It’s European but No Vacation

While the Kings took Tuesday off, resting for a Thursday game against Detroit, management was looking into the future.

Dave Taylor, senior vice president and general manager; Kevin Gilmore, assistant GM; Bill O’Flaherty, director of player personnel, and Al Murray, director of amateur scouting, are headed for Europe.

Later this week and next, they will see tournaments in Finland and Sweden, looking for possible Kings of the future.

For Taylor, it’s an ongoing process that included last Friday’s visit with the Kings’ top junior prospect, center Justin Papineau, who plays for Belleville of the Ontario Hockey League.

Papineau had a hat trick in a 5-1 Belleville victory Friday, then had a goal and three assists the next game.

One of Taylor’s primary missions is signing Papineau, whom the Kings selected in the second round of the 1998 entry draft. If they can’t sign him, he goes back into the draft pool.

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Once, it was a regular thing, and one season, five Kings--Marcel Dionne, Bernie Nichols, Dave Taylor, Brian MacLellan and Jim Fox in 1984-85--averaged a point a game over at least 70 games of an 82-game schedule.

But no one did it last season, and only Jozef Stumpel, who had 79 points in 77 games two seasons ago, has done it since Wayne Gretzky left town.

This season, wingers Ziggy Palffy and Luc Robitaille, skating on the same line, are on such a pace. Robitaille--who has done it eight times, but not since 1993-94--has 24 goals and 17 assists for 41 points in 40 games. Palffy has 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points in 45 games.

The last time two Kings averaged a point a game in the same season was 1993-94, when Gretzky had 130 points in 81 games and Robitaille had 86 in 83 games.