THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Gretzky’s Status, Winless Streak Try Robinson’s Patience

King Coach Larry Robinson says he faced distractions last season when he was an assistant coach of the New Jersey Devils. But not even the worst of Claude Lemieux’s tantrums compares with the tempest created by Wayne Gretzky’s assertion that the Kings must immediately improve the team, and the lingering uncertainty over Gretzky’s status.

Throw in an eight-game winless streak and last week’s trade of Rick Tocchet for Kevin Stevens, and it adds up to trying times for the Kings’ rookie coach.

The next crisis could hit this week, when Gretzky’s representatives meet with club executives. The Kings are expected to offer a three-year deal worth an average of $5 million, which is less than Gretzky’s current $6.4-million salary. Robinson said he addressed Gretzky’s contract status a week and a half ago and hasn’t spoken to players about it since.

“There are more important things for guys to worry about,” Robinson said. “Contracts are between an individual and management and ownership. This is probably a unique situation, but it probably will be resolved. Hasty decisions are usually wrong ones.”

His decisions have been questioned by players. Tocchet thought he should have had more ice time, and there were rumblings Gretzky wanted to play more when Robinson was regularly using four lines.

“We’re all the same,” Robinson said. “We want more ice time. My only answer to that is, I give ice time when I think they deserve more ice time. I talked about that with Rick. He said he felt I didn’t have confidence in him. I said I had confidence in him. And Rick Tocchet is a high-maintenance player. He gets two hours’ treatment before a game. I don’t want to wear him out in the first half of the season.

“I’ve also got young kids who are performing, like Yannic [Perreault] and [Vitali] Yachmenev, so do I give Rick more ice time and not those guys? It’s a feel. You try to get a feel for who’s performing. . . . I see some nights [Gretzky’s] passing isn’t as sharp and he’s not hustling or aggressive on the puck and I’ll pull back. We’re human beings. We’re not machines you can just set to start at game time. There are nights you’re tired.”

Robinson doesn’t think he has changed since the season began.

“As a coach, once the game begins you’re at their mercy,” he said. “You feel a little helpless, yet it’s a gratifying feeling. As much as you’re disappointed when they don’t do something right, you get that gratification when they do. It’s a life of a lot of highs and lows. That’s why, as a player, I didn’t get too high about winning and low about losing, and I want to be the same as a coach.”

MULLING THE MULLER TRADE

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ last two trades have made them older and fattened their payroll, positioning them for a now-or-never run at the Cup.

In a three-way deal last week, the Leafs got Kirk Muller from the New York Islanders and Don Beaupre from the Ottawa Senators. The Islanders got Ottawa’s Martin Straka and defenseman Bryan Berard and Toronto minor leaguer Ken Belanger. And Ottawa picked up defenseman Wade Redden from the Islanders and goalie Damian Rhodes from Toronto.

Berard, the top draft pick last June, wasn’t going to play for the Senators. They lose nothing and gain the chance to sign Redden, the second pick. Straka has some talent and should help the Islanders, who must still sign Berard. Muller gave the Leafs enough depth to trade center Benoit Hogue and winger Randy Wood to Dallas for center Dave Gagner Sunday. The Leafs will put Muller on the first line with Doug Gilmour and have Gagner center the second line.

The clear winner in all of this is Beaupre, a 16-year veteran who goes from Ottawa to the more defense-conscious Leafs. The big loser is Rhodes, who goes from the comfort of Toronto to a shower of shots in Ottawa.

HAT TRICK OF COACHES

The Senators are on their third coach this season, but Jacques Martin is the first who may be around a while. Martin, who replaced Dave Allison last week, has been successful at the junior level and in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues. He also had extensive experience as an assistant with Chicago, Quebec and Colorado.

He won’t work miracles, but in his first few games the Senators battled the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings almost evenly and tied Toronto.

Turmoil could have been avoided if Ottawa’s management had fired General Manager Randy Sexton when Coach Rick Bowness was fired. Then, the new general manager could have picked his coach instead of inheriting his predecessor’s choice. Pierre Gauthier, who replaced Sexton in mid-December, quickly realized that Allison wasn’t ready for the NHL and brought in Martin.

TALE OF THE WHALE

Paul Maurice, who turns 29 today, is the youngest coach in the major professional leagues. But he would rather have the distinction of being the first coach to guide the Hartford Whalers into the playoffs in four years.

Maurice, who replaced Paul Holmgren Nov. 6, is beginning to feel at home behind the bench. That’s reflected in a 7-3-1 January run that has carried the Whalers within reach of an Eastern Conference playoff berth.

“It’s not just myself settling in, but the whole team,” said Maurice, who was an assistant to Holmgren and, before that, coached the Detroit Junior Red Wings of the Ontario Hockey League. “From the start of last season we have 14 new players. I think we’re jelling and getting things together.”

Surprising him most were the team’s emotional swings.

“The roller-coaster ride here is more severe,” Maurice said. “What I’ve learned is, you’ve got to get off the roller coaster and prepare for the next game. You have to focus on preparation. A lot of motivation is done on their own by the players, because they’ve been in hockey long enough to understand what they have to do.”

CLOTHES MAKE THE MEN

Many French-Canadian kids grow up dreaming of wearing the Canadiens’ distinctive logo. The blue-and-white Maple Leaf stands for a grand tradition in Toronto. And the winged wheel of the Detroit Red Wings brings to mind Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio.

Sorry, but it’s impossible to be inspired by Wild Wing, the accident-prone Mighty Duck mascot who appears on the team’s new third uniform.

The purpose of the “special” uniforms is to boost sales of NHL merchandise. That’s fine, but not at the cost of the recognition and tradition linked to teams’ usual uniforms. Instead of changing their jerseys, the Ducks might consider changing some of the people wearing those jerseys.

SLAP SHOTS

Money may not buy happiness, but it can buy loyalty. Winger Glenn Anderson said he would play only for the Vancouver Canucks, who lured him back from Europe. But when the Edmonton Oilers grabbed him on waivers and offered him $450,000 (U.S. currency) for the rest of the season, he jumped at it. . . . Detroit Red Wing goalie Chris Osgood signed a four-year, $6.6-million deal that begins next season.

Pittsburgh Penguin center Mario Lemieux has scored four points or more in 12 games this season. . . . With the Boston Garden closed and Buffalo’s Aud in its final season, every NHL rink will soon be a standard 85 feet wide by 200 feet long. The ice at the Aud is 193 feet long and 84 feet wide. . . . Winnipeg left wing Keith Tkachuk has nine power-play goals and 12 goals in his last nine games. The Jets’ “big three” of Tkachuk, Alexei Zhamnov and Teemu Selanne plays only on the power play, with Dallas Drake replacing Selanne on regular shifts.

Dallas center Joe Nieuwendyk had a goal in each game as the Stars swept on a trip to Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. Coach Ken Hitchcock wants defenseman Kevin Hatcher to take offensive chances, and that’s sparking Dallas’ offense. . . . Florida goalie John Vanbiesbrouck has been pulled in three of his last eight starts. . . . Gretzky met one of the Kings’ new owners, Philip Anschutz, on Saturday. “He seems like a nice guy,” Gretzky said. . . . Tocchet, a close friend of Gretzky, predicts Gretzky won’t re-sign with the Kings. “I think he’ll walk at the end of the summer,” Tocchet said.