The Kings’ high-scoring center still is unlikely to play in the defending Stanley Cup champions’ banner-raising season opener against Chicago on Saturday, but might not miss much more time.

“To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect,” Kopitar said. “It felt good, and we’ll see day by day how I progress.”

Kings coach Darryl Sutter was encouraged by Kopitar’s post-practice return to the ice just nine days after getting hurt in a collision on the boards while playing for Mora IK in Sweden. Kopitar skated with coaching consultant Bernie Nicholls, shooting a few pucks with no obvious limitations.

“I didn’t go all-out right off the hop,” Kopitar said. “Just curious to explore the turns and stuff, and I didn’t have any problems. I thought it would be a little worse than it was. … I’m very optimistic. It’s in my nature.”

Kopitar has been the Kings’ leading scorer in each of the past five seasons, with a career-high 51 assists among his 76 points last year. The seventh-year pro was the NHL’s top playoff scorer last summer with 20 points, tied with linemate Dustin Brown.

Kopitar played alongside his brother, Gasper, at Mora IK, and Anaheim Ducks forward Bobby Ryan also joined the team later in the NHL lockout. Although the injury probably will deprive Kopitar of the chance to celebrate the Kings’ championship on the ice this weekend, he’s still glad he played during the labor stoppage.

“No regrets whatsoever,” Kopitar said. “I’ve been hit plenty of times when it looked way worse, and nothing happened.”

The Kings improbably managed to keep together their entire roster from last season’s Cup run until Sunday, when they traded little-used enforcer Kevin Westgarth to Carolina for Anthony Stewart, who skated with his new teammates Monday. But Los Angeles likely will be missing at least two key components when the first Stanley Cup banner goes in the Staples Center rafters.

“One of the reasons that we won the championship last year is … the lineup that we were able to use from the middle of January on was pretty much intact,” Sutter said.

Veteran defenseman Willie Mitchell had knee surgery in the offseason and still isn’t back to full strength, forcing the Kings to dig into their defensive depth. The Kings aren’t sure when Mitchell will be ready to return.

But Jonathan Quick, the Kings’ Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie, appears to be in top shape after offseason surgery to repair a disk problem in his back. The injury caused pain for Quick whenever he wasn’t on the ice during Los Angeles’ championship run last season, but the timing of his offseason surgery allowed him to work with the Kings’ medical staff during rehabilitation this fall.

“They didn’t push me if I was in any pain, and the trainers and doctors did a great job,” said Quick, a Vezina Trophy finalist last year. “I’m back to 100 percent.”

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While driving to the airport Wednesday morning, his thoughts centered around the end of the NHL lockout and what he might be able to do to bolster the team before the shortened season began.

Then his dream job of Maple Leafs general manager was taken away with one phone call and a quick meeting with boss Tom Anselmi.

“There’s sometimes when you get fired and you see the vultures circling and you understand it’s coming,” Burke said Saturday at a farewell news conference. “You’re not sure when you’re going to drop dead in the desert, but it’s coming and you can see the vultures.

“This one here was like a two-by-four upside the head to me.”

Burke was gracious in describing his exit as team president and general manager, showing few signs of bitterness while fielding some tough questions.

However, he acknowledged that reality had yet to truly set in. That won’t come until the colorful 57-year-old Burke has more time to think back on a roller-coaster, four-year tenure that included just as many playoff games at Air Canada Centre — none — as had been played during the four years before he was hired.

“We didn’t win,” Burke said. “Obviously, your job as the GM is to bring in players that win. We didn’t win.”

Beyond that, it still isn’t clear why the decision to replace Burke with Dave Nonis was made just 10 days before the new season is expected to begin. Burke said he hadn’t received a “satisfactory” answer to that question.

Rumors have swirled since the firing that Burke failed to impress the team’s new ownership group, in which Bell and Rogers control four of six seats with the organization’s board of governors. Burke came exactly as advertised when he was hired by the Leafs in November 2008 — brash, confident, passionate and occasionally confrontational.

One of the first lessons he learned on the job was not to wear his expensive cuff-links on game nights. More than a few pairs met an untimely ending when he responded to a boneheaded play on the ice by smashing his fists against a table in the press box.

That image might not have fit in well with a board that got more corporate and buttoned-down with the addition of Bell and Rogers executives in August.

“I can stand here and say it’s my personality, they didn’t like my personality, but those all become pretexts and excuses later,” Burke said. “If you’ve won enough games, you can be as obnoxious as you want to be.”

The Leafs went 128-135-42 during his reign and finished a disappointing 13th in the Eastern Conference last season. Despite it being a constant talking point around the team, his biggest failings were an inability to stabilize the goaltending situation or acquire a true No. 1 center.

Toronto last qualified for the playoffs in 2004 — the longest current drought in the NHL.

Burke will remain with the Leafs in the role of senior adviser to the board for the time being. But he made it clear he wasn’t comfortable simply riding out the final 22 months of his contract, and that he would relish the opportunity to run another NHL team.

“Tomorrow, if I can,” Burke said. “I don’t think I’m done from a hockey perspective. I am definitely in the job market, no question.”

If a general manager job doesn’t materialize, he could be a good candidate to end up with a role in the league office.

Despite the fact the Leafs failed to qualify for the playoffs with Burke at the helm, there have been some encouraging signs that better days might be ahead for the organization. The Toronto Marlies are fresh off an appearance in the Calder Cup final and currently have the best record in the American Hockey League’s Western Conference.

Burke also expressed pride in being able to use his position to help out with so many charitable initiatives — something that he was honored for Saturday evening for his support of Canadian troops.

But his dream of winning another Stanley Cup title never came close to materializing in Toronto.

“I did not accomplish what I set out to accomplish here,” Burke said. “That’s clear. Absolutely clear.”

On the day he said goodbye to the Maple Leafs — at least as the team’s public face — he had no interest in looking back on what might have been. The team has lived by the motto “no excuses, no complaints” and Burke made it clear he didn’t have any of either.

Truth be told, he probably wouldn’t change a thing.

“The people that hired me hired Brian Burke,” he said. “Maybe the new guys don’t like that brand, maybe they want someone who is a little more conventional. They’re entitled to that, that’s fine.

“I’m not changing. I’m not going to change how I do things. That’s not possible.”

Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press

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“The best thing to do is acknowledge that it was stupid,” Miller said Friday, before turning his attention to Sabres fans. “I appreciate their patience. I know it’s a hard situation. I still don’t even know the right message because it was just a stupid, useless waste of time.”

Miller, who played a role in negotiations, called himself “embarrassed” that it took more than six months of negotiations to reach an agreement. At one point during talks, he gave up on the possibility of having a season.

And he laid the blame on the owners’ side, specifically singling out commissioner Gary Bettman, whom he accused of being the reason why the four-month lockout wasn’t resolved sooner.

“In my mind, it always had to be January in Gary Bettman’s mind,” Miller said. “Obviously, he had something in his head and he was going to see how far he could take it. So there’s really no going up against Gary when he has something in his head.”

For someone who hasn’t played in a competitive game since April 5, the ever-outspoken Miller seems already in midseason form.

“It’s exciting to be back. It’s the way you that you’re supposed to feel,” he said. “It’s not in the board room, so that’s good. It’s getting back on the ice, and that’s the important part.”

Spending much of his offseason in southern California, Miller arrived in Buffalo on Thursday, and was on the ice for what’s expected to be the players’ final informal practice at a suburban arena. Training camp is tentatively set to open Sunday, and a 48-game regular season to start a week later.

A seven-year veteran, Miller is the face of the franchise, and regarded as a team leader. His arrival was welcomed by the Sabres, and also by numerous fans. About 300 onlookers — the largest turnout this week — lined the boards to watch the open practice.

Aside from his frustrations regarding labor talks, Miller was in an upbeat mood. Walking out of the locker room with his mask perched above his head, exposing a familiar patchy beard — “It’s my lockout beard” — he then flashed a big smile and waved his glove hand before taking the ice.

Before taking any questions from reporters afterward, Miller first wanted to find out what’s been happening in Buffalo, and then shook hands with each member of the media.

“There,” he said. “We’re reintroduced again, eight months later.”

Now it’s time to get to work in what will be a shortened season, and for a high-priced Sabres team that was among the NHL’s biggest busts after missing the playoffs last season.

Buffalo (39-32-11) finished ninth in the Eastern Conference and was hampered by a rash of injuries, including Miller missing a nine-game stretch because of concussion-like symptoms. On the bright side, Miller hopes the team can pick up where it left off after closing last season on a 15-5-4 roll.

The challenge for Miller is getting himself ready to carry much of the load during a tightly packed stretch of games.

“Hockey-wise, I’m in a pretty good spot,” he said. “Mentally, I always kind of knew it was going to be a short sprint kind of situation. It’s not a surprise for anyone of us.”

Coach Lindy Ruff already has projected Miller will play 36 to 38 games.

Miller hasn’t given any thought to how many games he’ll play, but has been accustomed to being the Sabres’ workhorse.

He’s appeared in 59 or more games in each of his past six seasons. That includes 2009-10, when he was the NHL’s Vezina Trophy winner after going 41-18-8 in 69 NHL regular-season games. He also played six games at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where he led the United States to a silver medal.

“I just want to be that guy, and we’ll go by that,” Miller said. “I think if I’m playing at a high-enough level, I’d like to be in net.”

Unlike some NHLers who spent part of the lockout playing overseas, Miller elected to stay home. He said the insurance premiums on his contract proved expensive. He also noted that he wanted to make sure there were no lingering effects from the head injury he suffered last season.

Miller spent much of his time working out in California, where he skated three or four times a week. He mostly worked out with members of the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings such as Jarret Stoll, Brad Richardson, Justin Williams and Rob Scuderi. Several other NHLers, including Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, also spent a few months working out with them.

“I’ve been skating pretty consistently since June, but it’s not the same as playing with your teammates,” Miller said. “It’s been missing from my life for the past eight months, that’s a long time.”

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Datsyuk is one of a number of players who went to the Kontinental Hockey League during the NHL lockout. Now that players and owners have reached a tentative agreement to end the lockout, the KHL has needed to replace several selections to its All-Star Game. But a spokesman for the Russian league says Datsyuk and New Jersey Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk are still expected to participate.

NHL players have until Saturday to vote on the new labor deal that would end the four-month lockout. If a majority of players choose to accept the deal, training camps will open Sunday, and a 48-game regular season will begin Jan. 19.

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Letang, who likely will play for the team Sunday, joins a roster that includes Ilya Kovalchuk, Vladimir Tarasenko and Sergei Bobrovsky.

The NHL lockout reached its 111th day Friday as the league and union met separately with a mediator.

Letang, 25, had 10 goals and 32 assists for the Penguins last season. He is a two-time All-Star and won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009, his second full NHL season.

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