High Time for Empire Building

Now that the Kings’ season is over, the team is faced with the most important off-season in its history.

Many key decisions will have to be made to end the Kings’ four-year playoff drought. First on the list is to make sure Coach Larry Robinson is happy with his contract and is around to lead the team’s rebuilding process. Once that is done, the team’s talent and chemistry must be addressed.

“It has been frustrating, but the only thing you can take is that the team has finally made a decision on what direction to go in,” said captain Rob Blake, the only player remaining from the Kings’ Stanley Cup finalists in 1992-93, the last time the club made the playoffs.

“We knew that it was going to be a long year from the start. But now, [the Kings are committed to rebuilding]. Just look at the play of our young guys the last two months. They are our future. We finished last season in disarray where you didn’t know what was going on. The difference [now] is that it looks like we have a positive outlook.

“Obviously, some changes must be made this summer. . . . We have to bring the right players in. Our dressing room is not good right now. It is not a winning atmosphere, and as long as you have that, you’re not going to win.”

Here is a breakdown of the team:

GOALTENDERS

This is one position where the Kings feel good about their future with Stephane Fiset, Byron Dafoe and Jamie Storr, all 26 or younger.

Fiset, acquired last summer from Colorado, struggled at times and finished 13-24-5, but he did have a team-high four shutouts. Fiset showed how he can carry a team when he gave up only five goals in winning five consecutive games in late February.

Dafoe, voted unsung hero by his teammates, had a 13-17-5 record and outplayed Fiset over the first half of the season. Storr, the Kings’ No. 1 draft pick in 1994, played most of the season in the minors and displayed his potential with a tie against Dallas and a victory over San Jose after being recalled from Phoenix.

* OUTLOOK: Trading a goalie is a strong possibility, but injuries to Fiset and Dafoe could affect their trade value. Fiset on Wednesday had surgery to repair a stomach-groin injury that bothered him all season, and Dafoe is scheduled to have surgery on his right knee this week. Fiset is under contract for next season; Dafoe and Storr are restricted free agents.

FORWARDS

For the Kings to have any chance of making the playoffs next season, they will have to upgrade their front line. Only one team in the league scored fewer goals than the Kings, and Ray Ferraro’s team-high 25 goals are nothing to brag about.

Not only did the forwards fall short offensively, but Robinson often complained about their lack of physical play on defense.

Dimitri Khristich led the team in scoring but did not have the type of breakout season the Kings had hoped he would. Veterans Kevin Stevens and Ferraro provided leadership but neither was able to give the Kings a real goal-scoring threat.

The Kings also had hoped for better production from Vitali Yachmenev, Vladimir Tsyplakov, Kai Nurminen and Yanic Perreault, who were injured for much of the season. Yachmenev, Tsyplakov and Perreault are restricted free agents.

Glen Murray was picked up before the trade deadline from Pittsburgh and led the Kings in scoring in the games he played. Craig Johnson added speed to the lineup but played only 31 games because of injuries.

Ian Laperriere, who had season-ending shoulder surgery in March, was the inspirational leader of the team. He and Dan Bylsma were two of the best penalty killers for a unit that ranked among the league leaders all season.

Matt Johnson played in 52 games and did a solid job as the team’s enforcer, and 6-foot-8 rookie Steve McKenna may have gained a place for next season with impressive play after being called from Phoenix, the Kings’ International Hockey League affiliate, in late March.

Roman Vopat and other young forwards such as Brad Smyth, Jeff Shevalier and Nathan LaFayette also showed a willingness to go to the net.

* OUTLOOK: Because of the Kings’ lack of scoring, players such as Yachmenev, Tsyplakov, Perreault and Nurminen may not stick with the team. Pavel Rosa, Donald MacLean, Josh Green and Eric Belanger are high-scoring prospects who all could be in the lineup on opening day in October.

DEFENSEMEN

This is a position that improved as the season went on, thanks to the emergence of Aki Berg, Jan Vopat and Sean O’Donnell.

Robinson said that Berg, the Kings’ top draft choice in 1995, was the team’s best defenseman over the last 30 games. Vopat was steady in the 33 games he played after recovering from back surgery and O’Donnell stepped up as a potential offensive threat.

Blake struggled with injuries and did not have a big scoring season, but he did come on strong over the last month. Mattias Norstrom and Doug Zmolek are steady, defensive-minded players, and Philippe Boucher might have the best shot of all the defensemen.

* OUTLOOK: Robinson, a Hall of Fame defenseman, criticized his defensemen for an extended stretch during the season but says he likes their makeup going into next season. Veteran Steven Finn might be the odd man out as Berg, Vopat and O’Donnell continue to improve.

WRAPUP

The Kings will have three of the first 29 selections in the June 21 draft, and even though Robinson has given the company line of picking the best players available, look for the team to select players with size and offensive skills.

The Kings, who lacked a No. 1 line all season, would love to get a chance to land blue-chip prospect Joe Thornton in the draft because the unrestricted free-agent market is considered weak, with Calgary center Dave Gagner being regarded as the top player available.

Rebuilding will not be easy and might not come quickly enough for King fans. The Kings averaged fewer than 13,000 at home games for the first time since 1978-88.

“If you’re successful and you’re good enough to make the playoffs it’s easy to make moves because everyone wants the players you have,” Robinson said. “But when you have players that no one wants, it’s tough to make trades. . . . We do not want to trade players who we consider the nucleus of our future. So to rebuild, you have to do that with youth. That’s why we have to take our bumps and bruises now. . . .

“This is going to be a huge summer for us. This will be the biggest draft in the history of the franchise with two first-round picks and one in the second. . . . We are not that far off, but there isn’t a quick fix out there. It’s going to take time.”