Obviously
Smyth, who was traded to the Kings from the Colorado Avalanche in July, likes what he has seen from his new team thus far. “I think what makes it is the guys here,” Smyth said. “The young guys, they make the locker room feel comfortable. Obviously the older guys are here which is great but it’s obviously nice to come in and feel welcome.”With the start of the regular season just four days away, Smyth said its important for the Kings to get off to a fast start if they want to make good on their post-season aspirations.”Just get off to a good start and just give ourselves a chance,” Smyth said. “Obviously, everybody wants to make the playoffs and succeed to the final prize. But it takes a big team effort to get into the postseason and well see what happens from there.”
Via www.lakings.com (emphasis mine)
Question: You talked about some of the discussion with your family. What were some of the factors you weighed?
SMYTH: Obviously we have a beautiful home in Colorado, so we had to weigh the factors of all that stuff, and moving. Then you look at the hockey front. (The Avalanche) came to me and said they wanted to rebuild, and money was an issue, and obviously that goes hand in hand with my issue and my contract. It was mutual at the end of the day, and I have nothing but great things to say about Colorado.’
Question: Any particular Kings players jump out at you?
SMYTH: Quite a few. Over the years, playing for my country, I got a chance to see Kopitar before anybody really knew who he was. I remember lining up against him at the faceoff circle and seeing how dominant and powerful he was. He has tremendous upside. I just know he’s a pretty exciting player to watch. Obviously, Stoll, because I got a chance to play with him in Edmonton.
via Inside the Kings.
Here’s Smyth on the Olympic camp:
“I think the biggest goal is to win the gold, and obviously here in Canada, everyone wants to call it pressure,” Los Angeles Kings forward Ryan Smyth said. “They can call it pressure, but I think it’s just something to thrive on.” [...] One thing in Smyth’s favor will be the chance to shine with a new team: He was dealt to the emerging Kings in the offseason.
“New kick start, new life,” he said. “Obviously, things didn’t go very well in Colorado with not winning. This is going to be exciting. Like you said, young energetic team; actually looking forward to meeting Drew Doughty and actually having Jack Johnson on the same team after he nailed me.”
via ESPN.
Smyth on Team Canada’s goalies:
“Phenomenal,” marvelled Ryan Smyth. “Obviously, they’re extremely great goaltenders. It’s going to be a tough decision for the coaching staff to make.”
via Canada.com. Here’s Smyth weighing in on the Oilers in the finals, back in 2006 (interview after game 3):
Q. Smitty, you didn’t want to wait until the third overtime like Hork did in this situation in San Jose?
RYAN SMYTH: No, now we can rest up and hopefully get them in Game 2. Obviously it’s a big break for us. I thought Game 1 was a little shifter there. We had two good solid periods and then we let them take over in the third. And then Game 2 was obviously a frustrating game for us. [...]
Q. Shawn and Ryan, you scored the big goals tonight but could you both talk about the goaltender sitting between you there. He’s been cast into a real tough spot, not having played. Talk about his performance?
RYAN SMYTH: I thought he played excellent in practices. I know it’s no game situation, but for the last couple of months he’s been solid working with Pete, working on his angles and, like I said, it’s a little different than getting thrown into a game situation, but he’s handled the pressure really well, and I thought he played pretty good in Game 2, just we didn’t play very good in front of him. Then tonight, obviously, self-explanatory.
Q. Shawn and Ryan, can you respond to how your line played tonight in a crucial situation?
RYAN SMYTH: I know Hork and I have talked the last couple of days, we had to get better we had room for improvement and we wanted to deliver tonight and I know Hemmer has been playing half decent, obviously, he chipped in a huge goal for us in Game 1 to tie it up, but we had to obviously dominate offensively, we have had some chances I know Hork had some chances in Game 1, I had some chances too, but we just couldn’t put it in the net.
Q. What did the puck go off there, Carolina has come back time and time again how do you keep from getting dejected as a team after they scored that goal?
RYAN SMYTH: Obviously that was a goal that — off of Gator. He made a great block there and then just landed back for Brind’Amour to shoot it. Actually it was a nice shot. After that we had to find some energy and obviously we fed off the fans there again and we were trying to chat up on the bench, keep the positive attitude going, and when I got across the line I dropped it to Hemmer on that play, he just fed it through, and it went off of Cam Ward and popped up and I guess it hit my shaft. I don’t remember hitting my shaft, all I remember is it hit my chest and it crossed the line and obviously it was, you know, gritty goal but hey, it counts.
Q. Coach Laviolette was in here saying that at this stage that crowds don’t matter, buildings don’t matter, do you agree with that?
RYAN SMYTH: They fed off their fans in Game 1 and 2, and obviously we want to feed off our fans in 3 and 4 here and it’s important that obviously we come to the test for Game 4. [...]
Q. As far as your game plan, the defense seemed like you guys did a great job collapsing down below and really protecting Jussi, as far as Carolina was pretty much unable to get any traffic in the first couple of periods.
RYAN SMYTH: One big thing is that we were playing solid through the neutral zone. Neutral zone is a big part for us. We talked about it, obviously they got some speed up front and they got some very skilled forwards.
via http://2b.4c.1343.static.theplanet.com/interview/38354.html.
And here he is after game 6:
Q. Confidence level right now of the team? Michael Peca was saying to me it’s probably the highest it has been in a long time because of that win the other night.
RYAN SMYTH: Yeah. Obviously, the adrenaline from Game 5 there, obviously O.T. winner, shorthanded. And, yeah, the guys are on a high right now. We want to ride that, no question. [...]
Q. Do you feel the team can play better than what you have done so far?
RYAN SMYTH: I thought last game we really — everybody stepped up their game. And we really played together as a whole group. And if we can continue that, then that’s the game we would like to duplicate. But there’s always room for improvement. I think that’s the best thing about — from game to game you can improve and you can get better, and obviously want to take all the positives out of the last game. [...]
Q. Two parter: Is your shot harder than Dwayne Roloson’s? And what did it means to the team to have him skating out there in practice?
RYAN SMYTH: It was nice to see him back out there on the ice. No, my shot is harder, and I will stick with that to my grave. We like to see, obviously, guys that have been a huge part be around and be a part of the team. He’s a big part of our team. [...]
Q. Considering the way you guys won on Wednesday and the fact they are dinged up, would you rather be playing tonight?RYAN SMYTH: Obviously, that would be great if we could, but it’s the way the schedule rolls. We know that a few guys were banged up a bit. And, yeah, I mean the best thing is you want to ride the emotion, carry over the positives, and continue in right away. But that’s the way the schedule is. [...]
Q. Regardless of what wind you are running on right now, statistically speaking you have been held in check fairly well during the series with just the one goal. You got the legs left to maybe get another big one in this next game or the next two if there’s that many, watching the score sheet that closely on a personal front?
RYAN SMYTH: Well, you obviously want to contribute, whether it’s offensively or keeping them off the score sheet. Obviously I am recognized as a goal scorer and yeah, I’d love to contribute more in that area, but we’re getting the wins. We’re getting ourselves back into the series, and you know, I think we’re feeding off each other that way. It’s nice to see everybody contributing offensively; obviously guys like Peca, Pisani, you know, those sort of things go along ways in the team play. Yeah, I’d love to step up and get another big goal here and there, but if it’s so be it that I am minus two and we win the game, then that’s fine too.
Q. Can you talk about you had an elimination game in Carolina. What is the difference elimination game there and here and talk about being one win away from being from one win away?RYAN SMYTH I think the difference being there than it is here is that we have got our fans going and hopefully we can ride with them and they can really feed off our energy that way and we can feed off of them too. As far as being one win away, this is of a childhood dream as a team in there, it’s just awesome feeling, it’s a chance of a lifetime. Few and far between to get back to a place like this. I mean, motivation factor isn’t huge in that area. As far as — that’s self-explanatory. That’s obviously going to be no-brainer to get up for a game like that, but we’re really excited.
via http://2b.4c.1343.static.theplanet.com/interview/38354.html
After the trade to LA, he was interviewed, and here’s what he had to say:
Smyth waived his no-trade clause to pave the way for him to join the Los Angeles Kings. He was dealt for defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing and a fifth-round draft pick. Smyth had three more years left on his current deal, with a salary cap hit of $6.25 million. “Obviously, they wanted to move money, and I fit that criteria,” he said.
via USA Today.
Here he is on the Denver Post Avs blog:
Q: Give me the pitch I’m sure you’ve already given to Joe to come back for another year.
Smyth: Well, the biggest thing, and obviously I’ve already told him this, is that he can still play at a high level. I think he proved that coming back from his surgery, and how he played in the playoffs. But obviously this is a very big decision for him and his family. But do I want Joe Sakic back as a teammate? There’s no question.
I have no idea how deep this well is. But now I can’t wait for his next interview.
Kings get Younger, Lose Weight and are Somehow More Experienced
They’re a half year younger, about a half year more experienced, and a pound lighter. From the Kings site:
2008-09
Age: 26.3
Ht: 6-1
Wt: 208
NHL Experience: 3.96 yrs
2009-10
Age: 25.8
Ht: 6-1
Wt: 207
NHL Experience: 4.30 yrs
THE FISH STINKS FROM THE HEAD
And Rob Blake is the new captain of the San Jose Sharks. So this is a team that replaced their long-time captain with a geriatric mercenary with at most one more season left in him. They replaced a guy who supposedly was too soft-spoken (or whatever the euphemism was) with a guy who is supposedly even more soft-spoken. You know, “he leads by example.”
Projecting the Western Conference – On the Forecheck
12. Los Angeles Kings: Lots of flash, but they still haven’t solved goaltending problems.
via Projecting the Western Conference – On the Forecheck.
Lots of flash? Cool. But. Really?
Dmitry Chesnokov (dchesnokov) on Twitter
Semin: “My goal for the season is to score more goals that Ovechkin.”
Ovechkin (standing nearby): “Good luck!”
[FLASHBACK 10/6/2007] Tonight’s lines – Inside the Kings
Brown-Kopitar-Cammalleri
Calder-Armstrong-Frolov
Nagy-Handzus-Willsie
O’Sullivan-Murray-IvanansVisnovsky-Blake
Stuart-Preissing
Modry-JohnsonBernier
LaBarbera
Tonight’s lines – Inside the Kings.
7 out of 12 forwards from ’07 are gone. Instead of Cammalleri, Calder and Armstrong, we have Smyth, Williams, Stoll and Purcell. On D, on D, 5 of 6 are gone. Only Johnson remains. In goal, well…
[FLASHBACK 10/?/2008] Lines and pairings – Inside the Kings
Here’s how the Kings skated today:
Moulson-Kopitar-Brown
Frolov-Stoll-Moller
Calder-Handzus-Simmonds
Ivanans-Armstrong-Richardson
Patrick O’Sullivan and Brian Boyle were the “spare” players today in the green jerseys, but these lines are likely to shift a bit when O’Sullivan is ready. It’s more stable on defense:
Johnson-Greene
O’Donnell-Doughty
Gauthier-Preissing
via Lines and pairings – Inside the Kings.
Up front, 6 of 14 are gone. Moulson, Moller, Calder, POS, Boyle and Armstrong are replaced by Smyth, Williams, Purcell, Clune and Lewis. On D, Gauthier and Preissing are out, Scuderi, Drewiske and Martinez are in.
From Some Phoenix Newspaper, let’s say “The Phoenix Post Gazette Intelligencer Times”: Coyotes reach deal with Robert Lang
The Phoenix Coyotes, who open the regular season Saturday in Los Angeles against the Kings, have reached a tentative contract agreement with center Robert Lang, contingent on him passing a physical.
Lang, a former Phoenix RoadRunner, spent last season with the Montreal Canadiens, where he tallied 18 goals and 39 points in 50 games. The year prior, he scored 21 goals for the Chicago Blackhawks.
He has also played for Detroit, Washington, Pittsburgh, Boston and Los Angeles in his 17-year career.
via Coyotes reach deal with Robert Lang.
I have always rooted for Robert Lang, from way back when his name was pronounced LAH-ng and Barry Melrose wouldn’t give him more than 3 shifts a game.
Sharks Don’t Hate Kings Enough
Puck Daddy: You would definitely hate the Ducks more than you’d hate the Kings, right?
Pavelski: Yeah, definitely.
But really isn’t there hate enough to go around? Hopefully we can change that this year, Joe.
That’s what we need: a “minister of culture and identity”!
Wayne Gretzky’s stint in Phoenix ended in disgrace last week, and most thought he would spend some time away from the National Hockey League following his unceremonious departure. But Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi hopes he can bring Gretzky back to the place where he left his biggest stamp. Lombardi told Toronto radio station the FAN 590 on Tuesday that he would like the Great One to come back to the Kings in an advisory capacity. While nothing has been finalized, Lombardi joked that Gretzky could be the team’s “minister of character.” L.A.’s young squad will have star veteran leadership for the first time in years this season in Ryan Smyth.
via Gretzky’s road back to NHL could go through L.A. – Posted Sports.
Actually, what he said was “minister of culture and identity.”
YouTube – Top 10 NHL Moments 2008-09
YouTube – Top 10 NHL Moments 2008-09.
Hat tip to I forget who.
Last cuts are coming, and my guess at the opening night roster:
[UPDATE: final cuts announced and I was right except for the Bernier/3-goalie plan]
Smyth/Kopitar/Williams
Purcell/Stoll/Brown
Frolov/Handzus/Simmonds
Ivanans/Lewis/Harrold
(Clune [IR], Richardson)
Martinez/Doughty
Johnson/Scuderi
Drewiske/Greene
(SOD/susp.)
Quick
Ersberg
Bernier
That’s my guess. Hickey will get sent down; no loss of face there. DL will keep three goalies up and give Bernier a game or two. If he does the job, Ersberg gets waived. Probably that’s all too whacky and they’ll just send Bernier down. But I think the 3 goalie plan is possible in the short-term. Westgarth will get sent down; Ivanans will live to fight another day. Richardson will get waived when Clune returns.
And there’s still a chance DL brings in one more old veteran D between now and the beginning of the year.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to draw any kind of conclusion from pre-season games. But what the h***, that’s all we have right now
- If Frolov is anything less than stellar in his contract year (i.e. if he takes nights off), he will get dealt sooner rather than later. And Frolov is especially vulnerable the first 10-15 games, I think. If he plays like an “enigma,” I think DL will have a few chances to ship him to someone looking for offense on a more run-and-gun team.
- If Bernier plays like a pro in Manchester, Ersberg will get traded, sooner rather than later.
- If the Kings have any problem scoring 5-on-5 — by which I mean, if they are in the bottom third of the league in that stat — hello Oscar Moller second line center. Stoll will end up centering the fourth line for awhile.
- If there is any problem on the power play (which I think is less likely), we will see Hickey.
- Murray may have his lines “set,” but I think the only lines set in stone are as follows: Kopitar is the first line center. Handzus is the third line center. That’s it.
- Frolov will probably move between the first three LWs all season or as long as he stays with the Kings.
- Smyth will bounce back and forth between Kopitar’s line and the line of whoever is the second line center.
- I say “whoever” because unless the Kings are playing their A game, I think Stoll is vulnerable and we could see Lewis or Moller (or Azevedo) in that spot.
- Any faltering from a 90 point pace, and I think DL looks to move either Frolov or Stoll or both. Everyone else (Kopitar, Williams, Brown, Handzus, Simmonds) is more or less secure (unless he can find someone to take Handzus’s salary).
- Purcell probably wouldn’t get moved, just swapped out for Moller or whoever is the best in Manchester at the moment.
- Simmonds could easily end up being RW2 or even RW1 before the season is done. I think he’s about to become a star.
- Players I’m not worried about: Quick, Doughty, Johnson, SOD, Greene, Purcell, Handzus, Simmonds, Lewis, Williams, Kopitar, Brown, Smyth. Players with asterisks: Frolov, Stoll, Ersberg, Drewiske, Scuderi, Westgarth. Players I wish would move on: Ivanans, Richardson, Zeiler, Calder, Armstrong, Preissing, Gauthier, what? Oh, cool. Okay. The first two then.
- I really hope, a month from now, we’re not all talking about how much we are missing Kyle Quincey.
The Hockey News: Western Conference predictions
10. Los Angeles. I hate for you to think I’m underestimating the Kings, because I’m not. The job Terry Murray did behind L.A.’s bench last year was phenomenal, their blueline has the potential to be one of the league’s best and individual talents such as Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are only getting better. But you, me, and even casual Kings followers know how much pressure is on these guys to do something of real merit this year. And in the tougher of the NHL’s two conferences, they may need something to go wrong for other teams just as much as they need a lot to go right for themselves.
via The Hockey News: Screen Shots: Screen Shots: Western Conference predictions.
Me, I think it’s basically an 8-way tie for 6th place. My optimistic prediction is they finish 7th. Detroit/San Jose/Chicago/Calgary/Vancouver are the top five, though I have no idea in what order. I think San Jose will be worse than people think, due to poor defense; but other than that, any one of those five could finish anywhere 1-5. As far as 6-8, I would have to pick Anaheim, LA and St. Louis, again, in no particular order. Edmonton I think will be closer to 15th than 8th. Phoenix is my pick for the basement. MIN, NSH, CBJ and (who am I forgetting…oh yeah) DAL all could easily be in the 6-8 spots instead of who I picked. If forced to rank them all, I would go with:
1. Vancouver
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Calgary
5. San Jose
6. St. Louis
7. Los Angeles
8. Anaheim
——-
9. Columbus
10. Minnesota
11. Dallas
12. Nashville
13. Edmonton
14. Colorado
15. Phoenix
And in the East:
1. Washington
2. Philadelphia
3. Pittsburgh
4. Boston
5. Carolina
6. New Jersey
7. Ottawa
8. Tampa Bay
———
9. New York Rangers
10. Toronto
11. Buffalo
12. Montreal
13. Atlanta
14. Florida
15. New York Islanders
Playoffs
1st round – West
Kings v. Wings — Kings in 6
Canucks v. Ducks — Canucks in 7
Hawks v. Blues — Chicago in 6
Flames v. Sharks — Calgary in 7, of course
1st round – East
Caps v. Bolts — Caps in 5
Flyers v. Sens — Flyers in 6
Pens v. Devils — Pens in 5
Bruins v. Hurricanes — Bruins in 7
2nd round – West
Canucks v. Kings — Kings in 7
Hawks v. Flames — Chicago in 7
2nd round – East
Caps v. Bruins — Caps in 7
Flyers v. Pens — Pens in 7
3rd round – West
Kings v. Hawks — Hawks in 6
3rd round – East
Pens v. Caps — Pens in 7
Cup finals
Hawks v. Pens — Pens in 7. Hossa checks into mental hospital.
Visnovsky of the Oilers is about 23.43 per cent – Cult of Hockey
Warning signs for Oil as Visnovsky doesnt even look like half the player he used to be.If Lubomir Visnovsky wasnt the Edmonton Oilers best defenceman last season before his season-ending shoulder injury see photo, the best was Sheldon Souray.But Visnovsky was right up there, a wheeling, dealing, racing, skating puckmeister with the range factor of Ozzie Smith.Whats the old saying — the seven seas cover 90 per cent of the world, Lubomir Visnovsky covers the rest.Something like that.In Wednesday nights game against Calgary, a 5-3 loss to the Flames, Visnovsky struggled badly.Hes clearly still recovering from his shoulder surgery, and from what Ive seen so far, Im betting it could well be 20 or 30 games into the season before we see anything approaching the Lubomir Visnovsky of old.This is bad, bad, bad, bad news for the Oilers.
http://communities.canada.com/edmontonjournal/blogs/hockey/archive/2009/09/24/visnovsky-of-the-oilers-is-about-23-per-cent.aspx
New sheriff in town … and he’s taking names | Habs Inside/Out
Jacques Martin got on Sergei Kostitsyn today.
“What the **** are you doing over there?” Martin bellowed.
Later in the morning drills, Martin made a chalk-talk point and asked: “You got that, Sergei?”
“This was really my first practice with him,” Martin said in his post-practice press conference, pointing out that Sergei has skated with a split squad to date. The coach said Kostitsyn, like the other players still in camp, have to “develop the habits we want.”
via New sheriff in town … and he’s taking names | Habs Inside/Out.
YouTube – Kings v Islanders 9/22/09 – Kansas City, MO
I am frankly surprised by the high quality of the video image on this crowd tape. The two guys who are taping it give an intentionally and unintentionally amusing running commentary, and for some reason only tape the fights. But it’s still worth a look.
Islanders fall to Kings 4-2 in K.C.; Roloson hurt – Lighthouse Hockey
A dose of perspective. How other teams blog the Kings:
Honestly, this was your typical preseason game: Several fights (Brett Westgarth and Raitis Ivanans tangled twice in the first — the P.A. epically botched Ivanans’ name both times), and several signs that certain players are true NHLers who have adjusted to the speed at this level and exert a sense of calm, while others are clearly nervous rookies. In that former group I’d include Josh Bailey, Jon Sim, the Islanders’ veteran blueliners, plus the Kings’ Drew Doughty and Wayne Simmonds. My god, is Doughty good. The teams traded goals in the first, with an excellent Tambellini-to-Hunter combo setting Andy Sutton up at the doorstep. Yes, Andy Sutton scoring from the doorstep.
The first and third periods were exciting and physical; the second was an absolute dud and special teams disaster for the Islanders. After The Other Westgarth picked up 4 minutes trying to goad an unwilling Micheal Haley into a fight, the Islanders promptly: 1) Gave up a shorthanded goal; 2) took a penalty to even it up; 3) took another penalty to give the Kings a 5-on-3, which Doughty converted on a pretty backdoor goal.
I honestly don’t know if the Islanders penalty kill was that truly awful, or if the Kings power play is that amazing. But the Kings controlled the puck the entire time when they were on the power play. It was constant tape-to-tape…to tape…to tape passing. It was as if they were Harlem Globetrotters just screwing around in the preseason, curious about what looks they could get.
The Islanders had penalty killers like Nate Thompson, Tim Jackman and Jon Sim out there, so it was a little alarming.
via Islanders fall to Kings 4-2 in K.C.; Roloson hurt – Lighthouse Hockey.
Justin Williams Legally Changes Name
In a bid to break a string of consecutive injury-plagued seasons, Kings forward Justin Williams has legally changed his name to Healthy Williams.
Healthy Williams Eager to Help Kings – Los Angeles Kings – News.
Kings Roster Down to 31
*waiver-exempt
^juniors eligibility remaining
GOALIES (will re-assign 1)
Erik Ersberg
Jonathan Bernier*
Jonathan Quick*
DEFENSEMEN (will re-assign 2-4; depending on how Harrold is employed)
Drew Doughty
Matt Greene
Jack Johnson
Sean O’Donnell
Rob Scuderi
Joe Piskula*
Andrew Campbell*
Alec Martinez*
Thomas Hickey*
Davis Drewiske*
FORWARDS (will re-assign 4-5)
Ryan Smyth
Anze Kopitar
Jarret Stoll
Justin Williams
Dustin Brown
Alexander Frolov
Michal Handzus
Peter Harrold
Raitis Ivanans
Brad Richardson
Wayne Simmonds*
Marc-Andre Cliche*
Richard Clune*
Trevor Lewis*
Teddy Purcell*
Kevin Westgarth*
Brayden Schenn*^
Kyle Clifford*^
Unless Ersberg is traded, Bernier will get sent down. They could of course send Quick down, as he is waiver-exempt, but that would be scandalous. At least two (and maybe all four) of Piskula, Campbell, Martinez and Hickey will be sent to Manchester. They’re not going to keep both of Martinez and Hickey, since they are similar “types.” Of the forwards who would have to clear waivers, Richardson, Ivanans and Harrold are on the bubble; among the waiver-exempt, Cliche, Lewis and Westgarth would go to Manchester and Schenn and Clifford would return to juniors, but could stick around for their nine games. My guess is, Zeiler getting waived means Clune is staying. One of Westgarth and Ivanans will stay. Harrold will stay due to his versatility. That leaves three of Schenn, Clifford, Lewis, Cliche and Richardson still to be re-assigned. If Schenn and Clifford are going to get their nine games (which I think will happen, but who knows), then Lewis and Cliche will go to Manchester and Richardson will be traded or waived.
experimental mobile post composed while stewing fOr two hours in dmv hell, in which i free assoc-
-iate on the fate of the kings. Moller in manchester with loktionov. Who is the other winger? Mikus? Who is there now (or will be there soon)? Moller, loki, mikus, azevedo, lewis (prob), parse, meckler, gauthier, cliche (prob), pelech (?), segal, elkins — that’s 12 already — king, that’s 13. Is that everybody? Marty murray? I forget if he’s still there. I think he’s not.
[UPDATE/NOTE: this was written two days ago, before Zeiler was waived.]
Moller/loktionov/lewis
Mikus/azevedo/segal
King/elkins/cliche
Parse/gauthier/meckler
Hickey/campbell
Voynov/bagnall
Martinez/piskula
Bernier
Zatkoff
Assuming clune and westie stay in LA and zeiler, richardson and ivanans are dealt or waived. Also assuming hickey and bernier start in the AHL — though obviously they might make it. I don’t think bernier will get the call up no matter how well he plays till ersberg is dealt since ee can’t get sent down w/o clearing waivers and he wouldn’t clear.
With those guys in manch, the kings look like:
Smyth/kopi/williams
Purcell/stoll/brown
Frolov/handzus/simmonds
Clune/harrold/westgarth
Scuderi/johnson
Doughty/SOD
Drewiske/greene
(Harrold again)
Quick
Ersberg
But then I have no idea who.the spare parts are. Zeiler and richardson? Or does lewis center the fourth line leaving harrold to be scratched?
There are still a hundred people ahead of me in line and I have to leave in a half hour. They’re clearing about a person a minute. Under these conditions, I look at the kings line up and wonder if we’ll be able to score. A lot depends on stoll and kopitar. At. Least.that’s what it looks like going into my 3rd hour at the dmv.
Now, let’s see if I can find a picture to go with this before my thumb fall off.
(Why is peter puck in my phone?)
From The Hockey Writers: Top 20 Enigmas in the NHL; #19 is our very own…
19) Alexander Frolov (Los Angeles Kings)
If Edmonton were to offer Hemsky to Los Angeles to shake things up, they’d likely receive Frolov in return. He too passes up many shots and can vanish for large stretches but has totalled 197 points in the last 230 games with the Kings.
With size and reach, Frolov is an impact winger who can break free from the tightest areas with the puck before beginning an offensive rush.
Quincey big hit in Avs’ OT win – The Denver Post
Kyle Quincey is one of only two ex-Detroit Red Wings to play for the Avalanche. While Todd Gill was the other, he essentially quit the team midway through his one season in Denver, 2001-02.
The Avs have plans to keep Quincey in a burgundy and blue uniform a lot longer than one year, and they certainly won’t mind if Quincey lays a bunch of big hits on the Red Wings like the kind he did in his preseason Avs debut Sunday night.
Quincey, the principal player brought over from Los Angeles in a summer trade that sent Ryan Smyth to the Kings, was outstanding in Colorado’s 2-1 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues at the Pepsi Center.
Quincey, a 6-foot-2, 207-pound defenseman, assisted on Milan Hejduk’s game-winning
COLORADO AVALANCHE
View photos of Blues-Avalanche preseason game Sept. 20
View photos of Stars-Avalanche exhibition Sept. 17
View photos of Avs captain Adam Foote
View slide show of Avalanche rookie Matt Duchene, the third pick in the draft.
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goal in OT for the Avs (2-1 in preseason). Quincey also had a handful of thundering checks on Blues players in his nearly 20 minutes of ice time.
“It was my first game here, so I got a little bit of nerves in the beginning, but got ‘em out of the way,” said Quincey, 24. “It went pretty well. The guys here have been real easy to play with.”
Quincey posted 38 points for the Kings last season, an excellent offensive number for any defenseman. He showed some reasons why Sunday, moving the puck quickly. He also has a big slap shot, although only four of his 38 points with the Kings came on goals.
“He’s got a lot of poise with the puck,” Avs coach Joe Sacco said. “When he’s in situations where he thinks he’s in trouble, he seems to get himself out of trouble. We’re looking for him to have a positive impact on our club.”
via Quincey big hit in Avs’ OT win – The Denver Post.
I love Kyle Quincey. Would have led all rookies in assists last year, maybe even points (I forget), if he had played one fewer game the season before so he could qualify as a rookie in his first full season.
Training Camp Battles: 4th Line Agitator – Battle of California
RudyKelly is funny:
Instead of questioning the legitimacy of his birth for the thousandth time, I’d like to compose my feelings in a haiku:
John Zeiler sucks balls
And he eats babies for fun
Enjoy Manchester
via Training Camp Battles: 4th Line Agitator – Battle of California.
Moller vs. Stoll
There’s been quite a bit of talk about Oscar Moller being the odd man out this fall. It goes something like this: Purcell is having a great camp and it appears he will be given first crack at LW on the second line, with Stoll and Brown. Moller, meanwhile, is small and slight and easy to bump off the puck. He would do well to spend a season in Manchester. I put all of that in italics because it’s at least partially wrong and also because it irrationally pisses me off. Purcell is in fact having a good camp, maybe a great one; certainly, he has improved his attitude, and bulked up a bit, since last year at this time, when he got beat out by Moller for a roster spot on the team that was Purcell’s to lose. I am not anti-Purcell. In fact, I love Purcell in nine out of the ten ways it’s possible for a fan to love a hockey player. But this is not a battle between Purcell and Moller, not even if Purcell wins that spot and Moller is sent down to play on Loktionov’s line in Manchester. [UPDATE: since I started this post, both Moller and Loktionov have in fact been assigned to Manchester.] Purcell vs. Moller doesn’t matter.
The real battle is Moller vs. Stoll.
Let’s start with this: a list of Kings’ players with NHL experience who are capable of playing the role of top-six center.
Kopitar
Stoll
Moller
That’s it. Three guys. And everyone basically admits that Stoll is really a third line center, like Handzus. If you include people in the pipeline, the list includes Schenn, Azevedo and Loktionov, none of whom are ready now. Now, it’s possible that Moller is truly not ready now for that job and really should spend the season (or part of it) in Manchester getting bigger and better against men. And it’s also possible that Stoll is not crippled by arthritis and will click with Purcell and Brown and everything will be fine until Moller is “ready.” However, let’s look at some numbers:
Jarret Stoll is a guy who has scored 20 goals in his career exactly once, four years ago.
Since then, he has scored 13, 14 and 18 goals. Moller, in his first season, was on a pace to reach 14 goals, when he left mid-season to captain the Swedish WJC team. These are basically the numbers Stoll has settled into in his prime.
Now, consider that Stoll scored his 18 goals last year while playing with the best players on the team (his QUALTEAM number is 0.056, 2nd highest among Kings forwards), while Moller scored his 7 goals while playing with just about the worst quality teammates possible (his QUALTEAM number is -0.098, which is with Purcell at the bottom of the barrel ahead only of the Zeilervananstrong party). Stoll mostly played top line minutes. Moller mostly did not.
Okay, that’s offense. I don’t think anyone would really argue that Stoll’s upside is higher than Moller’s. The main knock against Moller would be his size. You know, that bit about being knocked off the puck and being weak. So, if Stoll is better than Moller in that regard, I would expect Stoll to — for example — draw more penalties than Moller (being stronger on the puck, etc.). But does he?
Not even close.
Stoll draws 0.7 penalties per 60 minutes of icetime, which is just about the worst on the team among forwards. Moller, meanwhile, draws 1.3 per, nearly double Stoll’s number, and second on the team only to Brown, who is the best in the league. So let’s underline that: when Moller is on the ice, people have to take penalties to stop him; Stoll, no.
What about penalties taken? Because if Moller is so small and weak, he would have to take a lot of penalties, right? And Stoll should easily be able to best Moller in this category.
Guess what?
Moller, penalties taken per 60 minutes of icetime: 0.6. This is just a hair from the team best (Kopitar and Handzus are at 0.5). And Stoll? 2.0 penalties taken per 60 minutes of icetime, the worst on the entire team, and DOUBLE the number of the next closest forward (Calder).
How about Corsi numbers? [Corsi is like plus/minus, except shot "events" are counted instead of goals; missed shots, blocked shots, saves and goals all count the same; as a result, goaltending is factored OUT, and you get a sense of generally how much offense as opposed to defense is generated when a given player on the ice.] Moller’s CORSI is 7.3, 2nd among Kings forwards only to Kopitar, who is at 9.5. Stoll is at 2.8, which is behind Kopitar, Moller, Brown, Purcell and Williams among players who could be considered top-six. Actually, Stoll’s CORSI is below all the top-sixers except Frolov, who is the one top-six forward who has huge defensive duties. Stoll is also lagging behind Calder, which I mention just for fun.
5-on-5 plus/minus… Moller -1 (tops among top-six forwards, second to Calder [!] among all forwards), Stoll -6.
Goals For While on Ice, Stoll has an edge, 2.21 to 1.90 per 60. However, the figures are reversed for Goals Against: Stoll, 2.65; Moller 2.05. We know that Moller scores more on the power-play. So this stat tells us that Stoll scores a bit more than Moller at even strength, but is not as good defensively, so it cancels out his even-strength offensive edge and puts him behind Moller on the whole (again, that doesn’t “fit” with the accepted wisdom that Moller is small and weak and Stoll is not; especially since Moller plays with much worse teammates than Stoll…hmmm….).
So now I get to spend money on Monarchs webcasts. I wonder who will be the third guy on the Moller/Loktionov line. Lewis? Can’t wait.
Training Camp Battles: Enforcer – Battle of California
King had a fight during the prospect game where he punched a Coyote so hard in the face that the guy just stopped fighting and skated away. I’d never seen that before. King won’t make the, uh, Kings this year but he could ultimately be that fighting hockey player Lombardi seems to want so much.
via Training Camp Battles: Enforcer – Battle of California.
I wish I had seen that.
Cap (Idiots) Chart #?: Kessel Edition (bonus: why is Vancouver suddenly over the cap? I can’t figure out when that happened…)
Lots of movement. The red zone is getting full, as one would expect in September. VAN has leapt to the head of the pack, and (as I mentioned above) I can’t figure out when that happened. I must have blinked. But I can’t figure out who they signed either. OTT has dropped back into the yellow as a result of you-know-what. NYR still has a bunch of guys to sign. As before, “cush” refers to the off-season cushion, not the bonus cushion (that’s “BCush”), “per23″ is the amount of cap space left per player left to sign to get to a roster of 23. “Madness” is the amount per player to get to a roster of 22 if the GM is insane and blows the bonus cushion. “LTS23″ is roster spots left to sign to get to a roster of 23. I’m very curious to see how each of the red zone teams are going to address their overages. Will they all choose the MacLaren option, dumping someone in the minors? How many salary dump trades will occur? Is San Jose planning on going with the roster minimum of 20?
Los Angeles Kings, opening night roster, 2011-2012 season
Frolov/Kopitar/Purcell
Moller/Loktionov/Brown
Clifford/Schenn/Simmonds
Clune/Nolan/Lewis
(Westgarth)
Johnson/Doughty
Hickey/Teubert
Voynov/Greene
(Deslauriers)
Bernier
Quick
(Jones)
Future Is Bright: West’s Top Prospects — NHL FanHouse
Los Angeles Kings
Thomas Hickey, D
2007 1st round pick
Age: 20
2008-2009 team: Seattle (WHL)
57 games, 16-35-51
You’ve probably heard this story before. The Los Angeles Kings are stuffed full of tantalizing young prospects, and Hickey is the latest in the line. He has plenty of physical and mental maturity, and he could end up helping the Kings on the power play immediately.
HockeyBuzz.com – Matthew Barry – Kings Tie Game Late But Lose To Sharks In Shootout
While Murray singled out Brayden Schenn and Kyle Clifford as being “the best line out on the ice tonight, for both teams”, Murray’s biggest praised was reserved for Andrei Loktionov, who once again was outstanding. “He’s a special kind of a guy,” Murray began. “He can find people, sees the ice, makes good plays and he plays a very brave game. It doesn’t matter who he’s matched up against he’s going to go battle them for a puck possession. For a kid who still has a year of junior eligibility he’s a pretty special player.”
via HockeyBuzz.com – Matthew Barry – Kings Tie Game Late But Lose To Sharks In Shootout .
Moller/Loktionov/Purcell at Staples Tonight
My ideal #2 line for 2011-2012. And Bernier’s in goal. I would like to see a 10-0 shut out, please. And a good Clune showing. That’s not asking too much, is it?
Roster I Wish Were Possible
Smyth/Kopitar/Williams
Purcell/Moller/Brown
Frolov/Handzus/Simmonds
Clune/Stoll/Westgarth
(Harrold, Lewis)
Johnson/Scuderi
Doughty/Greene
Hickey/SOD
(Drewiske)
Bernier
Quick
Or, as I like to think of it:
25/35/25
20/20/30
35/20/15
5/15/5
If Only Reason Were Here/Puck Off/Slogans are Stupid
Like an ass, I quote my own comment from someone else’s excellent blog.
It’s a terrible slogan, or tag-line or motto or whatever it’s supposed to be. I actually don’t think sports teams should have slogans. It’s so “advertising department.” I think it’s funny, given that they obviously pay people money to come up with these things, how stupid the slogans are. If you accept the premise that the ONLY purpose of advertising the Kings is to bring in people who aren’t already Kings fans, I don’t think “Only Reason We’re Here” makes a bit of sense. The obvious question a prospective fan would have is, “I give up: what’s the reason?” If the answer is supposed to be “playoffs,” then I think the response would be, “Oh, you’re not usually in the playoffs? Well, forget it then.” I also think slogans are only noticeable or relevant when your team is a bottom-feeder, and slogans like that can only make sense to people who already go to the games; and to them, the slogan is embarrassing, since it only reinforces their self-loathing by reminding them of the fact that the Kings have missed the playoffs for a number of years.
The Wings don’t need a slogan, do they? They might have one, but people go to games because the team is great.
All slogans are stupid and degrading when applied to people. The Kings aren’t a movie, or a car or whatever. “This time, it’s personal.” “You’ll wish it were only make-believe.” “In space, no-one can hear you scream.”
How about:
“THE KINGS
Puck you…”
(see, slogans are stupid)
Maybe “Slogans are stupid” would be a good slogan.
I think Luc thought of ORWH. It doesn’t sound like an English-speaker’s phrase.
via HockeyBuzz.com – Forums – Matthew Barry: “Only Reason We’re Here” – ???.
From the Kings site: Clune/Harrold/Westgarth (related: Clune is an EXTREME agitator)
Rich Clune, Peter Harrold and Kevin Westgarth could see playing time on the Kings fourth line this season. Harrold a center/seventh defenseman hybrid, played in 69 games last season at both positions scoring 4-8=12. Westgarth made his NHL debut a year ago and skated in nine games, posting nine PIMs, while adding 165 PIMs in 65 games at Manchester. He is challenging for time on the roster as the Kings enforcer. Clune is an interesting prospect, an extreme agitator on the ice, he returned from injury to collect 87 PIMs in just 35 games with Manchester last season.
via Training Camp Report Sept. 13 – Los Angeles Kings – News.
Cult of Hockey has a great post on the Heatley trade from the Oilers’ point of view…
…and I think it applies just as well to the Kings:
The Oilers offered three good players for Heatley. The Oilers deal was far superior to the one that Murray accepted from San Jose. They must be cursing Heatley right now in Ottawa. Me, I’m just glad Heatley isn’t an Oiler, not because Heatley’s any kind of bad person or weak player. He’s one of the top snipers in the league, in fact. But I believe the Oilers’ only real hope — if the team’s goal is to compete for the Stanley Cup — isn’t in picking up a short-term, one-dimensional paycheque man, even if that one dimension is scoring 40-50 goals a year. If Edmonton is to win consistently, the Oilers need to build around youth. They need a young base of talent who want to stay together and won’t demand the sun, moon and stars in financial compensation from management. This is the Detroit model, it’s the best model in the salary cap era, so why not follow it? Smid and Cogliano are young players on the way up, players who still might improve significantly. They are also relatively cheap players right now. The Oilers aren’t close to winning the Cup, and the team is going to need more than just one veteran sniper to win in the playoffs. It will take a group of young players who improve as a group, who play as a team, who push one another to excellence. When this notion becomes the core belief of Oilers’ management, things will start improving in Edmonton, and not until that time.
Puck Prospectus | Articles | 2009-10 VUKOTA Projections
Sometimes you just have to accept that even though you put together the right process or the right team, things didn’t go your way. The most likely outcome last season was a vastly better one than what the Kings got. Our projections can’t tell bad luck from good and underestimate the Kings as a result.
via Puck Prospectus | Articles | 2009-10 VUKOTA Projections
They predict the Kings will miss the playoffs by 8-10 points this season. But then, per the above quote, they say that the Kings should have finished higher than they did last year. Which I find interesting, since a year ago, pretty much everyone had the Kings far below where they ended up.
Matthew Barry – Will Jarret Stoll Be Ready To Start the Season?
From Matthew Barry:
In an interview with Team 1260 this afternoon, Kings centerman and faceoff specialist Stoll admitted he had arthritis in his knee, wrist and elbows (at the tender age of 27), to the point where he couldn’t move. He’s currently under medication and plans to be ready for the start of the season (didn’t we hear this about Adam Deadmarsh and Jason Allison a few years ago?).
Coming off of a major groin tear, if Stoll is not ready to take on the role of 2nd line center, it bumps up Handzus, leaving the checking line thin and the 4th line absent of a veteran/decent center. With Derek Armstrong not waiting around for the Kings to make up their minds about him taking a 2-way deal with his former coach, Lombardi will once again be hitting the phones looking for help.
via HockeyBuzz.com – Matthew Barry – Will Jarret Stoll Be Ready To Start the Season?.
So presumably Stoll is not going to be passing any trade-related physicals any time soon. And I would just have to assume he’s not going to be ready for the season and he’s not really going to contribute much of anything. Because, frankly, chronic debilitating arthritis is kind of a problem.
So, my first question is, do the Kings have the personnel to play up to everyone’s new expectations, without Stoll in the line-up? Secondly, is there any kind of silver lining if Stoll can’t play? Sometimes, as with POS’s non-hold-out this time last year, it creates an opportunity (i.e. Moller, Simmonds). Is that likely to happen this time? I know I’m getting ahead of myself a bit, but there’s no hockey on TV, so f you.
Smyth/Kopitar/Williams
Frolov/Moller/Brown
Purcell/Handzus/Simmonds
xx/xx/xx
I don’t really have a problem with the first three lines. I think Moller would do better as C2 than Stoll would. So that doesn’t bother me. But I have a problem with the fourth line. Which is my usual problem, since I hate hate hate the Ivanans/Zeiler/Richardson island-of-misfit-toys line.
Maybe Dean should sign Theo Fleury to center the fourth line, or at least get him to camp. Is that Calgary offer firm yet? Didn’t I read that somewhere?
I guess in a few days, we’ll know if it’s reasonable to expect any of Clune, King, Westgarth, Clifford (?? I know, that’s a loooooong shot), etc., to be possible this season. A Clune/Fleury/Westgarth line is kind of funny to contemplate.
So, for now — and since we don’t really know what the deal is with Stoll — I’m going to have to say that any time off for him is an opportunity for Moller, Purcell and some other kids I like. And maybe it will force Dean to bring in someone who can play on a real fourth line. I hope it doesn’t mean — as Matthew suggests — that he’s going to deal Frolov for a center and a defenseman.
HockeyBuzz.com – Matthew Barry – Kings Rookies Shutout Phoenix 4-0 – Heatley/Frolov Trade Rumor Quote
Matthew Barry gets the quote of the day from an anonymous Kings employee (a.k.a. “an NHL source”):
Being that I was standing about 10 inches from Alexander Frolov today, its safe to say he wasn’t on a plane to Ottawa – Since I was actually there, I also asked several Kings personnel about the rumors circulating on XM204 as well as well established NHL outlets. Each one denied the rumor and one added, “How does this make sense? We trade Frolov and we help Dany Heatley go to the Sharks so he can score against us all season?”
Geordie Wudrick (GeordieWudrick) on Twitter
Hopin to get back on the ice monday or Tuesday
No country for old Oilers – Cult of Hockey
The clock is ticking on Souray, Visnovsky and Staios (as well as the Oil’s playoff hopes).
Sheldon Souray and Lubomir Visnovsky were born in 1976, Steve Staios in 1973.
That makes Souray and Visnovsky 33-years-old and Staios 36-years old this hockey season.
How much longer can these guys last? This is a pressing concern given their value to the Edmonton Oilers and their expensive, long-term contracts.
Each man is earning top dollar: Visnovsky $5.6 million per season for the next four years, until he is 36-years-old; Souray $5.4 million per season for the next three years, until he is 35-years-old; and Staios $2.7 million this year and next year when he will be 37.
Based on their play last season, all three earned their money well enough, as all three performed at a high level overall and near their own peak career levels.
[...]
But, given the age of the three players, it will take some luck for the Oil to get through the year without one of them missing a huge chunk of time due to injury, as happened with Visnovsky last season, with Souray the season before, and with Staios the season before that.
I italicize embolden [?] strange adjectives
From TSN’s Kings preview:
After a very promising rookie season, it will be intriguing to see what Drew Doughty does for an encore. The burly blueliner has all the tools to be a force at both ends of the ice for the Kings
via TSN .
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