The NHL : Bars That Can Lead to More Bars

Hockey players aren’t above the law, not even in Canada, where hockey is almost a religion.

Left wing Dave Hunter of the Edmonton Oilers began serving a 28-day jail sentence last Friday for drunken driving.

Hunter was convicted for the third time last year and was sentenced to four months, but the sentence was reduced to 28 days after an appeal. Hunter’s attorneys argued that the Canadian government had not warned Hunter that he would be more severely punished for repeated convictions.

Hunter could be out of jail as early as next Sunday because of good behavior. He is serving his sentence at a minimum security facility in Edmonton, used mainly for drunken drivers.

Hunter has missed two games and figures to miss two more while he’s in jail. He has refused all requests for interviews and is not returning phone calls from reporters.

Hunter is the second Oiler who has been locked up. Center Craig MacTavish spent a year in jail for vehicular manslaughter after killing a woman during an alcohol-related accident while he was playing for the Boston Bruins.

The Oilers picked him up from Boston during the 1985 Stanley Cup final and he joined the team this season. MacTavish has been doing commercials, advising kids not to drink and drive.

In another alcohol-related hockey story, Jim Craig, the goalie for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, was arrested for drunken driving and speeding last weekend on a highway outside Boston. On Tuesday, he pleaded innocent to charges in Wareham, Mass.

In 1982, Craig was found innocent of vehicular homicide after an accident in which a woman was killed.

Craig is out of hockey now. After leading the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in 1980, he played for Atlanta, Boston and Minnesota.

King center Bernie Nicholls allegedly doesn’t fight fair.

Nicholls reportedly bit Marc Crawford of the Vancouver Canucks on the hand during a fight in a game.

Nicholls wasn’t penalized.

“I showed the linesman the bite marks on my hand,” Crawford told a Vancouver newspaper. “But the referee said there’s no rule in the book for biting. It’s crazy--you get penalized for pulling hair, but not for biting, which is a deliberate attempt to injure.”

There have been newspaper reports that Coach Jack Evans of the Hartford Whalers will be fired unless the team starts winning soon.

Well, Tuesday night Evans and the Whalers snapped their 10-game winless streak with a 5-4 victory over Vancouver. Hartford was just two games shy of a club record before the win.

Evans said he’s sticking around.

“You can bet your typewriters I’m not going to resign,” Evans told The Hartford Courant.

Whaler General Manager Emile Francis said Evans’ job is secure.

“I don’t intend to make any coaching changes on the Hartford Whalers,” Francis said. “I think Jack Evans is one of the best coaches in the NHL. That’s not where the problem is. You can’t start calling for a necktie party because it’s just not going to happen with me around.”

Evans, who rarely gets excited, has been criticized for being too low key by the Hartford media.

“I think motivation is important, but I think there are a lot of different ways to go about it,” Francis said. “I don’t see Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys jumping up and down on the sidelines, yet he’s been successful.

“You lose confidence in yourself and you search for answers, but you don’t lose faith in yourself. You are what you are and I can’t help it if I’m not a firecracker type coach.”

The Whalers have been struggling since Ron Francis, the team’s scoring leader, broke his ankle last month and isn’t expected back until next month.

“No one in the organization thinks it’s going to be like a tap when he comes back, going from cold to hot water,” Francis said. “That’s too much to expect.”

The Minnesota North Stars are apparently trying to trade left wing Tom McCarthy.

The North Stars have a team rule that players must be half an hour early for practices. Violators are fined $25 and it’s doubled each occurrence. The money goes into a team party fund.

McCarthy was 10 minutes late for the North Stars’ first practice after the All-Star break.

He was 15 minutes late the next day, and Coach Lorne Henning sent him home without practicing.

He was 15 minutes late for a game against Montreal and he didn’t dress for the next five games.

The North Stars have played him in their last two games, apparently shopping him around.