Kings Gameday: More Like Dour Play, Right? Right?

LA Kings (10-11-4) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (11-11-3)

7:30 PST, Fox Sports West


The Kings' power play feels shitty right now. The numbers don't really back me up (the Kings are about where they were last year, around 17th) but I don't know, I'm still not a fan. There's something vaguely unlikable about it; if the Kings' power play were an actor, they'd be Cole Hauser.* I think the problem I have with it is that it relies way too heavily on the Kings' forwards to move the action. When the Kings get the puck in the opposing zone, they end up passing it back and forth between the forwards while the defensemen just kind of stand there. There's no movement, there's no position-switching to confuse the defense. You kind of kill the man advantage when you allow the defense to stand still. What the Kings need is a small, nimble puck mover, one that can get involved in the play. Maybe pair him with a big, aging asshole with a booming shot. That would work.

*Dude just looks like an asshole, you know? By the way, I've always thought a cool movie would be Hauser and Josh Lucas conspiring to kill Matthew McConaughey so they can get his movie roles.

Another problem with the power play? The top defensive pairing (most of the time) is Doughty and Preissing, while the other is Jarret Stoll and Kyle Quincey. Doughty and Preissing are both Feeders, in that they are usually best at corralling the puck and setting up their other defenseman for a one-timer, while Stoll and Quincey are both Boomers and are best at shooting the puck. I would say the Kings should switch things up but I think the reason the lines are this way is probably because Terry Murray doesn't trust Stoll and Preissing defensively. That's probably a good decision. I don't see this changing until Jack Johnson gets back.


Finally, the Kings have absolutely no one that can deflect the puck on the way to the net. Seriously, it seems like other teams are constantly scoring on deflections and tip-ins while the Kings are busting their asses trying to score nice goals like a bunch of chumps. Dustin Brown and Kyle Calder are the men in front of the net on the Kings' power play, but they usually try to sneak open for shots or try to bang in rebounds. Make them stand in front of the net and deflect pucks like they do in peewee.

Unrelated, but how is this guy good at sports betting?

The Kings' power play hasn't been terrible this season, but it hasn't been great like it should be either. I think the power play will go the way of Anze Kopitar and Alex Frolov; if they're doing well then the Kings will be fine. If not, then they're boned. I still think the Kings should switch it up and give Frolov primary ice time on the power play instead of Kopitar, but that's just me. Either way, a good power play can help a team when they're slumping and it's exactly what the Kings need right now.

***

In case you haven't been paying attention, it's fashionable for Kings' fans to declare Erik Ersberg the 2nd Coming while accusing Jason Labarbera of taking 2nds at the pregame spread. The reality is that they were pretty close, Ersberg was just more consistent and had fewer terrible games, but last night kind of changed that. Labs has been playing excellently of late and will probably get the start tonight. He had 30 saves in 2 periods last night and was only really done in by the shootout, which is his Everest. If you're in want of a good time, go on a Kings' messageboard and read how it wasn't Ersberg's fault last night and how even though Labarbera didn't mess up too bad did you see him in the shootout oh he's fat. It's hilarious.

***

The Kings are playing the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. They played valiantly in a losing effort to the San Jose Sharks last night. Will they be hungry for a win after being denied against the Sharks, or will they be deflated and tired after a game the night before? I'm sure the sportswriters will wait and see how they play and then tell us.

Prediction: Kings win, 4-3. Goals by Brown, Frolov (who is on a 4-game goal scoring streak), Stoll and Calder.

Kings Gameday: 20 Games In

LA Kings @ Calgary Flames (11-9-1)

6:30 PST, RSW (Regehr Sucks Wang?)

Record: 8-8-3 (49 Goals For, 49 Goals Against)

Special Teams: 16.7 PP% (19th), 84.1 PK% (10th)

Top Scorer: Anze Kopitar, 15 points

Best Forward: Dustin Brown?

Best Defenseman: Drew Doughty

Biggest Surprise: Drew Doughty/Erik Ersberg

Biggest Disappointment: Anze Kopitar

(It's only 19 games in, but tomorrow's Lubo Day so I'm doing this now.)


All coaches search for a balance between top-line talent and depth with their forward lines. At the beginning of the season, the Kings were running 3 lines that were of relatively equal strength, with Brownitar on the top line, Frolov/Handzus on line 2, and O'Sullivan/Stoll on the 3rd. These lines helped spread out the Kings' talent but probably did so a little too much and the Kings had trouble hanging with the top-level talent on other teams. Then Terry Murray apparently had a stroke and screwed with the lines for about 4 or 5 games, banishing O'Sullivan to the 4th line while promoting Kyle Calder to the top line. This gave the Kings the worst of both worlds: it hampered their top players while also neutering their depth.* Finally, the Kings moved Patrick O'Sullivan up with Brownitar to form the fearsome Maxi-PAD Line; since their reuniting, the three sleepy musketeers have tallied 7 points in 2 games. (Is that a lot? I don't know.)

*Of course, the Kings won a bunch of games while this was going on. Hockey is weird.

The reuniting of the Maxi-PAD solves one problem (it forms a top line that instills fear into the hearts of Los Angeles' opponents), but it also creates a depth issue that the Kings are ill-equipped to handle right now. Murray has apparently solved this problem by creating two dynamic scoring lines, a pretty good defensive line, and then (sound of toilet flushing here). Alex Frolov, Jarret Stoll and Oscar Moller have generally been getting assigned the other team's top scoring line and have been doing an admirable job of keeping them off the score sheet. Jarret Stoll should have about 15 goals by now but should start rounding into shape as he and Frolov build some chemistry. Michal Handzus has done a pretty great job of shutting down whatever line Murray sees fit to line him up against, but he desperately needs speed on his wings and Kyle Calder isn't cutting it. Wayne Simmonds looks good in spurts but I still think he could use a little time in the minors. 2 points in 20 games isn't good for him. Basically, the Kings are trying to create a overall mismatch with their top line; stop the other team's top offensive line with their 2nd line; and then prevent any line mismatch with their secondary stopper line. So far, so good.

The bottom line has been the source of much of my ire, and I really think the Kings are missing an opportunity to pile up cheap goals. As it stands now, the Kings' 4th line is pretty much worthless because there's no real reason to put them out on the ice. They aren't going to score, they're not going to control possession and wear down the opposition; the only thing they're going to do is take a penalty. The Kings would be wise to use someone with a modicum of offensive talent and get them involved in the game instead of using John Fucking Zeiler.* A line like Armstrong-Boyle-Richardson would actually help the Kings win a game, which is much more than I can say for Ivanans and Zeiler.

*If you buy into the premise that Ivanans prevents injuries to Kings' players, don't you have to believe that Zeiler is likely to get a King injured because he pisses off the other team and causes them to seek retribution? I don't get why that's not the case.

Overall, the Kings seem to have adapted into a system that relies heavily on their top two lines, both offensively and defensively. This has worked pretty well the past few games, although it remains to be seen how well Michal Handzus can be worked into the game without quality linemates. I keep expecting the Kings to start scoring goals any time now, but we're 20 games in and they haven't really shown signs that they're going to break out. Hopefully it comes soon, because I'd rather hit myself in the head with a hammer than root for the Blue Jackets.

***

Defensively, the Kings have been outstanding so far this season. I know, right? Strange. Even crazier: Drew Doughty is leading the team in ice time per game and is third (behind Kopitar and Brown) in power play time per game. The 18 year-old wunderkind is insanely poised for being so young; he looks like he's playing the game at a slower speed than everyone else. He's 5th among defenseman in penalty kill time per game, but that's more because he needs to get rest some time than because he's not good at it. The Kings' 2nd best defenseman? Kyle Quincey, who was waived by the Red Wings earlier in the season and is now leading all Kings' defenseman in points. Third best? Why, that'd be Sean O'Donnell, the wizened greybeard that was forced out of Anaheim due to cap constraints. He's leading Kings' defenseman in both even strength and penalty kill minutes, all while schooling Doughty in the finer aspects of the game. Plus, he kind of looks like Hellboy, so that's cool. 4th best is Matt Greene, who was acquired this last off-season along with Jarret Stoll for Lubomir Visnovsky. Basically, Dean Lombardi rebuilt the entire defense this off-season with one high-profile draft pick and a series of castoffs and renegades. The Kings' blueline looks like the offensive line from The Replacements; no word on whether Denis Gauthier eats a bucket full of eggs before every game. (Although his play makes me feel like I have! Oh snap!)

***

The first 10 games of the season, Jason Labarbera posted a 3.01 GAA and a .884 SV%. The problem wasn't that he was bad in every game, it was that he had a handful of stinkers that crippled the Kings. Since then, Erik Ersberg has started every game and has posted an admirable 2.05 GAA and a .907 SV%. His stats are inflated by the Kings' incredible shot prevention so far this season, kind of like Nabokov's last year, but the point is that Ersberg has been consistent. The Kings know what to expect from Ersberg and thus don't have to overcompensate. His lowest individual save percentage has been .867 and his highest has been .963; everything else has been in the low .900's. Compare that to Labarbera, who had a shutout but also had games like this and this, and you can see why the Kings have stuck with their little cherubic Swede. Of course, teams may start saying, "Hey, why don't we shoot high?" and then Ersberg is doomed, but I'll ride this little wave while it lasts.

Overall, the Kings have been... pretty good. They're limiting shots from their opponents and seem to be building an identity around tough team defense. While I would like them to score more, the reality of the Kings' roster situation makes it hard for them to bring up additional help. If the biggest complaint I can muster is that I'd like to see Brad Richardson play more, than I guess they're doing OK. Now they need to build on their relative success so far this season and make a push towards respectability.

***

Last season the Calgary Flames were the first team to exploit the defensive liabilites of the Maxi-PAD line by teaming up Craig Conroy (who shadowed Kopitar) and Jarome Iginla, who neutralized the Kings' best line by keeping the puck in LA's zone. The game's in Calgary today and the Flames will have the last change, so I expect that strategy to continue. However, that line is much improved defensively and Dustin Brown has actually been shouldering more responsibility carrying the puck, so we'll see how that little strategy looks this time around.

Anyone want to see a Boyle/Phaneuf scrap tonight?

Prediction: Kings win, 4-3. Goals by Moller, Doughty, Calder and... O'Donnell??? Sure why not.

Skip this Post

I was talking to my brother yesterday and we were in agreement that if the Kings could somehow combine Erik Ersberg and Jason Labarbera, they'd have the perfect goaltender (basically, Roberto Luongo). We then decided that if they somehow grew a child in a lab from their genes, he'd grow up to be:


...the dude from Idle Hands and She's All That. (He was also Fulton from Mighty Ducks.) I have a gift for placing faces, what can I say.

My brother also has a similar gift (and a similarly small penis) and pointed out that Edmonton's new goaltender looks exactly like Evgeni Malkin:


Also, and this is completely unrelated, but what the hell is Twilight? I went and saw Role Models this weekend and they had a trailer for this emo vampire movie; I sat there with a confused expression on my face for about 30 seconds and then muttered, "What the fuck is this shit?" Teenagers are retarded.

Kings Make Final Cuts

The Kings have made their final cuts of training camp. The big winners were Wayne Simmonds, Oscar Moller and Erik Ersberg. Simmonds and Moller were expected to come up, get a pat on the head and then travel to their respective minor league teams but both were highly praised all camp and definitely earned this opportunity. I think Moller will play with Kopitar, but he may get slotted alongside Frolov and Stoll. Or Simmonds could. Who the fuck knows. Ersberg ended up beating out Jonathan Quick for the back-up job, which was to be expected. It's more important for Quick to play at this time and Ersberg can hold place until one of the young guys demands attention.

The big loser at training camp was Ted Purcell, who was shockingly sent down to Manchester. I guess the Kings felt the rest of his game needed rounding out (or maybe they wanted him to practice left wing, since the Kings currently have a logjam on the right side), but it still has to be a pretty big blow to him. Hopefully he takes it the right way and continues to improve.

The Kings ended up keeping only 22 players. If you're an optimist, you assume this is because Patrick O'Sullivan is on the verge of signing. If you're a pessimist, you assume this is because John Zeiler is about to come off the DL. Also, the injuries to Cliche, Clune, and Zeiler put the Kings over the cap. I think. I don't think anyone really knows.

Kings Training Camp Primer

The Kings are in a state of flux right now. They have a great deal of young talent ready for the NHL right now but they still have a lot of the bridge guys Lombardi signed the last few years on NHL deals. What does this mean? It means the Kings are going to have a pretty interesting training camp. To help educate the ten of you that are actually reading this, I thought I'd go line-by-line and highlight the most interesting training camp battles. Look for news about these guys to see how the team is going to look on opening night. Here is a look at the roster and what spots we can reasonably assume are locked up:

O'Sullivan-Kopitar-Brown
Frolov-Stoll-( )
( )-Handzus-( )
Ivanans-( )-( )

As you can see, there's a lot of room for movement on the roster. Let's get started, shall we?

2nd Line RW

Competitors: Ted Purcell, Brad Richardson, Brian Boyle

The Kings' top line is pretty much set: it's Kopitar, Brown and the other guy. The part of the other guy was assumed by Patrick O'Sullivan last year and we can reasonably assume he'll continue in that role once he, you know, signs.* Frolov will keep doing what he does and I imagine Stoll will be given opportunity in the 2nd center role after signing such a big deal in the off-season. That leaves the 2nd line right wing position as the sole top-six spot up for grabs. The three main competitors are all good young players that each bring something different.

*I'm confident he'll sign and it won't affect the Kings at all. What's that? I happen to like the feeling on my skin when I stick my head in the sand, thank you very much.

Ted Purcell is probably the most talented of the three and is an excellent playmaking option. His negatives are that he's not overly physical and the line already has two playmakers in Frolov and Stoll. Plus, him on the line would put three right-handers on one line; that's not necessarily a dealbreaker, but it is a little unusual in the NHL. Brad Richardson is probably the fastest and has the best shot of the three, but he's also the smallest and couldn't do a lot of the dirty work this line will need. Boyle could do that dirty work because he's a large man, but he's also kind of slow. Plus, I don't think the Kings want to derail his progress as a center. I'd probably give Purcell the best chance to win the job, although I wouldn't put it past Terry Murray to put O'Sullivan on that line and put someone like Matt Moulson or Kyle Calder up with Kopitar.

3rd Line LW

Competitors: Matt Moulson, Kyle Calder

This spot was Kyle Calder's for most of last season with generally subpar results. The man named "Grease" (allegedly because he gets dirty or some weird shit) finished the season with 7 goals and 13 assists despite getting ample power play time. Clearly, he's going to have to earn his spot back. His main challenger for the spot is Matt Moulson, the 24 year-old defensive guru that provided a spark for Calder and Handzus when he was paired with them last season. Since Moulson is better defensively than Calder and Calder sucks offensively, I imagine Moulson will win the spot alongside Handzus and...

3rd Line RW

Competitors: Brad Richardson, Ted Purcell, Matt Ellis, Wayne Simmonds

Michal Handzus was tasked with shutting down the other team's top scorer last season yet he wasn't given any help. Handzus and Calder are not very fleet of foot and needed someone who could keep up with the opposition. Having Moulson on one side of Handzus would help, and having the loser of the 2nd Line RW battle would help even more. Brad Richardson is probably the best option for this spot; not only would he help at even strength, he would also provide another quality body on the penalty kill. Ted Purcell could win the spot if he doesn't win the 2nd line RW job but still shows enough to justify NHL playing time, while Matt Ellis is an option if none of the young guys actually step up. An intriguing option is Wayne Simmonds, the young fireplug from Sault Ste. Marie. He's young and needs to put on weight but he's been excellent in development camp and I can honestly see him making the team. Should be something to watch.

4th line C

Competitors: Brian Boyle, Derek Armstrong, Brady Murray

This spot has been up for grabs for a couple years now as injuries have prevented Derek Armstrong from taking the job that belonged to him. The job looks to belong to Brian Boyle this season, who can take a few minutes up on the 2nd line and also play on the power play as well. If for some reason Boyle disappoints (or if he takes a wing position up in the lineup) then Derek Armstrong can step in to the job he was born for. Brady Murray is running out of time with the Kings and will probably sign with someone else if he doesn't make a name for himself in the NHL this season.

4th line RW

Competitors: Kyle Calder, Derek Armstrong/Brian Boyle, Matt Ellis, John Zeiler, anyone really

The final spot can best be solved by thinking about who can be used in a special teams capacity. Calder is useful on the power play, although his spot in front of the net will probably be usurped by Boyle. Matt Ellis can make the penalty kill better, but it might full with Michal Handzus, Patrick O'Sullivan, Brad Richardson and Jarret Stoll already on the team. Or the Kings could just give the spot to anyone who performs the best in camp. It's pretty up in the air.

Here's the way I see the forwards winding up on opening night:

O'Sullivan-Kopitar-Brown
Frolov-Stoll-Purcell
Moulson-Handzus-Richardson
Ivanans-Boyle-Armstrong
Calder, Zeiler

I see Calder and Zeiler making the team because Calder can be useful in spots and no one cares if John Zeiler never plays. I said when we picked him up that I thought Matt Ellis was on the team to captain the team in Manchester and I'm still pretty sure about that.

Defense

2nd RD Position

Competitors: Denis Gauthier, Peter Harrold, Free Agent

The defense is surprisingly rigid, at least to my eyes. Jack Johnson will take the top spot on the right side. Tom Preissing is the best right-handed defenseman so he'll probably play with Johnson. Greene also plays on the left side so he's set. That leaves his partner to get top-4 minutes. Denis Gauthier is the safe option, while Harrold is the defenseman that can earn the spot. Neither is very palatable, though, and the hope is that the Kings can pick someone up to take that spot. If only there were someone in the area that could come over and help out. Maybe Lombardi could call Brian Burke, see if he could help him out.

3rd LD Position

Competitors: Drew Doughty, Colten Teubert

The dirty little secret in Kings' training camp is that Drew Doughty has to make the team. They're acting like he's not guaranteed a spot and he has to earn it but they're just pretending. The Kings need Doughty for two reasons: one, they need his cap number, and two, they don't have anyone that can play on that left side. All the other options the Kings have are left-handed so it pretty much leaves Doughty or fellow teenager Colten Teubert. My money's on Doughty.

3rd RD Position

Competitors: Denis Gauthier, Peter Harrold, Thomas Hickey, Joe Piskula, Drew Bagnall

The final spot on defense is probably Harrold's, I'm not going to lie. There's other options, like Gauthier, but it's probably best to just give Harrold the spot because he can play on the power play and the penalty kill. Hickey could use one more year to get a little bigger and Piskula and Bagnall are available in case of injury.

Here's the way I see the defense on opening night:

Preissing-Johnson
Greene-(Free Agent)
Doughty-Harrold
Gauthier

Goaltending

Labarbera
( )

Other Goaltending Spot

Competitors: Erik Ersberg, Jonathan Bernier, Jonathan Quick

Labarbera is pretty much guaranteed a spot since he's so great. (Oh, and he has a one-way deal.) That leaves Ersberg and Bernier to battle it out for the other spot. Bernier is going to have to greatly outperform Ersberg to win a spot. He's basically going to have to win the starting job, a tall task for a 21 year-old. I think Ersberg will win the job while Bernier gets a healthy number of games against AHL competition. Quick isn't really a competitor, I just figured his parents might scan this and see his name added and feel better. I'm a giver.

Whew, I'm tired. I'm making a sandwich. You want one? You can't have one, you're virtual. Or you're not, but you're reading this virtually. Something like that, I don't understand the internet. Goodbye.

I'm Reading Too Much into This

This is interesting. According to Rich Hammond, the Kings want to give Ersberg a two-way deal (meaning they can send him down to Manchester) while Ersberg would like a one-way deal. I think the Kings want Ersberg on a two-way deal for a couple of reasons:


1) They're not in love with him like all Kings' fans are. Ersberg played amazing at the end of last season. He had a 2.48 GAA and a .927 SV%. But he's still 5'11" and a butterfly goaltender and I think the Kings are cognizant of the fact that Ersberg won't be that good next year.


2) They don't want to get screwed like they did two years ago. Dean Lombardi learned the hard way what happens when you aren't flexible and it bit the Kings in the ass. Giving Ersberg a two-way deal allows Lombardi to test out either Bernier or Ersberg while still having Ersberg as an option if they should falter or get hurt.

Eyes are tricky things. We all watched Ersberg dominate at the end of last year and we assume he's a great goaltender, but he's not. In 14 games for the Kings, he was great; in 30 games for the Monarchs, he sucked. You can try to explain it by saying that he stepped it up or some other Real World: The Gauntlet bullshit, but it's not true. Ersberg got lucky and Lombardi knows it. Ersberg will probably spend a good amount of his time either backing up Labarbera (who people keep forgetting had a good year) or in Manchester. Believe me, I'd like it if the smaller Ersberg was able to beat out the fatass Labarbera, but people don't win spots because they try harder. Labarbera is better and Bernier is the future, and that's who the Kings will go with. Sorry, Erik.

Kings Gameday: This Seems Familiar...

LA Kings (welp) vs. Montreal Canadiens (37-22-9, 2nd in East)

1:00 PST, FSN West



Tell me if you've heard this before:

-Goalie gets called up because of injury and incompetence among the top 2 Kings goaltenders

-Goalie plays well in a few games

-Goalie plays outstanding on a large stage and Kings fans fall in love

Who am I talking about? Erik Ersberg. And, Jonathan Bernier. Both are a little smaller than you'd like but both have great rebound control and very fluid motion. Bernier ended up proving he wasn't quite ready for the big show, while we'll have to wait and see what happens with Ersberg.

I'm not trying to be a downer; I'm actually in a great mood today because Corey Perry got hurt and I just heard Vin Scully say, "It's time for Dodgers baseball," for the first time this spring. I'm just saying, there's a reason Ersberg is just getting his shot in the NHL at the age of 26 (just turned today). I'd like to see him go on to become the next first great Kings goaltender, but I've seen too many come and go to get too excited right now.

***

Why do people hate Patrick O'Sullivan? I've noticed this for a while now, but the Senators game kind of brought it to a head. He got kneed, knocked down in front of the net, and then elbowed after he scored the game-clinching goal. I mean, he doesn't stick people as far as I can tell, and he never talks, so I don't get it. I have 2 theories:

1) His line. Opposing players can't hit Kopitar (because he's 6'4" and hitting him would start a war) or Brown (because he'd beat the hell out of them), so they go after O'Sullivan. The problem with this theory is that guys like to hit O'Sullivan even when he's not playing on the top line, so I don't think that's the only explanation.

2) His face. He always has that same look on his face. This one:



Look at that face. It's always the same. He scores, it's that face. He gets into a shoving match, it's that face. He's hanging out with supermodels...


...it's that face. The same slack jaw, those same cow eyes. I want to punch something just looking at it. I think guys see that face the entire game and it turns into maniacs. I fully expect to see Michael Komisarek try to fight Patty by the end of the game.

***

Speaking of Michael Komisarek, he's closing in on Dustin Brown's once substantial lead in hits. As of today, Brown is still leading with 274 hits, while Komisarek is in 2nd with 250. That is a story line to watch during the game, as they're likely to match up against one another.

Prediction: Kings win, 4-3. Goals by Frolov, Kopitar, Preissing and Calder. Brown levels Komisarek, who in turn levels Cammalleri. Tom Kostopolous tries to fight O'Sullivan but ends up looking ridiculous.

Kings Off-Season Preview Mega-Post!

(This post is unnecessarily long, so don't miss Mike Chen's post just below it. He makes me look like a jackass by just asking his GM what he's planning on doing in the off-season rather than attempting to deduce it. Damn you, Chen!)

Now that the hockey season is officially in the books, it’s time to look ahead at what is in store for the Kings in 2007-08. The Kings seem to be very involved with free agency rumors this off-season, which makes deciphering what they will do harder than in years past. If only there were someone with a keen intellect and many hours of free time to think about something unimportant rather than trying to get laid… oh wait, that person exists. It’s me! I’m going to go through some of the major rumors and say whether I’d like them and then give my opinion on whether or not they’re likely. As always, remember that it’s just my opinion and that I’m an idiot. And away we go…

Kings sign a big-ticket free agent forward (Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Ryan Smyth)

The Kings should have money to spend this off-season (though they still have to sign Mike Cammalleri) and GM Dean Lombardi did try to sign Zdeno Chara and Patrick Elias last off-season (or so he says). If the Kings were to sign a free-agent, I’d prefer that they signed a set-up man, like Briere or Gomez, because Frolov and Cammalleri can both put the puck in the net on their own. With that being said, I’m not sure if the Kings will sign a big free-agent forward because we have good young forwards coming up and the money would be better spent on the defense. I can’t see the Kings throwing a bunch of money into one player; I’d rather they spent the money they have improving the bottom lines. The guy killing us last year was not Patrick O’Sullivan on the 2nd line, it was that Tom Kostopolous was on the team at all.

Kings sign a big-ticket free agent defenseman (Sheldon Souray, Kimmo Timmonen, Brad Stuart, Scott Hannan)

The Kings have three defenseman that will make the team barring unforeseen circumstances: Lubomir Visnovsky, Rob Blake, and Jack Johnson. After that, there’s the possibility that the Kings may re-sign Aaron Miller, but that’s pretty much it. (I refuse to accept that Oleg Tverdovsky is a legitimate option to make the team.) The guys in the minors who have a shot at making the team are Joe Piskula, Richard Petiot (coming off a knee injury), and Joe Ryan. It seems unlikely that the Kings will be content with that type of defense, however, and will have to sign someone. The problem with Souray and Timmonen is that they are the exact same type of player as Lubo, which brings me to a terrifying point: with all the rumors that Souray already has a jersey made in LA, could Lombardi be thinking about trading Lubo? We could definitely get quite the haul for him, seeing as he’s only making $2 million this year and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Maybe Lombardi thinks that Souray is better than Lubo and maybe he’s thinking about getting someone like Patrick Marleau or perhaps a collection of younger players for him. I think the idea makes sense, but… he’s so little and adorable! Anyway, I think the Kings would be better off signing a guy like Hannan or Stuart.

How can you trade this face?

Kings sign a big-ticket free agent goaltender (J.S. Giguere)

The Kings had a little trouble with goaltending last season, in case you hadn’t heard about it. Garon is probably gone and the Kings have Jason LaBarbera (who was a man amongst boys in the AHL) and Dan “Goddammit!” Cloutier as the two most likely to suit up on opening night. Signing a goaltender like Giguere would definitely solve a lot of problems for the Kings and probably get them a playoff spot next year. I don’t think this will happen, though, because Lombardi has already signed a goaltender from the Swedish Elite League (the very Swede-sounding Erik Ersberg) and it seems likely that LaBarbera, Cloutier, and Ersberg will all get a chance in net next season. The Kings could always trade for a guy like Manny Fernandez (though he makes a little too much for my taste) or Vesa Toskala (seriously, we don’t need every player from San Jose), but I imagine LaBarbera will probably get the first opportunity in net, and that’s okay with me. I mean, why not? He’s 27 and destroyed the AHL last year, so why shouldn’t he get a shot? Besides, I generally adhere to the idea that goaltenders are needed to take a team over the top, but they can’t make a bad team a playoff contender. If the Kings signed Giguere, it’d be Khabibulin-to-Chicago redux.

Is Erik Ersberg the answer in net? No.

Kings don’t do anything big

Unfortunately for many, this seems to be the most likely option. I see the Kings signing a guy like Scott Hannan to play with Lubo on the top defensive line. I don’t like Scott Hannan, but I have a friend (a Sharks fan) who swears he’s a dependable defenseman and I believe him. (He also swears that Hannan is not really Dominic Monaghan, but I’m still skeptical.)

I swear, am I the only one who sees this?

I also see the Kings signing a dependable set-up man for the top two lines, perhaps pushing Armstrong down a little. I hate to say it, but there’s one guy who I think would be amenable to signing a short contract for around 4 million or so. It’s this little guy:

(Cue murmurs and cries of "Order!")

I know it’s sacrilegious to think of Kariya in black and purple, but it is really the best option. Kariya makes the team better in the short-term but doesn’t hurt their long-term plan. I don’t know if he’d want to come back to Southern California, or if the Kings are even interested, but it seems like a good fit. Plus, it would definitely give the Kings a “splash” signing that would somehow answer the Ducks, or something. I’d never accept him, but I wouldn’t mind if he helped Frolov score 50 goals. If they made these moves, they’d have a line-up like this going into next season:

Frolov-Cammalleri-Kariya
O’Sullivan-Kopitar-Brown
Thornton-McCauley-Lundmark

(Someone, with Ivanans filling in occasionally)-Armstrong-Willsie

Lubo-Hannan
Blake-Johnson
Piskula-Miller

LaBarbera
Cloutier
Ersberg

There are some problems with this set-up (mostly that I don’t know if Cammalleri would or could shift back to center and I’d like O’Sullivan to play center some day), but I like this team overall. The Kings are basically getting a free agent in Alyn McCauley, assuming he’s finally healthy, and I liked Lundmark last year. Does this team make the playoffs? Maybe. Does this team compete while not hindering the long-term plan? Yes. As guys get injured, the team can plug in Lauri Tukonen or Brian Boyle or Scott Parse if he decides to sign (rumors are that he will). Let me know in the comments what you think (and please, “your gay” is not constructive criticism). I think this is the best path for the Kings this off-season; whether Lombardi thinks the same is anyone’s guess.