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Pond of Dreams Revisted and More..

January 24, 2007, 7:04 PM ET [ Comments]

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This is by far the greatest Intro to a game I've seen. The video opened up the 2000 All-Star game, following Gretzky's retirement in '99..



At the time it seemed like the sky was the limit for those four. So what happened?

Jaromir Jagr - was the pre-eminent offensive star of the league (coming off a 127 pt season), and he would go on to score 42 goals and 96 points in just 63 games. Little did we know that he would play just one more year in Pittsburgh (52 g, 121 pts) before wasting away in Washington for 2 1/2 years and finally reviving his career after the lockout on Broadway.

Paul Kariya - after breaking 100 points for the second time in his career, Kariya would drop to 86 in 00-01 and then to 67 and 57 the next two years as the Ducks missed the playoffs three years in a row. He'd bounce back well in his last year in Anaheim before struggling in Colorado and starring in Nashville.

Eric Lindros - was putting up over a point per game once again for the Flyers. I don't think anyone would have predicted that this would be his last year with Philadelphia. He missed the entire 00-01 season, spent three years in New York before moving on to Toronto and now Dallas.

Pavel Bure - was in the midst of a 58-goal season. He'd follow that year up with 59 goals and 92 points in 82 games but would go on to play just 107 more games (split between Florida and New York) before being forced to retire due to injuries.

In the six seasons following this video (plus the lockout), these four players would suit up for a total of 12 teams, combine for two major trophies (Jagr's Art Ross and Bure's Richard in 01) and no Stanley Cups.

It will be very interesting to see very Crosby, Ovechkin, Lecavalier, Hossa, Iginla, Heatley, etc will have accomplished looking back seven years from now.

Any predictions?

***

A few other random thoughts..

* Phil Kessel was last night's MVP. I know it doesn't really matter who wins but this one was a no-brainer.

* The league got it really wrong with the schedule - according to the Toronto Star, 20 teams voted for a change, but they couldn't agree on what that change would be so instead they didn't change it at all. I don't see how anyone can think that 8 divisional games against each team isn't too much. That's 39% of each team's games against four teams.

* Maybe travel costs should be shared league-wide, to make it fair for all teams and remove costs from the discussion?

* Hockey Day in Canada as we know it is out for next year. I guess we'll see something like an Original Six day instead but for Canadians who circle the date on their calendars, it's a real shame.

* Also, the league should have gotten kids to be seat fillers for the lower bowl seats that can be seen on TV - so many empty seats did not look look good..

* One thing that did sound promising coming out of the meetings yesterday are potential changes to the video review system. Here's the quote from Gary Bettman:

"We had a good discussion on video review. While the Board didn't mandate any changes, one of the things we made clear is that we're going to be looking, in the not-too-distant future -- probably over the summer -- to upgrade the equipment in the system and probably move into high-definition equipment to make sure that we're getting even-better looks at the puck."

* For those of you who were complaining that last night was boring, don't forget that the Skills Competition is for kids, sponsors, players and their families - does anyone else really care if a guy shoots 100 or 100.4 or who wins the rookie game?

* With Scott Niedermayer out of the lineup, it sounds like Philippe Boucher is going to get to start the All-Star game. If you haven't yet read this article on Boucher from the Dallas Morning News, I highly recommend it. You'll be cheering for him to win the car tonight..

Dallas News Article on Boucher


In a time when there's an NFL player who needs to get court permission to play in the Superbowl, the NHL really should be playing up what great guys they have in this league.

* Phil Kessel was definitely the best story of the night, but Anze Kopitar was the best player on the ice (and he also happened to get 2 goals and 3 assists). I figure now is as good of a time as any to introduce you guys to the Kopitarian Prayer, as created by one of the amazing Kings fans at letsgokings.com:

Our Kopitar, who art number eleven
Hallowed be thy game
Thy Kings we follow,
Thy game we support
At Staples, and arenas abroad
Give us this day, oh mighty center
And forgive us for our doubters
as we forgive those that doubt you
And lead us not into the cellar
but deliver us the Stanley Cup
For Thine is a King,
a forward, and a superstar
for ever and ever, amen.

* I will be covering AHL All-star Skills Competition and All-Star game in Toronto on Sunday/Monday. If you have any questions for any of the prospects from your favorite teams, just let me know and I'll see what I can do to get them answered. It's the first event I'll be covering with press credentials so I'm really looking forward to it. Here's the link to the rosters, event and ticket information:

http://www.theahl.com/allstar/rbkallstar/

Enjoy the game tonight,

Danny Tolensky - [email protected]
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