THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Nordiques Get Pennies but Thoughts Are on Likely Move

The Quebec Nordiques, who say financial pressures have forced them to consider leaving town, are looking for pennies from heaven and dollars from legislators. On Sunday, they got pennies, nickels and quarters hurled onto the ice by angry fans.

“Maybe that was the government’s way of contributing to a new arena,” Nordique defenseman Craig Wolanin said. “I should have collected the money and given my mother some flowers.”

The change, thrown in frustration after several calls went against the Nordiques, probably wouldn’t have been enough to buy a dozen roses. Nor is it likely a financial proposal made by Premier Jacques Parizeau will be enough to keep the Nordiques’ partners from accepting a $75-million offer from Comsat Video Enterprises, which intends to move the franchise to Denver. Parizeau said he will disclose the proposal today.

The Nordiques prolonged their season by winning Sunday, but they trail the New York Rangers, 3-2, as their playoff series returns to Madison Square Garden today. A seventh game, if necessary, would be in Quebec Thursday. If not, players were glad they gave their fans a triumphant farewell.

“It’s always a motivation when you know it could be your last game of the season,” goaltender Jocelyn Thibault said. “We knew it could also have been our last game in the building and the city, so that was extra motivation. We hope we can bring the fans one more game.”

One more game, one more series--either way, they would be postponing the inevitable. The players believe the team will be sold and moved.

“From what I understand, the Quebec Aces [junior team] won a championship here and they moved right after,” Wolanin said. “So it’s kind of ironic that we won [Sunday] and this could very well have been our last game here.”

Ranger Coach Colin Campbell doesn’t care to see Le Colisee again.

“I think that was the most despicable display of throwing trash on the ice,” he said. “It has to be embarrassing for any Canadian fan who wants to keep their franchise to act like that.”

A FINE MESS THEY’RE IN

A dispute between the Chicago Blackhawks and center Jeremy Roenick has quieted, but they remain far apart in their contract negotiations.

Roenick, recovering from a knee injury, was fined $2,000 for missing the second session of four two-a-day workouts last week. He said his knee couldn’t hold up. General Manager Bob Pulford said Roenick could do other exercises to maintain his cardiovascular fitness.

“There’s a little pressure coming from the brass. It’s a very difficult situation,” Roenick said last week. “They want me to work out two times a day and that isn’t really going to help me. If anything, it’s going to tire me out. . . . I work out three hours in the morning so I didn’t come back. They say, ‘If you’re not there, we’re going to fine you.’ ”

After the Blackhawks convinced him they weren’t pushing him to play--and some of his teammates questioned his diligence--Roenick began participating in both sessions. He planned to visit Dr. James Andrews in Alabama and hoped to get clearance to return Wednesday in Game 6 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Roenick has a year left on his contract but is seeking a long-term deal worth more than $4 million a year.

FROM RED TO RED, WHITE AND BLUE?

Viktor Tikhonov, who coached the Red Army and Soviet Olympic teams to countless championships, might try coaching in the NHL next season. Tikhonov told the Montreal newspaper La Presse that he received two offers from North American teams at the recent world tournament. He has been approached before, but indicated that for the first time, he is tempted.

“I am used to receiving offers from foreign teams,” he said. “Before, I [was] always obligated to refuse. During those years, I was coaching two teams--the Red Army and the top team of the Soviet Union. . . . Now, I work only for one team, the Red Army, so the situation is different. I need time to make a decision. I can’t answer now.”

He says the idea of a Russian coach in the NHL is not far-fetched.

BACK UP THE MOVING VAN

Boston Garden deserved a better farewell than the Bruins’ feeble five-game loss to the New Jersey Devils.

General Manager Harry Sinden said his forwards “tanked” the series, but he and Coach Brian Sutter deserve some of the blame.

Sutter couldn’t find a way to get Cam Neely away from Claude Lemieux’s persistent checking, and by neutralizing Neely and Adam Oates, the Devils stifled the Bruins’ offense. Sinden, always pinching pennies, didn’t build a deep team.

As for the Garden, it was decrepit, but we’ll miss the sense of closeness to the ice. We’ll miss knowing that Eddie Shore and Phil Esposito skated there and that Bobby Orr made so many brilliant end-to-end rushes there. We’ll miss the vision of Gerry Cheevers standing in front of the net, his goalie mask crisscrossed with lines representing stitches that would otherwise have been in his face.

We won’t miss the rats or the Rat (Ken Linseman) or trudging on floors that were sticky with decades of grime. But the Garden, which opened in 1928, was a piece of history. One by one, the grand, old buildings are tumbling. The memories they provided can’t be replaced.

CALL ‘EM AS THEY DON’T SEE ‘EM

St. Louis forward Glenn Anderson committed one of the more hideous violations in recent years when he high-sticked Vancouver’s Pavel Bure in the mouth Thursday. Referee Rob Shick missed it, but linesman Pat Dapuzzo alerted him. Shick gave Anderson a major penalty and a game misconduct.

Another bad call: Andy Van Hellemond disallowed a goal that would have given the Nordiques a 3-0 lead over the Rangers Friday. Alexei Kovalev had fallen and appeared to be hurt but Van Hellemond let play continue until after Quebec’s Joe Sakic shot the puck into the net.

Brian Burke, the NHL’s director of operations, said Van Hellemond told him he blew the whistle before Sakic’s shot, which a tape disproved. Kovalev didn’t miss a shift and the Rangers rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory and a 3-1 series lead.

The league is investigating whether Van Hellemond, long one of its top officials, handled the incident properly.

SLAP SHOTS

Look for the NHL to announce this summer that it will add two teams for the 1996-97 season. Portland is a front-runner because of its new arena and would-be owner Paul Allen’s friendship with Commissioner Gary Bettman. Allen owns the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Phoenix and Atlanta are other top contenders and Seattle is on track to be added two years later.

Pittsburgh Penguin Coach Ed Johnston has been outcoached by his Washington counterpart, Jim Schoenfeld. The Penguins, who trail, 3-2, have been caught on bad line changes and have taken several penalties for having too many men on the ice.