ALL THE KINGS' MEN L.A. ALREADY FACES SEVERAL CHALLENGES.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

Andy Murray stood before the Kings booster club last Monday painting the future of his team with fireworks.

The coach reminded them about last year's 94-point record, fourth best in franchise history. He glowed about newcomer Mathieu Schneider and raved about rookies Lubomir Visnovsky and Eric Belanger.

Murray sprinkled in Staples Center, the team's posh training facility and fancy charter plane.

It was impressive. And it was all true. But beginning Friday, Murray will no longer be preaching to the choir. And there is a good chance the Kings' 82-game schedule that opens tonight in Washington against the Capitals could wind up telling a much different story.

``There are plenty of challenges,'' said defenseman Mattias Norstrom. ``But I like our chances. This is a good team and we have the character to overcome a lot.''

The Kings will need it.

Wednesday it became all but official that first-line center Jozef Stumpel will not open the season with the club. A contract dispute between the team and the restricted free agent forced Stumpel to miss all of training camp.

Stumpel is back in his native Slovakia and has been playing to stay in shape. If he continues to play after the NHL regular season began, Stumpel would have to clear waivers if the Kings signed him and wanted him to play this year.

Several players said Stumpel, who is seeking a three-year, $9 million contract, has stopped playing in an effort to jump-start the negotiations. The two sides are more than $2 million apart.

With Stumpel out for now, the Kings turn to Belanger to center the first line. Luc Robitaille, last year's leading scorer (36 goals, 74 points) and sniper Ziggy Palffy will help the transition for Belanger, who had 15 goals and 40 points last year at minor-league Lowell, Mass.

Stumpel is a gifted scorer when healthy and it is easy to figure which one the player and the team used in the negotiations.

Stumpel missed 10 weeks after a hernia operation and another month with a sprained knee. When he returned for the final month, Stumpel was the Kings' best player. His absence hurts the club's chances of another second-place finish in the Pacific Division and fifth overall in the Western Conference.

But there is much more to the Kings story than Stumpel. And it begins with Rob Blake.

The team's top player began training camp by resigning his captaincy when the Kings did not agree to a three-year, $24-million contract extension. He later took back his ``C,'' claiming such a move could cause a distraction. But it's too late.

As an unrestricted free agent Blake could leave without compensation after the season. The Kings will trade him if they can't sign him during the season. If they do, the Kings' season will be over regardless of who they get in return.

The Kings are more fragile emotionally than physically, and that is saying a lot.

Last year, every top player was sidelined except for Norstrom, who played all 82 games despite his own training camp holdout.

Robitaille missed a month with a broken foot. Palffy was out with a sore lower back.

Second-line center Bryan Smolinski tore the MCL in his left knee during the final week of the regular season and was ineffective during the playoffs. Nelson Emerson broke a finger five games after he was acquired from Atlanta and didn't return until the final playoff game.

Even Blake, who finished third in voting as the NHL's top defenseman, wasn't spared. He injured a knee with two weeks to go and played poorly in the Kings first-round playoff series with Detroit.

The team went 0 for 23 on the power play in the playoff series with the Red Wings, which is Blake's baby. The team claims his poor showing is not the reason for its hard line in negotiations. They are offering $7.5 million per season for three years.

But if the Kings have any chance of matching last year's regular-season showing, they will have to stay healthy.

It is particularly true in goal, where Stephane Fiset and Jamie Storr have been injured much of the past two years.

After an impressive start last year, Fiset suffered a bruised hand in a December pregame workout and wasn't the same for almost three months. Storr, constantly plagued by groin injuries, took over, but suffered a concussion in mid-December.

This season, both reported in great shape, but last week Fiset sprained his left knee during an on-ice collision. He will miss at least the first week of the season.

Unlike last year, when they buckled from those injuries, the Kings have more depth.

Steve Passmore was a steady backup goaltender in Chicago before he came over last spring. He will open the season with the Kings, but will be sent down when Fiset returns. The problem is Passmore will need to clear waivers in order to return to the big club. In a league without depth in goal, that isn't going to happen.

``This is a critical area,'' Murray said. ``We've added depth in goal. I think we have five goaltenders in our organization that can play right now in the NHL. But we need to keep Jamie and Steph healthy all season.''

Murray's eternal optimism developed during 20 years as an NHL assistant. The thought is, if a top player is out, just plug in another and keep moving.

After losing veteran defense partners Garry Galley (free agency) and Sean O'Donnell (expansion), the Kings drafted blueliners Visnovsky and Andreas Lilja. Unlike Aki Berg, who is a project five years after he was selected, Visnovsky and Lilja are both 24 with extensive playing experience in Europe.

Visnovsky made the team and Lilja was one of the final cuts.

The Kings are counting more consistency from Jere Karalahti, who joined the team during last season, and Jaroslav Modry, who played sparingly.

If those two show up every night and Berg begins to use his size and skill, defense could become a strength.

Emerson and Kelly Buchberger, also acquired from Atlanta, hope to add scoring and character. Bob Corkum, signed during the middle of last season, is in excellent shape and will center the third line. Stu Grimson, signed away from the Mighty Ducks, is one of the league's top enforcers. But, he's 35.

Add it up and the Kings should make the playoffs for the second straight year. Last season was the second time they reached the postseason in seven years.

Is that enough?

Murray now faces his toughest audience. They will let him know.

SEASON OPENER

Kings at Washington

Friday, 4 p.m.

TV: FSN 

KINGS SEASON ANALYSIS

FORWARDS

Even without holdout center Jozef Stumpel, the Kings' first line will score with career snipers Luc Robitaille and Ziggy Palffy. It is the club's second unit that concerns coach Andy Murray.

That line of Bryan Smolinski and Glen Murray was inconsistent last year, invisible during the playoffs and uneven during the exhibition season. Craig Johnson will fill the third spot on the second line for now, but Nelson Emerson, with five 20 goals-plus seasons, could see playing time there. Bob Corkum is in better shape and Kelley Buchberger adds grit and character to the third line.

DEFENSE

Mistakes equal opposing goals and the Kings know it. Losing veterans Garry Galley and Sean O'Donnell doesn't help, but the club is hoping Aki Berg will show improvement and Jaroslav Modry will be as productive for the long haul as he was in spurts last year.

Mattias Norstrom, who anchored the defense last year with Rob Blake, will be playing with second-year man Jere Karalahti. Blake will team with newcomer Mathieu Schneider, which will help the power play but could weaken the Kings at the blue line.

GOALTENDING 

Every year, Stephane Fiset and Jamie Storr come with a disclaimer: Must Stay Healthy. Both have missed considerable playing time the past two seasons and the strain has been too much for the Kings to overcome.

Fiset will miss at least the first week with a sprained left knee and Storr will open the season with back-to-back starts against Washington and Buffalo on the road. Murray would like one of these two to emerge as the No. 1 goalie, preferably Storr, who is 24, six years younger than Fiset.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The addition of Schneider will help the power play. A skilled scorer, he also will bring the puck up ice to set up Blake. During last year's playoffs, Blake played poorly because of a knee injury and the Kings went 0 for 23 with the man advantage against Detroit. Overall, the team improved from 24th to 10th, but it's the playoffs that are remembered.

The Kings' biggest problem in penalty killing is the dumb penalties they often take to set up the mismatch. When a team is penalized in the other team's end, as the Kings often were last season, know that Murray isn't happy. Of all the plusses in 1999-2000, penalty killing wasn't one of them. Kings dropped from ninth to 21st in the league.

COACHING

Andy Murray had an impressive first season, but with the uncertain contract status of Blake and Stumpel, his job has become far more difficult. His team might be deeper than last year, but its psyche is more fragile.

His structure, focus and attention to detail last year were welcome changes, but those qualities can often be seen as overbearing the next season, especially if the team is struggling. He is a master motivator but will need a whole new bag of tricks this year.

OUTLOOK

Outlook It will be difficult to match last year's 94 points, the fourth-best total in franchise history. The team finished fifth in the West, setting up a first-round blowout against Detroit. Healthy goaltenders and a resolution of Blake's contract status will mean a postseason appearance, but winning a round might still be a stretch. Conference finish: sixth.

- Matt McHale

KINGS 2000-01 ROSTER

Forwards

No. Player Pos.

25 Eric Belanger C

11 Jason Blake C

9 Kelly Buchberger RW

29 Brad Chartrand RW

19 Bob Corkum C

7 Nelson Emerson RW

32 Stu Grimson LW

23 Craig Johnson LW

22 Ian Laperriere C

27 Glen Murray RW

28 Steven Reinprecht C

20 Luc Robitaille LW

21 Bryan Smolinski C

17 Tomas Vlasak C

Defensemen

No. Player

5 Aki Berg

4 Rob Blake

8 Jere Karalahti

44 Jaroslav Modry

14 Mattias Norstrom

10 Mathieu Schneider

24 Lubomir Visnovsky

Goaltenders

No. Player

31 Steve Passmore

1 Jamie Storr

Injury reserve

No. Player Pos.

35 Stephane Fiset G

33 Zigmund Palffy RW

CAPTION(S):

photo, 4 boxes

Photo: Rob Blake (4) and the Kings open their National Hockey League season Friday in Washington.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

Box: (1) SEASON OPENER (see text)

(2) KINGS SEASON ANALYSIS (see text)

(3) 2000-01 KINGS SCHEDULE

(4) KINGS 2000-01 ROSTER (see text)