Philadelphia Flyers: 6 Times the Bridesmaids

The Philadelphia Flyers were the first of the 1967-68 NHL expansion teams to hoist the Stanley Cup. The Flyers won twice in a row, over the Boston Bruins in 1973-74 and over the Buffalo Sabres in 1974-75. Since, the team has been the Stanley Cup finals six more times but has yet to be crowned champions for a third time.

1975-76

In 1975-76, the Flyers were poised to make it a three-peat. The team finished second overall during the regular season, behind only the Montreal Canadiens. In the quarter-finals, the Toronto Maple Leafs took them to seven games but the Flyers prevailed. Philadelphia then met the Boston Bruins in the semi-finals and had an easier time with a tougher team, winning in five games.

The Flyers met Montreal in the Stanley Cup finals. The Broad Street Bullies were trying to create a dynasty but the Canadiens decided to start their own instead. The Habs swept the Flyers in what was their first of four consecutive championships. Reggie Leach of the Flyers scored 19 goals, a playoff record that stands today. Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP in the losing cause. Reg also led the team in points with 24.

1979-80

After finishing first overall during the regular season, the Flyers found themselves at the wrong end of another budding dynasty in 1979-80. Philly met up with the New York Islanders in the finals and lost in six games. It would be the first of four consecutive for the Long Island squad.

On the road to the final series, Philadelphia beat the Edmonton Oilers in the preliminary round 3-0, the New York Rangers 4-1 in the quarter-finals and the Minnesota North Stars 4-1 in the semi-finals. Ken Linseman led the Flyers with 22 points.

1984-85

Philadelphia finished first overall again in 1984-85. After sweeping the Rangers in the division semi-final and losing just one game to the Islanders in the division final, the Flyers took out the Quebec Nordiques in six to win the conference.

The team came up against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers in the finals and lost the series in five games. Brian Propp led the club with 18 playoff points.

1986-87

It was déjà vu in 1986-87 with the Flyers once again coming up against the Oilers in the finals. This time, Philadelphia pushed the series to the limit but succumbed to Edmonton in seven. For the second time in their history, the Flyers had a player awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy despite losing in the finals. Ron Hextall took the award in his first year in the NHL. Brian Propp once again led the team in post season scoring with 28 points.

1996-97

The Flyers didn’t make it back to the finals until 1996-97. The team finished fourth overall during the regular season, behind the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils. Like 1975-76 against the Canadiens, Philadelphia was swept in the final series.

Philly lost just three games in the first three rounds, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. The Detroit Red Wings were simply a powerhouse and took just four games to eliminate the Flyers. Eric Lindros led the club with 26 playoff points. It marked the last NHL games for Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk.

2009-10

Despite finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference during the 2009-10 regular season, the Flyers plowed through to meet the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup final. Chicago took the series in six games. It was a real accomplishment, considering the team’s regular season point total would have placed them as low as 12^th if they were in the West.

The Flyers knocked off the New Jersey Devils 4-1 in the first round before stretching the next series with the Boston Bruins to the full seven games. In the conference final, Philadelphia beat the Montreal Canadiens in five. Daniel Briere led the team with 30 points in the playoffs.

 

Marcel Paille: AHL Hall of Fame Goalie

Marcel Paille is one of just 26 members of the American Hockey League Hall of Fame. Paille’s 1964-65 Topps rookie card as a member of the NHL’s New York Rangers is the most valuable rookie card in the series. Yet, how many hockey fans know who Marcel Paille was?

After playing junior for the Quebec Citadelles, Marcel Paille embarked on a professional hockey career as a goaltender that spanned from 1956-57 to 1973-74. In his rookie AHL season, 1956-57, his team, the Cleveland Barons, won the Calder Cup as the AHL playoff champions. Paille played sparingly for the New York Rangers from 1957-58 to 1964-65 with that final season being the only one he didn’t spend part of the year in the AHL.

He starred with the Springfield Indians at the start of the 1960’s. The team won three straight Calder Cups in 1960, 1961 and 1962. In the final two of those three years, Marcel was awarded the Harry Holmes Memorial Award as the goalie in the AHL with the lowest GAA.

Ironically, the year Paille finally got his face on a NHL hockey card was the last year he’d play in the league. His 1964-65 Topps rookie card is worth $250, largely due to scarcity because the card was short-printed.

Marcel did make it back to a major league hockey league for one more stint in 1972-73. In the first year of the World Hockey Association, Paille partnered with Bernie Parent between the pipes for the Philadelphia Blazers. Parent played the bulk of the games for the Blazers with Paille playing in just 15 and recording a ballooned 4.81 GAA.

Marcel passed away in 2002 and posthumously entered the AHL Hall of Fame in 2010. He still owns a handful of AHL records, including: most games by a goaltender, most playoff games by a goaltender, most playoff wins, the longest playoff shutout streak and most playoff minutes played. He was an American Hockey League All-Star on five occasions. Three times he was on the First Team and twice he was on the Second Team.

 

 

Fort Wayne Komets Single Season Scoring Records

The Fort Wayne Komets began in 2012-13 as a franchise in the ECHL but the team’s history dates back to 1952. The team played in the IHL from 1952-53 to 1998-99. For the next decade, the Komets played in the UHL (later becoming the reincarnation of the IHL). For the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, Fort Wayne played in the Central Hockey League.

The individual single season scoring records of the Komets have stayed undisturbed since the 1978-79 season. Two records remain from the 1960’s.

Merv Dubchak - Goals

Merv Dubchak set the Fort Wayne record for goals in a season with 72 in 1965-66. He led the IHL that season but with just a one goal lead over Gary Schall of the Muskegon Mohawks. Schall was awarded the James Gatschene Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player over Dubchak.

Merv played pro from 1963-64 to 1969-70, all with the Komets with exception of one game played in the Eastern Hockey League with the Philadelphia Ramblers in his rookie season. With Fort Wayne, Dubchak played in the IHL finals on three occasions. The team fell to the Toledo Blades in his rookie year. The following season, Fort Wayne defeated the Des Moines Oak Leafs for the championship. In 1966-67, it was once again the Toledo Blades spoiling the party for the Komets.

Dubchak played 437 career regular season games with the Fort Wayne Komets, scoring 321 goals and assisting on 218 for 539 points. He had three consecutive 50+ goal seasons between 1964-65 and 1966-67. He totalled more than 100 points twice, in 1964-65 and 1965-66.

Len Thornson – Assists, Points

Len Thornson was an amazing setup man during his 819 career regular season IHL games. In that time, he assisted on 826 goals for a more than 1 assist per game average over his entire IHL career. He also scored 426 goals for 1,252 points. Amazingly, he sat just 101 minutes in the penalty box over that time.

Len holds the Fort Wayne Komets record for assists in a season with 93 in 1966-67. He is also tied for the record for most points with 139, also set in 1966-67. That year he was awarded the James Gatschene Trophy as league MVP. It was the fifth of six times that he would win that award. His 139 points led the league and he won his third of three Leo Lamoureux Trophies.

Thornson played pro from 1952-53 to 1968-69 in the AHL, WHL, QHL and IHL. He played for the Komets from 1956-57 to 1968-69. In his final season, Len was also the head coach of the team.

Terry McDougall - Points

Terry McDougall tied Len Thornson’s record of 139 points in 1978-79. McDougall finished the season with 57 goals and 82 assists for 139 points over 79 games. He was awarded the Leo Lamoureux Trophy as the league’s scoring champion. He was also awarded the James Gatschene Trophy as MVP.

Terry played pro from 1973-74 to 1983-84, all in the IHL. He was a member of the Komets from 1975-76 to 1981-82. 1978-79 was the second of two times in his career that McDougall exceeded 100 points in a season. His 57 goals account for his only time exceeding the 50 goal plateau.

 

Idaho Steelheads Retired Numbers

The Idaho Steelheads are a relatively new franchise in the hockey world but have achieved great success in their decade and a half. The Steelheads began life in the West Coast Hockey League in 1997-98. After the demise of the WCHL, Idaho joined the ECHL for the 2003-04 season.  The Steelheads are affiliated with the Dallas Stars of the NHL and the Texas Stars of the AHL. The team plays out of the 5,000 seat CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho.

The Steelheads have retired two jersey numbers to date. Number 4 is retired for Jeremy Mylamok and number 22 is retired in honour of Cal Ingraham.

Jeremy Mylymok

Mylymok played professional hockey from 1995-96 to 2005-06. The final six years of his career were spent with the Steelheads, three years in the WCHL and three in the ECHL. In his second last year with the club, Jeremy acted as player/assistant coach.

In his first year with Idaho, 2000-01, Mylymok totalled 63 points from the blue line while sitting 208 minutes in the penalty box. The Steelheads reached the WCHL finals and went the distance before bowing out to the San Diego Gulls in seven games. The Steelheads reached the finals again in 2001-02 before losing in six to the Fresno Falcons.

In the final year of the WCHL, 2002-03, Jeremy helped Idado to a first overall finish in the six team league with 52 wins and 108 points. However, the Steelheads were upset in the first round by the same Fresno Falcons from the year before. Fresno finished fourth in the WCHL during the regular season, 29 points behind Idaho.

The Steelheads were redeemed the following season, their first in the ECHL. The team took out the Florida Everblades in the finals, four games to one for their first of two Kelly Cup championships to date. It was the second pro championship for Mylymok, after winning a Turner Cup with the Chicago Wolves of the IHL in 1997-98. The Wolves beat the Detroit Vipers in seven games.

Cal Ingraham

Ingraham played the final four of his seven years of professional hockey with the Idaho Steelheads. He played pro from 1995-96 to 2001-02 with his first three years in the ECHL with the Tallahassee Sharks.

His stature was small at 5’5” and 160 lbs. but his scoring ability was large. In his four years with Idaho, Ingraham scored 175 goals and assisted on 206 for 381 points over 274 regular season games. Cal reached 50 or more goals and 100 or more points in the three years between 1998-99 and 2000-01. In the first year, his 50 goals placed him fourth in the WCHL and his 110 points placed him sixth. The following year, he finished third in the league with 52 goals and fifth with 101 points. In 2000-01, he tied for the league lead with 50 goals and placed third with 102 points.

In 2000-01, despite the Steelheads losing in the finals to the San Diego Gulls, Ingraham was an offensive force with nine goals, 14 assists for 23 points in 13 games.

John Muckler and His 3 Championships

John Muckler coached in professional hockey from 1960 to 2000 so the odds were for him winning a championship or two behind the bench. Actually, Muckler led three teams to playoff championships in three different professional leagues.

John played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association for three years from 1951-52 to 1953-54 with the Windsor Spitfires and Galt Black Hawks. His pro playing career consisted of eight years in the Eastern Hockey League with the Charlotte Clippers, New York Rovers and Long Island Ducks. With the Ducks, he was player/head coach from 1960-61 to 1962-63.

As a coach, Muckler found himself behind benches in the EHL, CHL, NHL and AHL. At the highest level, he coached the Minnesota North Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. Of course, most notable are his years in Edmonton.

Long Island Ducks - EHL

His first championship came in 1964-65 while coaching the Long Island Ducks in the EHL. The team finished the regular season second in the North Division, 17 points behind the division leading Clinton Comets. The Ducks were third overall with the Nashville Dixie Flyers finished first with 108 points.

Long Island faced the Jersey Devils in the opening round and won 3-1. In the semi-finals, they upset the Clinton Comets four games to two. In the finals, they played giant-killer once again, taking down the Dixie Flyers in just five games.

Dallas Black Hawks - CHL

Well over a decade later, Muckler won his second championship, this time in the Central Hockey League. His Dallas Black Hawks finished second in the six team league behind the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. Salt Lake finished with 101 points while the Black Hawks were eight behind with 93. Dallas used eight different goaltenders during the regular season, including Gary Bromley, Eddie Mio, Dunc Wilson and Curt Ridley. They had the most goals for and were the most penalized team in the CHL.

Dallas met the Kansas City Red Wings in the opening round and swept the Detroit affiliate in four games. In the finals, they met up with the Golden Eagles and lost just one game to take the championship.

Edmonton Oilers - NHL

Yet another decade and more passed before John’s third championship. In 1989-90, he was behind the bench for the Mark Messier led Edmonton Oilers. Messier finished second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with former teammate Wayne Gretzky. Mark had 129 points while Gretzky had 142 with the Los Angeles Kings.

The Oilers finished second in the Smythe Division with 90 points, nine behind the first place Calgary Flames. In the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Winnipeg Jets gave Edmonton a scare, going up 3-1 in the series. The Oilers roared back with three straight to advance. The next round was a four game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings. In the semi-finals, Edmonton found themselves in trouble again, down 2-1 to the Chicago Black Hawks before again winning three straight to take the series. The Oilers took the Boston Bruins in five games in the finals to capture the Stanley Cup.

 

The 1967-68 Los Angeles Kings: In the Beginning...

It all began for the Los Angeles Kings in 1967-68. The team was one of six to be admitted into the National Hockey League, doubling the league in size. It was the first time the NHL had consisted of more than six teams since the Brooklyn Americans folded after the 1941-42 season.

Like the other five expansion teams, the Kings were a rag-tag bunch of career AHL veterans, untested rookies and NHL players in the twilight of their careers. The six new teams were packed in the Western Division. The difference between first and fifth in the West was just six points. The Oakland Seals fell away from the pack, finishing with just 15 wins and 47 points.

Los Angeles finished second in the West in that first season with 72 points over 74 games, just one point behind the first place Philadelphia Flyers. The Kings lost their first ever playoff round to the Minnesota North Stars. The series went seven games with the North Stars romping 9-4 to oust the Kings at the Forum in L.A. Los Angeles held 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the series but could not hold on for the victory.

Eddie Joyal led the club in assists and points during the regular season with 34 and 57 while playing the full 74 game schedule. Joyal played his first NHL game in 1962-63 with the Detroit Red Wings and appeared sparingly through the years with Detroit and the Toronto Maple Leafs before becoming a regular with the Kings. He also played half a season with the Philadelphia Flyers before ending his pro career in the WHA with the Edmonton Oilers.

Bill Flett had been stuck in the minors since turning pro in 1963-64. 1967-68 was his first season in the NHL and he led the Kings in goals with 26. Flett went on to play nearly 900 major league games between the NHL and WHA. He left the Kings midway through the 1971-72 season for the Philadelphia Flyers. He also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Atlanta Flames and Edmonton Oilers.

In goal, the Kings platooned a rookie and one of the greatest goaltenders to play the game. Wayne Rutledge played in 45 games in his first NHL season, while Terry Sawchuk played in 36. Rutledge was relegated to a backup role over the next two seasons with Los Angeles and eventually became a WHA mainstay, playing with the Houston Aeros during their entire history. Sawchuk, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, was on the downside of his great career and would play just 22 games over the next two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers.

Brian Kilrea is also in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but for what he accomplished as a builder in the Ontario Hockey League. Previous to 1967-68, Killer had played just one NHL game, with the Red Wings in 1957-58. He played just 25 games with Los Angeles but one of his three goals with the club was the first ever scored for the franchise. Kilrea went on to coach the Ottawa 67’s from 1974 to 2009.

There was one other Hall of Famer on the team but he stood behind the bench. Head Coach Red Kelly had just come off a Stanley Cup victory as a player with the Toronto Maple Leafs the year before. After a career that spanned from 1947-48, Kelly retired after hoisting the Cup and took a different direction within the game. He coached the Kings for two seasons and went on to coach the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1970’s.

Anchoring the defense was one of many long time American Hockey League veterans getting their first start in the NHL. Bill White played in the AHL as early as 1959-60, while still a junior with the OHA’s Toronto Marlboros. He went on to play over 600 regular season games and nearly 100 playoff games in the NHL with Los Angeles and the Chicago Black Hawks.

Bill also ended up behind the bench after his playing career was over. He spent one year as head coach of Chicago in 1976-77 before two years in the OHA. In his first season behind the bench with the Oshawa Generals, he was named coach of the year.

 

3 Toronto Maple Leafs With 300 or More PIM in a Single Season

Four times in the history of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs, a player has accumulated 300 or more minutes in penalties during one regular season. Despite Gary Bettman’s propaganda regarding the unpopularity of fighting in the NHL, two of the three players to top 300 PIM are pretty much considered legends by many Toronto hockey fans.

Tie Domi

Tie Domi holds the Toronto Maple Leafs record for the most PIM in a single season with 365 in 1997-98. Domi finished second in the NHL that season, seven PIM behind Donald Brashear of the Vancouver Canucks. This was Tie’s career high, topping the 347 he sat out with the Winnipeg Jets in 1993-94.

Domi totaled 3,515 PIM during his NHL career, ranking him third all-time behind Dave Williams and Dale Hunter. Tie played 1,020 regular season NHL games between 1990-91 and 2005-06 with the New York Rangers, Jets and Maple Leafs. Originally, he was a second round pick of the Maple Leafs at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, 27^th overall.

Dave ‘Tiger’ Williams

Dave ‘Tiger’ Williams was the previous owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs record before Domi came along. Williams sat out 351 in 1977-78. This total was 54 behind league leader Dave ‘The Hammer’ Schultz, who split his season between the Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins. Williams topped this total by seven PIM in 1986-87 with the Los Angeles Kings.

Dave is the all-time NHL penalty minutes leader with 3,966 in 962 games. Tiger played in the NHL from 1974-75 to 1987-88 with the Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and Hartford Whalers. He was a second round pick of the Maple Leafs at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, 31^st overall.

Williams also topped 300 PIM in the previous season. In 1976-77, Dave led the National Hockey League with 338 PIM, 64 more than the next man, Dennis Polonich of the Detroit Red Wings.

Brian Curran

In 1989-90, a less than memorable Maple Leaf sat out 301 minutes in the sin bin. Brian Curran tied with Dave Manson of the Chicago Blackhawks for sixth place in the category. The NHL was led in 1989-90 by Basil McRae of the Minnesota North Stars with 351. Curran’s career high came in 1986-87 with the New York Islanders when he sat 356 minutes.

Brian totaled 1,461 PIM in 381 NHL games over his career. He played from 1983-84 to 1993-94 with the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Toronto, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals. He played with Toronto between 1987-88 and 1990-91. Originally, Curran was a second round pick of the Bruins in 1982, 22^nd overall.

4 Pittsburgh Penguins Draft Picks to Play 1,000 Game NHL Careers

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been drafting players since they came into the National Hockey League for the 1967-68 season. Yet, over the forty plus years, just four players drafted by the Penguins have gone on to NHL careers consisting of more than 1,000 regular season games. One of the players is still active in the league and three of the four are most likely destined for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Doug Bodger

Doug Bodger was drafted ninth overall by Pittsburgh at the 1984 NHL Draft after two seasons of junior with the Kamloops Junior Oilers of the WHL. The big defenseman played with Pittsburgh from 1984-85 until a trade sent him to the Buffalo Sabres ten games into the 1988-89 season.

In total, Doug played 1,071 NHL regular season games between 1984-85 and 1999-00. Besides the Penguins and Sabres, Bodger also dressed for the San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks.

Mark Recchi

Mark Recchi was a fourth round pick of the Penguins at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, 67^th overall. Recchi, like Bodger, was a product of the WHL, playing for the New Westminster Bruins and Kamloops Blazers. Mark played for the Penguins from 1988-89 until being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1991-92 season. He returned to Pittsburgh to play between 2005-06 and 2007-08.

Recchi retired after the 2010-11 season, going out a champion as a member of the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup winning team. At 1,652 career regular season games, Mark sits behind just Gordie Howe, Mark Messier and Ron Francis for the all-time lead in games played. Throughout his career, Recchi also played for the Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Jaromir Jagr

After three years playing in Russia’s KHL, Jaromir Jagr has returned to the NHL to add to his games played total. Jagr was the fifth overall pick at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Penguins. He played with Pittsburgh from 1990-91 to 2000-01. He has also been a member of the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers. Jaromir is currently a member of the New Jersey Devils and will pass the 1,400 game plateau in 2013-14 unless something drastic happens. He currently sits at 1,391 as of the end of the 2012-13 season.

Markus Naslund

Markus Naslund was drafted by Pittsburgh, sixteenth overall at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Naslund was traded from the Penguins to the Vancouver Canucks near the end of his third year with the club. He played with the Canucks until the end of the 2007-08 season, finishing off his NHL career with the New York Rangers in 2008-09. Naslund played a total of 1,117 NHL games, mostly as the heart and soul leader of the Vancouver Canucks.

Buffalo Sabres Players With 100 Points in a Single Season

The Buffalo Sabres came into the National Hockey League for the 1970-71 season along with the Vancouver Canucks, expanding the league to fourteen teams. The Sabres made an immediate splash by selecting GilbertPerreault first overall at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. Perreault would lead the team for close to two decades. What follows are the five Buffalo Sabres players that have achieved the 100 point plateau in a single season.

Rene Robert

Rene Robert was the first Buffalo player to total 100 points in a season. In 1974-75, Robert scored 40 goals and assisted on 60 for exactly 100 points in 74 games. Rene finished seventh in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. It was Robert’s fourth of eight seasons with the Sabres. He played in the NHL from 1970-71 to 1981-82 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo and the Colorado Rockies. It was the only time Robert achieved the 100 point plateau during his NHL career.

Gilbert Perreault

Gilbert Perreault was the next player to accomplish the feat. He had 113 points in 1975-76 and 106 points in 1979-80. In the first year, he scored 44 goals and assisted on 69 in 80 games, finishing third in the league.  In 1979-80, he finished with 106 points on 40 goals and 66 assists in 80 games, landing in fourth spot in the league.

Perreault was the first overall pick in 1970. He played seventeen seasons with the Sabres from 1970-71 to 1986-87. Buffalo was the only National Hockey League team Gilbert would ever play for.

Pierre Turgeon

Pierre Turgeon totalled 106 points in 1989-90 on 40 goals and 66 assists in 80 games, identical numbers to Gilbert Perreault in 1979-80. Turgeon finished seventh in the NHL in what was his third of five seasons with the Sabres. Like Perreault, Turgeon was the first overall pick of the Sabres at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.

Pierre played in the NHL from 1987-88 to 2006-07. His performance in 1989-90 was his first of two 100 points seasons in the NHL. In 1992-93, he accumulated 132 with the New York Islanders.

Alexander Mogilny

Alexander Mogilny reached 127 points in 1992-93, largely due to his incredible 76 goal performance. Mogilny added 51 assists in 77 regular season games to finish seventh in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. It was Alex’s fourth of six years with the Sabres after being a fifth round pick of the club in 1988.

Mogilny played in the NHL from 1989-90 to 2005-06 with the Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils. 1992-93 was his first of two 100 point seasons. He totalled 107 with the Canucks in 1995-96.

Pat Lafontaine

Pat Lafontaine was also a 100+ point man in 1992-93 for the Sabres. Lafontaine set the current Buffalo record for points in a season with 148 on 53 goals and 95 assists in 84 games. He finished second in the NHL, twelve points behind Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was his second of six seasons with the Sabres. Originally, he was the third overall pick of the New York Islanders at the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.

For Lafontaine, it was his second of two 100+ points seasons. He reached 105 with the Islanders in 1989-90. Pat played in the National Hockey League from 1983-84 to 1997-98 with the Islanders, Sabres and New York Rangers. In his final year of junior hockey , 1982-83, with Verdun of the QMJHL, Pat scored an incredible 104 goals and assisted on another 130 assists for 234 points in 70 games.