Bobby Holik

For a long time I really thought Bobby Holik was underrated.

He was this hulking, 6'3" 220lb shutdown center, a fantastic faceoff man and one of the best defensive forwards in the game, shutting down the likes of Mark Messier and Eric Lindros. He was a serious hitter, applying bone jarring checks at times. He was a bull in a china shop with the puck, able to drive to the net and apply a bullet of a shot. He was a consistent two way player, better than his annual statistics ever suggested. He was a key player for the New Jersey Devils' Stanley Cup runs in 1995 and 2000.

His status as underrated changed greatly in the summer of 2002, when the New York Rangers grossly overpaid for Holik's services, offering him a $45 million contract over 5 years. $9 million, a whopping $6 million a year increase, for Bobby Holik? For a player who relied on Crash Line teammates Mike Peluso and Randy McKay to light a fire under him? For a player who lacked creativity and vision to ever be more than a third or fourth line defensive stop gap? For a player who in his best years scored 25 goals and 60 points? For a blunt and opinionated aging player who once sprained his ankle playing ping pong?

It's funny how money can make you look differently at a player. I certainly would never blame Holik for taking the contract. He likely never had any offer like that one. And he was one of the most important members of a Devils' near-dynasty that also went to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals in 2001. But try as he might, he looked like a fish out of water after he crossed the Hudson and played for the Rangers. After two seasons he would have his contract bought out.

Holik signed with Atlanta for three seasons, where I think he once again returned to an underrated role. He was captain of the Thrashers in 2007-08. The Thrashers have never been a good situation, but Holik's experience and savvy was appreciated by teammates and coaches.

Holik returned to New Jersey for one final season in 2008-09. The 38 year old was a shadow of his former self, like most aged players. But he went out on his own terms.

"The No. 1 reason I'm retiring is to be with my family and see my daughter [Hannah Marie, 12]. That's too much to give up again. The No. 2 reason is that I don't have to retire, so I'm very fortunate."

Holik wanted to just cash in and become a full time husband and father. Family was important to him. He came from a legendary sporting family back in the Czech Republic. His father, Jaroslav, and uncle, Jiri, were both legendary hockey stars in the 1970s and coaches well beyond that. Holik's sister, Andrea, was a professional tennis player who married former NHL defenseman Frantisek Musil.

He played 1,314 regular season games, going 328-421-747 with 1,423 penalty minutes and a plus-115 rating. He played 786 games with New Jersey, seventh all-time, and was 202-270-472, with 883 penalty minutes and plus-134-rating with the Devils. He played 124 playoff games for the Devils, 20-37-57, and 138 games total, 20-39-59.

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Bobby Carpenter

Following the United States "Miracle on Ice" victory over the heavily favored Russians at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, hockey in the US was about to experience a boom in hockey interest. All the NHL needed was an American superstar to come along quickly to capitalize on the new found popularity.

Enter Bob Carpenter, Sports Illustrated's "Can't Miss Kid."

Prior the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, Sports Illustrated plastered the 18 year old high school kid on the cover of their weekly magazine. Its pretty rare for a hockey player to grace the cover of SI, let alone a high school player. SI exclaimed that Carpenter was going to be America's first truly great hockey player, and called him the "Can't Miss Kid."

Carpenter didn't miss, at least at first. He stumbled during the middle part of his career and towards the end reinvented his game to survive for 18 NHL seasons. While he wasn't even the best American in the league for most of his career, he was a pioneering player who accomplished a number of firsts by an American.

Bob was the first player ever to go from playing hockey at an American high school straight to the NHL. When the Washington Capitals chose him third overall in the 1981 Entry Draft, he became the first American ever to be taken in the first round. He was the first American to reach the magical 50 goal plateau in a season in 1984-85, when he recorded a career-high 53. He retired as one of five American's to play in over 1,000 games.

Carpenter experienced a lot of early success in his career. In fact his first NHL point, an assist, came only 12 seconds into his first game. By the end of the season, Bob had set Capitals rookie records for goals (32) and points (67) while finishing fourth in team scoring. The next two seasons were similar, as he scored 69 points in 1982-83 and 68 points in 1983-84.

1984-85 was the pinnacle of Bob's career when he reached 53 goals. It appeared that Bob had finally taken his game to the next level, a level where an American could start putting up statistics that could compare among the league's elite. Carpenter's 53 goals tied him with Dale Hawerchuk behind John Ogrodnick (55), Mike Bossy (58), Jari Kurri (71) and Wayne Gretzky (73).

However 1985-86 would see Bob's performance fall greatly. He stumbled to just 27 goals and 56 points. He recovered somewhat in the playoffs with 5 goals and 9 points in 9 games, the first really solid playoff performance by Carpenter. However the 1986-87 season saw Carpenter get off to another horrible start, with 5 goals in the Caps first 22 games.

Finally Washington had had enough and traded Carpenter along with a 2nd round pick to the New York Rangers. Broadway, always looking for a big name talent to showoff at Madison Square Gardens, had hoped that Carpenter could return to previous form and gave up Bob Crawford, Kelly Miller and Mide Ridley to get him. It turned out to be a fairly lopsided trade in hindsight. Miller and Ridley went on to become significant pieces of the Capitals for years to come while Carpenter struggled in just 28 games with the Rangers.

2 goals and 10 points later, the Rangers traded Carpenter to Los Angeles in the big Marcel Dionne deal. The Rangers also sent Tom Laidlaw in exchange for Jeff Crossman, a third round pick, and the aging superstar Dionne.

Carpenter's first full season in Tinseltown was also Wayne Gretzky's first season. Carpenter saw a lot of time on Wayne's LW, but failed to put up great numbers. He scored 19 goals and 33 assists for 52 points. However there was always rumors that Gretzky didn't like having Carpenter on his line and that Gretzky wanted Carpenter moved for someone else. Again, these were only rumors and were never substantiated.

Carpenter lasted half way through the 1988-89 seasons before being traded to Boston in exchanged for super-shadow Steve Kasper.. It was a dream come true for the native of Beverly Massachusetts to play in the famous Boston Gardens. Bobby actually rejuvenated his career somewhat while wearing the spoked B crest on his jersey. He scored 25 goals and played a good role in the 1989-90 run to the Stanley Cup finals. The following year almost saw the end of Carpenter's career as he badly shattered his knee cap and sat out most of the season. However Carpenter went through excruciating rehab assignments and returned to the game he loved the next season. He not only returned to the league, he also returned to the 25 goal plateau in just 60 games.

Carpenter became a free agent without compensation after the 1992 season and elected to take his career full circle by returning to Washington, the scenes of some past glories. Bob played in 68 games, scoring 11 goals and 28 points. Following the season, the Capitals cut Carpenter loose for a second time.

Carpenter signed on with the New Jersey Devils where Carpenter met coach Jacques Lemaire. Lemaire turned Carpenter into a defensive, checking oriented center/winger. Carpenter's scoring totals dropped dramatically over the next 6 seasons but he excelled in his new role of shadow and penalty killer. He became known as one of the league's best defensive centers, a role Carpenter cherished.

Carpenter finished with 320 goals and 418 assists in 1,178 games. He also retired with a Stanley Cup ring, as he was a big part of the Devil's 1995 triumph.

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Claude Lemieux

No, Claude Lemieux is not related to Mario Lemieux. Although he plays a very different style than Super Mario, this Lemieux was also one of the best hockey players of his time.

Claude Lemieux is one of the peskiest players in NHL history. Some people would say he is one of the dirtiest. He antagonizes the opposition like no other player can. He will do anything to get the opposition off of its game and often draws retaliatory penalties. Then he uses his offensive instincts to bury the other team by netting a big goal to help win the game.

A lot of people don't like Claude Lemieux because of the way he plays. Although he was a selfish player, he is the type of player you love to have on your team, but hate to play against. While he has done some borderline things to help his team win, and some down right nasty things, love him or hate him, you have to respect that this guy will do whatever it takes to win a hockey game. He may lack morals, but he will do the dirty work no one else will.

Bottom line - Claude Lemieux is a winner. In fact he won twice as many Stanley Cups as Mario Lemieux did. He also has a Canada Cup title and a World Junior Hockey gold medal on his resume.

Claude Lemieux was born on July 16, 1965 in Buckingham, Quebec. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens as their second choice and the 26th overall pick in the 1983 Entry Draft.

Although he played in a total of 9 games over from 1983-1985, Lemieux made his debut in an NHL starring role late in the 1985-86 season when he was called up along with another rookie, Patrick Roy, for the Stanley Cup playoff run. The two rookies played huge roles in a surprise Stanley Cup championship in 1986. Lemieux scored 10 goals in 20 games in those playoffs. Four of those goals were game winners, including in overtime of game 7 of the Adams division finals against Hartford.

Claude would enjoy 4 more solid campaigns in Montreal. He was a consistent 25-30 goal scorer as well as a defensive forward while of course polishing his reputation as hockey's most abrasive player. He would help return the Habs to the Stanley Cup finals in 1989, only to come up short.

An injury plagued 1989-90 season saw the Habs trade Claude to New Jersey in exchange for Sylvain Turgeon just prior to the start of the 1990-91 season. Lemieux had a terrible time with a groin/abdominal injury, and the Habs felt he may be damaged goods. He also had run ins with coach Pat Burns over incidents both on and off the ice, so Lemieux forced the trade out of Montreal.

The 6'1, 215 pound right winger developed into a better rounded player, especially offensively. He scored 40 goals in his first season with the Devils, and in his five seasons there, he notched 125 goals and another 134 assists. In 1994 Claude helped the Devils to within one game of their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance. But in 1995, things were quite different. Lemieux led the Devils to the Cup Finals with his clutch play, and New Jersey won its first Cup championship. For his gargantuan efforts, Lemieux was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, after scoring 13 goals in the playoffs to lead all post season scorers. He had just 6 goals in the lock-out shortened regular season.

The off-season brought contract squabbles with New Jersey management, so "Pepe" was shipped to the New York Islanders for Steve Thomas on October 3, 1995 and then promptly to Colorado by the Islanders for Wendel Clark on the same day in a three way deal. Finding a home on a line with Peter Forsberg and Valeri Kamensky, Claude logged 39 goals and 71 points in 79 games for the Avalanche. More importantly he helped them win the Stanley Cup in their first season in Denver, scoring 4 more game winning goals along the way.

In doing so, he became the fourth player in NHL history to win Stanley Cup with three different teams and the fifth to win it in back-to-back seasons with different teams.

The 1996 championship does come with a black eye, however. Of all the dastardly acts Lemieux committed in his career, none were more infamous than when he hit Detroit's Kris Draper from behind in game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. Draper's face crashed into the boards, leaving him with a fractured upper jaw, a fractured cheekbone, a broken nose, a 30-stitch cut on the inside of his mouth and five displaced teeth. The incident turned boiled over an already heated rivalry. For several years after the fact the incident sparked violent retribution and replies, including a fist fight with Darren McCarty where Lemieux turtled.

Suffering from another abdominal pull, Lemieux struggled to stay in the NHL. He bounced around after leaving Colorado in 1999, most notably returning to New Jersey where he was part of another Stanley Cup championship in 2000, giving him 4 Stanley Cup titles. He ranks 2nd in playoff game winning goals with 19, behind only Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull and ahead of fellow playoff legends Maurice Richard, Mike Bossy, Glenn Anderson and Joe Sakic.

"I love playoffs. You know what its like when teams play back-to-back games in the regular season, there's usually a lot of intensity and bad feelings grow. In the playoffs it is even more intense," said Lemieux. "The physical side of the game really became more important and I think that is where I have been able to give my team an edge."

He finished his career with 379 goals and 406 assists for 785 points in 1,197 NHL regular-season games. He had 80 goals and 78 assists for 158 points in 233 Stanley Cup playoff games.

After all the sucker punches, slew foots, sticks to the groins and verbal assaults, there is plenty of reason to dislike Claude Lemieux. But you also have to admire what he accomplished and his stature as one of the greatest NHL playoff performers of all time.

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Scott Stevens

On February 3, 2006, the New Jersey Devils retired a uniform number for the first time in franchise history: Scott Stevens' #4. As video tributes and teammate reflections were aired over the course of that night's ceremony, many words were brought up which characterized the man: fierce, hard-nosed, intense, intimidating, energetic, respected, competitive, heart-and-soul, a winner, a leader, a work-horse.

He is hockey's ultimate warrior.

Scott Stevens played in 1,635 regular season games and 233 playoff games, both NHL records among defensemen. He skated in thirteen All-Star Games. He captained the Devils to three unforgettable Stanley Cup championships. Simply put, Scotty Stevens was a hockey legend with an on-ice presence unparalleled in NHL history.

Given his remarkable legacy with the Devils, people often forget that he was a veteran of nine seasons coming into New Jersey. Born and bred in Kitchener, Ontario, Stevens was selected fifth overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1982 NHL Draft. During his time in D.C., he enjoyed moderate individual and team success. The Capitals housed one of the deepest defensive corps during the 1980s (think Rod Langway, Kevin Hatcher and Larry Murphy), and so Stevens developed a niche for himself as a classical, rugged, stay-at-home defenseman who specialized in dealing punishing checks and breaking down the opposition's flow. While he had the ability to put up solid offensive numbers, he understood that playing within the system for the greater good of the team took precedence above all else.

Stevens made headlines during the early '90s with his involvement in two massive, high-salary transactions. The first was in July 1990, when, as a restricted free agent, he signed a four-year contract with the St. Louis Blues worth a then-overwhelming $5.145 million. In return, St. Louis had to ship a whopping five first-round draft picks the other way as compensation (two of which ended up being Washington mainstays Sergei Gonchar and Brendan Witt). One year later, in July 1991, with the assistance of an arbitrator, the Blues were forced to ship Stevens to New Jersey as compensation for their signing of Brendan Shanahan. Both transactions created a ripple effect around the league as player salaries spiralled out of control, ultimately culminating in the 1995 NHL Lockout.

Although initially upset about going to New Jersey, Stevens became an instant fan favorite at the Meadowlands. After a single season, he was awarded for his leadership with the team captaincy, a position he would hold for the balance of his career. In 1993-94, Stevens exploded offensively with 78 points and led the league in plus-minus with +53. (It is worth noting that not once in his 22 seasons did he have a plus-minus rating in the red, a truly remarkable feat.)

Stevens is quick to credit the Devils, particularly coaches Larry Robinson and Jacques Lemaire, for developing him into a complete defenseman.

"I'm more knowledgeable, more patient,'' Stevens said. "I've learned a lot here under Jacques and Larry about playing defense and good position. Just goes to show, you never stop learning. I probably played over 10 years, then I came here and was taught a lot of new things.''

In the spring of 1994, Stevens, coupled with an emerging core nucleus of players such as Martin Brodeur and Scott Niedermayer, came within a whisker of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. The following, lockout-abbreviated season proved to be kinder, as Stevens helped guide the Devils to their first-ever Stanley Cup. Two more Cups would follow, including a Conn Smythe-winning performance for Stevens during their run in 2000.

Asked about the secret to his success over the years, Stevens said, "Every year, I always felt that I had to make the team. I felt every training camp I had to prove myself. I never took anything for granted." In spite of his accomplishments and larger-than-life stature, Stevens always carried with him a blue-collar work ethic, a deep Canadian-rooted humility, and an awe of the game he played.

In New Jersey, Stevens gained league-wide notoriety for his devastating open-ice hits, many of which rendered opponents unconscious. Notable victims of Scott Stevens hits in the past include Slava Kozlov during the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals, Eric Lindros during the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals, and Paul Kariya during the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. They didn't call him "Captain Crunch" for nothing! (See video below.)

As devastating as his hits were, they were always clean and legal. One NHL broadcast mentioned that only three times in his entire NHL career had Stevens been tagged for elbowing.

"With Scott, you know exactly what you're going to get from him," Lindros said of his longtime nemesis. "There's no question, you're aware of his presence on the ice. He's still definitely a premier defenseman in the league because of the desire he has on the ice. His style out on the ice certainly shows how much he wants to win."

"Playing against Scotty, you had to be alert. It was no secret that he's had some pretty big hits. That's in your mind. You need to have a sense of where he is," added Joe Nieuwendyk.

Stevens' international resume was loaded as well. He represented Canada at the '98 Winter Olympics, the '96 World Cup of Hockey, the '91 Canada Cup, and four World Championships during the '80s. Interestingly, during the '89 World Championships, Stevens took a skate to the face, courtesy of his boyhood idol Borje Salming, which resulted in a gash requiring 88 stitches to seal up. Ever the warrior, Stevens missed a mere game, and, wearing a protective visor, came back to score the game-winning goal against Czechoslovakia, giving Canada the silver medal. This is but one in a vast sea of anecdotes which capture Stevens' love for the game and drive to be on top.

Despite his highly decorated resume, somehow Scott Stevens never won a Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman. It is almost mind-boggling that he was never so recognized.

"I've always said that Scott Stevens should've won a Norris Trophy at some point in his career," former teammate Bobby Holik said. "Well, they don't give out the Norris Trophy in the Playoffs, but I'm his biggest fan. As a hockey player, he's one of a kind."

Somehow I don't think Scott Stevens would trade any of his Stanley Cups or his Conn Smythe Trophy for a Norris Trophy.

Special thanks to Vikash Khanna.

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Pat Verbeek

Would you believe me if I told you there was a hockey player who scored 522 career goals, scored nearly 1,100 career points, earned 2,905 penalty minutes, hoisted the Stanley Cup, and has one of the coolest nicknames of all time, but he's not likely to make it to the Hockey Hall of Fame any time soon.

Well that's exactly the situation Pat Verbeek, known to Rangers fans as "The Little Ball of Hate," finds himself in.

No one ever considers Verbeek in the Hall of Fame debates even though he achieved lofty career goal and point scoring levels in a 19 year career. That's partly because he played with a lot of bad teams and partly because the 500 goal plateau has been devalued in recent years.

It is also because never was Verbeek an all star, a trophy winner, or an elite player in any season. What he was was a very durable and consistent performer who always gave his all.

At just 5'9" and 195lbs, Verbeek was a stocky sparkplug who never let his lack of size effect his play in the NHL. In fact, he was one of most ornery and most effective physical players in his era. He was a kamikaze hitter and a real irritant, often drawing many penalties. Though he was rugged and strong, he always played the game on the edge and was prone to taking bad penalties himself.

There was no big secret to Verbeek's finesse game. His shot was the key to his attack, as it was both deadly accurate and quickly released. Almost all of his goals came somewhere near the goal crease. A miniature version of Phil Esposito or Tim Kerr, the pint sized Verbeek was always crashing the crease with great zeal, picking up garbage goal after garbage goal.

Though he had to rely on others to get the puck to him, he was a consistent and reliable scoring threat. Eight times he scored over 30 goals, including 46, 44, 43 and 41 goal seasons.

He was never elegant, but it all adds up to a 522 goal career. But amazingly, Verbeek's career almost ended before it took off.

In the summer of 1985, Verbeek was looking forward to his third NHL season but still had yet to establish himself as a goal scoring threat. His destiny as such seemed almost certainly ruined in a bizarre farming accident. While working a corn-planting machine on his Ontario farm, Verbeek sliced off his thumb and badly lacerated three other fingers. With his brother's help, Verbeek was rushed to the nearest hospital some 20 miles away in Sarnia, but they did not bring the severed portion of the thumb with them. They had to rely on their father to find the thumb and bring it in time for successful 6 hour reattachment surgery. All of this happened in mid May, and through intensive rehabilitation Verbeek was fully recovered by August. He never experienced any detriment to his hockey career.

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Aaron Broten

Aaron Broten is one of three hockey playing brothers to come out of Roseau, Minnesota. Aaron is generally regarded as the 2nd best of the trio. Younger brother Paul played 322 games in the league, while older brother Neal is considered by many to be the greatest American player ever, and certainly of his era. All three brothers played at the University of Minnesota and have extensive international hockey accomplishments to add to their NHL resume.

Growing up in the large shadow of brother Neal must not have been easy for Aaron but he quickly established his own sporting recognition. He was a high school standout who was considered to the #1 college recruit in 1978-79. In that time he was also one of the state' s outstanding junior golfers and played on the varsity baseball team.

Aaron joined Neal the University of Minnesota in 1979-80. WIth his brother taking a leave from the University to play in the Olympics, Aaron made a name for himself, seting a school record for most assists (47) by a freshman. In 1980-81 the Broten brothers were reunited at the U, playing on the same line. It was Aaron's star that shone brightest though, as he set school records with 59 assists and 106 points. Like his brother, he would leave school early in order to turn pro at the end of the 1981 college season.

Aaron, too, enjoyed a long career in the NHL, playing 748 games with some of the weakest teams in the leagues. He was a long time member of the Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils during the 1980s. Those teams were pretty weak which gave Aaron a good chance at some playing time. Like his brothers Aaron, was small and frail but quick and deft with the puck. More of a playmaker than a goal scorer, Aaron shied away from aggressive play which limited his effectiveness.

It took Aaron a while but he soon established himself as a scoring leader in New Jersey. Playing on a line with Kirk Muller and Pat Verbeek, by 1986-87 he led the team with 79 points, and upped that to 83 in 1987-88. That was the year that the Devils made the playoffs for the the first time in history, and then went on a remarkable run into the final four. Broten was a key player in that, scoring 16 points in 20 games.

Aaron and the Devils took a step backwards the following year, and by midway through the 1989-90 season Aaron was traded for the first time in his career. He was happy with the trade though as he was sent to his hometown Minnesota North Stars where, for the first time since college, he would get a chance to play with his star brother Neal.

The reunion was short lived however. Aaron played 35 games to finish the season but during training camp the following year he was waived to Quebec. His stay was short there too, lasting only 20 games there before being traded to Toronto. His stay with the Leafs was again brief as he was released after 27 games. The Winnipeg Jets gave Aaron a shot halfway through the 1991-92 season, but he was again released and this time unable to find NHL employment.

Aaron opted to retire. He had played in 748 games, scoring 186 goals and compiling 329 assists for 515 points in a respectable career.

However it wasn't the last time Aaron would put on the blades. In 1998-99 Aaron, along with brothers Neal and Paul and former standout Joey Mullen dressed for Team USA in a qualifying tournament in the 1999 World championships. The team was dangerously close to slipping out of the A pool in world hockey championships. Team USA did qualify, edging out Kazakhstan and Austria, thanks to the retired stars.

It was the first time that the brothers had played together on a serious level of hockey. Aaron picked up no points in the 3 games, but he was a veteran presence on the bench blessed with international experience. Aaron had played in as many international events as a NHLer could during the 1980s. He twice played in the World Junior Hockey Championships, played in 5 previous World Hockey Championships and played on two Canada Cup teams.

Aaron, who became a born-again Christian thanks to the influence of New Jersey teammate Chico Resch, returned to Roseau and became an investment advisor. He would also stay involved in hockey, coaching his old high school team and becoming active with Hockey Ministries International.

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Kirk Muller

When Mario Lemieux was drafted 1st overall in 1984, it was pretty much unanimous that he was the obvious first choice. He was to be the next great franchise player. The only player who anyone thought had a chance at knocking off big Mario for that top pick was Kirk Muller, who went 2nd to New Jersey.

"To me, Kirk Muller is the best player in the draft. The Devils really did it right," said a young Detroit Red Wings scout Neil Smith, years before he became a NHL general manager.

Many scouts might have agreed that Muller was in many ways better than Lemieux in some respects at that stage of their careers. NHL drafts are crap shoots at the best of times. While most accurately called Lemieux a can't miss prospect, history is full of stories of scoring superstars either being boom or bust. Obviously he was boom - a very loud boom!

Muller on the other hand was considered a safe pick. He had some good offensive tools, but nowhere near the upside of Mario. He was a tireless worker, and physical forward, a versatile leader who would and did do anything to win. It was thought that he may not score 50 goals or 100 points, but he'd give his all, give his heart and soul.

Though he was no Mario, Muller certainly did not disappoint. Desire and determination became his NHL trademarks, and made him an outstanding leader. He would hustle right until the final buzzer no matter what the score was. He was at times perhaps too intense and put undue pressure on himself to do better when his team was going through a slump.

Muller excelled at the physical game, especially along the boards and in traffic. He'd bang and crash - hell he'd bust down a door without bothering to check if it was even locked. He was absolute tiger in the corners, and the best part was he had the hand skills to do something with the pucks he retrieved.

Though not a natural talent in terms of finesse abilities, Kirk got good mileage from his somewhat limited arsenal. He had a quick shot and good hand/eye coordination - which made him good on faceoffs - but was not a great on-the-rush player. He excelled in a heavy forechecking/heavy puck cycling attack and at crashing the front of the net.

Kirk finished his amateur career by representing Canada in the 1984 Olympics. A junior star with the OHL's Guelph Platers, Muller joined the National team late in the year and had a strong Olympic tournament, scoring twice in 7 games.

Starting with his rookie season in 1984-85, Kirk gave his heart and soul to the Devils (pardon the pun) for 7 strong seasons. Within time his on-ice leadership helped turn around one of the league's weakest franchises.

Kirk scored 17 goals and 37 assists as a rookie and was the Devil's All-Star Game representative, something he'd do 6 times before his career was over. In 1985-86, Muller tallied 25 goals and 41 assists during the season.

Kirk became "Captain Kirk" after being named team captain in 1987-88 and he responded by setting a team record and career-best with 94 points. More importantly, for the first time since the franchise was transferred to Jersey, he led the Devil's into the playoffs. Also backed by Sean Burke's strong goaltending and John MacLean's dramatic game winning goal in game 80 of the regular season, the Devils squeaked into the playoffs. Once in the "big dance," the Devils went on a Cinderella run before running into Boston in the Final Four. Muller scored 4 goals and 12 points in 20 post season contests.

The Devils missed the playoffs in 1989 unfortunately, but Kirk had another strong year, scoring 31 goals and 74 points. He then led the Devils with 56 assists and 86 points in 1989-90.

Kirk showed some signs of slowing down just a bit in 1990-91. He dipped to 19 goals but still added his annual 51 assists for 70 respectable points. He had a poor offensive playoff however, scoring just 2 assists in 7 games. By this time the Devils were becoming a very respectable team, but lacked a true offensive game breaker. In order to get one, they traded their team captain, who they were having trouble re-signing, along with backup goalie Rollie "The Goalie" Melanson to Montreal in exchange for streaky scorer Stephane Richer and checker Tom Chorske.

The trade was good for both teams, but especially Montreal. In 1991-92, Kirk led the Canadiens with 36 goals, 77 points, 15 power play goals, and seven game-winning goals, earning him his fifth NHL All-Star Game selection.

In 1992-93 He tied his career-bests with 37 goals, assists with 57 and points with 94. He also was part of a splendid Habs Cup run in 1993. It was the Habs 24th Stanley Cup championship of the century, and Kirk's first and only.

By 1994-95, Kirk was named captain of the Canadiens. However after just 33 games and 19 points, he was traded with Mathieu Schneider and Craig Darby to the Islanders in exchange for Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov, on April 5, 1995.

Kirk made it very clear that he didn't want to play for the New York Islanders. After 15 games in 1995-96, walked out on the team to force a trade. On Jan. 23, 1996, Kirk was involved in a three-team trade that resulted in him becoming a Toronto Maple Leaf, and reuniting him with former Habs coach Pat Burns.

Perhaps showing his age a bit, Muller wasn't able to produce like the Leafs had hoped. He scored 20 goals in 1996-97, but was slowing as his the miles added up on his weary legs.. On March 18, 1997, the Leafs traded him to the Florida Panthers for youngster Jason Podollan.

Kirk became a leader in the Florida dressing room, but unlike his previous stops, it was not so much on the ice where he contributed. He played a minor role as his offensive contributions completely dried up. Although he still battled in the corners like a hungry animal, he wasn't as effective. His battle weary body didn't measure up with the new age of bigger, stronger defensemen.

By the summer of 1999, Muller was released by the Panthers. He found a home in Dallas for the next 4 years, extending his career to a total of 19 seasons.

In that time Muller played in 1349 games, scoring 357 goals and 959 points. He was a greatly respected hockey warrior in every city he played in, and will be best remembered for his years in New Jersey and Montreal.

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