Jimmy Waite`s agent, Don Meehan, thought the word fit the goalie`s future with the Blackhawks perfectly.
”Uncertain,” Meehan said. ”I`d say that`s right.”
By next season, Meehan said, Waite might be on another team that is willing to compensate the Hawks by signing him next summer as a free agent. The club`s No. 1 draft pick in 1987 is playing out the option year of his contract.
Waite`s record with the Indianapolis Ice is 1-2 after beating Kalamazoo 4-3 Saturday night in the International League. Waite stopped the first seven shots during a shootout to determine the winner after a scoreless overtime. That gave the Ice time to finally find a way to score the winner on their seventh attempt in the shootout.
Waite is in the first week of a two-week conditioning period in the minors. If Dominik Hasek continues to have success, as he did Saturday in beating Toronto 4-2, coach and General Manager Mike Keenan faces a tricky decision with his backup goalies.
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Ed Belfour plays too much to justify carrying three goalies on the roster. But Waite must return to the NHL under the rules, having served too much time in the league to stay in the minors without his permission. ”I doubt he`d agree to stay there after the two weeks,” Meehan said.
It`s a boiling pot that could overheat in the next few weeks.
Tanning hides
Keenan and Senior Vice President Bob Pulford depart Monday for West Palm Beach, Fla., where league executives will gather this week. The most interesting item on the NHL agenda is a decision Thursday on realignment.
It should be known then whether the Hawks have to accept Winnipeg back in the Norris Division, or whether financial compensation will persuade the Jets to remain in the Smythe Division. That would pave the way for the expected placement of the two 1992-93 expansion teams-Tampa Bay in the Norris and Ottawa in the Adams.
Keenan noted that another topic of conversation will be which players will be added to the NHL All-Star Game Jan. 18 in Philadelphia. After former Boston coach Mike Milbury padded last year`s Wales Conference club with two of his own Bruins, Garry Galley and Chris Nilan, who were questionable All-Star material, the process is now changed. The additions to the All-Star squads after the fans vote on the starters are approved by a committee of coaches and general managers.
Jeremy Roenick is expected to join Hawks starters Belfour and Chris Chelios on the Campbell Conference team. Steve Larmer may also return as an All-Star, but his fate is less certain.