When it was my turn, I just skated out and heard this huge cheer. It was very touching considering the bad circumstances under which I had left the team and that I had been away for four years.

But a funny thing happened four years later. I was invited to play for an alumni team against the Red Wings.

What you had at the time was a dictatorship with the team owners.

In January '77 I went out to LA and have been here 26 years.

I had been out there long enough. I had not seen my family for four years.

Fitch is as improved as you want to see and a very good team. They had won four in a row. It was a close game and we played okay. We had to be perfect down the stretch and we're not good enough to be perfect.