Ferraro Accepts Limited Role

Ray Ferraro has quietly slid into an elder-statesman role with the Kings, in part because he is 34, in part because he has played 14 seasons in the NHL and in part because an injured left knee cost him much of last season and he may not be able to do what he could before the injury.

With that in mind, Ferraro watched the waiver draft come and go as a player exposed to it for the first time.

“I pretty well figured I wouldn’t be picked because of my age and salary [$1.75 million],” he said Thursday. “There’s a lot of people who have counted me out, but I feel I still have some hockey left.”

Maybe one more season.

Ferraro, a solid-scoring center for most of his career, will frequently be listed among the “healthy scratches,” with his play probably being limited to spot roles.

“I assume if there’s an injury, I’ll go in,” he said. “If somebody’s struggling, I’ll probably get a chance. If there are some teams [we] want to change the lineup against, I’ll probably get a chance.

“Really, basically, Larry [Robinson] told me to be ready to play and be prepared to do a couple of things. I might go in and check for a couple of games. I might play second line for a few games. Who knows?”

What Ferraro does know is he likes what he’s doing.

“There’s no question that I appreciate having this job and doing what I do more now than I did 15 years ago,” he said. “When I started, I was going to play 10 years and I was too ignorant to know any different.”

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Olli Jokinen’s stay in Springfield could be short, according to Dave Taylor, the Kings’ vice president and general manager, who indicated that he wanted Jokinen, a Finn, to get used to the North American game and figured that would happen quickly. . . . Center Doug Weight and winger Ryan Smyth, who between them had 46 goals last season, still have not signed contracts with Edmonton and reportedly aren’t close. . . . Taylor and Aki Berg’s agent, Larry Kelly, have talked again but there has been no movement.