– Trade rumor: Hawks General Manager Bob Pulford has spoken with Edmonton GM Glen Sather about acquiring center Jimmy Carson. But Pulford noted he might not be leading bidder in the situation. ”He`s scored 141 goals in three years in the league,” Pulford said of the 21-year-old from Southfield, Mich, ”so I`m just one of 20 teams interested in him.”
Carson recently walked out on the Oilers, saying he didn`t feel he was making a contribution. But Pulford said that won`t make Sather accept a lesser deal. ”He`ll still want a player of equal caliber,” he said. ”It`s my opinion that no one will give him a top player, that he`ll have to take some top prospects.”
The Hawks obviously would have to move a center to bring in another one, and it sure seems like Troy Murray would be the leading candidate to go in a trade.
The Hawks would also have to decide if Carson, notorious for not playing defense, would fit into their plans. Murray`s 30 goals might be as good as Carson`s 50, the way Carson has refused to get back on defense.
”Carson`s been a top player in production, but not in other things,”
Pulford said. ”But he has the ability to be a complete player.”
– Old acquaintances: When the Hawks play Winnipeg Friday night in Canada, it will mark the first time they`ve run into Bob Murdoch since he was fired after the 1987-88 season. ”I get fed up with people claiming I mistreated him,”
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Hawks owner Bill Wirtz said. ”I paid him full salary last season when he didn`t work for us. I don`t see what`s wrong with that.” Still, the parting was bitter, and Murdoch will be intent on beating his old club.
– Marvelous Marcel: Marcel Dionne, who was dropped by the New York Rangers this season and says he doesn`t expect to play again in the NHL, said Thursday that he would have liked to have gone from Los Angeles to Chicago in 1987 rather than be sent to the Rangers as he was. ”I always wanted to play with Denis Savard,” he said. ”I think going to Chicago in 1987 would have been the perfect setup. I heard they asked about getting me last year.”
Pulford said he considered acquiring Dionne in 1987 before the Kings traded him to New York and had some interest in him last year until he picked up center Adam Creighton in late December. ”But his days were numbered,”
Pulford added.