Kings Again Subscribing to Less-Is-More Theory

Great expectations have followed the Kings through the summer and early fall like young girls tracking the Backstreet Boys or ‘N Sync.

A head-spinning spring fling--the Kings’ magical playoff run to the brink of the Western Conference finals--has led to hopeful fantasies of a more meaningful relationship with the Stanley Cup.

About 95% of the Kings’ season-ticket holders renewed their orders and 2,000 more signed on to share in the dream.

It’s probably best, however, not to get too carried away.

Like a summer crush, the idea of the Kings as contenders may not last.

This is a franchise, remember, that has advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs only once in its 34 seasons, never without Wayne Gretzky.

Last season, the Kings strung together perhaps the most remarkable stretch run in their history, winning 18 of their last 22 games, just to make the playoffs.

Winless in the playoffs for eight seasons before last April, they had lost 14 consecutive playoff games after dropping the first two in a first-round series against the Detroit Red Wings.

But then came the three-week stretch that fueled passions and heightened expectations: four consecutive victories to eliminate the stunned Red Wings, then a pulsating seven-game series against the Colorado Avalanche.

General Manager Dave Taylor was lauded by the Hockey News as the NHL executive of the year after adding goaltender Felix Potvin and then forward Adam Deadmarsh and defenseman Aaron Miller in a pair of late-season moves.

The Kings, everyone seemed to agree, were a team on the rise.

But ready to make the quantum leap into the NHL’s upper echelon?

Not so fast.

While each of the big four in the Western Conference--the Avalanche, Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars--opened their wallets to add or retain prominent free agents over the summer, the Kings’ multibillionaire owner, Philip Anschutz, kept his hands stuffed into his deep pockets.

The Kings’ most newsworthy deal involving a big-name free agent was chasing off their No. 2 scorer and most popular player, Luc Robitaille, who rejected their comparatively low offer and signed a two-year, $9-million contract with the Red Wings.

“Phil didn’t set the budget, I did,” King President Tim Leiweke said, offering no apology for the Kings’ thrifty approach and, in fact, saying it’s the only one that makes economic sense. “Could we spend a lot of money? Sure. But at the end of the day we destroy this team and we destroy this league.

“You’ve got to operate so that it makes reasonable business sense. And you’ve got to do that so you don’t have ticket prices like they have in Detroit and Colorado, which are almost twice as expensive as what we have in Los Angeles.”

So, for the first time in five years, the Kings will start the season without Robitaille or all-star defenseman Rob Blake, traded to the Avalanche in February.

Still, Leiweke says, the team is improved, deeper and more balanced.

“We understand the magnitude of the competition that we face in the conference,” he said. “But I think we got better. I think, in particular, the playoff run taught us what it takes to win and I think our players, now that they’ve had a taste of that, are all going to be very dedicated to trying to take it another step.”

The Kings, who have so often gone for the quick fix, are committed to a long-term plan that stresses character over charisma, Leiweke says, and grit over glitz. They will win, the Kings believe, with defense and goaltending.

Coach Andy Murray, starting his third season with a two-year contract extension signed in June, will try to wring a third consecutive 90-point season out of a team that, before his arrival, had never enjoyed two in succession.

He’ll do so with a nucleus that is virtually unchanged from last spring.

Steve Heinze, who scored 27 goals for the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets last season, was brought in to replace Robitaille, and the Kings even added a Robitaille, Randy (no relation), who played last season for the Nashville Predators. Both signed as free agents.

Ken Belanger, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound winger who racked up 121 penalty minutes in 40 games with the Boston Bruins last season, takes over the enforcer role vacated by Stu Grimson, who signed with the Predators.

Otherwise, it’s a familiar cast of characters that will open the season Thursday night against the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center.

The answers to two key questions probably will shape the season:

* Who will fill the goal-scoring void left by Luc Robitaille, who was second on the team with 37 goals last season, a team-high 16 on the power play?

* Can Potvin duplicate his stellar late-season goaltending over a full season?

Deadmarsh, who replaces Robitaille on the No. 1 line to play alongside scoring leader Ziggy Palffy and center Jozef Stumpel, is a playoff-tested two-way player who will continue to supply grit, but he averaged only 19 goals over the last three seasons. Plus, he was bothered throughout training camp by nagging injuries.

Glen Murray is capable of scoring 40 goals, Andy Murray believes, but his career high is 29 and last season he scored 18 in 64 games. And the coach upbraided the veteran winger on Saturday, calling into question his commitment and suggesting that his days with the team could be numbered.

Andy Murray, though, says the Kings don’t need any one player to take on the scoring burden, that it should be a shared responsibility.

“We have guys that shine on different nights,” the coach said, mindful that centers Stumpel and Bryan Smolinski are proven scoring threats, as are playmaking defensemen Mathieu Schneider and Lubomir Visnovsky, an NHL all-rookie selection last season. “We don’t rely on one or two or three or even four guys. I like the fact that with our way of doing business we are a real team.”

As for Potvin, the Kings have no reason to doubt him, even though his career record, including playoffs, is .500. He resurrected his career last season, carrying the Kings through their late-season run after being traded by the Vancouver Canucks, who were on the verge of shipping him to the minors.

“He exceeded our expectations and played outstandingly for us,” Taylor said. “He was a real steadying influence when he came over.”

Andy Murray says his No. 1 goaltender could play as many as 70 games.

Hoping to take some of the pressure off Potvin is a solid group of defensemen led by the Kings’ new captain, Swedish Olympian Mattias Norstrom.

The Kings are strongest and deepest at the blue line, where Miller, Schneider, Visnovsky, Philippe Boucher, Jaroslav Modry and Jere Karalahti are also expected to play key roles for a team that could have a hard time scoring.

“We’re going to have to be desperate, like we were the last 20 games last year and the way we played in the playoffs,” sparkplug Ian Laperriere said. “It’s more fun to play that way, and that’s the way we’re going to have to do it.”