First thing that comes to mind ...

Dave Bartkowiak Jr., Digital Managing Editor

Published: December 26, 2021 at 8:07 AM

Tags: RW Newsletter, Newsletter, DRW Newsletter, Dear Red Wings

I have a little game to play today.

Merry Christmas

First: Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend -- Happy Boxing Day to my Canadian friends. The weather did not cooperate here in southeastern Michigan where we got a rainy, wet Christmas morning. We needed it to be about 15-20 degrees colder (F) to get that white Christmas. This is not ideal for my backyard rink. It is more like a shallow backyard pool right now. I am not a fan of La Nina. It’s probably for the best as I am suffering from a hip flexor injury right now -- nothing too serious, I hope, but I did it while skating a couple weeks ago and I need to rest. I’ve been playing defense in my men’s league. I blame it on skating backwards.

Quick news hit: As you’ve likely heard by now, the Red Wings’ game that was scheduled for Monday (Dec. 27) at Madison Square Gardens has been postponed to a later date. That was to be expected as the league has continued to mull how and when to return from this holiday break that started early due to the rampant COVID cases among teams. They say they’re coming back Tuesday, Dec. 28, which means the Red Wings are still scheduled for their game Wednesday, Dec. 29 on Long Island. I’ll keep you posted on that.

Now, let’s play “First thing that comes to mind.”

Simple game

The point of this game is to name and discuss the first thing that comes to mind on a given topic -- today that topic is NHL teams, naturally. I’ll work my way through each team in the league, alphabetically by division. So we’ll start with the Atlantic Division.

Boston Bruins ...

... Hatred. When I hear “Boston” or “Bruins,” or God forbid both words together, a feeling of pure detest overcomes me. I don’t know why, exactly. I guess I’ve never liked Boston fans. I’ve never respected the Bruins franchise as much as one should (should we?). I know they had the one-and-only Bobby Orr, but that was before my time, and for many years they were just a bunch of cheap-shots who couldn’t win a Cup without Mr. Orr. I did appreciate Ray Bourque, but even he left to win his Cup elsewhere.

Buffalo Sabres ...

... Dominik Hasek. He was unlike anything I had ever seen. Sometimes I find myself forgetting he even played for the Red Wings. His years with the Sabres were so ridiculous that it does become difficult to think of anything after that. As a kid growing up playing the game in the 90s, I remember coaches telling young goalies “do not watch Hasek and think you can play like him.” Coaches were afraid of seeing young goalies try to emulate Hasek’s unorthodox style. Only he could flop around like that, come 20 feet out of the net, dive back in, make a save with the back of his head and then flip around to kick out a rebound or seven. We’ll never see anything like this again, will we? The goaltender position is so boring these days. Everyone is robotically trained to play superb positional goaltending. There is no more room for creativity. Hasek is a legend.

Detroit Red Wings ...

... Steve Yzerman. What else can I say? I grew up a Red Wings fan in the 80s and 90s. Yzerman was THE guy. And wouldn’t you know he still is today. Now he’s running this team. He’s somehow the face of the franchise again. It’s amazing. Let’s hope his legacy as a GM can match his legacy as a player. That is a very tall order.

Florida Panthers ...

... 1996. I have vivid memories of when the Panthers (here’s that 95-96 roster of mostly no-namers) went all the way to the Stanley Cup final in 1996 where they lost to the Colorado Avalanche, who had just ousted my 62-win Red Wings (ugh, still hurts). Former Red Wings forward Ray Sheppard had 16 points in the playoffs for the Panthers that year. Of course, goalie John Vanbiesbrouck was the story of the year -- beside the rats. He became a brick wall for the Panthers as they rode him all the way to the final -- he actually had a better season in 1996-97 but there was no Cup final run that time -- yes, that’s Bieser pictured above. That was also the year I nearly lost my eye playing street hockey. Honestly, street hockey was the most dangerous sport I ever played. Caution was thrown the wind out there in the streets. So if you say Florida Panthers, that all comes rushing back to me -- the trip to urgent care where they had to glue the skin near my eye back together and the week of blurred vision due to the amount of blood that had gotten into my eye socket. What a time!

Montreal Canadiens ...

... Patrick Roy in general, but specifically Roy being chased by the Red Wings. Not just chased out of the net, but chased out of Montreal. On Dec. 2, 1995, the Red Wings put nine goals past Roy when he was in net for the Canadiens in Montreal. When he was finally pulled out of the net, the broadcast shows he clearly had some choice words for the Montreal GM. Roy was granted his trade which sent him to the brand new Avalanche, playing their first season since moving from Quebec (Nordiques), and subsequently winning the Stanley Cup (in Colorado’s first year, not fair!), but not before giving birth to one of the best sports rivalries of the modern era.

Ottawa Senators ...

... Daniel Alfredsson’s hit from behind on Darcy Tucker in the 2002 playoffs. I don’t know why that’s the first thing that comes to mind -- that’s the fun of this game. In general, the late 90s and early 2000s Senators vs. Leafs games come to mind. That was the last time that “rivalry” mattered -- the Battle of Ontario. There were some really fun hockey games then -- tough, fast, and heartbreaking for the losers. That Alfredsson hit, and the goal he scored right after it, is etched onto my brain.

Tampa Bay Lightning ...

... Martin St. Louis and his small stature but huge game. This guy was something I had never seen before. I was used to watching the big power forwards of the 90s. Then, St. Louis at 5-foot-8, 170 pounds (if that!) comes bursting into the league in the late 90s and starts scoring goals like crazy. I always thought he was going to get crushed in the corners, but no one could catch him and if they did they were surprised at how strong he was. He was an inspiration for other players of small stature. And today, more guys like him can make it in this league with interference and holding actually being called (in the regular season, at least). But St. Louis didn’t even need the refs, he just skated around everyone, used his strong legs to power through everything and was as tough as they come. I never saw him shy away from a hit. That’s why he remains the first thing to come to my mind when you mention the Lightning. The second thing that comes to mind is a Tampa Bay Lightning sweatshirt that my great aunt sent me from Florida when they were an expansion team in the early 90s. I rocked that to school often, thinking I was the coolest kid.

Toronto Maple Leafs ...

... The curse. I believe the Maple Leafs franchise is cursed, I do. They remind me of the Detroit Lions in a lot of ways. Right now, the Leafs are as good as I can ever remember them being -- even way better than that 1993 team with Dougie Gilmour and Wendel Clark. But you know they’ll find a way to blow this. Something insane will happen -- perhaps they’ll blow a 3-0 series lead in the final minutes of Game 7. What a mindset to have. I know it’s crazy, but I have to believe they are cursed -- the “Curse of 67″ as many call it.

I will follow up with the other divisions this week. Please feel free to reach out to me with your own “first things that come to mind.” I love looking back on old teams, and I know many of you have a lot more to share about the old days, so I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories! -- dbartkowiak@wdiv.com.