UKRAINIAN PRO HOCKEY UPDATE
by Ihor Stelmach
Keith Tkachuk: Captain Coyote
Phoenix Coyotes' left winger Keith Tkachuk was jokingly labeled the $6 million man for the substantial contract he signed last summer, but in real life he's no robotic man.
He hurts like everyone else, and this 24-year-old Ukrainian native of Melrose, Mass., is still feeling the effects of being stripped of the Winnipeg Jets' captaincy before the start of the 1995-1996 season. Then Jets' coach Terry Simpson made the move after the team matched a five-year, $17.2 million offer sheet Tkachuk had signed with the Chicago Blackhawks.
"When the coach-GM (John Paddock) tells you (that) you will always be the captain, when he says that and does something else, well, that's brutal," Tkachuk said. "They basically lied to me and I can't respect that."
Tkachuk's pride was soothed only somewhat when, for the Jets' last game in Winnipeg (Game 6 of the first round series against the Detroit Red Wings), he was the team's acting captain in place of injured left winger Kris King.
"Yeah, it was awful nice they put the 'C' on me for the last game in the playoffs," Tkachuk added, "but I'll never forget what they did to me. It was wrong."
Paddock defended the captaincy switch, saying he fully supported Simpson's call and will similarly stand by whatever new coach Don Hay decides during his regime as coach.
"When I made that comment about Keith, that he'd always be the captain, that was when I was the coach," said Paddock, who now is the Coyotes' GM. "It's always the coach's call. (Keith) still insists it happened because of his contract. Well, that had nothing to do with it. "There's no doubt he's the leader when he steps on the ice, but there more to (being captain) than that."
King, Tkachuk's roommate and close friend, said he thought the captaincy issue was only a small one in the bigger picture.
"He played the same way with or without it," King said. "I think it was a real shot from management and I think they were looking at more than that, to just let the kid play hockey, which is the most important thing. I thought it would be tough at first, especially because we were roommates. It never came to a head at all."
Tkachuk however, did become the target of sharp criticism among media members and fans.
"Hey, when I was making $200,000 or so, I could do no wrong," he pointed out. "When I made the bigger money, I was greedy, selfish, just worried about the money. That was the hardest thing. It affected me."
Fortunately for the Jets, Tkachuk was able to block out the turmoil enough to put together another really strong season. Leading the Jets in goals (50) and points (98), he posted personal highs in both categories. Many observers felt 1995-1996 was, in fact, Tkachuk's coming-of-age season.
Tkachuk's maturation process has clearly moved ahead because of the ordeal, and he has learned to employ patience when most conversations, as they are bound to do, turn to his salary.
"I had a lot of people outside hockey, my family and my girlfriend, help me out and stand by me," Tkachuk said. "My teammates were like that, too. They accepted me when I came back. They treated me basically the same as always. It was a tough process and I got punished for using the system.
"The contract was probably the biggest issue of the year. You have to live up to so many expectations, making that much money. It was awfully tough because everywhere I went, I was the $6 million man, not Keith Tkachuk. That was hard for me. Even with people I knew. Yeah, it's a lot of money, (but) it wasn't my fault they gave it to me," he added.
His exceptional regular season and a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs - the team's first in three years - were triggered early in the campaign. The training camp tension caused by his absence - he missed the entire pre-season because of his contract situation - and the events leading up to his mind-boggling free-agent offer were almost like a pair of handcuffs.
That's when Tkachuk's raw talent kicked in. With virtually no practice, he played the first two games of the regular season and pulled his groin muscle. He sat out the next three, but then proceeded to score seven goals and 15 points in the next five games. It turned out to be his most productive five-game sequence of the season.
"I was accepted by the players when I came back, but getting off to a good start after missing a couple of games with a groin injury, that was big for me," Tkachuk noted. "That made things so much easier. When guys don't come to training camp or they're late getting there, it has been known to affect the whole year. Maybe training camp is overrated."
Tkachuk took no such stance this season as the Coyotes set out as a franchise with a fresh start. Their kingpin and cornerstone remains one Keith Tkachuk.
"We've added things to this team already to bring out what he has to offer," said King. "He needed a center who could get him the puck. They went out and got Craig Janney and they worked immediately. They're looking to build this team around him. He's their franchise player.
"After four years, he has already proven he's one of the top left wingers and power forwards in the game. In the position where a player takes a lot of punishment and abuse, he has the physique and the will to play that way every game. He loves that style and does it very well."
Tkachuk said he's thrilled personally to have a fresh start in the Arizona desert.
"It's like we're all getting traded to another city," he noted. "The people in Phoenix probably don't know a whole lot about NHL hockey, but after a while they'll learn. It won't be like in Winnipeg, when you're under the microscope all the time, where money plays a big role in a small market like that. I don't think that will be the same in a large market like Phoenix, so that will be a large difference for me."
The other difference will be in his paycheck this season. Because of the front-loaded Chicago offer, Tkachuk goes from $6 million in salary to $2.6 million. Can he possibly survive the drop in pay?
"I don't think I should say anything," he laughed. "Don't make an issue out of it, because it's not one."
Just like it wasn't, at least on the ice, during last season's career year.
(Next week: Keith Tkachuk's 1996-1997 career year II: the sequel is better than the original.)
Wakaluk out, Khabibulin in net
Darcy Wakaluk felt something pop in his right knee, and not long afterward the rest of the Phoenix Coyotes heard the same kind of noise. It was the sound of losing three straight games.
It all started in Landover, Md., on January 4 when the Washington Capitals blanked Wakaluk and his Coyotes 3-0. Wakaluk, the club's back-up goaltender, suffered torn cartilage in his knee at some point during the game and later underwent arthroscopic surgery. He was placed on the injured list on January 8, and, as of press time, has yet to return.
"It's disappointing," said the Ukrainian, who had similar surgery on his left knee after last season. "Things were really going good. It has been fun to come into the dressing room every day."
The mood mellowed considerably, however, after a 5-1 road loss two days later to the Buffalo Sabres in which the Sabres scored all of their goals off Phoenix turnovers.
"We're just making too many mistakes right now," said the other Coyotes' goalie, Russian Nikolai Khabibulin, who reclaimed his No. 1 status from Wakaluk before the latter's injury. "I think we're playing well as a team, but we're having breakdowns at bad times."
One breakdown the Coyotes could ill afford is any sort of slump by Khabibulin, whom they depended upon and continue to do so heavily until Wakaluk's eventual return. The period from early January to late March was critical to the team's hopes of securing a pivotal top-four finish or even a playoff berth in the Western Conference.
Ukrainian transactions and injuries:
(December - March)
(Tkachuk and Wakaluk quotes courtesy of Tim Campbell and Bob McManaman, beat writers covering the Phoenix Coyotes.)
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, April 6, 1997, No. 14, Vol. LXV
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