(c) The Associated Press, 1995

CHICAGO (04-03-95) -- Jeremy Roenick can't hate Derian Hatcher.

"It was just a collision," he said Monday, the day after Hatcher's hit ended Roenick's season with a knee injury. "I've got respect for Derian. I don't think he was trying to injure me. He works hard. He's tough. And sometimes, in the spur of the moment, things happen."

Roenick, the Chicago Blackhawks' best player and inspirational leader, was in pain. His left knee in a brace, crutches at his side, he knows he has a long rehabilitation ahead to mend his torn anterior cruciate ligament. He'll undergo more tests in a few weeks, "and then I'll find out the real news: whether it's four months or 12."

"Sometimes you feel you're invincible," he said. "But when you do your job -- when you do this job -- accidents happen."

Hatcher said as much in Sunday's postgame locker room.

"I might hit and I might play rough, but I would never try to end anyone's career," he said, his voice cracking with emotion.

"Everything happens within a 10th of a second out there. I was just coming across and he cut in. He jumped ... everything happened so fast. I respect him. He's a great player and he works hard. It was definitely accidental."

Immediately after their 2-1 loss to Hatcher's Dallas Stars, the Blackhawks were convinced the injury was no accident.

"Put it this way -- the guy that did it is good at doing it," Chicago coach Darryl Sutter said. "I've seen it happen before."

Monday, Sutter said: "I was speaking emotionally after the game. I'm not speaking emotionally now. But it's still true. Hatcher definitely stuck out his knee. I'm not saying it was intentional. But the stipulation in the rules is it doesn't matter if it's accidental or intentional. The league is supposed to be cracking down on that stuff."

Even if the league starts cracking down now, it won't help Sutter's Blackhawks, who face the final 15 games and the playoffs without a player who averaged 50 goals and 106 points the last three seasons.

Roenick's injury left Chicago with only three healthy centers: Bernie Nicholls, Brent Sutter and Jeff Shantz. Newcomer Murray Craven, acquired to play left wing, is another center possibility, but he's also injured. The NHL trading deadline is this week, and the Blackhawks won't be able to get a player anywhere near the quality of Roenick without gutting their team.

"It magnifies how we have to do things as a team and how important the system is," Sutter said. "The problem is that Jeremy is such an important part of our system, with his speed and aggressiveness."

During the first half of the lockout-shortened season, the Blackhawks looked like legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, battling Detroit for the top Western Conference record. But Detroit has outplayed the Blackhawks recently to take control, leaving Chicago and St. Louis to fight for second place in the Central Division and third in the conference.

"They lost me for the year and that's a reality," said Roenick, who had been trying to renegotiate his contract. "But there still are some tremendous players there who are very capable of doing some damage."

Roenick was used to doing damage, not having damage done to him. Even this season, when his scoring pace was off slightly, his 34 points placed him second on the team and 18th in the league.

Roenick knows only one speed -- fast. He knows only one direction -- straight ahead. He initiates contact as often as he receives it. Nevertheless, he had only missed three games in his NHL career, none since the 1990-91 season.

"You live by the sword, you die by the sword. If I'm going to play as physically as I do, I have to expect it in return," he said.

"This won't change how I play the game. I'm not scared, just a little bit depressed. This isn't career-threatening, just time-consuming. I'll be back."