Future Is Still Cloudy for Grimson

Stu Grimson thinks he aced his sports psychology final, but he’s less sure how he did on his computer class final. “It was one of those multiple choice tests,” he said. “It was pretty tough.”

Difficult though it was, it was nothing compared with what he has faced the past year.

Grimson, a former Mighty Duck and King who signed with the Nashville Predators in July 2001, has been sidelined for nearly a year because of post-concussion syndrome. He last played Dec. 12, 2001, four days after taking a nasty punch during a fight with Edmonton enforcer Georges Laraque, and only recently has he been able to ride an exercise bike without feeling nausea or vertigo.

“Somebody who suffered the same blow might have been back the next game,” said Grimson, one of the NHL’s career leaders in penalty minutes. “Everybody is wired different and it seems everybody has different circumstances for recovery.

“A broken bone, you can pretty much put a stamp on it and say it will take an athlete six weeks to recover. With something like this, you don’t know. It’s like no ailment I’ve experienced in my career.”

Grimson built a career on toughness. Hugely popular wherever he played, he lost few fights. But in this injury, he might have met his match.

He’s not sure how many concussions he had in 14 NHL seasons, but he’s aware head injuries ended the careers of Dave Taylor, Pat LaFontaine and Jeff Beukeboom, among others. He talked to Beukeboom and to former Duck teammate Paul Kariya about their ordeals, but in the end, it’s his battle alone.

“I think I’m in a little better spot. At least I feel I’m able to begin some sort of rehabilitation,” he said. “I’ve been on the bike three days a week and I’m able to build on that a little bit. Until then, when I was working out, I’d get pressure in my head and headaches. I still feel them from time to time, but for the most part I’m able to have a pretty normal day. If I do anything too physical, they flare up.”

He enrolled at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., to keep busy and have something to fall back on if he can’t play again. “I’m realistic, given I’m 37 and certainly at the back end of my career,” he said. “My focus is to just get back to leading a normal life, and I’ll make a determination from that point.”

Nashville Cats

In their fifth season, with no playoff appearances, the Predators are no longer a novelty and are playing before shrinking crowds. They raised season ticket prices for the first time before this season but promised to refund the difference between the old prices and the new if they don’t make the playoffs -- and it looks as if they’ll have to dip into the till to pay those refunds.

The Predators, who face the Kings tonight at Nashville, have the fewest points in the Western Conference (20) and the fewest wins (six) in the NHL.

“Progress probably is never coming as fast as anyone would like, whether the manager, players, coaches or fans,” said David Poile, the Predators’ general manager. “I still believe the path we’ve chosen is the right path, but it’s not a clear path. We’ve got a lot of shrubs in the way that need to be moved.

“The philosophy we’ve undertaken is to use our young players. There’s a price to pay, and every game you see a little glimmer of hope, but sometimes, you take a step backward.”

Center David Legwand, the second overall pick in the 1998 entry draft, has shown glimpses of high-level skill, but he’s not at the level of Boston’s Joe Thornton, who was drafted first in 1997 and is dominating games. But the Predators, who have little depth, expected more than a goal and seven points out of Scott Hartnell, chosen sixth overall in 2000, and 6-foot-3 center Denis Arkhipov (one goal, 12 points).

Money Makes the World Go ‘Round

Forbes magazine’s annual listing of franchise values has the Red Wings as the NHL’s most valuable, at $266 million, and the Toronto Maple Leafs as the most valuable Canadian franchise, at $187 million.

The Flyers were second overall, at $262 million, Dallas was third ($254 million) and Colorado fourth ($250 million). At the bottom were Edmonton ($86 million), Buffalo ($92 million) Calgary ($94 million), Ottawa ($95 million) and Vancouver ($110 million).

Forbes also said the Maple Leafs led the NHL in operating profits with $24.2 million, more than double runner-up Minnesota’s $12.1 profit. Washington had the biggest operating loss at $25.4 million, followed by St. Louis, at $18 million.

Deja Vu All Over Again

Ron Wilson, hired last week to replace Darryl Sutter as coach of the San Jose Sharks, can be abrasive and long-winded, but he’s never dull. He’s also a better than decent coach.

Wilson, let go by the Capitals after last season, got more out of the early Ducks than their talent warranted. He guided the Capitals to the Stanley Cup finals in 1997-98 and to 102 points in 1999-2000, the second-best total in club history, but he was dismissed when they missed the playoffs last season. Perhaps that will make him more humble than in his Duck days, when he and club president Tony Tavares engaged in a battle of egos that set the team back several years.

Wilson’s hiring deprives the Sharks of any excuses for continued underachieving. If they’re good enough for observers other than Wilson to have picked them as a Cup finalist, now’s the time they must start proving it.

Flames’ Follies

The top candidate to replace Greg Gilbert as coach of the Flames is Jim Playfair, who coaches their top minor-league affiliate. However, Ted Nolan was the winner of a fan poll at globeandmail.com as well as on the Flames’ Web site and in a local radio station’s poll.

Not that he has a chance of actually being hired.

Nolan hasn’t been offered a head-coaching position since the Sabres fired him after the 1996-97 season, and a story last week in the Windsor (Canada) Star offered some insights about why. Several general managers were quoted anonymously as saying they’d never hire him because he went behind the back of then-general manager John Muckler and directly to owner John Rigas during a power struggle, marking him as a back-stabber. But that defense has a gaping hole: Mike Keenan also has been accused of insubordination more than once and still finds employment rather easily.

It’s more likely the old boys’ club is uneasy with Nolan being “different” -- he’s of native American heritage -- and won’t ignore convention to hire him. He erred in turning down two assistant coaching opportunities, but by now deserves another chance.

Slap Shots

Pierre Gauthier, fired as the Ducks’ general manager after last season, has been popping up at Arrowhead Pond and Staples Center lately to stay in touch with the game -- and, perhaps, to remind people he’s out there and available. “I’m just watching, observing,” said Gauthier, who has stayed in Southern California because he doesn’t want to take his kids out of their schools. Asked if he’s waiting for a call about another job, he demurred. “We’ll see,” he said.

Rick Nash, chosen first overall by Columbus in the June entry draft, is among the rare players able to make the leap from junior hockey to a regular role in the NHL. The 6-3, 188-pound winger ranks among rookie scoring leaders with six goals and 13 points in his first 26 games and gets ample power-play time.

Just as Pavel Bure and the Rangers were showing signs of life, Bure suffered a potentially serious knee injury. He got the bad end of a knee-on-knee collision with Buffalo’s Curtis Brown last Friday, and indications were he might have torn his left anterior cruciate ligament. He will undergo arthroscopic surgery this week so doctors can assess the damage.

The Bruins’ willingness to give Thornton a $5.5-million contract extension is out of character, but it’s smart. It ties him up through the 2003-04 season, the last under the current collective bargaining agreement, and indicates the Bruins intend to build their franchise around him.