Barrie’s Patience Is Being Rewarded

So now Len Barrie is a checking winger, which is a long way from being a first-line center, but a longer way, as far as he’s concerned, from Long Beach.

That’s the idea.

“I’d rather be a fourth-line winger here than the leading scorer in the minors,” he said.

Barrie was leading the International Hockey League and Ice Dogs in scoring with 10 goals and 10 assists when he was recalled to replace injured Jozef Stumpel and installed as the center on a line that included Ziggy Palffy.

At the time, Luc Robitaille also was injured, but when he returned, he joined the Barrie-Palffy line, which was charged with scoring.

Barrie had a goal in his second game, another in his eighth and two, later, against Florida, but there was no doubt what was going to happen when Stumpel returned.

The question was whether Barrie would return to Long Beach or stay with the Kings.

“I told [Coach] Andy [Murray] that I could do anything he needed done,” said Barrie. “I wanted to make it a hard decision for him [to let me go].”

So meet Barrie, playing on the fourth line, which he did in previous stops at Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Florida.

It’s a triumph of patience for somebody who is used to scoring, but mainly in the minor leagues and overseas.

“I got so many calls from European teams, throwing money, while I was at Long Beach,” he said. “I’m glad I stuck it out and got a chance to be part of this.”

*

Coach Andy Murray traveled with the team, rather than leaving for a day at Minnesota after getting word that his 15-year-old son, Brady, is recovering nicely after a concussion suffered in a game with his high school team a week ago.

TONIGHT at Edmonton, 6 PST

Fox Sports Net

* Site--Skyreach Centre.

* Radio--KRLA (1110).

* Records--Kings 28-23-7-3, Oilers 21-24-15-8.

* Record vs. Oilers--1-1-1.

* Update--Edmonton finished a 4-0-2 run (3-0-2 on the road) by coming home to lose a two-game weekend series to rival Calgary, which had not won in 10 games. Oiler right winger Alex Selivanov has gone from skating with the top line and scoring 18 goals in his first 24 games to being scratched the last three games and put on the trading block. He remains third on the Edmonton points list with 33, second in goals with 19, only one of them scored in his last 29 games.