Kings’ Stauber Angry at Being Left Unprotected

Long considered the Kings’ goaltender of the future, Robb Stauber feels like their goaltender of the past.

Angry at being left unprotected for Thursday’s NHL expansion draft, Stauber said Monday that he might be better off elsewhere. He has been in the King organization since 1989 and finally broke through this season, going 15-8-4 with a 3.84 goals-against average. Stauber, 25, was in goal when the Kings clinched their first-round playoff series against Calgary.

“I wouldn’t classify being taken (in the draft) as a bad move,” he said. “I’ve been left unprotected two years in a row. I’ve been through a lot here. It’s something you can’t control.

“It isn’t so ideal to be here. You have to come up with what’s best for me. I thought I had a good year. Obviously, it was not good enough.”

For the expansion draft, each team is allowed to protect one goalie, which forced the Kings to choose between Stauber and 32-year-old Kelly Hrudey. Not protecting Hrudey, who helped them reach the Stanley Cup final, would have been a public relations disaster.

Stauber knew five days ago that the Kings would protect Hrudey. Even knowing, however, did not soften the blow when King General Manager Nick Beverley called Sunday night.

“The thing that bothers me the most is, I’m supposed to be the guy of the future,” Stauber said. “It’s just a lie.”

Because there is a surplus of quality goaltenders available, it is possible that Stauber will remain in Los Angeles. For him, though, that is not a positive prospect.

“If I don’t get picked up, they’ll use it as a negative,” he said. “They hold all the cards.”

King Notes

Owner Bruce McNall met with Wayne Gretzky on Monday, but they did not discuss Gretzky’s contract or other team issues, McNall said. “I let him know that he does not have to put himself under any further pressure in the form of a deadline to make a decision on playing, even if it takes up to training camp,” McNall said.

Among the other players left unprotected by the Kings were defensemen Jeff Chychrun, Mark Hardy, Dave Tretowicz and Tim Watters, forwards Scott Bjugstad, Marc Fortier, Lonnie Loach, Dave Taylor, Jim Thomson and Sean Whyte, and goaltender David Goverde. The five protected defensemen are Rob Blake, Charlie Huddy, Marty McSorley, Darryl Sydor and Brent Thompson. The nine protected forwards are Gretzky, Jimmy Carson, Mike Donnelly, Tony Granato, Jari Kurri, Corey Millen, Luc Robitaille, Tomas Sandstrom and Brandy Semchuk.