Greg Douglas GOAL. LINES SINCE JOHN Ziegler was forced .out of office as president of the Naiional Hockey -League, exactly 200 people have applied for the vacant commissioner’s chair. That number was quickly reduced to 35 by the NHL’s polit- ically appointed search committee, - and in the past month the short- list has been whittled to six. During the first week - of December at the posh Breakers ‘Hotel in Florida, the five-man search committee will recommend three candidates. The selection of a successor to Ziegler:is on the priority list when the 24*team owners sit across ” from each other to officially begin the league’s annual general meeting. ; In effect, the search committee will say: ‘“‘Here are the three we’ve come up with ... now let’s put it to a-vote.”” The groundwork would have been completed by the likes of Peter Pocklington (Edmonton Oilers), Bruce MecNall (Los Angeles Kings), Mike (ich “@etroit Red Wings), Ed Snyder (Philadelphia Flyers) and Ronald : Corey (Montreal Canadians). No surprises there, right? _. It’s a tight little group that “constantly surfaces as the ., Sicilian-like society running the NHL. . For now, the six applicants still in” the ruaning include interim commissioner Gil Stein, Washington Capitals’ part-owner Dick Patrick, two unidentified chief executive officers ‘from in- dustry, and two unidentified high-ranking administrators from professional sport organizations outside of hockey. . Stein, 64, isn’t expected to make the final cut. Too many NHL owners have him tarred with ) FINAL WD CLEARANCE OF REMAINING ‘92 VWs ‘This Week-end SAVE UP TO $4,000 ON BRAND NEW 92 VWs * PASSATS x * EURO-VAN BUSES x & JETTAS « GOLFS * *% CABRIOLETS x 100% Bank Financing and Low Cost VW Credit Lease Rates (with credit approval) IT'S HAPPENING ONLY AT CAPILANO VW LTD. 1151 MARINE DR, NORTH VAN. 985-0698 DLR. 6066 the same brush as Ziegter. Patrick, son of Muzz, nephew of Lynn and grandson of Lester, is an attorney with obvious, un- challenged hockey roots. He is expected to make it to the final three. The successful candidate will be offered a three-year contract worth an estimated $1 million per year, with the proviso that he agree to move to NHL head- quarters in New York. As the story goes, Ziegler was on the payroll at $500,000-a-year plus an expense account that allowed him to spend, unques- tioned, $350,000 per season. Some owners wanted him out so . badly they agreed to ‘‘eat’’ his ex- isting four-year contract at those precise figures: $850,000/year for four years, or roughly $70,000 (U.S.) per month over four years. It gets better, or worse, depen- ding what you think of Ziegler. At the end of his four-year buyout, Ziegler will be 62 years old, which makes him eligible for an NHL pension plan that will pay him $250,000 a year for the rest of his life. What’s more, during his reign as president he cut a deal with American Airlines that provided him with a lifetime pass to fly anywhere in the world. One NHL owner tried to make Ziegler surrender that perk, but it was pointed out by Ziegler the pass was in his name, not the league’s. I think it’s called a ‘‘gotcha.”” This past summer he was named to the advisory board of baseball’s Detroit Tigers, a fully paid posi- tion. 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