Sauer cooling his heels off the ice

The national unemployment rate is above 5 percent, but in the National Hockey League it’s currently at 100 percent. And that’s not sitting well with people like Kurt Sauer.

Sauer, the former Spokane Chief and current Colorado Avalanche player, has been cooling his heels in town for the past couple of weeks. He is trying to take advantage of his down time, spending quality time with his wife and child – in short, trying to make the most of a bad situation – all the while without a paycheck.

Sauer and the rest of the NHL players are locked out by ownership as labor strife hits the sport during one of the prime years of Sauer’s career. With an average NHL career of five years, Sauer appreciates what is potentially being lost. Yet he remains hopeful.

“I think there’s a fair deal out there,” said Sauer of the all-but-nonexistent National Hockey League labor talks. “It sounds stupid, ‘fair deal,’ but both sides need to have one.”

The NHL’s dour economic situation has been well-documented. Each side has been portraying the numbers in its favor, but behind those digits are the personal stories of players while they bide their time.

For Sauer, it is about staying grounded. He has had a reputation for being that way since his playing days in Spokane. Sauer the player is matched equally by the person whose work ethic and morals are unimpeachable.

So Sauer is spending some of this time in town with his in-laws.

And he traveled recently to watch his brother, Michael, play as a 17-year-old rookie defenseman for Portland of the Western Hockey League.

Sauer has also been at the Arena, taking in a couple of games and taking the ice for a practice with the Chiefs at the request of coach Al Conroy.

This would be the third NHL season for Sauer, who played in Spokane from 1999-2002. Much like former Chief Cam Severson, Sauer went from Spokane to Anaheim because of former Spokane and current Anaheim coach Mike Babcock. Sauer signed with Anaheim as a free agent and was along as a rookie for the Ducks’ dizzying ride to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Sauer says the highlight of his young NHL career came when the product of Sartell, Minn., got his first NHL playoff goal, a short-handed, game-winner against the Wild in Minnesota in front of family and friends. He began last season with Anaheim before being traded to Colorado late in the season.

Sauer, who was Colorado’s third-round pick (88th overall) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, ended up back with the Avs last season. He made his second career playoff appearance. At 6-foot-4 and 217 pounds, he is a prototypical stay-at-home defenseman and longs to get back to the game he loves.

Yet he says he feels worse for the younger players, many of whom are scrambling to meet their financial obligations. That’s why he talks sincerely about a “fair” deal being reached.

“It’s not about taking as much as you can. It’s actually making it fair, making it right for the game,” said Sauer. “That’s what I’m hoping will come from this (lockout), is a fair deal that will help the game for a long time to come.”