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PORTLAND – Paul Kariya doesn’t look like he has already put 12 National Hockey League seasons on his skates.
The years have been good to the youthful-looking Kariya, who led the University of Maine to its first NCAA championship in 1992-93, becoming the first and only freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award given to college hockey’s best player.
The lockout of 2004-2005 was beneficial to Kariya, who had missed 31 regular season games with a sprained wrist and 10 playoff games with a sprained ankle during the 2003-2004 season with the Colorado Avalanche.
He has led the Nashville Predators in scoring the past two seasons, collecting 31 goals and 54 assists two years ago and 24 goals and 52 assists this past season.
“It was nice to get the body back in order. Any time you play an NHL season, it takes its toll on you,” said the 32-year-old Kariya at a retirement party for Grant Standbrook, the former Maine assistant and recruiting coordinator who stepped down a year ago to become the school’s volunteer assistant.
About 60 people attended Standbrook’s party and many were former UMaine players who are still pursuing careers in professional hockey.
Kariya can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 but said he would like to return to Nashville.
“I’ve loved every minute I’ve had there. It’s a great city, a great place to live,” said Kariya.
His situation is up in the air because the Predators were sold recently to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie.
“Hopefully, things will work out. But you never know with new ownership,” said Kariya who noted that there is a “great team” in place there now.
The Predators finished with 110 points, second only to Buffalo and Detroit’s 113 points. But they were ousted in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs by San Jose.
“We had a disappointing finish. Over our last 20 games, we kind of cooled off,” said Kariya. “We had the President’s Trophy in sight [given to the team that finishes with the most points during the regular season] and we looked to make a good playoff run. But we struggled in the end and didn’t get past the first round.
“That’s what happens. Ottawa has had one of the top teams in the NHL for eight years but didn’t do anything [in the playoffs] until they got to the finals this year,” said Kariya, who had two assists in Nashville’s five playoff games against San Jose. “Sometimes, it takes a while.”
Kariya was a first-round draft choice of Anaheim in 1993 and spent his first nine seasons with the Ducks. So he was understandably excited to see the Ducks win the Stanley Cup.
“I was really happy for Teemu [Selanne] and the guys I played with,” said Kariya. “Teemu has been a great player for a lot of years and a great friend of mine. To see him raise the Cup was really special.”
Kariya, who has scored 366 goals and dished out 500 assists in 821 NHL regular season games, still has passion for the game and said retirement is not on the radar screen.
“Every friend of mine who retires says keep playing the game as long as you can. There’s nothing like it,” said Kariya.
Kariya was one of three Kariya brothers who played at Maine.
STEVE KARIYA played in the Swedish Elite League for Vastra Frolunda this past season and had 23 goals and 16 assists in 55 games. He will return to Vastra Frolunda next season.
The former University of Maine All-American has 65 NHL games and 265 AHL/IHL games under his belt as well as two seasons in Finland.
“It’s a great place to play,” he said. “It’s the top league in Europe right now, it’s a great country with the [high] standard of living and stuff and they sell out every game. There’s 12,000 people. It’s nice to play in a hockey-crazed country again instead of being down in the minors [AHL and the former IHL] and getting 2,000 or 3,000 fans per game. It’s fun to play there.”
MARTY KARIYA, the youngest of the three, has recently signed a two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues after playing in Finland last year.
Defenseman DOUG JANIK had a breakthrough year after toiling in the minors for five years in the Buffalo organization.
Janik signed with Tampa Bay and saw action in 75 NHL games for the Lightning with two goals and nine assists. He played in just 10 NHL games for Buffalo in five seasons.
“I finally got a chance and things went well. Hopefully, I’ll continue to move forward,” said Janik. “The fresh start got me motivated again.”
He enjoyed playing for former Black Bear winger John Tortorella, who coaches the Lightning, saying he was “tough but very fair” with his players.
“I don’t have a contract yet. I’d like to be back there if I could,” said the 27-year-old Janik.
Goalies JIMMY HOWARD and FRANK DOYLE spent their seasons in the AHL with Grand Rapids (Detroit) and Lowell (New Jersey), respectively.
“I was very pleased with my second half. I had four shutouts. I started taking more control of games. I took another step forward,” said Howard, who has been told by Detroit management that he will probably start next season in the AHL but if he has an impressive training camp and start to the season, “they said they’ll make room for me [in Detroit].”
Doyle said, “Things went well. I got to play a lot. It went a lot better than the year before.”
Doyle is a restricted free agent and hasn’t heard from the Devils as yet.
TODD JACKSON, MIKE MORRISON and MAT DESCHAMPS spent healthy portions of their seasons playing for Phoenix in the ECHL. Jackson may explore European options but wouldn’t rule out returning to Phoenix.
Deschamps would love to return to Phoenix and Morrison is a free agent who “hopes to stay on this side of the pond.”
NIKO DIMITRAKOS played for the NHL’s Flyers and the AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms and Chicago Wolves and is a free agent.
“In Chicago, I got to play with [former Bear] Cory Larose as well as [former New Hampshire stars] Darren Haydar and Jason Krog. It was a good team. We lost in the semifinals. It was fun. I want to play [in North America]. I can still play,” said Dimitrakos, the proud father of daughter Mia.
BEN GUITE finally got his chance in the NHL after six minor league seasons and had three goals and eight assists in 39 games with Colorado.
“It was fun. I’m a free agent in July and I’m trying to work something out [with Colorado] right now,” said Guite.
JEFF TORY played the last six seasons in Germany and has signed a two-year deal to play in Austria; ALFIE MICHAUD played in Germany’s second league and will return for two more years; PRESTIN RYAN played for Manitoba in the AHL but said he will “probably end up going to Europe” and DEREK DAMON, who had a productive year for the Florida Everblades (ECHL), said he hopes to play in the AHL next year.
“I learned about the pro game this year,” said Damon.
PETER METCALF played for Alaska (ECHL) and said he is “weighing a lot of offers to go to Europe.”
ERIC WEINRICH will return to the AHL’s Portland Pirates as an assistant coach and also possibly as a defenseman. But former Maine assistant BRUCE CROWDER, also an assistant with the Pirates, is leaving coaching to work for a medical company in New Hampshire.
Crowder and Weinrich said it was rewarding to watch former Pirate players hoist the Stanley Cup for the parent Ducks.
“I had coached 13 of them over the previous two years,” said Crowder.
Meanwhile, BRENDAN WALSH is enjoying his new job as a Boston policeman.
“It gives you a sense of community and the ability to help people,” said Walsh who has a lot of friends in the police department. His father, Michael, is a fireman.
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