NHL Expels Quinn on Conflict-of-Interest Charges : Kings’ Coach Is Reported to Be Under a Contract With Canucks for Next Season

Coach Pat Quinn of the Kings was expelled from the National Hockey League Friday, pending investigation of reports that he has signed a contract and accepted money to become general manager of the Vancouver Canucks next season.

The ruling by John Ziegler, the NHL president, ended a day and a half of speculation that had swirled around Quinn and the team.

Quinn, under contract to the Kings through this season, after which his three-year agreement expires, is the first coach to be expelled by the NHL.

“I’ve seen (Ziegler’s) release and I certainly don’t agree with the president’s decision,” Quinn said Friday night. “I’m looking forward to presenting my side. I’m confident that with all the facts forthcoming that I’ll be exonerated of any wrongful conduct. I’m sure there’s going to be some significant things to come out.”

Quinn said he had “representatives” consulting with him on the matter, and he would not say whether he had signed a contract with Vancouver or accepted any money.

The Kings were silent most of Friday, then released a brief statement from General Manager Rogie Vachon that read: “We would like to be informative, however since this matter is under investigation, we are obliged to make no comment. As for a replacement, when the head coach is not able to fulfill his responsibilities, the assistant coach takes over. Mike Murphy will take over and continue until this matter is resolved.”

Murphy’s first game as coach will be tonight, when the Kings play the Buffalo Sabres at the Forum.

Vachon appeared stunned Friday night, as did most of the Kings’ staff. They had been behind closed doors most of the day, and when Vachon emerged, he hastily knotted a borrowed tie, read the brief statement and said that because of legal aspects, he was unable to answer further questions.

It had been a bizarre and frenzied affair that began Thursday afternoon when Vachon said he received a phone call from a Vancouver reporter who was pursuing the story. The Kings were in Calgary for a game Thursday night.

“He (the reporter) called me during the day, and that was the first I heard of it,” Vachon said.

Bob Steiner, a spokesman for owner Jerry Buss of the Kings, said that he, Vachon, Buss and Ken Doi, executive vice president of California Sports, the group that controls the Kings, met all day Thursday and into the night.

Meanwhile, Quinn, after being approached by reporters in Calgary after the Kings’ 5-4 loss to the Flames Thursday night, had said: “I have a contractual and moral obligation to the management and players of the Los Angeles Kings. The future is something I cannot comment on.”

Quinn said he had spoken with a Vancouver reporter Thursday afternoon but would not say if he had spoken with anyone in Canuck management. Quinn and Vachon had a discussion three weeks ago regarding Quinn’s contract, and Vachon made it clear at the time that he wanted Quinn to stay.

On the plane home Friday morning from Calgary, many of the King players were reading reports in Canadian newspapers that Quinn might leave. Quinn rode with the team to an optional practice in Culver City at noon Friday, then left the practice shortly after discussing aspects of the Buffalo game with assistants Murphy and Phil Myre.

“Pat met with Dr. Buss Friday afternoon, and together they talked to Ziegler on the phone,” Steiner said.

It is not clear if the Kings alerted the NHL to the situation or if there was another source.

Nevertheless, the league released a lengthy statement late Friday afternoon.

Regarding the conflict of interest, the statement said: “ . . . There is a bigger and more important issue presented by these facts, Mr. Quinn is directly responsible for the preparation and conduct of the Los Angeles Kings NHL game competition.

“Despite these responsibilities, he has committed himself to assume the responsibilities of a general manager for a competing team in this league, has accepted money therefrom and yet has continued to attempt to discharge his responsibilities for the Los Angeles Kings.”

Ziegler, in the statement, said Quinn “is expelled from the National Hockey League and may not be employed by any member club of the league or involved in any further activities on behalf of the league or its member clubs. This expulsion shall continue during the period of a complete investigation which has been commenced by this office.”

Without making mention of the origin of the charges, Ziegler said there was “no evidence that Mr. Quinn has done anything other than to do his best to make sure that the Los Angeles Kings win every game they play.”

Ziegler added: “There is no doubt that Mr. Quinn honestly believes that this conflict will not handicap him in faithfully performing his duties to the Los Angeles Kings.

“However, there is a much greater responsibility that must be recognized in these circumstances. Competitive sports, and in particular, professional sports, have the highest obligation of trust to each and every one of its patrons to assure the absolute integrity of the competition. This is the heart and soul of the business.

“This trust must be jealously guarded and protected at all times. This trust obligation includes not only guarding against actual threats to the integrity of the game but equally important, making sure that the perception of the integrity is not tainted in any fashion.”

So far, the charges are just that--charges. Ziegler offered no evidence that a contract had been signed or that Quinn had accepted money from the Canucks.

“My heart goes out to Patty, I know he’s hurting,” Murphy said. “I feel that Pat is one of the most honest people I’ve ever met in my life. I’m not passing judgment until I hear from both sides.”

Team captain Dave Taylor was likewise stunned by the news. No players, with the exception of Taylor, who got a call from Vachon, were told anything officially about the situation Friday. The team will meet with Vachon and Buss today.

“It’s really caught everybody by surprise,” Taylor said. “We are not going to pass judgment until we get all the facts. I hope we can keep our coach.”

Taylor said the team will approach tonight’s game as if Quinn were sick but would return. The length of Quinn’s absence depends on how swift the league’s investigation will be.

In Vancouver Friday, no club officials were available for comment, and a spokesman said only, “We do not comment on speculation.”

Quinn, 43, is close to earning a law degree from the University of San Diego and said recently that he had been considering his future, both in hockey and out. He admitted Thursday night that he aspires to become a general manager.

“That’s been part of my goal, to move up the ladder and echelon of hockey,” he said. “Someday, that may happen.”

Vancouver is a struggling franchise with a 12-25-4 record, the second-worst in the NHL, and with an average attendance of about 8,500. Last season, the Canucks ranked 20th in attendance, ahead of only the Kings.

It has been known that Vancouver is looking to make a change. In May 1985, the Canucks fired their coach-general manager, Harry Neale, and announced a wide-ranging talent search for what they called a “Super Boss,” someone to bring renewed credibility to the franchise. After every name on Vancouver’s list had turned them down, the Canucks promoted Jack Gordon, the assistant general manager, to the position of general manager and director of hockey operations. Tom Watt was named head coach and assistant general manager.

According to Canuck spokesman Glen Ringdal, Watt’s contract expires June 1, 1988. “He’s in a solid position,” Ringdal said.

Gordon, who is 58, has a contract that extends through the end of next season. He has said he will retire when the contract is up.

Speculation about the general manager’s position surfaced a few weeks ago when Arthur R. Griffiths, assistant to the Canuck chairman, spoke on a Vancouver radio show and said, according to Ringdal: “We anticipate some activity in the management level in the not-too distant future.”

This was interpreted by the Vancouver media as an ominous sign for Gordon. “Jack Gordon is at a stage where he’s a year and a half away from retirement,” Ringdal said. “It’s important to have a hockey man in here to replace him.”

What the Canucks are looking for is a vigorous hockey man. One local sportswriter characterized the low-profile Gordon as “a fuddy-duddy. He’s not very dynamic--he’s more of a caretaker GM.”

Quinn played 133 games on defense for the expansion Canucks in the early 1970s. He later became coach in Philadelphia and directed the Flyers into the 1980 Stanley Cup final against the New York Islanders.

Quinn was named NHL Coach of the Year for the 1979-80 season, when the Flyers set a league record by going 35 consecutive games without a defeat.