New Grit

Sporting News, The, Dec 13, 1999 by Larry Wigge

Normally passive Pierre Turgeon is no longer just a pretty passer. His unexpected fire and second effort are inspiring the Blues and making them legitimate Stanley Cup threats.

Only some of the words on the chalkboard in the Oilers' dressing room were visible. One part of Edmonton's game plan, however, was very clear:

Don't let Pierre Turgeon beat you with his second effort.

The words were prophetic, yet obviously difficult for the Oilers to follow. Late in the first period, Turgeon fought off defenseman Janne Niinimaa twice before scoring a goal. Then, late in the third period, he outhustled a defender to stave off an icing call, then made a sparkling centering pass to Chris McAlpine, forging a 2-2 tie.

"Where's the old Pierre Turgeon?" Oilers coach Kevin Lowe jokes later. "Turgeon has been a different player from when I played against him. You used to be able to knock him off the puck. Now, he's the one knocking people off the puck."

Turgeon didn't put on 20 pounds in the offseason working as a lumberjack like his father. He's still 6-1 and 195 pounds --average size by NHL standards. But there's a new desire, a new hustle, a new grit to the slick, playmaking center who has averaged better than a point a game in his 12 NHL seasons. More than anything else, his spunky play is raising expectations for the Blues, who are beginning to look like legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.

"Late in the playoffs last year and early this year it seems like he has a little more fire in his game and his step is there," Blues coach Joel Quenneville says. "His quickness is noticeable, he's hungry and it looks like he has a lot left."

"He took on more responsibility last year in the playoffs. and I see more willingness to be a leader and more willingness to get the job done no matter what it takes."

Second effort? Second life? Turgeon will tell you he looks at his play as more like a second chance.

"I saw Pierre get 58 goals and 132 points for the Islanders one year (1992-93)," Islanders Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin says. "But it was almost like you expected more from him."

"I played against him when he was a rookie--and it wouldn't be wrong to say he was a little soft. To me, not much changed until this season. Now, he's hungry for the puck. And when he gets it, you're not going to get it back. He's playing with so much confidence that he holds the puck that extra second or two, something that only guys like Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux have been able to do in their careers."

After the Blues lost Game 3 to Phoenix last postseason and fell behind 2-1 in the first-round series, Quenneville called a struggling Turgeon into his office to find out if anything was bothering his center and to challenge him to lift his game. Turgeon had a plus/minus rating of minus-5 at that juncture and was on edge.

He was at the end of his contract, and there were reports that the Blues were not going to bring him back. He also wasn't pleased to see fingers pointed in his direction--as they often have been at playoff time even though he has almost a point-per-game average in the playoffs.

Turgeon has had unhappy experiences trying to live up to the expectations of others. The worst came during two years in Montreal, especially after he was appointed captain.

He had arrived there after being acquired from the Islanders late in the 1994-95 season. He clicked for 20 points in the final 15 games, and hopes were high that he would be the superstar the team had been looking for since Guy Lafleur's departure in the early '80s.

Turgeon produced 96 points in 1995-96, his only full season with the Canadiens, but it wasn't enough to keep everyone happy. I he Canadiens surprised the Rangers in the first two games of the playoffs at Madison Square Garden in '96 and hopes rose to a ridiculous level. When the Rangers rallied to win the next three games, rabid Montreal fans were up in arms.

One Montreal newspaper went for the jugular, putting a cartoon on the front page that featured goaltender Jocelyn Thibault and second-line center Vincent Damphousse pulling the team bus that had stalled. Another player was pictured getting off the bus and walking away. It was Turgeon.

The inference was clear: Thibault and Damphousse needed help--and Turgeon, the captain, wasn't pulling his weight.

"I remember the cartoon," Turgeon says, eyes rolling. "I heard people--even friends--laugh at it. The criticism hurt a lot, especially since the coach told me to concentrate on defense. I still got six points in six games, trot it was my fault. Amazing, isn't it?"

Turgeon says he's glad Quenneville challenged him last spring in the playoffs.

"I had heard those whispers before, that I couldn't do this. and I couldn't do that," he says, his voice reaching a loud tone--for him--and then settling to a confident level. "When I talked with Joel, I told him I wanted more responsibility, not less. I wanted to prove to all of those people who didn't think I could succeed in the playoffs that they were wrong."