Back at The Forum
July 10, 1983
(J.T. arrives and finds his office is ready. It's next door to Rogie VACHON's.)
VACHON: "Good to see you up and at 'em again."
"Thanks, Rogie. I see the scouts have prepared an evaluation of Doug Keans."
VACHON: "Looks like you were correct in estimating that he and Steve Weeks were of nearly equal ability."
"Also, our cupboard has one extra guy. We lost Kevin LaVallee, but added Steve Bozek and Chris Kontos.
Kontos was the forward I mentioned who seemed to be lost in the shuffle in the Rangers' organization. He's only 19, but already has NHL experience, and he might develop into someone useful for us."
VACHON: "Looks good. Any more deals to make at this point?"
"A few more, yeah. There's one I want to make right now, actually. I think we still need more help on the blue line. Particularly a guy who can provide some offense, considering we took a hit up front when we dealt Terry Ruskowski away."
VACHON: "So much for our Swedish contingent, huh?"
"Yeah, I didn't foresee getting rid of them so quickly. But I'd rather not deal away any more established guys at this point. We have to consider the fans & who they'll come to see."
VACHON: "Understandable. It would be interesting to see where we are in terms of league rankings at this point."
"I was thinking the same thing, myself."
VACHON: "Right on. That's more like it."
"I hope we can unseat the Flames and finish second in the division, but even if we finish third, we'll be facing Calgary instead of Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs. It'd be nice to be a part of an even matchup instead of being the constant underdog."
VACHON: "No question. Hey, I'm headed to Culver City in a few minutes. You gonna come with?"
"What's in it for me?"
VACHON: "Lunch."
"You talked me into it."