NHL TRIES TO GET ITS MESSAGE OUT ON TEAM HELP IN CANADA

          After appearing with other NHL execs before a House of
     Commons subcommittee on Tuesday, Flames Chair Harley
     Hotchkiss said he felt the group's presentation on the state
     the game in Canada "was pretty well received by the members
     of the commission," according to George Johnson of the
     CALGARY SUN.  But Hotchkiss adds that "some of the media
     people, in my opinion, totally misread our intentions." 
     Hotchkiss: "They regarded it as nothing more than a quick
     tax grab.  I don't think that's right and I don't think
     that's fair.  That's just a shallow viewpoint.  We wanted to
     present some of the problems we as an industry face. I think
     the members of the commission listened to and understood our
     dilemma."  One potential source of money for teams could be
     a lottery prize bond (CALGARY SUN, 4/30).
          A TOUGH SELL WITH MEDIA: In Ottawa, Earl McRae
     dismisses the contention made by NHL Commissioner Gary
     Bettman and team execs who compared pro hockey to the
     Canadian lumber, agriculture and gas exploration industries,
     writing those are "economically 'essential.'  Hockey is not. 
     It's a diversional entertainment, nothing more" (OTTAWA SUN,
     4/30).  In Calgary, Mark Miller writes that the NHL "needs
     to first look in the mirror for solutions" before receiving
     government aid.  Miller: "The truth is that the NHL is run
     by a board of governors largely indifferent to the fate of
     Canada's small-market franchises. ... The haves of the NHL
     will continue to exploit the have-nots with irresponsible
     free-agent signings and the players association will stand
     idly by and let it all happen, because, their mandate is to
     get as much as they can" (Mark Miller, CALGARY SUN, 4/30).