Trio Getting Shot to Be King Makers : Hockey: Club expects once-embattled Quinn along with Crowder and Brown to turn frustration to winning.

Dan Quinn almost can anticipate the questions now, perhaps sensing a momentary hesitancy on the part of the interviewer.

Maybe that’s why Quinn doesn’t wince or look away when the word Minnesota is mentioned. Minnesota might not have a hockey team anymore, but that’s where the former 40-goal scorer’s NHL career almost ended nearly two years ago.

Quinn signed as a free agent with the Kings shortly before training camp opened earlier this month, but his playing days seemed over in November of 1992, when he was arrested for allegedly raping a Minnesota woman while he was with the North Stars.

Police in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington even took the somewhat unusual step of holding a news conference to announce that Quinn had been arrested.

He was never charged with a crime but was released by his team for violating curfew the night of the alleged incident.

Almost two years later, Quinn shakes his head at the memory of the “media circus.” He is candid about the incident and what has happened to him on and off the ice since then.

“To me, it was devastating how one hour of your life can turn into something I consider to be wrong,” he said. “(The police) held a press conference before they even talked to me about it. That’s what disappointed me. The people they believed had police records. I had never been in trouble.

“One of (the women) had a record of lying to the police. You think they would inspect that before they buried me. Unfortunately, even though I was never charged, my name was never protected.

“I’m not saying I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “I should have never been there in the first place. Obviously I broke curfew. But to have what happened to me was wrong.”

His options were few afterward. The doors to the NHL were closed and there wasn’t much money to be made in the minor leagues. He moved to Switzerland last season and scored 34 points in 25 games with Bern in the Swiss Elite League, then joined the Ottawa Senators for their final 13 games and scored seven goals.

“There were times I thought it was over,” he said. “Then Europe presented itself and gave me a chance. And I just realized, if I was ever going to quit, that was the time.”

His decision to seek a longer NHL commitment coincided with the Kings’ desire to shake some complacency out of their veterans. A season after missing the playoffs, they are searching for a mood change, trying to replace fat and sassy with lean and desperate.

To that end, General Manager Sam McMaster and Coach Barry Melrose imported a trio fitting the desired description--tough-guy forward Troy Crowder and goal-scoring forwards Rob Brown and Quinn.

“We want desperate people,” Melrose said. “We need more of that around here. It might rub off on some of the other players.”

Each of the three has at some point seemed finished in the NHL.

Crowder, plagued by back problems, hadn’t played a full season in the league since 1990-91. Brown, a former 49-goal scorer, spent parts of the last two seasons in the International Hockey League.

Quinn, so far, has made the biggest impact, having scored three goals and two assists in five exhibition games. The 29-year-old is the kind of natural born goal-scorer the Kings crave after the Luc Robitaille trade. Those 40 goals have to come from somewhere, right?

“I’ve been very impressed with him,” Melrose said. “He’s played well and can go to the net with purpose. I’m a big believer in you getting what you deserve. But not everything has been his fault.”

Previously, Quinn had agreed to an unusual contract that gave the North Stars the option of ending it at three points during the season. McMaster said that is not the case with the Kings.

“Dan Quinn, if he’s not in his own mind helping the L.A. Kings, he will retire,” McMaster said. “I’ve had many people tell me he was Ottawa’s best player at the end of the season.”

McMaster recognizes that he took chances on all three players. Crowder has not played in any exhibition games because of a neck injury. And Brown and Quinn have long been saddled with the “floater” tag.

“If float is the word, they’ll both be floating back where they came from,” McMaster said. “These are not favors.

Melrose helped check into the backgrounds of each player. He called Ottawa Coach Rick Bowness about Quinn and also spoke to Rick Tocchet, who had played with him in Philadelphia. Former goaltender and fellow ESPN analyst Darren Pang offered an endorsement, too.

Quinn never realized how much playing in the NHL meant to him.

“I missed everything about it,” he said. “I missed practicing. You miss the nice things, but you even miss the things you used to complain about when you were playing. Sometimes, there were tough days, tough travel. But when I was away from it, I’d give anything to be back.”

He remains philosophical about Los Angeles being a last-chance stop.

“I don’t think of it that way,” he said. “If I can’t play anymore, I can’t play anymore. All I ask is for a fair shake. Obviously, I’d like to get a certain level, a certain point on the team. I don’t think it’s my last chance. Anybody’s career could be over at any time.”