CANADIAN SUNSET; MIGRATION SOUTH INCREASING AS TEAMS STRUGGLE.

Byline: JARRE FEES The NHL 

There used to be eight, but in 1995 the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver and became the Avalanche.

A year later, the Winnipeg Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes, and then there were six. We could probably mark off the months before the Edmonton Oilers migrate south, and then there will be five.

What's happening to Canadian hockey?

With players making more and teams making less, with ticket prices up and attendance down and with the 40 percent exchange rate against the American dollar (Canadian teams must pay players in U.S. funds) the NHL in Canada is in trouble. Heritage Canada, a committee of the Canadian Parliament, has formed a sub-committee to study how to protect and strengthen Canadian sports in general and hockey in particular.

The committee is chaired by Toronto Parliament member Dennis Mills, who is also volunteer president of the Ontario Hockey League's Toronto St. Michael's Majors and whose son Craig plays in the Chicago Blackhawks system. It was formed Oct. 30 and is meeting weekly and will report to Parliament in June.

The committee is studying the possibility of government subsidies for Canadian markets. The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that while U.S. teams are heavily subsidized through taxpayer-supported arenas, Canadian teams are privately financed. But with Canadians already facing cuts in education and health care - and with Quebec taxpayers still paying for the 1976 Summer Olympics - taxpayer funding for hockey may be low on Parliament's list of priorities.

The NHL does provide some relief for small-market Canadian teams in the form of the Canadian Assistance Plan (CAP), but in late November the NHL Players Association filed a grievance with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board challenging the legality of the plan. Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa shared $7.5 million U.S. last season after meeting NHL requirements for ticket sales, in-rink signage and advertising.

While the NHLPA is not against helping smaller Canadian teams, the CAP puts limitations on player payroll (essentially a salary cap not approved by players) and gives teams a break when they have to match free-agent offer sheets in U.S. dollars. The CAP was imposed by owners during collective bargaining after other plans had been rejected by the players association. In December, the NHL Board of Governors voted to recommend continuation of the plan, but until the Labor Board rules on the complaint, hopefully this winter, the CAP will be put on hold.

And until Heritage Canada finds a way to subsidize its hockey franchises, we can expect Edmonton and other teams to consider moving across the border.

News and notes: Paul Kariya and Eric Lindros will make more than $103,000 per game next season. Apiece. For playing hockey. . . . With Bill Guerin getting traded to Edmonton for Jason Arnott, one of our Christmas wishes comes true. It would've been nice to see him traded to a better team, but you can't have everything. . . . The Kings host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at the Forum, giving us ourfirst look of the year at star goaltender Dominik Hasek, who won last season's Hart (league MVP) and Vezina (top goaltender) trophies. He also feuded with then-coach Ted Nolan and choked a Buffalo News reporter who had criticized him in print. Nolan walked away from the Sabres, the reporter survived and Hasek has returned to last year's form. Hasek posted six shutouts in December - a first for any goalie since 1928. . . .

As expected, Vancouver coach Mike Keenan has started making roster moves and spending money. He dumped goaltender Kirk McLean and chronic underachieving left wing Martin Gelinas for netminder Sean Burke, left wing Geoff Sanderson and defenseman Enrico Ciccone of Carolina. Burke earns $2.5 million and will be an unrestricted free agent next season.

Former Toronto forward (now playing for New Jersey) Doug Gilmour apparently bit Chicago defender Eric Weinrich in the hand during Chicago's 6-2 win over the Devils, but it wasn't that big a deal. ``He didn't have his teeth in,'' Weinrich said.

Olympic watch: ``The closest thing I've ever come to sushi is tuna fish and mayo.'' - Flyers center Eric Lindros, when asked by a Philadelphia reporter about traveling to Japan for the 1998 Olympics.

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PHOTO Dominik Hasek, the controversial star goalie of the Buffalo Sabres, will face the Kings on Thursday night at the Forum.

Associated Press