THE NHL : Epilogue :...

A collapse often starts with little things that go unnoticed, the gradual fraying of an organization behind the scenes. It’s almost undetectable until the elements accumulate and the situation whirls out of control.

What was arguably the most disappointing season in the Kings’ history mercifully ended. After creating great expectations by reaching the Stanley Cup finals in June, the Kings embarrassed themselves on and off the ice this season.

They became the first team in 24 years to miss the playoffs after playing in the finals the previous season. The drop-off in the standings, at 27-45-12, from last season was 22 points and they finished 16 points out of a playoff spot and five points behind their neighbors, the expansion Mighty Ducks. They won nine of 42 road games.

Coach Barry Melrose accepted responsibility a little too late, long after the season had slipped away. Club management never publicly admitted it had made mistakes. Owner Bruce McNall pointed a finger at himself, but either wouldn’t or couldn’t make drastic changes. The players talked a good game, but their words never turned into results.

Instead, everyone spent the season assigning blame. Melrose, General Manager Nick Beverley and President Roy Mlakar had private disputes and their philosophical differences spilled out into public view in December. The wounds never healed.

Finally, the team’s dirty laundry was aired once more earlier this month in a Toronto newspaper. An unidentified King executive blamed Wayne Gretzky for the horrible season, saying he had prevented McNall from firing Melrose. The article embarrassed and angered Gretzky and his teammates.

It was another typical miscue in a long season of missteps. Somehow, all the wrong elements came together, created an unsettled atmosphere and ultimately led to the disastrous season.

MANAGEMENT

Former General Manager Rogie Vachon was ridiculed during his tenure for a variety of reasons. But Vachon looked like a visionary compared to the Mlakar-Beverley regime.

Vachon could actually come out on the winning end of trades, getting Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato for Bernie Nicholls, Corey Millen for Randy Gilhen and Mike Donnelly for Mikko Makela.

This management team got burned almost every time it went to market. The Paul Coffey-Jimmy Carson fiasco was the worst. But Beverley gave Millen to New Jersey for a fifth-round draft choice in June and Millen scored 50 points for the Devils, which would have put him sixth among the Kings in scoring.

The Bob Kudelski trade in late 1992 continued to haunt both Beverley and Melrose. Kudelski scored 40 goals and 70 points for two teams this season and showed that Melrose should have had more patience and flexibility with him, and that Beverley should have got more than two journeymen for him.

At the trading deadline, the Kings could have made a dramatic move, but stood still while other teams, notably the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, made deals to help themselves.

The Kings and Beverley never seemed an ideal fit. He lacked the strong personality to deal with those both above and below him in the organizational structure. In two seasons, the players remember him addressing the team once.

Actually, the Kings’ problems extend far beyond Los Angeles. Their minor-league team in Phoenix has failed to make the playoffs the last three seasons in the International Hockey League, which is a direct reflection of the organization’s player personnel and scouting departments.

THE COACH

Cocky. Stubborn. Autocratic.

Those qualities may have helped Melrose lead the Kings to the finals last spring, but this season they had something to do with the team’s collapse.

In two seasons, Melrose has shown the ability to coach well in short spurts. Last season, the Kings played well the first three months, the final month and in the playoffs. It’s hard to tell if Melrose is hockey’s answer to Billy Martin, a quick-fix coach, or if the Kings would have played for anybody.

But Melrose has shown distressing signs of being like another baseball man, former Angel manager Doug Rader. Rader liked hard workers like Dave Gallagher as opposed to talented players like Devon White.

Melrose watered down the Kings’ talent with too many grinders. Many hockey observers wonder whether Phil Crowe, Gary Shuchuk and Doug Houda even belong in the NHL. Warren Rychel slipped a notch this season, but Melrose refused to admit it.

He mishandled Sandstrom and Shawn McEachern, who were traded to Pittsburgh for Marty McSorley. Earlier, he dwelt on McSorley’s and Millen’s absence and got no help from the front office until McNall reacquired McSorley.

Under Melrose, the Kings were predictable. Their power play hardly varied in execution. They gave up an incredible number of shots night after night, a staggering season total of 3,046, an average of 36.2 a game. Melrose said it didn’t matter, a hollow claim.

The Kings were patient with his predecessor, Tom Webster. Melrose has the Cup finals as a line on his resume, but it will have to be determined whether last season was smoke and mirrors and if this season was the real Melrose.

THE PLAYERS

A hockey player finds it easier to escape in Los Angeles than in Toronto, Montreal or Detroit.

The Kings could underachieve in relative anonymity. Gretzky was the exception as he won his 10th NHL scoring title with 130 points.

Several Kings were well off their totals of last season. Left wing Luc Robitaille dropped 19 goals and 39 points, down to 44 goals and 86 points. Robitaille, who was minus 20, scored five of his goals after the Kings had been eliminated from the playoffs and went 14 games without one during one stretch.

“A lot of stuff happened this year that can’t ever happen again if we want to keep a winning franchise,” Robitaille said.

Right wing Tony Granato, although hampered by a chronic back injury, scored only seven goals and 21 points. Last season, he had 37 goals and 82 points.

“As hard as it will be to forget, I’ll try and learn from this,” he said. “I have a lot to prove to myself and everybody else.”

Donnelly was down eight goals and 27 points from last season. Defenseman Rob Blake had career highs of 20 goals and 68 points, but has not yet become the Norris Trophy contender that Melrose projected. Young defenseman Alexei Zhitnik was erratic and defenseman Darryl Sydor lost about 10 pounds during the season and found himself getting manhandled.

The Kings’ defense didn’t improve and their offense was nowhere near last season’s. Robitaille claimed they were playing not to make mistakes.

“Some guys were playing well at some times,” he said. “We just never put it together as a team. I wish I knew why.”

THE NADIR

The low point of the season had to be on March 9 against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Forum. Coach Barry Melrose called the Kings “a team of fat cats that doesn’t want to pay the price.” Between periods, owner Bruce McNall--who was paying the price-- yelled at the team to “Hit somebody!” And the crowd chanted “Refund! Refund!”

NO SAVIOR

Marty McSorley went from using an illegal stick in the Stanley Cup finals to a salary squabble that led to his exile to Pittsburgh before the season for Shawn McEachern. But with the team in desperate need of a lift, McSorley was reacquired from the Penguins for McEachern and Tomas Sandstrom. He scored a goal in his first game, but the Kings lost--and they continued losing. If things weren’t bad enough, McSorley underwent abdominal surgery after the season.

BAD NUMBERS

* In November and December, the Kings went 8-15-1.

* In February and March, they went 6-15-4.

* There was a nine-game winless streak (0-6-3) from Feb. 2-28.

* They had a 10-game losing streak on the road.

* The longest winning streak was three games--but they accomplished that twice.

BIG TALK

General Manager Nick Beverley on Dec. 18, after Coach Barry Melrose said the Kings needed bigger players:

“How are we going to win games? That’s what we need to worry about instead of casting aspersions toward players who are working hard, just because their stature is not considered up to his standards.”