1983-84

The Nova Scotia Claymores entered the 1983-84 season determined to prove their success the previous season was no fluke. 22-year-old rookie Harry Hayes led the charge for the Claymores as they once again took top spot in the Northeast Division with 100 points. Second-year goaltender Brent MacDonald also enjoyed a breakout year, setting a new team record with eight shutouts. Meanwhile, the Ottawa Beavers began to decline, finishing second once again with 88 points, while Montreal saw a steep decline, barely reaching the playoffs despite a big performance in goal from Victor Malmsten. The Royale just barely edged out the Detroit Mustangs on the final day of the regular season, finishing ahead of the Mustangs by one point. Quebec fell back out of the post-season picture as John Gage struggled to stay healthy throughout the season while Toronto endured one of the worst seasons in franchise history with only 18 wins.

Pittsburgh won the Atlantic Division again, thanks in large part to a 64-goal effort from Danny Stevenson. The “Battle of Pennsylvania” also finally got started when the teams engaged in a home-and-home series in December that saw a total of 17 fights over two games. The Stingers did struggle through January, losing six straight at one point. In an effort to spark his team and add some depth, GM Sam Greer made a trade with the Boston Bulldogs on January 24, acquiring winger Brad Bush in exchange for goaltender Ron Buckner. Buckner immediately made an impact in Boston, taking them from the basement to a playoff position during the final months of the season.

The blockbuster trade of the season took place at the trade deadline on February 20, when the Minnesota Lumberjacks traded their legendary goaltender Bobby Sorel to the Long Island Concords in exchange for budding star center Jakob Lundholm. The Lumberjacks were on the decline and made the decision to launch a rebuild right away. “It’s hard to believe it’s come to this.” Said a tearful Sorel. “I have so many great memories from Minnesota but I’m also excited about this new opportunity in Long Island.” Sorel stood on his head for the Concords as they won their last nine straight to finish with 83 points and entered the playoffs as the hottest team in the league.

In the Western Conference, Dave Appleby and the St. Louis Spirits once again won the Western Conference and the league regular season title as Appleby won the scoring title with 144 points. Grant Millen also enjoyed a career-high 113 points playing alongside Appleby. The Conference title did not come easily, however, as the Spirits found themselves in a dogfight with their rivals, the Chicago Shamrocks, for first place. The teams were slated to play each other the final week of the season and it was an instant classic. With St. Louis leading with seconds to go, Vladimir Gaganov tied the game with a hard wrist shot. The game went into overtime where Appleby beat Tim Massey to give the Spirits the win and ultimately, the League title. St. Louis’ opponent in the first round of the playoffs would be the Dallas Metros, who despite the off-ice drama surrounding the future of the franchise, improved to 34 wins and made the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.

The Pacific Division proved to be the weakest division once again, sending only three teams to the playoffs. LA led the division with 87 points despite Ray Fowler missing fifteen games with another concussion. Stuart Holly led the team almost single-handedly, scoring 52 goals. It was a tough season in Alberta, meanwhile, as both the Calgary Wranglers and the Edmonton Northern Lights missed the playoffs.

1983 Off-Season

1983 Entry Draft

The 1983 PHL Draft was another strong one thanks to another influx of European talent. Big defenseman Martin Denis was the first pick, going to Edmonton after a brilliant two-year junior career. Vancouver took the first European in the draft, selecting Swedish forward Karl Magnussen, while Detroit followed up with another Swede, Gustav Janssen. For the first time ever, two British players were selected as defenseman Brett Caldwell went to Seattle while forward Harry Hayes went to Nova Scotia. Hayes had been projected to be chosen high in the 1981 draft but temporarily retired from the game that season due to a family crises. Hayes returned to the Great Britain Hockey League for the 1982-83 season and finished third in scoring. California also created a stir selecting Czech goaltender Jaroslav Danek 21^st. The Nuggets hope they can find a way to bring Danek over from Communist Czechoslovakia.

1.      Edmonton – Martin Denis, D, CAN

2.      Dallas – Joe Pickard, F, CAN

3.      Toronto – Jonathan Stafford, F, CAN

4.      Vancouver – Karl Magnussen, F, SWE

5.      Detroit – Gustav Janssen, D, SWE

6.      Winnipeg – Dwayne Gibbons, D, CAN

7.      New York – Darian Higgins, F, USA

8.      Philadelphia – Craig Collins, D, USA

9.      Calgary – Trevor Ramsey, F, CAN

10.   LA (from Quebec) – Kevin Trainor, F, CAN

11.   Boston – Dan Bridges, F, CAN

12.   Long Island – Alex Malmqvist, F, SWE

13.   LA – Ari Hannula, G, FIN

14.   Minnesota – Jimmy Mason, D, USA

15.   Seattle – Brett Caldwell, D, GB

16.   Denver – Mike Loach, F, USA

17.   Montreal – Sylvain Landry, F, CAN

18.   Ottawa – Patrick Bedard, D, CAN

19.   Washington – Patrick Marsh, D, CAN

20.   Vancouver (from St. Louis) – Danny Crawford, D, USA

21.   California - Jaroslav Danek, G, CZE

22.   Nova Scotia – Harry Hayes, F, GB

23.   Pittsburgh – Rick Ball, D, CAN

24.   Chicago – Raymond Barnes, F, CAN

Notable Retirements:

Theo Howell, F, CHI, LA, 1968-1983

After eight mediocre seasons in Chicago, Howell was dealt to the LA Wizards, where he played an important supporting role to the Wizards star-studded core. Howell won two Lewis Cups with LA in 1977 and ’78.

Earl Sherman, D, DET, OTT, 1966-1983

Earl Sherman may have missed out on a dynasty, but in the end it gave him the opportunity to play a much bigger role and solidify himself as one of the all-time greatest defensive defensemen. Sherman won the Lewis Cup with Detroit in 1969, but was traded to Ottawa just weeks later. The Mustangs went on to win three more cups during the ‘70s while Sherman and the Beavers never quite got it done despite reaching the finals in 1977. Sherman was seen as a leader in Ottawa and retired as the all-time franchise leader in plus/minus.

Andy Poole, G, QUE, 1966-1983

Andy Poole retired after 17 PHL seasons, all with Quebec. Despite the Nationale’s struggles during his career, Poole was often the lone bright spot. However he was unable to shake an unfortunate pattern that would define his career, nearly every time Quebec did have success, it was with a different man in net, as David Zimmer led the Nationale to the finals in 1970 while rookie John Gage backstopped Quebec to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1982. Still hungry for the Lewis Cup, Poole plans to pursue a second hockey career either as a coach or GM.

Transactions

Dallas trades F Glenn Hammond to Montreal in exchange for G Scott Daffney.

The Metros hope Daffney will be their franchise goalie someday while Montreal adds some youth to their aging forward core with Hammond.

LA trades G Dennis Carter to Quebec in exchange for tenth overall draft pick.

With Carter’s prime well behind him, the three-time Lewis Cup champion will be a quality backup and mentor to Jon Gage. LA uses the pick to select Kevin Trainor, a junior hockey star who should be able to play immediately.

Vancouver trades D Dennis Beck to St. Louis in exchange for 20^th overall draft pick

Dennis Beck is traded for the second time in less than a year. After coming to Vancouver from Montreal, Beck moves on to St. Louis to strengthen their defensive depth. Vancouver uses the 20^th pick to select big American defenseman Danny Crawford.

News

Dallas Metros owner Del West raised some eyebrows in early June when he declared his struggling team was in deep financial trouble. Both West and PHL president Alan Garcia gave Metros fans an ultimatum that if attendance did not pick up, the team was in danger of relocation. “We have already received much interest from different cities in acquiring the Metros.” Said Garcia. “At this time our focus is on trying to keep the club in Dallas but that may change if we don’t see improvement.” It is rumored that Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Cleveland could be possible destinations should the Metros leave Texas.

In other news, the city of Winnipeg approved plans for a new 18,000 seat arena that will be the new home of the Pioneers beginning in the fall of 1985. The Pioneers have been playing in the Royal Auditorium, built in 1926, since the team was founded.