Purchase Won’t Give Kings a Czeching Line

As the NHL looks increasingly toward Europe for talent and revenue, the Kings are also casting their eyes across the Atlantic.

Anschutz Properties, which is owned by King majority owner Philip Anschutz, last month bought a 30% interest in the Sparta Praha hockey club in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic. However, the Kings can’t raid Sparta Praha for players because NHL rules stipulate that European players must go through the entry draft, as their North American counterparts do.

“We won’t be airlifting players in or out,” said Bob Sanderman, president of Anschutz Properties, the Kings’ governor and a member of Sparta Praha’s board. “This is part of other things that we’re looking at in the Czech Republic that are not hockey-related.

“It’s an opportunity that was presented to us and seemed to be very interesting. The fourth-most hockey players in the NHL come from the Czech Republic and it’s an intriguing place.”

The purchase adds to Anschutz’s already extensive sports holdings. Besides the Kings, he owns three Major League Soccer teams, the London Knights hockey team in the English Superleague and a half-interest in the Knights’ arena in partnership with SMG, which operates many sports arenas in the U.S.

The Kings are expected to travel to England next October for games in London and Manchester against the Ottawa Senators, who have ties to Manchester through the Ogden Corp., which runs Ottawa’s Corel Centre and Manchester’s arena. The Kings may someday play exhibition games in the Czech Republic and Czech coaches may come to Los Angeles--or King personnel may go overseas--to exchange hockey ideas.

The Kings’ tie to HC Sparta Praha is not an NHL first. The Penguins had an agreement with the Central Red Army team, which was nicknamed “the Russian Penguins,” and sent European scout Mark Kelley to Moscow to be the club’s assistant general manager.

The biggest exchange between the Kings and Sparta Praha may involve business matters.

“Clubs there exist on sponsorships and sell very little merchandise,” Sanderman said. “In London, we sell almost as much Knights’ merchandise as we sell Kings’ merchandise here. One of the opportunities is to just help [the Czechs] learn some of our North American ways.”

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Good news: the Staples Center will not have the seamless glass that has been blamed by players for countless injuries because it’s rigid and doesn’t give when heads and bodies hit it.

Seamless glass provides good sight lines for fans because there are no stanchions to hold glass panes in place. But what’s the good of being able to see if players aren’t there to be seen because they’ve been hurt?

The glass will be similar to the Great Western Forum’s, but the supports will be thinner to afford better views. It will also facilitate quick changeovers from hockey to basketball, a vital point in an arena that will house the Lakers, Clippers and Kings.

“The seamless glass is nice to look through and gives nice, true bounces, but we were worried about concussions,” said King General Manager Dave Taylor, whose career was ended because of a head injury.

LOCKSTEP IN LOCKOUTS

The course and resolution of the NBA’s lockout were almost identical to the 1994-95 NHL lockout, which also dragged until a drop-dead date was decreed and league and union leaders locked themselves in a room and hashed things out.

However, the leagues diverged at the end. The NHL had its short schedule and full-bore marketing campaign ready when the agreement was announced, whereas the NBA is working on its schedule and mulling ways to win back fans.

With the exception of Chris Chelios’ stupid veiled threat against Commissioner Gary Bettman, NHL players were--to their eternal credit--more circumspect in their public remarks than NBA players were. None pulled a Patrick Ewing and complained about making a lot of money but also spending a lot, perhaps because they don’t make as much.

That may have helped NHL players win fans’ sympathy and brought fans back when play resumed. In terms of arena capacity, NHL attendance went up after the lockout. NHL teams played to 91.8% capacity in 1993-94 and to 92% capacity in the 48-game, lockout-shortened season. Attendance dipped to 90.4% of capacity in 95-96 but rose again to 93% in 1996-97.

THE COLOR OF MONEY

The Penguins’ appointment of Craig Patrick as president and chief executive officer signaled a last-ditch attempt to keep the club in Pittsburgh. They hope Patrick’s community ties--he has been general manager more than nine years and built up good will--can lure local investors with deep pockets.

He faces a stiff challenge. Majority owner Roger Marino talked to groups in Las Vegas, Houston and Kansas City before a bankruptcy judge muzzled him on the grounds his actions might hurt the club’s attempt to emerge from bankruptcy, and a hearing is scheduled next week to determine whether Marino will be allowed to solicit offers from outside sources that might result in the Penguins’ move.

Things aren’t rosy in St. Louis, either. The company that owns the Blues and the Kiel Center hired an investment-banking firm to seek an NBA team as a co-tenant, which is a long shot. Other options include restructuring the Kiel Center’s debt, developing the area near the arena to bring in more revenue or putting the team or arena or both up for sale. The Kiel Center is the only NHL arena that was privately financed and isn’t shared with an NBA team.

LITTLE CAT FEET

Did Felix Potvin land on his feet when he was traded to the New York Islanders, or will he be sorry he asked out of the Great White North?

At first read, the Maple Leafs came out ahead by getting Bryan Berard, a defenseman of immense talent and equally immense immaturity. Here’s betting that a few months’ work with Toronto Coach Pat Quinn will have Berard on a Norris Trophy track.

Quinn, a former defenseman, is stern and demanding but will put Berard in position to succeed. Mike Milbury, busy doing two jobs badly, couldn’t capitalize on Berard’s offensive skills and almost ruined a kid who’s essentially good but needs guidance.

The Islanders aren’t finished dealing. Tommy Salo is ticketed for Calgary, where injuries have forced the Flames to go through six goalies, or for Edmonton.

Reports also had the Islanders interested in Tampa Bay center Craig Janney, who angered even easygoing Jacques Demers with his soft play and lackadaisical attitude. Having Janney wave as rivals fly by will really help the Islanders’ awful team defense.

SLAP SHOTS

The Maple Leafs began practicing at the Air Canada Centre last week and were delighted with the new facility. Innovations include a special exhaust fan in the coach’s office to disperse Quinn’s cigar smoke. The finale in Maple Leaf Gardens will be Feb. 13; the first game in the new arena will be Feb. 20. . . . The fight between Phoenix teammates Jeremy Roenick and Oleg Tverdovsky during practice last week wasn’t their first. They had tangled during training camp. Tempers get shorter as slumps get longer.

The Bruins are happy with the recent progress of Joe Thornton, the first overall pick in the 1997 draft. Thornton, who had only three goals and seven points last season, has seven goals and 16 points and scored goals in back-to-back games last week for the first time. . . . The Red Wings are 3-9-1 in the last month and have yet to hit stride. “At the beginning of the year we could shrug it off, a loss here, a loss there, but now they’re starting to pile up and it’s starting to become a concern,” center Steve Yzerman said.

Esa Tikkanen, who started the season on the Rangers’ first line but fell from Coach John Muckler’s good graces, planned to file a grievance over being assigned to the minor leagues. He claims the Rangers couldn’t waive him because he has a knee injury, but team doctors found no problem. He wants a second opinion. Here’s one: Give it up. Why end a respectable career on a whiny note? He was eight games from 40, which would have triggered a $200,000 bonus in his contract, but he was sure of $500,000 in salary. Hockey players are starting to sound like NBA brats.

Wayne Gretzky’s goal Sunday was only his seventh, and his first in 10 games. His point-a-game pace is the slowest of his career. He averaged 1.972 points a game before this season. . . . Washington has won three consecutive games and four of six. Jan Bulis’ return from an ankle injury has helped. He had four points in his first three games back. . . . Colorado Coach Bob Hartley has ended his experiment of playing Peter Forsberg on left wing. Valeri Kamensky is back with Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk, and Forsberg is centering for Adam Deadmarsh and Claude Lemieux.