General manager Dean Lombardi said Sunday things got so bad for the inconsistent Kings this season that after a victory Feb. 7 over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the players barricaded themselves behind locked doors and garbage cans to hold a players-only meeting.

The cans were stacked in front of the dressing room and meant to be a signal to Kings coach Darryl Sutter to stay out. The Kings snapped from a midseason funk to win eight consecutive games before faltering down the stretch and missing the playoffs.

Lombardi said during an hour-long session with reporters at the team’s El Segundo practice facility that he didn’t have a problem with the meeting in general, but took mild offense to the extreme measures the players took in locking out Sutter.

“I guess it’s fair to say there was a little scuffle in Tampa,” Lombardi said when asked about a report in the New York Post that suggested the incident happened during a winless trip to Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, which knocked the Kings out of the playoffs.

Lombardi corrected several elements of the Post’s story, including the date and location of the incident, which happened after a 4-2 victory that ended a stretch in which the Kings lost 10 of 12 games and kick-started their season-high eight-game winning streak.

“I could look at it and say, ‘That’s when we won eight in a row, so let’s do this more often,’” Lombardi said when asked if he was troubled by the incident. “In terms of what actually happened, maybe they don’t have to go to that extreme, but theoretically I don’t have a problem with it.”

Neither the players nor Sutter were available for immediate comment Sunday. Sutter said after Saturday’s regular-season finale, a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks, that he plans to return as the Kings’ coach next season.

“The irony is that’s essentially what you want to have happen,” Lombardi said. “Your players take over the room and (say), ‘Stay out, coach. I don’t want to hear from you. We’ve got it. Stay out.’ Because they know more than (the management and coaches) do.”

Lombardi also addressed a number of other topics, including the possibility of buying out ineffective veteran forward Mike Richards of his contract before next season and making a priority of re-signing winger Tyler Toffoli and goalie Martin Jones, two pending free agents.

Lombardi made it sound unlikely that veteran free agent forwards Jarret Stoll and Justin Williams would be re-signed. Williams was the MVP of the 2014 playoffs, when the Kings won three Game 7s, all on the road, en route to their second Stanley Cup title in three seasons.

The core of the team, including team captain Dustin Brown, defenseman Drew Doughty and center Anze Kopitar, hasn’t hit its peak yet, according to Lombardi. So, there’s no need for wholesale roster changes, but everyone must improve his game for next season.

In addition, Lombardi said defenseman Andrej Sekera wouldn’t have been able to play in the playoffs after suffering a torn knee ligament. Surgery isn’t necessary, but it could take considerable time for it to heal. There are currently no surgeries for any of the players scheduled, the GM added.