Another milestone for Barrasso
Posted: Thursday January 07, 1999 01:30 PM
Pittsburgh goalie Tom Barrasso quietly slipped into 10th place on the NHL
career victory list with No. 336 this week, a milestone that went largely
unnoticed. Unhappily, Barrasso didn't seem to mind one bit. He can
be prickly, and his stormy relationship with the media for much of the
1990s has obscured the fact Barrasso has not only been among the best
goalies but probably the most important innovator at his position since
Jacques Plante started wearing a mask. Barrasso was the first to
handle the puck out of the crease, becoming a kind of third defenseman and
spawning a generation of imitators. Barrasso also picked up an assist this
week, giving him 47 points - a goalie record. Canucks eyeing
Jovanovski The Vancouver Canucks have
talked to Florida about acquiring 1994 No. 1 overall pick Ed Jovanovski in
a package for holdout Pavel Bure. The Panthers, however, are reluctant to
part with the defenseman even though his career has hit a plateau.
Jovanovski, an instinctive rather than a cerebral player, still hangs onto
the puck too long and often makes poor decisions, angering coach Terry
Murray. Of course, Murray has seen it all before. He was an assistant in
Washington when Scott Stevens broke in. Stevens, now with the Devils, is
another defenseman whose game is more emotion than gray matter, and has
long since become one of the most feared hitters in hockey. Florida hopes
Jovanovski will pick up that trail. Turnaround in Montreal
Before Chicago traded him to Montreal in mid-November, defenseman Eric
Weinrich was - in hockey's colorful phrase - winning the green jacket. He
was 14 under - his plus-minus rating was minus 14, worst in the NHL - and
Chicago didn't even dress him on some nights. He is still on the
leaderboard at minus 19, but Weinrich's turnaround in Montreal has been
remarkable. He has gone from civvies on a bad team to becoming a
top defenseman on albeit another bad team, moving the puck well and playing
25 minutes most nights. He has supplanted the talented but indifferent
Vladimir Malakhov as the Canadiens' No. 1.
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