Doug Gilmour was the star of one of the most successful Toronto Maple Leafs franchises of the past 50 years, coming oh-so-close to reaching the 1993 Stanley Cup Final. Nearly 25 years later, I caught up with Gilmour to talk about his memories of the 1992-93 Maple Leafs:

Thanks for doing this, Doug. Does it feel like it has already been nearly 25 years since that crazy season?

No. To look back at that whole season, I've spoken about this a lot ... it was quite a year. It was a lot of fun.

Let's start with head coach Pat Burns, who joined the Leafs in May 1992. There's a great story about you and Pat hanging out at Filmores, a famed Toronto strip club. Could you take me through that encounter?

When Pat came in, he wanted to meet me, so we just met at Maple Leaf Gardens and then we got into a cab. We were just going to go out for a couple of beers, and that's where we went. We were in there for about 35-40 minutes until we got recognized, and then we got out of there.

What did he say to you?

His message to me was, "I need you to be the hardest worker in practice, and it will carry over into games. And when the other guys watch you compete in practice, then it's going to go a long way."

He was intimidating, right? But I don't think I had too many coaches who ever brought me in for a beer. It was great to get to know him. I've had some tough coaches before, but this would be the toughest coach I had yet. So it was a good challenge.

Pat was blunt with the media. He said prior to the season: "We're not a good team." Did you agree with him at the time?

That was Pat deflecting. Just let everyone think you're average and then you go out and prove everybody wrong.

We were starting at the bottom; when I came in the year before, we had a pretty good run at the end of it but we didn't make the playoffs. Now everybody's starting at training camp together. You have a new coach, a new coaching staff. Pat set the ground rules right away for everybody. It wasn't just me, it was everybody. Whatever their role was, there were expectations. It was pretty much, "Don't let me down."

So the Leafs get off to a decent start in 1992-93, but hit a wall in late November and slide below .500. Did you think the team was better than what the results suggested?

I think so. There's a lot of games during the year that you win that you shouldn't have won, and a lot of games you lose that you should have won. Pat was more about that. He felt we were playing well, but weren't being rewarded. You think he's going to be hard on you when you're losing, but it was the opposite. He's hard on you when you win. We all understood that.

When you're going through a process like that, you have to have team functions. And he was the first one to say, "Go out, all of you. Get drunk. Go have a good time. You're not playing tomorrow. Be a team." We had good leadership there, too. (Mike) Foligno was a big part of the team. He really kept everybody kind of grounded and very positive.

Did you feel personally that there was something missing from that version of the team that you would need to push you over the top?

You don't look at that as a player. You know at some point in time that the front office is going to fix something, they're going to make changes. We knew that. We just didn't know what those changes were.

And then it happens - the front office adds goaltender Daren Puppa and winger Dave Andreychuk from Buffalo.

That made a big difference on my end. I got a bona fide goal-scorer that's going to tip everything that's in front of the net - big body, can't move him. And then there was the emergence of (goaltender Felix Potvin), as well.

That obviously made it easier to trade Grant Fuhr to the Sabres.

That was the biggest thing. (Felix) is just a calm guy. He's no Ed Belfour. Some goalies are loud, some goalies are quiet. Every day he came to practice and stopped the puck. It was pretty cool to watch.

There were some great center-wing combos in the 1990s, and you and Dave were among the best. What was it about your respective skill sets that made you such a great pairing?

He was just such a big body. And 90 percent of his shots hit the net. If it bounced back to him, rebound, he'd score. He wasn't picking the corners. You just had to get the puck into his wheelhouse. If he'd get into that area, he'd try to score. It was a lot of fun to play with Dave. We had a good connection.

You finished on a 20-9-3 run to reach the postseason. Obviously Dave's scoring helped, but what else clicked for you guys down the stretch?

Don't forget, when you're with a team for a little bit ... just to see the change, and then you start winning, the excitement gets in there. Now (Wendel Clark is) winning. Now some of the other guys that have been there for a bit are winning. Everybody was on the same page and we kept believing in each other. That was one of (Pat's) favorite teams. It was a lot of fun.

Part II will be posted Friday.

Other entries in the series:

• The trade that changed the NHL forever
• Pat LaFontaine piles up the points
• Pat LaFontaine recalls his greatest NHL season
• A Wales of an All-Star rout
• Manon Rheaume suits up for the Tampa Bay Lightning
• Mario Lemieux's most magnificent season
• The Toronto Maple Leafs' roller-coaster season
• Teemu Selanne's sensational rookie season (July 27)
• Sad-sack San Jose Sharks set NHL futility record (July 27)
• The Leafs' season as remembered by Doug Gilmour - Part II (July 27)
• Rocket scientist Juneau was no ordinary Joe (July 28)
• 20 other cool things that happened that season (July 28)
• An oral history of the Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens (July 28)

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

For the second straight year, the top U.S. college hockey player will test the NHL's free-agent market.

Will Butcher has decided to become an unrestricted free agent Aug. 15, his agent, Brian Bartlett, told BSN Denver's Adrian Dater.

The 22-year-old defenseman, who won the 2017 Hobey Baker Award in April, was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in 2013. While they couldn't agree on a deal, Bartlett isn't completely slamming the door on his client signing with the club.

"We informed the Avalanche of that decision," the agent said. "We appreciate what Colorado has done, and we're not ruling out the Avalanche as a potential destination. But we just feel there will be other opportunities that should be explored too, and therefore we're going (to the 15th)."

Butcher helped lead the University of Denver to its eighth national championship in April while collecting 37 points in 43 games.

He reportedly turned down an Avalanche offer of a two-year deal this spring.

Last summer, the Buffalo Sabres acquired 2016 Hobey Baker winner Jimmy Vesey's negotiating rights in a trade with the Nashville Predators, but the dynamic forward chose to become a UFA and signed with the New York Rangers on Aug. 19.

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The New York Rangers made the biggest splash of the day when free agency opened on July 1, in a move that's still resonating with captain Ryan McDonagh.

Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk joined the Rangers on a four-year, $26.6-million contract, carrying a cap hit of $6.65 million.

"I think everybody was pretty excited when we heard the news (he was joining the Rangers), and we're looking forward to seeing him at camp and having him contribute to the success of this team," said McDonagh, according to Jessi Pierce of NHL.com.

While his defensive play has been questioned in the past, Shattenkirk's specialty is well known to his new teammates.

"I think everybody knows how strong he is on the power play," said Brady Skjei.

Shattenkirk is one of the NHL's best when it comes to power-play production, totaling 146 power-play points in 490 regular-season games. He'll help a Rangers special teams unit which scored just three times in 39 opportunities in the 2017 playoffs.

McDonagh isn't typecasting his new teammate.

"His skill set, his experience and just his all-around ability as a player is a huge asset to any team he's on ... He plays the puck well whether you are down a man, up a man or even strength. He's a guy you can count on to excel whatever unit you have him on," said the captain.

With Shattenkirk expected to join McDonagh on the Rangers' top defensive pairing, it'll be an overdue reunion according to the incumbent leader of the defense corps.

"Being able to play with him in past tournaments and teams, I know the type of guy he is and he's going to fit right in with our room perfectly. We were drafted the same year (2007) and we've been in the league together the same amount of years, so I'm just excited to have this chance to play together," said McDonagh.

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James Bisson celebrates the 25th anniversary of the 1992-93 season with a look back at the most memorable moments of the greatest campaign in NHL history. This edition focuses on the Toronto Maple Leafs, who gave fans one of the most entertaining - and ultimately heartbreaking - seasons on record:

Ask a Maple Leafs fan of a certain vintage what he or she remembers most from the 1992-93 season, and you probably won't hear about Doug Gilmour's career-best campaign or Dave Andreychuk's late-season goal binge. Nikolai Borschevsky's franchise-altering playoff goal? Pat Burns' Jack Adams Award-winning coaching performance? Those likely won't spring to mind, either.

No, if you ask that question of a die-hard Leafs fan, you should expect to hear all about Wayne Gretzky, Kerry Fraser, and the blown high-stick call that cost the Maple Leafs a dream Stanley Cup encounter with the Montreal Canadiens.

Yet, to boil the entire 105-game campaign down to that one moment does a great disservice to a Maple Leafs team that arguably remains one of the franchise's best in the last 50 years. And while the Game 6 non-call remains a bitter memory to most fans, the Los Angeles Kings still needed what Wayne Gretzky called "the best game of my career" to finish Toronto off.

While fans couldn't have imagined that their team would reach the Stanley Cup final following a dismal 67-point showing the season before, there was reason for optimism.

Gilmour, who had joined Toronto the season before in a blockbuster deal with Calgary, recorded 49 points in 40 games with the Maple Leafs and looked ready to take a major step forward. Burns was brought in to replace Tom Watt, and instantly brought respectability to the Toronto dressing room after a successful four-year stint with the Canadiens.

Yet, despite improving both on the ice and behind the bench, Toronto languished for the first half of the season, sitting at 16-17-7 following a 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 6, 1993. Less than a month later, Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher pulled the trigger on an other major deal - acquiring Andreychuk, goaltender Daren Puppa, and a 1993 first-round pick from Buffalo in a trade that sent netminder Grant Fuhr to the Sabres.

The trade invigorated the Leafs. Andreychuk scored 25 goals in 31 regular-season games with his new team, while Gilmour racked up 53 points over that same span en route to a 127-point campaign, setting franchise records in assists (95) and points while finishing tied for seventh in league scoring with Sabres superstar Alexander Mogilny.

Most significantly, Toronto caught fire the rest of the way, going on a 20-9-3 run to establish a then-franchise record for victories (44) and points (99). While the offense came to life after Andreychuk arrived, the defense was the real catalyst for the team's dramatic turnaround, as the Maple Leafs allowed the second-fewest goals in the league.

Toronto drew a tough first-round matchup with the rival Detroit Red Wings, who finished four points ahead of the Maple Leafs in the competitive Norris Division. The home team won each of the first four games of the series, but Toronto pulled ahead on Mike Foligno's goal 2:05 into overtime in Game 5. Detroit responded with a 7-3 rout in Toronto two nights later.

The Red Wings led 3-2 late in Game 7, but Gilmour converted with 2:43 remaining in regulation to force OT. And in extra time, Borschevsky scored one of the most memorable goals in franchise history:

The Maple Leafs endured a similarly exhausting series with the St. Louis Blues, who had knocked off the division-leading Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round behind the goaltending of Curtis Joseph. Gilmour's now-famous swerve-wraparound goal in double-OT lifted Toronto to a Game 1 win, but the Blues responded with wins in Games 2 and 3.

Toronto posted convincing 4-1 and 5-1 victories in Games 4 and 5 to take a series stranglehold, but Joseph was at it again in Game 6, turning aside 40 of 41 shots in a 2-1 triumph that sent the series to a seventh and deciding game. And it was then that Joseph's magic finally ran out, as the Leafs shelled him for four first-period goals en route to a series-clinching 6-0 rout.

With a trip to the Stanley Cup final on the line, tensions were understandably high, as the Leafs and Kings kicked things off in Toronto. And while the Maple Leafs emerged as 4-1 victors, the game was remembered for something else - specifically, Kings defenseman Marty McSorley doing this to Gilmour:

The ensuing melee resulted in 57 minutes in penalties, countless cups of liquid tossed onto the Maple Leaf Gardens ice, and the two head coaches nearly coming to blows (leading to a hilarious postgame rant in which hockey personality Don Cherry refers to Melrose as "Billy Ray Cyprus," a not-quite-accurate shot at Melrose's Hall of Fame hockey mullet.)

The Kings earned a split in Toronto with a 3-2 victory in Game 2 on Tomas Sandstrom's goal with 7:40 remaining. Los Angeles pulled ahead with a 4-2 home win in Game 3, while the Leafs responded with a 4-2 triumph in Game 4. That set the stage for a thrilling Game 5, in which Toronto's Glenn Anderson scored 19:20 into OT to put the Leafs within one game of their first Stanley Cup appearance in 26 years.

Things looked good in the early going for the Leafs, who went ahead just 58 seconds into the game on an Anderson goal and jumped back in front nearly four minutes into the second frame after Tony Granato had evened the score just past the midway point of the first. But three straight Toronto penalties - two by Foligno - led to three Kings goals and a 4-2 L.A. lead after two.

Yet, just when it looked like a seventh game was inevitable, Wendel Clark took over. His second goal of the game with 8:52 left in regulation made it a one-goal affair, and he stunned the Great Western Forum crowd with just 1:21 left, converting a Gilmour feed to complete the hat trick. Neither team scored over the final 81 seconds, resulting in a second straight overtime game.

Then, in the early moments of extra time, this happens (or, in the eyes of Kerry Fraser, doesn't happen):

Gilmour went down immediately after taking Gretzky's stick to the chin - but none of the officials witnessed the infraction, as Fraser explains in his captivating recount of the incident for the Players' Tribune in 2016:

I’m starting to think, Did I miss this? I skated to my linesmen and said, “Guys, help me out.” Rob Finn had the balls of an elephant. He said, “Kerry, I didn’t see it. I was looking through their backs.” Kevin Collins, who had conducted the end zone face-off said, “Well … I dunno.” I had to make a decision. In referee school, they hammer it into you: Call what you see. Don’t guess. The honest to God truth is, I didn’t see it. I had to eat it. I said, “No penalty.”

The non-call would change everything. Gretzky scored the overtime winner a short time later, sending the series back to Toronto for a seventh game. Despite the Maple Leafs' best efforts, Gretzky would not be denied his first Stanley Cup appearance in a Los Angeles uniform, recording a hat trick to send the Kings to a 5-4 win and a berth in the championship round.

It was a gut-punch finish to what remains one of the most entertaining seasons in Toronto sports history. The Leafs would reach the conference final twice more over the next 25 years, but failed to advance to the Stanley Cup on both occasions. And while the future in Toronto is bright at the moment, fans of that 1992-93 team will always wonder what might have been.

Other entries in the series:

• The trade that changed the NHL forever
• Pat LaFontaine piles up the points
• Pat LaFontaine recalls his greatest NHL season
• A Wales of an All-Star rout
• Manon Rheaume suits up for the Tampa Bay Lightning
• Chris Kontos recalls his historic night in Lightning opener
• Mario Lemieux's most magnificent season
• The Leafs' season as remembered by Doug Gilmour - Part I (July 26)
• Teemu Selanne's sensational rookie season (July 27)
• Sad-sack San Jose Sharks set NHL futility record (July 27)
• The Leafs' season as remembered by Doug Gilmour - Part II (July 27)
• Rocket scientist Juneau was no ordinary Joe (July 28)
• 20 other cool things that happened that season (July 28)
• An oral history of the Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens (July 28)

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

For the Washington Capitals to shed the title of playoff chokers, the change must come from within.

General manager Brian MacLellan expects it will.

Veteran forward Devante Smith-Pelly was the lone player brought in this offseason on a one-year, $650,000 contract. Forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie, and defenseman Dmitry Orlov were all re-signed to long-term contracts worth more than $5 million annually.

Despite the team's efforts and willingness to spend this summer, the Capitals still suffered significant losses, which could challenge their ability to compete for a third consecutive Presidents' Trophy, let alone make it out of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 1997-98.

Forward Justin Williams left to return to the Carolina Hurricanes. Forward Marcus Johansson was traded to the New Jersey Devils for draft picks after Kuznetsov's extension put the team in a cap crunch. And defenseman Nate Schmidt was the Capitals' casualty to the Vegas Golden Knights' expansion draft.

It's this last loss which has some expecting the worst for the Capitals and leaves the team with just five defensemen signed to one-way contracts.

MacLellan isn't nearly as worried as those outside the organization.

"We like Schmidt. But it's not as huge a deal as people are making it out to be," he said, according to Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post.

MacLellan points to the Capitals' crop of young defensemen he believes are ready - or very close to ready - to making a significant impact at the NHL level, a group he calls "an organizational strength."

The Caps selected 6-foot-1, 175-pound defenseman Lucas Johansen 28th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft.

“I really like Johansen, and whether it’s now or six months from now or a year from now, I think he’s going to be a factor,” MacLellan said.

The success of the Capitals' seventh-round selection in the 2012 draft could afford the team the luxury of being patient with Johansen, who won't turn 20 years old until November.

Christian Djoos excelled in his sophomore season in the AHL, scoring 13 goals and adding 45 assists in 66 regular-season games. He ranked third on the team in points and posted eight points in 12 playoff games.

"I guess the knock on him is size (6-foot, 162 pounds), but I don’t think Schmidt (6-foot-1, 194 pounds) is a big guy,” said MacLellan.

The options don't end there. Defensemen Madison Bowey and Jonas Siegenthaler were second-round selections in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Tyler Lewington was a seventh-round pick in 2013 and spent the past two seasons in the AHL.

Up to three of these players - or a yet-to-be-found outside option - will join the returning group of Orlov, Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, John Carlson, and Taylor Chorney.

While replacing Schmidt may not be "a huge deal," the winners of a NHL roster spot will also be charged with helping to change the growing rhetoric of playoff failure clinging to the team's retained core.

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The Boston Bruins have avoided arbitration and agreed to a new contract with Ryan Spooner worth $2.825 million, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

It's a one-year deal, according to CSNNE's DJ Bean.

Spooner and the Bruins were apparently nearly $2 million apart in talks as of Monday, with the forward seeking $3.85 million and the club offering $2 million, as Friedman previously reported.

The 25-year-old center notched 11 goals and 39 points in 78 regular-season games for the Bruins last season, adding a pair of assists in four playoff contests.

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James Bisson celebrates the 25th anniversary of the 1992-93 season with a look back at the most memorable moments of the greatest campaign in NHL history. This edition focuses on Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux, who stunned the hockey world in more ways than one:

Mario Lemieux did it all during his NHL career.

The towering center won three Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player, six Art Ross awards as the NHL's top scorer, and a pair of Stanley Cup titles in the early 1990s. Just how good was Super Mario? He was immediately inducted into the Hall of Fame upon his initial retirement in 1997 - then came back and played parts of five seasons at an elite level.

Yet, despite years of dominance on par with Wayne Gretzky himself, one Lemiuex season stands out above the rest - not only because of what he accomplished on the ice, but also because of what he endured off it. Imagine a player in today's NHL scoring 160 points in just 60 games - and then imagine that player doing so despite missing nearly two months due to cancer treatments.

Prior to the shocking announcement that Lemieux would be stepping away from the Penguins to treat early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma, the 27-year-old was on pace to become just the second player in NHL history to record 200 points in a season. He opened the year with 12 consecutive multi-point games, and finished October with 36 points in just 11 contests.

His torrid scoring pace tailed off somewhat in November - though 29 points in 15 games can hardly be considered a swoon - but Lemieux ratcheted things back up in December, recording eight goals and 28 (!) assists in 12 games to go into the new year with 101 points in 38 games - on track to challenge Gretzky's incredible record of 215 points in a single season.

But just as Lemieux steamrolled his way past the 100-point plateau, he noticed a lump in his neck. Having studied cancer years earlier when his agent's sister-in-law died of the disease, Lemieux knew he had to get it checked out. And when he did, he was floored - a doctor confirmed he was dealing with early stages of Hodgkin lymphoma.

Lemieux began radiation treatment later that month, fully expecting to not only beat the disease, but to return to action later in the season. Doctors were equally optimistic, suggesting Lemieux would be back following his three-to-four-week radiation treatment schedule.

Still, fans and teammates wondered how it would all play out. Would Super Mario be back that season? How long would it take him to rediscover his elite form? Could he lift the Penguins back atop the NHL standings and make a run at a third consecutive Stanley Cup title?

Lemieux answered most of those questions on March 2, in his triumphant return to the Penguins in a game against the state-rival Philadelphia Flyers. He looked like he'd never left, scoring a goal and adding an assist despite undergoing his final radiation treatment earlier that day.

Yet, as great as it was to be back, Le Magnifique had work to do. He trailed Buffalo Sabres star Pat LaFontaine by 12 points in the scoring race - and with Pittsburgh going just 11-10-2 in his absence, the Penguins needed a big finish from Lemieux to land the top spot in the conference.

To no one's surprise, Lemieux obliged.

After being held without a point in a March 5 loss to the New York Rangers, he proceeded to rack up 46 (!!) over his next 15 games, scoring 22 goals and adding 24 assists. The highlight: Lemieux scored eight goals in a two-game span on March 18 and 20, prompting linemate Kevin Stevens to tell the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dave Molinari:

(LaFontaine) is probably a little bit nervous right now. If he can hang onto this lead, it’s a credit to him, but I’ve still got my money on Mario to beat him. And I think he will.

The Penguins won every one of those 15 games to move within one of equaling the league-record winning streak. And with the Rangers on tap again, Lemieux put together a game to remember:

Though he didn't have a point in the rematch with New York the following night, the Penguins still prevailed for their record-setting 17th straight victory. Lemieux added two goals and an assist in the regular-season finale - a 6-6 tie with the New Jersey Devils - to wind up with 69 goals, 91 assists, and a 12-point edge over LaFontaine to win the scoring title.

Yet, despite leading the Penguins to the top record in the NHL, a third straight Stanley Cup championship - which would have been a hell of a capper to the season - was not in the cards. Pittsburgh cruised past the Devils in five games in the opening round, but squandered a 3-2 series lead to the New York Islanders and lost a 4-3 stunner in Game 7 on David Volek's goal 5:16 into overtime.

Still, there was no debating which player was the league's best that season. In addition to capturing his fourth scoring title, Lemieux won his second Hart Trophy while earning the Lester B. Pearson Award for MVP as voted on by the players. He also won the Bill Masterton Trophy, given to the player who "best demonstrates the qualities of perseverance and sportsmanship."

It was a fitting end to an incredible season for Lemieux, who showed the kind of perseverance that made his 1992-93 performance one for the ages.

Other entries in the series:

• The trade that changed the NHL forever
• Pat LaFontaine piles up the points
• Pat LaFontaine recalls his greatest NHL season
• A Wales of an All-Star rout
• Manon Rheaume suits up for the Tampa Bay Lightning
• Chris Kontos recalls his historic night in Lightning opener
• The Toronto Maple Leafs' roller-coaster season (July 26)
• The Leafs' season as remembered by Doug Gilmour - Part I (July 26)
• Teemu Selanne's sensational rookie season (July 27)
• Sad-sack San Jose Sharks set NHL futility record (July 27)
• The Leafs' season as remembered by Doug Gilmour - Part II (July 27)
• Rocket scientist Juneau was no ordinary Joe (July 28)
• 20 other cool things that happened that season (July 28)
• An oral history of the Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens (July 28)

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Team Canada general manager Sean Burke and his staff will have their ears to the ground for the rest of the NHL offseason.

Burke was named general manager of Canada's hockey team at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and will now be tasked with assembling a roster devoid of any NHL players.

Related: Klein, Raymond, Scrivens headline Canada's pre-Olympic tournament rosters

It presents a difficult task for Burke and Co. and with a smaller crop of players to choose from, Burke insists he would consider veteran forwards Jarome Iginla and Shane Doan if both go unsigned by NHL clubs.

"I don't think you would ever have to sell them," Burke told TSN 1050 radio on Tuesday. "I know that those are two players that have served their country in hockey a number of times and both have been impactful players for Team Canada and have enjoyed those experiences.

"Obviously both near the end of their NHL careers and not sure where their minds are as far as how much they think they have left to play in the NHL. But those are guys we will definitely consider, guys that we'll definitely think a lot about and we'll wait to see how those situations play out."

Both Iginla and Doan have Olympic experience and for the time being remain unrestricted free agents as they appear to be deciding on their playing careers, with retirement a realistic possibility.

As for the rest of the roster, Burke insists "most" of the team will likely be made up of players from the KHL.

"Most of our players will be guys that come from Europe, playing in the KHL," Burke said. "I guess if you are looking at it in at a rating system, it is probably the second best league in the world next to the NHL. A lot of our players are guys that were high draft picks guys that ended up playing in Europe for various reasons, but are excellent hockey players playing very well in other leagues.

"We'll maybe have an opportunity for the odd AHL guy who is maybe the higher-end guy on a AHL contract. We're not sure if that will present itself or not. There might be a guy in college, one guy in college somewhere who is a free agent college player, a guy that is a very good college player. You see these guys come out of U.S. colleges and sign and have an impact in the NHL right away, we might find a guy like that."

Canada will take part in five pre-Olympic tournament games to evaluate players. Time will tell if the roster includes at least two former Olympians.

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