Struggling Blake Dismisses Speculation

No, Rob Blake said Tuesday, he hasn’t made it known publicly or privately that he would like to play in Toronto, contrary to the report there.

“You’re going to hear stuff like that,” he added.

And no, Blake said, the lack of a contract for next season and the three-month drought in contract talks with the Kings aren’t affecting his game.

“I don’t really have anything to prove,” he said. “What I’ve done until now is going to decide that contract. So I’m not too worried about this season that way.”

Perhaps that’s a good thing. Blake hasn’t scored in 10 games, and he is minus-11 on the plus-minus scale over the last six.

His impact is reflected in the record. The Kings are 1-3-2 in that span.

“If you’re winning, you’re playing well,” Blake said in a bottom-line analysis. “If you’re not winning, you’re not playing well.”

The scoring is a problem, though he’s gone through droughts in the past. “I don’t go by goals, I go by scoring chances,” he said. “I had lots of shots against Anaheim.”

He finished with six in that game, plus three others that missed the net altogether. Blake has had 41 shots without scoring in the last 10 games.

The defense is another issue. Over the last seven games, opponents have averaged 34 shots a game. Over the 20 before that, the average was 27.

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The Tomas Vlasak experiment ended when the Kings granted his request to be released to return to Europe to play.

Vlasak was drafted by the Kings in 1993, but he stayed in Europe until this season, when he signed a four-year deal.

He had a goal and three assists in 10 games with the Kings before being sent to Lowell of the AHL, where he had one assist in five games.