KINGS NOTES...
By Gann Matsuda
9-29-00 In Friday's NHL waiver draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected right wing Los Angeles Kings' Jason Podollan. The Kings did not select anyone in the waiver draft.9-28-00 Matt McHale reported in Thursday's DAILY NEWS that an MRI examination on Los Angeles Kings' right wing Ziggy Palffy's right index finger revealed a small fracture at the tip. Palffy will not play in exhibition games on Friday at San Jose or on Saturday against Colorado at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. He is expected to be ready for the regular season opener on October 6 at Washington. Goalie Stephane Fiset, who is week-to-week with a left knee sprain, is riding an exercise bicycle and can walk without pain, but had trouble climbing stairs. He could be a week from getting back on the ice. McHale also reports that if the Kings claim anyone in Friday's waiver draft, they will drop defenseman Peter Hogan from their protected list. For more on the Kings, you can read the rest of McHale's article at: http://www.dailynewslosangeles.com/archives/today/spo06.asp *NOTE: That link will work today, 9/28/2000 only! 
9-26-00 In a live spot on Fox Sports Net's Southern Californis Sports Tonight show, Los Angeles Kings' television color analyst Jim Fox reported that just before tonight's pre-season game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center, defenseman Rob Blake has once again accepted Captain's "C." Blake was shown live during pre-game warm-ups with the "C" on his jersey. Fox said that Blake had been thinking about his decision to relinquish the captaincy of the team since he initially made the decision and decided that he should be the captain again. Should be interesting to see how this affects negotiations between him and the team. During the first period intermission of the Los Angeles Kings' pre-season game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center on Tuesday night, Kings' Senior Vice President and General Manager Dave Taylor had virtually nothing to say about the team's negotiations with center Jozef Stumpel. In what was about a twenty second interview, Taylor told Kings' play-by-play announcer Bob Miller that there has been no progress in the negotiations. He added that club policy is to not discuss negotiations and that "...we're working on it." Taylor will be asked by Miller and/or Kings' television color commentator Jim Fox about defenseman Rob Blake putting the captain's "C" back on his jersey prior to Tuesday's game, but don't expect him to say anything about negotiations with Blake, either. Blake relinquished the captain position about a week ago after being given what was reported to be an ultimatum by the team to accept a reported $7.5 million per year contract. Blake told Fox that he re-considered the captain's position because he felt that he was taking the business side of things too personally. Lubomir Visnovsky and Craig Johnson scored goals and Jamie Storr stopped al= l twenty shots he faced to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-0 shutout win over the Phoenix Coyotes in pre-season action at Staples Center On Tuesday night. Visnovsky scored on a snapshot from the high slot on the power play at 2:32 of the second period with Phoenix goalie Sean Burke screened by a teammate. Johnson scored at 7:49 of the third period on a nice backhand shot while al= l alone in front of Burke. The Kings played well defensively, limiting the Coyotes scoring chances and keeping them away from the front of the net, for the most part. But the Kings don't deserve all the credit. The Coyotes played a pretty uninspired game, getting virtually nothing from Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick. Visnovsky was paired with rookie defenseman Andreas Lilja and both were impressive. Visnovsky played pretty well defensively as well as jumping into the play at the right times. He also handles the puck very well. Lilja was tough defensively and did not back down whenever he was hit, which was fairly often. He also dished out a few big hits himself. Center Tomas Vlasak, who was credited with an assist on Johnson's goal, was also pretty impressive. He appears to have tremendous hands and some great moves. It remains to be seen if he can do that consistently, however. The Kings, who were just 1/8 on the power play and failed to score on a two-man advantage for 1:32, moved the puck quite well on the power play, especially with Mathieu Schneider on the blue line with Rob Blake. Storr looked pretty strong throughout the game and made some quality saves, but the Coyotes got few good scoring chances until late in the third period. 9-24-00 Various media outlets are reporting that Los Angeles Kings goalie Stephane Fiset, who suffered a left knee sprain in pre-season action on Saturday at Anaheim, is listed as week-to-week and may not be available when the Kings open the season on October 6 at Washington. 9-23-00 On Saturday, the Los Angeles Kings announced assignments to minor league clubs: Scott Thomas (right wing) - Manitoba Moose (IHL) Assigned to the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League: Joe Corvo (defenseman) Michael Pudlick (defenseman) David Hymovitz (left wing) Kevin Baker (right wing) Nate Miller (right wing) Jason Podollan (right wing) On Friday, the Kings lost a 3-2 decision at Anaheim in pre-season action. Goalie Stephane Fiset suffered a left knee strain in the first period of that game when former Kings' winger Dan Bylsma collided with Fiset. There has been no word on Fiset's condition, although he will be re-evaluated today. Jim Hodges reported in Saturday's LOS ANGELES TIMES that the Kings almost had a deal with holdout center Jozef Stumpel, but the deal was rejected by Stumpel and his agent. The report also states that the Kings' offer was another "take it or leave it" type of offer. For more, pick up a copy of the paper or point your web browser to: http://sports.latimes.com/news/20000923/hko/los/000090130.html 9-20-00 Jim Hodges reported in Wednesday's LOS ANGELES TIMES that the Los Angeles Kings have been in contact with Benji Robins, agent for center Jozef Stumpel, who is holding out of the Kings' 2000 training camp. The Kings, who paid Stumpel $1.75 million last season, have reportedly offered him a three-year deal valued at about $2.2 million per year. But talks are stalled because the two sides are reportedly about $3 million apart. Apparently, Stumpel and his agent are asking for $3.2 million per year. For more, pick up a copy of the newspaper or point your web browser to: http://sports.latimes.com/news/20000920/hko/los/20000920foz6blke.html Is Stumpel nuts? Or are he and his agent just greedy? Although Stumpel is good for at least a point per game and even though the Kings have struggled without him in the lineup, it seems like Stumpel has missed more games due to injury than he has played in. Not having him in the lineup has had a greater impact on the Kings than his presence, up to now. The two sides must compromise...meet somewhere close to the middle of their differences and move forward. The Kings need Stumpel and the injury-prone Stumpel really needs to be in camp, getting himself in shape. As for his contract demands, Stumpel asking for nearly double what he earned (annually) in his previous contract is silly. If he wants that kind of money, he needs to dedicate himself more to conditioning and keeping himself healthy. Once he does that and puts up his point-per-game numbers over an entire season, then he can ask for a considerable raise. But not now. As talented as Jozef Stumpel is, he hasn't earned it yet. 9-19-00 Late Tuesday, TSN in Canada reported that Los Angeles Kings captain Rob Blake angrily relinquished the team captaincy in reaction to a reported "ultimatum" by the Kings that he sign their offer. The Kings' offer was reported to be five years, $6 million per year. For more on this story, point your web browser to: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/mckenzie/ Although the source of this information was Bob McKenzie, who is rarely right about these kinds of stories about the Kings, this one sounds like it could very well be true. This would be a disgrace, if true. Blake is an elite player, arguably the best defenseman in the NHL. He can win a game single-handedly. The only real knock on him is his ability (or lack thereof) to stay healthy. Despite escalating salaries, elite, game-breaking players such as Rob Blake are those you build Stanley Cup champions around. And along with players like Ziggy Palffy and others, that is exactly what the Kings should be doing. NHL franchises are all trying to take a hard line to keep costs/salaries down. But when it comes to signing the top players in the league, teams will have to find other ways to cut costs in order to slow their financial bleeding until the Collective Bargaining Agreement comes up for negotiation again in a couple of years. But in the meantime, NHL franchises must remain committed to improving their teams in order to win the Stanley Cup, despite rising costs. Whether they get more creative and/or innovative--however they decide to do it--they must dedicate themselves to the only thing that's important... Winning the Stanley Cup...even if it means that they have to sign an elite player at the market rate for such a player. Apparently, we will soon see if the Kings really are committed towards that end. 9-17-00 On Saturday, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 5-1, in pre-season action at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Shjon Podein, Joe Sakic and Matthew Scorsune scored three unanswered goals in the first period, followed by two more unanswered goals by Dave Reid in the second period and Alexander Riazantsev in the third period. Sakic's and Scorsune's came on the power play. The Avs were 2/6 with the man advantage. The Kings' lone goal came at 19:00 of the third period on a power play tally by Jere Karalahti. The Kings were just 1/9 on the power play. Patrick Roy played the entire game in goal for Colorado. Roy stopped 25 out of 26 Kings' shots on goal. Jamie Storr got the start in goal for the Kings, but shared netminding duties with Marcel Cousineau, who entered the game at 8:43 of the second period. Storr faced 16 shots, making 12 saves. Cousineau saw 8 shots and stopped all but one. From the box score (which did not have complete stats), it appears that the Kings had a lot of rookies in the lineup and very few of their better players, who will probably be in the lineup on Sunday when the Kings host the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim at Staples Center (7:30 PM PDT). 9-7-00 On Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings released their 2000-2001 television broadcast schedule. In all, 73 games will be televised on Fox Sports Net West/West 2, ESPN2, ABC and CBC (Canada), including one pre-season game. For a link to the complete broadcast schedule, click here 9-6-00 On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings announced their schedule for their 2000-2001 training camp where they expect 57 players to participate. The players hit the ice on Friday, September 8 at 10:00 AM at the HealthSouth training center at 555 N. Nash Street, El Segundo (just south of the Century (I-105) Freeway) on Nash Street, just south of Mariposa and north of Grand Ave. (less then 1/4 north of El Segundo Bl.). For those who may want to use public transportation, you couldn't have it easier! The HealthSouth Training Center is located directly below the Metro Green Line's Mariposa Station. The following is the complete training camp schedule, although times are subject to change without notice: DATE TIME DESCRIPTION LOCATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 9/7 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM Medical exams Hilton Suites 9/8 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Team A practice HealthSouth 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM Team B practice HealthSouth 9/9 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Team B practice HealthSouth 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM Team A practice HealthSouth 9/10 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Team A practice HealthSouth 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM Team B practice HealthSouth 9/11 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Teams A & B scrimmage HealthSouth 9/12 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Teams A & B scrimmage HealthSouth 9/13 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Team A practice HealthSouth 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM Team B practice HealthSouth 9/14 11:00 AM Kings vs. Phoenix America West Arena (GAME SQUAD) Fly to Colorado after game 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Practice HealthSouth (NON-GAME SQUAD) 9/15 TBA Practice TBA - Denver (GAME SQUAD) 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Practice HealthSouth (NON-GAME SQUAD) 9/16 11:30 AM Game day skate Pepsi Center 7:30 PM Kings vs. Colorado Pepsi Center Fly to Los Angeles after game 9/17 10:30 AM Game day skate HealthSoutH 5:00 PM Kings vs. Anaheim STAPLES Center 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Practice HealthSouth (NON-GAME SQUAD) 9/18 Day off 9/19 9:15 AM - 10:45 AM Group A practice HealthSouth 11:15 AM - 12:45 PM Group B practice HealthSouth 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Group A practice HealthSouth 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM Group B practice HealthSouth 9/20 9:15 AM - 10:45 AM Group B practice HealthSouth 11:15 AM - 12:45 PM Group A practice HealthSouth 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Group B practice HealthSouth 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM Group A practice HealthSouth 9/21 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Game squad practice HealthSouth 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Non-game squad HealthSouth practice 9/22 10:00 AM Game day skate HealthSouth 4:00 PM Bus to Anaheim 7:30 PM Kings vs. Anaheim Arrowhead Pond 11:15 AM -12:45 PM Practice HealthSouth (NON-GAME SQUAD) 9/23 9:30 AM -10:30 AM Practice HealthSouth 2:30 PM Bus to Bakersfield 7:00 PM Kings vs. San Jose Centennial Garden Bus to Los Angeles after game 10:45 AM -12:45 PM Practice HealthSouth (NON-GAME SQUAD) 9/24 10:00 AM -11:30 AM Group A practice HealthSouth 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Group B practice HealthSouth 9/25 10:00 AM- 11:30 AM Group B practice HealthSouth 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Group A practice HealthSouth 9/26 10:00 AM Game day skate HealthSouth 7:30 PM Kings vs. Phoenix STAPLES Center 11:15 AM -12:45 PM Practice HealthSouth (NON-GAME SQUAD) 9/27 Day off 9/28 10:30 AM -12:30 PM Practice HealthSouth 4:00 PM Fly to San Jose 9/29 11:30 AM Game day skate San Jose Arena 7:30 PM Kings vs. San Jose San Jose Arena Fly to Las Vegas after game 9/30 10:30 AM Game day skate MGM Grand 7:30 PM Kings vs. Colorado MGM Grand Fly to Los Angeles after game 10/1 Day off 10/2 10:30 AM -12:30 PM Practice HealthSouth 10/3 10:30 AM -12:30 PM Practice HealthSouth 10/4 10:30 AM -12:30 PM Practice HealthSouth END OF TRAINING CAMP Individual game tickets for all Los Angeles Kings regular season home games will go on sale at 10:00 AM on September 23 at Staples Center and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets for pre-season games at Staples Center are already on sale.
