Dean Lombardi confirmed, via text, that Oscar Moller will be joining the Kings. There doesn’t appear to be anything to be motivating the move, except for that little fact that three of the Kings’ top six forwards haven’t found the back of the net in almost four weeks… That’s a pretty big “something.” We’ll have to see, tomorrow, who Moller will skate with against Calgary.
Moller leads the Monarchs in goals (eight) and points (18) this season, in 25 games. He didn’t record a point in his previous two-game stint with the Kings this season, when a case of flu ran through the team in October.
A trade going on huh? Who said that. How about not jumping to conclusions without any facts
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i’m re-posting this from an earlier thread today…sorry for the duplicate, but with all the roster talk/moves, i thought it was appropriate…:
re: trades…
i’m not saying they are always right…things have a tendency to change…but..most of the sources and reports i’ve been hearing are prognosticating that trading is “dead” right now…in fact, i’ve heard that word being used to describe the trading climate on several occasions…
with the olympic break coming up and still uncertainty about revenues and future salary caps among gm’s/owners, we might not see much happen until a day or two before the olympic roster freeze or perhaps even after the winter games are over…
trades are becoming extremely hard to do of late and those who think gm’s can negotiate a “quickie” in lieu of their respected team’s disappointing start in hopes of turning around performance are being proved wrong…
also…
all players who play in the nhl have trade value…
of course,some have a lot more than others, etc…
rather than get into minutiae detail and discus all the histrionics of current and past proposed deals, it is important to note that many teams are only trading to eliminate salary or trading even valued commodities under the current cap constraints…
who knows…?
maybe we will have a frenzy if activity just before the olympic break..but i think those of you expecting a trade is coming anytime soon are going to be disappointed….
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Glad for Moller – sucks for Manchester. Oh well……
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Welcome back, Oscar. =)
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I don’t understand this move at all? Moller was over matched and getting crushed when he was here earlier in the year and from what I understand he’s even getting killed along the boards in Manchester.
If Richie is going to LW on the second line and Moller gets 4th line minutes than maybe just maybe he can avoid getting killed out there.
I still don’t like it…He doesn’t have the size and he’s not ready!
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Bottom line is if Richardson goes to the 2nd line then we officially have the worst 4th line ever. You cannot have Ivanans, Purcell and Harrold on the same line. It is a recipe for disaster. No offense, no defense, no common sense. At least with Moller we bring in a kid who works, is a good skater and has some finish.
I also think this has alot to do with the complete inability for the 2nd PP unit to score. I bet Moller sees PP time right away because he did have some success there last year.
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Yeah, what does Harrold know about defense, anyway?
oh…wait…
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Moller is not the most physically mature player in the AHL or NHL, due entirely to his being still a kid. His job is not to crush people; it’s to be tough on the puck, defensively solid, and generate scoring opportunities. Oh, and he finishes. So, as Kings2010 said, he’ll get power-play time, I think, and top-six minutes, likely with Stoll/Brown (that’s where the safe money is anyway).
I think it’s interesting how many people dwell on how physically “overmatched” Moller is when playing against adults. From a technical standpoint, I don’t see it. I see it in terms of him sometimes getting knocked on his ass. But in terms of take-aways/give-aways, penalties-drawn/taken, goals against, etc., there’s no evidence for this. True, he’s only played two games this year, but he and Loktionov (maybe Segal) are the only players who have not been on the ice for a goal against. And he will stick his nose in, drive to the net, hit, finish, go to the “dirty areas.” I mean, what’s the point of not being physically over-matched if you play on the perimeter anyway.
Also, he’s as hard a worker as anybody on the team, maybe the hardest worker, he’s a natural leader, and he was leading the Kings in power play goals when he left to captain the Swedish WJC team.
re trades: it’s always quiet until it’s not. right now, literally no one is out of contention. one loss separates fourth place from 10th or 12th. once the writing is on the wall re who’s in and who’s out, assets will be reallocated.
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Also, re Purcell:
Somebody, not in this thread, was talking about sending him down. He’s got exactly one more game of waiver-exemption, after which it’s likely he’ll stay till he’s traded or re-signs. I don’t think DL will waive him.
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Hopefully Moller can do something while he’s up.With his hustle and scoring ability, I’d rather see him on the ice than Purcell.
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Good move in my eyes. Purcell needs a change of scenery. I’d say he’s more likely to be moved than Frolov at this point. Maybe with Fro? Who knows…
But I also agree with Variable. I don’t see a trade happening soon. If anything, perhaps after the olympic break. I think a lot of decisions are going to stem from who survives the olympic tournament without injury. If I were GM I’d want to see if we lose anybody (like how we lost Moller last year at the WJC), before making any roster moves.
But seriously…Purcell needs to be replaced when Smyth comes back.
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So Quisp…..do you think Purcell is heading to Manchester within the next day or so?
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If Harrold knows so much about defense then he should coach. He is not an NHL player on a playoff team. Sorry. He is not. I know people love the underdog but having him in the lineup does not make this team better. If you don’t think we need an upgrade on the 4th line then I guess we have different expectations for this team. Richardson and Segal work. Harrold, Purcell and Ivanans don’t.
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You’re missing the point. You called out three forwards for being crappy on defense, and one of them plays defenseman more than forward.
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I think this is great, molls has awesome wheels ans is so skilled, i dont think his lack of size will hinder him, as he matures he will get bigger but this guy will soon be a full time 2nd liner and score 30 goals, hes gettin there
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Moller at this time of his career is a liability in the NHL. He will get abused after his call up. Where is the so-called depth on this club? I understand the depth will be great in 2014-2015 season.
Expect more injuries for the Kings this year, hopefully someone from Manchester will come through but I do not see Moller being that player. Good luck!
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As I’ve posted before Moller is a winner. He reminds me of Mike Keane who was a winner. I don’t know if Moller is ready but bringing him up isn’t a bad idea.
As for Harrold, he is a very good skater who does work hard he’s just not a natural forward. He’s not a scorer and not physical grinding player. He could best be used, when in the line-up, killing penalites as a forward or on the point on the second unit power play. He probably doesn’t have a lot of value as “regular shift” forward.
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Re “Moller is a liability”
Last year, Moller lead all Kings except Kopitar in Corsi (which is a +/- measuring shot events instead of goals). This means that Moller is on the ice for many more shots for than shots against. His goals-against per 60 minutes was the third lowest on the team, behind for Simmonds and Calder. His +-/60 was best on the whole team behind Calder, SOD and Greene.
Penalties drawn per 60 is second highest on the team, behind Brown. What does that tell you? People have to take him down. And his penalties taken per 60 is close to the bottom.
This year, in his two games, he was not on the ice for a goal against, so his defensive numbers are perfect.
In the AHL, where he is also supposedly overmatched according to someone, he has been close to the top of the league in +/- (though I haven’t looked lately, I think he still is).
This whole “liability” argument is not supported by facts. Sorry.
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I’ve been hoping for this move for a few weeks now. I though Moller played really well last season before he was hurt. We haven’t seen enough of him this year to pass judgement on whether he’s “good enough” to be in the NHL. While he’s not the biggest kid around, I’ve been impressed with his intensity and skill in the games I’ve seen him play. I hope he’s played in an appropriate spot. It should be fun to see what he can do this time around.
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Quisp,
I love Moller and think he can help, but stats like those above are largely meaningless and don’t translate into reality because of the disparity in ice time.
Rather, I think we should look to what the coach can get out of the talent at his disposal. And, in Murray’s case I beleive he gets too little. Kopitar looks unconfident and losing Smyth should not have such a drastic effect.
Murray could help his cause if he came to the realization that Kompon does nothing to help.
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Cristobal -
All of the stats I mentioned are “per sixty minutes of ice time.” That’s what /60 means. Differences in ice-time is corrected for, by definition.
For example, if a player who gets 20 minutes of icetime per game is on the ice for 2 goals, and another is on for 10 minutes and is on the ice for one goal, their GA/60 will be the same: 6.00.
Everyone’s numbers are prorated to a per 60 figure. So you can compare apples to apples.
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Great. Someone better come down or up real quick… This leaves Manchester with 16 healthy skaters (6 D, 10 F). Bagnall and Walker went down today in Lowell. Bags is the “lower body” disease (appeared to be knee based on the way he moved once he changed and came out to sit in the stands) and Walker an upper body. I believe Walker broke his nose last night, though he did start today but he left at some point in the first period.
I’m glad for Moller, though.
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This is unbelievable. Let the guy play before everyone rails on him.
Parse is performing admirably, Loktionov performed well before he was injured, and Segal looked like he might be a fixture on the 4th line. I’m happy with the Manchester callups and I have no reason to expect anything different from Moller. If he keeps from being injured, there’s no reason to believe that he will be a liability on the ice since I’ve always thought his defense was sound.
I’m not sure how TM juggles the lineup now, but as long as he’s healthy I’m sure Moller finds a way to contribute. He’s smart and he has that subtle cockiness to him that you would want in a player.
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Moeller, in my opinion, brings energy to the Kings… Always has. IMHO, speed KILLS. It’s Moeller’s speed that generates the penalties and scoring opportunities which drives the statistic that Q’s citing.
Take a look at the St. Louis game. The margin between the two teams was minimal, despite the fact half the Kings took the game off. Moellar will drive to the net with energy, and given the scoring chances, might actually put some in the net. As currently configured, the Kings aren’t doing as badly as they were early without Ryan Smyth. It might just take a tweak, here and there, to find the temporarily effective lines to get us through this period.
Remember, TM will change up lines during the game, between games, sitting individuals if need be. Moeller is a leader, has the drive, and has been holding Manchester together without half their stars.
Let’s see what happens. Bet it’s good.
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Let’s see what the kid can do. Hope Segal gets back soon and I never have to see Harrold or Ivanans again.
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i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, i know everything is not perfect in hockeywood but it’s almost like we don’t know what to do with ourselves now that the team is winning, so we turn upon everyone
also by the ways, i’d never heard of CORSI quisp, very cool
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Has Moller been hurt this season? 18 points in 25 games for an elite scorer is not that impressive in the AHL. If he has been hurt then throw all that out.
Last year Moller had a good season until he got hurt not playing for the Kings, however, he was playing on the Kings and last year I am sure the opposing teams did not get up for them. This year with them winning I am excited to see if he can play at this level. I believe he is not ready but someone needs to step up.
I would like to see that kid Matt Moulson step it up for the Kings, sorry I forgot he is having a career year for the Isles.
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I like Oscar, and I’m thrilled he’s going to have another shot with the Kings. The one thing I was impressed with last year was that he’s a North South Skater. Yeah, he’ll muck in the corners and slam into anyone, but, put the puck on his stick, and he’s off to visit the opposing goalie at speed. Simmonds is starting to do that as well this year. And Brown loves to rush up ice with the puck. So when exactly is the opponent’s defense going to get a break with three of these guys probably playing on three different lines? It was said above, “Speed Kills”.
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When the season began last year and we got to the 10th game, I don’t recall people saying Moller’s too small and he’s going to get killed. Everyone was onboard with him remaining with the Kings due to his outstanding play.
He got hurt in the tournament and wasn’t the same player after that.
Let’s give him a chance to show he can be the player he was before the injury before we declare him dead and buried.
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“I would like to see that kid Matt Moulson step it up for the Kings, sorry I forgot he is having a career year for the Isles.”
Yeah, well, when he had his chance on the better team, he couldn’t make the roster.
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GO Oscar!!!!
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