alt="LA Kings Insider with Rich Hammond" />Well, after 30 days, I’m taking one off. Happy Halloween! I beg of you, please don’t petition to have me replaced!
First, some housekeeping. You might see, on the left and right, some additions to the page. Some of you have already noticed the picture, for which I’m receiving some well-deserved ribbing. But you’ll also now find a bunch of links that, hopefully, will make this something of a one-stop shop for news. You can find links to the Kings’ stats, roster, schedule, etc., as well as an extensive list of blogs from newspapers that cover every team in the NHL.
Also, on the left, I have posted rules for commenting. They’re the same rules that have existed on this blog and the Daily News blog, and they’re now posted. I have been as tolerant as possible, in terms of giving freedom to debate and argue in a civil way. It’s clear to me that some people try to take advantage of that, which won’t be tolerated. This is a community, and the community must be respected. I only have so many hours in the day. I can use those hours to report on the Kings, or to clean up comments. I’d prefer to spend time on the former. Thank you to the vast majority of you, who are great about making this a fun, smart, respect-filled community.
Practice news and notes will still be posted on LAKings.com today, in the usual notebook format, and if anything but should happen, I’ll be able to post something. Otherwise…back tomorrow! OK, moving on to the fun stuff.
We’re now one month into the season, so what do you think?
The Kings have 18 points in 14 games, good (at the start of today) for second place in the Pacific Division and third in the Western Conference. The Kings have games in hand over quite a few teams, but given that they have already played eight road games, that’s impressive, by any measure.
At this point, I’m grading the team a B, with offense being the (very surprising) strong point, the defense being solid, the goaltending being adequate and the special teams being subpar. Keep in mind, I’m judging the Kings on a high scale, against the best of the best.
The goaltending part of this is the most subjective, as always. I just don’t see the same “swagger” in Jonathan Quick’s game that I saw last season. That’s an intangible, but it’s an important one. How many times, last season, did players/coaches mention — often without being prompted — their confidence in Quick, that he would make the stops? And how many times — if at all? — have you heard similar talk this year? Quick hasn’t been helped by a surprisingly weak penalty-kill unit, but it seems he could stand to get a little of last year’s killer instinct back. Other than that, it’s hard to argue with what the Kings have accomplished, so far.
What are your thoughts, one month into the season?
Enjoy the day off Rich, and if you really are awake and working @ 4:20 in the morning you have earned it!
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Enjoy your day off Rich. When you get back, any progress on finding a mobile phone friendly version of the blog?
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Hopefully you have a relaxing day off, they are few and far between. You can never be replaced and thanks for all the info you provide us with. Nice updated photo.
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Enjoy yur day off Rich!
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Rich, great reporting, enjoy a day off and hope you have a Happy Halloween!
As you’ve stated in your posts and in particular this one, I would have to concur that our goaltending and PK is our weakest links right now. I see our PK unit as not being aggressive for the entire PK and that’s what hurting us in that area. As for Quicker play, he’s made some really unbelievable saves and then he’s let in some real soft goals that could have been stopped if he was in better position. But with that said, I have been to each of the home games and watched every road game and find myself pleasantly surprised on the overall product the Kings are putting on the ice. They are competitive, aggressive and for a better word outplaying most of the competition.
Have a great day off and get some rest, you’ll be back on the road in no time.
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You’ve earned the day off me thinks. Rich, You Da Man!!
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Enjoy your day off Rich. You guys probably have a much nicer day in LA than the crappy rainy cold day we’re having in Montreal… :)
As for the kings, I agree with you that Quick hasn’t shown the solid play he showed last year. It seems at times that it hasn’t taken much to beat him and this has given opposing teams a chance to mount a comeback or put pressure. One thing I do like about Quick this year is that he has found a way to win, I’m not sure how much of that is credit to the team who’ve blocked shots and kept play away from him AND scored goals. Although he’s left in some bad and questionable goals, he’s made the saves when they count… The key stat is the W and as long as the kings keep winning, it doesn’t really matter how they do it. I would rate quick’s play a B- and I would rate the teams play a B+. :)
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Based on my expectations for the year? A-
I liked our additions over the summer, but hey, these are the Kings! I guess I have been conditioned over the years to expect to lose…
Im glad I placed my bet during Frozen Fury on the Kings for the cup- 50-1 odds.
The way this team is meshing, anything can happen!
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Rich,
Regarding my question about making the blog mobile friendly, I noticed that it’s a Wordpress blog. I also run a Wordpress blog and I recently installed a Wordpress Mobile plugin pack that automatically detects if the user is on a mobile browser and switches themes automatically. If you or whomever runs your blog software would find the time to install it, I know a lot of us would be very grateful:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-mobile-pack/
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@PaulfromOxnard – I agree. I forgot about that. During the recent road trip, I was in Washington, DC for 3 of the games and could not access the Blog.
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Much deserved. Thank you for all your hard work and insight. Now, just don’t eat too much candy !!!
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Part of the thing with Quick is I think he feels a little too comfortable with his spot. Obviously TM has not been shy about saying he’s going with Quick all the way. I think the swagger that has been talked about from last year was Quick trying to show that he belongs in the big leagues and can hang with these teams. I think fundamentally he is as good now as he was last year, and getting better as time goes on, he is just missing that hunger to earn his spot. The obvious fix would be to bring up Bernier, but now is not the time for that. Quick should be could enough to keep the Kings in the running for the playoffs, but I’m looking forward to next year watching Quick and Bernier competing for the #1 spot. That’s going to make both of them that much better.
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I meant to say, “Quick should be good enough to keep the Kings in the running for the playoffs,”
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I agree with Rich on this one.
B
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I’ll give them a B+ relative to the rest of the league (B for reality and the + because I’m a homer), and an A relative franchise history.
Quick: agree re swagger. But since, as you pointed out, he’s better in the losses than in the wins, it hasn’t hurt us. However, if it starts to — as probably everyone knows, Bernier is leading the AHL in SV%, wins, shutouts and is 6/100 of a GPG shy of tops in GAA. He’s even with the leader in GA (9) but has played 20 fewer minutes, so his GAA is 1.29 (leader is 1.23). SV% is .963. If Bernier keeps this up through, say, Xmas, and Quick falters, I expect Bernier will come up, a la Quick last year. There’s a lot more riding on it this year.
Rich -
Can I get a ruling on profanity with asterisks and abbreviations? Obviously there can be no objection to **** (i.e. total redact) but what about f***, f’ing, s**t, WTF, STFU, LMAO, a**hole, etc., where the meaning of the word is clear to everyone?
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So far I’m seeing a lot of positives with this years team over last years.
Even the last 2 games when we struggled we still managed to secure a point. Last year we would have lost those types of games considering we set a team record for being shut out.
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The resources on this page are among the best! I really like being able to check on what is happening with other teams without having to google them everytime, plus being able to see any kings stats, ect. Very well done Rich!
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I think the difference with Quick is the difference in expectation this year from last year. Last season, he was not considered the number 1 – and his success was a surprise to many both in the organization and from us fans. Once he got a chance to play on a regular basis the “confidence” in him was as much about building his confidence and keeping him playing on a high level as much as it was about commending him on his work. He was (is) young and relatively inexperienced so the impressions of his coaches and management is an integral part of his own confidence and development. Moving to this season, he came in as the number 1 – which also brings new expectations and pressures. He is no longer being judged or looked at as a “surprise” – he is now expected to play as a number 1. As a result, you should not see or hear the same level of praise – it is now expected. I think that comparing the two seasons is thus not appropriate – but in terms of Quick’s development it is important not to treat him with kid gloves and “baby” him – he IS the number 1 and HE must begin to own that role and begin to motivate himself. This is the natural progression of a young goalie and I think that TM and DL are doing the right thing.
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I have to agree with Quisp in regards to foul language.
Keep it clean for the the lady`s and young hockey fans.
(Gee i sound like a old man)
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I agree – Quickie’s got to grab for the passion. He’s must play above his level for the Kings to sustain a strong run.
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First of all, enjoy your day off Rich it is very well deserved!
Second, I gave the team a B as well. I agree that quick does not have the swagger he had last season, but I also know that he is probably the most competitive of the goalies in the system right now. not to say that Ersberg and Bernier are not competitive, but you can see it in his mannerisms.
Finally, since there is plenty of room for improvement, I am excited to get the next month in the books. I think it will help to get a better idea of where we truly are. November & December will be huge for this team, and if we can find a way to stay where we are in the standings (or move up) the confidence and swagger will coincide accordingly.
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Rich – enjoy your day, and thank you for all your work!
Quick – well said scooter22, I completely agree!
Kings – I’ll give ‘em a B/B- so far. Once they got Smyth I expected pretty much what we’re getting, from leading by example to a better rounded offense and more. The inconsistent special teams play, face-off wins & goaltending need to pick up, not to mention a little better team-D to keep the opposing shots down. So far the thing that kills me the most though is how quickly and easily we’re letting leads slip away late in games. But if we come to play, and play our game night in and night out, then we’ll continue to be tough to play against… and YES, come playoff time anything can happen!
Happy Halloween everyone!
GO KINGS!!!
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I gave the team a B+ mainly because they are exceeding my expectations. Having bought into Lombardi’s methodical long-term plan, I expected slow measurable progress over the years, but I believe the additions of Smyth and Scuderi has given this team an unexpected shot in the arm. Considering the overall youth of the team and that the majority of the players are drafted, it’s quite feat. I also have to give credit to Murray and staff for devising a successful system that the players have bought into. Considering they were willing to more or less write off last year (consciously or not!) just to work on the defensive side and shore that up with the youngsters again shows a commitment to long-term thinking that is IMO to the advantage of the team and its fans.
There will be lapses of course, but it’s clear that this is a team that is being built for success.
As for Quick, he seems to be getting slowly back to form. I agree with some who’ve said he seems to lack that hunger, but I think this is a maturity issue. I think Murray is addressing it by publicly saying that Quick is his #1 netminder, giving him some room to grow into that role and get comfortable. In the meantime, the goaltending coaches can work with him, but at least he doesn’t have that worry in the back of his mind.
Here’s to the rest of the season and may it be just as exciting!
Great job Rich – Happy Halloween!
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B.
their record shows them too be above average so i am grading them as such.
we are winning [or tying] games that we would have lost last year. we are also winning games in which there may have been a sub par performance[s].
as a kings fan, i find that encouraging. my hope and expectation is that they will continue to improve as a team as the season wears on.
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Hi guys and gals, I’ve just been reading what everyone has to say about Quick and to ask an NHL goaltender to continually play at a “Playoff” type level “all” season is asking for a “One and done”. That’s about how long a career as an NHL goaltender would be. To play consistent and stop the soft shot at a critical time in the game would be much better. Back in the day, goaltenders were much more reactive to a shot then today, today they are quite mechanical and for me a good mixture would be an ideal goaltender. But getting back to Quick, I know we lost the two games in the shootout, but did any of you notice some of the huge saves he made to get us there?? Quick is starting to ramp it up and now the scorers are ramping down, or could it be that the word has gone thru the NHL teams not to take the Kings lightly anymore and that they aren’t a sure two points for everyone anymore. Those that are asking that Bernier be brought up, what would you say about him if he was and lost the first three games he played in? “They” should have left him in Manchester, “They” brought him up to soon? No matter what goes on with the Kings at any position it still wouldn’t be enough for some of you “fans”. Sit back, strap in, watch this team grow and make us the fans really happy.
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Rich- It’s great you’re such a light-hearted guy and know how to hae some fun with this. That’s a big reason why you fit so well in this position. That and waking up at 4:26am to tell us all you’re taking the day off. That’s dedication man and we appreciate it. Enjoy Halloween. You should celebrate by using an entire can of Aqua Net on your hair, stuff some cotton balls in your cheeks, walk around on your knees and trick or treat as Jim Fox. Or you could connect your eyebrows, double theit thickness and go as Matt Moulson.
For Quick, I have the answer…Didn’t he just get married? DONE! That’ll take the fight out of any man. ;-)
Really though, he may just be taking it all in and could be getting too comfortable. Get Hexy to lob him a phone call and have a little ‘conversation’ with him. I’m sure he’ll be back to his old self in no time. If there is a problem, Hexy will correct it with a little mentoring.
The team overall I gave a B+ for 2 reasons:
1- They have exceeded expectations this early in the season and almost could have been graded an ‘A’ if it weren’t for the road breakdown of games they lost that they should have won. It’s a feeling out process this early in the season (Boy that line sounds like TM, doesn’t it?). They are excelling almost everywhere except goaltending, which seems to be coming back. Anything that was slow-starting (Penalty Kill, faceoffs) has pretty much made a strong comeback. There’s room to improve, so it’s a reasonable grade.
2: I didn’t want to put the same grade down as Rich did. I guess I just like to be different. ;-) LOL. So in the styule Quisp explained:
B for the team
+ for my ego. ;-)
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B+, and an A to you for including the list of team blogs, because I’m just too lazy to find those on my own. Great add.
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Rich, I’m glad you’re taking time off when the team is taking time off. It’s a long season, and no matter how much you love what you do, you’re going to need a little down time to stay fresh.
I also agree with your assessment of the team. It hasn’t been a perfect month, but it has been a very good month and a better start than I expected. I thought the team would start about break-even and improve as the season went on. I still think they’ll be a better team at the end than at the beginning (barring catastrophic injury) as Smyth and Scuderi work their influence over a full season, so October has given me hope.
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Enjoy your day off. I hope you collect plenty of candy as you trick-r-treat around the neighborhood in your George Parros costume.
I’m giving the Kings a B+ (almost A-). I agree with your assessment but am not grading them against the best of the best. They maybe be third in the conference but they aren’t the third best team out west. I love them, but they’re playing over their heads right now and I want to keep a reasonable opinion of the team because they will cool and they will struggle this year. Kopitar will not finish in the top 5 in scoring and the Kings will not be at the top of the Pacific when it’s all over.
That being said, I think we have strong reasons to believe that the Kings will make the playoffs (I’m guessing 5th or 6th, up from 7th, 8th or 9th at the start of the month) and a couple of players may finish in the top 20 in scoring and there could even be several 30+ goal-scorer. I’m psyched for the rest of the season but know the times won’t stay as good as they are now.
But next year is going to be super-hot!
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I was watching the Kings practice earlier. Ryan Smyth wasn’t there. Purcell was skating with Kopi and JW in his place. Anyone know why Smyth wasn’t there?
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Enjoy the day off Hammond.
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After moving from LA to Southern Oregon 5 years ago it was difficult finding a good place to keep on top of things going on with the Kings. I now have a place to go! Thanks for your hard work and enjoy your day off!
I gave the Kings a B for their play so far this season. It has been solid enough but there are a few things to improve on still. I think they can do some “extra credit” and earn an A by “mid terms”.
As for the playoffs… I think were getting in this year but it is a long season. I am staying positive though!
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I give them a B+ basing my grade upon where the Kings were at going into last summer and looking back to when the Murray era began. Offensively, they’re improved and I think the Williams and Smyth moves are playing out as real positives. Defensively, I think they’re sound and can still improve. I agree, the special teams have been subpar but I think will get better. I see a lot of improvement and big upside in the goaltending now and in the future.
The most telling improvement and the source of my revitalized hope and optimism is the great strides made in the farm system and the strength of our prospects. For the 1st time in years we finally have some depth. All giving me (a very long time suffering Kings fan) much to look forward to.
Rich, I cannot thank you enough for the quality of work you do and the great entertainment you provide us. Go Kings!
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I gave them a B+. They are meeting our expectations, if not better than them, but there is still much room for improvement. There’s still a ways to go before we can compete with the Sharks, Penguins, Rangers, and Red Wings of the NHL.
With 46 goals scored, we’re T-5th (only behind SJ, PIT, WSH, and NYR, four very good offensive teams), and we can’t be more pleased with the offense. Our offense struggled last year, and I feel that we can put up goals consistently (forget the 1-goal efforts the last couple games).
However, we are T-24th in goals allowed, with 42. Quick has looked better the past four games, but our defense just isn’t what it was last year. I don’t think that’s all because of Quincey though. If you look at our D, we have Doughty, Johnson, Greene, O’Donnell, Scuderi, and Drewiske. Doughty might be our best defenseman, and he’s a sophomore.
The Kings don’t have one of those big-name, shutdown defenseman like pretty much every other team seems to have. On paper, we look soft. I like O’Donnell and Greene, but I think the Kings would be better served if we replaced one of them.
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b+…
RICH…
have a great weekend and enjoy the much deserved time away with you and yr family…
all the best…!
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B+.
Would’ve been an A- if they’d won these last two shootouts.
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Thanks for all the great coverage this season Rich. Happy Halloween. Go Kings.
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Still not good enough. Team is not looking as efficient as they could. Detroit, Vancouver, Chicago,St Louis, San Jose,and Dallas have gotten ou of the gate slower than expected. Those teams are all going to get alot better and healthier in the second half. The Kings are going to need it faster, harder, and better if they want to play to the level they are capable of. I don’t think they know how good they could be.
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Only way they get an A is if they had not turned in those stinker games against the Wing’s and Rangers. They also should have put San Jose away. Giving away a point to a division rival on a night you were the better team is not acceptable.
I have raised the expectation lev el for this team to STanley cup or bust. When you are number 2 -3 1 month into the season you are expected to compete like that all year long. Time to start learning to play with a lead in the games as well as in the standings. We have all the tools, WE BETTER F’ING EXECUTE!
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Enjoy your Halloween off Rich… Ur doing a great job.
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@ Rich – By all means! Take your well-deserved day off!
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We are 8-4-2. We are 3-0 in 1 goal games. A year ago we were 7-2-2 at the same point and were 3-5-1 on 1 goal games. Though I do not think Quick has been as good as he can be, we have figured out ways to win games that a year ago we figured out ways to lose.
I like where we are at this point and with some continued improvement and a more balanced schedule than last year, we should be playing late into April and maybe into May.
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@ Quisp – In the context of Rich’s rules, “STFU” would logically come under “disrespectful” and be a bad idea.
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@ Scooter – I think that’s a great read, and I think it’s too early to panic about Quick. I’m hoping he’ll grow into the role in the next two or three dozen games.
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A-
Offense – A+, they are so many good things happening, but it looks like there is still room for growth.
Defense – C+, there have been too many outnumbered counter attacks, but we had the same problem the first couple of months last year. Again, 3 new pairings will generate some communication issues.
Goalie – A-, I think Quick is just showing more of a quiet confidence rather than a rookie’s enthusiasm this year. I know Quick has made a couple of bad plays, but I look around the league and can not find 5 goalies I would rather have.
Team effort – A+, The effort this year is even better and more consistent than last year. And, last year showed a tremendous jump in effort from 07-08.
Coaching – A+, TM gives the young players so much confidence, that I can not find a better coach-team fit in the league. Four loses in a month for a team where half of the players have less than 100 games of experience is amazing. I do think that we have gotten pretty lucky when playing against other teams with injuries, but we still finished when needed.
GM – A+, almost 3 and one half years into the rebuild and we are far ahead of schedule. I see Hossa, Gaby, Kovi on the shelf and Symth looks even better. The summer workout program along with challanging the core players to improve has worked beautifully. In my opinion, only Stoll and Lewis do not look better than last year. And, Stoll has really picked it up in the last half dozen games.
Rich – A++, I love telling fans accross the country about Rich. At first they collectivly said “That is sooo LA”, now they are just jealous.
Happy Holloween.
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WTF Kenneth,
I agree. But I would like to know where the line is drawn. STFU, obviously no good. But what about all abbreviated “f” usages? I’m happy to play it one way or the other — default setting for blogs and internet is that WTF and “f-ing” etc are acceptable. Which is why I asked.
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I think you’re lowballing us a smidge, even compared to the best of the best. So far it’s been a B+, although could be a solid A with some consistency in several key spots. I’m pulling for Quick, but season to date I’d start with goaltending. The best of the best makes noise in the playoffs and, although he’s been good – hell, he’s been brilliant at times – Quick’s current performance is not the answer if we want to go deep. I have all the faith in his ability, but it might be a year or so too soon to expect stability.
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I chose A-
I would like better performance on special teams and shootouts.
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Old Man
You forgot to mention the clergy that are in here.
You wouldn’t know that I’m a pastor by the way I insult the refs.
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Just a heads up to everyone looking for a mobile friendly version..if you download the Opera Mini browswer, the blog shows up in a very easy to read format. I have it on my blackberry and I read the blog more on there than a computer.
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I gave them a B+..they’ve been better than expected, but its real early in the season. Quick is playing better and needs to continue. He’s had enough lousy games for the season.
PK also needs to continue to improve. They’ve been pretty good over the last 5 games or so.
Kopi/Smythe have been outstanding. A++ for those 2.
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I would give the Kings a B overall. Their effort has been great. Execution has been up and down.
The offense is playing with passion but could be so much more solid and successful that it is.
Can you imagine if Purcell was getting hot, how much attention would be drawn from the opponent’s D? His puck handling skills would probably give one of his line mates some room for good scoring opportunities.
The D is just not the same without Kyle Quincey. That is just the way I see it. Can someone who is wise in how trades are put together give me your comments as to why, when Smyth’s contract was such a liability to the Av’s; we had to give them Quincy and not a lower prospect? I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
Doughty tries too hard and has made many plays that I think can’t be characterized any other way but “bone headed”.
Johnson is caught out of position too much and has the “+ -” to show it to be true.
Oh and don’t tell me about the forwards not coming back. They do. Very well, by the way. I would give them an A in the dept.
Well if you remember any of my comments about Quick’s play behind his own net and his passing you know I am not too impressed. Honestly though, his job is to give the team a chance to win and he has more than accomplished that task.
Rich, I never said this and I wish I would have, but when you first started out I wanted to tell you that if the Kings ever developed a long term winning tradition, I felt you would be the the real foundation to provide the voice for the city. It’s already happened! You are the legitimate voice for hockey news in L.A. And you so deserve it! Thanks so much for all you do.
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I also wanted to say I find it hard to believe that we are trying to find that line that we can all get as close to putting our foot over relative to insults and profanity.
Can’t you just accept the challenge of trying to express your thoughts without expletives?
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Nice sentiment tullskull. I’d buy THAT for a dollar!
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Tullskull
The asking price may have been higher for Smythe because other teams may have been involved.
You’re right if we were the Avs only trading partner, but for a guy like Smythe, I highly doubt that.
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They have exceeded all expectations. NOBODY thought Kopitar would have the start he had…Smyth has provided a Holmstrom-like presence that we sorely lacked and Drewski, Simmonds and Parse have been pleasant surprises. Frolov — when he is awake — can do great things and if Brown can get untracked offensively, we could do some serious damage IF and ONLY IF — Quick regains the form of last year. I think he has been mediocre at best — can’t make the big save if his life depended on it — gives up that backbreaking end of period goal too often and seems to be too comfortable because he has a terrible backup NOT pushing him.
At this point, the smart thing to do is bring Bernier up and push Quick. How often have we seen teams surge when they have two goaltenders trying to unsurp each other? What does Bernier gain by leading the minors in goal against? He needs to be up here and splitting time with Quick and pushing him for the number one spot. It’s a effing no brainer. I have zero confidence in Ersberg and we need a goalie with some big cojones if we want to actually hold on to a playoff spot.
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