Kings Receive a Strong Message

During a sometimes contentious meeting with season-seat subscribers Saturday at Staples Center, King President Tim Leiweke launched into an impassioned explanation of the club’s lack of interest in pursuing unrestricted free agents.

Ticking off a list of players who had failed to live up to expectations this season after attracting multimillion-dollar deals last summer, he said that signing free agents was a risky proposition that rarely works out. Bill Guerin of the Dallas Stars, he said, was the only free agent who had fulfilled his promise this season.

His audience of about 400 begged to differ.

“Boucher,” several fans shouted.

Their reference was to former King defenseman Philipe Boucher, who bolted for the Stars as an unrestricted free agent last summer after the Kings failed to match a richer offer made by their Pacific Division rivals.

Not re-signing Boucher, Leiweke admitted, was a mistake.

If Leiweke and General Manager Dave Taylor thought they would be treated with deference by this group, which at the Kings’ invitation had gathered in the arena’s lower bowl before the team’s 4-3 overtime loss Saturday night to the Boston Bruins, they quickly found out otherwise.

And if Leiweke thought he could placate disappointed fans by announcing a 3% cut in ticket prices for next season, he badly miscalculated.

During a lively question-and-answer session, more than one fan suggested that rather than charge less for tickets the Kings should charge more, using the added revenue to address the team’s need for scorers.

“The fact is, this franchise continues to fail to address the major problem, which is that we’re consistently one or two players away [from being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender],” said Justin Shrenger, a season ticket-holder from Los Angeles. “The commitment is questionable. It’s very, very unsatisfying for all fans.”

Leiweke promised that the club would be “active” in the off-season pursuing trades. Cutting ticket prices, Leiweke said, would not result in a lower payroll.

The fans attitude didn’t improve significantly once Glen Murray scored his second goal of the game, 2:05 into overtime to give the Bruins the victory.

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UP NEXT

Tuesday vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net -- The Blue Jackets are last in the Western Conference but are 3-0 against the Kings.