 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Notebook Hasek, Bowman may consider retirement after Cup finalsPosted: Tuesday June 11, 2002 8:02 PMDETROIT (AP) -- There has been season-long speculation that Detroit coach Scotty Bowman and goaltender Dominik Hasek may retire if the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup. Winning would end Hasek's career-long quest for his first Stanley Cup, while winning a ninth Cup would break Bowman's tie with Toe Blake for the NHL record. Bowman had little to say about the subject Tuesday, but might have said a lot in doing so. Hasek said a lot, but really said only a little. During a discussion about the NHL's labor situation, Bowman said he expects "big changes" once the league's labor agreement with its players ends following the 2003-04 season. Asked how the changes would affect him, Bowman said, "I won't be around and I'm not concerned." Bowman is the league's oldest coach at 68, so he would be 70 if he stayed around for two more seasons. However, it is conceivable he may decide that winning a record ninth Stanley Cup would be the perfect way to end the career of the winningest coach in league history. Hasek is one of the best goalies in NHL history, winning six Vezina trophies as the best goaltender and two MVP awards. But he would be 38 next season and may want to go out at the top of his game if the Red Wings win. "Let's wait until we play the last game and we can start talking about it," Hasek said. "I haven't come to a decision yet because, like I said, there's still some hockey to be played." The Red Wings have won three straight games to lead Carolina 3-1 in the Stanley Cup finals. They can close out the Hurricanes by winning Game 5 Thursday night in Detroit.
Contract workBowman was asked if he expects the Red Wings, with the oldest roster in the league, to lean as heavily on their older players again next year. "There's no focus on next year at all, whether you come back or not," Bowman said. "I couldn't even tell you what players have contracts and what players don't have contracts. "That's for another department to look after, signing players."
Not the retiring typeIgor Larionov is the oldest player in the league at 41, yet has been the Red Wings' most productive player with three goals in two games. Larionov credits his diet with helping him remain productive at an age when many players have long since gone off to other pursuits. "Oatmeal in the morning, and fresh fruit and vegetables, salads, salmon or fish, chicken, pasta and steak, but maybe only once or twice a month," he said. Once he turned 40, however, he allowed himself one indulgence. "Every night, I drank two glasses of wine," he said. "When I turned 40, I started to drink 2 1/2."
Ratings gameABC's telecast of Game 3 Saturday night drew a 3.3 national rating -- low by prime-time TV standards but a three percent increase from last year's Game 3 between Colorado and New Jersey. The Red Wings-Hurricanes Game 3 was played on Saturday night, traditionally the lowest-rated TV night of the week, while the Avalanche-Devils Game 3 was on a Thursday. The 5,482,462 total viewers for this year's Game 3 makes it the most-watched Stanley Cup Game 3 since at least 1994. Monday night's Game 4 had a 3.5 national household, a 52 percent increase from last year's 2.3 rating for Game 4, which was played on a Saturday night.
BBC-U-LaterFor now, the BBC is off the air. After getting 14 goals in the first two playoff series from the BBC line of Rod Brind'Amour, Bates Battaglia and Erik Cole, Carolina coach Paul Maurice broke them up during Monday night's 3-0 loss to Detroit in Game 4. With only one goal from the line in the last two series, Cole understands why the change was made. "I don't think our coaching staff has to justify any changes that they make to us," Cole said Tuesday. "They've done a great job through the playoffs of pushing the right buttons and finding the right combinations out there. They will continue to make changes how they see fit. It's up to us to go out and play." Battaglia was shifted to the Ron Francis line, while the slumping Sami Kapanen, with only one goal in 22 games, went on the BBC line. Notes: The Red Wings have won their last six Stanley Cup finals road games. ... Detroit last won a Stanley Cup at home in 1997. The next four years, the Stanley Cup winner clinched on the road: Detroit at Washington in 1998, Dallas at Buffalo in 1999 and New Jersey at Dallas in 2000. Colorado won at home in Game 7 against New Jersey last year as defenseman Ray Bourque finally won the cup after trying since 1979 to win it. Coincidentally, Bourque attended Game 4 of the Red Wings-Hurricanes series in Raleigh, N.C., on Monday night. |
|
|||||||||
| |||||||||||
