Hockey Legends Return to Ice

PITTSBURGH —  In his day, he was the fastest of the fabled “Flying Frenchmen.” Speed was his forte, his trademark on the ice.

When Yvan Cournoyer stepped on the Civic Arena ice Saturday afternoon for the National Hockey League’s Heroes of Hockey game, he did do so knowing no one expected him to be as fast as he was when he played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1964-1979. But he also realized they expected him to be Yvan Cournoyer, Hall of Famer. And he expected the same.

“That’s why I stopped skating,” said Cournoyer, who last played in a formal old-timers’ game two years ago in a two-game series against the 1972 Soviet team. “It’s not that easy to do what you once did. It can be frustrating. When you step on the ice, you give 100 percent. And that’s a hard thing to do if you don’t play much. It was hard for me. When you step on the ice, you become a different guy.”

OK, not different in the sense that he might suddenly have a desire to separate Stan Mikita’s head from the rest of his body. And not different in the sense that he might want to prove he still has a shot that commands respect. But different in the sense that while he can joke about the deterioration of his hockey skills, he is not eager to show everybody how deteriorated they really are.

“Everybody’s got their pride, I think,” said Cournoyer, who runs a restaurant in Montreal and works for Molson’s brewery. “We’re going to do our best. We don’t want to go out and look stupid.”

That’s the funny thing about old-timers’ games. Everybody talks primarily of the camaraderie of such occasions and the renewal of old friendships, but nobody talks much about the game. It is only in passing that a participant will tell you that for the past month he has been working out, or running, or playing tennis, or skating, or doing whatever to get into and/or stay in shape.

“You say yes to a game like this, but people don’t realize what’s involved. Guys will say they haven’t been on skates for years, but they get out there and they look good. You’ve got to work out or else you could look bad.”

So Cournoyer has been running. Mikita has been playing in an alumni league. Henri Richard has taken up tennis. Rod Gilbert has been hitting the weight room.

They came to Pittsburgh because it is an honor to play in such a game, and they will have fun, most of it off the ice. But they won’t have fun if they can’t skate.

Stan Mikita played in the Civic Arena many times in his 22-year Hall of Fame career, but when he came to town with the Chicago Blackhawks he was never as hard to please as he is now. Certainly, he never came with this specific list of demands: “What I want for this game is beer on the bench, rubber hockey sticks, no backchecking and some oxygen.”

The sticks will not be rubber, but neither will they be raised in anger. Mikita, 49, is a veteran of what are known around the NHL as “alumni games.”

“I don’t like the sound of the word, ‘old-timers,’ ” said Mikita, the Blackhawks’ all-time leading scorer.

A number of NHL teams arrange games for former players against civic groups to raise money for charity. Mikita plays in one in the Chicago area. He also has played in celebrity games held before NHL games in recent years. Plus, he says, he has not lost a step from his playing days.

“I’m back to my old speeds--slow and stop.”

Mikita calls the alumni games “shinny,” which he likens to games of pond hockey he played as boy. Saturday’s game would be more formal, but it would follow some shinny rules.

“No checking. No slap shots. And no body contact, even by accident.”

Nonetheless, Mikita believes the game can be entertaining for the fans.

“The speed will be a little slower than what they’re used to, but they will see some good stickhandling and some good passing. And who knows, with (Keith) Magnuson around, there might be a little fracas, too.”

Henri Richard, a.k.a. “the Pocket Rocket,” has never stopped playing in alumni games, but in Montreal, they don’t call them that.

“We call it the Depression League,” said Richard, a Hall of Famer who played for the Canadiens from 1955-1975. “I’ve been playing for 15 years.”

Richard, 54, plays about 40 games a year. “I enjoy it; I really do.”

Peter Mahavolich, restaurateur. He likes the sound of that. Mahavolich, the former Canadien, Penguin and Detroit Red Wing, is opening a restaurant in Glens Falls, N.Y., which is where his hockey career ended nine years ago. Getting the restaurant started has been difficult for Mahavolich. It has kept him off skates for about a year.

“The only reason I decided to play was that Bryan Watson (the game’s organizer) called me and he’s a good friend,” said Mahavolich, 43. “I see the game as a nice opportunity to get back with people I used to know and play with. The important thing about these games is to have a good time. I’m happy to be playing, but I might need skates with training wheels.”

When he played for the Boston Bruins, Johnny Bucyk rarely was knocked off his skates. A Hall of Famer, Bucyk played 23 seasons. As a member of the Bruins’ alumni team, he plays once or twice a week, although his job as Boston radio announcer takes him out of town often. But when hockey season ends, he hangs up his skates.

“I’m either fishing up or playing golf,” said Bucyk. “I think the fans will be surprised to see how much good passing there will be in this game. We play the game hard and you do want to score, but the top thing is you don’t want to get hurt.”

Alex Delvecchio, a former Red Wing Hall of Famer, is 58, but he is eager to skate in public with men, some of whom are 15 or more years his junior.

“It was an easy decision,” said Delvecchio, who runs an advertising business in suburban Detroit and skates at least twice a week with a Red Wings alumni team. “First, it’s quite an honor to be asked, especially since I’ll be an honorary captain. Second, it will be a great honor for me to meet men like (Wayne) Gretzky, Lemieux and (Paul) Coffey. I look forward to swapping stories with the stars of today. But most of all, it makes us feel young again.”

Rod Gilbert’s back hurts. And he blames it all on “Heroes of Hockey.”

“The closer you get to a game like this, the more excited you get. I’m out getting ready. But I’m a lot closer to 50 than I am to 40, and I’ve had two spinal fusions and my back hurts. That’s why I stopped playing in the first place.”

Still, Gilbert believes he must get ready. The presence of recently retired players such as Brad Park, Denis Potvin and Darryl Sittler increases his anxiety.

“They’re going to be competitive. I played a game like this in Toronto last year and I was surprised how competitive it was. You know guys like Park and Potvin can still play. You’ve got to be ready.”

Gilbert, former Rangers star, works in the Rangers’ front office. He and Eddie Giacomin put on youth hockey clinics in the New York area.

“I come back mostly to see old teammates like Andy Bathgate and Harry Howell, who I haven’t seen in years. And maybe I can get back at (goaltender) Billy Smith for all the things he did to me by shooting high on him in warmups.

“But what I really want to do in this game is what I wanted to do when I played: score.”