The space age

Sporting News, The, Jan 29, 1996 by Larry Wigge

Mike Milbury was not the only traditionalist who expressed concern before the season at the NHL's enforcement of hooking, holding, interference and the general obstruction of players skating without the puck, particularly in the neutral zone.

But those alarmists were wrong.

Mario Lemieux scored 100 points before the All-Star break. His return after a year of recovering from the fatigue and anemia that stemmed from treatments for Hodgkin's disease has been one of sports' great comebacks. He and veterans such as Wayne Gretzky would have had a tougher time putting up scintillating numbers if not for the extra room created by the new rules enforcement

"Sometimes it had gotten to the point where it wasn't hockey being played - it was more like foot-ball," Lemieux says.

"The changes have made for a better, faster game," Gretzky says. "It is great for the fans. We're in the entertainment business, and this certainly lets the skilled players show what they can do."

There were concerns that without the ability to run picks on hard-charging forecheckers, defensemen would be an extinct species by midseason. "Look at the protection Troy Aikman gets when he's in the pocket passing - where do you think he'd be if he had no blocking?" Flames Coach Pierre Page warned in training camp. "The injury list will be filled with defenseless defensemen."

Instead, Brian Leetch, Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis and other defensemen have excelled, having more room to create plays in the transition game.

The accent is definitely on skating and a quick transition from defense to offense. The open-ice bodycheck has also made a revival as players take clean runs at one another instead of latching on.

"There's no room in this game for anyone who cannot skate," Stars General Manager Bob Gainey says, "It's a lot like the rules they have in football, where a cornerback can chuck a receiver in the first 5 yards but then he must cover on speed and quickness alone after that You can no longer grab a hold on a player and ride him down the ice."

And the excitement of odd-man breaks - two-on-ones, and three-on-twos - have returned to the game.

Many complained about the use of the neutral-zone trap and how that defense stifled teams attempting to work their way through mid-ice. The Devils, some say, won the Stanley Cup only because of those tactics.

The facts that the Devils and Sharks, two of the league's major proponents of the trap, were struggling at midseason is proof the new system works.

"Tearms like ours that have a lot of speed have become better because of the new rules," Red Wings Coach Scotty Bowman says. "We can now pick up speed in the neutral zone and can't be easily picked off when we enter the opposition zone."

Coffey says: "If Michael Jordan was obstructed at the head of the key, you'd never see those breathtaking moves he puts on before he gets to the basket. The same was true in our game for the skilled players we have. They would have to stop and start and stop and start and ..."

Last season, teams combined for 5.97 goals per game. That total was up nearly a goal at 6.75 per game just before the All-Star break.

And despite the worries, the game definitely hasn't degenerated into tiddlywinks. Here are some other highlights of the first half, and a few lowlights:

Bench press

Many of today's players are top-heavy in the wallet but lacking in discipline. That' partly why a record four general managers - the Canadiens' Serge Savard, the Flame's Doug Risebrough, the Islanders' Don Maloney and the Senators' Randy Sexton - were fired in the first half and five coaches are no longer behind the bench - Montreal's Jacques Demers, Hartford's Paul Holmgren, San Jose's Kevin Constantine, Ottawa's Rick Bowness and Dallas' Bob Gainey.

It has become a young man's game behind the bench.

"I've never seen so many good young coaches come into the league at one time," Blues Vice President Ron Caron says. "With the salaries of today's players, the players are often unbridled. So it takes a good jockey to whip them into shape.

"Doug MacLean has injected youngsters and a new life into the Panthers, and Ted Nolan in Buffalo has taken a team most gave up for dead (after it traded star winger Alexander Mogilny and decided not to resign Dale Hawerchuk and Wayne Presley). He came fight in and showed the players who was boss and has the Sabres playing better than anyone would have expected."

Our Coach of the Year candidates: MacLean, Nolan and the Kings' Larry Robinson.

1 and la

Sabres General Manager John Muckler just shakes his head in wonder when he sees the Penguins' Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr on the ice at the same time. "If you're looking for an MVP, you'd have to rate them 1 and 1a," he says.

Lemieux's amazing comeback is clearly the story of the year. He's playing every game when most didn't expect him to play more than 60 - and he's the league's best player, head and shoulders above the rest.

Jagr may be a dynamite talent, but there's no comparison when it comes to the Penguins with and without Lemieux (their record without Super Mario in the first half was 1-4-1). As you watch the remainder of the season, it will become clear the top contenders for MVP are Lemieux, the Rangers' Mark Messier and the Flyers' Eric Lindros.