GETTIN' A BUY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS?

          With no local offers to purchase the NHL Oilers on the
     table, the Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB) plan to ask the
     NHL "to help it find an out-of-town buyer for the team,"
     according to Jac MacDonald of the EDMONTON JOURNAL.  The 20-
     day deadline the ATB gave local buyers to make an offer for
     the team expires tonight.  While one local group has held
     talks with NHL officials about the team, "so far it has not
     made a formal offer."  ATB spokesperson Darlene Dickinson
     said the bank needs a "firm, viable offer on the table"
     before it would consider extending today's deadline,
     otherwise, she said, "we will work with the [NHL] to find an
     outside buyer" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 12/11).  In Edmonton,
     Bernard Pilon reports that one "rumored suitor" is Paul
     Allen, who is "mildly interested in acquiring" an NHL team
     for his Rose Garden arena (EDMONTON SUN, 12/11).