News

November

Kings starting to make the turn
11/14/97
...... Every team has to eventually make the turn but some teams take longer. The Kings are finally starting to turn the corner to become a decent team. I don't know about everyone else
but the 97-98 Kings really have me excited about this season. The much needed goals has come for the Kings. They have 71 goals scored this season, more than any other team. The closest team to them is Detroit (68). The Kings now have huge depth with some players stepping up. Players that were much needed last year now don't seem to even fit in the lineup. I'm sure we can find someplace to put Yach and Ferraro, if its in another city or some line in LA, I'm sure Dave Taylor will find a place for these players. The Depth doesn't end there check out the minor and junior leagues the Kings have some good ones coming up. Sean Blanchard, Olli, Marian Cisar, Josh Green, Greg Phillips, Eric Belanger and more. Other News: The Kings have added Russ Courtnall who will give the Kings more leadership and a bit of scoring. With all this depth the Kings had to get rid of Brad Smyth who today was shipped to NYR for a conditional draft pick. Anyway the Kings are finally giving people a reason to fill the forum seats. If its the hustle of Ian Laperriere, the goal scoring of Yanic Perreault, the great play of Stepane Fiset, play of Robitaille, Rob Blake or Jozef Stumpel something is going right. Until next month!

October

Kings finish with best preseason record
10/1/97
...... Well it looks like the Kings are off to a great year. If the way they have been playing is any indication of the season they will play, then the Kings will probably make the playoffs. They finished with the best winning percentage going 6-1. They played COL twice, SJ twice, ANA twice, and there only loss going to the Canucks. The Canucks seemed to click right together with Bure and Messier each connsting with each other for a few goals. Tonight the Kings will play in Pittsburgh to open up the NHL season. Lets hope we score the first goal.

August

Kings swap leading scorers with Bruins
8/31/97
......The Los Angeles Kings traded leading scorer Dimitri Khristich to Boston for center Jozef Stumpel, the Bruins' top scorer, in a four-player deal Friday. Khristich, 28, led the Kings with 56 points (19 goals, 37 assists) in 75 games last season. Stumpel, 25, posted career highs in goals (21), assists (55) and points (76) to lead the Bruins in his fifth NHL season.
The Kings also acquired right wing Sandy Moger and a 1998 fourth-round draft choice in exchange for Khristich and goaltender Byron Dafoe.
"By adding Stumpel to our lineup, we have a very young, right-hand center who is just beginning to emerge as a frontline player," Kings general manager Dave Taylor said. "He gives us more size up front, which has always been our goal."
Moger, 28, had 10 goals and three assists in 34 games last season with Boston. The 6-foot-3, 208-pounder has 50 points and 116 penalty minutes in 132 career NHL games.
"Moger gives us another big player. He's a good honest guy who goes to the net hard," Taylor said. "I would project (coach) Larry (Robinson) is going to use him either on the third or the fourth line." Stumpel, who had played his entire brief career in Boston, has 176 points and 54 penalty minutes in 274 career NHL games. The 6-3, 210-pounder is a native of Slovakia. Left wing Luc Robitaille, re-acquired Thursday from the New York Rangers, said he looks forward to playing on a line with Stumpel.
"He's got some great hands. He's a lot of fun to watch. He can beat guys one-on-one," Robitaille said. "He's a real good, young, up-and-coming player. I think it's a great trade." Khristich, a 6-2, 196-pounder, and the 5-11, 190-pound Dafoe came to the Kings in the same trade from the Washington Capitals in July 1995.
Dafoe, 26, appeared in 40 games last season, with a 13-17-5 record and a 3.11 goals-against average. He picked up the slack when No. 1 goalie Stephane Fiset missed 13 games with a groin injury. But this season the Kings have decided to go with Fiset and 21-year-old Jamie Storr, who was brought up from the International League four different times last season. "We feel Jamie is ready to play at the NHL level," Taylor said. The Bruins fulfilled two needs with the trade.
"Dimitri Khristich is a proven NHL scorer and a clever and creative player who is versatile in that he can play center and wing," Boston assistant general manager Mike O'Connell said. "Byron Dafoe has had two solid seasons in the NHL and he gives us added depth at the goaltending position."
Khristich led the Kings in scoring for the second straight season. He underwent laser surgery on Feb. 11 and missed seven games after being poked in the right eye by then-teammate Barry Potomski, who was demoted to the minor leagues after the controversial incident. "Stumpel is more skilled offensively (than Khristich)," Taylor said. "Dimitri, although we used him at center, is more of a winger."

Lucky back in LA 8/28/97
In what would have been a blockbuster deal four years ago, the New York Rangers sent Luc Robitaille back to the Los Angeles Kings today for Kevin Stevens in an exchange of veteran left wings.
The 31-year-old Robitaille was expected to be dealt by the Rangers before this year's trading deadline, but he broke his foot getting off the team bus and eventually helped the club get to the Eastern Conference finals. In 15 playoff games, he was the team's fourth-leading scorer with 11 points on four goals and seven assists while compiling a plus-7 rating.
Robitaille was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the 1995-96 season. In 1996-97, he was sixth on the team with 48 points, registering 24 goals and 24 assists in 69 games.
He started his career with the Kings in 1986-87 and had 45 goals en route to the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. Upon Wayne Gretzky's arrival the following season, Robitaille became one of the NHL's elite at his position, with three 50-goal seasons and four 100-point campaigns. He helped Los Angeles to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1992-93, a loss to the Montreal Canadiens. That was his best season, when he set career highs with 63 goals, 62 assists and an NHL left-wing record 125 points.
In 832 games over 11 NHL season, Robitaille has 462 goals and 500 assists for 962 points, missing a total of 28 games. His eight 40-goal seasons are the third-best total in league history. In 111 playoff games, he has contributed 46 goals and 57 assists for 103 points.
"We are very excited about having Luc return to the Kings family," said Los Angeles general manager Dave Taylor, who was Robitaille's teammate. "We feel he will provide much-needed offense, as well as guidance to our younger players."
The 32-year-old Stevens has gone through a similar career path as Robitaille, as Mario Lemieux's left-hand man in Pittsburgh. In the early part of the decade, Stevens and Robitaille were the top-scoring left wings in the game.
Though he did not have the immediate impact Robitaille did, Stevens became Lemieux's full-time left wing in 1989-90 and had 29 goals and 70 points in 76 games.
He enjoyed his best season in 1991-92 with 54 goals and set career highs with 69 assists and 123 points, the single-season record for a left wing that Robitaille broke the following season. In '92-93, Stevens had a career-best 55 goals and tacked on 56 assists for his only other 100-point campaign.
Stevens was fourth on the Kings with 34 points on 14 goals and 20 assists with a minus-27 last season, his first full campaign with Los Angeles.
In 588 career games with the Penguins, Boston Bruins and Los Angeles, Stevens has 278 goals and 319 assists for 597 points. One of the first of the new breed of power forwards in the NHL, Stevens has always shown a mean streak, and it has landed him 1,135 penalty minutes. In 86 playoff games, Stevens has 43 goals and 57 assists for 100 points. He won Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 1990-91 and 1991-92.

8/11/97 Craig Johnson re-signed

Craig Johnson, who will always have a claim to trivia fame as a player who was traded for Wayne Gretzky, has re-signed with the Los Angeles Kings.

Johnson played only 31 games for the Kings last season, scoring four goals, while missing 50 games due to abdominal injuries that required surgery last December.

The left-winger from St. Paul, Minn., 25, was acquired on Feb. 27, 1996, from the St. Louis Blues along with Roman Vopat, Patrice Tardif and a first-round 1997 entry draft pick, which was used to claim left-winger Matt Zultek of the Ottawa 67s, for Gretzky.

In 106 career NHL games, Johnson has 20 goals and 17 assists. The former University of Minnesota star was St. Louis' first choice in the 1990 entry draft, 33rd overall. He played for the United States at the 1994 Olympics.

July

7/16/97 Kings sign Jokinen

Today the Kings took a big step for their future. They signrd their first round draft pick Olli Jokinen to a three year deal. GM Dave Taylor said he was very happy with their deal with Olli. Taylor also said "He has the talent and potential to the a complete player in the NHL, that the Kings drafted him to be.

With the edition of veteran Gary Galley and signings of prospects Jokinen and Rosa, I believe the Kings are finally going on the right track and we could be looking at a playoff year.

7/1/97

Well the Free Agent signings have begun, so here is a list of the most prominent NHL players, with age, position, current team eligible for unrestricted free agency as of Monday:

Dave Babych -- 36, D, Vancouver
Ed Belfour -- 32, G, San Jose
Terry Carkner -- 31, D, Florida
Shawn Chambers -- 30, D, New Jersey
Russ Courtnall -- 32, RW, N.Y. Rangers
Dave Gagner -- 32, C, Calgary
Garry Galley -- 34, D, Buffalo
Brent Gilchrist -- 30, C, Dallas
Mike Keane -- 30, LW, Colorado
Derek King -- 30, LW, Hartford
Igor Larionov -- 36, C, Detroit
Grant Ledyard -- 35, D, Dallas
Mark Messier -- 36, C, N.Y. Rangers
Andy Moog -- 37, G, Dallas
Sergei Nemchinov -- 33, C, Vancouver
Luke Richardson -- 28, D, Edmonton
Tomas Sandstrom -- 32, RW, Detroit
Brian Skrudland -- 33, C, Florida
Esa Tikkanen -- 32, LW, N.Y. Rangers

JUNE

6/23/97

.........On Saturday, the 1997 NHL Entry Draft was held in Pittsburgh and the Los Angeles Kings may have taken a big step forward in their rebuilding process with the selection of center Olli Jokinen, the top-rated European player in the draft. Jokinen was considered to be one of the top three players overall in the draft.

Jokinen, who stands 6-2 and weighs 198 pounds, is from Kuopio, Finland. He played for IFK Helsinki in the Finnish Elite League last season. He scored 14 goals and added 27 assists for 41 points and 88 penalty minutes in 50 games.

In 1995-96, Jokinen had 21 goals and 15 assists for 36 points and 49 penalty minutes in 35 games. Jokinen split time between KalPa Kuopio Jr. and KalPa Kuopio Finland that year.

In 1994-95 Jokinen scored 22 goals and added 28 assists for 50 points and 92 penalty minutes in 30 games for KalPa Kuopio Mid.

The Kings, whose biggest need was a skilled center who can play a physical game, may have gotten just what the doctor ordered.

"Olli will give us some scoring up front," Kings' Vice President and General Manager Dave Taylor said. "He has a lot of offensive ability and can score goals when driving to the net. He's a big string, fearless competitor who has a lot of raw talent. He likes to play the physical game."

"He's very aggressive and very mature," Taylor added. "For an 18-year old to play in the Finnish Elite League is almost unheard of. He has a lot of leadership ability."

Jokinen feels that he can contribute right away.

"I need to work a little more on strength but I feel I can fit right in the lineup and score a few goals for LA and I will help them," Jokinen said.

"I'm very happy the Los Angeles Kings selected me," Jokinen added. "I'm looking forward to playing for them next year."

Kings' head coach Larry Robinson was very impressed with Jokinen.

"He is a very confident young man. A lot of them, when you ask if they're ready, they go, 'No, I need another year or two in junior.' Olli said right off the bat, 'Yup.'"

"This is the type of kid you can play against the better line of the other team or against the checking line," Robinson said. "We're very, very happy."

The Kings also had St. Louis' first-round pick (from the Gretzky trade), and they chose left wing Matt Zultek, the fifteenth overall selection.

Zultek was named to the 1996-97 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) All-Rookie Team after scoring 27 goals and 13 assists for 40 points in 63 games for the Ottawa 67's.

Scouting reports say that Zultek is a solid two-way player and a strong skater with very good hands and puck-handling skills who loves to drive to the net.

"Matt has very soft hands for a big guy," said Taylor. "He skates well and likes to go to the front of the net."

Like Jokinen, Zultek is hoping he can make the big club right away.

"With a team that's rebuilding, that's going to give me a better chance to step in," Zultek said.

The 29th overall selection (third in the second round) also went to the Kings who chose center Scott Barney, who played at Peterborough in the OHL last season.

Barney was ranked 16th overall before the season, but slipped to 32nd in the final Central Scouting Bureau (CSB) rankings because he spent much of last season on the shelf due to injury. He could very well turn out to be a major "find" from this draft if he can return to his 1995-96 form and improve from there.

"This draft makes our team in the future a lot bigger up front," Taylor said. "The guys we drafted have size and strength. They also skate well and possess good mobility."

"I think we addressed some needs," Robinson said. "Up front and down the middle we've gotten bigger, but I still think we'll look at the free agent market."

Now that'll be interesting to watch, given the fact that pickings will be slim among unrestricted free agents. But...the Kings made no draft-day deals. Will the Kings trade a goalie or maybe a defenseman to pick up an impact player? We'll see after July 1.

6-1-97

.........INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Kings and head coach Larry Robinson agreed to terms on the remaining two years of his contract, the club announced Friday. The original four-year deal contained a mutual escape clause at the conclusion of the second year, but neither the club or Robinson chose to exercise it. "I've invested a lot of energy these past two seasons," Robinson said in a news release. "And I feel the worst is behind us."

5-29-97

.......... INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Right-winger Pavel Rosa, 19, top scorer in all Canadian junior hockey last season, has signed a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings, the team announced Thursday (Thank God!!). Terms of the agreement were not announced.

..........In 1995-96 Rosa was named QMJHL rookie of the year finishing with 70 assists, 46 goals and 116 points. In 1996-97 Rosa improved, leading the QMJHL in goals, 63, assists, 90, and points, 153. He is only the fifth player to accomplish this, along with Dale Hawerchuk, Pat LaFontaine, Daniel Briere last year, and some guy named Mario Lemieux. A member of the 1997 Memorial Cup champion Hull Olympiques, Rosa also led his club in power play goals, 24 and tied the team-lead in game-winning goals with eight. Rosa finished first in the QMJHL in plus minus and averaged just under a penalty minute a game. A native of Most, Czech Republic, Rosa was the Kings' third choice (50th overall) in the second round of the 1995 entry draft. Now Rosa is beleived to be the best Kings prospect. He is 5-11, 182 pounds and the Kings obtained the draft pick as part of the deal that sent left-winger Luc Robitaille to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Rick Tocchet in 1994.

........."The Kings are very excited about Pavel joining us," GM Dave Taylor said. "Last season we lacked offense. We are hoping that Pavel can help us out in that area. He has been a prolific scorer at each level, and we beleive he will continue to produce in the NHL."

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