Kings Cut Roster to 25, Send Kontos and Three Others to Minor League

With their opening game only two days away, the Kings trimmed their roster to 25 players Tuesday by assigning Chris Kontos, Scott Bjugstad, Phil Sykes and Dale DeGray to their American Hockey League affiliate at New Haven, Conn.

“The players who were sent to New Haven are a little down in the dumps right now, but, from our point of view, we feel lucky to still have them in the system,” King Coach Tom Webster said. “We felt very fortunate that we didn’t lose anyone in the (Monday) waiver draft. I was quite surprised by that.”

Kontos, who had nine goals in last spring’s playoffs, didn’t produce the offense that Webster wanted during exhibition games.

“Coming into training camp after the season he had last year, one of his jobs and responsibilities was to score goals and provide offense,” Webster said. “He got a little frustrated. But, things change. You may not have seen the last of Chris Kontos.”

Or any of the others, for that matter. Sykes, a forward, and DeGray, a defenseman, each spent time on the King roster last season. Bjugstad, a forward, was signed during the summer.