NHL CONSIDERS TWO WEEK SHUTDOWN TO FIELD DREAM TEAMS IN '98

     NHL Board of Governors President Harvey Hotchkiss now says
the league is considering shutting down for two weeks in order to
field "Dream Teams" for the U.S., Canada and other countries, in
the '98 Winter Games, according to Alan Adams of the CANADIAN
PRESS.  But Adams reports that players, who balked at earlier
proposals to stop play for only 10 days, are also concerned about
the effects of the time difference between North America and
Japan and "the burnout factor."  Adams writes, "Playing in the
pressure-packed Olympics is like playing five game 7s of the
Stanley Cup playoffs in seven nights."  NHLPA President Mike
Gartner said the union is also concerned about what players who
do not participate in Nagano will do.  NHL Commissioner Gary
Bettman:  "In the final analysis, it will be up to the players to
determine whether they want to go" (CP/Toronto GLOBE & MAIL,
6/29).