Dionne Returns to Forum as a Ranger Tonight

For at least two seasons after Marcel Dionne left Detroit to sign as a free agent with the Kings more than 12 years ago, Red Wing fans reminded him of it.

“They booed me every time I touched the puck,” Dionne said Friday. “Even when they announced my name.

“It was incredible.”

The former King center, traded last March to the New York Rangers, expects a much warmer reception tonight when he makes his first appearance at the Forum as a member of the opposition since March 13, 1975.

The greeting on a Century Boulevard billboard probably sums up best the feelings of this town’s hockey fans toward Dionne, who scored a club-record 550 of his 702 goals in almost 12 seasons with the Kings.

In letters of blue and red, the Rangers’ colors, it reads:

“Welcome Home

“Marcel Dionne

“ ‘Thanks for the Memories’

“Brian Kennedy”

Dionne said of Kennedy, a longtime friend: “He owns the billboard.”

Dionne, who needs one assist tonight to join Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky as the only players in National Hockey League history with 1,000 or more assists, has spoken with several old friends since the Rangers arrived Thursday.

“I’ve tried to call as many people as I could,” he said. “The toughest thing (about returning) is not to play, it’s to see all the people. They forget I’ve got to go out there and work.”

Despite the distractions, Dionne said tonight’s game would be special. His wife, Carol, also made the trip.

“She and a lot of my friends will be there, and it will mean a lot to them,” Dionne said. “And it will mean a lot to me, too.”

The most unusual thing about his first trip to Los Angeles as a Ranger, Dionne said, was swimming Friday in the hotel pool. Although the house he owned in Palos Verdes had a pool, he said he never had time to use it during the season.

Dionne said he does not want to dwell on the past.

“Really,” he said, “life goes on. I’ve seen guys who never bounced back (from trades). They leave and you never hear from them again. I don’t want to be like that.

“It was great here, and the people here were very supportive. But the day I left, it was over.”