From the NHL

BRUINS’ BERGERON GETTING OLD FORM BACK
Steve Conroy writes in the BOSTON HERALD, “Patrice Bergeron seemed to recognize the play developing before anyone else. The opposition thwarted the attack and were heading up ice when Bergeron picked off a pass at the blue line. He moved back on the attack, dipping his right shoulder to fake the wrister and drop the goalie to the ice, went to the backhander, and, before the goalie could recover, quickly went back to the forehand to tuck the puck home. The pretty move was not met by the thunderous applause that such a maneuver would normally elicit, but rather just a simple regrouping of the players at center ice for the next faceoff. For Bergeron was not skating at TD Banknorth Garden for the Bruins, but at Arena 2 Glaces in this suburb just outside his native Quebec City. But while there was neither hoopla nor hitting involved in the scrimmage…there is no such thing as a meaningless or even routine skate for Bergeron.”

OILERS RESTRUCTURE FOR THE FUTURE
Joanne Ireland writes in the EDMONTON JOURNAL, “With four teams operating in four leagues, the Edmonton Oilers management team was stretched to the point where it only made sense to add depth. New owner Daryl Katz offered no argument – and Steve Tambellini offered no resistance. After 17 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, he will succeed Kevin Lowe as general manager of the Oilers. Lowe becomes the president of hockey operations while Kevin Prendergast has been named assistant general manager…It is not a coincidence that the new management team now bears a striking resemblance to the structure employed by the Detroit Red Wings.”

A WILD MONTH IN TAMPA BAY FOR LAWTON
Michael Russo writes in the MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE, “Brian Lawton thought he was prepared for anything. After 14 years of being a player agent sparring with general managers over dollars and cents, the first overall pick of the 1983 NHL draft by the North Stars gave it all up to pursue his dream of crossing the aisle and becoming an NHL executive. Over the past few years, Lawton interviewed everywhere—Anaheim, Vancouver, the New York Islanders, to name a few teams—and finally got his chance last month when he latched on to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the NHL’s worst team last season, as vice president of hockey operations. But the ensuing three weeks got to be so frenzied, so hectic, so exhausting, it’s amazing Lawton’s wavy brown mane hasn’t frizzled as if he actually was struck by a lightning bolt.”

BOWMAN COMPLETES FATHER-SON DUO IN CHICAGO
Carol Slezak writes in the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, “Despite inquiries from other organizations, Scotty Bowman never was tempted to leave the Detroit Red Wings, the franchise he had called home since 1993. Yet when the Blackhawks phoned, Bowman listened. The Hall of Fame coach, winner of a record nine Stanley Cups, was intrigued by the challenge of helping a talented young team get to the next level. Equally important, he was thrilled by the thought of working with his son Stan. ‘The big reason is because I can be a force for the team and I get to work with my son,’ Bowman said Thursday after being introduced as the Hawks’ senior adviser of hockey operations. ‘It’s a reason that doesn’t happen often in sports, but it’s happening here.’ Stan Bowman, 35, the Hawks’ assistant general manager for hockey operations, has been battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma for the last 18 months but is on the road to recovery. He called his dad’s arrival a dream come true.”

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