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February 16, 1990
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
YOUR PRIMER TO NHL SALARIES
Publishing the salaries of National Hockey League players, as we’ve done on page 8, makes for great reading. Actually, it’s a great exercise in voyeurism. But, truth be told, the numbers don’t begin to tell the whole story. Not even close. Many of the base salaries indicated are reasonably accurate. But many others are completely misleading. Some are just plain wrong. Still others require more footnotes than a high school English essay. It’s your call, of course, but I wouldn’t recommend wading through the numbers until you’ve perused this primer below. It may fall short of being everything you’ll ever need to know about NHL player salaries and their disclosure, but it’s a start. Just remember all figures are in U.S. dollars. Top 10 base salaries (including deferred compensation): 1. Mario Lemieux, $2 million; 2.…
GRETZKY’S DEAL: $31.32 MILLION
KINGS Owner Bruce MciNaii reworked Wayne Gretzky’s contract, extending it two seasons through 1997-98 at $4 million per season. His base pay in 1994-95 and 1995-96 was increased from $2 million to $2.5 million. Gretzky will receive deferred payments of $l million for seven years when the contract expires. Counting the $ 1.6 million he made last year and the $1.72 million he’ll earn this year, the total package is worth $31.32 million. “I think that’ll pretty much be it,” Gretzky said when reminded he’ll be 37 in the contract’s final year. McNali said he was rewarding his main attraction for turning around the financial fortunes of the franchise…Coach Tom Webster was still feeling the effects of a concussion he suffered when he slipped in a shower Jan. 12. Webster had…
NICHOLLS TRADE LEADS TO .500 MARK
With the Bernie Nicholls trade acting as the catalyst, the New York Rangers made it back to the .500 mark for the first time since Dec. 26. It was a 4-3 win over the Minnesota North Stars Feb. 4 which carried the Rangers, 4-1-1 since the Jan. 20 trade with Los Angeles which saw right wingers Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato become Kings, to the break-even point. “I remember thinking after we played Chicago (Jan. 10) and we were five games under and had that tough schedule coming up,” Neilson recalled, “that it was probably going to take quite a while to get those games back. I never thought we’d be up to .500 again this quickly. Now we can look ahead and try to win our division.” If the Rangers are to…
LOSING STREAK EXPOSES DEFENSIVE FLAWS
The quality of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ defensive play, it seemed, was all a matter of perspective. Compare their defensive stats to those of, say, the Boston Bruins or Montreal Canadiens. and the Penguins will come out looking pretty bad. But put Pittsburgh’s numbers alongside those of almost any National Basketball Association team and they looked a lot better. An 8-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Feb. 3 was the latest in a series of defensive disasters for the Penguins, who allowed an average of 4.49 goals in their first 53 games. A five-game stretch that ended with that loss in Toronto featured four abysmal defensive performances. They included losses to the New York Islanders (9-3 Jan. 27), Buffalo (7-2 Jan. 28), Philadelphia (6-3 Jan. 30) and the Leafs. The Penguins’ only decent defensive…
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