Ed Belfour’s agent, Ron Salcer, arrived in Chicago Tuesday night for contrac t talks with Blackhawks general manager Bob Pulford later this week, hoping to break the impasse that has prompted the star goalie to play out his option.
“I felt if we could meet face-to-face we might make some progress,” said Salcer, who plans to meet with Pulford on Thursday. “I’m hoping to get things done. I came out to see exactly where we stand.”
“As of now, no,” responded Pulford Tuesday, when asked if any progress had been made in negotiations that have been going on periodically. Belfour has missed the last two games because of a groin injury that has plagued him throughout the season.
Pulford said he thinks the injury has been bothering the veteran goaltender more than he’s let on. “He’s been hurting a bit,” said Pulford.
Belfour leads the league with four shutouts but has a subpar save percentage of .895 and has not seemed consistently sharp.
“But he’s played some good games too,” said Pulford.
“One game he played outstandingly.”
Belfour reportedly is seeking $3 million a year and that would make him the highest paid goaltender in the league.
“I’d rather not get into negotiating in public,” said Salcer, when asked about the figure.
The dotted line: Pulford did get one significant signature on a contract this week, however. Eric Daze, the 19-year-old phenom who has been tearing up the Quebec Junior league, signed a three-year contract on Monday. Daze, who was only a fourth rounder when the Hawks picked him in 1993, would have been eligible to go back into the draft had he not been signed before the July 8 draft.
And he would have been a high first rounder.
Blackhawks coach Darryl Sutter has called him the top player in junior hockey and Daze has the laurels to prove it. He had 49 goals in his first 50 games and was selected to the All-Star team after helping lead Canada to the World Junior Championships in January.
Going down: The Blackhawks sent three players back to Indianapolis Tuesday, but Pulford said one or more of them might come back to the big show. Tony Horacek, Daniel Gauthier and Steve Dubinsky all were sent down Tuesday, but “one or two of them could come back,” said Pulford.
Horacek and Gauthier were called up because of a rash of injuries to Hawk forwards, while Dubinsky has been up twice for brief stays.
Horacek is the only one of the three to score a point, assisting on Jim Cummins’ goal in the 4-3 loss to Los Angeles last week.
