New Lot - Part 2

Steve Chiasson, Bob Corkum and Jayson More

Chiasson, who played well over 800 NHL games, died shortly after his Hurricanes were eliminated from the 1999 playoffs.  He was only 32. He had driven home intoxicated after a party at Gary Robert's house and crashed his pickup.  In 2006 Cory Stillman brought the Stanley Cup to the the statue in Chiasson's hometown that marks his memory.   Bob Corkum's best season was a 23 goal, 51 point year for the 93/94 Anaheim Mighty Ducks.  He recorded over 200 career NHL points.  More played over 400 games in the NHL, bouncing around blue lines and suiting up for the North Stars, Rangers, Sharks, Coyotes, Blackhawks and Predators.

Aaron Miller, Doug Smolek and Yanic Perreault

Miller played over 700 NHL games, mostly between LA and Colorado but he's most notable for being a member of the 2002 USA silver medal winning Olympic hockey team.  Zmolek was the 7th overall pick of the 1989 draft.  He was a tough defenseman who played 8 season in the NHL with San Jose, Dallas, LA and Chicago.  Pererault retired after playing his last seasons for the Hawks in 07/08.  He had 6 20 goal season in the NHL and was known as a face-off specialist.  

Stephane Matteau, Adam Creighton and Jay Wells

Motteau played nearly 1000 NHL games.  He's best known for being a member of the 1994 Stanley Cup winning New York Rangers.  He scored 2 overtime winners in the Eastern Conference finals that helped the Rangers play for the Cup.  Adam Creighton's father, Dave, spent 12 years in the NHL.  Adam spent even more time in the league.  His best season was a 34 goal, 70 point and 224 penalty minute year with the 89/90 Blackhawks.  Wells had a distinguished NHL career.  He played 1098 regular season games and a further 113 in the playoffs.  He was a teammate of Matteaus on the 1994 New York Rangers Cup winning team.  He finished his career with 2359 regular season penalty minutes.  

Doug Houda, Richard Pilon and Claude Lapointe

Houda was an NHL journeyman, playing for 7 different teams between 1985 and 2003.  He only appeared in 18 playoff games during that period buy his fortunes were better only after retiring.  He was hired as an assistant coat for the Boston Bruins in 2006 and hot his name engraved on the Stanley Cup in 2011.  Pilon bares perhaps the most ironic name in NHL history as he just so happened to be a stay-at-home defenseman on mostly weak New York Islanders teams from 1988 to 2001.  Lapointe was a solid hear and soul player who retired with 879 regular season games and over 300 points.  

Wes Walz, Greg Johnson and Mike Leclerc

I remember Walz best as captain of the Minnesota Wild, he retired as the team's all time leader in games played.  Johnson was captain of the Nashville Predators from 2002 to 2006.  His brother Ryan has also played in the NHL.  Leclerc is n[[[otable for being a member of the 02/03 cinderella Anaheim Mighty Ducks, getting within one game of the Stanley Cup.  

Stephen Peat, Barrett Heisten and Espen Knutsen

Peat was a 6.02, 230 pound NHL tough guy who was stabbed in a bar fight during his junior career.  Heisten, at 1999 first round draft pick, played only 10 NHL games, all for the 01/02 New York Rangers.  He recorded 2 assists.  Knutsen played over 200 NHL games, the highlight was in 2002 when he  became the first Norwegian to play in an NHL All-Star game.  I remember Knutsen from the 2002 incident in which his deflected shot struck and killed an little girl in the stands during a game against the Calgary Flames. 

Sergey Gusev, Benoit Brunet and Joe Murphy

Gusev played 89 regular season games in the NHL from 1998 to 2001.  Brunet was a long time Montreal Canadien, netting 10 points in 20 playoff games to help the team claim the 1993 Stanley Cup.  Murphy was a good NHL player who recorded 528 points in just 779 regular season games.  His best year was a 35 goal, 82 point season for the 91/92 Oilers.  In the playoffs that season he contributed a further 24 points in just 16 games.  He had 14 points during the 89/90 playoffs and was an important piece of the Oilers Stanley Cup winning team.

Sandy McCarthy, Trent Yawney and Mike Donnelly

McCarthy, who is of Black Canadian and First Nations descent, was best known as a tough customer.  He played 11 seasons in the NHL, retiring with over 1500 penalty minutes.  Yawney was a long time NHL player who has also served as head coach for the Blackhawks and assistant coach for the Sharks.  Donnelly's best year in the NHL came as a teamate of Wayne Greatzky.  As a member of the 92/93 LA Kings he recorded 29 goals and 69 points in the regular season along with 13 points in 24 playoff games, helping the team to the Cup finals.  

Todd Reirden, Martin Sonnenberg and Yuri Butsayev

Reirden played 183 NHL games, suiting up for the Oilers, Blues, Thrasher and Coyotes.  He's currently the Pittsburgh Penguins' assistant coach.  Sonnenberg appeared in just 63 NHL games.  44 for the 98/99 Penguins, 14 for the 99/00 Penguins and 5 for the 03/04 Calgary Flames.  Butsayev played only 99 NHL games, the last being 16 contests for the 02/03 Atlanta Thrashers.  His name was in the news in 2009 when he was arrested and accused of rape.  He still plays in the KHL.

Alexei Gusarov, Bruce Gardiner and Ryan Vandenbussche

Gusarov is a member of the elusive triple gold club having claimed a Wold Championship, Olympic Gold and Stanley Cup, the latter with the 1996 Colorado Avalanche.  Gardiner played over 300 NHL games but is most notable for his off ice actions.  He has been a police officer since 2003 and once saved 4 lives as a 14 year old teenager.  Vandenbussche is the NHL enforcer who ended Nick Kypreos' NHL player career and put him behind a microphone.  Vandenbusshe played his last NHL season as a teammate of Lemieux and Crosby with the 05/06 Pittsburgh Penguins.

Brad Dalgarno, Gary Shuchuk and Drake Berehowsky

Dalgarno played his entire 321 game NHL career for the New York Islanders.  Shuchuk is best remembered for being a contributing member of Gretzky's 92/93 LA Kings deep playoff run.  Berehowsky was a solid NHL defenseman who bounced around the league from 1990 to 2004.  He's currently an AHL assistant coach in Peoria.

Marek Malik, Daniel Lacroix and Mike Wilson

Malik will best be known for ending the NHL's longest shootout in spectacular fashion with a dazzling between the legs move, completely unexpected from the 6.06, 240 pound stay-at-home rearguard.  Lacroix, the current assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning, was an enforcer who fought his way into over 200 NHL games.  Wilson, the 1993 first round draft choice of the Vancouver Canucks, ended his 336 game career with one game for the 02/03 New York Rangers.  

Aaron Gavey, Peter Popovic and Andrei Nikolishin

Gavey played 7 games for the 98/99 Cup winning Dallas Stars, not enough action to get his name on the trophy.  He retired after playing only 5 games in his last NHL season for the 05/06 Anaheim Mighty Ducks.  Popovic played most of his 500+ NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens.  Nikolishin grew up without a father, a victim of Stalin's Great Purge in the Soviet Union.  Nikolishin later went on top win an Olympic Bronze medal with the 2002 Russian hockey team.  

Michal Sykora and James Black

Sykora travelled around North America and Europe for 15 years and retired with 267 regular season NHL games.  Black dressed for 352 games between the Whalers, North Stars, Dallas Stars, Sabres, Blackhawks and Capitals.