Taylor Has Got It Upstairs

This might seem like the mint after a four-course meal, but along with the contract extension King General Manager Dave Taylor signed Friday comes the unofficial award for best off-season performance by a local sports executive.

While others are stuck with the twin curses of being both costly and ineffective (Dodgers), or are missing major components (Lakers), or need to reevaluate the direction of the entire organization (Angels), the Kings are in their best position since the Wayne Gretzky days.

They finally have a top offensive force in Ziggy Palffy.

They have a new coach, Andy Murray, who gets the most from his players. Taylor was “solely responsible” for his hiring, according to the news release that announced the contract extension (although you wonder if Taylor would have authorized that wording had the Kings started off 2-22-3 instead of 14-7-6).

You could even make the argument that their long-term prospects are better now than they were when they acquired Gretzky in 1988.

Even though he traded away a talented young player in Olli Jokinen to get Palff Daddy, the team still has 19 players on the current roster who are in their 20s (and that isn’t counting Rob Blake, who hits the big 3-oh on Friday.) Twelve of the players are Taylor’s acquisitions through trades or free-agent signings, including the trade that brought Luc Robitaille back for his second tour of duty with the Kings.

Although a good general manager is never satisfied, Taylor does see his plans coming to fruition.

“All the pieces are in place,” he said.

King President Tim Leiweke said Taylor’s other noteworthy accomplishments this off-season included the addition of the AHL Lowell Lock Monsters to their minor league affiliates and revamping the team’s scouting and fitness staffs.

But it’s the two boldest moves that make Taylor the guy.

“One of the things I have the most respect for about Dave is the fact he’s a fighter,” Leiweke said. “This summer, after we had a difficult year, he rolled up his sleeves and quietly worked a little bit harder and a little bit smarter and got things done.”

Taylor drew some derisive comments for hiring Murray, who had vast experience but also was coaching high school hockey at the time and had never been an NHL head coach.

Taylor was impressed with Murray’s preparation.

“Even in the interview process, he had an excellent handle on our team,” Taylor said.

Taylor said there are generally two types of coaches--ex-players or career coaches--and there were examples of each type achieving success in this year’s Stanley Cup matchup between Ken Hitchcock’s Dallas Stars and Lindy Ruff’s Buffalo Sabres.

So Taylor went with the low-profile hire.

Watching the way the players have responded to him has been “a very gratifying feeling,” Taylor said.

But Taylor also needed to do something the fans would respond to. He said the move to Staples Center did play a part in his decision to finally pull the trigger on his first big deal, the Palffy trade.

Palffy has given the Kings a team-high 12 goals and 15 assists.

Although attendance has increased by almost 3,000 per game to an average of 15,521, there can be some awfully small crowds on weeknights. Still, pulling in 17,407 for a dreadful team like Tampa Bay the way the Kings did Saturday night is a good sign.

Taylor has bonuses in his contract that tie in to the Kings’ revenues and expenses, and he said he should be judged by the results in the stands as well as on the ice.

“He can’t just be a hockey guy, he has to be a business guy,” Leiweke said.

We’ll give him some time to get the business side down. He has demonstrated he is as adept at handling the usual GM duties as he was at playing, and the new extension is a just recognition of his first 2 1/2 years on the job.

“It’s nice to have it done,” Taylor said of the extension, which was in the works for almost a year. “This is my 23rd year with the team--25 if you count the year I was drafted. I just hope we can build something special.”

More years like the one he’s having will help.

You know who else had another good year? Elgin Baylor. It looks as if he’s made the best draft pick of his tenure as the Clippers’ general manager in Lamar Odom, and Derek Anderson was a great off-season pickup.

But while the Clippers are still losing, Taylor’s moves have produced immediate dividends in the standings. That’s why he’s the man.

“He improved us in every area of our hockey organization,” Leiweke said. “And he did it the way he played: very quietly and diligently and low-key.”

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com