The Blackhawks will announce later this month, or next month at the latest, their pay-per-view arrangement for this spring`s National Hockey League playoffs. Only their home games will be available on pay-per-view, while SportsChannel shows the away games, as usual.
Owner Bill Wirtz is working furiously to put together the package. He believes pay-per-view is the wave of the future and will extend the setup to the 1992-93 regular season on a spot basis if the playoff sales are successful.
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Wirtz has opposed showing home games on cable, believing he would be disloyal to his ticket-buying patrons. Despite vehement opposition, he has refused to back down from this stand.
Warming up: The Hawks can already feel those Florida breezes. Coach and General Manager Mike Keenan was pleased to hear Thursday`s news the NHL has placed Tampa Bay in the Norris Division with the Hawks and sent Ottawa to the Adams Division.
Ottawa and Tampa debut next season in the league as the latest expansion franchises. The divisional schedule will shift to seven games within the division. For example, the Hawks will go to Tampa four times one season and the Lightning come to Chicago four times the next.
”Personally I couldn`t see anything but Tampa to our division and Ottawa to the Adams,” Keenan said. ”Going to Florida will give us a chance to make a side trip with the team now and then and escape the harsh winters.”
Keenan will do that next month, as well, when the Hawks have several days to kill in between playing Los Angeles Feb. 1 and San Jose Feb. 5. In between, the Hawks will go to the resort at La Costa, Calif.
On the outs: Defenseman Rod Buskas is finding the transition from Los Angeles to the Hawks difficult. He was among the scratches Thursday against Toronto and isn`t sure how long he will remain a Hawk.
”Hard to say,” he replied. ”I`m not looking farther down the road than tomorrow. We go here in Chicago with four defensemen basically. It`s a role where you have to be ready all the time when you`re not one of those four. It`s a tough role to play.
”The Hawks have a lot of defensemen in the minors. But expansion is coming. A lot can happen.”