Kings Finally Out of Alibis

They finally admitted it.

A sport dirtied, a season soiled, the Kings finally came clean.

Officially opening the doors Monday for the first time in nearly a year, this town’s perplexing little skating troupe celebrated not with confetti, but a confession.

The reason they are so excited about this new salary-capped NHL labor agreement?

Because they had long been operating under their own private salary cap.

The reason they think this new agreement will improve their Stanley Cup hopes?

Because they had not been spending enough money to be competitive.

Just as everyone thought.

The Ice Charades.

“Maybe in the past we have had to use marketing and cute slogans and campaigns to win people over,” admitted Tim Leiweke, team president, in a televised news conference from Staples Center. “Maybe we didn’t have enough of a product to be competitive, so we thought it was important to spin our assets, our sport and our organization.”

And now?

“Going forward,” Leiweke said, “things are going to change.”

That is, if we’re not being spun again.

How do we know?

Everyone talks about this $39-million salary cap, but did you also realize there was a salary floor of $21 million? How do we know the Kings won’t be paying closer attention to that? How do we know that they won’t invent new reasons to ignore important free agents, even if that person is sitting in the middle of their locker room?

What promises can they make that fans will never again be buried under an Avalanche?

Suckers once, shame on them.

Suckers twice, shame on us.

The Kings’ arms are open, but, for now, fans would be wise to keep an eye on their wallet and a hand over their heart.

This new situation seems perfect for them. But so, once, did Rob Blake.

“You can no longer buy the Stanley Cup,” Leiweke said. “You have to earn the Stanley Cup.”

First, the Kings have to earn their credibility in a community that now knows the truth.

Winning only one playoff series since billionaire Philip Anschutz bought the team in 1995?

They said it was bad luck. We always knew it was money.

Ridding themselves of the likes of Mathieu Schneider, Bryan Smolinski and Philippe Boucher?

They said it was tactical. Blah, blah, blah, it was money.

Anschutz didn’t buy the team to get wins, he bought it to get richer, and he was willing to forfeit a shot at a championship, and eventually an entire season, to reach that goal.

“We were caught halfway in between,” Leiweke admitted Monday. “We’re trying to keep up with the big boys but trying to prepare for the future.”

That was then. The future is wow. The limbo is gone. The ice has been leveled.

Such is the challenge -- or is it curse? -- for the Kings.

The new labor agreement calls for the league-wide dissolution of excuses, pandering and pity.

Welcome to the icy version of the NFL, where the smartest guys win, and everyone else gets canned.

Dave Taylor is no longer just a nice fellow whose hands are cuffed by Colorado bankers. He is now a guy who must prove the notion that, with equal resources and a favorable climate, hockey can win here as easily as baseball and basketball.

“If a player is an unrestricted free agent, he will find our city, our fans and the consistency in our organization very appealing,” Taylor said.

Andy Murray is no longer just an engaging lug who works miracles with minimalists. He is now a guy who must match hockey’s new rules with a new team whose pedigree should no longer be an issue.

“Anybody who is sour or bitter, they’re not going to survive,” Murray said Monday, showing that his suntan hasn’t weathered his intensity. “Any kind of negativity will not survive.”

In the wonderful-to-hear-again words of Bob Miller on Monday, “It’s a whole new game.”

And, certainly, the Kings are trying.

They cut ticket prices. They added bunches of cheaper tickets. Every ticket for the Sept. 17 exhibition with the Mighty Ducks will be free.

They signed Luc Robitaille, and, in turn, he will sign jerseys for all the season-ticket holders, leading to the worry that the first King injury will be writer’s cramp.

“Man, that’s a lot of jerseys,” he said with a grin.

Perhaps in keeping with the Kings’ new attitude, a fan even sneaked into the news conference Monday and made a statement thanking Sean Avery, who, sitting on the dais, gladly acknowledged it.

Avery endured much heat from fellow players after, in this space, he became the first player in the U.S. to publicly apologize for the lockout. But the fans will love him for it. And, as on the ice, he’s not backing off.

“For that fan, that’s why I did it,” he said of his statements. “That’s what it was for. That guy pays my salary. That guy puts food on my table.”

And that guy is the sort that the Kings must impress, not with words, but with results. Because in this new NHL, nothing else will matter.

“We are going to spend money to upgrade this team, you have our word on that,” Leiweke said, symbolically reaching out his hand to a city spun. “We will not let you down. We are going to be able to significantly improve our roster.”

Go ahead, shake that hand, but only if you can do so while crossing your fingers.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Fan incentives

Highlights of inducements the Kings will offer to fans this season:

* Free admission to the Sept. 17 exhibition game against the Mighty Ducks at Staples Center.

* Making 1,000 $10 “Dave Taylor Die-Hard” seats available for each game, up from 500 in 2003-04.

* A 5% rollback in prices for season-ticket holders. Prices will range from $18.50 in the upper corners to $92.50 at center ice. Single-game ticket prices will be the same as 2003-04, from $24.50 to $115.50.

* A free Luc Robitaille-autographed jersey for every season-ticket account holder. Details will be available from the sales and marketing department in coming weeks.

* Practices will be held in rinks around the metropolitan area, with sites and times to be announced. Fans will also be invited to skates, and meet-the-team meetings with players, Coach Andy Murray and General Manager Dave Taylor.

* More family plan options will be available, with some two-ticket plans to be introduced to complement the four-ticket plans that will be sold in a variety of price ranges.

* A promise from King President Tim Leiweke: “We are going to spend money to upgrade this team, and we will do it this off-season, before we take the ice in September. You have our word on that.”