NHL PLAYERS’ SALARIES

Brisebois returns to lineup in time to get injured again

The nightmare continues for Patrice Brisebois. The Montreal Canadiens’ defenseman will be sidelined until early January with a cracked bone in his ankle. Brisebois sustained the injury in an 8-1 win over the Boston Bruins Dec. 4 when he was struck by a shot from Bruin Dave Reid. “I don’t know what to think.” said a disconsolate Brisebois. “I can’t believe this has happened to me.” Brisebois’ injury occurred just four games after he recovered from a sprained knee that sidelined him for 10 games. He played in just 16 of Montreal’s first 26 games. “That’s three or four years that I didn’t have a serious injury and now this happens.” he said. Canadiens’ coach Jacques Demers empathized with the 22-year-old. “He’s down because he just came off a serious injury. But he’s young,” Demers said. “He…

Butsayev finds niche in Year 2

Confidence was one of many English words Viacheslav Butsayev couldn’t grasp last season. But that was all right because the Philadelphia Flyers’ Russian import didn’t have much use for the word anyway. The rookie season for Butsayev was a frustrating one. Touted as one of Russia’s top young stars, he managed to score only two goals in 52 games. He spent the rest of the year with the Hershey Bears in the American League. Failure to pick up English was part of the problem. In practice, the center would nod his head when told something, but coaches often wondered if the message was getting through. In games, Butsayev just wasn’t aggressive enough, especially for someone 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds. The current season, however, has seen a turnaround. New coach Terry Simpson demonstrated a great deal of…

Pittsburgh payroll ranks first in NHL

The Pittsburgh Penguins are paying a high price for success. Pittsburgh has the league’s highest payroll, according to figures compiled by the NHL Players’ Association. The two-time Stanley Cup champs will pay out at least $18.3 million (U.S.) this season. In reality, their payroll will surpass the $20-million mark. Mario Lemieux’s contract has apparently not been registered with the league. He is expected to make $5 million this season, but only stands at $3 million on the NHLPA list. Several other contract updates are not included. Many other factors, most prominent among them the difference in value between the U.S. and Canadian dollar, make assessing team payrolls a tricky business. The Hockey News calculated all 26 NHL team payrolls by adding player salaries contained in the recent NHLPA salary survey. For the sake of consistency, only…