1986 NHL Offseason News and Notes
Here are the skating leaders for last season.
Here are the goalie leaders for last season.
Here are the Playoff leaders.
Mario Lemieux, on the strength of an amazing regular season, where he eclipsed 160 points, is the Hart Trophy winner.
Dino Ciccarelli wins his 2nd straight Conn Smythe.
Jets rookie goalie
Dominik Hasek wins the Gardiner. I guarantee, with
Belfour in the fold, they will do something really stupid with their goaltending. I’m surprised
Christian Ruuttu and his 67 points won the rookie of the year over this years best goalie!
Bobby Orr has retired from the
New York Rangers. After a 20 year career,
Orr will go down as the greatest offensive defenseman in NHL history. He won 4 Pilot awards and a Conn Smythe trophy.
Orr’s longevity easily surpassed his real life counterpart, but he didn’t have the kind of success or impact the real
Bobby had. Still,
Orr is a all time great, whose number is being retired by the
Rangers. Also leaving the game this year are former
Leafs standout,
Peter McNab, 33 year old
Blackhawk, Bobby Nystrom and 2 time champion with
Minnesota,
Jiri Bubla!
Orr's Career, click to enlarge
Yep,
Winnipeg did something stupid with their goaltending.
Despite having the reigning Gardiner Trophy winner, whose 20, and having prospect
Ed Belfour, and several backup quality goalies,
Winnipeg decides to trade
New Jersey a first round pick for their 3rd string goalie, 37 year old
Chico Resch. Not gonna give any more analysis on this one. It's just beyond stupid and unrealistic.
Resch goes to Winnipeg in one of the dumbest trades in NHL history.
The
North Stars send a long time franchise pillar to
Philly.
Lanny McDonald, the best player in
North Star history, is sent to the
Flyers for youngster
John Cullen. It’s probably a smart move.
Minnesota gets younger, and
Cullen will be a top 6 player for a while, but it’s gotta be tough for the team and the fans watching
Lanny McDonald leave.
Lanny had over 500 goals in around 750 games. At 33, he isn’t done. At least
Lanny won two cups!!
McDonald is a Flyer.
Theo Fleury is the number one pick in the NHL draft. I’m surprised to see a player like
Jimmy Carson have such a high potential while guys like
Vinny Damphousse and
Adam Graves look sorta pedestrian! Just an observation. Anyway,
Fleury goes to
Pittsburgh. The
Oilers get a potential franchise defenseman in
Brian Leetch. Can’t say I’m too impressed with how my
Leafs drafted with two first round picks!
Phil Esposito is the lone inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Esposito was one of the most prolific scorers in NHL history. He spent his whole career in
Chicago, and never won a cup. He’s third all time in goals scored with 659! Welcome to the Hall
Phil Esposito!
Calgary is the first team selected in the Iron Curtian draft. They will sign 22 year old Russian winger,
Andrei Lomakin. Selected 4 years ago, 119th in the draft,
Lomakin has developed into a dependable, all around type of player, that looks like he could play in all situations. He looks like he will slot in on
Calgary’s 3rd line to begin his career.
The
Capitals are the next team selected and they will sign 20 year old
Dmitri Kvatanlnov, another Russian winger. He’s younger and less talented then
Lomakin, but he’s a physically gifted player, who already looks dangerous in the offensive zone. The setback is at this moment, he’s lost and defense, which is probably worse then any offense he could provide. He’s young though…
