Fred Shero was a marginal NHL player whose career barely lasted three seasons in the late 1940s. Shero, however, was an astute observer of the game, an ability that became evident when he began coaching a junior team in 1957.

Over the next 14 years, Shero moved up the ranks and won several championships by developing a series of unorthodox coaching techniques he believed would one day make him a success in the NHL.

The Philadelphia Flyers thought so too, which is why they hired him to become their head coach on June 2, 1971.

Using an entertaining and, to put it mildly, eccentric style, the man called "the Fog" because he often drifted off in the middle of sentences, began to mold the Flyers into the "Broad Street Bullies." Shero would write suggestions on his blackboard such as, "Take the shortest route to the puck carrier, and arrive in ill humor, " and he stressed the importance of commitment by saying, "When you have bacon and eggs for breakfast, the chicken makes a contribution, but the pig makes a commitment."

To improve stick handling, tennis balls would replace hockey pucks. To increase leg strength, skaters would push a goalie seated in a folded chair around the ice. Forwards would practice breakaways while being slashed from behind. "Nobody ever lets you score an easy goal in a game," Shero said. "Why practice that way?"

The practice methods may have had a few people shaking their heads, but no one could argue with the results. In 1974, three years after he took over the club, Philadelphia became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. They repeated the feat the following season, giving the city of Brotherly Love its only two NHL titles.

Shero, who died of stomach cancer in 1990, was always looking for a better way to coach, and many of his innovations such as hiring an assistant, using playing systems, studying films and holding morning skates are commonplace in hockey today.

But they probably wouldn't be if the Flyers hadn't taken a chance during the week of May 29 - June 4 and hired a man who dared to do things differently.

May 29
Mats Sundin had two penalty shots in the 1999 playoffs.(Allsport)	In February, 1998 at the Nagano Olympics, goaltender Dominik Hasek blanked the best Canadian marksman in a shootout to eliminate the gold-medal favorites, but on this date in 1999, he was unable to stop Swedish-born Mats Sundin in a similar type of one-on-one. Sundin beat Hasek to score the first penalty shot goal in the playoffs in two years.

May 30

Howie Meeker helped the Leafs win the Cup as a rookie.(Provided to SportsLine)

Howie Meeker was injured by a grenade in World War II, but rehabilitated himself and resumed his brilliant junior hockey when he returned home to Canada. On this date in 1946, the Toronto Maple Leafs took a chance and signed the youngster, who went on to score 27 goals in his first season and win the 1947 Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. Meeker, who played eight seasons, later served as coach and general manager of the Leafs.

May 31
Ron Hextall won 15 playoff games as a rookie.(Allsport)	After blowing a 3-1 lead in the Finals series against Philadelphia, the Edmonton Oilers came up with a big effort on this date in 1987 to defeat the Flyers and win the Stanley Cup for the third time in four years. Flyers rookie netminder Ron Hextall became the fourth member of a losing team to be named the Conn Smythe winner as the playoff MVP.

June 1
John Vanbiesbrouck almost brought the upstart Panthers a title.(Allsport)	The Florida Panthers, in only their third year of play, continued one of the most amazing runs in NHL playoff history on this date in 1996 by defeating the Penguins in Pittsburgh in Game 7 to win the Prince of Wales Trophy as the league's Eastern Confernce champion. The Cinderella story ended in the Finals when the Panthers were swept by the Colorado Avalanche.

June 2
Elmer Lach scored 61 points to win the first Art Ross Trophy.(Provided to SportsLine)	He was credited with establishing hockey in Boston, but Art Ross is also remembered for being having of the most innovative offensive minds in the game of hockey. That's why on this date in 1947, the NHL decided to present his namesake trophy to the league's leading scorer. The first winner of the coveted award was Elmer Lach of the Montreal Canadiens.

June 3

Marty McSorley's stick got him in trouble long before the Donald Brashear incident.(Allsport)

One of the most bizarre events in playoff history took place on this date in 1993. The Los Angeles Kings had won the first game of the Finals in Montreal and was clinging to a one-goal lead with less than two minutes remaining in the third period of Game 2, when Canadiens coach Jacques Demers asked for a measurement on Kings defenseman Marty McSorley's stick. The blade was found to have an illegal curve and McSorley was penalized. That proved to be the turning point of the series. Montreal tied the game on the ensuing power play and won it in ovetime, and then went on to win the next three games to capture the Cup.

June 4
Ted Lindsay was the driving force behind the first player's union.	Red Wings legend Ted Lindsay was traded away from Detroit in 1957 because of his pioneering efforts to launch a NHL player's union, but the process he set in motion couldn't be stopped. Team owners realized as much on this date in 1958 when they gathered for their annual meetings and signed their first agreement with the newly-formed players' association.

Historical photos courtesy of Hockeyonline.com