HOCKEY / LISA DILLMAN : Is Dallas, or Hockey , Ready for This?

What do Bob Dylan, Mary Richards and the Lakers have in common?

They all left Minnesota.

Indications are that the North Stars will be joining the singer, the fictional television character and the basketball team in leaving the state.

If the North Stars do leave for Dallas, there won’t be any fond farewell parties for owner Norm Green. The man who was the savior of hockey in Minnesota in 1991 is now one of the most disliked persons in the Twin Cities in the eyes of fans, newspaper columnists and even politicians.

Norm-bashing seems to have reached a fever pitch in the last week.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse wrote: “Who cares? I’ve had enough of this bozo. Losing the North Stars would be a small price to pay for getting rid of old Tex.”

Reusse wasn’t alone in his sentiment. St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist Bob Sansevere wrote: “We know he’s from Canada, but, even so, you’ve got to admit that lately Green has been acting stranger than usual. He might be the closest thing we have to a Captain Queeg here in Minnesota. When he returns from (negotiating with) Dallas--correction, if he returns from Dallas--nobody should be surprised if he’s rolling little metal balls around in his palm while accusing people of stealing strawberries.”

Sansevere walked the concourses at Met Center in Bloomington and asked the fans about Green. The words traitor, back stabber and jerk came up often.

Even a state lawmaker got into the act earlier this week, denouncing Green in the Minnesota Legislature.

The Green scene, at first glance, seems pretty simple. Green says he has been losing millions. It’s his team, right? Therefore, he has the right to move it. And why would he want to stay amid such animosity?

All of this would make much more sense, though, if the deal at Dallas’ Reunion Arena was so beneficial that Green could not turn it down. But it’s not.

Also, Green isn’t talking about moving to a hockey hotbed. He’s moving away from one. If the North Stars were drawing Islander-type crowds of fewer than 10,000, the move might make sense. But Minnesota has had seven sellouts in 31 home games.

How hot is a potential draw of Minnesota vs. Hartford in Dallas? If the appearances of Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull did not bring sellouts in Dallas--and they didn’t--the attributes of Mike Modano and Mark Tinordi surely won’t.

The most important thing to remember about a move to Dallas is the effect on the NHL. A franchise transfer signals instability and reflects poorly upon the league and new Commissioner Gary Bettman, although Bettman wasn’t even in office when the Board of Governors essentially authorized the move.

Already, Bettman has helped drag the NHL into the modern era. Last week, he abolished the cumbersome committee system and implemented a single executive committee, thus eliminating some of the red tape that has bogged the decision-making process. He has exhibited an impressive public relations sense and is backing up his reputation as a hands-on executive.

But for better or worse, the failure to keep hockey in Minnesota is a negative. Outsiders with no understanding of the situation can simply criticize the league and say nothing has changed.

Bettman pointed out at the recent All-Star weekend in Montreal that he wants the focus to be on the players and the games, not the potentially negative issues. Unfortunately, the North Stars’ performance on the ice has been overshadowed all season by Green.

Amid indications that both the South Florida and Anaheim franchises will begin play next season, Wayne Huizenga is closing in on a lease agreement with the Miami Arena for his hockey team.

Huizenga, who also owns baseball’s expansion Marlins, will need to hire a hockey president almost immediately because of his preoccupation with getting the Marlins ready for their first season. If the hockey team had delayed starting until the 1994-95 season, he might have considered moving one of his three baseball vice presidents--Richard Andersen, Dean Jordan or Don Smiley--over as president of the hockey team.

Huizenga has made it clear, however, that baseball and hockey won’t mix, even at the business end.

“The Marlins have to be the Marlins,” he said.

It’s no surprise that Glen Sather, Edmonton president and general manager, is in demand. Sather, whose teams have won five Stanley Cups since 1984, was reportedly offered a lucrative deal to step in and build up the floundering San Jose Sharks.

Since the departure of former general manager Jack Ferreira, a victim of a power struggle last summer, the Sharks have been run by a trio--Chuck Grillo, director of player personnel; Dean Lombardi, director of hockey operations, and Coach George Kingston.

Given Sather’s vast real estate holdings in Alberta, the odds of his leaving Edmonton are slim, unless Peter Pocklington sells the Oilers and Sather receives an offer he can’t refuse.

Toronto center Doug Gilmour doesn’t have any individual incentive clauses, which could cost him some money because he is the Maple Leafs’ leading scorer with 24 goals and 98 points in 61 games.

But that is the way he wants it.

“If I was a GM, why would I want to give a guy personal bonuses ahead of team bonuses if each and every one of us worried about individual bonuses?” he asked. “What good is winning awards if you don’t make the playoffs? If we get to the playoffs, then my bonuses start.”

Gilmour will receive $20,000 for each playoff round that Toronto competes in. The Maple Leafs (31-22-9) are in third place in the Norris Division and have lost only twice in their last 12 games.