Alexander Frolov is back on the ice with old linemates Michal Handzus and Wayne Simmonds, giving the Kings lines of:
Smyth-Kopitar-Williams
Parse-Stoll-Brown
Frolov-Handzus-Simmonds
Ivanans/Richardson/Purcell/Harrold
That’s the word from El Segundo. I’m at Staples Center for a story on the Pens, but I’ll get a Kings practice update ASAP.
• No profanity, slurs or other offensive language.
• Personal attacks against other blog commenters, and/or blatant attempts to antagonize other commenters, are not tolerated. Respectful debate is welcomed and encouraged. Posts that continually express the same singular opinion will be deleted.
• Comments that incite political, religious or similar debates will be deleted.
• Please do not post links to websites that illegally stream NHL games.
• Violations are subject to comment deletion and/or banning of commenters, per the discretion of the blog administrator.
ANAHEIM DUCKS
- Orange County Register
- San Bernardino Sun
ATLANTA THRASHERS
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BOSTON BRUINS
- Boston Globe
- Boston Herald
BUFFALO SABRES
- Buffalo News
CALGARY FLAMES
- Calgary Herald
CAROLINA HURRICANES
- Raleigh News and Observer
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
- Chicago Tribune
- Chicago Sun-Times
COLORADO AVALANCHE
- Denver Post
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
- Columbus Dispatch
DALLAS STARS
- Dallas Morning News
DETROIT RED WINGS
- Detroit Free Press
- Detroit News
EDMONTON OILERS
- Edmonton Journal
FLORIDA PANTHERS
- Sun-Sentinel
- Miami Herald
MINNESOTA WILD
- Minneapolis Star Tribune
MONTREAL CANADIENS
- Montreal Gazette
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
- Tennessean
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
- Newark Star-Ledger
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
- Newsday
- Point Blank
NEW YORK RANGERS
- New York Daily News
- New York Times
OTTAWA SENATORS
- Ottawa Citizen
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
- Philadelphia Inquirer
- Philadelphia Daily News
- Delaware County Times
PHOENIX COYOTES
- Arizona Republic
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
SAN JOSE SHARKS
- San Jose Mercury News
ST. LOUIS BLUES
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
- Tampa Tribune
- St. Petersburg Times
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
- Globe and Mail
- Toronto Star
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
- Vancouver Sun
- Vancouver Province
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
- Washington Post
- Washington Times
alt="LA Kings Insider with Rich Hammond" />
Well it looks like Fro didn’t leave town with his ‘buddy’ Caligiuri
[Reply]
<3
[Reply]
Return of the Fro
Is this the sequel where the Jedi doesn’t show up for every battle and the darkside eventually wins? And of course, the Ewoks get obliterated and recycled into hockey pucks instead of saving the day.
Hmmm, so what happens in Revenge of the Fro then?
[Reply]
Not at all sure why these changes are being made. Can someone explain it to me???
[Reply]
The offense went dead during the SJ and VAN game and for the first 2 periods of the PHX game. After they did some line changing, they started to get more chances which was putting PHX back on their heels.
Besides the top line, one of the other 3 lines have really been clicking so they are trying to find something. Parse-Stoll has been working well so they are putting Brown there for a more in front of the net presence im sure.
[Reply]
The offense went dead during the SJ and VAN game and for the first 2 periods of the PHX game. After they did some line changing, they started to get more chances which was putting PHX back on their heels.
Besides the top line, none of the other 3 lines have really been clicking so they are trying to find something. Parse-Stoll has been working well so they are putting Brown there for a more in front of the net presence im sure.
[Reply]
I forgot to say…
May the Fro be with you.
[Reply]
ESPN is reporting that Frolov is about to be traded. Can you please comment on that, Rich?
The report is in the ESPN Insider which I don’t subscribe to so I just read the headline.
[Reply]
Its painful to watch Fro play with Zeus and Simmer. The only way this can work is if the second line really gets going or somehow they can trade Zeus for a scoring center. Otherwise its going to be a long season for fans and Fro. He certainly won’t want to re-sign in LA and we’ll get very little in return for him once DL decides he has no other choice to trade him.
[Reply]
I had wondered if the visiting team practices at Toyota, but it sounds like they practice at Staples, if its available.
[Reply]
After totally screwing up the Frolov for Marleau ordeal, I can’t see why ESPN thinks it prudent to prematurely report anything else on Frolov, rumor or otherwise.
I do find it funny though that “Justin Williams, out five games, line still clicks” is in the ‘rumor’ section.
[Reply]
“Use the FRO Luc!”
“Leet GOOO LUC!”
[Reply]
The Return of the Fro: Vladimirs Revenge
After swearing allegiance to Vladimir Putin and to the KHL, the Fro returns to L.A. sporting a sinister goatee and awkward smirk that leads to speculation that the evil plan is about to be hatched. That plan, code named “Jekyll & Hyde” entails that in one game the Fro barely makes his presence known, and gives a “no, I don’t care attitude”. However, in the next game, the Fro single handedly wins the game, and in time reaps a contract extension offer only to give Dean Lombardi the finger, and bolt to the KHL where he wins seven straight championships and is hailed as the greatest Russian player ever. Why you may ask??? The reason being to bring shame to the NHL and to that evil American Gary Bettman and to glorify the Russian way of life and attempt at world domination. This undoubtedly will lead to World War III with the Fro leading the Russian troops to battle (sporting a Christian Dior sweater) in the war to end all wars.
It was just a thought.
[Reply]
I wouldn’t put much stock in ESPN trade rumors. Not too many of them seem to work out.
[Reply]
whats the link on the espn website
[Reply]
Hey Rich- Can you tell us which Fro will be returning? ;-)
I’m hoping it’s the dominate one.
[Reply]
here’s a great story (NOT!) for King’s fans:
http://www.hockeyjournal.com/Article.php?ArtID=829746
apparently Stan Fishler thinks Matt Moulson is a better player than John Tavares – interesting ..
[Reply]
I’m not putting much stock in the rumor.
Especially when it’s used as a “teaser” to get you to sign up for their “IN” crapola.
Gimme a break.
[Reply]
Totally Matt. I’ve never even clicked on the espn rumor link before today…
“Subscribe to Insider for as low as $2.50/month to access the complete rumor”
LOL what a joke! How funny would it be if you subscribed and then you were forwarded here!
[Reply]
ESPN covers hockey?
Must have missed their hockey coverage on Sportscenter..It must have come on after coverage of the Cricket tournament going on in New Guinea…that story ended at 59 minutes past the hour. That still gives them a minute to cover hockey..Plenty of time for them to cover all they know about hockey.
[Reply]
Joe got fired
“Joe Caligiuri is no longer employed by the Kings organization. He was dismissed this week for a number of reasons, but those reasons will remain internal and the Kings will have no further comment regarding the matter.”
http://kings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=58292
[Reply]
Totally agree Waves.
I think Sean started the rumor yesterday, and ESPN jumped on it. I just checked back and it appears Rich deleted the comment. So maybe the inside scoop from ESPN is now a broken link?
[Reply]
Nykingfan, as long as we have the mullet (barry) there is at least 2 mighty minutes on sportscenter not 1…
[Reply]
Nice find Dayman! It’s official. Wow, he totally got S&*^canned. I smell a lawsuit…
[Reply]
Call it a hunch, but I think we all want to stay away from asking for details.
The HR person for the Kings is named LaShawnda Mikhael. First of all, you probably don’t wanna mess with ANYONE named LaShawnda. You’ll be lookin for a beatdown. Add the Russian last name and the KGB will follow you until you beg for mercy.
Good luck Joe. I know all I need to know. (Looking around Nervously).
[Reply]
Fair enough on Joe. All I wanted was confirmation.
[Reply]
Re Joe:
Anybody have a theory what happened here?
[Reply]
If you work at a company everyone knows you NEVER mess with anyone in HR no matter what the name is. THey’re scarier than Internal Affairs is to a police officer.
[Reply]
my theory
One of his 1st posts mentioned how he was different than Rich and made a statement which i took as a shot on Rich. Then his weekend “drunk” tweets is not “What the LA Kings Org wants for their image”
[Reply]
Silly question, but who is this guy Joe?
[Reply]
we are back at the sergei federov/pavel bure/anna kournikova stage…for now…
RESPECT THE FRO…:)
[Reply]
has anything “good” come from Twitter aside from complete a**es proving to the world that they are, in fact, complete a**es?
[Reply]
Joe was the Asst Trainer and Head of Rehabilitation who had his own blog where he would write about being a trainer and what he sees.
[Reply]
Well, they say he was dismissed for, “a number of reasons” so clearly there where some major issues. What amazes me most is how much he valued his connection to the team as if they were a family. To me, he clearly overestimated his importance to the organization and didn’t see it coming. There’s no way he saw this coming because he was recently blogging about the team and everything seemed fine. He’s like the guy in Survivor where he thinks there’s no way he’s going home at tribal and then, wham!, buh-bye!
[Reply]
Gotta be ‘Code of Conduct’ violation. Rich’s job description (I’m assuming) specifically mentions his ability to report ‘uncensored’ material and I’m sure there are some boundaries as to what he can report ‘uncensored’, such as hockey operations but not HR issues such as Joe’s. I also think the Organ-eye-zation is putting a lot of faith in Rich’s integrity here as well.
Joe’s job description (I’m pretty certain) does NOT have an ‘Uncensored’ reporting clause in it. His job is rather sensitive as it is akin to the inner workings of any factory, probably with plenty of trade secrets regarding the workout regiments and weaknesses of certain players within the organ-eye-zation. While Joe’s insight was pretty cool, I believe some of it bordered on ‘Unacceptable’. I would bet (and this is TOTAL speculation & opinion on my part from how I read his posts) that Joe liked the attention (Who wouldn’t) and kept taking steps closer to the boundaries. He just didnt stop when he crossed them.
Theory on his issue (If any) with Rich: If he is that unprofessional and has an issue with Rich, my guess is that Rich had nothing to do with it. Now I don’t hang out around the team like they do and have no idea (and frankly don’t really care) what they have said to each other, but my guess would be is that Rich has been put in a NEW position within the entire league and has earned some SERIOUS attention for his ability, with permission from the Kings of course. to report on some SERIOUSY juicy details into the club and its dealings. Maybe Joe wanted a small piece of that and thinks (thought) that the Kings are allowing Rich to do it, why not me as well? THe problem being, based on what just happened, that he did not approach the organ-eye-zation for approval first, or did not disclose to the organ-eye-zation honestly what his full intentions were if he did ask.
DISCLAIMER: Realize, I know as much as all of you. I’m reading into what I’ve seen and heard from the outside to make a very OPINIONATED theory on what happened. None of this is really based on any extra facts that I know of except for what everyone else has already seen or heard. (Please don’t come after me LaShawnda!)
[Reply]
This is just wrong……
[Reply]
Oh yeah, who knows how to get a hold of Chris Kingsley? I’ll help him set up the blog, no problem. We just need someone to convince him to start blogging! :)
[Reply]
Great take Cynic.
I can’t help but agree.
Personally I think transparency in an organization is good.
Too much transparency is good for the other teams.
CYA
[Reply]
My theory is that the Kings did not appreciate Joe’s condescending attitude towards fans he was starting to take on. They probably only allowed the blog in the first place because of the “inside” track thing, which is supposed to make fans feel CLOSER to the team. Joe’s attitude was in fact, distancing.
His posts that were vague and cryptic probably did not go over well either. No reason for the Kings to put up with an “I know something you don’t” type of blog.
It’s a shame we lose who I think was a good trainer, but I agree with txkingsfan on twitter. It is the devil in the shape of a stupid little bird.
[Reply]
BRING BACK COLE!
[Reply]
Back to the OP, seeing Parse on our 2nd line just shows me how much we still need a top 6 LW. Frolov or no Frolov. Parse has been very very good but a strong LW on that line with Frolov and the 3rd would be what DL should be looking for around the deadline – including Foppa or Sundin. Yes I know Sundin is a C and you can argue Foppa too.
[Reply]
Thanks Dayman
[Reply]
CYNIC…
who knows what the real truth is, but yr hypothesis makes a lot of sense…
i agree with my buddy MATT GEORGE…there’s a fine line that needs to be drawn re: a professional organization’s transparency…it takes a special individual to mitigate, organize and disseminate info to the general public without burning bridges or sparking internal controversy…maybe a line was crossed more than once with joe…(?)
[Reply]
@Surly Jacob (JDM)
Just because you did not understand the blog does not mean you should bash it!
[Reply]
Unless he signed an agreement stating otherwise, I’m pretty sure Joe could blog about whatever he wanted to. I can’t imagine he’d violate an agreement knowingly. That would be professional suicide. IF he was let go mainly because of the blog, there could very likely be a major lawsuit. Just a guess, but I’m thinking there’s much more going on than meets the eye.
[Reply]
I felt a certain ambivalence towards Joe’s posts. On the one hand, I loved the inside look into the inner workings of the Kings. For example he did an excellent post about the night Scuds did that hip check on flippy Chimera and the reaction from the bench. But, on the other hand, his ‘frustrated novelist’ writing skills drove me nuts sometimes. Too much insinuation and innuendo, not to mention the cryptic remarks regarding our man Rich. Not cool.
I guess the bottom line is that if you work for a major sports team, get drunk on Halloween, whiz on your donkey costume and tweet about it, you shouldn’t be too surprised when you’re let go…
[Reply]
here’s an interesting pull-quote from espn’s insider re: the never-ending frolov trade speculation:
“For a player who has been producing a solid 0.78-0.94 points per game since the lockout, Alexander Frolov can be a frustrating player, and that’s not even taking defensive contributions into account. The Kings’ wing can disappear for weeks at a time: in 2006-7, the Moscovite went goalless for streaks of 8, 13 and 10 games — pretty hard to do when you’re averaging a goal every three games. Think about it — outside of those cold spells, Frolov scored at a 0.56 goals per game rate, which would have tied for fifth in the NHL. After seeming to be significantly more consistent last season, Frolov started 2009-10 with another eight game drought (Oct. 6 to 24). No longer a developing youngster at age 27, you would have to think that
Frolov’s days in Hollywood are numbered.” -Timo Seppa
anyone have any thoughts…?
[Reply]
chris bond – we all know you have gone well out of your way to publicize this guy’s blog. Personally, I was not impressed by it, but please do not chastise other posters because they did not like it as much as you did. We all have different tastes.
[Reply]
yeah, why did you pay $2.50 for that insider crap?
[Reply]
Every time Fro misses a practice, ESPN feels obligated to post the same trade rumor (word for word).
[Reply]
would love Frolov for Marleau. At some point, Dean has to get something for him.
[Reply]
Chris Bond,
Say what? I liked his blog (for the most part)
[Reply]
Fro update: http://wp.me/ptucv-GK
[Reply]
Id love to have Marleau aswell but i dont see the sharks giving him up to the kings. maybe a 3 way trade?Bruins are desperate for a goal scorer but who would we get in return??
[Reply]
really Quisp? don’t be part of the problem.
[Reply]
None of us know what took place, My bet is that Rich wont touch this with a 10 foot pole. There is no such thing as a “Report all” repoorter that works for the Kings and is paid by the Kings. If that was the case Joe would still work there.
Last year Rich talked about Stoll’s break up, I thought it was in poor taste but he did. Rich is good at what he does, the best perhaps but you guys think he is some hockey god, HE IS A REPORTER THAT IS PAID BY THE KINGS
thats all.
And to top it off Joe did not cross any lines, Didnt report where the team stays, eats,(Wish he would have in Dallas) But he didnt, Didnt talk about players, injuries, ect. and if you didnt like his blog then dont read it.
Now I bet I get the axe from the room becuase I will have been bashing or whatever else, but it is better then not saying the truth, the truth that only DL & Joe know….
[Reply]
here is a quote from http://wp.me/ptucv-GK
“speculation is that it could involve Frolov and one or more Kings assets — conventional wisdom points to Jack Johnson — as well as former first round picks Jonathan Bernier, Thomas Hickey and Colten Teubert”
and now here is my own personal quote “YA RIGHT”
[Reply]
HAHAaaa!
Quisp.
Awesome.
[Reply]
Quisp, that is hillarious… well done. I can tell you really did your research on that one.
[Reply]
QUISPY….
y’see…i put that last line “anyone have any thoughts…?”
and i wasn’t expecting someone to go EXACTLY where i would have taken it…(lack of time)…let alone, within the first few comments…
BINGO…!
you just won yrself another prize…something you are getting used to around here…:
CATEGORY: Best Response From a Blogger RE: Alexander Frolov Rumors…
WINNER: QUISP…http://wp.me/ptucv-GK
MUST READ…!
excellent work, buddy…:)))
[Reply]
The problem with those like isn’t first three lines but the forth. If Purcell isn’t playing on the top two lines (or even the third) he needs to be sat, traded, or sent down. The forth line has it’s place and it’s role, Purcell doesn’t fit the needs of a forth line winger.
[Reply]
Johnny
I think you need to read the post over again…I think you’ve missed the point a little.
[Reply]
Cynic said:
“The HR person for the Kings is named LaShawnda Mikhael. First of all, you probably don’t wanna mess with ANYONE named LaShawnda. You’ll be lookin for a The HR person for the Kings is named LaShawnda Mikhael. First of all, you probably don’t wanna mess with ANYONE named LaShawnda. You’ll be lookin for a
beatdown.
Wow! Can’t believe you wrote that! Why wouldn’t you want to mess with anyone named LaShawnda? Maybe messing with someone named Shawna would have been okay? This has racist overtones…
[Reply]
Chris Bond,
No one has claimed to KNOW anything. There is nothing wrong with some speculation. However I don’t think you can say with any assurance that Joe did not cross any lines. Considering the team has been fairly healthy so far, I think it is more reasonable to assume the blog had as much if not more to do with his dismissal than his job performance.
And Joe did talk about players. As was mentioned, he went out of his to basically lambaste Jason Chimera.
[Reply]
We don’t want Vinny and his 32 year $7.7m contract. St. Louis is a different story….thats the play maker we’ve been missing!
[Reply]
This thread has so many sub plots I feel like I’m in a David Lynch movie. If there’s anything short of 100 comments, I’ll be very disappointed.
[Reply]
So was this joe guy just a wannabe rich?, and if he was head rehab guy why couldnt he help fro with his problem…lol
[Reply]
Quisp, nice satirical post.
[Reply]
Ha ha is that kournikova in the rumour trade pic with fro?, wow she makes her rounds…lol
[Reply]
I’m pretty sure that’s NOT Kournikova.
[Reply]
HA HA HA, i just went to espn, and checked the rumour board, seriously 2.50 a month to read crap we could make up on our own, geez nice to see just how pathetic espn are, thank god for canada, and our tsn and sportsnet!
[Reply]
deadcatbounce:
I think the racial overtones you mentioned have kind of a racial overtone feel to me. Just mentioning the racial overtone means you were thinking about racial overtones. In so much, I think that has a much deeper racial overtone meaning than the racial overtone of said post.
Dare I say it? But your post has racial UNDERtones that could be perceived improperly in a racially motivated way. I’m afraid that’s pretty racially motivated on your part.
[Reply]
Deadcat-
I think you’re quite possibly more racist overtones for assuming that the name LaShawnda only applies to one race of people. You go even further by implying the more common name ‘Shawna’ would be OK, since it is more generic.
Why don’t YOU explain to all of us the difference between the two names since nobody has so far.
I think you better re-read my post and verify if I did indeed mention race in ANY part of it. I’m quite sure you wont. The comment was not racist at all, you made it seem as such.
After that, you might want to issue a public apology to anyone name Shawna for implying that their name is less important than LaShawnda. Then your inner guilt should be cleansed. Hope that helps.
[Reply]
WOW Matt G-
3 Minutes ahead of me. Nice work! ;-)
[Reply]
you guys are too much. let’s not get so politically correct that we can’t even make a joke about a name and then have someone make an accusation about it then have others get defensive about an accusation about a joke that was actually pretty funny to read when in the end it’s all just for fun and no big deal but let’s make a big deal about nothing because heck we do it so well… (breathe)
[Reply]
(the racial thing was comedy to me in case that didn’t come thru)
I wonder though if ESPN’s research dept has a study that shows a spike in subscriptions when they post crappy rumors like that.
Oh how I would like to be in on one of those meetings.
[Reply]
Agreed Waves-
It was no big deal. Being called a racist in a public forum sure is though. My point is across. I’m done.
What were we talking about again? Joelov? ;-)
[Reply]
Hey espn, keep to your worthless baseball and football news and leave hockey for a network with some intelligence……..
[Reply]
I’m actually with you on that Cynic.. pretty heavy stuff to be just lofting out there willy nilly. Not cool.
But again, My point across… I’m done too.
[Reply]
God I can’t wait for the game tomorrow especially because I’m going :)
to bad malkin is hurt :(
i watched the game last night between pens and ducks
happy that pens won
kinda wondring how the game will end tomorrow night
[Reply]
no doubt you have every right to defend yourself! just wanted to break up the tension. ;)
at some point soon, we’re gonna have to put together a little gathering before a game so we can put a face to some of these names…
[Reply]
Hey blah, have an extra ticket…lol, i think if they roll there 4 lines and everyone just keeps movin there feet they’ll have no probs, scorings been by commitee in pitts this year, if quick can match fleurys efforts we can win….
[Reply]
No, you’re right Waves. All good.
Yeah, we’ll have to have a LAKINGSINSIDER party somewhere during a game. Maybe Rich can hit up the front office about getting something set up?
[Reply]
Yeah, like a free suite! Sweet.
[Reply]
I just hope when we do eventually trade Fro we get somebody good for him. I think he would live up to his potential if management would show the confidence in him and give him the opportunity to shine…
[Reply]
It’s probably a mistake for a trainer to even HAVE a blog. They just know too much, and eventually, so will everyone else.
[Reply]
I’d be in for a meet up/party. I’m at all the games anyway
[Reply]
You know….
It would be tough as hell the day after Christmas, but the Kings play in Phoenix again December 26th. Southwest always has cheap flights to Phoenix. If we pay to get there, I wonder if Rich could get the Kings to get a suite from the Coyotes like they did for the dads. Just the suite, nothing else. It’s not like there isn’t room.
Heck, if Rich could get the Kings to get Phoenix to give us free tixs! We could have a block in the lower bowl! Anything!
Again, the day after Christmas, but it would be cool if people could make it. I only thought of it due to the ease of getting tickets in Phoenix.
[Reply]
Dayman, I meant to ask you… how did you find that link about Joe on the Kings site? How did you navigate to it?
Man I wish I mirrored that site so we could still see all the posts. Damn it!
[Reply]
No Comment Rich?
[Reply]
It was a great blog….Sad to see it go, more sad to think you can lose a job over it. I would think you would get a shut it down or else before you just get screwed.
[Reply]
Well Chris- We don’t know what went on behind the scenes. They may have told him to shut it down and he didn’t completely comply. His socaljoecal site went down before he got the boot and he made references to trying to get it back up, but the site now says ‘Caligiuri’s Old Corner’. It said that BEFORE he was let go. His Twitter site is down now since the name LAKINGS was in his account name. Maybe part of the issue was non-compliance in this area. We’ll never know unless Joe tells us (Because the Kings have already stated they won’t). If Joe does, the legal repercussions could be fierce.
Don’t think we’ll ever know. Agree it was a good blog though, less the attitude. His dissertation on the prep for the road trips was pretty enlightening.
[Reply]
Waives
it was a tweet sent out bt LAKings hockey
[Reply]
My guess regarding Joe is that it wasn’t a donkey. It was a Bailey, and he was too drunk to tell the difference.
[Reply]
i see it now dayman, thanks.
…only 95. very disappointed!
:)
[Reply]