The Hockey News March 5, 2018

THE DAY GRAEME ROUSTAN’S older brother Wayne was too sick to play for his peewee team was the day Graeme learned how vapor forms. It was 1970, in Montreal’s Sunnybrooke Park, on an outdoor rink, when atom-aged Graeme assumed his sibling’s identity so he could get more ice time and experience with older competition. That Wayne was a goalie, and Graeme a forward, didn’t dissuade the enterprising 10-year-old. Fast forward to the second intermission when Graeme felt the call of nature. The problem was, he couldn’t figure out how to get out of the goalie gear fast enough to take care of business, so he held it in. Temporarily. Minutes felt like hours, and as darkness descended so did the Arctic-like temperature. Inevitably, the dam burst and Graeme was enveloped by…

Dear readers, Decades ago, my brother Wayne and I discovered The Hockey News. We were paperboys delivering the Montreal Gazette in the morning and the Montreal Star in the afternoon, but the tabloidsized paper we clamored for was The Hockey News. We weren’t subscribers at the time; the old man next door was, and he’d give them to me after he was done with them. Wayne and I read each issue, repeatedly, until the paper started crumbling. The Hockey News captured our imaginations and filled our heads with dreams of playing in the NHL. I wish I could thank that subscriber, but that’s not possible. What I can do is acknowledge you, the current-day subscribers and newsstand purchasers, who help perpetuate our legacy and allow us to entertain, inform and excite boys…

St. Louis sends Vladimir Sobotka, Jordan Kyrou and a fourth-round pick to Ottawa for Mike Hoffman and some retained salary.– @HolyAlexT Zack Smith from Ottawa to Calgary for Michael Stone. Calgary has a solid defense corps already and Sens are in dire need. Flames could use some help up front, and Smith is very versatile and can provide solid secondary scoring. Good hockey trade 1-for-1. Not to mention, the Stone brothers would play together. Smith would also be close to home, as he’s from Maple Creek, Sask.– Eric Smith Grabner or Maroon to the Bruins for prospects. Boston is deep in prospects. Krejci could use a solid vet on his wing for the playoff drive.– @TheRealG_Rant Max Pacioretty to the Preds for Colton Sissons, Dante Fabbro and a second-round pick.– @rukidnme24 Jets deal a…

THE NHL SHEDS ITS skin every decade or so, for better or worse. The 1960s brought expansion; in the 1970s, Bobby Orr changed the way defensemen played the game; the 1980s yielded Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and the biggest offensive explosion in league history; the late 1990s ushered in the clutch-and-grab Dead Puck Era; and the mid-2000s, after a year-long 2004-05 lockout, gave us the obstruction crackdown and an offensive rebirth. It was thus only a matter of time before the 2010s found their identity. It sure took a while, with years of handwringing over goalie equipment size and talk of widening the nets, but 2017-18 has finally given us a breakthrough. We’re seeing the biggest offensive numbers since ‘The New NHL’ arrived in 2005-06, once again buoyed by a change…

BAUER | VAPOR ADVANCED SERIES I’M PRETTY PICKY. I’D been going back and forth between a couple of brands trying to find the right one, but I’m really happy now with Bauer. I got in a bit of trouble for using the new model a couple days before it was released at the All-Star Game, but I was super excited when I got it. It felt really good, so I wanted to use it. I just used it for the one game, but it felt like the puck came off quicker. I’m looking forward to playing with it in future games. I use a 77 flex, so that’s pretty whippy, and the (Erik) Karlsson curve. I’ve been using that now for three or four years, and I’m happy with it. And…

THE FRANCHISE DEFINER > 1991: Penguins acquire Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings from Whalers for John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski The Pens were knocking on the door of a Stanley Cup, and adding a second top-drawer center in Francis not only put them over the top but also shaped Pittsburgh as a powerhouse for years to come. Samuelsson brought major snarl to the blueline, too. THE PROTOTYPE > 1980: Islanders acquire Butch Goring from Kings for Billy Harris and Dave Lewis Ask any hockey historian to blurt out the quintessential deadline deal, and the most common answer you’ll get is “Butch Goring.” He wasn’t a superstar, but he brought heart and soul to the Isles with penalty killing, faceoff acumen, leadership and decent scoring touch. He was the final domino to…