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Sunday, January 13, 2002

Compiled by Dejan Kovacevic

Twice bitten, twice as bitter, the Sharks were forced to deny two different reports from the New York Post this week.

First was a Sunday column which asserted that Coach Darryl Sutter had become so fed up with underperforming sniper Teemu Selanne that he told him, "I don't care if you get into your Porsche and drive back down to Anaheim right now." In front of the team, too.

Selanne denied it on the team's Web site: "I've never had problems with any of my coaches, including Darryl. Besides, my new Porsche isn't ready yet. It's still in Finland."

Sutter, too, rejected it: "Anybody who says Teemu and I have a problem either doesn't come around the locker room or is an outright liar."

Wednesday, the Post reported the Devils were on the verge of trading Jason Arnott to the Sharks for Patrick Marleau and another player. General Manager Dean Lombardi rejected this, pointing out for emphasis that he has recalled all his pro scouts to San Jose this week to begin planning before the trade deadline in March.

Tony Amonte is off the block. Blackhawks General Manager Mike Smith made that a matter of public record this week, stating that Amonte, who can become an unrestricted free agent in July, won't be dealt even if agreement on a contract extension can't be reached. "I've sort of felt this way all season," Smith told the Chicago Tribune. "The better year we're having, the less chance there is of us trading Tony." Amonte wants $8 million per season in his new deal.

The Kings nearly didn't have a chance to become the first NHL team to sweep all three New York teams in one trip. After beating the Islanders and Devils earlier in the week, they were on their way to Manhattan to face the Rangers Wednesday when they became stuck in an accident-caused jam in the Lincoln Tunnel. They arrived at the Garden shortly before faceoff and skated away with a 4-0 shutout. Thirty-two previous teams had made that trip and not had a sweep.

Weirdest leftover of the odd Peter Forsberg story this week is the issue of whether or not he will be paid by the Avalanche. When he took his leave of absence in September, he acknowledged he would not be paid. But he returned Thursday with the intent of playing, only to have team doctors discover a season-ending foot injury. Was he back on the payroll? Team officials and agent Don Baizley are talking.

Doug MacLean, the Blue Jackets' general manager, is receiving many calls from counterparts around the league, asking about as many as eight to 10 of his players. One of those is believed to be Ron Tugnutt, who doubtless could strengthen a contender for the playoffs. St. Louis, maybe?

Not all of the Red Wings' talent is old. Pavel Datsyuk, a 23-year-old rookie center, has been blowing away his elders with spectacular play of late. In a 5-4 overtime win Wednesday against the Canucks, he scored on an end-to-end rush, then set up a Brett Hull tap-in. "He does something special every shift," Steve Yzerman told the Detroit Free Press. Datsyuk, an eighth-round pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, was a teammate of Penguins first-rounder Konstantin Koltsov last year with AK Bars Kazan of the Russian Elite League.

One player Datsyuk humiliated on that goal was Ed Jovanovski. Coach Marc Crawford expects no sequel: "Eddie doesn't ever want to be beat one-on-one. ... Eddie will probably take his head off."