THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Canadians Fear They Are Being Squeezed Out

No one has suggested, as the Toronto Blue Jays pursue their second consecutive championship of America’s pastime, that Canada is taking over baseball.

Yet there is grumbling in Canada about the preeminence of U.S. NHL teams and a southward shift of the center of power, trends accentuated by the splashy arrival of Disney’s Mighty Ducks and Blockbuster Video’s Florida Panthers.

One NHL official attributes the uneasiness to Canada’s habitual insecurity about its more populous neighbor, but some Canadians think Americans--led by U.S.-born Commissioner Gary Bettman--are crowding them out. They cite an increase in U.S. clubs--Ottawa is the only Canadian city among the last five additions--and the Edmonton Oilers’ possible move to the U.S. Sunbelt.

“It’s not Canada’s game anymore,” said Al Strachan of the Toronto Globe and Mail, which circulates throughout Canada. “The whole league is run by American lawyers. It used to be our game.”

That sentiment apparently is spreading among Canadians.

“There’s a general worry, a skepticism that Bettman is trying to get rid of Canadian teams,” said Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province. “They realize Calgary, Quebec, Edmonton and Winnipeg are not major TV markets, like Houston, Portland or Phoenix.”

Surprisingly, perhaps, there are few objections to the new American teams turning games into extravaganzas. The Ducks’ name makes traditionalists shudder--Bob McKenzie of the Toronto Star compared it to Toronto naming its baseball team the Bad News Bears--but their shows and hucksterism are greeted with indulgent smiles.

Canadian teams are realizing that entertainment counts for a lot these days. The Toronto Maple Leafs have staged fireworks displays, the Calgary Flames have a mascot named “Harvey the Hound” and the Quebec Nordiques have a bugler roaming the stands.

“Most Canadians take it with amusement,” Eric Duhatschek of the Calgary Herald said of the Ducks’ sideshows. “It’s not a serious breach of protocol, it’s a game. . . . You can look at the larger issue of professional sports and hobby owners. If a team is owned by five local oilmen, as Calgary is, can they compete with a team owned by Disney?”

Even if they can’t beat Disney’s spending power, other NHL teams are apt to join the Ducks in staging diversions for their fans. Said Canadian-born Don Maloney, the general manager of the New York Islanders: “With the salaries we’re paying players and the price we have to charge for tickets, you’ve got to give fans the feeling they’re getting top-dollar entertainment.”

LEMIEUX DEBUT

Defending scoring champion Mario Lemieux is targeting his debut for Nov. 6-7, when the Penguins visit the Kings and Ducks. Lemieux, who had back surgery last summer, was on the ice for more than an hour Monday in his first practice with the team. Pittsburgh is 4-3 without him.

“To see him out there makes everybody feel a little bit better,” left winger Kevin Stevens said.

The news isn’t as good for Buffalo’s Alexander Mogilny, last season’s co-goal scoring leader with 76. His return from a broken right ankle has been postponed because of continuing pain.

Brett Hull, sidelined since suffering an abdominal injury in the St. Louis Blues’ season opener, is expected to return tonight in San Jose.

PLEADING POVERTY

Edmonton General Manager Glen Sather sees his club as proof that small-market teams can’t survive without salary controls. The Oilers, pleading poverty, have traded or let go of most of their best players. They want a higher take of revenues at the Northlands Coliseum, and failing that, have notified the league that they will move.

“We’ve thrown the whole economy of the NHL right out the window, whether it’s (salaries for) Marty McSorley or Mario Lemieux,” Sather said. “Nobody in the NHL as a manager will say, ‘No.’ Instead of taking a stand, they’d rather go broke. In our situation, we’ve said no a lot of times, and what happens is that you can’t compete.”

Sather, who advocates a central negotiator to determine players’ salaries, blames the current escalation on the Ottawa Senators giving top draft pick Alexandre Daigle a five-year, $12.5-million contract.

“It cost the league $20-25 million and it may cost more,” he said. “Your best young player, who in some cases is inexperienced and not ready to play, is paid more than a guy who’s 22, 23 years old. It throws everything out of whack.”

IT MIGHT GET WORSE

Think NHL officials do a bad job? Wait until you see the chaos that will result if they walk out Nov. 15.

Many top minor league officials are members of the NHL’s trainee program and probably will strike as well. Potential substitutes include some International Hockey League officials, but most will come from the lowly East Coast Hockey League or the Ontario junior league. If the game’s pace challenges NHL officials, the subs have little hope.

The NHL will hold a tryout camp Nov. 5-7 in Toronto and supposedly will offer $800 a game, and dangle the possibility of a three-year contract.

NO TRICKLE DOWN

Ray Bourque’s salary arbitration loss has had a chilling effect on Chris Chelios’ talks with the Chicago Blackhawks on a long-term contract extension. Twice a Norris winner and twice a first-team all-star, Chelios will earn about $1.1 million this season and has two years left on his contract. After Bourque, a four-time Norris winner and 10-time first-team all-star, got $2.25 million instead of $4 million, Chicago backed off paying Chelios bigger bucks.