Kings Redeem LA Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 to this thread...! The Kings have been a strange train to watch rumble along these last few years: 2012 - Stanley Cup champs! 2013 - lost in the conference finals [oh sweet possible three-peat... ] to Chicago 2014 - : The Sequel -- Critics are still raving! Particularly at Hockey Forums dot Net! Especially in this paragraph! 2015 - team misses playoffs in a fashion that's offensive to children, the elderly, and most domesticated pets 2016 - team makes postseason; looks mostly lackluster, loses to a team which shall not be mentioned here 2017 - team looks a playoff contender at times but falls short in season's final month The organization has acted strangely over the last year also. Acquiring Ben Bishop and Jarome Iginla. I got wondering if they were making such moves given their proximity to The Geographically Challenged Angels of Anaheim. Came down with a mild case of the Josh Hamiltons? Both those blokes, Jarome and Benjamin, are now gone from the organization. They're not the only ones. Shakeup/Shake Up Much? Yes! The Kings have been overhauled to where even legendary announcer Bob Miller = gone. But he wasn't asked to leave. Dean Lombardi was though. President and GM since 2006--gone. Darryl Sutter was too. Head coach since 2011--gone. Same goes for assistant coach Davis Payne. Alex Faust assumes Bob Miller's old job. No pressure. You're only taking over for one of SoCal's former holy trinity of broadcasters: Vin Scully, Chick Hearn, and [you know who]. I'll try to keep an open mind about you despite your not growing up a diehard hockey fan, not being in the on-air auditions last season while Mr. Miller was recovering. Luc Robitaille promoted to Prez. Rob Blake promoted to VP and GM. Somebody get Rob a second executive assistant! New Head Coach John Stevens: He's got a lot of pressure on him to turn the Kings into a faster more offensively productive team. But I don't know that he does it because the team, the one he's been on the coaching staff for these last several years, doesn't offer him a whole lot that's new. He's gonna be directing a squad that Sutter insisted on keeping physical and defensive to where it adversely affected the offensive output. It got so bad that fans recommitted themselves to fine-tuning their skills in hurling projectiles: At home of course! Real hockey fans don't throw things at games. Unless of course someone scores a hat trick or it's time to chuck seafood in Detroit! I wonder if this roster still remains one that's more suited to calling out "We got next!" alongside the Nordiques and the Canadiens as they kick the crapola outta one another decades ago. There's some talent on the attack. Anze Kopitar's fantastic. Usually fantastic. But last year wasn't a great year for him. Not at all. He's looked sharp in this preseason. But the Kings are gonna need more than a bounceback year from Captain Kopitar to make the playoffs. Jeff Carter just had his best season for Los Angeles. So if he can match or exceed that, it'll certainly help LA dreams about making another Cup run with the team's core. But it likely won't realize them. The team needs more production from more players: Dustin Brown, over the last few seasons in 79 or more games, has virtually produced annually his point total from 2012-13 when he played only 46 games. It must be nice to make 6.5 million per year for such "production". Wonder if he'd be willing to halve his salary to help with cap space? [for that silly question!] Gaborik's been in decline; PPG slipping noticeably these last two seasons. Martinez has been trending upwardly; another full season this next campaign and we could have a 40-point-scoring defenseman on our gloves. Muzzin slipped big time in points, bigger time in +/-. Nolan's not much for full seasons or serious production. Tanner Pearson has been a better scorer four straight years since his arrival in the league. A healthy Toffoli with a season even better than 2015-16 would definitely aid the cause. Draft Picks: This last draft class wasn't one that got the experts backflipping in glee. But it'd seem improper not to say that Gabriel Vilardi, first rounder for the Kings, looks a good one. His elite two-way game could work well for the Kings. Straddle the new and old team eras, if ya likes. But he does need work on his skating. (I love that at least one expert has commented that his skating wasn't aesthetically pleasing . As if to say that much of anything which smacks of old Kings won't help the cause .) Who knows if he'll get called up. Some players will be asking for him or someone else to replace them if their performances don't improve. I'm looking at you, Brown. Conclusion: So will the team make the playoffs in 2018? Can they, gasp, make another Cup run with this crew? The fan inside me has suddenly begun singing Journey's "Don't stop believing..." But the rationalist inside me wants equal time for Metallica's "Enter Sandman". Even if the boys buy into and jump on the "Let's get some goals, ya mugs!" bandwagon, one year's not much time to deliver such a dramatic turnaround in culture and approach. More core players than not have recently given more pause than please. The Los Angeles Kings are probably going to need everyone at their better-than-ever, as well as a surprise or two, to get into the playoffs, let alone drink from the world's fanciest champagne goblet. I will be doing my best to help out by trying to unleash effective telepathic hexes on the competition. It's gonna take everything this year! Go Kings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 @thenewestlights Great write up! I dont know what to think of the Kings, part of it is the division, to me the Ducks are the cream of the West, the Oilers are right behind and Calgary has arguably the games best defense and quite a few snipers among the forwards who like to hit. Then you have the old grizzled teams such as the Kings and Sharks trying to stay relevant and it makes for a very tough division. Very balanced, the Kings could finish anywhere from first to fifth. I love Jeff Carter, he is always on my fantasy teams. Hard worker, does it all but they ask too much of him. They need Trofolli and Kopitar and most of the rest were down last year to some extent, if they along with Pearson can step up the Kings chances improve. I love their defense, even losing Voynov a few years ago, Forbort stepped right in and filled his role nicely. Overall, I have them just missing the postseason but they may have one more run in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 @yave1964 Yeah, I want to agree and say that the top four spots in the division will indeed be a battle between those five squads. The Kings can't afford to rely too much on any one player. Standing around waiting for one or two teammates to play savior won't get the job anywhere near done. Anyone's standout performance on a given night must serve as a clarion call to all others to step up their games, to give more than they've ever given. To make the playoffs and make a run there while they still have some championship core, they need to play continually-- nay, continuously!--hungry-- nay, famished!-- through the regular season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 They have Quick so there is always a chance. I also there offseason retooling looks good so far. And who baked better cakes than Stevens? I'd love to have Quick between the pipes for my Flyers!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 @OccamsRazor Quick's fantastic. It's been a joy to watch him make so many mind-bending saves over the last few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 On 10/14/2017 at 9:50 PM, thenewestlights said: @OccamsRazor Quick's fantastic. It's been a joy to watch him make so many mind-bending saves over the last few years. Here is a great read on Dustin Brown and the great start he is having.... https://thehockeywriters.com/la-kings-dustin-brown-comeback-season/?utm_content=bufferd265a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 @OccamsRazor Will look forward to reading that article...! Brown's start, really the whole team's start, has been impressive. For myself I will need about twenty games in the books to get an initial idea about how high my eyebrows will remain raised on my forehead. [insert appropriate eyebrow emoticon right about here] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 @OccamsRazor That was a good read! Got me wondering if new coach Stevens sat down with Brown, had one or more meaningful one-on-ones with him about how to get his scoring, the team's scoring, back on track and on track respectively. It'll be interesting to see how many players have comeback or breakout years in Stevens' first year at the helm. I sure hope so! Last year caused too much and for us LA supporters. Might - Coach of the Year - make its way to LA LA land should the Kings return to the postseason and make a run... I'm off to get counseling for my possible emoticon habit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 3 hours ago, thenewestlights said: @OccamsRazor That was a good read! Got me wondering if new coach Stevens sat down with Brown, had one or more meaningful one-on-ones with him about how to get his scoring, the team's scoring, back on track and on track respectively. It'll be interesting to see how many players have comeback or breakout years in Stevens' first year at the helm. I sure hope so! Last year caused too much and for us LA supporters. Might - Coach of the Year - make its way to LA LA land should the Kings return to the postseason and make a run... I'm off to get counseling for my possible emoticon habit... Got lucky Carter didn't cut his achilles tendon. Sucks he is out awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted October 24, 2017 Author Share Posted October 24, 2017 On 10/21/2017 at 3:01 PM, OccamsRazor said: Got lucky Carter didn't cut his achilles tendon. Sucks he is out awhile. Indeed it does. Who steps up from the Kings and replaces his production? And I don't mean team stars who underproduced last season. They already needed to return to form, in addition to Jeff Carter having another great year, for LA to have a decent chance at making the playoffs as well as making a run in them. This injury to Carter bites extra given that, given the team's hottest start in franchise history. Someone from the current squad or from the farm system, please come forth and get miraculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 On 10/21/2017 at 2:46 PM, thenewestlights said: @OccamsRazor That was a good read! Got me wondering if new coach Stevens sat down with Brown, had one or more meaningful one-on-ones with him about how to get his scoring, the team's scoring, back on track and on track respectively. It'll be interesting to see how many players have comeback or breakout years in Stevens' first year at the helm. I sure hope so! Last year caused too much and for us LA supporters. Might - Coach of the Year - make its way to LA LA land should the Kings return to the postseason and make a run... I'm off to get counseling for my possible emoticon habit... Well, Lombardi and Sutter treated Brown like crap, so its not that surprising with a new coach willing to let him go he is doing well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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