Ziggy Stardust
Master Debater
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/03/sports/nhl-93-94-it-s-russian-penguins-and-mighty-ducks.html
Some interesting tidbits in the season leading to the 1994 lockout:
Lot of summer activities as well:
Some interesting tidbits in the season leading to the 1994 lockout:
After his Los Angeles Kings bowed out of the Stanley Cup finals last June, Wayne Gretzky hinted darkly that he might retire. Bruce McNall, the Kings owner, gave him 25.5 million good reasons to continue. Gretzky is to play for three more seasons and the money will be paid out over 10 years.
Lemieux's Penguins have entered into a business arrangement with the Central Red Army team of the former Soviet Union. The Penguins are marketing some "Russian Penguins" products and they may eventually send some prospects to Moscow to train under Coach Viktor Tikhonov. Meanwhile, the Hartford Whalers, a troubled franchise often rumored to be moving, will remain where they are, thanks to some complex financial backing from the state of Connecticut. In other words, the Red Army has gone capitalist while the Whalers are drifting toward state socialism.
Every team again will play two games at neutral sites, same as last season, but the cities won't be as scattered. Only seven sites are being used, with Minnesota getting six games at the Target Center, in downtown Minneapolis. Four cities get four games each. They are Sacramento, Calif.; Phoenix; Hamilton, Ontario, and Cleveland. Two each go to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The five games being played in Orlando, Fla., technically aren't neutral-site games because they are Tampa Bay home games.
The Edmonton Oilers have asked for permission to move, perhaps as soon as next season, because their on-again/off-again deal for a new lease at Northlands Coliseum is off again. They might consider Phoenix or Atlanta or perhaps Houston as the natural geographic rival to Dallas. In the meantime, the Oilers have traded away most players from their 1980's dynasty and have become the hockey version of the San Diego Padres.
Lot of summer activities as well:
Phil Housley was traded from Winnipeg to St. Louis for Nelson Emerson and Stephane Quintal; Andy Moog was dealt from Boston to Dallas for Jon Casey; Marty McSorley, earning $2 million per season now, was traded from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh for Shawn McEachern; Craig Billington moved from the Devils to Ottawa in a trade for Peter Sidorkiewicz and Mike Peluso; Ron Hextall moved from Quebec to the Islanders; Glenn Healy moved from the Islanders to the Rangers; Dennis Savard moved from Montreal to Tampa, joining Petr Klima, who left Edmonton; Corey Millen moved from Los Angeles to the Devils; Bryan Trottier is making a comeback with Pittsburgh; Gerard Gallant moved from Detroit to Tampa Bay; Washington picked up Craig Berube and Enrico Ciccone; Neil Wilkinson moved from San Jose to Chicago; Aaron Ward moved from Winnipeg to Detroit for Paul Ysebaert; Jeff Norton moved from the Islanders to San Jose; Craig Simpson has moved from Edmonton to Buffalo.
