Yeah, that's a hockey commissioner . . . he looks more like Mr. Bean.
Posted on 02/16/2005 10:04:46 AM PST by Loyalist
Gary Bettman makes it official: 2004-05 NHL season has been cancelled.
Damn you.
Yeah, that's a hockey commissioner . . . he looks more like Mr. Bean.
It's a shame, ain't it. Doesn't take away from his greatness, however...
I've heard Don "Grapes" Cherry rib Dryden about being a lib on a Toronto radio station. Hockey Icon Cherry is a conservative who admires President Bush and dares his employers, the ultra-leftist CBC, to fire him because of his right-wing views. ;)
Dryden? Yeah, it's a shame alright. Wasn't he some kind of "scholar"?
Must have been the time his heart and soul was poisoned.
I thought the Flyers' intensity was better -- it was the only thing that kept them close to that awesome Oiler team.
Has there ever been a better front line than Gretsky, Messier and Kurri?
The early 70s Bruins line of Espo, Johnny Bucyk and Wayne Cashman was very prolific as well.
My favorite line however was the 80s NY Islander line of Trottier, Bossy and Clark Gilles who NEVER lost a fight.
Andreychuk should've clobbered the balding dwarf into unconsciousness with the Cup after Bettman handed it to him.
That was a great line at times, but my recollection of the Oilers of that era was that this combination didn't play together like this very often. Gretzky usually centered the first line with Kurri on his right side and Dave Semenko (and later Esa Tikkanen) on his left. Messier centered the second line, playing with Kent Nilsson on left wing and Glenn Anderson on the right.
Edmonton's #1 power play unit was probably the best ever to play in the NHL, as they mixed these players up to create a unit comprised of five current or future Hall of Famers. Messier moved to left wing and played with Gretzky and Anderson up front, and Kurri dropped back to play one of the point positions alongside Paul Coffey.
He scored one goal that year (in his last game), and that convinced him that he was at least good enough to play with those older kids.
As a ten year-old playing in the same league a few years later, he finished the 1971-72 season with 378 goals and 120 assists in 85 games. That's right -- 378 goals in one season. Holy smokes, eh?
You could be right -- that was one awesome PP unit. Almost unstoppable. For a few years even the Oilers' second and third lines were incredibly talented.
For the time of the early 70s though, that Esposito-Bucyk-Cashman-Kew Hodge-Bobby Orr PP was devastating.
I had the pleasure of regularly watching Trottier, Bossy, Clark Gilles, and Dennis Potvin work their magic on TV. For for clutch goals, I never saw a better line than the 2nd/3rd line of Tonnelli-Henning-Bobby Nystrom.
NOTHING aggravates me more than guys who take a huge wind-up then don't get the shot off -- especially point men. Everybody's going for the highlight film slapshot instead of hitting the net ... ESPECIALLY on the power play: there's traffic in front, a low wrist shot at the net is optimum ...
Ahhh, nobody listens ;)
Cam Neely, 50 goals in 50 games, playing injured with a career ending injury, was to me the best pure shooter on ice in his day and he could devastate the tough guy on the other team. His one timer with passes from Oates was so quick that it was difficult to see on replay. The league misses players like Neely.
I see this a lot in college hockey. Lots of big wind-ups, looking for the one-timer from the point, then the shot isn't there so they pass right back to the other point.
The Flyers had a pretty good team with Kerr and Propp providing 80-90 goals a year ... Illka Sinisalo ... Howe, Marsh and McCrimmon on D and Hextall playing the best he would EVER play as a rookie ... Dave Poulin, the leader
I recall that in two of their wins they came from two goals down -- a couple classics at the Spectrum (JJ Daigneault!) ...
Back then, being a Flyer meant something ...
Anyhow, that 7th game they got up a goal in the first couple minutes (Murray Craven?) and had a 2 man PP but failed to convert.
Anderson's clincher might not have been a backhander: I never saw the replay -- just ran up to my room and sulked. ;)
Yea!! for the owners. They stood their ground. Fire them all and bring in a whole new bunch of rookies. I dont see how the NHL recovers from this. Not that I care.
It was Espo, Cashman, and Hodge. I believe one year they all scored 50 goals or more and 100 pts. Bucyk played with McKenzie and Stanfield in this period until McKenzie went to the WHA.
THEN they are the ones who get the shot off and you're standing in front of the net and teh puck whistles past your ear! ;)
Those are stats for a team!
4.5 goals PP. Another 1.5 Assists. Unreal.
Watching the Great One skating around for the Rangers was bitter-sweet, but better late than never.
You wonder how he would have fared in the old grind it out days when they'd take your legs away from you a la Bobby Orr....
The Oilers 2nd line was faster than the 1st.
Pretty close in '70-'71
BTW, that (hockeydb.com) is an amazing site for stats on all levels of hockey going back decades!
Averaged well over 5 goals a game ... fricking CHARLIE HUDDY scored 20 goals!
They changed that rule because of Gretsky.
4-on-4 the Oilers were killing the opposition!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.