MIGHTY DUCK NOTEBOOK / ROBYN NORWOOD : Kurvers Sees Game Pass Him By

Tom Kurvers has worn the uniforms of seven NHL teams, but now he spends most game nights in different attire--a coat and tie.

He has played in only two games in the past month, and Mighty Duck Coach Ron Wilson has scratched the defenseman from the lineup 10 times in the last 11 games.

After nearly 11 seasons in the NHL, Kurvers, 32, is out of the picture with the Ducks. Only injuries or happenstance are likely to get him back in the lineup, and tonight’s game against Vancouver could be an example.

With Bobby Dollas still groggy from Marty McSorley’s hit last Sunday against the Kings and Robert Dirk unable to speak because he needed 40 stitches after being hit in the face with the puck on the bench Thursday against Calgary, Kurvers might get a rare call. He’s ready and waiting.

“You walk a fine line, trying to carry a good attitude,� he said. “I think sometimes in hockey people expect a guy who is not playing to get upset and complain and make noise. I’ve never seen that approach work any tricks in the past. I’m determined to try to work hard and control the things I can control.�

One thing he couldn’t control--and he knows it as well as anybody in the NHL--was whether he would be traded. Lack of interest probably was the biggest reason he wasn’t traded. But when most players would have begged for a new start, Kurvers went to General Manager Jack Ferreira and asked to stay.

“I didn’t want to go anywhere at the trade deadline, and I let Jack know that. He had to do what he had to do, but it worked out.

“I honestly am happy to be here. I’m keeping a good attitude and working hard. As a hockey player you know you will get opportunities and you have to make the best of each one.�

Kurvers came to the Ducks in a trade that failed. Ferreira sent captain Troy Loney to the New York Islanders for Kurvers, who has made a career as a power-play specialist. But the Ducks asked him to play a regular defensive shift, which overexposed his shortcomings. Worse, the power play wasn’t any better. A bad run of shorthanded goals against the Ducks’ power play did him in. He has only four goals and three assists, and a plus-minus of minus-13.

The front-office emphasis has shifted quickly to youth, and the team traded for three new young defensemen--Milos Holan, Dave Karpa and Jason York. Kurvers is the odd man out.

“They’ve made some changes and gone with young guys,� Kurvers said. “But my attitude toward the organization hasn’t changed. I still think the organization is a strong one and is on the right track.�

Kurvers isn’t particularly likely to be along for the ride. He has a year left on a contract that will pay him $550,000 next season, and nobody who sits in the press box gets paid that much.

“I’d like to be here, but a buyout would be a possibility, or trades,� Kurvers said. “With (prospect) Nick Tsulygin coming in, you’ve got to assume Nick will get a good opportunity like (Valeri Karpov) has. They have high hopes for him and there aren’t that many spots. Most of the ‘D’ here are younger, and we’ve got a good veteran in (Randy Ladouceur).

“I’d like to be here. I’d like to work my way back into being part of the team and be here next year.�

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Nice free agency: Kurvers is a perfect illustration of how meaningless unrestricted free agency is in the NHL. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, players become eligible at the end of their contracts after reaching 32--dropping to 31 after this year. Kurvers’ opportunity to be a free agent will come just as his market value hits its lowest ebb in years.

“Eleven years in the league, I guess if my contract was up this year I’d have my first shot at true free agency,� he said.

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Stat of the week: 5-0-1. That’s the Ducks’ record this season against San Jose and the Kings. Four of their final 10 games are against those two teams.

Tough matchups remaining include two games against Toronto and one each against Detroit and St. Louis.

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Calder Trophy watch: Quebec’s Peter Forsberg has opened a lead in the rookie scoring race that Paul Kariya isn’t likely to overtake. Forsberg has 44 points to Kariya’s 31. Two goalies--Washington’s Jim Carey and Boston’s Blaine Lacher--are also contenders for the trophy awarded to the NHL rookie of the year.