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Sunday, June 22, 2003

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It was supposed to be Rick Dudley holding all the cards at this NHL Entry Draft. Turns out Craig Patrick held the most important one.

Dudley, the Panthers' general manager, had spent weeks shopping his No. 1 overall pick, seeking the steep price of two young players who could contribute immediately plus that team's first-round pick. But, through it all, Dudley also had a burning desire to remain in position to draft power forward Nathan Horton, the player Florida's scouts coveted all year. To achieve that, Dudley knew he had to stay in the top three. The Hurricanes were slated to go second, the Penguins third.

"We did not want to lose Nathan Horton," Dudley said.

The Hurricanes were picking second, but they broke off talks with Dudley Thursday and resigned themselves to taking goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury or center Eric Staal.

"We didn't care what Pittsburgh and Florida were going to do," Carolina General Manager Jim Rutherford said. "We stayed out of it."

That left Patrick and the Penguins as Dudley's only option. Even the two teams immediately below the Penguins were not players. The No. 4 Columbus Blue Jackets initially were worried the Penguins might take their man, right winger Nikolai Zherdev, at No. 3, but they did not want to move up to get him. The No. 5 Buffalo Sabres targeted center Thomas Vanek all along and never entertained a move up. Teams with low or no picks in the first round such as the Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins never had a chance.

Dudley had spoken to reporters early Friday about the many options he had but, as the evening wore on, he limited his talks almost exclusively to Patrick. And Patrick, who earlier in the day was preaching patience in the matter to other team officials, shrewdly caught on that he was the only one in the mix.

Thus, when Dudley began making bids for players on the Penguins' roster, Patrick played it cool and offered only right winger Mikael Samuelsson, a marginal contributor in two months in Pittsburgh after being acquired in the Alexei Kovalev trade. Dudley pressed on, but Patrick offered nothing more than exchanges of lower-round picks.

That framework was established late Friday night, and Patrick gave Dudley until the next morning to ponder it.

The phone in Patrick's hotel room rang at 7:51 a.m. yesterday. It was Dudley starting a chain of three or four more calls, in Patrick's estimation, that got it done.

Patrick said he had little concern the previous night the deal would happen.

"We had talked about it enough that I was pretty sure in my mind," he said.

Patrick showed up at the Gaylord Entertainment Center before any member of the Penguins' contingent, two hours before the first pick, and informed his employees of the news upon their arrival.

"We were so excited," Coach Eddie Olczyk said. "Everybody was thrilled when we heard."

At least one employee thought Patrick was joking when he said all the Penguins would give up was Samuelsson, who had two goals, no assists and a minus-21 rating in 22 games.

"I thought the first trade they were talking about was too expensive," said Gilles Meloche, a scout and goaltending coach. "But the deal that came in this morning ... you couldn't pass on it."

"Mikael is not a player who was part of my plan for next year," Olczyk said. "I told Craig I had no problem with it."

Dudley's most serious suitor was the Flyers, who are believed to have offered right winger Justin Williams, defenseman Jeff Woywitka and their No. 11 overall pick. But General Manager Bob Clarke did not have what Patrick had and was unwilling to improve his bid.

"Clarkie felt that the asking price to drop to 11 was a little high," Dudley said. "He certainly was after the No. 1 pick."

Doug MacLean, Columbus' general manager and the prime mover of the 2002 draft when the Blue Jackets climbed two positions to No. 1 and took power forward Rick Nash, was one of several executives who praised Patrick's work.

"I know what that's like because I was just there," MacLean said. "It can be fun, exhilirating even to go after a player you really want. But it's also tough. Give Craig credit. He knew what he wanted to do, and he got it done."

Icy chips

At 2:22 p.m., NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stopped the draft to announce the death of longtime NHL coach Roger Neilson, a Senators assistant. Bettman asked all in attendance to stand for a moment of silence. Neilson, 69, died after having cancer for several years. "There is no way to accurately measure the number of lives Roger Neilson touched inside and outside the hockey world during his lifetime of devotion to our game," Bettman said. Obituary.

The Capitals and Rangers continued to discuss a deal that would send Jaromir Jagr to New York. And that was one of several potentially significant transactions making the buzz on the draft floor. The Bruins are believed to be clearing payroll space to acquire John LeClair from the Flyers. The Flyers are working to pry Martin Biron out of Buffalo to address their goaltending vacancy, but no deal is expected until July.

Olczyk said he spoke with Lorne Molleken, the leading candidate to be the Penguins' third and final assistant coach, over the weekend. But he said no decision has been made and that other candidates are being considered.

The drafting of Fleury would figure to increase the urgency for the Penguins to hire a full-time goaltending coach, but Patrick said that has not been discussed. "He's going to need a lot of attention, for sure," Patrick said. Meloche, who holds the job on a part-time basis, said he has not heard from management on the matter.

Based on remarks made by Mario Lemieux at his golf tournament in early June, his decision regarding playing next season could come within the week. Add Fleury to the list of those who want him to return: "Even if it's just in practice, I would love to go against him, just make one save."

Fleury is the third goaltender in NHL history drafted first overall. The others were Michel Plasse (1968) and Rick DiPietro (2000).

Patrick would not have made his push for the top pick if his scouts were not unified in wanting Fleury, European scout Mark Kelley said. "We were 100 percent behind this player," Kelley said.

Four draftees whose fathers played in the NHL were selected in the first round: Ryan Suter, Robert Nilsson, Zach Parise and Patrick Eaves.

Eaves was on the Penguins' radar -- they chose older brother Ben Eaves two years ago in the fourth round -- but the Senators surprised many observers by taking him 29th overall. Patrick Eaves damaged two vertebrae in December and had a concussion in March.

A record-tying seven Americans were drafted in the first round: Suter, Hugh Jessiman, Dustin Brown, Zach Parise, Mark Stuart, Ryan Kesler and Brian Boyle.

One Nashville columnist early in the week equated having a hockey draft in Tennessee to having Marilyn Manson play the Grand Ole Opry, but the city displayed its enthusiasm for the event in abundance. More than 10,000 fans filled most of the available seats, and they delivered a long, loud standing ovation when the Predators were announced.