The Quebec Nordiques

I'm in Quebec City, wandering around beautiful Vieux-Quebec in a retro Nordiques jersey.

Here's some old footage of Les Nordiques:

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 30th

1923 - The Montreal Canadiens sign Howie Morenz.

1933 - At the NHL Board of Governors meeting it was decided that two referees would henceforth be used for each game, instead of one referee and one linesman. This system lasted five years, before it went back to one ref and one linseman.

1997 - Toronto Maple Leafs named Mats Sundin as their new Team Captain.

Happy Birthday to Peo Brasar!

Hockey Dans La Peau

If you want to make friends in Quebec City, wear a Nordiques jersey around town. I literally had women asking to take photos with me!

Also, my jersey came in handy when I entered the Quebec Nordiques recreated dressing room. Here I am waiting for Dale Hunter and Peter Stastny to arrive:

That was part of a temporary hockey expo called Hockey Dans La Peau. It featured a lot of hockey history, with special emphasis on the Battle of Quebec and Patrick Roy.

I have lots of photos of the expo, as well as the hockey artifacts at Quebec's Musee de Civilisation on Facebook.

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 29th

1976 - Philadelphia trades Dave "The Hammer" Schultz to Los Angeles.

1997 - New York Rangers acquired Pat LaFontaine from the Buffalo Sabres, in exchange for a 1998 2nd Round Draft Pick, and future considerations.

1999 - Atlanta Thrashers named Kelly Buchberger as the first Captain in franchise history. The move came three days before the team's inaugeral NHL game.

Happy Birthday to Walk Tkaczuk, John Tucker, Ray Timgren and Rolf Edberg

Reggie Fleming, Eddie Shack Ignite A Brawl

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 28th

1926 - New York Rangers obtained Frank Boucher from Vancouver (of the WHL) in exchange for cash.

1929 - At the semi-annual NHL meetings (held in New York), the league made a new rule change permitting forward passing in any of the three zones (but not across either blue line). Until this time forward passing was not allowed in the attacking zone.

1935 - The St. Louis Eagles requested permission to suspend operations. The NHL rejected their plan. One month later the league purchased the franchise and had a dispersal draft for the players.

1942 - At the semi-annual NHL meetings (in Toronto), President Calder announced that Madison Square Garden declined to renew the lease of the Brooklyn Americans, causing the team to suspend operations. The NHL shrunk to six teams for the next 25 years.

1972 - Paul Henderson scored the game winner with :34 remaining to give Team Canada a 6-5 win over the Soviets in Moscow, in Game 8 of the historic 1972 series.

1979 - Minnesota North Stars signed free agent Dino Ciccarelli from the London Knights of the OHA. Ciccarelli fractured his leg in his final junior season and went undrafted by all 21 NHL teams.

1996 - Edmonton Oilers announced the signing of free agent Kevin Lowe, who returned to the team after four seasons in New York.

1999 - Edmonton Oilers named Doug Weight their new Team Captain, the 10th in franchise history.

Happy Birthday Syd Howe, Grant Fuhr, Don Edwards, Art Wiebe, John Arbour, Barry Gibbs, and Steve Kasper.

Canada's First Televised Hockey Game

On Oct. 11, 1952, popular Quebec media personality René Lecavalier is behind the mike for Canada's first televised National Hockey League contest. In this footage we see Rocket Richard vs. Gordie Howe as the Canadiens and Red Wings battle at the Montreal Forum.

The footage continues with Foster Hewitt's English broadcast of the Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup victory.

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 27th

1972 - The first NHL game was played at Nassau Coliseum, in New York. 11,053 watched as the Rangers beat the Islanders 6-4, in an exhibition game.

1991 - The L.A. Kings defeated the NY Rangers before a crowd of 13,000 outdoors, in an exhibition game played at Caesar's Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Happy Birthday to Miroslav Frycer, Tommy Smith, Dennis Kearns, Al MacNiel and Merlin Malinowski.

Video: Howie Morenz, Charlie Conacher and Hockey In 1933

Here is an amazing YouTube find: It's a game between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs way back in 1933.



The rare video footage captures such legendary figures as Howie Morenz, Charlie Conacher, Aurel Joliat, Red Horner, Joe Primeau, King Clancy, Hap Day, Battleship Leduc, Frank Finnigan and many others in action.

The footage, narrated by the legendary Foster Hewitt, is 8:37 minutes long. It is a bit confusing as both teams are wearing their dark uniforms.

Note how bodychecking as we know it today is almost non-existent. It was still a physical game, but hitting along the boards is rare. Also the pace of the game impresses, given most of these players are playing most of the game. There is very little passing, and a lot of solo rush attempts. And watch the defenseman, who strictly stay back to defend.

YouTube is home to an even older set of NHL video clips. Here is footage of the 1929 Chicago Blackhawks, retrieved from an old black and white 16mm home movie reel. There is no audio.

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 26th

1925 - NY Americans purchased the roster of the suspended-Hamilton Tigers for $75,000 when the Hamilton franchise was dropped from the NHL. At the same time, the new Pittsburgh team bought out the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets of the U.S. Amateur league.

1926 - During the NHL annual governors meeting, it was decided that blue lines would be measured 60' from each goal line, rather than 20' from the center of the rink. This decision widened the neutral zone and decreased the number of offside calls.

1931 - Toronto obtained Frank Finnigan and Syd Howe in the NHL Dispersal Draft, following the league's suspension of Ottawa and Philadelphia.

1931 - The NHL Board of Governors increased the league's regular season schedule from 44 to 48 games.

1972 - Phil Esposito scored twice, and Paul Henderson scored the game winner at 17:54 of the final period, to give Team Canada a 4-3 win over the Soviet Team in Game 7 of the historic 1972 series.

1985 - New York Rangers signed free agent Mike Ridley out of the University of Manitoba.


Happy Birthday to Clint Benedict, Craig Janney, Norm Dussault, Garry Howatt, Vic Heyliger, Fido Purpur, Jonas Bergkvist, and Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

Interview With Jean Francois Jomphe

Contributed by Frederick Lavallee

I wake up in the morning and look at the time : it’s 9:00 AM. As I make my way to the coffee maker for my two morning drinks, I remember why I’m so tired...

I worked hard on that interview yesterday now, didn’t I? Yeah, my fourth one. And of course, none of those heroes you keep on hearing about, no sir! And that’s what I take pride in, giving 3rd and 4th liners a tribute, along with minor leaguers. Those who were more discreetly part of hockey’s wonderful history.

As I make my way to the living room with the smell of this godly mixture that warms my right hand, I sit in front of my computer, and check all my questions again. And double, and triple check...oops! It’s 10:30 already, time flies, coffee got cold! I’m making myself the other one, despite the fact it’s been just sitting there for 90 minutes...what? I’m not gonna waste that great coffee! ;)

My second interview was with former Bruins goalie turner pastor John Blue. And that same Blue contacted a friend of his to know if he’d be interested in being interviewed by some québécois sitting in his living room back in his home province. The player in question said yes, and I was gonna speak with former Duck and Hab JF Jomphe for an interview..in French. ;)

Not that English is all that difficult, but of course, my vocabulary is not as rich in English as it is in French, being the French-raised québécois that this little 5’3 tall guy right here is. But I’m happy to be using good ol’ french once in a while, since I’m a bit more comfortable using ‘’La langue de Molière’’. And I speak English with this horrible french accent that even I don’t like, so no bad accent feeling this time.

Hope you guys enjoy!

JF Jomphe was born on December 28th, 1972 in Havre Saint-Pierre, Quebec. He’s not gonna be living there for very long, but just enough to learn to skate...

"Well, coming from Quebec Fred, you know how it is. My dad was a big Habs fan and I got my first pair of skates when I was very young," said the former QJMHL star.

Like a lot of other young hockey players, JF liked to play others sports. But like the Gretzky’s of this world, he wanted to become a hockey players first and foremost.

"I was a very ordinary soccer and baseball player. Come winter, I would always sleep with my skates on, hockey was about the only activity I was interested in..."

Playing his youth hockey in Rosemère and Granby, the former Coyote played three seasons in Quebec’s Junior League, known as the QJMHL…

"I had tons of fun in Shawinigan. In my second season there, we made it far in the playoffs. In my third year, I was traded to Sherbrooke. They were the best team in the League, but we lost in the Finals against a Laval team with the likes of Martin Lapointe, Philippe Boucher and Manny Fernandez in their roster," says a regretful Jomphe, who had teammates like future NHLers Patrick Traverse, Patrick Lalime and Jocelyn Thibault at the Junior level. He even led the league in the 1992-93 playoffs with 22 points!

The 1993 Amateur NHL Draft takes place at the Montreal Forum. The former Shawinigan Cataractes centre is sitting there with his parents, hoping to hear his name. But his name was never called...but there are other ways to get to the NHL, like guys such as Martin Saint-Louis and David Desharnais did before.

"I was not really worried. In 1992, the Pittsburgh Penguins offered me an invitation to go to their training camp and try to sign me to an ECHL contract, but I went back to Shawinigan. In 1993, five teams gave me a try, including the Quebec Nordiques who offered me 33,000$ in the minors or 235,000$ in the NHL for three full years!"

Wanting to give himself a better chance to make it to the NHL, Jomphe decides to sign with the newly arrived Anaheim Mighty Ducks, one of the two expansion teams to start in 1993-94. At 20, he has his first pro contract signed, a three year deal.

"I scored three goals in my first intra-team game at camp and people starting wondering ‘’Who is that guy?’’ . It somehow launched my career. It was September 11th, 1993, and that date still means a lot to me. Teams kept 25 players, and I was still there when there were 27 left. I had a great camp!" says the former NHL centre, who started his pro career with stints in the IHL with the San Diego Gulls, and in the ECHL with the Greensboro Monarchs for the 1993-94 season.

Disappointed, a disillusioned Jomphe started to think about quitting at some point, wondering whether he made the right choice by signing with the Ducks organisation and having a couple of bad injuries at only 21, including losing a good number of teeth!

"Fortunately, I have a great dad that was always there for me. In my first ECHL game, people started fighting in the stands and some players participated...I wondered what I was doing there. My dad and I always had this great relationship and he thought me crucial things in life. I decided to keep on playing after a good conversation with him..."

After another bump on the road, our hero of the day is about to live an experience that will change his career, scoring 33 goals in 52 games with the Canadian National Team…

"The Ducks organization thought it would be better for my development to play with Team Canada during the lock-out shortened season (1994-95) and I got to learn to play a more defensive game under Pierre Pagé. I traveled around the world…I didn’t have the chance to play for Team Canada before, and to wear this jersey was very special for me. I grew up a lot that season!"

Every player dreams of playing in the NHL. The 1995-96 season was the real deal for JF, who got to play 47 games with Baltimore, scoring an excellent 55 points in the process. That caught the Ducks attention, and he played 31 games with them, amassing 2 goals and 14 points.

"I got off to a real slow start down in Baltimore. I had one point after the first ten games! I was there in the middle of the season and I got called up at 3 AM one night to join the Ducks in Chicago. The BlackHawks had players like Chelios, Belfour, Roenick, Amonte...it was intimidating. I ended up playing 31 games...played with Kariya, and I was on a line with Selanne and Kurri for two weeks that I will never forget," mentioned Jomphe, who scored his first goal against Curtis Joseph of the Oilers in Edmonton. It was on Valentine’s Day, 1996...

And the 1995-96 season was not over for the Canadiens former number 30. He was invited to play for Canada at the 1996 World Hockey Championship ( he participated in ’95, winning the bronze medal). Jomphe will score 4 goals (3 games winners) and Team Canada will go on to win silver.

The 1996-97 season will be Jomphe’s only complete one in the NHL. He played 64 games with Anaheim, scoring 7 goals and 21 points. But two of those goals have a very special meaning for the former Ducks centre...and he seems to like special dates. After scoring his first on February 14th of ’96, he sets a Ducks record in December on Friday the 13th...

"We were playing at home against Washington and we were trailing, 3-2. I scored two goals in 13 seconds at we took a 4-3 lead. Two goals in 13 seconds is a record that still stand in Anaheim today!" says the proud former number 46 of the team we used to call the Mighty Ducks.

Unfortunately, because of an abdomen injury, he was not able to play in the first Ducks playoffs appearance in history. He will only play 9 games in Anaheim in 1997-98 and will be sent down to Cincinnati in the AHL…

"Ron Wilson was replaced by Pierre Pagé as head coach. Pierre liked me, but he sent me down after a couple of games. I had a knee injury in first game with Cincinnati. Shame it happened because I believed I could still play in the NHL with the Ducks organization."

In June of 1998, Jomphe is traded to Phoenix for Jim McKenzie. Despite the fact they acquired him, the Coyotes only used JF for one game, as he spent the rest of the time between the AHL and the IHL ( Springfield and Las Vegas, respectively )...until march 23rd, 1999. The Montreal Canadiens acquire Jomphe’s services and he will play an emotion-packed six games with the Habs...

Sadly, ‘’ Les Habitants ‘’ will miss the playoffs that year, for the first of three consecutive seasons. Despite JF’s short time with the team, the Canadiens’ organization decides to celebrate something with him and his parents.

"The Canadiens treated me very well. Seeing the Habs dressing room at the Molson Centre ( became the Bell Center in 2002 ) was impressive. On April 7th, we were playing Boston in Montreal. My parents were celebrating their 30th year of marriage and I wore number 30. During the game, a message appeared on the scoreboard, telling the crowd about my parents anniversary. It was a very special night!"

Those would be Jomphe’s final six NHL games in his career. And played in the playoffs and got to th AHL semi-finals with the Fredericton Canadiens. But of course, he was not over with hockey, as he traveled overseas to go play in Germany with DEL’s Krefeld Penguins.

"Andy Roach, a good friend of mine, told me about playing in the DEL and I wanted to try something new. I had an invitation from the Sharks, but I decided to stay in Germany to play there. Expectations were high, because I was from the NHL, but I had a good season in Krefeld and the Mannheim Eagles signed both Andy and I for the 2000-2001 season," says the former DEL’s 1999-2000 All Star Game participant.

He won DEL’s 2000-2001 playoffs championship with the Mannheim Eagles, along with teammates such as Roach, Todd Hlushko and 17 year old defenseman, Dennis Seidenberg. The German native would celebrate another championship, the Stanley Cup, in 2011. But ten years later, Seidenberg hasn’t forgotten about his old teammates of the Mannheim team...

"He brought every member of the 2000-2001 championship team to Atlantic City to celebrate Dennis’ Cup win! Shame I had a lot of meetings that week!" says a regretful Jomphe.

The former Krefeld all-star decides to call it quits after the 2000-2001 season. He got married in the summer of 2001 and he wanted to stay in California with his wife.

But he missed the game, and it was too much. And so, a year after announcing his retirement, it’s time for a comeback announcement! Back to Europe for three seasons, one with Ingolstadt, and two with Switzerland’s B-League based Biel HC.

"Playing in Switzerland was great. We had cars for our families, an apartment, a good salary. Fans are great there and the ambiance during games is a fun experience as a player. We won the championship in my first season there, but I injured my knee. After my second season with Biel, the doctors advice was to stop playing, and so I retired, this time for good, to be able to walk after my hockey career!"

The one commentators used to call ‘’ Jay-F Jonff ‘’ finished his NHL career with 10 goals and 39 points in 111 games. He was not afraid of traffic and he could certainly defend himself, as he fought a couple of times in his career.

Retired since 2005, the Ducks recordman didn’t stay at home wondering what to do. He founded a hockey school in which he teached hockey to young players for a couple of years, as well as coaching at the AAA level for three years. He lives in the Anaheim area and is the president of the Ducks Alumni. He also works in the medical field...

"I’m still having frequent contact with several former Ducks such as Teemu Selanne, Jari Kurri. We have a couple Hall of Famers in Niedermayer and Teemu. I know McSorley and Luc Robitaille well, since they work for the Kings and we do a lot of events together. My best bud is former Bruins and Caps center Randy Burridge. He scored 200 goals in the NHL and played in the 1992 All-Star Game. I made a lot of friend and the game brought me a lot in my life. It still does," says the father of one, Presley Joseph Jomphe, 4 years old. He unfortunately has divorced in 2006…

Before ending the conversation, I took the time to congratulate JF for his career, telling him in the process how I like hearing those stories. Getting to the NHL, and especially staying there, is as hard as it can get. A lot of players like Jomphe have to battle throughout all their careers to remain at the top level, never being certain of keeping their spot in the roster.

"Only 5000 players got to the NHL in a hundred years. 752 players have played with the Canadiens. Few players even make it to any kind of pro hockey. When you wear an NHL jersey, it means you have worked hard to be there."

I would like to thank Jean-François-Jomphe for his time and generosity. He was very courteous and like the three played that preceded him, he allowed me some of his time for a story that was, once again, fascinating to the little amateur blogger that I am. I would also like to thank John Blue for referring me to Jomphe.

- contributed by Frederick Lavallee

A Very Young Mario Lemieux

I'm not quite sure what year this is from. It is a very young Mario Lemieux still playing for the Laval Voisins:

In his last year of junior hockey, Mario set records that are unlikely to ever be beaten. In 70 games he scored 133 goals, 149 assists for 282 points!

Even more impressive, Mario accomplished all of that with not a lot of elite help. His maining running mates were Jaques Goyette and Alain Bisson (both of whom barely played hockey at all beyond that season), Francois Sills (who played 1 year in the AHL before moving to Germany) Michel Mongeau (54 NHL games played) and Yves Courteau (22 NHL games played).

Only three Laval players went on to NHL careers - defensive defensemen Steven Finn and Bobby Dollas, and a Voisins rookie that year named Vincent Damphousse.

Gretzky Looks Back

Wayne Gretzky was in Edmonton this weekend for a Kinsemen dinner, to watch Ryan Nugent Hopkins play for the first time and to catch up with old friends.

One of those old friends was Jim Mathieson of the Edmonton Journal, who asked The Great One about his son Trevor signing with the Chicago Cubs.

"I think Trevor’s going to play next year in Boise in single A ball; they’re going to try him in centre or left-field. He’s got a long road ahead of him, but he’s got the tools. He’s six-foot-five, he’s fast, a good hitter, he’s got some power. One thing about baseball: they don’t rush you. They want you getting 500 or 600 at bats, no matter where you are,” said Gretzky.

Gretzky had to laugh when Mathieson pointed out that his son got a bigger signing bonus on his first pro contract than #99 did.

Gretzky got a $250,000 signing bonus in 1978 from Nelson Skalbania when he signed his first pro hockey contract with the World Hockey Association’s Indianapolis Racers. His son got more than his dad as a seventh-round draft pick. Times change.

“Back in my day, you’d get a signing bonus and the first thing you were thinking of was going out to buy a car. I asked Trevor what he wanted to buy and he said he was going to go on a Disney cruise. We were laughing at that. He gets seasick. He doesn’t even like boats,” said Gretzky.

And what about Gretzky's future plans?

Gretzky has no interest in working for another NHL team or for the league. His oldest of five kids, daughter Paulina is working on an album, and second oldest, son Ty, is in his sophomore year at Arizona State University studying business. Ty is starting his baseball career while son Tristan and daughter Emma are still at home. Gretzky still watches lots of games on TV but only saw about 10 games in a rink last year.

Here's the full article, including some memories from Dave Semenko and Steve Tambellini.

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 25th

1926 - National Hockey League officially granted franchises to two new teams -- Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Cougars (later changed to Red Wings) raising the NHL total to ten teams.

1984 - Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto inducted it's newest members: Phil Esposito, Jacques Lemaire, Bernie Parent, Jake Milford and George "Punch" Imlach.

1987 - New York Islanders defenseman Denis Potvin announced his retirement from the NHL.

Happy Birthday to Carol Vadnais, and Joe Zanussi.

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 24th

1927 - Overtime in NHL regular season play was changed to a 10-minute period.

1937 - NHL adopted a new "icing rule", whereby a team which deliberately shot the puck out of its defensive zone (when not shorthanded) would have the ensuing face-off brought back to the defensive zone point from where the puck was shot.

1938 - Montreal Canadiens purchased Herb Cain and Buddy O'Connor from the Montreal Maroons.

1976 - Team Canada won the first "Canada Cup" on Darryl Sittler's overtime goal which gave Team Canada a 5-4 win over Czechoslovakia.

1990 - Gilbert Perreault, Fern Flaman, Bill Barber and Bud Poile were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Happy Birthday Dan Maloney, Jason Woolley, Tim Ecclestone,

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 23rd

1979 - Edmonton Oilers played their first NHL pre-season game in Brandon, Manitoba against Winnipeg, and lost 4-2 to the Jets.

1991 - Bob Pulford, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, coach Scotty Bowman, and veteran Clint Smith were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, at a ceremony in Ottawa, Ontario.

1992 - Manon Rheaume became the first woman ever to play in an NHL exhibition game, when she played in goal for the Lightning. She made 7 saves and gave up two goals in one period in a game against the Blues, in Tampa Bay.

Happy Birthday Milan Novy.

Hockey Board Games

I found an old hockey board game while on vacation, which got me wondering about other old hockey board games. Here's a look at what I have found, with an emphasis on older games only.h

From 1933-34 here is a rare hockey game called Apple Leaf Hockey:

From 1937 here's All Star Hockey. It is simply a board (rink) is marked off in squares and the pawns used to represent players move from square to square depending on a die roll.

In 1941 Milton Bradley dreamed up Ice Hockey: The game comes with 1 wooden disc and two wire hockey "crooks". You play the game by first placing the disc on the center spot on the boards and then each player takes a wire crook and then trying to draw or knock the wooden disc (puck) through the goal to the players right. The opponent plays at the same time, each player trying to get the puck into their goal. The game is started by one player tapping 3 times and then calling 'GO!" The game is played to a predetermined number of gaols. The player reaching that pre-determined number wins.

Here's a Lester Patrick endorsed hockey board game from the 1940s. This game came in two formats one that used a die but earlier versions came with a spinner for randomization. The players are printed on the board and movement is the puck from square to square. There are printed squares on the board that if you take the puck to will can cause penalties to the opposing player in various ways including giving you a penalty shot on goal from a designated spot on the board that is also resolved with a die roll.

From the 1950s, here's The National Hockey League Game

Harley Productions came out with He Scores! in 1955. This game combines all the thrills of real hockey and is played on a board representing the ice surface. Players are shown in both Red and Blue. The game has two dice and a puck which is moved through squares in the direction and by the distance of what was rolled on the dice. Game appears to feature pictures of both the Montreal Canadians and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 1959 Negameco came out with this stat-driven game for simulating professional hockey matches.

From the 1960s, here's Pass And Score, fun for the whole family:

From 1968, here's Blue Line Hockey

All Pro Hockey came out in 1969.

Here's a game called Power Play from 1970. I'm not sure if there are other teams than just Vancouver or not. I want to say I saw a Minnesota version once upon a time, too.

Also in 1970 Research Games released Rod Gilbert's Violent World of Pro Hockey. It was actually part of a 5 game series of Rocky Graziano (Boxing), Vince Lombardi (Football), Gil Hodges (Baseball), Rod Gilbert (Hockey), and Oscar Robertson (Basketball).

From 1974 here's Face Off, the hilarious hockey management game:

Then there is the legendary Strat-O-Matic Hockey card and dice game. This game realistically simulates managing your lines, assigning players, how aggressive or defensive to be, and for the statisticians in the crowd, you can even keep score right down to the number of shots per period, time of goals, assists, etc.

This following game is so old, you needed something called a VCR. I had this game when I was a kid. Players move around the board drawing cards and doing what is says on the space. If you land on "VIDEO ATTACK" you go to the VCR to see what happens. It shows a great play from a game in the past. Either a goal or a save. If you see a goal you score a point.

I also had this trivia board game called Hockey Challenge. No one played with me because I knew all the answers. Then the questions got out of date as many of the answers changed with new records set etc.

I'm not sure how old this particular card game is, but I bet it is relatively contemporary.

 

If you know any more details about these or any other hockey board games, feel free to share your memories in the comments section.

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 22nd

1934 - NHL's Ottawa Senators franchise was transferred to St. Louis where the team became known as the Eagles.

1934 - A meeting of the NHL board of governors was held, where it was approved that collective salary limits for all clubs for the 1935 season would not exceed $62,500 with an individual salary limit of $7,000 to any one player.

1972 - Team Canada lost the first game of the historic Summit Series in Moscow. Soviet Union 5, Canada 4, in Game 5 of the series.

1983 - Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Ken Dryden and Boston G.M. Harry Sinden were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

1991 - St. Louis traded Dan Quinn and Rod Brind'Amour to Philadelphia in exchange for Ron Sutter and Murray Baron.

1994 - Philadelphia Flyers re-obtained veteran goaltender Ron Hextall in trade from the New York Islanders, in exchange for goalie Tommy Soderstrom.

Happy Birthday Si Griffis, Pat Falloon, Mark Johnson, Gerry McNamara,

Super Star : Mike Modano Retires

Mike Modano, the greatest American scorer in NHL history, has announced his plans to retire from the game.

Highlights of his 21 year NHL career include a Stanley Cup championship, 3 Olympic Games, and with 561 goals and 1,374 points - both of which are records for U.S.-born players.

Modano started his career in Minnesota with the North Stars. The whole franchise moved to Dallas in 1993, where Modano matured into one of the games greatest players.

"His speed was his strength," said Chris Chelios, many times a teammate of Modano's in international hockey including at the the Olympics. "He had a great shot - hard and heavy - and he was tough to stop once he made a turn and generated speed. He was a great ambassador for the U.S. team."

In fact many might argue that Modano (an Olympic silver medalist in 2002) could give Chelios a good run for the title of best American hockey player of all time. Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Pat Lafontaine would also make that short list.

Though he ended his career with one quiet season in his hometown of Detroit, Mike Modano will forever be remembered as a Star in every sense of the word. North Star. Lone Star. Super Star.



Memories of Minnesota

Mike Modano was drafted 1st overall by the Minnesota North Stars in 1988, directly ahead of Trevor Linden. Though he played only 4 seasons in the Twin Cities, he had lots of good memories in the State of Hockey. Here's some quotes I found in an old Phil Coffey interview with NHL.com:

"I think the greatest memory was my first game against the Islanders and obviously the Finals in 1991," Modano said of his tenure with the North Stars. "I think one of the toughest days was packing up and leaving Minneapolis for Dallas. But I think, the good and bad part about being drafted first overall is that you are going to the worst team in the League. There are expectations; there is pressure to perform and play and when it wasn't happening, you know, I think the fans were getting frustrated with me. I was getting frustrated and you just go into a tail spin and the harder you try and the harder you work to get out of it, it seemed tougher for things to happen.

"But my times there were great. I won't change them for anything. The family I lived with, my first year and the friends I made, and spending my summers in Minneapolis were a special time.

"I still have a lot of friends that I keep in contact," he said. "They come down here and visit me on occasion."

More D in Big D

Ownership moved the North Stars to the Lone Star State to house the team in Dallas. It was in Dallas that he matured from offensive star to, eventually, one of the best two way pivots in the game. The result - a Stanley Cup championship in 1999 and the desired reputation as a gritty hockey warrior as much as an offensive star.

Kevin Allan of the USA Today covered his conversion nicely back in 2001:

"Scouts always referred to Modano's grace and talent excess, and few talked about his beastliness because there was no beastliness to discuss. He was a quiet teenager, sometimes too docile. He had speed to be sure, but scouts wondered whether he would use his speed more like a roadrunner or a cheetah. Could he be a predator, or was he destined to be prey? Would he become a pure strain of offensive dominance or would he evolve into the more complex version — a player capable of excelling at both ends of the ice?

Anyone who has been watching Modano, especially over the past three seasons, knows that he has become a much more complete player than anyone thought was possible, particularly in his first few seasons when he fought against then-coach Bob Gainey's attempts to teach him a defensive mantra.

Today, Modano, 31, is matched against the top offensive stars in the game, and he played well enough last season defensively that he was a legitimate contender for the Selke Trophy. He's still seems like an expensive sports car on a road filled with all-terrain vehicles, but he has more under the hood than just raw speed."

As much respect as Modano gained for his dedicated two-way play, many of us will always remember him for his speed and his highlight reel goals. He scored 561 goals and 813 assists for 1374 points in 1499 NHL games, with another 58 goals and 88 assists for 146 points in 176 Stanley Cup games. He scored 30 or more goals nine times during his career, and topped the 20-goal plateau 16 times. His best season was 1993-94 when he scored 50 goals.
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"His numbers would be a bit higher if he played on a team that was more wide-open in their attack," says former goalie Brian Hayward. "In Dallas, they put a lot of emphasis on the center working hard in the defensive zone and Mike does that. So, he starts out much further back than a lot of other centers around the League when he goes on the attack."

"Modano has an explosive skating stride and that is one of his greatest attributes," Hayward continues. "But, from a goaltending standpoint, his biggest strength is that he can shoot the puck mid-stride. Not a lot of players can do that, most have to stride, then glide and shoot. Mike can get his shot off in full stride, which makes the goaltender's job that much more difficult."

Hull of an Endorsement

Brett Hull, Modano's long time teammate and friend, called Modano a "jack of all trades and the master of all of them. He can shoot, pass, skate, play defense, kill penalties and run the power play. And he is one of the top three physically fit individuals I've ever played with."

Ask who Hull thought was the greatest hockey player in American history, he quickly chose Modano.

“He’s the best,” said Brett Hull, Modano’s close friend and former teammate. “There’s some that are right on his tail, but he is the best and his numbers prove it.”

Last word today goes to Kevin Allan of the USA Today. He summed it up about perfectly when he wrote:

Modano wasn't just a player; he was a spectacle.

Wayne Gretzky Playing Baseball

Here's Wayne Gretzky playing charity baseball game back in his Oilers days. Note Kevin Lowe in behind the umpire.

Of course Wayne's son Trevor signed with the Chicago Cubs organization this past summer. And here's a look at some more of hockey's ties with baseball.

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 21st

1967 - Goatender Jacques Plante (who had retired after the 1964-65 season) played goal for the California Seals in an exhibition game (3-3 tie) against the Los Angeles Kings, in Port Huron Michigan.

1992 - Marcel Dionne, Lanny McDonald, Bob Gainey, Woody Dumart, and Keith Allen were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

2002 - Ottawa Senators traded defenseman Sami Salo to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for left wing Peter Schaefer.

Happy Birthday Matti Hagman, Bob Errey, Troy Loney, Uli Heimer, and Petr Prajsler

Honouring The Old Lamplighter

The community of Coniston (part of Sudbury) Ontario recently held a ceremony to name their rink the Toe Blake Memorial Arena. The rink is close to where the great Blake grew up playing the game. His nearby hometown of Victoria Mines no longer exists.

Blake's last surviving son, Bruce, was on hand sharing stories of the great coach, reminding us he was also a great player, too. He was so good they nicknamed him "The Old Lamplighter."

When Hector "Toe" Blake was a child growing up in Victoria Mines, one of his teachers encouraged his love of hockey.

"Keeping his skates on in the classroom was one thing he remembered," Toe's son, Bruce Blake, said.

"One of his teachers allowed dad and a few others to keep their skates on during the morning so they didn't waste time lacing up and they would have more time at recess" to play hockey, Bruce said."

Rachel Punch of the Sudbury Star has the full story.

NHL Remembers Fallen Players

Disappointment Lingers

In talking with a number of Vancouver Canucks fans of late, I definitely get the feeling that 2011-12 season promises to be a very different season. Not necessarily for the team, but more-so for the fans.

Prior to the playoffs, and especially prior to last season's Stanley Cup final, I had a definite suspicion that the 2011 playoffs would change me somehow. I had no real idea how at the time. But I guess part of me knew I had to take a break from hockey, at least for some period of time.

I was really hoping the 2011 playoffs would be the culmination of my fandom. I was truly cemented as a Canucks fan forever following their terrific 1994 Stanley Cup final run. Even though that team, too, lost in game 7, I would never go back and change a thing. However, I was really hoping the 2011 team would complete the saga, finally winning the Stanley Cup and ending the story. That would allow me to move on with a great deal of satisfaction.

Of course, the 2011 team did not win. Despite being a superior team to that of 1994, these Canucks, felled by injuries, questionable refereeing and Boston's penalty kill, also lost the Stanley Cup in game 7. But this time, despite an incredible season, the only lasting feeling is that of disappointment.

Even had the Canucks actually won that damn Stanley Cup, the lasting feeling would have been relief, not joy. I guess that has left me feeling so disillusioned. The 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs were not fun for me. With each victory I rarely felt the joy and anticipation that I felt I should have. I wanted my team to win so that I could feel relief, not euphoria. That is not how it is supposed to be.

The 2011 Stanley Cup changed me as a fan. All summer I rarely worked on hockey projects, which I had always done in the past. I turned away jobs. I skipped the draft and free agency. I read the headlines regularly, but rarely got too involved in most stories. I pursued other things in life - like family time, vacationing, camping and my other serious passion - hiking.

Even though the summer was a short one for Canucks fans, I remain in no hurry for a return to the ice. I needed time away. It makes me wonder how the players deal with such issues, and the long term effects on them and the team.

It still remains to be seen how the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs has changed me long term. I suspect I will take the upcoming season a little less seriously than I usually do, at least in the beginning. Maybe I will not watch every game. Maybe I can find something else to do on game night.

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 20th

1951 - Boston Bruins obtained Gus Kyle and Pentti Lund from the New York Rangers, in exchange for Paul Ronty.

1991 - Montreal Canadiens traded Stephane Richer and Tom Chorske to New Jersey in exchange for Kirk Muller and goalie Roland Melanson.

1995 - Toronto Maple Leafs signed free agent Brent Gretzky (younger brother of Wayne).

Happy Birthday to Guy Lafleur, Ray Cullen, and Bill Riley.

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 19th

1991 - Edmonton traded Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube to Toronto, in exchange for Vince Damphousse, Scott Thornton, Luke Richardson and goalie Peter Ing.

1992 - Eric Lindros made his NHL debut with a goal and an assist in the Flyers' 4-3 exhibition win over the Quebec Nordiques, before a crowd of 17,226 fans.

1998 - The Nasville Predators made their NHL debut with a 4-2 pre-season win over the Florida Panthers, in a game played in Huntsville, Alabama. Marian Cisar scored the Predators' first goal.

Happy Birthday Odie Cleghorn, Don Beaupre, Ed Westfall, Andre Boudrias, Craig Laughlin, Gilbert Dionne and John Tavares.

Ted Lindsay Was Such A Teas

Here's a 1962 advertisement for tea, starring Ted Lindsay, then coach of the Detroit Red Wings:

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 18th

1922 - Montreal Canadiens traded veteran Newsy Lalonde to the Saskatoon Sheiks of the WCHL, in exchange for the rights to amateur Aurel Joliat, and $3,500

Happy birthday to Scotty Bowman, Darryl Sittler, Bun Cook, Ralph Backstrom, Bill Dineen, Jack Bionda, Kelly Kisio and Tom Chorske.

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 17th

1970 - Buffalo Sabres played their first game in team history, a 4-4 tie against the NY Rangers in an exhibition game in Peterborough, Ontario. Billy Inglis scored the first goal in Sabres history.

1971 - Montreal's Guy Lafleur made his NHL debut, and picked up three assists in the Canadiens' 7-4 exhibition game victory against the Bruins, at the Forum.

1991 - Montreal traded Andrew Cassels to Hartford, in exchange for the Whalers' second round draft pick in 1992. (Valeri Bure).

Happy Birthday to Claude Provost, Blair Russell, Gene Carr, Jan Ludvig, Scott Arniel and Grant Mulvey.

Collared Hockey Sweaters?!

Here's a photo of Wayne Gretzky taking on Team Sweden at the 1984 Canada Cup.

Note the collars on the Swedish national team jersey!

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 16th

1916 - Hockey superstar One Eyed Frank McGee died for his country on the Somme battlefield in France.

1978 - 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky attended his first pro training camp, as a member of the WHA's Indianapolis Racers.

1979 - The Edmonton Oilers opened the team's first NHL training camp at the University of Alberta's Varsity Arena.

1991 - Canada wins the 1991 Canada Cup with a 4-2 win over USA. Steve Larmer scored the signature goal:



1996 - Hockey Hall of Fame announced its newest members: Borje Salming, Al Arbour, Bobby Bauer and announcer Bob Cole.

1998 - Hockey Hall of Fame announced it's newest members: Peter Stastny, Michel Goulet, and Roy Conacher.

Happy birthday to Kevin Lavallee, Rick Lanz and Eric Vail.

Canada Cup '87 - The Greatest Hockey Ever Played

There is little doubt that the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union is the single greatest hockey tournament, perhaps sporting event, ever. Due to the political and cultural differences, and the dramatic ending, it is unforeseeable that anything could rival 1972. However the 1987 Canada Cup did rival it. While the Cold War was thawing, the drama was almost equal to 1972. And unlike 1972, the tournament was filled with great play on the ice. In fact most will agree that the 1987 Canada Cup highlighted perhaps the greatest hockey ever played.

"I don't think you'll ever see better hockey than what was played in that series," said Wayne Gretzky. "For me, it was probably the best hockey I've ever played."

The 1987 Cup not only had the greatest player of all time in his prime, but many others as well. Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey, Viacheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Krutov, Sergei Makarov also were at the highest points of their incredible careers. The series also saw the rise to prominence of a young Dominik Hasek, as well as the elevation of Mario Lemieux to Gretzky's stratosphere.

The round robin went pretty much as expected. Canada and the Soviets finished 1-2 with Sweden and CSSR narrowly edging out the Americans for the final playoff spots. The Soviets handed Sweden a 4-2 loss and Canada downed the Czechs 5-3 to set up the greatest showdown in history.

The best of three series went the distance and thrilled fans world wide. All three games ended with the same score, 6-5, which was the identical score of the final game of the eight-game 1972 Summit Series, which saw Paul Henderson win the game for Canada with just 34 seconds left.

1987 was the longest series since 1972 between the two nations. The three games dripped with intrigue and drama. The Soviets shocked the Canadians with a 6-5 overtime win in game one in Montreal.

In the second game in Hamilton, Ontario, the Canadians assumed a 3-1 lead but watched it vanish. The game went into overtime which required a Mario Lemieux tally in the second over time period to force a third and deciding game. Some have called that second game the best game ever played.

In the third game, which was also played in Hamilton, the Canadians fell behind early 3-0 and 4-2. But, by using grit, determination and skill, they rallied in the second period to take a 5-4 lead, which the Soviets would erase in the third period, setting up the last minute heroics.

Late in the third period, Dale Hawerchuk was out to take an important faceoff in his own zone. Hawerchuk won the draw from Valeri Kamensky and tied up the Soviet center. Mario Lemieux got the puck and pushed it ahead to Wayne Gretzky at the blueline. Breaking across center ice with Lemieux and Larry Murphy trailing, Gretzky swooped in on Igor Kravchuk, and goaltender Sergei Mylnikov.

Gretzky, who led all tournament scorers, fed a perfect pass back to Lemieux, who led all tournament snipers, at the top of the faceoff circle. "I had lots of time," said Lemieux, "more than a second. The top shelf was open and I just put it there." For the next minute and 26 seconds, Team Canada would kill time by defending their zone, knowing they were seconds away from being crowned winners of the greatest series in hockey history.

"There is a generation of hockey fans who have grown up not having seen the 1972 Summit Series," said tournament head Alan Eagleson. "But the 1987 tournament bridged that generation gap. It was that good. To a new generation it will be their 1972 series."

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 15th

1960 - Maurice Richard announced his NHL retirement at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, after a career that saw him score a team record 544 regular season goals along with 82 playoff goals.

1981 - HHOF inducts Frank Mahovlich, Allan Stanley, John Bucyk and former NHL referee John Ashley.

1987 - New Jersey traded Greg A. Adams and Kirk McLean to Vancouver in exchange for Patrick Sundstrom and Vancouver's fourth round choice (Matt Ruchty) in 1988 Entry Draft.

1987 - "Here's Lemieux poking it to center, Lemieux ahead to Gretzky, has Murphy with him on a 2 on 1, to Lemieux, in on goal. He shoots, he SCORES!!!!! MARIO LEMIEUX!!!!! With 1:26 remaining."

Mario Lemieux scores the series winning goal in the 1987 Canada, arguably the greatest hockey ever played.



Happy Birthday Alf Pike, Mike Greenlay, Ken Houston, Jerry "King Kong" Korab, Ralph Klassen, Joel Quenneville, Ralph Klassen, Richard Brodeur, and Tom McCarthy.

Charlie: A Hockey Story

Canada may be star struck with all the Hollywood A-Listers visiting Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival these days. But out in Vancouver, there is an interesting alternative for entertainment, especially for the hockey fan.

The 27th annual Vancouver International Fringe Festival runs until September 18th. There are over 600 theatre performances by 80 groups over the 11 days.

One of the most critically acclaimed shows is Charlie: A Hockey Story. Created and performed by Jim Sands, he combines music and storytelling to share the important lesson of forgiveness he learned by exploring the myth and meaning of the life of an uncle he never met. The uncle is none other than Charlie Sands, who from 1933 through 1943 played NHL hockey for the Leafs, Bruins, Canadiens, and Rangers.

During his 12-season career, Charlie met many of hockey’s greatest legends including Foster Hewitt, King Clancy, Eddie Shore and Ace Bailey. He was involved in many key events during a formative decade in hockey history. These included one of the longest games ever played and one of the most violent incidents in all of hockey.

The Vancouver Sun calls it "an appealing hour of rambling storytelling with some nice guitar work at either end, Charlie's legend is well-served by his nephew's gentle patter about the glory days of the NHL."

Plank magazine called it an unexpected treasure.

"This wasn't a superficial play about hockey facts or the heroic journey of small town boy who becomes a star, although there were elements of that, of course. But there was so much more. This is a human story about relationships and perseverance and family and mistakes and triumphs. And I certainly wasn't expecting to hear a comparison between hockey and Shakespeare's plays!"

So if you are in Vancouver this week, head down to the Havana Theatre on Commercial Drive and check it out. If you are not in Vancouver then check out the Charlie Sands Hockey Trivia Challenge.

Interview with Enio Sclisizzi

I love these old newspaper cartoons:

Jim Amodeo of the hockey history blog Hockey Then And Now recently interviewed the man with such a tough name to say that Foster Hewitt just called Jim Enio.

Also, feel free to take the Jim Enio Nickname Quiz

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 14th

1972 - NY Islanders opened their first ever training camp at Peterborough, Ontario.

1979 - Edmonton Oilers sign Charlie Huddy.

1989 - Calgary Flames defeated Soviet team Khimik 4-2 in a pre-season exhibition game in Leningrad.

2000 - Rookies Daniel and Henrik Sedin made their pro hockey debut, as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Swedish team MoDo 5-2 in Game 1 of the NHL Challenge Stockholm 2000. Daniel had a goal and two assists to lead the Canucks against his former team..

Happy Birthday Tom Kurvers, Orest Kindrachuk and Brad Palmer

Visiting Walter Gretzky's Basement

This Day In Hockey History - Sept 13th

1974 - Pittsburgh Penguins acquired right wing Rick Kehoe from Toronto in exchange for left winger Blaine Stoughton and future considerations (John Anderson)

1978 - HHOF inducts Jacques Plante, Marcel Pronovost, Andy Bathgate and builders Sam Pollock, J.P. Bickell and William Thayer Tutt.

1987 - Mario Lemieux scored at 10:07 of the second overtime to give Team Canada a 6-5 win over the Soviet Union in game 2 of the best of 3 Canada Cup finals.

Happy Birthday Emile "Cat" Francis, Dave Reece, Don Simmons, Harry Darragh

Alexander Galimov Dies

While the hockey world and all of Russia mourned the plane crash that took away entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team, there were two miracles that day. Two people on that plane survived the crash.

One was Aleksandr Sizov, part of the flight crew, who at the time of this writing remained in hospital but in stable condition. The other was Alexander Galimov, a long time forward with his hometown team.

The scene of Galimov's discovery, as described by Ellen Barry of the New York Times, is absolutely surreal.

Oleg Smirnov, a police officer, described arriving at the scene moments after the crash to see a man standing in shallow water, tearing off what remained of his flaming T-shirt and saying, “Brothers, help me.”

“At first we thought maybe he was a fisherman who happened to be sitting on the riverbank, and was splashed by burning kerosene,” Officer Smirnov said. The man was already in the ambulance when the officers asked his name, Lt. Dmitri Konoplyov told Komsomolskaya Pravda.

“He whispered, ‘Brothers, I am Galimov,’ ” Lieutenant Konoplyov said.

Approximately 90% of his body was covered by severe burns. Those injuries would claim his life five days later.

Somehow Mr. Galimov seems better off dead than going through the incredible pain he must have been in. But at least he had the opportunity to talk to his father and say good bye before he was induced into a coma. That was a precious opportunity no other player on Yaroslavl had.