If NHL owners institute what is expected to be a lengthy lockout in 2004, many players will find it easy to make a living while they wait for the issues to be resolved. Especially if they come from Russia.
The 18-team Russian Superleague has already begun discussing plans to allow its clubs to sign expatriate NHL players after the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in 2004, an event that most observers believe will lead to a work stoppage that could cost the NHL a full season or more.
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| Alex Zhamnov could trade in his Blackhawks uniform for one back home in Russia after next season. (AP) |
"Fans would naturally like to see Russian players back in the uniforms of the clubs they left," Steblin told Canada's National Post .
But before any Russian team can think about signing a player, Steblin says the league has many details to work out, including insurance and whether to limit the number of NHLers each team could add to its roster. He said the league does not want to end up in a situation where all the top talents end up with the league's few rich teams.
"(Pavel) Bure, (Alexei) Zhamnov, (Alexei) Yashin , (Sergei) Fedorov and (Ilya) Kovalchuk could all end up on one team," he said. "No number has been fixed yet, but we are talking about this."
Apparently, so are fans in other European countries such as Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. According to Rene Fassel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, there is a great deal of anticipation on the continent over what the NHL's possible work stoppage will do for top-level domestic leagues, at least for a while.
"It is expected that a lot of European and North American players will want to play in Europe and we have no legal way to forbid them from coming," Fassel said. "If they want to play here, it will be great for European hockey. Some players came back during the last NHL strike [in 1994] and it really brought the fans out to the rink."
Bad tradeoff
The sour grapes coming from several general managers this week has less to do with the New York Rangers' acquisition of Alexei Kovalev from Pittsburgh than with the way they did it.
Philadelphia's Bob Clarke fired the first salvo after the blockbuster move was announced Monday, claiming the deal was "not good for hockey," before Mike Milbury of the Islanders said it raised "questions about how we do business as a league."
Vancouver's Brian Burke also weighed in, claiming the trade reflects poorly on the integrity of the league.
"I don't think you can view the Kovalev trade as anything but dangerous," Burke said. "Are there now 'For Sale' signs on the players?"
The deal, which enabled the rich Rangers to pick up one of the league's top stars from a cash-strapped division rival, involved a total of eight players and the equivalent of about $10 million to Pittsburgh. New York not only lifted Kovalev's $4.6 million salary off the Penguins' books, they also sent Pittsburgh about $4 million in cash and took over the contracts of three players who were owed about $2 million more by Pittsburgh over the next 18 months.
Some reports have even suggested that New York will pay the remainder of this year's salaries for the four players they dealt to the Penguins.
"I don't think it's good any time you have a lot of cash involved," Clarke said. "This was not a credible hockey deal in my opinion."
Blues captain feeling blue
Chris Pronger is anxious to get back on the ice for the St. Louis Blues, but he isn't very optimistic about that happening very soon.
The All-Star defenseman, who has been out of action all season after undergoing surgery to repair a wrist injury he sustained during last year's playoffs, isn't even sure he'll play at all this season.
"I'll have to have skated for at least a month before I try to play and even then, I need to feel good when I'm skating," Pronger said. "It's a whole other story to be skating and then have contact. There'll probably be two or three weeks of trying to be physical in practice to try to get back into game shape. When do I start doing that? I have no idea."
Pronger spent a couple of days earlier this week being examined by a wrist specialist in Baltimore, and says he has noticed improvement recently, but remains frustrated by the slow overall pace of his recovery.
"You start to feel good and then suddenly you're going in the wrong direction," he said. "That's the mental challenge you have to get over."
Burke not quite back
Plans to start Sean Burke in goal had to be put on hold Wednesday by the Phoenix Coyotes.
The veteran netminder, who hasn't played since early January after sustaining a knee injury, tore some scar tissue over the weekend, forcing his anticipated comeback game against New Jersey to be delayed for about a week.
"I tore a little scar tissue away, and it became inflamed after practice so I gave it a day's rest," Burke said. "But I haven't done any more damage to the knee. The tightness of the ligament and flexibility is still good."
They said it
I'm having a hard time finding the net, but I'm dealing with it. I want to score 40 or 50 goals, but you can't make apple pie out of bananas. -- Boston's Martin Lapointe, who has just two goals and seven assists in 32 games this season, the second of his four-year, $22-million deal with the Bruins.
