Mario Lemieux

Many people celebrate Mario Lemieux as the greatest player ever to play the game of hockey. He is almost universally on everyone's "top five" list if not "top three." Based on pure talent, it is hard to argue that he is not number one.

Notwithstanding his many awards and championships, and his mindbogglingly impressive statistics, perhaps the most amazing thing about Mario is he did this while battling a chronic back and hip injuries and Hodgkin's Disease.

Mario was the complete package. He was a pure scorer and the ultimate playmaker fused into the body of giant. Often compared to Jean Beliveau, Lemieux was big and strong but he rarely had to rely on brute strength to fend off defenders. Instead he left them baffled with an incredible series of fakes and dekes. With a few long strides he was seemingly untouchable in effortless end to end rushes. Rarely has a sport's dominant player made the game look so easy and natural.

Mario played in only 915 games as he missed many games due to his health problems. In fact, he retired three times due to injury. Despite this he has one of the most impressive resumes in history of sport:

* Six Art Ross Trophies
* Three Hart Trophies
* Two Conn Smythe Trophies
* Two Stanley Cups
* Eight All-Star games (3 MVP's)

Mario Lemieux was drafted in 1984 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, first overall. Mario had just come off of an amazing Junior year, scoring 133 goals and 149 assists, giving him the highest point total in Quebec Junior hockey ever, bettering his boyhood idol Guy Lafleur's legendary goal record.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were the worst team in the league. An awful product on the ice led to empty seats in the Igloo, and serious concerns if the franchise could survive much longer in the city of Pittsburgh. Mario was seen as their savior. Little did we know then that Mario would save the franchise not once but twice.

In his very first game, on his very first shift, Mario put the puck behind the goalie. He would go on to win the Calder trophy that season after becoming just the third rookie to post 100 points in a season.

The following two years Mario ranked among the NHL scoring leaders but it wasn't until the 1987 Canada Cup that Mario took his game to the superstar level. Playing with and learning from Wayne Gretzky, Mario had an incredible tournament, scoring a tournament record 11 goals in 9 games. His 18 points were only bettered by Gretzky's 21. Four of his goals were game winners, including the dramatic series clincher. In a scene that unthinkably rivaled the heroics of Paul Henderson in 1972, Mario took a drop pass from Gretzky and fired a shot past Soviet goalie Sergei Mylnikov at 18:34 of the third period in the final game of the tournament.

"Speaking specifically of the Canada Cup in 1987," Lemieux pondered with HHOF.com, "I learned so much about how the great players work and conduct themselves. Remember, I was only 21 years old at the time. To be around guys like Wayne and Mark Messier and Paul Coffey, guys who'd already had so much success and had won Stanley Cups, was a tremendous learning experience."

Mario never looked back after that tournament. Not only had he arrived in a hockey stratosphere occupied only by names like Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe and a very few others, but he made a serious challenge to push the stratosphere even higher.

Following the tournament he had the first unbelievable season of what would become unbelievable season after unbelievable season. He wrestled away the NHL scoring championship from Gretzky, with 70 goals and 98 points for 168 points. He also won the Hart Trophy as league MVP, a trophy that was annually given to Gretzky almost by default.

"The Canada Cup was very intense, but it was a great springboard for the NHL season," he admitted. "I was fortunate enough to win my first scoring title that season [with 168 points]. The learning experience and the momentum of the Canada Cup were definitely factors in that," Lemieux said.

1988-89 was Lemieux's finest offensive season. He scored 85 goals and 114 assists for 199 points. He fell just one point shy of joining Gretzky as the only player to score 200 points in a single season. Perhaps his greatest individual performance was on New Year's Eve, 1988. In that game against the New Jersey Devils, Lemieux scored five goals five different ways. He scored an even-strength goal, a power play goal, a short-handed goal, a penalty shot goal, and an empty net goal. No one had ever done this before, and no one has done it since.

The first of several seasons shortened by his degenerative back problems was 1989-90. Despite this set back, he returned late in the 1990-91 season to lead the Penguins to its first Stanley Cup championship. You can bet Mario's back felt a whole lot better as he drank champagne from that Cup. In fact it helped so much the doctor's prescribed the same medicine the next year. So Mario made it two in a row in 1992.

1992-93 proved to be a damning year. He was the League's most dominant player, the crown jewel. But hockey took a back seat in Lemieux's life as Lemieux made it publicly known that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a form of cancer. Lemieux had to take time off as he underwent radiation treatment from February through early March. Then, in one of the greatest feats in all of sports, Lemieux immediately returned to the NHL and went on late season scoring rampage to capture the Art Ross Trophy. He was also named as the MVP.

Due to the many injuries and the cancer, Mario took the 1994-95 lock-out shortened season off. He returned in 1995-96, winning yet again the Art Ross and Hart Trophies. He repeated the Art Ross win in 1996-97 as well.

There is little doubt that Mario is the greatest one-on-one player. He was unstoppable. "Oh Oh! It's Mario!" was a common call when he was in the open on a breakaway. He scored more often than not on those breakaways. The only way many opponents could stop "Super Mario" was to literally tackle him, and even that didn't stop him from scoring. Lemieux could almost score goals at will.

Fed up with the constant physical abuse and the chronic back injuries, Lemieux opted to retire following the 1997 playoffs. But a couple of years after his retirement the Penguins were in financial ruins. Bad management had the team on the verge of bankruptcy and once again the future of NHL hockey in Pittsburgh was in serious trouble. So who came to the rescue? Mario! Mario, who stood to lose millions if the team had gone bankrupt, gathered together an ownership group and purchased the Pens, keeping them in Pittsburgh. It also marked the first time in modern history that a player became the owner of a team.

Already elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Lemieux made even bigger waves when he announced he would come out of retirement for the 2000-01 season. On December 27, 2000, Lemieux returned to the ice as if he never missed a step. He scored one goal and added two assists in that first game back, against the Toronto Maple leafs. Lemieux continued his scoring exploits, finishing the season with 43 games played, 35 goals and 76 points. He led the Pens far into the playoffs, playing 18 games before bowing out.

"I learned how much I loved this game," he said. "Sometimes you don't appreciate something fully until you're away from it."

The fragility that ruined Mario's career returned in 2002. Able to play in only 24 games, Lemieux scored just 6 goals but managed 31 points. In spite of his injury woes, Lemieux was named captain of Canada's Winter Olympic entry for the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. His poise and production led Canada to Olympic Gold. Unfortunately the rigors of the Olympic schedule ended Lemieux's 2001-02 NHL season.

He returned in 2002-03 and held a clear lead in points by the mid-way mark of the season. Once again injuries curtailed his games played and mobility. To make matters worse, Lemieux was forced to trade away his high-priced teammates, and any chance of winning the Art Ross Trophy, to preserve the financial stability of Pittsburgh Penguin hockey.

With injuries plaguing his once-brilliant career, and with the burden of the Penguins' financial woes preying on his mind, and newly discovered heart ailment known as atrial fibrillation, Lemieux was mid-way through the 2005-06 season when he decided to retire on January 24, 2006. Mario had played 26 games, scoring 7 times and assisting on 15 more at the time of his retirement.

There always has been and likely always will be constant debate as to who is better: Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux. Here's my view on it. Who cares? We should just consider ourselves extremely lucky to watch perhaps the greatest and second greatest players of all time, no matter who you rank ahead of the other.

If you were to break down each of their games, you would have to give Mario a huge edge in terms of god given physical talents. Mario was bigger and stronger, with a heavier shot. He was perhaps the best one-on-one player ever. He could do things that Gretzky could never dream of. The only other player who could be mentioned in the same talent level as Mario would be Bobby Orr.

Syl Apps Jr.

Syl Apps was one of top athletes in Canada in the 1930s and 1940s. He was captain of his collegiate football team and was a two time Canadian pole vaulting champion who competed in the 1936 Olympics. But he is best known as the premier center for the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to and following World War II. The hockey hall of famer was Canada's answer to Joe DiMaggio or Babe Ruth.

On August 1st, 1947 the Apps family gave birth to a son. They named him Syl Jr. Little did they know he too would embark on a lengthy and impressive hockey career 25 years later.

"My father never pushed me in hockey," said Syl Jr. "The only placed he pushed me was in school. He always threatened to make me quit hockey if my marks slipped below 70. But I never did find out if he ever meant it."

But did he ever feel the pressure because of his name?

"I used to feel pressures when I was growing up," he admitted. "From kids' hockey right through my upper junior days the fans would say that the only reason I was playing was because of my father's name. But you reach a point where, if you're not good enough, a name isn't going to win you a job. You have to do it on your own ability."

Drafted 21st overall in the 1964 entry draft, Apps - who attended two of North America's highly thought of post secondary institutions in Princeton and Queen's - would leave the junior and senior ranks in 1968 to play in the Rangers farm system. In two games in the AHL he impressed the Rangers enough to play him with their top farm team the following season - the Omaha Rangers in 1969-70. He scored 16 goals and 38 assists for 53 points in 68 games. During the 1970 CHL playoffs scored a league leading 10 goals and 9 assists for 19 points in just 12 contests. When Omaha's season ended, the Rangers other farm team in Buffalo was still in playoff action. Apps bolstered the Bisons lineup and added 2 goals and 5 points in 7 games.

One scouting report on Apps during his first professional season summed up his play like this: Apps, Jr. is a splendid skater, a good puck handler and playmaker, just like his father."

That is the highest compliment anyone could ever give Syl Jr.

After such a fine season in the minors, the Rangers promoted him to the big team in 1970-71. However he was sparingly used, only seeing a few minutes of action in the 31 games he did appear in. He had only 1 goal and 2 assists. It was the lowest point of his hockey career and he even allegedly so discouraged that he told teammate Brad Park he was thinking of quitting hockey.

"At the time, the Rangers were fighting for first place and they didn't have much confidence in me. In that situation even one goal could make a difference and it was tough for them to use an inexperienced man."

The Rangers solved the problem on January 26, 1971 when they traded him to Pittsburgh for hustling forward Glen Sather. Sather was a popular worker in Pittsburgh, but Syl immediately stepped in became a star in the Steel City.

"That was the best trade I ever made," proclaimed the architect of the deal - Red Kelly, then the coach and GM of the Penguins.

"He just didn't get enough ice time in New York," advised Syl Sr. "I was pleased when he was traded to Pittsburgh because Red Kelly, in my estimation, is one of the outstanding NHL coaches and Syl is play a lot of hockey."

Syl Sr. and Kelly had great respect for each other because they were both stars who faced off against each other back in the 1940s. Red agreed that Syl Jr. had a lot in common with his old man.

"Young Syl's dad was a great guy and a great player. He went so fast I looked like a post on the ice by comparison. His son shows similar qualities. He's strong and he hits and he has a good fake. This is something that has to be born in a hockey player. It comes from breeding. Young Syl has the breeding and I've always said that bloodlines are a wonderful thing."

Kelly added: Syl doesn't skate as fast as his dad. Busting out of his own end, he could really hunchi his shoulders and go. But I think maybe he handles the puck a bit better. Physically, he's just as strong."

In the final 31 games for Pittsburgh that season, Syl collected 9 goals and 16 assists for 25 points. That was just a sign of things to come. The following season he scored 15 goals and 44 assists for 59 points. But Syl Jr. erupted into one of the game's best playmakers in his 3rd full season in the league. Playing most often with Greg Polis and Jean Pronovost, he scored 29 goals and 56 assists for 85 points. The following year, 1973-74, he duplicated the 85 points based on 24 goals and 61 assists.

Syl's 79 point season in 79 games in 1974-75 was secondary to his performance at that year's All Star Game. Playing in his only mid-season classic, Syl was named as the game's Most Valuable Player after scoring 2 goals in a 7-1 Wales Conference romp in Montreal.

Syl's finest offensive season came in 1975-76. In a full 80 games, Syl scored a career high 32 goals, 67 assists and 99 points.

However in 1976-77 Syl's production tailed off dramatically. He fell 38 points down to 61, including 18 goals. After Syl went scoreless in the Pens first 9 games in 1977-78 (he did have 7 assists), the Pens decided to move him while they could still get something for him. They traded him for Dave "Hammer" Schultz, Gene Carre and a draft pick.

Apps rounded out his career with 3 solid season in Los Angeles. Unfortunately for him, playoff success never followed him to the west coast either. That was probably the one thing separating Syl from elite status like many other top centers of the 1970s. Only once did the team he played for make it past the 1st round, and half the time they didn't make the playoffs at all.

Despite his lack of fortune in the spring, Syl Jr. carved out a nice career for himself. In 727 NHL games he scored 183 goals and 423 assists for 606 points.

The Apps family continues to be involved in the hockey scene today. Syl Apps III was a star at Princeton University in the late 1990s. He has spent the last couple of years playing at the AHL and ECHL level as a checker, but never came closer to making the NHL.

The Apps have another third generation star to brag about as well. Gillian Apps is one of the top players on the women's hockey scene. She helped Canada win the 2006 gold medal at the Torino Olympics.

Ron Schock

Like most players who played just prior to the original expansion in 1967, Ron Schock took great pride in the fact that he made the NHL in the era of only 6 teams.

"I knew I was lucky to be with the Bruins, let alone being in the NHL" said Schock. After all, there was only 120 jobs available in the NHL those days. You had to be VERY good to make it. "I think any of us who made it at that time just wanted to be wanted by someone."

Schock played 4 seasons with the Bruins, but saw limited ice time. But he enjoyed his time there.

"It was a different time for the player then. This was still the time before using jets was the in thing to do. At that time we still took trains. Because of that I think teams were closer because they spent more time together. I can still remember a lot of the old stories the veterans used to tell."

In 1967 the NHL doubled in size from 6 to 12 teams. The Bruins exposed Schock in the expansion draft, and lost the crafty center to the St. Louis Blues. Initially Schock was, pardon the pun, shocked.

"A lot changed when expansion took place. That's why I think I was hurt a little when I went to the Blues from Boston. But after being with the Blues for a while, I realized that somebody (the Blues) wanted me also and that made me feel better."

Schock's stay in St. Louis was short - just two seasons. He was traded to Pittsburgh with Craig Cameron for a draft pick in 1969.

How he got traded is a bit of a funny story.

"That is a trade I'll never forget. I had been playing golf with the Blues' owner, Sid Salomon, on a Friday and he had been telling me how well the team seemed to be going and how he was looking forward to having me on the team the next season. The following Monday, I was traded to Pittsburgh!"

Schock is probably best known as a member of the Penguins, as he spent 8 seasons in the Steel City. However the team was pretty weak, which made it frustrating for the team, the fans and Schock.

Things started out well, as the Pens had a dynamite of a player in Michel Briere. Just a rookie, he looked like he was going to be a star with the Pens for many years to come. This of course excited all including Schock, who felt things would only get better from that first year.

"Unfortunately," Schock remembers painfully "after that first season he was killed in an automobile accident. That just seemed to be the luck of that team for the next decade."

Schock's best memories in Pittsburgh came in 1974-75. Schock was having a career year - smashing previous career bests with 23 goals, 63 assists and 86 points. More importantly, the team had had a good year and were having an even better playoffs. In fact the Pens were on the verge of eliminating the heavily favored NY Islanders

"We were up three games to none to the New York Islanders. All we needed was one more victory. But we never got it. The Islanders came back to win four straight. Had we won, it would have meant some more money for the franchise."

"Instead, the franchise was sold again, and after a couple of more years some of the key players on the team were traded like myself, Syl Apps and Pierre Larouche. The team has been going downhill fast ever since" said Schock, in an interview one year before the arrival of Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh.

Schock was traded to Buffalo and spent one year there. He played two more years of minor league hockey from 1978-79, before returning to upper New York state to live near Rochester.

Ron, who's brother Danny also played in the National Hockey League briefly, retired with 909 games played. In that time he scored 166 times and assisted on 351 others for a total of 517 points. In 55 playoff games he scored just 4 goals and had 16 assists.

Bryan Trottier

Former Islander teammate Garry Howatt nicknamed Bryan Trottier and his super-sniper cohort Mike Bossy "bread and butter." This wasn't totally because the dynamic duo was the dynastic Isles' bread and butter during they hey days (with all due respect to many others, particularly Denis Potvin and Billy Smith), but because the two were almost inseparable both on and off the ice. The two went together like bread and butter.

Bryan, of course, was the center of attention during the New York Islanders dynasty of four straight Stanley Cup wins in the early 1980s. Literally. He centered Bossy along with a host of left wingers, most notably one of the most fearsome figures in hockey history in Clark Gillies, to become one of the most potent scoring combinations in league history. Trottier and Bossy had an uncanny partnership, as the unselfish Trottier perfectly set up Bossy, arguably the NHL's best sniper ever.

"Its instinct," said Bossy while trying to find the words to describe their on-ice relationship. "There aren't any little signals. The thing between us is the communication we have. We're not afraid to tell each other that we should have done this, or we should have done that. As much as Bryan helps me, I've helped him."

"I think history will remember Trots as a great hockey player," said Bossy, "and me as a great goal scorer, not a great hockey player. I can't say who's better because we were so different. Any team that needed a strong and determined center who could score and check and win face-offs would naturally choose him over me. Any team that needed somebody to score goals would choose me over him."

That pretty much sums up Trottier as a hockey player pretty nicely. Although he once led the league in scoring, had 6 100 point seasons and 2 more over 95, and once scored 524 career goals, and 1425 career points, he isn't remembered for his great offensive numbers.

That tells us just how great the rest of his game was. To dwarf those incredible offensive statistics is no easy feat, but when people remember Trottier they talk about him being perhaps the most complete player in the history of the game. As incredible as his offensive wizardry was, his dogged defensive play and gritty physical play was equally as impressive - and perhaps more so. .

Bryan was born just outside of a small town in Saskatchewan named Val Marie - just north of the Montana border. Like most of the kids in the area, Bryan grew up honing his skating and puck skills on the frozen ponds during the long Saskatchewan winters. But Bryan took the game more seriously than the others kids - he would stay out on the ice and practice when everyone else gave up due to the frigid temperatures. Sometimes the only friend Bryan would have out on the ice was his pet border collie. Bryan noticed that the dog liked to put the puck in its mouth, so Bryan took that opportunity to practice his shot - with the collie acting as a make-shift goaltender.

By 1972 Bryan was old enough to begin advancing his career. He travelled 75 miles down the road to Swift Current where he joined the WHL Broncos. He started out slowly, but quickly became one of the hottest prospects in the league. Playing with the likes of Terry Ruskowski, Tiger Williams and Brian Sutter.

In the 1974 NHL Entry Draft, Trottier was selected 22nd overall by the Islanders. He was returned to junior (by this time the Swift Current Broncos had moved to Lethbridge) for some more apprenticeship - a move that paid off very well. Trottier led the entire WHL with 98 assists, which coupled with his 46 goals and 144 points earned him 2nd place on the overall scoring list and he won the WHL Most Valuable Player Award.

Trots broke into the National Hockey League in 1975 with the Islanders, winning the Calder trophy as the leagues best rookie.

"Its his poise that really stands out," said teammate Billy Harris during Trots rookie year. "He's always calm, regardless of the situation. And he's got tremendous hockey sense. He is, if there is such a thing, a natural born center."

"Trots" had 32 goals and 63 assists, which set a then-rookie-record 95 points. But that was just the beginning for Bryan.

Three short years after arriving in the NHL in such grand fashion, Trots captured the Art Ross trophy as leading scorer and the Hart trophy as MVP. Many people expected the Islanders to finally become the team that would upset the Montreal Canadiens and become hockey's new best team, but that would have to wait a year as the cross town rival NY Rangers upset the Islanders in the playoffs.

However the following year the Islanders would finally reach the top, winning their first Stanley Cup in their history. And they wouldn't let go of their championship, holding it for the next 4 years before the Oilers dynasty managed to wrestle it away from them. That first year it was Trottier who was named as the MVP in the playoffs, earning him the Conn Smythe Trophy.

While Bryan got used to lifting the Stanley Cup over his head, it was the first one that is always the most special.

"When I was holding the Cup," he said "I could feel all the names. My senses peaked. I could hear everyone. The crowd was incredible, one continuous roar.".

The 4 time All star Trottier's best years came during the height of the New York Islanders dynasty. For the 4 years that the Isles reigned as the NHL champions, Trottier was arguably the best player. Famed hockey writer Stan Fischler made it his personal campaign to let everyone know that he felt Trottier was better than the young whiz kid in Edmonton named Gretzky. In fact Fischler once said "Trottier has ripened into the most effective total forward since Gordie Howe."

Teammate Eddie Westfall agreed with that assessment. "He's rugged like Howe. Gordie liked to play a physical game and so does Bryan."

Another old timer Trottier was often compared to was Boston Bruins 1940s and 50s standout center Milt Schmidt of the Boston Bruins. A modern comparison would be Steve Yzerman.

The fact that Trottier scored over 500 career goals and 1400 points in 1200 games is amazing, as it often seemed that Trottier was more interested in such intangibles as body checking and defensive attention.

Isles coach Al Arbour had a much easier job when Trottier was in the lineup, and agreed that in the early 1980s that Trottier was the league's best center. "Gretzky is an offensive genius for sure," said the slightly biased Islanders bench boss. "But at this stage Trots gives you more things. Defensively, he's outstanding. And he's physically tough. He comes up with his 100 points a year, automatically, along with everything else!"

Arbour once also said he'd never trade Trottier for Gretzky.

Hulking defenseman Larry Robinson was another fan of Trottier's. "What you don't realize is that Trottier weighs over 200 pounds. You can't budge the guy of knock the puck off of his stick. And he hands out a lot of punishment at close quarters."

Trottier remained with the Islanders through 1990 season, making him the last piece of the championship puzzle to leave Long Island. By then he was clearly nearing the end of his career - his offensive stats had dried up and he was relying on his leadership and defensive abilities.

After all those years with the Islanders, Trots would join the Pittsburgh Penguins late in his career. With his leadership and experience, he helped Mario Lemieux and company win two consecutive Cups, bringing his total to 6 championship rings.

Trottier retired after the 1992 championship, and returned to Long Island to work in a front office position. But after one year off of skates, Bryan returned to the game, again with the Penguins. He played in just 41 games to round out his career.

In 18 NHL seasons Bryan played in 1279 games - scoring 524 goals, 901 assists and 1425 points. He also participated in 221 Stanley Cup playoffs games - scoring 71 goals, 113 assists and 184 points. Bryan played in 8 NHL All Star Games and in two Canada Cups - once for Canada and once for the USA (he held dual citizenship due to his status as a North American Indian)

Trottier was overshadowed by glitzier stars like Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky and Marcel Dionne. He was even overshadowed on his own teammates like by Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Billy Smith, and later Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr.

But make no mistake, Trottier is a legend of hockey. Trottier could do it all. He was gifted scorer who could also neutralize the other teams big guns. An excellent face off man, he was also a relentless body checker, slamming into opponents at any given chance. If there was a hockey dictionary and you looked up the term "complete player," it would have a picture of Bryan Trottier beside the definition.

Tom Barrasso

Tom Barrasso entered the NHL in the 1983-84 season as an 18 year old straight from high school. The Buffalo Sabres rookie not only succeeded at what is almost unheard of, he turned in one of the greatest individual seasons in the history of the league.

Barrasso originally planned to play for Providence College in Rhode Island, but after ending his high school season by representing Team USA at the World Championships. That confidence boost convinced the youngster to turn pro. In his rookie NHL season, Barrasso won the Vezina Trophy as the leagues best netminder and the Calder Trophy as the top rookie thanks to a 26-12-3 record and a 2.84 GAA. He was named to the first all star team.

After his spectacular season, Barrasso was being hailed as the best goalie in the world by many. He confirmed his elite status by representing Team USA at the 1984 Canada Cup, and then by improving his second season NHL totals to 25-28-10 and a 2.66 GAA. He shared the Jennings trophy and was named to the second team all stars.

The shine on Barrasso's short but brilliant career began to wear off in the 1985-86 season. Barrasso and Bob Sauve had battled for the starters job much of the previous two seasons, but the Sabres ended the goaltending controversy by trading Sauve and declaring Barrasso as their number one man. Barrasso's playing time increased but his numbers fell. In 60 games played, Barrasso posted a 3.61 GAA, and went 24-29-5. Most importantly the Sabres failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1973-74 season.

1986-87 wasn't any better. Barrasso got off to a terrible start, and the Sabres never recovered. The Sabres finished dead last in the NHL.

The Sabres stuck with Barrasso, and he rebounded in 1987-88, posting a 25-18-8 record and leading the Sabres back into the playoffs.

Early in the 1988-89 season, Barrasso was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh's powerful offense, led by Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey, needed some defensive help. Barrasso proved to be that help, as he was an important part of back to back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992.

Barrasso would stay with the Pens through 200, racking up huge win totals. He became the first American born goalie to win 300 career NHL games. He'd have 369 in all, compared to only 277 losses.

In the new century Barrasso ended his career by bouncing around with the Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues for very short stints. He was also named to Team USA for the 2002 Olympics and helped the team capture a silver medal.

Because of his spectacular start in Buffalo and his Stanley Cup brilliance in Pittsburgh, it is likely this Sabres and Penguins legend will end up in Hockey's Hall of Fame.

Gilles Meloche

Judging a hockey player based on his stats often leads to inaccuracies, particularly when it comes to goaltenders. Gilles Meloche is the perfect example of this.

He surrendered 2756 goals against, more than anyone else in history. His 270-351-131 career record is pretty weak, and his 351 losses is only one shy of the NHL record - set by Hall of Famer Gump Worsley, who played nearly 900 games.

One would decipher from those stats that Gilles wasn't a very good puck stopper. But in actuality nothing could be further from the truth. Quick, agile and a tremendous attitude were his trademarks. Meloche was a very good goalie on some VERY bad teams. If Meloche had played in Montreal during the 70s and Ken Dryden played in Oakland and Cleveland, then we very well might be saying Meloche is one of the all time greats and Dryden would be the one with the poor numbers.

Gilles actually got his start in the NHL with Chicago. He was a happy 70th overall draft pick of the Hawks in 1970 as Gilles grew up idolizing Hawk legend Glenn Hall. Meloche played his first pro year with the IHL's Flint Generals but did appear in two NHL games when Hawks backup Gerry Desjardins broke his arm. It was a good debut for Gilles - he won his first two starts - 6-4 in Vancouver and 5-2 against the California Golden Seals.

Those were the only two games Meloche ever played for Chicago. In the summer the Hawks sent Gerry Desjardins to Oakland for Gary Smith. However Desjardins' broken arm had not healed properly and the NHL nullified the trade. The two teams agreed to new terms and this time Meloche and defenseman Paul Shmyr were sent out west.

An interesting story happened immediately after the trade. Shmyr and Meloche disappeared for the next three days. There was much speculation that two would not report to California as they never showed up for their flight. However Shmyr had wanted his car with him out west, so he convinced the young Meloche to join him as they drove 3 days across the country!

You probably wouldn't have blamed anyone for not wanting to go the Seals franchise though. Soon the WHA would raid their roster and they became the NHL's doormats. But Meloche very much enjoyed his time there and looks back on it fondly.

"Oakland didn't have a very good team for most of my time there, but those were good years for me because I was in my early twenties and playing 50 to 60 games a year. I just wanted to play the game. When you're losing three games out of four, four games out of five, its easy to lose your confidence. But I was getting great press and the fans were always with me. I just enjoyed playing the game and I was having fun so I really didn't mind my days in Oakland. I was in the NHL and that was all that mattered," remembered Meloche in Dick Irvin's great book In The Crease.

With such an awful record the Seals were having trouble making a go of it in Oakland, and the team finally moved in 1976 to Cleveland and became the Barons. Meloche accompanied the team to Cleveland, but as Gilles recalls, not much changed.

"In fact it got worse. Nobody went to the games. It didn't feel like the National Hockey League with only 5000 or 6000 fans in the stands. It wasn't run like a big league team and it was the only time I went into a team's office and asked to be traded.

The Barons wouldn't move Meloche however, as he was one of the very few bright spots.

In 1978 the Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars. Meloche described his time in Minnesota as "the best time in my career."

"The North Stars had finished in last place overall the year before and they ended up picking Bobby Smith, Steve Payne and Craig Hartsburg in one draft. My first year there we missed the playoffs by three or four points but we made them the next six years and they were great years."

Great was right, especially in 1980 and 1981.

In 1980 the North Stars faced off with the 4 time defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens. The heavily favored Habs were looking for their unthinkable 5th Cup in a row! But Meloche and the Stars had a different idea. Meloche was brilliant - so brilliant that long time hockey broadcaster Dick Irvin said "Meloche's goaltending in that series rates among the best I have ever seen in the playoffs!"

Meloche, who had been criticized for not being a "big game" goaltender, shook that label with a 3-0 shutout victory in the Montreal Forum in game one. The very next night the Stars again shocked the Habs with a 4-1 win! The Habs stormed back in the next three games and took a 3-2 series lead, but the Stars continued to fight on. The Stars forced a game 7 with a 5-2 win in Minnesota in game 6. Then the exciting game 7 showdown in Montreal was played. Minnesota's Al MacAdam scored the winner on Denis Heron with around 2 minutes left to play as Meloche backstopped the Stars to one of hockey's biggest playoff upsets.

"That was the greatest thrill of my career" later admitted Meloche.

The Stars bowed out to Philadelphia in the next round of the playoffs, but the next year they made it all the way to the finals where they met the New York Islanders, who won the Cup in 1980. It was an exciting ride for the Stars and their fans, but Meloche knew they were heavy underdogs.

"You know, you get into a series where you don't think you have too much of a chance to win and that's bad because the mental edge has something to do with it. We weren't really in the series but it was still a thrill. I remember losing on the Island and seeing the Stanley Cup on the ice. You know then why its something everybody dreams about."

Meloche continued to play with the Stars until the conclusion of the 1984-85 season. After talking contract with the Edmonton Oilers, Meloche was put on the trading block. There was some serious thought that the Montreal Canadiens were interested in Meloche as Doug Soetart was apparently unhappy in Montreal. Meloche would have loved to finish his career in Montreal, but that did not materialize.

Gilles finally landed in Pittsburgh where he finished his career with 3 more seasons. Following his playing days he became a goalie consultant and scout for the Pens.

So there you have it - one of hockey's better goalies with some of hockey's worst records.

Joey Mullen

Joey Mullen quietly spent his career as one of the most complete players in the National Hockey League. He excelled at the finesse game as he was an outstanding skater and super sniper. He was dangerous with the puck, and consistent. He was a 35-45 goal threat almost every year in his prime. But he was very conscious of his defensive responsibilities and played a tough game despite his small size.

Yet Mullen was overshadowed by some of his peers. Despite having 6 consecutive 40-plus goal seasons he was only once selected for post season All Star status at right wing. Even in what everyone knew would be his final game he received next to no fanfare. That might be expected though when you retire on the same night as your teammate - Mario Lemieux!

That type of exit seemed to symbolize the career of Joe Mullen. Despite all the great contributions Joey made to his team and to hockey, he rarely got the credit he should have. The ultimate team player who never sought the individual spotlight, is now getting that recognition though. He has been elected to both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Not bad for a kid from New York’s tough Hell’s Kitchen. Who would ever guess anyone from that neighborhood would ever make the National Hockey League! He and his brother Brian (who also enjoyed a lengthy NHL career) used to have to carry axes in their equipment bags as a form of self protection.

Joe, who perfected his game on rollerblades as a kid, began at Boston College where he recorded 212 points in 111 games for the Eagles and led the team to a league title.

Mullen was never drafted by the NHL, but the St. Louis Blues were bright enough to sign the little forward to a free agent contract in 1979. He then played three years with Salt Lake of the CHL where he was named the league’s top rookie during the 1979-80 season. The following year, he led the CHL in scoring with 117 points and was named the league MVP.

Mullen made it to the "bigs" by 1981-82 and in total played parts of five seasons with St. Louis. In that time he scored 151 goals over five seasons, including back-to-back 40-goal seasons in 1984 and 1985.

Somewhat surprisingly Mullen was part of a 6 player trade that landed him in Calgary during the 1985-86 campaign. It is with Calgary that Mullen enjoyed his best years. In 1986-87, Mullen scored 47 goals and he won the Lady Byng Trophy, becoming the first American-born player to win the Trophy since 1936. He went on to post 5 consecutive season reaching the 40-goal plateau. His best year was 1988-89 when he scored 51 goals and 110 points en route to leading the Calgary Flames to their first Stanley Cup. Mullen led all post season sharpshooters that year in goals with 16. He was selected to the NHL First All-Star team and won his second Lady Byng Trophy. That year, he also became the all-time leading American-born scorer.

Mullen was traded to Pittsburgh prior to the 1990-91 season and his experience and timely offense helped lead the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. In 1991-92, he recorded his seventh season with 40-or-more goals and in 1993-94 he notched his tenth season with 30-or-more goals.

Mullen spent a couple of seasons late in his career bouncing around between Boston and Pittsburgh. He wasn't much of a scorer at that point, but he remained a leader and defensive forward.

Mullen's 16-year NHL career was spent with the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins. Although never flashy, he was a consistent goal scoring threat and a great team player. A gentleman on the ice, he was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy on two occasions. But he will always be remembered as the first U.S.-born player to score 500 career goals and the first American to record 1,000 career points.

Joe Mullen is the arguably the greatest American born player to date. He helped generate hockey interest in the US and paved the road to success for many of today's American superstars. For his efforts Joe Mullen was named to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in September of 1998 and Hockey's Hall of Fame came calling 1999.

Michel Briere

When the Pittsburgh Penguins selected a diminutive center 26th overall in 1969, they had hoped he would become the Penguins' first superstar. Considered to be too small by many teams, the Penguins felt his offensive exploits in just one season of junior hockey warranted them taking the chance on Michel.

Briere played for the local Shawinigan Bruins for one season in 1968-69. He scored 75 goals, 86 assists and 161 points in just 55 games and had scouts druelling over his skating and puck talents..

"Briere skated easily. He skimmed across the ice like a waterbug, not with great speed but with a phantom elusiveness, deftly avoiding body checks, probing and questing for the puck," a reporter described in a newspaper. "His shot was quick rather than powerful, coming invariably when the goaltender least expected it, preceded as likely as not by a feint, by a dip of the shoulder," raved one scout.

It looked like the Penguins gamble would pay off too. Although he had played only one season of major junior, Briere stepped into the NHL right away, and didn't look out of place. He scored 12 goals and 44 points in 76 games before adding 5 goals and 8 points in 10 playoff games. One of those playoff goals was an overtime game winning goal that clinched the Pens 4 game sweep of the Oakland Seals. In total he scored 3 game winning goals in those playoffs.

It looked like the effortless skater was on his way to becoming a dominant offensive force for the Penguins for years to come. Then tragedy struck.

His promising career ended on a dark night after his only season. He had returned to Quebec to make plans for his wedding in less than a month. On the evening of May 15th, his car failed to negotiate a curve on a road outside Malartic. Briere was thrown from the car. While he was unscarred physically, Briere was unconscious from head injuries. He remained in a coma for 11 months before he died April 13, 1971.

Ironically Briere was the first of two prominent Pittsburgh athletes who wore No. 21 to die within a 19-month period. Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente died in a New Year's Eve plane crash on Dec. 31, 1972.

"He was one of the greatest competitors I ever played with," said Ken Schinkel, a former Pens player and coach, of Briere. "He would never take defeat. He really wanted to win and he would try and do it by himself if he had to. He would have been a star in the league for a long time."

It took the Penguins awhile to overcome the loss of such a talented player - plus the leadership he showed as well. "He was the biggest leader we had at the time," Schinkel said. "And we had some good, established players on that team. But he was the catalyst and he made it go."

In memoriam, Briere's No. 21 jersey hangs at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena and no one will wear that number again. Also the Michel Briere Memorial Trophy was created to be awarded to the Penguins player judged to be the best rookie on the team.

We are left only to wonder how good Briere could have been, and how he could have changed the landscape of hockey history in Pittsburgh forever. The Penguins seemed to toil for years with their French star until 1985 when they picked up another French sensation in Mario Lemieux. Had Briere been able to play during all those years in between, perhaps the Penguins might not have been as bad as they were.

Les Binkley

Les Binkley traveled a long route to the NHL, but he finally made it thanks to NHL expansion in 1967

After playing junior and senior hockey in southern Ontario where he grew up, Binkley never had the fortune of being sponsored by a NHL team. So he had to make his own ways into pro hockey. He ended up laying in the lowly EHL and IHL during much of the 1950s before he got a surprise call in 1961.

"I had been playing for Toledo in the old International Hockey League," recalled Binkley. "One day I got a call from the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League. It seems as though the goalie that was supposed to report to the team had been in fogged in at Toronto. They wanted to know if I would drive up and play the game for them. So I went up and played a good game for them, and the following year they invited me to training camp."

Cleveland did offer him a job, though it was hardly the job he was looking for. Remember, this was still in the day where one goalie would play the entire season for a team.

"To my surprise, Cleveland general manager Jim Heady offered me a contract. But the offer was to be the team's spare goalie and a trainer. I told Heady that I didn't know a thing about being a trainer. He told me not to worry about that."

In spite of the early inhibitions, Binkley enjoyed his job.

"The job really worked out well for me. I would usually miss all the hard warm-ups, because as a trainer I had to get all the hockey equipment out on the ice for the rest of the players. But by the end of my first season with the team I got my big break when (starting goalie) Gil Mayer got hurt and I played in the last 8 games of the season."

Binkley had a great finish, going 4-1-1 with a tiny 1.47 GAA.

"From then on I was a regular goalie."

And he was a good one too. For the next 5 years he was a standout in the AHL, winning rookie of the year in 1962, two all star nominations in 1964 and 1966 and winning the Hap Holmes award in 1966 for allowing the fewest goals against.

Despite this, Binkley still never had a shot at NHL employment.

"you have to remember that those were the years of the old six team NHL," said Binkley. "There were only six goalies playing in the NHL and most of them were pretty solid. Four of those guys, Bower, Hall, Plante and Sawchuk, played in the NHL during my duration in the minors."

Binkley also felt there was another reason why he was being ignored by the big leagues.

"I was the first goalie to wear contact lenses in pro hockey," he claims. "I think a lot of teams wouldn't take the chance on me because they didn't know how well I could see."

Binkley could see just fine, and once the NHL double in size due to its 1967 expansion, the rest of the NHL world would see just how good Binkley was. He became the first number one goal keeper in the history of Pittsburgh Penguins.

Binkley spent 5 seasons with the Pens, posting respectable numbers for a less than great team during that time. By 1972 though, Binkley left the Pens to jump to the WHA. He is quite honest as to why he left the Pens.

"I did it for the money!" he laughs. Obviously the Ottawa Nationals offered him more money than the Penguins did. And after 12 seasons in the minors, you can't really blame Binkley for wanting to cash in.

Binkley has found memories of the WHA.

"I found it to be one of the toughest leagues, if not the toughest, that I ever played in, and that includes the NHL. And I'm an expert in leagues because I played in almost every pro league in the minors and majors, except for the Central.

"The reason I found it tougher is because they had a lot of good talent and it was a very wide-open league as far as play went. And that kind of play always makes life interesting for a goalie. And we lead very interesting lives."