Bellows Has What Ducks Lack

You can almost imagine the checklist Mighty Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira had in front of him as he spoke to the Tampa Bay Lightning about making a deal earlier this week.

Desperately seeking one highly skilled veteran.

Good hands.

Good shot.

Good track record.

Lots of experience.

Yes, left wing Brian Bellows fit the bill on all counts.

Was he the best the Ducks could get? Apparently, yes.

Plus, they only had to give up a sixth-round pick in next year’s draft to land Bellows on Monday.

If one game is any indication, Bellows will probably make the Ducks a better team. He was active in front of the net during Wednesday’s 2-2 tie against the New York Islanders. He pounced on loose pucks behind the net and in the corners. His shot was sound. His positioning perfect.

There’s more than a touch of gray at Bellows’ temples these days. But the Ducks say that’s OK. They needed to get older, wiser, more mature, too.

Bellows, a 14-year veteran, has played for four NHL teams, scored 446 goals, recorded 502 assists and played in 1,040 games.

Heck, he played with Duck Coach Ron Wilson with the Minnesota North Stars in the 1980s.

“I couldn’t believe how strong he was on the puck,” Wilson said when asked to recall his first impressions of Bellows.

“He was not a great stickhandler. He played very basic, straight-ahead hockey. He was very strong, very solid on his feet.”

Wilson said nothing has changed. Bellows, 32, is still the same player he was when he broke into the league in 1982-83.

“He has unbelievable hands,” winger Teemu Selanne said. “He’s going to score a lot of goals.”

Bellows went without a point in his Duck debut Wednesday but certainly didn’t lack for scoring chances.

Sometimes that’s almost as important as putting the puck into the net. Duck history is rife with periods of lackluster offense, when the puck seems to move in never-ending circles without ever going near the opposing net.

Bellows’ game is not rooted in finesse. He seldom looks for an opening. More often, he creates openings by charging toward the net.

“This team has some great players who can score the fancy goals,” Bellows said. “Maybe they needed somebody to score the ugly goals.”

It wouldn’t hurt.

Besides, Bellows has proved to be an accomplished garbage man at the front of the net. If there’s a loose puck nearby, Bellows can be counted on to direct it on goal.

After all, he had 55 goals for the North Stars in 1989-90. He was a 40-goal scorer as recently as 1992-93. Last season, he had 23 goals and 26 assists.

Now on the downside of his career, Bellows says he can still be effective.

The Lightning, apparently believing otherwise, played him in only seven games this season.

Last season, Bellows played primarily on a potent line with Chris Gratton and Jason Wiemer.

“This year we played only five periods together--that was it,” Bellows said. “It was almost like it was predetermined I wouldn’t play before the season even started.”

Bellows said he was never told why, but he was rarely in the lineup.

“He’s not a communicative guy,” Bellows said of Lightning Coach Terry Crisp. “It’s not like we ever sat down and went at each other or yelled at each other. It was nothing like that. We’d joke around, then game time would come and I wouldn’t play.”

Fed up, Bellows asked General Manager Phil Esposito to trade him.

A few days later, the Ducks came calling. Former North Star General Manager Lou Nanne helped broker the deal between Esposito and Ferreira, another ex-North Star GM.

So far, the Ducks couldn’t be happier.

Bellows also liked what he saw Wednesday, but knows time is short if the Ducks are to become consistent winners.

“It’s going to take awhile to see how we play,” he said. “The main thing is we have to start winning.”