The winningest goalie without a Stanley Cup finally hung up his skates yesterday. There are three goalies ahead of him with more victories; Brodeur, Roy and Belfour; yet poor CuJo kept getting put on teams which never made it. The couple seasons he played for the Detroit Red Wings looked like a cinch, alas, no. When he joined Gretzky’s dream team in Phoenix around 2005, I thought, he may prove his critics wrong especially with all the other (aging) stars helping him on the blue line. ESPN’s pundits got Phoenix right…for once. After the standing ovation he received at the end of his contract there, he had been relegated to backup in Calgary and Toronto. Maybe he’ll get a second wind coaching or starting a successful business like Tim Horton.
Meanwhile, my Austin Stars shook off their two-game losing streak in British Columbia by beating the Rampage last night. Great game too. Both goals were scored by the Russian kids: Vishnevsky and Korostin (back from Idaho); and not only did the Stars draw first blood, they defended the lead the whole time to give new goalie Ford a shutout. There was a moment in which the Rampage gave us a scare on destroying our perfect victory but after the review, the officials negated a rather iffy San Antonio goal.
Friday’s match will be more exciting. The Stars face the Marlies. Normally, I would just be stoked to see another Canadian franchise to come to Austin. This season though is very special for Toronto’s AHL affiliate. They have Christian Hanson playing his rookie year with them. Is he the next Gretzky? No, something better. Not only is he an American-born player with a decent future, Christian is the son of real-life Hanson brother Dave “Jack” Hanson from Slapshot. I’m hoping to meet him. Trust me, I will be talking to him about his accomplishments at Notre Dame and how well he’s doing. I’m confident he’s sick of questions regarding his father.
My Flyers also woke up early. Normally they’d pour on the juice around March thinking this will get them to the Cup. Instead they seem to have gotten their collective act together and started playing like the team they’re supposed to be on paper. Now the million-dollar question is how the new coach will solve the goalie glut because Emery is back from surgery, Boucher’s hand has healed and the guy from the Phantoms has had hot hands.