Players Visit McNall in Prison

Bruce McNall’s fraudulent financial dealings resulted in monetary damages and suffering to many others and a 70-month prison term for McNall.

But despite it all, the former Kings owner remains on good terms with some of the biggest names among his former players.

On the Kings’ last trip Detroit, Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake, both of whom played for McNall, visited him at the correctional institution in Milan, Mich., where McNall is awaiting an early release next month.

Former King superstar Wayne Gretzky is also a frequent visitor, according to Robitaille.

“He’s a good man,” Robitaille said of McNall, “who knows he made some mistakes. He always treated us great as players.

“When [St. Louis defenseman] Al MacInnis knew that I was going to see Bruce, he told me to be sure and say hello because Al knows that Bruce had so much to do with the way we are as a league today. I remember when he first got us a plane, everybody complained. Now all teams have charter flights.”

And what will McNall do when upon his release?

“He wants to spend time with his kids,” Robitaille said. “When he owned the Kings, he had everything, but he never spent any quality time with his kids.

“He wants to write a book to tell his side of the story and he may take some speaking engagements.”

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It appears unlikely that a trade for Blake is imminent despite all the rumors. King General Manager Dave Taylor departed for Calgary today and was then scheduled to go Europe on a scouting trip that will last close to a week.