Ducks, Seeking Spark, Get Bellows in a Trade

The Mighty Ducks finally made a deal Monday--even if it wasn’t a blockbuster--acquiring former 50-goal scorer Brian Bellows from Tampa Bay for a sixth-round draft pick in 1997.

Bellows, 32, scored 23 goals and 49 points last season but had only eight goals during the lockout-shortened 1995 season.

Hampered by back spasms, he has played only seven games this season, scoring one goal and two assists. He has been healthy 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 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, a teammate of Duck Coach Ron Wilson on the Minnesota North Stars during the mid-1980s, 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 reporting out of shape.

“He’s anxious to come and play,” said Anaheim General Manager Jack Ferreira, who was GM of the North Stars when Bellows scored 55 goals during the 1989-90 season.

Even at this stage of his career, he would probably command more than a sixth-round pick if he weren’t eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. 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 per game.

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

The Ducks’ 4-13-3 record is the worst after 20 games in the franchise’s four-year history, but this is the first trade since shortly before the season, when defenseman Jason York and forward Shaun Van Allen were sent to Ottawa for forward Ted Drury and defensive prospect Marc Moro.

“I’ve had a lot of tentacles out there for a month. This is one that happened,” Ferreira said.

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.