Blake Might Listen to Offers

The agent for King captain Rob Blake has cracked open a door Blake slammed shut before Christmas.

Ron Salcer said Thursday that he would be willing to listen to contract proposals from other teams for the defenseman in advance of his July 1 date for unrestricted free agency if those talks are part of trade negotiations.

Blake, who does not want to be dealt and wants to sign a long-term contract with the Kings, had said on Dec. 22 that he would not sign with any other team before becoming a free agent. For the Kings to get anything resembling legitimate value in a trade for Blake, it’s presumed that he would have to sign a long-term deal with his new team.

“Listening isn’t signing,” said Salcer, who still cast doubts as to any offer from a team other than the Kings luring Blake to give up free-agent rights.

“But I wouldn’t be serving my client if I didn’t listen. There may be some team out there who makes a great offer that Rob would want to play for.”

Salcer refuted a story from a Canadian television network that said Blake was close to signing a five-year King contract worth approximately $9.7 million a season, branding it “speculation.”

“We have not talked” since before Christmas, he said of negotiations between himself and the Kings. Dave Taylor, the team’s senior vice president and general manager, and team President Tim Leiweke met with Salcer and Blake during Christmas week.

“We agreed to disagree,” Salcer said again Thursday. “They know what it’s going to take to sign Rob Blake. They said they couldn’t afford it.”

Leiweke and Taylor were told that Blake deserved to be paid among the league’s top defensemen, and that market was set by the St. Louis Blues when they agreed to pay Chris Pronger almost $10 million a season.

The Kings are believed to have budged from an earlier offer, up to about $8 million a season.

It’s not enough, said Salcer, who added “the longer it goes, the closer it gets to July 1, the more attractive negotiating with every team looks.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs are known to covet Blake, who grew up in nearby Simcoe. The Maple Leafs need an impact defenseman and, after Philadelphia Flyer President Ed Snider said Thursday that the Flyers would no longer negotiate with Toronto for center Eric Lindros, the Maple Leafs’ attention could turn back to Blake.

The New York Rangers, also in need of defensemen, also have talked about pursuing Blake.