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Sporting News, The, June 4, 2001 by Larry Wigge

We've got our eyes on the prize

After the last drop of champagne has been sipped from the Stanley Cup, we'll be there. Join expert Larry Wigge at the scene of the big win, no matter where or when it is, as he follows the battle between the Avalanche and the Devils to its conclusion. His expert analysis can be found daily at sportingnews.com/nhl.

RELATED ARTICLE: inside dish

Has it ever been so obvious that C Joe Sakic sets the tone for everything the Avalanche does and how much he wants to finish his career in Denver? Forget his free-agent status. Forget his demand for a no-trade clause that Avs G.M. Pierre Lacroix won't give anyone. Sakic's going back to the Avs.... There has been no announcement yet about coach Scotty Bowman's return to the Red Wings. But wasn't that an unofficial announcement last week when the team resigned C Igor Larionov and signed former Mighty Duck D Fredrik Olausson to keep Bowman happy with a nucleus of veterans? ... The Islanders want to get a top-notch player, but free-agent Cs Jeremy Roenick and Doug Weight would rather go to a contender. If there's money available, which there is with the Isles' new ownership, Senators C Alexei Yashin would be interested in Long Island.... Red Wings C Steve Yzerman took a call from Flyers C Eric Lindros before the trading deadline, but he didn't recommend his team trade for Lindros. If Lindros called Mark Messier, Messier would give the OK for a trade to the Rangers. And you can bet Flyers G.M. Bobby Clarke wouldn't be bashful about demanding promising D Tomas Kloucek as part of the deal.... Sabres RW Donald Audette returned home to Montreal for the summer without a contract. Look for Audette, a free agent, to be part of new owner George Gillett's attempt to revive the Canadiens.... LW Alexander Mogilny, a free agent on July 1, wants to return to the Devils next season. He had a strange way of showing it with his lack of production in the playoffs.... Explain this: You hire a coach to build around, not to fire, right? So don't the recent hirings of Robbie Ftorek over Mike Keenan in Boston, Peter Laviolette over Ted Nolan on Long Island and Bryan Murray in Anaheim, along with the retention of Ivan Hlinka in Pittsburgh, smack of some sort of reverse reasoning? It looks like Murray's ability to get the most out of a young team and Brian Sutter's grit in Chicago make those the only recent hirings that won't be firings in a couple of years.... The fall of the Roman Turek empire in St. Louis could propel the goalie to the Rangers in the offseason. It's likely the Blues will also look into trading oft-injured RW Pavol Demitra and some youngsters to land a free-agent center, such as Edmonton's Weight or Buffalo's Michael Peca. Ottawa C Mike Sillinger is another player who appeals to the Blues. Players like Weight, Peca and Sillinger are distinctive role players, the kind many teams will be interested in this summer.

Senior writer Larry Wigge covers hockey for THE SPORTING NEWS. E-mail him at wigge@sportingnews.com.