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Not all the fun's in the sun Thoughts on Toronto, St. Louis, New Jersey and more
Updated: Tuesday February 20, 2001 4:32 PM
After a number of stalled efforts to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes from Richard Burke, Steve Ellman and Wayne Gretzky finally concluded their ownership odyssey on Feb. 15. But not all the fun is in the sun, as CNNSI.com found out when it spoke to Sports Illustrated senior hockey writer Michael Farber. CNNSI.com: The ownership bid in Phoenix seemed to become messier as it dragged on; why was this such a protracted deal, and how happy is Gary Bettman now that this has been settled? Farber: There was a lack of capital there, simply a money deal. But it never seemed to me that this was going to fail. Gary Bettman had too much invested in it. He was going to make sure this one worked. You knew that at the Board of Governors meeting in December, when the ownership was essentially pre-approved, like one of those credit card offers in the mail. Bettman, I'm sure, is pleased with his handiwork, because he was very involved. You don't want the name of your greatest luminary tied up in something that was that messy. You don't want any residue of failure sticking to either the league or to Wayne Gretzky. There was a lot invested, almost as much psychically as financially. This was a big one for the league and it certainly sets the stage for all kinds of player moves. CNNSI.com: What, or maybe whom, do you see as the dominoes to fall -- Keith Tkachuk, Nikolai Khabibulin, a new building? Farber: Certainly, this was the first step toward a new building. They absolutely need a building, and clearly they've moved in that direction. They were able to bring in $10 million late and Gretzky's name is still magic. I suspect they'll get it done. CNNSI.com: How about the product on the ice? Farber: First thing in terms of player movement that we have to understand is that roughly three quarters of their salaries have already been paid. So anyone expecting Phoenix to start shedding contracts in a massive way might be wrong. That said, certain decisions have to be made about players and about payroll; most obvious one is in goal, where Khabibulin is 28 and Sean Burke is 34. Going forward, it would seem that Khabibulin could be the most effective for the longest time. If you sign him, Burke, who has only been the best goalie in hockey this year, becomes extraneous. And there are several teams who would take a look at Sean Burke, most obviously the Pittsburgh Penguins. I see that scenario, signing Khabibuln and dealing Burke before the deadline. And the most logical city is Pittsburgh. They have a couple other player contracts of interest, too. Cliff Fletcher is Gretzky's hockey advisor. Clearly he will have some input and his philosophy is that you win with goaltending and centers, so we'll see if that applies in this case. Remember, Jeremy Roenick is unrestricted as of July 1 and he's making $5 million now, so they have to make a decision with him. The other guy is Keith Tkachuk. He's making $8.3 million and is a leftwinger who doesn't fall directly into that Fletcher view of the game. We're going to see which way they'll go and if anything reflects on how Cliff Fletcher views the game. I'd say that one would be moved. CNNSI.com: Let's move away from the desert. In St. Louis, the Blues continue to roll along, without Chris Pronger and without Al MacInnis. What does this say about the Blues? And do you expect them to be active before the trade deadline? Farber: It says this is an incredibly well-coached team where every player understands his role. There's a great deal on that team, more depth than talent. Everyone genuflects in the direction of Colorado, and while the [Avs'] talent is more conspicuous, the Blues have a lot of players. That said, last year when Pavol Demitra went down, they were stuck with essentially one line and one marquee scorer in Pierre Turgeon. And San Jose, a club with some bite, went right after Turgeon. And as fluky as some of those goals were, you can attribute that first-round upset because St. Louis wasn't prepared to deal with a key injury. I think Larry Pleau understands that, and is going to have to reinforce in certain places. I expect them to bring in some players -- another defenseman and a guy who can be a second-line center. Everyone's talking about goaltending with the Blues, but my guess is they're going to stick with that pair. They start Roman Turek and use Brent Johnson at the first sign of any lack of poise. The Blues have to make the step to the next level and were a little too conservative last year. I think St. Louis is going to have to -- like Detroit does every year -- do something just in case. CNNSI.com: How would you handicap the race for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference? Farber: It's a tough race. If St. Louis was going to backslide, it would be now. But the funny thing is Colorado has in a little trough. Maybe nothing to be concerned about. It's going to come down to the last weekend between St. Louis and Colorado. St. Louis has continued to play very well in the absence of its two franchise defensemen and Colorado has hit a bump for no obvious reason. But it's a long year. There's a stretch in the season -- pretty much now until around the trade deadline - when there's almost a sense of suspended animation, and as soon as the deadline passes there's this great [momentum] that really picks up. CNNSI.com: I know you've been following Mario Lemieux very closely since his return; have you noticed any changes in his game? Does he look stronger? Does his back appear to be a problem? Farber: What I have noticed is that at times he's taken the puck and skated with it. Mario in his later, pre-retirement years, was a connect-the-dots player. He would distribute it, walk the half boards, he'd take the puck and do something magical with it, but one of the things he wouldn't do is take the puck and lug it. Once he starts skating with the puck more, he's going to get even better and his game will become more dynamic. And the Penguins are a two-line team with Alexei Kovalev, Martin Straka and Robert Lang. Lang is having a career year, which would be a little worrisome if I'm Robert Lang; his trade value has never been higher. If the Penguins are looking for goalie help, he may be part of that. CNNSI.com: A number of top teams in the East seem to be playing well, with exception of Toronto, how do you see these teams as they jockey for position? Farber: Well, Ottawa's playing very well. In New Jersey, the Devils look terrific; the only danger sign is Alexander Mogilny. If that injury turns out to be something serious, that's something that makes for a more difficult situation in New Jersey. If you looked back and said Eric Lindros wasn't coming back, that John LeClair would be a non-factor and that Brian Boucher wasn't the solid No. 1, you'd be laughed at. But Cechmanek has been very good and Simon Gagne has been brilliant. He's a natural center playing on the left side. Last year he looked great on the power play when he had the additional time, but this year he's creating his own time with his speed. CNNSI.com: We knew we couldn't get through this without bringing up the name Eric Lindros, but will we hear anything of any substance until the day a deal is done? Not unless Eric or his lawyer announces that Eric will play wherever Philly trades him. This is an old-fashioned standoff. Eric has dug in heels and he's holding his breath until his face turns Maple Leaf blue. But in another four weeks, we'll be out of options for this year because he's not going back to Philly. CNNSI.com: And while we're tangentially speaking of the Maple Leafs, are they in a desperate situation? Farber: I still expect Toronto to make a move. There are high expectations there: It's the one Canadian city that is rock-solid. I expect the Maple Leafs to be very aggressive. Rob Blake is still out there and Toronto is one of the few places he'd likely sign a long-term deal, Los Angeles would understand that, but I'm not sure Toronto has the players the Kings want. But if Blake does move, I expect Toronto to find a way to get him. CNNSI.com: While we're on the subject of Blake, we so rarely hear players the Kings could get in return for him. Farber: I don't know what they could get, but you can look to the Ray Bourque and Theo Fleury packages. Blake is certainly worth as much as those players and probably more because he's younger. CNNSI.com: Finally, the Felix Potvin era comes to a close in Vancouver for future considerations. Will the Canucks see a player out of this deal. Farber: It's interesting what Vancouver has done with its goaltending situation. It's a pretty big leap of faith for a playoff team to go with Bob Essensa and Dan Cloutier. Essensa hasn't really been a No. 1 since he was booted out of Detroit. And it's a lot to put on those guys. Brian Burke has a budget and has rebuilt the core of that team, crowds are a little better and he's done a nice job. You just have to hope he stabilized the goaltending situation. As for Potvin in L.A., the Kings had to do something. Stephane Fiset's always hurt and you have to make the playoffs in L.A. Jamie Storr has had a couple of outstanding games but there are other times when he's not the rock. And here's a guy with great expectations, but hasn't been able to do it on a consistent basis. The interesting thing is that Fiset and Potvin played for the same midget team, the Montreal Bourassa, where Martin Brodeur also played. It develops great goaltenders because it's such a terrible team. The goalies see a lot of shots. I doubt you'll see that information in too many places. Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL and appears
regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated.
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