Taylor Gets Three-Year Contract Extension

Dave Taylor, a cornerstone of the franchise for more than a quarter-century, was rewarded Tuesday with a three-year contract extension that will carry him through the 2005-06 season as the Kings’ general manager.

A veteran of 17 seasons as an NHL player, all spent with the Kings in a career that spanned the L.A. tenures of former teammates Marcel Dionne and Wayne Gretzky, Taylor, 46, is in his sixth season as overseer of the club’s hockey operations.

The former team captain, implementing club owner Philip Anschutz’s “fiscally responsible” philosophy, hired Coach Andy Murray before the 1999-2000 season and engineered the trades that brought most of the Kings’ top players, among them Jason Allison, Ziggy Palffy, Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller and Felix Potvin.

The Kings have reached the playoffs each of the last three seasons, putting together three 90-point seasons for the first time in their history.

“He’s obviously got a great eye for talent,” President Tim Leiweke said Tuesday from Los Angeles. “He’s made great deals. He clearly has understood that we’ve got to live within a system that makes sense for the rest of the league, that we can’t be selfish and ultimately do what some teams do, like Dallas, which is spend stupid money and then announce that they’re selling the team.

“I think Dave’s lived within a pretty good format here and he’s done a very good job of balancing this out with some long-term vision.

“We have a great development system. I think he did a great job in his choice of Andy as coach. He’s built a good organization on and off the ice.”

Taylor, one of four Kings to have his jersey retired, retired in 1994.

“I’ve been real fortunate,” he said Tuesday night while driving to Ann Arbor, Mich., to scout a college exhibition. “In this business, you like having a little security and having the contract extension means a lot to me.”

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TONIGHT

at Detroit, 4:30 PDT, Fox Sports Net

Site -- Joe Louis Arena.

Radio -- KAVL (610), KIIS (1220).

Records -- Kings 3-1-1-0, Red Wings 4-2-0-0.

Record vs. Red Wings -- 1-0-0-0.

Update -- Jason Allison scored two goals to lead the Kings to a 3-2 victory over the Red Wings at Staples Center earlier this month. The Kings have lost three in a row at Detroit and have not won a regular-season game at Joe Louis Arena since Feb. 18, 2000. The Kings assigned forward Derek Bekar to Manchester of the American Hockey League.