NHL

Slapshots

By TOM JONES
Published December 25, 2005

DIRTY TRICK: Ottawa's Jason Spezza pulled a fast one on Montreal defenseman Sheldon Souray last week. As Souray went behind his net with the puck, Spezza, who was chasing him, yelled, "Reverse! Reverse!"

That's what a defenseman tells his partner when he wants him to pass the puck behind the net. Souray, thinking it was his partner, did exactly that. He left the puck, which Spezza scooped up and quickly jammed into the net. Even Spezza felt bad after the play.

"That's why I didn't celebrate the goal," Spezza told the Ottawa Citizen. "It was kind of a greasy thing to do."

MOONLIGHTING: Rick "The Stick" Elaschuk has worked the visiting dressing room in Edmonton for years and probably has the best collection of hockey memorabilia in the world. He recently sold a big chunk of it at auction, including Wayne Gretzky's rookie sweater for $148,478. By day, Elaschuk drives a 1985 Eldorado and sells furniture. But he's set for life with his hockey gear.

"I hear they're going to make a movie about me," he joked with the Edmonton Journal. "Kind of like Forrest Gump. I'm the guy with the weak ankles, who can't skate, but is told if you hang around the rink, good things will happen to you."

KING OF TROUBLE: The Kings' Sean Avery, it seems, can't go more than a week or two without saying or doing something stupid. When his Kings played the Oilers back in October, he allegedly made a racial slur toward Edmonton's Georges Laraque, who is a good guy, but might be the toughest pound-for-pound fighter in the league. Most assumed Avery would be willing to drop the gloves with Laraque to settle the score, but maybe Avery knew Laraque would pummel him.

But that didn't stop Avery from running his mouth after the game.

"I'm not wasting my time fighting guys who play four minutes a night," Avery was quoted as saying in the Edmonton Journal.

Laraque said: "Four minutes a night? What can I say? I bet if you asked him if he'd take me on his team to play my role, he'd say yeah,"

[Last modified December 24, 2005, 23:43:13]