The champs are reeling, the finalists are dealing

Sporting News, The, Sept 1, 1997 by Larry Wigge

Gloom and doom. That's what most opponents faced the last few years when they went up against the line of Eric Lindros, John LeClair and Mikael Renberg.

Three years ago, it would have been unfathomable to think of the Flyers trading any member of the record-setting Legion of Doom line, but that was before Renberg struggled for more than a year with an abdominal tear and never recovered his effectiveness. Now, he's headed to Tampa Bay, along with defenseman Karl Dykhuis. The trade actually evolved when the Lightning didn't match the Flyers' five-year, $16.5 million offer sheet to Chris Gratton. They then traded the four first-round draft choices they got as compensation back to Philadelphia for Renberg and Dykhuis.

Dainius Zubrus will likely replace Renberg on the Legion of Doom line. But Gratton is a large reason the Flyers will be bigger and better than last season, when they made it to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to Detroit.

"Chris Gratton combines size and toughness," Blue G.M. Larry Pleau says. "If he makes the same kind of development he made last season (when he joined Phoenix's Keith Tkachuk as the only players in the NHL to score 30 goals and accumulate 200 penalty minutes), he could be one of the top five forwards in the league in a couple of years."

Was it Elvis Presley who said you can't stand still even when you are on top? Well, things have been all shook up since the Red Wings and Flyers met in June.

While the Flyers have gotten stronger by bringing in Wayne Cashman to replace coach Terry Murray and substituting free-agent defenseman Luke Richardson for Dykhuis and Gratton for Renberg, the Red Wings have been reeling since their Cup celebration.

A limousine accident six days after they won the title left an irreparable hole in Detroit's defense. Two months later, Vladimir Konstantinov is just beginning to regain some of his motor skills after almost dying from severe head injuries. People around the league will understand what a force Konstantinov was, now that his 30 minutes of robust play each night will be missing from the lineup.

And last week, the Wings traded playoff MVP goalie Mike Vernon to San Jose for a third-round draft pick in 1998 and a second-rounder in '99.

If you put the Flyers and Wings on the ice today, the Flyers would win the series.

What is surprising is that in Renberg, the Flyers used up their best bargaining chip without obtaining a No. 1 goalie. And that in return for Vernon, the Red Wings failed to get the defenseman to replace Konstantinov.

It's safe to say there will be a whole lot more shakin' going on until we get to the playoffs against next April.

Icy bits

The Flames want to move free-agent left winger Gary Roberts and the Rangers are hoping G.M. Al Coates is getting antsy. They know he is on the hook to Roberts for a $2 million qualifying offer. Coates made the offer so that he can retain the right to get something in a trade rather than end up with draft picks, which he would get if Roberts left as a free agent. Washington and Dallas also are warming to the idea of adding a heart-and-soul player to their lineup, even if Roberts missed all of last season with a neck injury. Coates, who wants a player and draft choice, has his eyes on Rangers center Christian Dube. The Rangers need to replace Mark Messier's offense, so look for them to act quickly.

Great news for Pat LaFontaine. He is expecting the OK to play from a second neurosurgeon, and a Montreal equipment company already is working on a helmet that will protect him against more concussions. ... The Carolina Hurricanes have a problem. They're not selling season tickets as expected for the first of two seasons in Greensboro. The goal was 12,000. They've sold about 3,000. ... The name of Ottawa defenseman Steve Duchesne keeps coming up in rumors. San Jose and Vancouver were early favorites, but the Blues, whose power play hasn't been the same since Duchesne and Al MacInnis were together in 1994-95, are making a strong pitch.