Sept 29, 1999
The Kings made their final roster cut today.
Right wing Jason Podollan and left wing Bill Huard have been assigned to the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League while center Len Barrie has been assigned to the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League.

Sept 27, 1999
Centers Nathan LaFayette and Eric Belanger and right wing Scott Barney have been assigned to the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL.
Right wing Scott Thomas has been assigned to the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League and defenseman Paul Dyck has been released.  The Kings also claimed defenseman Rich Brennan from the Nashville Predators in today's NHL waiver draft.

Sept 25, 1999
NHL Waiver draft on Monday ...
Protected - Goaltenders: Marcel Cousineau, Stephane Fiset;
Defensemen: Aki Berg, Rob Blake, Garry Galley, Jaroslav
Modry, Mattias Norstrom, Sean O'Donnell, Forwards:
Donald Audette, Len Barrie, Craig Johnson, Ian Laperriere,
Steve McKenna, Glen Murray, Zigmund Palffy, Luc
Robitaille, Bryan Smolinski, Jozef Stumpel, Vladimir
Tsyplakov, Marko Tuomainen.

Unprotected - Goaltender: Mike O'Neill; Defensemen:
Philippe Boucher, Dave MacIsaac, Jan Nemecek; Forwards:
Dan Bylsma, Bill Huard, Nathan LaFayette, Scott Thomas.

Sept 25, 1999
The Los Angeles Kings have assigned right winger Pavel Rosa to the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League, Kings Senior Vice President/General Manager Dave Taylor announced today.

Sept 24, 1999
The Kings announced today that defenseman Jere Karalahti has been assigned to HIFK Helsinki of the Finnish Elite League. Karalahti, 24, who has been unable to attain entry into the United States, will report to the Kings once his visa application has been approved.

Sept 20, 1999
The Los Angeles Kings have announced the following player transactions:
                  Assigned to Lowell Lock Monsters (American Hockey
                  League)
                  SEAN BLANCHARD - Defenseman
                  PETER HOGAN - Defenseman
                  DAVE HYMOVITZ - Center
                  DAVID MacISAAC - Defenseman
                  DONALD MacLEAN - Center
                  GREG PHILLIPS - Right Wing

                  Assigned to Long Beach Ice Dogs (International Hockey
                  League)
                  MARCEL COUSINEAU - Goaltender
                  JAN NEMECEK - Defenseman
                  MIKE O`NEILL - Goaltender

                  Reassigned to Junior Team JUSTIN PAPINEAU - Center,
                  Belleville Bulls (OHL)

Sept 17, 1999
Los Angeles Kings center Jason Blake underwent successful surgery today to repair torn cartilage in his right knee, Kings Senior Vice President/General Manager Dave Taylor announced today.
Dr. Ronald Kvitne of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic
performed the surgery. Blake will begin rehabilitation immediately and is expected to make a full recovery.  Blake, 26, who injured the knee during team scrimmages last week, is expected to be sidelined for approximately three-to-four weeks.

Sept 17, 1999
The Los Angeles Kings have agreed to terms on a contract with restricted free agent right wing  Jason Podollan, Kings Senior Vice President/General Manager Dave Taylor announced today.
"We are pleased to have Jason under contract," said Taylor. "We
look forward to him competing for a spot on our roster." Podollan, 23, was acquired by the Kings from the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 23, 1999, along with a third-round draft choice (Cory Campbell) in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft for center Yanic Perreault. At the time of the trade, Podollan, a member of the St. John`s Maple Leafs, led the American Hockey League in goals with 42. He played in 10 games with the Kings (no points) before being assigned to the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League where he played in eight games and recorded eight points (3-5=8) and two penalty minutes. He also played in six playoff games with Long Beach and registered three points (1-2=3) and four penalty minutes.

Sept 15, 1999
Assigned to Lowell Lock Monsters (American Hockey League)
           KEVIN BAKER - Right Wing
           TREVOR GILLIES - Defenseman
           RICHARD SEELEY - Defenseman
           KEVIN BOLIBRUCK - Defenseman
Reassigned to Junior Team
           KIP BRENNAN - Left Wing, Sudbury Wolves (OHL)

Sept 5, 1999
The Los Angeles Kings have agreed to terms on a contract with restricted free agent right wing Glen Murray.  He'll get $1.25 million this season, with performance bonuses that could add anywhere from $50,000-$400,000.
"We`re very pleased to have Glen signed and with us for the
 start of camp," said Taylor. "We look forward to him returning to
form as one of our top forwards."
Murray, 26, played in 61 games for the Kings last season,
recording 31 points (16-15=31) and 36 penalty minutes. He was
third on the club in goals (16), shots (173) and game-winning
goals (three). Murray missed 19 games with a torn medial
collateral ligament in his right knee suffered on Jan. 2, 1999,
against the Colorado Avalanche. He was second on the team in
goals and assists behind Luc Robitaille prior to suffering the knee injury.
The 6-3, 222-pound native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, had a career-high 60 points with the Kings during the 1997-98 season.  That season, he also led the team with a career-high 29 goals and was tied with Robitaille for most game-winning goals with seven. He also finished third on the club with a career-high 31 assists.
Originally acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Eddie
Olczyk on March 18, 1997, Murray also represented Team
Canada at the 1998 World Championships in Switzerland, where
he recorded three points (1-2=3) in five games.

Sept 2, 1999
The Los Angeles Kings have agreed to terms on a contract with restricted free agent defenseman Aki Berg, Kings Senior Vice President/General Manager Dave Taylor announced.
"Aki belongs in the National Hockey League, and more importantly in Los Angeles," said Taylor about Berg, who along with former King Olli Jokinen is the highest drafted Finnish player in NHL history. "We are very pleased to have him back. He`s a big, young, mobile defender, and we`re excited to add him to our defensive corps."
Berg, 22, last year played in his native Finland after failing to reach an agreement with the Kings on a contract. In 48 games with TPS Turku, the 6-3, 215-pound Berg recorded 15 points (8-7=15) and 137 penalty minutes. The highest defenseman ever drafted by the Kings when chosen in 1995, Berg also became the youngest player (18 years, two months and nine days) in Kings history when he made his NHL debut on Oct. 7, 1995, against the Colorado Avalanche. He scored his first NHL goal in his 90th career game on April 3, 1997, against the Phoenix Coyotes.
He will be at training camp.

Aug 6, 1999
The Los Angeles Kings have accepted a league arbitrators ruling and have agreed to terms on a new one-year contract with restricted free-agent goaltender Stephane Fiset. The one-day arbitration hearing was on Tuesday, Aug. 3, in Toronto, and the arbitrator announced his decision on Thursday, Aug. 5.  "We are looking forward to Stephane Fiset having a healthy and productive season for us this year," said Taylor.
Fiset, 29, recorded a season-best 2.60 goals-against-average in 42 games with the Kings last season, his third with the Kings and ninth in the NHL. He posted an 18-21-1 record, and allowed 104 goals in 2,403 minutes. He missed 23 games due to various groin strains, including missing 16 of 17 Kings games from Oct. 21-Nov. 21.
The 6-1, 195-pounder from Montreal, Que., also recorded three     shutouts last season to bring his shutout total as a King to nine.     He needs one more shutout to tie Kelly Hrudey for second place     on the Kings all-time list (Rogie Vachon leads with 32), and on        Oct. 28 at New Jersey, Fiset shared a shutout with Manny Legace in what was only the second shared shutout in Kings history (Mario Lessard and Doug Keans on Feb. 20, 1980, 3-0 win vs. Boston).
Acquired by the Kings from Colorado with a first-round pick in      1998 (Mathieu Biron) for Eric Lacroix and a first-round pick in      1998 (Martin Skoula) on June 20, 1996, Fiset in 146 games as         a King has a 57-70-14 record and a 2.82 goals-against-average.       In 334 NHL games with the Kings and Colorado, he has a 41-137-36 record, a 3.10 goals-against-average and 15 shutouts.

Aug 1, 1999
The Kings and restricted free agent left-winger Vladimir Tsyplakov agreed to terms on a contract.

July 30, 1999
The Los Angeles Kings have agreed to terms on a contract with restricted free agent center Bryan Smolinski, Kings Senior Vice President/General Manager Dave Taylor announced today. The Kings acquired the rights to Smolinski, 27, as part of an eight-player blockbuster deal with the New York Islanders on June 20 that also brought the Kings three-time 40-goal scorer Zigmund Palffy, goaltender Marcel Cousineau and a 1999 fourth-round draft choice (Daniel Johansson). In 82 games with the Islanders last year, his second full season with the club, Smolinski scored 40 points (16-24=40) which was third on the team behind Palffy (50) and Trevor Linden (47). He will wear No. 21 for the Kings.
 A native of Toledo, Ohio, Smolinski has played six seasons in the NHL for the Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins. In 444 regular season games, he has registered 289 points (131-158=289) and 290 penalty minutes. In 40 career NHL playoff games, he has 20 points (11-9=20) and 20 penalty minutes.

July 19, 1999
Ray Bennett, who has spent the last two years working for the Canadian Hockey Association, has been hired as a Kings assistant coach, Kings Head Coach Andy Murray announced today. Bennett, 37, joins a revamped Kings coaching staff, which also includes new assistant coaches Dave Tippett and Mark Hardy.  Like Tippett and Hardy, Bennett will assist Murray in all areas of tactical and technical play, and he will specialize in video analysis, computer assistance and statistical support.

July 15, 1999
The Los Angeles Kings have agreed to terms on a contract with left winger Steve McKenna, Kings Senior Vice President/General Manager Dave Taylor announced today.  McKenna, 25, played in 20 games for the Kings last season and recorded one point (1-0=1) and 36 penalty minutes. The 6-8, 247-pound native of Toronto missed 56 games last year due to an abdominal injury.

July 8, 1999
King coach Andy Murray named Dave Tippett as assistant coach.  He joins Mark Hardy who was also named assistant coach.

July 7, 1999
The Kings will announce today that Mark Hardy has been hired as an assistant coach to Andy Murray.  With 53 goals and 250 assists for 303 points, Hardy held all the Kings records for scoring by a defenseman until they were broken by Rob Blake last season.  Hardy has been an assistant coach for the Long Beach Ice Dogs for two seasons.  The contract is for three years.

June 26, 1999  King's Picks
Left winger Andrei Shefer was the first player selected by the Los Angeles Kings (second round, 43rd overall) in today`s NHL Entry Draft in Boston.
Shefer, 17, last year played in 82 games with Cherepovets of the Russian Division 2 Junior League where he recorded 49 points (31-18=49). The 6-1, 180-pounder from Yekaterinburg, Russia, also played in eight games with Cherepovets for the Senior team and had one point (0-1=1) and four penalty minutes. The Kings traded their 1999 first-round choice (eighth overall) to the New York Islanders on Sunday, June 20, as part of the six-player trade which brought right wing Zigmund Palffy, center Bryan Smolinski, goaltender Marcel Cousineau and a 1999 fourth-round choice (125th overall) to Los Angeles.
"Andrei Shefer is a very good all-around player," said Kings Senior Vice President/General Manager Dave Taylor from the Kings draft table at the FleetCenter. "He is very strong and he is a good skater who has a solid work ethic. We don`t think he has any real weaknesses to his game."
Defenseman Jason Crain, 19, was the next selection by the Kings (third round, 74th overall), and the first of three Kings third-round choices. In 37 games last season with Ohio State University, the 6-3, 190-pounder from Pittsburgh, Penn., had 16 points (3-13=16) and 16 penalty minutes.
The Kings then selected Frantisek Kaberle (third round, 76th overall). Kablerle, 25, played in 45 regular season games for Modo of the Swedish Elite League - where he scored 33 points (15-18=33) in 45 games - and also earned a gold medal for the Czech Republic this year at the World Championships in Norway after scoring six points (3-3=6) in 12 games. Cory Campbell, 17, was selected 92nd overall. He is a 5-11, 192-pound goaltender who played last year for Belleville of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he had a 28-13-4 record with a 3.49 goals-against-average in 46 games.
"Frantisek was voted the most valuable defenseman in the Swedish Elite League last year and we feel that he is a player who can step in and play with us immediately," Taylor said. "Jason is a freshman at Ohio State who is a very mobile defenseman with excellent size, and Cory is a pretty solid goaltender who led Belleville to the OHL championship this year. They were a finalist in the Memorial Cup, and he was a teammate of (Kings prospect) Justin Papineau." Los Angeles rounded out their draft by taking 6-3, 210-pound right winger Brian McGrattan (fourth round, 104th overall) from Sudbury (OHL); 5-11, 176-pound center Daniel Johansson (fourth round, 125th overall) from Modo (Swedish Elite League); 6-1, 154-pound goaltender Jean-Francois Nogues (fifth round, 133rd overall) from Victoriaville (QMJHL); 6-1, 206-pound right winger Kevin Baker (seventh round, 193rd overall) from Belleville (OHL); 6-4, 210-pound right winger George Parros (eighth round, 222nd overall) from Chicago (NAHL); and 5-10, 175-pound left winger Noah Clarke (ninth round, 250th overall) from Des Moines (USHL).

June 25, 1999 Expansion Draft
Players selected by Atlanta
Jamie Pushor, D, Anaheim
Peter Ferraro, F, Boston
Darryl Shannon, D, Buffalo
Ed Ward, F, Calgary
Trevor Kidd, G, Carolina
Sylvain Cloutier, F, Chicago
Tomi Kallio, F, Colorado
Petr Buzek, D, Dallas
Norm Maracle, G, Detroit
Kelly Buchberger, F, Edmonton
Johan Garpenlov, F, Florida
Matt Johnson, F, Los Angeles
Brett Clark, D, Montreal
Kevin Dean, D, New Jersey
David Harlock, D, N.Y. Islanders
Chris Tamer, D, N.Y. Rangers
Phil Crowe, F, Ottawa
Jody Hull, F, Philadelphia
Mike Stapleton, F, Phoenix
Maxim Galanov, D, Pittsburgh
Alexei Yegorov, F, San Jose
Terry Yake, F, St. Louis
Corey Schwab, G, Tampa Bay
Yannick Tremblay, D, Toronto
Steve Staios, F, Vancouver
Mark Tinordi, D, Washington

June 24, 1999
The Great Western Forum, which loses its two major tenants when the NBA's Lakers and NHL's Kings move to the Staples Center this fall, has been sold to the owners of the new downtown Los Angeles arena, company officials announced Thursday.The L.A. Arena Co., a partnership that includes majority owner Philip Anschutz and the Fox Group, will assume responsibility for management and operation of the Forum upon completion of the sale, expected July 31.
Financial terms were not disclosed. The Los Angeles Times, citing unidentified sources, reported Thursday that the deal was worth $25 million to $30 million."Taking advantage of the synergies that will exist between both of our arenas, the Great Western Forum will be an asset to promoters as both a scheduling and cost-effective alternative to other sites," said Timothy J. Leiweke, president of both the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Kings.
The Forum has been the home of the Kings and Lakers since opening on Dec. 30, 1967, but both teams will play at the Staples Center this fall for their 1999-2000 seasons. They will share the arena with the Clippers, who are leaving the old Sports Arena in Exposition Park next to Memorial Coliseum.
"I've spent hundreds of enjoyable hours there, rooting for the Lakers, the Kings and the Sparks as well as attending fights and concerts and so many other events," said Jerry Buss, owner of the Lakers and California Sports, which manages the Forum. "It has been a lot of fun owning this great facility, and I think it is still great."Staples Center officials said there were no plans to modify the Forum's current schedule of events, which includes the WNBA's Sparks regular season and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus on Aug. 4-8.
Buss bought the Forum in 1979 along with the Lakers and Kings for $67.5 million. The arena has hosted numerous sporting events and concerts, and was the basketball venue during the 1984 Summer Olympics.
The Staples Center, which is still under construction, is costing $350 million to build and will host the 2000 Democratic National Convention.

June 22, 1999
PROTECTED
Defensemen: x-Aki Berg, Rob Blake, Jaroslav Modry, Mattias
Norstrom, Sean O'Donnell.

Forwards: Donald Audette, Craig Johnson, Ian Laperriere, Glen
Murray, Zigmund Palffy, Luc Robitaille, Bryan Smolinski, Jozef
Stumpel, Marko Tuomainen.
AVAILABLE
Defensemen: David Babych, Doug Bodger, Philippe Boucher,
Garry Galley, Jan Nemecek, y-Martin Strebak, Mark Visheau.
Forwards: Dan Bylsma, Brandon Convery, Russ Courtnall,
Andrew Dale, Ray Ferraro, Matt Johnson, Nathan Lafayette,
Steve McKenna, y-Igor Melyakov, Sandy Moger, Jason
Morgan, Jason Podollan, Sean Pronger, Chris Schmidt, y-Jukka
Tiilikainen, Vladimir Tsyplakov, y-Tomas Vlasak, y-Juha
Vuorivirta, y-Magnus Wernblom.

June 21, 1999
The Los Angeles Kings have signed defenseman Jere Karalahti (YEH-reh kar-ah-LAHKH-tee) to a one-year contract, Kings Senior Vice President/General Manager Dave Taylor announced today. As per club policy, terms and conditions of the agreement were not announced.
Karalahti, 24, who was drafted by the Kings in the sixth round
(146th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, has spent the last six
seasons with IFK Helsinki of the Finnish Elite League. Last
 season, the 6-2, 210-pound native of Helsinki, Finland, had 33
points (11-22=33) and 65 penalty minutes in 49 games. In 229
career games, Karalahti has 100 points (33-64=100) and 297
penalty minutes.
"We`re excited to have Jere on board with the Kings for next      season," said Taylor. "He`s a solid all-around defenseman, and for the past two seasons has excelled in both the Finnish Elite League and in international competition."
Karalahti was a member of the silver-medal-winning Finnish
National Team this past May at the 1999 World Championships
in Norway. In 12 games, Karalahti finished third on the club in
scoring with eight points (5-3=8) and two penalty minutes, and
was named to the post-tournament All-Star Team.

June 20, 1999
After many attempts to cut star right wing Ziggy Palffy's salary from its dwindling payroll, the New York Islanders were finally successful Sunday night, sending Palffy to the Los Angeles Kings as part of an eight-player trade.
In addition to Palffy, the Islanders sent center Bryan Smolinski, goaltender Marcel Cousineau and New Jersey's fourth-round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft to the Kings. In return, New York gets center Olli Jokinen, left wing Josh Green, defenseman Mathieu Biron and the Kings' first pick (eighth overall) in the upcoming Entry Draft.
Palffy, who was the Islanders' leading scorer this past season
with 22 goals and 28 assists in 50 games, was deemed expendable with a contract that has four more years and $24 million to be paid. He signed the contract last Dec. 17, and missed 32 games as a restricted free agent. In his last three full seasons, Palffy scored 136 goals.
Smolinski was a disappointment this past season with only 16
goals and 24 assists in 82 games. Cousineau saw action in six
games and went 0-4-0 with a 2.87 goals-against average. The
pick the Islanders traded away was acquired from the Devils
in the deal this season for forward Sergei Nemchinov.
Jokinen, in his first full season with Los Angeles, had nine
goals and 12 assists in 66 games. Biron played for Shawinigan
in junior hockey. Both players were No. 1 draft pick of the
Kings - Jokinen, the third overall in 1997 and Biron No. 21 in
1998. Green played in 27 games for the Kings last season and
had one goal and three assists.
The trade was made after failed attempts to send Palffy and
defenseman Rich Pilon to the New York Rangers for a
package that included forwards Todd Harvey and Niklas
Sundstrom. Islanders ownership effectively killed the deal by
making extra financial demands of the Rangers after the
league approved a $2.5 million cash exchange. That prompted
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to disallow any trade of
Palffy that included cash. The league also monitored the trade
to make sure the Islanders were getting at least one bona-fide
NHL player in the deal.

June 14, 1999
Andy Murray, who served as head coach of the Canadian National Team from 1996-98, has agreed to terms on a three-year contract to be the new head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, it was announced today by Kings Senior Vice President/General Manager Dave Taylor. As per club policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.
Murray, 48, becomes the 19th head coach in the Kings` 32-year
history in the National Hockey League, replacing former Kings
Head Coach Larry Robinson (1995-99), whose contract was not
renewed following the 1998-99 NHL regular season.
"Andy brings to us a wealth of National Hockey League and
international coaching experience - the kind of traits that are an
ideal fit for our hockey club," said Taylor. "He is a bright and
intense individual, who will provide a foundation of leadership
and organization for the Kings. He was clearly the best candidate
to be our new head coach, and we jumped at the opportunity to
make him a key part of our organization."

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