There are a few lucky NHLers, if one can view them in that manner, who won't see a decrease in their bank accounts because of the lockout. Players recovering from injuries and/or surgery when the NHL season was to have started on Oct. 13 will collect paycheques until they are cleared to play.

There are a handful of Maple Leafs -- Ed Belfour (back), Darcy Tucker (abdomen/groin), Tie Domi (hip) and Owen Nolan (knee) -- who had off-season surgery because of ailments that either popped up or worsened last season. But general manager John Ferguson Jr. said yesterday it's probable that only Belfour, whose 2004-05 salary is $8 million US, will be drawing a stipend beginning Oct. 13.

"Based on projected dates, our expectation is it's really only Belfour," Ferguson said. "With the others it's reasonable to assume they would not be in that category."

But one player who could join Belfour is winger Alex Mogilny, whose arthritic hip woes have not gone away. In fact, Ferguson said he is investigating the possibility that Mogilny may need to go under the knife again. Mogilny had surgery last November and played in just 37 games in 2003-04.

Nolan, thanks to a clause in the contract he signed in 2000 with the San Jose Sharks, eventually could cash in because of the lockout. If the 2004-05 schedule is fewer than 40 games because of a lockout, Nolan would have an option to extend his deal for one year at $6.5 million.

Meanwhile, a pair of AHL games at the Air Canada Centre will whet the appetites of Leafs fans looking for a hockey fix. On Dec. 1 and Dec. 3, the St. John's Maple Leafs will square off with the Binghamton Senators at the ACC. The games were scheduled to be played here before the NHL lockout.

"The impetus for us is obvious because we're in the marketplace next year,"Ferguson said, referring to the Baby Leafs' move to Toronto for the 2005-06 season.