Proposed King-Leaf Division Switch Is Rejected

A proposal by the Kings to switch divisions with the Toronto Maple Leafs was rejected Tuesday by the National Hockey League’s board of governors.

The Kings, the only United States’ team in the Smythe Division, requested the transfer to alleviate travel and customs problems they say they run into each time they fly to Canada to play division rivals Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. Toronto is the only Canadian team in the Norris Division, which also includes Detroit, St. Louis, Minnesota and Chicago.

The Kings did not get the two-thirds vote necessary for the switch--league President John Ziegler would not reveal the vote margin--nor the sympathy of Toronto owner Harold Ballard.

“Why do you want a hockey team in Los Angeles for, anyway?” Ballard said.

“That’s their baby,” he said of the Kings’ travel problems. “They got in the jackpot, and let them get out of it themselves without my help.”

Ballard said the main reason Toronto voted against the proposal was that the later starting times for games in the West would disrupt the Leafs’ television coverage “and that means a hell of a lot of money.”

Jerry Buss, owner of the Kings, said a transfer with any team from any division would help his team’s predicament.

“We really don’t care who switched,” Buss said. “We suggested the Maple Leafs because being a Canadian team, they would (not) go through customs, and there are also direct flights from Toronto to Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.”

Under the current NHL format, teams play division rivals eight times a year and all other teams three times each. “The problem is in Los Angeles, there are no direct flights to either Winnipeg or Edmonton,” Buss said.

He said that when the Kings fly to Winnipeg, travel time sometimes amounts to eight hours because of flight connections.