Bill Meltzer: Quick Hits: Niskanen, Hartnell, Fletcher, Fantasy Tourney and Much More

Wow! Those are some tough teams. I really like Quebec, Sweden and USA.

I would replace Yushkevich with Markov. I understand he barely played for us, but what a playoff he had.

I would replace Yushkevich with Markov. I understand he barely played for us, but what a playoff he had.
- PT21

Would still take Dima..... and I liked Markov, too.

Poor Coots

Poor Coots
- KINGKENZO

Yup... Team Maritimes is mighty thin, even if you made an exception to the rules and allowed the 40-goal, 90-point version (Minnesota North Stars) version of Al MacAdam rather than the pro rookie Flyers version.

I'm taking Team Quebec. Solid top-to-bottom.

I'm taking Team Quebec. Solid top-to-bottom.
- Merchant

That seems to be the consensus. I would go with Team Ontario and hope the goaltending held up.

I find team Quebec a little small and soft. Giroux and Briere are undersized. A rap on Gagne was that he played soft. Desjardin was solid but not the guy who muscled you off the puck or pinned you on the boards. Only the Moose stands out on that end.

I go with Ontario. Three HOFers and a perpetual all star and a Jennings winner in a high scoring era!

Can folks finally admit that the Hartnell trade was bad? Seeing him on the hype video reminds me of how much awesome he oozed.

I find team Quebec a little small and soft. Giroux and Briere are undersized. A rap on Gagne was that he played soft. Desjardin was solid but not the guy who muscled you off the puck or pinned you on the boards. Only the Moose stands out on that end.

I go with Ontario. Three HOFers and a perpetual all star and a Jennings winner in a high scoring era!
- PT21

Don't sleep on Team Manitoba, either. Clarke won the Hart Trophy in his represented season, Leach scored 60 goals, Hextall won the Vezina and Conn Smythe. There's a drop-off in the rest of the roster, but it'd give the consensus favorite Quebec team a real tough game and might beat them.

Can folks finally admit that the Hartnell trade was bad? Seeing him on the hype video reminds me of how much awesome he oozed.
- coffee junkie

Love the guy, and every team needs guys like him, but he fell off a cliff and got bought out. He's still getting paid thru 2021, btw. I wouldn't want that dead space on the Flyers right now.

I find team Quebec a little small and soft. Giroux and Briere are undersized. A rap on Gagne was that he played soft. Desjardin was solid but not the guy who muscled you off the puck or pinned you on the boards. Only the Moose stands out on that end.

I go with Ontario. Three HOFers and a perpetual all star and a Jennings winner in a high scoring era!
- PT21

Gagne soft? He was an underrated competitor, IMO. Ditto Desjardins.

Gagne soft? He was an underrated competitor, IMO. Ditto Desjardins.
- Tomahawk

Yeah, early part of his career, before Forsberg took him to the next level, I seem to recall there was that rap on him. Wouldn't go the corners, shied away from hits etc.

Love the guy, and every team needs guys like him, but he fell off a cliff and got bought out. He's still getting paid thru 2021, btw. I wouldn't want that dead space on the Flyers right now.
- Tomahawk

He still had two 20-goal seasons left in him, whereas Umberger was done. The cap hits were very close. There were two more years of term left on Hartnell's deal than Umberger, which was the lone benefit.

As a hockey deal, it didn't work out. As a two-year cap saver, it was negligible. Neither Hexy nor Chief were big fans of Hartnell, and that was the main reason he was the first guy that Hexy moved out as GM.

I like Ontario, but Quebec, USA or Sweden are all in the running.

I find team Quebec a little small and soft. Giroux and Briere are undersized. A rap on Gagne was that he played soft. Desjardin was solid but not the guy who muscled you off the puck or pinned you on the boards. Only the Moose stands out on that end.

I go with Ontario. Three HOFers and a perpetual all star and a Jennings winner in a high scoring era!
- PT21

I've been a Flyers fan all my life. I've never heard of Gagne criticized for being soft from any legitimate source. No idea where you're getting that from. Desjardin was one of the best defenseman in the entire NHL in his heyday as a Flyer.

I've been a Flyers fan all my life. I've never heard of Gagne criticized for being soft from any legitimate source. No idea where you're getting that from. Desjardin was one of the best defenseman in the entire NHL in his heyday as a Flyer.
- MJL

Agree completely. And I pretty much saw every game they ever played for the Flyers.

I've been a Flyers fan all my life. I've never heard of Gagne criticized for being soft from any legitimate source. No idea where you're getting that from. Desjardin was one of the best defenseman in the entire NHL in his heyday as a Flyer.
- MJL

Neither Gagne and even more so Desjardins was remotely soft. The very idea is ridiculous.

Neither Gagne and even more so Desjardins was remotely soft. The very idea is ridiculous.
- BiggE

Early in his career, Gagne was called soft by some misguided fans... and Ken Hitchcock questioned his mental toughness one year (before finding out that Gagne wasn't faking what turned out to be a sports hernia).

Gagne was NOT soft.

Early in his career, Gagne was called soft by some misguided fans... and Ken Hitchcock questioned his mental toughness one year (before finding out that Gagne wasn't faking what turned out to be a sports hernia).

Gagne was NOT soft.
- bmeltzer

Absolutely. And in regards to Rico, while playing for Montreal he got into a scrape with Lindros and didn’t back down. That’s about as far from soft as you can get.

That seems to be the consensus. I would go with Team Ontario and hope the goaltending held up.
- bmeltzer

I dont think any of the Providence teams will be able to handle Lindros and Kerr down low and infront. Add Barber to the mix and its lights out

I’ll take team Czech. Bad as Roman is remembered he had one heck of a year for us

I've been a Flyers fan all my life. I've never heard of Gagne criticized for being soft from any legitimate source. No idea where you're getting that from. Desjardin was one of the best defenseman in the entire NHL in his heyday as a Flyer.
- MJL

One of the Best Dman in the entire NHL in his heyday? That was quite a crew around that time.

Lets take a look at who was around most of that time during his Flyers stint:

Lidstrom, Leetch, Pronger and MacInnis, Borque, Coffey, Chelios, The Devils guys (Stevens, Daneyko, Niedermayer), Blake, Foote (their Colorado years), Hatcher.

I am probably forgetting some names. He was never one of the top 3 Norris vote-getters.

Don't get me wrong. He was surely top 15. But I don't think he was ever top 5 in any given year.

Was he top 10? I suspect it would be subjective.

Early in his career, Gagne was called soft by some misguided fans... and Ken Hitchcock questioned his mental toughness one year (before finding out that Gagne wasn't faking what turned out to be a sports hernia).

Gagne was NOT soft.
- bmeltzer

Thanks Bill.

There was one more incident I recall that I was unable to verify. Early on in his career, Gagne had a shoulder injury, and then reinjured it. Either the first one or the second re-injury was a lengthy absence for him.

After he returned - he was EXTREMELY reluctant to go to the corners. I remember going to a couple of games where he was booed by fans for his play. And unless I am very mistaken, Bill Barber, during the mutiny year, called him out, either directly or indirectly.

Am I misremembering? I could not corroborate via Goodle.