THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Lower Ratings No Cause for Alarm

Ratings on ESPN’s hockey telecasts are down from a year ago, but NHL executives aren’t panicking.

“We are very, very happy with what ESPN is doing and what they’re trying to do,” said Glenn Adamo, the league’s vice president for broadcasting. “They’re very good partners for us, especially at our stage of growth.

“They’re trying to personalize the athletes, which is consistent with our belief that once people get to know the players, they’ll follow them more closely. One of the things I learned in my training at NBC Sports was to personalize features with head shots and close-ups, tell their stories.”

ESPN’s first 12 telecasts averaged an 0.7 rating, meaning they were seen in an average of 438,000 of the 61.8 million homes in which ESPN is available. The rating at the same stage last season was 0.9, but it rose as the season progressed, averaging 1.3 in the playoffs and 2.1 for the Stanley Cup finals.

ESPN, in the second year of a five-year deal with the NHL, will televise 26 regular-season games, playoffs and the Stanley Cup finals. ESPN2, which is in about 10 million homes and has commitments for 30 million homes by the end of 1995, will televise 75 games. Ratings are unavailable for ESPN2.

Adamo, who was a coordinating producer at NBC sports before joining the NHL last March, is optimistic that ESPN’s wide availability will introduce hockey to viewers who haven’t seen it before, and turn them into fans. SportsChannel America, the NHL’s previous network, reached only 6 million homes.

“I don’t really read too far into the ratings except from the league perspective of, ‘Are our teams getting exposure?’ We think they’re doing a good job reporting and exposing the game,” Adamo said.

“After covering the game, comes highlights of other games. Do you get a sense watching ESPN that they’re the NHL network? I do . . . It’s no secret our product, in terms of demographics, is the most desirable to advertisers, men and women 18-34. That’s very important. ESPN has been able to sell it on that basis.”

The telecasts are entertaining. Play-by-play announcer Gary Thorne is knowledgeable and enthusiastic without being a shill, and former Flyer Bill Clement adds humor to an expert’s perspective. Tom Mees does a capable job on ESPN2, complemented by the insights of Darren Pang, Brian Engblom or Jim Schoenfeld. The lively studio shows, with Schoenfeld, Steve Levy and Al Morganti, make ESPN games worthwhile for the casual or devoted fan.

THEY WON’T BE NEUTRAL ON NORM

The NHL’s next neutral-site game matches the Dallas Stars and Ottawa at Minneapolis’ Target Center on Thursday. Ticket sales are brisk among fans eager to boo Dallas owner Norm Green for moving the club.

The season’s first five neutral-site games filled only 70.8% of the seats at Sacramento (twice), Halifax, Phoenix and Hamilton. That’s down from 78.4% of capacity for the 24 neutral-site games played last season. Revenue from neutral-site games is split between the NHL Players Assn. and the NHL after expenses are paid.

“We discovered last season that attendance in the fall is not as strong as it is as the season goes on,” said Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHLPA. “The sales reports we have on the remaining games are strong.”

IT’S ONLY MONEY

If nothing else, the Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins lead the NHL in million-dollar players this season with six each, according to figures obtained by the Canadian Press news service. Four clubs--the Mighty Ducks, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning--have no million-dollar players.

Living like kings are Wayne Gretzky on $3 million, Luc Robitaille on $1.6 million, Tomas Sandstrom on $1,335,000, Tony Granato on $1.2 million, and Jimmy Carson and Jari Kurri at $1 million each. Rob Blake’s new contract will put him in that neighborhood soon.

Mario Lemieux at $3 million, Marty McSorley at $1.8 million, Jaromir Jagr at $1,322,0000, Tom Barrasso at $1,225,000, Larry Murphy at $1,235,000 and Kevin Stevens at $1 million top Pittsburgh’s payroll.

Two of the biggest bargains are in Winnipeg, where team captain Keith Tkachuk will get $255,000 Canadian and Teemu Selanne $400,000 Canadian after scoring 76 goals last season. Other buys: Sergei Fedorov leads Detroit in scoring but not in salary, at $295,000, and Flyer rookie Mikael Renberg, who is second among rookies with 29 points and will earn $300,000.

NO SHORTAGE OF GOALS

Instead of slowing at 34, right wing Mike Gartner has taken on the additional job of killing penalties. His short-handed goal Sunday gave the New York Rangers a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden, tying them with Toronto for the overall points lead at 42 and improving their record to 16-1-2 since Oct. 22. They lead the league with 13 short-handed goals and an 87.7% penalty-killing rate.

“I love being out there, killing penalties,” said Gartner, who often killed penalties for the Capitals in his youth and doesn’t appear to have lost a step since then. “It keeps you in the flow of the game.”

Gartner’s goal Sunday was his 598th, which makes him sixth on the NHL career goal-scoring list and second among active goal scorers to Gretzky, who has 777. He has 15 goals this season and no plans to retire.

“Age doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “What was it Satchel Paige said? Age is a state of mind?”

Something like that.

SLAP SHOTS

Left wing Patrick Poulin, the key player Chicago got for Steve Larmer in its three-way deal with the Rangers and Hartford Whalers, has only one point in 11 games with the Blackhawks. . . . Montreal Coach Jacques Demers might be the game’s best motivator. Soon after talking privately Friday to John LeClair and Vincent Damphousse, each broke out of his slump. LeClair scored goals Friday and Saturday and Damphousse had two goals and two assists Saturday.

NHL disciplinarian Brian Burke was deluged with calls from irate Ranger fans after he suspended right wing Alexei Kovalev for five games for tripping Dale Hunter and injuring Hunter’s knee. Burke returned some of the less profane calls. . . . Quebec, down a goalie after Stephane Fiset suffered a slipped disk, might keep Team USA’s Garth Snow after his successful debut against the New York Islanders Friday.

The Maple Leafs and Rangers each hold the draft rights to four players on Team USA. The Rangers also drafted promising Team Canada goalie Corey Hirsch. . . . Peter and Anton Stastny, who helped Slovakia earn the last Olympic berth, might play at Lillehammer. . . . No one knows for sure, but it is believed that former Soviet star Boris Mikhailov will coach the Russian Olympic team.