Hard-Core Fans Love This Game, Warts and All

The NHL appears to have recovered from the bashing it took from media and fans after Boston Bruin defenseman Marty McSorley clubbed Vancouver Canuck forward Donald Brashear on the temple and New Jersey Devil defenseman Scott Niedermayer hit Florida Panther forward Peter Worrell over the head with his stick this season.

Regular-season attendance was a record 18,800,139, an average of 16,376 and 90% of capacity. That has improved in the playoffs. Through the first two rounds, teams drew a record average of 18,377 and played to 99.9% of capacity, selling out 59 of 63 games. The exceptions were two first-round games and a second-round game at New Jersey, and a first-round game at Washington.

TV numbers, though, are mixed. Ratings on ESPN are .86, compared with .87 for last season’s playoffs, but a network spokeswoman said the number of male viewers ages 18-34--a group coveted by advertisers--is up 48% over a year ago. ESPN2’s ratings are down to .48 from .55, but it has drawn 9% more males 18-34.

ABC’s telecast of Sunday’s Devils-Philadelphia Flyers Eastern Conference opener drew a 1.5 rating and 4 share. That’s lower than the 1.9/6 Fox averaged for two regional conference final games May 16, 1999, but an ABC executive also said its network draws more men 18-34 than Fox did. ABC’s ratings for its four regular-season games were 1.3/4; Fox showed 11 regular-season games in 1998-99 and got a 1.4 rating and 4 share. ABC’s playoff ratings are 1.5/5, slightly below the 1.6/5 Fox’s comparable telecasts drew.

But that’s still better than NBC’s 21% ratings drop on its NBA playoff telecasts.

“I’m delighted with what ABC and ESPN are doing, both with respect to the actual telecasts of games and the promotion that we’re getting,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said last week at his New York office. “I believe we will continue to grow a step at a time, but in this environment, we’re doing quite well, and we’re very pleased.”

Bettman also said that ABC, which has shown games on Saturdays and Sundays, may settle on one day to help establish viewing habits.

“When we switched over [from Fox], ABC had a very active and full sports programming schedule and had a number of contractual commitments in place when they took the property,” he said. “This was a five-year deal that was intended to phase in, in terms of schedule, over time. In the future we might have more games and a more regular schedule.”

Last week’s announcement by the International Ice Hockey Federation that NHL players will participate in the 2002 Olympics was anticlimactic, according to Bettman, because most details were settled last summer by the IIHF, NHL, NHL Players Assn. and Olympic officials. The NHL’s previous Olympic venture at Nagano in 1998 was less than a rousing success because the time difference between Japan and North America put games on the air at awkward times, and because the trashing of an Olympic dorm room by several American hockey players exploded into an ugly incident before NHL executives could get to the Olympic village to defuse it.

At the Salt Lake City Games, the NHL will have more access to athletes and more say in how they’re treated. NBC will televise the Olympics and its cable arm, CNBC, will have extensive hockey coverage.

“Logistical issues will be much easier for a whole host of reasons: distance, language and greater familiarity between all the parties involved, and so we think we should all look forward to a good experience,” Bettman said. “[NBC sports and programming head] Dick Ebersol was quoted as saying hockey will be covered like one of the major sports at the Olympics. NBC views the Olympics as story telling, but I’m comfortable that will give us first-rate treatment.”

Bettman also sees good news on the economic front after a survey by the NHLPA found salaries had grown 5% this season to an average of about $1.3 million, the smallest rise in a decade. Revenues grew at a faster rate.

“I think that’s a positive sign in that our owners and managers are focusing better on how to use the collective bargaining agreement,” he said. “But I still think it’s off a base that’s too high. Hopefully, over time, the growth of revenues will deal with that. . . . If we were to get healthier, we would require some number of years with revenue growth exceeding salary growth. Having said that, the issue also is how high the base is and the disparity.

“Long-term, we want to make sure we don’t become a sport where how much you spend is directly related to how well you perform. We haven’t gotten to that yet and I don’t think we will get to that point.”

NO ORDINARY JOE

Adding Ray Bourque might have turned the Colorado Avalanche into a sentimental favorite to win the Stanley Cup because the five-time Norris Trophy winner has never won it in his 21 distinguished seasons. And Colorado’s exceptional play since Bourque arrived--14-2-1 to end the season and 8-2 in the first two rounds of the playoffs--might have made the Avalanche a logical pick, not just an emotional one.

Even Dallas Star center Joe Nieuwendyk, whose team is tied with Colorado, 1-1, in the Western Conference finals, can understand why the Avalanche is widely favored.

“I think Colorado may feel like they’re a destined team, because they have Ray Bourque and everyone is certainly pulling for him,” said Nieuwendyk, who won the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs last spring. “We know how tough it’s going to be. They’re playing extremely well and they have a lot of intangibles on their side, having Ray Bourque.

“But I really think that we’re a determined group too. We really want to keep the Cup, and I think it’s going to be a heck of a series.”

Certainly a physical one.

“We realize that they have people we have to zero in on,” Nieuwendyk said. “It’s no secret [Peter] Forsberg is a key player and [Joe] Sakic, and [rugged Dallas defensemen] Richard Matvichuk and Derian Hatcher are going to see a lot of those guys.”

NO CANADA

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ exit in the East semifinals means Canada will again be shut out of the Cup finals.

No Canadian team has gotten that far since 1994, when the Canucks lost to the New York Rangers, and there hasn’t been an all-Canadian final since 1989, when the Calgary Flames defeated Montreal.

RAKING THE LEAFS

The Maple Leafs’ loss to New Jersey was widely blamed on team captain Mats Sundin, whose line was neutralized by the Devils’ stifling checking. Critics suggested that Sundin should be stripped of the captaincy and traded, reviving a rumor that Sundin will be dealt to Philadelphia for multiple-concussion victim Eric Lindros.

Not only does that make no sense for Toronto--Lindros’ career has been jeopardized by his head injuries and Sundin is more durable and a better playmaker--it wouldn’t solve the defensive problems that were the Maple Leafs’ downfall in the playoffs. They need more help on defense than up front.

General Manager-Coach Pat Quinn said there’s a 99 44/100ths percent chance that Sundin will stay and keep the captaincy.

“I know many want to blame him, but that’s way off base,” Quinn told Toronto reporters. “I don’t know how long I have to stand here and say this, but Mats is a quality guy, a quality player and a fine captain.”

SLAP SHOTS

Wayne Gretzky may not be as close to becoming an owner of the Phoenix Coyotes as was speculated last week. Although he said he’s interested in a partnership with Steve Ellman, the developer who hopes to buy the club and build an arena complex in Scottsdale, Gretzky is enjoying retirement too much to subject himself to the pressure and potential criticism of owning and/or running a team.

If he is involved, there’s no guarantee Edmonton Oiler General Manager Glen Sather will come with him. Gretzky may offer Sather a job out of loyalty, but Sather’s real estate investments give him the freedom to not work if he chooses. Sather also has become an unofficial standard bearer for Canadian teams, and to leave Edmonton for Phoenix--which lured the Jets away from Winnipeg in 1996--might be seen as treason. It would also go against his desire to help Canadian teams survive in an unfavorable economic climate.

The Flames interviewed former King Mike Murphy, the NHL’s vice president of hockey operations, for their vacant general manager’s job. . . . The Flames’ season-ticket push is lagging. Club executives said they must sell 14,000 season tickets by June 30 or they might sell or move the Flames. About 1,800 new tickets had been sold last week and as of last weekend, only about 57% of the club’s 9,000 current season-ticket holders had renewed.

Toronto defenseman Bryan Berard regained enough vision in his injured right eye to play golf last week, and was cleared to begin light physical activity and weight training. However, it will be months before doctors can tell how much sight he will regain.

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How They Stack Up

Tale of the tape for the teams playing in the conference finals:

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COLORADO DALLAS CATEGORY PHILADELPHIA NEW JERSEY 28.0 28.1 Age 28.3 27.0 6.01 6.01 Height 6.01 6.01 197.6 199.2 Weight 201.2 201.1 6 4 Countries represented 5 6 4 4 Rookies 3 4 1 1 Cups won (by team) 2 1 11 20 Cup rings (players) 5 12 1 3 Appearances in finals 7 1 3 1 Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) 0 1 0 1 Hart (season MVP) 0 0 3 1 Vezina (best goalie) 1 0 5 0 Norris (best defenseman) 0 0

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