KINGS REPORT : Fun Missing for Norstrom

Mattias Norstrom is on the outside looking in, not liking the view but determined not to report to the Kings’ training camp until the price is right.

Norstrom finished the third day of his holdout Tuesday, and signs are that he and the Kings are no closer to agreement on a contract.

“I would like to be there,” said Norstrom. “But I still feel like I’m not holding out because I’m not asking for something outrageous.”

He is asking for more than the $3.65-million, three-year deal the Kings are apparently offering. Norstrom is seeking closer to a $1.7-million average, according to a source close to the negotiations.

“This is not a fun time,” he said. “When you sit at home, you think, ‘Why is this happening?’ For me, it’s hard to kind of pat yourself on the back . . . but I had the second-most minutes on the ice and most nights played against the other team’s top line. But I feel like I’m getting the wrong message, that it’s come down to goals and assists.”

That has never been Norstrom’s forte. Deferring to defense partner Rob Blake for scoring, Norstrom had only two goals and five assists last season. But those numbers don’t tell his story.

“I need him,” Blake said, simply.

*

Though Aki Berg struggled a bit on the first day of training camp, he has settled into a fourth-defenseman role, paired with Sean O’Donnell.

“It’s time,” Berg said of questions concerning his maturity when compared to when he broke in with the Kings. “I’m 22 now, not 18 anymore.”

Berg spent last season playing in Finland after turning down a Kings’ contract offer.

*

Coach Andy Murray has nearly lost his voice from yelling in the first three days of camp. . . . After three days of drills, the Kings will hold their first scrimmage today at Iceoplex in North Hills.