KINGS NOTES...
By Gann Matsuda
2.23.00 Late Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings traded center Don MacLean to the Toronto Maple Leafs for center Craig Charron. MacLean, 23, was a goal-scorer in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, once scoring 43 goals in 61 games for the Hull Olympiques in 1995-96. But since being drafted and signed by the Kings, MacLean has struggled. In 1997-98, MacLean split time between the Kings and Fredricton in the AHL. With the Kings, MacLean scored five goals and added two assists in 22 games. At Fredricton, MacLean scored nine goals and added five assists for 14 points in 39 games. Last season, MacLean split time between Springfield (AHL) and Grand Rapids (IHL). At Springfield, MacLean scored five goals and tallied 13 assists for 18 points in 40 games. At Grand Rapids, he scored six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 28 games. This season, MacLean has appeared in 40 games and has scored eleven goals and 17 assists for 28 points. Charron, began his professional hockey career in 1990-91 at Winston-Salem in the ECHL and has bounced around between the ECHL, AHL and IHL since then. He also played in Sweden in 1993-94. Since the 1995-96 season, Charron has played in the AHL and has averaged 28.5 goals per season. Last season at Lowell, Charron scored 22 goals and 39 assists in 71 games. His best season in the AHL came in 1995-96 when he played in 72 games at Rochester, scoring 43 goals and adding 52 assists for 95 points. This season, Charron has been playing with the St. John's-Newfoundland Flames where he scored eleven goals and added 18 assists for 29 points in 32 games. Charron has not played a game in the NHL. This looks like a trade between teams that have given up on their respective prospects. I wouldn't expect to see Charron up with the Kings anytime soon. He sounds like a minor league fixture.The NHL announced on Wednesday afternoon that Boston Bruins' defenseman Marty McSorley has been suspended for the remainder of the 1999-2000 regular season and for the playoffs, should the Bruins make it into the post-season. McSorley slashed Vancouver Canucks' forward Donald Brashear on the right temple during their game on Monday. Brashear fell backwards, striking his head on the ice. He suffered a grade three concussion and is expected to be out of the lineup for at least two to three weeks. McSorley, who will also be required to meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman before next season, played for the Los Angeles Kings from 1988-1989 to 1992-93. McSorley was then traded to Pittsburgh on August 27, 1993 for Shawn McEachern. Then-Kings' owner Bruce McNall, thinking that his team needed some kind of spark, engineered a trade with the Penguins on February 15, 1994, that sent McEachern back to Pittsburgh, along with Tomas Sandstrom in exchange for McSorley and defenseman Jim Paek. McSorley, who expressed remorse following the incident, remained with the Kings until March 14, 1996, when he was traded along with Jari Kurri and Shane Churla to the New York Rangers for Ray Ferraro, Ian Laperriere, Nathan Lafayette, Mattias Norstrom and a 1997 fourth-round draft pick (Sean Blanchard). McSorley was the Kings' enforcer, but he could also provide offense. Going into the 1999-2000 season, McSorley was ranked 19th on the Kings' all-time scoring list with 71 goals and 163 assists for 234 points in 472 games. He also racked up 1,846 penalty minutes, to go along with racking up the most penalty minutes in one season with 399 in the 1992-93 season. Both are team records. McSorley is also known for the now-infamous illegal stick in game 2 of the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals that helped the Montreal Canadiens win that game and regain momentum in the series. 
2.18.00 On Friday, the Los Angeles Kings acquired three depth players. They signed goalie Travis Scott of the Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) and center Jerrid Smithson (center) of the Calgary Hitmen (WHL). They also acquired center Allan Egeland from the Calgary Flames for future considerations. Egeland, 27, is playing with the Long Beach Ice Dogs (IHL), where he has two goals and eight assists for ten points and 72 penalty minutes in 35 games. Egeland, who stands 6-0 and weighs 175 points, was a third-round pick (55th overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1993. He was signed by the Flames as a free agent on July 20, 1999. He has played 17 games in the NHL with Tampa Bay, racking up 16 penalty minutes. Smithson, 21, has played in 53 games with the Hitmen this season, scoring eight goals and adding 19 assists for 27 points while racking up 91 penalty minutes. Smithson is 6-2 and weighs 190 pounds. Scott, 24, has an 11-14-4 record, a 2.99 GAA and a .908 save percentage in 32 games this season at Lowell. Scott is 6-2 and weighs 185 pounds. Scott also played on the Kelly Cup Champion Mississippi Sea Wolves in the ECHL last season, posting a 14-4 record in 18 games with a 2.01 GAA and three shutouts. These moves do not address any immediate needs that the Kings have, but who knows how these players will figure in the Kings' plans, especially with the expansion draft coming up this summer. 2.16.00 On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that right wing Donald Audette has been activated from injured reserve and he will play tonight at Chicago. Audette missed fifteen games with a left ankle sprain. In 38 games, Audette has scored eleven goals and added fourteen assists for twenty-five points. Look for Audette on the third or fourth line, although my guess is that he'll see some time on the second line, too. 2.15.00 On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Kings are expected to assign defenseman Frantisek Kaberle to the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL. Kaberle has not been able to crack the lineup in recent weeks with strong play by Garry Galley and Jere Karalahti ahead of him on the depth chart. 2.8.00 A couple of notes following the Los Angeles Kings' debacle against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on Tuesday night... Goaltender Jamie Storr, who entered the game at the start of the third period replacing starter Stephane Fiset, will get the start at Phoenix on Wednesday night. Kings' head coach Andy Murray said that this was the plan all along since the Kings are playing in a back-to-back situation. Also, on Wednesday, the Kings are expected to recall defenseman Frantisek Kaberle from the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the IHL. I was going to write about it, but at least one of the beat writers covering the Los Angeles Kings has beaten me to it... Matt McHale has an article in today's DAILY NEWS that mentions how critical the month of February is to the Kings' playoff hopes. Some have argued that March is the key month for the Kings. While that could turn out to be true, I see it the same way McHale does, primarily because the Western Conference has been so competitive this season and because the teams the Kings are closest to in the standings are now winning--the Kings need to at least keep up, or they might find themselves too far behind when March comes around. McHale writes, "In the next 21 days, the Kings play 12 games. Eight of those are on the road, including seven straight, and eight are with teams the Kings either lead or trail by two points or less." He then quoted Kings' head coach Andy Murray, who spoke with the players about this. "We never, ever talk beyond the next game, but [Monday] morning we talked about the situation we're in and what's facing us," Murray said. "Eight of the 12 teams are from San Jose to Chicago, so we talked about that... . As a coaching staff, we kind of knew we'd be in this situation at this time of year. It's not a surprise to anybody. I'd much rather be where we are now than where the Kings were at this time last season."
