Blackhawks Face Elimination : Stanley Cup playoffs: Penguins can complete sweep tonight. Ziegler’s job threatened by owners.

CHICAGO — What do the Chicago Blackhawks and NHL President John Ziegler have in common?

Both may be gone sooner than expected.

Having lost the first three games of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup finals, the Blackhawks could be out as early as tonight when Game 4 is played at Chicago Stadium.

Ziegler could be out in three weeks when league officials gather in Montreal for the draft.

The fate of the league president, his future made tenuous by the dissatisfaction of some owners, might be decided by a five-man committee, whose formation was announced in an unusual news conference held here Sunday.

“The committee is designed to discuss the succession process, as well as when and how and what form it would take,” said league consultant Bill Wilkerson, speaking in Ziegler’s absence.

The committee will meet with Ziegler soon--probably this week--and report to the board of governors.

Ziegler, 58, has four years remaining on a contract that, it is believed, pays him $1 million a year. A proposal to remove him earlier from office would require approval of two-thirds of the board.

Serving on the committee are the Kings’ Bruce McNall, the Quebec Nordiques’ Marcel Aubut, the Detroit Red Wings’ Michael Illitch, the Philadelphia Flyers’ Ed Snider and the Washington Capitals’ Dick Patrick.

Rumors that Ziegler, who has headed the NHL since 1977, was in trouble surfaced as soon as the 10-day players’ strike ended in early April.

Some of the hard-line owners reportedly believed Ziegler softened the league’s stance too much to reach an accord.

Other owners have been unhappy for some time over what they see is a lack of aggressiveness by the league in marketing and promotion.

During the playoffs, an old complaint resurfaced: that rather than finding solutions to problems, Ziegler himself is the problem because nobody can ever find him.

Yet another in his celebrated absences at crucial moments occurred this season before a playoff game in New York between the Rangers and New Jersey Devils. The threat of a riot in the wake of the Rodney King verdict nearly prompted postponement of the game. Because Ziegler was out of town, someone else had to make the decision to play.

“There are some people who want John Ziegler to stay through the end of his contract,” Wilkerson said. “There are some people who would like to see him leave sooner, but not right now. And there are some who would like to see him leave right now.”

With the conjecture over Ziegler’s possible ouster growing, it was decided to announce the formation of what appears to be an impeachment committee in the middle of hockey’s biggest event.

“The league had no appetite,” said Wilkerson, “for becoming involved in controversy in the middle of the playoffs, as it has.

“The committee will explore not only the immediate question of (Ziegler), but the succession process long-term as well.”

While it would seem that the votes are there to force Ziegler out, pending the resolution of a buyout of his contract, some of those votes will remain uncommitted until it becomes clear who the successor might be.

Since Ziegler chose not to be present at Sunday’s news conference, Wilkerson’s statement will have to stand.

“John Ziegler will do what’s right for the league,” Wilkerson said.

The fate of the Blackhawks in the finals appears even more precarious.

Chicago was supposed to have the defensive edge in this series. But the Penguins, known more for their high-octane offense, have proved superior defensively. They have limited the Blackhawks to one goal in the last two games and only two over the previous eight periods.

Chicago entered the finals on the crest of a league-record 11 consecutive postseason victories.

One week later, Pittsburgh finds itself one victory away from its 11th victory in a row and second consecutive Stanley Cup.