The NHL : Soviets Are Considering New Ways to Work Together With the NHL

The exhibition tours, including a stop in Los Angeles, that a couple of Soviet hockey teams are making through the National Hockey League these days are part of a much larger picture as East and West seek to find common ice.

While John Ziegler, president of the NHL, and Alan Eagleson, executive director of the NHL Players Assn., were in Moscow to firm up plans for a couple of NHL teams to train and play some exhibition games in the Soviet Union next year, the Moscow News reported that the Soviet Union had been offered the opportunity to field a team in the NHL.

The Moscow News quoted Victor Galaev, director of foreign economic relations for the state sports committee as saying: “We are looking at a suggestion from our partner on the other side of the ocean.” And he added: “Perhaps in the future, our boys will be competing with professionals for the Stanley Cup.”

On the current tours, the Soviets’ Dynamo Riga will play the Kings in a 7 p.m. Saturday game at the Forum.

The Soviets are considering more freedom for athletes in other sports, too. They are looking into the earning potential of boxers, soccer players and basketball players in leagues not just in the United States, but also in Europe.

Vyacheslav Fetisov, who is awaiting permission to accept an offer to skate with the New Jersey Devils, can’t understand what’s holding things up. A report from Tass, the Soviet news agency, quoted Fetisov: “I have already done everything demanded of me to go to New Jersey. I cannot understand why it hasn’t happened. It seems that everyone has agreed, but at the same time, they don’t give me permission to leave.”

Tass shed a little light, quoting his team manager, Victor Tikhonov, as saying that the top 5 players on his team had offers to play elsewhere. To lose all 5 “would be a catastrophe,” he said.

Tikhonov is holding off, hoping to establish a rule that only 2 players can leave each team. Maybe Eagleson could give him some pointers on how to negotiate these things.

Add Soviet Union: The Calgary Flames are reportedly interested in training a week in Western Europe and then going to the Soviet Union for more training and exhibition games at Moscow and Leningrad.

At the board of governors meeting in Florida, Eagleson reportedly said: “It’s not a big moneymaker, but they want the opportunity to be in the forefront of hockey history.”

Also expressing interest in the Soviet experience are the Quebec Nordiques and the St. Louis Blues.

Besides making “hockey history,” that kind of trip might give those teams the inside track on international recruiting, if that is what the future holds.

Soviets on TV: The Kings’ game against Dynamo Riga is 1 of the 11 games that Sportschannel is televising, selected from the 14-game Soviet tour. Herb Brooks, a Sportschannel commentator, will work with King play-by-play announcer Bob Miller. Prime Ticket will carry the game locally.

Expansion, anyone? Eagleson, not bound by the code of conservatism that prevents the NHL owners from commenting on where the league might be expanding next, left the board of governors meeting in Florida with the opinion that Hamilton, Ontario, had the best chance at getting an NHL franchise, with Milwaukee next on the list. He said, “Then it’s up for grabs.” He named Dallas next, followed by Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Charlotte and Miami.

Finally . . . Reed Larson seems to have found a spot in the NHL after a tough start this season. What a fast dropoff he made after playing in the Stanley Cup finals for the Boston Bruins just last season.

Larson, 32, a 12-year veteran in the league and the all-time leading scorer (659 points) among U.S.-born players, was competing in his first game with a guaranteed contract this season when he scored the winning goal in the New York Islanders’ 4-3 victory over Toronto Monday night.

He had been turned loose by the Edmonton Oilers after a 10-game tryout earlier this season and was signed Dec. 3 by the Islanders for an 8-game tryout. Monday night’s game was his ninth with the Islanders.

Islander Coach Al Arbour wanted the veteran defenseman because he thought Larson would be a “steady influence” on the younger players and that his “calm and cool” demeanor would rub off.

The Associated Press quoted Larson after the victory: “It’s just nice to hook up and show that I can still play because I really enjoy the game and I’d like to play for a couple of more years.”

NHL Notes

The Pittsburgh Penguins are unbeaten in their last 8 games. Credit will go, first, to Mario Lemieux, who scored his 37th goal in Pittsburgh’s victory Monday night. But, goalie Tom Barrasso has a record of 10-3-3 since joining the Penguins in late November. . . . Notice that there were no NHL games on Christmas Day? There haven’t been since 1971. . . . Maybe Dec. 26 was too soon to schedule a game? After Joe Nieuwendyk scored with a 2-player advantage to give Calgary a 3-2 overtime victory at Vancouver Monday night, Vancouver Coach Bob McCammon was nudged by reporters into commenting on the officiating. McCammon said of linesman Randy Mitton: “He is from the East and obviously he’s been taken away from home at Christmas. He’s going to take it out on someone, and we happened to be the guys tonight.” As for breaking the NHL’s rule against criticizing officials, McCammon said: “I’m certainly entitled to my opinion in Canada in 1988.”