KINGS NOTEBOOK: NHL LURE NOT ENOUGH FOR SOME.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Last season's NHL lockout drove many players overseas, and not all are coming back.

Pavel Datsyuk, who led Detroit with 30 goals during the 2003-04 season, signed with a Russian team Tuesday after turning down the Red Wings contract offer of between $3-4 million.

Datsyuk, 27, is far from alone. Approximately 90 NHL players and prospects who were free agents this summer have signed to play in Europe this season. That includes Mighty Ducks prospect Stanislav Chistov and former Kings top prospect Yanick Lehoux, both of whom will play in Russia.

Alexander Frolov, the Kings' leading goal scorer in 2003-04, agreed to terms on a deal this summer in Russia but had an opt-out provision and signed a five-year, $14.5 million deal to remain in L.A. The Red Wings said Tuesday they aren't sure if Datsyuk has a similar opt-out clause.

``You're seeing it more and more with the Russian players,'' Kings general manager Dave Taylor said. ``There are a handful of teams that will pay huge amounts of dollars to get top players.''

Germany's professional league has signed the most NHL players (24), followed by Russia (16). The NHL's new salary-cap limitations will make offers from Europe seem even more attractive.

--Quick whistles: The Kings signed center Anze Kopitar, their first-round pick in this year's draft, to a multi-year entry-level contract. Kopitar, who turned 18 two weeks ago, will participate in training camp with the Kings but is expected to play a full season in the Swedish Men's League. ... Dustin Brown, a 20-year-old center for the Kings, is one of 39 players participating in a camp this week in Colorado Springs, Colo., designed to showcase hopefuls for the 2006 U.S. Olympic team.

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com