SAVING FOR A RAINY DAY COULD LEAVE LEAGUE ALL WET.

Byline: MATT McHALE NHL 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - While the baseball winter meetings begin here Friday, NHL executives are converging this week in Scottsdale, Ariz., to assess the state of their game.

With the league's collective-bargaining agreement set to expire at the end of next season, the talk has been pretty grim. The NHL is trying to get teams to set aside $10 million apiece if they need to dig in for a long labor battle.

Not only is that not enough, there aren't many teams that can afford to put away any disposable income. Montreal owner George Gillett said recently only four teams are making money: Detroit, Toronto, Philadelphia and Colorado. All have sellouts every night and good television contracts.

The Kings need to reach the second round of the playoffs to make money. The Ducks ... well, it is a long way back after missing the postseason the past four years.

Attendance is down 5 percent in a sport that is driven by gate receipts. Even with the incredible season Mario Lemieux is having, the Pittsburgh Penguins aren't drawing. Disney-owned ESPN has cut back its NHL coverage since picking up the NBA.

Baseball averted a work stoppage last summer and might have saved itself in the process. There are many in the NHL rank-and-file who worry a long stoppage in hockey will destroy an already shaky spot in the United States.

Hockey used to be a member of the Big Four in sports. Now it clearly has dropped behind golf and NASCAR in the public consciousness. If you separate basketball and football by college and the pros, it drops even lower.

Players made big concessions in baseball to get a deal done. NHL players still aren't convinced their game is in financial trouble; the players union is asking its members to set aside money for a possible year without the sport.

Of course, they don't go to Arizona just to wear a shroud. Flyers GM Bobby Clarke is a great tennis player. And anyone connected to hockey loves to play golf.

Like their baseball counterparts, there should plenty of hot-stove action at the meetings. Boston, Florida and Ottawa have expressed interest in the New York Islanders' Brad Isbister, who has seven points in his past two games, including four in Saturday's victory in Pittsburgh.

Islanders GM Mike Milbury has to decide whether this is the real Isbister or the one who had 11 points in his first 25 games.

The Senators, with just one loss in their past 13 games despite injured Daniel Alfredsson, are eager to move high-priced center Radek Bonk, who missed 10 games with injuries and has only four goals.

The Islanders also have to make a decision on their future in goal. Chris Osgood, who lost his starting job after a brutal start, has returned to form but is a restricted free agent. So is youngster Rick DiPietro, considered the heir to the position. Garth Snow, who took over when Osgood stumbled, is unrestricted.

Off the boards: Is Tampa Bay finally coming back to earth after its tremendous start? The long-dormant Lightning was the top team in the East last month, but Sunday's 3-1 loss at Chicago marked the fifth time in the past six games the club lost after being tied or ahead with 10 minutes to play. It doesn't help that Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk is out for six weeks with a broken big toe on his right foot. Last month, Andreychuk broke Phil Esposito's league record for power-play goals with 249. ...

As Colorado's Joe Sakic closes in on 500 goals, teammate Patrick Roy knows the other side. Roy, the all-time leader in victories, also is the only goaltender in history to allow a 500th goal three times (Steve Yzerman, Joe Mullen and Brendan Shanahan.) Nobody one else has been victimized more than once. Chico Resch of the New York Islanders, however, allowed Guy Lefleur's 500th goal and Steve Shutt's 400th in the same game. ... Speaking of goaltenders, Toronto's Ed Belfour, injured when the Maple Leafs got off to their shaky start, has been incredible since his return. He leads the league in shutouts with five and his career total of 63 is the most among active players. Belfour has won his past four starts with a save percentage of 96.3. ...

The New York Rangers had been playing better: 8-4-2 since early November. But that momentum was shattered with news that leading goal scorer Pavel Bure might have suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury. But sounding a lot like the Jason Allison situation, Bure learned the anterior cruciate ligament was not torn as first feared. On a hit by Buffalo's Curtis Brown on Friday, Bure has a badly torn medial collateral ligament, and surgery is needed for torn cartilage. ... The Rangers hope they didn't see the future without Bure in Sunday's 4-1 loss to Boston. The Rangers' only goal came when Bruins defenseman Nick Boynton kicked the puck into his own net. ...

There are many reasons why Phoenix is last in the Pacific Division; goaltender Sean Burke is out until January with a serious ankle sprain. But Tony Amonte hasn't provided the spark they thought he would. His 20 points leads the team, but only New Jersey and the Kings have few points from their club leader (Ziggy Palffy, Mathieu Schneider, 18).

Finally: One daunting fact facing the Kings on Wednesday when they play in Dallas: The Stars are 10-0-2-1 at home. Last season, they were 18-13-6-4 in their first year at American Airlines Arena.

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FROM THE BLUE LINE

By Matt McHale