CLARKE SAYS ‘NO THANKS’ TO QUINN

CANUCKS Bob Clarke, who was fired as general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers April 16, was asked by GM Pat Quinn to join the Canucks but respectfully declined the offer. “Pat was being courteous,” Clarke said of Quinn’s invitation to join the Canuck organization in an unspecified capacity. “He said if I wanted to work, he’d find something for me.” Clarke was a playing assistant coach under Quinn in Philadelphia and the two remain good friends. “Up until today, I’d always thought that maybe I’d come back (to Philadelphia),” said Quinn, who was fired as the Flyers’ coach in 1982. “It was a great place to work. But after this, I doubt I’d ever want to work there again.”…It’s been reported Canuck assistant GM Brian Burke is on the Flyers’ short…

McCARTHY WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT FUTURE

Kevin McCarthy was waiting and wondering. After coaching the Hershey Bears last season, McCarthy’s plans for next season were on hold while the Philadelphia Flyers’ organization goes through a transition. General Manager Bob Clarke was fired April 16, causing many Flyer employees to put their plans on hold. “I’m optimistic I’ll still be here next year,” said McCarthy, who was to meet with Flyers’ president Jay Snider the first week of May. “Right now there hasn’t been an indication either way. What the papers have said is that the new GM would make the decision. So I have no control over what happens.” McCarthy played three seasons for the Bears and became the team’s assistant coach after the 1987-88 Calder Cup season. He assisted John Paddock in ’88-89 and took over the head coaching…

DEPLETED DEFENSE LEADS TO PLAYOFF DEMISE

They were knocked out of the playoffs in five games by back-to-back overtime losses to the Washington Capitals, but the New York Rangers will not dwell on’ narrow disappointments. If anything haunts the Rangers through the summer, it will be thoughts of the Caps’ enormous superiority in Games 2 and 3. Coach Roger Neilson’s team thought it would be able to find more ways to cope without three of its best six defensemen but the Capitals proved the Rangers were neither deep enough, strong enough nor adaptable enough to overcome their injuries. Without Brian Leetch, David Shaw and Mark Hardy in its lineup, New York’s opening 7-3 victory over the Caps April 19 was deceiving in a number of ways. “I didn’t think we played that well in Game 1 and we won 7-3,”…

WAY WE WERE