The spin cycle
Posted: Monday June 07, 1999 10:29 AM
By Jamie MacDonald, CNN/SI
With the Western Conference decided, we turn our Glance to the Stanley
Cup spin cycle. We'll take a look at who's hot, who's warm (someone playing
well enough lately to hint at something special down the Stanley Cup
stretch) and who's ice-cold.
Buffalo:
Hot ...
Miroslav Satan .
Tore it up after returning from an injured foot.
Warm ... Erik
Rasmussen . Rookie showing speed and a scoring touch with more ice
time.
Cold ... Joe
Juneau . Showed flashes early in the series, but Buffalo is going
to need another warm-to-hot hand in the finals if Geoff Sanderson or
Stu Barnes don't
catch fire.
Dallas:
Hot ...
Jamie Langenbrunner
. Some guys just turn it up in the playoffs -- Langenbrunner is proving
to be one of them.
Warm ... Brett Hull . The more he
shoots, the scarier the Stars' underrated offense becomes.
Cold ... Sergei Zubov . He's not
as icy as Theo Fleury was
against the Stars, but some pop out of this allegedly offensive defenseman
would be a welcome surprise.
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Storylines We're Following | |
Restless Leafs
Toronto's associate GM, Mike
Smith -- appointed to the post by president and GM Ken Dryden
in the summer of 1997 -- recently revealed that he's ready to move up in
the world. Smith told the Toronto Sun, "I'm not saying
anything new. I either will be managing here or somewhere else or I will go
back to my life on Martha's Vineyard." Smith also mentioned that when
he took the job, there were no assurances from Dryden that Smith would
ascend to the general manager's chair. Certainly they don't play the games
or coach the players, but this pair has worked together well, especially
when you consider that the Leafs were a laughingstock when they took
office.
More of the silly season
Ottawa GM Rick Dudley
may be interested in a change of scenery, too -- possibly to take over
as president of the Tampa
Bay Lightning. Some reports out of the Canadian capital had Dudley
signed, sealed and delivered, but as of Thursday, it seemed the Sens were
asking for too much in a compensation package. Though Dudley has only been
the GM for a season, Ottawa let its previous GM, Pierre Gauthier ,
walk too easily last summer and doesn't want to repeat the mistake.
A Corey finish
Now that Ronald Corey has
stepped down as president of the Montreal Canadiens after
17 years of service, it'll be interesting to see what the Habs will do. The
team, lately given to loonie-pinching, recently added the contract of
Trevor Linden and
inked Jeff Hackett
to an extension. The storied franchise plays under the banners of 24
Cup champions, but only two of those came under Corey's watch. This could
be a change for the better.
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| NHL's Three Stars
|
| Each week throughout the playoffs, we'll take a
look back at a few of the individuals who made a significant impact on team
success.
1. Dominik Hasek,
Buffalo -- Didn't play in all of the games, but when he's in goal,
not only are the Sabres in the Cup final, they are a threat to win it.
2. Mike Keane, Dallas
-- A former Cup winner with the Avalanche, Keane scored two goals (a
third of his 1998-99 season total) in Game 7 against his former teammates.
3. Curtis Brown,
Buffalo -- Closed out the Toronto series with his sixth goal in 10
playoff games.
| |
| Bandwagon |
| Buffalo wings
references |  |
You'll be sick of
these soon enough |
| Scotty Bowman
|  | Farewell tour?
|
| Paul Maurice
| | Earned contract extension
|
| Lindy Ruff |
|
Just another coach
we like |
| Pittsburgh fans
| | 12,000 season tickets isn't
enough |
| Edmonton fans
| | Bought 13,000 season
tickets, impressive in tiny market |
|
Isles management | | Goring hired three years
late |
| |
| Not your
average prediction |
|
The Sabres will have no problem giving hockey fans a decent six- or seven-
game series with a legit shot of carrying the Cup out of this playoff
season. Think of the Sabres as the Blues, who gave the Stars fits -- with
just as much speed, deeper goal-scoring and the world's best
goaltender. | |
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