TALENT NOT ONLY ISSUE IN BIG-DEAL TRADES.

Byline: MATT MCHALE NHL

Ziggy Palffy for Tony Amonte? Trade winds or just hot air? Maybe a little of both.

There is talk the Kings are interested in trading Palffy for Amonte, the Chicago Blackhawks star right-winger, who has scored at least 31 goals in each of his last six seasons. It's not going to happen, but the possibilities say a lot about modern hockey economics.

Amonte, 31, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and negotiations on an extension with the Blackhawks have not gone well. Although Chicago is in the midst of a renaissance with its long dormant hockey team, the Blackhawks are faced with the same situation the Kings had last year with Rob Blake.

Pay him what he wants, move him or lose him for nothing at the end of the season.

Palffy, who came off injured reserve Saturday night to score the winning goal in overtime against Detroit, enters the picture because he already is making the kind of money Amonte is seeking. The Kings aren't going to have three players in the $7 million range on the roster.

The club shedded much of its bottom-line reputation when it traded and signed Jason Allison to a three-year, $20 million contract at the end of last month.

Of course, the Kings could make the trade and not worry that Amonte could walk away at the end of the year. They still would unload the remainder of Palffy's $6.5 million salary for this year and the $14.2 million he is owed over the next two seasons.

Palffy's back is always a concern. He has missed playing time in all three seasons with the Kings. The Blackhawks also would have to be concerned with Palffy's physical condition.

The theory in the NHL is the longer an unrestricted free agent remains unsigned during his walk year, the better chance he will be traded.

The Blackhawks might wind up trading Amonte, one of their most popular players. It would be sad for a once-proud team that is off to a great start after not making the playoffs the past five years. They often play in a near-empty United Center, but last week more than 20,000 fans came for a game against the rival Detroit Red Wings.

But take away all the romance and the Blackhawks still aren't going to make that trade for a player with a bad back who will make the same money Amonte could command. They want Amonte to be part of their future. But as the Kings did last year with Rob Blake, the Blackhawks are proposing a lowball contract and saying it is their final offer.

Chicago is offering a four-year, $21.6 million extension that is not much more per year (in hockey terms) than the $3.4 million he is making this year. The Blackhawks also added an additional $1.2 million bonus for scoring 40 goals in each of the next four seasons. He has done it three times in 12 NHL seasons.

Amonte wants $8 million a year for at least three years. And with several top unrestricted free agents receiving five-year contracts last summer, the length of contract might get longer.

Palffy, who turns 30 in May, scored 40 goals three consecutive years earlier in his career and had 38 last season.

Which raises the question, who is the better player?

Palffy is a better passer and more of a playmaker. Amonte's game runs in a straight line, usually right at the net.

Amonte is more durable, having played every Blackhawks game the past four seasons and missing just two in the past six years. Before Saturday's breakout game, Palffy was sidelined for two weeks with back spasms and has been bothered by back problems since training camp.

Amonte, who is strictly a goal scorer, might be better suited alongside the playmaking Allison. How many passers do you need on one line?

Team guy? Amonte is the Blackhawks leader, much the way Chris Chelios was before he was shipped to Detroit several years ago. Fans identify with his gritty style.

Palffy never gets credit for a being a leader, but quietly he has been instrumental in the often difficult transition of young European players to the NHL. More than once he has invited youngsters to live in his home during training camp.

Conclusion: Palffy when healthy.

But talent alone is rarely the issue when making big deals.

When Boston made the Allison trade, it received Jozef Stumpel and Glen Murray in return. The combined salaries make the value about the same, although the Kings are paying $1.4 more for Allison.

The Bruins, who have the same frugal tag as the Kings, normally would have asked for a prospect or a young defenseman like Lubomir Visnovsky, who isn't making big money, yet.

They took Stumpel and Murray because they might trade 40-goal scorer Bill Guerin before the end of the season. Guerin is an unrestricted free agent and could walk away at the end of the year and leave Boston without compensation. The Bruins needed to make sure they had offensive players to buffer the loss.

But Murray also can become unrestricted at the end of the year. Many thought that was one reason he was having such a big season with the Kings. Since the trade, however, Murray has one goal.

When you see Palffy play the way he did Saturday night, you wonder how they could ever trade him. When you see the way contracts have escalated, you wonder if it is only a matter of time.

But not for Tony Amonte. Not now.

BLUE LINES

By Matt McHale

LEFT OUT

Although Calgary is just two points behind Detroit for the best record in the NHL, the Flames are getting little from center Rob Niedermayer, acquired last summer from Florida to provide offense. With a fifth of the season already completed, Niedermayer does not have a goal. He had missed four games with a hip injury. His career high is 26 in 1995-96, but he usually scores around 15-20. Teammates teased Niedermayer recently, removing the nameplate above his locker and putting ''Nied-a-dayoff.

NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME 

Twenty-year-old forward Pavel Brendl was a big part of the package the New York Rangers sent to Philadelphia last summer in exchange for Eric Lindros. But when the two teams meet Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, Brendl is not expected to play. Brendl, who scored 73 goals in junior hockey two years ago, has played in just seven of the Flyers' first 16 games and has just one goal. The Flyers, four points behind the Rangers in the Atlantic Division, are considering sending Brendl to the minors.

LOADED

Mark Parrish of the Islanders leads the league with 13 goals, but he was barely the best player on his high school team. When Parrish attended Jefferson High School in Bloomington, Minn., his linemates were Ben Clymer, now a right-winger for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Toby Peterson, who is third on the Pittsburgh Penguins in scoring. When Parrish's Islanders faced the New York Rangers last week, it marked the first time the two teams met with records over .500 since 1993. Parrish has at least a point in each of his last 10 games.

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

BLUE LINES (see text)