More gems from yesterday's Sunday Globe...Typical of me, it is heavy on the Bruin info but there's some other stuff in hear that makes for some good summer NHL reading.
"Dream vacation"
Sign up now if you want to skate with Wayne Gretzky and friends in the Great One's first fantasy camp. Cost: $9,999. The promoter, Larry Marino, also runs a similar Joe Montana camp for $10,000. Half of the 72 spots for Wayne's World already have been filled. The package includes airfare, hotel, some meals, and four-plus days (Feb. 23-27) of practices and games at the Coyotes' practice facility in Scottsdale. Some of Gretzky's longtime pals, including ex-Bruin Paul Coffey, ESPN's Barry Melrose, and the blazing-fast Russ Courtnall also will be on the ice. More info: gretzkyfantasycamp.com.
Meanwhile, how fast do you think Ray Bourque could fill up a 72-man roster for the discount price of, oh, $7,777? He could bring in guys like Rick Middleton and Barry Pederson. Perhaps just to lift the shooters' confidence, he also could ask Blaine ''Let em' in'' Lacher and Jon Casey to man the pipes. By the way, that Gretzky price of $9,999 converted to $15,687 in Canadian funds as of last week. A full camp of Canadians would bring $1.13 million over the border. No word yet, Bruins fans, on the highly-anticipated Ulf Samuelsson fantasy camp. New Englanders are expected to get a 15 percent discount, seeing that no one in the six-state region will want to bring sticks...
Herb Brooks, who turned down the Rangers job prior to Bryan Trottier getting hired as head coach, will stick with the Penguins as director of player development. Brooks, 65, remained his refreshing, engaging self during his stint as the US Olympic coach in February ...
How did the oft-injured Martin Straka tear a back ligament this summer? While training in the Czech Republic, he was trapped under a collapsed weight machine, pinned to the floor by 300 pounds. The slick Penguins forward, who had 95 points in 2000-01, played in only 13 games last year, hindered by leg and facial injuries. Now he likely will miss at least the first couple of months this season. If surgery is necessary, he could be out until spring. Perhaps Pittsburgh should hire a director of player protection ...
Day No. 56 of free agency and Byron Dafoe remains without a job ...
If the Flyers can tune up for the season with a four-day camp in beautiful Banff, don't you think the Bruins could get at least a weekend in the Berkshires? ...
The deal Andrew Cassels signed in Columbus guarantees him a base of $2.6 million this season, and there is a two-year option (his). Prior to signing with the Blue Jackets, the ex-Canuck also talked with Toronto, Pittsburgh, and the Islanders ...
Ex-Bruins coach Pat Burns is hoping Larry Robinson will burn out on polo soon and join him as an assistant in New Jersey. Burns had Jacques Laperriere at his side for three-plus seasons here and obviously prefers to have a wise old defensive owl at his side ...
Gotta like the take Iain MacIntyre, the Vancouver Sun's hockey columnist, has on the NHL's mandate to crack down on interference. To wit: ''And in other news, a big flaming orb was spotted this morning in the east. Stay tuned for updates.''
Moving company
No show of hand yet where the Bruins might deal Kyle McLaren - assuming they deal him at all. But keep an eye on Edmonton, one of Boston's frequent trade partners (think: Andy Moog, Bill Guerin , et al). The Oilers swallowed hard when Jason Smith landed a $2.3 million arbitration award, some $400,000 over their top pre-arbitration offer. They also stand to lose the speedy and pricy (about $1.5 million) Todd Marchant as an unrestricted free agent next summer. The two clubs danced around a McLaren-for- Tom Poti swap a number of times prior to Poti getting dealt to the Rangers in March. The Oilers could be enticed to give up Smith and Marchant for McLaren and, say, a couple of prospects, creating a drop in payroll and some growth potential (similar to their Guerin-for- Anson Carter play a couple of years ago). McLaren has been working out at Boston University ...
Good to hear that a refreshed Pat Quinn is back on the case in Toronto. The Leafs' GM/coach is now living the cigar-free life and has shed a cumbersome 45 pounds. Quinn to the Toronto Sun: ''I've been cleared to have a normal life.'' ...
Trevor Kidd, placed on waivers last week by the Panthers, likely will surface this week with a new deal in Toronto as Ed Belfour's backup. Florida figures to buy out his deal ($2.3 million) Tuesday, making him an unrestricted free agent. Meanwhile, the Panthers have named ex-Sabres/Nordiques backstop Clint Malarchuk as their goaltending coach/consultant. Longtime NHL observers never will forget the near-fatal throat slash Malarchuk suffered in his Sabres days, a skate blade severing an artery. Late in his career, Malarchuk also was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder ...
With Belfour out of Texas, the Stars will go with a Marty Turco - Ron Tugnutt tandem. They'll be tutored, by the way, by Moog, a recent addition to new coach Dave Tippett's staff ...
Guerin, by the way, was one of three right wings the Stars signed up as UFAs. Owner Tom ''Spend Quick'' Hicks also recruited ex-BU Terrier Scott Young and Ulf Dahlen. Young is slotted to skate line No. 2 with pivot Pierre Turgeon. But remember, that's where the Stars pegged Donald Audette last summer, prior to a disappointing start and his quick-ditch to Montreal. Guerin will ride with Jason Arnott and Mike Modano - possibly a 250- or 300-point combination if Tippett dares to open up the offense - something Brett Hull dreamed about in his days with Big D ...
Bruins first-round picks Martin Samuelsson and Shaone Morrisonn both arrived in town over the weekend and will be skating in Wilmington under the watchful eye of strength and conditioning coach John Whitesides. They'll immerse into the action a little more when rookie camp opens Sept. 8, four days ahead of the big boys' arrival. Over the summer, the Bruins renovated and expanded their weight room and locker room facilities in Wilmington ...
Harvard center/wing Brett Nowak, about to enter his senior season with the Crimson, likely will participate in Bruins' training camp for a few days. By NCAA rules, players don't lose their college eligibility as long as they remain unpaid participants (fill in this blank with your own witticism). The Bruins selected Nowak 103d overall in the 2000 draft ...
Bourque's eldest son, Christopher, about to enter his sophomore year at Cushing Academy, already has committed to his parents, as well as the powers-that-be at BU, that he intends to be a Terrier freshman in the fall of 2005. Question: Does that make life easier or harder for other Hockey East recruiters? ...
Ex-Bruins netminder Rob Tallas, who spent last season in Pittsburgh's minor league system, will suit up for a Russian club, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, to face Finland in the Tampera Cup ...
The Oilers recently signed former University of Maine backstop
Mike Morrison to a two-year deal. Morrison, ex- of Medford and St. Sebastian's, helped the Black Bears reach the NCAA title game last season. Signed by local agent Matt Keator, Morrison is likely targeted for a year or two in the minors.
"Dream vacation"
Sign up now if you want to skate with Wayne Gretzky and friends in the Great One's first fantasy camp. Cost: $9,999. The promoter, Larry Marino, also runs a similar Joe Montana camp for $10,000. Half of the 72 spots for Wayne's World already have been filled. The package includes airfare, hotel, some meals, and four-plus days (Feb. 23-27) of practices and games at the Coyotes' practice facility in Scottsdale. Some of Gretzky's longtime pals, including ex-Bruin Paul Coffey, ESPN's Barry Melrose, and the blazing-fast Russ Courtnall also will be on the ice. More info: gretzkyfantasycamp.com.
Meanwhile, how fast do you think Ray Bourque could fill up a 72-man roster for the discount price of, oh, $7,777? He could bring in guys like Rick Middleton and Barry Pederson. Perhaps just to lift the shooters' confidence, he also could ask Blaine ''Let em' in'' Lacher and Jon Casey to man the pipes. By the way, that Gretzky price of $9,999 converted to $15,687 in Canadian funds as of last week. A full camp of Canadians would bring $1.13 million over the border. No word yet, Bruins fans, on the highly-anticipated Ulf Samuelsson fantasy camp. New Englanders are expected to get a 15 percent discount, seeing that no one in the six-state region will want to bring sticks...
Herb Brooks, who turned down the Rangers job prior to Bryan Trottier getting hired as head coach, will stick with the Penguins as director of player development. Brooks, 65, remained his refreshing, engaging self during his stint as the US Olympic coach in February ...
How did the oft-injured Martin Straka tear a back ligament this summer? While training in the Czech Republic, he was trapped under a collapsed weight machine, pinned to the floor by 300 pounds. The slick Penguins forward, who had 95 points in 2000-01, played in only 13 games last year, hindered by leg and facial injuries. Now he likely will miss at least the first couple of months this season. If surgery is necessary, he could be out until spring. Perhaps Pittsburgh should hire a director of player protection ...
Day No. 56 of free agency and Byron Dafoe remains without a job ...
If the Flyers can tune up for the season with a four-day camp in beautiful Banff, don't you think the Bruins could get at least a weekend in the Berkshires? ...
The deal Andrew Cassels signed in Columbus guarantees him a base of $2.6 million this season, and there is a two-year option (his). Prior to signing with the Blue Jackets, the ex-Canuck also talked with Toronto, Pittsburgh, and the Islanders ...
Ex-Bruins coach Pat Burns is hoping Larry Robinson will burn out on polo soon and join him as an assistant in New Jersey. Burns had Jacques Laperriere at his side for three-plus seasons here and obviously prefers to have a wise old defensive owl at his side ...
Gotta like the take Iain MacIntyre, the Vancouver Sun's hockey columnist, has on the NHL's mandate to crack down on interference. To wit: ''And in other news, a big flaming orb was spotted this morning in the east. Stay tuned for updates.''
Moving company
No show of hand yet where the Bruins might deal Kyle McLaren - assuming they deal him at all. But keep an eye on Edmonton, one of Boston's frequent trade partners (think: Andy Moog, Bill Guerin , et al). The Oilers swallowed hard when Jason Smith landed a $2.3 million arbitration award, some $400,000 over their top pre-arbitration offer. They also stand to lose the speedy and pricy (about $1.5 million) Todd Marchant as an unrestricted free agent next summer. The two clubs danced around a McLaren-for- Tom Poti swap a number of times prior to Poti getting dealt to the Rangers in March. The Oilers could be enticed to give up Smith and Marchant for McLaren and, say, a couple of prospects, creating a drop in payroll and some growth potential (similar to their Guerin-for- Anson Carter play a couple of years ago). McLaren has been working out at Boston University ...
Good to hear that a refreshed Pat Quinn is back on the case in Toronto. The Leafs' GM/coach is now living the cigar-free life and has shed a cumbersome 45 pounds. Quinn to the Toronto Sun: ''I've been cleared to have a normal life.'' ...
Trevor Kidd, placed on waivers last week by the Panthers, likely will surface this week with a new deal in Toronto as Ed Belfour's backup. Florida figures to buy out his deal ($2.3 million) Tuesday, making him an unrestricted free agent. Meanwhile, the Panthers have named ex-Sabres/Nordiques backstop Clint Malarchuk as their goaltending coach/consultant. Longtime NHL observers never will forget the near-fatal throat slash Malarchuk suffered in his Sabres days, a skate blade severing an artery. Late in his career, Malarchuk also was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder ...
With Belfour out of Texas, the Stars will go with a Marty Turco - Ron Tugnutt tandem. They'll be tutored, by the way, by Moog, a recent addition to new coach Dave Tippett's staff ...
Guerin, by the way, was one of three right wings the Stars signed up as UFAs. Owner Tom ''Spend Quick'' Hicks also recruited ex-BU Terrier Scott Young and Ulf Dahlen. Young is slotted to skate line No. 2 with pivot Pierre Turgeon. But remember, that's where the Stars pegged Donald Audette last summer, prior to a disappointing start and his quick-ditch to Montreal. Guerin will ride with Jason Arnott and Mike Modano - possibly a 250- or 300-point combination if Tippett dares to open up the offense - something Brett Hull dreamed about in his days with Big D ...
Bruins first-round picks Martin Samuelsson and Shaone Morrisonn both arrived in town over the weekend and will be skating in Wilmington under the watchful eye of strength and conditioning coach John Whitesides. They'll immerse into the action a little more when rookie camp opens Sept. 8, four days ahead of the big boys' arrival. Over the summer, the Bruins renovated and expanded their weight room and locker room facilities in Wilmington ...
Harvard center/wing Brett Nowak, about to enter his senior season with the Crimson, likely will participate in Bruins' training camp for a few days. By NCAA rules, players don't lose their college eligibility as long as they remain unpaid participants (fill in this blank with your own witticism). The Bruins selected Nowak 103d overall in the 2000 draft ...
Bourque's eldest son, Christopher, about to enter his sophomore year at Cushing Academy, already has committed to his parents, as well as the powers-that-be at BU, that he intends to be a Terrier freshman in the fall of 2005. Question: Does that make life easier or harder for other Hockey East recruiters? ...
Ex-Bruins netminder Rob Tallas, who spent last season in Pittsburgh's minor league system, will suit up for a Russian club, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, to face Finland in the Tampera Cup ...
The Oilers recently signed former University of Maine backstop
Mike Morrison to a two-year deal. Morrison, ex- of Medford and St. Sebastian's, helped the Black Bears reach the NCAA title game last season. Signed by local agent Matt Keator, Morrison is likely targeted for a year or two in the minors.
