Me and Mutton (the name I gave the dog in the picture) are confused. It was just the game prior that the Kings reunited Patrick O'Sullivan with Anze Kopitar and now the lines have been changed again. Basically the Kings have replaced Alexander Frolov with Patrick O'Sullivan on the stopper line (don't know why), moved Moller to center (don't know why), and moved Stoll from 2nd line center to 4th line winger (haven't a clue). Weird. That 2nd line looks pretty terrible, so hopefully they're not playing big minutes. Should be an interesting game to watch. What would I like to see?
The Kings' biggest problem this season has been their 3rd defensive pairing. Tom Preissing and Peter Harrold are the Kings' best options for that position but they play pretty much the same game. Denis Gauthier brings a physical element but that's about it and he's been killing the team with his defensive play. The Kings need to look into bringing someone up for Gauthier, I reckon. (Reckon?)
***
Mike Cammalleri is 2nd on the Flames with 11 points in 10 games. He's a fast starter and will probably cool off a little bit, but good for him so far. Todd Bertuzzi is tied for the team lead in goals with 6. He can go fuck himself.
Prediction: Kings win, 5-4 (so). Every goal by Kyle Calder, who then comes to my house and beats me up. Can't say I blame him.
Last time, I outlined why the Kings' defense is fucked and how they can go about fixing it. To cheer us (read: me) up, let's take a look at the offense. As expected, the Kings didn't sign anyone and are expected to fill holes from within. Those unfamiliar with the Kings might think that they're fucked on offense too, what with them losing 3/5 of their top power play unit* and all; however,** I think the Kings are going to score more than they did last year. A lot more. There's a couple of reasons for this: one, the Kings have all the important people coming back, and two, the Kings' bottom six is going to be infinitesimally better than last year's. Also, since everyone good on the Kings is young, the gradual improvement that comes with age should help too. Shall I go painfully into detail, fully aware that no one reads this but my brother and my parole officer? Sure, why not. What else am I going to do, take a dump? I can multitask.
*Of course, that power play finished 17th in North America... well, 18th. What, the Guadalajara Guerrillas have an amazing team.
**I had a teacher that claimed you couldn't start a sentence with "however," that you had to start it with a semi-colon. Is that bullshit or what? Seems like I've seen that before. Oh well, I'll just claim creative license.
This picture seem out of place? Creative license!
The Kings losing Rob Blake and Lubomir Visnovsky is going to hurt their offense. Losing Lubo especially, because he was basically the only player Frolov had to play off last year. The power play system the Kings ran last year didn't require a power play quarterback on the blue line, though, so losing them doesn't hurt too much on that front. As long as the Kings have Kopitar and Frolov, their power play will be fine. Acquiring Jarret Stoll will basically replace Cammy on the power play (hopefully he won't hold onto the puck so Goddamn long) and planting Brian Boyle in front of the net will kick ass. The Kings still need another guy that can help out on the power play, but overall I think they'll be fine.
The 1st line is the 1st line. Kopitar and Brown will be amazing and even better than they were last year. I'll leave it at that because if I try to write more it'll end up being 30 pages of love imagery and no one wants to read that.
The Kings' 2nd line will be in a state of flux, as it's mostly been Frolov-Armstrong-Cammalleri the past 2 years. This year, Jarret Stoll will likely step into that 2nd line center role. He's had a rough few years and I think the best thing for him would be to just stick him there all year and let him leech off Frolov. C'mon, he's gotta be better than Derek Armstrong, right? Cammy will be a little touger to replace, but the Kings can probably put either Ted Purcell or Patrick O'Sullivan in his spot and not skip a beat. His talent is tough to replace, but his output from last year isn't.
The Kings will be replacing Scott Thornton, Brian Willsie, Matt Ellis and Jeff Giuliano with Brad Richardson, Brian Boyle, Ted Purcell and Matt Moulson. The old 4 combined to score 12 goals in 207 games. The new 4? 12 goals in 62 games during limited call-ups last year. They're not regular rookies, either; they're all older than Kopitar and they're going to be running full-speed from day 1. Purcell in particular should probably be a Calder candidate next year and I imagine Brian Boyle will have a season very similar to Dustin Penner's rookie year. The Kings' offense is going to be bigger, faster, and non-Brian Willsie'd next year. Most importantly, they are going to be very young and very hungry. Michal Handzus, Kyle Calder, Raitis Ivanans and Alex Frolov are going to be the only forwards over the age of 25 next year. It's going to be kind of amazing to watch.
It's funny, the Kings were 15th in goals last year but I look at that team and I think, "They should've scored a lot more." Think what would have happened if Cammalleri hadn't ripped his rib muscle or if Ladislav Nagy hadn't been hit by that turnip truck. (What the hell happened to that guy anyway?) I think the biggest difference between this year and last is that the Kings will actually have depth. If Brown gets hurt the Kings won't have to put Scott Thornton on the top line; they'll have Matt Moulson or Gabe Gauthier ready to step in. They may have a shitty defense, but the Kings offense is going to break a lot of hearts next year.
Just for shits and giggles*, here's an early guess as to what our offense will look like next year:
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:
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.
Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo!'s Puck Daddy blog passes along the rumor that the Pittsburgh Penguins offered the Kings Evgeni Malkin for the #2 pick and Mike Cammalleri. There's no way that happens, right? I mean, it's from Bruce Garrioch from the Ottawa Sun, who I guess is retarded, and plus where do the Penguins benefit from that trade? If the Kings were going to trade for Malkin, I would have thought have thought they would have to add a few more picks or Oscar Moller or something. And the Kings... well, the Kings would have Frolov-Malkin and Kopitar-Brown as their top 2 lines... no, it's not going to happen.
You know why I would love this trade though? Because the Pensblog would blow the fuck up and it would be awesome. Too bad this trade isn't happening.
But still, it'd be pretty cool... no, dammit, not happening. But I mean...
Update: And now Helene Elliot has an article with Lombardi where he says he's probably not going to trade the pick. I haven't been this confused since Mulholland Drive.
I was going to wait until the Detroit-Dallas game was over, but I think I can go ahead and put it up now.
Stats: 63 Games, 19 G, 28 A, 47 P, -16, 30 PIM
Grade: D
Nickname: Cammy
Last Season:
Whoops.
That's pretty much the only word that can describe Cammalleri's season. For a guy who has increased his point total every year since 2002 (and who finished 2nd only to Jason Spezza in points in the AHL during the lockout year), Cammalleri crashed pretty hard. After a hot start (10 goals in the first 10 games), Cammalleri looked pretty set to increase his point totals once again until a slump followed by a rib injury knocked him out for a month. When he did come back, Cammalleri had basically been replaced by Patrick O'Sullivan (the "win" to Cammalleri's "wang") and could never really find a role for himself. Cammalleri also had to be hampered by a Los Angeles crowd that had completely turned on him; he went from being one of the building blocks of a young team to a cancer that must be traded this off-season. Funny how perceptions change in 1 season.
Still, I don't think Cammalleri should be dismissed for $.50 cents on the dollar. Lest we forget, Cammalleri tallied 80 points last season on a line with Alex Frolov and Derek Armstrong. And, if we're being completely fair, Cammalleri wasn't too far off his career numbers before he got injured (26 points in 34 games). I would think the drop in points can be related to the fact that Cammalleri was now playing on a line with Kopitar and was no longer responsible for carrying the puck into the zone.
And again, if we're being fair, we need to dismiss the notion that Cammalleri shoots too much and is some kind of puck-hog. In his career, Cammalleri has more assists than goals. He does shoot a lot (he would probably have led the team in shots if he had played a full season), but that's because he has the best shot on the team. I was at a game this season and some obese guy (who was clearly well-versed on the proper execution of the 2-on-1) bitched about how Cammalleri is selfish because he didn't pass to Derek Armstrong. Let me repeat that, because it gives keen insight as to how idiotic fans can be: the guy complained because Cammy didn't pass to Derek Armstrong. I'd rather he pass to the other team than Derek Armstrong. Instead, Cammy took a shot and missed high.* It was the best play to make, because the defensman did his job and took away the pass (like he needed to). It wouldn't make sense for Cammalleri to pass there because it's not playing to his strengths and the shot was there.
Still, by any reasonable measure this was a bad season for Cammalleri, and I'm sure he'd be the first to tell you that. Last year, Dean Lombardi made the point that Cammalleri has proven that he can be the best person on a bad team but hasn't yet proven that he can be the best on a good team. Right now, I'd say Kopitar, Frolov, Brown and maybe O'Sullivan have all passed him by. It remains to be seen if Cammalleri can adapt to his new role and get used to playing without the puck.
*This is another thing that bothers me, when people complain because a player missed the net. Hey, dick, he's trying to hit where the goalie isn't. You want him to put it in the goalie's chest? The guy is moving 20 miles per hour and is trying to aim a puck into a 4-inch wide area of the net, all while a defenseman is draped over him. I'm amazed these guys can even get a shot off, let alone score 10% of the time.
Next Year: Obviously, I'd be remiss* if I didn't mention the whole contract thing. Last year Cammalleri famously asked for a $6 million dollar/year contract after one good offensive season. When he got $3.4 a year for two years, many people speculated that he would piss and moan** and underperform this year. Now, after a subpar campaign, many people are assuming that he'll get traded this summer for a defenseman. I'm not so sure. It's no sure thing that Ted Purcell can replace Cammalleri's production and I think a line like Frolov-Boyle-Cammalleri can be dynamic. The Kings are not in a position to lessen their depth at any position and besides, the Kings could get more value for Cammalleri if they wait until he rebounds next year.
Cammalleri has always seemed like a good guy (if a little smug for being barely 5'9"), and perhaps now that his former agent is pulling the strings in Vancouver the Kings can get him to agree to a salary in line with what he is: a very nice secondary player. If not, trade him if you think you can get value for him. The Kings don't need to paint themselves in a corner where they either sign him for Martin Erat money (what the hell was that all about, anyway?) or trade him for some middling defenseman. If he wants to leave, he leaves. That's the nature of the business. Still, I hope Cammy sees the light and sticks around. He's a valuable player on the power play and a good complementary player. If he thinks he's anything more, though, then I can't say I'd keep him around.
*I'd also be a douche bag for using the word "remiss."
**When the hell did the phrase "piss and moan" come to mean "complain?" If somebody around me is pissing and moaning, I'm assuming they're in need of immediate medical attention.
(Didn't think I could get enough material for 3 posts in 1 day about a team that hasn't been playing for 3 weeks? Well, you thought wrong!)
So Vancouver hired former agent Mike Gillis to run their professional hockey team. Why should we, as Kings fans, care? Well, for 2 reasons:
1) He was Mike Cammalleri's agent. Hmm, I wonder who it was that convinced Cammalleri that he was worth $6 milion a year and almost torpedoed the Kings.
2) We now have an inexperienced GM with probably little experience in talent evaluation in charge of a team that has a plethora of defensemen but is in need of offensive help. We also have a player that could use a change of scenery and is a former client of said inexperienced GM. See where I'm going here? You should, it's pretty obvious.
Let me be the first to congratulate Willie Mitchell/Luc Bourdon on joining the Los Angeles Kings. Good luck in Vancouver, Cammy.
Early in the first period last night, Derek Armstrong went down with a knee injury. As the collective gasps went up from the Kings bench (not because of Armstrong; someone had spilled a water bottle), Marc Crawford began to despair. Here's an exclusive look at what happened next:
Marc Crawford: Curses! We can't win without Derek Armstrong! Go ahead and pack it up boys, this game's over.
Ted Purcell:(whispering) Hey, Kopy, who the hell is this Armtough guy?
Anze Kopitar: He's the shitty older guy on the team.
Ted Purcell:(confused) You're going to have to be more specific.
Patrick O'Sullivan: Umm, coach, I can play center if you want. I mean, I did play it in Junior and a little bit in the AHL, and a little bit earlier this ye-
Marc Crawford: No, no, no! We can't have you playing center, Peyton! Just let me think...
(silence)
Marc Crawford: Shut up! I got it. Maybe if we put Brian Willsie with Kopitar and Brown, and then- you!
Erik Ersberg: Da?
Marc Crawford: You're my new 2nd line center.
Erik Ersberg: Var det väl eller illa skrivet!
Marc Crawford: Yes, that's it! I put the swede with Frolov, Dave Lewis with Kopitar, Handzus with the popcorn guy, Phil Anschultz with... (unintelligible)
Patrick O'Sullivan: Cammy, Fro, you guys just want to go score 3 goals?
Mike Cammalleri: Sure, he'll probably be going for another 20 minutes.
Alex Frolov (Looking up from Anna Karenina): Yes, stick must touch puck and make red light.
Patrick O'Sullivan: Alright, let's go before Crawford notices.
Los Angeles Kings(yuck) @ Calgary Flames (23-17-8, 7th in West)
6:00 PST, 1150 AM
One annoying thing about being the worst team in the league: you never beat someone.Every time the Kings win, fans of the other team will decry their team’s lack of effort, or complain that the team was caught looking ahead, or some other gibberish.Just think about it: the Kings have already cost one GM his job, the Maple Leafs started looking for a change after losing to the Kings, and this article was written after the Oilers got their asses handed to them.It gets kind of frustrating.
Look, I get why it happens.People look at the standings, see the Kings are in last place, and just assume their team will win; when they don’t, it must be because they didn’t try hard enough.But the Kings aren’t your typical last place team, at least in my opinion.Sure, we’ve lost 7-0 to Nashville, but the Kings have also blown out a few teams.They’re inconsistent, but if everything is clicking the Kings can be a pretty devastating team.Some times you’re going to lose to them, but other times you’ll roll over them easily.That’s just how it goes.Against Edmonton, Dustin Brown and Lubomir Visnovsky both scored and Anze Kopitar had 2 assists.It wasn’t a fluke that the Kings beat Edmonton; the fluke is that they haven't done that more often.
***
Something kind of cool: I was listening to the game on the radio and Nick Nickson said, “Now Handzus’ line is heading out on the ice.”I knew exactly who he was talking about.That hasn’t happened very often this season.
***
Where does Cammalleri play when he gets back?
1) Cammalleri resumes playing with Kopitar and Brown, while O’Sullivan plays with Handzus and Calder.Purcell is sent back down.
2) O’Sullivan centers a line with Frolov and Nagy while Cammalleri plays with Kopitar.
3) Cammalleri centers a line with Frolov and Nagy.
I’m not sure what the best solution is to this little quandary.I’d like to see Cammy with Frolov and Nagy, but I’m not quite sure if Cammy can still play center.I think having your best players play together is a good idea (Armstrong can center the 4th line, where he’s actually above average), but we’ll have to see what Crawford thinks.It should be interesting.
***
Because why not:
Prediction: Kings lose, 3-2. Goals by Kopitar and Frolov.
Los Angeles Kings(10-14-1, Last in West) vs. Edmonton Oilers (12-14-1, 12th in West)
7:30 PST, FSN West
Cammy is listed at 5'9" and Hlinka is listed as 5'10". One of those is wrong.
I promised a live-blog tonight so you guys can look forward to that, but first I wanted to tide you over with a few quick-hits:
-The Kings called up forward Gabe Gauthier and goaltender Johnathan Quick and sent down Matt Moulson; they also retroactively put Frolov on the IR just to try to confuse everyone a little more. Basically, Frolov and Labarbera will be back after tonight's game but they wanted Quick to back up Aubin tonight. Gauthier is probably up instead of Moulson because they wanted someone with more defensive presence since Moulson had been playing with Handzus and Calder.
-There's a quick little review of the Kings' junior prospects up over at Hockey's Future if you're interested. You get a lot of good little nuggets of information, including, "Josh Kidd was diagnosed with 'osteitis pubis' in November, which is an inflammation of the tissue connecting the two bones that make up the pelvis, and will miss at least a month of action." Okay, so I guess there's 3 injuries you can miss hockey with. Christ.
This picture is irrelevant, it just makes me laugh.
-The last game against Colorado was a good example of why it's sometimes a better idea to just sit a game out. Both Mike Cammalleri and Jaroslav Modry played despite extenuating circumstances (Cammy's groin, Modry's dad). Both played poorly, with Cammy ineffective and Modry responsible for 2 goals against. (Not the breakaway, though; I'm pretty sure that was Moulson's fault.) I know they just wanted to help the team and a big part of hockey is playing when you're not 100%, but ultimately they hurt the team. I just want them to understand that.
-I was at work today and we had cake for some unexplained reason. I work with pretty much all girls (it's not nearly as awesome as it sounds) and we were talking about some Secret Santa bullshit they want to do again this year. One girl mentioned that last year I got this chick Melissa that I work with Midol. Melissa has since moved back home because she got knocked up, so I replied, "Apparently I should have gotten her birth control." For some reason, that makes me an asshole. I don't get women. Anyway, here's Jim Gaffigan talking about cake and other delicious foods if you're bored. My favorite:
Every now and then I'll read a book, I'll be so proud of myself, I'll try and squeeze it into conversation. People will be like, "Hey Jim, how ya do-" "I read a book! Two hundred and fifty pages!" "That's great, what was it about?" "No idea! Took me two years!"
Los Angeles Kings(4-6, 4th in Pacific) vs. Dallas Stars(9 straight vs. Kings)
7:30 PST, FSN West
(The Kings last beat the Dallas Stars on April 1, 2005. Here's what the Kings looked like back in that strange time, when madness ruled and I was still a twinkle in my father's eye.)
The Kings finally broke their three-game losing streak, defeating the Dallas Stars 1-0 last night. I keep waiting for the Stars to drop off, but I guess it isn’t going to be this year; next year, definitely. Book it. We always seem to have a little trouble against the Stars, but hopefully this means we can start a little run against them. The lone goal was scored by known hump and miserable bastard Jeremy Roenick, and I guess his skates were finally sharpened enough. I can’t wait until this season’s over and I never have to see this guy again. (If anyone ever signs this guy again, they’re complete morons.) Garon played well, once again showing flashes of brilliance. I think next year, when he has the #1 job all to himself, he’ll really step things up.
Hey, Roenick is talking, what a surprise.
The win moves the Kings into a tie for 9th along with San Jose, and I still have hope that we can make the playoffs. Not having Andy Murray here hurts, but John Torchetti seems to have the team in pretty good shape. Frolov has struggled a little bit since coming back from a shoulder injury, but I know he can turn it on and put some pucks in the net. If the Kings can get that Conroy-Demitra-Frolov line clicking again (which was the best line in hockey for a little while at the beginning of the season), then we can withstand the San Jose juggernaut. I think the team most likely to miss the playoffs is the Edmonton Oilers; even if the Oilers do manage to get in, they’ll probably be dispatched easily. I mean, it’s not like a team like the Sharks could ever lose to them, right?
Even if the Kings do make the playoffs, though, I’m not sure how good they’d be. They’d probably have a better chance if Terry Schiavo was in net. (Too soon?) I think, looking at the future, the Kings need to do a couple of things. First, they need to lock up Demitra. I know he’s injury-prone, but the guy can score. Putting him with Frolov will be excellent for his development. I also think they need to look for a defenseman who can play with Lubo and Norstrom. (Not Rob Blake; he sucks and there’s no way he’s worth the $4 million it will probably take to sign him.) If we need to trade someone for a defenseman, I’d look at Mike Cammalleri. Frolov and Dustin Brown (and maybe that Slovakian kid, Kopitar or whatever) are the future of this team, along with Tim Gleason on defense. Cammy is good, but I think he’s just too small to ever make an impact in the NHL. At best, he’s probably a 60 points-a-year player.
Demitra has to be on the Kings next year.
If the Kings don’t do much in the off-season, I see them fielding a team that looks like this:
Garon/LaBarbera (No, Vancouver fans, we’re not taking Cloutier off your hands)
I’d give Dave Taylor one more chance to turn this whole thing around. This is a good team that can do some damage in the playoffs if everyone stays healthy. If we can re-sign the guys we have this year and maybe get one more depth guy (I hear Brian Willsie is pretty good, he does have a career-high 19 goals this year), then I think we can make the playoffs.
Prediction: It's 2005 all over again, as the Kings win 1-0 and have a moment of silence for Pope John Paul II. Goal by Roenick.
Los Angeles Kings (3-6, 4th in Pacific) vs. Nashville Predators (2-5, 5th in Central)
10:30 PST, FSN West
The Kings have a new website called LAKingsJunkie.com.It’s full of ATTITUDE and IN YOUR FACE ACTION and RANDOM CAPITALIZATION for some reason, but it does have my favorite part of any team website: player bios.I love these things because they’re always so random and ridiculous.(How else would I know that Dog Murray from Sweden owns his own company or that Ryan Getzlaf likes wake-boarding?)I’m going to start a continuing series wherein I read the bios and then decide if I like the player more or less.First up are Mike Cammalleri and Alexander Frolov.
X-TREME!!!
Mike Cammalleri
What I like: His favorite movie is Raging Bull, his favorite athlete is Scott Thornton, and his favorite action hero is Batman. (Why would he like Scott Thornton so much? Unless... maybe Thornton IS Batman!)
What I don’t like: His favorite book is Bringing Down the House.It could be the book about how 6 MIT graduates cheated Las Vegas, but I prefer to think that Mike Cammalleri really enjoys the novelization of the movie starring Queen Latifah and Steve Martin.
Overall: I like Mike Cammalleri more.He has a more intellectual side that you wouldn’t expect and he likes Scott Thornton.Everyone should like Scott Thornton.He rides bicycles!
RADICAL!!!
Alexander Frolov
What I like: He has a dog named Quattro (after the razor?), he enjoys chess, and his favorite holiday is New Year’s.(I just like this one because I like the idea of someone asking Frolov this question and then him honestly thinking about it before giving an answer.)
What I don’t like: His favorite actor is Anthony Hopkins (he’s really good and everything, but whose favorite actor is Anthony Hopkins?), his favorite athlete is Andre Agassi (Sampras rules!), and his favorite TV show is Entourage. Plus, the picture next to his information is not him, it's Blake. I'm blaming Frolov for this.
Overall: I like Alexander Frolov less.He kind of comes across as a douche bag, don’t you think?I mean, he likes Steven Seagal, he enjoys Gwen Stefani, he watches Entourage… he’s not a hockey player, he’s the guy with the popped collar on every college campus in America!
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The Kings play the Nashville Predators today, and I can’t think of a team that’s more universally reviled than the Predators. Seriously, the Sharks hate them, the Stars hate them, the Red Wings hate them, I hate them, Hamilton hates them, their jersey designer hates them, even their potential owners seem to hate them.Now the Phoenix Coyotes can get in on the hate after Jordin Tootoo took 9,482 steps before blindsiding rookie Daniel Winnik.Craig Weller responded by unleashing a flying clothesline at Tootoo, who then proceeded to lie on the ice until everything settled down.(I am convinced that he lied there because he didn’t want to fight.I can not be dissuaded from this opinion.)Here’s the video, just in case you haven’t seen it:
There are a lot of opinions on the incident (Kelly Hrudey went nuts on TV and tried to make Tootoo walk the plank), but my favorite part of the whole thing was Tootoo’s comment after the game:
"There's always someone coming after me and there is a prime example of me not defending myself and not knowing someone was coming after me," Tootoo said. "It's unbelievable how hitting is part of the game and after a nice clean hit like that there has to be injury involved when you don't defend yourself."
Is it hard to elbow someone with tears in your eyes?
You can almost hear the sniffling, can’t you?Hmm… someone attacking someone when they were not in a position to defend themselves, where have I seen that before?Listen fuck, nobody likes you.You have no discernable skill besides a willingness to hurt people and the only reason guys like you are still in the league is because of the instigator rule.Plus, you had this and then cheated on it.If there’s one undeniable truth in this crazy little world, it’s that blonde chicks with big fake boobs are awesome. You’re lucky that all the men in the world haven’t held you down and then taken turns kicking you in your little Tootoo Train.
How dare you cheat on those boobs.
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This is only tangentially related to the business of this blog, but since it deals with Los Angeles, I think it is okay: have you seen the ads by the city of Louisville?After realizing that they have no good qualities to attract people to their miserable little town, Louisville has decided to attack the good names of much better cities.Here’s the one attacking Los Angeles:
Louisville, are you trying to say that you are better than Los Angeles?Louisville.The one in Kentucky. With the baseball bats.Ha.Hehe.Teehee…. (Deep Breath)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
Prediction:Kings, 4-2.Goals by Cammy, Nagy, Blake and Frolov.
The Kings “won” their arbitration case against Mike Cammalleri, locking him up for 2 years at $3.1 and $3.6 million dollars a year. This is awesome. I was hoping that they would have been able to get him for $4.5 million, and praying that we got him for $4 million. To get him for that price is fantastic, because now it frees up money to sign the other young guys and to sign another free agent with the money we’ll get when Rob Blake’s contract runs out. This is very good for the future of the Kings.
Cheers!
From what I can piece together, Lombardi argued that Cammalleri’s contract should only be determined by what other restricted free agents have been given, not by unrestricted free agent contracts and offer sheets. I’m sure he pointed to Alex Frolov and Jonathan Cheechoo’s contracts as starting points for Cammalleri’s. I’m sure he also pointed out that while Cammalleri is 25, this is only really his 4th year in the league. Whatever he said, the arbitrator obviously agreed with him. (I personally like to think he gave a impassioned speech like Matthew McConaughey at the end of "A Time to Kill.") I feel like carrying Lombardi around on my shoulders, that’s how proud I am of him.
Some people are mocking the fact that Cammalleri asked for $6 million in the arbitration hearing, but I’m not going to. I doubt he actually thought he deserved that kind of money, but why not ask for it? He’s a good young player, and he’s going to make millions more in his career. And I think people aren’t giving Cammalleri nearly enough credit when they say that this will create bad blood between him and the Kings. The Kings did not say anything bad about him in the arbitration hearing and they didn’t ultimately decide his salary; what would he have to be mad about? He’s an adult (although he admittedly doesn’t look like one) and I’m sure he’ll be just fine. If he feels like crying, he’ll have $3.1 million to wipe away his tears.
Don't feel bad: maybe you just got paid by the foot.
I also don’t think this changes anything between Cammalleri and the Kings, either. Cammalleri has one year to prove that he’s deserving of elite player money, and if the Kings don’t think he’s done it, they’re probably going to look to trade him at the deadline in two years. I’m sure Cammalleri will want to test the free agent market in two years, because that’s the smart thing for him to do. I don’t ultimately see him in our long-term plans, and I don’t think Lombardi does either, but it’ll be nice to have him for the next two years.
What this does affect, however, is the attitudes of the other young guys. A guy like Dustin Brown or Patrick O’Sullivan may be a little quicker in signing a long-term deal because of what happened to Cammalleri. They may figure that they might as well save themselves the hassle and sign a team-friendly deal because at least they get to dictate the terms of their deal. At least, that’s what I hope. Now sign that 10 year, $10 million dollar deal, Anze!
Oh, and one more thing: eat it, Edmonton. We signed our best player to a two-year deal for a combined $6.7 million, while you get monolithic Dustin Penner for $4.25 million dollars a year for five years. It’s amazing what can happen when you have a competent general manager.
Cammalleri's arbitration hearing was yesterday, but so far today there has been no word on the outcome. It's looking like it might have to wait until tomorrow (or possibly Monday, I don't know if arbiters work weekends), but if I hear anything I'll let you know. According to my boss, I've seemed distant all day. I tried to explain why, but she just gave me a funny look and walked away.
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In former Kings' news, Kelly Buchberger was named the head coach of the Springfield Falcons, Edmonton's AHL team. Kelly Buchberger is probably my least favorite King ever (with the possible exception of Len Barrie), but I thought some of you might like to know.
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There's a rumor out there that Cammalleri is going to be traded to Toronto for Andrew Raycroft. This rumor is ridiculous and if it happened my head would explode. There's too many reasons that this deal doesn't make sense for me to list, so just let me point out that Mathieu Garon had a higher save percentage on the Kings last year than Raycroft did with the Maple Leafs. Chalk this one up to the egocentrism of the Toronto media.
I used to get very upset whenever someone brought up Mike Cammalleri.I was constantly told that he was too small, or too slow, or too black to make the NHL.(That last one, well, I’m not sure what that guy was talking about.)The conventional wisdom against Cammalleri was that he would never become a good hockey player, but I kept looking at his stats through the years and seeing the progression of a player who would one day become a very good player in the NHL.I was confused; why was Dustin Brown getting a free pass as he struggled to adjust to the NHL style of play while Cammalleri was constantly being maligned any time he had a hiccup?
Cha-ching!
I was proud last year when Cammalleri had his break-out season and I’m sure it felt good for him to finally prove his critics wrong.But now there’s a new problem: Cammy has gone from being woefully underrated to being slightly overrated, mostly by himself and his agent.Is Cammalleri our best offensive player?Yes.Will he be our best offensive player in two years, and then farther down the line?Probably not.By then, either Frolov will have finally gotten his shit together or Kopitar will have continued being awesome, and Cammy will no longer be our go-to guy. There's a big difference between being an elite player and being the best player on a bad team, and I'm not sure if Cammalleri knows that.
Apparently, Mike Modano can morph into a giant.
This leaves Dean Lombardi in a unique and unfortunate situation.Cammy wants to be paid like a franchise player, and he is our franchise player this upcoming season.However, the Kings aren’t going to win a Stanley Cup if our best offensive player is Cammy; they either need several very good players (who are all paid less than franchise money) or they need one player who is elite (like both Eric Staal and Teemu Selanne were for their teams).I don’t think Cammy is that player.
So where does that leave the Kings?It’s not a simple matter of paying the man.The Kings have a lot of young talent that are going to be due raises in the coming years.It isn’t a matter of paying Cammy $5 million; it’s paying Cammy $5 million at the expense of paying Jack Johnson or Dustin Brown that $5 million down the road.
Cammy’s arbitration hearing comes up August 2nd and it doesn’t look like the Kings and him are close to agreeing on a long-term deal before then.If he does go to arbitration, I think it’s likely that he’ll be awarded a salary somewhere in the $4.5-5 million range.(That’s more than Patrick Marleau makes.)If this happens, I think the Kings will sign Cammalleri for this upcoming season.If Cammy proves that he’s worth franchise money, then Lombardi should sign him to a long-term contract.If he proves to be a good offensive player that wants elite player money, then I think the Kings trade him to a team that desperately needs talent.(I'd mention Edmonton by name, but I think that'd be too cruel to send him there.)Neither situation is great, but that’s life in the NHL.
I don't know, that's what it seems like to me.I like Cammalleri, but I don’t know if I’d pay him big money if it means that I can’t pay Kopitar and Frolov in the future.
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Canadians, you really need to learn how to get in trouble if you're a professional athlete. Steroids? Pretty good. Throwing games because you work for the mob? Excellent. Dog fighting? Ingenious! Getting arrested because you were yelling at cars on the road? Not that dangerous, and actually kind of embarrassing. Couldn't they at least killed a hooker or something? And where was Marc Staal?
Los Angeles Kings (22-34-10, 15th in West) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (26-33-7, 12th in West)
4:00 PM, FSN Prime Ticket I said yesterday that I want the Kings to start losing because I want a high draft pick in June. This is half-true. Rationally, I want the Kings to do poorly because there’s no chance they can win the Stanley Cup this year. Emotionally, however, I hate it when the Kings lose. It ruins my day. Even worse is when I only get to watch the 1st period and see the Blackhawks score 15 seconds into the game. There was a post the other day by much more intelligent and famous blogger, The Mighty MJD, who wrote that he can’t cheer against his team because he roots for the individuals on the team as well as the jersey. I’m much the same way. I can’t cheer when Patrick O’Sullivan fans on a shot (like he did in the first period), or boo when Raitis Ivanans actually makes a smart play to get the puck to O’Sullivan in the first place. It’s hard to find a balance; I want the Kings to be bad, but I want everyone on the team to do well. It was a lot easier when the Kings had Cloutier, because I could hope the Kings scored 4 goals a game while still expecting them to lose. The Kings played last night without Blake, Visnovsky, and Kopitar; their top defenseman was Aaron Miller and their top center was Alex Frolov (whose natural position is left wing). If this continues to be the case, I’m not going to be happy for the rest of the week.
Tonight’s opponent is the Columbus Blue Jackets. I feel bad for the Blue Jackets; all the other expansion teams from the mid-90s on have become legitimate NHL teams (the Thrashers are exciting, the Wild went to the Stanley Cup Finals a year ago, the Hurricanes just won a Cup), but the Jackets are still as terrible as they used to be. I don’t know what’s up with their franchise, but I then again I don’t pay too much attention to them. In all honesty, I would prefer that they stay terrible so I don’t have to bother thinking about them. When someone asks me about the Blue Jackets the first thing I think of is that Frolov deserved to go to the All-Star game over Rick Nash. Then I think of Ken Hitchcock slipping on ice and it makes me laugh. (He’s fat, get it? Oh, and he also looks like an older version of Paul Bearer, The Undertaker’s old manager.)
The last time these two teams played, the Kings won 3-0. Mike Cammalleri scored his first goal in almost two weeks in that game; since then, he has 34 points in the last 24 games. With all the (well-deserved) praise directed towards Kopitar and Frolov, don’t leave out Cammalleri. He’s often derided because he’s too small and not fast, but the guy is a good hockey player. I would be pretty pissed if the Kings traded away a 24 year-old point-per-game player this off-season because they don’t feel he’s worth $4 million a year. Signing him is more important to me than signing a guy like Drury or Gomez, because they’ll be on the decline, while Cammalleri is likely to only get better.
Prediction: Ineptitude. Oh, and I think that either Brown or O’Sullivan is due.
