AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2008 > January > 26 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USOld-time All-Stars return, score again
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
TJ’s Sports Bar in Alpharetta was a-bustle. Hockey was the theme. The NHL All-Star Game was in town, and its effect was being felt deep into the suburbs. Old hockey fans and young mixed and mingled, many who dated back to days of the Flames, and some not quite sure who was whom, as in the case of a young woman who boldly announced, “I want Gordie Hull’s autograph.”
Someone corrected her. “You mean Gordie Howe or Bobby Hull? They’re both here.”
“Oh, I’ll take either one of them,” she said, tossing her head, and in time, she did get both Thursday night.
This was not a mix of the old and the young. The stars of today were all downtown, doing what All-Stars do before they take the stage Sunday at Philips Arena. These were guys your dad and mom grew up with, Flames of the ’70s (before they took flight to Calgary) and Hall of Fame guys who had engraved their signatures on the game. Tough and unyielding on ice, warm and gentle as a parson nowadays. They spoke of collisions they had, of sticks across the face (skaters wore no masks then) and time spent in the penalty box. And they laughed and slapped one another on the back.
But now? “I went into the locker room at a game last year,” Gordie Howe said, “and I found out I couldn’t talk with the players. They all came from Europe, names I couldn’t spell and languages I didn’t speak.”
The league’s player supply once mainly came from Canada, and they spoke English, with a Canadian brogue. Rarely was a resident of the 50 states found in an NHL lineup. For that matter, at one time there were only four U.S. teams in the league, the Red Wings, the Bruins, the Rangers and the Blackhawks. Then expansion, and it did seem strange to see ice games being played in Tampa and Miami, and even stranger a couple of years ago when a team named Carolina won the Stanley Cup.
But I dawdle. This was more than a reunion, it was an occasion special to the old warriors. You see, players of the last century are strangers to most present-day headliners. Howe and Hull and the Espositos and Schultz and Clarke are not recognized as the stars they were. Present-day players were kids in some European country, not only didn’t read of the golden oldies, they didn’t know our language, and still have trouble with it. Even today names are botched. One sports club advertised a personal appearance by Dan “Rocket” Bouchard. Oops, the nickname was misapplied to Bouchard, the Flames goalie, who stopped “rockets,” confused with the great Maurice “Rocket” Richard.
This was something for the pensioneers, the introduction of the NHL Alumni Signature Wine line, all profits going to retired veterans and and charities of their choice. The NHL has a pension fund, but it is meager. Howe, as great a star as there is, gets $17,000 a year. And you may be aware of the drive to increase alumni benefits in other professional sports.
Jason Zentz was never a star. He played in the NHL, three years with the Bruins, “a cup of coffee,” as he described his career. He became a successful businessman in Boston, appeared at TJ’s in executive suit and tie, and spoke humbly of his dedication to the guys who went before him. This was the time and the place to announce it, and the wines got a popular introduction as the evening wore on.
It was like being in a living, breathing hall of fame. All 12 veterans were there to introduce their signature wines, and share with all the people TJ’s would hold into the night. Tim Ecclestone, the host and former Flame, was joined by two other Flame alumni, Willie Plett and Eric Vail, and there may have been others swallowed up in the crowd that grew into a milling throng. Many of the Atlanta Flames traveled on to Calgary for NHL seasons but never gave up their homes in the Atlanta area.
The league has lost much of its Canadian flavor. It has developed a pipeline to European sources, and as Gordie Howe said, you need an interpreter in most of the NHL locker rooms. But winning and losing is still the same in any language.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Furman Bisher, Thrashers / NHL
Comments
By Brendan
January 26, 2008 7:46 PM | Link to this
FB, everyone misses the “old Flames.” Uhh, the hockey version. Not the ex-girlfriends of the past.
But, I have to tell you … watching how gracious and courteous and enthuastic the All-Stars were on the red carpet today was great. It meant the world to the kids who were receiving their autographs on hats, jerseys, pucks and posters.
It was “almost” a love-in. A guy like Vincent Lecavalier, a star player for a heated rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, got a tremendous ovation and he reciprocated in kind to every autograph seeker. What a class act! As were they all, pretty much.
I caught Don Waddell on the “Coach’s roundtable.” And he said, “Every single one of those All-Stars, at some point, will be an unrestricted free agent. So, I’m looking forward to showing them the facilities and showing them what kind of fans we have here in Atlanta.”
Well, Don Waddell’s job isn’t nearly as “safe” as all that. But I giggled along with him. And I’m sure the fans on the red carpet were tempted to bring signs that read, “Are any of you ‘pending free agents’? Please sign here in Atlanta. Kovalchuk needs company!”
Furman Bisher, as much as the league has changed, in terms of the percentage of Canadian-born players, Canadian-born players are still the vast majority of those competing for NHL clubs. They (Canadians) cry like maidens from the medieval “weeping tower,” overlooking the bay, as the ships filled with sailors launch for combat or exploration because no team from Canada has won the Cup since 1993. But honestly now, every single year, 10 or more Canadians are on the squad that wins it for some American City. How badly should they really feel?
Back in the “Original Six” era, four (4) of the teams were American (Boston, NYR, Detroit and Chicago). I guess it was “okay” back then to be outnumbered by American teams, since Toronto and Montreal won most of the Cups during that era.
Times have changed. There are 30 teams. And unless you follow the Red Wings, you can best describe your team’s play this season as “streaky.” That’s just how it is. For everyone. There is parity, from the salary cap. And high-salaried superstars allow an awful lot of ‘TWEENERS to make it from the AHL into the NHL to fill out the rest of the roster. We call that the “watered-down effect” of overexpansion. But really, truly, Furman Bisher, it’s “fair to everyone.”
Today’s game … it’s still pretty good. Don’t you think? The “new” rules allow the “skilled players” to determine the outcome. It’s not roller derby out there. And the fighting that does occur is minimal. But guys occasionally still do get that Gordie Howe “hat trick.” Bench-clearing brawls are very rare.
By Chopdawg
January 26, 2008 9:55 PM | Link to this
Not sure Willie Plett spelled his first name with an “e” on the end…and, is the TJ’s you mention here the same place as Timothy John’s? (Great establishment, just off Roswell Rd in Sandy Springs)
By Jeff James
January 27, 2008 7:14 AM | Link to this
I would like to comment on the all star game here in Atl. This is great, I grew up in Detroit during the 60’s and 70’s. We used to troll through the mud and snow on the boulevard to see the Wings play at the old Olympia stadiom. Back when there was only Norris owned teams. The original 6.I Love the Red Wings to this day.And always will.I grew up with a choce of hockey night in canada or WKBD Channel 50. I miss the excitement uf Bruss martin and Bud Lynch announcing Hockey the way it was supposed to be called.If any change needs to be made here in Atlanta…Bring back an announcer that can call a game the way it used to be.Playing street Hockey and skaying in ponds at a very young age while listening to a great game on the radio as a kid, will be with me fore ever.I remember the greats who have played this game and have seem many of them play in the old barn in detroit.There was a time that you could go to the locker room area and get auto graphs after each game.So if any thing can be said about this is learn from the History of player humbility, and give back to the fans…The true fams. Not just the ones who use it to be sheick!
By hockeyman 3944
January 27, 2008 7:47 AM | Link to this
Nice article Furman…its about time you give some due to hockey, although I do remember a long ago article dumping on the sport, but I’ll forgive that. I’ve lived here for 18 years, witnessed the Knights, am a season ticket holder for the Thrashers and coach youth hockey here for many years. As you might guess I’m from western Canada and the hockey culture there is as rabid as football is here. I see great young kids playing the game who have no clue to the past and moderately follow the game once off the ice. However, they are far more skilled than we were at the same age…different era yes, but playing outdoors on a frozen rink or pond, freezing your toes, scraping off the ice when the snow got too heavy to move the puck, the warming shacks, getting up early because they just flooded the outdoor rink overnight and the ice was as good as any Zamboni could make it, making up your own teams on a Saturday morning, playing ball hockey with a frozen tennis ball until your dad came to the rink to find out where the hell you were and watching Hockey Night in Canada with either Danny Gallivan in Montreal or Foster Hewitt from Toronto and eating dinner in front of the TV on a Saturday night and tearing into the Star Weekly on a Sunday morning to see the pictures of our NHL heroes…those are the memories I have about the hockey culture, at least in Canada. Those days are long gone, but all anyone needs to do is to go to a game just once, see the grace and athleticism, the toughness and the creativity, you’ll be hooked. And oh by the way, you won’t have to scan the poilice blotter to see if your favorite player is going to suit up for tonight’s contest!
By Hockeynumb
January 27, 2008 10:12 AM | Link to this
Wonderful article. Howe and Hull. To here these names again brings back memories of a time lost in hockey. Thanks for the memories.
By Jack C
January 27, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this
I was there the night that Hockey “came of age” in Atlanta. I’m talking about the time that Steve Durbano and the St. Louis Blues came to town. Best Hockey fight I’ve ever seen. I just Googled Steve and found that he died in 2002. Boy, was he ever nasty!
By adam wetstein
January 27, 2008 10:43 PM | Link to this
I am in Toronto so maybe I don’t have the right view but Jack C comments are why hockey never went anywhere in the State. The league use fighting to sell the sport and so it became wrestling on ice.
Mothers did not what there kids watching and so it now has rating worse than ten pin bowling.