Hockey and Alcohol

[Steve Gallichio]

The following articles appeared on the front page of The Hartford Courant
on Sunday, June 12, 1994. The authors are on the Courant's sports staff,
but do not cover the Whalers for the newspaper. This feature was commissioned
by the Courant in the wake of the series of alcohol-related incidents which
involved members of the Whaler organization in the past several months.

It's quite long (thank god for scanners), but I think it might be worth
the effort to read.

All articles have been reprinted without permission.

-SG

*****************************************************************************

Hockey and Alcohol: Battling a Culture of Denial, Abuse
Copyright 1994, The Hartford Courant

By WOODY ANDERSON and GREG GARBER Courant Staff Writers

With one game left in their disappointing season, the Hartford Whalers
gathered April 12 on the Civic Center ice for their team photo. Defenseman
Bryan Marchment stood quietly. Four days earlier he had been arrested on
charges of drunken driving in Farmington.

This two weeks after the infamous early morning nightclub incident in
Buffalo when seven Whalers were arrested. The seven -- captain Pat Verbeek,
rookie Chris Pronger, Todd Harkins, Marc Potvin, Mark Janssens, Geoff
Sanderson and assistant coach Kevin McCarthy -- stood with their teammates
on portable steps as the photographer adjusted the lighting. Pronger would
be arrested again five days later on 2 charges of driving under the influence
of alcohol in Ohio.

Missing from the photo: general manager Paul Holmgren, who was at the
Betty Ford Center in California for treatment of alcoholism after his arrest
on drunken driving charges March 31 in Simsbury.

The photograph will soon hang in the Whalers' offices, but the image that
will haunt the 1993-94 Whalers is based on a single statistic: 10 alcohol-
related arrests in 25 days.

"As a hockey fan, at that point, I didn't like to see it happen," said
Jim Rutherford, hockey operations chief for the company that has agreed to
buy the Whalers, "and the ownership of the Hartford Whalers didn't like to
see it happen."

From owner Richard Gordon to former coach Pierre McGuire to Verbeek, the
Whalers say they do not drink any more -- or less -- than the NHL's other 25
teams. And most in hockey agree that the drinking habits of NHL teams mirror
those of the Whalers.

Interviews with more than 100 current and former players, coaches, general
managers and league personnel, also reveal that:

*The professional hockey fraternity generally sees itself as having an
alcohol problem no worse than that of society at large. Some, however, say
that alcohol has been an intimate part of hockey culture for so long that
those in the game fail to see the extent of the problem.

*Unlike the other major professional sports, the NHL has virtually no
substance abuse policy and nothing that mentions alcohol. Despite a league
history filled with alcohol-related tragedy, former NHL president John
Ziegler and front-office executives spent little time addressing the issue
at the league level, leaving it up to individual teams.

*NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, in office less than 1 l/2 years said the
lack of a policy is a problem. He expects to have a policy that includes
rehabilitation for alcohol-related behavior, such as underage drinking,
drunken driving and barroom brawls, within a year.

Within the norm?

The Whalers began the 1993-94 season as the fourth-youngest team in the
National Hockey League. They were prone to mistakes, finishing with a 27-48-9
record, third worst in the league, and using poor judgment off the ice. At
27, Nick Kypreos was one of the Whalers' older players before being traded
to the New York Rangers a month into the season. In the past year, Kypreos
has been out drinking numerous times with players from both teams. He sees
no difference.

"At times [the younger players] don't realize what's at stake," said
Kypreos. "But I don't think the Whalers drink any more than the Rangers, or
any less." Said Murray Craven, another former Whaler who played all season
for the Vancouver Canucks, "It's just bad decision-making. I've been guilty
of it also." Ron Caron, general manager of the St. Louis Blues, said the
arrests "could have happened to any team."

What, then, does that say about the league?

"It's like speeding, 90 percent of the people do it," said Gordon, owner
of the Whalers for six years. "I just don't think anybody wants to admit it."

Substance-abuse experts say that between 1O percent and 20 percent of the
population has some form of problem with alcohol. An abuser is defined as
someone who, during the past year, has experienced at least one severe or
moderately severe consequence of alcohol abuse, such as job loss, arrest or
illness. Most of the league's players fall into the age group most at
risk--18 to 34--according to the U.S. National Clearinghouse for Alcohol
and Drug Information.

Jim Devellano, senior vice-president of the Detroit Red Wings, has been
to a number of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings -- not for himself, but to
accompany six recovering players on the Red Wings' 1988-89 roster. Three of
those players, Bob Probert, Sheldon Kennedy [sic] and Steve Chiasson, are
still with Detroit. "We're no different than society," Devellano said. "The
percentage of alcoholism is the same, or maybe a touch more, in the sports
community. It's a problem, yes "

Tragic history

Alcohol has played a tragic part in hockey's history.

Hall of Fame goalie Terry Sawchuk died in 1970, a few weeks after he was
kneed in the groin in a bar fight - Sawchuk was drinking heavily at the time,
and alcohol was a factor in his death. Hall of Fame defenseman Tim Horton was
drunk when he died in a 1974 one-car accident. Glen Sonmor, a recovering
alcoholic, was fired as the Minnesota North Stars coach in 1983 when he
violated a clause in his contract that prohibited further drinking.

Craig MacTavish, now of the Rangers, served one year in prison after
killing a Massachusetts woman while driving under the influence in 1984. The
next year, Philadelphia Flyers goalie Pelle Lindbergh died after slamming
his Porsche into a concrete wall in New Jersey; the autopsy showed his
blood-alcohol level was 0.24, more than twice the legal limit.

While with Calgary in 1987, Toronto's Jamie Macoun almost died in a
drunken-driving accident. Hall of Fame defenseman Doug Harvey was an
alcoholic who eventually died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1989. Washington's
John Kordic, who abused alcohol, cocaine and steroids, died last year.

Still, many players today regularly enjoy having "a few beers," a
leaguewide euphemism that can mean anything from two beers to a case. In
the past six months:

*On Dec. 28, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Craig Patrick was
charged with drunken driving after a single-car crash. Patrick, who was
heading home after a celebrity hockey game reception, had a blood-alcohol
level of 0.196, nearly twice Pennsylvania's legal limit. A decade earlier,
former Pittsburgh general manager Baz Bastien (blood-alcohol level: 0.27)
was killed in a 1983 single-car accident -- after attending a reception at
Froggy's, a downtown Pittsburgh bar.

*After the Penguins' end-of-season party on April 29, players Tom
Barrasso and Pete Taglianetti, along with strength coach John Welday, were
arrested after a raucous brawl at Froggy's. Welday was accused of head-
butting a vocal fan and breaking his nose.

*Recovering alcoholics Bryan Fogarty of the Montreal Canadiens, Louie
DeBrusk of the Edmonton Oilers and former Boston Bruin and San Jose Shark
John Carter, who played this season for the Providence Bruins of the American
Hockey League, have given extensive interviews on their struggles with
alcohol.

"A 'couple' for me meant a couple of days. I'd go on binges. I was a
time bomb," Carter said.

*In Cook County Circuit Court Feb. 6, Chicago Blackhawks owner William
Wirtz, a leading national distributor of liquor, pleaded guilty to driving
under the influence on Nov. 29. Wirtz's driver's license was suspended for
three months.

And those are merely the public cases. "Trust me," Devellano said
"that's only the tip of the iceberg,"

Before Holmgren was admitted to Betty Ford, Whalers defenseman Adam Burt
never believed there was a leaguewide drinking problem. Now he's not so sure.

"It's obviously documented that quite a few guys have problems," Burt
said. "But when it came out that Homer had a problem I was like, man, how
many other guys have problems?"

A crisis stage?

The NHL commissioner bounces to the edge of the black couch in his
office 33 floors above Manhattan. His hands blur; he sounds adamant.

"Whether or not there's too much beer-drinking or other drinking...the
empirical evidence of the last few months doesn't tell you that it's a
leaguewide problem," Bettman said. "However, to the extent that we've been
operating without a comprehensive program--that, to me, is a problem."

James Fearing, president of National Counseling Intervention Services
Inc., who counts NHL players among his clients, said a program is long overdue.
"We're in a crisis stage," Fearing said. "Players need a safe and confidential
place to go."

The NHL substance-abuse policy, tucked away in the league's bylaws, is a
62-word sentence, saying essentially: Use illegal drugs and you are subject
to a fine, suspension or expulsion. Alcohol abuse is not mentioned.

And while the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball all moved during the
1970s and '80s to fight substance abuse -- including alcohol abuse -- with
policies that stressed education, counseling and rehabilitation, the NHL
resisted.

"The NHL has always been 20 years behind the other leagues," said former
New York Islander Bob Bourne, who was an assistant coach with the Las Vegas
Thunder of the International Hockey League last season.

With no policy from the league, teams were on their own. Some went to
work after Lindbergh's death in 1985.

"When I first joined the Islanders, we had beer in the locker room,"
said Bourne. "Then they stopped that. But they built a players' lounge and
had beer there."

Of the NHL's 26 teams, only Boston, Edmonton, Quebec and Vancouver
allowed beer in their locker rooms this season. A directive by Holmgren two
years ago disallowed beer in the Whalers' locker room.

So the NHL has 26 policies -- one for each of the league's teams.

The one constant is a league-required training-camp speech that covers
a wide range of topics -- from agents to marital problems to the dangers of
gambling -- and includes a few minutes on drinking.

John Burns, one of 26 security experts contracted by the league to
monitor individual teams, delivers that speech each year to the Whalers.
Does it have an impact on the players?

"No," said Burns. "Because they all think they know it."

Said Whalers goalie Sean Burke, "If someone had come in when I was 19
and said, 'Don't drink, this will happen to you,' I don't know that that
would have made a difference."

Most teams have relationships with local rehabilitation centers and
counselors who oversee follow-up care. There are about 10 teams, not
including the Whalers, that provide cabs at team expense to players who
drink too much, no questions asked.

"I don't care if it's a $150 cab ride," said Islanders general manager
Don Maloney. "Just give us the receipt."

Some say what the teams are doing is enough.

"Younger kids don't go to bars. They clip coupons and read The Wall
Street Journal," said Bill Gilchrist, the Penguins' security specialist.
"My phone doesn't ring at 2 a.m. anymore. Sometimes I'd be up all night."

Still, the Penguins had four alcohol-related arrests this season.

Dealing with denial

Pelle Lindbergh's death not only stunned Diana Malone, it inspired her.

Inspired her because, as a doctoral candidate in counseling at the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, she had studied substance abuse.

Inspired her because, as the wife of one-time Whalers' goalie [sic] Greg
Malone, she felt that many professional athletes didn't have the maturity
to deal with their rare abilities.

So, in the late 1980's, she submitted a 12-page proposal to the National
Hockey League Players Association, asking it to hire full-time specialists
to help players deal with what she calls the "too-much, too-soon syndrome."

She found that many athletes received preferential treatment much of
their lives that interfered with their maturation. "They have trouble
developing stable relationships," she said. "There is a lot of social
pressure to drink."

Her plan was designed to be preventive and educational and offer
assistance in many areas, including alcohol and drug use.

Her plan, like many submitted on the subject, never made it to formal
discussions.

Brian Burke, the league's senior vice president and a former Whalers
general manager, said the league receives such proposals regularly. "When
I was in Hartford, we got one a week" Burke said.

About the same time Malone submitted her proposal, the topic of a
leaguewide substance-abuse policy came up at an annual general managers'
meeting.

Caron, general manager of the Blues, said of that meeting, "There
didn't seem to be a dark cloud. There was no need at the time. We felt
each team should handle it."

Three years ago, the NHL Players Association proposed informally to
then-NHL president John Ziegler that the league start a substance abuse
program. The price tag: $250,000.

Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHL Players Association, said
Ziegler flatly rejected the idea. "There is no policy today because of
old-school thinking," Goodenow said. "It's out-to-lunch and archaic."

Ziegler, president from 1977-92, said that the players association
offered no specifics and that nothing came of the proposal.

"Alcohol does produce problems from time to time," said Ziegler who
practices law in Detroit. "But there was nothing that stood out about
professional sports generally and hockey specifically."

Culture or coverup?

More than in any other professional sports league, hockey players can
and do advance through the ranks. Players such as Holmgren become coaches
and then general managers. Some argue that this keeps hockey in a state of
denial because those at the top of the sport don't recognize alcohol abuse
as a problem. Why? Because they grew up with it.

"I would have to say that is true," said Devellano of the Red Wings.

"Yeah, I think it's part of the landscape, I really, really do. The
majority of our players come from the Canadian junior league. They drink
beer at an early age. It becomes part of your conditioning; you don't think
it's a big deal. I guess, as those guys move up in the league, it partly
explains why we don't have a policy."

Gordon offers this metaphor: "In the police, they call it the blue
silence. You see something, you keep your mouth shut. Rather than helping
somebody, you keep your mouth shut. It's a coverup."

Ziegler discounted the theory -- "If you're asking if hockey looked
the other way, the answer is no" -- but said part of the reason there is
no league policy was to preserve a team's "culture."

"Each team has its own culture, relationships with the owner, coach,
player," he said. "For the league to come in and work with the players
might have hurt that culture."

Whys and wherefores

Kevin McCarthy, the Whalers assistant, grew up in the Canadian junior
system.

"I was playing with guys 20 years old at age 16," McCarthy said. "My
junior team was sponsored by a brewery. It was the Club team, for Labatt's
Club Beer. It's so accessible to you.

"You're not 18 yet, but going out for a couple of beers is no big deal."

McCarthy has spent 20 of his 35 years in organized hockey as a player,
coach and scout. It is a system where, McCarthy said, "You learn to drink
your beers early."

By the time players reach the NHL, most have encountered a landscape
where beer and hockey seem to go together every step of the way.

It's been that way since the 1930s, in the great arenas in Chicago and
Detroit. Those structures were purchased by Arthur M. Wirtz, father of the
present Blackhawks owner, and real estate speculator James Norris. Wirtz,
a major liquor distributor, staged events such as hockey games and boxing
matches, in part, as a vehicle for selling beer. Twenty years later, he
bought the Blackhawks.

As McGuire, the former Whalers coach, said, "It was always Molson
Hockey Night In Canada. You get used to seeing beer with hockey."

They see beer with hockey teams and awards: Seven 1993-94 media guides,
including the Whalers', feature full-page beer ads on the back cover. One
of the league's newest awards, instituted in 1988, the Bud Light Man of the
Year Award, goes to the player recognized as a positive role model through
his conduct on and off the ice.

They see beer with hockey in advertising: Breweries spent $705 million
on sports advertising in 1993. How much of that went to hockey is not
available, but beer companies made up 21 percent of the advertising time
locally during ESPN's coverage of the first four games of the Stanley Cup
finals.

They see beer with hockey ownership: At least five NHL teams have had
direct ties to alcohol. Wirtz owns the Blackhawks; Molson Breweries has been
the sole owner of the Montreal Canadiens since 1978; Anheuser-Busch owns
an undisclosed percentage of the St. Louis Blues; Carling O'Keefe Brewery
owned a majority of the Quebec Nordiques between 1976 and 1988; and Molson
owned 20 percent of the Toronto Maple Leafs between 1990 and April.

Ziegler and Bettman both said advertising and ownership play no part
in the NHL's lack of an alcohol policy. But virtually every Canadian
interviewed talked about the impact of their early exposure to alcohol.

"Drinking is part of the everyday culture and lifestyle in hockey,"
said Sonmor, who coached the Minnesota North Stars for all or parts of
seven seasons.

Of the league's 656 players, 64 percent are from Canada and most of
them played in the country's sprawling junior hockey system. McCarthy was
lucky; he played in his hometown of Winnipeg. Most junior players move
away from home and play an 80-game schedule that involves extensive travel.

Burt, the Whalers defenseman, was born in Detroit but experienced a
Canadian junior career that included "getting hammered all the time." He
played for the North Bay Centennials for four seasons and then, after he
made the Whalers, he found Christianity.

"It took me a long, long time to readjust and learn how to have a good
time and not get drunk," he said.

The juniors serve as the continuing education for many Canadian players.
Instead of going to high school or college, many go into junior hockey. Some,
like those on the junior team sponsored by Compuware Corp., the new owner of
the Whalers, are fortunate to have a substance-abuse counselor on staff. But
many, said Whalers goalie Sean Burke, never learn the dangers of alcohol
because of their formal education gap.

At the same time, Canadian players said they are no different than
American players, many of whom are exposed to drinking at U.S. colleges
and make up 17.1 percent of the league. And they think they are no different
than the rest of the league's players, the 18.7 percent from Europe, who
are commonly exposed to drinking at an early age.

New York Islanders goalie coach Bob Froese goes as far as to say
nondrinkers are often ostracized. "It's tougher for a young guy not to be
one of the guys," said Froese, who was a teammate of Lindbergh's. "And
being one of the guys means drinking."

A new reality

Bettman was hired by the NHL owners in February 1993. His charge: bring
hockey -- a sport that trails baseball football and basketball in television
ratings, advertising and merchandising revenues -- into the next century.

He plans on doing that, in part, by using hockey's fraternity to the
league's advantage.

"The strength of the network, if it's a properly educated network, if
it's a properly counseled network -- instead of enabling -- it can be used
to help and correct," Bettman said.

Before joining the league, Bettman worked for the National Basketball
Association during its rise to prominence in the 1980s. Part of the NBA's
new approach involved dealing with the reality of substance abuse. Bettman,
a lawyer, helped craft the language of the NBA's policy, introduced in 1983.

It has evolved into a widely acclaimed $250,000 program that primarily
deals with illegal drugs but also alcohol. NBA players who violate the
policy for the first time do not lose pay while they rehabilitate themselves -
second offenders are suspended without salary, and third-time offenders are
banned from the league.

Bettman wants to tap into the success of that policy.

Bettman believes the NHL will have a comprehensive policy in place
within a year. He has the support of the NHLPA's Goodenow, who will sit
across the table when a collective bargaining agreement is signed. The
league has been without an agreement since September.

"It's not a bargaining issue, it's not a trade-off issue," Bettman said.
"It's a question of doing the right thing on the human level. It's a
nobrainer on the business level."

Although Bettman said that elements of the NBA policy are likely to
appear in the NHL policy, there will be differences.

This is because alcohol -- unlike cocaine, which was a problem in the
NBA -- is legal. Thus, a code of conduct, including drunken driving,
underage drinking or bar brawls, might be part of a policy.

In addition to education, counseling and rehabilitation, Bettman would
like to see multilingual counselors, and a network of counselors available
in every NHL city.

"Now, with the people in leadership, things are changing," Goodenow
said. "Down the road we will have a proper program that more properly
reflects our reality."

*****************************************************************************

How the others do it

In its bylaws, the National Hockey league has a one-sentence policy on
substance abuse. It does not address alcohol. It reads:

"Any employee of the league or of a member club who uses a prescription
drug without proper authorization, or any employee of the league or of a
member club who fails to report to the security department any known or
suspected misuse or abuse of any drug is subject to the provisions of Sec.
17.3 (fine, suspension or expulsion from the league)."

In other major professional sports leagues, more elaborate policies exist.
Some examples:

National Basketball Association
Year adopted: 1983.
Basic policy: Any player who is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or is
found, through testing, to have illegally used cocaine or heroin will be
dismissed from the league. The player may apply for reinstatement in two
years. Any player who voluntarily comes forward to seek treatment does not
lose pay while he undergoes rehabilitation; second offenders are suspended
without salary, and third-time offenders are banned from the league. Rookies
are randomly tested. Three times a year there is a leaguewide group therapy
session for all players in the program. If the player doesn't comply with
his after-care treatment, he is suspended without pay. Each team participates
in two anti-drug seminars each season.
Alcohol elements: Players' after-care responsibilities include attending
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at least once a week for six weeks after
leaving the Adult Substance Abuse Program, a leaguewide player resource
network administered by Dr. Lloyd Baccus of Atlanta.

National Football League
Year adopted: 1986.
Basic policy: The use of illegal drugs or anabolic steroids and the abuse
of alcoholic beverages and prescription drugs is unacceptable. If a player
contacts a drug adviser or team physician to request treatment, he will not
be penalized. If a player tests positive, a physician evaluates and prescribes
treatment. If there is a second positive test, the player is removed from
the active roster for six games without pay and a physician prescribes
treatment. If there is a third positive test, the player is banned from
play for at least a year and may then petition the commissioner for
reinstatement.
Alcohol elements: Players involved in alcohol-related misconduct, such as
driving while intoxicated, will have their cases reviewed by the commissioner,
who may impose a fine or suspend the player. Alcohol is prohibited in locker
rooms.

Major League Baseball
Year adopted: 1971
Basic policy: Players or personnel involved in the possession, sale or use
of any illegal drug or controlled substance risk expulsion. If a player comes
forth voluntarily admitting drug use, he won't be punished. He will be
treated and could be tested for the remainder of his career. A second
violation will result in immediate discipline.
Alcohol elements: Alcohol isn't covered in this policy because alcohol is
legal and every team has an employee assistance program that includes
treatment for alcohol abuse, according to Jim Small, manager of public
relations for Major League Baseball. "We're on the watch for it [drinking
problems] all the time. Alcoholism is not a tremendous problem in baseball."

*****************************************************************************

A Recovering Alcoholic's Painful Journey
By GREG GARBER Courant Staff Writer

It has been about two months since Paul Holmgren stepped into his 1991
Ford Tempo and tore up the mailboxes and paper tubes along Firetown Road
in Simsbury. Two months since he was jarred out of an alcoholic haze by the
two police sirens in his driveway. Two months since he left for the Betty
Ford Center in California.

Against great odds, he is still the general manager of the Hartford
Whalers.

"When it happened, I thought he was gone," said Richard Gordon, the
owner of the Whalers. "Obviously, I was thinking, 'How could anybody do
this, having gone through it once already?'

"No, I didn't think he'd be capable of performing his duties. My first
thought was, 'Let's get Paul some help.' But I'll admit it, yeah, in the
back of my mind I was thinking of bringing in a successor."

Virtually everyone in the Whalers organization -- including Holmgren
himself -- thought he would be fired. Holmgren was in California for 28 days,
engaged in the painful self-discovery required of a recovering alcoholic.
At the same time Gordon, who does not drink, was learning volumes about
Holmgren's disease.

Conversations with Holmgren's counselor at Betty Ford, Gov. Lowell P.
Weicker Jr. and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman -- who all urged patience
and restraint -- gradually drove Gordon to reconsider.

At a time when the NHL is moving toward its first comprehensive
substance-abuse policy, the fate of Holmgren was seen by some in the
league as a telling case. A few days before Holmgren was released from
Betty Ford, Whalers assistant coach Kevin McCarthy said, "If Paul is fired,
what kind of message does that send? If a guy's got a problem, who is going
to come forward? Everybody around the league is watching this one."

Holmgren's future with the Whalers will be decided by new owners, once
the sale to the principals of Compuware Corp. is approved by the league.
But the fact that Holmgren still has his job is attributable in part to an
active role by the league.

Bettman admits to doing some "consciousness-raising" on Holmgren's
behalf. "Paul Holmgren, in the final analysis, is responsible for his
conduct," Bettman said. "Could people have intervened? Could he have been
confronted? The answer is, yes, maybe. But who knows?

"You don't have to be rewarded for alcoholism, but you cannot be punished."

Said Brian Burke, an NHL senior vice president, who as the Whalers'
general manager hired Holmgren as head coach in June 1992, "Alcohol abuse
is now recognized as an illness. If you get an employee who needs an
appendectomy, or a gall bladder removed, he takes a leave of absence, gets
the procedure done and goes back to work.

"That's the way it should be, but the NHL hasn't always been so
progressive."

Holmgren is not a typical hockey player. He was born in the United
States, attended the University of Minnesota and wasn't much of a drinker
when he turned professional. But as time passed, "the odd beer" escalated
into a problem. Holmgren's last season as a player with the Philadelphia
Flyers, 1984-85, was marked by the alcohol-driven death of goalie Pelle
Lindbergh.

As he rose from assistant coach to head coach, Holmgren's drinking
escalated. When the Flyers began the 1991 season 8-14-2 under Holmgren, he
was fired and demoted to scout.

"That was the one thing that triggered it," McCarthy said. "It was the
first time he was ever cut from a team. He basically had the Flyers tattooed
to his heart, and when that happened, he lost a lot of his self-esteem."

Holmgren said he suffered through some "bad" scouting trips before his
drinking first surfaced publicly after a drunken driving charge in New Jersey
on March 9, 1992. Holmgren said he was sober and attending Alcoholics
Anonymous meetings when he was named head coach of the Whalers three months
later.

And then he stopped going. "It became convenient not to go to meetings,"
Holmgren said after he returned from Betty Ford. "I guess I got to the point
in my own mind where I said, 'Maybe I don't have a problem, anyway.' "

When Burke left to join the NHL in September 1993, Holmgren added his
general manager's title to that of head coach. The stress of the two jobs
led to more drinking, he said. Holmgren began to enjoy the duties of the
general manager and gave up the coaching job to his assistant, Pierre
McGuire. The drinker in Holmgren also relished the isolation.

During that time Holmgren wondered aloud whether he should seek
treatment for alcoholism. His close friend McCarthy advised him to wait.

"You'll be OK," McCarthy said he told Holmgren. "Do it at the end of
the season."

On March 31, the day he was arrested, Holmgren drank heavily.

"I certainly put myself in a position that last night to be killed,"
Holmgren said. "I think there was probably a lot of times when I put myself
in that position. But for some reason that didn't happen, and I'm here."

These days, Holmgren sits in his eighth-floor office in downtown
Hartford, oblivious to the traffic spilling out toward the western suburbs.
His military crew cut recently has gone gray at the temples.

He wrestles with player contracts, the coming draft and scheduling
details. During the lulls, those little cracks in the daily routine when
introspection is unavoidable, Holmgren questions himself, convinces himself
that he needs to continue to attend Alcoholics Anonymous.

There is no cure, but this is part of the prescription for keeping his
disease in remission. So now, the silent, muscular man who never changed,
who never compromised, must change. He said he will spend more time with
his wife, Doreen, and four children. He said he will try to confront his
frustrations by articulating them. He said he will be upfront.

On April 28, the day after he returned from California, Holmgren met
with Whalers employees in the team offices. It was, he said later, a painful
experience.

One day later, Holmgren faced six television cameras, three radio
microphones and 23 reporters jammed into the Whalers' conference room.
Holmgren calmly answered every question.

"I think I found an opponent I can't beat," Holmgren said. "I've
accepted that and surrendered to that. It's time for me to move on. There
are a lot of other challenges that I can beat.

"Right now I'm the general manager of the Hartford Whalers. I feel
strong enough and confident enough to do the job. Whether I am long-term
or short-term is not my call."

But it is solely his call whether he wishes to remain sober.

*****************************************************************************