Great expectations

Hockey Digest, Dec, 2000 by Tom Worgo

Sergei Krivokrasov, who the Wild signed to a three-year contract in the offseason, is the leading candidate to be Minnesota's top goalscorer. Krivokrasov totaled only 10 goals and 27 assists in 1999-2000, but scored 25 goals two years ago for Nashville in that franchise's expansion team.

However, after Krivokrasov, there's not much offensive talent here. Journeyman Jim Dowd had a career-high 18 assists with Edmonton last year. Scott Pellerin scored 20 goals two years ago, but that was sandwiched in between eight-goal seasons.

With a lack of offense, speedy rookie left wing Marian Gaborik, the third overall pick in the entry draft, could be a factor in the lineup.

"It's always nice to have a team is already established, but with a new team there's something to build," Lemaire says. "I think the young kids are easier to work with because you are starting new and everybody feels they have a chance to make the team or will get more ice time or play on the power play. There is more excitement."

FAMILY TREE

REMEMBER THE ORIGINAL SIX? THIS year--even as many Canadian and small-market clubs struggle--the NHL hits the 30-franchise mark. Here is a thumbnail sketch of the history of NHL expansion:

1967: The NHL doubted in size with the addition of six teams--all American-based. Most notable was the leagues move to the Left Coast, welcoming the Los Angeles Kings and the Oakland Seals into the fold. The Kings would struggle until the addition of Wayne Gretzky in the mid-1980s. The Seals weren't around tong enough to receive such fortune--after changing their name to the California Golden Seals in 1970, the franchise moved to Cleveland in 1976. The Barons lasted until 1976 and became the first NHL team to fold since the Brooklyn Americans in 1942.

Also new to the NHL this year were the Minnesota North Stars (who moved south to Dallas in 1993), the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues. The Blues were an almost instant success, advancing to the NHL Finals in their inaugural year, but it is the Flyers franchise that has enjoyed the most financial stability and--led by the "Broad Street Bullies" teams of the mid-1970s--has had the most stoned history.

1970: The NHL added the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canuck, the first new Canadian franchise since the 1924 Montreal Maroons,

1972: The year that the WHA first dropped the puck. The upstart league began with 12 franchises and went to head-to-head with the NHL in Chicago, Cleveland Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York, and Philadelphia.

New to the NHL this year were the New York Islanders and--in the league's first attempt to break into the Southern United States--the Atlanta Flames, it wouldn't provide to be a successful move--the Flames moved 1980.

1974: Another two new teams: the Kansas City Scouts and Washington Capitals. The Scouts moved west and became the Colorado Rockies in 1974 and then headed back east in 1982 as the New Jersey Devils.

1979: The demise of the WHA brought the four most stable teams from the failed league to the NHL: the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets. Three of the four have since moved on to warm-climate, American cities--including two of the three Canadian teams. The Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995; the Jets moved to Phoenix in 1996 as the Coyotes; and the Whalers have been known as the Carolina Hurricanes since 1997.