THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : His Off-Ice Behavior Only Adds to Gretzky’s Greatness

Everyone who has seen Wayne Gretzky has a favorite memory of him, whether it is Gretzky slicing through a wall of defenders to score a goal or making one of his dead-on pass-outs from behind the net.

Perhaps as soon as Wednesday, Gretzky will pass Gordie Howe and become the NHL’s goal-scoring leader. His hockey feats are incredible. I’ll remember some of them, but I’ll also recall his human side, a man who is afraid of no opponent but still fears flying, the man who remained classy in the face of great ridicule.

In the 1983 Stanley Cup finals, the New York Islanders, trying to win their fourth consecutive Cup, were facing Gretzky’s brash, young Edmonton Oilers. Islander goalie Billy Smith spent the series jabbing Gretzky with words and with his stick, calling him “Whine Gretzky” and claiming Gretzky fell when an opponent touched him. He was so bad defensively, Smith said, that “someone should take him by the hand and introduce him to his own goaltender.”

Gretzky took it all in and said nothing.

The Islanders won that series and Smith was voted the most valuable player. Afterward, Smith held a news conference. Gretzky stood by the door, awaiting his turn at the microphone. Smith never looked at him. But as Smith left the room, Gretzky silently stuck out his hand in congratulations. Surprised, Smith hesitated, shook it once, and walked on. Class in the face of crass.

I admired Gretzky then, and learned to like him in May of 1988.

The Oilers were about to sweep the Boston Bruins and win their second consecutive Cup when a power failure at Boston Garden forced suspension of the game. That meant a return to Edmonton, a trek everyone dreaded.

The Oilers allowed reporters on their plane, affording them a nonstop flight and a close look at Gretzky’s paralyzing fear of flying. Before the plane took off he had turned pale, pacing the aisle and gripping seats. Thinking he might relax if he were distracted, I said something to him as he walked by. He stopped and after a few minutes, sat down.

Other reporters drifted over, and we talked about the Oilers, Boston Garden and enough other things to keep Gretzky too busy to think about air pockets and turbulence. The topics were forgettable, but the experience was memorable because that day Gretzky, so incomparably talented and so formidable on the ice, showed a weakness that made him a lot like the rest of us.

Breaking Howe’s NHL record of 801 goals is equivalent to Hank Aaron’s breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs--it was unthinkable until someone of his genius and skill came along. Someday, a plaque in the Hall of Fame will detail his feats. That he is also a decent human being shouldn’t be forgotten.

CRASH LANDING

Ron Salcer, who pointed out as suspicious some of Alan Eagleson’s dealings during an unsuccessful 1989 attempt to unseat Eagleson as head of the NHL Players Assn., could have been forgiven an “I told you so!” when Eagleson was indicted last week on 32 counts of racketeering, fraud and embezzlement.

Salcer, however, said the news gave him no personal satisfaction.

“They’re saying everything I knew four years ago, but this wasn’t about vindication for me,” he said. “Throughout the ‘80s, he was exploiting players. We had an executive director who was working for management and representing players. I was a player agent, and I felt like I had one hand tied behind my back because I got no support from the players’ union.”

At his peak, Eagleson represented 150 players and the union besides negotiating international deals for the NHL. Players say that he kept parts of their pensions and, for keeping salaries low, was allowed to pocket revenue from Canada Cup tournaments. He was ousted in 1991 and the FBI began investigating him after the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence, Mass., reported that he kept as “expenses” 75% of the $24 million he raised from administering Canada Cup tournaments.

“What we wanted to achieve in terms of salary increases, we’ve since basically achieved through a natural evolution process,” Salcer said. “The only remorse I have is for players who were friends during the ‘80s and never got the money they deserved. A guy like Terry Ruskowski, who played 15 years and was the captain of six teams, he never got $200,000. A lot of players were stifled because of Eagleson.”

FADING IN FLORIDA

Making the playoffs was not Bill Torrey’s priority for the Florida Panthers this season. But after holding an Eastern Conference playoff spot most of the way, the club president is finding it painful to watch that berth slip away.

Until a few weeks ago, the Panthers seemed certain to become the first post-1967 expansion team to qualify for postseason play in their debut season. Then their longest slump of the season--five consecutive losses and eight of nine before beating Vancouver Monday--dropped them into ninth place.

“We’re missing four players, and we can’t sustain that,” Torrey said, alluding to injuries suffered by forwards Jesse Belanger, Mike Foligno and Andrei Lomakin and defenseman Keith Brown. “One or two you can fluff off, but not four. That’s the problem with first-year teams. After the first level of players, it really drops.”

Torrey so far has resisted panic trades. He won’t sacrifice a prime draft pick for immediate help.

“Our objective hasn’t changed, and that’s to build a foundation for the future,” said Torrey, who was general manager of the Islanders during their four-Cup run. “If we steal a playoff berth, fine, but we’ve got to build and we’ve got to play the kids. . . . The attitude is very good. That’s the thing I like best. We’re battling and hanging in there. I’ve never had a better bunch of guys.”

SINGING THE BLUES

The St. Louis Blues accomplished two objectives in signing holdout Petr Nedved to a free-agent offer sheet that will pay him $4.05 million over three years: They kept him away from Central Division rivals Chicago and Toronto, who were hotly pursuing him, and added depth at center. Vancouver was expected to ask for Brendan Shanahan as compensation and the Blues were expected to offer Jeff Brown. If they can’t agree by today, an arbitrator will determine the compensation.

Shanahan, a 50-goal scorer last season, is too high a price for Nedved, who excelled for Canada in the Olympics last month but has only last season’s 38-goal effort with the Canucks to his pro credit.

SLAP SHOTS

Will seeing the Olympic gold medal determined by a shootout sway NHL governors to adopt shootouts? “If anything, it’ll go the other way,” said Jack Ferreira, general manager of the Mighty Ducks. “Nobody wants to see the Stanley Cup decided that way.” Expect shootouts during the season, but not in the playoffs.