Ducks Gameday—Burke Week #5: Finale

Colorado Avalanche (9-10-0, t-12th in west) at Anaheim Ducks (11-8-3, t-4th in west)


Ah, we finally arrive at the conclusary installment of Burke Week, a five-day gander back at the Anaheim legacy of Brian Burke.

Part I: Defending three "bad" Burke moves that I don't think were that bad.
Part II: Criticizing three Burke moves that I don't think get enough flak.
Part III: Nothing but shout-outs.
Part IV: What I like about Burke the roster-builder.

And now we arrive at Part V: Scattered final thoughts, where I squeeze everything I've missed into a final post for the series. We'll start with some counterpoint: Two things that I didn't like about Burke the roster-builder.

Regret One: Europe, Where Art Thou?

Since Brian Burke's second year in Anaheim, there has been a fairly rigid three-player maximum on players from Europe -- Teemu Selanne from Finland, Sammy Pahlsson from Sweden, and the back-up goalie (first Ilya Bryzgalov from Russia, now Jonas Hiller from Switzerland), but before Burke arrived, Anaheim used to be a melting pot. Burke rid the team of Vitaly Vishnevski (Russia), Ruslan Salei (Belarus), Niclas Havelid (Sweden), Sandis Ozolinsh (Latvia), Petr Sykora (Czech Republic), Sergei Fedorov (Russia), and Ladislav Smid (Czech Republic), among others. Think about this: in 2003 the Ducks went to the Stanley Cup Finals with zero Canadians on their blueline. In 2007 the Ducks won the Stanley Cup with zero non-Canadians on their blueline.

It became very clear over Burke's tenure what sort of player he was building around -- skilled or not, he wanted North American skaters in nearly every roster slot. Now I don't want to attack this mindset too badly -- you can still make an impressive team from mostly one continent. However, one only had to look at the success of Swedish forwards on Detroit or the Finnish forwards on Dallas (or really, the European contribution to any team's success) to see that Burke's one-continent focus was biased against plenty of world-class talent.

It's one reason that I'm not upset to see Brian Burke leave -- he certainly did very good work while he was here, but I don't think too many years of Europe-phobia is good for an NHL franchise. By artificially limiting the available talent pool, the Ducks seemingly ignored a source for creativity and puck control -- and I think that they would be well-served to reintroduce that intercontinental element into their post-Burke philosophy. I just hope that Bob Murray has an open mind to the contributions of overseas players; I think it's an element the Ducks have been missing.

Regret Two: How Bad is Burke at the Entry Draft?

I don't follow prospects that well, so I can't really tell you how much more barren Anaheim's prospect pool is compared to when Burke arrived, but I assume it's been rather depleted. One of the problems, I assume, is Brian Burke's draft record, which will have to be judged in future years, but based on reputation and what I have seen looks unimpressive thus far.

I guess the indicting argument against Burke's draft record is that I believe Bobby Ryan and Brett Festerling represent the only players that Burke has drafted that have tasted NHL ice, and Ryan was selected in a high-expectation slot (2nd overall, one spot behind Sidney Crosby). I'm definitely not an expert here, but I'd expect that a draft-savvier GM would have accumulated more NHL-ready players by now (though granted, a lot of Anaheim's top picks were sent to Edmonton in the Pronger deal). I think it's premature for any hard criticism here (and a lot may be based on Bobby Ryan alone), but so far, it's tough to spot where Burke's draft record has served the Ducks very much.

Of course, there is a flipside to this criticism, which is that Burke has demonstrated that it's possible to build teams almost entirely outside of the draft -- the 2007 cup squad had very few players who were actually drafted by Anaheim (I believe Getzlaf, Perry, and Bryzgalov). Also, with Dave McNab finding lots of talent outside the draft (Anaheim's undrafted talent includes Andy McDonald, Dustin Penner, Chris Kunitz, Ryan Shannon, Ryan Carter, and Jonas Hiller), perhaps the importance of the draft is overstated. Still, the entry draft is a definite source to replenish talent, and it may prove that Burke's draft mediocrity hampers the Ducks in the near future.

But let's not overlook the upside.

I don't want to end Burke Week on all sour notes, though. Even with his drawbacks, Burke did transform the team's image from a Disney sidestory into one of the west's top teams. Burke became a source for franchise legitimacy -- I don't know if the team lands a Scott Niedermayer or a Chris Pronger without the presence of Brian Burke, and I don't know if a Mathieu Schneider or a Brendan Morrison even seriously considers the franchise as a signing option. Burke had the clout to trade away a high-priced Sergei Fedorov and a high-priced Mathieu Schneider for spare parts, and the bravery to stand behind moves like the waiving of Ilya Bryzgalov.

Basically, no matter his flaws and strengths, Burke was a high-profile GM and hockey personality, and he added relevance to the Anaheim Ducks. His coming to SoCal legitimized the franchise and fixed its focus on winning, and without that, the team's fortunes could have gone in a very different direction -- probably one without a Stanley Cup. There's definitely been some baggage to Brian Burke, but the upside has been pretty spectacular.

What I'll miss most about Brian Burke:
What I'll miss least about Brian Burke:

The answer to both of these is his mouth, which has definitely been a regular source for amusement, but also has diverted many of my blogging man-hours to defending the guy's often-malicious quotes. For better or worse, there is no topic in hockey that Brian Burke is too timid to discuss, usually with the spirit of antagonism. There's no doubt that I'm going to miss that mouth -- it sure beats the usual media-timidness that most hockey personalities have, but I won't lie. It's also going to be nice to have a little less controversy coming from the GM's mouth, as well.

Entertaining quotes occasionally do come at a price, not only in terms of franchise perception but also with burnt bridges as well. Anyone want to put an over/under on the number of months before we see another Anaheim-Edmonton trade?

A classic example of Burke's mouth making headlines.
Bottom Line: Overall, I'm a huge Burke supporter, even though over Burke Week I've split my positives and negatives pretty evenly. The upsides to having a strong-willed GM far outweigh the drawbacks (though it's important to remember those, as well). As a Ducks blogger, I've never had much desire to interview Ducks players (though nobody's really given me any opportunity) -- generally, I am disgusted enough with bland cliches that I don't think I'd do very well in that setting. That said, I would have loved to have an opportunity to interview Brian Burke -- even though the interview would have been generally awful (I'd probably conduct it at a bar and wouldn't write or record anything), I imagine shooting the shit with Burke would be ten times as entertaining as doing the same with any player.

Ultimately, Burke built a Stanley Cup Champion team in Anaheim, and nothing should take away from that. We'll miss you, Burkie, and wish you limited success in Toronto/wherever.

--------------------------------------------
So that's the scattered last chapter of my Burke Week -- I definitely had a lot to say about the guy and what he did in Anaheim. For the comments, what's your final analysis? What grade would you give Brian Burke for his GM job in Anaheim, and how much do you think he will be missed? Any final thoughts are welcome in the comments.

Prediction: Ducks win 4-2. Goals by Ryan, Getzlaf, Pahlsson, and Pronger.

Go Ducks.

Kaspar On Waivers/1st Round Review

In case you haven't heard, the Sharks put former 1st rounder Lukas Kaspar on waivers. There's not much to say about it other than Kaspar hasn't really been given much of an opportunity to do much of anything, so it seems rather strange that the team would have him start in the big leagues, only to get sent down to the AHL via waivers six games in.

While Kaspar hasn't exactly set the world on fire, he hasn't been a total disaster like, say, when Jeff Jillson tried to justify his first-round selection. He's made rookie mistakes and he's had one pretty sweet goal against the LA RudyKellys.

Well, since we're all pondering Kaspar's demise, let's take a quick look at who else the Sharks have drafted in the first round. San Jose has this reputation of being excellent drafters but when you look at the list, you see a bunch of good, not great players:

2005: Devin Setoguchi
2004: Lukas Kaspar
2003: Milan Michalek
2002: Mike Morris
2001: Marcel Goc
2000: Tero Maatta
1999: Jeff Jillson
1998: Brad Stuart
1997: Patrick Marleau
1996: Andrei Zyuzin

I think Michalek will peak at being a 70-point guy and Setoguchi's certainly got the hands and speed to be a 35-goal guy. Goc? Well, I suppose there's always a need for a reasonably reliable defensive fourth-line center. Brad Stuart's a solid defenseman but he didn't turn into the stud everyone anticipated while Andrei Zyuzin's waiver-wire fodder.

The exception here, of course, is Marleau, who can be somewhere between good and great depending on when you take a snapshot of his career. I don't think Marleau ever had the goods to be an Art Ross kind of guy but he's definitely turning into a more well-rounded and gritty player than I ever thought he'd be.

Summer Battle of Northern California reading

Sharks coverage on BOC has dropped off a little since the end of the season, and the fact that Northern California has essentially been on fire for 3 straight weeks does not appear to be a major factor. Drawing on a flaming Wild Wing and a thick low lying layer of smoke for inspiration, here is a short recap from Sharkspage of what has gone down in the land of cheap software and expensive offensive defenseman:

• Max Giese of Sharkspage posted a very thorough 2008 Sharks Entry Draft (ptII) review article, with contributions from several NHL scouts and a few comments by other draft related sources. The first part of the Sharks 2008 Draft Review written by yours truely is available here. Included in that post is a video clip of Darren Pang expressing shock that Phoenix Coyotes first round selection Viktor Tikonov spoke English. Yes, San Jose residents can occasionally be accused of speaking English.


• Free agent defenseman Brian Campbell signs 8-year, $56.8 million contract with Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers sign Patrick Rissmiller. Judas, thy name is Brian Campbell. One problem many fans in San Jose have with what went down is the fact that his departure was a foregone conclusion. Instead of feigning that taking $7+ million with Chicago, Atlanta or Ottawa was a difficult decision, acknowledge the fact beforehand and fans have more respect for you. Campbell is tremendously gifted with speed and skating ability matched by few defenseman in the NHL. He also basically evaporated against Calgary and Dallas in the playoffs. If you are brought in to spark the Sharks transition and move the puck on ice, and you consistently hesitate and take it back behind your own net, there are going to be questions. Major questions for Chicago next season: how effectively will he be on defense, will he transform the Blackhawks power play, and how well will a young team respond to Campbell in a leadership role.


• San Jose Sharks sign defenseman Rob Blake to 1-year deal adding a power-play quarterback, report Sharks are pursuing Tampa Bay's Dan Boyle. A number of Kings fans are noting Rob Blake's declining production over the last season. In San Jose he will play a much different role, as the Sharks will have three solid defensive pairings they can use in any situation. Blake will be counted on more to bomb shots on net from the power play than to provide a #1 defensive role. I have a feeling with Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, Clowe, Cheechoo and Michalek fighting for rebounds, Blake's numbers are not going to look too bad after 2008-09.


• Veteran defenseman Craig Rivet traded to Buffalo for 2009, 2010 2nd rounders. This is a trade that had to be made for salary cap considerations, but one that nobody likes north of the grapevine.


• Dan Boyle, Brad Lukowich, and Sharks general manager Doug Wilson discussed the recent trades on a conference call with local media.


• Sharks Trade Analysis: Blake, Boyle and Lukowich add missing pieces of the puzzle for Sharks power play and playoff problems. A lot of words essentially boil down to the fact that Boyle could have a bigger impact in San Jose than the brief Campbell experiment, and Rob Blake is the type of proven veteran who has been there and done beat up a lot of Anaheim Ducks.


• Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff signs 3 year, $9.3 million contract. This shores up a large chunk of the Sharks blueline for the foreseeable future, but salary cap issues could force a trade for Kyle McLaren. The future beyond Rob Blake is also a little less clear with Matt Carle, Ty Wishart and a 1st round draft selection headed to Tampa. AHL rookie Derek Joslin should be next in line, and will take more of a leadership role in Worcester this season. Hard hitting Boston College fresheman defenseman Nick Petrecki, who won a National Championship this season, remains as the Sharks top overall defensive prospect. The Sharks may need him to regulate at HP Pavilion before the end of his four year run in college.


• Sharks hire Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Todd McLellan to be the 7th head coach in San Jose franchise history. Some fans were a little irrated at the lack of questions asked by the media at the press conference, there is a hand held 6 minute video of McLellan answering questions from the AP's Greg Beacham, a local television reporter, and from Tony Khing of the Sharks included in that post. One rumor has Trent Yawney as a possible assistant coach.

That is all I have for now. War Sandis Ozolinsh for President.

Kings Draft Pick Review

Drew Doughty, D- My favorite part of Doughty's game is the fact that he doesn't just control the puck well; he controls the flow of the game. The best part about the Detroit Red Wings is their ability to dictate the way the game goes, to slow it down or speed it up at their will. I haven't seen Doughty nearly enough to make any kind of judgment on his ability but what I hear gives me a very tight feeling in my shorts.

Colton Teubert, D- The guy writes the word "Punish" on his grip. Yep.

Vjateslav Voinov, D- Fuck yes, I love Russians. Voinov is a little on the small side (he's listed at 6'0" but is more likely 5'10" or so), but he's a mean mother fucker and is known as one of the best agitators in the draft. Yeah, he's Russian, but he's expected to come over and play next year in either Juniors or the AHL. Hopefully he can make it up to the big club and give Alexander Frolov someone to talk to. The only downside:

As my brother pointed out, he looks like Roseanne's sister. Kinda like Jordin Tootoo too... wait, fuck, there has to a better way to write that.

Brad Richardson, C/RW- Yeah, I know, he's 23 and we got him in a trade, but I figure he counts. Richardson is a smaller winger with poor speed and a great shot... wait, hold on, he reminds me someone. Anyway, Richardson can play on the penalty kill and will probably find a spot alongside Michal Handzus, who desperately needs someone with a shot on his line. I see a Moulson-Handzus-Richardson line working quite well in the future.

Andrew Campbell, D- Campbell is 20 years old and its already pretty filled out (205 lbs.). Lombardi traded up to get this guy, so it seems there's something in him that he likes. Should be a guy to watch.

Richard Czarnik, C/RW- American kid, pretty big but needs to add about 30 pounds. Should be a good player to forget about for a few years and then check on. Plus, his last name sounds like Rodney Dangerfield's in Caddyshack and that's... well, it's something. You try to write something about every player, it's hard.

Geordie Wudrck, LW- Geordie?

Andrei Loktionov, C- Woohoo, another Russian! I think Lombardi was thinking that Russians would be undervalued this draft because of the uncertainty surrounding the transfer agreement, so he went ahead and took them. One thing that's funny? Every Russian prospect is just kind of assumed to be an asshole. I would seriously consider a lawsuit if I were a Russian player. "Oh, here's Igor Olskinsov, he's a good player but he will probably just stay in Russia and drink Vodka. They used to be commies, you know."

Justin Azevedo, C- There's 2 things you need to know about Justin Azevedo: he was the OHL Player of the Year, and he's 5'7". I always feel bad for guys that are great in Juniors or in college but never really get a shot to prove it in the pros, so hopefully Azevedo can make it. He'll probably move to the wing and play in either the ECHL or the AHL next year.

Garret Roe, LW- Another 20 year-old (that's 3 on the day). He got straight A's in school. You know, just in case you were curious.

So that does it. There was a lot of trading for picks in next year's draft that I'm not going to get into because it's boring and nobody cares. Drew Doughty will probably play in the NHL next season, while the rest of the guys will go back to Juniors or college or whatever the fuck. Next up: free agency. Oh, and we need a coach, I guess. I forget, are those important?

Anaheim Ducks See Busy Day One Turn Into Exciting Day Two At NHL Draft

The Ducks saw just as much exciting action take place on day two as day one. The Ducks added six selections in the second and third rounds. With the 35^th overall pick the Ducks took Nicolas Deschamps of Chicoutimi of the QMJHL.

Deschamps, a 6-0, 173-pound center had 24 goals and 43 assists in 70 games last year. His 67 points led all league rookies in scoring and he was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team. He was ranked as the No. 21 North American Skater by the Central Scouting Service.

“I’m very happy to be going to the Ducks,” said Deschamps (pronounced Day-SHAW). “It’s a good organization with good fans. They’re always good and they always compete every year. It’s going to be great to go to camp with those guys.”

Just four picks later, at 39^th overall, the Ducks drafted center Eric O’Dell from Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League. The 5-11, 174-pound O’Dell had 14 goals and 18 assists in 28 games for Sudbury last year.

“This is a huge day,” O’Dell said. “This is my hometown, so I have a lot of people cheering for me. It’s great. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

With the 43^rd overall pick, the Ducks took another future UW Badger, when they drafted Justin Schultz from Westside of the British Columbia Hockey League. The 6-0, 163-pound center had nine goals and 31 assists in 57 games the past year.

At 71^st overall with the tenth pick in the third round the Ducks drafted left winger Josh Brittain. At 6-4, 210-pounds Brittain played for Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League and was fourth in team scoring in 2007-08 with 51 points (28-23-51) in 68 games.

With their two more picks in the third round the Ducks at 83^rd overall took goalie Marco Cousineau of Baie-Comeau in the QMJHL. Cousineau had a 2.18 goals against average and .903 save percentage in 58 games last season. At 85^th, the Ducks drafted Brandon McMillan of Kelowna of the WHL. McMillan had 15 goals and 26 assists in 71 games.

With the team’s only selection in the fourth round, the Ducks drafted defenseman Ryan Hegarty of the U.S. Development Program. Hegarty had seven goals and 12 assists in 47 games for the USA U-18 team.

The Ducks closed the day taking defenseman Stefan Warg in the fifth round. The 6-2, 187-pounder from Stockholm, Sweden played for Vasteras of the Swedish Junior League last season.

As a writer, and a sports fan, this draft went very well for the Ducks. they filled some future gaps in the team, added a ton of talent and look strong heading into the future. With the way the draft went for Los Angeles and Anaheim, Southern California will definitely be a hockey hot bed soon.

Sources and Image: Staff, Anahaim Ducks. "Ducks Add Eight in Day 2 of the Draft." Anaheim Ducks online 21 Jun 2008 21 Jun 2008

Anaheim Ducks Draft Jake Gardiner After Busy First Day at The Draft

To begin the draft for Anaheim, they made a trade for the 17^th and 28^th overall picks with Los Angeles after the Kings made a trade with Calgary sending Mike Cammalleri to Calgary for two picks for the Kings.

At 17^th overall, the Ducks drafted Jake Gardiner, a defenseman from Minnesota. He played forward for three of his high school seasons and switched to defense during his senior year. Due to the position change Gardiner is a very offensively strong blue liner.

He finished fifth in goals (20) and assists (28) in the Classic Lake Division, leading all other Minnetonka players. His 48 points placed him third overall among Minnesota high school defensemen in scoring. Next season Gardiner will be playing for the University of Wisconsin.

Audio Interview with Jake Gardiner: http://ducks.nhl.com/ext//R09_0054.MP3

Personally, i never paid any attention to this kid, but he seems to be a good fit for the Ducks. I'm not sure why the Ducks felt the need to get involved with the Kings/Flames deal but whatever. The Ducks got a defenseman which they could use, especially once this kid finishes at the University of Wisconsin. All in all, not a bad draft choice or day for the Ducks

The Ducks finish the day in a deal with Phoenix. The Ducks give up the 28^th overall pick for the 35^th and 38^th. With this deal the Coyotes draft a Russian and the Ducks are done for the day.

Mike Camalleri Gets Traded, Rudy Kelly Does a Live Blog

Calgary gets Cammalleri, the Kings gets the 12th overall pick from Anaheim, Anaheim gets 2 selections later in the 1st round. Holy shit. Good luck in Calgary, Mike.

Who do the Kings draft? Colton Teubert, maybe. This shit is crazy.

Live-blog Edit:

Fuck it, I'm going to watch this anyway, might as well write about it.

-I forgot that the Kings interviewed the 2nd tier forward prospects, so Lombardi might be focusing on one of them.

-Len Barrie owns the Lightning now? How the fuck does this guy have any money? I remember when he was on the Kings and he almost killed my poor brother. He'll probably end up trading Vinny Lecavalier and eating Stamkos or something.

-Doughty! Great right-hand shot, incredibly smart, should line up next to Jack Johnson in the future. Woohoo!

-If Doughty goes straight to the NHL, does that mean Hickey is ticketed for Juniors again? I can't imagine the Kings breaking in Doughty, Hickey and Johnson next season.

-I don't understand why people keep bringing up Doughty being fat. The best hockey player I ever played with looked fat with his shirt off, but he was a Goddamn dynamo on skates. The muscles you use for hockey aren't the ones that show up when you're at the beach. Besides, I'd rather have a guy who is smart and needs to get in shape than a guy who's cut but still needs to develop hockey sense.

-I'm still not sure what to think of that Olli Jokinen trade. I like Jokinen even though he looks like a giant baby because he used to be a King, but I guess I'll have to start hating him. That's an awful lot of defense for Phoenix to give up though, isn't it? Oh well, I guess I'll just assume it's retarded. That's called professionalism, friends.

-Jesus, couldn't they put the 1st rounders a little closer to the stage? Poor Pierre McGuire is going to have an aneurysm coming up with facts while the players stumble down to the platform.

-Can we send some A/V guys up to Canada? I haven't watched a single NHL event that isn't stilted and awkward as hell.

-Oh hey, you know who the GM of the New York Islanders is? Garth Snow. That never fails to crack me up.

-Does it creep anyone else out how much Bob McKenzie and Pierre McGuire know about these kids? I would get a restraining order if I were a potential draftee. Do they have Dateline in Canada?

-Ah, the smooth baritone of John Davidson. Hey, what the hell? No one wants to hear some guy named Jarmo, put Davidson back on.

-God, Canadians make me so mad because they're so unassuming. I mean, Alex Pietrangelo said he's never owned a car! Where the hell are all the assholes? I get the feeling I could rob a bank up there just by walking in and saying, "Hey, I'm American, give me your money." It's an entire country of Ned Flanders'.

-My brother pointed out another person that looks like Nikita Filatov:



-That was sad. They showed Cliff Fletcher, the GM for Toronto until Brian Burke jumps ship in Anaheim, on the jumbotron in Ottawa and the entire crowd booed him. He looked around confused, either because he didn't know why people were booing or because he didn't know where he was. Either way, don't boo an old man, Ottawa. That's just rude.

-Someone needs to get Pierre McGuire a towel; I think he just got a little too excited over Luke Schenn.

-I guess I was a little too hard on Pierre McGuire; Schenn was named Best Defenseman of this last year's World Junior Championships... no, wait, that was Drew Doughty. Maybe it's because Luke Schenn played all by himself in a shutdown role... no wait, he played with Thomas Hickey. Well, Luke Schenn did get picked for Toronto, and that's something.

-Holy shit, RJ Umberger was worth a 1st round draft pick? How the fuck does that happen? Columbus better hope Brian Campbell signs with an Eastern Conference team.

-There we go, now there's an asshole. Nikita Filatov doesn't take any of your stupid Canadian questions, TSN. They asked him who he modeled his game after and he said Sidney Crosby. Really, Nikita? You model your game after a guy 2 years older than you? You're not Nikolai Gogol, you're supposed to make sense.

-Colin Wilson gets drafted by Nashville and Pierre McGuire takes a second to mention that although Wilson was born in the United States and wants to play for the US, he should really be considered Canadian because he learned how to play in Canada. This is awesome. I guess McGuire's technically correct, although I can't blame Wilson for wanting to be American; who wouldn't?

-I think it would be awesome if Wayne Gretzky just snapped one time and shouted, "Shut the fuck up! I know I'm fucking amazing, stop cheering for me! I always hated you people anyway!" Of course, you know he loves it because he always announces the draft picks. Give Rick Tocchett a shot, will ya?

-Aaaand we have our first mullet of the night. Who had a Dane in their pool? Congratulations, Michael Boedker; you truly are a "Great Dane." *Gun shot

-Wait... did Wayne Gretzky just call his goaltender "Evgeni Brzygalov?" What the fuck? You're the COACH OF THE TEAM, who do you fuck that up? Also, it was kind of sad that he mentioned that they traded for Jokinen to match up with other top centers in the Pacific and then mentioned Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Thornton, Mike Modano... and that's it. C'mon, man, Modano's not better than Kopitar!

-Wait, hold on, Luc Bourdon died? When the fuck did that happen? Was I in Europe? That sucks. Also, I think you can guarantee you're going to hell when you hear a prospect died and the first thing you think is, "Wow... thank God the Kings didn't trade for him." I'm sorry.

-Huh. They were talking to Cody Hodgson, a forward picked by Vancouver, and they casually dropped that he was probably the best player at the World Juniors. I think that's news to Viktor Tikhonov, the MVP of that tournament. Jesus, Canada, you won the fucking thing, let it go.

-You know what's funny? Kyle Beach was widely assumed to be ticketed for Anaheim, not because he was skilled or because he fit a need; it was purely because he was an asshole. He ended up going to Chicago, but that's quite the rep they've got going in Anaheim.

-Okay, Kings are up. Weee!

-Looks like the Kings are trading their #12 pick. Aaaand.... it's the #12 for the 13th pick and a 3rd rounder in '09. Is Dean Lombardi some sort of evil genius? Sometimes I think he's smarter than everyone else, other times I think he's John Nash.

-I'm calling Zach Boychuk right here at #13.

-I'm calling myself as an idiot. Colton Teubert goes instead. Let's see what we have now:

O'Sullivan-Kopitar-Brown
Frolov-Boyle-Purcell
Cliche-Lewis-Moller
Westgarth-Holloway-Simmonds

Doughty-Johnson
Hickey-Teubert
Martinez-Piskula

Bernier
Zatkoff
Quick

I'm aroused. Can I just get in a time machine and hop forward 3 years?

-No "Brian Murray lisps" joke, no "Brian Murray lisps" joke...

-Oh hey, the Ducks are up. Haha, Brian Burke started off by saying, "It's great to be back in Ottawa." I don't care what anyone says, I like the guy; he's funny and he's an asshole. Anyway, the Ducks draft some douche bag and he'll be a bust. Next!

-This is confusing: why would a guy named "Chet Pickard" be a perfect name for Nashville to draft? Chet is a name associated with New England, not the South. I don't get Canada.

-Paul Holmgren looks like a cross between Kirk Douglas and Bret Hull.

-Michael Del Zotto gets drafted by the Rangers and proceeds to take 9,000 minutes to get to the podium. "Hey, Adrian Brody+Sydney Crosby, hurry the fuck up, I got some drinkin' to do!" That was Chet the Squirrel; I kinda wish I hadn't invited him.

-Alright, Chet and Squirrely both overruled me, so I'm going to have to bow out. Just to recap: the Kings are going to win the Stanley Cup in the next 5 years. You guys think I'm an asshole now? Wait 'til the Kings are actually good.

It's Like He's Trying to Kill Me

Inside the Kings passes along an AP story wherein Dean Lombardi states that he's "50/50" on whether to trade the 2nd pick. I would link to the AP story directly but they've decided that they want to go bankrupt and are now trying to charge money for quoting their stories if the quote is over 5 words long. Well, I didn't quote you, I just passed a link along. What now, bitches?* Anyway, saying you're 50/50 on something is bullshit. I'm going to get angina and I'm sending that fucking bill right to Lombardi's office because it's all his fault. You know that feeling you get when you fart and for a split-second you think with horror that a little something might have squeezed out? That's how I've felt this entire day.

Anyway, today has been full of craziness. Nobody knows what the fuck is going on (I don't think Dean even knows), so I suggest that you just spend tomorrow ignoring everything until the big show kicks off at 4 on Versus. I'm going up to the mountains to frolic for half the day and my phone probably won't work, so if something does go down I won't know about it. I'll be in the fresh air, surrounded by awe-inspiring trees that are over 2,000 years old... frantically trying to fashion a computer out of wood so I can hit the "refresh" button on TSN.ca 20 times a minute. Riddle me this, nature: if you're so great why do I not care about you at all? Fern Gully sucked, by the way.


*Please oh please don't sue me.

What a difference a pick makes...

Trevor Linden could have ended up being the captain of the Dallas PrettyDamnGoods...

Once people get past the fact that hockey is being played in a state dominated by fantastic steak houses, BBQ, country music and oil money (oh, don’t forget the Dallas Cowboys), they actually realize that the Stars have been a fairly successful little hockey franchise.

And if you had to point to one moment that made (or conversely, could have broken) the Stars in Dallas, just look at what the then-North Stars did with their No.1 pick in 1988. After some debate, the Stars rolled the dice with little Mikey Modano instead of the safer pick of Trevor Linden.

This great article inspired such a chilling thought. You at least need to check out the second photo of Modano, who looks like an '80s teen comedy villain (I can almost hear him screaming "Daaarsh!")

Trevor Linden isn’t chopped liver either – he’s more like barbecued chicken to Mike Modano’s Texas T-Bone (boy, that sentence makes me look gay, but damn it I’m sticking by my steak analogy!!).

It’s impossible to imagine the Stars without Mike Modano.

Would they still even be in Texas if the meat-and-potatoes Linden would have been their pick?

Who would be shagging Willa Ford right now?

Could the Vancouver Canucks have been a dynasty riding high on the unfair abilities of a Modano-Bure-Mogilny line while Mark Messier and the New York Rangers still would be left hunting for that elusive Stanley Cup??

Modano is on the short list of the best American hockey players to ever lace up skates alongside Chris Chelios, Mike Richter, Jeremy Roenick and others. And the Stars are easily one of the most successful American hockey teams outside of Canada and the Northeast. There's more to the Stars success than just that draft pick, but I'd argue that only the Penguins would have been more lost without their superstar Mario Lemieux.

I shudder to think of what I would be writing about right now if not for that draft pick. (Current events…Tim Russert…Paul Pierce... ugh)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

So, what are the most important draft picks the other (or perhaps I should say, real) Battle of California teams have made?

I’d love to hear some stories of the good times and the regrettable, not-so-good times.

If I had to venture a guess it would be:

Paul Kariya (Anaheim)

Patrick Marleau (San Jose)

Luc Robitaille (LA).

But I’m all ears... Maybe we can even come to a consensus on the biggest draft-day bust of all the Battle of Californ-ee.

Brian Burke Happy with Corey Perry Situation & Draft Day Deals

By Ken Armer

On NHL Live on Tuesday, Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke discussed a lot of current situations. Burke covered everything from Toronto GM rumors to the Draft and free agency. Two priorities for the Ducks fans that Burke discusses were Corey Perry, and the Draft.

Regarding the Draft:

Ducks fans look for a draft day deal or two for the Ducks, “We’re looking at all different scenarios” Burke said “We like this draft”. Burke spoke like he is hoping to move from 12^th overall and feels confident he could make a great draft day deal. The only other hint Burke tossed out is he is looking at North Americans. Burke, when asked if he would take Nikita Filatov if he is available at #12 said no, that he didn’t feel Filatov would be a good fit in the Ducks system.

Regarding free agent Corey Perry:

Burke made two important things clear for Corey Perry fans, Perry wants to stay in Anaheim and the Ducks are confident in signing him but the waiting game is on. Yes, a Dustin Penner situation could happen with the Ducks having other issues to handle before signing Perry, but Burke is very confident Perry will remain in a Ducks uniform. Burke was asked about arbitration and explained that was not an option. So rest assured Perry fans, Burke is doing all he can to keep Corey Perry. Even I feel slightly better now.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

You can sometimes forget that the Kings don't have the first pick in the draft, that Tampa Bay is actually getting Steve Stamkos and the Kings are picking 2nd. Tampa's pick has been such a certainty for so long that no one really acknowledges them and instead focuses on what the Kings are going to do. And for as certain as we are about what Tampa is going to do, we are completely baffled as to what the Kings are planning. First Drew Doughty is coming to the Kings because he's the next Ray Bourque and he grew up with a Kings telephone in his room; then they're drafting Zach Bogosian because he's the next Chris Pronger and has the edge the Kings need. They're in love with Nikita Filatov, then they're interviewing forwards projected to go in the 7-15 range. Dean Lombardi has laid the ground very well, and now Rich Hammond is saying that something will go down before the draft.

I personally think that it's all a smokescreen and the Kings are going to take Drew Doughty (it just makes sense), but I'm not sure. Is this usual in the days leading up to the draft? I feel like we usually have a pretty good idea of how the first few picks are going to go, but people genuinely seem confused about the Kings. I don't know, maybe I'm too close to the situation and I'm thinking too much about it. I hate not knowing. All I do know is that I want Friday to get here.

Indistinct Chatter

-Hockey's Future writer David Ranier posted a Kings Draft Preview yesterday. It tells you everything you need to know about the Kings before the draft on Friday. He think the Kings will trade down and select Alex Pietrangelo, the big, mobile defenseman who probably has the highest upside of any player in the draft. Who would the Kings trade down to? Probably a team that wanted Nikita Filatov.

-There's a rumor making the rounds that a Joni Pitkanen for Mike Cammalleri swap may be in the works. It's from Eklund, which means that it's probably made up, but the deal does kind of make sense. Just thought you people might want to know these things.

-This trade was offered on Hockey's Future by some guy and I think it's my favorite trade proposal in the history of the internet:

Jack Johnson
#2 pick

for:

Mattias Ohlund
Sammi Salo
Matt Pettinger

I think the Kings should do it.

Is There A Draft In Here?

Can you guess which one doesn't have a vagina? It's a trick question.

The NHL Entry Draft is less than a week away and holy Me and am I excited. I mean, c'mon! It's the draft! I am admittedly a draft junkie and will watch drafts of any type (I even used to do Ninja Turtle drafts with my brother when I was a kid... okay, last week), but the NHL Draft is by far my favorite. There are 3 things I love about the NHL Draft: there's intrigue, it allows you to dream about your team, and there's lots of young bo- wait, don't mind that last one. It's lost a little bit of its appeal lately as I notice that these kids are getting younger and younger and by extension I'm getting older and older, but I still love it.

Last year, Dean Lombardi famously caused the Greater Los Angeles area to collectively shit their pants with his selection of Thomas Hickey 4th overall. Hickey played well this year and assuaged some of our fears (although you still have to think that Karl Alzner would fit in excellently alongside Lubomir Visnosvky), while his 2nd round picks (Oscar Moller and Wayne Simmonds) have worked out beautifully thus far. Pretty much every pick from last year took a step forward this year:

1st- Thomas Hickey (WHL All-Star Team)
2nd- Oscar Moller (WHL All-Star Team)
2nd- Wayne Simmonds (75 points in 60 games, made World Junior team, fought Shane Hnidy)
3rd- Bryan Cameron (78 points in 68 games)
4th- Alec Martinez (ACHA All-America 2nd team)
5th- Dwight King (69 points in 72 games, made WHL Finals)
5th- Linden Rowat (WHL All-Star Team)
5th- Joshua Turnbull (He sucks and for some reason is listed as "Podge Turnbull" by Wisconsin)
7th- Josh Kidd (Played well for Manchester at the end of the year)
7th- Matt Fillier (161 PIM in 65 games in QMJHL)

Not bad, eh?

***

I'm probably not going to do player profiles of possible draft picks like I did last year because 1) you can find the information fairly easily at Hockey's Future, and 2) Dean Lombardi ended up picking some guy I didn't profile. The Kings need a defenseman, obviously, and Zach Bogosian and Drew Doughty both look like they can really help the Kings. Bogosian is a bigger American kid who would fit in well with our defense as it looks to be composed for the next few years, while Doughty carries a lofty reputation (I've heard "Coffey" a few times) and an underrated defensive game. (I'll compare the two more later this week.) There's also rumors Nikita Filatov, the talented Russian, could be taken by the Kings, but I think that is just a smokescreen laid by Dean Lombardi to get one of the two teams directly behind him to trade up. I've been burned before, but I'm fairly confident that either Bogosian or Doughty will be putting on a Kings uniform Friday night.

The Kings have 15 picks in this upcoming draft, with 8 of them in the first 3 rounds. I feel fairly confident that Dean Lombardi has put in more hours preparing for this upcoming draft than any other GM in the NHL. I don't think any other GM actually goes out on the road to scout prospects, but Dean does. Last year, with 10 picks and a brand new staff, Lombardi was able to pull in a very good draft class. I couldn't possibly predict what's going to happen this week, but there are 2 things I can guarantee Dean Lombardi will do:

1) He will move around. With 15 picks, Lombardi will definitely have the opportunity to move around, and we know from his San Jose days that he's not afraid to move up or down to get the guy he wants. The Kings have the 28th and 32nd picks, which Lombardi could use to move up in the 1st to get a guy he wants. The Kings should be active this draft.

2) He will focus on one area to draft from. Dean Lombardi is a smart guy, and he knows that there are areas that are undervalued by traditional draft. He usually finds that area and drafts from it, thinking that he's getting 2nd round talent with a 3rd round pick. When he was with San Jose, Lombardi focused on non-traditional European countries, while last year he focused on the WHL. I don't know where he's going to focus on this year, but you can usually see a trend at the end of the day.

Yep, complete confidence in this man's abilities.

I'll be here all week passing on the latest made-up shit rumors leading up to the draft. I'm pretty stoked because I have a feeling the Kings will make some waves. Dean Lombardi has had a few failures during his time as Kings GM, but he owns the draft. The draft is his home, where he feels comfortable and where he is better than any other GM outside Ken Holland. This draft is what he's been building towards since he took over as Kings GM, and I think he's going to rock it. Should be fun.

Draft Lottery Preview: I Can't Believe I Care About This

The NHL Draft Lottery is happening today at 5 PM on Versus. Here's a comprehensive explanation of how the draft lottery works, courtesy of James Mirtle. The odds of gaining the top pick today are as follows:

Tampa Bay Lightning: 25%
Los Angeles Kings: 18.8%
Atlanta Thrashers: 14.2%
St. Louis Blues: 10.7%
New York Islanders: 8.1%

Other teams have a shot at moving up 4 spots but they can't win 1st overall, so who cares about them. Their odds, all added up, equals 19.6%.

Basically, I only really care that the Kings pick in the top 2. If we win the whole thing, awesome. If Tampa Bay wins it that's okay too, because the Kings would still get their pick of a number of top defensive prospects. If one of the other 3 teams in the top 5 (or the Columbus Blue Jackets, who sit at 6th right now) win, however, I'll be pissed. That would drop us down to 3rd. According to my calculations, the Kings have a 57.2% chance of staying in the top 2.* Hopefully everything works out for us, but I'm not holding out too much hope. That's one of the benefits of being a Kings fan; you'll always be ready for the worst thing possible to happen.

*That's probably wrong, just so you know.

A Vignette and Other Musings

Lombardi!

(Rudy Kelly is sitting in front of his television, sipping a glass of white wine and watching the draft. His roommate Matt, a Ducks fan, enters.)

Matt: Hey, how’s it going?

Rudy: Pretty much as expected, Kane, Van Riemsdyk and Turris. The Kings are up next. Don’t you love the draft?

Matt: No, the Ducks are good and just won the Stanley Cup, so I don’t give a fuck about the draft.

Rudy: …Fuck you. Wait, here’s the Kings!

Co-Director of Scouting Michael Futa: With the 4th pick in the NHL draft the Kings select, from the Seattle Thunderbirds, Thomas Hickey.

Matt (Laughing): Who the fuck is Thomas Hickey?

(Rudy does not say anything but instead grabs the bottle of wine by the neck and starts drinking.)

And….Scene!

***

Okay, so I was a little melodramatic when I heard who the Kings drafted. To be honest, I hadn’t really read too much on the guys that were rated below #10 because the Kings were drafting 4th. At first I was shocked and pissed and ready to kick someone’s ass (read: Lombardi’s), but with the benefit of hindsight I have come to accept the move. I wish Lombardi would have traded down and then drafted Hickey (and according to the Columbus Dispatch it almost happened), but if he felt he was the right guy then I guess we’ll just have trust him.

You're not helping me by looking like that, Hickey.

There’s no sense in grading a draft right after it has happened, but right now the Kings are taking a beating in early public opinion. I liked the Kings' two 2nd round picks, Oscar Moller (who seems to play like Cammalleri) and Wayne Simmonds (who’s a big guy and not afraid to drop the gloves), but the legacy of this draft will be determined by Hickey. (You can go here and read about the rest of the Kings’ draft picks.) Sometimes GMs can get so enamored with an idea of how they’ll draft that they forget to think about who they’ll draft. I hope Lombardi wasn’t sure he was going to get Hickey in the middle of the first round and then panicked when nothing developed and just took him 4th, but that’s what some people think happened. I don’t know; only time will tell.



Kings fans have shown a surprising (for us, anyway) amount of patience with Dean Lombardi so far in his tenure, but Lombardi has really hitched his star to the progress of Thomas Hickey. I like Lombardi and still think he’s on the right track, but, like in San Jose, there’s a possibility that he won’t be around to see his plan come to fruition. If Hickey stalls in his development, the vultures are going to be out and the Kings may be in the market for a new GM.



(Also, one of the conspirators who attempted to capture George Washington in 1776 was named Thomas Hickey. His was the 1st military execution in New York. This is not encouraging.)

***

In completely unrelated news, I’m taking a trip. The aforementioned Matt and I are taking a hajj to our personal Mecca: the Hockey Hall of Fame. We’re driving, so we’re going to be gone about 2 weeks or so and will be hitting up Denver and Pittsburgh along the way. We'll be in Toronto a few days and then head back through Canada and check out the Stampede on the way. I haven’t been to the Great White North since I was a kid, so I’m looking forward to seeing all the mountains, the culture, and the denim. Let me know if there's anything I have to see and if there's anything I should know about Canadians.

If Canadians don't all dress like this I'll be very disappointed.

This means I’ll be missing the exciting opening to Free Agency season, so I’m disappointed about that, but I’ll be back for the rest of the summer. Go Kings, and I’ll see all of you hosers in aboot two and a half weeks. (Man, Canada is going to hate me.)

Ducks Draft Day: Lots of little news

Well, lots of random items to cover this Saturday, so let's get to it:

Ducks draft C Logan MacMillan with the 19th overall pick (link).
Burke traded the 16th pick to Minnesota for the 19th and 42nd. I'm as always unsure what to think about the draft: sure it's important but it's tough to measure draft day success. Good luck, kid.

Ducks re-sign D Sean O'Donnell and D Kent Huskins for two years each (link).
This is really good news, as now a majority of the blueline will be back. Both were soon-to-be cup-winning UFAs, and came back for a cheaper combined price, which is good to hear. O'Donnell, who made $1.52 M last year, took a discount and will make $1.25 M per year. Huskins, who made $450k last year, will make $600k this year and $650 the next.

Of course, this would turn out to be FANTASTIC news if Scott decided to play another year or two, because he allows the other blueliners to play less difficult minutes. I'm hoping that the re-signings of these two and Giguere might prompt him to stay.

Ducks trade C Tim Brent to Pittsburgh for C Stephen Dixon (link).
Tim Brent played 15 games for the Ducks this year, mostly in place of an injured Todd Marchant, and was on the ice for 1 goal-for and 6 goals-against.

(Added 3:30) Ducks trade F Ryan Shannon to Vancouver for W Jason King and a conditional pick (link).
Ryan Shannon played 64 games for the Ducks this year, also mostly in a 4th line setting, and was on the ice for 19 goals-for and 21 goals-against. King has played the last three years in Sweden, and signed a contract with the Iserlohn Roosters of the German League last week, so I'm unsure whether to expect him to be available this year.

And while talking about trades in general, I do expect Brian Burke to move G Ilya Bryzgalov, but I'm not sure if Duck fans should get super-excited about the return. After watching both Toskala and Vokoun get moved for draft picks and salary relief, I'm not that sure about the market for goalies (although Breezy has less salary issues). We will see what Burke manages to do.

Earl answers his mail.
And finally, just for kicks, I'll take a stab at one of the anonymous comments: what would earl do if the ducks sign kariya?

The graphic to the right was one I made back in 2003 when both Kariya and Selanne turned their backs on Anaheim and signed for severe discounts to try to win a Cup in Colorado. It remains the one reason why I can't fully apologize to Edmonton fans for stealing Pronger--the same thing had happened to us three years before.

That said, unlike most Duck fans, I have never booed Kariya. Last summer, he was #2 on my list of the 10 best players to wear the Disney duck logo, and I wouldn't really have a problem if he returned (although I get the sense that Nashville, after ditching Vokoun, Timonen, and Hartnell, are preparing to re-sign Kariya).

But I got one stipulation: Kariya, want to ditch your team and sign with a contender? Fine, I won't have a problem, provided you take a salary of $1.2 M, the same price you took in Denver. Sorry, dude. Karmic Justice.

Draft Day: Feel the Excitement!

The day Kings’ fans have been looking forward to since the regular season ended is finally here. Draft day. The day when legends are made and spirits broken. I know I woke up with a little bounce in my step. A lot of people like to denigrate this great sport of ours, but I feel no shame in saying that draft day is one of my favorite days of the year. It's like Valentine's Day (but without me crying as much). Rejoice, hockey fans.

Of course, I can't say that my spirits weren't dampened a little bit by today's news that the Sharks traded Vesa Toskala. The Sharks and Ducks are supposed to be getting worse while the Kings get better, but with the Sharks possessing a first-round pick now (and the Lightning giving up a #1 pick to the Ducks for Shane fucking O'Brien), it looks like the Kings are going to be #3 in California for a little while longer.

No matter, though; today's draft day, and I'm still excited. I have a feeling the Kings will do something shocking tonight during the draft. It just seems like it's their turn to set the hockey world abuzz. But first, I wanted to ask a question: how the hell is Greg Oden only one year older than Kyle Turris? I mean, look at them:

I mean come on, Oden’s like 50 and Turris looks like he’s 12.

Anyway, the Kings continue to mystify your noble correspondent, because I have absolutely no idea what they are going to do. It is especially difficult because what the Kings do is dependant on what the three teams picking ahead of them decide. As I am wont to do, I’ll post a few scenarios that are plausible and then my bullshit idea.

The Kings Play it Safe

The Kings hold onto their pick and draft Karl Alzner, the top-rated defenseman in this year’s draft. This is more of a need pick, as it is not believed that Alzner is the 4^th best prospect in the draft. However, it would fill a hole in the Kings’ system and give them a solid defensive prospect that could eventually be paired with Jack Johnson. I have a problem with this idea because it seems like the Kings would be wasting a top draft pick on a player that could be picked later. I’m not against drafting for need, but it seems foolish to do so this early in the draft. If you’re just going to play it safe, you might as well trade down. Which brings me to…

The Kings Trade Down

Rumors abound that a number of teams are looking to trade down, including the Vancouver Canucks (who currently sit at 25). As I mentioned before, the Kings have a pretty elite farm system and it could be argued that they don’t really need to improve it. They would be better off improving the current team with a younger, NHL-ready player that could step in immediately. Maybe the Kings could wrangle someone like Kevin Bieksa or Alex Burrows and the #25 pick from the Canucks in exchange for the #4 pick and one of the Kings' many other picks in this year’s draft. The problem with this idea is that there’s always the risk the Kings would miss out on a great talent by giving up a pick this early in the draft. I don’t think I could bear to watch Jakub Voracek or James Van Riemsdyk light up the Kings knowing that they could have been on the team. This brings up my next point…

The Kings Take the Best Player Available

This is my favorite option. I think the Kings would best be served by just taking the best forward they can, depending on who’s taken earlier. I personally think that the best player available in this draft is Alexei Cherepanov, the ultra-talented winger from Russia. I know there are knocks on him, but that’s what makes him so intriguing to me. The Kings could potentially be getting the best player in the draft without having to move up. Here's a video of Cherepanov's exploits in Russia (where he set a record for goals by a 17 year-old):

I know my fellow Kings fans are wary of developing another inconsistent winger from Russia named Alex, but his talent is just too great to pass up. If the Kings draft Cherepanov, I think it would send a clear message to the rest of the league that the Kings are going to do whatever it takes to get better.

I’m going to wait until Monday and then give a run-down of who the Kings drafted, so I hope to see you guys again then. Here's a list of prospects as rated by TSN to reference through the first round tonight. I’m not going to the Kings’ draft party (I have a feeling blogging about the Kings is sad enough), but I’ll be having my own little draft party at my apartment. (It’s not so much a party as me drinking alone, but that’s just semantics.) Have a good time tonight. This is the time of the year when every team gets better; enjoy it.

Someone’s Gotta Make a Stand

The NHL’s weird little award show is on tonight (I’ll bet any amount of money that the Barenaked Ladies are going to be there), but I will not be watching. It’s been over a month since hockey writers made the appalling choice to nominate Jordan Staal over Anze Kopitar as NHL’s rookie of the year, but I’m still pretty pissed about it. SI’s Alan Muir (who I think is fairly solid, if a little weird-looking) agreed, stating, “…the third finalist (for the Calder) should have been Kings forward Anze Kopitar, or even San Jose's Marc-Edouard Vlasic, both of whom earned larger roles with their respective teams.”

What do you mean I wasn't nominated?

As I have written before, I just can not fathom any position that justifies leaving Kopitar off the ballot and the only reason I'm the only one outraged about it is that it’s the NHL and that he plays for a west coast team that was out of contention most of the year. Probably the most annoying thing is that no one cares because it seems so natural. Why wouldn’t the Canadian guy with the famous brother who was on Versus 7 times and NBC 5 get more votes than the Slovenian kid from the team in LA? (In case you were curious, the Kings were on Versus and NBC once each.)

I know Earl’s position on this issue; he argues that he’d much rather get a level of performance worthy of an award than the award itself, and it’s a good point. But what bothers me is that people will look in 15-20 years at Staal’s career and mention how he was a finalist for the Calder trophy, while no one will remember that Kopitar should have been nominated. The problem is that when careers are evaluated, nobody remembers the extenuating circumstances of each season and all the little reasons that someone might have been over- or underrated. Instead, they just look at awards or point totals because it’s easier. The least the NHL could do is make sure those awards are accurate, so as not to deny a good kid like Anze Kopitar what he has earned.

I’m not asking anyone else to boycott these awards (besides, I think I can significantly affect Versus’ ratings by myself), and I know my reaction is over the top, but someone has to make a stand. I guess you could say that this makes me a hero, but I don’t like to think of it like that. I’m just a noble man out to preserve Kopitar’s honor. Okay, I guess I’m kind of a hero.

***

In other Kings’ news, Hockey’s Future has their Kings’ draft preview out, and it’s a pretty good brush-up on the Kings’ prospect situation right before the draft next Friday. Long story short, they have the Kings taking Karl Alzner, the defenseman for the Calgary Hitmen. (Oddly enough, they had the Kings taking James Van Riemsdyk when the article first went up, but they switched it about an hour later. Weird.) Who do I think the Kings should take? You’ll have to wait… (That’s called a hook, friends!)

And Now For Something Really Important...

The draft lottery was this morning. The Chicago Blackhawks won, jumping from 5th place up to 1st. With their win, the Kings drop down to 4th. That's the life of a Kings fan, I guess: even when we lose, we still can't win.

It's not all bad, though. There are generally considered to be five good offensive talents in this year's draft: Pat Kane, Alexei Cherepanov (contingent on getting him to come to the U.S.), Jakub Voracek, Kyle Turris, and James VanRiemsdyk. At least with the 4th pick, the Kings are likely to get one of them. They could also continue stockpiling defensemen and select Karl Alzner. I wouldn't rule out a trade up (or down) to get a player that Lombardi really wants, either.

Also, today is the 25th anniversary of the Miracle on Manchester. Here's a recap of the game for all you youngsters out there. If you want to celebrate, come on over to my place; I'm celebrating with a shrine to Daryl Evans. Well, I'm really more just hanging out with the actual Daryl Evans. (Apparently, he didn't have anything better to do.)

And now, enjoy the playoffs. I hope all teams involved suffer terrible fates.