Minor Deals Possible at Deadline

General Manager Dave Taylor spent most of Monday closeted with Coach Andy Murray, player personnel director Bill O’Flaherty, pro scouting director Ace Bailey and pro scout Robbie Laird, discussing their options leading to today’s noon NHL trade deadline.

Taylor has been seeking a No. 1 center, a search that intensified when Jozef Stumpel suffered a broken rib and left the lineup indefinitely. But unless Taylor gives up the Kings’ first-round draft pick or the pick they acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in last month’s Rob Blake trade, he has little to spare that would bring a significant return.

He has spoken to the Buffalo Sabres about holdout center Michael Peca, but Peca reportedly will go to the Calgary Flames. And Eric Lindros, whom the Kings ruled out when he expressed a preference for the Toronto Maple Leafs, is being wooed by the St. Louis Blues.

Taylor declined an interview request Monday. However, Murray said the Kings might do some “minor things” today.

“There’s so much talk of the big deals, with Lindros in St. Louis,” Murray said. “I think it might be a rush [this] morning, with some teams waiting to do things.”

One move might be to break their goaltending logjam. Felix Potvin has played well since he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks, making Jamie Storr or Stephane Fiset expendable. Storr’s trade value is higher, but his youth (25, to Fiset’s 30) and lower salary (he will earn $1.45 million this season and will be a restricted free agent July 1) also make him worth keeping. Fiset is in the first year of a three-year deal, plus an option, worth an average of $2.35 million.

With defensemen always at a premium, Aki Berg is a tradable asset. At 23, he’s still young enough to develop into a more consistent and physical force, and Mathieu Schneider’s expected return from a groin injury Wednesday will give the team an extra defenseman.

Kelly Buchberger could probably be had by a Stanley Cup contender that needs a character player and can work around his diminished skills. Winger Nelson Emerson could be had too, but his low production (11 goals, 21 points) and high salary (two seasons left at a total of nearly $4 million, plus an option year) work against him.

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The Kings didn’t practice Monday but will skate today. Murray delayed the session an hour “in case we do something. We don’t want someone to pull a muscle in practice or have to pull someone off the ice.”