Laidlaw Looks to the Future : Kings: Defenseman, who hasn’t played in NHL since March, is expected to settle remaining years of contract.

It’s not yet official, but the career of King defenseman Tom Laidlaw appears to be over.

Laidlaw, who hasn’t played in nearly a year because of a back problem, says he expects discussions to begin soon on a settlement on the remaining two years of his contract.

“The future doesn’t look too bright,” he said. “The Kings can’t count on the future as far as Tom Laidlaw is concerned. They’ve got teams in Phoenix and New Haven and there are only so many pro contracts they can have. They could use my spot for someone else coming up.”

Although Laidlaw makes his retirement sound imminent, King General Manager Rogie Vachon won’t go that far.

“We have to talk to the doctors,” Vachon said. “It’s still up in the air. The decision is (Laidlaw’s). If he feels he can’t come back, we still have to pay him. If he is reaching the point where he wants to get on with his life, we’ll have to deal with that. We have to establish what he wants and go from there.”

What Laidlaw would like is to continue playing. Despite 10 years in the NHL, 6 1/2 with the New York Rangers, he didn’t plan on quitting at 32.

Nor did he go out with a bang, but rather a whimper.

It was March 17, when the Kings scored a memorable comeback victory in Boston Garden, beating the Bruins on a late goal by Wayne Gretzky.

Laidlaw felt what was announced as a pulled hamstring. It was not thought to be serious.

Eventually, the pain settled in his back, where he has three bulging disks.

He rested all summer, went through rehabilitation into the winter and finally was ready to return to the ice.

He started with the Phoenix Roadrunners and appeared to be skating on the road to recovery.

But in his fourth game with Phoenix, he felt it. The same pain. The same helplessness.

So back he came to Los Angeles to serve as color man on the Kings’ radio broadcasts, working with play-by-play man Nick Nickson.

“I have been told that a certain percentage of people with what I have don’t get better,” Laidlaw said. “If that’s the way it’s going to be, fine, I’ll have to live with it.

“After I aggravate it, if I do nothing, I feel fine and pain-free. But I’ve been told I could get as strong as a horse, and then twist my back the wrong way or bend down to get a dime off the floor and it could go out again.”

Laidlaw says he has accepted the possibility that he might never play again in the NHL.

“It hasn’t happened overnight,” he said. “I’ve had plenty of time to think about it.”

Has he made peace with the reality of retirement after 705 NHL games?

“You’re never at peace with that,” he said. “I’d like to play another 10 years if I could. But I’ve tried everything and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.”

Laidlaw has served as a commentator only on King home games, but is talking about resuming traveling--as a sportscaster.

“It makes it easier because I’m still involved,” he said. “It’s not the end of the road in hockey for me. Just another turn.”

King Notes

Bruce McNall, owner of the Kings, confirmed that he and Wayne Gretzky are negotiating to buy the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

Harry Ornest, the Beverly Hills sportsman who owns the Argonauts, said Monday that McNall and Gretzky might buy the team and that the deal might be completed within a month.

“Right now, it’s premature, but I’m looking into it,” McNall said. “I don’t even know much about Canadian football, except that they give a team up there three downs instead of four. But the deal has definite possibilities.”