A story from AP..Tom Morrison..
 
   TORONTO  - The Anaheim Mighty Ducks are taking another stab at
signing their top prospect, Paul Kariya.
     "We are interested in sitting down and talking to him," said
Ducks general manager Jack Ferreira, who will meet Monday with
Kariya and his agent, Don Baizley,in Vancouver.
     "We want to know whether he is interested in playing in the
National Hockey League for the Mighty Ducks and we are willing to
talk. If he is more interested in free agency, then he has to
interpret the rules."
 
     The rules Ferreira speaks of govern Anaheim's rights to
Kariya, a player whom Mike Keenan, coach and general manager of
the St. Louis Blues, has compared to Wayne Gretzky.
     In June, Baizley sought clarification from NHL commissioner
Gary Bettman on when Kariya would become a free agent and whether
the Ducks would have the rights to a matching contract offer
should he play junior hockey, minor pro or in Europe.
     The NHL doesn't appear in a hurry to answer Baizley's
request. "The rules are quite clear to me," Bettman said last
week.
     "If it's so clear, then why will no one give us an answer,"
said an obviously puzzled Baizley.
     Under NHL rules, a team has the right to a player it has
drafted for a certain period of time, depending on the player's
age and whether he is in college.
     The key in Kariya's case is his birthday. Kariya was born on
Oct. 16, 1974, which means he will be 20 next July and thus too
old to re-enter the draft.
     Under NHL rules, he would become an unrestricted free agent,
open to the highest bidder, providing he does not play any hockey
this season.
     There is little doubt Kariya would be an attractive
commodity on an open market. In Kariya, the Ducks drafted one of
the most highly touted playmakers since Gretzky.
     Kariya, voted the top US college player in 1993, has had
success at every level he has played at and was the most valuable
player at the 1994 world championships in Italy when Canada won
gold.