Oates Burns His Bridges With Sinden

Pity the poor Washington Capitals. They pulled the trigger on a six-player trade with the Boston Bruins, but Rick Tocchet has a bad ankle and Adam Oates won’t report until his contract--which has another year at more than $2 million--is extended and fattened to $3 million a year.

The main effect of the deal, which sent Oates, Tocchet and goalie Bill Ranford to Washington for centers Jason Allison and Anson Carter and goalie Jim Carey, was to cut $3.5 million from Boston’s payroll, a goal secondary only to General Manager Harry Sinden’s need to be spiteful. It’s difficult to believe he couldn’t get more from Florida, which offered Jason Podollan and Rhett Warrener to Toronto for Doug Gilmour and might have upped that for Oates. Nor did Sinden get a first-round draft pick; he got a third-rounder this year and a second-rounder next year in the unlikely event the Capitals re-sign Tocchet, who has an option to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Oates’ criticism of management opened the door for his departure, and the standing ovations he got at the FleetCenter last week ensured he would be gone as fast as security guards confiscated the signs fans brought in his support.

Ranford and the Bruins had supposedly made peace after he took them to arbitration last summer and lost, but Sinden holds grudges. No matter that Ranford gave the Bruins the stability they lacked in goal since they foolishly traded Andy Moog to Dallas for Jon Casey in 1993.

The Bruins’ inability to develop young goalies--they have gone through five this season--clouds Carey’s future. He was superb the last two seasons but flopped in the playoffs, where his 4.62 goals-against average is more than twice his season average. He could be another Blaine Lacher, the Bruin phenom of 1994-95 who drifted into the minors and recently retired. And if the Bruins think playing in his hometown will help Carey, who’s from the Boston suburb of Dorchester, they should consider how that backfired for Kevin Stevens.

NEW JERSEY A GOOD FIT

The New Jersey Devils, who went all of January and most of February without scoring more than four goals in a game, scored 15 in their first three games with Gilmour in the lineup.

Think the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and other Eastern teams aren’t cringing?

The Devils’ acquisition of Gilmour and defenseman Dave Ellett from the Toronto Maple Leafs last week at the modest cost of two youngsters and an unsigned draft pick made a good team much better--and less dull. Gilmour had three goals and seven points in his first three games, and his success should outlast the usual honeymoon period--unless Coach Jacques Lemaire saddles him with checking wingers and negates his passing ability.

Gilmour, 33, is still a smart setup man and strong defensive center. He’s also fiery, an element the efficient but drone-like Devils lacked. They’re now as strong at goal, center and defense as any team in the NHL. Ellett, who will be 33 this month, is no speedster, but he can kill penalties and has a good shot from the point. He was reluctant to leave Toronto but joked, “I’m just glad they threw Dougie into the deal.”

Maple Leaf General Manager Cliff Fletcher, burdened by a slow and stodgy team, got a reasonable return in 23-year-old defenseman Jason Smith, small but promising center Steve Sullivan and prospect Alyn McCauley, who excelled for Canada at the world junior championships and could be ready for the NHL. Fletcher traded his first-round picks this year and next, so McCauley is the next-best consolation.

Fletcher wasn’t going to win the Cup this year or the next five with Gilmour, but he has a chance with these kids--if he keeps his job. This move may not be enough to win him a reprieve after his overspending and a series of bad trades. “I don’t think [firing Fletcher] would be a wise move,” Gilmour said. “I think they have to look at everything: the board of directors, the scouting staff. I hope they give Cliff another chance. Whatever direction they’re going to go, I think he’s going to get them there.”

The Devils probably will go to the conference finals. Now it’s up to the Flyers, Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers to respond.

SEE YA LATER, EJ

Goal-scoring leader Jaromir Jagr injures his groin muscle and says he won’t be back until “maybe the playoffs, maybe next year,” so the Penguins fire coach Ed Johnston. Makes sense.

“Maybe we don’t have as much talent as we had before,” center Mario Lemieux said after Johnston was replaced by General Manager Craig Patrick. “And maybe that’s why we need a little bit more direction on the ice.”

The Penguins were fading before Jagr’s injury, but Patrick had little left to trade after making a flurry of early deals. Lemieux recommended Johnston, a nice guy who can’t coach, but seems to have abandoned him with the Penguins’ Cup chances fading and his own retirement nearing.

HAB-NOTS

Over the years, the Montreal Canadiens have produced many legendary goalies. The Vezina trophy, awarded to the NHL’s best goalie, was named after a Canadien, Georges Vezina.

Given that tradition, it’s shocking that the Canadiens rank 24th in the league with a team goals-against average of 3.46. “It hasn’t been an easy year,” said former Montreal coach Jacques Demers, now a Canadien scout. “We’ve got young goaltending. They’re very promising, but when you have young goalies, sometimes they look like young goalies.”

He also refuted rumors the Canadiens would trade for Detroit’s Mike Vernon and said they will stick with Jocelyn Thibault and Jose Theodore. “We’ve made so many trades, it’s time to get some stability,” Demers said.

SCOUTS’ HONOR

The Flyers, looking for defensive help, have watched Edmonton’s Luke Richardson and Bryan Marchment, as have the Detroit Red Wings. The Oilers are trying to re-sign Richardson for a playoff run but fear losing him for nothing as a free agent after the season, and so might trade him. The Flyers’ fallback is Toronto’s Jamie Macoun.

Detroit may also be interested in King left wing Kevin Stevens, who played for Scotty Bowman in Pittsburgh, but it’s not clear who they would give up.

SLAP SHOTS

The New York Islanders are down on center Bryan Smolinski, whom they got in the Darius Kasparaitis deal. He has 19 goals but no work ethic. . . . The stock of King defenseman Rob Blake has plummeted, and not only because of his injuries. Said a scout who saw the Kings often in the last month: “He’s become too much of a California beach boy. He could never play in the East.” . . . San Jose defenseman Al Iafrate is expected to undergo season-ending back surgery. He didn’t play much, but the Sharks were 17-17-4 when he was in the lineup.

Buffalo center Pat LaFontaine, recovering from a concussion, is training lightly. “He’s back to his old self,” said his agent, Don Meehan. “I think he’ll play again.” Said LaFontaine: “I wish I had a crystal ball. I’m going to ease my way into light practices, but we’ll see how it goes.” . . . Kudos to Calgary forward German Titov. Instead of being paid for endorsing Bauer gear, he told the company to send equipment to outfit 20 kids in Khimik, Russia, where he grew up. . . . The Flyers still say Ron Hextall is their top goalie, even though Garth Snow has outplayed him and has an 11-0-5 streak. What they’re not saying is Hextall has back and neck woes.

The Maloof family, whose bid for an expansion team in Houston didn’t make the final cut, is studying the Tampa Bay Lightning’s finances and is close to making an offer for the club and the Ice Palace. . . . The St. Louis Blues’ owners coughed up $16 million last week to keep the team afloat. High salaries, including that of $10-million-man Joe Murphy, who had no goals in February, and low attendance continue to plague them.

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50 Goals

If Jaromir Jagr doesn’t return after a groin pull this season, the NHL might have only three 50-goal scorers, the fewest since only two reached 50 in 1978. At their current pace, only Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux (44), Detroit’s Brendan Shanahan (41) and Philadelphia’s John LeClair (41) will score 50. Here’s the number of 50-goal scorers over the last 15 seasons. (The 1994-95 season, shortened to 48 games by a lockout, is excluded).

1995-96: 8

1993-94: 9

1992-93: 14

1991-92: 4

1990-91: 4

1989-90: 8

1988-89: 6

1987-88: 8

1986-87: 5

1985-86: 6

1984-85: 9

1983-84: 8

1982-83: 7

1981-82: 10

1980-81: 8