KINGS NOTES...
By Gann Matsuda
3-17-02 On Saturday, the Los Angeles Kings acquired veteran center/left wing Cliff Ronning from the Nashville Predators in exchange for little-used defenseman Jere Karalahti and a conditional draft pick. If the Kings are able to sign Ronning, who is 36 years old, and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, to a new deal, the Predators will receive a third-round pick in the 2003 entry draft. If Ronning signs with another team, the Predators will receive a fourth-round selection, also in 2003. Later on Saturday, both teams talked about the deal. "[Ronning is] a very competitive player and he's been very consistent creating offense with all the teams he's been with," said Kings' Senior Vice President and General Manager Dave Taylor. "We think he can help us generate more offense, which we feel is one of our needs down the stretch." "We've liked Cliff for a long time," he explained. "I've talked to Nashville general manager David Poile about him over the last couple of years, but he's never really been available. But the last couple of weeks, we had more discussions and were able to work out a deal that made sense to both teams." "Jere's a good guy and we'll miss him," Kings' head coach Andy Murray said. "But this move can make us a better team. It's adding a player to our lineup for a player who wasn't playing, so that in itself has to be a positive addition." Murray also explained where he thought Ronning would fit in with the Kings. "He'll certainly play an offensive role for us, because that's the type of player he is," Murray said. "He's another left-handed shot, which we could use, and he can play center or wing. He'll be slotted among our top six forwards, and we'll give him the opportunity to do what he does best." But Murray was not quite ready to say exactly how the acquisition of Ronning would affect his forward lines. "This is all kind of sudden," Murray explained. "I'm not sure where everyone is going to play. But the bottom line is we got someone who can help us in a critical area." The addition of Ronning should help bring more balanced scoring to the Kings, who are currently getting nothing from center Bryan Smolinski or winger Steve Heinze. "[Ronning will] be a leader, and I'm sure he'll be a welcomed addition to our team. He puts the puck in the net," said Kings' center Jason Allison. "We're a good team and we just got better," added Allison. "We got a top scorer who can help us offensively and give us depth." "He's good in the room, but more important he's good on the ice," said Penguins' forward Randy Robitaille, who played three years with Ronning in Nashville. "He's good with the puck and can put it in the net." Ronning will wear his familiar jersey number 7. Kings' rookie forward Jaroslav Bednar will switch to number 27, which was last worn by right wing Glen Murray, who was traded to Boston early in the season. For the Preds, they knew they would lose Ronning to free agency in the off-season, and wanted to be sure they got something for him in return. "If age was not a consideration and players could play forever, we wouldn't be making these kind of moves," Poile said about trading Ronning and veteran forward and team captain Tom Fitzgerald on March 14. "We know that [Fitzgerald and Ronning] can both play well, but maybe only for a couple more years." "They don't fit the profile of where we want to go," Poile explained. "The fact is we weren't a good enough team with Tom Fitzgerald and Cliff Ronning, and we want to reach the point where we are. I know our defense will be better [today] with Jere Karalahti in the lineup." "In order to acquire a quality player, particularly a defenseman, you have to be willing to part with a quality player," Poile said. "This move will improve our defense considerably." Predators' head coach Barry Trotz agreed, saying the the team needs to keep moving ahead. "This has been a tough week, not only trading away two of our most prominent players, but two of our more prominent personalities," Predators Coach Barry Trotz said. "But we've got to move on. We've talked a lot about a new era and a new stage of our development. Well, this is it." Trotz spoke highly of Karalahti, and his physical play. "He's a big, strong man, someone who can pound guys," Trotz said. "He can contain power forwards like [St. Louis'] Keith Tkachuk and [Philadelphia's] John LeClair. He's like Cale [Hulse]--he's big, thick and powerful, and he knows how to play the game." As for the Kings, Karalahti wanted to be traded because of his scarce playing time, and the Kings accomodated him. "It's tough to lose a player like that, but we had eight defensemen," Taylor said. "And I think it's only fair to Jere that we allow him to go to a place where he'll get a chance to play, because he's definitely a good NHL defenseman." Karalahti did not have a chance to say good-bye to his now-former teammates in person, because the trade was finalized while his teammates were on the ice, in the process of beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3, at Staples Center. But he did leave his teammates a message on the whiteboard in their dressing room. "I really like Jere Karalahti's great personality," Murray said. "He's just a good guy to have around. He had to catch a plane to Nashville, but he wrote a real nice message to the team." Predators' defenseman Kimmo Timmonen spoke to Karalahti on Friday night, when the trade was apparently finalized, and was awaiting NHL approval. "He was pretty excited because I think he'd been asking for a trade for awhile," Timonen said. "I know he can help us."3-16-02 As reported earlier, the Los Angeles Kings have acquired center/left wing Cliff Ronning from the Nashville Predators in exchage for defenseman Jere Karalahti and a conditional pick in the 2003 NHL entry draft. The trade was announced during the Kings' game on Saturday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a 4-3 win for the Kings. Ronning is expected to join the Kings on Sunday, before they leave for San Jose. The Kings face the San Jose Sharks on Monday. Ronning, 36, has played in all 67 games this season for Nashville, where he led the Predators in goals (18), assists (31), and points (49). He also led the Preds in shots (164) and game-tying goals (2). Ronning, who is 5-8, and weighs 165 pounds has also reached several milestones this year. He has passed the 750 career point mark, the 500 career assist mark, and on March 9 in Florida, he played in his 1,000th career NHL game. In addition, Ronning needs just one more point this season to reach the 50-point plateau for the 11th time in his career. Ronning is a veteran of 1,003 career NHL games. He made his NHL debut with the St. Louis Blues during the post-season in 1986, after being selected by the Blues in the sixth round (134th overall) in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. He also played for the Vancouver Canucks, where he reached the NHL Stanley Cup Finals in 1994, and was a perrennial Kings-killer. Ronning was acquired by the Preds, from the Phoenix Coyotes on October 31, 1998, and he holds numerous Nashville career franchise records, including points (226), goals (81), assists (145), power play goals (25), game-winning goals (9) and shots (888). Karalahti, has played in 30 games for the Kings this season, recording an assist and 29 penalty minutes. He has been a healthy scratch for 34 games this season, including eight of the last thirteen. In 134 career NHL games, all with the Kings, Karalahti has scored eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points and 85 penalty minutes. He was originally selected by the Kings in the sixth round (146th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. In other news, the Kings announced that the Los Angeles Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) have nominated veteran left wing Kelly Buchberger as the Kings' nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. 
3-11-02 On Monday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have placed left wing Kelly Buchberger on injured reserve, retroactive to March 10), due to a sprained right ankle. The Kings also recalled forward Jaroslav Bednar from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League. Buchberger was injured during the first period of Saturday's game at Colorado, and is listed as week-to-week. His streak of playing in consecutive games will end at 243. The last time Buchberger missed a game was March 15, 1999, while a member of the Edmonton Oilers. Bednar, 26, started this season with the Kings, appearing in ten games (one assist). He was assigned to the Monarchs on November 10, 2001, and has scored 16 goals and added 21 assists for 37 points. Bednar, who is 6-0 and weighs 198 pounds, was drafted by the Kings in the second round (51st overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. 3-7-02 On Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that their game at Vancouver on March 26. has been added to the Fox Sports Net West schedule. This game was added to the broadcast schedule after they removed the March 2 game against Columbus from their schedule, because of ABC-TV's exclusive rights to that time slot on Saturdays. The Kings/Canucks game on March 26 begins at 7:00 PM PST. 3-6-02 On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that head coach Andy Murray will rejoin the team on Thursday, before the Kings face the Nashville Predators in Nashville. Murray, who has been suffering from post-concussion syndrome after an automobile accident on February 15, has been cleared by doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to return to the Kings. The exact timing of Murray's return behind the bench will be determined once he meets with his coaching staff. 3-5-02 On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have recalled center Adam Mair from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League. Mair, 22, has appeared in eight games for the Kings this season and has one goal and 51 penalty minutes. He has appeared in 27 games for the Monarchs this season and has ten goals and nine assists for nineteen points and 48 penalty minutes. 3-4-02 On Monday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have designated left wing Ted Donato for assignment (placed on waivers). Donato, 32, has played in two games with the Kings this season, after being claimed off of waivers from the New York Islanders on January 30. He played one game with the Islanders. Donato started the season on a minor league contract with the Manchester Monarchs of the AMerican Hockey League, the Kings' AHL affiliate. 3-2-02 On Friday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have activated left wing Ken Belanger from injured reserve. Belanger, 27, has appeared in twenty-four games with the Kings this season. He suffered a broken left thumb during a fight in the first period against Florida on January 2, and has missed the last twenty games.
