THE SIDELIGHTS : Oilers Seek Fuhr Reinstatement

The Edmonton Oilers have asked NHL President John Zeigler to lift goaltender Grant Fuhr’s one-year suspension for cocaine use.

When Ziegler suspended Fuhr in September, he said the Alberta team could apply to have him reinstated Feb. 18.

“It’s time to let the man play,” Oilers Coach John Muckler said Tuesday in New York, where the Oilers were playing the New York Rangers.

Muckler said Fuhr has paid his debt and done his best to change his life since admitting last fall that he was a longtime drug user.

“I guess Mr. Ziegler will take a look at the medical reports, the counseling he’s had, the fitness work he’s been doing,” Muckler said. Fuhr has been to the Betty Ford Clinic in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for substance abuse, and the Oilers said he received a clean bill of health.