NHL NOTEBOOK: KINGS GET AN AHL AFFILIATE.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

The Kings took a significant step forward Wednesday with the announcement of a two-year affiliation agreement with the Lowell (Mass.) Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League.

The Kings will send 12 prospects to Lowell next season and 18 the year after, and will hire the Lock Monsters coaching staff. It means that after two years of piecemeal arrangements with other AHL teams, the Kings will have complete control over how their prospects are developed and what style of hockey they will play.

General manager Dave Taylor, who returned to Los Angeles earlier this week after attending the World Championships in Oslo, Norway, said it is likely the Kings will continue their limited affiliation with the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the IHL for at least one more year.

- Roger Phillips

Caps to be sold: Abe Pollin plans to sell the NHL's Washington Capitals and his minority interests in the NBA's Washington Wizards and the MCI Center to America Online executive Ted Leonsis.

Pollin said he decided to sell after his sons told him they had no interest in leaving their careers to take over his business.

The Capitals, who made the Stanley Cup finals the year before, had their worst season since the early 1980s, finishing 31-45-6.

Penguins' update: If the Pittsburgh Penguins are to become the Portland Penguins, the road to Oregon must first pass through a U.S. bankruptcy judge's office, not that of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

``The Lemieux group is moving at an appropriate rate of speed,'' said Bettman, who is attending the Maple Leafs-Penguins playoff series. ``These are complicated issues, and the bankruptcy judge is doing what he believes is in the best interests of the bankruptcy proceedings. I learned long ago never to disagree with a judge.''

Canucks sign prospect: The Vancouver Canucks signed top prospect Bryan Allen, a defenseman, to a three-year contract.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it was a contract - with additional incentive clauses - similar to the NHL rookie maximum $975,000-a-year offer that Allen rejected just before the preseason signing deadline last October. Allen was the Canucks' top pick and fourth player selected in last June's NHL entry draft.