Sandstrom Ready to Become a Featured Distraction

Tomas Sandstrom will annoy, distract and generally tick off goaltenders around the NHL this season. Guaranteed.

There are few things worse than seeing Sandstrom take his post near the post. A few bumps, a couple shoves, maybe an inadvertent slash or two, can make a guy a little jumpy in the crease.

“He’s really just a pest,” Ducks goalie Guy Hebert said. “He tries to make your life miserable when he’s in front of the net.

“He gets in your way and sometimes physically bumps you. He’ll knock you off your game. And just when you think he’s out of the play, he has that long reach and redirects a shot from the point. He has a bag full of tricks.”

Which, of course, makes Sandstrom no treat.

That’s no longer a problem for Hebert. The Ducks took care of that by signing Sandstrom to a two-year contract during the summer. Of course, it wasn’t done merely to make Hebert sleep a little better.

“We needed his size, his speed, his experience,” General Manager Jack Ferreira said. “We needed more scoring and he can do that on our second line.”

And his on-ice demeanor?

“That’s part of his experience,” Ferreira said.

An experience few cherish.

New Duck Coach Pierre Page has talked much about “grit” during training camp. Well, Sandstrom is like sandpaper.

“He has always rubbed people the wrong way because he’s always in the action,” Page said. “He’s an in-your-face player. That’s his reputation. He’s always in traffic, fighting for every inch he thinks is his.”

Page, who coached Calgary last season, might not realize that the Ducks have witnessed this first hand.

It was a Sandstrom pass from behind the net that set up Sergei Fedorov’s tying goal with 11 minutes left in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal last May. The Red Wings won in overtime, 2-1, and swept the series.

Of course, Sandstrom is more remembered for knocking Duck defenseman, and tough guy, David Karpa out of action in that game. They were involved in a scuffle in front of the net, which resulted in a torn pectoral muscle for Karpa.

“That’s all forgotten,” Karpa said. “He just kind of pushed me and I fell on my shoulder. We even joke about it. I told him I was going to be looking for him in camp.

“Actually, after Game 4, I ran into him and [Red Wing defenseman] Nicklas Lidstrom at a restaurant. We had cocktails and talked. We’re fine.”

Amazing how wearing the same jersey can heal old, or even recent, wounds.

“Hockey’s like that,” Hebert said. “David and Warren Rychel used to fight every time we played the Kings. Now they’re inseparable. We don’t hold a grudge against Tomas.”

Still . . .

“I did slash his stick in practice the other day,” Hebert said. “I told him I thought I saw that big Red Wing on his jersey.”

That the Ducks were able to pry Sandstrom away from Detroit wasn’t a surprise. He has scored 81 points in 135 playoff games, but didn’t have a particularly strong playoff run last season. Detroit General Manager Scotty Bowman was looking for a little extra cash to offer Fedorov, so it was cheaper not to keep Sandstrom, who made $1.4 million a year ago.

Sandstrom went shopping and took an immediate liking to the Ducks.

“It was a good fit,” Sandstrom said. “I wanted to come to a team where I could play a lot. I need a lot of ice time to be good. I also knew a lot of the guys here.”

Some, you might say, he has been in contact with quite a bit over the years.

“It’s part of the game,” Sandstrom said. “You scrap here and there.

“You have to be active. Look at how the goals are scored now, a lot are on rebounds. If you want to get rebound goals, you have to get in front of the net and whack at anything that moves.”

The Ducks will give him carte blanche to do just that, because they needed to beef up their offense. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound Sandstrom will do that.

Sandstrom had big years with the New York Rangers and Kings, including a 45-goal, 89-point season for the Kings in 1990-91. His numbers have dropped in recent years, partly because of injuries, but he scored 25 goals for the Pittsburgh Penguins two seasons ago.

The Ducks hope Sandstrom will make their second line more formidable. They made a similar move last season, signing veteran Jari Kurri. But Kurri scored 13 goals in the regular season and vanished during the playoffs.

Sandstrom, 33, is three years younger than Kurri, and bigger. Sandstrom had 18 goals and 42 points for Pittsburgh and Detroit last season. He also got to take the Stanley Cup home for a few days.

“When you get a veteran like Tomas, it sets a real good example for the young players,” Page said. “A lot of young players forget that there is a big difference between playing in the NHL and winning in the NHL. This is veteran who has learned to win.”

And scrap.

“He’s a tenacious guy,” Page said

Sandstrom has been just that since he joined the league in 1984-85, after playing three seasons in Sweden. He scored 29 goals to lead the Rangers as a rookie. He was one of the few European players who arrived ready for the NHL’s physical style. It didn’t win a lot of friends on other teams.

In 1987, he was knocked unconscious by a cross-check from Philadelphia’s Dave Brown. He missed 12 games in 1991-92 after a slash by Toronto’s Doug Gilmour broke his arm--an incident that made the Kings and Maple Leafs series in the conference final later that year rather intense.

“Those things happen,” Sandstrom said. “You go out, take a hit and make a play.”

Most times, though, Sandstrom gives the hit and makes the play.

“If he gets into a battle with a defenseman, especially a guy like David Karpa, all that commotion makes it tough to see the puck,” Hebert said.

“On the ice, he’s just not a very friendly guy. If you’re on his team, it’s a little different. He’s annoying out there, but he’ll be annoying for us.”

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The Sandstrom File

* Position: Right Wing (shoots left).

* Height and Weight: 6-2, 207.

* Born: Sept. 4, 1964, in Jakobstad, Finland.

* How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Aug. 1, 1997.

* 1996-97 highlights: Scored nine goals and had 18 points in 34 games for Detroit’s Stanley Cup champions after being acquired in a midseason trade with Pittsburgh. . . Had nine goals and 24 points in 40 games for the Penguins. . . . Had only four points in 20 playoff games for the Red Wings, but set up a goal by Sergei Fedorov that sent the first game of the conference semifinals against the Mighty Ducks into overtime.

* Career highlights: Veteran of 13 years in the NHL, including three full seasons and part of two others with the Kings. . . . Has 370 goals, including 45 with the Kings in 1990-91 and 40 with the New York Rangers in 1986-87. . . . Played in 1988 and 1991 All-Star games. . . . Had four goals to help Team Sweden to the gold medal in the 1987 World Championships. . . . Has played in 135 playoff games, scoring 81 points.

* Personal: Born in Finland, but moved to Sweden as a youngster. . . . He and Helene, his wife, have two sons: Kevin, 4, and Christopher, 2.