1995 NHL Offseason News and Notes
I forgot to save the skating, goaltending and playoff stats. Again, i think it's a terrible design that once i advance past July first, this stuff is gone
forever. Here is what i could access.
Wayne Gretzky wins his 7th Art Ross Trophy, and his 8th Hart Trophy as league MVP. That puts him one behind the 9 Hart's won by
Marcel Dionne. 22 year old
Sami Kapanen, after 3 years in the AHL, graduates to the NHL, and wins the rookie of the year, getting 31 points in his 40 games.
Nick Lidstrom wins his first Pilote Trophy, and
Doug Gilmour wins his 2nd Selke trophy, a decade after his first.
This is the first year the NHL Free agency preview has shown up in news. On July 1st, the free agent period begins. All players without a contract are free to sign with any team.
Anaheim’s Rejean Lemelin has retired at the age of 37.
Lemelin spent 14 years in
Hartford, including 1984, when he backstopped the
Whalers to their only championship. He won 401 games wearing the
Whale on his chest. His 418 wins are 8th in NHL history.
Lemelin’s number 30 will be retired by
Hartford. After spending two years in the minors,
Reijo Ruotsalainen has retired, leaving a legacy as the one of the greatest King’s of all time. After being stolen from
Boston,
Reijo put up 913 points in 957 games. He had a career high 99 points in 1987 and won the Pilote trophy twice. The
Kings will retire his number 10. Finally,
Rangers long time goalie
Pelle Lindbergh will have his number 1 retired, after a 16 year career in
New York. Despite being a backup the last few years,
Lindbergh won 409 games, and was in net the last time the
Rangers won a title, in 1981.
Lindbergh won the Gardiner trophy three times. He’s the
Rangers franchise leader in shutouts.
After the season, the
Nordiques Stanley Cup parade, their 3rd in the last 10 years, was also a goodbye to the city.
Quebec ownership sold the team to a
Denver group, which moved the franchise west. The
Nordiques will now be known as the
Colorado Avalanche. Hockey in
Denver failed once before, with the
Rockies. I wish in this reality, a team as successful as
Quebec didn’t have to move, but, we are following NHL history here… So, goodbye to the
Nordiques. You deserved better! Here is a look at the new Avalanche's identity, all the other new jersey's and logos, and some brand new 3rd jersey's which the NHL will debut this year.
There isn’t much of a free agent class this year. Three players are young guys, who either didn’t sign with the team that drafted them, or played out entry level contracts in the minors, and became free agents. No matter, there isn’t any impact players available this year. Here is what happened with the top players available.
Anaheim, the worst team in NHL history, gets the first pick in the draft, and does not screw it up. They take
Zdeno Chara first overall. A big defenseman, whose got the potential to be a number one.
Florida was happy to pick
Jarome Iginla 2nd, and overall, it’s a much better draft then last year. Both
Chara and
Iginla would have been good picks for the Ducks. They need everything!
Legends of the game,
Guy Lafleur and
Marcel Dionne have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. There isn’t much to say about these two that I haven’t already said.
Guy Lafleur held the all time scoring record until this past season. He broke
Gordie Howe’s record.
Marcel Dionne won a still standing record, nine Hart Trophies!! Both are legends.
