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sportsWIRE NHL All-Star Game 2000 Game Story Collection : Februrary 2000

(To Leave, go to page bottom : Links in stories might not work)

NHL All-Star Rosters Released:

Here are the rosters for the 2000 All-Star Game :

North America All-Stars

World All-Stars

NHL.com - Kariya Expands His Hockey Horizons

By Phil Coffey
NHL.com

TORONTO (January 20, 2000) - Since the 1995-96 season, the dilemma facing the coaches of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim has been whether to keep Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne together or spread the wealth and have the two gifted offensive talents play on different lines. "We've played together a long time," Selanne said of the previous years they’ve patrolled the ice together. "We enjoy playing together." "Good players help other players get better and play to a higher level," Mighty Ducks coach Craig Hartsburg said. "They (Kariya and Selanne) do some great things together, and bring people out of their seats. But at the same time maybe they can do those same things playing with other people. They will still play together on the power play. And they're always one shift away from being apart or being together." Even when they’re apart, it seems they’re together. The two have meshed brilliantly on the ice and their divergent personalities have accomplished the same off the ice. Selanne is happy-go-lucky, confident and always seems to have a smile on his face. Earlier in his career, Kariya was intense to the point of being distant. But hanging with Selanne, coupled with being the Mighty Ducks’ captain, has helped Kariya mature into a leader and spokesman. "I've learned a lot from Teemu," Kariya told reporters. "He has helped me tremendously in that area. Before he came, there wasn't really anyone I could watch and see how he handled things. He has been great for me. He is the complete opposite from me. Every time I get too serious, he will loosen me up. He has taught me a lot of things off the ice." But it’s not all laughs and giggles for Kariya. He still takes his hockey pretty seriously. After a disappointing 2-1 loss to Montreal earlier this season, Kariya held himself accountable for not speaking up when he felt his teammates weren’t properly prepared. "Part of it's my fault," Kariya said after that game. "I should have sensed early on we weren't prepared to play and I didn't say anything. We had a horrible warm-up. We had no jump. Guys’ heads were in the clouds. That's what you get when you prepare like that. "I like to stay focused on what I'm doing," Kariya said. "But there's sometimes when I have to sacrifice my pregame ritual to get everyone going. It's not my style to raise my voice or be negative. But certainly tonight was a good time to do that." The entire family seems to be cut from the strong, silent-type mould. When Paul went head-to-head with his younger brother Steve in a contest against the Vancouver Canucks, Steve said it was just another day at the office. "That's not the Kariya way," Steve said when asked if he spoke with his brother during the game. "We just keep our mouths shut and play." And play very well. Thankfully for hockey fans, Kariya has bounced back to his old self after suffering the debilitating effects of post-concussion syndrome during a 1997-98 season that saw him limited to only 22 games and miss the Winter Olympics. For a time, Kariya wondered if his career was over. "At points when I was really bad in terms of the headaches and the memory loss and, you know, all the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, there were times when I thought about doing something else and not being able to play hockey," Kariya recalled. "But even in times like that, I tried just to say forget about it. Don't worry about it right now just get better and when you are better and feeling good, you can make a decision then. Next thing I knew, everything had cleared and I was raring to go again. Thankfully, Kariya's conditioned improved considerably over the summer months, and he decided to return to the ice. "There was some times - I won't lie to you - where I didn't think things were getting better and I was thinking about other things that I could do," Kariya said. "But everything came back to hockey and I am very glad that everything calmed down and I was cleared to play and I could do what I love to do. But I don't know what I would have done without it. I mean, it has basically been my life for the past, oh, five or six years, especially, and I want that to continue for a long time." Last season, a resurgent Kariya reclaimed his place as one of the top offensive players in the League. Playing a full 82-game schedule, Kariya scored 39 goals and 62 assists. He also took 429 shots - second most in NHL history - after being told by Hartsburg that shooting more would help the Ducks play a mightier game. True to form, Kariya complied with his coach’s request. The Mighty Ducks finished the 1998-99 season with a 35-34-13 record and made the Stanley Cup playoffs. Unfortunately for the Ducks, an injury limited Kariya to only three playoff games in an opening-round defeat to Detroit, but Kariya managed a goal and three assists in those games. "He is probably the most focused hockey player I have been around," Hartsburg told reporters. "If we had more players who were as focused and committed to the game as Paul is, the game would be even better. He is a young player and they have to keep learning on and off the ice. He still is a great ambassador for the game. "There is not a guy who works harder on this team than Paul," the coach continued. "There are a lot of good players in this league who once they get to a certain level they stop doing certain things to get better. Paul's whole day is comprised of finding ways to get better."

***

The 2000 NHL All-Star Weekend takes place in Toronto on Feb. 5-6, featuring the Heroes of Hockey game and the FedEx/NHL SuperSkills competition on Saturday, Feb. 5 and the 50th NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 6. Television coverage of the NHL All-Star Game will be provided by ABC in the United States and CBC/SRC in Canada at 2:30 p.m. ET, while All-Star Saturday will be broadcast in the United States by ESPN (7:00 p.m. ET) and in Canada by CBC (6:30 p.m. ET) and SRC (8:00 p.m. ET).

NHL 2000 ALL-STAR STARTERS RELEASED :

The following players have been elected to start in the 2000 All-Star Game :

North America : Curtis Joesph (Tor), Chris Pronger (St.L), Rob Blake (LA), Steve Yzerman (Det), Brendan Shanahan (Det), Paul Kariya (Ana).

World : Dominik Hasek (Buf), Jaromir Jagr (Pit), Teemu Selanne (Ana), Mats Sundin (Tor), Niklas Lidstrom (Det), Sandis Ozolinsh (Col).

The coaches of the game will be Pat Quinn of Toronto and Scotty Bowman of Detroit.

NEW JERSEIES :

The NHL has unveiled it's new jerseies for the North American and World teams. Below is a sample of a new jersey from the upcoming game.

Bure's Hat Trick Propels World All-Stars

By Phil Coffey
NHL.com

TORONTO (Feb. 6, 2000) - On the day the NHL retired Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 for good, one of the sport's young stars grabbed the 50th NHL All-Star Game by the throat and made it his own.

The Florida Panthers' Pavel Bure became the 11th player in All-Star history, and the second European player, to notch a hat trick in the game, as he sparked the World All-Stars to a 9-4 victory over the North American All-Stars at the Air Canada Centre.

"It was a great honor for me to be here," said Bure, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the game. "It was a special night, especially to play with my brother on my line."

Bure's younger brother, Valeri, assisted on two of his brother's goals, and the Calgary Flames winger, like many in the packed house, was awed by the experience.

"I'm his biggest fan," Valeri said of his brother. "It's pretty easy to play with him. All you do is give him the puck and 90 percent of the time he puts it in the net."

Stats bear that out as Bure netted his three goals on only eight shots.

Bure's third goal came during a third-period blitz against New York Rangers goalie Mike Richter, as the Blues' Pavol Demitra, Bure, and Buffalo's Miroslav Satan scored in a two-minute span to break open a 5-4 World All-Stars lead.

Bure was ably assisted by his brother as they became the first brother combination since Maurice and Henri Richard in the 1958 All-Star Game to combine on a goal.

The explosion by Bure impressed even World coach Scotty Bowman, who has seen more than his share of great performances over the years as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens.

"It's only for one game ... too bad," Bowman said of coaching Bure. "I've always been a big admirer of his. He doesn't need very many chances or much room."

Pity the North American goalies. All goalies go into the All-Star Game knowing they will face an offensive onslaught from the NHL's most talented players. But the World All-Stars were relentless Sunday. They pounced on Toronto's Curtis Joseph for three goals in the first period, two more against New Jersey's Martin Brodeur in the second period and then ripped Richter for four more in the third.

"As far as the game went, I hated the result," North American coach Pat Quinn laughed. "But there was a lot of action and we missed some breakaway opportunities in the second period. So, I'll just blame the forwards."

The City of Toronto certainly doesn't need an emotional boost when it comes to hockey, but the packed house at the Air Canada Centre got it anyway when Gretzky's No. 99 was retired in an on-ice ceremony prior to the game. No one will ever wear No. 99, for any NHL team, again.

Following the Gretzky ceremony, the spotlight turned to today's stars, who once again competed in the North America vs. the World format. The North Americans had won the first two games contested under this format.

But not the third.

Demitra opened the scoring just 3:12 into the first period, netting a shot against hometown hero Joseph of the Maple Leafs. Toronto's Dimitri Yushkevich and New Jersey's Patrik Elias assisted on the goal.

The Penguins' Jaromir Jagr made it 2-0 for the World All-Stars at 10:50 of the first when he beat Joseph off a pass from Montreal's Martin Rucinsky.

 

Colorado's Joe Sakic got the North Americans on the scoreboard at 13:56 when he bunted the puck past the Blues' Roman Turek after slick passes from Florida's Ray Whitney and Philadelphia's Mark Recchi.

The North American celebration was short-lived, however, as the Maple Leafs' Dimitri Yushkevich scored less than a minute later, at 14:35, to push the World's lead to 3-1.

Jeremy Roenick closed the gap once again with just 30 seconds remaining in the period on an assist from Dallas' Mike Modano.

The fans had barely settled into their seats, and Brodeur had barely gotten off the bench to start the second period when Bure got rolling. He ripped a slapper from the top of the left circle past Brodeur to give the World All-Stars a 4-2 lead. The goal was the fifth of Bure's All-Star career and came on an assist from brother Valeri.

Bure struck again at 8:38, accepting a cross-ice feed from his brother and one-timing the puck past Brodeur to make it 5-2. Bure's Florida Panthers teammate, Viktor Kozlov, also assisted on the play.

"The Bure brothers are playing pretty well, obviously," Richter said. "They played a pretty sharp game. They did a good job. It's a shame in the third we couldn't have made it more of a game. But it was fun to be out there."

Richter is a former All-Star Game MVP, and he thought about the connection when he saw Bure receive the award.

"I thought about that when he received the award," Richter said. "He is a gifted, gifted player. I don't think it's falling into place for him, he's making it fall into place. He's doing a heck of a job. He's an exciting and explosive player who can do a lot of damage at any moment of the game. He's playing with consistency this year."

The North Americans again closed the two goals when Chicago's Tony Amonte went top shelf on Edmonton goalie Tommy Salo to cut the gap to 5-3 at 12:14. Modano picked up his second assist of the game on the goal and Boston Bruins defenseman Ray Bourque added the second assist.

Florida's Ray Whitney decided not to let his NHL teammates on the World squad have all the fun. With Mark Messier clogging up the front of the World net, Whitney picked up his second point of the game when he slammed a big rebound off the stick of Philadelphia Flyers' defenseman Eric Desjardins into the open net to close the gap to a goal, 5-4, at 17:08 of the second. That's how the second period ended.

The World All-Stars out-shot the North Americans by a 48-32 count for the game.

With 32 second left in the game, Ottawa's Radek Bonk closed out the scoring to boost the World All-Stars to their first win in three outings against the North Americans.

And the winners can offer hearty thanks to Pavel Bure, who continues to show hockey fans there is life after Wayne Gretzky.

NHL ALL STAR GAME AT TORONTO

    FINAL               1ST  2ND  3RD     TOTAL
                        ---  ---  ---     -----
    WORLD ALL-STARS      3    2    4        9
    N AMERICA STARS      2    2    0        4  FINAL

    GOAL SCORING:

      1ST PRD: WOR - PAVOL DEMITRA 1 (DIMITRI YUSHKEVICH, PATRIK ELIAS)
                     3:12
               WOR - JAROMIR JAGR 1 (MARTIN RUCINSKY) 10:50
               NOR - JOE SAKIC 1 (RAY WHITNEY, MARK RECCHI) 13:56
               WOR - DIMITRI YUSHKEVICH 1 (VIKTOR KOZLOV, PAVEL BURE) 14:35
               NOR - JEREMY ROENICK 1 (MIKE MODANO) 19:30
      2ND PRD: WOR - PAVEL BURE 1 (VALERI BURE) 0:33
               WOR - PAVEL BURE 2 (VALERI BURE, VIKTOR KOZLOV) 8:38
               NOR - TONY AMONTE 1 (MIKE MODANO, RAY BOURQUE) 12:14
               NOR - RAY WHITNEY 1 (ERIC DESJARDINS, MARK MESSIER) 17:08
      3RD PRD: WOR - PAVOL DEMITRA 2 (MILAN HEJDUK, PATRIK ELIAS) 8:52
               WOR - PAVEL BURE 3 (NICKLAS LIDSTROM, VIKTOR KOZLOV) 9:31
               WOR - MIROSLAV SATAN 1 (MARIUSZ CZERKAWSKI, RADEK BONK)
                     10:51
               WOR - RADEK BONK 1 (JAROMIR JAGR, MARTIN RUCINSKY) 19:28

   POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS: WOR - 0 OF 0, NOR - 0 OF 1.

   SHOTS ON GOAL:       1ST  2ND  3RD     TOTAL
                        ---  ---  ---     -----
                  WOR   20   13   15       48
                  NOR   13   11    8       32

         GOALIES: WOR - ROMAN TUREK, TOMMY SALO(2ND), OLAF KOLZIG(3RD)
                  NOR - CURTIS JOSEPH, MARTIN BRODEUR(2ND), MIKE
                        RICHTER(3RD)

       OFFICIALS: REF - FRASER, KOHARSKI
                  LIN - GAUTHIER, SCAPINELLO

FIRST PERIOD Scoring: 1, World All stars, Demitra 1 (Yushkevich, Elias), 3:12. 2, World All stars, Jagr 1 (Rucinsky), 10:50. 3, N America Stars, Sakic 1 (Whitney, Recchi), 13:56. 4, World All stars, Yushkevich 1 (Kozlov, P Bure), 14:35. 5, N America Stars, Roenick 1 (Modano), 19:30.

SECOND PERIOD Scoring: 6, World All stars, P Bure 1 (V Bure), 0:33. 7, World All stars, P Bure 2 (V Bure, Kozlov), 8:38. 8, N America Stars, Amonte 1 (Modano, Bourque), 12:14. 9, N America Stars, Whitney 1 (Desjardins, Messier), 17:08.

THIRD PERIOD Scoring: 10, World All stars, Demitra 2 (Hejduk, Elias), 8:52. 11, World All stars, P Bure 3 (Lidstrom, Kozlov), 9:31. 12, World All stars, Satan 1 (Czerkawski, Bonk), 10:51. 13, World All stars, Bonk 1 (Jagr, Rucinsky), 19:28. Penalties: Ozolinsh, Wor (hooking), 5:51.

Power play Conversions: Wor 0 of 0, Nor 0 of 1. Goalies: World All stars, Turek (13 shots, 11 saves), Salo (start of 2nd, 11, 9; record: 1 0 0), Kolzig (start of 3rd, 8, 8). N America Stars, Joseph (20, 17), Brodeur (start of 2nd, 13, 11; record: 0 1 0), Richter (start of 3rd, 15, 11). A: 0,000. Referees: Fraser, Koharski. Linesmen: Gauthier, Scapinello.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

NHL Brightens Arenas' Rafters With No. 99

By Phil Coffey
NHL.com

TORONTO (Feb. 6, 2000) - Counting is going to be a little more difficult in the NHL from now on. Why? Because no one will be able to use No. 99 again.

That number, worn by Wayne Gretzky during the most distinguished of hockey careers, now belongs to the ages and the rafters of every NHL arena, as the League took the unprecedented move at the All-Star Game to retire his number across the NHL landscape.

Not that it would have been a real good idea for another player to give No. 99 a try. But thanks to the League's decision, no one will be tempted to try.

"It's a special feeling, a great thrill," Gretzky said of the honor. "As I said to Commissioner (Gary) Bettman, I owe everything I have in my life to hockey and the NHL. The game doesn't owe me anything. So, something like this is very special."

Gretzky received the honor Sunday afternoon at Toronto's Air Canada Centre. It couldn't have come at a better place, as the city and region's hockey fans turned out by the thousands to see the best the NHL has to offer on All-Star Weekend.

Prior to the All-Star Game, television viewers in the United States were treated to a poignant introduction to the game as Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Gordie Howe were joined by current All-Stars Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, Jaromir Jagr and Pavel Bure for a game of shinny on a remote pond. As the three retired legends left the pond, the current stars rapped their sticks on the ice in tribute.

The spot was shot on Friday morning in bitter cold weather and ate up a good chunk of the day.

"We had a tremendous time doing it," Gretzky said. "For Gordie, Mario and I, it was a lot less work than for the other guys. They had played in Thursday night and flew in early Friday morning."

And then faced a long drive to the remote pond.

"I couldn't tell you where we went," Gretzky laughed. "I know it was about an hour and 25 minutes to get there. We just kept driving. For a while, I thought we were going to need a passport."

Gretzky also took up Ken Dryden, the president of the Toronto Maple Leafs, on his offer to skate at Maple Leaf Gardens.

"I skated for a couple hours," Gretzky said of what was likely a final tine on the ice at the Gardens, which is scheduled to be renovated into condominiums in the future. "That was the first time I skated since April 18th (his last NHL game) and it probably showed. But I had a great time. Maple Leaf Gardens was one of the great places to play and I just had a great time going back."

While Gretzky's number now is off-limits to all NHL players, the ceremonies will likely continue, as the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers are planning to honor Gretzky. But no dates have been announced.

"I talked to the Rangers about my sweater," Gretzky said, "and to be honest, I told them that I felt Mark Messier deserved to have his number retired before anyone else.

"In Los Angeles, we ust haven't come up with the proper date yet," he said. "I'm sure we'll find the proper date and time."

At 6-foot, 175 pounds, Gretzky never was the biggest player on the ice. His shot wasn’t the hardest in the League. He wasn’t the fastest player to ever lace the skates. He once finished dead last in strength testing on the Edmonton Oilers.

But without question, he is the greatest player to ever play hockey. Why? An extraordinary sense of the game -- a special vision if you will -- paved the way for No. 99’s road to the Hockey Hall of Fame. But so did a work ethic instilled by his parents and the guidance of many people who insisted all the talent in the world was useless unless augmented by hard work.

"Glen (Sather) had me in Edmonton, and, you know, he pushed me very hard to be the player that I became," Gretzky said. "And then, John (Muckler) came in and John kind of guided me to refine my tools and kind of teach me to understand the concepts of the game itself.

"And, of course, my father -- who as every kid who is sitting over here can say that, you know, your father drives you to the games and takes you to those morning practices as we're doing now as parents."

And there was another reason for Gretzky’s success -- he loved the game. That was the advice he gave to youngsters when he announced his retirement -- play for the love of the game.

"Do it because you love it," he said. "Don't do it because you want to make a lot of money at it. If you do it because you love it and you do it because you dream of playing in the National Hockey League, everything else will fall into place.

"We used to just play lawn hockey. Just chase a puck around. I never played six hours a day because I said I wanted to make a lot of money. I played it because I loved it. I played it because I idolized the great players of the game; the Bobby Orrs and the Gordie Howes and the Bobby Hulls. That's why I had a passion for it. I didn't do it for any other reason but a passion. Kids should just really enjoy it."

If there was any NHL player who had the right to be above the crowd, to be justifiably cocky, it was Wayne Gretzky. By the tales of his humanity and humility are as legion as his on-ice accomplishments. He simply never thought himself to be the superstar.

"Quite honestly, to this day, I still don't think that way," he said. "I think my teammates will attest to it that I like to be one of the guys in the locker room. I want to be treated like anybody else.

"I handle myself and I try to conduct myself the way my parents raised me," Gretzky said. "And if that is good enough for them, then that's good enough for everyone as far as I'm concerned and that's the way everyone should look at it. And I just kind of happened to fall into this category partly because of my love for the game.

"As I told Mr. (Gary) Bettman, everything I have in my life, it is from the National Hockey League. Everything. Friendship, memories, my family, people I've got to see, going to the Olympic games. Everything I have is because of the National Hockey League. No other reason."

Now, he has No. 99 all to himself. Just as it should be.

Monday, February 7, 2000

Still the brightest star of them all

Star-studded cast, but Gretzky steals the show