Kings Trade MacLellan to Rangers, Get Goalie Melanson, a Defenseman

Left wing Brian MacLellan of the Kings knew something was wrong when Coach Pat Quinn pulled him aside just before the hockey team boarded an airport bus in Winnipeg for a flight to Calgary Monday afternoon.

He quickly learned that the Kings had traded him to the New York Rangers in a three-way deal with the Minnesota North Stars.

The North Stars traded goaltender Roland Melanson to the Rangers for a second-round draft pick in 1986 and a fourth-rounder in 1987.

The Rangers then traded Melanson to the Kings, along with defenseman Grant Ledyard, for MacLellan. New York will also get the Kings’ fourth-round draft pick in 1987.

For the last month there had been speculation that the Kings were about to trade MacLellan to Minnesota for Melanson. MacLellan had been in a slump. He went 15 consecutive games without a goal before scoring against Edmonton last Thursday.

The trade rumors died down, however, when the Kings put together a three-game unbeaten streak, with a tie against Edmonton last Thursday and consecutive victories over Winnipeg last weekend.

But apparently that wasn’t enough to stop the Kings from making a deal.

“I’ve got mixed emotions,” MacLellan said at the airport in Winnipeg as he tried to book a flight to New York. “I’m excited to be going to New York, but I’ll miss L.A. I’ve built up a lot of friendships.

“I didn’t really expect it. I know that my name has been mentioned around the league as being traded, but I still didn’t expect it. I guess it’s part of the job.”

MacLellan said he talked to Ranger General Manager Craig Patrick and plans to join the Rangers for Wednesday night’s game against New Jersey.

“We’ve been interested in (MacLellan) for a long time,” Patrick told a reporter from Newsday. “We tried a number of things, but none seemed to work. Acquiring Melanson gave us some flexibility to move a goaltender and something else. We feel he can add an awful lot to our hockey club. We feel very fortunate that things fell into place.”

MacLellan had 5 goals and 7 assists in 27 games with the Kings this season. He had four power-play goals.

Last season was MacLellan’s best. He had 31 goals and 54 assists, earning a spot on the cover of the Kings’ media guide this season as one of the club’s five 30-goal scorers.

Said Quinn: “Mac was one of the players we didn’t want to give up. But this was an opportunity for us to acquire a couple of players we feel can strengthen our hockey club.”

Ledyard will join the Kings immediately and is expected to play in tonight’s game against the Calgary Flames at the Olympic Saddledome.

Ledyard will replace King defenseman Garry Galley, who suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Winnipeg. Galley flew back to Los Angeles on Monday and is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery today to determine the extent of the injury. It is not known how long he’ll be out.

Ledyard was surprised by the trade. “I didn’t expect anything like this,” he said. “I’m still shocked and it’s going to take me awhile to get over this. I’ve got a lot of Ranger blood in me.”

Ledyard, 24, was signed by the Rangers as a free agent in 1982. He has played in 69 NHL games in his two-year career and has 10 goals and 21 assists. He had 2 goals and 9 assists in 27 games with the Rangers this season.

Melanson is out with a pulled groin muscle suffered in a game with Calgary Nov. 19. He just began skating again and said he’s at least two weeks away from being able to play. The Kings will probably send him to their minor league team in New Haven, Conn., to get him back into shape before he’s called up to Los Angeles.

“It’s a business and hopefully one of these years we’ll find a home and stay somewhere,” Melanson told Newsday. “At least we’ll have a tan when we go home for the summer.”

The Kings have had problems with their goaltending this season, although Darren Eliot has looked good in the last three games. Eliot has a 2-0-1 record in that span.

“It’s easy to point the finger sometimes,” Melanson said. “When you lose that many games it can’t just be the goaltending. This is a good opportunity for us and I’m happy to leave Minnesota.”

The Kings now have three goalies: Bob Janecyk, Eliot and Melanson.

“I’m not a fan of the three-goaltender system,” Quinn said. “And I doubt very much if we’ll keep three goalies.”

Melanson, 25, is in his seventh NHL season. He was the New York Islanders’ fourth-round draft choice in 1979.

He played on three Stanley Cup championship teams with the Islanders over five seasons, and won 20 or more games three times in his career with the Islanders, including a career-high 24 in 1982-83. Melanson shared the Jennings Trophy for best team goals-against average with Islanders goalie Billy Smith in 1982-83.

The Islanders traded Melanson to Minnesota Nov. 19, 1984, for the North Stars’ first-round choice in the 1985 draft.

Melanson has played in 162 NHL games, compiling a record of 84-45-9 with a 3.31 goals-against average. He has a 2-1-2 record this season with a 4.10 goals-against average.

King General Manager Rogie Vachon said: “My people and I really like Ledyard. He’s got good speed and he has a hell of a shot. And he can play on the power play. I think a year from now he’s going to be a hell of a player.

“Melanson is going to have therapy for a few more days. I suggested that I’d like to have him go to New Haven and really get back in shape. He hasn’t played in three weeks. Then we’ll bring him up.

“I think my job is to try to improve our team the best way possible. We’ve been struggling all year long. I’m really proud of what my team has done in the last three games, but you can’t go game by game.”

King Notes Left wing Morris Lukowich, who has missed the last four games with a sprained arm, is expected to return tonight. Coach Pat Quinn said that he may use Lukowich in MacLellan’s place. . . . The Kings also will play Calgary Thursday night before returning home to play the Washington Capitals Saturday night in the Forum.