LA KINGS OUTSIDER 2.0

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...