TJ Molland: Wow this has been tiring and exhausting but we made it. The Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings are the final team up in our 30 previews for 30 teams in 30 days. 9 months ago I would have said "Yeah, the LA Kings are probably a legitimate contender". 5 months ago "Well they are playing well but could easily slip out of a playoff spot if they aren't careful". Day one of playoffs "CANUCKS BABY!! GONNA BLOW THROUGH LA!!". Two weeks after that "Yeah LA will probably run the table".
Pretty much the story of the LA Kings season. A team many considered a legitimate contender in the Western Conference hovered on the verge of winning the division one week, and missing the playoffs the next. That form of mediocrity made many question whether or not they were the team people thought they were. Well when the games actually mattered LA was unstoppable. 16-4 in the playoffs with all of their losses coming while up 3-0 in their respective series'. It was one of the more impressive runs we have seen in a while.
Oh and with only 3 players up for free agency this summer, you have to think the Kings are the favourites heading into the 2012/2013 season. Oh, and $11 million in cap space if they feel they need to upgrade on any of their players or re-sign the few that are leaving. So do we really need to say anything or can we just say heavy favourites for next year? I don't want to talk about ways the Stanley Cup champions can get better without losing any pieces.
Bik Nizzar: This has been as tiring as getting to that summit of winning a Stanley Cup. I’m going to parade around my living room with my laptop over my head.... gimme a second...
*epic music playing in the background*
Ok I’m back, and no, I didn’t try drinking off of the keyboard.
Remember in the Nashville post I mentioned that I have irrational, blind love for certain players. Well the leader of that list is none other than *dramatic pause* DREW DOUGHTY!!!!!!!!! So I’m excited to congratulate him on his Stanley Cup win. This team is set up so well for the future too, that multiple championships aren’t out of the question. Have you seen their cap?!?!? It’s remarkably set up. Basically Jeff Carter, Mike Richards Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty are the only INSANELY long contracts they have. And really, I woulda signed Doughty to a lifetime deal #irrational. They've got that albatross contract for Dustin Penner coming off the books this season (how weird is it that during the season when Penner is actually getting a pay-cheque, he plays worthless... and in the playoffs when it’s just for pride he’s a world-beater... you can’t even call him a pay-cheque player, it’s so frustrating), and then you have Simon Gagne's contract expiring next year. Their ENTIRE core is locked up. Quick, Anze Kopitar, Richards, Carter, Doughty, Dustin Brown (his contract of 3.25 for 3 more years used to be about market value and now is such a bargain).
It’s all staggered beautifully, so my hat is off to GM Dean Lombardi for his Sistine Chapel of capology.
They are going to need to look at the age of some key members of their defensive depth though. Willie Mitchell is 35, Rob Scuderi is 30 and Matt Greene is 29, all solid stay-at-home defensemen that play that no-nonsense role. Now they’ll still get a few more years out of some of those players but of their youthful prospects they have coming up, nobody really strikes me as players who can fill that similar role.
Also – are you worried about the long term future on the wings for this team? It still doesn’t pop out to me, and they weren’t exactly great at getting goals during the regular season
TJ Molland: I don't see those issues as being a problem though. The defense is old but they have a few prospects that are waiting to fill the voids. Slava Voynov was a pleasant surprise this year, Davis Drewiske has filled in part time when needed and can probably be promoted to full time soon, and they have a prospect I think will be a big time player, Thomas Hickey. The former Team Canada Junior captain and 4th overall pick in 2007 has had a lot of time to mature in the minors and should be given a good look at camp this year pending he gets a contract (RFA). So once again, the Kings are looking well.
Up front I think the wing situation isn't the best, but they have a ton of prospects that are set to make the jump. 2010 2nd round pick Tyler Toffoli and 3rd round pick Jordan Weal each broke 100 pts in junior this year. Toffoli had his second 50 goal season in a row for the Ottawa 67's while Weal has had back-to-back 40+ goal seasons for the Regina Pats. Maybe not immediate help but you don't have an immediate need yet.
There are no real chinks in the LA Kings armour. Really, go ahead and try and point something out. Oh they couldn't score goals during the regular season? Highest scoring team outside Pittsburgh and Philly (and really can we even count that series as fair) in the playoffs. Mediocre power-play? 17th during the regular season, and will benefit from a full year of Jeff Carter. There just isn't a hole that screams "this is the weakness".
Bik Nizzar: Voynov, and Alec Martinez are good players but I don’t see them shaping into the same roles that Mitchell, Greene, Scuderi have. Thomas Hickey I don’t know what to make of anymore. I used to be excited for this guy to make it to the NHL, now I don’t know if he ever will. He was drafted in 2007 at 4th overall (Karl Alzner was on the board and Dean Lombardi reached for Hickey) and the potential has never made it to reality. 5’11-185 lbs, a smooth skater, good decision maker, good vision on the ice, all the makings for a power-play QB....... with a total of 50 points in 153 games over the last 2 seasons in the AHL.
Drew Doughty has locked up the top unit PP QB responsibilities for the next 8 years. I just don’t see where he fits into this team at all. If we’re using comparables for players that size, who have similar attributes, Ryan Ellis (yeah I know I’m going all irrational player love on you but its backed up) IN HIS ROOKIE YEAR MIND YOU, not his 3rd season in the AHL.... put up 18 points in 29 games for the Milwaukee Admirals and the Predators said “hang on – why don’t we see if that offensive output will translate to the big team” and he put up 11 points in 32 games... RYAN ELLIS F-T-W!!!!.... If Ellis and Doughty ever end up on the same blue-line, I’m gonna lose my mind.
Jordan Weal just has ‘Darryl Sutter grinder project” written all over him to me. I think he’ll get stuck under his thumb and be morphed into a 2004-2008 Matthew Lombardi. Toffoli is the one with the most upside, but he’s yet to do anything in the AHL level so it remains to be seen if his junior dominance will translate.
The reason I’m concerned about their wing scoring for the long term is just how long can you rely on Jonathan Quick to be super-human. He basically played 89 playoff games last year. Cause if he wasn’t on his game during the season, they were done. They COULDN’T SCORE! He had a 1.95 goals against average, and they scored 2.29 goals a game. I know I know that improved in the playoffs, but their style of play is set up for the playoffs. It’s not set up for a marathon of 82 games, where your body just won’t last in that relentless pressure system.
Jordan Weal just has ‘Darryl Sutter grinder project” written all over him to me. I think he’ll get stuck under his thumb and be morphed into a 2004-2008 Matthew Lombardi. Toffoli is the one with the most upside, but he’s yet to do anything in the AHL level so it remains to be seen if his junior dominance will translate.
The reason I’m concerned about their wing scoring for the long term is just how long can you rely on Jonathan Quick to be super-human. He basically played 89 playoff games last year. Cause if he wasn’t on his game during the season, they were done. They COULDN’T SCORE! He had a 1.95 goals against average, and they scored 2.29 goals a game. I know I know that improved in the playoffs, but their style of play is set up for the playoffs. It’s not set up for a marathon of 82 games, where your body just won’t last in that relentless pressure system.
If they try that steamroll mentality for the season, they’ll be pooped out by March. It’s just unsustainable, which is why we love playoff hockey and why their performance was so unreal. Because for 20 games they just bowled over every team that stepped in their path and played at such an insane intensity level that it couldn’t be matched. I’m not gonna go so far as to say that this team will miss the playoffs next year, but it’s not inconceivable either. They play in a pretty good division, and in a DIFFICULT conference. Pending how free agency works out, you could make cases for about 11-12 teams in the West that they could make the playoffs next year.
How’s this for ya..... Why not target Zach Parise? Just because you acquired Carter doesn’t mean you can’t go and snag another gem. In the Western Conference you don’t have time to rest on your laurels. Send a message to the league that you’re not messing about and you want championship banner after banner after banner. They have $11 million in cap space this season, and they have a full roster already. They’ll bring back Dwight King but that won’t chew up too much of that $11 mill. Voynov, Martinez and Kyle Clifford are their only MUST sign RFA’s next season when they have $21 million in cap space, plus Rob Scuderi as a UFA who shouldn’t see a BIG BIG raise from his $3.4 million now. Then the only players that you HAAAAAAAAAVE to sign are Dustin Brown in 2015 and Kopitar in 2016. THIS CAP IS SET UP SO INCREDIBLY!!!
TJ Molland: I still think if Hickey isn't signed by the Kings he will end up on another team. He still has potential to be a NHL defender, especially with today's game allowing smaller guys to make it. Sure the depth on D isn't phenomenal but what you lose in Scuderi and Mitchell you can replace in free agency over the years. Again it isn't an immediate need, just something to be wary of.
I heard Parise's name thrown around LA before the deadline but nothing ever came of it. Still a good possibility he ends up there. The only issue is LA will definitely not have the biggest offer on the table. It will be Parises choice whether he wants to take a discount for a legit shot at the cup, or sign elsewhere for a little more money and maybe not as good a chance. If they do get him though, I might just have to start cheering for the Kings because seriously that team would be stacked. Richards, Carter, Brown, Kopitar, Gagne and Parise as your top six?!? Each of those guys has scored 30 goals at least once post lockout, and three of them would have had 40 goal seasons at some point since then as well. Noone would be saying they lack offense at that point.
I just wanted to give a shout out to the Kings Official Twitter account (@LAKings) for being the most original team twitter account in the NHL. They aren't afraid to joke around and say what they actually feel. It's awesome. When people get pissed off at them, it's even more hilarious because that is what they are trying to do.
Point in case, after it was found out Patrik Elias had some how ended up with the Stanley Cup winning puck, they tweeted this:
"If you see Patrik Elias at the Hockey Hall of Fame wearing a baggy jacket with lots of pocket space, keep an eye on him."
Or when they signed Jon Quick:
"To clarify, that's 10 years after next year -- so 11 years in total of our goaltender being better than yours."
Pure gold. Finally nice to see some character added to a team media outlet
How’s this for ya..... Why not target Zach Parise? Just because you acquired Carter doesn’t mean you can’t go and snag another gem. In the Western Conference you don’t have time to rest on your laurels. Send a message to the league that you’re not messing about and you want championship banner after banner after banner. They have $11 million in cap space this season, and they have a full roster already. They’ll bring back Dwight King but that won’t chew up too much of that $11 mill. Voynov, Martinez and Kyle Clifford are their only MUST sign RFA’s next season when they have $21 million in cap space, plus Rob Scuderi as a UFA who shouldn’t see a BIG BIG raise from his $3.4 million now. Then the only players that you HAAAAAAAAAVE to sign are Dustin Brown in 2015 and Kopitar in 2016. THIS CAP IS SET UP SO INCREDIBLY!!!
TJ Molland: I still think if Hickey isn't signed by the Kings he will end up on another team. He still has potential to be a NHL defender, especially with today's game allowing smaller guys to make it. Sure the depth on D isn't phenomenal but what you lose in Scuderi and Mitchell you can replace in free agency over the years. Again it isn't an immediate need, just something to be wary of.
I heard Parise's name thrown around LA before the deadline but nothing ever came of it. Still a good possibility he ends up there. The only issue is LA will definitely not have the biggest offer on the table. It will be Parises choice whether he wants to take a discount for a legit shot at the cup, or sign elsewhere for a little more money and maybe not as good a chance. If they do get him though, I might just have to start cheering for the Kings because seriously that team would be stacked. Richards, Carter, Brown, Kopitar, Gagne and Parise as your top six?!? Each of those guys has scored 30 goals at least once post lockout, and three of them would have had 40 goal seasons at some point since then as well. Noone would be saying they lack offense at that point.
I just wanted to give a shout out to the Kings Official Twitter account (@LAKings) for being the most original team twitter account in the NHL. They aren't afraid to joke around and say what they actually feel. It's awesome. When people get pissed off at them, it's even more hilarious because that is what they are trying to do.
Point in case, after it was found out Patrik Elias had some how ended up with the Stanley Cup winning puck, they tweeted this:
"If you see Patrik Elias at the Hockey Hall of Fame wearing a baggy jacket with lots of pocket space, keep an eye on him."
Or when they signed Jon Quick:
"To clarify, that's 10 years after next year -- so 11 years in total of our goaltender being better than yours."
Pure gold. Finally nice to see some character added to a team media outlet
No comments:
Post a Comment