Blackhawks rookie Sergei Krivokrasov wasn`t recalled from the minors Sunday as anticipated. There was a simple reason: He was ineffective and didn`t score any points during games Friday and Saturday with the Indianapolis Ice.
”To be fair to him,” said General Manager Mike Keenan, ”he played with Brad Lauer and Tony Hrkac and they were awful.”
How long Krivokrasov will remain in the International League is now indefinite. Coach Darryl Sutter believed he was having a difficult time finding proper ice time for the first-round draft pick with the rest of the team playing so poorly.
Final details: While reiterating that he has agreed to salary terms with the Hawks on a five-year contract, Keenan also is pointing out to people congratulating him that no deal is signed yet. His pension plan has to be finalized. But Alan Eagleson, his agent, didn`t see any barriers with that part of the contract.
”It`s not over until it`s over,” Keenan said with a laugh.
Told he sounded like Bill Clinton, Keenan replied: ”I`d rather sound like Ross Perot. He has all the money.”
Skunked: Brian Noonan needs to improve his performances against Toronto. The Hawks winger never produced a point last season in seven games against the Maple Leafs. And he started this year`s series with another blank effort.
On their way: Vancouver ended last season with 96 points after establishing an 8-1-1 foundation at the start. The Canucks are doing about the same this year; they`re 4-1 after losing to the Hawks.
Pat Quinn is living proof that being coach and general manager isn`t too demanding. Including Sunday`s game, his winning percentage as Canucks coach was .621, best in club history. He has 54 victories in 110 regular-season games.
Open-door policy: The Hawks are allowing fans in the Stadium a half-hour earlier than in the past for weeknight games. Weekend games will remain the same, with the public admitted at 6:30 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. game. But the doors will be flung open at 6 p.m. now for games Monday through Friday.
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”We took a survey and found people preferred coming right here from work during the week,” said media relations director Jim DeMaria. ”So we`re going to let them take their seats starting a half-hour earlier and open the concession stands then as well.”