The NHL / Chris Baker : Expansion Proposal Is Rejected

The National Hockey League’s Board of Governors, meeting at West Palm Beach, Fla., has voted down a proposal to expand.

There were groups seeking teams in San Francisco, Dallas, Seattle-Tacoma and Hamilton, Canada, which is near Toronto.

The Pittsburgh Penguins almost moved to Hamilton at the end of last season. Hamilton recently opened an arena and is trying to get a team to play there.

Representing the Kings at the meeting are General Manager Rogie Vachon and Executive Vice President Ken Doi. Vachon said that the board decided to wait until next year to vote on expansion.

The big issue now will be free agency. The National Hockey League Players Assn. (NHLPA) has threatened to go on strike when the current collective bargaining agreement expires next September unless the rules on free agents are loosened.

Vachon said that the governors will discuss free agency today. The NHL, which set an attendance record last season, would like to head off a strike.

They’re still talking about the TV interview that King left wing Dave (Tiger) Williams did with broadcaster Nick Nickson last Thursday night after a tie against the Edmonton Oilers.

Williams was upset because the Kings had blown a 6-5 lead and let the Oilers tie the game in the final minute.

Asked what had happened, Williams grabbed his throat and pretended to choke himself. “We’re in 21st place,” Williams said. “Can you believe how tough it is to sleep at night?”

Williams’ book, “Tiger: A Hockey Story,” which was No. 1 in the best-seller list in Canada last year, is out in paperback. He has also added a chapter on life with the Kings.

Brian Lawton was the first player selected in the 1983 NHL draft. But Lawton has been a bust with the Minnesota North Stars.

He’s in the dog house at Minnesota and has asked to be traded. Although he’s not injured, he sat out Monday night’s game against New Jersey and will probably be benched again for tonight’s game against Detroit.

Minnesota seems to be a haven for problem players.

Center Todd Bergen, 22, announced his retirement from hockey last season and quit the Philadelphia Flyers because of a feud with Coach Mike Keenan. Bergen said he was going to become a pro golfer.

The Flyers traded Bergen and defenseman Ed Hospodar to the North Stars on Nov. 29 for defenseman Dave Richter and wing Bo Berglund.

Bergen was in Prince Albert, Canada, when he learned that he had been traded and couldn’t get a flight to Minnesota right away. So he went deer hunting for two days before leaving for Minnesota.

Bergen ripped the Flyers. “It’s hard for an individual player to be successful there because they want everyone to play the same,” he told a Minneapolis newspaper.

Bergen skated just one day with the North Stars, then suffered a groin injury. He also has a pulled abdominal muscle. The North Stars have sent him to a specialist in Chicago for examination.

Center Doug Smith of the Kings probably was surprised when teammate Brian MacLellan was traded to the New York Rangers for goalie Roland Melanson and defenseman Grant Ledyard Monday in a three-way deal with the Minnesota North Stars.

The Kings were reportedly set to trade Smith to Minnesota for Melanson last month, but the trade was called off when Melanson suffered a pulled groin muscle.

“I was prepared (to be traded) because both Brian and I had been mentioned in trade rumors,” Smith said.

“No, I’m not relieved that it wasn’t me. I feel really bad for Brian. It’s a big change for him. He’s got to go to New York and meet 20 new guys. But I think once he gets there, he’ll fit in well with the Rangers.”