Time for Robinson, Kings to Part Ways?

Larry Robinson was a great player. He’s a decent human being. Nothing he has done in nearly four seasons behind the Kings’ bench has changed that.

But if he thinks he may not want to return as coach, he shouldn’t return. And no one should try to talk him into staying.

The Kings are asking players to commit time and energy to a rebuilding process that has taken a significant step backward this season. They are asking fans to make financial and emotional commitments to a team that will miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons. If Robinson is too drained or frustrated to make a wholehearted commitment, or if he doubts whether he can see this through, he should go--for his sake and the team’s.

If he wants relief from day-to-day stress and prefers to work with young players, as he said last week he had discussed with General Manager Dave Taylor, fine. Let the Kings create a job for him and then begin searching for a coach who can better motivate players and maximize their minimal talent.

Two seasons as an assistant to Jacques Lemaire in New Jersey didn’t prepare Robinson for the consuming nature of this job, especially during tough times. In his first two seasons he had little to work with and no expectations to meet. That changed when the Kings finished fifth in the West last season, even after a late fade that foreshadowed their quick playoff exit. This was the first season something was expected of Robinson and his team, but they failed collectively and individually.

Not all of the problems are Robinson’s fault. But he is accountable for his too-frequent changes of line combinations, his inability to devise an effective power play and, to an extent, the misguided makeup of the roster.

Wrongly believing bigger players are more durable and better able to handle the tough travel in the West, Robinson urged Taylor to load up on brawn, but that drove down the skill level. Steve McKenna, Matt Johnson, Sean Pronger, Sandy Moger and Mark Visheau are the same player. One of them, plus defenseman Sean O’Donnell, is enough. All of them give the Kings too many big bodies and not enough skill and quickness.

When the lack of speed became obvious, Taylor tried stopgap measures, such as signing Russ Courtnall, who can’t finish. Craig Johnson is from the same great-feet, no-hands mold, and both played more than their production merited. Only Donald Audette and Luc Robitaille were consistent threats.

Jozef Stumpel lost his rhythm after hip and abdominal injuries and raised questions whether his breakthrough last season was a fluke. Ray Ferraro and Ian Laperriere bring energy and fire, but not enough players follow their lead.

Robinson’s handling of young players is also debatable. If center Olli Jokinen is the team’s future, why did Robinson initially play him out of position, when he played Jokinen at all? Why did he keep Josh Green when Green wasn’t scoring, and risk ruining the kid’s confidence?

Robinson may simply want to jump before management can push him, and that’s fine. The Kings won’t have to tell him they don’t want him back and can avert a public relations mess. They can thank him for the class he brought the organization and find a coach who sees the pressure of salvaging this mess as a challenge to be tackled head-on, not a burden to be escaped.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Before being traded to the San Jose Sharks last month, center Vincent Damphousse had spent his entire 13-year NHL career with Canadian teams--Toronto, Edmonton and Montreal. Life in San Jose is different, but it suits him.

“I can walk on the street and nobody recognizes me,” said Damphousse, who had a high profile in Montreal as the Canadiens’ captain. “On the ice, it’s pretty much the same, but I think the fans are great. But as soon as you leave the rink, you do your thing and you’re just a regular person on the street.”

He’s no regular guy on the ice. He has seven goals and 12 points in nine games with the Sharks, who appreciate his experience and strong two-way play.

“Most of our scoring points come from our young players, and he takes pressure off those guys,” said Wayne Thomas, the team’s assistant general manager. “He’s a good guy for young players to emulate. He plays well at both ends and he makes us a deeper team.”

Damphousse’s price tag is pegged to how he and the Sharks perform. They agreed to give up second- and fifth-round draft picks, but if he averages a point a game, they win a round of the playoffs and he plays 90% of their games, they owe Montreal first- and fifth-round picks. If he signs with the Sharks--he’s an unrestricted free agent after this season--they will owe first-, second- and fifth-round picks.

“I would like to see what San Jose wants to do with me,” he said. “If they show interest, so far, I really like the team and I like the city, so I would listen, for sure. It’s what happened in Montreal this year. I wanted to stay there but the team didn’t show interest in signing me, so there was nothing I could do. It has to work both ways. Even if we go far in the playoffs, the team has to show they want to keep me.”

NOT SO BLUE ANYMORE

When the St. Louis Blues let Brett Hull and Steve Duchesne depart as free agents last summer, they knew their scoring was likely to decline. But they didn’t expect to slip to .500 as a team, which they did as recently as March 28.

But thanks to the resilience of Grant Fuhr’s surgically repaired knees, a superb season from Norris Trophy candidate Al MacInnis and the emergence of Slovakian center Pavol Demitra, the Blues have steadied themselves and are battling the Mighty Ducks for the No. 5 seed in the West.

“There might have been a loss of a bit of identity on the team throughout the season,” said MacInnis, who leads NHL defensemen with 20 goals and 59 points. “No question, for 10 years, when you brought up the St. Louis Blues, the first name that came to mind was Brett Hull. He’s done a lot of things for the city and the organization in 10 years. With him and Steve moving on--and they both had great years last year--that left holes to fill. There were some injuries and some bumps along the road. And Grant was trying to play with a bit of a bad knee, but he got operated on and is healthy again.

“We faced a bit of adversity, but when we did get a game or two below .500, we bounced back. Some guys stepped up and had a big year, like Pavol Demitra. I don’t think anybody thought he’d come around as quickly as he has. Scott Pellerin has 20 goals. Scott Young has 20. These guys stepped up when they were put into offensive roles.”

SLAP SHOTS

Pittsburgh Coach Kevin Constantine compared Jaromir Jagr’s criticism of him in a Czech newspaper to bickering with his wife, but Constantine’s wife hasn’t scored as many goals and isn’t carrying a fragile team. Jagr told the newspaper MF Dnes that Constantine communicates poorly with players and added, “One has to give him credit that he can turn below-average players into at least average ones, but he also does everything he can to turn the top players into average ones too.” This isn’t their first run-in. But if they don’t realize how much they need each other, their season will end quickly.

Howard Milstein’s tenure as owner of the New York Islanders scared enough NFL owners to assure his $800-million bid for the Washington Redskins would fail before he withdrew it. Milstein pulled the Islanders out of the Nassau Coliseum, claiming the building was unsafe, which was found to be untrue, and alienated fans and local politicians with attempts to strong-arm them into providing money for a new arena. The NFL wanted no part of him; the NHL may regret admitting him.

Ascent Entertainment’s sale of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets and the new Pepsi Arena in Denver to wealthy horse breeder Bill Laurie, whose wife is an heir to the Wal-Mart fortune, has hit a snag. Denver papers reported Laurie doesn’t want to buy the Avalanche because he doesn’t like NHL economics, forcing Ascent to seek another buyer. If the Avalanche becomes a secondary tenant, it may get unfavorable home dates. The arena is scheduled to open Oct. 1.

The New Jersey Devils are the only team that hasn’t changed goalies during a game. . . . The Canadian national team, facing budget cuts and extinction, has received donations from alumni such as Florida goalie Sean Burke and Duck left wing Paul Kariya. Both played for the national team when they had contract problems, and it’s good to see them repay the debt.

With Steve Shields so hot (9-1-2), San Jose Coach Darryl Sutter may alternate goalies in the playoffs. Mike Vernon got his name on the Stanley Cup twice, but he has been slowed because of a groin pull. “Just look what happened in the Eastern Conference with Ottawa. They’ve done it with two good goaltenders all season,” Sutter said of the Ron Tugnutt-Damian Rhodes tandem.

Said Shields, “I know we’re a seventh-place team but I’ve got to believe whoever gets us in the first round would rather play somebody else.”