NHL Historical Replay

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by croatian

Is Helmut Balderis still in the league ? How his career is going ?

Balderis is now 30 years old. After a bunch of seasons as a solid contributor in Philadelphia, he has declined to a 1 star player, and spent the just completed 82/83 season in the AHL with the Maine Mariners. Here are a look at his career stats.

[George_Bell]

1982-83 NHL Playoffs


Adams Division



I thought Hartford’s offense would be an issue for teams, but they allow Buffalo to score just 2 goals in their first round sweep. Montreal has an easy time with Boston who aren’t ready to make any impact. In a rematch of last years Adam’s Division final, Hartford is able to to beat Montreal, in overtime, in game 7! The winning goal was scored by 25 year old winger, Mats Hallin!


Mats Hallin scores the biggest goal in the short history of the Hartford Whalers!

Patrick Division



New Jersey looks very outclassed for a bit in their opening round series, but come back to win 2 road games before losing the deciding game 5 at home. The Rangers have an easy time with the Penguins. The Capitals were able to score each and every game against the Rangers, eliminating them in 5.

Norris Division



St. Louis, with the best record in hockey, gets some revenge on Chicago, who knocked them out last year. Minnesota beats Toronto for the 2nd straight season, after scoring 6 goals in the final period of a wild game four! Minnesota’s vaunted offense went out the window though. St. Louis, the leagues best defensive team, held the high scoring North Stars to 9 goals in 5 games. St. Louis got 10 in game four alone!!

Smythe Division



After upsetting first place Vancouver last year, the Oilers take the first place Kings to a 5th and deciding game. This year, they can’t get the upset. Calgary, whose season didn’t go according to plan loses to Vancouver ending their slim repeat hopes. The Kings rode the contributions of Mike Eaves and Guy Lafleur to a 6 game series win over the Canucks. Eaves and Lafleur have combined for 15 goals and 43 points so far in the postseason.

Wales Conference Final


Wayne Gretzky suffered a lower body injury in Hartford’s final game vs Montreal. He’s day to day, and not in the lineup for game one. Jamie Macoun scores the series first goal, giving Hartford the first period lead. Dennis Maruk ties it in the 2nd, but the Whalers grab the lead back before the end of the 2nd on Bob Berglund’s first playoff goal. Mike Bossy scores halfway through the third to tie the game and force overtime. In OT, Mike Bossy strikes again, winning it 4 minutes in! 3-2 Washington wins the opener. The first period of game two equaled the goals scored in all of game one. Dennis Maruk has 3 points in the period, but Washington just led 3-2. Maruk made the lead 4-2 after two periods, and adds another assist in the third. He finishes the day with 5 points, leading the Caps to a 7-3 win.


Maruk with 5 points in game two!

Still no Gretzky for Hartford, which means things look bleak. In front of their home fans, the Capitals score 8 seconds in, and dominate the rest of the way. Dirk Graham and Dennis Maruk get 3 points each. 10 Capitals score atleast 2 points. Washington crushes Hartford 10-2. Gretzky returns for game four, but it might be too late. Mark Messier gets his first goal of the series to open the scoring, but Dennis Maruk responds to tie it before the period ends. Maruk gets his 2nd in the 2nd to take the lead. Down by one in the third, Wayne Gretzky scores to tie the game. With 5 minutes remaining though, the Caps Chuck Walters gives them back the lead, and Dennis Maruk completes the hat trick 40 seconds later. Washington wins 5-3 to sweep the series.



Campbell Conference Final


Tied at 2, heading into the third, Mike Eaves scores for the Kings, giving them the lead. St. Louis then responded with vigor! Milan Novy opens the floodgates with the tying goal. Jim Fox, Craig Ramsay and Stan Smyl all follow. St. Louis wins 6-3! Game two is almost a copy of game one. Tied at 2 in the third period, St. Louis gets 4 straight goals from 4 different players. Bob Gainey is the first star with 3 points. The Kings are outscored 8-2 in the third period so far. 6-2 Blues win.


Gainey is the first star of game two!

These two teams are tied again after two periods in game three. This time though, the Blues don’t score 4 third period goals. Noone scores in the third at all and overtime is needed. In OT, LA’s Mike Eaves wins it for the Kings, keeping them in this series. LA wins 2-1. Lets go for four straight. The two teams are tied after 2 periods for the 4th straight game, and just like game three, no one scores in the third. In overtime, the hero this time is Mike Bullard. That gives the Blues a 4-3 win, and a 3-1 series lead.


Mike Bullard's OT goal puts the Blues a game away from a finals appearance!

Game 5 broke all the previous patterns from this series. La grabs an early lead, but the Blues storm back scoring 3 in the first, leaving the period with a 2 goal lead. Mike Eaves makes it 3-2, but Kelly Kisio restores St. Louis’ 2 goal lead before the end of the period. No scoring in the third, which gives the Blues the 4-2 win, and a 5 game series victory. St. Louis is going to the finals!

[George_Bell]

The Blues got here by not allowing teams to score against them. It worked all season, and now it’s worked in the playoffs. Defense first eh! What a concept! Milan Novy is injrued He only played 44 games this year, and missed the final 2 games of the Kings series. The Blues have learned to win without him though, so his absence won’t effect them to much, however long it is. The Caps first line is all world. Michel Goulet, Dennis Maruk and Mike Bossy. You shut them down, you stand a good chance of winning. In my opinion, this series is St. Louis’ team D vs Washington’s top line…

[George_Bell]

After no scoring in the first period, St. Louis scores 3 times in 6 minutes, sort of shell shocking the Caps. Craig Ramsay adds a forth Blues goal before Washington begins a third period comeback. Behn Wilson scores at the 5 minute mark, then, 10 minutes later, Alain Cote gets a shorthanded marker cutting the lead to 2. Mike Bossy then gets a power play goal with 96 seconds left. The Caps, with all the momentum, run out of time. St. Louis survives game one, 4-3. After no scoring in the first period of game two, Stan Smyl gets St. Louis on the board. Michel Goulet answers right back, but Eddy Beers has the Blues out in front by the end of the frame. In the third, Mike Bossy gets his 2nd of the finals. Bossy would assist on an Ed Kea goal 2 minutes later. The Caps have their first lead of the series, and they held it tell the final buzzer. Washington ties the series with a 3-2 win.


Bossy with 2 goals in the first two games for Washington!

Game three features some first period scoring. Dean Kennedy and Tony Currie have St. Louis up 2-0. Dirk Graham gets one back before the end of the period. Both teams get one in the 2nd period, but it’s St. Louis’ Bob Gainey who scores the only goal of the third. 4-2 Blues win. Washington comes out on fire in game four. Bruce Boudreau opens the first period scoring, while Dennis Maruk closes it. 4-0 Capitals after a period. It takes until the last 30 seconds of the 2nd for the Blues to begin any kind of comeback, but they are on the board atleast. Bob Gainey scores early in the third to give St. Louis life, but Behn Wilson and Mike Bossy make the Washington lead 4 again. That’s when It happened. Craig Ramsay scores to make it 6-3. Then, within 68 seconds, Kelly Kisio, Dean Kennedy and Stan Smyl explode to tie it at 6!! The Blues force overtime! In OT, the comeback is completed. Kelly Kisio gets his 2nd of the game. St. Louis somehow, wins game four, 7-6.


Kisio plays a key role in St. Louis' huge game 4 comeback!

Amazingly to me, the Capitals don’t look defeated in game five. Michel Goulet gives them a first period lead. They build the lead to 4-1, when the Blues mount another 3rd period comeback. Stan Smyl and Bengt Gustafsson both score, cutting the lead to one. This time, that’s as close as St. Louis could get. Caps stay alive with a 4-3 win. With the championship so close, St. Louis wants to avoid a game 7, and start game five on a mission. Matti Hagman and Jack Valiquette both score their first goals of the playoffs. David Fenyves gets another, and the Blues lead 3-0 after a period. Washington cuts the lead to one, but Bob Gainey gets a goal in the final seconds of the 2nd, restoring the 3 goal lead. St. Louis adds some 3rd period insurance, and this game is never really in doubt. 7-2 Blues. St. Louis has won the Stanley Cup!

[George_Bell]

[ThatSeventiesGuy]

...or, as we know it in real life, The Impossible Dream. Nice to see they won it in some alternate universe, though. I had a good feeling when they managed to dodge a bullet because the Gretz/Mess Whale got harpooned by the Caps.


Just one real-life Cup before I die. Just ONE. Is that too much to ask? APPARENTLY SO.

[wwines]

Man the Wings have really fallen off, George what's their current roster and prospects look like?

And if you don't mind could you let me know how the following players are performing;

Dale McCourt
Andre St. Laurent
Mike Foligno
Vaclav Nedomansky
John Ogrodnick
Ron Duguay

Take your time, spread them out over a few days or if you don't want to do it, no worries.

Keep it up, my daily read. Thanks.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by ThatSeventiesGuy

...or, as we know it in real life, The Impossible Dream. Nice to see they won it in some alternate universe, though. I had a good feeling when they managed to dodge a bullet because the Gretz/Mess Whale got harpooned by the Caps.

Just one real-life Cup before I die. Just ONE. Is that too much to ask? APPARENTLY SO.

You aren't alone, im still waiting to see my Leafs win a cup!!

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by wwines

Man the Wings have really fallen off, George what's their current roster and prospects look like?

And if you don't mind could you let me know how the following players are performing;

Dale McCourt
Andre St. Laurent
Mike Foligno
Vaclav Nedomansky
John Ogrodnick
Ron Duguay

Take your time, spread them out over a few days or if you don't want to do it, no worries.

Keep it up, my daily read. Thanks.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Not a problem, ill post these during the Season Preview!

[George_Bell]

1983 Offseason News and Notes

Here are the skating leaders for the season.



Here are the goalie leaders for the season.



Here are the playoff scoring leaders.



I guess you can call this season a true breakout year for Wayne Gretzky. He wins 5 awards, including league MVP. He’s also named a first team all star. It was hit first healthy regular season, but he got hurt in the playoffs. The next step is a healthy complete season.





Montreal will retire the number of goalie Al Smith, who has called it quits this offseason. Smith is the Canadiens all time leader in wins, with 420, and shutouts, with 84! He played 16 seasons in Montreal, and won the Gardiner Award 3 times. He will probably hear about Al Smith again in a few years when the Hall of Fame calls on him!



The Maple Leafs make a splash just before the draft.



Toronto acquires 24 year old center, Craig MacTavish. The former Capital just won the Selke Trophy as the leagues best defensive forward. That combined with his back to back 80 point seasons makes him what they call an excellent hockey player! Toronto gives up 27 year old defenseman Mike O’Connell. O’Connell is a 3 star guy, who has played in Montreal and Boston. He’s always had a penchant for offense, but broke out this year with 54 points! He looks like a 2nd pairing guy. I like this deal for the Leafs. MacTavish made Washington better. Now he will do it in Toronto.


MacTavish brings a complete game to Toronto!

Montreal just robbed the Nordiques!



Former 5th overall draft pick, Dave Andreychuk is going to Montreal, after playing 36 games in a Quebec jersey. The 19 year old showed glimpses in his rookie season, getting 15 goals and 32 points. He’s got the ratings to be a 50 goal scorer, and plays a very smart defensive game. Quebec is stupid for letting him go. They do get Paul Maclean, who at 25, is suited for a team who is ready to compete. Quebec is not. Maclean is a consistant, 2nd tier goal scorer. He just got 39 goals, which is a breakout, but that’s his ceiling I’m thinking. He’s not as good as Andreychuk right now, and he won’t be in the future. Just a dumb move by Quebec.


Quebec has made a major mistake!

On draft day, another big deal goes down!



St. Louis, fresh off their first championship, trades their top defenseman, Kevin Lowe, to the Islanders. Lowe had a lot to do with how well St. Louis played in their own zone this year. He also contributes on offense with a career high 37 assists. This is a risky move letting him go. There is a bit of a void on the blueline at the moment. The Blues do acquire a first line forward though. Denis Savard is no slouch. He’s a very talented youngster, who has 186 points over his first 3 years in the league. He’s very fast, and very slick. Savard should become a 100 point guy with the Blues. Why mess with success though? I do not know how this one will play out!


Savard joins the champs!

The NHL draft my go down as one of the dumbest decisions I have ever seen! With the first pick, the Winnipeg Jets do not drat 5 star, franchise center, Steve Yzerman. Instead, they pick up 18 year old, 4 star goalie Ed Belfour. Winnipeg owns the rights to 5 star goalie Dominik Hasek. Winnipeg has youngsters Scott Stevens, Chris Chelios and Al MacInnis. Imagine adding Steve Yzerman to that with Dom Hasek in net! There’s a future!!



Amazingly, the Red Wings also passed on Yzerman to take a lesser version of him in Pat LaFontaine. Pat’s a great prospect, sure, but Yzerman clearly is better. Cam Neely basically replaces Dave Andreychuk in Quebec, but I still don’t like that trade! Here is a look at Ed Belfour, who hasn't signed yet.



Hartford signals to the rest of the league, that they want to win now!!



Bobby Clarke has been traded to Hartford. After 14 years, 1088 games, and 1301 points, the Penguins have said goodbye to one of their franchise icons! Bobby Clarke comes over to play with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, and to help them win a cup. Bobby is 34, and just had the lowest scoring season in 10 years. Thomas Steen is a 23 year old, potential top line player. He’s 2 years removed from getting 84 points, but regressed last year. From a development, and team building point of view, it’s a good deal for Pittsburgh, but I can’t imagine their fans are ok with this!


Clarke joins the Whalers!

JP Parise and Pat Stapleton have been elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Parise was big part of Toronto’s run in the 60s and 70s. Stapleton was one of the better offensive defensemen of his era.



Time for the Iron Curtain draft. The first team, amazingly, and I swear this is not fixed, cuz fixing these results isn’t fun, is the Winnipeg Jets, which means Dominik Hasek will be joining the team this year. Hasek isn’t ready for the NHL just yet. He’s rated 6th on the Jets depth chart, so some time in the minors is needed. Should have taken Yzerman!


Hasek will be a Jet one day!

The next team selected with an eligible player, the Pittsburgh Penguins, will be very happy to hear that 25 year old Russian star, Sergei Makarov is defecting to begin his NHL career! Markarov is a 5 star player, selected 115th, in 1978. His ratings are pretty great. He immediately looks like one of the leagues best players!


Makarov immediately can change the fortunes of the Penguins. He's that good!

[JaytheGreat]

Seeing the Red Wings pass up Yzerman makes me die a little inside. Keep up the awesome job George!

[Cygnusx1018]

What is the Islanders current roster looking like?

[George_Bell]

1983-84 NHL Season Preview





A few requests to see how some players and teams are doing, so the perfect place for that is the season preview!

Dale McCourt



McCourt was drafted 35th overall in 1977 by the Cleveland Barons. He never played in the NHL, but spent 2 seasons with the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA. He played 89 games, scoring 54 points. At 26, he’s currently a 0.5 star player, who hasn’t played in 5 years. It appears his career Is over.

Andre St. Laurent



St. Laurent was taken 31st by Toronto in 1973, but his career took place completely in the WHA. He played 6 years there, but it appears his career is over, as he’s sat in free agency for 4 years. Here is a look at his stats.



Mike Foligno



Mike Foligno was picked 38th by the Kings in 1979. He looks like he’s playing a third line role there with a physical game that’s limiting his scoring. Here is his career so far.



Vaclav Nedomansky



Nedomansky is in the game, but was never selected to play in the NHL, and has retired. He has no stats.

John Ogrodnick



Ogrodnick was selected 44th by Philly in 1979. He spent 2.5 seasons with the Flyers, before being traded, this year, for defenseman Norman Rochefort. Ogrodnick joined the Blues and won the Stanley Cup. He had 15 points in 20 playoff games. At 24, he’s got a nice career ahead of him. Here’s his stats.



Ron Duguay



Duguay was picked 13th overall by Buffalo in 77 and he’s still there. He’s a reliable 2nd who just had his worst season. He may be starting on a decline now, but even if that’s true, he’s had a solid few years.



Here is a look at the Detroit Red Wings current roster. Click to enlarge.



Here is a look at the current New York Islanders roster. Click to enlarge.

[JaytheGreat]

The Wings have some pretty good young talent, but they still need 2 or 3 drafts worth of top talent to become a contender. At least I can take a little comfort that Winnipeg messed up worse then the Wings by passing up on Yzerman. They have a great core already but Yzerman would made them one of the most dangerous teams in the game.

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by JaytheGreat

The Wings have some pretty good young talent, but they still need 2 or 3 drafts worth of top talent to become a contender. At least I can take a little comfort that Winnipeg messed up worse then the Wings by passing up on Yzerman. They have a great core already but Yzerman would made them one of the most dangerous teams in the game.

They had Howe his whole career, i can't believe they passed on Yzerman!!

[George_Bell]

1983-84 NHL Regular Season

Bobby Orr just played his 1000th game. At 35, our Bobby Orr has surpassed the real life Bobby Orr who didn’t make it close to this far in his career do to injuries. Bobby is now a 3.5 star player. He has declined, but that’s normal. He is approaching 1100 career points, which might be a mark for defenseman that is never broken.


Orr isn't a kid anymore, he's been playing a long time!

The Quebec Nordiques, despite making what I thought was a stupid trade this offseason, look like they have figured things out and are ready to start challenging. They lead the Adams Division early, while their top to players, Paul Coffey and Doug Gilmour are dominating. Dougie has 43 points in his first 25 games of the season, while Coffey has 31 assists and 36 points! Paul Maclean, who came over from Montreal for Dave Andreychuk, is fitting in well, with 31 points in 23 games. Dave Andreychuk would also be killing it if he was still a Nordique though. Dave has 33 points to begin the season.


Gilmour is having a breakout year!

The Habs make what I think is a mistake.



Montreal decides to trade prospect Adam Oates to the St. Louis Blues for Bengt-Ake Gustafsson. Oates was acquired a year ago for Wilf Paiement, and now traded in the same type of trade. Oates is a highly skilled prospect, who is taking a while to crack the NHL. So maybe Montreal doesn’t think he will make it. Oates has 16 AHL games this year, with 14 points, and 5 NHL games, with 3 points. Gustafsson had 33 goals and 69 points for the champs, and had 23 points at the time of the trade. He’s a top 6 winger, who is young enough to contribute for years. If Montreal thinks Oates is a bust, this is a great get.


Adam Oates can't seem to find a home!

Checking in on Russian rookie Sergei Makarov, he’s doing as well as I expected. Through 50 games, the Penguins new first liner has 61 points, including 28 goals. Ratings wise, he looks incredible, and I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. Even with Makarov though, the Penguins are struggling. They are in last place in the Patrick Division, 18 points out of a playoff spot. The Pens window to compete is pretty much over.


Makarov is the Calder trophy favourite!

Well, I missed two interesting trades that occurred over the season. The St. Louis Blues have traded Bob Gainey, and Milan Novy!! Both in separate deals. Novy was dealt to Montreal in November, along with a 2nd round draft pick for Walt Poddubny. Novy has 48 points in 40 games as a Canadien, while Poddubny has 30 points in 43 games as a Blue. Poddubny is 8 years younger then Novy. In the offseason, Gainey was sent to Edmonton for defenseman Thomas Eriksson. Eriksson has fit in great with the champs, getting 43 points through 67 games, while Gainey has 51 points, but a -41 playing with a bad Oilers team. St. Louis seems to have recognized they were aging, and despite winning a title, have really changed the look of their team!


Gainey goes to the Oilers, to help them build with responsible, two way play!

The experts were about a year off on the Islanders! After predicting them to be a contender last season, the Islanders were awful. Turns out they were just early. The Islanders are running away with the Patrick Division this year. They have already set franchise records for wins and points, with 15 games left. Tim Kerr is having a career year, with 57 goals so far. Ray Bourque is gonna get close to 100 points, as he has truly become a superstar. The addition of Kevin Lowe has been fantastic, as the Isles are now the 2nd best defensive team in the league. They really are contenders now!


Tim Kerr has close to 60 goals!

Final Standings



The Islanders actually win the president’s trophy! They finish with 109 points, tied with the Whalers, but New York has one more win!

The Nordiques really fell off in the 2nd half of the season after that hot start. They still manage to make the playoffs. Paul Coffey suffered a wrist injury and missed the last half of the season. He had 54 points in 39 games. His absence cannot be accounted for on a team with little depth like this.

The Wales Conference has some really good teams in it. The Campbell Conference has the last 2 champs though. Winnipeg also makes the playoffs for the first time. Detroit finishes with the worst record in hockey, and I believe there is a young French player named Mario Lemieux who people think will be picked first overall this summer!



Wayne Gretzky wins his 2nd straight scoring title. Coincidentally, he also played his 2nd straight healthy regular season. Gretzky’s 157 points is tied with Guy Lafleur for the 2nd highest total ever.

Gretzky’s linemate, Mark Messier also exploded this year, with 62 goals and 150 points!! Bobby Clarke ended up playing on the 2nd line, and had a very disappointing season. His 38 points was not what the Whalers were hoping for.

Sergei Marakov finishes the year with 42 goals and 99 points. That will go up next year, but to me, he’s a shoe in for rookie of the year!

[Cygnusx1018]

As an Islander fan, I've been waiting for this. It was tough seeing the Rangers win the 1st 2 Isles cups, but hopefully this is the year.

[JaytheGreat]

I swear if the Wings pass on Lemieux, we don't deserve to be relevant for awhile.

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by Cygnusx1018

As an Islander fan, I've been waiting for this. It was tough seeing the Rangers win the 1st 2 Isles cups, but hopefully this is the year.

Atleast guys like Potvin, Smith, Trottier and Goring have cups! Bossy came close!

[George_Bell]

Originally Posted by JaytheGreat

I swear if the Wings pass on Lemieux, we don't deserve to be relevant for awhile.

Imagine they drafted Yzerman, who doesn't play this year, and changes nothing, and still had a shot at Lemieux!!