Star power, without star ego

Dave Andreychuk is a team-first player who just happens to have nearly 600 goals.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 6, 2002

TAMPA -- The announcement was made and those left from the 15,454 at the Ice Palace stood and cheered.

They waited for Lightning forward Dave Andreychuk to skate back on the ice and wave as befits the No. 1 star of the game ... then they waited some more.

But Andreychuk, who had two goals and an assist in Thursday's 4-2 victory over the Penguins, was a no-show.

Nothing against the fans or the postgame tribute to the game's three stars, which is done in every arena around the league. Andreychuk just does not like putting some team members above the rest.

"I just feel it's not one guy," Andreychuk said. "It's not three guys who are the best players in the game. I shouldn't take a lot of credit for the game. It's not one guy, that's all."

Maybe not, but Andreychuk's contributions deserve recognition.

It started in the locker room, where the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer emerged as the leader and helped mold the second-youngest team in the league into a tight unit that better understands the effort needed to compete.

He has backed up his ice credentials as well with 20 goals, 17 assists and a winning percentage of 53.7 on faceoffs, which, going into Friday, put him 14th in the league among those with at least 1,000 draws.

It is the 17th time Andreychuk has scored at least 20 goals in a season, tying him for third all-time with Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne and Mike Gartner. Only Carolina's Ron Francis (19) and Gordie Howe (22) have more.

"That's something I had been looking forward to," Andreychuk said of the 20-goal mark. "I did it last year in Buffalo and I wanted to do it here."

What Andreychuk has done in his past 25 games is Fountain of Youth-type stuff: 12 goals, eight assists and a daunting 21:38 of ice time.

Remember, the guy is 38. "It's unbelievable," said center Vinny Lecavalier, 21. "He's been helping the young guys all year. He plays hard and is helping us get to the next level. Everybody respects him. He's a great leader." "And he goes out there," coach John Tortorella said, "and does it every night."

He had a chance to do even more against the Penguins. With the puck in the neutral zone, time running down and an empty net begging for a hat trick, Andreychuk passed to Ben Clymer, who scored his 14th goal.

"I've got enough goals," joked Andreychuk, who has 592, including 244 on the power play, five off Phil Esposito's record. "I don't need any more."

"A very unselfish player. A nice guy and a great player," Clymer said. "A lot has been said about him and all of it is true. I will tell people I played some games with him."

There has been no official announcement but it appears Andreychuk wants to play another season. The Lightning holds an option on a contract that paid $800,000 this season, and Tortorella and general manager Jay Feaster have said they want Andreychuk back.

"He feels there is something special going on in that locker room," Tortorella said. "He wouldn't want to come back and play another year if he didn't think there was something going on here."

As for his unavailability during the introduction of the three stars, Tortorella said, "I think he should go out. I think it's for the fans, but I'm certainly not going to push him."

Andreychuk does plenty just pushing himself.

ODDS AND ENDS: Former Lightning players John Tucker, Chris Kontos, Rudy Poeschek, Enrico Ciccone, Pat Jablonski, Paul Ysebaert and Petr Klima are scheduled to sign autographs from 5-6 p.m. Sunday in the Ice Palace concourse before the game against the Sabres. ... Brad Richards and Brian Bradley are the only Lightning players to have consecutive 60-point seasons. Richards, who has 19 goals, 41 assists, reached the mark Thursday with his assist on Andreychuk's first goal.