Sports

AGITATOR LEMIEUX SEEKS RETURN TO NHL

IF ALL goes according to plan, Claude Lemieux, 43 and retired since 2002-03, will be in the AHL by the middle of next month to make a pit stop on his way back to the Show.

“I’ve been talking to a few NHL teams who have a serious interest in me and who I feel really good about playing for,” Lemieux told Slap Shots by phone from his training base of Prescott Valley, Ariz. “By my thinking, I’ll be signed to an AHL contract in no later than two weeks by the NHL team that wants me.

“They’ll come to watch me, and if they like what they see, I’ll be back.”

It strains credulity, but Lemieux is nothing if not self-assured. He is certain there is room for legs as old as his in this young man’s league. He is certain there is a need for his experience and eagerness to play in the dirty areas of the ice.

“Even with the new rules, you cannot be successful in the playoffs without grit,” Lemieux said. “I know I’m not going to challenge Sidney Crosby for the scoring title, but I think I can be a big help to either a contender or to a young team that needs veteran leadership.

“One of the things in my favor is that the salary cap that really ties teams’ hands behind their backs. I’m not going to be expensive; $500,000 or $600,000 works fine for me.”

Lemieux is a four-time Cup winner who won the 1995 Conn Smythe Trophy. He is a worthy Hall of Fame candidate, who has no chance to break through the establishment Hall of Fame voting panel to actually gain enshrinement, even if he accomplished more than recent inductees such as Cam Neely, Dick Duff and Bernie Federko.

“I’ve been training seriously since June, I skated with a lot of young NHL players before training camp and I’m in my best shape in 15 years,” Lemieux said. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that I can do this.

“I don’t want to be a circus or a distraction. I’m coming back to contribute. When it happens, it’s going to be a great story.”

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NHL general managers touched upon the subject of potential abuse of the Long Term Injury (LTI) exception in the CBA when they met on Thursday in Chicago. Eyes will be on the potential developing situation in Philadelphia, where Derian Hatcher intends to return from LTI once his left knee is healed. The Flyers would have to make unwanted roster moves to accommodate the return of Hatcher, who is in at $3.5 million.

If Hatcher deems himself healthy and the Flyers’ medical staff disagrees, the defenseman and the NHLPA would then be expected to get a third, independent doctor’s opinion that would then be submitted as evidence in a hearing process.

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In the World According to Bob Clarke, waving arms in a goaltender’s face and saying unspeakable things on the ice to opponents the way Sean Avery did and does, is crossing the line.

Breaking an opponent’s ankle with an intentional two-hand slash as Clarke did to the resplendent Valery Kharlamov in Game 6 of the epochal 1972 Canada-USSR Summit Series, however, is the act of a national hero.

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Finally, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond of the Devils should be called for Too Many Names on the Ice.

larry.brooks@nypost.com