Maven's Memories: The Big Bang of 1991

Give Bill Torrey credit.
Bow Tie Bill took the blame for his club's less-than-five-star performance during the opening season of the new decade but he didn't sit around twiddling his thumbs.
Not only the general manager's thumbs, but his eyes, ears and nose for a deal were dialed to "High." Torrey held the right cards and wore a good poker face.

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."

By the fifth game of the campaign, still no trades were made but forward Derek King made headlines by scoring a three-goal hat trick in only 78 seconds, fastest in team history.
One problem. The Isles lost 7-6 to the Penguins but the defeat was forgotten faster than you can say, "Blockbuster!" The date -- October 25, 1991 -- is one that to this day has indelibly been inscribed in team history.
As we all know, there are trades and then there are TRADES. But when a club deals its leading scorer to one club and its captain to another, on the same day, you could feel the earth shaking under Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum.
The details follow:
TO BUFFALO: Pat LaFontaine, Randy Wood and Randy Hillier.
FROM BUFFALO: Pierre Turgeon, Benoit Hogue, Uwe Krupp and Dave McLlwain.
ANALYSIS: Patty once was a hero, but the day he began feuding with ownership his days in Nassau were numbered. Wood played a hard, gritty game and was a honest blocker. Hillier helped complete the deal.
Turgeon was a better replacement for LaFontaine. Ditto for Hogue over Wood. Krupp was huge on the blue line in more ways than his gargantuan size while McLlwain added depth on the third and fourth lines.
TO CHICAGO: Brent Sutter and Brad Lauer.
FROM CHICAGO: Steve Thomas and Adam Creighton.
ANALYSIS: Sutter was a reasonable facsimile of LaFontaine; the differences being that Brent not only was captain but owned a pair of Stanley Cup rings. The similarity, of course, was that both sought greener pastures; or, ice, as the case happened to be. Which meant that -- in a managerial sense -- Torrey was getting somethings for nothing!

Steve Thomas was no Sutter but he was and continued to be a clutch scorer and an indefatigable hustler-hitter. The deal proved a good all around one-for-one. Creighton was a taller version of Lauer; a gifted prospect who never fulfilled his potential.
Whatever the Sabres and Blackhawks high command had hoped for, this much is certain, Torrey pulled off another NHL coup d'etat.
"What we got," asserted Bow Tie Bill, "were players that are bigger, younger, aggressive and feisty."
At 6-6, Krupp towered over his teammates. The German-born blue-liner was equally adept at offense and defense. As a dressing room personality, Uwe was well liked and not because he liked dog-sled racing!
Hogue proved a catch; and if you didn't believe it, you just had to ask him. The moment Benny donned an Islanders jersey, Arbour told him to study tapes of Montreal Canadiens captain and perennial Selke candidate Guy Carbonneau.
"Nah," Hogue shot back, "I can be a lot better than that guy."
We all know that hockey is a business but it often is one where emotion trumps reality. Of all the players involved in the deal who brought tears to ones eyes, it was Sutter.
Both Brent and his older brother Duane -- alias "Dog" -- bled Islanders blue and delivered for the Dynasty. While packing his bags for the trip to Chicago, Brent wept before his Uniondale locker.
"I have a lot of memories," he said. "I love this place."
His coach -- now his former -- coach underlined the point. Tears welled in Radar's eyes as he bade Brent farewell. "Brent is like one of my sons," Al allowed.

Arbour and Torrey agreed that Patrick Flatley would be the best choice to succeed Brent as captain -- and Sutter agreed.
"Patrick," Sutter insisted before leaving, "is one of the most underrated players in the National Hockey League."
Flatley: "The best way to be a good captain is to perform on the ice."
Ditto for his team. Following the colossal shake-up the best way to prove that Bow Tie Bill did right by his team was for Radar's club to win hockey games.
But would they?
Stay tuned.
LISTS: FOUR REASONS WHY TORREY HAD TO MAKE TRADES.
1. CHANGE FOR CHANGE'S SAKE:The dynastic roster had been erased. It was time to sell the fan base on refreshing faces.
2. OWNERSHIP IN FLUX:Sooner or later, owner John Pickett was going to sell the team; he made that clear. New, competent faces would bolster his sale price.
3. DISSIDENT LEADERS:Both ace centers Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter had indicated that wanted to become ex-Islanders and Torrey was ready to oblige them.
4. ARBOUR'S WISHES:Bow Tie Bill never would make major moves without the ascent of his partner, Al Arbour. Since Radar seconded the motion, Torrey had no compunctions about unloading Sutter nor LaFontaine.