Ducks Wish They Were Like Kings

By HELENE ELLIOTT

Oct. 22, 1996 12 AM PT

Not long ago, the Kings were a glamorous team and the Mighty Ducks were a bunch of pluggers who clawed and scratched and did all the dirty work it took to be competitive.

This season, their roles are reversed. The Kings, who traded Wayne Gretzky and all their high-profile players as they rebuild, are the no-name scrappers--and have been surprisingly entertaining. The Ducks, expected to ride the shoulders of wingers Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya to a playoff berth, have been a flop.

Duck executives overestimated players’ talent and underestimated fans’ patience, and Disney’s sideshows haven’t kept fans from noticing the team’s poor work ethic and inept defense.

Kariya’s absence because of an abdominal injury doesn’t explain the Ducks’ repetition of basic defensive mistakes. Jari Kurri was the last man back countless times in the last two games because the defensemen were out of position. They don’t have a physical defenseman who can move forwards away from the net and as a team, they are losing the battles along the boards and in the corners.

The Kings’ respectable start doesn’t guarantee they will make the playoffs. Remember, they were 4-0-3 last season before dissolving into a sniveling mess. Nor are the Ducks out of the running. But if the local teams continue in their current roles, the playoff race may be interesting for reasons few observers anticipated.

A STELLAR START

When the Dallas Stars saw they had to play the last three Stanley Cup champions in the first 10 days of the season, they might have wondered if the NHL schedule maker had a grudge against them.

Then the Stars, who missed the playoffs last season, calmly went out and defeated Colorado, the 1996 Cup winner; the New York Rangers, the 1994 champions, and the New Jersey Devils, who won in 1995.

The Stars also won at Chicago, limited the Detroit Red Wings to one goal, held off the Washington Capitals and shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs. And they did all that after losing center Joe Nieuwendyk to a chest bruise in their opener and despite a power play that has converted only two of 31 chances.

In other words, their league-leading seven victories and 7-1-0 record are hard-earned and aren’t flukes.

The Stars have taken the defensive focus Bob Gainey preached before he gave the coaching job to Ken Hitchcock last season and blended it with the more open style Hitchcock prefers.

Several deals have made it work. Overstocked with muscular defensemen, they traded Kevin Hatcher for play-making defenseman Sergei Zubov. Gritty right wing Pat Verbeek, signed as a free agent, has been a leader emotionally and statistically--two goals, seven points. Even goalie Arturs Irbe, let go by San Jose after an awful season, is 2-0.

“The players we’ve added have made a big difference, and some of the players we added a while ago, like Greg Adams, are starting to make a difference,” said Doug Overton, Dallas’ pro scout. “Sergei Zubov has made a quick adjustment and he seems to be happy in Dallas. And some of the younger players, like Todd Harvey and Jamie Langenbrunner, are coming along.”

The catalyst has been Verbeek, who left the Rangers for a three-year, $9.3-million deal.

“I get excited watching him,” Overton said. “For example, against Chicago he got Chris Chelios off his game by whacking and hacking. He does so many things. He excites everybody on the bench.”

Hitchcock is making sure his team isn’t overconfident.

“We’re not making the big errors that we made last year, mistakes where we beat ourselves,” Hitchcock said. “But we can’t change what we’re doing defensively and we can’t fall in love with ourselves.”

THE SON ALSO RISES

When the Colorado Avalanche acquired left wing Eric Lacroix from the Kings for goalie Stephane Fiset and an exchange of first-round draft picks, there was plenty of snickering around the league because Lacroix’s father, Pierre, is the Avalanche’s general manager.

The last laugh belongs to the Lacroix family because Eric, who drove King Coach Larry Robinson to distraction last season by taking too many aggressive penalties, has calmed down and is thriving in Denver. Of course, it helps that he has played alongside Joe Sakic, but Eric acquitted himself well in scoring five goals and eight points in eight games.

Pere Pierre says he didn’t push for the deal and excused himself from voting on the transaction.

“Every trade we made, we always had a committee of five guys, plus myself, and if we were not unanimous, then we would not do the deal,” he said. “This deal was unanimous. . . . We felt we needed a big, in-the-face left winger and that’s why we got him.”

MELROSE’S PLACE?

Before the Buffalo Sabres defeated Pittsburgh and Washington in succession last week, whispers surfaced that former King coach Barry Melrose might replace Ted Nolan as coach--and get General Manager John Muckler’s job too.

Nolan and Muckler have been feuding over Muckler’s handling of the purse strings. Nolan is popular with the players, but upper-management types like Muckler because he has pared the payroll and increased their potential profits.

Their futures may hinge on whether John Rigas of Adelphia Communications, long rumored as a prospective buyer, purchases the club. That could clear the way for him to bring in Melrose, who is still collecting checks from the Kings while working as an ESPN analyst. Melrose is said to want both jobs and wouldn’t leave his cushy studio only to coach.

THE EYES OF TEXAS

Gavin and Joe Maloof, former owners of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, head a group that last week became the third to apply for an NHL expansion franchise in Houston. Current Rocket owner Les Alexander and Chuck Watson, owner of the city’s International Hockey League team, are also in line.

Expansion will be on the agenda at the NHL Board of Governors’ meeting in December. It’s likely that two franchises--and possibly four--will be awarded for admission in the next five years. The Maloofs, who know NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman from his NBA days, will present their case to the NHL Nov. 14.

“We’ve been talking with the league for a while and I’m optimistic about our possibilities,” Gavin Maloof said. “A new arena would have to be built with public and private funds, but I think that can happen. Houston is a good hockey city and there’s definitely a market for the NHL there.”

SLAP SHOTS

The animosity that developed between Chicago Blackhawk General Manager Bob Pulford and agent Ron Salcer during Alexei Zhamnov’s holdout is a bad omen for Blackhawk fans. Salcer also represents goalie Ed Belfour, who is in his option year and has twice held out. Belfour can become an unrestricted free agent after the season and the Blackhawks can’t afford to lose him.

Center Neal Broten, the last member of the gold-medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic team in the NHL, was assigned to Albany of the American Hockey League by the New Jersey Devils. Devil Coach Jacques Lemaire may soon be assigned to the unemployment heap, with players grumbling after a 2-3-1 start. Assistant coach Robbie Ftorek would take over. . . . Frustration among the 1-5 Toronto Maple Leafs erupted in shouting between Mats Sundin and Kirk Muller during practice last week.

After signing Steve Yzerman to a four-year, $4.5-million deal, the Red Wings will talk to Sergei Fedorov, who’s in his option year. . . . Ottawa will be hard-pressed to compensate for losing defensemen Stan Neckar and Sean Hill to serious knee injuries last Friday. . . . Holdout center Bryan Smolinski, a restricted free agent, has asked the Pittsburgh Penguins to trade him. . . . Defenseman Michel Petit, whose salary demands were refused by Tampa Bay, signed with Edmonton. The Oilers are his eighth NHL team.

The Washington Capitals (1-5) lost defenseman Sylvain Cote for at least six weeks when he injured his right knee Saturday. . . . Ranger left wing Luc Robitaille is playing despite a cut in his right leg that took 12 staples to close.

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Family Ties

The father-son combination of Colorado’s Pierre (general manager) and Eric Lacroix (player) is nothing new to the NHL. The league has had several father-son combinations--and a few three-generation links. Here are some NHL father-son connections over the years, with the teams listed only for sons currently playing in the NHL:

First generation: Lester Patrick

Second generation: Lynn and Muzz Patrick

Third generation: Craig Patrick (son of Lynn) GM of Pittsburgh Penguins and Richard Patrick (son of Muzz), president of Washington Capitals

First generation: Bryan Hextall, Sr.

Second generation: Bryan Hextall, Jr.

Third generation: Ron Hextall, goalie, Philadelphia Flyers

First generation: Gordie Howe

Second generation: Mark and Marty Howe

First generation: Bernie Geoffrion

Second generation: Danny Geoffrion

First generation: Bobby Hull

Second generation: Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues winger