, decide if he wants to keep veteran UFAs such as Jason Smith, Vaclav Prospal and Jim Dowd, and perhaps create enough salary space for a high-priced free agent defenseman such as Brian Campbell.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Meanwhile, John Stevens, who&rsquo;s signed through 2009, can relax this summer and wait for the phone to ring with news of a contract extension.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-01

PHILADELPHIA

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JIM GINTONIO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02797/9144211-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Don Maloney has given Coyotes fans the kind of hope they haven&rsquo;t had in years. He&rsquo;s in Glendale for the long term with his focus squarely on building a perennial playoff contender. The top priority seems to be re-signing UFA winger Radim Vrbata, although the two sides have been talking for months with no apparent headway. Maloney has stressed repeatedly he won&rsquo;t spend millions on a quick fix.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Wayne Gretzky is having fun. That&rsquo;s the best way to describe his coaching style this season. He is the ultimate player&rsquo;s coach: If someone is doing well at a lower level, he&rsquo;s going to bring him up and give him ice time. He had the Coyotes on the brink of the playoffs until a late-season slump nixed that chance.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-02

PHOENIX

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JOE STARKEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03643/9144242-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Ray Shero will be busy in free agency. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is the most significant RFA, while the most notable UFAs include wingers Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone and defenseman Brooks Orpik. Plus, Shero is expected to make extension offers to Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal.</p><p><b>COACH</b> There have been questions about whether disciplinarian Michel Therrien is the right man to lead Pittsburgh to a Cup, but he continued to prove doubters wrong this season by pulling all the right strings. When he changed defense pairs after the first round, critics howled. They quieted down when the Hal Gill-Rob Scuderi combo helped hold Jaromir Jagr without a shot in the series-clincher against the Rangers. Therrien is signed through 2008-09.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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PITTSBURGH

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JEREMY RUTHERFORD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04516/9144273-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Larry Pleau&rsquo;s status with the Blues was tenuous at best in 2006 when Dave Checketts purchased the club and named John Davidson as team president. Although Checketts reduced Pleau&rsquo;s duties, he remained GM and became Davidson&rsquo;s right-hand man. Pleau&rsquo;s contract is up in June, but it appears he&rsquo;ll be back for his 11th season in St. Louis.</p><p><b>COACH</b> From Christmas 2006 to Christmas &lsquo;07, the Blues were 42-28-10 under Andy Murray. In less than two seasons, he stabilized the Blues and turned them into a playoff contender. The team, however, couldn&rsquo;t sustain its success in the second half of 2007-08, going 11-22-8. As fast as Murray&rsquo;s ascension happened in St. Louis, some fans became critical as the Blues missed the playoffs for the third straight year.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-04

ST. LOUIS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAVID POLLAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05413/9144304-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="213" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> How do you fire a coach whose team had the second-highest points total in the league, won a critical Game 7 in a tough series against Calgary, then almost rallied from an 0-3 deficit in Round 2 before losing to Dallas in a four-overtime nailbiter? Yet a decision on Ron Wilson&rsquo;s future is something GM Doug Wilson has on his to-do list. He will say only the coach is included in the top-to-bottom evaluation process and that no decisions will be made based on emotion.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Ron Wilson bristles when the subject comes up. &ldquo;You look at my record,&rdquo; he told a TV reporter. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s second to none, literally, in the sport. So I&rsquo;m not even worried about that.&rdquo; The coach appears to have more allies among the players now than in the past.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-05

SAN JOSE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DAMIAN CRISTODERO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06351/9144335-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Jay Feaster has his work cut out for him this summer. After trading star forwards Brad Richards and Vinny Prospal, the Lightning is seeking two top-six forwards. With little organizational depth to use in trades, it seems the free agent market is the place he will search. He will also surely use the No. 1 overall pick to select Sarnia (OHL) center Steve Stamkos.</p><p><b>COACH</b> John Tortorella might have backed himself into an inescapable corner when he told Feaster it might be time, after a 30th-place finish, for him to step down as Lightning coach. No decision likely will be made until Hollywood producer Oren Koules takes over as owner. Tortorella, coaching the U.S. at the World Championship, has said he now does want to return.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-06

TAMPA BAY

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ELLIOTT PAP</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-07306/9144366-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> Ex-player agent Mike Gillis has no track record in hockey management so nobody has any idea how he plans to operate. He has a five-year contract, but indicated he wants to quickly make the team a contender again. His biggest task is to rebuild the top two lines, where the Sedin twins are the only proven threats under contract, as well as make a decision on pending UFA and team captain, Markus Naslund.</p><p><b>COACH</b> Alain Vigneault was left twisting in the wind when the man who hired him, Dave Nonis, was fired as the team&rsquo;s GM April 14. Gillis did compliment Vigneault for a job &ldquo;well done&rdquo; in the disappointing 2007-08 campaign that was marred by devastating injuries, a hint he might bring Vigneault back for the final year of his contract.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-07

VANCOUVER

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PETER KERZEL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-08254/9144397-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="214" height="214"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>M</b> The Caps&rsquo; late-season run erased speculation about his job status, but George McPhee still plays everything close to the vest. He&rsquo;ll spend the off-season trying to convince UFA goalie Cristobal Huet to stay in D.C. and working to lock up some key RFAs (Boyd Gordon, Mike Green, Shaone Morrisonn). McPhee&rsquo;s mission is to find inexpensive, productive players who can grow around superstar Alex Ovechkin, whose 13-year contract kicks in next season</p><p><b>COACH</b> Bruce Boudreau, Washington&rsquo;s unexpected savior, was signed to a multi-year extension, although McPhee refuses to say for how long or how much. Boudreau will further put his stamp on the Capitals, finding some role players who can excel in his forechecking scheme.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-08

WASHINGTON

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01775/9144456-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="889" height="1091"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN KOZUB/MANITOBA MOOSE)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02465/9144463-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="196" height="195"></div><p>WHEN THE SEASON BEGAN, rookie goalie Cory Schneider didn&rsquo;t play like someone labeled a can&rsquo;t-miss NHL prospect.</p><p>Yet by the time the Manitoba Moose were eliminated from the playoffs, Schneider looked every bit the part of a future NHLer.</p><p>He played with poise, made numerous big saves and was remarkably focused despite the bullying tactics of the Syracuse Crunch.</p><p>&ldquo;I learned how to handle the pressure and intensity of the playoffs,&rdquo; said Schneider, not long after the Moose were eliminated in six games by the Crunch.</p><p>All four losses were in overtime, so elimination will sting for a while. But the experience has already helped young Schneider grow as a pro.</p><p>&ldquo;Just to be a part of games that were so evenly matched was good,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Th is was my first seven-game series, so it was a good learning experience, having to play the same team night after night.</p><p>&ldquo;But obviously there&rsquo;s room for improvement if you don&rsquo;t win.&rdquo;</p><p>Drafted 26th overall in 2004 by Vancouver, Schneider played the past three seasons at Boston College before signing with the Canucks last summer. The transition to the pro game wasn&rsquo;t easy. In mid-December, he was 3-7 with a 3.69 goals-against average.</p><p>Moose coach Scott Arniel didn&rsquo;t use a pencil to write Schneider&rsquo;s name on the depth chart behind Drew MacIntyre, he used a Sharpie.</p><p>But by April, Schneider was No. 1. From Feb. 17 until the close of the regular season, the Marblehead, Mass., native went 13-2-1 with a 1.55 GAA and .941 save percentage.</p><p>As a result, Arniel didn&rsquo;t need to debate long when choosing a starter for the playoffs.</p><p>Just as the collegiate game provided valuable lessons for Schneider, so did his first AHL season.</p><p>&ldquo;The experience of playing games in college that had to be won, the single-elimination tournament games, was important,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now I&rsquo;ve learned what it&rsquo;s like to play a seven-game series. You learn that soft goals will kill you; that soft goals will take away momentum from your team.</p><p>&ldquo;And you have to be one goal better than the other team.&rdquo;</p><p>The Crunch made intimidation a prominent part of their game all season and they played the same way against Manitoba in the playoffs. It was no coincidence Schneider was bowled over by Crunch winger Joakim Lindstrom on a 2-on-0 break in Game 1, or decked by a Tom Sestito punch in Game 4.</p><p>&ldquo;That was all part of my learning curve, not to get rattled by that,&rdquo; Schneider said.</p><h2>CORY SCHNEIDER</h2><p>Manitoba Moose</p><p>Ht. 6-2</p><p>Wt. 195</p><p>Pos. G</p><p>Age 22</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03356/9144449-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="210" height="210"></div><p>AND COUNTING</p><p>2.28</p><p>Schneider&rsquo;s GAA as a rookie, eighth best in the AHL</p><h2><b>ON TOP</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04288/9144442-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="182" height="260"></div><h3>PLAYOFF GOALS</h3><p>TIM BRENT</p><p>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05247/9144435-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="209" height="209"></div><p>7 GOALS</p><p>Chris Minard, WB/Scr 7</p><p>Darren Haydar, Chi 6</p><p>Josh Langfeld, Mil 5</p><p>Martins Karsums, Pro 5</p><p>Pascal Pelletier, Pro 5</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="mon012.jpg" title="common01" width="70" height="71"></div><p>For more on hockey&rsquo;s best prospects, check out Ryan Kennedy&rsquo;s Hot List in the feature section on <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0040-01

LEARNING FROM THE LUMPS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>hen the Dallas Stars and ownership group of Iowa&rsquo;s AHL franchise agreed to sever ties in late April, the Minnesota Wild appeared to be the perfect new parent team.</p><p>The proposed partnership would enable the Wild to regionalize their product and spread the brand name throughout more of the upper Midwest.</p><p>However, to the surprise of some, the Wild is staying put in Houston. The Wild likes the market and the atmosphere for their players at the Toyota Center, which is why they renewed their lease for five more years.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a good place for us to develop players and we didn&rsquo;t want to upset the apple cart,&rdquo; said Tom Lynn, assistant GM of the Wild, who also oversees operations in Houston.</p><p>Forming an Iowa partnership &ldquo;has been a consideration at times,&rdquo; Lynn said, &ldquo;but we&rsquo;ve never been presented with a better situation than we have now.&rdquo;</p><p>TEXAS TWO-STEP With Dallas out of Iowa, the Stars are reportedly proceeding with plans to stock a team in the Austin suburb of Cedar Park starting in 2010. The Stars had two years remaining on the deal in Iowa but the parties mutually agreed to an early termination. Dallas must find a home for its prospects for the next two seasons and could share an affiliation.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Still Wild about Houston

<div class="byline">BY PHIL JANACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01664/9144539-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="888" height="1091"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02409/9144546-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="197" height="195"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>OR MUCH OF HIS PLAYING CAREER, particularly at the NHL level, Jeff Hoggan has been one of those guys who coaches trusted to help prevent goals.</p><p>Th is season, the sixth-year pro took it a step further.</p><p>Without giving up anything defensively, Hoggan rediscovered a scoring touch he hadn&rsquo;t shown consistently since leaving the University of Nebraska-Omaha a year early in 2002.</p><p>An undrafted 6-foot-1, 195-pound right winger, Hoggan set career highs with 29 goals, 31 assists and 60 points in 71 games for Providence, his first full AHL season since 2004-05.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s certainly not what I expected,&rdquo; said Hoggan, 30. &ldquo;I had my eyes on the NHL this year, but I just tried to keep a positive attitude. I was playing a different role in the NHL as an energy guy, going out and agitating and things like that.</p><p>&ldquo;Maybe people started to doubt if I could still put the puck in the net and play an offensive game. I was out to prove I could and show I could use my speed to do so. It just worked out great this year.&rdquo;</p><p>The Bruins led the AHL with 55 wins and 117 points, with Hoggan ranking second in goals and third in team scoring. His previous best was 21 goals and 36 points for Houston in 2003-04.</p><p>&ldquo;The circumstances of this year didn&rsquo;t allow him to play in the NHL,&rdquo; said Providence bench boss Scott Gordon, the AHL&rsquo;s coach of the year. &ldquo;He came here and through the entire time, Hogey never changed anything. He just went out and had a great year for us. He really was a key guy for us from Day 1.&rdquo;</p><p>Hoggan registered at least one point in 41 of his 71 games, with 17 multi-point contests to his credit. He also became a regular in the shootout, converting four of 11 chances.</p><p>&ldquo;The style of play we have with an aggressive forecheck has really played to his strength,&rdquo; Gordon said. &ldquo;With his skating and physical play, he&rsquo;s a guy who usually every game is going to get a breakaway or two. He developed some confidence in his ability to score on breakaways to the point where I felt confident using him in shootouts.&rdquo;</p><p>Hoggan led the AHL with a plus-39 rating and tacked on four shorthanded goals. He had three goals and seven points through five playoff games before being slowed by an injury in Game 1 of the second round versus Portland.</p><p>Hoggan, who won a Calder Cup and rookie of the year honors with Houston in 2003, is a free agent this summer.</p><p>&ldquo;Hopefully somebody needs a guy like me and they come and find me,&rdquo; he said.</p><h2>JEFF HOGGAN</h2><p>Providence</p><p>Ht. 6-1</p><p>Wt. 195</p><p>Pos. RW</p><p>Age 30</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03328/9144532-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="210" height="210"></div><p>AND COUNTING</p><p>+ 39</p><p>Hoggan posted the league&rsquo;s best plus/minus rating</p><h2><b>ON TOP</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04282/9144525-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="182" height="260"></div><h3>PLAYOFF SCORING</h3><p>TIM BRENT</p><p>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05256/9144518-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="209" height="209"></div><p>13 POINTS</p><p>Alex Goligoski, WB/Scr 12</p><p>Jason Krog, Chi 11</p><p>Derek MacKenzie, Syr 10</p><p>Stefan Ruzicka, Phi 10</p><p>Kurtis McLean, WB/Scr 10<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-01

HOGGAN ZEROES IN ON GETTING GOALS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PHIL JANACK</div><p>One player has been involved in the two longest games in the AHL&rsquo;s 72-year playoff history.</p><p>Unfortunately for Marc Cavosie, neither ended with a win.</p><p>&ldquo;It seems like I&rsquo;m on the wrong end of those things,&rdquo; said Cavosie, a center with the Albany River Rats. &ldquo;The first year, at least we ended up winning the Calder Cup.&rdquo;</p><p>Ryan Potulny&rsquo;s goal in the fifth overtime lifted Philadelphia past Albany in Game 5 of the teams&rsquo; first round series. The contest took 142 minutes and 58 seconds to complete &ndash; the longest game in AHL history. The Phantoms, who lost Game 6 in overtime, went on to eliminate the Rats in seven games.</p><p>The previous record of 134:56 was set May 30, 2003, when Hamilton edged Houston in Game 2 of the Calder Cup final. The Aeros, with Cavosie as a rookie, came back to beat the Bulldogs for the title.</p><p>&ldquo;I remember going through that game with Houston,&rdquo; Cavosie said. &ldquo;All the old guys probably felt like I do now. I really didn&rsquo;t feel that bad then.&rdquo;</p><p>AHL goaltender of the year Michael Leighton was incredible, stopping 98 of 101 shots for Albany in a losing cause.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something you don&rsquo;t read about or see every day,&rdquo; Leighton said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty cool to think about it, but it would have been nice to add a win on there.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Overtime cruel to Cavosie

<div class="byline">&#x2013; NEIL HODGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02429/9144622-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="254" height="136"></div><p>YANN SAUVE HAS undergone a transformation since being the first overall pick in the 2006 QMJHL draft.</p><p>&ldquo;I was more of an offensive defenseman in midget,&rsquo;&rsquo; said the 17-year-old sophomore with the Saint John Sea Dogs. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve changed a lot since coming here. The coach has me focused more on my defensive play. It&rsquo;s good because this is more the style I need for the pros.</p><p>&ldquo;I try to use my size and strength to play physical. I need to show the other team they&rsquo;re going to get hit if they go into the corner with me.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>Sauve, 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, ranked 60th overall and first among defensemen in the QMJHL by International Scouting Services for the 2008 NHL draft.</p><p>The native of Rigaud, Que., played in both the 2006 and 2007 ADT Canada-Russia Challenges. He helped Team Quebec win gold in the 2006 World Under-17 Championship and suited up for his country in the 2007 World Under-18 Championship.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m fortunate to have this much international experience at a young age,&rsquo;&rsquo; he said. &ldquo;Those were great experiences and I think it&rsquo;s been good for my development. It gives me more hunger to play for the national junior team.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>Sauve fought the Sarnia Sting&rsquo;s Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 prospect for this year&rsquo;s NHL draft, in the 2008 CHL Top Prospects Game.</p><p>&ldquo;Yann has the body of a man already,&rsquo;&rsquo; said Saint John coach Jacques Beaulieu. &ldquo;I mean, even when we drafted him, his body, his physical play and his strength were way ahead of schedule.&rdquo;</p><p>Sauve&rsquo;s game started to click when he began simplifying it.</p><p>&ldquo;Yann struggled a bit early this season when he was putting too much pressure on himself,&rdquo; Beaulieu said. &ldquo;Once he just started to play the game and keep it simple, he was very, very good. From the middle of November on, he was in our top two defensemen.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>Sauve has a great combination of size and skill, but isn&rsquo;t a quarterback defenseman. He&rsquo;s a puck-mover with a well-rounded game. Like all green blueliners, he needs to work on his foot speed, mobility and coverage down low.</p><p>&ldquo;He may have the potential to be a top-four guy in the NHL, but more in a defensive role,&rsquo;&rsquo; Beaulieu said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s big, strong and can punish guys physically.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a workout fanatic. We have to tell him to stay out of the gym. He almost does too much. He&rsquo;s very dedicated to the game in terms of his diet, rest and preparation.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01696/9144615-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="703" height="925"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAVID CONNELL)</span></figcaption></div><h2>YANN SAUVE</h2><p>Saint John Sea Dogs</p><p>Ht. 6-3</p><p>Wt. 220</p><p>Pos. D</p><p>Age 18</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03333/9144608-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="343" height="82"></div><p>Draft Status</p><p>Ranked No. 60 overall by ISS for the 2008 NHL draft</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04266/9144601-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="210" height="210"></div><h2>AND COUNTING 1</h2><p>Sauve&rsquo;s rank among QMJHL defenseman for the 2008 draft<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-02

SAUVE GROWS ON THE BLUELINE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ROB VANSTONE</div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span> practice was a high-water mark in Judd Blackwater&rsquo;s season. While on a road trip, the Spokane Chiefs conducted a workout in Standoff, Alta., on the Blood Tribe First Nation &ndash; of which Blackwater is a member. &ldquo;After the practice, the kids came out and skated with us,&rdquo; said the 20-year-old left winger. &ldquo;It was great to see all the support from everyone.&rdquo; Blackwater played most of his minor hockey in nearby Lethbridge, where he grew up watching the hometown Hurricanes. As it turned out, Spokane swept Lethbridge in the 2008 WHL final. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s awesome to go back to my hometown and play in front of friends and family,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I see little kids around there playing hockey and I guess they look up to me. I try to be a good role model.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05231/9144653-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="210" height="211"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0042-05

Giving back a good practise

<div class="byline">&#x2013; NEIL HODGE</div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span>espite falling short of championship expectations, the Halifax Mooseheads stayed the course. One week after getting swept by the Gatineau Olympiques in the QMJHL semifinal, Mooseheads GM Marcel Patenaude and the entire coaching staff had their contracts renewed. Patenaude and coach Cam Russell, a Halifax native who has coached the Mooseheads for two seasons, were both given two-year extentions. Halifax, a 14-year-old franchise, is still looking for its first championship despite having some powerhouse teams. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s harder to play here,&rdquo; said Patenaude, who has been the team&rsquo;s GM for eight seasons. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s harder because of the pressure. We have to address it and find solutions because they are teenagers.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-07177/9144715-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="210" height="210"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0042-07

No drastic Moose change

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE MASTOVICH</div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>hen Victoria needed a big goal, the Salmon Kings turned to their gold rush. Specifically, the Goldie brothers rush. Ash and Wes Goldie became the first set of teammates &ndash; not to mention the first set of brothers &ndash; to lead the ECHL in goal-scoring after Wes potted 42 and Ash, 40. Ash ranked fourth in the regular season with 83 points, while his brother had 61. The trend isn&rsquo;t something new. Last season, Wes was second in the league with 41 goals for Victoria and Ash tied for third with 39, then for Long Beach. The brothers continued hitting the net during this post-season. Wes collected five goals and Ash, four, in Victoria&rsquo;s first nine playoff dates.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01689/9144746-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="210" height="211"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0043-01

Goldie years in Victoria

<div class="byline">&#x2013; PAUL SHAHEEN</div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>here&rsquo;s no questioning what the St. Louis Bandits have accomplished; the only debate is about what happens now. After the Bandits claimed their second straight league championship, all eyes turned to St. Louis coach-GM Jon Cooper, who after five years of success in St. Louis, may be looking for new challenges. One possible destination is the USHL&rsquo;s Green Bay Gamblers, who&rsquo;ve been openly wooing Cooper to take over their vacant bench. Cooper, the 2008 NAHL coach of the year, has a history of winning records and sending kids to the NCAA. That&rsquo;s inspired many teams (amateur and pro) to court him the past two years.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02462/9144777-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="210" height="211"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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May 27, 2008

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