THE OLYMPICS / WINTER GAMES AT ALBERTVILLE : Burke Richer for Olympic Experience : Hockey: New Jersey Devils’ holdout goalie goes for the gold today when Canada faces the Unified Team.

The choice was easy for Sean Burke, hard as it may have been on his bank account.

Invited to play for the Canadian Olympic team when his contract talks with the New Jersey Devils reached an impasse, Burke seized the opportunity. He earned about $320,000 last season and rejected an offer from the Devils for $400,000 this season, but although he’s earning far less this year--about $35,000--he considers himself richer for having the chance to win an Olympic gold medal.

“Regrets? None at all,” said Burke, whose goaltending acrobatics have helped carry Canada to the gold-medal game against the Unified Team today at the Olympic Arena. “When I came here, my goal was to help this team be the best it can be. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s a year where I could step back a bit and re-evaluate things, like my career and where I want to go. . . . I don’t look at it like a sacrifice. I’m still young (25). Sometimes you’ve got to give up a short-term goal for a long-term goal.”

His eventual goal, he acknowledged, is to return to the NHL. How that will come about, though, is uncertain. He’s a Type 2 free agent, and according to the free-agent rules in the NHL, a team that signs him would owe the Devils two first-round draft picks within the top seven choices or five first-rounders.

“I know I might not play again this season,” said Burke, whose agility is exceptional for his 6 feet 4 and 210 pounds. “I can’t worry about that now. Sure, I want to get back to the NHL and be able to get to the top of my game. I had a lot of fun my first 3 1/2 years and I was really happy. . . .

“Playing here has helped me. I just think if anything, I’ve been able to have a lot of practice time against a lot of good competition. But I don’t ever want to be labeled as a guy who only likes international play.”

Burke, who has a 2.27 goals-against average in this tournament and has saves against 92.9% of the shots he has faced, has excelled in international play and at every level he has played. A standout in the Ontario Hockey League during his junior days, he was selected 24th overall by the Devils in the 1985 draft. He spent two years with the Canadian national team, which afforded him the chance to play in the 1987 world championships in Vienna and the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary.

Canada finished fourth in the Olympic Games, mortifying for the host country, but Burke was not to blame. A feeble offense limited Canada’s chances for success and shifted an additional burden onto Burke, virtually requiring him to record a shutout to win.

Burke made an easy transition from the Olympic team to the NHL, leading the Devils to the playoff semifinals. He seemed to be establishing himself as one of the league’s top young goalies until the Devils fired coach Jim Schoenfeld and replaced him with John Cunniff, who began to give Burke less playing time. His workload decreased from 62 games in the 1988-89 season to 52 to 35 last season.

“It’s hard to point to one thing,” Burke said. “The year before last, we went into the playoffs against Washington and I only played (two) games, and my role had changed. I thought if I played well, I’d get a chance to play regularly (in the 1990-91 season), but Cunniff had some problems with me. Then bang, I didn’t play a minute in last year’s playoffs.

“I thought I had a good relationship with the front office, but I just didn’t feel I had that loyalty anymore because they hadn’t shown loyalty to me. If you don’t play well at times, you don’t expect to play. I understand that. But I never got the chance. And for me to play my best, I’ve got to know there are people behind me.”

Burke, who was with the Canadian national team that beat the then-Soviets at the prestigious Izvestia tournament in Moscow, will need staunch support today against the Unified Team.

The Unified Team’s offensive pressure will be intense. Left wing Nikolai Bortchevksi, center Igor Boldin and right wing Vitali Prokohorov have been the Unified Team’s most prolific line, but Yuri Khmylev was reunited with former linemates Viacheslav Bykov and Andrei Khomutov against the United States and they accounted for three goals in a 5-2 victory in the semifinals Friday.

“We watched tapes of their (victory) over the U.S. and they had possession of the puck 85% of the time, which means you’re checking an awful lot,” Coach Dave King said. “It’s unfair your goalie has to assume that extra pressure, but the good thing about Sean is that he thrives on pressure.”