Kariya Has Ducks Worried
The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are entering Week 2 without holdout Paul Kariya, and coach Pierre Page is getting restless.
Kariya reportedly has received two contract offers from the Ducks, who have not received a counter offer from agent Don Baizley. It’s believed the young star wants between $7 million and $8 million a year - maybe even $10 million - after earning $2,075,000 last season while scoring 99 points in 69 games.
“My fear is Paul and the players association are waiting for players (such as Philadelphia’s Eric Lindros) who are playing now (while seeking extensions) to set a new market standard,” Page told the Los Angeles Times.
That might be true, but if the Ducks are hoping Kariya will eventually crack, they better not hold their breath. He skipped the ‘93 season because Anaheim couldn’t sign him.
Cap attack
The Washington Capitals have a much different look his season. They’re scoring goals.
The Caps have scored 22 goals in breaking to a 4-1 start under new coach Ron Wilson. Adam Oates had three goals in Wednesday’s victory over the New York Islanders and became the 47th player in NHL history to score 1,000 points.
”(Wilson) likes offense,” said rookie Richard Zednik. “Last year (under Jim Schoenfeld), you were scared to do something.”
Not this season. The Capitals lit the lamp 14 times in the first three games, to which Zednik commented: “Last year, it would be 14 goals in 14 games.”
Patch tributes
The Detroit Red Wings will wear a patch with the word “Believe” on it this season in tribute to defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov, who were seriously injured in a limo accident in June. Konstantinov cannot speak or walk independently, and Mnatsakanov may not walk again.
Team trainer John Wharton brought the Stanley Cup to William Beaumont Hospital on Wednesday and Konstantinov and Mnatsakanov drank apple juice from it.
The Tampa Bay Lightning also has a patch on its sweater, a four-leaf clover with the No. 12, in honor of John Cullen. Cullen, diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in April, will undergo a bone-marrow transplant this month. The Lightning donated 10 percent of the gate receipts from its home opener to a children’s cancer center in Tampa.
Still a class act
Wayne Gretzky, after all these years of stardom, still understands the meaning of humility. When Brian Leetch was offered the captaincy of the New York Rangers, he said he’d take it only if Gretzky didn’t want it. Gretzky said it belonged to Leetch. Adam Graves then said he’d only take the alternate’s “A” if Gretzky didn’t want it. Gretzky said Graves earned it.
On the ice
At St. Louis, Brett Hull scored his league-leading sixth and seventh goals - and his fifth in his last two games - to lead the Blues to a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers Saturday night.
At Denver, Jeremy Roenick beat Patrick Roy with a backhander with 4:40 left in the game to cap a three-goal Phoenix third-period spurt and lift the Coyotes into a 3-3 tie with the Colorado Avalanche.
At Pittsburgh, Jaromir Jagr set up one goal and scored another in the first 5 minutes as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 to end a three-game losing streak.