Cup Runneth Out for Stars in Early Days

Brett Hull has one point in the St. Louis Blues’ first five games. Edmonton center Doug Weight, who scored 104 points last season, has only three assists in six games. New York Ranger goaltender Mike Richter has given up 17 goals and has a 4.86 goals-against average in four games, defenseman Brian Leetch is minus-three in six games and center Mark Messier has one goal in four games.

Even Phoenix left wing Keith Tkachuk, whose only goal in his first five games was scored into an empty net, hasn’t felt quite right.

They’re all showing signs of post-World Cup syndrome. The symptoms include being out of sync with teammates and mild depression at the prospect of playing 82 games merely to get to the games that are meaningful.

Most of the afflicted are from the U.S. and Canadian teams, which played in the thrilling best-of-three finals. Like a cold, post-World Cup syndrome won’t last long, but chicken soup won’t cure it.

Tkachuk said he felt a big letdown after experiencing the tournament’s intensity.

“After playing with the best players in the world and experiencing what we did, winning the World Cup, then having to report to training camp was tough,” said Tkachuk, a Massachusetts native who played for Team USA. “It took some time for me to get back into the swing of things here in Phoenix. I miss the guys from the U.S. [team], but now it’s back to business.”

It hasn’t been business as usual for Hull, a prolific scorer.

“You either come off something like the World Cup energized or, conversely, people go into a lull,” St. Louis Coach Mike Keenan said. “Brett may be behind physically because of the week off we gave him to recover from the mental strain. He may be behind a step. It’s quite normal.”

Teams that sent several players to the tournament are struggling too. The Colorado Avalanche, which sent six players, is 2-2-1. The Detroit Red Wings, who had eight--but only three in the finals--are 2-2-0.

The Rangers (1-3-2) had nine World Cup players: Richter and Leetch with the U.S.; Messier, Wayne Gretzky and Adam Graves with Canada; Sergei Nemchinov, Alexander Karpovtsev and Alexei Kovalev with Russia, and Niklas Sundstrom with Sweden. Now, they’re all adjusting to a less frantic pace and new teammates. Also, Gretzky played only one exhibition game and Messier played two, giving the team little chance to develop cohesion.

The Rangers may need a few more games to mesh. If they don’t straighten out soon, Coach Colin Campbell may be the one who feels ill.

HOT TIMES IN PHOENIX

Four days after Jeremy Roenick’s agent said he told the Phoenix Coyotes to forget signing the holdout center, Roenick on Monday signed a five-year deal worth about $3.5 million a year, plus incentives.

Hostility changed to happiness for two reasons: the Coyotes lost center Cliff Ronning because of a broken hand and Roenick, who sat out the World Cup because he had no contract, was getting antsy. He saw the Coyotes get off to a good start and realized this would be his best shot at winning the Stanley Cup, which he never did in Chicago, despite his three 100-point seasons.

He and agent Neil Abbott had sought $4.5 million a year, but his injuries the last few seasons worked against him. Bobby Smith, the Coyotes’ executive vice president, and John Paddock, their general manager, didn’t panic, although Smith conceded, “There were times I never thought I would see a Coyote jersey with Roenick’s name on the back.”

With him in uniform, they will be a strong contender in the West.

HOLD THAT TIGER

A Canadian punk-rock band called the Hanson Brothers wants to get Tiger Williams, the NHL’s all-time penalty minutes leader, elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Go ahead, laugh. But these guys, who claim to be related to the pugilistic Hansons from the movie “Slap Shot,” are serious. Their new album, released last week in Canada, is called “Sudden Death,” and tracks include “Stick Boy,” “Third Man In” and “Tiger Williams.” They hired the cinematic Hanson brothers, Dave, Steve and Jeff, to publicize their work and urge fans to sign ballots in support of Williams.

“Tiger Williams is the epitome of old-time hockey and deserves to be in the Hall ahead of some of those fancy-schmancy, no-hitting, prima donna, whining millionaire goalsucks,” the ballots say.

The lyrics to “Tiger Williams” are equally compelling: “If there is a God above, I know that he must be the kind of guy who’s tough enough to deal with punks like me. he won’t take no excuses . . . I bet he looks like Tiger Williams. He’ll be brave and strong and true. But if you try to cross him, he’ll put a hurt on you.”

Good beat, but can you dance to it?

BLAST FROM THE PAST

It’s great to have Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr back in NHL rinks, even if it’s only as a pitchman for one of the NHL’s sponsors and as an agent. And unlike many retired players, he doesn’t think things have gone downhill since his era.

“I think the game is in pretty good shape,” said Orr, an eight-time Norris Trophy winner who had to retire at 31 in 1979 because of knee injuries. “It’s got to continue to grow and we’ve got to encourage every kid who wants to play the game.

“People in Canada look at the U.S. win in the World Cup as a negative. I disagree. We’ve got to develop new players, and the U.S. is very important in that regard. If there’s a player anywhere in the world who makes the game better, that’s good for us all.”

DEAL IS DONE, BUT WHO WON?

With defenseman Jeff Brown bothered by a back injury, the Hartford Whalers are trying to persuade Paul Coffey to stick around. Coffey, whose reluctance to report delayed the deal in which he and Keith Primeau went to Hartford for Brendan Shanahan and Brian Glynn, joined the Whalers on Saturday for a 6-0 loss at Florida.

The Red Wings used Shanahan on a line with center Sergei Fedorov and right wing Martin Lapointe, and it produced a goal. Hull, who played with Shanahan in St. Louis, thinks Shanahan is just what the Red Wings needed to transform a talented bunch of players into a true team.

“I don’t know much about their locker room, but I’ll lay my mortgage that he’ll help them 100%,” he told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “Everybody likes him. He kind of almost controls the locker room. . . . He was the light-hearted guy who liked alternative music and kept everybody loose. Maybe that’s what some of the Europeans on [the Red Wings] need.”

SLAP SHOTS

How much do the Blackhawks miss Roenick, Bernie Nicholls and Joe Murphy? They’ve been shut out twice, after having been blanked only four times last season. . . . Commissioner Gary Bettman said he expects no other Canadian teams to move to the U.S. The Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado last season and the Winnipeg Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes this season. “In the future, if we want to go to markets in the U.S., we will do it by expansion,” he said. Nice to hear but too late to boost his popularity in Canada, where he’s Public Enemy No. 1. . . . For the record: Pittsburgh’s Petr Nedved signed a one-year contract with bonus clauses, not a two-year deal, as reported here last week.

Fans in Phoenix are howling like Coyotes to support their team. Hey, it beats throwing plastic rats onto the ice, as happened last season in Florida after the Panthers scored. To eliminate those delays, the NHL allowed referees to assess a minor penalty against the home team if fans throw debris onto the ice. Fans at Miami Arena, who are getting repeated warnings against rat-tossing, are complying. . . . Former King Robert Lang rejected a two-way contract from Calgary and went home to the Czech Republic to play in Prague.

The sale of a majority interest in the New York Islanders to John Spano can only help that flailing franchise. Current owner John Pickett wouldn’t spend money and hasn’t been to the Nassau Coliseum in 10 years. Spano, who had tried to buy the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers, promised to keep the team on Long Island and vowed to “get a better team on the ice.” He must like challenges.

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Let’s Get Physical

Tiger Williams in the Hall of Fame? He’d be a better candidate for the hall of infamy, as the record holder for penalty minutes. He has some company:

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Penalty Minutes Player Seasons Games Minutes Per Game Tiger Williams 14 962 3,966 4.12 *Dale Hunter 17 1,185 3,224 2.72 Chris Nilan 13 688 3,043 4.42 *Tim Hunter 16 773 3,025 3.91 *Marty McSorley 13 775 2,892 3.73 Willi Plett 13 834 2,574 3.09 *Basil McRae 16 570 2,450 4.30 *Rick Tocchet 13 792 2,383 3.01 *Bob Probert 11 557 2,351 4.22 *Jay Wells 18 1,079 2,348 2.18

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