Oliwa eager to start anew

The New Jersey Devils ostracized him. The Columbus Blue Jackets banished him.

That's why Krzysztof Oliwa is so thankful for his fresh start in Pittsburgh. The rugged right winger joined the Penguins for practice Thursday, 11 days after they acquired him from Columbus for a third-round draft pick.

Oliwa had been in Southern California for a month-and-a-half, rehabilitating his broken right arm and seeking help to deal with some personal problems.

'He had some personal issues he's sorting through,' said Oliwa's California-based agent, Jeff Solomon. 'I can tell you it didn't involve alcohol or drugs.'

Oliwa was no more specific about the nature of his issues but said the emotional strain of two major injuries within seven months had taken a toll. The related fallouts with his employers made things worse. He finally sought help at a confidential outpost in California.

'There was a lot of stress, a lot of disappointment,' Oliwa said. 'For me just to get out there and refocus on myself was the best thing to do. I had some good people on the side who helped me deal with those problems. I talked to several people who helped me with my game and dealing with situations.'

Oliwa, 27, hopes to join the Penguins lineup Feb. 7 against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. And he hopes his Penguins career, no matter how long it lasts, will have a happy ending. That wasn't the case with his first two NHL teams.

Outcast

Oliwa might have been a member of the Stanley Cup champion Devils last season, but it sure didn't feel that way.

The trouble started when he went outside the rigid Devils organization - headed by general manager Lou Lamoriello - for an opinion on his injured left knee. He then went against the team's wishes and had reconstructive surgery in April. The Devils reportedly wanted Oliwa to eschew surgery and play in the playoffs.

So, after spending seven seasons in the Devils organization, Oliwa, a third-round draft pick in 1993, was forced to pay his way to see the team's Stanley Cup-clinching victory at Dallas. He was excluded from the postgame party.

His picture already had been removed from the team's offices and his name struck from the media notes. He still hasn't received his championship ring, though he says the Devils called the Blue Jackets for a size.

'I hope I'm going to get it sooner or later,' Oliwa said. 'Right now, that's not my concern, really. I don't really care what happened in the past. It doesn't matter. What happened, happened. That has nothing to do with the present.'

New Jersey unloaded the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Oliwa to the expansion Blue Jackets, who envisioned him as an enforcer with scoring potential. He has only 13 goals (and 758 penalty minutes) in 217 NHL games, but he scored five goals in nine games at the beginning of last season. He was playing on a line with superb rookie playmaker Scott Gomez and enjoying every minute of it before he sprained his knee.

Oliwa signed a two-year, $1.7 million contract with the Blue Jackets but missed all of training camp recovering from his knee surgery. He played in only 10 games before breaking his arm - above the elbow - Oct. 28 at Detroit when Red Wings forward Mathieu Dandenault spun him into the boards. A week later, a rod was surgically implanted in the arm.

Shortly thereafter, trouble paid another call.

With his arm still in a sling, Oliwa engaged in a heated dressing-room argument with team captain Lyle Odelein after a Dec. 2 game at Nationwide Arena. The exchange carried over to an arena loading dock, where the team bus awaited.

'I don't think it's a big deal,' said Oliwa, who also was teammates with Odelein in New Jersey. 'Frustration, I guess. That's about it.'

Odelein told the Columbus Dispatch that the shouting match 'obviously had something to do with the frustration of losing and him being injured at the time. I wish (Oliwa) the best. I hope it's a good situation for him. With Mario (Lemieux) back, the Penguins are going to be one of the contenders for the Cup.''

Within days of the incident, Oliwa and the Blue Jackets agreed that he would take a paid leave of absence. That's when he headed to Southern California.

Fresh start
It isn't certain just how and where Oliwa will fit into the Penguins lineup, but it's safe to say it won't be on the power play or skating beside Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr.

Oliwa is a banger, one of the NHL's true heavyweights. He dropped the gloves on his very first NHL shift five years ago to fight Penguins defenseman Bob Boughner, who then played for the Buffalo Sabres.

'It wasn't much of a fight, but it's one of those things you never forget,' Oliwa said. 'I liked it.'

Oliwa figures the Penguins know what they're getting. He has never backed down from a fight and hasn't lost too many, either.

'I'm not going to change my style,' he said. 'I'll do whatever the coach asks me to do and continue to play the role I played the last four years. I'm not going to redesign my role. I'm going to go out there and play tough and play physical and go to the net and finish my checks.'

That fact that Oliwa made it to the NHL is an incredible story in itself. He was born and raised in a Polish coal-mining town named Tychy, which also produced Mariusz Czerkawski of the New York Islanders.

Oliwa's father and grandfather worked in the coal mines, as did Oliwa for two-and-a-half years while he went to mining school, learning about the machines used to mine coal.

His interest in machinery and technology continues. He is a computer whiz who once built his own computer in a week. He also has a high-powered telescope at home.

'Me and my daughter look at the stars,' Oliwa said. 'It's a good hobby of mine. It keeps your mind off this part (hockey).'

Now that he's back on the ice, Oliwa says his mind is fully devoted to rekindling his NHL career. He can't thank Penguins general manager Craig Patrick enough for the chance, and he is thrilled to be part of a team that features Jagr and Lemieux.

Oliwa says the arm is healed, though it still bears a four-inch scar from his surgery. When discussing the injury, he might as well be talking about the past year of his life.

'It was very painful,' he said. 'The scar eventually will fade away. It's something I don't want to go back to, you know?'