Stars Are Plenty, but What’s Lacking Is Greatness

Wayne Gretzky was ready to let go of hockey, but hockey wasn’t ready to let go of him.

His NHL finale Sunday went to overtime before he and the New York Rangers lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1, and his splendid career officially ended. It wasn’t the storybook finish he had envisioned, but he faced it with his usual dignity and class.

“I said to a good friend, ‘This is not a passing on. This is a moving on,’ ” he said. “I’m going to miss this game. You [reporters] cover it--it’s a great game to cover, it’s a great game to watch and it’s going to kill me not to play. But time does something to you, and it’s time.”

There is never a good time to lose a Gretzky or a Michael Jordan, athletes who transcend their sports and leave them better than they were when they found them. But for the NHL, whose stars are not as visible or well promoted as NBA players, this loss will sting for a long time.

“It’s going to be difficult for the NHL to lose the best hockey player who ever played the game,” said retired Penguin star Mario Lemieux, who attended Gretzky’s send-off. “He’s been such a great ambassador, selling the game not only in Canada, but in the U.S. Certainly, the league is going to miss him and the hockey world is going to miss him.

“But look at the other side. There’s some great young stars coming in, so the future looks good.”

The NHL has half a dozen players capable of carrying the torch Gretzky carried so gracefully the last 20 years, but none has the sense of responsibility and media friendliness that made Gretzky the perfect face and voice for a league desperate to be seen as more than a regional oddity.

Jaromir Jagr of the Penguins, whose game-winning goal Sunday ended Gretzky’s career, has the world-class skills to be the torchbearer but is uncomfortable in the spotlight. He has matured since being appointed the team’s captain, but he is not in Gretzky’s class as a spokesman.

Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne of the Mighty Ducks have the skill, but Kariya lacks the outgoing personality Gretzky used to his and the NHL’s advantage. Selanne is accessible and warm, but being Finnish may count against him in the minds of Canadians who are proprietary about the sport they claim to have invented.

The same factor works against Colorado’s Peter Forsberg, a Swede who may be the NHL’s top all-around player. And even a goalie as accomplished as two-time most valuable player Dominik Hasek can’t fill the role because his face and body are hidden beneath his gear. Hasek could walk down the main street of most NHL cities and not be recognized.

Promoting the NHL “isn’t my worry right now,” Gretzky said. “It’s a great game. There’s nobody bigger than the game. It’s growing and getting bigger all the time.”

Maybe so. But for now, it is diminished by his departure.

THE ENVELOPES, PLEASE

Jagr’s league-leading 127 points amounted to the highest total since Lemieux had 161 in 1995-96, but no one scored 50 goals. That’s the first time since 1969-70 no player has reached 50 in a full season.

Jagr won the Art Ross trophy as the top scorer and is favored to win the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player. Voting is done by two writers in each NHL city, except for the Vezina, chosen by general managers, and the Adams, selected by broadcasters. Here are one writer’s choices:

* Hart (most valuable player)--Jagr. Runners-up Alexei Yashin, Ottawa; Forsberg, Colorado; Curtis Joseph, Toronto.

Jagr carried the Penguins and became more of a leader after Ron Francis left as a free agent. He can dominate games and is worth the price of admission. Yashin also matured and led the Senators into the ranks of the NHL’s elite. Forsberg can do it all and is skillful, big and rugged. Joseph’s numbers aren’t great--2.56 goals-against average, .910 save percentage--but his dependability allowed the Maple Leafs to open up offensively and become the NHL’s most productive team.

* Vezina (best goaltender)--Hasek, Buffalo. Runners-up Damian Rhodes and Ron Tugnutt, Ottawa; Byron Dafoe, Boston.

Despite some minor injuries, Hasek was the backbone of the defense-minded Sabres. He makes them a contender, despite a feeble offense. Rhodes and Tugnutt should be an entry because they’re equal in value to the Senators. Dafoe had a marvelous year for the Bruins and steadied a young team.

* Calder (rookie of the year)--Chris Drury, Colorado. Runners-up Mark Parrish, Florida; Milan Hejduk, Colorado, and Marian Hossa, Ottawa.

Drury and Hejduk had a stronger cast around them than Parrish, but the Avalanche rookies were more consistent. If a knee injury hadn’t idled Hossa early this season, he might have been a runaway winner. He has size, skills and great potential.

* Selke (best defensive forward)--Jere Lehtinen, Dallas. Runner-up--Steve Rucchin, Mighty Ducks.

If Lehtinen were given offensive freedom, he might be a 40-goal scorer. He’s an outstanding all-around player. Rucchin has played well enough to escape the shadows of linemates Kariya and Selanne and is strong on faceoffs.

* Norris (best defenseman)--Al MacInnis, St. Louis. Runners-up Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit; Eric Desjardins, Philadelphia.

This isn’t about numbers, although MacInnis led defensemen in scoring with 62 points. He is smart defensively and a stabilizing force on a team that has relied more on defense this season than ever before. Lidstrom is smooth and sure, rarely rattled or out of position. Desjardins isn’t physical but he plays position well and is valuable on the power play.

* Adams (best coach)--Jacques Martin, Ottawa. Runners-up Kevin Constantine, Pittsburgh; Pat Burns, Boston.

Martin isn’t the most colorful coach but deploys his personnel well and has the Senators playing a superb team game. Constantine benefits from the acumen of General Manager Craig Patrick, but he also gets a lot out of other teams’ discards. Burns’ patience with Joe Thornton has paid off, as has his insistence on solid defensive play.

* Lady Byng (sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct)--Wayne Gretzky, New York Rangers. Runner-up Lidstrom.

Gretzky shouldn’t retire without one more trophy for his collection. Most defensemen would shun an award for gentlemanly play, but Lidstrom is a clean and classy player who would consider it an honor.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH PAYROLL

Colorado General Manager Pierre Lacroix, who pulled off a coup when he got Theo Fleury, made another major move in signing Forsberg to a three-year, $30-million deal before he could become a restricted free agent. No nasty negotiations and no danger of Forsberg being lured away by another team.

Forsberg will earn $8 million next season, $9 million in 2000-01 and $9.5 million in 2001-02, with a $3.5-million bonus spread over the term of the deal.

There had been speculation that the Avalanche couldn’t afford to keep Fleury, Forsberg and center Joe Sakic, whose contract expires after next season, and Lacroix still may not be able to afford Fleury. But he had to keep Forsberg. If Colorado wins the Stanley Cup, that may be enough incentive for Sakic to re-sign for less than he might get on the free-agent market.

SLAP SHOTS

Dallas defenseman Derian Hatcher was lucky to get only a seven-game suspension for a vicious hit of Phoenix’s Jeremy Roenick. Roenick’s jaw was broken in three places and he spent 5 1/2 hours in surgery for repair of the damage done when Hatcher left his feet to throw a shoulder into Roenick and smashed him into the glass.

The hit was retaliation for a Phoenix hit that injured Dallas center Mike Modano in the teams’ previous game. Roenick, whose thumb had been broken by Dallas defenseman Craig Ludwig moments earlier, will miss the playoffs.

Roenick’s wife, Tracey, told the Arizona Repubic, “I think it’s disgusting, absolutely disgusting. When he wakes up [from the surgery], I’m saying to JR, ‘Retire, it’s just not freaking worth it anymore.’ ”

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Shark defenseman Andrei Zyuzin rejoined the team after going AWOL last month because his mother, Lidia, urged him to honor his commitment to play. Zyuzin failed to show up for a team flight March 18 and fired his agent, Jay Grossman, in favor of Vitaly Shevchenko, who is not accredited by the NHL Players Assn. Shevchenko demanded the Sharks trade Zyuzin, although Zyuzin had been progressing and playing regularly.

The Nashville Predators finished their first season with a respectable 17 sellouts, among them 11 of their last 15 games. They averaged 16,174 fans in their 17,298-seat arena, a healthy 93.5% of capacity.