‘New’ NHL winners sacrifice offensive flair
While passing through Dallas last week, the timing was perfect for me to catch the No. 1 ranked Dallas Stars playing the Edmonton Oilers in a Stanley Cup Playoff game. It was fun to catch up on old acquaintances and see a lot of familiar faces.
One of those mugs was on Brett Hull, and I mentioned to him that I had written a column on Wayne Gretzky’s retirement, and that in it I said that while Gretzky had changed the way the NHL played the game, not all of the changes he inspired have been positive.
Brett raised an eyebrow. “How could you say that?” said Hull, who never shrinks at saying something that might hit a controversial chord.
It led to an interesting discussion about how the game has changed and what player most altered the style of the NHL. Bobby Orr was the most significant player to ever play the game at the NHL level, at least until Gretzky came along. And now, with both of them retired, the debate can rage about which was better. And maybe being the best doesn’t necessarily mean affecting the game the most.
When Bobby Orr played defense for the Boston Bruins, he changed the game completely. As the only defenseman ever to win an NHL scoring title, Orr’s speedy, highly skilled method of playing and dominating a game caused every team in the NHL to seek and deploy puck-carrying, puck-rushing and point-generating defensemen. That trend actually initiated a new phrase — “defensive defenseman” — which would cause the old-timers to chuckle, because before Orr, there were ONLY defensive defensemen.
Every team still has at least a couple defensemen who are good at handling the puck, because breaking the puck out of the defensive zone with a quick, accurate and creative pass remains the most important single defensive play this side of a goaltender’s save.
And then, along came Gretzky. With The Great One as the primary architect, the Edmonton Oilers took over domination of the NHL from the New York Islanders, and they overran defensemen and team-defense schemes with regularity. But there was a different reaction among opposing teams. Every team would have given half the franchise for Gretzky, but finding another just like him, or training one through the junior and minor league ranks, was impossible.
So opposing teams stressed more and more defense. Teams found they couldn’t cover Gretzky because his elusive playmaking style was actually enhanced when you stayed close to him because that meant you were leaving his teammates — and potential pass-receivers — less covered. So they tried covering his teammates, which led to more man-to-man coverage. They forced one forward to stay back, even going so far as to designate which one (as in a left-wing lock system) stayed back. Teams sacrificed some offense for more defense, and that evolved into some teams sacrificing any semblance of offense for total dedication to defense. That’s how the New Jersey Devils won a Stanley Cup.
So now we sit down by the ol’ TV set, armed with proper amounts of popcorn and some form of liquid refreshment, and we watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs of 1999. There’s a couple of games on cable every night, and the divisions alternate, which is sensational for hockey junkies.
We see the Dallas Stars, and we hear the statistic, about how they’ve established the best record by allowing the fewest goals. Must be a mistake. They must mean they SCORED the most goals. This is a team with the flamboyant and speedy Mike Modano, who scored 50 goals the first year that the Dallas Stars supplanted the Minnesota North Stars; the deadly-shooting Brett Hull, who scored 86 goals in 1990-91, the year after he scored 72 goals and the year before he scored 70, and who has scored over 50 goals five times in the past nine years; and Joe Nieuwendyk, who scored 51 goals twice in a row for Calgary powerhouses 10 years ago.
On top of that, they have two extremely creative playmakers behind those stars, in former North Dakota Hobey Baker winner Tony Hrkac and former UMD ace Derek Plante. Those two, however, mainly alternate for each other in the lineup, because the game today demands more rugged, physically imposing players and creative brilliance is appreciated, but less mandatory.
It works. As they say, you could look it up. This season, Modano scored 34 goals, Hull 32 and Nieuwendyk 28, and the Stars were (are?) the best because they have allowed only 168 goals in 82 games.
Look around at the league scoring. Jaromir Jagr led the league with 127 points, but only 44 were goals. Teemu Selanne of Anaheim had an NHL-best 47 goals and a league second-best 107 points. That’s it. Nobody scored as many as 50 goals in the NHL this season. Wayne Gretzky had only nine goals.
That is the biggest after-effect of Gretzky’s splendid 20-year career. Every opponent stressed defensive measures to try to contain Gretzky, to the point that now that Gretzky is gone, all NHL teams are left playing cautious, stay-close, defensive-style hockey. Hull nodded his head in agreement, a nod that explains the philosophy of the Dallas Stars, which is mandatory, successful, and possibly of Stanley Cup winning stuff.
And it’s also too bad, in a way. The Dallas Stars have excellent personnel, and they are extremely patient. They are willing to play cautious, defensive hockey, knowing full well that if both teams get only a half-dozen decent scoring chances, the odds are excellent that the more successful scorers will be wearing Dallas jerseys.
Brett Hull praised the successful style of the Stars, and pointed out how every players is dedicated to close-checking, defensive play. And even the free-spirited Hull has bought into the system. He’s had to.
“I’m now a checker who can score,” said the man who once was a scorer who, despite seeming unbothered by defensive restraints, was the biggest weapon in any NHL team’s arsenal, except for Wayne Gretzky. Imagine what might have been had Gretzky been working his playmaking magic to get the puck to the missile-firing Hull.
But you can only imagine it, as you watch tonight’s game on cable, waiting dramatically for something resembling a scoring chance.
Ah, progress.
Francisco, Geisler, Conboy set for UMD this fall
UMD’s hockey recruiting picture continues to take a more identifiable shape, although any current players who get lucrative offers and sign pro contracts could cause it to fluctuate.
But at this point, players committed to UMD who will join the program in the fall include Hermantown center Jon Francisco, Greenway of Coleraine defenseman Beau Geisler and Silver Bay defenseman John Conboy — all of whom were first-team selections on the Up North Newspaper Network regional all-star team — and Superior’s Rob Anderson, a goaltender playing for Green Bay in the USHL.
Players committed who will, for now at least, play in the USHL next season include Andy Sacchetti of Eveleth-Gilbert, another all-Up North first-team pick, and Josh Miskovich of Greenway, a second-team all-Up North selection.
(—John Gilbert)
Lucia sought by Gophers to replace Woog
The 14-year reign of Doug Woog as coach of the University of Minnesota hockey team came to an end Monday, when Woog met with athletic director Mark Dienhart to discuss his options.
It was widely reported throughout the Twin Cities that those options included either a one-year deal to continue coaching or potential multi-year security if Woog would relinquish the coaching job and move into a fund-raising capacity at the U.
That is almost correct.
First of all, the option of coaching for only a one-year contract would have merely been the continuation of status quo, had it been an option for Woog. He has operated on the basis of a one-year contract for several years, with the terms rolling over automatically if neither side had a reason to interrupt it. It has been interrupted. And by the time Monday’s announcement came around, Woog’s options were reduced to one — the one he chose.
Amid widespread speculation that Colorado College coach Don Lucia and North Dakota coach Dean Blais were the two front-runners to replace Woog, if a replacement was to be required, it was also announced by Dienhart, with flair and some degree of righteousness, that no “emissary” from the U. had contacted any other coach because Dienhart would consider that unethical.
That is almost correct.
While Dienhart said at Woog’s 3 p.m. press conference that the search committee to find a new coach had not yet been assembled, he and assistant administrators Pat Forciea and Jeff Schemmel hustled immediately off to catch a 4:45 p.m. flight to Denver, on tickets that had been previously purchased, of course, to meet with Lucia.
Blais wasn’t waiting around, and neither were North Dakota officials, who knew their man was a valuable commodity. After hustling on their own all day, North Dakota administrators got Blais to sign an enormous new contract shortly before 10 p.m., right while Minnesota’s guys were talking to Lucia in Denver, Blais’s contract will pay him an estimated $200,000 per year for the next 10 years to stay in Grand Forks. “I am out of the picture at Minnesota, as of now,” Blais said, late Tuesday night.
That reduced Minnesota’s top choices to one, and Lucia met with the Gopher brass again Wednesday morning.
The main public reason for relieving Woog of his coaching job was two losing seasons, back to back, after a dozen very impressive finishes. Beneath the surface, however, the reason for the faltering record was the belated effect of internal unrest that had grown to near-mutiny proportions.
Some parents had, recently and finally, come forward, seeking to make their feelings known to president Mark Yudof and/or vice president and former athletic director McKinley Boston. They had genuine complaints about a pattern of negative verbal harrassment that worsened in recent years from sarcastic badgering to something closer to psychological and perhaps emotional abuse. Players were humiliated in front of teammates, in terms that would shock stereotypical longshoremen, and it turned a lot of promising, bright-eyed players into discouraged under-achievers. Woog’s apologists in the media simply blamed the players, as if 20-some exceptional hockey players suddenly forgot how to play.
The seniors are called in for discussion every year, but this year, some underclassmen were called in as well. They took advantage of the opportunity to express themselves. Several of them were vehement that if Woog came back, they would not.
By the time Monday rolled around, it was clear that Doug Woog could choose to become a fund-raiser, but his well-publicized option to continue coaching was no longer available. Woog made his decision, but waited until Tuesday to meet with the Gopher players before any announcement would be forthcoming.
Both Lucia and Blais had been talked to, by people representing the University of Minnesota, on at least two occasions BEFORE Dienhart said no emissary of the U. had talked to any other coaches, because such contact would be unethical. That made the later statement interesting. Was it simply an untrue deception, a pre-admission of unethical behavior, or an indication that Pat Forciea was operating on his own without Dienhart’s knowledge?
I don’t believe Dienhart would lie and say nobody had contacted Lucia or Blais if he had knowledge that it had indeed happened. I think he didn’t know about it, which is an indication of a curious lack of institutional control in the department.
Lucia worked a miracle when he went to CC six years ago and led the Tigers from last place to the WCHA title, then, in his first three seasons, became the first coach ever to win three consecutive WCHA titles. Murray Armstrong didn’t do it, John MacInnes didn’t do it, Herb Brooks didn’t do it, Badger Bob Johnson didn’t do it — nobody had ever done it.
Injuries prevented CC from a fourth title — injuries and the emergence of Blais at North Dakota, where, over the last three seasons, he became the SECOND coach to ever win three straight WCHA championships.
Colorado College now plays in a spectacular new arena in Colorado Springs, and Lucia could easily spend the rest of his career there, happy and prosperous. Lucia was a star defenseman at Grand Rapids and then Notre Dame, and while he is not an “M” man, that hasn’t mattered in football or basketball, or in the administration, where Dienhart and Forciea are both St. Thomas guys.
Despite claims that a search committee still must be formed, and an equal opportunities rule that says the job must be posted and open for about a month-long process, the group traveling to Denver to talk to Lucia seems to indicate that somehow Minnesota will get around the usual waiting period. If the offer to Lucia connects, he could be the coach by the time this weekend is over.
The talent at Minnesota is already in place, always has been. If I’m right about that, let me be the first to predict that under Lucia, the Gophers will win the WCHA title next season. More importantly, the program will rise like a rocket ship to regain its stature as one of the nation’s half-dozen most elite programs.
It had slipped to something less than that. There were the publicized issues of NCAA violations, and several unpublicized issues of allegations of more NCAA violations, but those were secondary to the treatment of players. Some threatened to come forward, and parents threatened to go to the administration, but rarely did that happen and they became enablers for the program to slip.
Understandably, nobody wanted to be the one who criticized the lofty Gopher hockey program. Scott Bloom came forth with a shocking speech at a post-season award banquet in 1990, about how it hadn’t been as much fun on the inside as the perception might have indicated, and he was ostracized by the strongest boosters for speaking out.
Brian Bonin spoke up for his teammates during his Hobey Baker season four years ago, but others backed away from public statements and simply went away in silence.
I have written about some of the issues, and while some thought it was too strong, the letters and e-mails I received since then have been emotional and remarkably poignant.
One of them was from someone who shall remain nameless by my choice, but wrote about a nephew who is a current member of the Gopher team but not from the Up North area:
“It has been his dream since peewee days to play for the
Gophers. He turned down other offers. He thought he would succeed on his
ability to play. He has been dead wrong. Our challenge as a family has been
to keep his self-esteem from going away altogether. He almost transferred…but he has made friends and he doesn’t want to be a ‘quitter.’ He has been ignored; not allowed a regular place on
any line; been bumped from travel without any explanation; all mind games he
has a hard time understanding or playing.
“We hear the stories–everyone talks about them–every player has experienced
something of Woog’s power problem. One player spoke out a year or so ago. So,
the team has been told that at banquets they each have to ‘thank’ Woog for all
he’s done. They are to offer no opinions or make no editorial comment .
“[Some] parents are trying to move behind the scenes, but the good old boy, Minnesotans-don’t-talk-about-it syndromes are in full play here. Everyone is upset. No one will talk about it. No
parent wants to risk their kid’s hockey career. They have been hockey
supporters since their kid got on skates and have been brought up to let the
coach do his job. The kids think being tough means taking whatever he
dishes out. College careers have been horrendous experiences; pro career
possibilities have disappeared; but most importantly young kids have spent
four years being told indirectly that they don’t matter; they aren’t capable;
they can’t make it and no one cares.”
The silence has ended. A new regime is about to be installed, and the returning players will rejoice. I don’t dislike Doug Woog, even if I don’t like what has happened to the program during the second half of his tenure. He and I always have been able to talk, to trade opinions, and to share a few laughs. I imagine we can do that more freely now. I wish him well in his future endeavors.
Auto racing gets jump-start with weekend on TV
The transition from winter sports to auto racing season is a bit subtle Up North, because the later departure of snow means a later start for the races at dirt ovals such as Proctor, Superior, Hibbing, Ashland and wherever else regular weekend races are conducted.
That just means motorsports fans Up North get a little time to make the transition, and they can whet their appetites by channel surfing the television to keep track of the latest news from NASCAR’s Winston Cup, Formula 1, CART, the IRL, and NHRA drag races.
This weekend is a perfect example of a full menu, including subsidiary events such as the International Race of Champions and the NASCAR Busch Grand National preliminary to the Winston Cup, and NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck series.
In fact, so popular has Winston Cup become that the Busch Grand National has become a major series. Run primarily with lower-powered cars for apprentice Winston Cup drivers, NASCAR allows a few of its stars to go back and add spice to the Busch fields. This weekend’s Busch race will be broadcast live, from Bristol, Tenn., on ESPN at noon on Saturday. NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck series will be broadcast live at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, also on ESPN.
The big day is Sunday, a day that gets an early start at 11 p.m. Saturday, when ESPN will broadcast the second race of the CART Fed-Ex series — live from Motegi, Japan, where it already will be Sunday afternoon. That race will be rebroadcast at 4:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPN 2.
CART, the top U.S. road-racing and oval venue, opened with Greg Moore winning at Homestead, Fla., and with two-time defending series champ Alex Zanardi off to Formula 1. The reason CART is so strong is the competitive balance at the top. Not only the drivers, but the equipment is so competitive that any of a dozen strong competitors can win any given race.
Moore and Michael Andretti had a strong duel to finish 1-2 at Homestead, and Dario Franchitti and Jimmy Vasser followed to complete 1-4. Moore has a Mercedes engine, Andretti a Ford, and Franchiti and Vasser Honda power. You can bet that the Honda forces will be primed for a big show in Japan. The downside of the first race was that Al Unser Jr. was knocked out of action for several weeks with a broken ankle in an early crunch along the wall.
On Sunday morning, the television barrage of auto racing resumes at 9:30 a.m., when Fox Sports Network and Speedvision will show the second Formula 1 race of the season, live from Sao Paulo. That will be interesting, because Eddie Irvine surprised the world by winning the opener, a month ago in Australia, in the second team Ferrari, when the anticipated dominance of the two McLarens and Michael Schumacher’s No. 1 Ferrari faltered. And watch for Zanardi, who was a bit too exuberant and wound up off the track in the opener. He can take great optimisim that Ralf Schumacher, his team partner at Williams, was a strong third in Australia.
The Formula 1 race should end by just before noon Sunday, which leaves just enough time to grab a chicken drumstick — preferably southern-fried — before the NASCAR Winston Cup race starts at noon on ESPN, live from Bristol, Tenn.
If family responsibilities conflict, you can always come back to the 10 p.m. video rebroadcast on ESPN 2.
The Winston Cup season, of course, is well under way, with six events already completed. So far, Jeff Gordon has not dominated in his usual fashion. He won two of the six, but so did Jeff Burton, while Mark Martin also has a victory, and Terry LaBonte won the race two weeks ago in Fort Worth.
That also makes it interesting, because Ford has won three, with Burton and Martin in Ford Tauruses, and Chevrolet has won three, with Martin and Terry LaBonte in Monte Carlos.
The amazing popularity of Winston Cup proves that the rules can be doctored to demand competitiveness, and that’s good enough to create strings of a dozen cars, where the one who gets to the right position (not leading) to draft for a slingshot pass on the last lap or two, can win.
It’s also amazing that none of the cars involved has anything to do with cars in the showrooms any more. Time was, the Pontiacs and Plymouths and Fords were much-modified versions of showroom cars. No longer. Think about it: the Monte Carlo, Taurus and Grand Prix race cars all have race-built pushrod V8 engines up front, with the drive wheels at the rear, and all of those cars can only be bought with front-wheel drive, and none of them with a V8.
Still, if the competition is unpredictable and the marketing is done well enough, the popularity has proven to be overwhelming.
Race outfits like the IRL and NHRA have the weekend off. But there’s still plenty to fill the weekend, and it beats shoveling snow.
U puck players fired-up for future after Woog
The emotional departure of Doug Woog as University of Minnesota hockey coach this week stirred different reactions from Gopher players, including some of those from Up North high schools. Woog announced on Tuesday that he was moving up to an assistant athletic director position in fund-raising after 14 years as head coach.
Just before the press conference, Woog met with the hockey players and announced his decision to step down.
“There were a lot of mixed emotions,” said Aaron Miskovich, a sophomore winger from Grand Rapids. “We had heard a lot of rumors and I think a lot of guys sort of knew it was coming, so they might not have been too surprised. But it was pretty emotional; it was sad to see a person who was hurting like he was. But I think he’s happy with his decision.”
Sophomore defenseman Dylan Mills, one of three Gophers from Duluth East, said: “I was surprised, mostly because we hadn’t had any team meetings or discussions about it until Doug called us together to announce it.”
Freshman defenseman Nick Angell, from East, said: “It was hard to get prepared for it, although we had kinda heard the rumors and I think we knew when we heard about the meeting. Personally, I feel bad for him. I consider it an honor to play for Coach Woog. This was probably the funnest year I’ve had playing.”
Freshman goaltender Adam Hauser, who played at Greenway of Coleraine before going to the Ann Arbor development team as a senior, said: “You can look at it both ways. Coach Woog is moving on, but I think he’s excited about it and he’s encouraging everybody else to be excited about it, too.”
Colorado College coach Don Lucia remains the strong favorite to be the new Gopher coach, but even the uncertainty of who the new coach will be has them thinking about returning to Mariucci Arena this fall.
“I think we’re all looking ahead at a new direction,” said Mills. “I’ve talked to some people, and there seems to be a lot of energy around the rink. We’re very excited about starting next season — we open at Maine, then play North Dakota, Boston College and go to Colorado College. I don’t really have a preference for who the next coach is, but whatever happens, if the new coach is dedicated to what we can do, it will be good for the program.”
Colorado College coach Lucia, from Grand Rapids, is the primary candidate, and he and current Gopher assistant Mike Guentzel, who is a former Greenway of Coleraine player, were interviewed by the Minnesota search committee on Thursday at the campus. Gopher junior forward Nate Miller is the team’s elected representative on the search committee. Despite rules that state how the posting and application procedure must be followed, there is speculation that Lucia and Guentzel might be the only two candidates interviewed.
“Donnie [Lucia] recruited me,” said Miskovich. “He’s a good guy, and obviously a good coach. But anybody coming in to take the job will do a good job. It’s kind of exciting to think about, because it’s like anything else that’s new and fresh. I think we have enough talent that we could win the WCHA title next year. We’ve had the talent all along, we just had some breakdowns.”
Angell, also, said he thought the team would be a contender next season. “Whoever comes in, we’ll have a good team, based on what we’ve got coming back,” said Angell. “We still don’t know who it will be, but personally, it doesn’t really matter to me. I just want to play. I never had a problem with any of the coaches here, they were all fair with me.
“I’m excited about next year, but I’m getting on an intramural softball team this spring, and I’m excited about that, too.”
LUCIA FRONT-RUNNER
TO REPLACE WOOG
Speculation on Doug Woog’s replacement centers on Colorado College coach Don Lucia, who is from Grand Rapids, and who interviewed with the Minnesota selection committee Thursday night in Minneapolis. What was supposed to be a two-man duel with North Dakota coach Dean Blais was reduced when Blais agreed to a long-term contract at North Dakota late Tuesday night.
Tuesday night’s plan for Blais, who is from International Falls, called for a 10-year contract worth $200,000 a year, but by the time Wednesday’s news conference in Grand Forks came around to announce it, the terms had been altered. The deal announced at the press conference calls for Blais to get a $115,000 salary and a $100,000 annuity for each of five years, plus a car and a membership in a country club. The revised deal — which still could be revised more before being finalized — leaves room for the possibility that Blais could negotiate for the next five years after three years, which also would be after the Fighting Sioux’s first season in UND’s new $50-million arena.
UMD ADDS COOLE RECRUIT
Adam Coole, a former Duluth East goaltender now playing for the Rochester team in the USHL, is the latest player to commit to attend UMD. Coole’s brother, Ryan, is a sophomore defenseman on the team.
Coole will very likely play another year in the USHL, although if something happened, such as if junior star Brant Nicklin were to be lured to sign a pro contract. Coole joins goalie Rob Anderson from Superior, and Green Bay of the USHL, plus defensemen John Conboy of Silver Bay and Beau Geisler of Greenway of Coleraine, and center Jon Francisco of Hermantown as prospects committed to join UMD this fall, and forwards Andy Sacchetti of Eveleth-Gilbert and Josh Miskovich of Greenway are committed to UMD but may play a year in the USHL first.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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