LA KINGS OUTSIDER 2.0

Ponikarovsky Is Frolov 2.0: Better Defensively; Not As Good Offensively Just hours after it became official that Alexander Frolov was a New York Ranger; the Kings made their first acquisition of the off-season signing winger Alexei Ponikarovsky to a one-year deal worth $3.2 million. The 30-year old Ukrainian-born Ponikarovsky is almost a mirror-image of Frolov.  Poni, similar to Fro, is as streaky as they come.  He'll show glimpses of world-class talent only to disappear for weeks at a time.  His inconsistent play frustrated Leafs management and fans alike.  The Pittsburgh Penguins outbid a number of teams for Ponikarovsky at last season's trade deadline to lineup with Sidney Crosby only to have Poni disappear and be a healthy scratch during the playoffs. Poni isn't nearly as skilled as Frolov but Poni is a better defensive player.  Poni's 6'4 frame adds size up front and he definitely likes to hit more than Frolov.  He'll help the Kings cycle the puck ...

Is Voynov NHL-ready? While the Kings wait for the next chapter of the Ilya Kovalchuk Saga to unfold... It appears that Viatcheslav Voynov or his KHL team may be forcing the hand of Dean Lombardi and the Kings come October. Traktor's (KHL) Director said #LAK prospect Voinov and #FLA prospect Dadonov will return to KHL if either can't make NHL team this season. Voynov surprised alot of people when he made the jump directly to the AHL as an 18-year old.  He's a smooth skating defenseman who's got some offensive upside.  He's made huge strides over the past two seasons but it didn't sound like Ron Hextall was totally convinced that Voynov could make the jump to the NHL next season during his wrap-up session with Hammer. Slava improved this year, defensively, and played a much more sound defensive game. He’s got to get better at communicating with his teammates. I think the language is part of it. I was a little surprised when I met with him at the end of the year,...

Time To Welcome Back Some Old Friends I have no idea what's going on with Ilya Kovalchuk and the Kings.  So here's some other random thoughts.   Brad Richardson's arbitration is coming up next week according to Hammer.   Unless the Kings reach agreement on a contract with Brad Richardson in the next week, he will have his arbitration hearing on July 23 in Toronto. I have no idea what type of money Richardson is looking for but if it's anything over a million; let him walk. He made $600,000 last season. He recorded 11 goals and 16 assists and was one of the Kings most consistent bottom-six forwards. With that said, the Kings need to play this smart. They haven't signed Kovalchuk yet because they're worried about keeping their 'core' together. Richie was useful but he's not a core player. He's a bottom-six grinder that can occasionally chip in offensively. Does he deserve anything more than the 2-year, $1.8 million contract Scott Parse got...

Thanks For The Memories Fro   As we reach Day 14 of the Ilya Kovalchuk saga; I began to put together a list of possible alternatives in case Kovy decides to go elsewhere.  One of those options was obviously bringing back Alexander Frolov.  According to Dmitry Chesnokov, a regular contributor on Yahoo's PuckDaddy blog, Frolov doesn't have much interest in returning to Los Angeles. Frolov's agent: "We have a offers from a few NHL teams; 99% certainty Frolov won't stay in LA; Frolov will make a decision w/in 10 days."   Can't blame him really.  His asking price will have to come down for any team to sign him but the Kings pretty much walked him out the door.  Good luck to Fro wherever he goes.  I think the Kings are going to miss him alot more than they realize.  His puck-possession in the corners and constant wrap-around attempts frustrated fans but who else on the current team can do that?

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The Kings Need Don King To Sell L.A. To Kovy Tomorrow So what's the latest on Kovalchuk?  He's coming to LA!...for a meeting ?  If he's coming to hear Kings executives pitch the organization and city again; I think the Kings are close.  I think we might hear something as soon as tomorrow.  Or maybe Deano will stand firm and watch Kovy skate back over to Jersey.  Or to Russia.  Or maybe he'll take another meeting with the Ducks!  Who knows! Congratulations to Spain on their World Cup Finals victory.  And congrats to Matt Greene and Germany for finishing third.  OK.  So that's German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger but I thought there was quite a resemblance...

Kovalchuk Looks Good In A Kings Jersey You can read Helen (Not Helene..ha) Elliot, Rich Hammond or any of the other NHL Insiders for up-to-the-minute coverage.  I just figured I better give my two cents on the entire situation in Sparknotes form.

Maxim Kitsyn: Apollo Creed Never Had A Chance First off, let me just say that I'm kind of a big deal...haha...OK. Just kidding. But my photographs of the Kings Development Camp are on Rich Hammond's blog . I sent them to Rich and he was kind enough to share them with his readers. I spent Wednesday and Thursday shooting the scrimmages so most of my impressions will be based on what I saw during the one-hour scrimmage on Friday morning. First off, the scrimmages were missing alot of big names: Jonathan Bernier, Brayden Schenn, Andrei Loktionov, Viatcheslav Voynov, Colten Teubert and Brandon Kozun. Those six players are arguably the best six in the Kings farm system right now. With that said, this camp gave us a glimpse of all the recent Kings draft picks and second-tier prospects.  I'll start with the recent draftees.

Despite there being no Brayden Schenn, Andrei Loktionov, Viacheslav Voynov, Colten Teubert or Brandon Kozun.  The Kings are still hosting their annual Development Camp.  And I brought my camera!  Photos from Day 1 & Day 2.  Impressions to come later. DAY ONE DAY TWO

If Ilya's too expensive... With Free Agency opening up in a few hours.  Here's my shopping list for the top FA's available.  It's a shallow class but let's take a look. PRIORITIES 1. Top-line goal scoring winger. 2. Two Top-four defenseman 3. Second-line center