LeClair wants more than goals

The Philadelphia Flyers have had a rough time of late with free agents and contract negotiations. First, there was the Eric Lindros contract talks, which haven’t gone as well as either side had hoped. Then there was the Chris Gratton mess, with three teams confused as to where the young centerman was going to end up.

And just when general manager Bobby Clarke thought things had calmed down, word comes in that John LeClair is unhappy with his current contract and wants to re-negotiate. So much for a peaceful training camp.

By current league standards, LeClair, a back-to-back 50-goal scorer, is grossly underpaid. His five-year, $7 million contract is miniscule to recent deals like Joe Sakic’s three-year, $21 million contract and the imminent signings of Lindros, Paul Kariya and Sergei Fedorov. LeClair feels he should be paid at least in the $4-million range.

But what’s troubling to see is that LeClair signed his current contract just two seasons ago and has three years left on it. At the time of his signing, LeClair chose a long contract to cover himself in case of a significant injury. If he wanted to, LeClair could have signed a shorter deal and tried his luck on the free agent market a few years later when salaries would escalate even more. But he chose the safe route. He secured his future while sacrificing his free agent status for five more years.

Now LeClair feels he’s underpaid. And he is. There’s no doubt about that. But just because he’s underpaid doesn’t mean he should back out of his current contract with the Flyers. He signed the contract and has an obligation to play. If he doesn’t like it, he shouldn’t sign any more long-term contracts in the future.

The Flyers feel they made a substantial offer to LeClair -- they said they’d double the money he’s being paid now for the rest of the contract. But LeClair wants more. Clarke is very aggrivated by LeClair’s attitude in the situation, and from the sounds of it, the attitude of a lot of players in the league.

"People call us (hockey managements) dummies for giving guys with contracts more money, and I guess we are, but offering to double the value of the last three years of his contract wasn't enough for him," Clarke said. "There's nothing in there about being allowed to re-negotiate after a certain time. Like I said, we don't have to do anything for him, but still, we were ready to double the value the contract. We told his agent that if he walks out, that's the end of it. He walked out and we won't talk."

Theo Fleury: The Book

Ok, so there are a slew of jokes I can think of about this next story. Theo Fleury is the subject of a book.

And no, it’s not a short story.

Fleury’s new book, which should hit the shelves next month, is called FURY: Inside the life of Theoren Fleury. The book was written by Andrew Malcolm and will be published by McClelland and Stewart.

Sorry, there are no "short" excerpts of the book to share at this time. And no, there was no mentioning of the book being available in small print.

Trouble in paradise

Due to a contract holdout, Alexander Mogilny is still not in the Vancouver Canucks training camp. But is the Russian star worried about it?

Not a chance.

The man who was once scared to fly in airplanes is living the good life with his family at their Malibu beach house. In a phone interview with the Vancouver Sun, Mogilny didn’t seem worried about his contract status. He also didn’t seem too interested in coming back to the NHL anytime soon. He’s enjoying the fun and sun with his wife, new baby and dog too much to care about hockey.

"I’m collecting my unemployment checks and food coupons," Mogilny quipped during the interview with the Sun. "That’s all I do now."

Hedican hassling over new deal

While Mogilny is maxing and relaxing in Malibu without a care in the world, the same couldn’t be said of his teammate, Bret Hedican.

The speedy Canuck defenseman is also at a contract impasse with Vancouver. However, Hedican and his agent, Brian Lawton are stressing over the situation because Hedican wants to be paid in accordance with the other defensemen on the team. The Canucks are supposedly offering something in the $800,000 range, but Hedican wants somewhere around $1 million.

Lawton said he believes that the Canucks are trying to trade Hedican. One possible destination: Phoenix, in a package for disgruntled defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky.

Roenick despises shiny Nike skates

Jeremy Roenick’s days as a Nike poster boy are finished.

Roenick terminated his skate endorsement contract with Nike because he just didn’t feel comfortable wearing their skates. The skates must have been pretty darn uncomfortable because Roenick’s deal with Nike was worth at least six figures.

Apparently Roenick never felt right in Nike skates, but the company put pressure on him to wear them last season, especially during the playoffs. But Roenick didn’t give in to The Man and continued to wear his old Bauers.

Roenick said he’d rather be comfortable on the ice and be able to help his team the most instead of worrying about wearing a certain brand of awkward-fitting skates and receiving a phat paycheck to do so.

"I just found it very hard to get into their skates," Roenick said. "There's no question I tried. I went through five or six pairs. It's better off. If I can't wear them, I'm not going to try and fool anybody just because of the money."

Sabres could trade LaFontaine

If the Buffalo Sabres and Pat LaFontaine don’t come to an agreement on the center taking the ice in Buffalo this season, the outcome could be a trade.

One possible destination is Toronto, who is looking for a second-line center to play behind Mats Sundin. If the Leafs work it out right, they could acquire LaFontaine, who is a risk because of his series of concussions, and re-work his contract so they wouldn’t have to pay him a lot in case he suffers an injury again.

The Sabres have a chance to lose another center, as well. Mike Peca is still a restricted free agent. The Rangers have been interested in Peca due to the loss of Mark Messier. Peca would not command a lot in compensation because of his low salary last season, and the Rangers have the cash to front-load the deal, making it nearly impossible for the cash-strapped to match the offer.

Gonchar still holding out in Washington

Washington Capital defenseman Sergei Gonchar isn’t in first-year coach Ron Wilson’s training camp. He’s in Russia waiting for the right offer on a new contract. The restricted free agent isn’t optimistic a deal with the Capitals will be reached, however, so his agent has requested a trade.

Gonchar made $400,000 last season, but is seeking a deal that would pay him somewhere between $1.5 and $2 million a year. Gonchar’s agent said the Capitals best offer would still make his client the lowest-paid defenseman on the team. Despite suffering several injuries, Gonchar scored 13 goals in 57 games last season. He tallied 15 goals in 78 games during the 1995-96 season.

Although Gonchar might be seeking a trade, the Capitals aren’t. General manager George McPhee said a trade isn’t going to happen.

Kovalev back...but for how long?

Alexei Kovalev is signed, sealed and delivered to the New York Rangers training camp. But how long he’ll stay there is anyone’s guess.

The man voted "Most Likely to be Traded" by his senior class has already been involved in trade rumors this season. Kovalev appears to be completely over a knee injury that ruined his season last year, and because he looks fully recovered the rumors are once again flying. Reports have Kovalev being possible trade bait in the Rangers efforts to land a big-name player to replace Mark Messier -- most notably Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Bure, or maybe even Mike Peca.

Who picked Nikolishin in their hockey pools?

The injury bug must love hanging out in Washington. After an injury-plagued 1996-97 season, the Capitals have already suffered their first setback of 1997-98. Andrei Nikolishin tore ligaments in his knee at the beginning of the summer and most likely won’t see NHL action until mid-season.

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