The Price Is High, but Not Yet Right : Hockey: The Kings are one of the top three NHL teams in total payroll, but they have yet to earn the success expected of them.

BLUE JAY, Calif. — How much does it cost to assemble a team that loses in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs?

Much more than Bruce McNall imagined, which is one reason why the King owner has ordered the team’s private jet back into the hangar and put Coach Barry Melrose in charge.

Based on salary figures obtained by The Times, the Kings’ projected 20-man roster for the 1992-93 season will be paid a cumulative $12,975,000, or $648,750 per player.

During the Wayne Gretzky era, the Kings have been among the top three NHL teams in total payroll. Two years ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins had the league’s highest payroll, and the Kings were second. Final rosters won’t be set for three weeks, but this year the Penguins, the Kings and the New York Rangers figure to carry the league’s largest payrolls.

The highest-paid King is Gretzky, who will earn $3 million this season. Three more Kings have $1 million-plus contracts--left winger Luc Robitaille at $1.4 million, defenseman Paul Coffey at $1.1 million and right winger Tomas Sandstrom at $1.04 million.

Right winger Jari Kurri is just shy of the $1-million mark, making $950,000.

The Kings’ recent reputation--heavy offense, little defense--is borne out by the salary list. On the average, the Kings will pay their forwards more than twice as much as their defensemen. The 12 forwards projected to make the team will earn an average of $807,500, and the six projected defensemen will average $401,667.

The disparity is partly because of Gretzky, owner of the league’s second-richest contract behind rookie Eric Lindros, and this year’s corps of young defensemen. Veterans Coffey and Charlie Huddy ($500,000) are the only defensemen making more than $350,000. Three others--Peter Ahola ($175,000), Rob Blake ($165,000) and Brent Thompson ($120,000)--will make less than $200,000.

Blake, 22, might be one of the best bargains in the league. Beginning his third full season with the Kings, Blake is already regarded among the top young defensemen in the NHL, and he is the second-lowest paid player on the Kings’ projected roster.

“Hopefully, I won’t be that for much longer,” Blake said this week at the Kings’ training camp. Blake is negotiating a new contract with the team and is expected to reach an agreement within two weeks.

The two newest Kings, Eastern European stars Alexei Zhitnik and Robert Lang, agreed to vastly different contract terms.

Zhitnik, a 19-year-old defensemen from Kiev, signed a four-year deal worth $1.7 million. He will make $350,000 the first year and $500,000 by the final year, factoring in a $200,000 signing bonus.

Lang, a center from the Czechoslovakian Olympic team, signed a three-year deal worth $515,000, including a $100,000 signing bonus. This season he will earn $125,000 plus the first $75,000 of the bonus.

During last spring’s strike, NHL teams were claiming that operating costs have risen 56%, most of that due to escalating salaries. Player agents, through a survey, estimate that salaries have risen 21% in the last two years and 40% over a three-year span.

GRETZKY AILING: Instead of reporting to camp, Wayne Gretzky spent the night in an Inglewood hospital with a strained upper back. C10

Top Dollar

Members of the Kings who will earn $1 million or more for the 1992-93 season:

Wayne Gretzky: $3 million*

Luc Robitaille: $1.4 million**

Paul Coffey: $1.1 million

Tomas Sandstrom: $1.04 million

*Includes $1 million deferred

**Includes $300,000 deferred

King-Sized Payroll

A look at the Kings’ salaries as of Sept. 1

Player Salary Peter Ahola 1992-93: $175,000 (NHL), $65,000 (minor-league contract) 1993-94: $185,000 Robert Berg 1992-93: $140,000 (NHL), $32,000 (minors) 1993-94: $140,000 (NHL), $35,000 (minors) Scott Bjugstad 1992-93: $225,000 (NHL), $65,000 (minors) Rob Blake 1992-93: $165,000 Frank Breault 1992-93: $175,000 Rene Chapdelaine 1992-93: $170,000 Paul Coffey 1992-93: $1.1 million 1993-94: $1.3 million 1994-95: $1.45 million Sylvain Couturier 1992-93: $165,000 (NHL), $50,000 (minors) Mike Donnelly 1992-93: $275,000 1993-94: $310,000 Darryl Gilmour 1992-93: $150,000 (NHL), $35,000 (minors) David Goverde 1992-93: $140,000 (NHL), $33,000 (minors) 1993-94: $140,000 (NHL), $33,000 (minors) Tony Granato 1992-93: $625,000, plus $75,000 deferred 1993-94: $600,000, plus $100,000 deferred Wayne Gretzky 1992-93: $2 million, plus $1 million deferred 1993-94: $2 million, plus $1 million deferred 1994-95: $2.5 million, plus $1 million deferred 1995-96: $2.5 million, plus $1 million deferred 1996-97: $3 million, plus $1 million deferred 1997-98: $3 million, plus $1 million deferred Jim Hiller 1992-93: $210,000, plus $75,000 signing bonus 1993-94: $225,000, plus $50,000 signing bonus 1994-95: $235,000 Paul Holden 1992-93: $145,000 (NHL), $40,000 (minors) 1993-94: $155,000 (NHL), $45,000 (minors) Kelly Hrudey 1992-93: $500,000, plus $150,000 deferred 1993-94: $500,000, plus $200,000 deferred 1994-95: $500,000, plus $225,000 deferred Charlie Huddy 1992-93: $500,000 1993-94: $550,000 1994-95: $550,000 Bob Kudelski 1992-93: $375,000 1993-94: $400,000 Jari Kurri 1992-93: $950,000 1993-94: $1 million 1994-95: $1 million Robert Lang 1992-93: $125,000, plus $75,000 signing bonus 1993-94: $140,000, plus $25,000 signing bonus 1994-95: $150,000 Guy Leveque 1992-93: $190,000, plus $80,000 signing bonus $40,000 (minors) 1993-94: $225,000, plus $60,000 signing bonus $50,000 (minors) 1994-95: $250,000, $50,000 (minors) John McIntyre 1992-93: $250,000 Marty McSorley 1992-93: $650,000, plus $50,000 deferred Corey Millen 1992-93: $200,000 Jay Miller 1992-93: $310,000 1993-94: $330,000 Luc Robitaille 1992-93: $1 million, plus $100,000 signing bonus plus $300,000 deferred 1993-94: $1.2 million, plus $100,000 signing bonus, $300,000 deferred 1994-95: $1.3 million, plus $100,000 signing bonus, $300,000 deferred 1995-96: $1.5 million, plus $100,000 signing bonus, $300,000 deferred Tomas Sandstrom 1992-93: $850,000, plus $190,000 signing bonus 1993-94: $950,000, plus $385,000 signing bonus Robb Stauber 1992-93: $225,000 1993-94: $225,000 Darryl Sydor 1992-93: $150,000, plus $30,000 signing bonus (NHL) $33,000 (minors) 1993-94: $150,000 Dave Taylor 1992-93: $600,000 Brent Thompson 1992-93: $120,000 (NHL), $35,000 (minors) Tim Watters 1992-93: $325,000 (NHL), $100,000 (minors)