Right wing Steve Larmer is on a goal-scoring pace that would make him just the third Blackhawk to score 50 goals in a season. Bobby Hull and Al Secord were the only others to reach that level.
Going into Tuesday night`s game in Hartford, Larmer was the proud owner of 13 goals. He has four times exceeded the 40-goal mark, his highest total being 46 in 1984-85.
Comparison shopping: The recent contract Larmer signed for $3.1 million over four years has Hartford center Ron Francis wondering why the Whalers won`t match those numbers for him.
Francis started in the National Hockey League in 1981-82, one season before Larmer, and he entered this season with 745 points in 647 games to Larmer`s 678 points in the exact same number of games.
Francis wants a raise starting him out in the first year of a new contract near $750,000 a year, what Larmer got. But Hartford is only offering $525,000 a year.
Message line: Hawks associate coach Darryl Sutter thinks the work ethic exuded by the checking line of Jocelyn Lemieux-Mike McNeill-Mike Peluso is an example for ”more skilled players” on other lines: ”It should send a message to these more skilled players that you get your scoring chances from working hard and taking the body.”
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Sutter added about Peluso, who is developing week by week into a tough guy who can also provide offensive help: ”He`s willing to learn, and that`s the biggest thing. That enhances a player`s chances to stay in the NHL. Lots of players can get to the NHL, but it`s those willing to listen that stay around the longest.”
Seeking balance: Sutter sees center Jeremy Roenick still trying to find the perfect balance for him on the ice: ”He has to remember the type of player he is and be consistent at it. Some shifts, he blows away guys with his speed;
other shifts, he`s overhandling the puck.”