Leiweke interview highlights

Kings governor Tim Leiweke did an interview this morning with myself and the Los Angeles Times, during which he touched in a number of team- and league-related issues. I’ll have the full transcript this afternoon, but here are some highlights…

— Leiweke credited, in large part, Darryl Sutter’s hiring for the Kings turnaround. Leiweke expressed pride in the first-round series win but said the goal is to win 16 games, not four.

— Leiweke said the decision to hire Suttee was made “100 percent” by Dean Lombardi, but that he and Lombardi are in frequent communication. Leiweke declined to comment on whether any management changes would have happened if the Kings ha missed the playoffs.

— As for granting permission for the Montreal Canadiens to talk to Luc Robitaille or Ron Hextall, Leiweke said Robitaille indicated that he is “happy being part of this organization,” but declined further comment.

— After some pushback on season-ticket price increases, Leiweke said the renewal rate is in the “high 90 percentile,” which he called a 10-year high. Leiweke said he understands the criticism from fans and said the team perhaps didn’t do the best job of communicating the reasons for the increases.