Kings’ ticket prices for season opener cause a bit of sticker shock

Popularity has its price.

When Kings fans began to look at ticket prices for Saturday’s season opener against Chicago, some registered their discontent via email and/or Twitter.

Prices were listed by the team starting in the neighborhood of $155. But the game is sold out, which means the secondary market is surging.

At StubHub, for instance, a quick review showed a range from $199 (up high in Section 320) to one ticket down by the glass for nearly $1,500.

The Kings recognize the emotions of the issue.

“Pricing is something we never take lightly, but in most cases I’ll tell fans there’s lots of options out there when it comes to purchasing Kings tickets,” said Kelly Cheeseman, the Kings’ chief operating officer.

“You look at the Vancouver game, the next [home] game, on Jan. 28, and we have $39 to $148.50 and also season-ticket members pay $13 to $118.50. We’re sold out of season seats this year.”

The season-ticket base is 15,000. Kings President Luc Robitaille said the team lost four accounts during the lockout.

One eye-popping price angering fans for the opener was $600.

“We only had two that were available at the $600 price at the glass,” Cheeseman said.

“It’s a tough thing and it’s something we looked at when we looked at pricing last week. We also posted these same prices and sold many of these tickets back in September before the lockout happened.”

Kopitar update

Kings center Anze Kopitar, dealing with an injured knee, skated for about an hour Tuesday before the regularly scheduled practice. “You can call it steps or stages, but he hasn’t had stops and starts,” Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said. “He hasn’t had contact. It’s one step at a time.”

Waiver wire

The book closed on defenseman Thomas Hickey’s time with the organization as the young defenseman was put on waivers and claimed by the Islanders. Forward Rich Clune was claimed by Nashville.

Hickey, the No. 4 pick overall in the 2007 draft, never appeared in a game with the Kings and had been in the minors in Manchester, N.H., during the lockout.

lisa.dillman@latimes.com

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