NHL PREVIEW : No Question, the Game Has Plenty of Answers

Although the Stanley Cup is back at its old home at Edmonton, where it resided through much of the 1980s, the NHL is entering the bright new world of the 1990s with a new wave of popularity in the United States, a new wave of interest in the Sun Belt and a new wave of Czechoslovakians everywhere.

Soccer has been hailed perennially as America’s sport of the future, but the future seems to have arrived for hockey.

As the NHL prepares to drop the puck on its 74th season Thursday night, the curtain appears ready to fall on the old era of neglect.

No longer can the entire league be dismissed with the old Rodney Dangerfield line, “I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.” No longer does a majority in this country plead ignorance at the mention of icing the puck. No longer can Canadians claim the puck stops there.

But along with the new popularity and the big bucks have come big problems.

On this eve of another season, what’s ahead for the NHL? The best way to answer that question is with 18 others.

1. How popular is the league?

Attendance reached record levels last year for the 11th consecutive season, with nearly 14 million people attending NHL games, including the Stanley Cup playoffs. Locally, in the second year of the Age of Gretzky, the Kings achieved a new high: 628,274, with 32 sellouts in 40 regular-season dates. At Pittsburgh, Mario Lemieux has proved the equal of any Steeler or Pirate in the T-shirt and autograph-signing market. Two weeks ago, 25,581, the largest crowd in NHL history, paid up to $99 a seat to watch the Kings and the Penguins play an exhibition game in St. Petersburg, Fla.

2. Will there ever be an NHL team in Florida?

Will there ever be ice? In games at both St. Petersburg and Miami, promoters found a good crowd is great, but a good Zamboni ice-grooming machine is even better. In a few spots, the Kings and their opponents were horrified to find themselves skating on concrete. But those kinds of problems will be solved. And when they are, don’t be surprised to find the Miami Heat joined by the Miami Ice.

3. When will that happen?

According to its master plan, the NHL will add seven teams to its current 21 by the end of the century. There were a lot of chuckles when that idea was announced, especially when the league is charging expansion teams a $50-million entry fee. But the new Bay Area club, the Sharks, is already preparing for 1991-92, and the line at President John Ziegler’s door has formed, with interest stretching from San Diego to Milwaukee to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

4. If the league is so popular, why isn’t it on U.S. network television?

Low ratings chased hockey off the national tube more than a decade ago. But the NHL made a brief return last season with a live network telecast of its midseason All-Star game. The hope is that continued attendance increases and a truly national league, containing franchises everywhere from the Sun Belt to the Pacific Northwest, will persuade network executives to again take a chance. Failing that, NHL officials hope to get more cable exposure. The violence remains a sticking point, but it would seem that a medium with room for “American Gladiators” and professional wrestling could put up with a few out-of-control goons.

5. Why doesn’t the NHL just stop the violence?

That’s up to Ziegler.

6. What does he say?

Hardly anything.

7. Hasn’t the league cracked down more on the fighting?

Yes it has, but you’ll know league officials are serious when they pass one simple rule: You fight, you’re gone. No long stays in the penalty box. No stiff penalties. Anybody who throws a punch is thrown out. Plain and simple. It works in other sports, so there’s no reason to think it wouldn’t work in hockey.

8. Why hasn’t the league already done this?

Because of a lingering fear it will alienate the fans it already has, completely ignoring the potential fans it fails to attract because of the stigma of fighting. True, incidents of violence are down, but one game like last season’s record-breaking brawl between the Kings and the Edmonton Oilers offsets all the good publicity the NHL accrued over a season of fewer fights. If the Kings’ Marty McSorley and the Oilers’ Mark Messier, who struck the first blows, had been tossed out at the start of that game, the violence would have ended there.

9. What other problems does the league face?

Drugs. Revelations of such problems have paled in comparison to big brothers basketball, football and baseball. But the Bob Probert case last season and the Grant Fuhr case this year indicate that might be changing.

10. What can be done?

One answer might be a drug rehabilitation program such as other sports have. Ziegler maintains that the league doesn’t have a drug problem. So when cases surface, he simply suspends the player, hoping he has also suspended any problem.

11. What’s the good news?

For players, it’s money. Loads of it. Seven players, led by Wayne Gretzky, are earning in excess of $1 million a year. The recent million-dollar-plus contracts of Ray Bourque of the Boston Bruins, Chris Chelios of the Chicago Blackhawks and Scott Stevens of the St. Louis Blues elevated defensemen into the high-rent district.

12. Can the owners afford it?

No way, says almost every owner in every sport. Of course, that’s the same thing they say when they’re asked if they want to sell their clubs. But the Kings, despite the NHL’s highest payroll, went from a $5 million loss to a profit of slightly more than $5 million in Gretzky’s first year in L.A.

13. What will be the biggest change in the league this year?

Perhaps the Czechs. A year ago, everybody was yelling, the Russians are coming! They came, they saw but they hardly conquered. The Soviet players had little impact. Sergei Makarov was rookie of the year but wasn’t much help when his Calgary Flames fell to the Kings in the opening round of the playoffs.

14. Will the Czechs be better?

Many clubs think so. NHL teams selected 21 players from Czechoslovakia in this year’s entry draft, as opposed to only eight last season. Czechs expected to help this season include wing Jaromir Jagr of Pittsburgh, who scored 60 points in 51 games last year in his native country; center Bobby Holik and defenseman Jergus Baca of the Hartford Whalers, wing Richard Kron and defenseman Jiri Slegr of the Vancouver Canucks, wing Zdeno Ciger of the New Jersey Devils, center Robert Reichel of Calgary and goalie Dominik Hasek of Chicago.

15. What’s new in the league?

Five coaches: Doug Risebrough of Calgary, Bryan Murray of the Detroit Red Wings, Bob Gainey of the Minnesota North Stars, Dave Chambers of the Quebec Nordiques and Bob Johnson of Pittsburgh. Murray is also general manager in Detroit, as is Coach Mike Keenan in Chicago.

16. Who figures to be strong in the Campbell Conference?

It would be foolish to discount Edmonton after its performance in the Stanley Cup finals. Although they have lost wing Jari Kurri, who bolted the NHL during the summer to play in Italy, the Oilers still have the speed, goaltending and defense to rate as favorites. After all, this team survived the loss of Gretzky, didn’t it? Calgary, Chicago and St. Louis should also be in contention.

17. How about the Wales Conference?

Boston will be back. But this might be the year for the Buffalo Sabres, strengthened by the acquisition of Dale Hawerchuk, to make a strong run. Montreal also has a shot, as does the survivor of the competitive Patrick Division.

18. How will the Kings do?

With Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato on his line all season, the old Gretzky may be back. Unfortunately for them, unless all their question marks on defense are answered, the old Kings also may be back.