From doghouse to get outta my house
Posted: Monday November 16, 1998 07:40 PM
The Montreal
Canadiens-Chicago
Blackhawks three-for-three trade Monday should have been sanctioned by
the kennel club. Both struggling teams unloaded players who had slipped
into the doghouse. Chicago coach Dirk Graham had soured on Eric Weinrich, a
useful defenseman most of his career, and Jeff Hackett, who ranks 37th of
39 NHL goalies (through Sunday). In Montreal, goalie Jocelyn Thibault had
collapsed under the weight of expectations and had been nudged out of the
top job by Jose Theodore, warhorse Dave Manson was continually putting his
team in trouble with bad penalties, and rookie defenseman Brad Brown never
won over the coaches as they expect incoming rookie Alain Nasreddine can.
The trade sets up the possibility of a future deal for both clubs, a trade
involving Toronto goalie Felix Potvin. The Maple Leafs have had trouble
trading the high-priced backup, not because Potvin can't help some team,
but because the rich free-agent goalies of last summer have not made any
significant differences so far. Neither John Vanbiesbrouck in Philadelphia,
Curtis Joseph, who supplanted Potvin in Toronto, nor Mike Richter, back
with the New York
Rangers, has been special. The early stars have been retreads like
Arturs Irbe in Carolina and shutout leader Tommy Salo of the New York Islanders or
untested goalies like Nashville's Mike Dunham and Manny Legace of Los
Angeles. There has been a reluctance to invest millions in Potvin when the
solution might be sitting at the end of your own bench.
Detroit's Sergei Fedorov has been a pale imitation of the forward who
dazzled hockey following his return to the Red Wings after the Olympics
last winter. The Nike poster boy has gone so far as to grouse about his
company's equipment - notably his new sticks. Of course the real problem
isn't equipment but a shoulder injury. Fedorov simply can't shoot the puck.
He has taken half the shots of teammate Brendan Shanahan and fewer than
even utility Wings forward Doug Brown. Coach Scotty Bowman told me he is
considering resting Fedorov for a game or two this week to let the shoulder
heal.
The Colorado
Avalanche traded Keith Jones to Philadelphia last week for third-line
winger Shjon Podein, not only because the Avalanche thought Jones lacked
the speed necessary to play on one of its top two lines (and the defensive
skill to play on the third) but also because he had been among the most
vocal of the players who had complained about general manager Pierre
Lacroix's son, Eric, since traded to Los Angeles. Not that the deal exactly
hurts Jones. The right wing will get some quality time with Eric Lindros
and John LeClair and has a better chance of reaching the Stanley Cup final
with the Flyers in the weaker Eastern Conference.
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