Ducks, Seeking Spark, Get Bellows in a Trade

The Mighty Ducks made a deal Monday, acquiring former 50-goal scorer Brian Bellows from Tampa Bay for a sixth-round draft pick in 1997.

Bellows, 32, scored 23 goals last season, but had only eight goals during the lockout-shortened 1995 season. He also is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

Hampered by back spasms, Bellows has played only seven games this season, scoring one goal and two assists. He has been injury-free the last two games but wasn’t in the lineup because such youngsters as Daymond Langkow and Brent Peterson played ahead of him.

“It really comes down to [front-office executives Phil and Tony Esposito] wanting me in the lineup but [Coach Terry Crisp] didn’t want to play me,” Bellows said.

As for his back, Bellows said, “I’m still a little sore, but it was just strained back muscles, nothing with disks or alignment. It will take me a couple of games to get in top shape. I haven’t played in 10 games.”

Bellows has scored 40 goals four times during his 15 NHL seasons, including the 1992-93 season when he played for the Montreal team that beat the Kings in the Stanley Cup finals. His poor 1995 season, he said, was due to his concern for his terminally ill father and pregnant wife, and to his being out of shape.

Bellows will make $1 million this season, but Montreal is paying $500,000. The Ducks hope Bellows’ ability--and desire to win another contract--will bolster their offense, which has struggled without Paul Kariya and is averaging only 2.7 goals a game.

“He can score goals, he’s a hard worker, he gets loose pucks, he goes to the front of the net,” General Manager Jack Ferreira said. “Right now, we need that type of spark.”

The Ducks’ 4-13-3 record is the worst after 20 games in franchise history, but this is the first trade since shortly before the season.

Notes

Paul Kariya, recovering from a concussion after he was elbowed in the head by Toronto’s Mathieu Schneider last week, skated on his own Monday and will practice with the team today. He’ll be examined by team physician Craig Milhouse and could be cleared to play in Wednesday’s game against the Islanders at the Pond.

Staff writer Elliott Teaford contributed to this story.

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NHL

BRIAN BELLOWS’ CAREER

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Year Team GP G A Pts 1982-83 Minn. 78 35 30 65 1983-84 Minn. 78 41 42 83 1984-85 Minn. 78 26 36 62 1985-86 Minn. 77 31 48 79 1986-87 Minn. 65 26 27 53 1987-88 Minn. 77 40 41 81 1988-89 Minn. 60 23 27 50 1989-90 Minn. 80 55 44 99 1990-91 Minn. 80 35 40 75 1991-92 Minn. 80 30 45 75 1992-93 Mon. 82 40 48 88 1993-94 Mon. 77 33 38 71 1994-95 Mon. 41 8 8 16 1995-96 TB 79 23 26 49 1996-97 TB 7 1 2 3 Totals 1,039 447 502 949

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