UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE (03/24/96)

UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE

by Ihor Stelmach

A great big deal

Speculation had swirled around Wayne Gretzky for several weeks and the strain of worrying about his future showed on the boyish face of hockey's greatest player.

Finally, on February 27, it was over. The sport's career-leading scorer was on his way to the St. Louis Blues.

For days he politely gave the same answers to the same questions asked by packs of reporters, friends and fans.

"It's mentally draining," he said of the inquisitions. "Every city I went to, hordes of people wanting to know what I was doing."

Gretzky rejected a contract that would have allowed him to finish his career with the Los Angeles Kings.

"In life, strange things happen, and this is one of them," he said. "No one has the answer on why it's come to this."

The trade ended a turbulent period that began in early January when the Great One went public with his demands that the Kings upgrade their talent, or he would consider leaving.

It was a shocking stance for a man known as hockey's nicest player, on and off the ice.

"It's been the hardest six weeks of my career," he said. "It's been unfair for me and my wife."

Gretzky, 35, leaves the city where he achieved all of his major NHL records, including scoring his 802nd goal on March 23, 1994, making him the game's career scoring leader.

His only failure was not helping the Kings win the Stanley Cup - his greatest desire upon arriving from Edmonton nearly eight years ago.

The Kings came close to a championship in 1993, losing 4-1 to Montreal in the finals, including three straight overtime defeats.

"In a lot of ways, it was as much fun to get to the finals that year as it was winning four championships with Edmonton, because we weren't expected to get there, and we did," Gretzky said. "That was probably my best memory here and something I'll never forget."

A nine-time MVP, Gretzky won four Stanley Cups with Edmonton before a blockbuster deal sent him to the Kings.

His arrival on August 9, 1988, sparked hockey interest in southern California and ensured regular sellouts at the Forum. Gretzky is credited with bringing two NHL expansion teams to the state; getting new rinks built to handle the explosion of junior hockey teams; and spawning the in-line skating craze.

"We did a lot of great things here in eight years," he said.

Losing in the finals marked the beginning of a free-fall that hit bottom last year before new ownership took over the financially strapped franchise.

Gretzky watched closely as close friend and former owner Bruce McNall was convicted of bank fraud, and he cringed as his teammates' paychecks bounced until Edward Roski and Phillip Anschultz bought the team.

"These owners came in and had to clean up a lot of mess," he said. "I felt the brunt of that more than anyone, because I knew more than anyone what was going on."

But even Gretzky didn't know a trade would come off when he departed an afternoon meeting on February 27 at the Forum, still undecided about signing a new deal. He was making $6.5 million this year and becomes a free agent this summer.

Los Angeles offered a contract covering the rest of his playing days, and then wanted to move him into a front office role for an additional five to 10 years, Kings governor Bob Sanderman claimed. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"It was very difficult because they were so classy to me," Gretzky said. "It was a hard decision at home with my wife."

In the end, the lure of playing under Blues coach Mike Keenan and alongside Brett Hull, and living in his wife's hometown of St. Louis won out.

"It wasn't a financial issue," he said. "We felt it was probably best for the Kings, the city, the fans and myself that we head in this direction."

The Kings traded their franchise player for rookies Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif and young prospect Roman Vopat, in addition to a fifth-round draft pick this year and a first-round selection in 1997.

"These are their three best prospects without a doubt. What we did was the best for the Kings," General Manager Sam McMaster said. "The first-round draft selection in 1997 is huge for the Kings."

Hrudey joins Kings' crease

The weeks kept flying by, and suddenly it had been six months between NHL starts for 34-year-old Los Angeles Kings' Ukrainian goaltender Kelly Hrudey.

Hrudey finished last season facing a barrage of Winnipeg Jets' shots on May 2, 1995, when the Kings won on the second to last day of the season. His next start did not come until November 22, 1995, against the New York Islanders.

Hrudey suffered a torn ligament in the ankle just before training camp, and his rehabilitation turned into a nightmare as he was beset by numerous setbacks.

"I didn't realize it was six months, although it seemed like it at times," said Hrudey, who is in his 13th NHL season.

Hrudey's return was a rocky one, a 5-2 loss to the Islanders, in which he was victimized by his porous defense. The Islanders outshot the Kings 39-18, and had two power-play goals; rookie defenseman Aki Berg committed a major blunder - a blind drop pass behind his own net on the Islanders' third goal.

"I was very happy the game hadn't passed me by, as far as speed and what-not," Hrudey said. "It wasn't the result I wanted, but nobody beat me with a straight shot - that's one of the barometers for whether I'm feeling comfortable."

For goaltender Byron Dafoe, one subpar outing rarely kept him on the bench very long, as coach Larry Robinson promptly put him back in the crease for the next game.

But that was earlier in the season.

The combination of a surging Hrudey and a struggling Dafoe has forced Robinson to alter what had been a consistent rotation. Hrudey went through an eight-game stretch in which his goals against average was 1.80 and his save percentage was 95.3.

Meanwhile, Dafoe hadn't won a game in a stretch of four appearances, going 0-3-0, and getting pulled twice.

Robinson said he still has faith in Dafoe's abilities.

"I still believe in both my goalies," Robinson said. "Without them we wouldn't even be close. (Goaltending) is the farthest thing from my mind right now."

UKRAINIAN UTTERINGS: In a February 3 overtime win over the Isles, the Caps' Peter Bondra tallied four goals, including three in the third period...Ukrainians making waves during All-Star skills competitions included Oleg Tverdovsky (fastest skater while still with Anaheim) and Washington's Peter Bondra (hardest shot and fastest skater)... The lowest-paid NHLer, Vancouver's Jim Sandlak, making $125,000 a year, was recently released by the Canucks. It is doubtful Sandlak will see NHL rinks again. Mighty Ducks' GM Jack Ferreira said much-improved Oleg Tverdovsky used to be an equal opportunity defenseman: "He'd create chances at both ends of the rink." Ferreira said the 19-year-old is much more consistent as a sophomore than he was as an NHL rookie last season. Apparently Tverdovsky was so consistent this year, he was quickly traded to Winnipeg in early February. The Ducks picked up super-scorer Teemu Selanne...Wayne Gretzky was selected NHL Player of the Week for the 41st time, but only the sixth since joining the Kings...One of the most over-looked stories the past two seasons is Peter Bondra's amazing scoring contribution to the Washington Capitals. He led the NHL by a significant margin last season, accounting for 25 percent of all Washington goals. Three players tied for second, scoring 19 percent of their teams' goals. In the first half of 1995-1996, Bondra upped his share to about the 30 percent mark...

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