NHL NOTES : Commentators Get Taste of Bitter Coffey

Red Wing defenseman Paul Coffey’s assertion that ESPN analysts Mike Milbury and Barry Melrose lack the credibility to criticize the New Jersey Devils’ defensive system because they had undistinguished playing careers has turned into “a tempest in a coffee pot,” Milbury quipped.

Referring to their lack of finesse as players, Coffey said the pair “couldn’t get the puck out of their own end without it breaking into a million pieces.”

Milbury replied, “At least we showed up in the corners, which is someplace he tries desperately to avoid on game days.”

Angered, Coffey tried to organize a Red Wing boycott of ESPN, but failed.

Milbury said he regretted needling Coffey. Melrose, who coached Coffey with the Kings, laughed it off.

“Coff’s probably right,” Melrose said. “But I think I was a better stick handler than Mike.”

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Four-time NHL scoring champion Mario Lemieux will announce he will return to the Pittsburgh Penguins next season after taking last season off to strengthen his injured back and recover from the effects of treatments for Hodgkin’s disease.