Well, Look Who’s Talking, but He’s Still Not Scoring

Just got back from Las Vegas, so I thought it’d be fun to chat with Jeremy Roenick, maybe swap some gambling stories and then talk to the old guy about being finished as a hockey player.

A King spokesman, though, told me Roenick wasn’t talking to anyone in the media, and hasn’t been doing so for weeks.

“J.R. said he’s going to let his play do the talking for him,” the spokesman said, so I checked with Roenick’s stats and they weren’t talking either -- no goals in the last six games.

As you know, the Kings hired the old charismatic goal scorer as a publicity stunt to bring attention to a sport no one here cares about. Now he’s not scoring or talking, the Kings are on the verge of missing the playoffs, and I can’t think of a better time to give hockey some attention.

So I stopped by the rink, had the PR guy remind Roenick he said I couldn’t write anything to keep him from talking to me, and a few minutes later Roenick was standing in front of me and I was telling him he’s lost it.

“I’ve scored about 1,300 points and you haven’t gotten one,” he said, a little presumptuous on his part, I thought, considering I was the leading scorer for Holy Cross High.

“I know I’m better than you,” he bragged, and I said something like “how would you know?” since we’ve both scored the same amount of goals in the last six games.

“I’ll be the one laughing at the end,” Roenick predicted, and I’ve never known an athlete yet to be laughing at the end of a Page 2 column written about him.

I reminded him he wasn’t good enough to join the U.S. Olympic team, and has been passed by Mike Modano as the NHL’s No. 2 all-time American goal scorer.

“I’m not done yet,” he insisted, and I said maybe he could get back to me when he scores a goal.

“I know I’ve been a disappointment with my offensive output. I hear fans, I know the talk on websites, and what you’re saying, but I’m going to be throwing it back in everyone’s faces, and that brings a smile to my face.”

And there is nothing more grotesque than an old hockey player smiling.

*

THE NEXT few minutes were remarkable and revealing, the great player candidly admitting he still has the heart to give it his all, but maybe not the body.

“I have to pick my times when to go in there and get my nose dirty -- and risk getting another head injury,” he said, and I wonder what he was thinking a few hours later when the Kings honored Adam Deadmarsh, who was forced to retire early because of post-concussion syndrome.

“I have another contract coming up, and I know how the Kings felt about all my concussions. I still want to play two or three more years; I still have a warrior feeling inside. But in the back of my head there’s always this little guy reminding me, ‘Just don’t get hurt again.’

“I can still play with these young guys, but I can’t run around like a madman anymore. I used to do that 10 out of 10 times, but now it’s maybe six out of 10 -- my experience making up the difference.”

Start asking the question, “Is it the end of the line?” and Coach Andy Murray’s eyes light up, wondering if the question is going to focus on his own run in L.A. -- until I mention J.R.

“The way I’ll answer that, we need him to be a good player if we’re to get into the playoffs,” Murray said. “I seriously believe he’s trying, but we still need more.”

*

SEAN AVERY walked by while I was talking to Roenick, and I have no idea why gambling came to mind, but he said, “I’ll bet you $1,000 the Lakers don’t make the playoffs.”

Maybe Janet Jones Gretzky takes that bet. But instead I took the opportunity to ask Roenick about his name being linked to the recent NHL gambling controversy, guessing it had to be a distraction, thereby detracting from his play.

“Not a bit,” he said. “It’s not about me.”

“I read where you had sworn off gambling, but obviously you didn’t,” I said, and he stopped me. “That’s my business, my personal business, and it’d be like me asking you for details on how you make love to your wife.”

If I ever get that chance again, I told him, I’ll try to remember to take notes so we can continue our personal conversation on even terms.

*

HERE’S THE odd thing. I’m telling the guy he no longer has it, promising to make fun of him on Page 2 for the gambling scandal, and he’s smiling and laughing, while refusing to talk to other reporters.

“There are some media who went with misinformation [about the gambling] and hockey-related things,” he said, “and I’m a spiteful, vindictive” so-and-so.

I told him going silent sabotages his game. His big mouth has been fueling his aggressive play the last 17 years, forcing him to back up what he has said. I said if he scored against Colorado, it’d be a good time to start talking to the media again.

“If I score, I’m superstitious,” he said, “so I’ll be talking again -- but only to you.”

Roenick not only didn’t score, but none of his teammates did either in a 5-0 bore, raising the possibility they’re all finished, and then who cares what any of them has to say?

*

TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Gary:

“I hate to break your hoop-picking heart. I flipped a coin to the pick the winners -- against the spread -- for the first two rounds. Round one was 12 and 4, and round two was 11 and 5. That’s 72%.”

How much to sell me that coin?

T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.