Kings Increase Offer to Palffy

The Kings have increased their initial proposal to right wing Ziggy Palffy, offering him a three-year deal believed to be worth $16 million to $18 million.

Palffy, 32, will become an unrestricted free agent July 1 if he does not come to terms with the Kings.

“We’ve had conversations with Ziggy, and he’s indicated that he’d like to stay,” King General Manager Dave Taylor said. “We think we’ve made a very reasonable offer. We’ll see what they come back with.”

Palffy, who made $7 million last season, had 41 points in 35 games before sustaining a season-ending shoulder dislocation in January. He is expected to recover fully by next month.

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Forward Anson Carter, who struggled after being acquired by the Kings in March, underwent surgery Thursday for an abdominal strain.

Carter had one assist in 15 games after being acquired from the Washington Capitals for prospect Jared Aulin. Carter sustained the injury within a couple of weeks after joining the Kings.

“He did complain a little bit about it towards the end of the year,” Taylor said. “It might have hampered him a little bit. At that point they weren’t considering surgery, but it wasn’t getting better, so they elected for surgery.”

Carter, 29, will become an unrestricted free agent July 1 if the Kings do not make him a qualifying offer of a one-year, $2.8 million contract.

-- Mike Bresnahan

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NHL Players’ Assn. officials said they would file a grievance to prevent league officials from reducing the maximum width of goaltenders’ leg pads.

NHL officials, concerned about the decline in scoring throughout the league, had planned to reduce the pads from 12 inches to 10 inches. It was one of several rule change proposals intended to boost offense that came from a general managers meeting in February.

In a statement, the union said that it did not oppose examining changes to goaltender equipment, but any proposed changes need to be done with the consent of the NHLPA.

“It is disappointing that the league didn’t choose to work with the goaltenders and the NHLPA on these issues,” NHLPA representative Steve Larmer said. “On more than one occasion since the GM meetings the NHLPA approached league officials to arrange meetings with a group of goaltenders to discuss equipment issues. The league refused to meet.”

NHLPA representatives said they told league officials that they would not take part in formal discussions related to goaltender equipment at the general managers meeting because of a pending goaltender equipment grievance.

The NHLPA previously filed a grievance over the league’s unilateral changes to the knee boards and the length of the pads in September. The grievance has not been heard, as the league fired the arbitrator Sept. 1.

Both issues are safety-related, NHLPA officials said.

Colin Campbell, director of hockey operations, said that the reduction in the width of the pads was not a safety issue and that most players were in favor of the change.

League officials were moving quickly to adopt the new rules, informing manufacturers to begin making pads that conform to the new size regulation.

-- Chris Foster

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Detroit Red Wing defenseman Derian Hatcher was suspended for next season’s first three games by the NHL for elbowing an opponent in the head during the Western Conference semifinals. Hatcher hit Calgary Flame forward Matthew Lombardi in the first period of Detroit’s 1-0 overtime loss in Game 6 last week.

From Associated Press