SCOTT Niedermayer, who has played as much hockey as anyone in the NHL this decade, boarded a flight to Prague immediately after the Devils were eliminated by the Flyers in order to compete for Canada in the ongoing World Championship Tournament. Jeff Friesen joined him, and so, once their respective teams suffered first-round elimination, did Brendan Morrison, Glen Murray, Patrice Bergeron, Brenden Morrow and Matt Cooke.
But while these seven Canadians hurried overseas, only a single American off an NHL varsity, Boston’s Hal Gill, answered his country’s call following the first round. Scott Gomez, who badly wants to represent the Yanks in this summer’s World Cup, rejected an invitation after originally committing to play, offering some flimsy excuse about having played too much hockey. Veteran Olympians Billy Guerin, Mike Modano, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight and Scott Young all stayed home. So did Brian Rolston. Americans talk about taking pride in representing their county just like the Canadians do, but that’s pretty much all it is down here: talk.
This isn’t some exhibition tournament that they’re playing in Prague. Despite having won the 1996 World Cup, having won a silver medal in the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games and having struck gold in the 2004 World Juniors, the U.S. entered this tournament ranked only seventh in the IIHF standings, needing to remain in the top eight to automatically qualify for a spot in the 2006 Olympic tournament in Turin. The U.S., 2-1-1 after yesterday’s 3-2 win over Russia, is 2-1-1 in its first four games – Mike Dunham has been strong – and thus, probably will be spared the embarrassment of having to cobble together a patchwork club to play in the pre-Olympic qualifying competitions.
No thanks to most of our marquee athletes.
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Meanwhile, Bobby Holik, who became a U.S. citizen in 1996 but was ineligible to play in the Worlds because he had played for his native Czechoslovakia in previous IIHF-sanctioned tournaments, is aching to represent the Yanks in the World Cup. Indeed, Hol ik’s agent, Mike Gillis, has called Team USA GM Larry Pleau to advise him of Holik’s desire to play for his country.
“Putting aside the Stanley Cups, representing the United States would be a highlight of my career in hockey,” Holik told Slap Shots. “To be in that position would be something very special. I would consider it a privilege.”
Absent another dedicated checking center on any pro spective Team USA roster, Pleau (and assistant GM Don Waddell) would be committing an act of malfeasance leaving Holik off the squad under any circumstance . . . but the error would be compounded if his spot were to be filled by someone who said no in April.
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Glen Sather, we’re told, had a preliminary discussion – if not a formal interview – with former Carolina coach Paul Maurice before scooting over to Prague on Wednesday. Maurice is sharpening his No. 2 pencils in anticipation of completing Sather’s questionnaire.
Mike Keenan, apparently not a candidate for the Rangers job, is, according to a well-placed source, a serious contender to replace Jacques Martinin Ottawa. We’re told that there’s strong sentiment among the hierarchy that Iron Mike’s brand of shock treatment is exactly what the Senators require following Martin’s placid regime. A goaltender who can make a big Game 7 save wouldn’t hurt, either.
A year ago, Mike Babcock introduced the utterly obnoxious term “greasy hockey” into the NHL lexicon. Now, it’s the Anaheim coach whose skids are being greased. While Babcock, who took over Team Canada when Joel Quenneville had to step down for medical reasons, is more likely than not to keep his job through the summer, GM Bryan Murray has made it clear to confidants that he believes the Mighty Ducks badly underachieved this year with a better roster than the one that went to the 2003 Finals. Babcock, a micro-manager who rarely gives his players a chance to breathe, is on notice.
While Pierre Lacroix is more likely than not to turn to a veteran coach upon Tony Granato‘s expected dismissal – Quenneville and Martin, both of whom were Avalanche assistant coaches under Marc Crawford, lead the list – current assistant Rick Tocchet is believed a strong candidate in Colorado . . . And while there’s much speculation that Martin will wind up behind the Phoenix bench, we’re told that junior coach Marc Habscheid, a one-time Edmonton teammate of Wayne Gretzky‘s, is the front-runner.
Esa Tikkanen, meanwhile, is pursuing a $1 million grievance claim against the Rangers for having been placed on waivers and subsequently assigned to Hartford midway through the 1998-99 season even though he was suffering at the time from a knee injury that required surgery. The Garden, which apparently disregarded NHL rules pertaining to third medical opinions in this instance and are thus believed likely to lose the case, want to win badly enough that former GM Neil Smith, blamed by ownership and the current regime for everything that has gone wrong the last four years, was summoned to testify on behalf of the club in an arbitration hearing last week.