Kings Take Their First Step Toward Harmony : Gretzky Is Absent, but Other Players Applaud Webster’s Coaching Philosophy

As Tom Webster, new coach of the Kings, outlined his coaching philosophies at a news conference Wednesday at the Forum, a row of players who had been drawn to the meeting sat up and took notice.

They liked the part about how he treats his veteran players.

“You have to be open-minded enough as a coach to listen to your players,” Webster said. “If you don’t, you’ll miss the boat. To quote Gordie Howe, that’s why we were given two ears and one mouth.”

Howe, he said, was his idol. He likened Wayne Gretzky to Howe and acknowledged that sometimes star players require special handling.

So already he’s a couple of steps ahead of Robbie Ftorek, who started last season by insisting that Gretzky was merely one piece of the puzzle and who never did settle into a comfortable relationship with the players.

Ftorek was fired after leading the Kings to a fourth-place finish overall in the National Hockey League. But he wasn’t fired because of the Kings’ record of 41-32-7. He was fired because of the tension in the dressing room, the lack of harmony and the lack of support from his players.

Owner Bruce McNall wanted a happier environment. He wanted everyone to get along. He especially wanted Wayne Gretzky to be happy.

Gretzky did not show up at the Forum on Wednesday but Bernie Nicholls, Dave Taylor, Mike Krushelnyski, Tim Watters, Marty McSorley and Steve Duchesne all came to meet the new coach. The consensus was that Webster seemed to be a coach they could work with.

In introducing Webster, General Manager Rogie Vachon said: “I did interview a lot of candidates. But in my mind, I kept coming back to Tom.”

Vachon might have had Webster in mind all along. That would explain why Cap Raeder, an assistant who was brought to the Kings by Ftorek, was not fired along with Ftorek and assistant Bryan Maxwell. Raeder played with Webster in the World Hockey Assn. with the New England Whalers.

Webster’s only experience as a head coach was with the New York Rangers, where his only season, 1986-87, was cut short by a medical problem. An inner-ear infection, which eventually required surgery, kept him from flying. He resigned with a record of 5-7-2.

He had the operation last December, and the ear is no longer causing problems. He recently went to New York for a physical and a hearing test and, he joked, “I passed with flying colors.”

Webster, 40, has spent the last two seasons coaching Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League. Gretzky’s younger brother, Keith, was on his major junior team in Windsor.

“He’s had a lot of experience as a head coach, even though it wasn’t in the NHL,” McNall said. “When I say I want fresh blood, that’s because I’d rather have someone new than someone who has been fired five times. I figure anyone who keeps getting fired, there must be a reason.”

There were rumors last week that Phil Esposito, fired as coach and general manager of the New York Rangers, might be a candidate for the King job. No sooner were those rumors squelched and Webster hired than new rumors popped up that he would be coming to the Kings as an assistant to Vachon.

Said McNall: “I don’t know what (Esposito) is going to be doing, but I do know that he’s not coming here.”

The pressure to win, the pressure to keep some very excited new hockey fans excited in Los Angeles, promises to be great.

But, Webster said: “It is any worse than any other coaching job in the league? Coaching is a high-pressure job.”

Webster said of the Kings: “I thought the most exciting series in the whole Stanley Cup series was the Edmonton-Kings series. Everyone understands that this is an exciting team now. . . . Other teams used to come out here to play some hockey, pick up an easy two points and have a holiday. It’s not like that any more.”

Webster was drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1967. He played two seasons in the NHL, with the Detroit Red Wings in 1970-71 and the Oakland Seals in 1971-72, before joining the Whalers of the WHA for seven seasons. He ended his playing career with the Red Wings in 1979-80.

“This is my 26th move as a player and coach. . . . It’s part of the profession,” Webster said. “But I plan to be here for a while.”

Webster and his wife, Carol, have two children. Brent is a student of sports medicine at the University of Windsor and Stacy is 13.

Webster, who signed a multiyear contract, became the 16th coach in the Kings’ 22-year history. Upon hearing that, he cringed.

“Don’t worry about that,” Vachon told him. “As long as you don’t hear about a 17th coach, you’re all right.”