Slovak Team Looks to League for Help

Ziggy Palffy’s main goal is to help the Kings win a Stanley Cup. But he also wants to represent his country, Slovakia, at the Salt Lake City Olympics in February.

Palffy, however, may not get another shot at the Olympics--he led the tournament in goals and assists at Lillehammer in 1994--because Slovakia is one of eight teams required to qualify for two spots in the main competition leading to the medal round. Unfortunately for Palffy, the qualifying round coincides with NHL play and the Kings are following the lead of most teams around the league in not allowing the Slovak players to leave early.

“I am still hoping that something can be worked out,” Palffy said about playing in Slovakia’s first preliminary-round game against Germany on Feb. 9. “I think it would be great to play in the Olympics, it would be fun. Not only will all of America but the whole world would be watching.”

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Team Slovakia General Manager Peter Stastny wrote to the NHL office in October, saying it would not be fair if teams didn’t release players for the preliminary round. Atlanta General Manager Don Waddell said he’d like the league to leave the decision to the teams involved. So far, the NHL has been pretty quiet on the subject.

Palffy and fellow NHL Slovaks such as Washington’s Peter Bondra, Ottawa’s Marian Hossa and Zdeno Chara and former King Jozef Stumpel are keeping a close eye on Phoenix Managing Partner Wayne Gretzky.

Gretzky, who is also the general manager of Canada’s national team, has some compassion for Palffy and the three Slovaks on his Phoenix roster, center Michal Handzus, winger Ladislav Nagy and defenseman Radoslav Suchy.

“We’ve talked about it and think we’ve come up with something that could work, so we’re going to run it by those guys, and [Phoenix General Manager] Michael [Barnett] and those guys will announce it,” Gretzky said last week.

If the Kings allowed Palffy to leave, he could miss three games. And for an up-and-down team such as the Kings, who have had problems scoring, playing without a scorer like Palffy could affect their playoff chances.

That is also an issue for Gretzky, whose Coyotes are surprisingly in the hunt for a postseason berth.

“Hey, listen, I think the Olympics are the greatest thing in the world, and I think everyone whose country is there should be part of it,” Gretzky said. “But we are in a situation where we are battling for our lives, battling for the playoffs and to win back our fans. ... We need them to play in these games, but I also understand the need for them to play in the Olympics for their country. Somehow we have to readdress it for the next Olympic Games.”

Palffy believes that Gretzky ultimately will let his players leave early, and he hopes the Kings will do the same.

“It’s hard to think of not going ... but I first worry about the team,” Palffy said. “We will deal with it when the time comes.... We have to try and work something out ... but time is running.”

Palffy knows the pain of missing the Olympics. In 1998, he was one of several NHL players who traveled to Japan to play for Slovakia in a qualifying round but arrived too late and did not play. Slovakia, playing with a lineup made up primarily of European-league players, missed the cut.

If Slovakia’s NHL players are allowed to compete together, they could become a formidable team. St. Louis’ Pavol Demitra, Atlanta’s Lubos Bartecko, Minnesota’s Marian Gaborik, Buffalo’s Miroslav Satan, Palffy and the others would be able to hold their own against any team.

“It is very important for the people in our country, [and] we’ve got a lot of good players,” Chara told Ottawa reporters earlier this season. “The only area where we’re a little weak is goaltending. We’ve got some guys playing overseas and a couple of guys in the minors, but it’s going to be tough for us to qualify.”

The Kings’ Mattias Norstrom, who will represent Sweden in the Olympics, understands teams not wanting their players leaving early. “This is our main goal and that’s winning the Stanley Cup,” Norstrom said.

“Some teams have a lot of players from several different countries. They have to look at the injury risk. You know it is a tough Olympic schedule too. They have to have that as a concern, especially letting a player go even earlier.

“It may be an experience of a lifetime, but the people who hand you your paycheck is the team that you play for.”

The worst thing would be if some teams allowed their players to play in the qualifying games, and others didn’t.

Line Shifts

New York Ranger fans are excited about goaltender Mike Richter’s play. He earned his second consecutive shutout Sunday, against Tampa Bay, after having gone 143 games and nearly three years without one. Richter, who was 8-1-1 and had a 1.99 goals-against average in November, is making a strong case to be the United States’ No.1 goalie in Salt Lake City.

Bryan Murray may have his hands full coaching the Mighty Ducks, but at least he got away from the mess in Florida before Mike Keenan hit town. Bill Torrey, who replaced Murray as general manager, and Coach Duane Sutter never had a chance with Keenan lurking. With Keenan taking over as the Panthers’ eighth coach in not even nine seasons, it makes you wonder--what did former Buffalo Coach Ted Nolan do to not get another chance behind an NHL bench?

With Patrick Roy withdrawing from the Canadian Olympic team, Gretzky said five goaltenders are in the running for the three spots on the squad, which will be announced Dec. 22. The candidates are Toronto’s Curtis Joseph, New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, Dallas’ Ed Belfour, Florida’s Roberto Luongo and Phoenix’s Sean Burke.

“When we announce it on Dec. 22, we’ll announce the three goalies as three of the 23 [players],” Gretzky said

Quote of the Week

“It was probably last year that I found my comfort zone. At 22, you’re a bit more of a man than you were at 18. I’ve always had a relaxed attitude. I knew it would come. I think that and maturity made me a better player now.”

Boston’s Joe Thornton, selected No. 1 overall in 1997, on his improved play this season.