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OT: Let's Remember Some Guys

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Anyone mentioned Ville Nieminen yet? Was only here for half a season or so but a hell of a fun guy to watch on the ice. Drove everyone crazy.
 
I'd like to bring up an old guy and also share a story about him.

He's not obscure or anything but I'm sure some of the older fans remember Brian Mullen.

I was at the NYR Hockey House one spring about to do the accuracy shooting challenge. Brian Mullen is there MC'ing the event -giving tips, telling jokes, and what have you- and there's this random Hockey House worker feeding you the pucks. So the guy feeding the pucks is standing on the right side and I shoot left, so it's a little awkward. Mullen puts down his mic and says "no, no he's lefty, let me show you" and he picks up a stick and starts passing me pucks. I ripped one off the bar and he said it was a nice shot. So I get to play hockey for 2 minutes with a guy who played 11 seasons in the NHL. And I'm a nobody, I mean I played more baseball growing up than hockey, so I consider myself pretty lucky that I can say I got an assist from a former NHL star. What a nice, down to earth guy to just jump in and play with a fan.
 
Machinehead said:
I'd like to bring up an old guy and also share a story about him.

He's not obscure or anything but I'm sure some of the older fans remember Brian Mullen.

I was at the NYR Hockey House one spring about to do the accuracy shooting challenge. Brian Mullen is there MC'ing the event -giving tips, telling jokes, and what have you- and there's this random Hockey House worker feeding you the pucks. So the guy feeding the pucks is standing on the right side and I shoot left, so it's a little awkward. Mullen puts down his mic and says "no, no he's lefty, let me show you" and he picks up a stick and starts passing me pucks. I ripped one off the bar and he said it was a nice shot. So I get to play hockey for 2 minutes with a guy who played 11 seasons in the NHL. And I'm a nobody, I mean I played more baseball growing up than hockey, so I consider myself pretty lucky that I can say I got an assist from a former NHL star. What a nice, down to earth guy to just jump in and play with a fan.
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I also think his brother is one of the most underrate players of my lifetime.
 
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Edge said:
First hockey player I met as a kid was James Patrick. Still have a photo with him somewhere.
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I was too young to remember seeing him play for the Rangers, but I vaguely remember missing James Patrick right after he left :laugh:

I remember my dad telling me he plays for Calgary now and I was not having it.
 
Machinehead said:
I was too young to remember seeing him play for the Rangers, but I vaguely remember missing James Patrick right after he left :laugh:

I remember my dad telling me he plays for Calgary now and I was not having it.
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He was supposed to be that bedrock defenseman for the franchise, prior to Brian Leetch. But he (obviously) never hit that higher level the team hoped for. The closest he came was 1992, which ironically enough was also the end of his days as a substantial point producer.

He started to get supplanted by Zubov the following season, and the hiring of Keenan quickly sealed his fate.
 
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Edge said:
He was supposed to be that bedrock defenseman for the franchise, prior to Brian Leetch. But he (obviously) never hit that higher level the team hoped for. The closest he came was 1992, which ironically enough was also the end of his days as a substantial point producer.

He started to get supplanted by Zubov the following season, and the hiring of Keenan quickly sealed his fate.
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Man, talk about missing guys. I still miss Zubov.

And Leetch, obviously, but a guy like Leetch leaves a hole that can never be filled.
 
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Machinehead said:
Man, talk about missing guys. I still miss Zubov.

And Leetch, obviously, but a guy like Leetch leaves a hole that can never be filled.
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That challenge with someone like Leetch is that it sets a near impossible expectation for anyone who follows in his wake.

The same thing will happen in the post-Lundqvist era.
 
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Edge said:
He was supposed to be that bedrock defenseman for the franchise, prior to Brian Leetch. But he (obviously) never hit that higher level the team hoped for. The closest he came was 1992, which ironically enough was also the end of his days as a substantial point producer.

He started to get supplanted by Zubov the following season, and the hiring of Keenan quickly sealed his fate.
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I still feel like Smith missed out on creating a dynasty by panicking, starting with the Weight for Tikkanen deal. You had a top 9 that could have had Messier/Weight/Nemchinov down the middle, with Graves, Amonte, Kovalev, Gartner on the wings, plus players like King and Turcotte in the mix. You also had Leetch, Zubov, Beukeboom, Karpovtsev and later Nordstrom on D. You could have still added Lowe and MacTavish for the minimal cost you paid. But, Smith ended up panicking after bowing out in 1992. There’s an alternative universe where Richter doesn’t allow the 90-footer to Ron Francis, and the Rangers win the Cup that year, and are set up for the rest of the decade.
 
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jas said:
I still feel like Smith missed out on creating a dynasty by panicking, starting with the Weight for Tikkanen deal. You had a top 9 that could have had Messier/Weight/Nemchinov down the middle, with Graves, Amonte, Kovalev, Gartner on the wings, plus players like King and Turcotte in the mix. You also had Leetch, Zubov, Beukeboom, Karpovtsev and later Nordstrom on D. You could have still added Lowe and MacTavish for the minimal cost you paid. But, Smith ended up panicking after bowing out in 1992. Thrre’s an alternative universe where Richter doesn’t allow the 90-footer to Ron Francis, and the Rangers win the Cup that year, and are set up for the rest of the decade.
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In reminiscing on all this, some of my old hates come back. I used to and still do detest the Islanders. That never stops. Same with Philly. Pens I have detested from go and it is all Maryo's fault. Crosby is marginally less of a cry baby. Though I will say that I could not stand Mike Flockheart at all.For some reason, the Devils have never rose to the level of "detest" that I have for the Isles or Philly.

I remember also disliking the Caps a lot. Bondra, Druce, etc. Clearly recall a fight between Barry Beck & Rod Langway. Utter slugfest.
 
jas said:
I still feel like Smith missed out on creating a dynasty by panicking, starting with the Weight for Tikkanen deal. You had a top 9 that could have had Messier/Weight/Nemchinov down the middle, with Graves, Amonte, Kovalev, Gartner on the wings, plus players like King and Turcotte in the mix. You also had Leetch, Zubov, Beukeboom, Karpovtsev and later Nordstrom on D. You could have still added Lowe and MacTavish for the minimal cost you paid. But, Smith ended up panicking after bowing out in 1992. There’s an alternative universe where Richter doesn’t allow the 90-footer to Ron Francis, and the Rangers win the Cup that year, and are set up for the rest of the decade.
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The blame has to go to Keenan as well. He pushed for those trades while making his own power grab behind the scenes.

Would have loved to have seen Gartner win the Cup over Anderson.
 
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