Kings, Ducks to Start on Road

Dallas will raise the Stanley Cup banner on Oct. 1 and then the Mighty Ducks get to see all of the NHL champion Stars they will want for a while.

The Kings will see a lot of airplanes before they see the Staples Center, and people who buy tickets there might not get to see defenseman Aki Berg at all.

Both the Ducks and Kings will begin their seasons on the road, according to the league schedule released Wednesday. The Ducks play at Dallas on Oct. 2 and Phoenix on Oct. 5, then come home to play the Stars on Oct. 8 at the Arrowhead Pond.

The Kings will be out awhile.

With all the hoopla about Bruce Springsteen and the Democratic National Convention, it should not be forgotten that the Staples Center, scheduled for occupancy this fall, has sports as its, well, staple, and the facility begins that part of its existence Oct. 20, when the Kings play host to the Boston Bruins.

It will be the Kings’ eighth game. They open Oct. 2 at Nashville, and then play four more road games before coming home for a couple of days of rest and reorganization, then taking off for Calgary and Edmonton.

And then they get to play at home.

And probably without Berg.

Dave Taylor, the team’s senior vice president and general manager, said Wednesday that Berg had turned down the team’s multiyear contract offer.

Berg, 21, had spurned the Kings’ offer of about $650,000 and played in Finland last season for much less. The offer was said to be increased this year, with a multiyear contract desired.

“We considered what we thought the market was for a player of his experience and offered more,” said Taylor, who would not reveal the offer but would say only that the gap between the two sides was substantial.

It is believed to be more than $250,000 a year.

Berg reportedly could play in Finland again next season and also has a suitor for his services in Sweden, and if he signs with any European club by today, he is lost to the Kings for another season.

The Kings also have until today to sign defenseman Frantisek Kaberle, a Czech who was their second selection in the third round and is given a chance to play in the NHL this season. If they are unable to sign him by today, they will have to make an additional payment to the European hockey federation to gain a negotiating extension to Aug. 15.

Meanwhile, ABC, which takes over hockey games from Fox this season, will show four regional telecasts and the NHL All-Star game in 2000.