Speculation Continues Over Blake

It was a strange Christmas for Rob Blake.

“I don’t know what’s happening, that’s the main thing,” he said.

It was a respite of sorts.

“I’ve got two or three days where I’m not going to go to the rink,” Blake said. “I can put that stuff aside.

“But on the 26th, it’s back to business as usual, going back to playing and doing what I can to help the team win.”

The “stuff” has to do with Blake’s future as a King, which has been in question for about a week, since he and agent Ron Salcer met with Dave Taylor, the Kings’ general manager and senior vice president, and Tim Leiweke, the team president, to talk about a contract.

Again.

At that meeting, they “agreed to disagree,” Salcer said.

Blake’s perception is that his days with the Kings are numbered, although he refuses to sign a contract with any team--except the Kings--that would take away his unrestricted free agency this summer.

Blake cannot be traded until Wednesday, at the earliest, because of NHL rules.

If Taylor adheres to his schedule, which has him in Russia on Friday for a week, an imminent trade appears unlikely.

It may take merely a phone call, but that isn’t Taylor’s style.

So Blake goes to work for the Kings tonight against San Jose.

“I’m becoming conditioned to it,” he said of the trade speculation. “One day, it’s one team. The next day, it’s another.”

One day it’s the New York Rangers, the next day it’s the Maple Leafs Toronto.

The next it’s to the Philadelphia Flyers for Eric Lindros.

And the next, it’s no deal at all.

Every day there is uncertainty.

“I can deal with that now,” he said.

*

With goalie Stephane Fiset sidelined indefinitely because of a sprained knee ligament, Jamie Storr is expected to start tonight for the Kings. Steve Passmore has been called up from Chicago of the International Hockey League as the backup.

That’s the way the Kings started the season, with Fiset injured, Storr in goal and Passmore as his backup.

Before being sent to the IHL, Passmore had a 1-2-1 record with a 2.80 goals-against average. The victory was a shutout of Boston and the tie was a 1-1 game at Nashville.

Wing Brad Chartrand also was recalled from Lowell of the American Hockey League.

TONIGHT

vs. San Jose, 7:30

Fox Sports Net, ESPN2

* Site--Staples Center.

* Radio--KSPN (1110).

* Records--Kings 15-12-7-1, Sharks 21-8-4.

* Record vs. Sharks (1999-2000)--2-3-1.

* Update--San Jose, which has won 11 games on the road, best in the NHL along with Detroit, has lost two in a row away from home, at Philadelphia and Buffalo. Goalie Steve Shields had a chance to shake off the cobwebs against the Sabres and struggled in a 5-2 loss. Goalie Evgeni Nabokov, the most talked-about rookie in the NHL this season, figures to get the start for the Sharks. He is 19-4-3 and will be matched up against a King team that is 0-4-1 in its last five games.

* Tickets--(888) 546-4752.