The NHL / Tracy Dodds : Despite King Slump, McNall Isn’t Rushing Decision on Ftorek

Yes, King owner Bruce McNall has noticed that his hockey team is slumping. No, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Coach Robbie Ftorek is in trouble.

McNall said that he was concerned about the winless streak, 0-6-1 in the last 7 games, and the slump, 3 wins in the last 14 games, but he said that one has to expect a few losing streaks.

“We’ve had some winning streaks, too,” McNall said. “Hopefully we’ll have some more.”

He added: “I don’t like losing, and there’s no question that when you’re losing you look at everything a lot more carefully. But the coaching staff is not the only thing you look at.

“Right now, I don’t sense any real problem with the players and Robbie. . . . I don’t think players like any coach real well, do they? Even some of the players who have been unhappy and grumbling from time to time agree that it’s important to have some consistency.

“I’m hesitant to make a quick change and then, maybe, have to go through the same mess again.”

McNall noted the familiar cycle involved with a coaching change--the period of adjustment to the new coach, the period of adjustment to the new style of play, the changes in personnel that the new coach wants to make, the attitude of looking toward next year.

“To tell you the truth, I thought it would take a couple of years after the (Wayne Gretzky) trade to get all the guys clicking together, and I think that has happened very quickly,” McNall said. “I think Robbie has done pretty well. And we have to remember, he’s a new coach. He’s learning and adjusting all the time.

“Sometimes you have to take a step back and see where you are. If anybody would have told us that we were going to wake up today and be where we are in the standings, we’d all be thrilled to death. But we all got that taste of winning. Of course we want it to continue. I think what we need to do now is wait and see how it goes during the next bit of time.”

McNall would not precisely define bit of time.

Ftorek’s contract extends only through the end of this season. McNall seems to be in no hurry to make a change before then, although he has never totally counted out the possibility.

“Sure, it’s possible that we would just let the contract go until it’s finished and not renew it,” McNall said. “He’s not asking me to do anything with his contract right now. His attitude is that he’s going to do great things with this team and make us happy.

“If I’m not happy with the way it turns out at the end of the season, then he’s happy to walk. He’s saying the same thing I am--let’s wait and see what happens.

“Robbie is a very confident guy. He’s not worrying about it.”

Appearing on “The Pat Sajak Show” Monday, Gretzky went over, once again, the angry people in Canada blaming his wife, Janet Jones, for the trade that sent him from Edmonton to Los Angeles.

“In professional sports, they don’t do favors for wives,” he said. “That’s a $15-million favor.”

He also managed, in his few minutes on the air, to mention the Kings’ game Tuesday night against Calgary at the Forum and the soft drink for which he does commercials. Very slick.

Apparently Gretzky also understands how the market works in the area of rare autographs. Although there are thousands upon thousands of people who own the autograph of the always-obliging athlete, he has vowed to sign one and only one hockey card of himself in a King uniform. And he’s planning to save it for his 6-week-old daughter, Paulina Mary Jean.

A memo went out from National Hockey League Vice President Gil Stein to all teams a couple of months ago, warning general managers and coaches that President John Ziegler had authorized him to levy fines ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 for criticizing on-ice officials. According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, coaches could be fined even for saying, “I won’t say anything because if I do, the league will fine me.”

Speaking of officials, they made short work of the fan in Boston who ventured onto the ice to have a word with them during a game between the Bruins and the Winnipeg Jets.

The fan, Frank Baro Jr., was heading toward referee Bill McCreary when linesman Ron Asselstine charged him from behind and ran him into the boards. Asselstine and linesman Mark Vines then helped him to his feet and turned him over to security guards. Police charged him with disorderly conduct.

Paul Fenton of the Jets was likely at the heart of Baro’s unvoiced complaint. Fenton had not been charged with a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct after causing a cut under the eye of Boston defenseman Glen Wesley.

Fenton said, however, he has known all along that Boston fans are crazy. Fenton played for Boston University.

“Boston is a crazy town,” he said. “I went to school here for 4 years. I’ve seen them jump on the field at Fenway and now I’ve seen them jump on the ice.”

The Washington Capitals and the Calgary Flames are rumored to be the teams selected to visit the Soviet Union next fall, but the NHL has said that it will not announce the teams until after the All-Star game Tuesday at Edmonton.

Boston Bruins players were reportedly so aggrieved over the deal that sent Steve Kasper to the Kings for Bobby Carpenter that they taped Kasper’s number, 11, to their practice jerseys. Ray Bourque, a longtime friend of Kasper, is said to have come up with the idea.

Another in a series of Wayne Gretzky-Mario Lemieux comparisons, this from New York Islanders goalie Kelly Hrudey:

“They’re equally as difficult, but for different reasons. I think Wayne can use everybody on the ice better, and Mario’s more dominant because he’s a little bit more skilled. Both of them are in their own category. There’s Wayne and Mario, and then there’s the rest of the NHL. They are superb hockey players, and they see so much more than a regular player.

“Wayne makes everybody on the ice dangerous. Most good players can make two, three players dangerous. Wayne makes four dangerous. Mario’s physically imposing, because he’s so big. If you’re going to ask me which one I’d choose to play, I couldn’t answer that.”