NHL’s Olympic Presence Depends on NBC

The participation of NHL players in the 2002 Olympics hinges on the scope of coverage NBC will give hockey, a decision the NHL hopes will be made by late February so it can inform the International Ice Hockey Federation and national federations of its intentions.

“We’re in ongoing discussions with NBC, and the type of exposure is a concern,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Saturday. “Ultimately, it’s the board [of governors’] decision, and the Players Assn. has to sign off on it as well. In our December board meeting we had a longer discussion of this than we did [Saturday]. In December, the consensus was if we can get comfortable with the arrangements, we should go.”

Another issue to be resolved is access to the Olympic Village for NHL officials. They did not have free access at Nagano, which hampered their efforts to determine which U.S. players trashed a dorm room and to defuse the resulting controversy.

Bob Goodenow, executive director of the union, has been asking players if they want to repeat the experiment that was first attempted last February. A committee of players will be formed to discuss various concerns.

“The seminal issue to be resolved is for the league to decide what its relationship is with NBC,” Goodenow said. “If it’s negative, that takes care of it. If it’s positive, we will go forward. Nagano was a trial. We learned quite a bit at Nagano about how to approach the Olympics.”

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Wayne Gretzky used to say he didn’t expect to playing at age 30. He will be 38 Tuesday and is still going strong--but he said not to look for him at the next Olympics.

“I would love to play in 2002, but it’s not going to happen,” he said.

If he’s not there, he still hopes NHL players will again represent their homelands. “It’s one of the greatest feelings you can have as a player, to play for your country in the Olympic Games,” said Gretzky, an all-star for the 18th time. “One of the problems in Canada is kids grew up saying, ‘I want to play in the NHL,’ which used to mean you couldn’t play in the Olympics. These games are going to be played in the U.S., and that’s a great opportunity to get some exposure.”

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Should today’s game go to a tie-breaking shootout, the World team may have an edge in goalie Dominik Hasek, whose shootout saves helped the Czech Republic defeat Canada in the Olympic semifinals at Nagano.

“We took some penalty shots on him in practice,” Toronto and World center Mats Sundin said, “and we only got one by him. That’s 20 guys.”

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Former Duck and King winger Jari Kurri, who retired after last season, is attending the All-Star game as a commentator for Finnish TV. He keeps up with the NHL via satellite--games air at 3 a.m. in Finland--but he doesn’t miss it.

“Not the game, no,” he said. “I had enough. It was time.”

Kurri does commentary on Finnish League games and frequently sees Aki Berg, the defenseman who couldn’t come to terms on a contract with the Kings this season. “He’s playing well. He plays a lot,” Kurri said. “Get him back.”

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It’s an honor, but if it’s all the same to you, Jaromir Jagr would just as soon have stayed in Pittsburgh.

“I’ve never been a fan of the All-Star game,” said Jagr, third in the NHL in points with 57. “When you play 25-30 minutes a game, like I do, you need a break. But I’ll do my best.”

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The Maurice Richard Trophy, a gift to the NHL from the Montreal Canadiens, was unveiled Saturday with its namesake in attendance, having recovered from cancer.

“I don’t think I’ll play hockey or skate again,” cracked Richard, 77, “but I might ref an old-timers game in a year or two.”

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Ken Hitchcock has guided the Dallas Stars to the NHL’s best record, which is good news and bad news as far as his post as coach of the North American All-Stars is concerned.

Good news, because that’s how he earned the job. Bad news, because he will carry an 0-11 record as an all-star coach at various levels into the game.

Said Hitchcock: “If I don’t coach this one [to a win], I think I’m coaching the media team next.”

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Scalpers were hawking $70 face-value tickets to Saturday’s skills competition and old-timers’ game for $40, and tickets for today’s game, priced as high as $135, were fetching whatever the market would bear.

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Gretzky on playing in his first All-Star game, in 1980:

“I got a chance to play with Gordie Howe. I was 18 years old. Those are what dreams are made of. I grew up dreaming of playing in an NHL All-Star game, and I got to play with Gordie Howe. So I’ll never forget that.”

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They threw in a couple of ringers for Saturday’s Heroes Game, which was basically an old-timers’ affair except that the Sun Belt team had Cammi Granato, the Kings’ radio commentator and captain of the U.S. women’s team in the Nagano Olympics.

She scored the first goal for the Sun Belt Heroes, who beat the NHL Heroes, who had actor/director Tim Robbins, 2-1.

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Led by goaltenders Nikolai Khabibulin, Arturs Irbe and Hasek, the World All-Stars defeated their North American counterparts in the skills contest, 13-11.

Peter Bondra of Washington and the World team was the fastest skater, racing around the rink in 14.64 seconds, and defenseman Al MacInnis of St. Louis and the North American team had the hardest shot, measured at 98.5 mph.