Everyone has a favourite Joe Nieuwendyk moment, and it's pretty hard to pick just one

Article: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/columnist.jsp?content=20061207_114652_4416

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Goodbye Joe! You've been a great leader for all the teams you've played for.
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Everyone has a favorite Joe Nieuwendyk memory.

With three Stanley Cup championship rings, 564 goals, a Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs and an Olympic gold medal it's pretty hard to pick just one.

Mine is personal. It's Game Six of the 1999 Stanley Cup finals. The game is being played in Buffalo and I'm sitting in the press box with a senior editor and a staff of six writers, and just before the start of the third period we're kicking around story ideas.

Of course we have to do the important things, the how and why the game was won (or lost), the game winner (which turned out to be the story of the decade given it was Brett Hull's controversial Cup-winning goal), the always interesting state of mind of then Sabres goaltender Dominik Hasek, a quote book full of things said by Dallas forward Brett Hull and perhaps a reaction from his coach and personal nemesis, Ken Hitchcock, a look-in on Dallas captain Mike Modano and on and on.

Finally someone (OK, it might have been me) pipes up and makes the point that perhaps we should do something on Joe Nieuwendyk since he's only killing the Sabres out there and he's going to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.

Heads nod, the story is assigned, everyone feels a little sheepish about overlooking the brilliance in our midst.

Nieuwendyk, now 40, retired Wednesday. And to make a point, I tell that story not to embarrass anyone in the pressbox that night, but to point out what a consummate professional he was.

He never pointed the spotlight at himself, and never did the "me thing" at any point in his illustrious 20-year career. Joe Nieuwendyk simply gave his best night in and night out in a quiet, professional manner. He played the game the way we all hope and believe we would play the game; with intensity, determination, a quite confidence and with a commitment to team, winning and doing whatever it takes to get the W on his team's side of the ledger. As an added bonus, he never embarrassed anyone, not a teammate, not a coach, not an opponent, the league or the game.

Throughout his career he played on wonky knees or with a bad back or both, but he never cried about it. That's the way Nieuwendyk carried himself. He would do whatever he had to do to win and he would do it without fanfare, without bemoaning his fate.

"He told me beforehand it was the end for him," said lifetime friend and long-time teammate, Gary Roberts, shortly after Nieuwendyk made his announcement. "I've seen it over the last little while and knew it was becoming tougher and tougher for him to be able to play. But to see what Joe has been going through, and try and travel and play, has been tough. It was a very emotional day for him and for us ... . We have a long history together and our families are very close. He's a great friend and I feel very bad for him today."

We should all feel that way.

It's not that he was cheated in any way. Sure his knees gave him problems, almost from the day he jumped into the NHL from Cornell as a fresh-faced rookie with the Calgary Flames in time for the 1986-87 season. He had 20 good to great years winning cups with Calgary, Dallas and the New Jersey Devils and a gold medal for his beloved Canada in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. He had a brief stint in Toronto where, despite problems with his knees and his back, he didn't disappoint. He finishes his career with the Florida Panthers, chronic losers, but a better franchise for his having played there."

He's been on five different teams, and there's thousands of guys he's played against, and I don't think anybody will say a bad word about him," Panthers captain Oli Jokinen said.

No one should.

Nieuwendyk was a great player throughout his career, but he was also a character guy. He not only played to win, but he showed the way for others who didn't always know how.

Calgary was pretty much set for a championship when he joined them, but he played so well you could argue they wouldn't have won in 1989 without him. The Flames were loathe to give him up when they did and the only thing that made the deal was that the Stars needed his talent and character so desperately and they were willing to offer up a young Jarome Iginla to get him.

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello saw him the same way, especially after he saw what he did in Dallas. Mike Keenan took a chance on his age and health knowing that even a half healthy Nieuwendyk was a worthy role model for a young team in Florida that didn't really know what winning was all about.

That to me will always be Nieuwendyk's legacy in hockey. He had talent, but most importantly he had character and a willingness to do whatever it took to win and to help others do the same.

If you look at his numbers, there good, but marginal in terms of slam-dunk status for the Hall of Fame. But factor in his character and his team building skills and the fact that he put the game before everything else, including boosting his own profile in it and, to me at least, the Hall should welcome him with open arms.

Nieuwendyk's retirement isn't just the Panthers loss, it's a loss for all of hockey and if you have a legacy like that you will never be forgotten.