As the players and coaches streamed into Minnesota on Friday for the NHL All-Star game, there was a perceptively different feel than for most of these show-off-the-stars events.
It's not that there's any greater concern on either side whether the Western or Eastern Conference wins or loses Sunday's game -- the outcome rarely matters. Instead, there is an edgy air of uncertainty about what's to come next in a sport where the participants are accustomed to following rigidly set schedules and rarely altered lifestyles.
The March 9 trade deadline is barely a month away, and it is then that the initial fallout from the pending labor negotiations that threaten to darken North America's hockey arenas next season probably will be felt.
Last year, all but three of the 30 NHL clubs made deadline deals, as contending teams maneuvered to get stronger for the stretch run, and out-of-the-running clubs shed salaries. But there could be less movement next month because players who otherwise would be attractive pickups might stay with their current teams.
Players such as Coyotes goalie Sean Burke (US$4.25 million player option for the 2004-2005 season), Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig (US$6.25 million base salary for 2004-2005), Hurricanes forward Rod Brind'Amour ($5 million in base salary each of the next two seasons) and Sabres forward Miroslav Satan (US$5 million base salary in 2004-2005) could prove difficult, if not impossible, to trade.
Yet, at the same time, aging teams such as the Red Wings, who have left numerous stars unsigned beyond this season because of the labor uncertainty, are feeling more pressure than ever to win and win now.
After all, this Stanley Cup winner could reign not just for one year, but maybe two.
"Our team is a veteran team -- we have 10, 11 guys who are over 30," said Red Wings coach Dave Lewis, who will coach the Western Conference all-stars. "We have guys that possibly could be in their last year of professional hockey. So our approach is that we have to put every effort into trying to win the Stanley Cup this year, regardless of what's going to happen next year."
The shifting labor climate is evidenced by the absence of any Pittsburgh Penguins players -- only the second time that's happened in the franchise's 37-year history.
Since the early 1990s, the Penguins have had more All-Star game starters than any other team as players such as Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr were regularly voted into the lineup.
But Lemieux is hurt, Jagr is long since gone -- he's now on his second team since being dealt by Pittsburgh for financial reasons -- and the Penguins' only All-Star last season, Alexei Kovalev, was traded only days after the game was played.
Now, the Penguins will be represented at Xcel Energy Center only by rookies Ryan Malone and Brooks Orpik, who will play in Saturday night's YoungStars game. The Penguins shed nearly all of their million-dollar salaries as they try to ride out the pending labor talks.
Toronto Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn, who will coach the Eastern Conference all-stars, said it clearly is a different labor climate than in past seasons.
"There would be teams that a year ago would step up and sign long-term multimillion dollar contracts that really don't want them right now, and probably they will try to slough them off on some other teams," Quinn said. "There are some teams that can take it on but, again, philosophically, they have already made decisions [to do so]."
As a result, the All-Stars -- they range in age from 19-year-old Columbus scoring star Rick Nash to the 43-year-old Mark Messier -- might want to savor the moment a little longer than normal. After all, they have no idea when they will be playing in their next All-Star game.
When labor talks shut down nearly half the 1994-1995 season, there wasn't enough time to play an All-Star game that season.
Right wing Glen Murray of the Boston Bruins and defenseman Pavel Kubina of the Tampa Bay Lightning were last-minute additions Friday to the NHL All-Star game, replacing Marian Hossa and Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators.
Hossa was cut above his right eye Thursday night against Toronto, and Redden told the league he was ill.
Murray will make his second straight All-Star appearance, while this will be Kubina's first All-Star game in seven NHL seasons, all with Tampa Bay. With 13 goals, Kubina trails only Sheldon Souray (15) of Montreal among defensemen.
One change was made for Saturday night's YoungStars game, with Maple Leafs center Matt Stajan replacing Atlanta defenseman Garnet Exelby, who has a bone bruise on his left ankle.
With Hossa and Redden out, the only Senators player in Sunday's game will be forward Daniel Alfredsson.
Top shot
One contest traditionally has been no contest at the Super Skills competition held during the NHL's All-Star weekend: Al MacInnis always had the hardest shot.
MacInnis won the last five hardest shot contests and is a seven-time winner overall, but he won't compete Saturday night. The St. Louis Blues defenseman has a career-threatening eye injury that has forced him to miss all but three games this season.
MacInnis, whose shots regularly hit 160kph (100mph), won the 2000 contest in Toronto with a 161kph shot while still recovering from a collapsed lung.
MacInnis' absence makes for a wide-open field this year. Of the returning competitors, Calgary's Jarome Iginla had the fastest shot a year ago in Sunrise, Florida, finishing third at 156kph.
Despite MacInnis' domination of the event, Al Iafrate holds the record with a 169kph in 1993.
Absent star
Atlanta's Dany Heatley was the story of the 2003 All-Star game after his record-tying four goals (or was it five?) led the Western Conference to a victory decided by shootout.
Heatley scored a fifth goal during the shootout. Because that goal was not scored during the three periods or overtime, the NHL decided it would not count in Heatley's individual total. Heatley went on to finish with 41 goals and 89 points for the Thrashers and appeared ready to become one of the game's brightest stars for years. But a Sept. 29 car crash that killed teammate Dan Snyder and injured Heatley could affect him for the rest of his career.
Heatley needed reconstructive right knee surgery and resumed playing only last week. Now he must prove he can regain his skill level of the past two years. He was the 2002 NHL Rookie of the Year.
US World Cup coach
San Jose's Ron Wilson will coach the US in hockey's World Cup from Aug. 30 through Sept. 14 in various cities, including St. Paul, Montreal, Toronto, Helsinki, Prague and Stockholm.
The event will feature national teams from the US, Canada, Russia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Slovakia. Wilson coached the 1996 US team to a 5-2 World Cup championship victory over Canada.
Wilson is one of six American coaches in the NHL. One of them, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk, said he wants to be on Wilson's staff.
Good as goals
Fans bemoaning the lack of offense in the present-day NHL should enjoy the All-Star game.
Because of the virtual lack of checking, physical play and penalties, an average of 16 goals have been scored in the last 10 All-Star games -- about 11 more than in a normal regular-season game this season.
For comparison's sake, four NHL games played Thursday night didn't produce 16 goals among them: St. Louis 2, Calgary 1; Montreal 2, New York Islanders 1; Detroit 3, Colorado 2 (OT); and Vancouver 4, New Jersey 0.
Brooks tribute
Actor Kurt Russell, who portrays US Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks in the movie "Miracle" that opened this weekend, will take part in a pregame tribute Sunday to Brooks, a Minnesota native.
Brooks coached the Rangers, North Stars, Devils and Penguins and was the Penguins' director of player development when he died in a single-car accident last summer.
A statue honoring Brooks was unveiled Thursday night near one of the Xcel Energy Center's entrances. Brooks, one of the most revered figures in US hockey history, coached a group of American college players to the 1980 Olympic gold medal. They beat the Soviet Union along the way in one of the greatest upsets in Winter Olympics history.
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