Hull Among Players That Blues Could Lose to Payroll Cutbacks

The end of the St. Louis Blues’ season also might mean the end of an era.

Brett Hull, who has been with the team for a decade and is the franchise’s No. 1 goal scorer, is one of four prominent players who can become unrestricted free agents. The futures of Al MacInnis, Steve Duchesne and Geoff Courtnall are also in question.

All four want to stay.

“I find it hard to believe this is the last shot with this group when you’ve got so many great young players,” Hull said.

MacInnis said he’d be willing to discuss anything.

The problem is, the Blues owe $21 million in deferred compensation over the next few seasons to players no longer on the roster, such as Red Wing star Brendan Shanahan, or no longer in the NHL. St. Louis had a payroll of $33-$34 million this season, not counting deferred monies. Next year, team owners want to cut that figure to $29-$31 million.

Hull turned down a three-year, $15 million offer in March because it didn’t include a no-trade clause. If he doesn’t re-sign with the Blues, a likely destination is the Chicago Blackhawks, for whom his Hall of Fame father Bobby Hull played.

MacInnis turned down $12 million for three years at the same time because he wanted to test the market. Courtnall and Duchesne each made about $2 million this season.

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Alan Eagleson, once considered the most powerful man in pro hockey, is now working as an office manager in a suburban sheet metal firm in Toronto as part of prison rehabilitation program.

“It just shows how well wired he is still in this country,” said ex-NHL player Glen Sharpley, bilked by Eagleson out of $15,000 relating to disability insurance money for a career-ending eye injury.

Eagleson, a former head of the the NHL PLayers Assn., pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud and theft on Jan. 6 in Boston and was fined $1 million in Canadian funds. The next day he pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud in Toronto, agreeing in a plea bargain to an 18-month jail sentence.

Eagleson is eligible for full parole July 7.

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Rob Blake of the Kings, Vyacheslav Fetisov of the Detroit Red Wings and Jamie McLennan of the St. Louis Blues are the finalists for the NHL’s William Masterton Memorial Trophy. The trophy, named after the former Minnesota North Stars player, is awarded to the player who exhibits a high degree of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

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Home ice hasn’t meant much in the NHL this season. The visitors have won exactly half of the 66 playoff games heading into the conference finals.