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Let the games begin
Wednesday night marks league's 85th season
Posted: Monday October 01, 2001 9:43 PM
By Jon A. Dolezar, CNNSI.com
The NHL kicks off its 85th season Wednesday night with three games on the slate. The defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche play the Pittsburgh Penguins in a matchup of offensive firepower. In Toronto, the Maple Leafs play host to the Ottawa Senators in a meeting of Eastern Conference playoff teams from a year ago. And in Calgary, the Flames entertain the Oilers in the Battle of Alberta.
Hockey is returning after a three-month layoff and an unusually busy offseason that saw many big-name stars change teams in blockbuster deals. Dominik Hasek's mail is now being delivered in Detroit, Jaromir Jagr is counting his Capital gains in Washington and the league’s best
soap opera ended when Eric Lindros was finally granted his freedom and traded to the New York Rangers.
So ready yourself for another thrilling hockey season with the first edition of CNNSI.com’s NHL Week at a Glance.
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Ilya communication
This rookie ain’t no Beastie Boy. And he’s got more moves than Mike D, Ad Rock and MCA have rhymes. After getting criticized for not getting enough for Donald Audette at the trade deadline last season, pardon Thrashers GM Don Waddell if he puffs out his chest a bit at the start of the regular season. Waddell fended off trade offers with a stick and used the No. 1 pick to take 18-year-old Russian right wing Ilya Kovalchuk.
So what kind of player did he get? Think a bigger Pavel Bure with a right-handed shot. High praise? Sure. A stretch? Not at all.
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Jurassic Park IV
Make no (old) bones about it, Red Wings management feel now is the time for Hockeytown to win another Cup.
General manager Ken Holland went all out in the offseason by trading for Dominik Hasek and signing snipers Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille. None of these three will be confused as a fresh-faced youngster, but their grit and playoff experience should help Detroit once the calendar turns to May and June. The one worry facing
Scotty Bowman is depth. After the almost unbelievably strong top two lines, the Red Wings have a serious deficiency on their third and fourth lines. The window of opportunity is narrow for the Wings, but this team has a Cup-hoisting feel about it.
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Youth is served
The influx of teens and early twentysomethings into the NHL isn’t a new pattern, but this year’s rookie crop looks to be exceptionally strong.
Flyers right wing Pavel Brendl has enjoyed a strong preseason and could end up on the Flyers' third line with fellow Czechs Jiri Dopita and Jan Hlavac. Czech native and Blue Jackets defenseman Rostislav Klesla could be a future top-five defenseman in the NHL.
Avs center Vaclav Nedorost was born five days before Klesla in the Czechoslovakia and could be among his chief competition as the top rookie. Colorado isn't afraid to play rookies, as evidenced by the success of Milan Hejduk, Chris Drury and Alex Tanguay in recent years.
Other youngsters who could play significant roles at some point this season include: Penguins center Kris Beech, Sharks defenseman Jeff Jillson, Penguins defenseman Andrew Ference, Flames right wing Chuck Kobasew, Devils right wing Pierre Dagenais, Panthers left wing Kristian Huselius, Canadiens center Mike Ribeiro, Thrashers right wing Dany Heatley and Maple Leafs center Jeff Farkas.
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Everybody Wang Chung tonight
Computer magnate Charles Wang and his co-owner Sanjay Kumar have the Island dancing in anticipation for the coming season. After many years of shopping at thrift stores, the Isles have stepped into the 21st Century with a good idea of what it takes to win. Money. And then some more money.
New York’s payroll has more than doubled in the 18 months since Wang and Kumar purchased the team. Mike Milbury’s trade-happy ways netted two legitimate star centers in Alexei Yashin and Michael Peca, and the acquisition of Chris Osgood in the waiver draft was brilliant, as well.
If the owners are willing to shell out the green, Milbury would’ve been foolish not to take a chance on Ozzie. Liberated from the shadows of the Dominator in Detroit, Osgood gets a second chance as a starter on Long Island. After all, 28-year-old goalies who have 221 wins and a career 2.40 GAA aren't easy to come by.
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 Colorado @  Pittsburgh -- Wednesday Oct. 3, 8 p.m.
The Cup champs visit Mario's igloo on opening night in a matchup of power-play prowess. The Avs have a very different look to their lineup without Peter Forsberg, Ray Bourque and injured Adam Foote, but the Pens will look really different without No. 68 in black and gold. Youngster Kris Beech will contribute as a rookie, but Lemieux really needs to lift the play of eroding linemates Kevin Stevens and Stephane Richer. |
 New Jersey @  Washington -- Saturday Oct. 6, 7 p.m. EDT
What a week to be a D.C. sports fan. Well, other than that crummy football team with the obnoxious owner, of course. But Michael and Jaromir. His Airness and the Czech Mate. The nation's capital will be buzzing for the Caps' home opener against the defending Eastern Conference champs. |
 Buffalo @  N.Y. Rangers -- Sunday Oct. 7, 7 p.m. EDT
Eric's first Garden party comes against the scrappy boys from upstate. Lindy Ruff is counting on Martin Biron to hold the fort in goal with Hasek in Motown, but the big worry is who is going to score after the first two lines. Young center Tim Connolly, acquired in the Peca deal, looked great in the preseason and could develop into a 50-point third-line player this season.
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Plus: Peter Forsberg
The world's most talented two-way player deserves praise, not ridicule, for walking away. Our bet is that he's back by Jan. 1, 2002, so that he can be in shape in time to play for the Three Crowns in Salt Lake City. |
Minus: Jason Allison
His talent is undeniable, but so is his attitude. Has better offensive numbers than Martin Lapointe, but his defense is nowhere near as
solid, making his request for $3 million more per
season than Lapointe look downright silly.
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Plus: Pierre LaCroix
Could make some good money by bottling his secret and selling it to other GMs once he retires. Always makes a shrewd move at the deadline to ready for a playoff push and was nothing short of genius in getting Sakic, Blake and Roy re-signed this summer.
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Minus: Roman Turek
Let us be the first to welcome you to mediocrity. As a reward for your playoff nosedive, you get to backstop a porous defense. No
Chris Pronger or Al MacInnis to help clear out the
slot. Turek has a .648 career winning percentage, but will be lucky to approach .500 with the Flames this season.
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Plus: Adam Graves
One of the game's true good guys, Graves will likely enjoy a career renaissance out West. Skating on a line with fellow veterans Teemu
Selanne and Vincent Damphousse can't hurt his chances. |
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"The Rangers have been pushed around for four years
now. We're not going to let anybody take cheap shots at our star players. Other teams have ways of evening that out and we're going to have to do the same. Eric is not going to get hurt with a hit unless you throw elbows. ... I thought what Garth did was needless. We're trying to avoid contact with the goaltender and for him to throw the elbow I thought was brutal."
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-- Rangers head coach Ron Low after Islanders goalie
Garth Snow took a cheap shot at Lindros in a preseason game.
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"We've become younger, faster and deeper, and we will
continue to develop our young players and get stronger each year. We have a good blueprint in place, and we plan on sticking with it. We will build this team into a champion." |
-- Coyotes owner Wayne Gretzky on the task of rebuilding his team. |
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Grabbing a good goalie is the key to fantasy hockey. If you don’t grab a top-flight goalie in the first two rounds, you will likely get stuck with a middle-of-the-road goaltender on a mediocre team.
After Hasek, Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Olaf Kolzig and Curtis Joseph go in the first round, the second and third rounds are likely to see a flurry of 8-10 more goalies selected. So if you don’t grab a star netminder early, you may have to settle for a young, unproven player like St. Louis’ Brent Johnson or Florida’s Roberto Luongo. Click here for the goaltender ratings. And it’s not too late to sign up for CNNSI.com’s fantasy hockey game.
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It’s finally about hockey again. After a trying
18-month saga, Eric Lindros finally got his wish in August and was dealt from the Flyers. Lindros enjoyed a decent preseason with the Rangers, though much of his time was spent dodging elbows and hard checks. Eric the Great will be tested by nearly every team in the early going, as coaches and GMs around the league are eager to see if his big body can stand up to the physical pounding of the NHL after nearly 18 months away.
Follow Lindros' progress all season long here.
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| This week's topic: Which team could be the most improved this season? |
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