Musings on life in hockey of an LA Kings fan

How much for Cammy?

2007-07-30T14:54:00.000+02:00

Feel free to add you predictions on the amount Michael Cammalleri will get from arbitration.

2007-07-07T23:09:00.001+02:00

test

Are Noronen or Hiller a solution to goaltending woes?

2007-05-22T05:41:00.000+02:00

In the recent Rich Hammond interview, Dean Lombardi does say that he and coach Crawford might consider going into next season carrying three goalies.

Assuming that Garon walks (UFA) and Cloutier and LaBarbera are under contract, Mikka Noronen seems the only viable solution for the "third guy" on the NHL roster come fall 2007 from the list that has been circulating around lately. He does have quite a lot of NHL experience, which is way more than the large majority of the other Euros there.

Do you think he will/should beat out Barry Brust for the third goalie spot in LA? If not, and Lombardi signs someone else (like a Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller?), where does he end up? Manchester? Is he better than Fuji?

Lombardi has also had a positive spin on Jonathan Quick. Where does this situation leave him and Jeff Zatkoff? I know it seems like a good problem to have for a hockey club - curious about your: "where does the potential Euro goalie fit?" thoughts .

Keep your fingers crossed for the Monarchs!

2007-05-06T22:48:00.000+02:00

With LA Kings not going anywhere after this season (unless you count the San Bernardino valley golf courses as a viable option), the shift of attention of the Purple and Black nation moves to the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings primary affiliate in the American Hockey League.

The Monarchs have already gone past the first round of the Calder Cup play-offs, for the first time in their six year history in NH, by eliminating Worcester Sharks 4-2.

They are now tied 1-1 after two games at home against the Providence Bruins (with Game Three coming up on Wednesday). The winner of this conference semi-final will most likely play the defending champion, Hershey Bears, who are up 3-0 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Keep your fingers crossed for the AHL top goalie, Jason LaBarbera and the rest of the team in the days to come!

I love my Kings

2007-04-07T11:46:00.000+02:00

I love my Los Angeles Kings deeply and truly enough not to abandon this project. I might not be able to cover individual games any more (not that there are too many of in the remainder of the season), but I'd like to throw something valuable your way 2-3 times a week on regular basis from now till the draft day, let's say.

When I was tracking when the chores of life took hold of me in a way as to prevent me from covering the Kings on a (almost) daily basis, I realized it was just about the trading deadline. Right about the time that Matthias Norstrom departed, Sean Avery was traded and subsequently Jack Johnson came to town.

Could anybody positively bring me up to speed about the team, please? I know the scores, the standings and the bif picture. I need to get an information pill on who do you think emerged in the last 25 games or so - much like I used to present it in the Kings Three Stars for every ten games they had played.

Would anyone be so kind (perhaps people that actually watch the games?) as to brief me on how JMFJ is doing in the NHL. I did see the hipcheck that Jan Bulis administered on him, but not much more.

So, we're back in the chase, folks! Let me hear from you.

Stats

2007-03-27T12:19:00.000+02:00

To help you answer the question(s) I posted in the post below, here's the monthly round-up of visits to my blog.

Down with a prolonged flu, I started thinking

2007-03-27T12:10:00.000+02:00

The last five weeks in our home have been probably the most difficult health-wise in years. My wife has been down with flu two separate times, our daughter - once (luckily, during the week when the rest of us were relatively healthy) and myself - I have a high fever myself as I typing this...

Anyway, I was wondering about the future of this blogging project. The LA Kings are still my hockey passion, but the time to write is getting shorter and shorter.

Is there anything you would miss if I called it quits?

There aren't many of you, my readers, mind you... The comments are few and far between, the site stats show some 10-15 visits daily, so perhaps it wouldn't have been a major blow to the Kings blogging community...

Regrouping

2007-03-19T17:46:00.000+01:00

As much as the Kings have I have been regrouping for the last couple of weeks. This blog will lift off its wheels once again on Thursday evening. Sorry for the occasional loss of power, folks :).

In the meantime, you are more than welcome to check out what's cooking with the LA Dodgers.

The most exciting thing about being a Kings' fan

2007-03-09T07:48:00.000+01:00

Well, it's the hope of the future:

When you hope to see players like Kopi, A-Fro, Squid, Browny coming to a full potential, prospects like Sully, Tuk, Cliche, Bernier and in particular JMFJ reaching the big show in 1-3 years - there is enough to help you go through a season as difficult as this. If only 2-3 of these high draft picks we acquired in the Conroy, Avery, Sopel and Norstrom trade ever pan out, the Kings might take us all for a ride reasonably soon.

How about a Stanley Cup ride for a change? When was the last time we've gone THAT way? I know I know, too many Canadien fans around me :).

More on Matty in Dallas

2007-03-03T09:42:00.000+01:00

Norstrom, while obviously put in a strange spot after 11+ years in LA, is trying to make peace with life in Dallas, TX:

"Once you get to the rink, it's easy to put it behind you," Norstrom said. "It was good to get out there and skate, and I feel good about this. We have as good of a chance as any team [in the playoffs]."

He's looking forward to the playoffs - something he would have missed this, and potentially next, season with the Kings:

"You go into every season in the same situation as other teams, and it's not a given that you're going to be in the playoffs," Norstrom said. "That's why I'm so excited for this year, and for next year, too."

Matty moving to Lonestar State

2007-03-02T22:40:00.000+01:00

I should be able to follow up all the recent Kings trades (once I finally get a grasp of all the draft picks Dean Lombardi has accumulated recently), but here's just a snippet from a Stars blog, called Grapevine Sports.

It's regarding Dallas trading for the Kings captain Mattias Norstrom:

[...] The Stars grabbed Mattias Norstrom from the Kings in a deal totalling four players and five draft picks. While Dallas surrendered a first rounder to get him, I still like the deal.
I’d argue that the Stars haven’t had a defensive defenseman like Norstrom since Derian Hatcher suited up for them. And they didn’t have to give up any players in their current rotation to get the deal done.

Down the road might be a different matter.

I would assume that it was precisely the "down the road" (meaning age, deteriorating positional defense and hefty contract worth 1 and 1/4 years) that got Lombardi to pull the trigger on Matty. Plus, he may have his final shot at the Stanley with the Stars. This year or the next. Much earlier than in LA.

On a similar trading deadline note, I love it how truthful our GM proved when he announced some three weeks ago he was not shopping Aaron Miller (pending UFA) in hopes to extend him for reasonable money. Some non-West Coast media were really surprised Miller was not traded ;).

Games 61-62: Kings @ Anaheim Ducks 4:3 Sh.; Kings vs Vancouver Canucks 2:3

2007-03-02T21:40:00.000+01:00

Game 61: @ Anaheim

LAK goals from: Lubo Visnovsky, Michael Cammalleri, Derek Armstrong
ANA goals from: Kunitz, Selanne, Getzlaf

The game recap is here.

Any time you can go south to Anaheim and steal two points the way Sean Burke and the Kings did, you should come back and celebrate.

Game 62: vs Vancouver

LAK goals from: John Zeiler (his NHL first!), Lubo Visnovsky
VAN goals from: Morrison, Linden, Bieksa

The game recap is here.

Funny that LA had to offer Zeiler a professional contract before calling him up as he used to have one only with the Monarchs. I was so sure of at least one point here (Bieksa scored just before the end of regulation) that I was rubbing my eyes in disbelief later that day when I saw the actual score...

Kings' Three Stars for the games 51-60

2007-03-02T15:57:00.000+01:00

It certainly does not help the evaluation knowing that the Kings only won three games in regulation in this ten game period. Nonetheless, here are the Kings' Three Stars:

*** Alexander Frolov - 8 goals and 4 assists, had it not been for his latest scoring surge, the Kings would have been even less lively to watch. Frolov is currently on pace for 42 goals - wow, indeed.

** Sean Burke - stepped in to give the team enough hope to keep us in most of the games he's started. While he still might be playing his last professional season, he's certainly coming out of the league with the shout.

* Anze Kopitar - 4 goals and 6 assists, which makes him a point-per-game man again. While the Calder Award for Anze might be out of reach (especially with Colorado's Paul Stastny surging for a runner-up position as of late), Kopi continues to dominate upfront.

Games 59-60: Kings @ Carolina Hurricanes 1:2, Kings vs Anaheim Ducks 3:2 OTL

2007-03-02T14:59:00.000+01:00

Game 59 @ Carolina:

LA goal from: Alexander Frolov
CAR goals from: Whitney, Walker

game report is here.

If I say the game seemed to be pretty close and with a little bit more luck the Kings might have surprised the defending Stanley Cup champions at their home ice, would it mean the Kings were so strong, or that the 'Canes were so weak?

Game 60 vs Anaheim:

LA goals from: Alexander Frolov, Anze Kopitar
ANA goals from: Selanne, Kunitz

game report is here.

I'm only watching this game now, so will update more if needed later. It was the home debut of John Zeiler (#73) and from what I saw, he looked pretty smart in the white home jersey.

THN ranks the goalies and ours are nowhere to be seen in top30

2007-03-01T22:53:00.000+01:00

Via James Mirtle. Is there any doubt about why any of the five Kings goalies this season never made any form of the top-30 list?

Naaah... :)

Burke's influence on Garon

2007-02-24T14:02:00.000+01:00

Since Sean Burke was picked up from waivers by the Kings on 18 January (five weeks from now), he's revolutionized the confidence level that the D-men have in their netminder. And not only in Burke, but also in Mathieu Garon, for whatever it's worth now. The numbers don't show it yet (as Garon has played only three times since his comeback from injury) but the stability and steadiness that Sean brings is starting to rub over to Mathieu all of a sudden.

In the 10 game period with the Kings, Burke has allowed 4 GA only twice, breaking the standard for the Kings netminders this season. What is more, it's been six times (out of ten, mind you), that he allowed 2GA per game and fewer (including a SO and two game with 1 GA!). As of now, his GAA is at the level of 2.22 with .931 SV%. And we're talking about a guy *drafted* before Anze Kopitar was born! :)

Garon will be hard-pressed to get his GAA way lower than 2.6 for the season (he's currently sitting at 2.81) and his SV% higher than .915 (now .903), but if he continues to rock-and-roll between the pipes the way he did in his last two games (both close ones vs Anaheim and Vancouver), he might get himself a starter contract next year, in, say, Florida.

Kings extend Derek Armstrong

2007-02-20T11:42:00.000+01:00

By now, you must have heard about the LA Kings extending the contract of center Derek Armstrong for another two years. My understanding is he will get 1.4 mln in the first year and 1.6 mln in the second year, which is not too much for a third line center.

Now, this begs a question - does the new contract at these numbers mean that the Kings brass have finally made their peace with Armstrong centering no higher than a third line? I certainly hope so, 'cause this means a number of things:

1. The first two line centers for the next and successive year must be Anze Kopitar and UFA star center (pray that it is either Gomez or Drury);

2. Armstrong moves Alyn McCauley to the fourth line center, which makes UFAs like Marty Murray and Jamie Lundmark expendable by the season's end (unless one wants to give Jamie a shot at the wing on the fourth line if Tom Kostopoulos was not coming back).

3. Third-line center money for Amstrong means that he's most likely to settle into this role smoothly in the next couple of years. Re-signing him is a good step at this price as long as he's nowehere nearer the scoring lines and first power play unit. In the role of the serviceable possession center, Armstrong should thrive. If only he won more faceoffs, on top of that...

Games 57-58: Kings @ Washington Capitals 3:4 OTL; Kings @ Nashville Predators 4:1

2007-02-20T11:25:00.000+01:00

Game 57: @ Washington 3:4 OTL

LAK goals from: Anze Kopitar, Alex Frolov, Lubo Visnovsky
WSH goals from: Zubrus, Gordon, Clymer, Clark

Game report is here.

Game 58: @ Nashville 4:1

LAK goals from: Anze Kopitar (2), Brian Willsie, Michael Cammalleri
NSH goal from: Hamhuis

Game report is here.

That must have been a huge game for the Kings (I'm sorry I have not seen it, but I'm running late on my TV appointments ;)). Winning (or scoring points) away has not been a problem on this particular road trip, but any time you can beat a Conference leader and one of the best teams in the NHL - it's huge.

Kings in London - I'm buying tickets!

2007-02-13T10:40:00.000+01:00

The last three times I tried, I visited LA (tapping away from an undisclosed Beverly Hills location now ;)) on days where the team played away from the Staples. While I understand that the scheduling (neither NHL's nor mine) was done in a such a way on purpose, I still think you have got to be hugely unlucky to miss a good hockey game in LA on three straight occasions.

OK, make it two - the very last time I was here was June and the Dodgers played the Phillies - my first ever trip to the baseball Mekka - the Chavez Ravine.

But still, March last year and February this year and no Kings in town (I'm hoping to be able to see the game at Carolina on TV later today)? That's why I'm jumping at the proposal that EJ Hradek reported recently.

And why not - it's not like the NHL hockey is hugely popular in the US, anyway. Why not try over in Europe? Perhaps I would not have chosen the UK as the launching pad (why not Sweden or Finland if you've already crossed the Atlantic?), but still - ice hockey is a top-5 sport in Scandinavia, Czech and Slovak republics, Russia and is making steady progress in places like Germany and Switzerland.

Given the relatively cheap airfare from my part of the world to London, England - I have already asked my fellow NHL craze-ders ;) over at forum.nhl.com.pl to sign up. If you're reading this and you're European and want to go with us, give me a shout either here in the comments section or over at the English-only forum. Looking forward to seeing these Kings games in the UK live in our timezone for a change :).

Games 55-56: Kings @ Florida Panthers 7:0, Kings @ Tampa Bay Lightning 2:3 OT/Sh

2007-02-08T20:29:00.000+01:00

Game 55: Pasting of the Panthers

Probably the happiest-go-lucky game of the season. I've only seen the highlights and goals, but from that perspective it seemed as if everything clicked pretty easily on offense, to the extent where some skills were being shown off with the game being over early.

Game 56: Kings keep the point streak alive in the sunny state

My understanding of the drawback of having Sean Burke between the pipes during the shootout against his former team is that these guys used to practise against him and presumably know his moves better than any other team. Regardless, I'll take one point and hope the Kings keep on rolling in Washington, DC.

Musings on what the Conroy and Avery trades brought

2007-02-08T20:27:00.000+01:00

To start things off, I'm relatively happy with what the Kings received by shipping away Craig Conroy to the Calgary Flames and Sean Avery to the New York Rangers.

Common knowledge was that both of these players struggled somewhat this season under Lombardi/Crawford regime. Conroy was moved to third line defense-first duty and his production took an expected major blow. Which is understandable when you're surrounded by guys like Willsie/Thornton/Ivanans and/or Kostopoulos.

Avery seemed to get his act together in the beginning of the season, when he tamed his tongue and avoided stupid penalties (including the ones for fighting), however things have gone progressively wrong as of late. I do not buy into this "clubhouse cancer", though, but still it was quite obvious that taking unnecessary penalties that somehow turned out to hurt the team, got Sean the ticket out of town.

I think that moving both Conroy and Avery to the best-suited locations (Craig loved Calgary, while Sean's show-business career can take a twist to the better in Big Apple), shows how classy our management is :).

What we got for both of them is a mix of third-line plug-ins (Jason Ward and Jamie Lundmark) who can't be expected to stick around when next year reels in, two promising prospects (high-to-middle end in Marc-Andre Cliche, and mid-level in Czech Jan Marek). There are also two draft picks from the Conroy deal (one this year and one - next).

Overall, the trades compliment the direction that the management has taken since the beginning of the season. Move larger contracts to acquire expiring ones, prospects with future and/or shot at NHL and draft picks. On the scale of 1 to 10, I would have given the Conroy deal a 7, and the Avery deal an 8. And you?

Game 53-54: Kings @ Calgary Flames 1:4; Kings vs Chicago Blackhawks 2:3 OT

2007-02-04T00:15:00.000+01:00

Game 53: The Craig Conroy bite-in-the-ass game.

You will find the recap by clicking on the link up here, as I'm sorry, but can't see any point in doing game recaps any more. They just seem to take up too much of my time, which I'd rather devote to writing out my thoughts about players, moves and tendencies on the Kings this year.

Therefore, the game recaps to come will be a matter of simple cut and paste from various sources, I hope you understand :).

Game 54: Overtime loss to fellow cellar-dwellers net just one point

New AEG arena in Ontario, CA

2007-02-03T10:19:00.000+01:00

[thanks to PuckHead27 for letting me know]

Great arena, and honestly, another reason to move my family to SoCal once they put a Kings affiliate there. At this point, regardless how much I'd love it to, there is no reason to move the Monarchs from Manchester, NH to Ontario, CA. The AHL schedule burden put on these guys will be just too grueling...

But, if the new arena was populated by the ECHL former Reading Royals? Not a bad idea, as there are some ECHL teams already in the immediate viscinity.

The venue is to open in late 2008, and by this time, it might as well be graced by the likes of Jonathan Bernier and Trevor Lewis in "Kings" uniforms ;).

Games 51-52: Kings @ Vancouver Canucks 3:2 OT, Kings @ Edmonton Oilers 3:4

2007-02-03T09:34:00.000+01:00

Game 51 @ Vancouver:

LA goals from: Alexander Frolov (2), Patrick O'Sullivan

VAN goals from: Salo, Linden

Instead of the regular pros and cons, I'd have to link you up to the Yahoo game report(s). I apologize, but due to some other things on my mind (no link yet :)), I was unable to watch the games off the torrents.

Two things that come to mind, having read the first hand reports are Sean Burke outduelling the great Roberto Luongo and Patrick O'Sullivan scoring his first goal on the come-back trail from the Monarchs (second on the season).

Game 52 @ Edmonton:

LA goals from: Michael Cammalleri, Patrick O'Sullivan, Brian Willsie

EDM goals from: R. Smyth, Hemsky, Horcoff

Another link, my apologies. If only it hadn't been for that fatal third period, the Kings might have been a surprising two-for-two on the North-Western road trip. Oh well, not that the two points at the Oilers would have changed the fate of this season...

Seriously, I'm still here

2007-02-02T18:36:00.000+01:00

Just haven't got enough sleep lately, let alone time to update my blog.

Even as I'm typing this, I'm thinking how to buy time to get the thing rolling.

Don't give up hope, Kings fans!