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More Stuff by Michael Dell, Editor-in-Chief
CULLEN UPDATE
COLORADO COMING BACK In an unbelievable rash of bad luck, the Avalanche blue line has been rendered unrecognizable thanks to injuries to Adam Foote, Alexei Gusarov, Sylvain Lefebvre, Jon Klemm, Eric Messier, and Wade Belak. For complete details on the situation, check out Greg D'avis' feature article elsewhere in the issue. Yet despite all the grief on defense, Colorado has rallied to an 8-9-2 record. That may not sound like much, but take away the 0- 4-0 start and the Avalanche are 8-5-2 in their past 15 games. Considering the injuries, that's really quite remarkable. They're currently only three points behind Edmonton for the division lead. The two main reasons for the turnaround are that Patrick Roy is once again stopping pucks and Peter Forsberg has started scoring goals. But don't overlook what GM Pierre Lacroix has done to turn the tide. Lacroix acquired Greg de Vries and Cam Russell in separate deals to help bolster the decimated defensive corps. Both were huge moves. Then he swiped Shjon Podein away from the Flyers for the painfully slow Keith Jones. Sure, Jones has fit in well with Eric Lindros and John LeClair in Philly, but he was dead weight in Denver. Podein is the type of hard-working, third-line winger with speed the club so desperately needed. Add him to Stephane Yelle and Rene Corbet, and the Avalanche could very well have the best third line in hockey. Hell, the top two lines are pretty damn swell in their own rights, with Forsberg between Claude Lemieux and Valeri Kamensky, and Joe Sakic centering Adam Deadmarsh and rookie ace Milan Hejduk. Lacroix has also addressed the matter of team chemistry. The first step was to trade his own flesh and blood, sending his son Eric to Los Angeles for Roman Vopat, who eventually was shipped to Chicago for Russell. Lacroix the Elder followed that up by signing Adam Foote to a contract extension. Foote, who was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of this season, was so frustrated with negotiations that he publicly said he would not be back in Colorado next season. That's never good for team morale. Thankfully, both parties came to their sense and Foote will remain the cornerstone of the blue line. Now all Lacroix has to do is sign Sandis Ozolinsh. That's easier said than done. Lacroix reduced his offer in length, pitching a two-year $6.6 million deal to Ozolinsh's agent hoping to pique interest with the promise of another pay day not so far off in the future. Ozolinsh's agent, whose name is like Thelonious Monk or something, declined. Monk and his client are sticking to their demands of something closer to $4 million a season. Lacroix says his offer includes incentives that could drive the annual salary up to the $4- million neighborhood, but Monk says there are no such incentives. He's even gone so far as to ask for a trade. Lacroix would be foolish to trade Ozolinsh. There just isn't another player on the planet that can bring what he does to a team. He's the best offensive defenseman in hockey. Period. Without him at the point, the Avalanche have no shot at a Cup. However, if he can get signed, and the rest of the defense mends, the men with feet on their shoulders will be right back in the heat of things along with Dallas and Detroit.
DOES PITTSBURGH NEED TOUGHNESS? While the club really hasn't had a feared puncher since the days of Rick Tocchet, the subject has become a hot topic recently with the team getting smacked around a bit. On November 14, with the Penguins leading the Panthers 4-0 late in the third, Florida's Peter Worrell took a run at Aleksey Morozov and knocked him silly with an elbow. Worrell would later receive a three-game suspension from the league. Morozov suffered a concussion and still hasn't returned to action. Defenseman Jeff Serowik wanted to step in and challenge Worrell but quickly changed his mind when the 6'6" behemoth wanted to drop the gloves. With Serowik in trouble, veteran blueliner Bobby Dollas saved the day, stepping in to fight Worrell. The scuffle had predictable results, but it was Dollas' attempt that counts. Another Penguin was lost to a cheap shot in the very next game against Philadelphia. Late in the third, with the outcome decided, Roman Vopat crushed Victor Ignatjev from behind into the boards, injuring the blueliner's shoulder. Then the home-and-home series with Tampa Bay saw the likes of Wendel Clark, Cory Cross, Sandy McCarthy, Darcy Tucker, and Enrico Ciccone run roughshod over the Birds with little apprehension. Dollas actually had to fight Ciccone, eating an uppercut that split his lip, in order to once again protect his teammates. Afterwards Dollas could do little more than say, "I'm to old for this crap." The problem may have been highlighted even more when Tom Barrasso injured his back in a scuffle with Tucker. When your goaltender is getting hurt in fights, it might be time to make a move. The Penguins like to say that they have team toughness and that as long as everyone sticks together they'll be fine. But Dollas can't keep fighting 6'6" guys every night. At this rate he'll be dead by Christmas. The Penguins still have Petr Nedved up their sleeve. It would make sense that they'd try to get some muscle back in return, but then again the team seems confident that it can survive without it. In a perfect world where everybody respects one another and plays by the rules, the Birds might be able to rely solely on their speed and quickness. Unfortunately, the NHL is not a nice place. Teams know that the Penguins are soft. And you can bet it will be a weakness that gets exploited. Word on the street is that Edmonton's Bill Huard may soon be wearing the black and gold. Huard can throw. He'd be a good addition.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT Johnson, who makes $650,000 a year, will lose $95,121.96 due to his stupidity. While the money should probably go to Beukeboom, it actually goes into the NHL's Emergency Assistance Fund which is set up to throw real bitchin' parties on weekends at Bettman's house. Ninety-five grand will buy a lot of Jagermeister. The 12-game sentence and subsequent fine are a fitting punishment for Johnson's cowardly actions. However, it just further illustrates how light the penalty was for Tie Domi when he suckered Ulf Samuelsson a few years back. Johnson got 12 for hitting Beukeboom in the side of the face with his glove. Domi, who came up from behind and punched an unsuspecting Samuelsson in the nose and mouth with his bare fist, was given only eight games. The premeditated attack was the most disgusting thing I have ever witnessed during an NHL game. Domi should still be in prison.
LET HIM PLAY In 19 games, Lecavalier has one goal and four points and is a -12. But it's not his fault. The top pick at this past Entry Draft has been seeing an average of 12 minutes a game for the Bolts, often with fourth-line talent. And he hasn't even played as many as 12 minutes in any of the past four games. In fact, he only saw 9:48 of ice time in the 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh on November 21. Although, he was allowed to serve a major penalty to Pavel Kubina late in the contest. I think we all realize how important it is for franchise players to learn how to serve major penalties. Keeping oneself busy for five minutes is a skill that needs to be honed to a razor's edge. As soon as Lecavalier makes a mistake he finds himself on the bench. Jacques Demers apparently believes that this is helping the youngster become a better player, but it's hard to imagine how. The only way to improve is to play. Young kids are going to make mistakes. It happens. But they have to play through 'em. A mistake is nothing to be ashamed off as long as you learn from it. That's difficult to do when you're a spectator. So far all Lecavalier is learning is that if he slips up he sits on the bench. Jacques, the goal is to build a hockey player, not train a dog. And why not play the kid? Where the hell are the Lightning going this year that they can't afford to let Lecavalier learn on the job? Fans are showing up to watch him dazzle with his skating and puck skills, not to see how straight his posture is. Let him play.
CHICAGO-MONTREAL TRADE
TIME FOR BURE TO MOVE The leading candidate for the Russian Rocket would seem to be the Philadelphia Flyers. Chris Gratton and Dainius Zubrus could be headed the other way. How good would Bure look alongside Lindros and LeClair? That's sick.
BROADWAY CLOSED Nicholls, 37, had two assists and was a -4 in 10 games this season for the Sharks. Hey, you gotta break some eggs to make an omelette. Bernie was just getting warmed up. Lombardi met with Nicholls over the weekend and basically told him he sucked and that he was done playing for the Sharks. Naturally, Bernie was stunned by the mandate. Lombardi did offer Nicholls a job with the organization, but he didn't specify what the job would be. He will reportedly work out the details over the Thanksgiving holiday, at which time Nicholls will make a decision about his future. Let me just say that LCS Hockey would love to have Nicholls on our team. So, Bernie, if you're out there, just say the word and you can be one of the few, the proud, the LCS Hockey correspondents. The pay is lousy and the hours are long, but other than that it's a piece of cake. Or, if you prefer pie, a piece of pie. Just say when.
NEELY KNOWS At a press conference on November 17, Neely spoke about his failed return to glory. "I'm completely fine with the fact that I can't play. I'm fortunate that I had the opportunity, that the Bruins gave me an opportunity. I know it wasn't the easiest of circumstances with the team, the coaching staff to let a guy that hasn't played for a couple of years interrupt things to see if I could play." "It was an opportunity that I was given that I didn't think I was going to get and it was fun for the days that I was out there," continued Neely. "But as each day I skated I felt the pain lingered longer than I would have liked. As I said yesterday, I know how I felt when I had to retire, pain wise, I know how I'm feeling now and I know how I was starting to feel as I progressed. And that's not really how I want to feel." When asked if he felt relieved that it was over, Cam agreed. "I think relief is a good word, to be honest with you. I tried to do this as quietly as possible. I started working out quite a while ago to get into better shape and to see if I could take it to getting on the ice again. It was something that I really didn't mean for it to get as carried away as it did. Although I was optimistic that I could take it to another level, I never really was sure how long I could keep pushing it. Because I know how I felt every day. When you don't have any relief at all from the pain, you have to wonder if you can really play again. I did have the opportunity to push it a little harder but it just never got as good as I would have hoped to keep pushing it." LCS Hockey would like to wish Neely nothing but the best. And, Cam, that writing offer is open to you too, buddy. Maybe you and Bernie could work on a column together, like a Point/Counterpoint deal. He could say something and then you could call him an ignorant slut. It's fun. Honest.
WACKY STATS
FACEOFF WINS 1. Steve Rucchin, Anaheim 309 (54.49%) 2. Doug Gilmour, Chicago 289 (55.57%) 3. Mark Messier, Vancouver 272 (52.10%) 4. Mats Sundin, Toronto 269 (55.92%) 5. Yanic Perreault, Los Angeles 246 (54.91%) ICE TIME (in minutes) 1. Chris Pronger, St. Louis 31.11 2. Brian Leetch, NY Rangers 30.76 3. Ray Bourque, Boston 30.30 4. Al MacInnis, St. Louis 28.91 5. Boris Mironov, Edmonton 27.06 NOTE: Joe Sakic plays the most of any forward, ranking 15th overall at 25.25 minutes per game. HITS 1. Todd Harvey, NY Rangers 59 2. Richard Matvichuk, Dallas 55 3. Curtis Leschyshyn, Carolina 54 4. Derian Hatcher, Dallas 53 David Harlock, NY Islanders 53 Dan McGillis, Philadelphia 53 NOTE: In case you're wondering, Darius Kasparaitis has 30 hits in just nine games. GIVEAWAYS 1. Wayne Gretzky, NY Rangers 48 2. Vladimir Malakhov, Montreal 47 3. Peter Forsberg, Colorado 45 4. Joe Sakic, Colorado 44 5. Vincent Damphousse, Montreal 42 TAKEAWAYS 1. Peter Forsberg, Colorado 59 2. Brian Rolston, New Jersey 36 3. Mattias Ohlund, Vancouver 34 4. Steve Rucchin, Anaheim 33 Matt Cullen, Anaheim 33
THANKSGIVING So let me just wish a Happy Thanksgiving to you, our valued readers. And to our friends outside of the United States, Happy Thursday!
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