THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Why $40 a Week Beats $850,000 a Year

The Ottawa Senators have taken strides toward respectability this season. But they haven’t progressed enough for defenseman Bryan Berard, the first overall pick in the June draft, to wish he had signed with them.

“The fact that they’re doing well doesn’t give us any regrets about the decision for Bryan to go back to juniors,” said Berard’s agent, Tom Laidlaw. “The best thing for him was to go back and play another year in juniors so when he gets to the NHL, he can be a lot more successful. The reality is, he’s 18 years old and he really only played one year of major junior.

“Look what they’ve done to Alexandre Daigle [chosen first overall by Ottawa in 1993]. He’s hardly playing. They’re a young team and they’re trying to win games and put people in the seats. If Bryan makes a mistake, they might not play him, and sometimes young guys need to play.”

The Senators are in a trap. Because they’ve been so bad--they had the NHL’s worst record each of their first three seasons--some players cite mismanagement for refusing to play there. But they won’t improve unless they sign and satisfy all those talented early picks. Radek Bonk started last season with Las Vegas of the International Hockey League before signing a five-year, $6.125-million deal, and center Alexei Yashin went home to Russia this season because of a contract dispute.

With Yashin and Berard, Ottawa might be better than 6-9-0. Then again, if Yashin were there, winger Daniel Alfredsson might not be, and he’s among the top rookie scorers with 15 points. Speculation is that Berard will never agree to play for Ottawa, but Laidlaw would not comment on his client’s plans. If Berard doesn’t sign by the 1997 draft, he can be drafted again.

Berard is earning $40 a week with Detroit of the Ontario Hockey League. He could have made $850,000 in Ottawa.

“In the end, we think this will be better for him,” Laidlaw said.

THE AVALANCHE CONTINUES TO RUMBLE

Although the Colorado Avalanche’s 9-0-1 streak makes it the NHL’s hottest team, players aren’t becoming overconfident.

They haven’t forgotten that last season, as the Quebec Nordiques, they had the best record in the Eastern Conference but lost to the eighth-seeded New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.

“Last year’s defeat was a reality check,” center Joe Sakic said. “We breezed through the season. During the regular season, I don’t think we lost to the Rangers. I guess we were shocked when we lost. Everyone is looking forward to getting back into the playoffs and redeeming themselves.”

In deference to Denver’s mile-high altitude, Coach Marc Crawford keeps players’ shifts short, usually changing after about 30 seconds. Keeping to that pattern on the road helps Colorado maintain a pace few opponents can match.

“It just keeps everybody in the game,” Sakic said.

WHEN DOES THE GAME START? WHAT TIME CAN YOU GET THERE?

The Washington Capitals drew only 8,865 fans last Tuesday. Last month, they had consecutive crowds under 10,000 for the first time in more than a decade. The Buffalo Sabres recently had their smallest crowd since 1987, the Dallas Stars are falling several thousand short of selling out, and in Hartford, the Whalers drew a season-low 8,628 last week. The New York Islanders are averaging 9,902 fans in their last six home games.

With the quality of play in the NHL at its best in years, there’s only one explanation for the widespread drop--ticket prices have reached the point at which most fans can’t afford to attend many games. The average NHL ticket costs $34.79, tops among the four major professional sports leagues.

NHL executives are focusing on international ventures, such as the Olympic Dream Team plan, televising games in Europe and creating a European league. All of that is fine, but something’s out of whack when the NHL has an office in Switzerland but soon won’t have a team in Winnipeg.

BACK UP THE MOVING VAN

The Winnipeg Jets appeared bound for Minneapolis until government officials there refused to help finance the club’s operations. That led owners Richard Burke and Steven Gluckstern to begin looking at Portland, Ore.

The city was considered a top contender for an expansion team because of its new arena and prospective owner Paul Allen’s friendship with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Allen owns the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and is acquainted with Bettman from his NBA days. Allen may prefer to buy an established team, rather than going through expansion pains.

LET’S HEAR THAT ANNOYING THEME FROM ‘FRIENDS’

Rumors flew over the weekend that the Edmonton Oilers had traded holdout goalie Curtis Joseph, but they proved unfounded. Joseph, who turned down a $2.5-million (Canadian) offer from the Oilers, is earning $3,000 a game with Las Vegas of the International Hockey League.

The Boston Bruins desperately need a goalie and the Oilers can spare Joseph because they have Bill Ranford, but there’s one problem. Boston General Manager Harry Sinden and Edmonton GM Glen Sather are pals, and they’re hesitant to make a deal because it could backfire and ruin their relationship.

“Sometimes I wish Glen and I weren’t such good friends,” Sinden said.

A likely destination for Joseph is San Jose. After giving up 28 goals in their last four games, the Sharks (1-11-4) know they can’t get by with Wade Flaherty and Arturs Irbe. They didn’t make any moves at last week’s general managers’ meetings, but they did get lots of attention.

“I felt like I was at a funeral for a member of my family,” said San Jose’s general manager, Dean Lombardi. “Everyone was coming up and offering me condolences on the season already.”

GRUDGE MATCH

The Rangers will face Coach Mike Keenan today for the first time since he bolted to the St. Louis Blues in 1994, a month after he had led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup since 1940.

New York General Manager Neil Smith has to be delighted that Keenan’s team has been scraping the bottom of the Central Division, while the Rangers are riding a four-game winning streak and have the second-highest point total in the Eastern Conference.

SLAP SHOTS

The Vancouver Canucks hope Pavel Bure’s superb conditioning might enable him to return from knee surgery by playoff time. . . . The Blues’ owners vetoed a restructuring of Brett Hull’s contract. He had agreed to take a pay cut now if they would extend his contract, which runs through 1997-98. Owners decided not to commit more money beyond the $12.9 million they’re already obligated to pay him.

After years of feuding, the Buffalo Sabres made peace with Rick Martin and Rene Robert, who skated with Gilbert Perreault on the great “French Connection” line. The trio will be reunited at the Aud Wednesday for a ceremony to retire Martin’s and Robert’s jerseys. Perreault’s jersey has already been retired.

Kirk Muller showed little class by sulking throughout his stay with the New York Islanders. He didn’t want to play for a losing team, but said he would consider it for $10 million over four years. Some leader. He’s likely to end up in Vancouver. Islander General Manager Don Maloney may also be moving--out the door. The Islanders (2-11-2) are a mess. . . . Tampa Bay General Manager Phil Esposito is also on the ropes.

The Chicago Blackhawks are again talking about trading Jeremy Roenick. It’s baffling, especially with Bernie Nicholls out for another month because of a bruised spleen. . . . One game of next summer’s World Cup tournament is scheduled for Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.

San Jose left wing Pat Falloon demanded to be traded but the other teams are not lining up. . . . Eric Lindros, who has been out because of a sore knee, may return Thursday. Philadelphia is 2-4 without him. . . . The NBA-ization of the NHL continues. General managers last week discussed starting the season a month later, in early November, to avoid conflicts with baseball’s playoffs and World Series.