1988 NHL Offseason News and Notes
Here are the skating leaders from last season.
Here are the goalie leaders from last season.
Here are last seasons playoff leaders.
For the fifth time this decade,
Craig MacTavish is the winner of the Selke Trophy as best defensive forward. It’s pretty safe to say that when he retires, I’m naming that award after him.
Wayne Gretzky wins his 4th Hart Trophy and his first in 3 years.
Doug Gilmour adds a Conn Smythe to his mantle.
Chicago’s Larry Robinson retires at the age of 36. Playing for the
Blackhawks means you don’t have much team success, but they were turning it around. This last season saw
Chicago come very close to making the finals. Losing
Robinson will hurt though.
Larry finished his career with 11 double digit goal seasons. 724 points is a franchise record for defenseman.
Larry’s number 22 will be retired in
Chicago.
Buffalo’s Bill Hajt, a defenseman who spent his whole career as a
Sabre has retired. He played 1280 games, registering 602 points and a 68 game rating. He’s 2nd all time in
Sabres career scoring.
Buffalo will retire his #22. Longtime
Islanders goalie,
Phil Myre is leaving the game at 39. He had a three year run in
NY’s net, registering a record of 112-29-9.
Myre is the franchise’s career leader in wins and shutouts. The
Islanders will retire his #1.
Winnipeg trades another stud defenseman.
Winnipeg at one time had incredible defenseman to build their team around.
Chris Chelios, Scott Stevens, and
Al MacInnis. Only one remains.
Scott Stevens has been traded to the
Bruins! He’s 24, and has 4 straight 60+ point seasons.
Stevens also plays a great defensive and physical game. This is an amazing deal for the
Bruins.
Boston gives up
Joe Mullen and a first round pick.
Mullen is a 31 year old scoring winger, whose hit 40 goals twice. He’s been a point a game player the last few years, but I can’t imagine him getting better. He’s a first liner at the moment, and if
Winnipeg thinks this helps them win a cup next year, I understand it, but I don’t like it for them. They give up the better player, whose 7 years younger.
Stevens heads to Boston.
The
Rangers decide to trade
Vinny Damphousse after a great playoff!
After 2 strong seasons with the
Rangers,
Vinny Damphousse is headed to
Buffalo. A potential top line center,
Damphousse was a key figure in the
Ranger run to the third round of the 88 playoffs with 17 points in 15 games.
Vinny is a really nice player to build around. Still only 20, his future is bright. I guess the
Rangers wanted
Jim Vesey. He’s 22 and looks like a 4th line center or checking line center. He’s older and less skilled then
Damphousse. He’s got some offense in him, but it hasn’t manifested into results yet. Hate this deal for
NY. Doesn’t make a lot of sense. The two players they receive don't have anywhere near the potential or substance they gave up.
The newest Sabre!
Teemu Selanne is the first European player to be selected first overall in the NHL draft. He goes to the
Buffalo Sabres, who are one of 4 teams to pass on
Mike Modano, who has the highest potential in the draft.
Detroit snatches him up at 5! It’s a very talented draft, with potential stars all over the first round.
Two of the most talented players available,
Sergei Zubov and
Sergei Fedorov are selected back to back in the sixth round by
Toronto and
LA. I have no clue when and if they will come over to North America to play. We are getting closer to that period when Russians come over regularly, but I don’t know how the game will handle it. Here is a look at top pick
Teemu Selanne!
The Hockey Hall of Fame welcomed two player this year.
North Stars star
Rogie Vachon joins the hallowed halls. The 2nd winningiest goalie in NHL history,
Vachon retired the year before
Minnesota won the first of two straight Stanley Cups. It’s a bit ironic, that he and his teammate, the other inductee into Hall of Fame both missed out on the
North Stars cup wins!
Brad Park was a great defenseman. One thing I noticed while looking at his career was his 7 Hart trophy nominations. He lost to
Marcel Dionne all the time!
The first team selected in the iron curtain draft, the
Bruins, will sign 22 year old Russian defenseman
Dmitri Mironov. A huge man, standing 6’4, 224 lbs,
Mironov possesses a good shot, and a good brain. He will be solid right away, and looks to me like we will get significantly better with more time.
Boston selected him 135th overall in 1984.
The
LA Kings are the 2nd lucky team, and they just drafted
Sergei Fedorov in the 6th round of this years draft. He’s the best qualifying player, and will immediately sign with the
Kings.
Fedorov is a 2.5/3.5 star player, so he will probably play as an 18 year old. His biggest asset at the moment is his defensive ratings. They are elite for an 18 year old. His offense isn’t as good as you would expect, but that defense will make him very good right away!
The
LA Kings have changed their logo and colours. Here is their new look.
