THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : It’s Not a Bad Way to Start

From their birth during the NHL’s first major expansion in 1967, the Kings have been a rich man’s toy, little more than a plaything purchased on a whim for their owners’ ego gratification.

At least one owner, Bruce McNall, worried more about which stars he was seen with in the locker room than who was on the ice. See Bruce with Goldie Hawn. See Bruce with Kurt Russell. See Bruce with Robert Shapiro.

See the Kings’ finances crumble.

Joe Cohen and Jeffrey Sudikoff, who were supposed to clean up the mess McNall had created, instead pushed the franchise to the abyss of bankruptcy. Their reign was brief but ugly, marked by the stench of anxiety and bouncing paychecks. Cohen, as it turns out, was a carpetbagger: He was negotiating the terms of his new job with Madison Square Garden last August, well before the Kings’ sale was final, taking care of himself before taking care of fans who were still due refunds from last season’s playoff deposits.

The Kings’ history has been a checkerboard of philosophies. Sometimes management favored trading draft picks for older players who could make an immediate impact; other times, general managers vowed to keep those picks, but inept scouting led to poor drafting. No matter the path, failure was always the result.

No King owner has run the club like a business, with a clear objective and long-term plans. None ever built a management team that chose a strategy and stuck with it for any length of time. Most owners focused on what they’d get out of the Kings, not how much they had to put into operating a major league franchise.

But when a bankruptcy court last week approved the sale of the Kings to billionaire Philip F. Anschutz and developer Edward P. Roski, the bad old days ended. By all accounts, Anschutz and Roski--whose purchase is expected to close within days--intend to keep a low profile while providing the Kings with much-needed funding. You’re more likely to read about Anschutz in Railway Age than in People magazine, and the interview Anschutz granted to that trade publication was considered a rare event.

We’ve heard the talk before, from players and management, that better days would come. But this time, there’s reason to believe the Kings’ 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday before a sellout crowd of 16,005 at the Forum wasn’t merely the start of their 29th season. It was the beginning of a new era.

“That has to be true,” Wayne Gretzky said. “People are very fed up and disappointed with the situation, as are the players. Players hate to see a revolving door. We’ve got to get some stability. This summer [Anschutz and Roski] were emphatic that they want to spend money and build a good hockey team. . . . It’s not a case where they’re going to spend money foolishly.”

Saturday’s opener also launched Larry Robinson’s coaching career. It was not a masterpiece--the Kings got two penalties for having too many men on the ice--but there were signs that his emphasis on defensive play had sunk in.

The Kings held the Avalanche to 24 shots, a noteworthy achievement given Colorado’s prolific forwards. The Kings also kept the Avalanche from putting sustained pressure on goaltender Byron Dafoe by clearing rebounds, and they gave up only three outnumbered rushes, “which is about where we want it,” Robinson said. Rookie defenseman Aki Berg showed admirable poise in his NHL debut, and pairing him with Rob Blake helped both.

“Larry’s a very positive person and a patient man and hopefully, he’s going to be coaching as long as he wants to,” Gretzky said. “He gives credibility to the organization.”

Robinson brings them credibility. Barry Melrose brought them hair gel.

There were encouraging signs offensively, too. Rookie right wing Vitali Yachmenev, playing with Gretzky, scored two goals. And Gretzky, who has said his performance this season will determine whether he will retire, contributed two assists and was robbed of a third-period goal by a brilliant save by Stephane Fiset. From Pat Conacher, their oldest player at 36, to Yachmenev, one of their youngest at 20, each line carried the offensive burden creditably.

Remember, the Avalanche last season (as the Quebec Nordiques) had the second-best record in the NHL. The Kings ranked 20th.

One game doesn’t make a season, but Saturday’s effort did make for a promising new beginning. And for a team that has subjected its fans to so many unhappy endings, that was significant.