Washington Capitals Legends

Bob Babcock

2011-12-16T22:39:00.000-08:00

There was no mistaking Bashing Bobby Babcock's role on the ice. After all, he went from 1987 to 1993 without scoring a goal in the OHL, AHL or in his only two career games in the NHL. In that same 225-plus game span Babcock picked up over 800 minutes in penalties, most of them very aggressive in nature.

As a member of the Washington Capitals Babcock played in one game in each of the 1990-91 and 1992-93 season. The Agincourt, Ontario native picked up no points and just a single minor penalty in that time.

A broken leg in 1993 was the beginning of the end for Babcock's career on the ice.

Michel Belhumeur

2011-10-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

October 23rd, 1974. Washington goaltender Michel Belhumeur stops not one but two(!) penalty shots in the same game. He stopped both of Chicago's Jim Pappin and Stan Mikita. Yet despite the two big saves, somehow the Capitals lost that game 3-2 to Chicago.

Washington lost a lot of games that year. 67 of them in total. They won just 8, and tied 5. They were one of the worst teams in NHL history. They were so bad that when the season mercifully ended the players celebrated by hoisting an aluminum garbage can as if it was the Stanley Cup.

Washington, an expansion franchise, had hope Belhumeur could be their go-to goalie in their inaugural season. He had previously wallowed in the Philadelphia Flyers organization, buried in the minor leagues while Bernie Parent was leading the Broad Street Bullies to the Stanley Cup. Belhumeur toiled in the minor leagues mostly, playing for the Quebec Aces and Richmond Robins.

The Caps grabbed Belhumeur for the 1974-75 season, but let's just say it did not work out too well. Belhumeur's personal record was 0-24-3 in 35 games - a NHL record for most games played in season without a victory. He had a GAA of bloated 5.36. Ron Low, the other Washington goalie, won all 8 games for the Caps, but his record of 8-36-2 is nearly as horrific. But don't blame the puck stoppers. The goalies had no chance with that poor Washington team in front of them.

Belhumeur returned the next season for 7 more games (0-5-1) before disappearing to the minor leagues until he retired in 1979.

By the way, Belhumeur did get to taste victory in the National Hockey League. He did pick up 9 wins in 23 games with the Flyers in 1972-73.

Interestingly, before Belhumeur left Philadelphia he actually sued the Flyers. He was a minor league call up for the 1974 playoffs. His role was a practice/emergency goalie, but he never dressed for a game even as back up. Still, Belhumeur felt he deserved to get paid for his contributions. The issue was settled out of court.

Sylvain Cote

2011-08-14T22:56:00.000-07:00

How good of a prospect was Sylvain Cote? In his last year of junior he was named as an all star and the top defenseman in the entire QMJHL even though he played in only 26 games!

Drafted 11th overall in 1984, Cote was a naturally gifted skater right from an early age. To this day many will argue he put on the best showing of any player at Quebec's famous pee-wee international tournament, with none other than Guy Lafleur also getting a lot of support.

Cote grew up playing minor hockey in the same neighborhoods as Mario Lemieux. The two were clearly the best prospects in Quebec by their draft day. Of course everyone knows all about what Mario Lemieux accomplished in the NHL. But not many people remember Sylvain Cote, which is somehow par for the course as he inexplicably flew under the radar much of his NHL career.

Though he started his career with 6 seasons with the Whalers, he blossomed in Washington where he played in two stints for over 9 seasons. The Caps were deep on the blue line back then, with the likes of Kevin Hatcher, Calle Johansson and Al Iafrate stealing much of the spotlight. Cote settled in nicely behind Hatcher as the 2nd pairing right defender, quietly providing solid play at both ends of the ice.

Offensively he was highly underrated, except in 1992-93 when he tallied 21 goals. The Capitals set a NHL record that season with three defensemen topping the 20 goal mark with Hatcher and Iafrate also reaching the mark.

Cote had a strong and accurate shot, making him a perfect candidate to take a lot of power play minutes. At regular strength he was a strong skater and carried the puck well under pressure. He was also a confident breakout passer. But after his big breakout campaign in 1992-93, Cote took more of a two-way role, allowing others to concentrate more on the offensive side of the ice.

Defensively Cote improved over the course of his career into a very solid and capable defender, although he was always best suited on the 2nd pairing. Not unlike most defensemen it took him a few years to really be able to process the offensive attack heading his way. The league's best superstars, namely Lemieux, could exploit Cote from time to time.

He was not very big (5'11" and 185lbs) but was a solid hitter who finished his checks, though with no malice.

All in all Sylvain Cote was a solid NHL citizen for 1171 NHL games. He scored 122 goals and 313 assists for 435 points. He added another 11 goals and 33 points in 102 playoff games, but he never did get a chance to sip champagne from Lord Stanley's Mug.

A passionate fisherman, Sylvain Cote later opened his own fishing charter business in Maryland.

Lou Franceschetti

2011-07-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

Lou Franceschetti made himself a good living as a hard working third or fourth line player His game was based on total heart and dedication, not necessarily skill.

"I was somebody that was going to go out and create a little bit of energy for your teammates, create a little bit of havoc and just want to keep the other guys on the other team honest at all times knowing that when I was out there I was there to make things happen and the game could get a little physical," he said.

Franceschetti was drafted 71st overall in the 1978 Amateur Draft by the Washington Capitals, the team he spent the majority of his career with. More accurately he split most of his career between the American capital and the American league. In fact he spent 3 full seasons in the minor league level before finally getting a shot at a taste of NHL life in 1981-82, when he appeared in 30 games. But Lou would spend most of his season in the minors. The next three seasons were almost carbon copies of 1981-82. Solid minor league season hi-lighted with a peppering of NHL action.

Lou finally made the Caps on a full time basis in 1984-85 when the 6' 200lb right winger participated in 76 NHL games. He would be a mainstay on Washington's right wing for the next three seasons with the exception of 16 minor league games. He was never much of a goal scorer or playmaker, but he was a fan favorite as they loved to chant his name. He was a valued fourth line plumber, which is quite fitting considering he supplemented his minor league income by working as a plumber during the off-seasons.

In the summer of 1989 the Caps traded Franceschetti to Toronto in exchange for a draft pick. Lou surprisingly exploded in his first season with the Leafs, scoring 21 goals and 36 points, both career highs, in 80 games.

Lou would be traded to Buffalo 16 games into the 1990-91 season, but he struggled terribly with the Sabres, scoring just once in 35 games. To make matters worse, Lou faced the pressure of knowing the Sabres traded Mike Foligno - one of the all-time favourites in Buffalo in order to get him and defenseman Brian Curran.

Aside from 1 game during the 1991-92 season with Buffalo, Lou would played 5 years of minor league hockey before retiring in 1996. He would later become involved in Roller Hockey International, including competing for the Buffalo Stampede and Buffalo Wings.

Lou played hard and with good speed. His determination and willingness to sacrifice impressed all. He used his body effectively as he hit purposefully rather than recklessly. A good and willing fighter, Lou left the NHL with career totals of 59 goals and 141 points in 459 regular season games.

Pete Laframbois

2011-03-21T21:35:00.000-07:00

This is Pete Laframboise. Check out those, umm...colorful California Golden Seals sweaters.

Laframboise spent a couple of seasons in Oakland, remembered best for a 4 goal outburst in an 11-3 whitewashing of the Vancouver Canucks on January 3rd, 1973. He was described as a talented player who did not apply himself often enough. A likeable teammate known for his constant joking around, he was known to enjoy himself a bit too much off the ice, undoubtedly affecting his play on more than a few nights.

As a result he bounced around the league after leaving Oakland. He briefly appeared in Washington, Pittsburgh and, in the WHA, Edmonton.

In 227 NHL games Pete Laframboise scored 33 goals, 55 assists and 88 points.

Dave Kryskow

2011-03-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

How is this for hockey's worst hair cut?

That's Dave Kryskow. He bounced around the NHL and WHA in the 1970s, playing with Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, and Detroit in the NHL and Calgary and Winnipeg in the WHA. When all was said and done, Dave nicely competed in 231 NHL games and 116 WHA contests.

Dave was actually a pretty high draft pick, 26th overall in 1971, selected ahead of players such as Bill Hajt and John Garrett. But for whatever reason he never panned out in Chicago, even though as a rookie in 1973 he scored goals in two different games of the Stanley Cup finals. The Blackhawks left him unprotected in the 1974 NHL expansion draft.

The Washington Capitals made Kryskow their first forward selected in the expansion draft. He played just one season in Washington. His claim to fame is a good trivia question. He was the first Washington Capital player to score a shorthanded goal in franchise history.

That wasn't enough, as three-quarters of the way through the season he was traded to Detroit. He must have lived out of a suitcase because he never stayed in one place very long.

Kryskow, a junior scoring star, survived in big league hockey in a defensive role. And he had to try doing that on a series of poor defensive teams.

Joe Reekie

2011-03-12T14:15:00.000-08:00

Always underrated in my books, Joe Reekie was one of the best kept secrets in the National Hockey League.

Originally Drafted 128th overall in the 1983 Entry Draft by Hartford, Reekie re-entered the Draft in 1985 and was taken 119th overall by Buffalo. The big, aggressive Reekie would appear in 104 games over 4 years with the Sabres. He was already developing a reputation for an uncanny sense of perfect defensive position that was usually reserved for veterans. However a serious knee injury really slowed his progress, as it cost him most of the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons.

The Sabres traded Reekie to the New York Islanders prior to the 1989-90 season where he would play 3 seasons mostly in the National Hockey League. In that time he quietly impressed as a penalty kill regular. His combined +45 rating over three years convinced the Tampa Bay Lightning to select him in the 1993 expansion draft.

Reekie would spend almost two seasons in the Florida sunshine before finding a home in Washington. From 1994 to 2002 Reekie served as a top four defender. He was often used against the other team's top players because of his strength and seemingly flawless defensive positioning. He was smart and tough, although that brought inevitable injuries that slowed him. Regardless, he always played with a subtle savvy that I always admired, as well as with a tough and physical, yet clean, presence.

The highlight of Reekie's career came in 1998 when he was a big part of the Capitals march into the Stanley Cup finals. Unfortunately the Detroit Red Wings handled the Capitals to deny Reekie a Stanley Cup championship

Reekie was traded on January 17th, 2002 to Chicago for Petr Dvorak, and would finish his 17 year career following the 2001-02 season.

When all was said and done Joe Reekie had participated in 902 NHL matches, scoring 25 goals and 139 assists for 164 career points. He added 3 more goals and 7 more points in 54 Stanley Cup contests. Impressive numbers? No. But every coach in the league wish they had a dependable defender like Joe Reekie on their blue line.

Rolf Edberg

2011-02-27T17:03:00.000-08:00

Rolf :The Rat" Edberg came to the NHL with terrific credentials. He was a standout with AIK Solna 8 years in the Swedish Elite League. He also starred in two World Championships.

After being named as the best player in all of Sweden following the 1977-78 season, the Washington Capitals won the Rolf Edberg free agent sweepstakes. never drafted by a NHL team, Edberg received several offers from the NHL, WHA and Sweden.

Edberg's first season was good, though not great. He chipped in 14 goals and 41 points and was solid in his own zone. He also played extremely cleanly, picking up just 3 minor penalties.

In 1979-80 Rolf took a positive step forward, upping his numbers up to 23 goals and 46 points. But in 1980-81, Rolf had a season he'd like to forget.

It started out with Rolf being demoted to almost nothing but penalty killing duty. Then he severely hurt his back. Upon his return he was placed on a top line with Bengt Gustafsson and Dennis Ververgaert. The line clicked immediately, but the excitement was short lived. Edberg suffered his second serious injury of the season - a broken jaw courtesy of Phil Russell.

Edberg's contract ran out at the completion of the 1980-81 season, and he apparantly had had enough. Edberg returned to Sweden where he finished his career.

Darren Veitch

2011-02-23T20:26:00.000-08:00

Paul Coffey, one of the greatest offensive defensemen in NHL history was selected 6th overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He was the 4th defenseman taken. Ahead of him were long time NHL battlers Dave Babych and Larry Murphy and some guy named Darren Veitch.

Darren who?

Veitch's journey through the NHL and the minor leagues began in the Montreal Forum at the '80 draft.

The Montreal Canadiens had just drafted centre Doug Wickenheiser from the Western Hockey League's Regina Pats. Veitch, Wickenheiser's teammate in Regina, was an all-star defenceman also waiting to go high.

The Winnipeg Jets next picked Babych from Portland of the WHL. Third up was a little centre from the Quebec League's Montreal Jr. Canadiens named Denis Savard. Chicago drafted him.

Drafting fourth overall, Los Angeles chose Murphy from the Ontario Hockey League's Peterborough Petes.

Finally, with the fifth overall pick, the Capitals chose Veitch, who led the WHL in assists with 93 in 71 games, and a total of 122 points. The Oilers then selected Paul Coffey directly after after Veitch.

Coffey, Murphy and Savard appear destined for the Hall of Fame. Dave Babych also had a splendid career. Veitch had a steady if unspectacular career, posting 48 goals, 209 assists, 296 penalty minutes in 511 career games with Washington, Detroit and Toronto from 1980 to '91. But needless to say, aside from that one draft day in Montreal, he was never in the same class of player as those stars.

The Washington Capitals, starting in the 1980s anyways, have long be known as a franchise with a fetish for standout defensemen, although they demand their defensemen be very solid in their own zone and durable. They had acquired the likes of Rod Langway, Brian Engblom, Larry Murphy, Scott Stevens and Kevin Hatcher to a name a few.

It was hoped Veitch would be a big part of of the Capitals, and it started out promising. He had a heavy right handed shot from the point and became a fixture on the powerplay In his second season he scored 9 goals and 53 points.

His career would be forever changed following an early season game in 1982 against the Vancouver Canucks. Veitch missed the rest of the season and part of the following season recovering from a serious collarbone injury.

With Veitch injured and slow to return to form when he did come back, the Capitals took measures to acquire a top offensive rearguard fearing that Veitch would never be the same. They went out and acquired one of the best d-men in the game in Larry Murphy.

Veitch struggled to regain his status in Washington once he did return. He did fully recover from the collarbone injury, and did improve his defensive game, but he fell down the depth chart. At the very best he was the 4th but often was on the 3rd pairing and received less ice time.

Because of these circumstances, it would be wrong to say Veitch was a first round draft pick bust. He was actually quite serviceable even if he never reached the high expectations placed upon him.

Veitch was moved to Detroit in exchange for a couple of more typical 5th and 6th defensemen in John Barrett and Greg Smith. In Detroit Veitch had a chance to return to his offensive game, and he did not disappoint as he posted career highs in 1986-87 with 13 goals and 58 points, while being a respectable +14. He was solid but never a bonafide true offensive leader.

Veitch played with the Wings until 1988 when he was sent to Toronto for the erratic Mirko Frycer. Veitch however played sparingly for the Leafs and actually spent more time in the minor leagues than in the NHL.
Veitch's last NHL appearance came in 1990-91, but he continued to play hockey until 1999. He appeared in the AHL, IHL and WCHL and briefly in Germany.

Rod Langway

2011-01-09T19:39:00.001-08:00

Rod Langway was the prototypical defensive blueliner - a hard hitter who more often than not cleared the puck from danger. In other words he was a goaltender’s best friend, and the perfect team player.

Craig Laughlin described his former teammate in awe.

“Rod’s presence made a statement to all the other teams. Nobody wanted to play against him when he was in his prime. The statement that I heard most from opponents was that he was like playing against an octopus. He had the size, the reach and the strength.”

Few were better than Langway. He was so good that he won the James Norris Trophy twice, in 1983 and 1984 as the league’s top defenceman. This is an amazing accomplishment when you consider how rare it is for a defensive d-man to win the award since the arrival of Bobby Orr in the late 1960s. Since Orr revolutionized the role of a defenseman from defender to attacker, the trophy almost always went to the best offensive defenseman. For Langway to capture the Norris trophy twice based on his defensive excellence and not his offensive elements is the best tribute to how good he was. And to make it even more impressive, Langway beat out superstars Ray Bourque, Denis Potvin and Paul Coffey. Coffey in particular dared to come close to Orr's offensive exploits, yet the NHL recognized Langway's great play over that. Langway was also the first American player to win the award.

The Montreal Canadiens drafted Langway 37th overall in 1977 after his final year of college. Langway attended the University of New Hampshire where he was on a football scholarship. But hockey soon took over as his love and scouts were noticing him. Rod left school after his sophomore year as he felt he was ready for the professional ranks. The Habs actually urged him to stay in school and develop more as the Habs were in the midst of a dynasty and already boasted a blueline that included Larry Robinson, Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe.

Langway spent some time in the American Hockey League and with Birmingham of the World Hockey Association before joining Montreal for the 1978-79 season. In his first year in the NHL, he recorded seven points in 45 games and was a member of the Canadiens’ Stanley Cup championship squad.

In his first full season in the NHL with Montreal, 1979-80, Langway scored seven goals and 36 points in 77 games. The following year he set career-highs in goals (11), assists (34) and points (45) and in 1981-82 he notched 39 points.

After four years with the Habs, Langway was part of a blockbuster deal prior to the 1982-83 season that sent the veteran defenceman along with Craig Laughlin, Doug Jarvis and Brian Engblom to the Caps for Ryan Walter and Rick Green. The deal is often considered to be one of the worst trades in Montreal history, mainly because of the level of greatness Langway would achieve in a Washington uniform. Laughlin, Jarvis and Engblom all went to lengthy careers as well. Walter and Green proved to be valuable players and helped the Habs win the 1986 Stanley Cup, but couldn't match the career that Langway had.

Rod made a huge impact on hockey in the US Capital. He won the Norris trophy in each of his first two seasons there, and played with heart and desire that few others could ever match. When Langway arrived in Washington, the Capitals had never made the playoffs. In his 11 seasons with the organization, the club never missed them.Rod was a great leader and a greater teacher. He learned from some of the best while in Montreal - Larry Robinson, Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe - and he taught some of the best - Scott Stevens, Kevin Hatcher and Larry Murphy.

There was little doubt that Rod Langway was not only the leader of the Capitals, but many believed he was the most valuable player to his team. In 1984, Langway finished second to Wayne Gretzky in Hart trophy balloting. The Hart trophy goes to the league's MVP. Imagine that - in an era dominated by mindboggling offense and The Great One, a defensive d-man was considered by many to be the league's most valuable player.

For Rod it was his single greatest personal achievement.

"People don't remember the guy who came in second but to be considered one plateau below Gretzky that year was a great honor for me, more than the Norris Trophy."

But Langway wasn't worried about personal honors, rather he wanted team success. While Langway was part of a Stanley Cup team in his rookie season in Montreal, Langway never again got his name on the Cup. That would be is his only real regret in hockey.

"I was probably more disappointed every year I didn't win the Cup." he said. "I have my ring and myname on the Stanley Cup. To this day I feel we should have won a couple more in Montreal and truly believe we should have won a couple in Washington."

When Langway left the NHL in 1993, he had career totals of 51 goals, 278 assists and 329 points in 994 regular season games.

Later, the Caps retired Langways jersey to honor him.

"I'd like to be remembered as a player who came to play every night," said Langway. "I remember when the trade happened. I remember 8,000 people who made noise like 18,000."

Langway once again referred to the failed attempts to bring the Cup to Washington.

"The only honor for a player that means more than having his number retired is winning the Stanley Cup. We didn't do that here, and that's a black cloud over my head," Langway said.

Rod remained in hockey after he finished playing in the NHL. In fact he even laced up the skates again, in both the ECHL and IHL. Langway was an assistant coach in both places and actually came out of retirement to be a playing coach. Langway wants to be an assistant coach at the NHL level but doesn't want to be a head coach. He prefers to teach and to be "one of the guys" than to be the head man who has to play mind games with his players in order to get them to work harder.

Peter Bondra

2011-01-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Who is the greatest player in the history of the Washington Capitals?

As always there will be much controversy with such a question, followed by what is hopefully healthy debate. One could argue Rod Langway, the classic defenseman who was the team's heart and soul. One could argue Mike Gartner, the team's consistent offensive threat for so many years. Goalie Olaf Kolzig is a popular choice. Some may even prematurely argue Alexander Ovechkin, who after only a couple of seasons is quickly zeroing in on such destiny.

Right now though I'm going to have to pick Peter Bondra as the greatest Washington Capitals player of all time. The Slovakian bullet rewrote much of the Capitals record book.

Bondra was spotted by long time Caps scout Jack Button, who convinced GM David Poile to take use the 156th overall draft selection of the 1990 draft on the 22 year old late bloomer who somehow slipped through previous drafts.

Bondra joined the team immediately, playing in 54 games in the 1990-91 season. It was a tough year of transition for Bondra, who was actually born in Ukraine. Fortunately he had fellow Slovak Michal Pivonka to help him adjust both on and off the ice.

Bondra showed glimpses of greatness that season, but only had 12 goals to show for it. But over 14 seasons fans knew him as one of the NHL's greatest goal scorers.

The key to Bondra's game was always his skating and shooting.

Bondra was an explosive skater with a wide skating stance that gave him impenetrable balance. With a loose puck up for grabs he was like a sprinter out of the starting blocks. He could handle the puck too at top speed, often cutting in on his off wing and shooting in stride. Though his season totals were consistently high, he was a bit of a streaky player, scoring goals in bunches.

Bondra always had a goal scorer's mentality, firing shots on net whenever and from wherever possible. He had a lethal arsenal of shots, notably his wrist and backhand shots. Twice he led the league in goal scoring, 1994-95 and 1997-98. He finished his career in Washington holding Capitals team records in goals (472), points (825), power-play goals (137), game-winning goals (73), short-handed goals (32) and hat tricks (19).

Despite his offensive wizardry, "Bonzai" was a pretty anonymous player all things considered. Playing in Washington did not help him get into the spotlight, but Bondra also shunned the spotlight as well. He was simply not interested in such media and fanfare.

On his best days Peter Bondra was comparable to Pavel Bure or Alexander Ovechkin. He was that good, and scored goals with the same infectious exuberance. Though he was not a noted playmaker, Bondra was a very committed team player. He did not neglect his defensive duties, and was a regular on the PK unit. Though he was 6'1" and over 200lbs, he was not an overly strong player in terms of muscling out players along the boards. But he would get his nose dirty.

For all his efforts, team success was tough to come by in Washington during the 1990s. Only twice did the team make it past the first round of the playoffs. In 1998 the Capitals made a surprise visit to the Stanley Cup finals, though the team fell just short to the Detroit Red Wings.

Washington has traditionally been a very loyal organization, keeping players in town for long periods of time. If there was ever a player who deserved to finish his career as a Washington Capital, it was Bondra who truly loved being a Cap, even though there was a couple of public rough spots.

Unfortunately it was not meant to be. The struggling Caps moved Bondra to Ottawa, starting a rebuilding phase and allowing the tearful Bondra to play with a contender. Unfortunately Ottawa didn't make it past the first round.

Bondra bounced around after that, playing with Atlanta and Chicago and with HK SKP Poprad during the lost lockout season. The aging veteran was never the same goal scorer once he left Washington.

He would finish out his career with a quiet 503 goals, 892 points in 1071 career games

In the fall of 2007, Bondra announced his retirement from playing hockey. He had been hoping for a one year contract offer from the Capitals so that he could finish out his career where his heart had always been. But the offer never came.

A different offer did come, and it was close to Bondra's heart too. The powers that be in Slovakia offered Bondra the job as the national team's general manager. The proud Slovak was eager to accept the challenge.

Bondra represented in seven international competitions during his playing career, including the 1994 Winter Olympics qualifying tournament, the 1998 Winter Olympics, the 2006 Winter Olympics, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the Ice Hockey World Championships in 2002 and 2003. Perhaps his greatest career highlight was in 2002 when he led the Worlds with 7 goals en route to a Slovakian gold medal. He scored the tournament clinching goal with just 100 seconds left in the game Overall, he played 47 games and scored 35 goals on international level for Slovakia.

In both Washington and Slovakia, Bondra truly is Peter The Great. I see no reason why he should not be a Hall of Fame enshrinee

Dale Hunter

2011-01-09T19:38:00.001-08:00

Some people called Dale Hunter the NHL's ultimate warrior. Others considered the loathsome character to be hockey's most hated villain since Bobby Clarke. Love him or hate him, you have to admit he was a vitally integral player.

Hunter retired as the first and only man in NHL history to collect 300 goals, 1,000 points and 3,000 penalty minutes. But while he was a superior defensive player, face-off specialist and offensive sparkplug, it was Hunter's mean-spirited, sometimes dirty play that summed up Hunter best. He was the ultimate team player and leader; a player who played with every last ounce of heart and soul he had; a player who would and did just about anything to win.

The NHL's Lord of Darkness wreaked havoc at any given opportunity.

"I assumed he picked his spots to play the way he does because nobody can play that way all the time," goalie Bill Ranford, both an opponent and teammate, said. "Then I found out he plays that way every game, every rink, against everybody."

In a career of wrong-doings, one incident sticks out more than any other. A frustrated Hunter blindsided NY Islanders captain Pierre Turgeon several moments after Turgeon scored a decisive goal that all but eliminated Hunter's Capitals from the playoffs. The attack came a good 5-7 seconds after the goal as Turgeon was celebrating the goal. Hunter was suspended for the first 21 games, exactly 1/4 of the schedule, in the following season. With fines and lost salary, Hunter lost $150,000.

"Some wondered whether the new NHL commissioner Gary Bettman singled me out to send everyone a message, but to me, that's just part of hockey," said Hunter almost unapologetically.

Dale was the middle brother of 3 brothers who all played in the NHL. Older brother Dave was a third line grinder with the great Edmonton Oilers teams, while younger brother Mark was a solid player for a long time span as well.

"Having older brothers who play Junior A (oldest brother Ron played Jr A but not pro) and professional hockey before I did made my progression easier. Dave let Mark and me know what to expect. His most helpful advice was 'Be noticed.' To make a team, you have to do something to draw attention to yourself," remembers Dale.

Dale took that advice to heart, and it helped to mold his career.

"I'm a smaller guy, so I've always needed to play the same energetic and aggressive style to show that I can compete against the bigger players. Unless he's super talented, a small man doesn't play in the NHL. I remembered Dave's advice and I guess I racked up a few penalty minutes as a result. I almost went out of my way to knock heads with the toughest guys on the other teams just to prove that I wasn't afraid to play in the league. I got beat up quite a few times, too many to count!"

Dale was selected 41st overall by the Quebec Nordiques in 1979. A year later he was knocking heads in the NHL. In his rookie season he gained instant respect for his all out play that earned him 226 PIM. But he also added 19 goals and 44 assists for 63 very respectable points.

That first year Dale met another NHL classic villain in Moose Dupont, who was finishing his NHL career with the Nords. Moose left a lasting impression on Hunter.

"Moose Dupont was captain of the Nordiques when I first broke in. He helped me a lot. He had been one of the main guys from the Cup winning Philadelphia Flyers and brought his love of the game to the rink every day. He laughed, had fun, and played hard. He didn't let it get to him if things didn't go the way he wanted. I loved his attitude."

With the emergence of Hunter, high scoring Frenchmen Michel Goulet and the three Stastny brother, the Nordiques became one of the league's more exciting teams. Goulet was a terrific goal scorer, scoring 50 goals several times. Many think that Goulet was Stastny's left winger, but more often than not it was Hunter to who centered the Hall of Fame left winger. (Stastny and Goulet were a dynamic power play combination however). That in itself speaks volumes of Hunter's finesse game. A fine passer with superior vision of the ice and a great understanding of the game, Hunter's only finesse-game weakness was his skating. A choppy stride gave him only acceptable speed in his prime and hindered somewhat in his latter years, but he always found a way of getting the job done.

The Nords were unfortunate not to have better playoff luck. For much of the early 1980s they were a high scoring team that seemed to lack an elite goalie and dominant defenseman to get them over the hump. While Stastny and Goulet got much of the credit due to their incredible scoring exploits, it was Hunter who was considered to be the team's heart and soul. When the retooling Nords traded Hunter in 1987, it was said that the franchise was never the same. They missed the playoffs for the next 5 years and eventually Quebec City even lost the team to Denver, Colorado.

Hunter was traded to the Washington Capitals on June 13, 1987. With Clint Malarchuk also going to the US capital, the Nords got Gaetan Duchesne and Alan Haworth in return. The traded wasn't all bad from a Nords standpoint though as they also got Washington's first round pick which was used to select Joe Sakic.

Hunter quickly became the heart and soul of the Capitals, and later was officially named as the team's captain. He helped the team to become a strong team during his tenure. However playoff success, much like in Quebec, was hard to come by as the Caps ran into the might Pittsburgh Penguins in the early 1990s. Late in the decade, 1998 to be exact, the Caps made a surprise Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup finals. It marked the first time in 18 years that Hunter had made it to the finals, but the clock struck 12 on the Caps as the Detroit Red Wings won their 2nd straight Cup.

Much speculation in the media suggested Hunter would retire that summer, but he came back for one more chance at the Cup. However the Caps had a injury plagued season and were destined to miss the playoffs by the time of the trading deadline. It was at that point that the classy Caps organization traded Hunter to the Colorado Avalanche in an attempt to give him one last shot at the Cup.

It was ironic that Hunter was traded to Avs of all teams. For so many years he poured so much sweat and heart into that franchise. The Avs of course were previously known as the Quebec Nordiques.

Despite a Colorado upset over defending champs Detroit, Colorado was unable to get past the eventual champion Dallas Stars. Hunter had to decide if he wanted to come back again to try to get that elusive Cup, but he opted not to.

"It's a tough thing to retire, but the body's not as good as it used to be," Hunter said during his retirement speech

Hunter finished with 323 goals and 1,020 points in 1,407 games in his career. He ranked second all-time with 3,565 regular-season penalty minutes, trailing only Dave "Tiger" Williams. Hunter tops the all-time list for post-season penalty minutes with 729 in 186 games.

Bengt-Ake Gustafsson

2011-01-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite players of the 1980s never got a lot of press. Part of that was because of his quiet, unassuming way. Part of it was because he was a European pioneer. Much of it was because he starred with the Washington Capitals. In the '80s that made it tough for a Western Canadian to watch Gustafsson, but I always made a point of doing so when I could.

In The 6'0" 185lb native of Kariskoga, Sweden reminded me A LOT of Vancouver's Swedish import Thomas Gradin. Both were incredibly skilled players on teams without a lot of gunslingers. They were very solid in most facets of the game, even excellent in some. But outside of local fan memories, history has all but forgotten both of them.

Bengt-Ake Gustafsson was a superb skater and puck handler. The lanky Swede had a long, fluid stride combined with great balance, making him surprisingly tough to knock off of the puck. He had breakaway speed, capable of reaching full speed in less than three steps.

"Gus" had the stick skills to match his skating gifts. He was capable of doing everything within his arsenal of puck tricks while at top speed, making him a natural threat on both specialty teams. He had excellent vision and anticipation, which he combined with his one-step quickness to create passing lanes.

Though not a noted physical player, Gustafsson was definitely not intimidated by the rough going. He was never afraid to do the dirty work in the corners or in the front of the net, though he was smart enough to dart in and out of these work zones. He wasn't afraid to initiate contact either. I remember one devastating hit in particular when "Gus" knocked New York Ranger Rob Ftorek out of a game with a thunderous check in retaliation for an earlier Ftorek spear.

An conscientious two way player, it there was one true fault to Gustafsson's game was his desire to pass rather than shoot, a trait extremely common of European trained players in the 1980s. Gustafsson had a good shot, particularly his snap shot that he released quickly and accurately. He was deadly within 10 feet of the net, particularly in his favorite power play perch at the base of the left face-off circle.

In the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft, the Washington Capitals selected Gustafsson 55th overall. After helping Sweden capture a silver medal at the 1978 World Championships, Gustafsson headed to North America, but joining the WHA's Edmonton Oilers instead. Gustafsson would play just two playoff games in the Alberta capital. After scoring 1 goal and 3 points, he was ruled ineligible to play by the WHA since teams could not add European free agents so late in the season.

The following season saw the Oilers and other remaining WHA teams merge with the NHL. Gustafsson was initially one of four players protected by the Oilers in the merger, along with goaltenders Ed Mio, Dave Dryden and a teenage forward named Wayne Gretzky. Gustafsson was on record as wanting to stay in Edmonton.

The Capitals weren't going to let Gustafsson slip out of their hands that easily, and argued that Gustafsson was their property. On June 9th, 1979 the Caps further strengthened their claim by selecting Gustafsson in a special reclaim draft. The matter would eventually be sorted out by NHL president John Ziegler.

Gustafsson would move to the American capital, and enjoy a fine 9 year career which ranks him among the best players in franchise history. He would score 196 goals, and 555 points in 629 career games.

His best season came in 1983-84 when he scored a career high 32 goals and 75 points while playing with linemates Dave Christian and Mike Gartner. Gustafsson had a particularly memorable game on January 8, 1984 in Philadelphia. He tied a club record for most goals in a game with 5! Gus scored on every shot he took that game.

A pulled left hamstring plagued Gustafsson the following season, but he would rebound nicely in 1985-86 by leading the team in assists and equaling his career high of 75 points. Late in the season, however, disaster struck. Gustafsson's right leg was broken in a spectacular spill involving New York Islander defenseman Denis Potvin. Not only did Gustafsson miss the rest of the season and the playoffs, but he would not play in the NHL the following year either.

Feeling he lost a significant step of speed, Gustafsson returned home for the 1986-87 season, playing for Bofors, essentially a development team in his hometown. Gustafsson used the season to reinvent his game after breaking the leg. By the end of the year he was back to top condition, leading Sweden in the world championships to a gold medal, the first for the country in 25 years. He also led the Swedes in the Canada Cup that September.

Gustafsson returned to Washington in 1987 and picked up where he left off. His scoring totals were off slightly, but his playmaking abilities were a definite shot in the arm of the Washington power play.

Gustafsson returned to Sweden for good in 1989-90. He would play in his hometown until 1993, and continued playing for the national team, including in 1991 when the Swedes recaptured gold at the world championships, and in 1992 at the Olympic games.

He would later find a home in Feldkirch, Austria. Unbeknown to most North American fans, he continued to play until the conclusion of the 1998 season. In his final season, at the age of 40, he led Feldkirch to a stunning European League victory.

Gustafsson would turn to coaching following his playing days, manning benches in Austria and Switzerland before returning home to Sweden. He would lead his Farjestads to victory in his first season.

In 2003 he would be elected into the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame, though his contributions were far from over. In 2006, he was head coach of the Swedish national team that finally won Olympic gold.

Bruce Cowick

2011-01-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

Bruce Cowick made his NHL debut during the 1974 Stanley Cup playoffs. Cowick, who was acquired that season after two years of physical play in the old WHL, had never played a single NHL game until the playoffs.

The Flyers felt they needed to add some extra muscle up front as some of their regular bangers were banged up themselves with nagging injuries. Cowick got the call, not because he could score (he had 14 goals and 21 points in the AHL that year) but because he could handle himself in the corners and when the gloves were dropped. He was also fairly solid defensively.

Cowick played in 8 games that spring. He didn't get a lot of ice time but did get on the ice long enough to earn 9 penalty minutes, including a 5 minute major for scuffling with the Boston Bruins Rich Leduc. But while he had never played in the NHL before and only played in 8 playoff games, Cowick got his name on the Stanley Cup as the Philadelphia Flyers won their first NHL championship. For Cowick, it was partly a case of being at the right place at the right time.

Prior to Cowick's debut, most people had never head of the Victoria BC native. He earned a reputation as a tough as nails winger with the BCJHL Victoria Cougars, but was never picked up by an NHL team. Instead he signed with the WHL's San Diego Gulls for 2 seasons where he showed he could do more than just fight. The Flyers acquired him in exchange for Fred Stanfield, Tom Trevalyn, Bob Currier and Bob Hurlbury in July of 1973.

With Cowick's name on the Cup and his play at the minor league level, the Washington Capitals claimed him in the 1974 NHL Expansion Draft. It was a good move for Cowick in some ways, but not others. Cowick played the entire 1974-75 season with the expansion Caps. He appeared in 65 games and scored 5 goals and 11 points plus 41 PIM. He was also a bad -42. But for Cowick his dream had come true, he made the NHL. However the Caps were a pretty sorry team that first year. He had to endure a season of 67 losses in 80 games.

Cowick was exposed on waivers in May of 1975 and was picked up by the St. Louis Blues. Cowick appeared in 5 games for the Bluenotes but spent most of what proved to be his final professional season back in the American Hockey League with the Providence Reds.

While he spent much of his hockey career as a "policeman," he spends all of his current career as a policeman literally. He is an RCMP officer in Esquimalt, British Columbia. He is part of the Community Police Unit which is responsible for all matters relating to community policing, crime prevention, Block Watch and Block Parents programs, and school liaison programs.

Brian Engblom

2010-07-09T15:03:00.001-07:00

Brian Engblom was a wonderfully classic defenseman. He dominated by using skillful defense in an era of high scoring offensive rearguards.

Brian, a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, starred in just two seasons at the University of Wisconsin in the mid 1970s. The Montreal Canadiens, known for their great collection of blue liners, thought enough of Brian to use their 3rd draft selection, 22nd overall in the 1975 entry draft.

Brian turned professional immediately, but was used at the minor league level in his first two pro seasons because of the great depth the Habs possessed in the NHL with the likes of Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe and Serge Savard.

It wouldn't be long before Brian would prove he was too good for the American Hockey League. While playing in Nova Scotia in 1976-77 Brian dominated the entire league. He scored 8 goals and 50 points, but his brainy play without the puck really set him apart. He was named as the AHL's best defenseman.

Engblom actually finished that season in Montreal. After Nova Scotia was knocked out of their playoffs, a few of the key prospects were brought up to Montreal to experience the playoff run towards their 1977 championship. Engblom was the luckiest of prospects, earning the right to play in 2 playoff games - his first two games of his soon to be brilliant NHL career.

Engblom would sip champagne from the Stanley Cup in his first three seasons in Montreal. He would learn a lot from the stars of the dynasty era like Robinson and Lapointe.

"I think coming up to the Canadiens when I did was excellent preparation," said Brian. "That was in 1978 and they had guys who were terrific at carrying the puck. I learned to stay at home and protect our zone and that was tremendous discipline, which is paying off now."

Brian said that in 1981, and while the Canadiens were beginning a rebuilding phase after their 4 consecutive Stanley Cups to finish off the 1970s, he was definitely benefiting from his upbringing in the end of that dynasty. Brian emerged as Montreal's best defenseman in 1980 through 1982. Not only was he Montreal's best defenseman, but he emerged as one of the league's elite defenders. He was named to Team Canada 1981 for the Canada Cup tournament. And in 1982 Brian led all NHLers with a plus-78, good enough to earn a spot on the post season Second All Star Team.

The 1982 post season started much too early for Brian and the Canadiens in 1982. In 1981 upstart Edmonton Oilers, led by a young kid named Wayne Gretzky, upset the heavily favoured Canadiens in 3 straight games. The same thing happened to the Habs in 1982, this time at the hands of their new hated rivals - the Quebec Nordiques. Despite posting the league's 3rd best regular season record and the league's best defense, there was a strong sense that Montreal had to shake up their team to avenge such losses to these new upstarts, and to regain the Stanley Cup.

The Canadiens would go about a massive changeover to attempt to accomplish that. The biggest trade saw Montreal trade away Brian, along with future superstar Rod Langway and solid players Craig Laughlin and Doug Jarvis, head to Washington in exchange for solid rearguard Rick Green and the much-coveted Ryan Walter.

Walter, one of the most complete and underrated players in NHL history, would return the Habs to Stanley Cup glory in 1986, but the trade is considered to be victory for the Capitals. Laughlin would go on to become a 30 goal scorer, while Jarvis cemented his reputation as a great defensive center. Rod Langway would inspire a passion in his play that would turn the struggling Caps franchise around into one of the strongest of the 1980s.

Brian would continue to play incredible hockey, but in a city with not much of a hockey spotlight he found it hard to get recognition playing in the immense shadow of Langway. Brian never cared about personal success however. Langway would win two Norris trophies, a regular all star and nearly usurped Wayne Gretzky from the Hart trophy mantle, but the Capitals great turn around was also in great part due to the similarly effective Engblom's play.

Engblom actually only played parts of two seasons in Washington. He was then moved to Los Angeles in exchange for another young defenseman named Larry Murphy. Murphy, already a proven scoring star in LA, would go onto a spectacular career, highlighted by his years in Washington. Brian would perform valiantly with a weak team in Los Angeles.

On January 30, 1986, Brian became a member of the Buffalo Sabres. Again Brian was involved in a big trade, as Brian and Doug Smith were sent to New York state in exchange for Larry Playfair, Sean McKenna and Ken Baumgartner.

Brian only had the opportunity to apply his trade for 30 games in Buffalo before he was traded in the summer of '86. He was sent to Calgary in exchange for a bruiser named Jim Korn. Brian's stay in Calgary was also brief. He got into only 32 games before he was forced to retired due to a severe neck injury. He retired with 659 games on his resume. He scored just 29 goals to go along with 177 assists for 206 points in his stellar career.

Brian was quickly emerging as a star defenseman when he broke into the league, but he left rather quietly after non-descript stops in places like L.A., Buffalo and Calgary. It is truly a shame, as he could have been remembered as a star defenseman that he seemed destined to be.B

A whole new generation of fans know Brian as a different kind of star - broadcasting star. He began his career as a color analyst on Los Angeles Kings telecasts, but by 1995 moved onto become the much respected hockey reporter for ESPN.

Washington Capitals Greatest Players

2010-07-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Greg Adams
Don Beaupre
Peter Bondra
Bobby Carpenter
Dave Christian
Dino Ciccarelli
John Druce
Gaetan Duchesne
Mike Gartner
Bengt-Ake Gustafsson
Kevin Hatcher
Alan Haworth
Dale Hunter
Al Iafrate
Gary Inness
Greg Joly
Joe Juneau
Steve Konowalchuk

Rod Langway
Jack Lynch
Mike Marson
Dennis Maruk
Alan May
Bill Mikkelson
Kelly Miller
Andrei Nikolishin
Doug Patey
Pat Peake
Pete Peeters
Mike Ridley
Bill Riley
Scott Stevens
Ryan Walter
Bugsy Watson
Bernie Wolfe

Greg Joly

2010-06-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

It was the early 1970s. Bobby Orr had transformed the game. The best hockey player in the world was a defenseman and every team wanted the next Bobby Orr.

The Washington Capitals, with their very first draft pick in franchise history, thought they had landed him with the 1st overall pick in the 1974 NHL Amateur draft. They were so sure they even went "off the board" to get him.

Greg Joly was a standout with the Regina Caps in the early 1970s, earning Memorial Cup MVP honours in the spring of 1974. He was so good that 25 years later when Regina's all century team was named Joly was named as one of the defensemen.

Despite the strong finish to the season, Joly was not a clear cut top choice by any means. The Hockey News had him rated #7. History would prove this draft to be weak in terms of top end talent. Clark Gillies, Doug Risebrough, Pierre Larouche, Mario Tremblay and Lee Fogolin would be judged best of the 1st round years later, although later rounds unearthed legendary names like Bryan Trottier, Mark Howe and Dave "Tiger" Williams.

So you can hardly blame the eager young Caps for taking the defenseman Joly. But rushing a young defenseman in under the most ideal conditions is rarely successful, let alone the blunderous conditions the Capitals franchise would endure. The pressure and the follies along with Joly's own immaturity probably contributed to his failing. Joly was rushed in to become the face of a new franchise, a franchise that for years would be a laughing stock. There is no rookie in history that would not have wilted under those circumstances.

Let's be fair. He did play in 365 NHL games over 10 different seasons. He was not a complete bust. But after just two years with the Caps, where he posted ridiculous +/- totals of -68 (in just 44 games!) and -46, he was on the move to Detroit. The next Bobby Orr he was not. Instead, he goes down in history as arguably the worst 1st overall draft selection in draft history.

The Caps did not do enough to help out Joly. Instead of landing him a veteran defenseman or two to guide them, the pretty much threw Joly to the wolves and hoped he'd come out smelling like roses. When he struggled early (thanks in part to hamstring and knee injuries), they did nothing positive for his confidence by taking him off his familiar blue line and playing him as a left winger and as a center for stretches of time. Ironically, the veteran leadership he needed came in the form of Bugsy Watson - the wily veteran for whom Joly was traded to Detroit for.

In Detroit he spent three full seasons with the Red Wings before becoming a regular on the shuttle to and from the minor leagues. Injuries really hampered his development. Knees, shoulder, ankle and an especially bad wrist injury really held him back.

It's too bad. Joly appeared to be a good kid who deserved better. I especially like how every summer he would return home to work on the family farm near Calgary.

His best seasons as a professional came in Glens Falls, NY with the Adirondack Wings of the AHL. He twice was part of Calder Cup championship teams and twice was named as a league all-star. I'm guessing here, but I think Joly re-found his joy for the game in Adirondack. By that stage he did not care if it was the minor leagues nor if the pay was not very good. He prolonged his career to enjoy the game again.

Joly did retire in 1986. Nowadays he works in the insurance business in Glens Falls.

It is unfortunate but the name Greg Joly will always be equated with those horrible 1970s Washington Capitals teams and with draft infamy. To this day people wonder what would have happened had the Caps drafted Regina teammate Clark Gillies over Joly and Bryan Trottier over Mike Marson in round two.

Steve Konowalchuk

2010-01-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

Steve Konowalchuk was one of those rare elite role players that was impossible for any hockey fan not to admire.

Konowalchuk was equal parts of heart and intelligence. He was a courageous digger and mucker, working hard for every goal and every win, using every ounce energy on every shift. Yet his understanding of the game made him a brilliant player in his own right. He was a defensive genius, a regular on the PK especially when 2 men down.

He was an impact player, knowing when to change the pace of a game with an energy shift or a big hit. Simply put, he was a coach's dream - great character, great work ethic and a complete team player. His offensive game was anything but fancy and his totals never grand, but there was not a coach in the league who would not take Steve Konowalchuk exactly as he was.

Best known as a long time Washington Capital, Konowalchuk finished his career with the Colorado Avalanche. His career ended in a bitter form of irony. This heart and soul player was forced off the ice by doctors after a rare heart disorder named QT syndrome was discovered.

The Salt Lake City-born Konowalchuk totaled 171 goals and 225 assists in 790 NHL games. He also played for the U.S.A in two World Cups and two World Championships.

Gary Inness

2009-12-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

Gary Inness took the unusual route to the National Hockey League. He played collegiate hockey at McMaster University and at the University of Toronto, both of the Ontario University Athletic Association. In total he spent 5 years in the two Ontario colleges. Very few Canadian university students ever make it to the NHL.

Following his graduation in 1973, he jumped at an opportunity to take his chances with the pros when the Pittsburgh Penguins offered him a a contract. Inness impressed immediately. It was widely expected he'd be a minor league net keeper but he spent equal time in the big leagues. By 1974-75 he was the Pens starting goalie, with a 24-18-10 record with a 3.09 GAA and 2 shutouts.

The 1975-76 season saw Inness traded away after playing in 23 games with Pittsburgh. He went up state to Philadelphia where the Flyers were looking to shore up their goaltending depth with an injured Bernie Parent questionable at best.

Parent would become healthy soon enough and Inness would be the odd man out. He only got into two games the rest of that season, and in 1976-77 he saw action in only 210 minutes spread over 6 games.

Wanting a chance to play regularly, Gary signed on with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association for the 1977-78 season. He spent a season and a half with the poor Racers team before signing with the NHL Washington Capitals. Only a few years earlier the Capitals had been the worst team in league history, but Inness helped to make them respectable, playing 37 games with a 14-14-8 record and a respectable 3.70 GAA.

Inness found himself as the odd man out in both 1979-80 and 1980-81, playing only 17 games in the league over that time span. He spent more time in the minors rather than the NHL.

Inness retired after the 1980-81 season. In total he appeared in 162 career NHL games with a record of 58-61-27 while posting two shutouts and a career goals-against average of 3.40. He also posted a record of 17-36-4 in 63 career WHA games with a 4.35 goals-against average

Inness later worked as a high school teacher at Barrie North Collegiate in Barrie, Ontario.

Pat Peake

2009-11-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

Drafted by the Washington Capitals in the first round (14th overall) in 1991, Peake was destined to be a star. Two years later he would even be named the Canadian junior player of the year, scoring 136 points (58 goals) in just 46 games.

He was quickly on his way to NHL stardom. In his first year with Washington, he scored 29 points in 49 games. Two years later he had 36 points in 62 games.

But as quickly as the accolades came, so did the bad luck. Peake endured a variety of injuries to his ankles, shoulders, kidney and knees. He even suffered a concussion in a car accident, had mononucleosis and broke cartilage in his thyroid.

He figured the thyroid injury would go down as the NHL's strangest injury. Then, in a playoff game against Pittsburgh in 1996, Peake was chasing a puck trying to prevent a routine icing call. He crashed against the boards, shattering his right heel.

It was the beginning of the end for Peake, who spent most of the rest of his career trying to rehabilitate the injury. After 5 operations and two years, Peake finally tried to make a comeback attempt. He was sent to the Capitals' minor league team in Portland, Maine, on a conditioning stint. He was back in good enough form to play in a home game on Nov. 8, but his foot hurt immensely afterward. A few days later, an MRI exam showed dangerously torn ligaments. His season was ended just like that.

When the season ended with a four-game sweep of the Capitals by Detroit in the Stanley Cup Finals, Peake's contract ended, too. In August he met with the Capitals' doctors, and he was not surprised when they told him there was little to be done. His career was over.

"He endured a lot of pain; it's the dark side of our sport that people don't see," Capitals General Manager George McPhee said. "There aren't players that have the gift he had that come along that often. He was one of those natural players that had instincts and hands you can't develop."

Obviously it was difficult for Peake to accept that he could no longer play hockey.

"That’s the hardest part, at least mentally. It was taken from me. I didn’t go out on my own terms and that’s very hard."

But at least Peake has always been able to laugh about it.

"If I had kept playing I could have made a lot, lot, lot more money obviously, but I have to thank the Caps, because they could have bought me out two years ago," he said "I made $500,000 the last two years, and I played five games – I'm the highest-paid player per game in the league!"

Peake continues to deal with injury to this day. He recently had his 16th operation on the heel, and said "I'm trapped in a 93 year old body. Now you limp and your back hurts and this and that."

Peake remained in the game, first trying his hand at coaching, then scouting, first for agents and then for NHL Central Scouting.

Doug Patey

2009-11-15T20:16:00.000-08:00

Doug Patey was drafted 73rd overall in the 1976 Entry Draft after playing 2 seasons with the OHL's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Doug began his professional career the following season in 1976-77 as he played in 37 games with the Capitals while playing the rest of the season in the IHL with the Dayton Gems. He scored three goals in his first NHL season with Washington, including his first NHL goal against Cesare Maniago of the Vancouver Canucks.

Patey split the next two years between Washington and their AHL farm team in Hershey, scoring more than 20 goals in each of those two seasons in Hershey. However his combined time in Washington during those two years consisted of just 8 games.

Doug was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1979 Expansion Draft. The Oilers were looking for a sleeper in the draft and thought they had got one in Doug. They believed that he never got a fair chance in Washington and that he had a lot more to give. Doug, the brother of 12 year veteran Larry Patey, admitted that his statistics hadn't been impressive.

"I've been up and down. Up is better and that's where I hope I'll finish," he said.

Doug had an impressive training camp with the Oilers. He was in very good shape and showed a good shot, good skating ability and a sense of how to get open for a pass. At the training camp Doug was completely focused on taking a spot on the Oilers roster.

"I want to play in the NHL. I don't mean a few games or part of a season but for a long time. I know it will take hard work and I'm prepared to do that. The object is to play and win. You have to do whatever it takes."

Doug was picked by Edmonton after a recommendation by Oilers assistant coach and ex-NHL'er Bryan Watson.

"We'll never be sorry," Watson predicted. "He's young and he wants to play in the biggest league. He's really got something. For one thing, he's a good guy. He's never had a chance in some ways and he's got a real chance to get better."

Even Oilers coach Glenn Sather was optimistic about Doug. "Maybe he won't have to go (to the minors)," said Sather. "It's up to Doug. If he plays all season the way he played in training camp,he'll be around."

Unfortunately Doug didn't live up to the expectations that the Oilers had for him. He was sent down to the minors where he scored 14 points in 14 games for Cincinnati Stingers (CHL) and 30 points in 33 games for Houston Apollos (CHL).

That 1979-80 season was Doug's last. He retired only 23 years old when his hockey career was about to start. Who know's, he might very well had been one of the guys to lift the Cup with his Oilers teammates if he had continued.

Doug described his playing style as follows:

"I guess my strong points were at that point was as a winger, pretty good skating with a fairly quick shot. That was my asset, that I got the puck away quickly and usually put the puck in the net and set up plays."

Following his hockey career Patey got into the insurance business for many years. For Patey it has been a rewarding experience.

"Well, it worked out pretty well for me and I know it's not always that way. I started with London Life back in '81 and the training was very good and I was very fortunate to have been able to do that. From then on, it was really quite smooth for me. It was the sales area and I was very comfortable with people and I just continually learned over the years, a little bit every year and it's worked out just fine."

Don Beaupre

2009-09-23T16:50:00.001-07:00

Don Beaupre entered the NHL with a bang.

In his first season, Don was an All-Star, helped the North Stars win the Norris Division and advance to the Stanley Cup finals where they fell just short against the New York Islanders. It was the start of a pro career that young goalies usually only dream of.

None of the teams Don played for ever reached that lofty status again. But Don said that the first NHL season was a blessing in disguise.

"When I got drafted, before I went to training camp my parents had a party for me and a bunch of friends came over and stuff like that," Don said. "It was kind of a good luck party, and I really shouldn’t have made it that year. I wasn’t thinking I should or shouldn’t make it, it was just the next step and you go and see what happens. If I was thinking, 'Boy, I really have to go and make it,' I probably wouldn’t have. The pressure would have probably got to me. Being naive probably helped my chances then."

Don enjoyed a pretty good junior career with the Sudbury Wolves and made the First All-Star Team in 1980. His fine play prompted Minnesota North Stars to pick him 37th overall that year.

Don's rookie season in the NHL was sensational and he played like a seasoned veteran. As mentioned previously, he made the All-Star team, helped the North Stars win the Norris Division and also helped them reach the Stanley Cup finals.

"That was quite a year," Don admitted. "Just to make it to the NHL, we won a few games, I made the All-Star team out in Los Angeles and I'd never been there before, and we were in the finals. It was quite a year, no doubt, and I never had anything like that again."

Don played in two of the games in the finals (Gilles Meloche played in the other three). Don earned the lone North Stars victory when his team was facing elimination, down 3-0. They eventually lost the series in five games as Don played in the fifth and final game.

"We had a lot of young guys with energy and enthusiasm, and we had a pretty good group of guys," he said. "Perhaps the difference between winning and not was that most of the talent was in the young and inexperienced guys. We had older guys with a lot of heart, but most of the talent was in the guys 25 and under, so maybe that was the difference."

Don spent seven fairly successful seasons in Minnesota although none as good as his rookie season. He was then placed on waivers and sent to the minors early on in the 1988-89 season. It didn't sit well with Don who demanded a trade. His wish was granted and Don was traded to Washington for rights to Claudio Scremin on November 1, 1988.

At first, Don was sent down to the minors and it seemed that his situation wasn't going to improve since Clint Malarchuk and Pete Peeters were between the pipes in Washington .

"That took some of the excitement away," Don said. "I knew I had to put in my time, but it was tough, it was probably the toughest point of my career. Pete Peeters and Clint Malarchuk were there. I had to unseat them. You could play as well as you could, but if they are playing well for the Caps you aren’t going to get a shot. It was tough, because the rumor was that a couple of teams wanted to make a trade for me because they had injuries, and the Caps didn’t want to make any deals. It was pretty frustrating."

But soon Don got another chance and seized it. He not only made his way back to the NHL, but went on to make his mark in the Capitals' record book. Don held the franchise record in career wins (128) until Olaf Kolzig broke that mark.

The Capitals had a strong team defensively with a defense-first mentality, anchored by blueline stalwart Rod Langway.

"No doubt, those were some of the most fun times in my career," Don said. "I was playing all the time, we were winning in a tough division, it was real satisfying for me.

"I had five shutouts in one year [league leading in 1990-91], and I struggled to get one in every other year I think. It was fun to play with guys like Rod Langway and Mike Gartner, real good players and respected players. It was a good experience, and I really enjoyed living in Washington D.C., too."

Don's 2.64 GAA in 1990-91 was a career best and he played in his second All-Star game in 1992. Don was eventually traded to the lowly Ottawa Senators in 1995. There he played a total of 71 games between 1995 and 96 and was then traded to the NY Islanders who the same day shipped him to Toronto. Don finished his playing career by playing the majority of his games for St.John's Maple Leafs (AHL). He also saw time with Utah Grizzlies (IHL) and the Maple Leafs.

"I was fortunate to play 17 years professionally, and it went by quick," Don said. "The NHL was done with me, and I think I was pretty much done with it and could leave it behind.

Today Don lives in Minnesota, where he and a partner run a construction equipment rental business called Power Lift Inc. The company rents man-lifts, scissor-lifts, booms and other heavy gear used in construction.

"We started with about 78 machines and now we have 350 in a year and a half, and things are going OK," Don said. "It was rough early with the capital expenditure to buy the equipment, but it's going OK, we’re happy. It’s been a good learning experience to not only get involved in a business regularly, but to help run it."

Kevin Hatcher

2009-06-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

I'm really not sure why, but I never truly respected Kevin Hatcher quite like I did his younger brother Derian.

Derian was one of my true favorites, mostly because of his mean streak and his commitment to team defense. Kevin on the other hand was a giant who, at times, liked to throw his weight around but was most notably an offensive defenseman.

I suspect I never warmed to Kevin because for all his skill and impressive scoring ability, never maximized himself like he could have. That's a pretty easy thing for me to say, with my grand total of 0 NHL games. Perhaps we fans just placed too high expectations on Kevin Hatcher, like so many other players over the years.

Regardless, he was never reputed to be as good in his own zone as he was in the other team's. He seemed susceptible to making boneheaded, risky plays, overhandling the puck and hurting his team defensively. He did not always maximize his size, taking nights off. Outside of the 1992-93 season he just never really could put it all together and be one of the game's truly dominant defenders.

Kevin Hatcher was a powerful straight ahead skater, which he displayed whenever he could by jumping into or leading the rush. With his giant stride he could catch even the speediest of transition attackers on the way back. Defensively he could look awkward when turning, but he compensated for that with his gigantic reach.

He had a devastating shot from the point, and would often come crashing in from the blue line looking for a surprise garbage goal. When he was on his many offensive rushes he was an excellent give and go player. Otherwise he was good passer, but not a greatly creative player.

Physically he could dominate. He was imposing at 6'4" and 225lbs, and he enjoyed banging bodies, sometimes with a mean streak. Other times, especially as his career advanced, he seemed quite disinterested in the physical game, which for someone of his size is extremely frustrating for coaches and fans alike. He lost a few fights early in his career and seemed to back down over time. Perhaps this was simply because his coaches wanted him on the ice, not by the ice box.

He could be guilty of getting out of position to make a big hit. Since he didn't have the lateral mobility to recover he could get burned by such bad reads. He was usually a safe defender when it came to clearing the puck, usually breaking a man with a good pass. He could be guilty of overhandling the puck, and when he did cough up the puck in his own zone, he usually did so royally.

Drafted by Washington 17th overall in 1984, Hatcher went on to play in 1,157 career NHL games, scoring 227 goals and 450 assists for 677 points. He also registered 1,392 career penalty minutes. He put together one of the most impressive offensive seasons by a defenseman in 1992-93 when he scored 34 goals and 79 points. Impressively he reached double digits in goals scored 12 times in a row in his career, including seasons of 24 and 19 goals.

Despite these impressive scoring stats, he was never truly among the game's elite defensemen in the 1990s, but rather firmly just a notch below.

Andrei Nikolishin

2009-06-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

I think one of the most underrated players in the National Hockey League around the turn of the century was Washington Capitals center Andrei Nikolishin.

A quick glance at his numbers hint at nothing special. He never scored more than 14 goals in one season and outside of a 51 point campaign with Hartford back in 1996, he would challenge the 30 point mark regularly in Washington. He would play in 10 seasons in the NHL, seeing 628 games. He scored 93 goals and 187 assists for 280 points. In 43 career playoff games, he had just one goal and 17 helpers.

I always felt Nikolishin's game was much stronger than his output ever suggested.

He was a very strong skater, blessed with a powerful stride. He literally could turn on a dime, shaking many defenders, and had great balance.

He was nifty puckhandler with a pass-first mentality, almost to a fault. Unfortunately he never really had the chance to play with a triggerman on the wing who could convert his slippery passes.

Nikolishin was used more in a checking role, a role he eagerly accepted but soon became trapped in. He read plays well, backchecked with determination and killed penalties and blocked shots with authority. He almost seemed content to let his defensive game carry him. It would have been nice to see him a more offensive role, because I think he would have done well at it.

Though he was not very big (he was listed a 5'11" and 180lbs) he adapted well to the more physical North American game. He was very popular with his teammates as he had exemplary work habits.

The Caps let Nikolishin go in 2002. After failed stops in Chicago and Colorado, Nikolishin went home to Russia during the NHL lockout season of 2004-05. He never returned to the NHL, but continued to play hockey in Russia for many years.

Alan May

2009-02-18T21:03:00.000-08:00

Do you know which NHL player was traded the most times on NHL trading deadline day?

According to an official NHL press release the answer is Alan May, who was traded 4 times (1988, 1989, 1994, 1995). That is one more time than Dan McGillis, Mark Jannsesn, Mike Gartner and Steve Konroyd.

Who?

Other than famed goal scorer Gartner, why would NHL teams be so interested in these already all but forgotten names at the trading deadline? In May's case in particular, why would teams in the heat of a playoff drive be so interested in a pugilist who in his best season scored just 7 goals and a scary 339 penalty minutes?

Alan May was a hard working and hard nosed hockey player. He showed little promise in junior hockey, rarely playing in the WHL and never being drafted by the NHL. After a 1986-87 season in the lowest of the minor leagues, an old "Slap Shot-like" league called the ACHL, he signed with the Boston Bruins before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers, who were known for stockpiling goons as well as superstars.

To his credit May worked his butt off to get on to the NHL's radar. A rugged kid from the industrious farms and forests of Barrhead, Alberta - about 75 miles northwest of Edmonton - May was never shy of hard work. Over the next couple of seasons he took on all comers in the AHL, but also worked on his skating, defensive coverage and puck skills. A bit of a late bloomer, he was beginning to show he could play the game some, as well as being as tough as nails.

And the NHL noticed. The Oilers gave him a three game audition, and he even scored a goal.

But it was not until the 1989-90 season that May arrived in the NHL. The Washington Capitals had acquired May from Edmonton via Los Angeles in a draft day trade. May would become the Caps resident tough guy for the next 4 and 1/2 seasons.

Make no mistake, the 6 foot, 205 pound winger was in the NHL for his ability to throw punches. Though maybe not a true challenger for hockey's heavyweight title, he handled his own, surprising many by punching with both hands.

May was an intelligent goon in that he knew when and when not to fight, in terms of impacting the flow of the game. If his team was going well, he would not interrupt the trend. But if his team needed a pick-me-up, he was more than willing to look for a way to fire up the bench.

And despite his high penalty minute totals, it was rare that he left his team shorthanded. He usually took someone from the other team to the penalty box as well.

While he was there to fill the goon role, he brought more to the table than just fists of fury.

First and foremost, he was an excellent teammate. He was universally loved on the bench and in the room. This allowed him to take on a leadership role, whereby his devotion and intensity rubbed off on teammates of much higher skill levels. He worked hard on every shift and in every practice, setting the tone for every player.

He also was a decent role player, able to play a few minutes each game and contribute more than just glove-dropping intimidation.

With a decent amount of quickness and balance on his skates, May's skating allowed him to launch himself into opponents when bodychecking, maximizing his physical game. When forechecking he was like a heat seeking missle, zeroing in on defensemen who were anxious to get rid of the puck. He did some nice work along the wall and in the corners, too, often freeing pucks from those heated scrums.

Unfortunately, May had next to no skills with the puck once he freed it. He had no vision whatsoever, and no creativity other than to immediately fire it on net with his heavy shot, or to put back along the boards and fight for it again.

Still, May was able to carve out a nice 393 game career, toiling with Dallas and Calgary late in his career. In that time May scored 31 goals, 76 points and registering an unforgiving 1346 penalty minutes. Unlike some goons, he played in the playoffs, too. He got into 40 post season games, contributing 1 goal, 3 points and 80 PIMs.

Upon retirment May opened up his own physical training business in Dallas after dabbling in coaching in the minor leagues.

Jack Lynch

2008-10-08T19:04:00.001-07:00

When people remember the 1970s Washington Capitals, people unfailingly bring up the disastrous 1974-75 expansion season.

That season the Capitals posted a horrendous 8-67-5 record with just 21 points in the standings. The team only scored 181 goals while surrendering a record 446 goals against.

Amidst that disastrous season, defenseman Bill Mikkelson posted a record that no NHL player wants - the worst plus/minus in NHL history. Somehow, Mikkelson found himself ranked at -82 in just 59 games played.

Everyone likes to bring up the story of Mikkelson's frigid -82 rating, but it was not like he did not have some company with poor plus/minus ratings. Most members of that Capitals teams finished the season in the -30 to -40 range. A few others hit -50 and -60.

While Mikkelson's -82 is amazing, so too was Jack Lynch's performance that year.

Lynch played most of the year in Detroit, a team only Washington could consider strong. Lynch was brought into Washington in a late season trade in order to help shore up the weary Washington blue line.

Lynch arrived with 20 games left, and somehow post a -54! That is every bit as amazing Mikkelson's record of inferiority.

The difference between Lynch and Mikkelson was Lynch lasted long enough to see the turn around in Washington. While Mikkelson was gone the next year, Lynch stuck around for four more seasons. He even post a +2 rating in his final season, 1978-79.

Lynch, who was known to do the "Stork Shuffle" on those rare occasions he scored a goal, was from Oshawa, Ontario. His final two seasons in the NHL were severely truncated due to a horrible knee injury he suffered after a collision with Vancouver's Hilliard Graves. He would retire and turn to broadcasting.

Bill Mikkelson

2008-10-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

You can bet that every season that goes by Bill Mikkelson is hoping some player has a terrible, disastrous season.

Mikkelson goes down in NHL infamy as having the worst season in terms of the plus/minus statistic. It is the record no player wants.

In just 59 games played in the 1974-75 season, Mikkelson post a frigid -82! Two years earlier, with the New York Islanders, he posted a -54 rating.

How do you post such a terrible plus/minus such as -82?

"While we were playing, it never crossed my mind," he said. "I just went game to game. You look back, and in a sense it's, 'Boy, that is bad.' It's almost embarrassing. But I still check the minus ratings. I follow it every year."

First of all, the plus/minus statistic is flawed to some degree. Players on the worst teams get dinged severely while players on good teams are generally padded a bit. Mikkelson was definitely on two of the weakest teams of all time - the Islanders and Capitals combined for a total of just 20 wins out of a possible 158 games. That's ridiculous!

The plus/minus stat all comes down to relativity. Mind you, -82 is bad even on a team loaded with players who were -30 and -40.

Actually, you could build a case that Mikkelson was not the worst defensive player on the ice anyways. Perhaps the coach knew Mikkelson was actually better than some of his other options, and put Mikkelson on the ice against the top lines on a regular basis. Of course his plus/minus is going to take a beating in that case. The real weak defensive players don't get out on the ice against the Phil Espositos, Guy Lafleurs and Bobby Clarkes, right?

What I'm trying to say is don't judge Bill Mikkelson by his gaudy plus/minus record. He was a solid player with the Brandon Wheat Kings and later played with the Winnipeg Jets of the old Western Canada Hockey League while attending University of Manitoba. He turned pro in the Los Angeles Kings organization and put in a couple of AHL seasons before NHL expansion/WHA dilution opened jobs for minor league players.

Greg Adams

2008-09-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

Greg Adams played in the NHL in excess of 500 games. You would figure that he would be the best player named Greg Adams in NHL history. Unfortunately that's not quite the case.

Greg C. Adams was a solid, physical third line left winger in his hey-day with the Washington Capitals. However his namesake, Greg A. Adams, known affectionately as Gus to much of the hockey world was a goal scorer with the NJ Devils and Vancouver Canucks during the time Greg C. played.

Now, if you think its confusing having two guys in the same league with the same name, can you imagine the two of them on the same team? How about the same line? Late in 1989 Greg joined the other Greg Adams (who will be called by his nickname Gus for the rest of this write-up, for simplicity's sake). The deal was struck at the trading deadline between the Edmonton Oilers and the Canucks. The Canucks sent a draft pick and minor leaguer John Leblanc for speedy gritty center Doug Smith and the burly Adams. Adams only played 12 games with the Canucks, but spent some of the time with Gus Adams as his center! That would have been really confusing for Canucks play by play announcer Jim Robson for sure!

Greg Adams was born in Duncan British Columbia in 1960. He played his junior hockey down the road with the Victoria Cougars for 2 seasons. Despite scoring 62 goals with 212 PIM in his last year of junior, he was never drafted. The Philadelphia Flyers however offered him a free agent contract.

Adams appeared in 39 games with the Flyers but most of his 2 seasons in the organization were spent in the minors. In the summer of 1982 he was part of one of the biggest trades in hockey history as the Flyers sent him, Kenny Linseman and 1st and 3rd round draft picks to Hartford in exchange for Mark Howe and a 3rd round pick.

The Whalers were hoping Adams could play the role of tough guy to protect guys like Ron Francis. Adams was a willing fighter but not very good at it. He wasn't big enough to take on the league's heavyweights. Adams was more of a third line mucker and grinder. An honest player who fought hard in the corners and along the boards.

The Whalers sent Adams to the Washington Capitals in exchange for tough guy Torrie Robertson the following year. Though the Whalers gave Adams his first full time tour of NHL duty, Adams would welcome the trade to the US capital city before all was said and done.

His first two seasons with Washington weren't the greatest. He saw little ice time and even spent some games in the minors. But by 1985-86 Adams had blossomed into a fine NHL third line winger.
He enjoyed his finest NHL season scoring 18 goals and 38 assists for 56 points while continuing his robust style of play.

Adams put up similar numbers the following season. He scored 14 goals and 30 assists. But by 1987-88 his production had slipped to 15 goals and 12 assists. The Caps would trade him away for a young Geoff Courtnall in the summer of 1988.

Adams, never a great skater, didn't fit in well with the Oiler's high flying style and was traded before season's end to Vancouver. He then bounced to Quebec and later Detroit before retiring.

In 545 career games Adams scored 84 goals and 143 assists for 227 points while accumulating 1173 penalty minutes. Not bad for the second best Greg Adams in NHL history

Dave Christian

2008-06-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

Hockey was a way of life for Dave Christian.

Dave Christian was born into the first family of hockey in tiny Warroad, Minnesota. The town of 1700 residents proclaimed themselves as Hockeytown, USA for years before Detroit stole it.

The heroes of Hockeytown were no doubt the Christians. Uncle Gordon started the Olympic pedigree, earning a silver medal with Team USA in 1956. Dave's father Bill and uncle Roger both played for the 1960 Olympic gold medal winning Team USA, with Bill scoring the winning goal. The two went on to compete in the 1964 Olympics as well, before forming, along with brother-in-law Hal Bakke, Christian Brothers hockey stick company in Warroad.

No doubt most of the kids growing up in the area would use Christian sticks, including Bill's own two sons Eddie and Dave. Eddie made it all to way to the minor leagues.

But it was Dave Christian who would go on to the greatest degree of success. He was a blessed skater, armed with good puck skills and a mind for the game. He effortlessly played both defense and forward. He was a natural athlete, also starring in football, baseball and track in his youth.

After starring for the Warroad high school team he left for University of North Dakota. He followed in his father's skate marks to the Olympic games, starring with the 1980 Miracle On Ice gold medal winning team.

Though he was a scoring forward at North Dakota, coach Herb Brooks utilized Christian on the blue line for the Olympics, and never missed a beat. He was able to control the game by himself, a trait of only the most special players.

Christian never returned to UND, opting for the NHL instead. It didn't take long for Christan to make his mark in the big leagues, either. Just 7 seconds into his career Christian scored his first goal, a NHL record that still stands to this day.

The consistent Christian went on to score 340 goals and 433 assists in 1,009 NHL regular season games. He is perhaps best remembered as a member of the Winnipeg Jets and the Washington Capitals, though he also played with Chicago, Boston and St. Louis. Christian also continued to embrace the international game, playing in two world championships and three Canada Cups when the NHL schedule allowed for it. Christian finished his career back in Manitoba, playing in the IHL with the Moose.

For all his success in hockey, it is the 1980 Olympic gold medal that will always rank as his greatest achievement.

As author Wayne Coffey wrote in the book The Boys of Winter:

"Dave Christian used to read his father's scrapbook as a kid and dream about being in the Olympics himself. he doesn't really have words for it, either. "To have that come true, to be in that position, playing against Russia, with my father and my uncle in the stands...for me it was as impossible and far-fetched a dream as you could have."

Bryan "Bugsy" Watson

2008-03-29T21:46:00.001-07:00

Nicknamed "Bugsy" by Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio, Bryan Watson was known to be an agitator extraordinaire. He bothered people, doing whatever it took to make them lose their concentration.

In spite of Bryan's small size (5'9" and 175 Ibs), most people were distinctly aware of his presence. Ken Schinkel, a former teammate and coach of Bryan once said " Bryan is very verbal, and will take whatever steps are necessary to do his thing. That thing means to get into fights, give elbows, and make people boo when he comes to the ice."

Schinkel also recalled when he played against Bryan.

"I felt it when Bryan came to say hello in the corners. You always knew you got hit when Bugsy got to you. "

Watson himself used to say that the contact felt good and got his circulation moving. Pete Stemkowski of the Rangers called him a "Madman". Denis Potvin once described how during a fight Bryan drove his head right into his cheek. Anything counted in Bryan's book. His style of play could easily be seen on his PIM totals. Bryan had 2212 Pim's in only 878 games.

Intimidation was the name of the game for Bryan. He was a pretty bad skater and shooter but he had more guts than most players and that is what kept him in the NHL for such a long time. He only scored 17 goals in the 878 games and had 152 points.

A loyal and absolutely fearless player who never hesitated to stop pucks with his head if the situation called for it, Bryan was a great teammate. In the dressing room he was always on the lookout for a good practical joke. He knew when to lighten the bench, and when to set a fire under someone's ass. He was definitely one of those players who every team liked to have on their side.

But among his opponents he was the kind of player that you loved to hate in the same fashion as an Eddie Shack, Theoren Fleury, or Sean Avery. In other words, you loved to have him on your team but you hated to play against him, because he could be really mean.

This Bancroft, Ontario native played his junior career for the Peterborough Petes in the OHA. He then toiled a short while in the minors before being called up to the Montreal Canadiens where he played 39 regular season games during the 1963-64 season as well as 6 playoff games, but he didn't make much of a name for himself. It was apparent that Bryan's bruising style was not going to fit the fleet style of play that the Canadiens were noted for, so they traded him to Chicago on June 8, 1965. One day later he was claimed by Detroit in the intra-league draft.

Watson spent two years in Detroit, drawing some praise for his job checking Bobby Hull in the 1966 playoffs. Yet he would be claimed by Minnesota in the expansion draft in 1967. The North Stars traded him back to Montreal the same day. Once again he had a short stint with the Canadiens and spend most of his time in the AHL and CHL. Needless to say, Watson's luggage was starting to get worn out after all this movement.

It was during the 1967-68 season that Bryan drew some fame. He managed to lead the CHL in penalty minutes (293) in only 50 games, but he also was named the best defenseman in the CHL as well as being the MVP of the league and a first team All-Star.

He was traded to Oakland in 1968 and then to Pittsburgh in 1969. He managed to stay over 5 seasons in the Steel City, and led the NHL with 212 PIMs in 1971-72.

But Bryan continued to be a well traveled player. He played in St. Louis and Detroit once again before finishing his career with three seasons in Washington. In 878 NHL games he scored just 17 times while setting up 135 others. He retired with 2212 PIMs, then a NHL all time record.

After a short coaching tenure with the early 1980s Edmonton Oilers, Watson would stay in the Washington area in retirement, opening up Bugsy’s Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar in nearby Alexandria, Virginia.

Alan Haworth

2008-03-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

The Buffalo Sabres were perhaps guilty of not being patient enough with one of their talented rookies of the early 1980s in Alan Haworth.

Haworth was a small but sturdy center/winger who quickly emerged as a Sabres prospect after being drafted 95th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He would turn professional in 1980-81. He started the year by apprenticing in the minor leagues but quickly would prove he was ready for the next level when he scored an impressive 14 goals and 32 points in just 21 games. The Sabres called him up for the rest of the season. He continued to impress in his rookie NHL season, scoring points against every team in the league except two despite only playing in 49 games. He was a consistent player and by playoffs emerged as one the to-go guys, scoring 4 goals and 8 points in 7 games, good enough for a third place tie among Sabres post-season scoring leaders.

Haworth returned in 1981-82 but his production leveled off. He scored 21 goals and 39 points in 57 games, while also seeing 14 games in the minors. By the end of the year the struggling Haworth was traded to Washington in an exchange of multiple draft picks.

In Washington Alan would develop into a very good player that the Sabres would have liked to have had in their lineup. He became a consistent 25 goal threat while rounding into a solid two way player. In 1985-86 he enjoyed his best year in the NHL, scoring 34 goals and 73 points while posting another 10 points in 9 playoff games. He had great speed and a hard slap shot, but also became a dependable defensive player. His playmaking abilities were underrated, largely because he spent much of his time on one of the wings of a 2nd or 3rd lines.

In 1987-88 Haworth was a key part of one of the biggest trades in NHL history. He, along with fellow native-Quebecer Gaetan Duchesne and a first round draft choice (used to select the wonderful Joe Sakic) were traded to Quebec for goalie Clint Malarchuk and leader Dale Hunter. The move was especially controversial because of Hunter's surprise departure. Haworth, a natural center, was brought in as his replacement. Those were awfully big skates to fill, but Alan did an admirable job, turning in a career second-best 57 point season including 23 goals and 34 assists.

Haworth, the son of long time professional player Gord "Red" Haworth, opted to surprise many when he left the Nordiques after just one season. He ended up going to Switzerland to play 4 seasons with SC Bern before retiring as a player.

Haworth retired with 189 goals, 211 assists and 400 points in 524 NHL games.

Kelly Miller

2008-02-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

Undersized Kelly Miller lived the American hockey dream.

Miller and his family grew up hockey. Born in Detroit and raised in Lansing, Michigan, his father Lyle was a former college player who became a part owner of a local hockey rink. This made it pretty easy for Kelly and his brothers to become rink rats. Kelly, Kevin, and Kip Miller all went on to become collegiate, international and NHL stars. They are also cousins of Buffalo Sabres stand out goalie Ryan Miller and his brother Drew.

Kelly played in relative anonymity until entering college. In fact he wasn't even drafted in his initial draft class of 1981 because he played in the almost unknown Great Lakes Junior Hockey League. But after one season at Michigan State, he was snatched up by the New York Rangers in 1982, 183rd overall.

The undersized speedster would amass one of the greatest careers in Michigan State history, including a Hobey Baker nomination in 1985 as the best player in US college hockey. The two time Michigan State MVP and team captain also starred with the United States junior team, representing the nation at the World Junior Championships three times.

Unlike a lot of student athletes, Miller was a great student as well. The Business major graduated with a 3.51 GPA despite his devotion to hockey and despite time missed for the World Juniors. He was twice named to the CCHA's all academic team, with an honorary mention another year. His academic quests would continue in the pros, working as a stock broker and earning his real estate license in the NHL off-seasons.

Upon graduation Miller stepped directly into the National Hockey League, playing in the final 5 regular season games and 3 playoff games with the Rangers. He finished the year by representing USA at the senior World Championships.

Miller returned for his rookie season in 1985-86, but found nagging knee and ankle injuries hampering him. An offensive leader in college, Miller found the NHL to be a much tougher place to score. He would end up 13 goals and 33 points in a respectable rookie season.

After not showing much offensive progression in half a season in 1986-87, the Rangers gave up on the youngster. Miller found himself traded with Mike Ridley and Bob Crawford to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Bobby Carpenter. The trade would go down as one of the best in Caps history.

Miller would never really find much offense in Washington either. Only once in 13 seasons in the nation's capital would he surpass the 20 goal mark. But Miller worked hard to evolve into a defensive specialist, often playing with Mike Ridley and Michal Pivonka. Miller would be a finalist for the Selke Trophy, as NHL's best defensive forward, in 1992.

Miller was a very unpredictable skater, and that was his best asset. He was lightning quick, but knew how to throw off the opposition by using his speed in multiple gears. His hand and stick skills never caught up to him at the NHL level, but as his career progressed he became a decent passer while on the break. He was strong at reading plays and great at anticipating moves, allowing him to become a top checker and penalty killer. He was a tiny little guy, but he did put what he had into an engaging physical game. He knew his limitations.

Not surprisingly, Miller was a crowd favorite in Washington. Those fans were happy for Miller as much as anyone when the Capitals made an unexpected journey to the Stanley Cup finals in 1998. Despite losing the finals to Detroit, the experience was one of Miller's career highlights. He had been through good times and bad in Washington, and it must have been justifying to be a part of that team.

After finishing the year at the World Championships, Miller retired in 1999. He did sign a minor league contract in a comeback bid in 2000. He skated with the Grand Rapids Griffins, a team he was already working with as a volunteer coach. He would later coach junior hockey in the Lansing area while starting his own real estate development company.

Al Iafrate

2008-02-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

Al Iafrate is one of the more interesting characters to play in the National Hockey League. His passion for hockey was matched by his joy for heavy metal music, and perhaps exceeded by his love of Harley Davidson motorcycles. He often showed up for practice and games on his hog while wearing the full Harley leather gear!

Iafrate was one of hockey's best prospects. Drafted 4th overall by the Toronto Maples Leafs in 1984 after spending the year with the USA National and Olympic teams, Big Al had scouts drooling over his skill package. Huge at 6'3" and over 220lbs, he was a strong skater for a big man. He had a booming shot that would rival Al MacInnis' shot at All Star skills competitions. He had great offensive instincts. His one downfall was his defense, primarily because he never used his size to his advantage. He was great at rushing the puck out of the defensive zone, but was never an elite breakout passer.

"Wild Thing" had a very good career cut short by serious knee injuries. It took 3 years before Iafrate finally blossomed, but once he did he erupted with 22 goals and 52 points. He would slip a bit in 1988-89 but returned to the 20 goal, 60 point level in 1989-90.

The Leafs grew tired of the enigmatic blueliner who was a handful off the ice as well, and traded him to Washington where he fit right into the Capitals love of offensive defensemen. Al would score 17 goals and 51 points in 1991-92, his first full season with the Caps. And in 1992-93 he had his best season ever - scoring 25 goals and 66 points while being named to the Second All Star Team. He was even able to shake the notion that he wasn't a strong playoff performer. While the Caps were ousted in round one, this defenseman could not be blamed. He scored 6 goals in 6 games! Amazing!

Al slowed somewhat in 1993-94 when he had 10 goals after 67 games. At that point the Caps traded him to Boston in exchange for the highly skilled Joey Juneau. Iafrate finished the season strongly with 5 goals and 13 points in 12 games, but was relatively quite in the playoffs with 3 goals and 1 assists in 13 playoff matches.

Al's career effectively came to a halt at the conclusion of that season. Like most hockey players, Iafrate was badly injured and he finally had to give in to get himself patched up. In the summer of 1994 Al had to go through surgeries to correct injuries in his back and both knees. It took 2 full seasons for him to recover.

The San Jose Sharks took their chances on Iafrate when they acquired his rights in a June 1996 trade. Al Played in 59 games over the next two seasons, but he was never fully recovered from injuries and was not to be counted on to play on any given night.

Despite his history of injuries, the Carolina Hurricanes offered Al an incentive-laden contract in the summer of 1998. However Iafrate had to announce his retirement before training camp ever began, and he forsook his contract by not attempting to play.

Pete Peeters

2007-09-06T10:30:00.001-07:00

As a youngster I instantly took a liking to goaltender Peter Peeters. Initially it had to be the name that attracted me took him, but his play quickly made him a long time favorite.

Peeters is the the son of Dutch immigrants, and grew up as a competitive swimmer while tending to the nets on the side. In fact, it was not until he was 18 years old that he committed to major junior hockey, joining a weak Medicine Hat Tigers squad for two years starting in 1975.

With a porous defense in front of him, Pete Peeters was peppered with pucks. But this pickle that Peeters picked turned out to be a perfect training ground. The huge workload and respectable showing earned him high praise from scouts. In 1977 he was selected 135th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL Amateur draft.

After two years apprenticing in the American Hockey League, winning the Hap Holmes trophy as top goalie along the way, Peeters was promoted to the Flyers for the 1979-80 season, sharing the nets with Phil Myre.

The Flyers must have thought they had the second coming of Bernie Parent based on the way Peeters started that year. He went 22-0-5 before losing his first game of the season on February 19th! Of course that was the year the Flyers went 35 straight games without a loss, and partner Myre picked up some wins during that streak as well. Peeters finished the year with a record of 29-5-5 with a 2.73 GAA, earning him an All Star game nod. He was the Flyers go to guy in the playoffs as well, leading the Flyers all the way to Stanley Cup finals, only to lose on an over time goal courtesy of the New York Islanders' Bob Nystrom.

The following season Peeters had the impossible task of duplicating his incredible rookie season. Of course he could not, and over the next two years in Philadelphia his GAA rose and his playoff success dwindled.

Peeters was a tough guy to warm up to as well. Known as a grouchy guy, he was nicknamed Grumpy. He did not like the Philadelphia system of rotating goalies and at times carrying three netminders. A bit of a sore loser, he was not easy to talk to after games, especially in games that he loses. One Philadelphia reporter found that out in the 1981-82 season when he accused Peeters of physically assaulting him. The incident helped lead to Peeters departure from the City of Brotherly Love.

In June 1982 the Flyers traded Peeters to Boston in exchange for stud defenseman Brad McCrimmon. Both teams fared well in the trade, especially Boston in that first season. Peeters had perhaps his best year, playing in a career high 62 games, posting an amazing record of 40-11-9 with 8 shutouts and a NHL best-of-the-decade 2.36 GAA. At one stretch he went 31 games without a loss. Not surprisingly Peeters was awarded the Vezina Trophy as top goalie and named to the NHL's First All Star Team. Almost as impressive was the fact that Peeters finished 2nd in the entire league in Hart Trophy voting as league MVP in a time when the award was basically owned by the great Wayne Gretzky.

Again Peeters was faced with the unenviable task of living up to his previous years performance. And again he would not be able to live up to the gaudy expectations. He played two more years in Beantown while his GAA inflated the numbers in the L column increased. Though his critics skepticism grew, he remained a top goalie in most minds in the NHL. He was invited to Team Canada for the 1984 Canada Cup, one of his greatest honours, but sprained his ankle. Still he was able to play in the final game against Sweden and clinch the championship. He was also the goalie in the dramatic 3-2 OT win against the Soviets. The game, considered by many to be one of the greatest of all time, wasthe highlight of his career.

Interestingly, Peeters found the Canada Cup experience to be such a high that he had trouble once he returned to Boston for the season. Bruins GM Harry Sinden directly linked the Canada Cup to Peeters poor season by his standards, claiming "he was tired, both physically and emotionally." Peter Peeters was Petered!

After a slow start to the 1985-86 season, Peeters was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for goaltender Pat Riggin. Obviously the Caps were counting on Peeters' track record of great performances when placed in a new environment, though that never really panned out in Washington. Instead Peeters supplied the Caps with solid but not spectacular goaltending for the next 5 seasons. But he was never able to find any playoff success with the Capitals either.

Peeters returned to Philadelphia for the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons, the final two of his career. Peeters did so by his choice, signing as a free agent. It seemed like an odd move, as Peeters left Philadelphia because he dislike the three goalie rotation so much. Now he found himself as part of another three goalie rotation in Philly, sharing the nets with Ron Hextall and Ken Wregget. Hextall was hurt much of the 1989-90 season though.

Peeters retired with 246 wins, 155 losses and 51 ties in 489 career games. He posted 21 career shutouts and had a career GAA of 3.08, a very respectable number for the high scoring 1980s. Upon retirement he returned to the family farm near Edmonton, where he grew up and always returned to in the off seasons. He eventually got into coaching, serving as a goaltending specialist with the Minnesota North Stars, Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes before returning to Edmonton to do the same role with the Oilers.

If you take the highlights of Pete Peeters career, you could mistake him as one of the greatest goaltenders of all time. He had some great highs, such as 1979-80 in Philadelphia, 1982-83 in Boston and the 1984 Canada Cup. But because of his team's frequent failures in the playoffs and the fact he rarely played 2/3rds of the schedule like most top goalies, Peeters isn't really remembered as one of the top goalies of the 1980s that he actually was. In fact Peeters may be best remembered for a highlight reel scene surrendering Mario Lemieux's first NHL goal.

Mike Ridley

2007-06-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

It has become more and more common for hockey players to come out of University programs, but most of those players come from the American colleges who offer full scholarships to talented athletes. Many American colleges place high importance on athletic performance, some of which take hockey very seriously as a collegiate sport.

University hockey in Canada is nowhere near the same level, and rarely attracts top talent. This is because the CIAU does not allow for full scholarships given to athletes, so top hockey players who would rather go the college route than through junior hockey hope to impress American college scouts. Universities in Canada have hockey teams, but they are made up more of future chiropractors and engineers. These players are there for their studies and hockey is an extra curricular activity, whereas in many cases of top athletes in the States the athletic achievement in University is placed on an equal or sometimes greater level than the academic.

Mike Ridley was one of the few to attend a Canadian university and go on to enjoy a fine NHL career.

Born on July 8th, 1963 in Winnipeg, Ridley attended his hometown University of Manitoba rather than leaving home for a US college or for a Canadian junior hockey team. The move paid off well for Ridley. He was named the Canadian University Player of the year, an First All Star and a All-Canadian in 1984 and repeated his All Star and All-Canadian performance in 1985.

Despite his dominating play, Ridley was never drafted by a NHL team as scouts scoffed at the level of play in the CIAU. However the New York Rangers were smart enough to give this kid a look-see in their 1985 training camp. Ridley came into camp and impressed the Rangers so much that they not only signed him to a NHL contract, but he made the team and played a big role immediately.

In fact in Ridley's rookie season he led the New York Rangers in scoring with his 65 points (including 22 goals).

Mike was on pace for another fine season with 36 points in 38 games in 1986-87 when the Rangers surprisingly traded him along with Bob Crawford and Kelly Miller to Washington for Bobby Carpenter and a draft pick. Ridley was a quiet, hard working All-Canadian kid but the Rangers play in New York. When the opportunity arose for the Rangers to acquire Carpenter - Sports Illustrated's poster boy and the first American to score 50 goals in a season - they jumped at the opportunity. Carpenter would struggle much of his career offensively before reinventing himself as a defensive specialist. Ridley, and for that matter Miller, went on to enjoy fine seasons with the Washington Capitals.

Ridley relied more on hard work than natural talent. Despite lacking offensive flare, Ridley manage to squeeze out 547 points in 588 games with the Caps. A fine two way player, his best personal season came in 1988-89 when he scored 41 goals and 89 points.

Ridley was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a big 1994 draft day swap that saw the two teams exchange first round picks. Ridley, who rarely missed a handful of games in his NHL career, was starting to develop a chronic back problem. He would play in all 48 games of the lock-out shortened 1994-95 season, but often in pain. His offensive contributions were affected by his pain - just 10 goals.

The Leafs "dumped" the injured center in a July 1995 trade with Vancouver in exchange for Sergio Momesso. The Canucks had hoped his back would get better and had planned on taking advantage of Ridley's fine playmaking skills by putting him on their top line with Pavel Bure with another newcomer, Alexander Mogilny on the other wing.

The Canucks dream line never became a reality. Ridley's back limited him to 37 pain-filled games. He only registered 6 goals and 21 points.

Ridley's back held up for much of the 1996-97 season. He played in 75 games. He was a standout in the first half of the season but then his ailing back failed him again. Though he missed only 7 games, his play was effected by season's end.

The Canucks released Ridley after that. After more back treatment he returned to Winnipeg where he tried to skate with the Manitoba Moose of the IHL to test his back. He scored 4 points in 4 games but his back continued to bother him. Ridley finally admitted defeat in his battle with back pain.

Ridley was a tremendously underrated star for most of his NHL career. He scored 292 goals and 466 assists for 758 points in 866 NHL games. He added 28 goals and 78 points in 104 playoff appearances.

Scott Stevens

2007-06-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

On February 3, 2006, the New Jersey Devils retired a uniform number for the first time in franchise history: Scott Stevens' #4. As video tributes and teammate reflections were aired over the course of that night's ceremony, many words were brought up which characterized the man: fierce, hard-nosed, intense, intimidating, energetic, respected, competitive, heart-and-soul, a winner, a leader, a work-horse.

He is hockey's ultimate warrior.

Scott Stevens played in 1,635 regular season games and 233 playoff games, both NHL records among defensemen. He skated in thirteen All-Star Games. He captained the Devils to three unforgettable Stanley Cup championships. Simply put, Scotty Stevens was a hockey legend with an on-ice presence unparalleled in NHL history.

Given his remarkable legacy with the Devils, people often forget that he was a veteran of nine seasons coming into New Jersey. Born and bred in Kitchener, Ontario, Stevens was selected fifth overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1982 NHL Draft. During his time in D.C., he enjoyed moderate individual and team success. The Capitals housed one of the deepest defensive corps during the 1980s (think Rod Langway, Kevin Hatcher and Larry Murphy), and so Stevens developed a niche for himself as a classical, rugged, stay-at-home defenseman who specialized in dealing punishing checks and breaking down the opposition's flow. While he had the ability to put up solid offensive numbers, he understood that playing within the system for the greater good of the team took precedence above all else.

Stevens made headlines during the early '90s with his involvement in two massive, high-salary transactions. The first was in July 1990, when, as a restricted free agent, he signed a four-year contract with the St. Louis Blues worth a then-overwhelming $5.145 million. In return, St. Louis had to ship a whopping five first-round draft picks the other way as compensation (two of which ended up being Washington mainstays Sergei Gonchar and Brendan Witt). One year later, in July 1991, with the assistance of an arbitrator, the Blues were forced to ship Stevens to New Jersey as compensation for their signing of Brendan Shanahan. Both transactions created a ripple effect around the league as player salaries spiralled out of control, ultimately culminating in the 1995 NHL Lockout.

Although initially upset about going to New Jersey, Stevens became an instant fan favorite at the Meadowlands. After a single season, he was awarded for his leadership with the team captaincy, a position he would hold for the balance of his career. In 1993-94, Stevens exploded offensively with 78 points and led the league in plus-minus with +53. (It is worth noting that not once in his 22 seasons did he have a plus-minus rating in the red, a truly remarkable feat.)

Stevens is quick to credit the Devils, particularly coaches Larry Robinson and Jacques Lemaire, for developing him into a complete defenseman.

"I'm more knowledgeable, more patient,'' Stevens said. "I've learned a lot here under Jacques and Larry about playing defense and good position. Just goes to show, you never stop learning. I probably played over 10 years, then I came here and was taught a lot of new things.''

In the spring of 1994, Stevens, coupled with an emerging core nucleus of players such as Martin Brodeur and Scott Niedermayer, came within a whisker of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. The following, lockout-abbreviated season proved to be kinder, as Stevens helped guide the Devils to their first-ever Stanley Cup. Two more Cups would follow, including a Conn Smythe-winning performance for Stevens during their run in 2000.

Asked about the secret to his success over the years, Stevens said, "Every year, I always felt that I had to make the team. I felt every training camp I had to prove myself. I never took anything for granted." In spite of his accomplishments and larger-than-life stature, Stevens always carried with him a blue-collar work ethic, a deep Canadian-rooted humility, and an awe of the game he played.

In New Jersey, Stevens gained league-wide notoriety for his devastating open-ice hits, many of which rendered opponents unconscious. Notable victims of Scott Stevens hits in the past include Slava Kozlov during the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals, Eric Lindros during the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals, and Paul Kariya during the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. They didn't call him "Captain Crunch" for nothing! (See video below.)

As devastating as his hits were, they were always clean and legal. One NHL broadcast mentioned that only three times in his entire NHL career had Stevens been tagged for elbowing.

"With Scott, you know exactly what you're going to get from him," Lindros said of his longtime nemesis. "There's no question, you're aware of his presence on the ice. He's still definitely a premier defenseman in the league because of the desire he has on the ice. His style out on the ice certainly shows how much he wants to win."

"Playing against Scotty, you had to be alert. It was no secret that he's had some pretty big hits. That's in your mind. You need to have a sense of where he is," added Joe Nieuwendyk.

Stevens' international resume was loaded as well. He represented Canada at the '98 Winter Olympics, the '96 World Cup of Hockey, the '91 Canada Cup, and four World Championships during the '80s. Interestingly, during the '89 World Championships, Stevens took a skate to the face, courtesy of his boyhood idol Borje Salming, which resulted in a gash requiring 88 stitches to seal up. Ever the warrior, Stevens missed a mere game, and, wearing a protective visor, came back to score the game-winning goal against Czechoslovakia, giving Canada the silver medal. This is but one in a vast sea of anecdotes which capture Stevens' love for the game and drive to be on top.

Despite his highly decorated resume, somehow Scott Stevens never won a Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman. It is almost mind-boggling that he was never so recognized.

"I've always said that Scott Stevens should've won a Norris Trophy at some point in his career," former teammate Bobby Holik said. "Well, they don't give out the Norris Trophy in the Playoffs, but I'm his biggest fan. As a hockey player, he's one of a kind."

Somehow I don't think Scott Stevens would trade any of his Stanley Cups or his Conn Smythe Trophy for a Norris Trophy.

Special thanks to Vikash Khanna.

Gaetan Duchesne

2007-04-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

"Outstanding."

That's how coach Bryan Murray described Gaetan Duchesne in just his second season in the National Hockey League. However that label could have been applied to anyone of Duchesne's 14 NHL seasons.

His first season was 1981-82. It was a difficult one for the French speaking kid just out of junior hockey. Not only did he have to adapt to the massive differences between juniors and the NHL, but he had to learn a new language while in another country. Duchesne handled it like a professional though, and got better and better as the season went on.

By year two he was one of the top players in the league in his role - defensive forward. He often teamed Duchesne with fellow defensive stalwarts Doug Jarvis and Bobby Gould to form one of the most effective checking units in hockey.

"I like to play Gaetan against the opposition's best right winger" continued coach Murray. There sure were a lot of good right wingers in the early 1980s too - Bossy, Lafleur, Kurri, Mullen.....

"I can see an almost game-to-game improvement in his play. Experience will only help him. He has certainly yet to reach his peak." Murray continued of the Rejean Houle-clone.

Murray seemed not too concerned about "Gator's" lack of offensive contributions.

"He'll always be an adequate scorer, but never a big scorer. He is a hard working responsible defensive player. I realize there is a tendency for him not to get much credit because he doesn't score. Over the years though, as he gets more experience, he'll get the recognition he deserves."

Murray proved to be right. Duchesne ended up playing in over 1000 NHL games and was highly regarded throughout hockey circles. He was always popular with his teammates, who definitely appreciated his contributions if no one else did.

Duchesne was a long shot to make the NHL, as he wasn't selected until 152nd overall in the 1981 entry draft. However he surprised many by making the immediate jump to the NHL. He ended up playing 6 seasons in the American capital before he was a key ingredient heading to Quebec in the famous Dale Hunter trade.

Despite being highly regarded in his native Quebec because of his tireless work, his stay in Quebec was disappointingly short. After just two seasons he was moved to Minnesota for a low draft pick prior to the 1989 season. It was one of the worst trades in Nords history. Coming off of his worst offensive season since his rookie year, the Nords felt Duke was near the end of his career, and peddled him away. It was a steal for Minnesota, as Duke was a big part of the Stars magical Stanley Cup charge in 1991.

Duchesne stayed with the Stars until expansion took him to San Jose. He spent two years there before re-uniting briefly with Bryan Murray in Florida to finish his career.

After retiring Duchesne returned to Quebec City. First he tried his hand at coaching, with both the Quebec Rafales of the IHL and the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. More recently he and his brother began an architectural supply business in the provincial capital.

John Druce

2007-04-12T14:29:00.001-07:00

The playoffs is the time of the year when people start to wonder whether another John Druce will emerge from the shadows to become the talk of the hockey world.

Druce wasn't exactly as household name in NHL circles back in the early 1990s when he played for the Washington Capitals. He was a fourth-line fixture known more for his guts than glory. He was a part time winger with back to back 8 goal campaigns to begin a NHL career that appeared to be going nowhere fast.

But when sharp shooter Dino Ciccarelli became sidelined with a bad knee in the 1990 playoffs, Druce found himself on the Capitals' top line with Dale Hunter and Geoff Courtnall. The line clicked instantly and played like they had been playing together for years.

Druce stunned the hockey world when he netted 14 playoff goals in 15 games as the Capitals advanced to the conference finals. Druce became the unsung hero of the '91 postseason. 8 of those goals came on the power play, and another shorthanded. 4 of his goals were game winners.

"Everything just took off. I kept on going to the net and it seemed that everything I touched around the net was going in the net," Druce said. "It was almost surreal. The whole time I was doing it, I didn't get too excited and I did not get too low. I was in a zone and even away from the rink, I felt I was in a zone."

Druce wasn't the first unlikely playoff hero, nor will he be the last. Ed Sandford, Chris Kontos and Darryl Sutter had playoff seasons never to forget. More recently Tomas Holmstrom, Dave Lowry and Fernando Pisani raised their games higher than anyone thought possible. In most cases, however, the success proves to be the players' 15 minutes of fame.

The fantastic playoff performance earned Druce a regular spot in the Caps lineup for the next couple of seasons. In 1990-91 he played in all 80 games and scored 22 goals and 36 assists for 58 points. Though those numbers were respectable, his playoff performance set unrealistic expectations amongst fans and media, and maybe even the Caps themselves. That disappointment continued when Druce put up just a single goal and an assist in 11 post season games in the spring of 1991.

After one more season in Washington, Druce began bouncing around the league, joining the Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers with no hint of success. He finished his career in the minor leagues and then spent two seasons playing in Germany.

Mike Gartner

2007-04-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

When you think of great goal scorers, one often forgets the name Mike Gartner. But year after year after year Gartner has racked up an overwhelming amount of goals that places him near the top.

Very quietly, Mike Gartner scored 708 career goals. Only Phil Esposito (717), Marcel Dionne (731), Brett Hull (741), Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (862 and counting) have scored more often. Mike Gartner scored more career goals than the much flashier and much more celebrated Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, Steve Yzerman, Bobby Hull, Guy Lafleur and Mike Bossy.

Yet somehow Mike Gartner doesn't usually get the same accolades as all the pre-mentioned superstars. In 1997, when The Hockey News assembled a panel to determine the top 100 hockey players in NHL history, Gartner ranked 89th.

How is this so? Unlike his statistical peers Gartner never has had an explosive season of 60 or 70 goals that ranks among the great seasons in NHL history. In fact, Gartner only reached the 50 goal plateau on one occasion (1984-85).

So how did he become the leagues 5th highest goal scorer ever?

Over 19 seasons Gartner showed great consistency while playing for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and lastly the Phoenix Coyotes. Gartner has scored at least 30 goals in 17 of his 19 seasons. He scored at least 30 in his first 15 consecutive years in the league, only to miss in the 48-game schedule lockout shortened season in 1995. He followed that up with 2 more 30 goal seasons before an injury riddled campaign finished off his career in 1998.

All that consistency might rank him high on the all time goal scoring list after a 19 year career, but not on the all time greatest players list. He played in relative obscurity with the Washington Capitals for the first decade of his career. He would later play in the shadows of Mark Messier and Brian Leetch in New York, and Doug Gilmour and Mats Sundin in Toronto. He also spent short stints in Minnesota and Phoenix. Though he played an important role with Team Canada in two Canada Cup victories and four world championships, he still never really got the recognition he deserved.

In addition, he played in the right wing shadows of the likes of Guy Lafleur, Mike Bossy, Jari Kurri, Brett Hull and Jaromir Jagr. Gartner never made a NHL all star team, and never was in contention for any NHL post season award. Unlike his great peers, he never won a Stanley Cup.

Mike Gartner will always be remembered for his exceptional speed. His technical form was flawless and powerful. He had a great stride with really deep knee bends. His legs pumped like pistons, making him one of the fastest skaters of his time. A concerted defensive player, Gartner teamed really well with Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson in the Canada Cup, and because he had the speed to keep up with Soviet superstars Sergei Makarov and Vladimir Krutov.

More often than not Gartner used his speed to create offense. There have been a lot of incredibly fast skaters in the NHL, but very few who could handle the puck and make plays in top gear like Gartner could. He had a nice play where he'd bounce the puck off the nearby boards and then speed around a flatfooted defenseman, as if he was passing to himself. But more often than not he would try driving to the net to unleash a deadly accurate wrist shot or an absolute cannon of a slap shot. If he couldn't get around the defenseman, Gartner would typically zip around the net and try a wrap around attempt.

Gartner wasn't much of a playmaker, though he did score 627 career assists. He wasn't an overly physical player, but he was definitely not afraid to play in traffic and drive to the net. He was exceptional at protecting the puck from the opposition even at such high speeds. Not a body cruncher, Gartner would finish his checks usually by rubbing players out along the wall.

Mike Gartner was a really good player on some pretty average teams. Because of his ageless legs and a cannon of a shot, he was always looked to as a go to guy on these teams. He was as consistent as consistent could be, but he was never dominant for any length of time. Largely because of his career totals a high scoring era where players played longer than ever before, Gartner was included in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

It will be interesting to see how well history remembers this 700 goal scorer.

Bernie Wolfe

2007-03-29T14:50:00.001-07:00

Bernie Wolfe was a goaltender for the Washington Capitals from 1975-1979. Those Caps were perhaps the worst team of all time. The 1974-75 Caps went 8-67-5 while giving up a record 446 goals against in the process. The 1975-76 Caps didn't do a whole lot better going 11-59-10. After being subjected to such mediocrity, it should come as no surprise that Wolfe doesn't miss playing anymore.

"I think I'm one of the few to say that I've never missed hockey for as much as a day since I retired." said Wolfe in all seriousness.

Wolfe was playing with Sir George Williams University in Quebec when the Caps signed him in June of 1974. He was actually the first goaltender under contract for the new franchise. Bernie spent that season in the minors but battle mononucleosis and as a result never played for the big club. He arrived in the US capital in the Caps' second season.

Wolfe's first NHL game came in Kansas City. The game was a rare 6-2 road win for the Caps. In fact Wolfe's first game and first win also marked only the second time in Caps history that they earned two points while on the road! Wolfe played in 40 games that year. He won 5, lost 23 and tied 7 with a 4.16 GAA.

Wolfe picked up his only NHL shutout in his second season. The shutout was against the Detroit Red Wings at the old Olympia. For Wolfe it was the highlight of another long season in which he went 7-15-9.

In all Wolfe played 120 NHL games with a career record of 20 wins, 61 losses and 21 ties and a career GAA of 4.17. He played his whole career with the Washington Capitals.

Playing goal on such a bad team caused Wolfe to feel insecure about his future as a hockey player. He was smart enough to continue his education in the off season as well as getting his feet into the financial consulting business which he began to take a liking too. Finally, on the first day of training camp for the 1979-80 season Wolfe announced his retirement so that he could get on with his life and worry about his future.

Ryan Walter

2007-03-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

Ryan Walter was a born leader.

Born in New Westminster, BC, Ryan, one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, played his minor hockey in Burnaby, British Columbia, before going on to play junior in Langley and Kamloops. However it wasn't until he moved to the WHL's Seattle Breakers that Ryan became noticed by NHL scouts. He scored 54 goals and 125 points and he captained Canada at the 1978 World Junior Hockey Championships.

His outstanding play in the WHL prompted the Washington Capitals to select him second overall in the 1978 Amateur Draft. A year later, he was named team captain, the youngest captain in NHL history at that time.

Walter described his style of hockey:

"I was a bit adaptable I think over 15 seasons In the beginning, I think it was I was pretty aggressive and a Rick Tocchet type of player that scored goals and had to sort of play a very rounded game. I played center and wing in those early years.

"Coming into Montreal, early in my time there, I was playing with Guy Lafleur and Doug Wickenheiser and so it was more of an offensive bent obviously. And then, about half way through my time there, I ended up being a bit more of a defensive specialist and that continued through Vancouver."

Walter was a deceptively strong person, with leg power and balance being the trademark of his skating. He was a tenacious checker who was able to drive through his checks. He also possessed a great understanding of the game, and was able to read the play and anticipate his check's moves ahead of time. His vision enabled him to position himself perfectly to break up plays. Never possessing the quick release needed to become a top shooter, Walter was an opportunistic scorer who scored 264 goals in 1003 NHL games.

Walter enjoyed his best NHL season with the Capitals in 1981-82 when he set career-highs in all offensive categories with 38 goals, 49 assists and 87 points. He would be named as the Caps MVP, top player and fan favorite. However playing in Washington was like playing on the moon - you didn't get noticed there no matter how good you are, at least in those days. Ryan was one of the NHL's best kept secrets.

The Montreal Canadiens knew about him however and on September 9th, 1982 traded for him in a blockbuster deal. The Habs sent a young Rod Langway, Brian Engblom, Doug Jarvis and Craig Laughlin to Washington for Walter and Rick Green. While Walter and Green performed well for Montreal, the trade would be dubbed by many in the Montreal media as the worse trade the Habs ever made as Rod Langway went on to become a standout on defense, twice winning the Norris Trophy.

Ryan spent nine seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, and won his first and only Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1985-86. He helped the Canadiens reach the Cup Finals again in 1988-89.

When Walter left Montreal he finished out his career in his home province playing two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. Walter, a devote Christian, was named the Bud Light/NHL Man of the Year in 1991-92 when he was also the Canucks' nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy and an alternate captain for the Canucks.

When Ryan left the NHL after the 1992-93 season, he had seven 20-goal seasons over his career and finished his playing days with 264 goals, 382 assists and 646 points in 1,003 regular season games. He also had 16 goals and 51 points in 113 playoff contests.

Walter has been busy experiencing many new facets of life since retiring as a hockey player. A devout Christian, Walter has been a leading figure for World Vision, Athletes for Kids and Hockey Ministries International as well as many Christian hockey camps. He authored three books: Off the Bench and Into the Game: Eight Success Strategies from Professional Sport, Simply the Best: Insights and Strategies: From Great Hockey Coaches, and Leading Strategies for Winning Teams. He became a motivational speaker, a corporate leadership coach, and dabbled in broadcasting. He served as a technical advisor for the Kurt Russell's Hollywood blockbuster Miracle, making a cameo appearance as the referee. He also became an board game entrepreneur with his critically acclaimed Trade Deadline Hockey.

Bill Riley

2007-03-29T14:48:00.002-07:00

Regardless of the fact that he was the third black player in National Hockey League history, it's almost a miracle Bill Riley made it to the big leagues at all.

He played junior hockey for the Halifax Canadians (where his teammate was future NHL'er Errol Thompson) and finished for the Amherst Ramblers in 1968-69, scoring 64 points including 32 goals.
After that 1968-69 season Bill gave up pursing hockey at a higher level. He received no interest from the NHL or any other professional league, not because he was black but because, in the words of Breaking The Ice author Cecil Harris, was "blessed with more toughness, resiliency and perseverance than hockey talent."

Riley moved to Kitimat where he worked as a welder at the Alcan aluminum plant. But he just couldn't quit playing hockey. In 1971 he joined the Kitimat Eagles to play senior hockey in a now long gone industrial British Columbia League. Bill was tearing up the league, winning the scoring title in each of his three years there. In 1972-73 Bill had 88 points (56 goals) and in 1973-74 he had 118 points (76 goals).

His 1973-74 season was so spectacular that he caught the attention of NHL scouts. He was invited to both the Washington Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers training camps in 1974. He chose Washington as he figured he would have a better chance to catch on with an expansion club rather than the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Nobody even expected him to make the Capitals farm team, but Bill proved everybody wrong. He had an outstanding camp and was signed and sent to apprentice with the Dayton Gems of the IHL.

Bill went on to play in one game for Washington during their inaugural season in 1974-75. During his appearance in a Caps uniform in 19 74-75 he made history as it marked the first time two colored players played on the same team in the NHL at the same time. Rambunctious Mike Marson also played for the Caps. The rest of the season Riley played for Dayton where he quickly became a teammate's favourite with his bruising style. Bill racked up 279 Pim's in 63 games for Dayton.

Although he was appreciated by all of his teammates, winning over the fans was another story. The fans around the league, and especially in Dayton, were unthinkably brutal towards him. There were stories of fans making monkey sounds and even throwing chicken at him.

Riley tried not to let it bother him.

"I felt so sorry that black families that came to the games to support me had to hear those ugly things from cowards in the stands. I'll tell you what, though, it used to energize me. I think you had to look at it that way. You couldn't let those cowards beat you.

Bill remained in Dayton for the entire 1975-76 season and scored a 66 points, including 35 goals, in 69 games. He also racked up a mind boggling 301 penalty minutes. That was the season that the Washington management started to realize that Bill had a fine potential of becoming a very useful power forward in the National Hockey League.

Although Bill again started the 1976-77 season in Dayton it quickly was obvious that Washington couldn't afford having him in the minors. Bill scored 19 goals and 34 points in just 30 games for Dayton before being called up by the Capitals. He was officially signed as a free agent with the Caps on January 19, 1977.

Bill went on to play better hockey for the Caps then anybody could have imagined. He was one of Washington's best players, if not the best player during the second half of the 76-77 season. Bill scored 27 points (13+14) in 43 games, while picking up 124 PIMs. The most impressive part though was the fact that Bill was a +4 on a team that only had one more player with a plus rating (Bob Sirois +1). In the standings Washington was the 16th team out of 18 and yielded 86 more goals than they scored. So that, plus the fact Bill was a rookiem made his plus-minus rating even more impressive. Not surprisingly Bill became the "rookie of the year" in Washington, as voted by his teammates.

Washington's coach Tom McVie explained why Bill got a shot to play on the Capitals.

"We needed someone to stand in front of the net and pay the price." It was exactly this willingness to do that which gave him a spot on the team. Bill was far from a classic skater, but he made that up with his bruising body checks and an "in your face type" of hockey.

Tom McVie was also quoted as saying:

" He's one of the most determined athletes I've ever known," which tells us a little bit about Bill's all-out approach to the game.

That approach didn't stop in the NHL.

"In the NHL I fought Dave Schultz, Tiger Wiliams. I fought all the tough guys of that era (the 1970s)."

After his fine 1976-77 season he was a regular in the lineup. Early during the 1977-78 season (November 20, 1977) Buffalo's Jim Schoenfeld's skate accidentally cut the tendon in Bill's right ankle. Although he completed the game, this injury forced Bill to miss the next 21 games. Although he scored in his first game back and was in good form, he didn't top his performance from the previous year. Bill finished with 25 points (including 13 goals) in 53 games. He often found himself skating on the top line with scorers Guy Charron and Bob Sirois, establishing himself as crease crasher and fierce forechecker.

Sadly, one of the most blatant stories of racism against Riley occurred back in his hometown of Amherst, Nova Scotia. After signing a $100,000 contract with the Capitals, Riley tried to purchase a cottage on the outskirts of town where he and his childhood sweetheart Joanne could summer. The bank simply wouldn't process the transaction, as the all white neighborhood quietly moved to prevent him from moving in. It didn't matter for these bigots he was the hometown boy he made it all the way to the NHL. Riley ended up suing the bank successfully, making national headlines in the process.

Left hobbled by the tendon injury, Bill only played in 24 games for Washington in 78-79 and split his time between Washington and Hershey (AHL). He was left unprotected by Washington before the WHA / NHL merger draft. Winnipeg picked him up and he played briefly for Winnipeg in 1979-80 (14 games - 5 points) before being sent down to the Nova Scotia Voyageurs (AHL) where he had over a point per game (64 points in 63 games).

Bill never returned to the NHL. He was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 25, 1981 but never played for them. Instead Bill went on to play for the New Brunswick Hawks (AHL) where he captained the Hawks to a Calder Cup championship in 1981-82. The team had future NHL superstar Steve Larmer in the lineup as well as 1980 Olympic Gold Medalist Jack O'Callahan.

In 1982-83 Bill became the Moncton Alpines (AHL) player/ assistant coach and in 1983-84 he returned to Nova Scotia where he played for the Voyageurs (AHL). Bill put up some pretty descent AHL numbers (304 points in 391 games).

Bill remained active in hockey after retiring as a player. He went on to be the Moncton Golden Flames director of marketing and public relations for three years. He was also the co-coach of the Moncton Junior Midland Hawks, reaching the Centennial Cup round.

But Bill wasn't ready to hang up his skates just yet. He went on to be the playing coach for the St. John's Sr. Capitals of the Newfoundland Senior League where he played between 1986-89. He scored 163 points (64 goals and 99 assists) in just 66 games the last two seasons there. In 1988 Bill was also a member of the Hardy Cup winning "Port Aux Basque Mariners".

In 1989-90 Bill became a coach and GM of his hometown team, the Amherst Ramblers, where he once had played junior hockey. He remained there for eight years, winning two Atlantic titles with four Centennial Cup appearances. He later went on to various positions with the junior Moncton Wildcats and Miramichi Timberwolves.

Dennis Maruk

2007-03-29T14:48:00.001-07:00

Dennis Maruk turned out alright for a guy who was supposed to be too small to play professional hockey. He played in 888 National Hockey League games, accumulating an impressive 356 goals and 522 assists for 878 points. Included in those totals are back-to-back seasons of 50 and 60 goals respectively, and a 136 point season!

So how does a 5'8" center thrive in the National Hockey League?

"I remember as a 19-year-old being worried when I went to pro camp, so I asked Dave Hutchison what it was going to take for me to make it," Maruk said. "He told me that I could score goals and make plays, but that I had to stay aggressive -- always be aggressive. I always remembered that and it helped me stay in the NHL."

Dennis was an aggressive player, almost chippy at times. But he was a clean player too, only picking up more than 100 PIM in a season just once. Ironically that was Maruk's best year. Maruk scored 60 goals and 136 points in 1981-82, and had 128 PIM.

Dennis was drafted by the California Golden Seals in 1975 after a spectacular career with the OHA's London Knights. In his final year of junior he scored 66 goals and 145 points in 65 games.

Dennis stepped right into the NHL the next year, and did not disappoint. Right from that first season he showed he had what it took to play in the National Hockey League, despite his lack of size. He scored 30 goals and 32 assists in a full 80 game schedule.

The Seals franchise relocated to Cleveland where Dennis played the next two years. He scored 28 goals and 78 points in 1976-77 and 36 goals and 71 points in 1977-78.

The Cleveland Barons entered the NHL's graveyard after 1978 and Maruk became a member of the Minnesota North Stars. But not for long. After only 2 games in a North Stars jersey, Dennis was traded to Washington in exchange for a first round pick. Minnesota used the pick to select highly regarded Tom McCarthy. Maruk went on to become a superstar.

Maruk elevated his play to 90 points in 76 games in his first season with the Caps. However his second season was forgettable. He was on pace for another 80-plus point year but injuries shortened his season to just 27 games.

Maruk came back with vengeance in 1980-81 and showed the North Stars how wrong they were to give up on him, and showed the Caps how right they were for picking him up. Maruk played in all 80 games and scored 50 goals and 97 points!

Maruk dwarfed his own numbers in 1981-82 when he turned in one of the best single season performances in National Hockey League history. He scored 60 goals and 136 points in 80 games, still team records.

Maruk failed to reproduce his incredible season a year later, and slipped back to a point a game level of production, scoring 81 points in 80 games. However for the first time in his stay in Washington, the Capitals made the Stanley Cup playoffs. Despite his incredible efforts in the past, Maruk finally got his first taste of post season action. It was short lived as the Caps lasted only 4 games.

The North Stars tried to correct past wrongs in the summer of 1983 when they traded their 2nd round pick to Washington in exchange for Maruk. The Caps felt that despite being only 28, Maruk's best days were behind him, as experienced in his 55 point decline from the year before.

Maruk's arrival meant a glut at center ice in Minnesota. Bobby Smith and Neal Broten were already there which meant that Dennis would be a third line center. The Stars ended up trading Smith to Montreal during the season but Dennis never did find his scoring niche in Minnesota.

Maruk played parts of the next 6 years in Minnesota, scoring 60 points in each of his first two years and 58 in his third. He slipped to 46 in year 4 before a severe knee injury all but ended his career. He played in only 28 more games over the next two season before his shattered knee forced him to retire in 1989.

Ten years after his retirement from hockey, the name Dennis Maruk once again appeared on professional hockey box scores. Maruk, who was living in Lake Charles, Louisiana, suited up for eight games this season with Lake Charles Pirates in the Western Professional Hockey League, a very low minor league made up of teams from Texas and Louisiana. However Maruk's story was not about an old player making a silly comeback. Maruk reasoned he was just "filling in because the team had some injuries and were short a few players." Maruk picked up two assists.

Maruk and his wife Kim opened an antiques store in Louisiana. Dennis also keeps busy with the developing hockey programs down there.

Dennis Maruk quietly was one of the most electrifying athletes in hockey during his hey-day, yet in many ways he slipped away without anyone noticing. Why is that?

"I never played for teams that were very good, or that got a lot of coverage. Those teams never seemed to be in contention. Even the Washington teams (that) I had 50 and 60 goals for, (they) weren't very good teams. One thing I did do -- played the game at 100 per cent all the time."

Maruk will likely never join the Hockey Hall of Fame, but three of his sticks reside there. They included an all-star game stick and the sticks he used to score goal 351 and his 60th in 1982.

Mike Marson

2007-03-29T14:47:00.001-07:00

A decade and a half after Willie O'Ree broke hockey's color barrier, Mike Marson became just the second black hockey player in National Hockey League history.

Marson came along as a highly touted kid from Scarborough. He was so talented that age 16 he joined the OHL's Sudbury Wolves after being the 4th overall draft pick in the entire province. He became a junior standout, serving as tough guy, leading scorer and team captain of a Wolves team also sporting Ron Duguay, Dave Farrish, Eric Vail and Randy Carlyle. So impressive was he the NHL's Washington Capitals used the 19th overall pick in the 1974 draft to grab him, just a few picks ahead of Bryan Trottier, Mark Howe, Tiger Williams, Danny Gare and Guy Chouinard.

Unfortunately for Marson, he was not able to translate his excellent amateur resume into NHL success, largely due to several reasons, but mostly because he was not able to handle the political pressures associated with racism.

Let's cover the other reasons first.

Just 5'9" tall, he often played well over 200lbs. The Capitals felt this affected his skating ability and therefore his ability to be an effective hockey player and not just a tough guy. His teammates teased him relentlessly about his weight, something that always bothered him. As a result he never really felt accepted by many of his own teammates.

Bill Riley, the third black in the NHL and Marson's soon to be teammate, said Marson didn't do himself any favors when he chose to rarely associate himself with teammates away from the rink. Rather than engaging himself in common team building social activities he enrolled for part time courses at the University of Maryland and voraciously read about philosophies of Mao, Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King.

Another reason was he was admittedly rushed into the NHL. The Capitals were hockey's worst team, desperately needing a transfusion of new blood. The NHL had just lowered the eligible age level to 18, and the Caps promoted him directly to the NHL. With the benefit of hindsight, Marson himself agrees he made the jump to early.

"A rookie should never go from the juniors straight to the National Hockey League without take a course in life management skills."

But the biggest problem for Marson was the racism he had to endure. No course in life management skills could have likely prepared Marson for what he had to endure. Not that a course may have helped. Marson was bullheaded and refused to bend, which led to him becoming a bitter and angry young man who never enjoyed the sport the same way he did back in Sudbury or as a youth.

"For me the biggest problem was that I was naive," Marson told Cecil Harris, author of Breaking The Ice, a book about blacks in the NHL. "I watched the assassinations of Martin Luther King and the Kennedys in the sixties, as everybody did. But I believed coming through the hippie era in the sixties and seventies that the world was a better place and people had evolved to where you could love your fellow man and woman regardless of race, creed or color. I mean, I really believed that. I believed that to the point of being radically naive.

Although he and his family undoubtedly dealt with racism for a long time, Marson's upbringing in small town Canada probably sheltered him from the realities of America at the time.

"For me, it seemed normal to be a hockey player. I grew up in Canada. I played hockey. A black hockey player? So what? But I found out that people looked at me like I was a Martian. Not Mike Marson. Mike Martian. Because I was a black hockey player."

The naive and cradled Marson was thrust into the heart of racial unrest in Washington, D.C. Making headlines as hockey's first black superstar, both sides wanted to use him or at least his image. To make matters worse, the non-conforming Marson didn't make things easier for himself. Sporting a big afro and Fu-Manchu moustache at a time when such hairstyles were very much a political statement, he dated and married a white woman when inter-racial marriage was still a no-no. No matter what he did the political pressure came from both whites and blacks, and the taunts, including death threats, were too much for him to take.

In his book Harris writes of Marson as the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Marson should have become one of the top players in the National Hockey League. But he was unable truly focus on hockey.

"There was just so much garbage I had to deal with that I just wasn't used to," he said. "The accumulation of all that garbage just made me uneasy. Uncomfortable all the time. How can you perform at your best as a professional athlete if you're uncomfortable all the time? You can't. It's impossible."

He tried. He had a decent rookie season, scoring 16 goals and establishing himself as a feared fighter. But his production slipped, and he was demoted to the minor leagues just 3 years later. Tired of dealing with everything, including increasing levels of depression and drinking, he quit hockey at the age of 25.

"I saw myself as a hockey player. Everybody else saw me as different."

Marson returned to southern Ontario, and worked as a bus driver in Toronto. He found refuge and peace in martial arts. Marson became a 5th degree black belt in the Japanese style of Shotokan, attaining the status of Master-Shihan. Now some 250 pounds, the always intimidating Marson combined knowledge of hockey and martial arts to create Mike Marson's Athletic Training Services. Also offering motivational speeches, he's developed an off-ice training program for hockey players that gives players a better awareness of timing and focus through an understanding of the martial arts. Among his students is NHL superstar Rick Nash.

Joe Juneau

2007-03-29T14:45:00.002-07:00

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to be a good NHL player, but in the case of Joe Juneau it certainly didn't hurt.

Juneau, one of the most interesting people ever to lace up the skates, left his hometown of Pont Rouge, Quebec unable to speak much English. He didn't let that deter him from balancing hockey and education at the famed Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York state. He graduated from RPI with a degree in aeronautical engineering, also known as rocket science, in 1991.

Boston's 81st overall draft choice back in 1988, Juneau was far from a blue chip NHL prospect at this point. It would have been easy for Juneau to walk away from the game and begin working in the engineering field. But at the conclusion of his final two seasons at RPI he extended his season by skating with the Canadian national team. When coach Dave King offered him a chance to spend the entire 1991-92 season and audition for the Olympic tea, Juneau but his engineering ambitions on hold.

Juneau really emerged into a top prospect during this season. He led the team in scoring, and impressed many with his speed and passing abilities. Many NHL scouts closely scrutinized the Canadian national team that season. All amateur players at the time, scouts and media took unusually high interest in the season because of the presence of Eric Lindros on the team. Juneau, the leading scorer in those Olympics, led Canada to a silver medal, leading Juneau to proclaim those Games as the highlight of his career.

"I think the top would be the (1992) Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. We were all amateurs [on the Canadian men’s ice hockey team] and we managed to get a silver medal, and I was the high scorer in the tournament. It was great. I went to the Stanley Cup finals twice, and as much fun as it was, I didn’t think it was like the Olympics were."

Juneau, a certified pilot who spent his off-seasons rebuilding his own deHavilland Beaver float plane, continued his high flying ways when breaking into the NHL immediately after the Olympics. He stepped in with 5 goals and 14 assists in 14 games to close off the regular season, and added 12 more points 15 playoff games. He proved those numbers were no fluke when in his official rookie season of 1992-93 he scored 32 goals and 102 points.

Juneau was the beneficiary of some great line mates in Boston, namely Adam Oates and, when healthy, Cam Neely. When the Bruins traded Juneau to Washington in 1993-94, he was never able to duplicate the same lofty scoring totals. He remained a good playmaker that was a strong presence in back to back Stanley Cup finals, 1998 with Washington and 1999 with Buffalo, despite falling short both times.

Juneau would spend 6 seasons in the U.S. capital. His offensive production would never challenge his previous numbers, but he earned great acclaim for rounding out his game and becoming a very versatile player. His offense slowly dried up, but he became a key penalty killer and checker. He underwent an interesting transformation from scoring star to a jack-of-all-trades utility player noted for his work ethic and strong defensive play. While his scoring totals diminished, his hockey sense remained as strong as always. It was just used in different fashion and, to his credit, he never complained about his role.

The highlight of Juneau's stay in Washington was the 1998 playoffs when the Capitals unexpectedly made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. Juneau was a big part of that run, scoring 17 points in 21 games, including two overtime game winning goals. Unfortunately the Capitals couldn't pull off the upset.

After bouncing around the league late in his career, Juneau returned home to Pont Rouge and became a partner with the engineering company Harfan Technologies. Juneau, who also spends lots of time at the companies Maryland office, spends much of his time promoting the small company that develops infrastructure asset management solutions for the private and public sector.

An avid outdoorsman who enjoys flying his float plane to the remotest fishing holes in northern Quebec, Juneau was troubled by social conditions in some of Quebec's isolated and usually native communities in the region known as Nunavik. He has begun working with communities in Nunavik, using hockey as a tool to boost self confidence and scholastic performance of the region's youth.

Dino Ciccarelli

2007-03-29T14:45:00.001-07:00

Dino Ciccarelli

Dino Ciccarelli is hockey's version of a sanitation engineer. He has scored over 600 NHL goals, almost all of them by parking himself in front of the net and banging away at rebounds and loose pucks. Meet Dino Ciccarelli - garbage man.

"It's just a matter of getting the puck on the net and getting traffic in front of the goalies. I don't know why more teams don't do it. I still believe 90% of the goals scored are ugly goals, 10% are pretty goals. You won't find many of mine on the highlight films," explains Ciccarelli.

While scoring more than 600 garbage goals may very well land him in the Hockey Hall of Fame, there was a time when it didn't look like any NHL team was willing to take a chance on the high scoring junior star. A badly broken leg in his second year of junior resulted in doctors telling Ciccarelli he'd never be able to play hockey again.

Dino worked through a year and a half of rehabilitation and was determined to prove his doctors wrong. His dream was to play in the NHL, but more disappointment greeted Ciccarelli. Despite working hard to return to the ice, he was not drafted even though he had a great last season of junior.

While he wasn't drafted, the Minnesota North Stars were still interested in the pint sized scoring machine. Lou Nanne signed Ciccarelli with the idea of playing him in the minors to see how his leg would hold up. After just 48 games with Oklahoma City of the CHL (in which Dino scored 32 goals and 57 points), Ciccarelli was called up late in the 1980-81 season.

Dino played in 32 NHL games his first year, scoring 18 goals and 30 points - very solid numbers for an NHL rookie. But the best was yet to come for Dino and the North Stars that year. The Stars went on a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals before eventually falling short against the New York Islanders dynasty. The Stars were powered by Dino's 14 goals (and 21 points) in 19 games, setting a record for most playoff goals scored by a freshman.

Ciccarelli would enjoy 10 seasons with the Stars, easily becoming one of the most popular players in Minnesota. Twice Dino scored 50 goals in a season and scored more goals than any other Minnesota North Star in history except for Brian Bellows.

However Ciccarelli was also no angel in his younger days in the NHL. A notable incident happened in Ciccarelli career in 1988. Dino got into a bitter altercation with Toronto Maple Leaf's rookie defenseman Luke Richardson. The battle of words went from pushing and shoving to a fencing competition as Ciccarelli in particular went after the much bigger Richardson with the lumber, including an attempt to hit him in the head. Much controversy arose from the incident which eventually would end up in court as Ciccarelli was charged with assault. Dino's punishment however was just one day in jail - a day which turned out to be a couple of hours spent signing autographs.

While the Richardson incident was the highest profile incident of Ciccarelli's bad boy image, his immature behavior away from the rink eventually wore thin with the North Stars management. At the trading deadline of 1989, Dino and Bob Rouse were sent to Washington in exchange for Mike Gartner and Larry Murphy. Ciccarelli and Gartner were similar in that they were long time goal scorers with their now-former teams. The trade was the first trade in both players careers.

Ciccarelli scored 12 goals in his first 11 Capitals games quickly earning the respect of Caps fans who loved Gartner. Dino would play three seasons in the US Capital. He had 41 and 38 goal campaigns (plus a 21 goal injury-shortened season) before being traded in the summer of 1992.

This time Ciccarelli was off to Detroit. His first season with the Red Wings was statistically the 3rd best of his career, scoring 97 points including 41 goals. However as Ciccarelli aged and with the Wings incredible depth on right wing, Dino saw less and less ice time as his days in the Motor City went on. He scored only 57 points the following year. He put up a solid 43 points in the lock-out shortened season of 1995 but equaled the same point production in the following full season.

Despite being a popular member of the Wings, Ciccarelli was traded before the Wings were able to win the Stanley Cup. The Wings traded him to the lowly Tampa Bay Lightening for future considerations. The Wings had some great prospects at right wing and they wanted to get them some playing time. Ciccarelli, who at the time was 35, was disappointed to leave a contender which would later go on to win Stanley Cups, but at the same time was pleased to go to Tampa where he would also receive more ice time.

Dino responded well to the increased ice time in his first season with the Bolts. He scored 35 goals, returning to the form of 3 seasons earlier. However in his second season, the Bolts struggled through a terrible season and ownership difficulties, Tampa Bay GM Phil Esposito, a big fan of Dino's, was forced to move him and his multi-million dollar salary. Ciccarelli and Jeff Norton were traded to cross-state rival Florida Panthers in a late season deal for Mark Fitzpatrick and Jody Hull.

In Florida Dino has been plagued by injuries, most notably a badly sprained ankle and an ailing back, most likely caused by years of punishment for standing in front of the opposition's net. In 1998-99 the back problem limited Dino to just 14 games. With his contract up at season's end, no team was willing to take a chance on the aging scoring machine with a chronic back problem.

"I would have loved to play another couple of years, but the injury that I got last year is just nagging and it's making me unable to play the way I'd like to. It wasn't worth it."

Dino the Dinosaur retired with 608 goals, 2 shy of Bobby Hull's 610. There is no doubt that Ciccarelli ranks high on the all time goal scoring list. There is also no doubt that Dino belongs among the game's all time best.

Bobby Carpenter

2007-03-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

Following the United States "Miracle on Ice" victory over the heavily favored Russians at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, hockey in the US was about to experience a boom in hockey interest. All the NHL needed was an American superstar to come along quickly to capitalize on the new found popularity.

Enter Bob Carpenter, Sports Illustrated's "Can't Miss Kid."

Prior the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, Sports Illustrated plastered the 18 year old high school kid on the cover of their weekly magazine. Its pretty rare for a hockey player to grace the cover of SI, let alone a high school player. SI exclaimed that Carpenter was going to be America's first truly great hockey player, and called him the "Can't Miss Kid."

Carpenter didn't miss, at least at first. He stumbled during the middle part of his career and towards the end reinvented his game to survive for 18 NHL seasons. While he wasn't even the best American in the league for most of his career, he was a pioneering player who accomplished a number of firsts by an American.

Bob was the first player ever to go from playing hockey at an American high school straight to the NHL. When the Washington Capitals chose him third overall in the 1981 Entry Draft, he became the first American ever to be taken in the first round. He was the first American to reach the magical 50 goal plateau in a season in 1984-85, when he recorded a career-high 53. He retired as one of five American's to play in over 1,000 games.

Carpenter experienced a lot of early success in his career. In fact his first NHL point, an assist, came only 12 seconds into his first game. By the end of the season, Bob had set Capitals rookie records for goals (32) and points (67) while finishing fourth in team scoring. The next two seasons were similar, as he scored 69 points in 1982-83 and 68 points in 1983-84.

1984-85 was the pinnacle of Bob's career when he reached 53 goals. It appeared that Bob had finally taken his game to the next level, a level where an American could start putting up statistics that could compare among the league's elite. Carpenter's 53 goals tied him with Dale Hawerchuk behind John Ogrodnick (55), Mike Bossy (58), Jari Kurri (71) and Wayne Gretzky (73).

However 1985-86 would see Bob's performance fall greatly. He stumbled to just 27 goals and 56 points. He recovered somewhat in the playoffs with 5 goals and 9 points in 9 games, the first really solid playoff performance by Carpenter. However the 1986-87 season saw Carpenter get off to another horrible start, with 5 goals in the Caps first 22 games.

Finally Washington had had enough and traded Carpenter along with a 2nd round pick to the New York Rangers. Broadway, always looking for a big name talent to showoff at Madison Square Gardens, had hoped that Carpenter could return to previous form and gave up Bob Crawford, Kelly Miller and Mide Ridley to get him. It turned out to be a fairly lopsided trade in hindsight. Miller and Ridley went on to become significant pieces of the Capitals for years to come while Carpenter struggled in just 28 games with the Rangers.

2 goals and 10 points later, the Rangers traded Carpenter to Los Angeles in the big Marcel Dionne deal. The Rangers also sent Tom Laidlaw in exchange for Jeff Crossman, a third round pick, and the aging superstar Dionne.

Carpenter's first full season in Tinseltown was also Wayne Gretzky's first season. Carpenter saw a lot of time on Wayne's LW, but failed to put up great numbers. He scored 19 goals and 33 assists for 52 points. However there was always rumors that Gretzky didn't like having Carpenter on his line and that Gretzky wanted Carpenter moved for someone else. Again, these were only rumors and were never substantiated.

Carpenter lasted half way through the 1988-89 seasons before being traded to Boston in exchanged for super-shadow Steve Kasper.. It was a dream come true for the native of Beverly Massachusetts to play in the famous Boston Gardens. Bobby actually rejuvenated his career somewhat while wearing the spoked B crest on his jersey. He scored 25 goals and played a good role in the 1989-90 run to the Stanley Cup finals. The following year almost saw the end of Carpenter's career as he badly shattered his knee cap and sat out most of the season. However Carpenter went through excruciating rehab assignments and returned to the game he loved the next season. He not only returned to the league, he also returned to the 25 goal plateau in just 60 games.

Carpenter became a free agent without compensation after the 1992 season and elected to take his career full circle by returning to Washington, the scenes of some past glories. Bob played in 68 games, scoring 11 goals and 28 points. Following the season, the Capitals cut Carpenter loose for a second time.

Carpenter signed on with the New Jersey Devils where Carpenter met coach Jacques Lemaire. Lemaire turned Carpenter into a defensive, checking oriented center/winger. Carpenter's scoring totals dropped dramatically over the next 6 seasons but he excelled in his new role of shadow and penalty killer. He became known as one of the league's best defensive centers, a role Carpenter cherished.

Carpenter finished with 320 goals and 418 assists in 1,178 games. He also retired with a Stanley Cup ring, as he was a big part of the Devil's 1995 triumph.