Now, everything has changed, and there will be even more pressure on Buffalo to sign Mike Peca. Murray and Murray are gone. The most interesting matchup in the East now that Lemieux is back could be Devils-Penguins. The Devils have great skaters, and although none of their top forwards match Jaromir Jagr and Lemieux with size and skill, players like Patrick Elias and John Madden can create a game where the Devils keep the puck off Pittsburgh's sticks. The best defense can be puck possession.
All Phoenix deals, once again, look to be on hold.
But if the Rangers lose to Atlanta at home on Thursday, watch out. We gave him so much room out there. That's basically all Toronto coach Pat Quinn could say after his Maple Leafs allowed Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr to run roughshod all over the Mellon Arena ice in Pittsburgh's 5-0 win Wednesday night. Nobody even touched Lemieux until 12 minutes into the game. Until he went to the net hard one time in the second period, no one knocked him down.