Contrite Gretzky Softens His Stance After Meeting

Wayne Gretzky did not receive a contract extension Tuesday after his agent and lawyer held a three-hour meeting at the Forum with King management and a representative of the owners. There were no promises to immediately acquire a 50-goal scorer, or an offensive defenseman or any player, for that matter.

Reports from the much-anticipated meeting were decidedly lacking in specifics. Only a day earlier, Gretzky had spoken out, saying he needed to see action “now” to get players to make the Kings a better club.

But Gretzky spoke differently after the Calgary game on Tuesday, seeming almost resigned to the fact that the process will not be resolved quickly. He was also a bit contrite.

“I don’t back down from what I said, and I don’t expect miracles,” said Gretzky, who added that he had apologized to his teammates for the uproar.

“Pressure is par for professional sports. Maybe I stepped out of line by putting pressure on ownership. I really needed to know they were going to try to go out and win this year.”

Gretzky, who seemed reassured by the session, was asked if he would be willing to wait until the March 20 trading deadline for the team to make a move to contend.

“I won’t enjoy it,” he said. “But the bottom line is I work and play for the L.A. Kings. I don’t regret what I said, but I want to win now. I really believe we can go out and get a couple of people.”

Asked if it has been difficult for him to speak out, Gretzky said, “[Mark] Messier and [Mario] Lemieux would have stepped up a long time ago.”

Attending the meeting were Gretzky’s agent, Michael Barnett, and lawyer, Ron Fujikawa, as well as King President Rogie Vachon, General Manager Sam McMaster and team governor and CEO Robert Sanderman. Neither of the team owners, Philip F. Anschutz nor Edward P. Roski Jr., were on hand.

More curiously, both sides said the next meeting would not be until after the all-star break this weekend. Whether it is by calculation or necessity, any urgency seems to have dissipated.

“There has been no timetable established by either side,” said Barnett in a statement, adding that there was no discussion about a monetary figure for a new contract for Gretzky, only its length. He can be a free agent after this season.

“We plan to sit down after the all-star break and further discuss Wayne’s contract options with Kings’ management,” Barnett said. “. . . No demand or request for a trade to another team was discussed today. It is not even in Wayne’s thoughts at this time.”

Barnett and Gretzky did hear something encouraging in the meeting. In the statement, Barnett said the Kings made it clear they are not committing solely to a youth movement, realizing that “their veterans are part of their current and future success.”

Gretzky and some of his teammates have said they want to see immediate action to improve the Kings, but that does not seem to co-exist with ideas set forth by the team’s ownership, management or coaching staff. Gretzky has watched the Kings do little to correct their on-going slide or strengthen themselves after a strong start in October.

“Sometimes things can’t happen in the hockey world as quickly as one might want,” McMaster said. “The Los Angeles Kings are reacting, hopefully, as quickly and possibly as expertly as we can.”

Said Sanderman: “Wayne is under contract for the remainder of the season. We appreciate his concern and we’re trying to work with him. We have no deadline whatsoever about doing it. We have a sense of urgency, as he does, to get the job done.”

Anschutz and Roski purchased the bankrupt Kings for almost $114 million in a deal that closed on Oct. 12. Until the Kings play in a new arena, Sanderman said, they won’t be able to make a profit, based on limited revenue streams at the Forum.

But any inaction regarding player personnel is not because of a limited budget, according to McMaster and King Coach Larry Robinson.

“Our hockey department can do anything within reason” to build a contending team, McMaster said. “We’ve been given no restrictions, as long as they’re within reason.”

Sanderman said there is a willingness to also pursue free agents in the summer. Three of the more attractive unrestricted free agents will be Ranger forward Pat Verbeek, Calgary defenseman Phil Housley and Chicago center Bernie Nicholls, a former King.

Throughout the recent controversy, the Kings have denied they are trying to trade Gretzky. The most prominent rumors centered upon St. Louis, although another report on Tuesday had Chicago jumping into the fray with a five-player package that included youngsters Patrick Poulin, Sergei Krivokrasov and Jeff Shantz.