Plenty of Contract Work Left for Taylor to Sew Up

After signing captain Mattias Norstrom to a four-year, $14.5-million contract last month, King General Manager Dave Taylor said it was probable that before the end of training camp the club would lock up one or two more players eligible to become unrestricted free agents next summer.

But when the season opened Wednesday night, the Kings had yet to extend contract offers to goaltender Felix Potvin, defenseman Aaron Miller or forwards Bryan Smolinski and Craig Johnson.

“Not yet,” Taylor said. “In the next little while we’d like to get going on that. We’ve just been preoccupied with the camp and our evaluations and getting ready for the season.”

*

Steve Heinze, demoted Monday to the minors and told that he was free to pursue a trade, has not drawn interest from any other teams, Taylor said. The veteran winger left Wednesday to join the Kings’ American Hockey League team at Manchester, N.H., and is expected to open the season in the AHL on Friday.

*

In pregame warm-ups, each of the Kings wore Wayne Gretzky No. 99 jerseys, which then were autographed by the players and Gretzky before being put up for auction.