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Sunday, January 26, 2003

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Although the Hurricanes are in serious jeopardy of becoming only the sixth team since the NHL's 1967 expansion to reach the Stanley Cup final one year and miss the playoffs the next, General Manager Jim Rutherford insists he is staying the course.

"I'm going to be very patient with my decisions because I still believe in this team in the long run," he told the Canadian Press. "I'm not going to tear it apart and look at it next training camp and say, 'Jeez, I wish I had the same team. Why did I trade those guys when we were going through that tough time?' "

Carolina's 3-1 home victory Friday against Florida ended an eight-game losing slide and marked the second win in the past 15 games. The Hurricanes have fallen in the Eastern Conference to the point they could fall behind the Sabres and Thrashers.

On top of that, they learned Tuesday they will be without Rod Brind'Amour for the rest of the season because of a broken wrist.

Still, Rutherford delivered firm support for not only his players but also Coach Paul Maurice.

"I haven't even considered anything with the coach," he said.

The citizens of Montreal were plenty unhappy with the three-way trade Thursday in which their Canadiens gave up Jeff Hackett and received low-scoring Niklas Sundstrom. "I don't think they're going to be happy with any trade in this city," defenseman Craig Rivet told the Montreal Gazette. "I think we got good worth back."

Pat Quinn, the Maple Leafs' coach and general manager, predicted to Toronto reporters this week that the looming expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2004 will minimize player movement at the coming trading deadline March 11: "I think I can safely say, yes, it will affect it."

The most glaring omission from the All-Star Game will be the Thrashers' Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk, 19, is third in the NHL with 27 goals and is confident enough to know he was snubbed. "I can only score goals," he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I don't get to pick the teams."

At least one coach, the Lightning's John Tortorella, is even less enthused about the All-Star selection process, even though his goaltender, Nikolai Khabibulin, was chosen by the fans to start. "I really don't care about the damn game," he told the Ottawa Sun. "It's nice for our two players, Khabibulin and Marty St. Louis, that they're going, but I couldn't care less about it. ... I think the voting is backward. It's nothing more than a bloody popularity contest. ... The way they pick the starting lineup is a joke."

Could this be the year Martin Brodeur finally wins the Vezina? The perennial victim of the notion that he does little work behind the always-stingy Devils, he has lost out to some flashes in the pan over the years. "Definitely, there were guys who were in and out," he said. "Jim Carey ... I don't know if even still plays hockey." Brodeur, who finished second to Dominik Hasek in 1997 and 1998, leads the league with 26 victories and has a 1.98 goals-against average.

A wide-ranging Toronto Sun poll of 30 NHL players produced a variety of nuggets: The Bruins' Steve Shields' stitched mask was voted best, U2 the favorite band, Vancouver the best city to visit and -- sit down now -- Paul Stewart the fairest referee. Only mention of Pittsburgh, good or bad, was the selection of Mellon Arena as worst venue, presumably because of the ultra-cramped visitors' room.