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CONTENTS Pre-season Results Free Agents Schedules Standings Statistics Transactions Injury Report Rosters Player Salaries Team Directory Television Stanley Cup Odds 
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1998 Olympic Preview by Jim Iovino, Ace Reporter The 1998 edition of the Winter Olympics will be special since the NHL decided to shut down and allow the world's top players to participate in the Olympic ice hockey tournament. There will be no "Dream Team" like there was when NBA players took part in the Summer Olympics as Team USA, but the dispersal of talent throughout the hockey teams in this year's games will make for a very entertaining international event. The following is a guide to each of the teams in this year's tournament, including a roster for each country and a medal count. For those teams that will actually have a shot at making the medal round and hope to unseat Team Sweden as the world's best, an individual team preview has been added with the latest news surrounding each country's squad. (Active NHL players in bold, * indicates active NHL players with Olympic experience) 1998 Austrian Olympic Team
Head Coach: Ron Kennedy Roster: F - Christoph Brandner, Martin Hohenberger, Dieter Kalt, Wolfang Kromp, Normand Krumpschmid, Richard Nasheim, Christian Perthaler, Patrick Pilloni, Gerhard Puschnik, Andreas Pusnik, Gerald Ressmann, Mario Schaden, Simon Wheeldon; D - Herbert Hohenberger, Michael Lampert, Joseph Lavoie, Engelbert Linder, Thomas Searle, Martin Ulrich, Gerhard Unterluggauer; G - Claus Dalpiaz, Reinhard Divis, Michael Puschacher.
1998 Belarus Olympic Team
General Manager: Alexander Lechtchik Roster: F - Alexander Andrievski, Oleg Antonenko, Vadim Bekboulatov, Alexander Galtcheniouk, Alexei Kalioujny, Viktor Karatchoun, Andrei Kovalev, Aleksei Lozhkin, Dmitri Pankov, Vassili Pankov, Andrei Rassolko, Evguenni Roshchin, Andrei Skabelka, Vladimir Tsyplakov, Eduard Zankovets; D - Alexander Alekseev, Serguei Yerkovitch, Alexander Zhourik, Vladimir Kopat, Oleg Kmyl, Igor Matoushkin, Oleg Romanov, Ruslan Salei, Sergei Stas, Alexander Tsyplakov; G - Alexander Shoumidoub, Leonid Fatikov, Andrei Mezin.
1998 Canadian Olympic Team
General Manager: Bob Clarke Roster: F - Rod Brind'Amour, Shayne Corson, Theoren Fleury, Wayne Gretzky, Paul Kariya*, Trevor Linden, Eric Lindros*, Joe Nieuwendyk, Keith Primeau, Joe Sakic, Brendan Shanahan, Steve Yzerman, Rob Zamuner; D - Rob Blake, Ray Bourque, Eric Desjardins, Adam Foote, Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, Scott Stevens; G - Martin Brodeur, Curtis Joseph, Patrick Roy. This is perhaps the most crucial tournament in the history of Canadian hockey. Following Team Canada's loss at the World Cup to Team USA, Canadians have been up in arms about the loss of their total control of the sport of hockey. The 1998 Olympics is the make-or-break tournament for Canada. Win this tournament and the Maple Leaf can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that hockey still belongs to them. Come back from Nagano with anything less than gold and a national panic attack could occur. Lots of luck, Marc Crawford - you're gonna need it. Team Canada has been surrounded by controversy throughout the past six months because of the selection of team members. Should Wayne Gretzky have been selected? Should Mark Messier have been overlooked? Why wasn't Mark Recchi picked? Now the questions have shifted to injuries and starters. Will Trevor Linden be healthy enough to participate? Can Paul Kariya recover from his concussion in time to help out? And who is going to start in goal: Martin Brodeur or Patrick Roy? But once the games start, all of the outside distractions have to be pushed aside and the team must play incredible hockey. The players know what's riding on their shoulders. Do not think for a second that they don't feel the pressure. The key will be how they handle the pressure. As always, Team Canada features a veteran squad that has no holes in the roster. This time around team officials chose players according to where they would fit in the lineup. Normally a player like Rob Zamuner wouldn't even be considered for a spot on a Canadian hockey team that's set to play in an international tournament. But don't laugh when you see Zamuner take the ice - his speed and penalty- killing expertise will be a big plus for Team Canada. A usual cast of superstars will take the ice wearing the red, white and black sweater of Team Canada, as well. The most famous of them all, Wayne Gretzky, will be there to try and add an Olympic gold medal to his long list of career accomplishments. Actually, it seems like Gretzky shouldn't accept anything less than a gold medal. Royalty loves gold. Gretzky leads an offense that has a little bit of everything. It has power forwards like Brendan Shanahan, Keith Primeau, and Shayne Corson (wouldn't have Cam Neely looked lovely in a Team Canada jersey?), speedsters to take advantage of the Olympic-size rink like Paul Kariya, Theo Fleury, and Joe Sakic, great two-way players like Steve Yzerman, Rod Brind'Amour, and Joey Nieuwendyk, and pure superstars like Eric Lindros. Defensively, Team Canada has a good mix of talent. Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Chris Pronger and Scott Stevens can all demolish people along the boards. Al MacInnis and Ray Bourque can fire blasts from the point all day, while Eric Desjardins is as steady as they come when you're talking about all-around defensemen. There could be a couple problems on defense, though. Because of the enlarged rink, it will be interesting to see how Daddy Mac, Foote and Stevens handle the opposition's speedy forwards flying down the wing or cutting to the outside. The defense also is lacking someone to carry the puck out of the zone and through center ice. Paul Coffey could have fit the bill. Scott Niedermayer could have, as well. It doesn't get much better than what Team Canada has in goal, however. Martin Brodeur could be the best goaltender in the NHL right now. Patrick Roy could be the best the NHL has ever seen. And Curtis Joseph is no slacker, himself. All three goalies have the quickness and reflexes to shut down just about anyone. Finding enough playing time for them could be harder for the coaches than the goalies stopping pucks. If you have to win one game, you can't overlook Roy. The man is plain and simple the best money goalie the game has ever seen. That gives him the edge over the other two in this tournament. Overall, Team Canada is stacked. It's hard to bet against them in any international tournament, let alone one as important to them as the Olympics. As long as players like Kariya, Linden and Corson are healthy, Canada has as good a chance as any to take home the gold. But for Canadians, anything less than gold won't be tolerated.
1998 Czech Republic Olympic Team
General Manager: Stanislav Nevesely Roster: F - Jan Alinc, Radek Belohlav, Josef Beranek, Jan Caloun, Jiri Dopita, Jaromir Jagr, Ondrej Kratena, Robert Lang*, David Moravec, Pavel Patera, Martin Prochazka, Vaclav Prospal, Robert Reichel, Martin Rucinsky, Vladimir Ruzicka, Roman Simicek, Martin Straka, Petr Ton, Viktor Ujcik; D - Ladislav Benysek, Radek Hamr, Roman Hamrlik, Frantisek Kaberle, Libor Prochazka, Frantisek Kucera, Jiri Slegr*, Richard Smehlik*, Jaroslav Spacek, Martin Stepanek, Petr Svoboda, Jiri Veber, Jiri Vykoukal; G - Roman Cechmanek, Dominik Hasek*, Milan Hnilicka, Martin Prusek. Team Czech Republic had many problems during the World Cup last year. They lost all three games they played. They only scored four goals in those three games. And it seemed like every single player on the team was a left-handed shot. That's kooky. The terrible showing left a bad taste in many players' mouths afterward. A lot of them, including Jaromir Jagr, didn't even feel like playing in the Olympics because of the bad time they had at the World Cup. But Jagr will be in Nagano along with 11 other current NHLers, including goaltender Dominik Hasek. Five other members of Team Czech Republic have past NHL experience. Jagr and Co. have an outside chance at a medal in the Olympics, but it would take a yeoman-like effort by Jagr on offense and Hasek in goal. Jagr has two fellow Pittsburgh Penguins on offense with him - Martin Straka and Robert Lang. Lang was a late edition to the team when it was learned that Vladimir Vujtek wouldn't play due to injury. Another Penguin, (well, sort of) Petr Nedved, wasn't selected for the games because of his contract problems in Pittsburgh. The Czech team didn't think it was wise to give a spot on the roster to someone who wasn't in top playing shape. Nedved or no Nedved, the Czech Republic offense is going to be based on speed. With Jagr, Straka, Vinnie Prospal (if healthy) Robert Reichel, Jan Caloun and Martin Rucinsky, the team will be flying up and down the ice. If they had players to deposit the puck in the net and cash in on the opportunities these guys create, this team wouldn't be ranked so low. Josef Beranek and Rosie Ruzicka have some skills, but not that many. Ruzicka's gotta be close to age 50 by now, anyway. Hey, all I'm saying is the man's past his prime, that's all... Team Czech Republic has a mobile defense led by Jiri Slegr, Petr Svoboda, Roman Hamrlik and Richard Smehlik. Frantisek Kucera should add some muscle, but the defense could be easily pushed around. That means the team is going to have to rely on Hasek to win a few games by himself. And don't think Hasek can't do it. If he gets on a streak like he did for the Sabres in December when he posted six shutouts, anything could be possible. Hasek played in five games during the 1988 Olympics for Czechoslovakia, accumulating a 4.97 goals-against average and a .833 save percentage. Those numbers will definitely have to improve if a medal is in Hasek's future. 1998 Finnish Olympic Team
General Manager: Heikki Riihiranta Roster: F - Raimo Helminen, Olli Jokinen, Sami Kapanen*, Saku Koivu*, Jari Kurri*, Jere Lehtinen*, Juha Lind, Mika Nieminen, Kai Nurminen, Janne Ojanen, Ville Peltonen, Kimmo Rintanen, Christian Ruuttu, Teemu Selanne*, Esa Tikkanen, Antti Tormanen, Juha Ylonen; D - Aki Berg, Tuomas Gronman, Jere Karalahti, Marko Kiprusoff, Janne Laukkanen*, Jyrki Lumme*, Kari Martikainen, Janne Niinimaa, Teppo Numminen*, Pasi Sormunen, Mika Stromberg, Kimmo Timonen; G - Pasi Kuivalainen, Jarmo Myllys, Ari Sulander, Jukka Tammi. Those Fins are sneaky. That's the only way you can describe their ascent in international hockey over the past 10 years. You never think of Finland when you think of medal contenders, but Team Finland has scored a silver and bronze medal over the past three Olympic games. Their bronze medal in '94 was achieved by beating Team USA in the quarterfinals, 6-1, and Russia in the bronze medal game, 4-0. In the five games before the quarterfinals that year, Finland only gave up four goals. That's just crazy! Team Finland has another outstanding team this year. Teemu Selanne leads the squad offensively. The goal-scoring leader in the NHL is surrounded by a lot of other solid talent. When not injured, Saku Koivu is one of the most exciting players in the game. Sami Kapanen is cool. Jere Lehtinen doesn't know when to stop hustling. Esa Tikkanen doesn't know when to stop clowning around. Juha Ylonen has a great name. These players are joined by a number of other guys with NHL experience to make a surprising force on the ice. And the Godfather, Jari Kurri, seems to just skate around saying, "I love it when a plan comes together." You can never count Team Finland out of any international hockey tournament. There's never any pressure on Finland to come home with a medal. They just go out there and have fun. And that's what the game is about. Team Finland has talent on offense and defense (Teppo Numminen is one of the most underrated defensemen in the game). They make up for their lack of a top-notch goalie by backchecking like crazy and playing sound positional hockey. So keep an eye on Finland during the Olympics. They could be the dark horse in the gold medal race.
1998 French Olympic Team
General Manager: Jim Tibbetts Roster: F - Pierre Allard, Stephan Barin, Philippe Bozon, Arnaud Briand, Roger Dube, Laurent Leconte, Anthony Mortas, Robert Ouellet, Christian Pouget, Francois Rozenthal, Maurice Rozenthal, Johnathan Zwickel; D - Karl Dewolf, Gregory Dubois, Serge Djelloul, Jean-Christophe Filippin, Stephan Gachet, Jean-Christophe Lemoine, Denis Perez, Serge Poudrier; G - Christobal Huet, Fabrice L'Henry, Francois Gravel.
1998 German Olympic Team
General Manager: Franz Reindl Roster: F - Jan Benda, Thomas Brandl, Benoit Doucet, Peter Draisaitl, Jochen Hecht, Dieter Hegen, Daniel Koerber, Andreas Lupzig, Mark MacKay, Reemt Pyka, Jurgen Rumrich, Leo Stefan, Chris Straube, Marco Sturm, Stefan Ustorf; D - Brad Bergen, Michael Bresagk, Lars Brueggemann, Sven Butenschoen, Erich Goldmann, Michael Heidt, Uwe Krupp, Daniel Kunce, Mirko Luedemann, Jochen Molling, Daniel Nowak, Markus Wieland; G - Joseph Heiss, Olaf Kolzig, Klaus Merk.
1998 Italian Olympic Team
General Manager: Peter Baumgartner Roster: F - Patrick Brugnoli, Markus Brunner, Giuseppe Busillo, Armando Chelodi, Mario Chitarroni, Lino DeToni, Dino Felicetti, Stephan Figliuzzi, Alexander Gschliesser, Anthony Iob, Maurizio Mansi, Stefano Margoni, Gaetano Orlando, Martin Pavlu, Roland Ramoser, Lucio Topatigh, Bruno Zarrillo; D - Christopher Bartolone, Chad Biafore, Georg Comploi, Luigi DaCorte, Michael DeAngeles, Leo Insam, Carlo Lorenzi, Giovanni Marchetti, Robert Nardella, Robert Oberrauch, Lawrence Rucchin, Federico Zancanella; G - Mario Brunetta, Bruno Campese, Andrea Carpano, David Delfino, Michael Rosati.
1998 Japanese Olympic Team
General Manager: Dave King Roster: F - Ryan Kiyoshi Fujita, Yuji Iga, M. Yoshikazu Kabayama, Ryan Kuwabara, Hiroshi Matsuura, Tsutsumi Otomo, Toshiyuki Sakai, Kunihiko Sakurai, Akihito Sugisawa, Steve Tsujiura, Shin Yahata, Christopher Yule; D - Daniel Wesley Daikawa, Tatsuki Katayama, Yutaka Kawaguchi, Takayuki Kobori, Atsuo Kudoh, Hiroyuki Miura, Takayuki Miura, Fumitaka Miyauchi, Takeshi Yamanaka; G - Dusty Imoo, Shinichi Iwasaki, Jiro Nihei.
1998 Kazakhstan Olympic Team
General Manager: Vladimir Tregubov Roster: F - Sergey Alexandrov, Vladimir Antropov, Mikhail Borodulin, Petr Devyatkin, Igor Dorokhin, Dmitriy Dudarev, Pavel Kamentsev, Maxim Komissarov, Alexandr Koreshkov, Evgeniy Koreshkov, Oleg Kryazhev, Andrey Pchelyakov, Andrey Raiskiy, Erlan Sagymbayev, Konstantin Shafranov, Andrey Zalipyatskikh, Vladimir Zavyalov; D - Vladimir Antipin, Vadim Glovatskiy, Igor Nikitin, Andrey Savenkov, Andrey Sokolov, Vitaliy Tregubov, Alexey Trochshinskiy, Igor Zemlyanoy; G - Alexandr Shimin, Vitaliy Yeremeyev, Sergey Ogureshnikov.
1998 Russian Olympic Team
General Manager: Alexei Kasatonov Roster: F - Pavel Bure, Valeri Bure, Sergei Fedorov, Valeri Kamensky*, Andrei Kovalenko*, Sergei Krivokrasov, Alexei Morozov, Sergei Nemchinov, German Titov, Alexei Yashin, Valeri Zelepukin, Alexei Zhamnov*; D - Sergei Gonchar, Alexei Gusarov*, Darius Kasparaitis*, Igor Kravchuk*, Boris Mironov, Dmitri Mironov*, Dimitri Yushkevich, Alexei Zhitnik*; G - Mikhail Shtalenkov*, Andrei Trefilov*. Some of Russia's top players aren't going to be in Nagano, but the remaining NHL stars who are making the trip can't use that as an excuse. Team Russia still has mad talent on the roster. But the players who are on the squad are going to have to come together as a team quickly if they want to get a medal. Offensively, Pavel Bure and Sergei Fedorov make up two-thirds of the dangerous line used by Russia in the World Junior Championships many moons ago. They'll have to find a linemate to replace Alexander Mogilny, however. Mogilny declined an invitation to join the Olympic team. A good mix of offensive and defensive forwards will join Bure and Fedorov up front. Valeri Kamensky, Alexei Yashin and Alexei Zhamnov will do a good deal of the scoring, while Sergei Nemchinov and Valeri Zelepukin head the list of defensive specialists. The rest of the forwards have talent, but there's still a question mark as to whether they'll show up on the score sheet. Team Russia's defense will have some noticeable absences when the team takes the ice. Mainstays like Alexei Kasatonov, Slava Fetisov and Vladimir Konstantinov aren't available. Fetisov declined to go, Kasatonov is the team's general manager and Konstantinov is still trying to recover from an automobile accident. For most teams, those guys would be hard to replace. But Team Russia's defensive corps is solid. Every member of the defense is a strong NHL player. Even when Alexander Karpovtsev had to drop out because of an injury, he was easily replaced by Sergei Gonchar. Those Russians sure know how to crank out the top-notch defensemen, eh? The major problem for Team Russia could be in goal. Nikolai Khabibulin, the outstanding Russian goaltender for the Phoenix Coyotes, declined his invitation to play in the Olympics. That means Team Russia is without its No. 1 man between the pipes. It will now be up to the tandem of Mikhail Shtalenkov and Andrei Trefilov to backstop the team to a medal. The duo won the gold in 1992, although Trefilov was relegated to backup duty as Shtalenkov played all eight games for Russia. The Mighty Ducks goalie posted a goals-against average of 1.63 and a save percentage of .919. While Team Russia is lacking a full squad of superstars, they still have enough to challenge for the gold medal. Off-ice distractions like player-coach relations could play a role in what medal, if any, this team wins.
1998 Slovakian Olympic Team
General Manager: Dusan Pasek Roster: F - Peter Bartos, Peter Bondra, Zdeno Ciger, Jozef Dano, Pavol Demitra, Oto Hascak, Marian Hossa, Branislav Janos, Lubomir Jolnik, Roman Kontsek, Zigmund Palffy*, Jan Pardavy, Robert Petrovicky, Vlastimil Plavucha, Peter Pucher, Igor Rataj, Karol Rusznyak, Miroslav Satan*, Roman Stantien, Jozef Stumpel, Ladislav Torok, Richard Zednik; D - Jergus Baca, Roman Gavalier, Radoslav Hecl, Stanislav Jaseoko, Miroslav Mosnar, Robert Pukalovic, Lubomir Sekeras, Robert Svehla*, Jan Varholik, Lubomir Visnovsky, Vladimir Vlk; G - Igor Murin, Pavol Rybar, Miroslav Simonovic. Team Slovakia has some major talent on its roster, but it doesn't quite compare to the talent on the teams around it. On offense the team has a "Big Three" in Peter Bondra, Ziggy Palffy and Jozef Stumpel, but outside of the gifted trio, there's not much else to write home to Dubnica about. Team Slovakia does have some other offensive threats like Zdeno Ciger, Pavol Demitra, Robert Petrovicky, and Richard Zednik, but they just don't stack up to the big guns in the Olympic games. Even Miroslav Satan, the evil lord of darkness, can't conjure up enough spells to score the amount of goals Slovakia will need to win. Why will they need so many goals? Take a look at the defense. Only one Slovakian defenseman currently plays in the NHL -- Robert Svehla. Now, Jergus Baca is a bad man and all, but there's a reason he only stuck around in Hartford for 10 games back in 1991. Want another reason to pray to the antichrist for goals? Just look at the goaltending. Igor Murin, Pavol Rybar and Miroslav Simonovic are the trio in the Slovakian goal. Need I say more? Unless Satan has a mischievous ploy tucked somewhere up his sleeve, it's going to have to be all offense or no wins for Team Slovakia.
1998 Swedish Olympic Team
General Manager: Bo Tovland If you read the last issue of LCS Hockey, you know that we chose to back Team Sweden as our pick for the gold medal in the Olympics. Well, two weeks have passed and we've had a chance to reflect on our decision. AND WE'RE STICKIN' WITH THE SWEDES!!!!! Yee-haw! The trio of Daniel Alfredsson, Peter Forsberg and Mats Sundin could be one of the best offensive packages in the league. Calle Johansson, Nicklas Lidstrom and Ulf Samuelsson are a great defensive trio. And Tommy Salo is just one goofy-looking guy in net. You can't beat a goofy-looking Swede. In years past the knock on Swedish hockey players was that they weren't tough enough to play on a North American level. They were, shall I say, blacklisted. Swedes were good for regular season games to make pretty plays and get the crowd excited, but when the games were on the line, there's nothing like a good Canadian boy to lead your team to victory. But players like Samuelsson and Tomas Sandstrom, who were buddies when they were little and used to beat the crap out of each other, helped to extinguish the non-aggressive theory. Forsberg, Sandstrom, Lidstrom and Samuelsson have all won Cups, as well. Today, Sweden is producing players like Alfredsson, Forsberg, Johansson and Nicklas Sundstrom - guys who aren't afraid to level someone with a clean, open-ice hit and win a game for you. But the qualities that used to make a Swedish hockey player good remain. My Swedish friends can SKATE. No joke, they can do spin-o-ramas, figure eights, whatever. Give them some ice and my boys will make you look silly. Be prepared to see a lot of silliness during the next two weeks, especially with the larger ice surface.
1998 USA Olympic Team
General Manager: Lou Lamoriello Roster: F - Tony Amonte, Adam Deadmarsh, Bill Guerin, Brett Hull, Pat LaFontaine*, John LeClair, Shawn McEachern*, Mike Modano, Joel Otto, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk*, Doug Weight; D - Bryan Berard, Keith Carney, Chris Chelios*, Derian Hatcher, Kevin Hatcher, Brian Leetch*, Mathieu Schneider, Gary Suter; G - Guy Hebert, Mike Richter*, John Vanbiesbrouck. With the World Cup victory fresh in their minds, the members of Team USA are hoping to continue their newfound success in the greatest of all international competitions - the Olympics. The nucleus of Team USA is pretty much the same as the World Cup team of 1996. But there's more pressure on them to win now than there was at the World Cup. Can they live up to the billing of world champions? Offensively, Team USA has a ton of speed. That should bode well considering the increased size of the rinks at the Olympics. The list of speedsters at forward for the United States goes on and on. Amonte, LaFontaine, McEachern, Modano, Roenick and Weight love to kick in the boosters and buzz around the rink. Even the "power forwards" can fly. Deadmarsh, Guerin, LeClair and Tkachuk aren't one-dimensional. Sure, they can bang around down low and along the boards, but they also have above average skating skills that make them even more dangerous. Although the defensive end of the rink might pose a challenge, with a combination of speed, strength and skill the Team USA offense is one of the most powerful in this year's Olympics. The team's defensive corps is also a strong point. The blue line is packed with solid veterans who could make up for any shortcomings the forwards have in their own end. Bryan Berard, Kevin Hatcher, Brian Leetch and Gary Suter will be counted on to carry the puck out of the zone and create offense. Keith Carney, Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher and Mathieu Schneider will be used in more of a defensive role. Most of Team USA's defense is tough and willing to hit anything in sight. But one slight problem could be speed. With the expanded ice surface, someone like Kevin Hatcher could get burned rather easily to the outside if not careful. The World Cup team excelled in the smaller rinks in North America. But what will happen once the team gets out onto the bigger ice surfaces remains to be seen. Goaltending was another strong point for Team USA during the World Cup, and before this season it looked like it would be a strong point in the Olympics. But during the first half of the season, both Mike Richter and John Vanbiesbrouck went into slumps. They weren't sharp, but the teams in front of them weren't sharp, either. But VanRichterbrouck started to make a comeback as the first half wore on, and hopefully any doubts people had about Team USA's goaltending will be erased once the games begin.
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