I had a chance to talk with Kings assistant coach Jamie Kompon, who is essentially in charge of the prospects camp, about how things went on the first day. To answer a couple questions, Russian draft picks Vjateslav Voinov and Andrei Loktionov were not there because of visa issues, Kompon said. He expects them to be there by the weekend at the latest. All other players were present. Here's what Kompon had to say...

After receiving countless emails and comments about this, I decided to try to run the numbers myself and see where the Kings would be at, salary-cap wise, if the season started today. Frankly, I'm not quite sure what all the fretting is about regarding whether the Kings can ``get'' to the salary-cap floor of $40 million. Here's what I have, based on a reasonable estimation of who might make the roster. These numbers are based on nhlnumbers.com, so there's probably a little variation on the exact numbers but they're close.

COMMITTED SALARIES
Michal Handzus -- $4 million
Dustin Brown -- $3.175 million
Alexander Frolov -- $2.9 million
Tom Preissing -- $2.75 million
Kyle Calder -- $2.75 million
Jack Johnson -- $2.15 million
Denis Gauthier -- $2.1 million
Derek Armstrong -- $1.5 million
Teddy Purcell -- $1.35 million
Thomas Hickey -- $1.346 million
Matt Greene -- $1.15 million
Dan Cloutier (buyout) -- $1.033 million
Anze Kopitar -- $956,000
Brian Boyle -- $835,000
Jason LaBarbera -- $825,000
Alyn McCauley (buyout) -- $667,666
Raitis Ivanans -- $600,000
John Zeiler -- $525,000

TOTAL: Just over $30.6 million

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (with last season's salary)

Jarret Stoll -- ($2.2 million)
Patrick O'Sullivan -- ($850,000)
Erik Ersberg -- ($750,000)
Brad Richardson -- ($600,000)
Peter Harrold -- ($500,000)
Matt Moulson -- ($490,000)

TOTAL: Just under $5.4 million

That's roughly $36 million right there and doesn't take into account two huge things, one being Patrick O'Sullivan's expected large raise and the other being Drew Doughty's big cap number should he make the team, as is reasonably expected.

I'm just running the numbers with a pen, paper and calculator. Let me know if there are any glaring errors.

Any thoughts that the Kings might pursue free-agent defenseman Jason Smith ended today with Smith signed a two-year contract with Ottawa worth $2.6 million per season.

After the first on-ice workout today, I had a quick chat with Kings prospect Oscar Moller.

Moller, 19, was a second-round draft pick of the Kings last year. Last season, in his second year with Chilliwack of the Western Hockey League, Moller had 39 goals and 44 assists in 63 games, then spent the playoffs with Manchester of the AHL. He's considered a future NHL forward, although he might be a year away from joining the Kings. Here's the interview...

The Kings' prospects camp is underway today in El Segundo. It's just getting started with on-ice workouts, so there won't be much to report today, but I expect to get interviews with many of the prospects this week, along with a daily report from Jamie Kompon, who is the primary coach in charge of the camp. He should be able to give a quick view, every day, of what's going on and who's looking good. I'm hoping to get out there myself on Friday and Saturday to get a first-hand look once things really get going. Anyone who's down there and has some observations is absolutely encouraged to share them.

Here's the full interview with Jeff Solomon, the Kings' director of hockey operations and legal affairs, in which he discusses Patrick O'Sullivan and the restricted free agents in general, plus his thoughts about the amount of spending that is taking place around the league, particularly in terms of young players. For those who aren't familiar with Solomon, his bio is available here.

Here's the interview...

I just got off the phone with Jeff Solomon, who filled me in on the progress of contract negotiations with Patrick O'Sullivan. Solomon said he expects to begin deep negotiations this week and said, ``The one thing I can tell you, unequivocally, is that we want to have this guy here as part of our young core. This (contract) is something that I don't envision much of a problem with.''

I'll post the full interview soon, as Solomon goes into greater detail about O'Sullivan, the status of the RFA signings in general and his thoughts about the market for young players in this era of Burke vs. Lowe.

A communique from Dean Lombardi referred me to Jeff Solomon for an update on Patrick O'Sullivan's contract, and the contracts of the other restricted free agents. Hopefully that call will come soon -- tomorrow, if not tonight -- and will have some substance. O'Sullivan's agent, Pat Morris, did not call back today. We'll keep a running count of how many days he doesn't return calls. This is Day 1. There's still not even the hint of a thought that this will end any way other than with O'Sullivan in a Kings uniform, but we'll see what Solomon says.

Here's the second part of Don's interview with Bob Miller...

Don did a fantastic Q&A with Bob Miller, who is always a great interview and a great storyteller. As I've said before, it's almost impossible to think that Bob is going to be 70 years old, as he has the energy and enthusiasm I wish I had. It's a long interview so I'll split it in two parts. And for those who haven't checked out Bob's book, here's a link:

Bob Miller's Tales from the Los Angeles Kings

Enjoy the interview!

I have messages in to both Dean Lombardi and the agent for Patrick O'Sullivan, in an attempt to get an update on how contract talks are going. Hopefully there will be some sort of update, although the ``update'' in these situations usually comes down to ``We're talking.'' So we'll see.

Here's the last of the original open forum questions. I'll go back through some of the posts and try to find any relevant questions. Thanks again for all the good questions. I hope you find this feature to be helpful...

The next set of questions and answers. Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend...

The resumption of the open forum questions. Good questions all around...I'm still working my way through them. Of course, I know everyone just wants to worry about silly rumors (please, don't bother with the comments), but oh well... Here's the next set of answers:

And now, back to your regularly scheduled open forum answers...

At the risk of extending the ``drama'' on this subject, I'm told Rob Blake would have been offered a front-office job by the Kings, upon retirement, if he had re-signed.

First of all, Happy Fourth of July to everyone out there! And a belated Happy Canada Day to those north of the border.

Looks as though San Jose is busy again. According to TSN, the Sharks will get defenseman Dan Boyle from Tampa Bay, along with defenseman Brad Lukowich, for a package that includes defenseman Matt Carle, a first-round draft pick, a fourth-round pick and an unnamed prospect.

I'll keep going through the ``open forum questions'' for a while today. Thanks again for all the support during this wacky time...

Here's what Pat Brisson, Rob Blake's agent, had to say tonight about the way things went down between Blake and the Kings. It's lengthy, but if you've been following the saga today, you might find it to be a good read. As I told Pat tonight, all I'm trying to get is get the information out there. People can make up their minds based upon what they believe and read. What an interesting subplot to the week though, huh?

For those who might not know, Brisson is one of the biggest agents in the game and is close friends with Luc Robitaille. His client list is deep and impressive and also includes Jack Johnson and Anze Kopitar.

OK, I just got off the phone with Pat Brisson, Rob Blake's agent, who presented his side (and Blake's side, by extension) of what took place over the last few days with the Kings. There are some differences and it should make for interesting reading. As I told Pat, my whole goal here was to present both sides of an emotional, complicated issue, so I'm really glad that I got to talk to Pat. I'll be putting together a post some time tonight. Hang tight, I'll get to it as soon as possible (or start your 4th with it tomorrow!)