Who scored in the Bure deal
All-Star rejects; Hockeytown rumblings; trade tidbits
Posted: Tuesday January 19, 1999 06:57 PM
By any traditional standard, the Florida Panthers got the best of the seven-player deal that sent forward Pavel Bure, defensemen Brent Hedican and Brad Ference and a third-round draft pick to the Panthers in exchange for defenseman Ed Jovanovski, centers Dave Gagner and Mike Brown and goalie Kevin Weekes and a first-round pick.
The Panthers get the best player, arguably one of the best players in the NHL, in the explosive Bure. They immediately upgrade their scoring to a point where they could win the Southeast Division title and they do it without giving up some of the youth Vancouver coveted, or Rob Nidermayer, one of the players they will count on to get Bure the puck.
The calculating Panthers had not shown themselves to be one of the best eight teams in the Eastern Conference, but if they beat out Carolina in the division race, they automatically become a top seed in the conference playoff pairings.
Bure can help them do that.
The Panthers also don't give up a whole lot. Jovanovski, a former first pick overall, has been garnering a reputation as a disappointment in Florida. A bruising hitter, he does not seem capable of elevating his game in the areas of on-ice decision making and sharp passing. Gagner is basically finished as a scorer and playmaker in the NHL and is holding on as a role player. Brown and Weekes are prospects.
Doesn't seem like much for a player who's twice scored 60 goals, and, offensively at least, carried the Canucks to the 1994 Stanley Cup final with the New York Rangers.
But traditional standards no longer apply in today's NHL, and the Vancouver side of the deal is not without merit. For one thing, they dump a holdout player, one that had angered the fan base because of his constant salary demands and his apparent unwillingness to buy into a team concept. Something for nothing, which is what Bure had become to the Canucks, is good value any time.
This is trouble down the road for Florida, which does not have Bure's name on a long-term deal. Early indications from all parties is that this is not a problem, but Bure has a reputation for making it one. He pulled a no-pay no-play stunt just before that '94 Finals run with Vancouver, a business decision that rocked Canucks management and started Bure's fall from grace there.
Secondly, launching Rockets in the East is a great deal more difficult than in the West. Out West, the game is based on speed, skating and a take-the-puck-and-go attitude. Scoring off the rush is standard practice. It's a lot tougher in the East where close checking is the norm. Teams check in the East. They still clutch, grab, trap and hit. Bure won't find the ice so open in the Eastern Conference. For him to be effective, he'll have to take the puck to the net. He's a little guy. Teams are going to cream him if he goes there.
Long term, the deal could very well swing toward the Canucks. Jovanovski still has tons of time to turn his game up a notch, and even his Florida detractors agree he's been doing that in recent weeks. He's big, but he's also mobile and Vancouver Coach Mike Keenan has a history of singling out one defenseman per team as a special blueline project. Keenan's tough, but he also often makes good players better. Besides, Vancouver needs a punishing defenseman in the worst way, and Jovanovski can fill that role for at least another 10 years.
And Vancouver gets lots of inexpensive youth in this trade. Youth it gave away in acquiring Alexander Mogilny from Buffalo three years ago for Michael Peca, Mike Wilson and a draft choice that turned into fast-improving defenseman Jay McKee.
Brown is just 19, but he was Florida's first pick in the 1997 Entry Draft and is considered a prospect who can play center or left wing. He's big (6-5, 185), but he skates will and has a good shot. He's tough too, a quality the Canucks have in short supply on their current roster and among developing prospects.
Weekes is an even more tantalizing prospect. He was Florida's second pick in the 1993 draft and is just about ready for prime time. That's very important to the Canucks who needed to get a goaltender in this deal. Weekes can step in right now on a part-time basis. He's also on track to be a No. 1 for a long time to come.
Florida indeed got the best player, but then so did the Canucks when they traded for Mogilny. A look at the standings today is proof enough, however, that long term, Buffalo got the best of that deal.
Close, but no Big Apple
One of the reasons the New York Rangers failed to get Bure to New York was because they didn't want to include Manny Malhotra in the package. Vancouver needed a goaltender in the deal and the Rangers were said to be willing to toss highly regarded rookie Dan Cloutier in the package, but balked at including Malhotra as well. The Rangers have a few good young prospects in their stable, but not so many as they can afford to give two away.
Bryan Murray: Bure to stay
Panthers general manager Bryan Murray downplayed the difficulty in signing Bure to a new contract stating only that "both sides will work hard to get something done [over a longer period]."
Still, the fact that St. Louis thought it had a similar deal with Wayne Gretzky can't be far from Murray's mind. The Blues dealt three young prospects to the Los Angeles Kings for Gretzky's rights, but couldn't close a deal and The Great One bolted to the Rangers.
The Panthers reportedly agreed to pay Bure $3 million for the remaining 41 games of this season, but sources in Vancouver maintain that meant tearing up Bure's old contract. That leaves Bure as a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
All-Star gripes
Support for various All-Star game rejects is coming from the oddest places.
Buffalo's Michael Peca has received a strong push from Dallas' coach Ken Hitchcock, who used the former Selke Trophy winner to buttress his case for his own star defensive forward Jere Lehtinen, who also was left off the list.
"I was really surprised because I thought this year he was even better than last year," said Hitchcock of Lehtinen, the reigning Selke Trophy winner. "Those players like Lehts and Peca kind of get overlooked because they're not big-numbers people. I watch Peca play with Buffalo and he's a dominant player like Lehtinen is for us. That's a strong argument for both guys because of it.
"It's pretty much always been that way. Hey, how many All-Star games did Bob Gainey play in?"
Gainey, the model to which all modern defensive-minded forwards aspire, played in just four All-Star games in a 16-year career. In recent years, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has tried to recognize all elements of the game, even tough guys, but defensive forwards still rarely get a nod.
Bure has twice scored 60 goals, and is said to have carried the Canucks to the 1994 Stanley Cup final Craig Melvin/Allsport |
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The irony in overlooking the last two Selke Trophy winners is twofold. One, they would play opposite each other in the World and North American format, and two, they're both having good years offensively as well as defensively.
LA's Robinson: What about Luc?
You can make up a pretty good team of young players who aren't going to the game. Buffalo's Miroslav Satan joins Peca on Buffalo's overlooked list. Edmonton's Bill Guerin didn't get a not despite having 18 goals and 33 points when they filled out the rest of the roster. Philadelphia's Rod Brind'Amour is not going despite having 44 points
Among older guys, Los Angles winger Luc Robitaille is having a good season (23 goals, 42 points when the roster was announced) and recently scored his 500th NHL goal.
The Robitaille snub did not sit well with his coach, Larry Robinson.
"I was very surprised," Robinson said about the perceived slight. "I was more surprised when I saw who's on. I'm not saying [Montreal's] Mark Recchi is not a great hockey player, but he's having a horse[expletive deleted] year. The All-Star Game is not about what you did. It's about what you're doing."
At the time of the announcement, Recchi had eight goals and 29 points.
Theo taking the hard line
Any team interested in trading for soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Theo Fleury of Calgary at the trade deadline runs the risk of losing him.
The source on this? Fleury. "Probably not," he said when asked if he would sign with any team that traded for him. "I've gone this far, I might as well go all the way."
Fleury was talking about testing his market value as a totally free agent, a right that comes to him at the end of this season. That's a message to the Flames and other teams. Fleury wants it known that he's in control, and if the Flames dump him on a team not to his liking, or inclined to meet his salary demands, he won't stay.
The Flames are already between a rock and a hard place with Fleury. They'd like to re-sign him, but can't really afford him. They'd also like to get something of value before the deadline so that they don't look like they've let a superstar walk for nothing, but Fleury is effectively blocking their attempts by saying he's looking at the open market.
The most likely scenario? Teams will contact Fleury's agent to try and determine what interest the winger might have in their organization, and what his price will be. If it's to Fleury's liking, he'll OK a trade and sign. If not, well, he'll report, but the arrangement won't last beyond the playoffs.
Shanahan in Scotty's doghouse?
Sources in Detroit maintain that winger Brendan Shanahan is the current whipping person of head coach Scotty Bowman, and Shanahan can't figure out why.
Shanahan, who led the league in power play goals from 1996-97 through 1997-98, is seeing reduced ice time and has been told not to set up in the slot (where he's been deadly) when he is on the ice. The reduced and specific ice time has limited his production. Heading into Thursday's game with Nashville, Shanahan hadn't scored a power play goal in nine straight outings.
Insiders say Bowman is disappointed with Shanahan because he's not using his body enough (in the corners) and isn't sacrificing himself for garbage goals in front of the net.
Same sources maintain Shanahan's head is spinning because he doesn't know what the coaching staff wants from him.
Bowman has played this game with a lot of players over the years, but there may be an ulterior motive this time around. Shanahan needs a big-number year if he's going to cash in on unrestricted free agency in July, 2,000. The Wings also have to decide whether or not to tenure him an offer this summer. A big number season should be worth $5-$6 million. Shanahan likely won't have those numbers this year.
Trade rumbles in Hockeytown
The Wings are shopping for a defenseman, and one rumor has it that they would love to throw little-used defenseman Aaron Ward into the mix.
Problem is he's worth next to nothing. Complicating any deal is the fact that the Wings don't want to cut into their core of young forwards, and most of their older ones are too pricey to command attention in the trade market.
One rumor has a package with Ward and backup goalie Kevin Hodson going to Carolina for Paul Coffey (not a Bowman favorite, but someone who could help direct the power play). If that happens, you can pretty much assume there's a split between GM Kevin Holland and Bowman. Bowman humiliated and embarrassed Coffey before finally dumping him on Hartford a few seasons ago.
Salo-Milbury divorce imminent?
If there's a split in Detroit it can't be any larger than the one between New York Islanders goalie Tommy Salo and coach and general manager Mike Milbury. On the day Milbury acquired goaltender Felix Potvin for defenseman Bryan Berrard, Milbury told Salo not to bother to come to the rink that night. Salo had been the starting goalie and was expecting to play. Milbury called up a goalie from the minor leagues to back Potvin even though he wasn't sure Potvin would arrive in time to play.
Salo has been shopped all over. There are reports that the Edmonton Oilers are interested, but general manger Glen Sather does not want to give up a defenseman to get him. Rumor has it that the Islanders asked for former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Janne Niinimaa or the bright young rookie Tom Poti. Nashville is also interested in Salo, but his agent, Rich Winter, made it clear he doesn't want to go there.
Jim Kelley covers the NHL -- and the Sabres -- for the Buffalo News. His notebook appears weekly on CNN/SI.com.
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