KINGS NOTES...
By Gann Matsuda
3-24-01 Prior to Saturday's game against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Los Angeles Kings announced that their recall of defenseman Rich Brennan from the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL on Friday has been voided because Brennan is suffering from food poisoning. Given the fact that Kings' defenseman Aaron Miller will be out indefinitely with a badly sprained wrist, Brennan could still be recalled when he recovers, or the Kings could recall another defenseman.3-23-01 On Friday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have activated center Jozef Stumpel from injured reserve. He is expected to be in the lineup on Saturday when the Kings host the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim at Staples Center on Saturday afternoon. Stumpel has missed seven games after suffering a fractured rib on March 4 at Anaheim. To make room on their roster, the Kings assigned right wing Marko Tuomainen back to the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL. Also n Friday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have recalled defenseman Rich Brennan from the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL. Brennan, 28 has played in 69 games at Lowell, scoring ten goals and adding 31 assists for 41 points to go along with 146 penalty minutes. Brennan, who is 6-2 and weights 200 pounds, was recalled by the Kings on December 31, playing in two games with the Kings, before being re-assigned to Lowell. The speculation is that this move is directly-related to the fact that defenseman Aaron Miller played just ten shifts (6:53 of ice time) against Edmonton on Wednesday. So far, there has been no information from the Kings regarding Miller's status, or why his ice time was so limited on Wednesday. 
3-22-01 On Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have acquired center Jared Aulin from the Colorado Avalanche as part of their deal that sent defenseman Rob Blake and center Steven Reinprecht to the Avs in exchange for right wing Adam Deadmarsh, defenseman Aaron Miller, a prospect to be named later (Aulin) and future considerations. The Kings will also get an additional draft pick, which is conditional on whether or not Colorado can sign Blake during the off-season. Aulin, 19, has played in sixty-nine games for the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League this season, scoring 31 goals and 76 assists for 107 points. The 6-0, 185 pound center leads the Blazers in scoring. Aulin is also the Blazers' captain, and he played in the 2000 WHL All-Star Game and in the 2000 NHL/CHL Top Prospects Game. Aulin was Colorado's second round selection (47th overall) in the 2000 NHL draft. "We are pleased to have him in our organization,? Kings' Senior Vice President and General Manager Dave Taylor said about Aulin. "Jared is highly-skilled and very creative. He is a top prospect." From 1998-2000, Aulin played in 112 regular season games for Kamloops, scoring 24 goals and adding 57 assists fore 81 points. In seventeen playoff games, he scored a goal and added four assists for five points. In the 1999-2000 season, Aulin was fifth on the team in scoring, even though he missed a large part of the season due to injuries. 3-21-01 On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that right wing Marko Tuomainen has been recalled on an emergency basis from the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL. Tuomainen was recalled to replace right wing Scott Thomas, who suffered a mild concussion when he took a forearm to the head from Jeremy Roenick of the Phoenix Coyotes during Monday's game at Staples Center. Thomas is listed as day-to-day. The Kings also announced that defenseman Mattias Norstrom has been selected to play for the Swedish national team in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Earlier on Wednesday, the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation named Norstrom, along with Peter Forsberg (Colorado), Mats Sundin (Toronto), Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa), Markus Naslund (Vancouver), Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit), Mattias Ohlund (Vancouver), Tommy Salo (Edmonton), Jorgen Jonsson (Farjestads-Swedish Elite League) and Mikael Renberg (Lulea-Swedish Elite League). Norstrom also played for Sweden in the 1998 Olympic Winter Games at Nagano, Japan. 3-15-01 As expected, on Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have recalled newly-acquired center Adam Mair from the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL. Mair is expected to be available when the Kings host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The Kings also announced that they have assigned right wing Marko Tuomainen to Lowell. 3-14-01 On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have recalled right wing Marko Tuomainen from the Lowell Lock Monsters on an emergency basis. They have also recalled right wing Scott Thomas from the Manitoba Moose of the IHL. Tuomainen was recalled because right wing Nelson Emerson's wife, June, gave birth to twin boys late Monday evening. Emerson, who did not travel with the Kings to San Jose, will not be in the lineup on Wednesday when the Kings skate at San Jose. He is expected to re-join the team on Thursday. Mike Altieri, Kings' Director of Media Relations and Team Services explained that these roster moves were made to give the Kings more flexibility with their roster. "After the trade deadline, each team gets four recalls and unlimited emergency recalls, and our roster expands and is unlimited," said Altieri. "Tuomainen can now move back and forth without clearing waivers as long as it is an emergency recall." "Thomas going back [to Manitoba] makes him eligible for the IHL playoffs," Altieri added. Helene Elliott reported in Wednesday's LOS ANGELES TIMES that right wing Adam Deadmarsh, who suffered a right hand contusion, is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday. In other roster moves... The Kings are also expected to call up newly-acquired center Adam Mair on Thursday. Mair, who was assigned to Lowell after being acquired on Tuesday from Toronto, will be eligible for the AHL playoffs. The Kings also announced on Wednesday that defenseman Mathieu Schneider, who has missed the last eight games with a right groin strain, has been activated from injured reserve. More on the Aki Berg trade... Elliott reported in Wednesday's TIMES that Kings' head coach Andy Murray explained the trade of defenseman Aki Berg by saying that he became expendable because of the progress defensive prospects Mike Pudlick and Andreas Lilja. Both play at Lowell. Matt McHale reported in Wednesday's DAILY NEWS that Kings also like the development of defenseman Rich Brennan at Lowell. 3-13-01 On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Kings assigned right wing Marko Tuomainen and newly-acquired center Adam Mair to the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL. They also assigned right wing Scott Thomas to the Manitoba Moose of the IHL. It would appear that the Kings are making roster space available for defenseman Mathieu Schneider to come off of injured reserve and maybe even for another deadline trade that could be announced later today. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Kings traded defenseman Aki Berg to the Toronto Maple Leafs for center Adam Mair and a second round pick in the 2001 NHL draft. Mair, 22, has played in 47 games for the St. John's Maple Leafs in the AHL (Toronto's affiliate), where he has scored 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points while racking up 69 penalty minutes. Mair won the February segment of the AHL's Molson Cup after scoring eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in just thirteen games. Mair, who is 6-2 and weighs 195 pounds, also played in eight games with the Leafs last season, scoring a goal. He also played in five playoff games. For the Kings, this is clearly a move in which they were looking to strengthen themselves in the middle. "[Mair] is a young, aggressive forward who will bring grit and physical play to our organization," said Kings' Senior Vice President and General Manager Dave Taylor. "Also, in acquiring the second round draft choice, we now have five selections in the first three rounds of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft." The Kings now have Colorado's first round pick and Toronto's second round pick, in addition to their own first, second and third round choices. Berg, 23, played in 47 games this season, but was a healthy scratch in many games. He showed flashes of strong play, but at the same time, made lots of mistakes, although many believe that he was not given enough of a chance to succeed. "Aki has been with our organization for more than six years," Taylor said. "We appreciate his efforts and we wish him the best of luck." 3-7-01 On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have activated goalie Stephane Fiset from injured reserve and have loaned him to the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL for conditioning purposes. Fiset has been out with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee for all but seven games this season. The Kings also announced that they have placed center Jozef Stumpel (fractured rib) on injured reserve. In other news, the Kings have named left wing Luc Robitaille as their nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Robitaille was nominated by the Los Angeles Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA). A $2,500 grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner. Former Kings Butch Goring (1977-78), Bob Bourne (1987-88) and Dave Taylor (1990-91) have won the award. 3-6-01 The Los Angeles Kings' already-bleak playoff hopes took a heavy hit on Tuesday when the Kings announced that center Jozef Stumpel and newly-acquired right wing Adam Deadmarsh will be out of the lineup due to injury. Deadmarsh suffered a right hand contusion is expected to miss the next two games. Stumpel, suffered a fractured rib midway through the second period on Sunday's game at Anaheim. Tests on Monday revealed the injury. Stumpel will be sidelined indefinitely.
