Blake Holding Out for More

It was June, Rob Blake had just won the Norris Trophy, given to the player deemed the best defenseman in the NHL, and the Kings had offered him a contract that said so: five years, $25 million.

Now it’s September, and the offer is still on the table with nothing on top of it.

“We’re prepared to make him the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL,” said Tim Leiweke, the Kings’ president, the benchmark being the $15-million, three-year deal the St. Louis Blues gave Al MacInnis.

But that might be a bit limiting.

“I don’t feel you get paid according to the position you play,” said Blake’s agent, Ron Salcer. “I think you get paid by your value to the hockey club, and Rob is certainly as valuable to the Kings as any of the top players are to their organizations.”

Translation: Go back and get more money, preferably the kind teams are paying high-scoring forwards. And though specifics haven’t been put forth, the name of Mats Sundin, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ center, has been mentioned. Sundin will earn $6,347,164 this season.

Blake, a restricted free agent, might turn out to be his own worst enemy. He has a nine-year investment in the Kings, just moved into a home in Manhattan Beach with his new wife, and he wants to stay in Los Angeles.

“And I want to play,” he said Tuesday. “I want to be on the ice. I have missed time before because of injuries, and I know that any month you miss means that it takes two months to catch up.”

But Blake can’t practice when the Kings open training camp Sunday at Iceoplex in North Hills unless he has signed a contract.

Blake is one of five Kings still unsigned. That list includes defenseman Aki Berg, enforcer Matt Johnson, left wing Steve McKenna and goalie Jamie Storr.

Leiweke said he expects all but Blake to be signed in the next two days, after General Manager Dave Taylor returns from his mother’s funeral in Canada. A two-year extension for Coach Larry Robinson also probably will be completed by Sunday.

That leaves Blake.

“Certainly we’re not going to set a precedent,” said Leiweke, who said the King payroll will be about $34 million this season, up $10 million from last year’s, which ranked 22nd in the NHL. The team already has contract commitments for about $26 million and is trying to trade for a scoring forward to pep up the offense.

“We have to do what makes sense,” Leiweke said.