Kings Trade Deadline Recap

Holy shit are Kings fans a bunch of whimpering pussies. Seriously, go check Letsgokings.com to see some hardcore, grade-A whining. Rob Blake is taking the brunt of the abuse, but Dean Lombardi is getting his fair share of licks as well. I honestly don't understand what people are so upset about. Nobody wants the shitty players on a last-place team and the the guys that might have been traded were, for the most part, injured. Here's a look at the trade bait:

Ladislav Nagy- He's apparently wearing a neck brace when he drives because of his mysterious neck injury. I mean...

Scott Thornton- According to Dean Lombardi, Thornton had a no-trade clause. (Ed. note: what the fuck?) He waived it for 4 teams and almost got sent to one of them, but they apparently made a big trade that turned them off Scott. Are they talking about the Sharks?

Brad Stuart- Traded to Detroit for a 2nd in '08 and a 4th in '09. Not bad for the 4th best defenseman on the worst defensive team in the league. Brad Stuart will always be overrated by some because he hits big occasionally and has some size, but I think he only improved halfway through the season because Jack Johnson took some of his even-strength minutes. Hopefully the Wings will pair him with Rafalski and allow him to concentrate on hurting opposing forwards. He'll probably help their 2nd line power play, although I guess they don't really have a 2nd unit because their 1st unit always scores.

Brian Willsie- I doubt anyone called about him.

Derek Armstrong- I'm convinced Armstrong would have been traded if he hadn't gotten hurt on the 21st.

Tom Preissing- He hasn't played great this season but he's 1 year into a 4-year deal; I don't think it would have sent a good message to the rest of the league if they traded a free agent this early.

J.S. Aubin- Traded to the Ducks for a 7th rounder. I have no idea why, unless Burke is trying to trick people into thinking the Ducks have foreigners on their team.

Mike Cammalleri- He wasn't going to get traded at the deadline. If he does get traded, it'll probably be at the draft.

Rob Blake- Reportedly, Blake said the Kings could trade him to Colorado if they could get a good deal. I honestly don't get this whole "Fuck Rob Blake" thing. This is what Matt Kredell said at Inside the Kings:

[Blake] said he would accept a trade to Colorado if they could get a good return since he had played there before and liked it there, but that he would prefer to remain a King.

Maybe I'm crazy, but that seems perfectly reasonable. He told them that he'd like to stay and help the team but he'd understand if they got an offer they couldn't refuse. The Avalanche chose to trade for Adam Foote instead for 3 reasons:

1) He's a defensive defenseman

2) He is healthy

3) He might re-sign in the off-season

That makes sense to me. I'd have traded for Foote instead too.

This is going to sound crazy (especially coming from me), but aren't people taking this whole hockey thing a little too seriously? What's the point of watching a sport if you're going to get this fucking worked up about it? I mean, Kings fans are mad at Rob Blake because another team chose not to trade for him. Has it really come to this? What was Lombardi supposed to do, offer Blake for a 3rd rounder? That'll set a nice example for free agents. Put yourself in Blake's shoes for a second; would you accept leaving your wife and kids for 3 months just to help some hockey team possibly win some trophy? If someone told me the Kings would win the Stanley Cup but I would have to move to Denver and cheer for the Avalanche... well, I'd tell you what I'd say, but there isn't a font size large enough to properly express how loudly I'd tell that guy to fuck off.

Look, Rob Blake was kind of a dick in 2001. Since he's come back, though, he hasn't said or done one thing that would imply that he didn't care about the future of this team. He's the greatest defenseman in LA Kings history and now he'll retire as a King. That seems right to me.

***

With the trade of Brad Stuart, the Kings’ 2008 draft picks are as follows*:

2 1^st round picks- Dallas (Norstrom)

3 2^nd round picks- Calgary (Conroy), Detroit (Stuart)

3 3^rd round picks- Conditional (from Avery deal), Philadelphia (Modry)

3 4^th round picks- Tampa Bay (Munce), Vancouver (Sopel), Kings and Caps switch picks in ’08 (weird trade, I don’t know)

1 5^th round pick

1 6^th round pick

2 7^th round picks- Anaheim (Aubin)

Holy hell. The Kings probably can’t use all those draft picks (contract limits), so they’ll package some together to trade up or trade back to 2009. Dean Lombardi’s new scout team should have a lot of fun on draft day.

*I probably messed up at least once.

Sandis Ozolinsh makes his debut in 5-2 loss to Los Angeles at home

Sandis Ozolinsh kicked off his return engagement with the Sharks last night against Battle of California rival Los Angeles. Ozolinsh logged 20:17 minutes of ice time, behind only Rivet (22:07) and Vlasic (21:10) on the San Jose blueline, and finished without earning a point or registering a shot on goal. There were a few lost edges and scrambling to get back into position in the first period, but after 20 minutes Sandis started to move the puck up ice with authority.

"I felt good. In the first, I got caught on a long shift and got out of rhythm. If felt good physically. It took me until the second period. That's when the shackles came off and I got going. The second half of the game, I felt a lot more comfortable." Ozolinsh told reporters after the game.

Patrick Marleau put the Sharks on the board in the first period, and the Sharks outshot Los Angeles 21-10. The opening minute of the second was more of the same. The Sharks pressured Jean-Sebastien Aubin, swarming in front of the crease. After Michael Cammalleri's goal at 1:43, assisted by Tom Preissing and Alexander Frolov, the wheels came off the San Jose attack. Every time they tried to build momentum, a Los Angeles player would make a play with the puck, or a mistake would lead to an odd man rush in the opposite direction. The Kings capitalized on their chances, the Sharks did not.

In the post-game media interview, Ron Wilson described his team as "fragile", and it is an idenity they are going to have to work themselves out of because right now it fits. Patrick Marleau mentioned a month of division-heavy games, and said that the Sharks could not afford to give any away even at this early point in the season.

The Sharks finished 0-5 on the power play, with several tremendous point blank saves by Jean-Sebastien Aubin. Aubin (2-1-0, .906SV%, 3.28GAA) finished with 45 saves on 47 shots, earning his second win of the season. Evgeni Nabokov (6-6-1, .899SV%, 2.46GAA, 1SO) also made several clutch saves in the first period, but the Sharks could not build on his stellar performance and the mistakes were costly. Nabokov finished with 25 saves on 29 shots.

Lukas Kaspar finished his second NHL game -1, with 12:46 minutes of ice time, but he was one of the bright spots down the stretch for San Jose. He has explosive speed, and he began to use his size more effectively than he has earlier in his career. Bernier also split the defense late in the game, and lifted a puck over the crossbar with one hand while holding off a defenseman with the other. Lubomir Visnovsky, as always, was a rock for the Los Angeles blueline. Kings left wing Matt Moulson out of Cornell University, scored a highlight reel goal in his first NHL game.

"Remember when Los Angeles had bad goaltending?" Earl Sleek offered via a text message after the game. LaBarbera is solid, he just needed to survive the initial "burn him at the stake" period from impatient Kings fans, and he has already reeled off 4 straight wins. Lubo, Preissing, Stuart and even Blake may be able to offset some of the mistakes Jack "JMFJ" Johnson is going to make early, but his talent is undeniable. Jean-Sebastien Aubin over Mathieu Garon might not be a call I would have made, but that is why they get paid the big dollars. Don't look now, but the Los Angeles Kings are in first place in the Pacific Division.

For more photos vist this photo gallery on Sharkspage. War Yutaka Fukufuji and Sean Burke!

Kings Gameday: Old Friends & Old Enemies

This picture makes my heart smile.

Los Angeles Kings (2-5, Last in West) vs. Calgary Flames ( 2-2-2, 1st in Craig Conroys)

6:00 PST, FSN West

The Kings are coming off a good win against the Minnesota Wild. The win wasn’t good because they managed to beat a previously undefeated team, but because they deserved to win the game easily. The Kings shouldn’t have even let the Wild get into overtime or a shootout; if not for a bad goal let in by J.S. Aubin, they would have won in regulation. They even beat them in front of their mothers, which I found very satisfying. I know it makes me a bad person, but I hope it ruined their trip. Take that, Brian Rolston's mom!

Speaking of Aubin,I wasn’t too impressed by his performance on Tuesday. Besides the aforementioned bad goal, he looked a little stiff going side-to-side, resulting in a ridiculously lucky save (against Eric Belanger) that got a lot more pub than it deserved. Aubin has a little hitch in his movement, meaning he pulls his lead leg in before extending it back out when moving to the side. This typically hurts a goalie on rebounds and one-timers. The contrast is stark if you think about the way Bernier moved. (Hold on... sorry, got a little choked up there for a second.) Plus, my brother pointed out that he looks like Ricky Gervais. Still, I guess he wasn’t terrible, and that’s really all we needed on Tuesday. He's worth having in there if only because hearing Jimmy Fox say his name is hilarious.

Oh, you.

The Kings meet up with the Calgary Flames tonight and Old friend Craig Conroy will be there. When I think about what the Kings need this season, I think they could really use another strong, defensively responsible center to play with Frolov. They could use… well, they could use Craig Conroy. Maybe I just want him on the team because I think he’s awesome. He just seems like the kind of guy where you talk to him and then all of a sudden you realize that being around him makes you feel better about yourself. (Does that make me sound crazy? I'm not crazy.) If he scored tonight I wouldn't cheer, but I think a little part of me might be happy.

Also with the Calgary Flames is old enemy Owen Nolan. I used to hate Owen Nolan back when he was on the Sharks. He always seemed like a guy who got credit for being “tough” when he was really just a dick. The guy even looks like an asshole:

Eff you too, Nolan.

See? He looks like the kind of guy who would drive on the shoulder of the freeway during a traffic jam. If he died in a fire I wouldn't cheer, but I think a little part of me might be happy.

I’m going to be gone this weekend (my friends are going hunting while I get drunk and rail against injustice and Jordin Tootoo), but I’m sure Earl & Co. will keep you entertained. As always, if the Kings get scored on and you hear a faint “Fuck!” carried by the wind, know that I am with you.

Kings Sign J.S. Aubin, Rudy Shrugs

Meh.

He sucks. I’m not sure if this is that big a deal, other than for those Manchester Monarch fans out there. It may be an indication that Cloutier isn’t feeling too great, but it’s more likely that Dean Lombardi doesn’t want to get burned by a lack of goaltender depth like he did last year. At least we won’t have a goaltender with zero NHL experience backing up if either Labarbera or Cloutier get hurt. If this ends up becoming a big deal during the season, I'll probably be pretty pissed. I imagine the only time you'll hear about him is if Earl writes an article about Giguere and then picks the wrong tag.

***

The Kings also signed defenseman Drew Bagnall a couple of days ago. Bagnall was a Hobey Baker finalist last year with St. Lawrence last year. I like this because it’s not that big of a risk if he turns out to be a bust. Only good can come from this signing. Meanwhile, the Dodgers refuse to sign pitcher Kyle Blair in the draft over $400,000 and then give contracts to guys like David Wells and Shea Hillenbrand. One out of two ain’t bad.