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 ...

Kovalchuk Trade Talk Heating Up? First off and most importantly, the Kings beat the Rangers 2-1.  Their seventh victory in a row. Kopi scored the game's first-goal short-handed.  The second-line played another solid game scoring the second.  Quick was solid and came up huge in the last minute of play.  And the Kings won a good close hockey game.  Rich Hammond's Recap . There were rumblings in the stands that the Kings were on the verge of acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk.  The rumor was reported on an SBNation blog; I have absolutely no idea how credible the site or their sources are so I won't be posting the link here.  With that said, Bob McKenzie did his best to put that rumor to sleep. Per McKenzie You know what I think of these rumors of the LAK on verge of getting Kovalchuk? Total BS. Some interest but fit isn't right at this point. Will spend more time on bogus reports than actual trades. It's the silly season. Amateur hour. Like New Year's Eve and ...

Phaneuf:"If Wayne Gretzky can get traded..." Leave it to Brian Burke to captivate the hockey world once again with not one but two deals.  Just like he did in Anaheim; Burkie is putting his stamp on the Maple Leafs with another blockbuster.  Check out TSN's recap of both deals .  Darren Dreger was the first to tweet the Phaneuf deal. Per Dreger Phaneuf, Sjostrom and Auley to Toronto for Hagman, Stajan, Mayers and white!! The Leafs also added J.S. Giguere who is reunited with Burke, Beauchmin, and goaltending coach Francois Allaire.  Unfortunately, Phaneuf doesn't play center and won't be able to help Phil Kessel much.  The Leafs just traded three of their top six forwards.  The Flames add scoring depth and cap relief but is that really the best return they could get for Phaneuf?  I think THN's Ryan Kennedy agrees with me. Per Kennedy Calgary gave up the best player in this deal, not to mention a prospect in Aulie who was very strong at the world jun...