McNall Engineers Additions : NHL: Elated by entry of major U.S. corporations, he worked behind scenes to bring two new franchises to the league.

King owner Bruce McNall sounded giddy on the telephone from Florida, if that is possible at 2 a.m.

In one unprecedented day, the NHL brought two huge conglomerates into its hockey family on Thursday. The Walt Disney Co. landed an Orange County expansion franchise and Blockbuster Entertainment secured a South Florida entry, each paying $50 million for the privilege.

And McNall, chairman of the NHL’s Board of Governors and the recipient of $25 million in Disney money for the expansion team’s infringement in the Kings’ territory, was the consummatematchmaker. He went looking for the best available prospects, courted the parties and brought them to the altar--or the board room--at the governors’ meetings this week at Palm Beach, Fla.

“This is huge,” McNall said. “The magnitude--I don’t think most people in sports realize how big this is. Even me, I’m not sure I understand.

“Disney and Blockbuster have made a commitment to hockey. You have two of the greatest companies in American history involved in hockey. We have their clout, their marketing abilities and their creativity.”

McNall couldn’t stop repeating himself.

“It’s huge,” he said again.

His courtship of Disney had been ongoing, accelerating when McNall was named the NHL’s chairman in June. Disney Chairman Michael D. Eisner and McNall have been friends for a long time, predating McNall’s ownership of the Kings.

They met through the movie business. McNall’s original movie company was Sherwood Entertainment (“WarGames”) and then Gladden Entertainment (“Fabulous Baker Boys”). McNall said that he never did any distribution deals with Eisner when Eisner was at Disney, or at Paramount before that.

“We have a lot of close, mutual friends,” McNall said. “They have their own seats at the Forum. Disney has a lot of seats there. They’ve always been very supportive.

“He (Eisner) is a big hockey fan. With the new arena (in Anaheim) going up, we started talking at some length. The interest went up and down because they had a lot going on. They went up and down in their interest.”

A little more than a week ago, McNall believed it might not happen, dismissing the idea of Disney getting involved in hockey when asked about it by a Times reporter. Now, McNall claims he knew it was a certainty only three or four days ago.

“One of the issues was getting a lease,” he said. “I don’t know how they felt about going ahead without having a lease. Then they made the conclusion that they’d get the lease or explore other options.

“I said to him (Eisner), ‘Great. Send me a letter, so it’s official.’ It was sent to (NHL President) Gil Stein, who basically put the issue on the table.”

After Stein had received the letter, McNall called Eisner on Wednesday.

“I said, ‘You better get over here to Florida as quick as you can,’ ” McNall said. “It wasn’t easy for him or Wayne (Huizenga of Blockbuster) to get there. They both flew in, and I think that showed commitment.”

Huizenga’s close friend, Marlin President Carl Barger, collapsed and died Wednesday at baseball’s winter meetings in Louisville, Ky. Huizenga is the owner of the Marlins and became a major investor in Blockbuster in 1987. The company has grown from 19 outlets to more than 3,000.

Those close to the situation said that it was easier to get a quick commitment from Huizenga than Eisner because of Disney’s size. Both Blockbuster and Disney are publicly held companies. Huizenga owns about 8% of Blockbuster.

Miami was a natural location for an expansion team. Two years ago, several owners were extremely disappointed when the previous group representing Miami balked at meeting the league’s payment schedule.

That problem disappeared when Disney and Blockbuster entered the negotiations. There is widespread sentiment that the new association with the two companies will reflect favorably on existing NHL franchises.

Said McNall: “I really think the value of all of our franchises has increased because of this.”