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Tuesday, October 24, 2000

Mike Barnett made headlines a few days ago when he announced that he will remain a player agent rather than accept a job as general manager in Phoenix when -- or, more to the point, if -- a group including his longtime friend and client, Wayne Gretzky, gets control of the Coyotes.

He also made Jaromir Jagr's day.

Jagr, you see, is Barnett's most prominent active client, and they have been associated since Jagr came to North America in 1990.

Now, when the time comes for Jagr to negotiate an extension on the contract that expires in 2003, he can be reasonably certain he'll have Barnett bargaining on his behalf.

"I'm glad I don't have to look for somebody else," Jagr said. "That would be kind of tough. I don't know anybody."

Mind you, he probably wouldn't have to look hard for a replacement. If the Jagr-Barnett partnership ever dissolved, Jagr's answering machine would be full of sales pitches from prospective replacements before sundown.

There is reason to believe that Barnett decided to stick with his current line of work because Gretzky's group might never come up with the money it needs to finalize a deal. Certainly, the primary member of the group, Steve Ellman, does not seem to have the resources that will be required to get it done.

Jagr, though, shed no light on that, and said he really hasn't discussed the Phoenix situation with Barnett.

"I haven't talked to him for a while," Jagr said. "I don't need him right now. He's busy. He's got a lot of guys. I'll let him worry about someone else, but when I need him, he's going to be working."

Trivia question

Against which opponent have the Penguins played the most regular-season overtime games? Answer at end.

Downsizing

One of the enduring images from the 1997 playoffs is that of goalie Garth Snow standing in the Philadelphia crease, looking a whole lot larger than life.

Part of that was because, at 6 feet 3, 200 pounds, Snow is a fairly large man. But he looked even bigger in those days because of his shoulder pads, which, because of the way they were sewn, exaggerated the height of Snow's shoulders. Made him like something out of a Mad Max movie, actually.

Those pads were victims of the league's crackdown on oversized equipment, and Snow, who is signed with the Penguins earlier this month, is wearing more conventional ones these days. Not that he necessarily minds the change.

"There were guys who are 5-8 who looked like they were 6-2," he said of the oversized equipment. "I think I got the most grief for it became I am 6-3. I've actually played better without it. I'm more mobile, I believe, with the downsizing."

Eye for talent

Washington scout Ville Siren, a former Penguins defenseman, is based in Europe and has a pretty good eye for the talent there.

He is quite familiar with Roman Simicek, a Czech center now playing for the Penguins, because Simicek had been playing in Finland, Siren's homeland, before the Penguins grabbed him in the ninth round of the June entry draft.

Siren noted recently that Simicek had been working on the same line as another Czech, winger Tomas Vlasak, who is playing in Los Angeles this season, and that "they played really good together."

He also pointed out that Simicek "had a lot of injuries," including a knee problem, last year, and stopped short of predicting that Simicek will be able to be effective in North America.

"Skill-wise, he's all right," Siren said. "But he might have trouble with the speed."

Simicek has been working as the Penguins' third-line center, with Josef Beranek and Matthew Barnaby on his wings. He has two goals and three assists in seven games.

The payoff

New York Rangers center Petr Nedved remains a pretty unpopular guy in Pittsburgh -- some fans still hold a grudge over his protracted contract dispute a few years ago -- but he deserves credit for half of the Penguins' top six forwards being on the team.

The Penguins, of course, got right winger Alexei Kovalev from New York when they traded Nedved Nov. 25, 1998, but what tends to be forgotten is that two of their other top forwards were signed in the summer of 1997 because General Manager Craig Patrick anticipated that he might have trouble re-signing Nedved.

In an effort to fill the possible hole in his lineup, Patrick signed two free agents who had played in the NHL and looked like they might fit in reasonably well with the Penguins.

Which they have done for more than three years now. Better than anyone could have expected.

"We wanted some insurance, so we signed Martin Straka and Robert Lang to protect ourselves," Patrick said. "It's paid off handsomely for us."

Minding the net

Although no one in management will say Jean-Sebastien Aubin is the Penguins' No. 1 goalie, it's hard to reach any other conclusion after two-plus weeks of the season. He has, after all, played in six of their first seven games and won four.

From all indications, he is continuing to develop into a top-quality goaltender. Except when it comes to handling the puck.

That's an important skill -- "It helps the defensemen so much in the [NHL], when you get the puck [to them]," said Gilles Meloche, the Penguins' goaltending coach -- but one for which Aubin has shown no particular acumen.

"Of course, I'd like to be better," Aubin said. "I try a lot, and I guess you either have it or you don't. And I guess I don't have it. So I'll make sure to stop the puck instead of being a good goalie around the net. I think the team wants me to stop the puck, not play the puck. I still want to be better, but I don't see myself being a great player around the net. I'm not right now. At 23 years old, if I'm not right now, I guess I'm never going to be. But I'm going to work on it."

The future

Jagr is impressed by what he has seen of Milan Kraft, the rookie center who was the Penguins' first-round draft choice in 1998. He has gone so far as to characterize Kraft as "the future" of the franchise.

But Jagr said he doesn't necessarily agree with those who believe Kraft's long-term development would be better served by taking a regular shift -- and get a full load of special-teams work -- with the Penguins' minor-league team in Wilkes-Barre rather than settling for limited ice time in the NHL.

"When I was 18 years old, I didn't play many games, either," Jagr said. "I didn't have much ice time. We played four lines, and I played probably 10 minutes, or eight, a game. I didn't worry about it. Sometimes, it's even better [to have a modest role]. You learn the game. It's tough when you're young, and right away you go to the first line and people expect you to score a lot of goals. It's best for young kids to have their own line, a fourth line, and enjoy it. Let him play his way."

Trivia answer

The Penguins and New York Rangers have gone to overtime 23 times, with the Penguins holding a 9-3-11 edge. They haven't won more than six overtime games against any other opponent.