When training camp began, the other half of the general staff, Head Coach Al Arbour, convened with Torrey in a Ways and Means Committee.
It was a double-dip challenge: 1. Find a way to rejuvenate the lineup. 2. Find the means to the best possible trading partners.
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
The Tumultuous 1990-91 Season
Brent Sutter: Anonymous Star
Patrick Flatley: Chairman of the Boards
Maven's Haven
"After Trots (Bryan Trottier) left," said Torrey, "we only had one player left with a Stanley Cup ring."
That was captain Brent Sutter who already was sounding as if he'd like to wear a "C" for another team. (And if he couldn't get a "C," he'd still like to leave.)
Thus, a Torrey-Arbour "Gotta Go" list was compiled.
1. BRENT SUTTER: A major factor in helping win two Stanley Cups, "Pup" simply needed a change of scenery. The Captain knew it, the G.M. knew it, as did the coach. There still was good mileage left on Brent's wheels and, after all, he was a Sutter! That fact alone had Torrey's phone jangling off its hook.
2. PAT LAFONTAINE: Ever since his training camp walk-out a year earlier -- not to mention his dispute with owner John Pickett -- the future Hall of Famer became the best bit of training bait Torrey could offer eager takers. When LaFontaine rejected a four-year, $6 million Isles contract, stayed away from camp and demanded a trade, the deal was sealed. It all depended on which airline would fly Patty to which city.
3. ANYONE ELSE: If Bow Tie Bill could make still more moves, he was ready, willing and maybe -- depended on the players involved -- able.
Still, the 1991-92 season began without Torrey making any headlines. As for his team, well, nobody could beef about a curtain-raising 5-4 win in Boston.
The victory moved philosopher-king-goalie Glenn Healy to wax rhapsodic about his teammates. "Our intangible," Heals proclaimed, "will be heart."