THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Chicago Veteran Chelios: Many Lines but Few Wrinkles

When a newspaper in Ottawa recently listed Chris Chelios’ age as 27, the Chicago Blackhawk defenseman, who turned 34 last month, had a good chuckle.

“I showed it to [General Manager] Bob Pulford and it scared him because he thought he’d have to sign me a couple more times,” Chelios said. “I’m the youngest-looking 34 there is. It’s hard to believe I’ve been in the league 13 years. I’m starting to hate birthdays because I don’t have much time left.”

Although he’s a senior citizen in hockey terms, he has the energy and enthusiasm of a kid. Chelios is playing about 35 minutes a game, killing penalties, skating the power play and taking regular shifts. With 11 goals and 51 points, he is tied for second in scoring among NHL defensemen and could become the first defenseman to lead the Hawks in scoring.

His production and a plus-21 plus-minus rating make a strong case for him to win his third Norris Trophy. So does the Blackhawks’ prosperity. They will bring a 5-0-2 streak into the Forum tonight, and a 16-3-4 surge has helped them cut the Detroit Red Wings’ Central Division lead to nine points.

“He’s the best defenseman in the league, no doubt about it,” Blackhawk forward Jeremy Roenick said. “He just keeps going, no matter how old he is. He’s like a fine wine, getting better with age.”

Said Blackhawk Coach Craig Hartsburg, who is only two years older than Chelios, “He’s been unbelievable for us. He just keeps coming to the rink and doing his thing. You play him 40 minutes a game and he doesn’t get tired.”

Chelios values the team’s success over winning another individual trophy, especially since the Blackhawks are winning while making the transition from a rugged style to a skill-oriented game.

“We went from one of the biggest, toughest, aggressive forechecking teams to an open-skating team, with guys like Tony Amonte and Eric Daze, who have speed,” Chelios said. “We’ll have to wait until the playoffs to see where we measure up.”

Leading the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup since 1961 is his focus.

“My will to win is stronger than ever,” he said. “I won it in Montreal [in 1989], but I don’t think I’ll ever be at ease until I win one in Chicago.”

ENDANGERED SPECIES

The future of the Hartford Whalers, who lost more than $11 million last season and may lose more this season, is the subject of urgent meetings between club officials and political and business leaders in Connecticut.

The key issue is whether enough additional revenue sources can be found to stop their financial bleeding. One option is allowing the Whalers to manage the Civic Center, which is owned by the city but run by the state. They were promised a portion of profits earned by the building, but there have been no profits. The Whalers are averaging 11,417 fans a game.

“We’re trying to figure out how this works, does it work and if it does work, how do we make it work,” said Jim Rutherford, the Whalers’ general manager. “We are getting to that point [of reaching a conclusion] within a month. It’s going to be difficult, but everybody’s not just sitting on their hands and hoping something will fall out of the sky.

“We’re a small-market team, our team underachieved in the first half of the season, and the economy in Connecticut has declined. There are a lot of people who want to come to games but can’t. The state has to make a decision on where the economy is going and how much it can help us. The Whalers are not the only company having financial problems in Connecticut.”

When Peter Karmanos bought the club in June 1994 for $47.5 million, he paid $22 million up front but agreed to keep the Whalers in Hartford through the 1997-98 season and absorb up to $30 million in losses. It’s clear the red ink will surpass that before 1998 and the club will be free to leave. In essence, the state is trying to avoid having the Whalers become lame ducks.

Rutherford also said club officials have not visited other cities, despite rumors that they will end up in Cleveland or Portland, Ore.

TIME FLIES

Thursday will mark the first anniversary of the trade that sent John LeClair, Eric Desjardins and Gilbert Dionne from Montreal to Philadelphia for Mark Recchi and a third-round pick. Desjardins has been a standout on defense for the Flyers, but he still has a place in his heart for the Canadiens.

“For sure, the CH [emblem] is going to be part of me all my life,” he said. “I was there six years. I don’t feel sour about the trade. I just have CH inside me because we won the Cup and I have great memories.

“I’m really happy I started my career in Montreal. Destiny, I believe in it. When I was traded to Philadelphia I was surprised, but now I look back and I’m happy. Good things have happened to me there.”

ALIVE AND KICKING

The good news for the Boston Bruins is that Al Iafrate’s frequently injured knees are getting stronger. The bad news is, he used one leg to kick in the window of a Boston riding-apparel store after a recent night on the town.

No charges were filed, but Iafrate paid the owner $300 in damages and bought two pairs of boots worth about $700.

Iafrate hasn’t played since the 1993-94 playoffs and is at least a month away from returning. He and the Bruins are enmeshed in a salary dispute. They say the injury to his right knee was not hockey-related and are refusing to pay his $900,000 salary. Iafrate is contending that he injured the knee while rehabilitating his left knee, which he hurt while playing for the Bruins.

An arbitration hearing was held last week, but the second hearing might not take place until sometime next month.

WHEN EAST MEETS WEST

The Red Wings have lost only nine games this season, but six were to Eastern Conference foes. That continues the inexplicable hold Eastern teams have had on them since they were swept by the New Jersey Devils in last season’s Stanley Cup finals.

“I don’t feel we’ve been out-muscled in any of the games,” center Steve Yzerman said. “They play a different style than we do, there’s no question. I think the East has played more of, I don’t know if you want to call it a trap, but we had a difficult time with New Jersey’s style last year. I don’t feel that we’ve been knocked around at all.”

SLAP SHOTS

General managers are in the midst of three days of meetings at Tucson, Ariz. They are looking at rule changes and may also make a few deals. . . . The Flyers and New Jersey Devils are eyeing Buffalo Sabre center Pat LaFontaine. The Flyers asked about Sabre tough guy Rob Ray, and the Devils are rumored to have asked Buffalo about former King Alex Zhitnik. Montreal and Dallas have been scouting the Devils, supposedly to look at defenseman Scott Niedermayer.

More trade rumors: Edmonton defenseman Bryan Marchment to Pittsburgh, and Ottawa defenseman Steve Duchesne to Chicago. . . . Russian players told their country’s hockey federation they won’t play for Viktor Tikhonov if the legendary taskmaster is appointed coach of the Russian team in the World Cup. . . . The Toronto Maple Leafs’ 0-6-2 streak through Sunday is their longest winless stretch since Pat Burns became coach in 1992-93. They have been outscored, 29-14.

A Philadelphia radio station is calling the Flyers’ “Legion of Doom” line the “Legion of Sissies” because Eric Lindros was told by General Manager Bob Clarke not to fight. St. Louis’ Tony Twist followed Lindros around the ice Saturday, trying to goad him into a scrap, but Lindros wouldn’t bite.

And you thought tennis parents were bad: San Jose defenseman Mike Rathje endured the ultimate embarrassment a few weeks ago when his father went down to the bench and yelled at Coach Jim Wiley for not giving Mike enough ice time. Rathje has since been demoted to Kansas City of the International Hockey League. . . . Toronto defenseman Kenny Jonsson will be sidelined for at least six weeks after separating his shoulder. . . . Montreal’s Marc Bureau got off lucky with only a five-game suspension for his vicious elbowing of Flyer defenseman Petr Svoboda.