HOCKEY NOTES : Blues’ GM Losing No Sleep About Picks

It is likely the St. Louis Blues will owe Washington five first-round draft picks for having signed free-agent defenseman Scott Stevens in July. But St. Louis General Manager Ron Caron says he is not losing sleep over it.

Caron has built the Blues’ 24-player roster by acquiring 14 players in trades and said, “We’re a better team because of it.”

There is one St. Louis first-round pick on the team, left wing Rod Brind’Amour. Caron traded three of his past seven first-round choices before drafting and traded his 1986 first-round pick, Jocelyn Lemieux, two years later to Montreal for left wing Sergio Momesso and goalie Vincent Riendeau. His 1989 and 1990 first-rounders, defenseman Jason Marshall, 19, and center Craig Johnson, 18, are long-term prospects.

According to Sam Simpson, NHL Players’ Association director of operations, the collective bargaining agreement says Caron must give Washington two first-round choices among the top seven overall within the next three drafts.

Picks are awarded in inverse order of finish. The Blues are likely to contend for the Stanley Cup in the next three years. So the only way Caron can acquire high picks is by trades. Simpson said Caron can skip the 1991 draft, doing nothing, without penalty. But if he fails to deliver a top-seven choice in June 1992, he must deliver five picks from anywhere in the first round, one each in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996.

NHL legal counsel Gil Stein could not be reached to verify Simpson’s interpretation of league by-laws. But Capitals’ General Manager David Poile said through a spokesperson that he believes if Caron does not deliver a first-round pick this year, Caron will owe him five first-rounders. There is confusion because no high-priced free agent ever changed teams in the five-year existence of the collective bargaining agreement which expires on Sept. 15. The compensation formula was weighted against player movement.

“I don’t bother about it,” Caron said. “I won’t even worry about it until we get closer to redemption. I’ll make some attempts to make it two picks. But if the price is too high, we’ll ride with the five.”

Only six players on his roster have come through the draft. The Blues did not have any picks in 1983 because of uncertainty surrounding a possible move to Saskatoon. Since then, Caron has not been a draft wizard, though he is optimistic about some recent picks.

“We feel we have six prospects who are going to play for us,” he said. “One is Marshall, who played for Team Canada at the world juniors. Another is Rick Corriveau, Yvon’s brother but a different player -- an offensive defenseman. He’s at London (of the OHL). Then we have another defenseman, Jacques Laperriere’s son Dan, at St. Lawrence. He’s a Paul Cavallini-type.

“The other three,” Caron said, “are Nelson Emerson, a center, out of Bowling Green, who’s at Peoria of the IHL and two kids at Michigan. One is Gordie Roberts’ nephew Davey. He’s a sophomore and was CCHA rookie of the year last year. The other is Denny Felsner, a junior, who got 30 and 27 goals in his first two years. So that made our decision (to sign Stevens) easier, knowing we have these guys and they’re closer to playing than the pick you take at 18 years old.”

Fresh legs will be needed. Four Blues likely are playing their last season: defensemen Harold Snepsts (36) and Mario Marois (33) and centers Ron Wilson (34) and Rick Meagher (37).

“This is my eighth year,” Caron said. “When I came in under Harry Ornest, it was survive, cut down expenses, play as well as you can ... Under the new ownership (Mike Shanahan), it was a new attitude. They wanted to give me the freedom to execute and spend with the hope the fans would appreciate our game. When we signed Brett Hull (four years, $7 million), the fans were delighted. I haven ‘t heard one word of criticism. Signing Stevens (four years, $5 million) showed our desire to put a better team on the ice at a higher cost. We’re not disappointed with what we’ve done. If we had to do it the same way, we would.”

Back from wounded knee: St. Louis Blues’ defenseman Rick Meagher won the Selke Trophy last season as the NHL’s top defensive forward. He underwent major surgery on his right knee May 1 and many thought his career was over. But after missing the first 41 games, he returned to play Tuesday.

“I signed him as a free agent for Montreal in 1977,” Blues’ General Manager Ron Caron said of Meagher, whom he later acquired for St. Louis in a 1985 trade with the New Jersey Devils. “He’s been nothing but great. (Brett) Hull told me, ‘It’s amazing he still is the fastest guy on the team after that kind of injury.’ ”

Meagher is the NHL’s third-oldest player after the Los Angeles Kings’ Larry Robinson and Quebec’s Guy Lafleur, both 39. He said his motivation for coming back was to be a part of a club with a chance to win the Cup.

“I rode the bike more in the past eight months,” he said, “than I did in the last 14 years. I can still keep up with the guys.”

Canucks on solid ground: The Vancouver Canucks believe they are on solid ground in dealing with suspended and released Soviet left wing Vladimir Krutov. Brian Burke, Canucks’ director of hockey operations, said Thursday that Krutov violated section 2, paragraph (a.) of the standard player’s contract that requires players to report to training camp “in good physical condition.” Section 4 says clubs may set “reasonable rules” for conditioning and may suspend players for “violation of any such rules.”

Burke said Krutov “did not hit the team average on any aerobic test” in camp and reported 12 pounds over his assigned 200.

Around the league: Five minutes after the Buffalo Sabres’ Mike Hartman scored in a recent game, he lined up opposite the New Jersey Devils’ Troy Crowder. “Nice goal,” Crowder said. Hartman dropped his gloves and the two friends and former junior hockey teammates fought. Hartman said, “What I heard was, ‘Let’s go.’ ” Never mind.

Philadelphia Flyers’ Coach Paul Holmgren on 32-year-old center Keith Acton: “He’s like one of those gnats, you know, the kind that’s hard to kill.” ... Look for Toronto Coach Tom Watt to be fined by the NHL for his comment regarding referee Terry Gregson after the Calgary Flames’ 5-3 win in Toronto Tuesday: “You can’t expect more when the referee is the brother-in-law of the opposing coach.” Gregson is the brother-in-law of Calgary Coach Doug Risebrough. He called 26 penalty minutes resulting in five power plays for each team Tuesday. The Flames are 3-1-2 in games refereed by Gregson.