Mind Games Not Helping Matters

Coach Pierre Page fought contract battles with Paul Kariya’s agent in the past and still managed to get a standout player signed. Page was general manager of the Quebec Nordiques (now Colorado Avalanche) when he tried to sign Peter Forsberg, represented by Don Baizley, several years ago.

For a while, it seemed as if a deal might be impossible to complete--just as prospects now appear gloomy for a new contract between the Ducks and Kariya.

“It got to a point where we both said, ‘We’ve got to make a deal,’ ” Page said of negotiations with Baizley. “People respect Baizley. If his makeup were such that he’s not willing to sit down, it would be one thing. We, as the Ducks, have to want to make a deal [with Kariya]. From what I hear, I don’t know how the two sides are perceiving each other. They might not want to make a deal right now.

“It seems there are a lot of mind games right now. The two sides need to sit down and say, ‘You want to make a deal?’ ”

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Page offered a solution to the league-wide problem of unsigned free agents such as Kariya and Detroit’s Sergei Fedorov missing regular-season games. Give the player and the team the off-season to work out a new contract, Page said. If not, an arbitrator would decide on the length of the deal and salary before the team’s season opener.

Management might not like it because arbitration cases tend to favor the players, but Page said, “both sides would find a way to get everybody signed in the summer time. The fans want to see the players playing. The fans would really pull for it.”

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Page said he didn’t know much about backup goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov before taking the Duck coaching job.

“He’s one of the best-kept secrets in the NHL,” Page said. “I had heard and seen so much of Guy [Hebert]. [Shtalenkov] is so dedicated, so well-conditioned and he keeps getting better and better.”

Shtalenkov, 1-0-1 with a 1.92 goals-against average, was back on the bench for Friday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers as Hebert started for the fourth time in six games.

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Brian Bellows, who had 15 goals and 28 points in 62 games for the Ducks last season, signed a one-year contract worth $500,000 with the Berlin Capitals of the German Elite League.

The Ducks decided against re-signing Bellows, 33, at season’s end. He had a tryout with the Vancouver Canucks during training camp, but did not make the team.

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Not in the Duck lineup: Center Steve Rucchin (groin strain) and left wing Shawn Antoski (coach’s decision).

Not in the Edmonton lineup: left wing Bill Huard (sprained right knee), defenseman Kevin Lowe (suspension) and right wings Dennis Bonvie and Jason Bowen and left wing Rem Murray (coach’s decisions).