Kings Trade for Rasmussen

The Kings addressed a need for speed and size Wednesday by acquiring forward Erik Rasmussen from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for forward Adam Mair and a fifth-round pick in the 2003 NHL entry draft.

Rasmussen, a physical player who led Buffalo in hits over the last two seasons, said he welcomed the opportunity to play with a new team after failing to live up to expectations with the Sabres, who drafted him in the first round (seventh overall) in 1996.

“I’m very excited about the trade,” he said. “I have a chance to hopefully play a different role.... The West Coast teams seem to skate hard at all times. It will be an interesting style of hockey for me.”

General Manager Dave Taylor said the Kings hope to tap into Rasmussen’s offensive potential. He scored 31 goals in two seasons at the University of Minnesota but had only 33 goals in five seasons with the Sabres playing mostly on the third or fourth line.

“He has not been given a lot of offensive opportunities,” Taylor said. “He may have the ability to develop into a power forward who can put the puck in the net. If he gets on a line with [Jason] Allison or [Bryan] Smolinski, guys who can move the puck, with his size and strength he can be effective.

“I think he has the [potential] to play among our top six forwards, and at the very least is an excellent third-line player.”

The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Rasmussen also brings an aggressive style of play. He led the Sabres in hits with 207 in 2000-01 and was second on the team with 164 last season.

“He skates very well and he likes to get in and play a very physical style,” Taylor said. “He’s very effective on the forecheck and able to punish opposing defenders.”

Rasmussen, 25, has one year left on a two-year contract paying $1.1 million per season, with an option for the 2003-04 season.

He acknowledged falling short of expectations in Buffalo, where he became the target of media criticism. He has been bothered by shoulder problems the last two years.

“I think everybody, including myself, expected more from me,” he said. “If there was anything negative written about me, I earned it. It’s just a situation where [the Sabres] are going in a different direction now.”

Rasmussen played in 69 games last season and had eight goals, 11 assists and 34 penalty minutes. His best season was in 2000-01, when he had 12 goals and 19 assists, and played in all 82 games. He helped the Sabres reach the Stanley Cup finals in 1999 and the Eastern Conference finals in 1998.

Though excited, Rasmussen said he was a little nervous about leaving the relative calm of Buffalo for the fast lane of Los Angeles.

“It will be a quite a culture shock,” he said. “I’m not big on traffic, but I’ll try to get used to it.”

Mair, 23, played in 18 games for the Kings last season, recording one goal and one assist. He was suspended for 10 games for leaving the bench to join a fight on the ice at Ottawa in December.

*

The Mighty Ducks signed goalie J.F. Damphousse and right wing Rob Valicevic to one-year contracts. Damphousse, acquired in the deal that brought Petr Sykora to the Ducks three weeks ago, played in six games with the New Jersey Devils last season. Valicevic played 17 games with the Kings last season.

*

Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this report.

(BEGIN TEXT INFOBOX)

*--* Totals 281 33 46 79 King Erik The Kings acquired forward Erik Rasmussen from the Buffalo Sabres Wednesday. A look at Rasmussen’s five-season NHL career, all with Buffalo: Season GP G A P 1997-98 21 2 3 5 98-99 42 3 7 10 99-00 67 8 6 14 00-01 82 12 19 31 01-02 69 8 11 19

*--*