AHL President Dave Andrews said that he met with 14-to-
15 NHL GMs after reports that the IHL "might try to obtain
some of the AHL affiliations" with NHL teams, according to
Pete Dougherty of the Albany TIMES UNION. Andrews: "We'd
like to protect what we have and not give it up." Andrews
said that the AHL "is positioning itself" so that additional
money in affiliation fees from the IHL "isn't going to be
the deciding factor" in whether or not NHL clubs switch
affils. The AHL has "working agreements" with 21 NHL teams,
while "half" of the IHL's 16 teams are totally independent.
Andrews pointed out that the AHL "is not in a battle with"
the IHL, but said, "It's hard to be friends with someone
trying to steal your lunch" (TIMES UNION, 1/26).
ALL-STAR NOTES: In Philadelphia, Marcia Smith writes
that the AHL held the 11th All-Star Game in its 62-year
history last night at the First Union Center. The crowd of
14,120 was an AHL All-Star Game record, topping the previous
best of 11,909 set in '95 (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1/26).
Sunday's AHL IcePro All-Star Skills Competition, also at the
First Union Center, drew a crowd of 13,028 (PHILADELPHIA
INQUIRER, 1/25). First Union, MasterCard, Bud Light and
Pepsi One had in-ice signage during the AHL All-Star Game.
In addition, a First Union patch was on the right shoulder
of Team Planet USA's Bauer jerseys, while Chrysler was on
the right shoulder of Team Canada's jerseys (THE DAILY).
