McSorley goes, Mario returns

 The NHL sent away Marty McSorley and welcomed back Mario Lemieux in a year that showcased the worst and best hockey has to offer.

 In the final seconds of a game Feb. 21, Boston defenseman McSorley hit Donald Brashear across the head with his stick, leaving the Vancouver enforcer bleeding and unconscious on the ice.

 The hit landed McSorley in a British Columbia courtroom in October and the league suspended him for one year from the day of the attack.

 McSorley, who says he was only trying to goad Brashear into a fight, was convicted of assault with a weapon but granted a conditional discharge, meaning he won't have a criminal record.

 "It is difficult to imagine a more irresponsible and dangerous act on the ice than the one that was involved in this case," commissioner Gary Bettman said.

 Brashear missed 20 games with a concussion -- he banged his head on the ice after McSorley hit him -- but rejoined the Canucks last season.

 McSorley, an unrestricted free agent, can sign with any club and begin trying out and practicing on Jan. 1. He is eligible to play Feb. 20.

 The league took a less-tolerant stand on violence in the aftermath, issuing a 10-game ban to New Jersey defenseman Scott Niedermayer, a 23-game suspension to Tampa Bay's Gordie Dwyer and a 20-game banishment to Brad May of Phoenix.

 While the league was getting tougher, Super Mario was planning his comeback.

 His timing couldn't have been better.

 The Hall of Famer turned Pittsburgh Penguins owner announced Dec. 11 he would return to the ice after a 31/2-year absence.

 Lemieux said goodbye after the Penguins were knocked out of the 1997 playoffs -- following a regular season in which he won his sixth scoring title.

 "I'm only 35, I'm rested and I'm healthy, and I think I can get back to the level I was before I was retired -- and maybe better," Lemieux said.

 Leading up to his announced return, Lemieux denied the trade request of his star player Jaromir Jagr. In saying no, Lemieux revealed his secret to Jagr, the three-time defending league scoring champ and his once and future linemate.

 On the day of Lemieux's announcement, the player he was most often compared to -- Wayne Gretzky -- was approved by the NHL board of governors to buy the Phoenix Coyotes as part of a group.

 Lemieux and Gretzky share the spotlight again, but No. 99 will not follow the Penguins great back onto the ice.

 "I gave it everything I could as a player and it was time to retire," Gretzky said.

 Lemieux feels his presence can give the Penguins what they need to wrest the Stanley Cup away from the New Jersey Devils.

 The Devils won their second title in six years by beating the defending champion Dallas Stars in six games. Jason Arnott won the Cup with a goal 8:20 into double overtime.

 "Not too many players have the opportunity to do that," Arnott said. "When you do get that opportunity, it's the best feeling in the world."

 After New Jersey won the series opener 7-3, only one of the final five games was decided by more than one goal -- including a 1-0 contest that ended in triple overtime.

 Dallas eliminated Colorado in the conference finals for the second straight year.

 New Jersey was edged out by two points (105-103) by the Philadelphia Flyers for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

 The Devils swept Florida and knocked Toronto out in six games to set up a meeting with the Flyers.

 Philadelphia, after beating Buffalo in five games, fell behind the Penguins two games to none at home. After the Flyers took Game 3 in overtime, the teams staged the third longest game in NHL history.

 It took seven hours and five overtimes before Keith Primeau's goal evened the series at 2:35 a.m., 92 minutes and one second into overtime.

 The Flyers took the series in six games and led the Devils 3-1, before their good fortune ended.

 Even with embattled former captain Eric Lindros back on the ice for Game 6 and part of Game 7, New Jersey completed the comeback and advanced to the finals.

 St. Louis had the NHL's best regular-season record, but the Blues' 114 points didn't help. Eighth-seeded San Jose eliminated them in the first round.

 Jagr won the scoring title with 96 points (42 goals, 54 assists). Florida's Pavel Bure scored a league-high 58 goals. Philadelphia goalie Brian Boucher was the first rookie in 50 years with a goals-against average (1.91) under 2.00.

 Lindros, so widely considered the heir apparent to Lemieux and Gretzky he was dubbed "The Next One", went down again.

 He was hurt once again by concussions, feuded with general manager Bob Clarke and was stripped of the team captaincy.

 Craig Ramsay took over as coach of the Flyers late in the season when Roger Neilson left for cancer treatment. Ramsay got the job full time after leading the inspired playoff run, but he was fired early this season after a slow start.

 An open-ice hit from Devils defenseman Scott Stevens in Game 7 of the conference finals left Lindros with his sixth concussion and sidelined him until now. The restricted free agent is seeking a trade from the Flyers and a new contract, vowing never to play for Philadelphia again.

 Also in 2000:

 -- The Montreal Canadiens continued to look more like an expansion team than the league's winningest franchise. Montreal missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1920-22. A poor beginning to the new season led to the dismissals of general manager Rejean Houle and coach Alain Vigneault.

 -- Two teams made their debuts. The NHL returned a franchise, the Wild, to Minnesota for the first time since the North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993. Columbus, Ohio, is the home of the expansion Blue Jackets.

 -- Boston traded Ray Bourque to the Colorado Avalanche in March so he would have a better chance to win his first Stanley Cup. The longtime Bruins captain spent his first 21 years with the Bruins.

 --Mark Messier returned to the New York Rangers as captain after three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks.