Kings at a Glance
1997-98 Record: 38-33-11.
Where finished: Second in Pacific Division (swept by St. Louis in first round of playoffs).
Who’s new: D Steve Duchesne (signed as free agent), D Doug Bodger (trade with New Jersey), LW Josh Green (rookie).
Who’s gone: D Aki Berg (unsigned restricted free agent), D Doug Zmolek (traded to Chicago), G Frederic Chabot (lost in waiver draft), RW Vitali Yachmenev (traded to Nashville).
Projected lines: First line-LW Vladimir Tsyplakov (18 goals, 52 points), C Jozef Stumpel (21, 79), RW Glen Murray (29, 60); Second line-LW Luc Robitaille (16, 40), C Yanic Perreault (28, 48), RW Josh Green (51, 85 with two minor-league teams); Third line-LW Craig Johnson (17, 38), C Ian Laperriere (6, 21), RW Russ Courtnall (12, 18); Fourth line-LW Matt Johnson (2, 6), C Nathan LaFayette (5, 8), RW Sandy Moger (11, 24); Fifth line-LW Steve McKenna (4, 8), C Ray Ferraro (6, 15), RW Roman Vopat (0, 3).
Projected defensive pairings: Rob Blake (23 goals, 50 points)-Mattias Norstrom (1, 13); Steve Duchesne (14, 56)-Doug Bodger (9, 20); Phillipe Boucher (6, 16)-Garry Galley (9, 37) or Sean O’Donnell (2, 17)
Goaltenders: Starter-Stephane Fiset (60 games, 26-25-8, 2.71 goals-against); Backup-Jamie Storr (17, 9-5-1, 2.22).
Key to season: The Kings got the best seasons of their careers from several players and are still a young team. They will need to continue to improve to make any noise in the playoffs, and maturity must be shown in avoiding the kinds of silly penalties that generate excessive penalty-killing responsibilities, at which they slipped from 87.2% to 84.2% (19th in the league) last season. Conversely, the power play must improve from 14.2% (15th in the league). They were eighth in the NHL in scoring last season, but a take-charge scorer would help and one is being sought.
Outlook: The addition of Steve Duchesne to be the trigger man on the power play should improve that aspect immensely, and also could help Rob Blake to his second successive Norris Trophy. Duchesne also should help the other defensemen score. The Kings had 42 goals by defensemen last season, 32 of them by Blake and Garry Galley. Up front, Luc Robitaille is back after missing much of last season because of a stomach injury, and 25-30 goals by him (he had 16 in 57 games last season) should make the offense more potent. Center Jozef Stumpel is the steadiest of the King forwards, and his line had 68 goals last season. A playoff team is a strong possibility, but can the Kings win one or two series?.
KING ROSTER
CENTERS
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No. Name Yrs Size 26 Ray Ferraro 14 5-9, 193 Missed half of last season because of knee injury 22 Ian Laperriere 4 6-1, 197 Tops on team in hits last season with 198 44 Yanic Perreault 5 5-11, 188 Second on team with 28 goals 15 Jozef Stumpel 7 6-3, 210 Led team with 79 points 29 Roman Vopat 3 6-3, 226 Up and down 3 times from minors last season
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LEFT WINGS
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No. Name Yrs Size 47 Josh Green 0 6-4, 212 Makes NHL debut Saturday night 23 Craig Johnson 4 6-2, 197 First hat trick last season vs. Vancouver 17 Matt Johnson 4 6-5, 232 Enforcer had 249 penalty minutes in ‘97-98 7 Steve McKenna 2 6-8, 247 Second-tallest player in NHL 20 Luc Robitaille 12 6-1, 205 16 goals, 40 points in injury-shortened season 9 Vladimir Tsyplakov 3 6-1, 197 22-point, 22-game streak last season
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RIGHT WINGS
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No. Name Yrs Size 19 Russ Courtnall 15 5-11, 185 Four short-handed goals last season 24 Nathan LaFayette 5 6-1, 200 Plays center on “checking” line 45 Sandy Moger 4 6-3, 208 Two game-winning goals last season 27 Glen Murray 7 6-3, 222 Led team with 29 goals
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DEFENSEMEN
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No. Name Yrs Size 4 Rob Blake 9 6-4, 220 Norris Trophy winner 8 Doug Bodger 13 6-2, 210 Last season with San Jose, New Jersey 43 Phillipe Boucher 6 6-2, 214 Had 25 points 28 Steve Duchesne 12 5-11, 195 Three-time all-star returns from St. Louis 3 Garry Galley 14 6-0, 207 12 points in first 12 games in ‘97-98 14 Mattias Norstrom 5 6-2, 201 Second to Blake with 21 minutes per game 6 Sean O’Donnell 4 6-3, 230 Second to M. Johnson with 179 penalty minutes
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GOALTENDERS
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No. Name Yrs Size 35 Stephane Fiset 7 6-1, 198 26 wins most since Hrudey’s 26 in ‘91-92 1 Jamie Storr 4 6-2, 198 9-5-1 as backup last season
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