Sunday Funnies: Halloween Edition

Here's Finnish goalie Matti Hoyla dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller:



The moon walk could use a little work, but great job! Apparently Hoyla has danced before:

Pucks On The 'Net

Here is today's tally of interesting stats and facts from the world of hockey:

•  Now that he has officially played in a game for the Montreal Canadiens, Alex Auld tied the NHL record for the most teams played for by a goaltender. Les Canadiens are Auld's 8th team. Let's see if I can get the rest right - Vancouver, Florida, Phoenix, Boston, Ottawa, Dallas and the New York Rangers.
• What is really amazing is Auld has played for those 8 teams in a span of just  6 seasons.
• By the way, Ron  Tugnutt and Sean Burke also share this interesting record.
• Did you see Dustin Byfuglien's Paul Coffey impersonation with his end-to-end rush to sink the Buffalo Sabres on Friday? What's interesting is that of Big Buff's 4 goals so far this season, 3 are game winners. That ties an Atlanta team record for game winning goals by a defenseman in the month of October. Andy Sutton set the mark in 2005-06. Really? Andy Sutton?!
• Byfuglien has one more game this month to try and set a new record.
• Did  you know Tim Thomas  is the first goalie in NHL history to win his first five games of a season while allowing no more than 1 goal in each game? 
• Joe Thornton's hat trick against Martin Brodeur on Wednesday was the first hatty against Brodeur since 2004. Brodeur has only allowed 12 hat tricks in his amazing career.
• Michal Handzus is 8 for 14 (.571) in career shootout attempts, which is the second highest success rate for any player with as many career tries as Handzus. Slava Kozlov was 27 for 46 (.587) in his career on shootout attempts.

Eduard Novak Passes Away

It is sorrowful heart that I pass along the news from the IIHF's website that Czech national team and Kladno hockey legend Eduard Novak passed away on October 21st, 2010. Novak, who died of a heart attack, was about a month shy of his 64th birthday.

Born in Bustehrad, near Kladno, the left winger Novak represented Czechoslovakia in the 1970s. Those were magical times in Czech hockey history, as they challenged Soviet supremacy in international hockey. Novak was part of the 1976 and 1977 gold medal World Championship teams (also winning silver in 1971 and 1975). He also won two Olympic medals, bronze in 1972 and silver in 1976.

All told, Novak played. in 113 international games, scoring 48 goals.

At the club team level Novak was a Czech Hockey Hall of Fame player most notably playing with Kladno in their own golden era. Kladno won five Czechoslovak championships in the 1970s, as well as the 1977 European Cup. Novak, who also briefly played with Kosice and Zlin, played 562 Czech games and scored 306 goals.

Read the full Eduard Novak biography, including video of an exhibition game between Kladno and the Toronto Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1978.

Great Rivalries: Cal Gardner vs. Ken Reardon

A self described "rugged hockey player," Cal Gardner knew his share of on-ice combat. late in the 1947 season, he precipitated what has been described as biggest, longest brawl in hockey history. The last place Rangers were playing the league-leading Canadiens in Madison Square Gardens. Kenny Reardon of the Habs was clipped by Gardner's errant stick, resulting in a bad and bloody cut.

On his way to the infirmary, Reardon exchanged pleasantries with players and even spectators. He ended up involved in a tussle with a fan. The entire Canadiens team leaped off the bench and skated across the ice to rescue Reardon, but a pitched battle with fans and police resulted in the corridor.

Reardon vowed revenge on Gardner, signaling the beginning of a bitter feud. The dispute climaxed in November, 1949 when Gardner, by now a Toronto Maple Leaf, had his jaw shattered by Reardon. Desperately hoping to end the feud, NHL president Clarence Campbell forced Reardon while he was on the ice to post a $1,000 bond against future violence!

The feud ended on the ice when Reardon retired at the end of the season, but an intense dislike for each other was said to continue to fester for decades to come.

Milt Schmidt: 75 Years of Excellence

On Thursday night the Boston Bruins will honour Milt Schmidt's 75 years of service to the organization.

He is the only man in Bruins history to serve the club as player, captain, coach and General Manager. He figured in four of the team's five Stanley Cups - as a player in 1939 and 1941 and as the team's GM in 1970 and 1972. A four time NHL All Star, he won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1951, and the Art Ross scoring title in 1940. He centered the famed "Kraut Line" which became the first line in NHL history to finish 1-2-3 in the league's scoring race (1939-40), and missed three years of his career from 1942-45 while serving in World War II with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.

Time has eroded the legacy of Milt Schmidt, Mr. Boston Bruin. He last played in 1955, in a long forgotten era that was vastly different than hockey today. With little video evidence of his greatness to preserve his stature, modern fans who do know of Schmidt have to do some heavy research and understanding of the players and the era.

Thanks to the memories of the decreasing old time fans, writers and most importantly on ice peers, Schmidt is still recognized as one of the greatest players in NHL history. In 2000, The Hockey News assembled 50 hockey experts to definitively rank the top players of all time. Milt Schmidt came in at number 27, ahead of the likes of Paul Coffey, Henri Richard, Bryan Trottier, Patrick Roy and Boom Boom Geoffrion.

In fact, only two players of Schmidt's approximate era ranked ahead of him. Eddie Shore and Howie Morenz. Contemporaries such as Syl Apps, Charlie Conacher, Dit Clapper, Bill Cook and Max Bentley finished below Schmidt. Scmidt's legendary rivals, namely Elmer Lach, Sid Abel and Ted Kennedy, all Hall of Famers, didn't even make the list.

Read the full Milt Schmidt biography

Summit Series Redux?

I'm not much of a fan of the fanboy/wannabe reporters at Bleacher Report, but Mark Ritter wrote an interesting piece about a possible 1972 Summit Series redux in 2012.

I am a little skeptical as I can't find any mainstream media to corroborate his facts. But Ritter reports that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is getting behind a Russian Hockey Federation movement to recreate the 1972 Summit Series in 2012. The series would honour the 40th anniversary of the original series. Supposedly the IIHF supports the idea (although that really isn't overly significant), while the idea has been mentioned to the NHL.

There is no mention of the series logistics, other than 4 games would be played in Canada and 4 games in Russia, with sites speculated.

It's a good idea, but one big problem could be the NHL's collective bargaining agreement. The CBA is set to expire that summer. Could there be a labour stoppage to jeopardize all of this? If they treat this like the 2004 World Cup, the tournament will be equally as anti-climatic and overshadowed.

I love the idea. Canadian and Russian hockey fans would be all over it, even if it is in September. Those two countries are probably the only two that really care much about hockey at that time of year. The Russians would love to win that tournament, to avenge past losses and to set the mood for the Sochi Olympics. Hockey Canada would very much welcome the chance to work with the players, most of whom will comprise the 2014 Olympic team.

Of course the NHL needs to give approval. While the NHL is always happy to line their own pockets and to pit Crosby against Ovechkin, expect them to stay tight lipped about this. The looming CBA negotiations definitely threaten this whole tournament, as does the NHL's frosty relations with the Russian Hockey Federation.

The Greatest Game

It is simply known as "The New Year's Eve Classic." Any good hockey fan knows exactly what game that refers to - the 3-3 tie between the famed Montreal Canadiens and famed Soviet Red Army on December 31st, 1975. So many people also refer to it as the greatest hockey game ever played.

What made this mid-season exhibition game so important? Why has it remained such a touchstone for so many people? What effect did have on the future course of the sport?

That is the focus of Todd Denault's new book  The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey.

Read the full book review at HockeyBookReviews.com

Watch for an interview with author Todd Denault later in the week!

Game Worn Jerseys For Christmas?

Check this out:

Isn't that beautiful? It is a game worn by Hall-of-Famer Bobby Hull during the Winnipeg Jets inaugural season of the World Hockey Association. I love the old Jets logo.

The jersey is part of a collection of game worn sweaters available in the current ClassicAuctions.net sale.There are literally dozens of game worn treats to choose from, including:

Yvan Cournoyer's 1972 Summit Series jersey (sure to be a bargain compared to the Henderson jersey), Pavel Datsyuk's and Alexander Ovechkin's 2010 Olympics Team Russia jersey, Sergei Fedorov's Detroit Red Wings sweater, Felix Potvin's 1992-93 Leafs jersey, a real nice Moose Vasko Minnesota North Stars jersey, even Paul Newman's film worn Slap Shot jersey.

Check out ClassicAuctions.net 

Bernie Parent Meets Smokin' Joe Frazier

Bernie Parent, here with the Philadelphia Blazers (remember them?!), meets with world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier.

John MacLean: Puzzling Move

John MacLean's benching of Ilya Kovalchuk is one of most bizarre actions from a rookie NHL coach I've ever seen.

Scratching your star winger is bad enough. But only 8 games into a 15 year, $100 million contract?

I have not really watched the Devils so far this season. Sure they've struggled, although with 2 goals and team-leading 5 points in 7 games is Kovy the problem? Perhaps coach MacLean should try a little line juggling first, or maybe even putting him on the left wing, his strong side.

Surely there must be something behind the scenes that we don't know about. John MacLean is committing coaching suicide by benching the team's most expensive player, on home ice, this early into a contract that apparently the owner, not the normally dictatorial general manager, insisted upon.

How does MacLean defend this decision to the owner Jeff Vanderbeek, let alone GM Lou Lamoreillo? The Devils have enough problems selling tickets - why would anyone pay those high ticket prices to watch Alexander Vasyunov, Jacob Josefson, Matt Taormina, Olivier Magnan-Grenier and some other guys I've never heard of while the $100 million dollar goal scorer is sitting in the same seats as the ticket buyers?

Why would MacLean want to embarrass the new face of the franchise? Does he really believe he can win a war with the owner's hand picked star armed with an immovable 15 year contract?

Surely there must be something more to this that we don't know about. Surely John MacLean is not that dumb. Sure, he's been forced by either Vanderbeek and/or Lamoreillo with an inferior lineup due to the insane Kovalchuk contract. Nevermind the fact that many hockey people felt Kovy was the wrong puzzle piece in the wrong puzzle.

The whole thing is just puzzling.

Pucks On The 'Net

For hardcore hockey fans, hockey is "out of this world" as they say. But here's a couple of hockey related stories that take that saying quite literally.

• Valeri Bure discusses the Canadian space program.
• Pekka Rinne's jersey is blasting off to outer space.

Here's some interesting stats and facts from the world of hockey:

• The St. Louis Blue's 1-0 shutout over Pittsburgh this weekend is only the second time in team history they had a 1-0 victory.
• Since December 2008, Pekka Rinne of Nashville has had 15 shutouts, 6 of which were 1-0 victories.
• Of Miikka Kiprusoff's career 35 shutouts, 12 came in 1-0 victories
• Daniel Alfredsson likes playing in Buffalo. He's got 23 goals in his last 23 games in Buffalo. He also has scored multiple points in each of his last 8 games in that city
• John Tavares' first hat trick marked the 4th youngest hat trick in Islanders history, behind Pat Lafontaine, Bryan Trottier and Brent Sutter.
• Don't take Flyers players if you are hoping to pick up assists for your pool. The top three players in unassisted goals in the past 4 years: Rick Nash (16), Jeff Carter (14) and Mike Richards (12). Pavel Datsyuk also has 12.

Tough Guy by Bob Probert with Kirstie McLellan Day

It is not often a book's prologue is entitled The Last Chapter. It is even less often those first 12 or so pages puts you through such an emotional roller-coaster that you may have to put the book down to catch your breath when you are done reading it!

That's how Tough Guy: My Life On The Edge by Bob Probert with Kirstie McLellan Day, starts out. And it only gets better.

Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

In that opening prologue Kirstie McLellan Day recreates Bob Probert's dying moments with such clarity it is as if you are right there on the boat too and it is happening all over again. The wide range of emotions I experienced while reading this passage was as amazing as any 12 pages I have ever read in any book. I was left bewildered and exhausted as she described the horrible and frantic moment. I was heartbroken for his wife. I was absolutely horrified at the thought of his children witnessing it all. I was angry with his friends who, try as they might, could do nothing. I found myself cheering with hope as another boater arrived to help save the life of one of my hockey heroes. But it was not meant to be. After just 12 pages I was left distraught and exhausted. I wanted to help so bad, knowing that I would have been every bit as helpless as everyone on that boat on that terrible day.

What I am trying to say is this book has one hell of an intro. And it only gets better.

Read the full book review of Tough Guy.

Roenick, Hatcher Brothers Inducted

There they stood side by side, seemingly as if nothing had ever happened.

Jeremy Roenick and Derian Hatcher were both inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Famer, along with Derian's brother Kevin, Art Berglund and Dr. V. George Nagobads.

There was a time not so long ago when Roenick and Hatcher were not so friendly to one another:



Roenick's jawa was broken in four places on that hit. But it seems the two have patched up their on-ice differences.

Classic Hockey Fights: Nick Fotiu vs. Behn Wilson

Nicky Boy gets the better of Big Behn in this tilt.

Clipping The Sedin Twins

British Columbia fans have been down right spoiled to watch the progression of identical twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin over the years with the Vancouver Canucks.

Meanwhile, in another part of BC, one family is looking to one up the Swedish sensations.

Playing for the junior B British Columbia Hockey League's Nanaimo Clippers are 17 year old triplets - Myles, Leo and Gerry Fitzgerald. The three forwards all managed to score a goal in a recent game against the Prince George Spruce Kings. It is believed to be the first time triplet brothers each scored goals in the same game at a level of hockey as high as this.

While the Sedins are renowned for their intelligent play, the Fitzgerald boys are certified geniuses, as well as child Hollywood stars. All three shared the lead role in the 1999 movie Baby Geniuses starring Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd and Kim Cattrall. They reprized the role in 2004 for Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 Jon Voigt and Scott Baio.

Hockey's Most Wanted Man: Brad Richards

Brad Richards is already being hailed as the undisputed big fish in the 2011 unrestricted free agent pool. And well he should be. Coming off a career best 91 point season in 2009-10 (7th best in the league), Richards is off to another fantastic start here in 2010-11.

Hockey insiders believe Richards will hit the free agent market, as Dallas ownership remains in financial limbo. You've got to believe GM Joe Nieuwendyk would desperately want to sign Richards to an extension right now, but he is handcuffed as he waits for direction from ownership, direction that may not come in time.

Faced with this reality, Nieuwendyk is undoubtedly already weighing the pros and the cons of trading Brad Richards during the season.

There would be no shortage of interested parties, although Richards will control his own destiny as he does have a no-movement clause in his contract. But who would not want to add a former Conn Smythe trophy winner, Stanley Cup and World Cup champion as a rental player for a run at the Stanley Cup?

Richards would look great in Vancouver - any interest in Cory Schneider, Dallas? Los Angeles might be an even better fit, with another great young goalie in Jonathan Bernier to offer and more salary cap wiggle room. Could Washington come up with a package, as they badly need a 2nd line center if they are ever going to be serious Stanley Cup contenders.

Brad Richards may be hockey's most wanted player in the coming months. Any team with designs of a long playoff run should be kicking these tires already.

More Hockey Books Reviewed

Over at HockeyBookReviews.com I've looked at a few more new hockey books:

• Hayley Wickenheiser's Gold Medal Diary
• Junior Hockey's Royal Franchise: The Regina Pats  
• Kids book Brady Brady And The Missed Hatrick
• Kevin Shea's Barilko: Without A Trace (re-release)
• Peter Pocklington's I'd Trade Him Again (paperback release)

Rogie Vachon's Mask Headlines New Auction

Earlier this year Classic Auctions made national headlines with their $1.2 million sale of Paul Henderson's game worn jersey from the 1972 Summit Series.

They have now opened up their next auction, with the Rogie Vachon collection figuring prominently.

Vachon, despite a degree of anonymity due to playing Los Angeles in the 1970s, is regarded as one of the top goalies in hockey during his era. He debuted in the late 1960s as the heir apparent in Montreal before becoming, literally and figuratively, the saving grace of Kings for the following decade. He is also famous for his spectacular play in the 1976 Canada Cup tournament, backstopping Canada to a win in the inaugural tournament.

From his 1968 Stanley Cup ring with Montreal to his game worn 1976 Canada Cup jersey, to trophy replicas and game worn all star game jerseys, the collection up for auction is impressive.

But the ultimate item in this auction has to be Vachon's game worn goalie mask he iconically wore with the Los Angeles Kings.

This particular mask was worn from 1976 through 1978. Here's more directly from the auction listing:  "This vintage mask, built by famed mask-maker Ernie Higgins, is coated in a thick layer of purple paint and shows loads of game wear with dozens of paint chips and puck marks. A few small damaged areas appear where the fiberglass has cracked slightly below the left eye and again up at the top on the left side."

I know a lot of fans collect replicas of such famous masks, but a chance to own the real deal is rare. That being said, the asking price has already far exceeded my spending ability.

The new auction, which runs through November 16th, features nearly 1100 items. I'll look at a few more items in the coming days.

Chinese Food, Anyone? Wayne Cashman

Following the 1970 Stanley Cup championship, the Boston Bruins players celebrated long and hard. As Don Cherry likes to say, the players had a few "pops." Hey, they are adults and they're allowed to have a few drinks, especially after you win the Stanley Cup.

Perhaps Wayne Cashman, the Bruins big power forward known for his work in the corners, had too much to drink. He decided to do some street corner work, too. With traffic crawling at a busy intersection, Cashman vacated the back seat of the car that he was in and decided to help out and direct traffic.

Well the state police were not impressed however, and took him down to the local detachment to dry up.

That part of the story is all verifiable. But the story either continues or has grown into what may be myth or legend.

Supposedly Cashman took advantage of his right to one phone call. He did not call a family member or a teammate or administrator to come down and help him out. Instead he is said to have ordered Chinese food for dinner!

Pucks On The 'Net

Sid Abel's grandson is currently tied for the league lead in goaltender wins. Can you name him?

• Bobby Smith is heading from the owners box to the coach's office with the Halifax Mooseheads.
• Dr. George Nagobads and his stop watch will be inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame.
• Hockey legend turned politician Larry McNabb has been diagnosed with cancer.
• Great story here - an autistic, die-hard Calgary Flames fan named after Jari Kurri of all people cheered on his Flames past the Oilers while attending his first NHL game.

Pulling The Goalie

For decades now hockey coaches have pulled their goalie in favor of an extra attacker late in games that they are trying to catch up in.

But NHL legend Babe Pratt went a little crazy with the tactic in a Pacific Coast League game back in 1950. But, amazingly, it worked!

Pratt's New Westminster team was trailing Vancouver 6-2 in the third period when he decided to pull the goalie. Did I mention that Pratt did this with 14 minutes still left in the game?!

Even though everyone thought he was crazy, Pratt played most of the rest of the game with an unprotected net. And New West inexplicably scored four goals while not surrendering one.

The game ended in a 6-6 tie even though New West had played much of the third period without a goalie!

Hockey Fights Cancer

Get yourself a new hat, jacket or t-shirt of your favorite NHL team, and help Hockey Fights Cancer at the same time.

The Hockey News' All New Top 100

Back in 1997, The Hockey News, celebrating their 50th anniversary, put together an expert panel to definitively identify the Top 50 hockey players of all time. Famously, Wayne Gretzky edged out Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe to be named the best of all time.

A year later the magazine was re-released as a coffee table book, expanded to include The Top 100 NHL Players of All-Time. That list has since served as the definitive list of hockey's all time greats.

Jump to 2010. In the last 13 years we've seen many players add to their resumes to improve their rankings or deserve inclusion. Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedemayer, Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Nicklas Lidstrom are among many greats in that time frame.

With that in mind, The Hockey News is back with an updated Top 100 list. Sort of.

Read the full book review over at HockeyBookReviews.com.

Pucks On The 'Net

Jarome Iginla's game is unmistakable. But whenever I see #12 wearing Calgary's 1980s retro jerseys, I always think I'm seeing Hakan Loob.

Here's some interesting stats and facts from the weekend:

• Iginla scored the game winning goal against the Oilers Nikolai Khababilun on Saturday. It was Iginla's first goal against Khabibulin in 10 games. In his career Iginla, one of the NHL's top goal scorers, has only scored 6 times in 30 games against "The Bulin Wall."
• The Bruins Michael Ryder scored the game winning goal against New Jersey, with assists from Tyler Seguin (age 18 years, 258 days as of Saturday) and Mark Recchi (42 years, 257 days). That's the largest age gap between assisters on any NHL goal since Gordie Howe retired in 1980. In the 1980 playoffs Gordie and son Marty, almost 26 years younger, assisted on a goal by Ray Neufeld.
• With the Canadiens 4-3 win over Ottawa, the Canadiens became the fourth team in NHL history to begin a season with five straight one-goal games (without a shootout). The others were the 1935-36 Bruins, 2003-04 Red Wings and 2005-06 Stars.
• With Dallas' 3-2 shootout win over St. Louis on Saturday, goalie Kari Lehtonen upped his career record in shootouts to 23-8. That .742 win percentage is the best in NHL history amongst goalies with at least 25 shootout decisions.
• Bryan McCabe set a Florida Panthers' record with 4 assists Saturday night against Tampa Bay. McCabe has twice had 4-assist games in his career, both with the Toronto Maple Leafs
• The Panthers won 6-0 that night, equalling the largest winning margin the team has ever had against their cross state rivals.
• Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche has switched from wooden stick to composite. There's still a few players using wood, including (correct me if they have switched too) Adrian Aucoin and Fredrik Modin.
• The Islanders' Trevor Gillies played 9 seconds in a game on Friday. 
• In the most under-reported hockey story of the weekend, AHL savior Jack Butterfield died on Saturday. He kept the AHL alive during the power struggle for professional hockey between the NHL and WHA in the 1970s.

Fowl Up

1987-88 was a bad season for the Los Angeles Kings. The perennial cellar dwellers had had another tough year, going 30-42-8. On one particular night against visiting Montreal, one fan decided to show his displeasure.

This fan somehow snuck a live chicken into the building. He dressed the chicken in a customized purple Kings uniform and tossed the poor critter onto the ice. The startled chicken slipped all over the ice before someone finally captured it.

Eddie Shore and that Old Time Hockey

You think hockey players nowadays are tough? Check out this story from C. Michael Hiam's new book Eddie Shore and that Old-Time Hockey.

Hiam is describing run-in between a young Eddie Shore - with "a reputation of being afraid of nothing" - and Billy Coutu - described as "simply vicious." Coutu singled out the young Shore, but, to the amazement of many onlookers, Coutu took the worst of it, hit so hard by Shore it was as if Coutu was hit by a truck.

We'll let Hiam, with quotes from Shore himself, tell the story from here.

"The victor, however, did not emerge from the encounter unscathed. Shore was bleeding profusely because Coutu's head 'had smashed into my ear and torn it off. There was just a little piece of skin holding it on."

The Bruins team doctor told Shore there was no way to reattach it. Shore calmly wrapped his head, put on his street clothes and spent the better part of the day visiting medical clinics searching for a doctor who would do the procedure.

Back to Hiam's and Shore's words:

"Shore made the rounds of the medical offices in the city. 'They all said just what the doctor told me,' he later recalled. 'It was not possible to save the ear. Just before office hours for the day ended, I ran across a fellow who was more encouraging. He asked me what type of anesthetic I wanted. I told him just to give me a small mirror. That way, I could watch the kind of stitching he did. I made him change the very last stitch. If I had not done that, he'd have left a scar. I told him I was just a farm boy who did not want his looks messed up."

Hiam's book Eddie Shore and that Old-Time Hockey is full of little stories like that, making his Shore biography a fun adventure. It was a different time with some crazy characters, and Hiam tries his best to bring it all back to life.

An Eddie Shore biography is long overdue, and comes with high expectations. The problem is, and the reason why no one really has properly written about Shore before, is many of the details are near impossible to find if not lost forever. Written records of Shore's youth and early career are pretty sparse at best, and first hand accounts are long gone.

Read the full book review at Hockey Book Reviews.com

Interview With Steve Lansky, HNIC's Youngest Producer

Today I have the great honour to share with you my interview with Steve Lansky, former television producer with Hockey Night In Canada and Roger's SportsNet. Steve was the youngest producer in Hockey Night In Canada history, hired at the age of 21. He now has his own website - Big Mouth Sports.com . He can also be followed on Twitter @bigmouthsports

What years did you serve as producer of HNIC?

I produced HNIC from 1983 - 88. Initially, living and working in Calgary, then moving to Toronto in the summer of 1987.

You were the youngest producer in Hockey Night in Canada history. How tough was it be breaking in at Hockey Night In Canada at that age?

Breaking in with HNIC, frankly, was a no-win situation. I worked as a booth statistician for Tim Dancy and Gary Dornhoefer on ITV in Edmonton in April 1983. In December 1983, I walked into the rink, with the same production and technical crews, as the ITV show's producer. There were a large handful of people who were never, ever going to be able to accept the fact that a 22-year old kid was going to provide guidance to our telecasts. I knew more about hockey than anyone on that crew. I knew less about television production than everyone. And I knew less about handling crews and personalities than probably anyone on the planet. Frankly, if I was put into that situation again, knowing what I know now...it's still a no-win. I tried my level best every single day, but some folks simply were not going to buy into the program. And that's the nicest, most diplomatic way I can put that sentiment.

Making A Big First Impression

Coaches and veteran players always tell rookies two things before games early in their career. The first is to relax and try to enjoy it. The second is to do something, almost anything, to get yourself noticed.

Jim Dorey certainly followed the second piece of advice for his first game at Maple Leaf Gardens on October 16th, 1968. During a wild second period brawl in which he attacked Pittsburgh's Ken Schinkel, Keith McCreary and John Arbour before launching a verbal attack in the direction of referee Art Skov. Dorey was called for nine penalties and kicked out of the game. In total he earned 48 penalty minutes, setting a new NHL pugilistic record.

Dorey certainly got himself noticed, but once he calmed down in the dressing room he began to worry about what consequences his actions would bring. He figured humorless coach Punch Imlach would bury him in the minor leagues forever.

Moments later in walked Leafs legend King Clancy, who was congratulating Dorey with high fives and pats on the back. That momentarily calmed Dorey's nerves, but then Imlach walked in to deliver the moment of truth.

Much to Dorey's surprise, Imlach pulled $100 out of his pocket and told the kid good job and to go out and enjoy the weekend. But his most important piece of advice was to get out of the arena before the reporters came looking for him!

Dorey obviously earned the coach's respect and he was in the big leagues for a long time come.

Dorey's new penalty record certainly caught the attention of the media scribes, too, many of whom were very critical. But soon enough the record would be beaten. Pittsburgh's Russ Anderson accumulated 51 minutes in one particular game. Then there was an infamous game between Philadelphia and Los Angeles in 1979. Frank Bathe upped the record to 55 minutes, only to be outdone by the Kings Randy Holt on the opposite end of the ice. Holt was assessed one minor, three majors, two 10 minute misconducts and three game misconducts for a total charge of 67 penalty minutes!

Hockey Players Are Great Guys

Turk Broda welcomes a friend to his goal crease:

Elmer Lach Trending On Twitter

I confess. I've become a Twitter addict. Facebook? Forget about it. Twitter is where the hockey action is.

Now I mostly tweet about hockey, and I always try to tie it in with hockey history. I occasionally run a Twitter Trivia night and thoroughly enjoying engaging in conversation with other hockey fans. Join me on Twitter @HockeyLegends

There is a surprising amount of hockey history available on Twitter. Like these two photo gems from @habsinsideout1 - also known as the Montreal Gazette's great hockey columnist/feature writer Dave Stubbs.


The first is of Elmer Lach, presenting his idea for a hockey helmet complete with facial protection. The NHL rejected the concept piece of projection.

Necessity is the mother of all invention, as they say. What brought Lach to dream up such a device? Stubbs then presents another photo which likely had something to do with it - Lach with the his broken jaw rather primitively wired shut.

I don't think the 92 year old Lach is on Twitter, but I'm sure if he was he'd be following @habsinsideout1. Stubbs also has photos of Rocket Richard angry at Ivan "The Terrible" Irwin,  Wilf Cude drying his gear, Charlie Hodge owning the streets, and the old Montreal Forum.


So if you're not already doing so, get on Twitter and start following @habsinsideout1. And me, too! @HockeyLegends

Pucks On The 'Net

From the Elias Sports Bureau:

The Islanders' Nino Niederreiter became the fourth-youngest player to score a goal in the NHL's expansion era when he gave the Isles a 1-0 lead in the first period of their game in Washington. Since the 1967-68 season, the only players to score a goal at a younger age than Niederreiter (who was 18 years, 35 days old as of Wednesday) were Grant Mulvey in 1974 (18 years, 32 days), Jordan Staal in 2006 (18 years, 32 days) and Patrick Marleau in 1997 (18 years, 34 days).

Doug Weight, who at age 39 is old enough to be Nino's father, had the primary assist on Niederreiter's first NHL goal. Over the last 66 seasons, there has been only one bigger age difference between an assister on a player's first career goal and the goal scorer than the 21-year age gap between Weight and Niederreiter. That was the 23-year spread when Hartford's Dave Keon set up Paul MacDermid's first NHL goal (in 1982).

Here's some more interesting stats and facts:

• Alexander Ovechkin played in his 400th NHL game on Wednesday night. He has 273 goals in that time span, the 5th highest total through the first 400 games of any player's career in NHL history. The others: Wayne Gretzky (366 goals), Mario Lemieux (320), Mike Bossy (319) and Brett Hull (312) .
• Ryan Malone's game winning goal against Montreal was his first goal in 20 regular season games, the longest drought of his career.
•  Anders Lindback of the Nashville Predators made his first NHL start on Wednesday, beating the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks in Chicago. That marked the first time a goalie in his first NHL start to beat the defending champions in their own rink since Buffalo's Darren Puppa blanked the Edmonton Oilers on November1st, 1985.

Shoebox Memories

I remember this card of Pat Hughes well. I think I had more doubles of this card than any other.

And with a look at each duplicate card, I still could not believe that Pat Hughes, of all players, broke Wayne Gretzky's record for the fastest two shorthanded goals. Hughes did it in just 25 seconds, 2 seconds better than The Great One, about a year after Gretzky set the mark.

Here's the full Pat Hughes biography.

Pucks On The 'Net: Andy Van Hellemond's New Fight

Terry O'Reilly had an infamous temper. In this video from the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs quarterfinals, he swings his big paw at referee Andy Van Hellemond's head:



O'Reilly would be suspended for the first 10 regular season games of the following season for his actions.

One of the NHL's most famous on-ice officials, Andy Van Hellemond is now in a new fight in a different arena at this stage of his life. He is running for city council in Guelph, Ontario.

Here's some more interesting stories:

• Wayne Gretzky's son Trevor has committed to play baseball at San Diego State University.  He will be coached by Tony Gwynn.
• Trevor Gretzky has also starred as a high school quarterback. His only problem there is the team's other quarterback is Joe Montana's son.
  
• Lou Nanne has released his autobiography.
• Speaking of books, here's a look at Brian Kilrea's autobiography, They Call Me Killer.
• Bobby Orr's retirement is a lot more pain free than his playing days.
• Charges against Mark Hardy have been dropped.
  
• Georges Laraque has been cut from the Battle of the Blades.

Doctor Hockey

Yesterday GreatestHockeyLegends.com's Tuesday Top Ten offered a fun look at the Top Ten Hockey Teeth.

There have been a few hockey players who actually became dentists. Bill Baker (1980 USA Olympic team), Al Simmons (Boston Bruins), Bobby Copp and Phil Samis (Toronto Maple Leafs), Bill Carse (Chicago Black Hawks), Rod Smylie (Toronto St. Pats), Duke McCurry (Pittsburgh Pirates), Stan Brown (Detroit Cougars/New York Rangers) Lou Hudson and Joe Sullivan (1928 Olympic gold medal winning team from Canada), Bill Carson (Toronto Maple Leafs/Boston Bruins), Doc Stewart (Boston Bruins), and pre-NHL star Gordon Roberts all became dentists.

Other hockey players became doctors, most famously Randy Gregg, who was a licensed doctor while playing with Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers. Fred Arthur of the Hartford Whalers quit the NHL after one season to pursue a career in medicine, while Pat Graham, who played 103 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs, became a chiropractor. He was a chiropractor for the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team.

There is one more hockey player turned doctor. Dr. Jerry Wilson - the newest profile here at GreatestHockeyLegends.com.

Dr. Jerry Wilson is the father of long time NHL player and Canadian Olympian Carey Wilson. He is also the grandfather of current NHL star Colin Wilson of the Nashville Predators.

His impact on the hockey world is far greater than his offspring. He also happens to be a former Montreal Canadien himself; the Winnipeg Jets team doctor (he also worked for the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet); and influential in convincing early European stars like Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson to come to North America.

You can read more about Dr. Jerry Wilson here.

James Duthie's Crazy Tales

When all is said and done, 2010 will be remembered for two humor books: Sh*t My Dad Says and, for hockey fans anyways, TSN's James Duthie's book The Day I (Almost) Killed Two Gretzkys: And Other Hits, Near Misses, and Off-the-Wall Stories About Sports, and Life.

This book is a collection of Duthie's best columns from over the years with TSN and the Ottawa Citizen. It is obvious from his time on TSN that he is witty, entertaining and intelligent, so this book is highly anticipated as a knee-slapping, breezy read that you will enjoy time and time again.

When I got my review copy from the publisher, I just had to tell my girlfriend about it. Now, you must understand things about her. 1) She does not read hockey books. She's somewhat reluctantly been forced to become a hockey fan hanging around me, but she would not read a hockey book. 2) She reads a lot, but I have never, ever heard her laugh out loud while reading any book.

I told her just to read the funny foreword by Roberto Luongo, as she has become a fan of the Canucks star goalie. Well that was it. I never got the book back. She kept reading it, from cover to cover. She was constantly chuckling outloud, much to my surprise.

"You've got to read this book," she said on more than one occasion, with a smile across her face.

"I'd like to," was what I wanted to say.

She's a dear though. She even earmarked the pages she thought were the funniest or the most insightful. More than half of the book now has bent corners.

Read the full book review or buy the book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com 

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

Pucks On The 'Net

Time for some interesting facts and stats:

• Western teams are hoping the Boston Bruins never trade goalie Tim Thomas to the Western Conference. Including Thomas' 3-0 shutout of the Phoenix Coyotes on the weekend in Prague, Thomas now has 18 career shutouts in just 43 career starts against Western teams. 
• The Oilers beat the Panthers, 3-2 on Sunday night, this despite only recording 13 shots on goal. That ties a team record for fewest shots on goal in a victory. The record was first set in a 4-2 win over St. Louis on November 24, 1988.
• Despite out shooting the Oilers 28-13, Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal tells us the Panthers had has many scoring chances in that game as the Oilers.
• Miikka Kiprusoff and the Calgary Flames beat the LA Kings at the Saddledome last night. That should come as no surprise. The Flames have now won 10 straight games, all in regulation time, against the Kings on home ice. Kiprusoff played all of those games, allowing just 16 goals.
• Former NHLer Blaine Stoughton is now coaching 16 to 20 year old juniors in Fredrick, Maryland. His players had no idea who he was until one of the players tried Googling his name.

Chicago's Ace: Stan Mikita

Check out this beautiful playing card!

That Stan Mikita ace of diamonds card is part of an entire Chicago Blackhawks collection of playing cards made available by Hero Decks. They have been creating these fantastic caricature cards of baseball and football cards for a while, but now they are including hockey in their fantastic lineup.

They have Chicago, Boston and Detroit, with more teams in the works. Check out Hero Decks today.

Hockey's Greatest Goals

Who scored hockey's greatest goal?

Is it Henderson scoring for Canada in 1972? Mike Eruzione's miracle moment in 1980? Or the time Bobby Orr flew through the air? Where does Sidney Crosby's golden goal rank? How about Ovechkin's crazy goal against Phoenix?


That's the focus of a the new book Hockey's Top 100: Game's Greatest Goals by two undisputed masters of sports trivia - Don Weekes and Kerry Banks. They countdown the top 100 goals in the history of hockey, from the most spectacular and most famous.

Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

I especially like how the authors start the book by defining "great." That is always a pet peeve of mine regarding these lists. It's one thing to rank the 100 greatest this or that, but failing to set the definition is a common sin.

The authors define a great goal not by how flashy it was, but rather it's historical importance. Big game goals usually out rank the flashiest of goals.

Such lists always make for fun debate, and Hockey's Top 100 Goals does not disappoint. I do find it interesting how international hockey dominates the very top of this particular list. The top four selections are all from the international arena. I actually probably would have moved up several spots up the list, too.

Read the full book review or buy the book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Pucks On The 'Net

Some interesting facts and stats:

• New York Rangers' rookie Derek Stepan made quite the NHL debut on Saturday night. Stepan scored a hat trick in the Rangers 6-3 victory over Buffalo. Only three other players in NHL history scored three goals in their first NHL game - Alex Smart of Montreal (1943), Real Cloutier of Quebec (1979) and Fabian Brunnstrom of Dallas in 2008. 
• With 2 goals in Saturday night's game, Alexander Ovechkin finally solved all time wins and shutout leader, Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. In the previous 13 career games against Brodeur, Ovechkin has scored only 3 times, including only once in the previous 10.
• Steven Stamkos sure likes playing against Atlanta. Including last night's 2 goals, 3 points effort, Stamkos now has 9 goals and 16 points in his last 10 games against the Thrashers.
• Chris Osgood likes playing against the Blackhawks. He is 12-3-2 in his last 18 games against the Hawks. He's held the Hawks to 3 or fewer goals in all 18 of those games.
• Brett Hull says he is honoured to have a statue of himself outside the arena in St. Louis.
• The great Montreal Gazette writer Red Fisher shares this great story: ". . . the time I joined a group of Boston Bruins to visit Phil Esposito in the hospital. Espo was unhappy. He complained about being  onfined to his hospital bed, whereupon one of the Bruins suggested we do something about it.
  
  Minutes later, the group wheeled him out of the hospital for a few minutes -with the bed-ridden Esposito leading the non-stop laughter."
  
  

Buffalo Sabres First NHL Game: October 10th, 1970

Forty years ago tonight the Buffalo Sabres played their very first game in NHL history.

Their first game was actually played on the road on October 10th, 1970. They skated out of Pittsburgh with a surprise 2-1 victory, thanks to Gilbert Perreault's first NHL goal. Here's the full game summary.

Four days later the Sabres were shutout in New York by the Rangers before returning home for their very first home game in franchise history. The Montreal Canadiens were rude guests, shutting out the Sabres. Here's the full game summary of that game.

Here's a fantastic YouTube find covering the Buffalo Sabres first game and first home game:

New York Rangers' 85th Anniversary

While the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres are celebrating their 40th anniversary in the National Hockey League, the New York Rangers have them both beat. The Rangers are celebrating their 85th anniversary this season.

The Rangers won their very first game by a score of 1-0 over the Stanley Cup champion Montreal Maroons way back on November 16th, 1926. Bill Cook (pictured below), on a pass from brother Bun Cook, scored the only goal of the game, with less than 2 minutes left in the 2nd period. Hal Winkler got the shutout, with Clint Benedict at the other end of the ice.

There is no footage available on YouTube, but the Montreal Gazette does have an article, courtesy of Google News Archives.

The game was described as "rather rough and loosely played." Rather rough? 18 penalties were assessed, most notably featuring a stick fight between Montreal's Bat Phillips and NYR's Frank Boucher, who was bloodied in the melee. Both were immediately assessed 5 minute majors and $15 fines! Of all the players in the game, these two may have been the most unlikely combatants, especially Boucher who would go on to win the Lady Byng trophy for gentlemanly play 7 times in 8 years from 1928 through 1935.

A reported 13,000 people entered Madison Square Gardens (the old Gardens had a capacity of 15,000 for hockey) for the inaugural Rangers game. The New York elite were out in full force, as the game played in aid of the Grosvenor Neighborhood House.

Silent movie star Lois Moran took part in the pre-game ceremonies, while the West Point Band entertained the crowd during intermissions.

Of course, the National Hockey League was not exactly new to New York. The New York Americans began playing in the NHL the season prior.

Vancouver Canucks First NHL Game: October 9th, 1970

The Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres are both celebrating their 40th anniversaries this season. Let's take a look back to the Canucks first game in NHL history - October 9th, 1970 - a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

The game was of course delayed by celebrations and dignitaries. A 73 man pipe band called the British Columbia Beefeater Band wowed the crowds before local singer Juliette Syska sang "O Canada!" to a big round of applause.

Premiere W.A.C. Bennett and Chief Dan George helped Mayor Tom Campbell drop the ceremonial puck. NHL president Clarence Campbell and the Stanley Cup were both on hand as well, but it was 87 year old Cyclone Taylor - the only surviving member of the Vancouver Millionaires 1915 Stanley Cup championship - who got the loudest round of approval.

The game was played at the Pacific Coliseum before 15062 paying fans. The prices for tickets - anywhere from $3.50 to $6.40. And yes that did draw some complaints. In fact, the very first NHL game in Vancouver history was not even sold out! The Canucks blamed that on the fact that the game was nationally televised on Hockey Night in Canada.

Bob Pulford and Orland Kurtenbach got into a fight just 4:26 into the game. Ross Lonsberry of the Kings scored the first goal of the game, a power play maker at 9:26 of the second period. Barry Wilkins finally gave the Canucks fans something to cheer about a 2:14 of the third period - and became the answer to a great trivia question at the same time. He scored the first goal in Canucks history, beating Kings netminder Denis Dejordy. But eight minutes later Bob Berry scored his second goal of the game to cement the win for the Kings. Goaltender George Gardner took the loss for the Canucks.

The full boxscore of the game can accessed here.

By the way, the Canucks (and the Sabres) paid $4 million for the right to the join the league. Who did the Canucks get in the expansion draft? Gary Doak, Orland Kurtenbach, Ray Cullen, Pat Quinn, Rosaire Paiement, Darryl Sly, Jim Wiste, Danny Johnson, Barry Wilkens, Ralph Stewart, Mike Corrigan, Wayne Maki, Ed Hatoum, Paul Popiel, Ron Ward, John Schella, Bob Dillabough, Garth Rizutto, Dunc Wilson and Charlie Hodge.

Two Minutes For Booking: Gordie Howe

Back in 1999 Gordie Howe and Firefly Books put out a beautiful 160 glossy page book full of great photography called Gordie Howe: My Hockey Memories.

Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com - AbeBooks Canada

In this week's Two Minutes For Booking, I wanted to share several passages where Gordie comments on players that he played with and against. Who better to tell us about these great players than arguably the greatest player ever to battle against them?!

Jean Beliveau - A lot of people don't remember how tough Jean Beliveau was when he first entered the league. He was no gentleman in those days - big, fast and rough as they come. The fact that he was perceived as an elegant sportsman by the end of his career is a tribute not only to the skill with which he played the game, but also to the fact that everyone on the ice knew he could still handle himself if the going got tough.

Alex Delvecchio - Alex and I went through a lot together. His career was almost as long as mine and covered much of the same time. Steady and motivated, he rarely missed a practice and always played at the top of his game. He was good in the dressing room also, and was captain of the Wings for a lot of the time that we played together. I think the fact that he had fewer penalty minutes (383) in 24 years than some player rack up in a single season says a lot about his game. He played clean, good hockey.

Gordie's memories of Rocket Richard, Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull, Ted Lindsay, Terry Sawchuk and Stan Mikita after the jump . . .

Pucks On The Net

Here is today's interesting facts and stats:

• Pavel Datsyuk got into a fight on Friday night. That is not a typo. Pavel Datsyuk, 4 time winner of the Lady Byng trophy, got into a fight. Against Anaheim's Corey Perry, nonetheless, and he fared quite well even! Here's the video.
• Pavel the pacifist apparently has a serious hate on for the Ducks. His only other fight also came against the Ducks. That fight was against another unlikely combatant - Scott Niedermayer. Here's the video.
• The visiting Dallas Stars pulled off a rare feat on Friday, at least for them. Loui Eriksson scored in overtime to give the Stars a 4-3 win in New Jersey. The Stars had not won an overtime contest on the road in the previous two seasons. 
• Scary moment in Atlanta on Friday when goalie Ondrej Pavelec inexplicably collapsed during the game. He was rushed to hospital where he regained consciousness and was said to be alert and in stable condition. The game was delayed while the ambulance staff was in transit. They had to wait for another ambulance to arrive on stand by. Imagine that - apparently there is only one ambulance on site for an event where upwards of 20,000 people are attending.

Pucks On The 'Net

Some interesting stats and facts:

• Interesting Stat #1: Colorado Avlanche's Paul Stastny has scored 5 goals on opening nights in his career. All five goals scored against Marty Turco, including two more last night.
• Interesting Stat #2: Brandon Sutter's 2 goals yesterday marked first time any member of Sutter family scored more than 1 goal on opening night. Sutter family have now combined for 63 games played and 19 goals in season openers. Brent leads the way with 4 goals in 14 season openers.
• Interesting Stat #3: Joel Quenneville coached his 1000th game last night. He also played over 800 games. Only other person to do both? Jacques Lemaire.
• Interesting Stat #4: Tom Renney is now 7-0-0 on Opening Night. Others who opened their career with 7 straight opening night wins? Lester Patrick, Tommy Ivan and Toe Blake, all Hall of Famers.
• Some news out of Russia concerning the coaching careers of some names from the past. Andrei Khomutov is the new national team coach in Kazakhstan. The Kazakhs may be taking women's hockey more seriously now, too, hiring another Soviet great - Alexander Maltsev.

Classic Hockey Fight: Hextall vs. Chelios

Avalanche Celebrate Stanley Cup Anniversary

Mr. October: Brian Savage

Reggie Jackson, meet Brian Savage.

When you are known as Mr. October in baseball it is a very good thing. In hockey, not so much.

October is when baseball playoffs are on and World Series glory is up for grabs. Clutch players, the absolute best of the best, rise to the top, no one more famously than the Yankees' Reggie Jackson.

In hockey, October marks the beginning of the season. Hockey's Mr. October award goes to players who tend to start the season really strong, but then fade as the season progresses and all but have disappeared by the time the playoffs start.

In recent memory, no one has done that more famously than Brian Savage.

Savage was a notoriously quick starter, often flirting with the league goal scoring leaders by Halloween. Yet he would fade quickly, never once scoring more than 26 goals by season's end, and vanishing in the playoffs where he only scored 3 times in 39 career games.

Here's the statistical evidence:


As you can see, the bulk of his offensive contributions came early, in October and November. He would then fade noticeably.

And he did this seemingly annually. I'm not sure who it must have been more frustrating for - his coaches or hockey poolers. Either way, to see him flirt with early greatness yet never breakthrough was disappointing.

It is too bad that this is how Brian Savage will be remembered. Because he was actually a great guy and a good hockey player.

Read the full Brian Savage biography.

Open Season!

It's the first day of the 93rd National Hockey League season. Here's a few fascinating facts and records from season opening games of the past:

•  The Colorado Avalanche sport a .683 all time winning percentage in season openers, the best amongst amongst today's 30 teams. They are 17-6-7 in 30 games. Ottawa is next (.647 in 17 games), then New Jersey (.643 in 35 games) and Montreal (.625 in 92 games). Here's a look at each team's opening day records.

•  You might want to bet on the Edmonton Oilers to win their first game. Coach Tom Renney is a perfect 6-0 in opening day games.
• Phoenix has won 4 consecutive season openers. The all time record is 9 consecutive wins, accomplished by the 1953-1961 Montreal Canadiens and 1978-1986 St. Louis Blues.
• After losing their season opener in 1962, Montreal then set out on a NHL record 17 consecutive season openers without a defeat, going 13-0-4 from 1963 through 1979.
• On the flip side, Anaheim has lost their last three season openers. They share the record for most consecutive opening day losses at 7 (1993-1999). Their 4-12 all time record is by far the worst in NHL history.

Individual Season Opener Records

• Greg Adams loved opening night. In 1985 (with New Jersey) he set a NHL record with 5 assists on opening night (the record was later tied by Pittsburgh's John Cullen in 1990). In 1987, Adams, now with Vancouver, equalled the modern day record with 4 goals in the first game. Rick Blight (1976) and Chris Kontos (1992) also scored 4 goals.
• The official NHL record is 5, shared by old timers Joe Malone (1917), Harry Hyland (1917) and Babe Dye (1922). Reg Noble scored 4, also in 1917.
• Pittsburgh's Kevin Stevens holds the NHL record for most points in an opening night game. He scored 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points against Washington in 1990.
• 10 players had 5 points on opening night, including Malone, Hyland, Dye, Adams and Cullen. Others included Andy Bathgate, Phil Esposito, Gilbert Perreault, Michel Goulet, Tom Fergus, and Steve Reinprecht.
• Ray Bourque and Jaromir Jagr both had 9 goals and 21 assists in season opening games in their career. The 30 points is an all time NHL record, out scoring Joe Sakic and Wayne Gretzky with 27 points.
• Mike Modano and Mark Recchi lead all active players with 22 points.

Plimpton's Pal: Seaweed Pettie

This is Jim Pettie. He was nicknamed "Seaweed" because of his clumpy, stringy hair.

Pettie was the Boston Bruins back up netminder in 1978-79, playing in 21 career NHL games. He was a tough bugger, too, picking up 13 PIMs in the NHL. In one minor league season he actually earned an amazing 145 PIMs.

He is most famous for being prolific writer George Plimpton's roommate when Plimpton participated in the Bruins training camp (even playing 5 minutes against the Flyers) while writing the book Open Net. As a result, he was prominently featured in the classic book.

Read the full Jim "Seaweed" Pettie biography.

Pucks On The 'Net

It's time to put some pucks on the 'Net:

• The National Hockey League really needs to do a better job in making the start of hockey season an event. The NFL does a great job of that, and everyone loves opening day of the baseball schedule. This week I've had lots of good hockey fans stop me in the streets because they did not know when the NHL season started.
• Prediction time, Western Conference: I think Vancouver will have a monster regular season, but as much as I want to pick them to win it all, Detroit scares me. They've got great depth up front, Nicklas Lidstrom on defense, and, perhaps most importantly, a superior coach in Mike Babcock.
• I think Chicago will be fine in the regular season. Due to depleted depth, their core players will all get more ice time this season, carrying them to a strong showing. That lack of depth will eventually catch up with them in the playoffs.
• Los Angeles will be a team to watch to this season, but so will Edmonton. The youthful injection of hope will carry the Oilers to a strong showing. If Nikolai Khabibulin can return form (and that might be a big if), the Oilers might even challenge for the final playoff spot.
• Prediction time, Eastern Conference: Washington, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are the class of the East, with New Jersey, Buffalo and I think Boston will also do well. Washington has the horses to capture 1st place.
• Who will be the NHL's leading scorer? I'm going to guess a healthy Evgeni Malkin returns to form this season. He and Sidney Crosby will power the Penguins. I never predict Alexander Ovechkin to win the scoring title because one of these years his physical and at-times reckless play will see him blow out a knee or something eventually. Is this the year? I think both Henrik and Daniel Sedin will challenge the 100 point mark again this year. One of those five players will win the Art Ross Trophy
• Who will lead the league in goals? Again, I'm not going to pick the odds on favorite Ovechkin for reasons already stated. Crosby, Steven Stamkos and Jeff Carter will all be in the hunt should Ovechkin miss any time.

No Respect: Phil Esposito

There's a new book hitting store shelves today. Hockey Night In Canada's panel of experts decide who really is the Best Of The Best.

Well, sort of. Firstly they separate players pre and post 1967, which is fair enough. It is awfully tough to compare modern players with those of the Original Six or even earlier than that.

They also rank the players only by position, stopping shy of truly proclaiming who is the Best of the Best. Gretzky vs Orr? This book doesn't go quite that far..

Regardless, it's a neat book, wonderfully presented and full of great photography and good reading. Check it out on Hockey Book Reviews.com.

But I wanted to make special mention of Phil Esposito, who only ranked 7th in the Modern Era: Center category. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux hold down the top two spots, to no one's surprise. More contemporary players Steve Yzerman, Mark Messier, Joe Sakic and Bryan Trottier also outrank Espo.

I always felt Phil Esposito was greatly underrated, both when he played and in history's eyes. He obliterated the NHL record book not unlike what Gretzky would do again a decade later. Not only was he the first player to reach the magical 100 point mark, but he did so with an exclamation point, tallying 126 points in 1968-69. He would regularly challenge the 130 point mark, setting the NHL standard with 152 points in 1970-71. That year he also scored an unthinkable 76 goals. Remember, at that time only Rocket Richard and Bobby Hull had ever cracked the 50 goal barrier.

Yet Espo always fell in the shadows of teammate Bobby Orr. It is as if all of Esposito's accomplishments with the Boston Bruins - all the NHL records, 2 Stanley Cups, 2 Hart trophies, 5 Art Ross trophies - are all asterisked because Esposito played with Orr.

Time undoubtedly has played a role in the diminishing of Esposito's greatness. Nowadays he is best remembered for his passionate play at the 1972 Summit Series, perhaps the only time he escaped Orr's shadow. Younger fans may only know him as an outspoken personality.

Does Phil Esposito deserve a higher standing amongst the best centers since 1967? It would be hard to displace Yzerman, Messier, Sakic or Trottier, even though they combined for only one Art Ross Trophy compared to Espo's five. It is certainly no slight to be in the same grouping.

That being said, I firmly believe that Phil Esposito's accomplishments deserve to be better remembered by the eyes of history.