Gretzky Gets Wish, Picks Up Off-Ice Assist : Kings: The star player says he recommended McMaster for general manager position.

Sam McMaster knew talent when he saw it in a skinny, 13-year-old kid who wanted to play top-level junior hockey but was not allowed to mix with the big boys because he was too young.

So he took the youngster to Toronto and played surrogate father as he launched the kid’s career. That kid grew up to be Wayne Gretzky, who last week repaid the favor by recommending that the Kings hire McMaster as their general manager.

Gretzky, who has always denied influencing personnel and policy decisions, acknowledged he played a key role in McMaster’s appointment. He was willing to risk criticism, he said, because he believes in McMaster’s ability to judge talent.

“I told him the other day, ‘I’m probably going to be on the hot seat more than you are,’ but I don’t mind,” Gretzky said Tuesday at a news conference announcing McMaster’s appointment. “I’m very confident we’re going to win and that’s what people want to see, a successful team. . . .

“I don’t want to be GM. I don’t want to be the one making trades. But I feel comfortable (backing McMaster). Believe me, I want to win, and I believe he’s very capable of doing that.”

McMaster, 50, joins a new management lineup of co-owner Joseph Cohen as chairman of the board, Bruce McNall--now a minority owner--as president and governor, and former adviser Rogie Vachon as assistant to the president. Jeffrey Sudikoff, Cohen’s partner in the $60-million deal that bought them a 72% interest in the Kings, will be on the board of directors.

McNall, the Kings’ sole owner and board chairman before the sale, said he will run the hockey operations with Cohen and Vachon. However, his legal entanglements are likely to curtail the time he can devote to hockey.

In a hearing with creditors on Monday, McNall confirmed that his base salary will be $650,000. He also confirmed he might earn an additional bonus of about $1 million, based on the Kings’ performances financially and on the ice.

McMaster, whose managerial experience consists of 13 years with four junior hockey clubs in Ontario, left open the possibility of a coaching change. However, he said he respects and wants to retain Barry Melrose.

Melrose, who is working as a studio analyst on ESPN’s playoff telecasts, was not at Tuesday’s Forum news conference. McMaster said he planned to speak with Melrose at length and meet with him, perhaps next week.

Otherwise, proclamations of harmony were the order of the day. So were they two years ago, when Nick Beverley was promoted to general manager. Beverley was fired last week after a season of squabbling among team executives and frustration on the ice.

McMaster, who has a two-year contract, declined to comment on the discord between Beverley and Melrose. Gretzky, sitting at the dais as McMaster spoke, laughed when McMaster was asked if he intends to acquire bigger players, a request Melrose claimed Beverley would not grant.

“On any team, you’ve got five players who have skills, five who’ve got roles and 10 who’ve got to grind,” McMaster said. “I have no trouble with that type of hockey club.”

As he sees it, the team’s biggest need, besides a young defenseman and depth in the minor leagues, is “getting back into a winning mode.”

In a separate development, McNall and his lawyers have, for the first time, raised the possibility that he might seek bankruptcy protection to reorganize his finances. He acknowledged he might enter Chapter 11 proceedings in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court document filed late Monday as part of an effort to thwart three lenders who are seeking to have a court-appointed trustee appointed to seize control of his assets.

McNall is instead urging a judge to appoint an examiner with expanded powers to oversee his case. McNall’s lawyers said if an examiner were appointed, McNall would agree to Chapter 11 proceedings.

Times staff writer James Bates contributed to this story.