This Must Be Why L.A. Isn’t Hockeytown

I don’t know what recent event bothered me more, The Times’ poor coverage of the NHL draft or the comments by King General Manager Dave Taylor.

The draft received no lead-in stories to familiarize readers with prospects or team situations, so editors could then justify burying the draft day stories as well as the follow-up story the next day on the inside pages.

As for Taylor, he stated that “the Kings are in payroll-cutting mode.”

Excuse me?! A team that drew a franchise-record number of customers last season, had the most sellouts in team history and drew the highest number of fans per game on average since their inception in 1967 now wants to cut costs? This after fans were forced to sit though a second season of watching minor league players because of the record number of injuries that incapacitated the top athletes?

As a player, Taylor never backed down from an opponent, but that is apparently no longer the case with his bosses.

Obviously ownership group AEG is not here to win with the Kings but to develop the downtown area and reap the hundreds of millions of dollars that will follow. When will King fans see through this charade and demand changes starting at the top? Hopefully this explanation will allow King management who were wondering why my season-ticket renewal form was not returned to rest easier.

Hayley Macmin

El Segundo