The Forum
July 2, 1983
(The previous day was one of the longest of J.T.'s life, but also one of the most fascinating and exciting days he'd ever lived through. He slept well, but woke up early and couldn't wait to get back to "work."
He arrives at the Forum at 8 AM, before anyone but the secretary. An hour later, he's in the break room looking over scouting reports when Rogie VACHON arrives.)
VACHON: "Good morning. We really need to get your office set up, don't we?"
"Good morning. Ready to get down to business? I have a list of the players who I consider to be untouchable."
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN(TEEN)
VACHON: "Looks good overall, but I have a few questions."
"I figured. Speaking of questions, where's George?"
VACHON: "He'll be along in the afternoon. He usually sleeps in a bit, and he'll be in Culver City for a while before he heads down here."
"Fair enough. Probably a good thing, actually. What were your questions?"
VACHON: "Definitely a good thing. Looks here like Russ Anderson's a fringe player, and we only got him because Hartford didn't want him ... but you're considering him an untouchable?"
"He'll be there for depth. After I get through trading, depth will be almost non-existent. We're going to be gambling almost everything we have for front-line talent. Also, I think Anderson's better than his overall rating would indicate."
VACHON: "You're going to be trading
that much, huh?"
"Every player in the organization who isn't on this list will almost certainly be traded away."
(VACHON's eyes widen.)
VACHON: "Holy ****. We have 47 players under contract. You're sure that you're going to be trading away nearly 30 guys???"
"Positive. Any other questions?"
VACHON: "Wow, okay. Garry Galley doesn't have a uniform number yet?"
"Galley will be wearing number 3, but it'll be while he's down in New Haven this season. He's the best prospect we have on the blue line, and I don't want to rush him. Hopefully he'll be ready for the big club in 1984-85."
VACHON: "Makes sense. What about Wes Jarvis? I notice he doesn't have a number, either."
"Well, he preferred 16, and we're not about to give him Dionne's number. As I recall, he said he would be fine with any number ending in 6, so we're gonna give him 36."
VACHON: "Mike Heidt? Is he coming along ahead of schedule? I thought he would be in the minors this season."
"Yeah, he's going to be in New Haven. I might call him up this season in a pinch, though. We're not going to trade him because he's a recent high draft pick, and there might be a bit of fan backlash if we deal him away at this time."
(VACHON nods.)
VACHON: "Yeah, the last thing we need is more angry fans. But we're hoping we'll see some optimism on that front with the changes we've made and are continuing to make."
"Definitely. Finally, here's something I prepared yesterday but never got a chance to show you. It's what I call our
cupboard.
This is simply a list of all of the players we have who are 24 years of age or younger who wouldn't (or
potentially wouldn't) look out of place in the NHL."
VACHON: "We're assuming a normal growth curve for those guys who aren't ready to play in the NHL just yet?"
"Exactly."
VACHON: "Looks like things are beginning to take shape. What's next?"
"It's time to make some moves. Here's where the fun begins."