Colgate goalie Dave Gagnon announced Monday night that he will skip his
senior season with the Red Raiders and turn pro, signing a contract with the
Detroit Red Wings.  Terms of the contract were not announced, but Gagnon
said the value of the deal was "close" to the $1 million that he wanted to
leave the college ranks.  The Red Wings will also have the option to pay him
a lower (though still lucrative) amount if he winds up in the minors.
 
Gagnon, the ECAC's Player of the Year for 1989-1990, was a free agent,
having not been drafted by an NHL team, and apparently the New York Rangers
were also looking at him (the Calgary Flames had also expressed interest
earlier).  In talking about turning pro, Gagnon said "There was a lot of
issues being weighed, getting my degree, also getting a chance to play in
the NHL.  There's the injury risk [of playing his senior season with
Colgate].  And I've played three years here now.  It's time to move on."  He
didn't mention the money, but of course that was also a factor.  By the way,
Gagnon said he was still going to try to earn his degree from Colgate.  I
hope he does.
 
The only real surprise in this announcement is that it took so long to
happen.  With a 2.22 goals-against average, Gagnon was one of the top
netminders in college hockey last season, and he was the key factor in
Colgate's drive to the championship game.  A season like that generally
makes pro hockey scouts drool, and there were certainly a number of them
following Gagnon's performance during the playoffs.  Gagnon mentioned the
risk of injury in playing his senior season, and his knee injury toward the
end of last season (which caused him to miss five games) could only have
solidified his decision to turn pro.  There's also the strong possibility
that Gagnon's numbers next year would be nowhere near as good as they were
in 1989-1990, since Colgate is losing seven (maybe eight) forwards to
graduation.  Gagnon probably never would have been a hotter commodity for
the NHL than he was after last season.
 
Perhaps another surprise was Colgate head coach Terry Slater's reaction to
the announcement.  Slater did not take the sanctimonious get-your-degree-
and-the-hell-with-the-money route that college coaches frequently use when
one of their stars leaves early.  He says he thinks Gagnon made the right
call:  "How many people would be offered close to a million dollars?  You
just can't turn something like that down."  Gagnon's departure will
obviously hurt the Red Raiders, maybe more than people realize.  In what may
turn out to be a major blunder, Slater did not recruit a goalie for next
season bcause he was counting on Gagnon's return.  This leaves Colgate with
two goaltenders, sophomore Ken Baker and junior Greg Menges, and apparently
ECAC (or NCAA?) rules state that a team must have three.  Slater says he
might have to get a goalie out of Colgate's intramural program.  Regardless,
the Red Raiders' netminding situation looks pretty shaky.  After Gagnon went
down, Menges made his first start of the year against Harvard in Cambridge,
and he responded with a 32-save effort as the Red Raiders beat the Crimson
6-1.  However, Colgate split their last four games of the season as Menges
and Baker combined to allow 22 goals.  Looks like Colgate may have a tough
season next year.
 
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86
LET'S GO RED!!
 
"I have chosen not to return to the show next season.  Instead, my wife and
 I have decided to share a vacation in the relative peace and quiet of
 Beirut."
-- Former "Roseanne" executive producer Jeff Harris, in a full-page ad in
   _Daily Variety_ announcing his resignation