This Day In Hockey History: May 16th

1927 - Jack Adams was named the General Manager/Coach of the Detroit Cougars, replacing Duke Keats. Adams went on to control the fortunes of the Detroit team (later called the "Red Wings") for the next 35 years.

1976 - Guy Lafleur scored the game winning goal as Montreal beat Philadelphia 5-3 to sweep the best-of-seven final series, in Game 4 of the Finals and win their 19th Stanley Cup championship.

1976 - Philadelphia Flyers' Reggie Leach scored his 19th goal of the playoffs in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Although the Flyers lost the game 5-3 and the series 4-0 to Montreal, Leach won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup Series.

1982 - New York Islanders win their third straight Stanley Cup when Mike Bossy scored twice in a 3-1 victory over Vancouver, in Game Four of the Finals.

1985 - Jari Kurri set a new playoff record with his third hat trick of the '85 playoffs, then added a fourth goal as the Oilers won 8-2 at Chicago, in Game 6 of the Conference Championships. Edmonton advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals vs Philadelphia.

1996 - Steve Yzerman scored the winning goal at 1:15 of the second overtime as Detroit won 1-0 over the visiting St. Louis Blues, in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

2002 - Dallas Stars named Dave Tippett as their new head coach, the 18th head coach in franchise history.

Happy Birthday to Corey Perry, Floyd Smith, Kyle Wellwood, Tomas Fleischmann, John Stewart, Jeff Skinner, Rick Rypien, Hugh Plaxton, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Great Photos In Stanley Cup History: Joe Sakic and Ray Bourque

Joe Sakic, hockey's classiest captain, hoisted the Stanley Cup twice, first in 1996. There was not a fan in hockey who was not happy for 'Burnaby Joe.'

Joe Sakic would captain the Avalanche back to the Stanley Cup championship in 2001, but this time he sheepishly accepted Lord Stanley's mug, only to hand off it quickly to Ray Bourque. Bourque, one of hockey's greatest players ever, finally celebrated a Stanley Cup win after 22 seasons in the NHL.

Darryl Sutter: A Long Way From Japan

Darryl Sutter has one of the most interesting journey's to the National Hockey League. He all but gave up on his NHL dream and spent a lonely year in Japan in the late 1970s before getting back on track.

Following in big brother Brian's footsteps, Darryl had a fantastic junior career with the Red Deer Rustlers in the AJHL and followed that up with a solid season in the WCJHL with the Lethbridge Broncos. He was expected to be drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round of the 1978 NHL Entry Draft, but when he wasn't drafted until the 11th round (179th overall), Darryl all but gave up on the NHL.

Darryl, who had turned down full college scholarships to play junior hockey, was so ticked off at the entry draft snub that he opted to play the following season in, of all places, Japan. One of the owners of the Lethbridge Broncos was Japanese and invited Darryl to come to Japan and play professionally over there.

It was certainly an interesting experience for Darryl. There was only one other Westerner on team called Iwakura Tomakomai. His name was Doug Johnson of Edmonton, but since he was married the two didn't spend much time together off the ice. That left Darryl rather lonely. Some of the older Japanese people and even some of his teammates didn't like him being around, mostly because he didn't really follow their strict cultural guidelines. For example in Japan it is custom to bow to the older generation. After practices, younger players were to bow to the older players before heading to the dressing room. Darryl just skated off.

Darryl never regretted his Japanese trip. He got away from his troubles and learned a lot about himself over there. He made some nice money too, and in the process rewrote the Japanese record book for hockey.

When Darryl returned to Canada in February of 1979, the Hawks asked Darryl to finish out the season with their farm team. Darryl, who grew up a Hawks fan, fit in nicely and impressed the Hawks. They subsequently signed him to contract, and Darryl's NHL dream was back in focus.

Here's the full Darryl Sutter biography.

Dave Tippett: Undrafted and Unheralded

A collegiate champion, Olympic silver medalist, and NHL coach of the year, Dave Tippett is a man used to leadership and coaching success.

A native of Moosomin, Saskatchewan, the left wing played for the Prince Albert Raiders before heading south to play collegiate hockey. Between 1979 and 1981, Tippett was an offensive standout helping the Raiders win the Century Cup in 1981.

Tippett then notched 28 goals, 59 assists and 87 points in his two years at the University of North Dakota. As captain, he helped lead a squad full of future NHLers to both the MacNaughton Cup (regular season championship) and the NCAA championship in 1982.

Despite his record, Tippett was overlooked in the NHL draft.  Instead, he played a full season with Dave King's national team and was chosen as Team Canada's captain at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. While the team did not win a medal that year, Tippett was finally able to catch the attention of the NHL, signing with the Hartford Whalers. He immediately played the last 17 games of the 1983-84 season.

While unable to become an offensive leader at the NHL level, over the next six years in Hartford Tippett built a reputation as a solid defensive winger who could contribute a handful of goals and assists. His efforts did not go unnoticed by the team, as he was named alternate captain, and earned Community Service, Unsung Hero, Mr. Hustle, and Best Defensive Forward awards.

Here's the rest of Jennifer Conway's look at Dave Tippett.

This Day In Hockey History: May 15th

1926 - NY Rangers were granted a franchise, and joined the National Hockey League. In addition, the NHL announced that Chicago and Detroit would have new teams in November, provided their home rinks were finished.

1964 - Sam Pollock replaced Frank Selke as Managing Director of the Montreal Canadiens.

1967 - In one of hockey's biggest trades, Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield were traded from Chicago to Boston in exchange for Gilles Marotte, Pit Martin and Jack Norris.

1973 - Philadelphia Flyers traded a 1st round draft pick in 1973 (Bob Neely) and future considerations (Doug Favell on 7/27/73) to Toronto for the rights to Bernie Parent and a 2nd round draft pick in 1973 (Larry Goodenough).

1973 - In the NHL Amateur draft held in Montreal, the New York Islanders used the #1 pick overall to select Denis Potvin.

1980 - Paul Holmgren became the first U.S. born player to score a hat trick in the Stanley Cup Finals as the Flyers beat the N.Y. Islanders 8-3, at the Spectrum in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

1990 - Edmonton's Petr Klima scored at 55:13 of overtime to lead the Oilers to a 3-2 win at Boston in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Klima's goal ended the longest game in Stanley Cup Final history and the ninth longest in playoff history.

Happy Birthday to Turk Broda, Jordan Eberle, Wes Walz, Pat Hickey, Dave Reid, Paul Ysebaert, Brett Callighen, Dave Langevin, Mark Fayne, Jeff Deslauriers and Bill Boyd.

Dale Hunter: Respecting The Villain

Some people called Dale Hunter the NHL's ultimate warrior. Others considered the loathsome character to be hockey's most hated villain since Bobby Clarke. Love him or hate him, you have to admit he was a vitally integral player. Now we can add one heck of a coach to his resume, too.

Hunter retired as the first and only man in NHL history to collect 300 goals, 1,000 points and 3,000 penalty minutes. But while he was a superior defensive player, face-off specialist and offensive sparkplug, it was Hunter's mean-spirited, sometimes dirty play that summed up Hunter best. He was the ultimate team player and leader; a player who played with every last ounce of heart and soul he had; a player who would and did just about anything to win.

The NHL's Lord of Darkness wreaked havoc at any given opportunity.

"I assumed he picked his spots to play the way he does because nobody can play that way all the time," goalie Bill Ranford, both an opponent and teammate, said. "Then I found out he plays that way every game, every rink, against everybody."

In a career of wrong-doings, one incident sticks out more than any other. A frustrated Hunter blindsided NY Islanders captain Pierre Turgeon several moments after Turgeon scored a decisive goal that all but eliminated Hunter's Capitals from the playoffs. The attack came a good 5-7 seconds after the goal as Turgeon was celebrating the goal. Hunter was suspended for the first 21 games, exactly 1/4 of the schedule, in the following season. With fines and lost salary, Hunter lost $150,000.

"Some wondered whether the new NHL commissioner Gary Bettman singled me out to send everyone a message, but to me, that's just part of hockey," said Hunter almost unapologetically.

With that deplorable incident I lost most of my respect of Dale Hunter. So when he was announced as the mid-season replacement as Washington's coach I wanted him to fail. I wanted the whole organization to fail.

But a funny thing has happened - I have gained much of my respect back for Dale Hunter.

In his short tenure as a NHL coach he gave an entire franchise a new identity. He changed the culture of a team that had gone stagnate and old. The Washington Pretty Boys were replaced by hard working warriors who just about any hockey fan could admire. He asked his players to play hard and with heart, leaving every last drop of sweat on the ice each game. He asked them to play like he once did - most of the time anyway.

Just as much of the hockey world was starting to applaud Hunter's transformation of the Capitals, Hunter decided to step down as coach and go home. He wanted to be with his family. Fame and fortune were not as important to Hunter as to return to London where he co-owns the London Knights junior team and to be with his family.

“It was a tough decision to make but it was the right thing for me and my family. Sometimes you’ve just got to go home. I’ve got a good thing going at home with the family so I’ll stay at home.”

Dale Hunter will always be a loathsome villain in hockey history. But everyone can respect his decision to go home and be with his family. I know I have a new respect for Dale Hunter the coach, and more importantly Dale Hunter the man.