Stanley Cup Notebook

Battered Yzerman among Conn Smythe possibilities

DETROIT (AP) -- The Conn Smythe trophy is presented to the most valuable player of the NHL playoffs and is traditionally awarded to a player on the Stanley Cup-winning team.

Rarely has the field been more wide open than this year, with some talk that it should be Colorado forward Peter Forsberg, easily the leading scorer during the first three rounds.

If it is a Red Wings player, the winner might not be decided until the decisive game.

The choices include Brett Hull, who has scored key goals in each of the last two games and leads all playoff scorers with 10 goals; defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who rarely leave the ice; goalie Dominik Hasek, who has a record six playoff shutouts; Sergei Fedorov, whose skating has created many of Detroit's scoring chances; and Steve Yzerman, the captain and Detroit's leading scorer.

"Can Peter Forsberg still win it?" Red Wings forward Brendan Shanahan said. "That doesn't happen too often, does it? I don't think we're worrying about that stuff, honestly. I mean, that hasn't entered anyone's mind and it's not our job to be focused on that, and so we won't be."

About to join exclusive company

Former New York Islanders defenseman Ken Morrow is the only NHL player to win an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same season.

One more victory by the Detroit Red Wings, and that number will quickly swell to three as Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman join the list.

Of course, an asterisk might be in order; they would be long-established stars when they accomplished the trick, one made possible by the inclusion of NHL players into the Olympics in 1998.

Morrow's challenge was much greater. He went from being a relatively unknown amateur hockey player to being a key member of the 1980 United States 'Miracle on Ice' team to playing an important role with the Islanders in only a matter of months.

Yzerman and Shanahan played for Canada's gold medal team in Salt Lake City in February before resuming the NHL season.

"For the Stanley Cup, you build a team and sometimes that takes years and years and years," Shanahan said, comparing the two experiences. "That just happened in one year. ... The Olympics are more like a sprint. This is more like a marathon."

Detour to Detroit Metro

Some Detroit streets may close and police will be on alert in anticipation of a Stanley Cup-clinching victory by the Red Wings on Thursday night.

"It should make it a lot easier getting to the airport," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said.

Paying the price for winning

Several Red Wings stars, most notably Hasek and Hull, took pay cuts this season for the opportunity to play in Detroit and chase the Stanley Cup.

If they can win one more game, the payoff will be more than just a Stanley Cup ring and a victory lap around Joe Louis Arena while holding the Cup.

Hull gets a $75,000 bonus if he leads playoff goal scorers and another $75,000 if Detroit wins the Stanley Cup.

Hasek's playoff is even bigger, a $1 million bonus for winning the Cup -- not quite in the range of Fedorov's $12 million playoff bonus of several years ago, but not bad.

Yzerman, who would collect $150,000, and Shanahan, Lidstrom and Chris Chelios, who would get $100,000 each, also have Stanley Cup championship bonus clauses.

The Detroit News pointed out that on Hull's tying goal late in the third period of Game 3, the six Red Wings players on the ice (Hull, Lidstrom, Fedorov, Yzerman, Shanahan and Hasek) will make $35.5 million this season, or more than Carolina's $33 million payroll.

Body by Fischer

Detroit defenseman Jiri Fischer, an important player throughout the playoffs, must sit out what could be a decisive Game 5 Thursday night.

He's not happy about his one-game suspension for cross-checking Carolina forward Tommy Westlund in the mouth, causing considerable bleeding.

"At the split second, really all I meant to do was push him out of the way," Fischer said Wednesday of the third-period incident in Game 4 Monday. "Unfortunately, though, I hit him in the mouth and it wasn't an intentional injury.

"I didn't mean to do it, but it happened. There's a lot of things that happen during the game -- and I'm not whining -- but I can't control it now."

From the penalties given for such infractions during the season, Fischer knew that by putting his stick to Westlund's face, he was risking a penalty or suspension.

"Everybody wants to do their job to the best of their abilities," Fischer said. "That's why it's even harder, I think, not being able to be a part of it on Thursday, however the outcome."

Will he -- and will she?

Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican can become an unrestricted free agent after this season, though he has talked about wanting to return to the Hurricanes.

Some fans want his wife to come back just as much.

Hedican is married to figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, who plans to quit skating and cut out much of her frequent traveling to spend more time with her husband. Some Hurricanes fans are eager to see her stay, if only to help provide a celebrity presence in the Raleigh area.

Currently, the couple spends the offseason -- as short as it is -- in San Francisco, where she grew up, and Brainerd, Minn., near Hedican's hometown.

Notes: Some teams don't love a parade. In the past -- such as a year ago, when Colorado rallied from a 3-2 deficit to beat New Jersey -- teams spoke of being motivated when an opponent's victory parade plans were discussed. That shouldn't be a problem this year, as both Raleigh and Detroit already have plans in the works for Stanley Cup celebrations. ... Shanahan and Yzerman can join defenseman Ken Morrow as the only players to win an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same year. Morrow joined the New York Islanders shortly after the United States' 1980 Miracle on Ice victory in Lake Placid. Shanahan and Yzerman played for Canada in Salt Lake City. ... Kirk Maltby of the Red Wings on one reason why Hasek is such a good goalie: "He even hates to be scored upon in practice." ... Ten Red Wings also played on their 1997 and 1998 Stanley Cup-winning teams. ... The Hurricanes have only three goals in the last three games, and none in six-plus periods since Jeff O'Neill scored to put them ahead 2-1 in the third period of Detroit's three-overtime victory in Game 3.

 

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