Palffy Prepared to Make Break

A day after saying he probably would not return to the Kings, Ziggy Palffy said Friday he would not take a pay cut to stay with the Kings and that he wanted to play for a contender.

“I’m over 30 and I’d like to play for the Stanley Cup,” Palffy, 32, told the Slovakian newspaper Pravda.

Palffy became an unrestricted free agent Thursday and is seeking a four- or five-year deal for at least $7 million a year. The Kings’ largest offer was a three-year, $19.5-million deal.

Palffy, who made $7 million last season with the Kings, said he would not agree to a lower salary than he had last season.

At home in Slovakia since April, Palffy was more assertive than he had been a day earlier when during a Slovakian TV interview he said he was “pretty sure” he would not return to the Kings.

“He hasn’t said that to me,” King General Manager Dave Taylor said. “I’ve just heard him say that he’d like to stay in L.A. That’s what his agent has told us.”

Detroit, Ottawa, Chicago and the New York Rangers are believed to be interested in Palffy.

Last season, Palffy had 16 goals and 41 points in 35 games before sustaining a season-ending dislocated right shoulder in January.

-- Mike Bresnahan