Suter Takes Hit for Kariya Check

San Jose defenseman Gary Suter offered a mea culpa and said Saturday that he received threats in the wake of the cross-check that sidelined Paul Kariya for the final 28 games of last season.

“It was a bad hit,” Suter, then a Chicago Blackhawk, said of hammering Kariya in the jaw with his stick an instant after the Duck captain scored a goal in a Feb. 1, 1998 game at the Arrowhead Pond.

“[But] I’m not some deviant that goes around cross-checking guys in the face and to say I did it because he’s Canadian and I’m an American. . . . ridiculous. It was just wrong. It was a huge deal in Canada because it was right before the Olympics and it got a lot of exposure in the Canadian media.”

Without Kariya, Canada failed to win a medal at the Nagano Olympics. The Ducks then failed to qualify for the postseason, finishing 12th in the 13-team Western Conference.

Asked if he was fearful of angry fans at the Olympics, Suter said, “Let’s just say I didn’t go around wearing stuff with my name on the back.”

Suter has been sidelined for all but one game because of tendon damage in his right arm. He hopes to be fit in time to participate in training camp in September.