Shake-Up Leaves Taylor in Charge

Less than two weeks ago, the Kings held a special meeting with season-ticket holders before their final home game and asked them to be patient with the team’s rebuilding process.

On Tuesday the Kings, having missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, made a move they hope will help quiet some of their most disgruntled fans when they fired General Manager Sam McMaster and promoted Dave Taylor from his assistant general manager and director of player development positions.

To complete the Kings’ biggest management shake-up since Philip Anschutz and Edward Roski took over as owners in October 1995, the team also moved Rogie Vachon, chief of hockey operations, to the business side of the organization.

“I don’t think that we ever wanted to make a change during the season. We were committed to try and use this season as an opportunity to learn,” team President Tim Leiweke said. “The first time we took a real hard look of making a move was once the season started to come to a close. It was important for us to make an assessment of where we were.”

McMaster, 53, took over in May 1994, one season after the Kings had lost to Montreal in the 1993 Stanley Cup final. He arrived with a reputation for scouting young talent from his years working in junior hockey.

In his first two seasons with the Kings, however, McMaster not only had to deal with financial problems created by former owner Bruce McNall, he had to work with an aging team that lacked depth and young prospects. This past season was the Kings’ first as a team committed to rebuild with youth.

“I was not expecting this but it did not surprise me,” said McMaster, who was told Tuesday morning about the team’s decision. “I’m disappointed. It was a tough three years but I’m very proud of the job I did.”

Said Leiweke: “[McMaster] didn’t take it well and I don’t blame him. He’s had it tough. I’m not sure that any general manager in the history of professional sports has had to endure with what Sam has had to put up with. I have nothing but good things to say about Sam McMaster, but the reality is that the owners have given me a job . . . this move is in the best interest of the entire organization.”

McMaster, whose teams had a combined record of 68-106-38 during his tenure, made several trades over the last three years, some more successful than others. Unheralded acquisitions such as Ian Laperriere and Mattias Norstrom--two key players in the team’s rebuilding--often were overshadowed by trades involving big-name players like Wayne Gretzky, Grant Fuhr, Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet.

Although some of the trades eventually could prove to be successful for the Kings, McMaster took the heat when the team struggled--both on the ice and at the gate.

“I think that the Kings have a positive future now,” McMaster said. “When I started, the mandate was for the team to win now, which was pretty much impossible with the players we had. Look at teams like Quebec, which is now Colorado, Edmonton and Philadelphia. They all had to start somewhere with their rebuilding, and look at them now.”

To Leiweke, the Kings’ way of making decisions via a committee of McMaster, Taylor, Vachon and Coach Larry Robinson was not productive. He believed they needed a general manager like the Lakers’ Jerry West.

“What we heard out there [around the NHL] was that we didn’t have much respect and that wasn’t geared toward [McMaster] but at us,” Leiweke said. “And, if you look at our track record the last four years, I think it was an accurate assessment of this organization. So we felt that we had to make a move to help bring some integrity back to the organization day to day and that we ultimately needed a leader. . . . I think that we need somebody who has a vision. An architect on a daily basis. Great organizations are successful because the person at the top ingrains their personality on the organization.”

In the 41-year-old Taylor, the Kings have a general manager and vice president who played in the NHL for 17 seasons, scored 1,069 points and was known for his toughness and work ethic. He signed a four-year contract, and Tuesday got a verbal commitment from Robinson that the coach will honor the final two years of his contract.

“I have mixed emotions about taking over because I worked under Sam for three years and he was [important] in my development,” said Taylor, who holds the franchise record for games played with 1,111--many on the famed “Triple Crown” line with center Marcel Dionne and Charlie Simmer. “He allowed me the opportunity to learn.”

Robinson, a teammate of Taylor’s during the final years of his playing career, said he will not have a problem working with Taylor.

“Having Dave as general manager will not change my feelings toward the club,” said Robinson, whose contract had an escape clause. “I’m committed to the L.A. Kings.”

Taylor’s job will not be easy, as he quickly learned out at Tuesday’s press conference when he was asked about a rumor that the Kings are ready to purchase all-star winger Jaromir Jagr from Pittsburgh once this season’s playoffs are completed.

“That’s a first for me,” Taylor said. “I don’t have any knowledge of that one. But, it is an interesting idea.”

With the June 21 draft considered the most important in team history because of the Kings’ three selections in the first 29 picks, Taylor does not have much time to take care of other issues--there are several restricted free agents on the team and two unsigned assistant coaches in Rick Green and Donnie Edwards.

“I know that Sam spent an enormous amount of time working on this year’s draft but Dave also worked right with him,” Leiweke said. “I don’t see this move having any effect on the draft for us.”

* RANDY HARVEY

Sam McMaster failed to prove he is the man to usher the Kings into a new era. C2

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Wheeling and Dealing

A look at the major moves of the Sam McMaster era:

* July 29, 1994--Traded Luc Robitaille to Pittsburgh for Rick Tocchet and a second-round pick in the 1995 draft.

* Feb, 10, 1995--Traded Warren Rychel to Washington for Randy Burridge.

* Feb. 14, 1995--Traded Alex Zhitnik, Robb Stauber, Charlie Huddy and a fifth-round pick in the 1995 draft to Buffalo for Grant Fuhr, Philippe Boucher and Dennis Tsygurov.

* Feb. 17, 1995--Traded Mike Donnelly to Dallas for a fourth-round pick in the 1996 draft.

* July 8, 1995--Traded first- and fourth-round picks in the 1996 draft to Washington for Dimitri Khristich and Byron Dafoe.

* Jan. 25, 1996--Traded Tocchet to Boston for Kevin Stevens.

* Feb. 10, 1996--Traded Pat Conacher to Calgary for Craig Ferguson.

* Feb. 17, 1996--Traded Darryl Sydor and a fifth-round pick in the 1996 draft to Dallas for Shane Churla and Doug Zmolek.

* Feb. 27, 1996--Traded Wayne Gretzky to St. Louis for Craig Johnson, Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, a first-round pick in the 1997 draft and a fifth-round pick in the 1996 draft.

* March 14, 1996--Traded Marty McSorley, Jari Kurri and Churla to the New York Rangers for Ray Ferraro, Ian Laperriere, Mattias Norstrom, Nathan LaFayette and a fourth-round pick in the 1997 draft.

* June 20, 1996--Traded Eric Lacroix and a first-round pick in the 1998 draft to Colorado for Stephane Fiset and a first-round pick in the 1998 draft.

Dave Taylor at a Glance

* Drafted in the 15th round by the Kings in 1975 after an All-American career at Clarkson (N.Y.) University.

* Selected to five NHL All-Star games and was King captain for four seasons.

* Teamed with center Marcel Dionne and left winger Charlie Simmer, to form the renowned Triple Crown Line.

* In 1991, he won the NHL’s Masterton and King Clancy trophies for his contributions to hockey and the community.

* Had his No. 18 jersey retired on April 3, 1995 by the Kings and is the team’s all-time leader in games played with 1,111.

* Finished his career with 1,069 points, including 431 goals.

* Lives in Tarzana with his wife, Beth, and two daughters Jamie, 12, and Katie, 9.

* Played 17 seasons in the NHL before becoming assistant general manager and director of player development with the Kings in 1994.