LA KINGS OUTSIDER 2.0

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...

Thomas Hickey: This Season's P.K. Subban! Hammer reports that the Kings have sent Thomas Hickey back to Manchester .  I'm not against this move considering Hickey only played in 19 games last season in Manchester; he needs to be able to show he can stay healthy for a full-season in the AHL before he gets killed in the NHL.  I'm just not very confident in the Kings other options.  With Matt Greene expected to miss at least the first month of the season; Terry Murray will have to choose a bottom-pairing from the likes of Davis Drewiske, Peter Harrold, and Jake Muzzin.  Sheldon Souray ?   Best-case scenario : Drewiske finds his game pre-last season's injury, Harrold plays like Mike Weaver, and Muzzin plays like Randy Jones?   Worst-case scenario : Drewiske doesn't find his game, Harrold plays like Harrold, and Muzzin plays like an over-aged junior player with 14 games of AHL experience making the jump to the NHL. I'm thinking it falls somewhere in-betw...

"Yes Kyle...You still look just as crazy on the beautiful new Panasonic HD scoreboard." Lessons learned from the first home preseason game of the season . Staples Center should have installed an HD Scoreboard a long time ago.  That thing is beautiful. Kyle Clifford is crazy.  He racked up 19 minutes of penalties trying to retaliate on a clean hit.  He's the forward version of Colten Teubert.  I know alot of people are excited about him possibly making the team this year but I just don't see it.  Clifford fought Paul Bissonnette .  Bissonnette has a twitter (BizNasty2point0) : "Drew 5 minors tonight. Is that a league record? And clifford suckered me 3 times, dropped my mits and pumped him with 3 then he wrestled me. Anyone who saw the fight as a win for clifford ur a meat stick. But then again there are a lot of u out there. Go yotes. Boom." Our top four defensemen: Doughty , Mitchell , Johnson , and Scuderi were all shaky.  They allowed Phoe...

Unlike their blueline and center positions; the Kings are missing that first-line franchise winger or blue-chip prospect. Their decision to move Michael Cammalleri was the right decision at the time but the Kings have been unable to find a consistent goal-scoring threat from the wing since his departure. The Kings have a nice collection of second and third line talent on the wings. Dustin Brown and Wayne Simmonds are among the best young power forwards in the league. While veterans Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams were nice additions to their top six but injuries have become an issue for both over the past few seasons. The Kings may let their most talented winger Alexander Frolov walk on July 1st, leaving another hole for the Kings to plug this off-season. Read the player profiles after the jump...

The Debate: Lil' Wayne or Lil' Simmer I can't decide whether or not to go with Lil' Wayne or Lil' Simmer. Not bad for a free giveaway; definitely alot better than those Smitty's and Robek Juice figures they handed out. Apparently, alot Kings fans are pretty upset they didn't get theirs.  Only 10,000 available.  I saw alot of people walking around with multiples.  Way to ruin a good thing for everyone.  I'm sure TeamLA will have some for sale next home game.  They hoard all those giveaways.

Vinny to Hollywood? Vinny is so last year right?  Around this same time last year, everyone had Lecavalier headed to the Habs to help usher in a new century of hockey in Montreal.  Unfortunately for the Habs and the NHL; a deal was never worked out. Fast forward to 2010 and not much has changed.  The ownership situation in Tampa is still uncertain and once again Vinny is rumored to be on the market.  Guess who's interested?  THN Ken Campbell reports the Kings are.  And he's got names! It’s believed the Lightning would want a large package of players and draft picks for Lecavalier, along with the cap and salary relief they’d receive by dumping Lecavalier’s contract. The Lightning has apparently asked for defenseman Jack Johnson, right winger Wayne Simmonds, a prospect and several draft picks.   First off, it's great to finally hear the Kings mentioned as buyers.  For so long, the talks been what team's going to give us some draft-picks come the ...