The NHL : Injuries Sideline Bourne, Simmer

New York Islander left wing Bob Bourne will be out for at least eight weeks after suffering severed tendons in the right wrist in the Kings’ 6-5 overtime win over the Islanders last Saturday at the Forum.

Bourne suffered the injury when he lost his glove and King left wing Steve Shutt accidently skated over his hand.

Bourne, 30, underwent surgery in a Los Angeles hospital Monday and may not be able to return this season.

Bourne is the ninth regular the Islanders have lost to injury this season.

Mike Bossy, the third-leading scorer in the National Hockey League, did not play against the Kings last week because of a back injury.

Things had been going very well for left wing Charlie Simmer after he was traded from the Kings to the Boston Bruins last October.

However, Simmer is expected to be out from three to six weeks after suffering a broken jaw in a game against the Quebec Nordiques last weekend.

Simmer was speared in the face by Quebec’s Wilf Paiement. Paiement did not receive a penalty, but the Bruins are expected to ask the NHL to take disciplinary action against Paiement.

However, it may take a little time for the league to rule on the matter.

There are already several other incidents pending.

The Chicago Black Hawks have asked the NHL to suspend New York Islander goalie Billy Smith for hitting Curt Fraser in the face with his stick in a recent game. Fraser suffered a broken right cheekbone.

The firing of New York Ranger Coach Herb Brooks Monday should come as no surprise. With the Rangers playing poorly, there had been speculation all season that Brooks would be fired.

The Rangers have been one of the most injured teams in the NHL this season, totaling 278 games lost because of injury.

However, the incident that probably led to Brooks’ firing occurred a few weeks ago when he was involved in a heated argument with team captain Barry Beck at practice.

Brooks had been quoted by a New York newspaper as calling Beck a “coward.” Beck reportedly threw a garbage can and his sticks onto the ice during the argument.

There is speculation that Brooks will coach the Minnesota North Stars next season.

Brooks coached at the University of Minnesota before gaining fame as coach of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. His family still lives in St. Paul.

King center Marcel Dionne was snubbed by the Edmonton Oilers Monday night when he scored his 611th goal to pass Bobby Hull and become the league’s third-leading scorer.

Surprisingly, there was no announcement made of Dionne’s milestone by the public address announcer at the Northlands Coliseum.

However, an announcement was flashed on the message board in the period following Dionne’s goal.

The crowd booed Dionne after the game when it was announced that he had been named the third star of the game.

But Dionne didn’t seem to be bothered by the slight.

“What’s the difference--611 here, 610 at home, we still lost,” Dionne said. “It’s tough on the heart.”

When Guy Lafleur announced his retirement from the Montreal Canadiens earlier this season, the Canadiens gave him a position in their marketing department.

The only problem was that they didn’t have any office space for Lafleur.

But the Canadiens solved the problem recently by cutting down the walls in a several other offices to create office space for Lafleur.

A Montreal newspaper also reported that the Canadiens have enrolled Lafleur in a marketing course at a local university.

A reporter from Sports Illustrated, who is doing a story on Edmonton Oiler center Wayne Gretzky, skated with the Oilers at practice Monday.

Apparently, anyone who plays with Gretzky could become a star in the NHL.

The reporter gave Gretzky a bad pass, but Gretzky dug it out of his skates and still managed to score.

Gretzky later set the reporter up for an easy goal.