Woman Who Died of AIDS in 1989 Said She Had Sex With 50 NHL Players

A woman treated by a Montreal AIDS specialist told him before she died of the disease two years ago that she had sex with about 50 NHL players, the doctor says.

Until now, no NHL player has announced he is HIV positive, but Dr. Clement Olivier, who made the disclosure, said the ease with which athletes can have intimate relations with a variety of people puts them in a high-risk group.

Serge Savard, general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, said he will recommend the team’s players be tested for HIV.

“We’re going to strongly suggest they take the test even though we can’t force them to,” Savard said.

He said he cannot force the players to take the test.

But he added that if he were one of the team’s doctors, he would be reluctant to treat an untested player with a cut.

An NHL official said AIDS probably will be discussed at a meeting of the league’s Board of Governors, which starts Thursday in Palm Beach, Fla.

Gary Meagher, the league’s communications director, said the league had no particular AIDS prevention program, “but if a player comes to us for help, we’ll do everything we can.”