Rock Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Andreychuk Finally Reaches Final Round By JASON DIAMOS http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/24/sports/hockey/24flyer.html Published: May 24, 2004 TAMPA, Fla., May 23 - Until Saturday, an asterisk went with Dave Andreychuk's name. Andreychuk, a 40-year-old captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning who is in his 22nd season in the N.H.L., had gone his whole career without advancing to the Stanley Cup finals. He had played more seasons, more regular-season games (1,597) and more regular-season and playoff games combined (1,752) than any other player without reaching the championship round, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Advertisement Not anymore. With Tampa Bay's 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night, the Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time. Tampa Bay began play in the 1992-93 season. By then, Andreychuk had played 10 seasons, all with Buffalo. When he joined the Lightning for the 2001-2 season, he had a message for the team. "I'm a living example of a guy who had been in the league that long, who never got the chance to play for the Stanley Cup," he said in a telephone interview Sunday. "I've been preaching that ever since I got to Tampa. And I think that really sunk into them." Andreychuk was asked if it had sunk in that he was finally going to play in the finals. "It has," he said. "But now I have another task at hand. I have another series to play. That's what sunk in next. I'm excited about getting there. But now that's it over with, I have to get back to business." The four-of-seven-game Stanley Cup finals series against the Calgary Flames opens here Tuesday night. Andreychuk's long journey to the finals took him through stints with Buffalo, Toronto, the Devils, Boston and Colorado. Last season, he surpassed Phil Esposito for the most power-play goals in league history. He now has 270 power-play goals, and his 634 total goals put him 11th on the career list. Craig Ramsay, a Tampa Bay assistant coach, was Andreychuk's teammate in Buffalo during Andreychuk's first three N.H.L. seasons. "He came into the league as a scorer," Ramsay said in a telephone interview Sunday. "He's gone from a one-dimensional player to a multidimensional player." Before Andreychuk arrived, the Lightning qualified for the playoffs once; the team has made the playoffs the last two seasons. "The biggest thing he has brought to the organization is commitment," Ramsay said. "Whether it's taking face-offs in the defensive zone, checking against other teams' top lines, blocking shots or just paying the price, he plays all parts of the game every night. And when other players see that type of commitment, they have to buy in." Andreychuk's teammates said that helping him to reach the final round was one of the motivating factors in their series against the Flyers. "I was thinking about it the other day," Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay's star center, said before Game 7. "I'm 24. You never know the next time you'll get a chance to be in the finals. Even though you're young, that doesn't mean you'll get another chance at it." Andreychuk sent another message to his team Saturday, when he was called out to accept the Prince of Wales Trophy, awarded to the Eastern Conference champion. When Calgary won the Western Conference championship, its captain, Jarome Iginla, bucked superstition by touching the champion's Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and skating it back to the dressing room. Not Andreychuk, much to the relief of Coach John Tortorella, who urged Andreychuk from the bench not to touch the trophy. "I had talked to the guys before about it, when we were watching the Calgary series," Andreychuk said. "I've been watching hockey since I was a kid. It was not something I did on the spur of the moment. We have a chance to win the big one. That's what we're playing for. I don't think the guys are satisfied with what we've won so far." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elias Sports Bureau Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Namecheck for me!!! I'm happy for Dave... but I realllllly don't want this becoming all about him. No Bourquitis, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyk Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 At least he didn't run to a "contender" for a chance at the Cup like Ray Dork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueNJ97 Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 At least he didn't run to a "contender" for a chance at the Cup like Ray Dork. No, Dave went to the 'Ning 3 years ago when they were still mediocre and helped turn them into a contender. I do have to give him his props for that. I really don't care which team wins but I still have a soft spot for Dave and if Tampa wins I will be very happy for him, and of course for Khabby, the namesake of my cat Nicky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRASHER Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 At least he didn't run to a "contender" for a chance at the Cup like Ray Dork. ummmmmmm Sammy..... I hate to tell you this Andreychuk was the other player sent to Colorado IN the Bourque deal given it didn't work out.. but still he DID go to Tampa for the right reasons !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyk Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 At least he didn't run to a "contender" for a chance at the Cup like Ray Dork. ummmmmmm Sammy..... I hate to tell you this Andreychuk was the other player sent to Colorado IN the Bourque deal given it didn't work out.. but still he DID go to Tampa for the right reasons !! I knew someone would say that, and I was gonna put down "this time". I don't remember the details of that trade, did he ask to be traded? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrydevil Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Andreychuk will take it a step further. He will have his name etched on the Cup, and good for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizDevil30 Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Andreychuk's long journey to the finals took him through stints with Buffalo, Toronto, the Devils, Boston and Colorado This struck me odd, he refers to every team by its locale except for the Devils? Okay over-sensitive here but damn New Jersey isn't a dirty word. Or did the writer think if he said NJ, no one would know what team he was referring to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSkirt Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 At least he didn't he DID go to Tampa for the right reasons !! I would think he went to Tampa 'cuz they were the team that offered him a contract, no ? The Avs passed on re-signing him as a free-agent, so he found another deal. I doubt that he knew he would have 2-3 more good seasons in him -- and that they would sign him again. He's taken a 4th-lne role and done well with it, but this cup-run was far from being predictable. He's earned where he is at, but I think a lot of luck is involved here. He was just a guy trying to get a paycheck back then, he didn't have that many other credentials that said "here's the guy that's gonna lead us to a Cup-run" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Leeds Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Here's the Failyers fans thoughts on Andy winning The Mug: http://www.flyersphans.com/forums/showthre...?threadid=23552 Their bitterness cracks me up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRASHER Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 At least he didn't he DID go to Tampa for the right reasons !! I would think he went to Tampa 'cuz they were the team that offered him a contract, no ? The Avs passed on re-signing him as a free-agent, so he found another deal. I doubt that he knew he would have 2-3 more good seasons in him -- and that they would sign him again. He's taken a 4th-lne role and done well with it, but this cup-run was far from being predictable. He's earned where he is at, but I think a lot of luck is involved here. He was just a guy trying to get a paycheck back then, he didn't have that many other credentials that said "here's the guy that's gonna lead us to a Cup-run" Yeah he went there cause they offered him a job.. but be honest when he went to Tampa.. there's NO WAY he's thinking.. I'm three seasons from a Stanley Cup and I think his presence and taking the C from Lecalavier let Vinny develop better and took pressure and attention from the younger guys and added not only a stabilzing effect to the team but wasn't he the one who added the "no one steps on the team logo in the locker room" rule.... it's little things like that you need to do to make your team credible not only to the rest of the league but to your OWN TEAM (tortorella gets credit for a lot of this too).. but like with any team that gets this far it's not one or two players but everything blending perfectly ! Sammy no I don't think he demanded the trade but I think he WAS happy to be off the AWFUL Bruins team that it was then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyk Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Sammy no I don't think he demanded the trade but I think he WAS happy to be offthe AWFUL Bruins team that it was then Well, if that was the case, I don't think it counts. Also, who wouldn't be happy to leave the B's...or join a contender...w/o asking to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRASHER Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Sammy no I don't think he demanded the trade but I think he WAS happy to be offthe AWFUL Bruins team that it was then Well, if that was the case, I don't think it counts. Also, who wouldn't be happy to leave the B's...or join a contender...w/o asking to do so. yeah I know.. I was just jumping on the opportunity to bust yer chops some dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyk Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Sammy no I don't think he demanded the trade but I think he WAS happy to be offthe AWFUL Bruins team that it was then Well, if that was the case, I don't think it counts. Also, who wouldn't be happy to leave the B's...or join a contender...w/o asking to do so. yeah I know.. I was just jumping on the opportunity to bust yer chops some dude Heh, yah...I figured as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrydevil Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 (edited) I find humorous the sense of entitlement some fans have (referring to the bitterness some Flyer fans have in losing to Tampa). "We deserve it because we have real fans and a longer history and we've suffered." Get over yourselves and have that pity party somewhere else! Edited May 24, 2004 by Jerrydevil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyk Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Yah, I hate it when people say they deserve something. Gotta earn it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nieuwy25 Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Namecheck for me!!! I'm happy for Dave... but I realllllly don't want this becoming all about him. No Bourquitis, please. Same here, ESB! I like Andreychuk . . . I don't want to end up hating him because of an ESPN lovefest gone overboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamode Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 (edited) I find humorous the sense of entitlement some fans have (referring to the bitterness some Flyer fans have in losing to Tampa). "We deserve it because we have real fans and a longer history and we've suffered." Get over yourselves and have that pity party somewhere else! There are other teams with a much longer history--good history. What does everyone else have--blow up dolls in the stands? "Suffered" ?!?! It's a hockey game, morons! Get a grip fazools! Edited May 24, 2004 by Zamode Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elias Sports Bureau Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Flyers fan in my office: "Oh well... now I don't have to watch the Finals." Yeah, I really feel his pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunkyBlueFish203 Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Flyers fan in my office:"Oh well... now I don't have to watch the Finals." Yeah, I really feel his pain. Flyers fans I know marginally: "I don't like it that you were cheering for us to lose just because they beat the Devils. And why do you like the Devils for all these years? Pick one team so you don't need to run defending ________ 15." Another one: "I hope Calgary wipes the ice with stupid Tampa. They don't deserve to win. But I'm not even going to bother watching these finals." Another one in not so many nice words told me I should not bother telling her that her team played well and lost because I was cheering against them anyway. What the hell ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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