In the Box with John Kreiser

In the Box with John Kreiser
Kings Still Looking for Payoff in Gretzky Deal
By John Kreiser, Featured Columnist

It's been just over a year since Wayne Gretzky got his wish and was traded away by Los Angeles. The Kings are still looking for some return on the deal.
Gretzky's return to L.A. with the New York Rangers, with whom he signed last summer after playing out his option with St. Louis, drew a rare sellout crowd (the first this season on a weekday) last Thursday to the Formerly Fabulous Forum. Gretzky had a goal and an assist in an easy 6-2 victory after getting to spend a couple of days in his West Coast digs and treating his Ranger teammates to a barbecue.
The players the Kings got from St. Louis for Gretzky--Roman Vopat, Craig Johnson and Patrice Tardif--didn't even make the scoresheet. Vopat and Johnson are with the Kings, while Tardif has been loaned to Detroit of the IHL. The Kings also got a fifth-round pick last spring and a first-rounder in this June's Entry Draft.
It's obvious the Kings got younger and cheaper by getting rid of Gretzky. The question of whether they're better is another matter.
The Kings like Vopat's size, Johnson's speed and Tardif's scoring potential. But none of the three projects is an offensive force--Tardif is 26, an age at which players are almost never regarded as prospects--and it's hard to see any of them having a major role in the Kings' rebuilding plans. The real make-or-break part of the trade could come in Pittsburgh, where the Kings have their own No. 1, likely a lottery pick, as well as the Blues' first-round choice, which should be a middle-of-the-pack selection. L.A. is desperate for offense, putting the onus on GM Sam McMaster to come up with someone who can put the puck in the net.
Since Gretzky had said he was going to leave in the summer anyway, making some kind of a deal was absolutely the right thing for the Kings to do. With the team struggling, going for youth made sense. But unless that No. 1 pick from the Blues turns into a gem, it's hard to see the Kings' on-ice performance being markedly improved by the trade. The Blues, at least, got an extra round out of the playoffs and took Detroit into overtime of Game 7 in the second round before Gretzky left town. The few fans who bother to show up for Kings' games these days didn't even get that--all they have left are the memories of the most successful era in team history. The new arena the Kings should have had ready years ago, so Gretzky could have played there, might be ready by the turn of the century. Then again, it might not be.
Ironically, the Kings' top goal-scorer is the player the Rangers reportedly were willing to give up for Gretzky. Ray Ferraro was part of a package that went to L.A. for Jari Kurri and Marty McSorley last March after Gretzky was gone. He, Ian Laperriere and defenseman Mattias Norstrom are regulars with Los Angeles, while Kurri and McSorley barely stayed in New York long enough to unpack. If signing Gretzky was among Ranger GM Neil Smith's best moves (and it was, since all it cost was money that Gretzky has more than generated), the deal with the Kings was one of his worst.
BEAUTIFUL DREAMER: Speaking of deals ... the press box at the Nassau Coliseum last week looked like a scouting convention, with potential shoppers from a number of teams dropping by to watch the Islanders play Tampa Bay, Boston and New Jersey while looking for bargains. The most interesting rumor was triggered by the presence of Toronto assistant GM Nick Beverley: The Leafs reportedly are interested in getting back their No. 1 pick, the ones the Isles got last year in the Wendel Clark trade. But as Islanders coach Rick Bowness pointed out, what could the Leafs give up aside from Mats Sundin, who's by far their best player. Of the Leafs who could be leaving, Kirk Muller wouldn't go to Long Island two years ago, the Isles ditched Clark and names like Larry Murphy, Jamie Macoun and Tie Domi wouldn't appear to have much attraction for Isles GM Mike Murphy.
Todd Bertuzzi is also said to be on the Leafs' wish list, as well as that of several other clubs. But maybe the Isles should let his name come up in rumors more often: Bertuzzi was a dynamo last week with three goals (two of the highlight-film variety) and a willingness to hit and drive to the net that the Islanders hadn't seen from him all season.
HE SHOOTS, HE ...: Where have all the 50-goal scorers gone?
With Jaromir Jagr and his league-leading 45 goals not likely to return until the playoffs, Mario Lemieux and Philadelphia's John LeClair (44 goals each) appear to be the only locks for a 50-goal season. Just three other players, Detroit's Brendan Shanahan (42), Anaheim's Teemu Selanne (42) and Washington's Peter Bondra (40) have hit the 40-goal mark with less than five weeks remaining in the season. There were eight 50-goal men last season and 16 as recently as 1992-93. Not since 1977-78 has the NHL had fewer than four 50-goal scorers in a full (non-lockout) season; in '77-78, only Hall of Famers Guy Lafleur and Mike Bossy broke the 50-goal barrier.
In contrast, this week's NHL stats list seven goaltenders with save percentages of .921 or above, topped by Jeff Hackett's .931 mark. A decade ago, Ron Hextall (.902) was the only regular goaltender with a save percentage over .900; today, his .904 percentage barely puts him in the top 20, even though his goals-against average (2.41) is 11th in the NHL and far below the 3.00 mark he posted while coming in second for the Calder Trophy 10 years ago.
STAT SHOTS: You have to give New York Islanders rookie Steve Webb credit for persistence. Not only has he made it from the Colonial League to the NHL, he's proved that, like a Timex watch, he can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. Webb has 16 fighting majors in 26 games since being called up by the Isles. He usually needs the time in the penalty box to lick his wounds--there's probably not a player in the NHL who's lost as many fights. ...
Nikolai Khabibulin's three straight shutouts would be a record for a lot of teams. But just getting two in a row was enough to set a franchise mark for Phoenix, which never posted back-to-back blanks during its NHL stint in Winnipeg. He's the first goaltender to post three blanks in a row since Greg Millen in December 1988. Amazingly, all three of Khabibulin's were on the road; as soon as he got home, he was toasted for a pair by Ottawa in the first period of Monday night's 3-1 loss, with Alexandre Daigle connecting just 5:54 into the game. ...
The San Jose Sharks have been in the NHL for six seasons without managing to beat the New York Rangers. The Blueshirts' 2-1 win at the Shark Tank on Sunday gives them an 10-0-1 mark against San Jose. The Rangers are perfect out West; the one tie came in New York.