Palffy Decides to Head East and Play for Penguins

Ziggy Palffy signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, leaving the Kings without a player who scored 150 goals for them over the last five seasons.

Palffy signed a three-year deal worth $13.5 million -- the same contract the Kings gave to Pavol Demitra on Tuesday -- and will join what in recent seasons has been a disheveled franchise prime for relocation.

But they’ve been buoyed by No. 1 draft pick Sidney Crosby and now Palffy and defenseman Sergei Gonchar.

The Kings, meanwhile, were turned away by another free agent they desired. Peter Forsberg, Glen Murray and Paul Kariya were other prominent free agents who signed elsewhere. Palffy is believed to have turned down a two-year deal from the Kings.

“We put an offer on the table for him, but he got a little more term to go to Pittsburgh,” King General Manager Dave Taylor said.

Palffy’s speed would have been an asset that the Kings needed, especially if the NHL follows through on enforcing obstruction rules. His goal-scoring skills are an enhanced value with the NHL using shootouts to decide tie games.

“We don’t mind the mix of forwards right now, but certainly we would have welcomed Ziggy,” Taylor said.

The Kings have Demitra, Jeremy Roenick and Luc Robitaille, all point producers in the past, and young players with potential in Alexander Frolov and Dustin Brown. Veterans Craig Conroy and Trent Klatt and young players Mike Cammalleri and Derek Armstrong are also being counted on.

Still, the Kings remain in the market for a forward and defenseman, and have committed only about $30 million to their 2005-06 payroll, $9 million under the NHL salary cap. But few high-profile free agents remain and none with Palffy’s skills.

“We’ll look at possible trade scenarios,” Taylor said. Palffy played only 35 games in 2003-04 because of a dislocated right shoulder but still finished fourth on the team with 16 goals and 41 points.

-- Chris Foster

*

The Colorado Avalanche signed two-time All-Star right winger Milan Hejduk to a five-year contract.

The 29-year-old Hejduk, who scored 25 goals and had 26 assists in 48 games with Pardubice HC in the Czech Elite League, will help fill the role of Forsberg, who signed a two-year, $11.5-million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Hejduk has had four 30-goal seasons, including a league-leading 50 in 2002-03.

*

The Phoenix Coyotes re-signed defenseman Brad Ference to a one-year contract. Ference played 63 games for the Coyotes in 2003-04 and had five assists with 103 penalty minutes.

*

The Long Beach Ice Dogs announced that the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens and the American Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs will renew their affiliations with the ECHL club for the 2005-06 season.