LA KINGS OUTSIDER 2.0

Top-10 Player in the NHL? Anze Kopitar (6 G, 8 A, 14 PTS, +2, 0 PIM) Grade: A Lady Byng? Selke? Hart?  The sky is the limit for Kopitar.  No one has benefited more from Mike Richards than Kopi.  Like Jim Fox enjoys pointing out every game, Kopi is looking to shoot from all over the ice more than he ever has in his career.  He’s playing like a true #1 center.  He’s leading the Kings forwards in PP, PK, ES, and overall ice-time right now.  His faceoff % is up too.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Gagne and Williams will stay relatively healthy all year, if so, Kopi should set career-high’s across the board.  The only thing holding him back from a perfect score from me is the blatant turnover he had against NJ at home that led directly to a goal.  Can’t get that one out of my head. Trevor Lewis (0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS, +0, 2 PIM) Grade: B I really like what I’ve seen from Lewis this season especially on the penalty kill.  He’s ...

The $56-million man?!?! Terry Murray (6-3-2, 2.36 GF/G, 1.91 GA/G, 22.5 PP%, 86.1 PK%) Grade: C I only grade TM because I hated his decision to start Bernier vs. New Jersey.  I heard his explanation and still disagree.  I understand that he wanted Quick against the two division rivals but Quick and the Kings were on an absolute roll.  I’m a big believer in momentum and without a doubt the Kings had it.  The Kings played their worst game of the season in front of Bernier and got shutout by New Jersey. Jonathan Quick (6-1-2, 1.52 GAA, .947 SV%, 3 SO) Grade: A Quick has been outstanding for the Kings in the first month of the season.  Three consecutive shutouts earned him a Player of The Week honor already.  But don’t get too excited yet because Quick started off hot last October (7-1-0, 1.84 GAA, .936) only to never reach those numbers again for the rest of the season.  Jonathan Bernier (0-2-0, 3.55 GAA, .857 SV%, 0 SO) Grade: C I thought ...

Plan The Parade Now...Kings Are Winning The Cup With the season only a few hours away, here are my predictions for the 2011-12 season... EASTERN CONFERENCE 1. Pittsburgh Penguins (Atlantic, 1st): Malkin wins the Art Ross. 2. Washington Capitals (Southeast, 1st): Ovechkin scores 53 goals. 3. Boston Bruins (Northeast, 1st): Tuuka Rask is starting by January. 4. Tampa Bay Lightning (Southeast, 2nd): Roloson's wheels fall off. 5. Philadelph Flyers (Atlantic, 2nd): Giroux makes fans forget about Richards/Carter. 6. N.Y. Rangers (Atlantic, 3rd): Richards flops on Broadway. 7. Buffalo Sabres (Northeast, 2nd): Miller wins the Vezina. 8. New Jersey Devils (Atlantic, 4th): Kovalchuk scores 50 and Parise stays. 9. Montreal Canadiens (Northeast, 3rd) 10. Toronto Maple Leafs (Northeast, 4th) 11. Carolina Hurricanes (Southeast, 3rd) 12. Winnipeg Jets (Southeast, 4th) 13. New York Islanders (Atlantic, 5th) 14. Ottawa Senators (Northeast, 5th) 15. Florida Panthers (Southeast,...

My #1 Whipping Boy For the 2011-12 Season If you haven't read it yet, check out The Royal Half's season preview .  A blogger roundtable of sorts on the upcoming season.  I submitted my answers to Chris Kontos about a month ago so I'm going to update a few of my answers regarding the team... Who will be the leading scorer for the Kings this season and why? Mike Richards.  I’m not convinced that Kopi is 100% recovered from his broken right ankle.  Richards is more than capable of putting together another 75-80 point campaign. Pairing Richards with Simon Gagne should be a no-brainer for TM and hopefully both players can regain their 2008-09 form, which saw them combine for 64 goals, 90 assists, a +42 rating and 58 points on the man-advantage.  UPDATE : After actually catching a couple exhibition games, I think Kopitar is fine and he will indeed lead the Kings in scoring.  Putting up career-high's across the board.  I'm thinking 90+ points this s...

Ethan Moreau's So Excited To Be A King He Got A Haircut  Ethan Moreau and the Kings will always be linked via Wayne Gretzky's trade to Los Angeles.  Moreau was the final link to "The Trade." You can break out your media guides or check out this link to follow all the transactions thru the years . Ethan Moreau was one of the most heralded third-line checkers in the NHL after Edmonton's improbable run to the 2006 Cup Final (along with current Kings Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene).  But at 35 years old,  Moreau is a shadow of his former-self and a walking band-aid.  He missed 43 games last season with a laundry list of injuries: broken hand, rib injury, and bruised foot.  Moreau was plucked off of waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets after the Oilers attempted to dump his $1.75 million salary on some unsuspecting victim.  The Jackets bit. Jackets fans didn't have much to be excited about going into the 2010-11 season but they were confident that t...

I'm sad Smytty's gone No tearful farewell .  Just a bunch of rumors .  A denial .  Some awkward negotiations .  And finally, #94 was gone . Smytty put DL and the Kings in a tough spot.  Demanding a trade is hard enough for a GM.  Requesting a trade to only one team is nearly impossible.  Give DL credit for accommodating Smyth and his family.  Hopefully, players around the league take notice that the Kings organization does have some class after all. Everyone was all smiles a couple years ago I was ecstatic when the Kings acquired Ryan Smyth two years ago from Colorado.  I knew on July 3, 2009 that the Kings were beginning to transition from rebuilding to contending.  The fact, that DL was willing to absorb a $6.25 million cap hit for the next three seasons said alot.  Sure enough, Smyth was as-advertised if not better.  His veteran leadership and presence in front of the net was something that the Kings sorely needed....

Mike Richards Is A KING?!?! Yeah...I'll Drink To That Remember when it was rumored that the Kings might be after Vinny Lecavalier back in February 2010 ?  I said this. Take a look at recent Stanley Cup Winners.  In addition to great goaltending; every team's had a great 1A/1B center combination.  Penguins with Crosby/Malkin, Red Wings with Datsyuk/Zetterberg, Hurricanes with Brind'Amour/Staal, Lightning with Lecavalier/Richards. As much as I love Jarret Stoll; he's not in the same-class as any of those players.  Some would argue that Brayden Schenn could be that player but I'm not sure the Kings are prepared to wait 3-4 years to find out.  And then remember when the Kings were struggling in January this season and I said this .  DL will wait for a full season of Brayden Schenn before he even considers making a move for an impact player.  Schenn will play next season as a 20-year old.  A lot of ‘experts’ compare Schenn to Philadel...

Michal Handzus 2010-11 Stats: 82 GP, 12 G, 18 A, 30 PTS, -5, 10 PPP, 20 PIM   UFA this summer Zeus is serious.  And experienced.  And this is undisputed .  Zeus may be one of the most overpaid players in the league at $4-million a season but he's been invaluable to the Kings over the past three seasons (he was pretty dreadful in his first year year).  About as reliable as your 1991 Honda Civic, Zeus has only missed ONE game during his four seasons in Los Angeles.  Considering the Kings history with signing oft-injured free-agent forwards, Zeus has been a huge success. His ability to play up or down in the lineup and in all situations makes him extremely valuable.  Zeus didn an admirable job filling in for Kopitar down the stretch and in the playoffs.  He led all Kings in PK ice-time during the regular season with 2:24 which jumped up to 3:33 in the postseason.  His 10 points on the man-advantage ranked 6th amongst Kings forwards during...

Rob Scuderi 2010-11 Stats: 82 GP, 2 G, 13 A, 15 PTS, +1, 0 PPP, 16 PIM   Signed thru 2012-13; $3.4 million   What a year for Rob Scuderi.  He set a career-high in goals with...two.  All kidding aside, Scuderi had himself a solid second year in L.A.  Scuds and JJ were the only two Kings defenseman to appear in all 82 games this season.  Here's what I wrote about Scuds in the 2009-10 season review... Scuds is an interesting one; $3.4 million for 0 goals and 11 assists sounds crazy but that’s the price the market dictated last July.  Scuds was as-advertised.  A solid stay-at-home defenseman.  Nothing more. Nothing Less.  He's just a hard-working minutes cruncher that won’t put your team in danger. In a nutshell, that pretty much sums up Scuderi's 2010-11 season also.  He doesn't do anything flashy but plays a simple game based on positioning that makes him invaluable to the Kings.  Adding Mitchell to the fold helped t...

Willie Mitchell 2010-11 Stats: 57 GP, 5 G, 5 A, 10 PTS, +4, 0 PPP, 21 PIM Signed thru 2011-12; $3.5 million Leave it to Dean Lombardi and the Kings to sign a player who missed the last 34 regular season games and all 12 playoff games of the 2009-10 season because of a concussion to a two-year contract.  The pessimist that lives in all Kings fans thought this signing could easily follow in the footsteps of such blockbuster flops as Valeri Bure and Alyn McCauley.  The Kings may have been the only team to offer Willie Mitchell a two-year contract and I don't think DL could be any happier with how his big free-agent acquisition worked out this past season. I loved Willie Mitchell's game but had some reservations about his health going into training camp .  After watching a full-season of Willie, I'm convinced that Mitchell is indeed a 33-year old version of Sean O'Donnell.  He brings nearly all the same tools: leadership, grit, toughness, and an inability to handle t...

Alec Martinez   2010-11 Stats: 60 GP, 5 G, 11 A, 16 PTS, +11, 5 PPP, 18 PIM   RFA this summer While Dean Lombardi may have blown the 2007 NHL Draft by selecting Thomas Hickey #4 overall; he grabbed another puck-moving defenseman in the 4th round that has already had an impact in the NHL.  Alec Martinez started the 2009-10 season with the Kings but looked so uncomfortable in his first four NHL games that the Kings were forced to send him down.  The pace and speed of the game seemed to overwhelm the 22-year old defenseman. Fast forward a year later, Alec Martinez got the call in late-November and didn't look back.  He quickly became the third puck-moving defenseman on the Kings blueline and became a reliable contributor on the Kings second power-play unit.  Martinez's knack for getting shots thru to the net is what made him so valuable this season.  He attempted 112 shots on net with 74 of them reaching target.  Of the Kings six regular bluel...

Jack Johnson 2010-11 Stats: 82 GP, 5 G, 37 A, 42 PTS, -21, 28 PPP, 44 PIM   Signed through 2017-18; $4.35 million On the surface, Jack Johnson had himself a career year.  He appeared in all 82 games for the first time.  His 42 points were a career-high.  His 28 points on the man-advantage put him in the top-5 among blueliners.  But just a little bit of digging and you realize that Jack Johnson was absolutely brutal this year.  Fans calling Drew Doughty the biggest disappointment of the season are letting JJ off the hook way too easy.  JJ recorded a career low and team worst +/- rating of -21 following seasons of: -19, -18, -15.  Among Kings blueliners Rob Scuderi had the next worst +/- rating +1.  Only SIX NHL defenseman out of the 303 that qualified had a worse +/- and three of those defenseman were from the Ottawa Senators . Now, for those fans that don't believe in the +/- statistic; let's take a look at JJ's CORSI # of -2.39 and a REL ...

Peter Harrold 2010-11 Stats: 19 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS, +3, 0 PPP, 4 PIM Unrestricted Free Agent There were only a few guarantees from the Kings in the new calendar year: If the Kings went to a shootout; they were going to win.  If the Kings scored first; they'd give up a goal within the next three minutes.  And Peter Harrold was probably going to be a healthy scratch.  By no fault of his own; Harrold just couldn't crack TM's lineup whether it be as 6th defenseman or the 4th line right-wing.  He ended up being the Kings utility player all season long. Stats obviously don't tell the whole story but if you're a stat geek and know what CORSI is .  Peter Harrold led all Kings defenseman with a Relative CORSI number of 14.2 .  Now obviously, Harrold's sample size is smaller than any other Kings blueliner this season and his numbers could be skewed a bit by his time as a Kings 4th line winger but he did still appear in 19 games.  Much like Drewiske, Harrold...

Matt Greene 2010-11 Stats: 71 GP, 2 G, 9 A, 11 PTS, +3, 0 PPP, 70 PIM   Signed through 2012-13; $2.95M I love Matt Greene.  One of the only Kings that plays a truly physical game.  He's well aware of his responsibilities on the ice: play physical, play strong defensively, and protect teammates.  He knows his game well and is aware of his limitations and makes the most of his skill set.  He's not the best skater but makes up for it with sound positioning.  The arrival of veterans Rob Scuderi and Willie Mitchell have helped Greene more than anything.  When he arrived in L.A., Greene played nearly 20 minutes a night but over the past two seasons, his time-on-ice has dropped to 17:29 (2009-10) to 16:59 (2010-11).  The decrease in ice-time has actually helped Greener's effectiveness on most nights not always having to face a team's top-line or power play unit.  Always among the NHL's hit leaders; Greene laid out 243 hits on the season.   ...

Davis Drewiske   2010-11 Stats: 38 GP, 0 G, 5 A, 5 PTS, -1, 0 PPP, 18 PIM   Signed through 2012-13; $616,667 Davis Drewiske's 2011 season went much the same way his 2010 season did.  Drewiske appeared in 36 of the first 38 games last season  then suffered an upper-body injury in January and failed to claim his spot in the top-6 back; only appearing in two games for the rest of the season.  In 2011, Drewiske played in 33 of the first 37 games of the season but only appeared in 5 games for the rest of the season and was a healthy scratch for the last two months.  He had an opportunity to fill-in for Willie Mitchell but was passed on the depth chart by the emerging Alec Martinez.   Drewiske's role on the blueline is a bit undefined and in a sense he is the perfect 'extra' d-man to have on a roster.  The Kings have three defined puck-moving defenseman: Doughty, Johnson, and Martinez.  Those puck-movers are each paired with a stay-at-home ...

Drew Doughty 2010-11 Stats: 76 GP, 11 G, 29 A, 40 PTS, +13, 15 PPP, 68 PIM RFA this Summer Plain & Simple: Drew Doughty letdown this year.  Following a breakout campaign last season that included a 59 point regular season, Olympic Gold medal, and Norris Trophy nomination; expectations couldn't have been any higher for the 21-year old.  After his sluggish start, his work ethic and off-season conditioning were called into question.  The explosiveness and puck control that drew comparisons to Ray Bourque and Paul Coffey last season seemed to abandon Doughty at times. His production was down across the board.  He put up 40 points following a 59-point campaign last season.  Whether Doughty's struggles were indicative of the power play's struggles or vice versa; his numbers were cut in half.  From 31 points (9G, 22A) on the man-advantage to just 15 points (5G,10A) this season.

Jonathan Quick Is A #1 Whether You Like It Or Not  About a year ago to the day, I wrote the following in my 2009-10 Season Review: Goaltending post . The Kings may start out with a Nashville-type split in goal to start next season but it’ll be Bernier’s net by the All-Star break.   So that didn't quite happen.  Jonathan Quick proved that last year was no fluke.  Jonathan Bernier finally stepped into the NHL full-time as Quick's backup.  The tandem provided the most solid goaltending the franchise has seen in decades.  They combined for another 46 wins, .914 SV % (10th), 2.39 GAA (6th), and 9 shutouts on the season.   JONATHAN QUICK 2010-11 Stats: 61 GP, 35 Wins, 2.24 GAA, .918 SV%, 6 Shutouts Signed thru 2012-13; $1.8M Whether it was the embarrassment of his performance down the stretch and in the first round against Vancouver last season or the footsteps of Jonathan Bernier behind him; Jonathan Quick arrived to training camp on a mission....

Dustin Penner: L.A.'s Newest Whipping Boy Dustin Penner isn't the devil but he has quickly become the newest whipping boy amongst Los Angeles Kings fans .  His lack of production, intensity, and perceived lack of caring on the ice are just a few of the reasons why the Kings faithful have turned on Dean Lombardi's most recent acquisition.  He joins the likes of Randy Jones, Denis Gauthier, Dan Cloutier, and countless others who have faced the wrath of Kings fans' venom.  But let's take a closer look at who Dustin Penner really is... Penner never played major junior hockey.  He was cut three times by his local junior team.  He nearly gave up on playing hockey and then decided to continue his playing career for a junior college team in North Dakota.  Spotted at an evaluation camp, Penner was offered a scholarship to the University of Maine, where he helped lead the Black Bears to the National Championship Game.  After one year of college, he signed ...