Williams Is Still Tiger With a Tale : Fiery King Has Plenty of Fight and Book Material Left

Many hockey observers thought that left wing Dave (Tiger) Williams was washed up when the Kings got him from the Detroit Red Wings last March.

Few thought that the 31-year-old veteran would be back with the Kings this season.

The Red Wings had given up on Williams, who had scored just three goals in 55 games, sending him to their minor league team in Adirondack, N.Y.

“Basically we picked him up as playoff insurance,” King Coach Pat Quinn said. “We wanted an experienced player who could help us in the playoffs. This year, we were planning on playing him some, but he came out of camp as our best left wing. People have a way of underestimating his skills.

“The guy is a competitive marvel. In his own way he knows what he can do. L.A. seems to be a tough town for the guys (hockey players) to keep their minds on their business, but Tiger doesn’t have any problem.”

Williams, the National Hockey League’s all-time leader in penalty minutes, was known more for his fighting and general troublemaking than for his scoring ability.

Williams looks a lot like a fighter who waited too long to retire. His battered face is covered with stitch scars and his nose has been twisted out of shape.

Once, while he was playing for the Vancouver Canucks against the Kings, Williams clambered out of the penalty box at the Forum and went after a fan who was heckling him.

He also once picked up a female reporter and carried her out of the locker room because he thought that women should not be allowed there.

Earlier this season, Williams slammed the door to the penalty box at the Forum so hard that the glass on top fell onto the ice. He got an additional two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct and said later that the glass was defective and hadn’t been properly installed.

So far, however, Williams is having one of his best seasons. He scored the first goal in the Kings’ season opener and hasn’t let up yet.

He has scored 11 points in his last 12 games--3 goals and 8 assists, and he is the Kings’ fourth-leading scorer with 8 goals and 17 assists in 28 games.

Now in his 12th season, Williams had his best one in 1980-81, when he scored 35 goals and had 27 assists while playing for Vancouver. The next season, he helped the Canucks reach the Stanley Cup final, where they lost to the New York Islanders.

He scored just 23 goals in the next two seasons, though, and the Canucks traded him to Detroit for Rob McClanahan in 1984.

The Kings seemed to revive him. Williams scored a goal against Hartford in his first game with Los Angeles last season and has scored some big goals this season.

He did a wild dance up the ice after scoring the winning goal in a 4-3 overtime victory over Pittsburgh last month at the Forum. And he almost had a game-winner at Edmonton last Thursday, before the Oilers came back for a tying goal in the final minute.

Asked if he considers himself a candidate for the NHL’s Comeback Player of the Year award, Williams said: “Comeback, there’s no such word. There are a lot of stupid people in the league who thought I was finished. But I’m not one of the stupid ones. . . . Wine gets better with age.”

Asked if he considered Detroit General Manager Jimmy Develano, who released him, as one of the stupid people, Williams said: “Detroit’s record speaks for itself over the last 10 years.”

Williams sat out practice Wednesday with a hip pointer he suffered in the Kings’ 6-5 loss here the previous night. The injury, however, is not expected to keep him out of tonight’s rematch with the Flames at the Olympic Saddledome.

“I’ve had this injury for a month,” Williams said. “A man needs a day off once a week.”

Williams was conducting the interview with three reporters while flat on his back on a table in the training room. A sheepskin coat covered his body. He was undergoing a passive exercise session to treat the injury. Electrodes were attached to his hip and leg, and an electrical current stimulated the muscles, forcing them to contract.

“I’m just stimulating my brain,” Williams said.

Williams said he has no plans to quit. “I’m going to be around for another 10 years,” he said. “By that time, they’ll probably be wearing dresses.”

Asked if he thinks that players aren’t as tough as they were when he started in the NHL in 1974, Williams said: “The league isn’t as tough as a whole, but the players are better.”

When Williams’ playing days do end, he can always write another book. His “Tiger, A Hockey Story,” was No. 1 on the best-seller list in Canada last year, and a paperback version has recently been released.

“I’ve got a lot more material that I left out,” he said. “When I wrote the first book, I wrote a book and a half. The book did really well in Calgary. It was one of my best cities. Ranchers and oil people know what’s going on.”

Williams, who lives in West Vancouver, Canada, during the off-season, is still adjusting to Los Angeles. He said he almost never goes out, preferring to stay home and play with his computer.

The Kings have performed a lot better on the road than at home this season, where they have a 2-10-2 record, worst in the league.

They are 5-7-2 on the road. In the first three games of their current five-game trip, they were 2-0-1 before losing to Calgary Tuesday.

Asked why the Kings play better in the Great White North, Williams said: “It’s a mystery to all of us. I think we’ll turn it around at home--we’ve got good fans in L.A. (But) we play a lot simpler on the road than we do at home. We want to entertain the fans at home instead of just going out and trying to win. And our power play has been brutal at home. That’s what’s hurt us.”

King Notes About 150 people attended the King practice at a local college rink Wednesday afternoon. When the Kings practice at home in Culver City, they’re lucky if 10 people show up. . . . King goalie Bob Janecyk, who has missed the last four games since suffering a groin injury last week against Edmonton in a game at the Forum, is healthy again. . . . Tonight’s game will be televised on the Prime Ticket cable network at 6:30 PST. . . . The Kings will play host to the Washington Capitals Saturday night at the Forum.