RINK$ OF DREAM$

What's in a name? Millions. Corporations will pay teams huge dollars-S201 million or more-for the right to plug their names above arena marquees. By the end of 1998-99, at least 17 of 27 teams in the NHL will be housed in buildings named after businesses. Then there's the Carolina Hurricanes, who might not ever see the windfall, even though they are scheduled to move into a new, as-yet-unnamed arena in Raleigh, N.C., a year from now. As it turns out, the naming rights for that particular facility have already been sold…to a local pig farmer. But this isn't just any pig farmer; it's Wendel J. Murphy, whose face appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine's 1997 list of the richest people in North America. Early this decade, the new facility was being built jointly by…

It's Stanley or bust for moneybag Stars

If there were any doubt the Dallas Stars are trying to win the Stanley Cup now, they put it to rest July 3. With the signing of winger Brett Hull to a three-year, $17-million deal, the Stars underscored their standing as the team that has taken the most advantage of unrestricted free agency. They also filled the most gaping hole in their team. The Stars finished the playoffs believing that if Joe Nieuwendyk had been healthy, they would have won it all. Player after player recited the mantra after losing to the Detroit Red Wings in six games in the Western Conference final. If Nieuwendyk had been healthy, Mike Modano would have been a better player because the Wings would not have been allowed to focus solely on him. If Nieuwendyk had been…

Western Conference

Burns to his players: Prepare for adversity

Pat Bums sent the Boston Bruins home in early May with instructions to be prepared for a different, more difficult season in 1998-99. Bums, who won his third Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL's best coach in 1997-98, believes his young Bruins surprised a lot of teams last season, but that it won't happen this year. Whether his players heed the advice remains to be seen, but Bums was wise to dispense it. He knows that after last year's first round loss to the Washington Capitals in six games, expectations for the Bruins will be higher. Boston has many of the components needed to win a playoff round and possibly more. Bums installed a team defense that, with the underrated contribution of new No. 1 goalie Byron Dafoe and captain Ray Bourque's…