TAKING IT ONE GAME AT A TIME
Hard-working veteran, drafted in 2000 by Habs, hits 1,000th NHL game
Leafs defenceman Ron Hainsey plays down the significance of hitting the 1,000-game mark tonight against the Stars — his coach and teammates will play it up for him,
Maple Leafs defenceman Ron Hainsey wasn’t overly comfortable talking about himself on the eve of his 1,000th NHL game, so coach Mike Babcock kind of tooted the horn for him.
“How about Hainsey?” the coach said at Wednesday’s practice. “Here’s to Ron Hainsey.” It’s more than a number. It’s all the hard work and commitment it takes to get there.
The silver stick that the NHL hands out for reaching that mark will signify the determination of a player who has never scored more than nine goals in any of his 16 seasons, and has appeared in the playoffs just twice.
“They’ll hand out this (silver stick) and no one will understand, no one will have any idea (what it takes),” Babcock said.
“You look at Ron’s career, and then you see players thinking they should get into the lineup more. Well, Ron worked for that.
“It took him a long time (to be a regular). It’s an honour for him and his family, and it will be a great celebration for our team.”
The 37-year-old from Bolton, Conn., will become the 327th NHL player to hit the milestone when he takes the ice for Thursday night’s date with the Dallas Stars at Scotiabank Arena.
He’s come a long way since he was drafted 13th overall by the Canadiens in 2000, and sounds like he’s approaching it like any other game.
“I don’t know, it’s not a major concern,” Hainsey said of the mark. “Part of it is luck, not getting injured too often over the years. Some people seem to come out less scathed than others.”
He was part of a Stanley Cup winner with Pittsburgh two seasons ago, and has played 80 or more games in eight seasons. It was never easy. Asked about his first NHL game with the Canadiens, he recalled: “We won 2-1. I was on the ice for a goal against and Michel Therien (benched) me two days later.”
The road from there to here is a test of character. Count his teammates as impressed.
“It’s extremely impressive,” said Leafs centre John Tavares, at 681 games and counting. “It’s something every player strives for … To understand the commitment, year in and year out, to be the best you can be every single day and be productive, it’s not easy to do.”
Babcock likes having NHL veterans around, setting a good example for young teammates. The Leafs also have forward Patrick Marleau, the active leader in games played at 1,587.
Jason Spezza of the Stars will reach 1,000 games against Hainsey and the Leafs on Thursday.
Around the league, Buffalo’s Jason Pominville also hits the mark on Thursday, when the Sabres visit the Senators. To- mas Plekanec, who was with the Leafs for their playoff run last spring, played No. 1,000 with the Canadiens in October. The Leafs’ last captain, Kings defenceman Dion Phaneuf, is eight games away.
Hainsey starred for the University of Massachusetts-Lowell before reaching the NHL and recalled watching a lot of Hartford Whalers games — a team, he adds, that didn’t have any great defencemen then.
He played parts of four seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs, then the Canadiens’ AHL farm team, from 2002-06.
Asked about those days playing close to Toronto, he deflected the question and focused on the task at hand for the Leafs.
“We’re pretty disappointed with our effort,” he said of Monday’s 3-1 home-ice loss to the Calgary Flames. “You can live with a loss if you play well, but that wasn’t the case Monday.”
In the wake of that, Babcock shuffled his power-play units at practice — moving Kasperi Kapanen off the top unit and adding Zach Hyman to the second.
The result: Tavares with Marleau, Mitch Marner, Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly; Hyman with Tyler Ennis, Josh Leivo, Andreas Johnsson and Jake Gardiner.