Hockey is known for its “monogamous”: Lidström and many other Detroit legends, the Crosby-Malkin-Letang trio in Pittsburgh, the recently retired Patrice Bergeron in Boston. The list goes on and on, but there are people in hockey who have a “speck” of clubs on an incredibly short list of teams that someone might forget about. No textbook plots a la Ray Bourque in Colorado: let’s remember those who didn’t benefit from the seemingly everlasting club turnaround or were half-forgotten.
Bobby Orr, Chicago
When we say Orr, we mean Boston. However, the greatest defender in history ended his career at another club. With the arrival of the WHA, Chicago lost a big million-chasing Bobby Hull, and in an era when gate fees made up the majority of the club’s revenue, the Falcons were in desperate need of a superstar. Club owner Bill Wirtz, who in the 1990s would become the league’s greatest miser, in 1976 shelled out a fantastic $3 million by then-standards over five years.
But don’t blame Orr for betraying B for a lot of money. Boston offered the defender the same five-year contract and 18% of the club’s shares. However, the defender was unaware of this, he entrusted the negotiations to both the legendary and infamous Alan Eagleson. Eagleson told Orr that the Bears’ offer wasn’t good enough, and #4 chose another Original Six club. “I wanted to stay in Boston, and he said his offer wasn’t even close to being as good as Chicago’s,” Orr said later.
bobby orr
Photo: www.nhl.com
In the new club, the defender was solemnly greeted, the mayor of Chicago, at the presentation of the newcomer, proclaimed him an honorary citizen of the city. Before the season, Orr became the Canada Cup MVP, but, as his teammates said, he did it with one leg: The legend’s left knee remained on probation. Unfortunately for the “hawks”, the offer of this honesty was limited. In October 1976, Orr scored 15 points in nine games, but after that, due to injuries, he played only 11, missed the entire following season and played only six games in the 1978/1979 championship, in which his career ended. career.
Peter Forsberg, Nashville
Due to the lockout, the biggest clubs were forced to quickly cut many of their stars. Colorado, with a fantastic forward selection, couldn’t beat Philadelphia’s offer for Forsberg, and the great Swede went to Pennsylvania. In Foppa’s second season at the Pilots, the star-studded club walking among the favourites, suddenly completely collapsed for all and scored an anti-record 56 points for the season. Forsberg logically did not want to renew the contract, and at the deadline he was traded to Nashville.
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We can say that Forsberg is the best striker in the history of the team, which has always been famous above all for its tough defenders. True, he played for her only 17 matches in the regular season. “I just don’t have words, we have one of the best players in the world,” Paul Kariya rejoiced. “I wouldn’t want to worry later that we didn’t win the Stanley Cup just because we didn’t have an attacker like Forsberg,” Barry Trotz said. Unfortunately for them, Forsberg didn’t even get the club past the first round, though he did score four points in five series games with San Jose.
Martin Brodeur, Saint Louis
In the summer of 2014, Lou Lamorello put together a team that could play full force in some hockey “The Expendables”: Jaromir Jagr (42), Patrik Eliash (38), Marek Zidlicki (37), Dainius Zubrus (36 ) , Scott Gomez (35) … 17 players aged 30 and over played for that team, but the top superstar, 42-year-old Martin Brodeur, left the club, for whom he played 1,259 games.
The year before, the club traded Corey Schneider, who at the time had clearly been sitting behind Roberto Luongo in Vancouver. This meant that, for the first time in his long career, Brodeur was number two, although he played many games (39). In 2014, Brodeur announced that it was time for his home club to move on with Schneider’s support. Martin said that he would always be “the devil”, but that he would like to play one more year.
martin brodeur
Photo: Mark Zaleski/AP Photo/TASS
There were few applicants, and Brodeur found a job only in November, when he signed with St. Louis. The Blues then had a strong defense and a solid Allen-Elliott duo, but in the middle of the season the team began to suffer from injuries, and then the management decided to turn to the veteran and not raise the Akhaelians. This is not to say that he was very successful: Brodeur conceded six goals for Los Angeles, in two more games, four goals apiece, and his playing career in Missouri was seven games away. However, Brodeur remained in St. Louis after the end of his career and began his hockey coaching career there.
Chris Chelios, Atlanta
In the summer of 2009, 46-year-old Chelios was invited to Russia – SKA at that time gathered a group of stellar “old men” and was ready to invite a very stellar and very old player. The legendary defender refused, and after Detroit refused to renew his contract, he spent half a year without hockey at all, then played in the AHL for his native Chicago, and at the NHL deadline, unexpectedly for many, he appeared. in Atlanta. which was the parent organization Akhaelovsky “Chicago”.
Kovalchuk’s team had just been without Kovalchuk shortly before, but was only four points out of the playoff zone. “The Thrashers have several players injured, the team is fighting to get into the playoffs, if I’m lucky I’ll play a few games,” said the defenseman. And so it happened: even against the background of not being the most impressive defensive corps of the club, Chelios played only seven games, again going to the AHL. Interestingly, Atlanta chose 21-year-old Arthur Kulda at the time.
Mike Modano, Detroit
In the summer of 2010, Dallas released its most loyal and legendary player to the free agency market, with the decision made by former teammate Joe Nyindyke. But Modano, like Brodeur, wanted to play and decided to spend his final season with Detroit from his home state of Michigan. “I have no other options to continue my career except Detroit. Either Detroit or I’m gone. I don’t think there are other options. I admire the possibility of playing in this great team, and even at home”, said the hockey player before signing the contract.
mike modano
Photo: www.nhl.com
Mike was brought to Detroit more for depth (at one point Brett Hull played fourth link). Modano struggled to start the season, but picked up speed in November, scoring five straight games, after which he suffered a serious hand injury. After returning, Modano got out of Mike Babcock’s plans and didn’t spend a single minute in the playoffs. What’s more, shortly after, the legendary player said that Babcock deliberately left him on the reserve so that Modano would not play 1,500 games in the regular season. According to Modano, the team’s veterans were not happy about this, and if Ken Holland knew about it, he would personally ask the coach to let the legend play his fifteen hundred games.
Sergei Makarov, Dallas
After a glorious spell in Calgary and San José, it seemed that the great player had already finished his playing career: Makarov was part of the coaching staff of the national team in the ultra-scandalous 1996 World Cup. This caught the attention of the Dallas coach, who he watched as Makarov himself grappled with his charges on the ice, and was impressed by it. “We thought with this enthusiasm he could get back on the ice and do all the amazing things he did before.”
The contract was small – for $ 300 thousand, but the career was short – only four games ending on New Year’s Day 1997. It seems that the reason for this was a fundamental disagreement with the philosophy of the coach. Makarov said: “When I was in Dallas, I told Ken Hitchcock more than once that his tactic of locking himself in his zone and waiting for the opponent’s mistake is good in the regular season, but ineffective in the playoffs.”
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In an interview with SE in 2004, Makarov was even more frank: “In one of the first days, he began to draw me some schemes: how to go around, where to open, where to throw the puck. I felt funny. He endured, endured, but then couldn’t bear it, explaining to Hitchcock how it’s all done in a real game called hockey.
Wayne Gretzky, Indianapolis (WHA)
Indianapolis was the least popular team in the World Hockey Association in the late 1970s. Then league leaders understood that a union was coming, and the Racers, due to the small size of the city, did not seem like candidates for inclusion in the NHL. The USA state basketball team was finally capped off by the fact that Indiana, unexpectedly for many, was accepted into the NBA.
Having scored 182 junior league points the year before, Gretzky looked like someone who could at least try to save hockey in Indiana. Wayne signed with Indianapolis at age 17, although even in an organization as reckless as the WHA it was impossible to play under-18s. But owner Nelson Skalbania did not sign a contract with him, but a “service agreement”: Gretzky, under his terms, could even work as a gardener for the owner of Racers.
Gretzky Hockey Card
Skalbania had expected young Wayne to rock the town from basketball status, and the number of season ticket holders went from 2,000 to…2,100. It was a bust. During the season, the owner decided to shut down the team and agreed with the owner of Winnipeg, where Bobby Hull then played, to trade Gretzky, but this was opposed by the Jets’ general manager, who considered Gretzky too light. Then Skalbania gave Gretzky to Edmonton, and this story was also full of myths.
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