THE NHL : Lemieux’s Back Problem Raises Questions With Few Answers

Pittsburgh Penguin center Mario Lemieux could be:

a) Disabled for life.

b) Back on the ice in 10 days and winning games for the Penguins by January.

Pretty frightening difference. The truth probably lies somewhere in between, but nobody seems sure where.

Not the Penguins. Not Lemieux. Not even his doctors.

Lemieux’s problems began last season when a herniated disk took him off the ice in February and eventually resulted in back surgery in July.

By training camp, promoters were advertising the “Wayne vs. Mario Show,” a series of exhibitions around the country between the Penguins and Gretzky’s Kings.

But Lemieux, still recovering, was a no-show.

He accompanied his team to its exhibition game in Houston, but had to fly home because of increasing pain where the surgery had been performed.

According to a story by a medical reporter for the Pittsburgh Press, Lemieux has a form of vertebral osteomyelitis, a rare bone infection that can disable its victims.

But Charles Burke, the physician overseeing Lemieux’s treatment, refuses to be pinned down.

He calls Lemieux’s condition “a disk space infection,” explaining that he avoids using the formal term “because osteomyelitis has a connotation of something bad.

“It isn’t a disease; it’s an infection. Using a formal, strict medical interpretation can be confusing and misleading.”

Burke says that Lemieux’s chances of recovery are better because the problem involves the bones of the spine rather than those anywhere else in the body.

Lemieux is in the final 10 days of a six-week treatment program using antibiotics. The medication is expected to kill the infection. The question then would be the amount of damage left behind.

If it works as hoped, the antibiotics kill the infection, the damage is minimal and Lemieux is back on skates almost immediately.

The official line from the Penguins remains that they expect Lemieux back in January.

“The amount (of infection) will determine how he does in the future,” Burke said. “If it heals, he could be 100%. If it doesn’t heal completely, then Mario can have real problems. There are indications that he is healing well, but we won’t know until we run some more tests.”

Hockey seems pretty far down the list of priorities when considering what is at stake here.

A year ago, at 24, Lemieux was the heir apparent to Gretzky and, perhaps, a threat to some of his supposedly untouchable records.

If Gretzky was the Great One, Lemieux was the Next One.

That still could happen. But at this point, Lemieux isn’t thinking about skating alongside Gretzky in the years to come.

He would settle for being assured he will be able to walk.

The Edmonton Oilers must wince every time they look at the NHL standings. The defending Stanley Cup champions have fallen to the bottom of the Smythe Division.

But their reaction wouldn’t be much different if they looked at recent results of the Italian Hockey League.

That’s where Edmonton’s long-time star performer, right wing Jari Kurri, is playing this season after failing to reach agreement on a contract with the Oilers.

Edmonton’s loss has been a big gain for Milan, Kurri’s new club. He scored four goals and added an assist for Milan in one recent game. He scored seven goals in two games and has 13 and a total of 24 points in eight games, putting him one behind the league’s scoring leader, former Oiler teammate Mark Napier.

They are tough over there. After scoring three goals in his first three games, Kurri was described as “invisible” by one Italian paper.

Many have questioned the media’s preoccupation with Wayne Gretzky’s 2,000th point.

It’s no big deal, goes the argument. The guy is already the league’s career scoring leader. So every time he gets a point, it’s a record. Why fixate on 2,000?

For the same reason 3,000 hits in baseball is considered a milestone worth honoring nationally. Or 300 victories for a pitcher.

Each of those marks has been reached by more than a dozen players. Yet, as was shown in Nolan Ryan’s case last summer, each new member of those exclusive clubs is similarly honored.

So why not Gretzky, who just formed his own elite group, the 2,000 club?

If he turns out to be its only member, that simply makes it all the more special.

Trade Winds: The Toronto Maple Leafs, trying to recover from a disastrous start, have reportedly discussed a deal with Calgary that would send forward Gary Leeman and defenseman Luke Richardson to the Flames for wing Gary Roberts and center Doug Gilmour.

We Get Letters:

Steve Springer . . . does not even understand the NHL playoff format. The semifinal round pits the winners of the divisional playoffs, rendering his predicted Calgary-Edmonton matchup impossible.

Jeff Allison,

Whittier

Dear Jeff:

I understand the format. Unfortunately, a line was inadvertently left out in my preseason predictions.

It should have read: Edmonton over Calgary in division finals. Edmonton over Chicago Blackhawks in conference finals.

That error of omission might pale, however, in comparison to my error of commission.

Having picked Edmonton to win another Stanley Cup, I may have some real explaining to do if the Oilers fail to even crawl out of their present spot in the Smythe Division basement.