Forum answers IV

Here’s another set of questions and answers. If I have time, I’ll sweep through and try to pick up any straggling questions, but otherwise it’s time to get ready for the start of training camp. I’ll be there tomorrow morning with updates…

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AK47 asked: 1. Ok, so every open forum, I always ask you about Trevor Lewis because he’s the type of guy I would love to see make a difference to our team, a 4th line type of guy. Do you think this is finally his make or break year? Is he in the same position that Teddy Purcell was in last off-season? Is it realistic to say that he could be on the 4th line as a RW with Clifford (LW) and Schenn (C)? Or maybe Richardson (LW) and Schenn? 2. Do you think management is done making deals or do you envision looking for a 2nd line LW? I don’t picture them having ALL the confidence in the world with Parse at that position and a Parse-Stoll-Williams 2nd line is kind of embarrassing.. 3. Where do you envision Loktionov being in 2 years? Personally I see him as being our 2nd line center or 2nd line LW, to me Brayden Schenn is more of a Jordan Staal type player, a shutdown, 3rd line center. Loktionov seems more like a Malkin (clearly not the same size, but hypothetically) and it’s also great to hear that Lokti is finally bulking up because it’ll be nice to have a solid centers down the road, that’s important when it comes to winning Stanley Cups. 4. Last, but not least, Tyler Toffoli. I live in Ottawa and I see lots of him, he’s a favorite over here and we all know he’s got the potential to be a 40 goal scorer in the NHL but only until he works on his horrendous skating. What do you think of him? Observers said that he didn’t play too well in the rookie games, I wouldn’t look too much into that but do you think he’ll be on the first line in a couple years – or 3 years haha?

Answers: 1) The term “make or break” always strikes me as a little dramatic, but I totally understand what you’re saying and I don’t disagree. Let’s put it this way… Lewis has never had a better opportunity to make the team, and given the depth at center, if he doesn’t take advantage of it this time, there might not be many more chances. If Lewis can win faceoffs and play a responsible defensive game, he will be what the Kings are looking for, and there’s a good chance he will get a shot. As you point out, his versatility (ability to play wing) is also a “plus” in his ledger. 2) No, I don’t see the Kings being in the market for a winger, at least not now. Remember, Lombard did mention that sometimes the trade market can open up 20 games into the season, when teams get a realistic look at what they have. 3) I think you’re on the right track with Loktionov as a second-line guy and Schenn as a third-line. Having a player of Schenn’s caliber on the third line would be huge, but that depends on someone else’s ability to fill a second-line role. Loktionov could be that player. I don’t know if I’d go quite as far as drawing a Malkin comparison, but Loktionov has good moves and instincts. A full season of success in the AHL would be huge for Loktionov. 4) I’m not sure how this idea that Toffoli had a bad rookie camp got such strong legs. It didn’t come from anyone within the Kings. I certainly wouldn’t say he stood out to be, but the kid is 18 years old, with only two years of junior, and he and Jordan Weal were the only 2010 draftees among the group. It’s fair to say that skating is an issue for him, but really, he’s just starting out in his career.

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Josh de Lioncourt asked: 1. Which of the exhibition games will be broadcast on the radio side? Which station? KTLK? KLAC? We got radio coverage shuffled around a lot last year. 2. Who do you, personally, think will be the most interesting Kings to watch this year in terms of players who, because of their development over the passed few years, are poised to excel, and also as far as those who may make the team for the first time? 3. With the probable loss of their goaltender to backup Quick, how do you think the Monarchs will fair this season, and how will that compare to how the Kings will? Not asking for a crystal ball reading, exactly. Just wondering if you think a rise in Kings performance will have a likely corresponding dip in Monarchs performance as the better players move up. It’s only been recently that I’ve started to seriously follow the Monarchs.

Answers: 1) From what I understand, all of the exhibition games will be on the radio except for the game at Staples that conflicts with the game on the same night in Phoenix. My understanding is that Nick and Daryl are doing the back-to-back games in Phoenix and Colorado. I heard rumblings of a radio change this year, but there hasn’t been anything official yet. 2) I’m probably most interested to see where Wayne Simmonds’ ceiling. In each of his first two seasons, he has impressed and exceeded expectations. Can he raise it to yet another level? Same goes for Drew Doughty. Just how good can he be? 3) Well, if you presume that Jonathan Bernier will end up with the Kings this season — and, all things considered, I think that’s a fair assumption at this point — the Monarchs clearly will suffer a bit. Bernier was the best goalie in the AHL last season, and it wouldn’t be easy to replace his stellar play. That said, Jeff Zatkoff has been a very capable backup, and given regular playing time, there’s a very good chance that he could be a top-level NHL goalie. Depending on how things shake out with the Kings, Martin Jones could end up with the Monarchs, and he had a very successful junior career.

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Ryan olver asked: Rich. Am I the only one who thinks rm should try Jarett Stoll on the first line with Kopy? Anze needs a sniper and the best sniper we have is Stoll. With the fact that there doesn’t seem to be center role for Stoll and the uncertainty of Williams and Smyths health, will Tm look at this possibility?

Answer: Honestly, I don’t think you’re going to get a lot of widespread support on that one. The Kings tried Stoll on the wing for a while last season, and it didn’t lead to much. If anything, it probably hurt them, because Stoll is the best faceoff guy on the team and is a good defensive center as well. There’s no guarantee of a repeat, of course, but remember that Kopitar, Smyth and Williams did quite well when everyone was healthy early in the season.

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YES on 19 asked: Rich, thanks for the great coverage of the Kings. If it is that Ersberg doesn’t make the club and goes back to Europe to play, would the Kings retain his NHL rights?

Answer: I’m honestly not sure how that would work. I presume that they would retain his rights for this season, but that next summer, when Ersberg is due to become an unrestricted free agent, he would be free. Perhaps this is impacted if Ersberg is exposed to waivers, etc.? I’m not totally sure off the top of my head.

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Joe P. asked: I’m sorry to all for rehashing this topic but I’ve been wondering this and was wondering your opinion (and others here) as well. With so many “rumors” (and perhaps that word answers my own question) surrounding Jack Johnson and whether or not he’ll be traded within the next couple of years I was wondering, if the whole NOT willing to go to a certain dollar/term for Ilya Kovalchuk was to keep the kids (Doughty, Johnson, Simmonds – and I’m certianly on board with that)….wouldn’t losing JJ then make that whole process/argument all for naught? Now again – the “idea” behind JJ being traded is strictly rumor based so maybe I’m reading too much into it though some people think JJ being moved is a foregone conclusion (I hope not), but in all honesty, while it’s impossible for GM’s to predict the future, it’d be a little disheartening to see a JJ or Simmonds end up being traded for a “top 6″ when if we were going to lose one anyways, why not put the $ toward Ilya?

Answer: I have to be honest here…I’m not really getting the gist of your question. It seems to me that you’re buying into Internet rumors that Jack Johnson is going to be traded, and then further presuming that the reason behind the rumored trade is that the Kings wouldn’t pay him, and then further presuming that the money saved by the presumed non-spending and the Internet-rumor trade could have gone to Ilya Kovalchuk. Whew! The reality is that Dean Lombardi would tell you that the Kings ran the numbers six ways from Sunday and offered Kovalchuk as much money as they could while still remaining confident that he could keep the core young players under contract for the long term. As far as Johnson, in particular, is concerned, paying attention to Internet trade rumors has never enhanced anyone’s life, to my knowledge.

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Barrie G. asked: Rich, I can’t take this much longer: Get the burger vibe from the locker room. Whats in, whats out as far as favorite places to go grab a burger? (See what I did there?) Favorite toppings, styles, etc? It is pertinent to our success to know what the boys are eating when things are going well. (or not) Do they change it up? Gracias amigo.

Answer: I’m afraid it’s not really a fair fight, because I’m presuming most of these guys have never even been to Tommy’s. The challenge is to identify the connoisseur and get a real, informed opinion. (And perhaps to dodge the strength coach while I encourage the players to talk enthusiastically about their favorite greasy food.)

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Vic asked: Do you see the kings getting involved in some form with #99 now that he is not a part of the phoenix coaching staff

Answer: The outreach has already been there, on the Kings’ part, but Gretzky still seems to be on the fence in terms of what he wants to do with his professional life. The Kings have left open the door. They’d love to have him come in, in some type of ambassador/advisor role, and be available as a role model to the young players.

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KC23 asked: Why wouldn’t DD’s agent and the King’s management want to get his long term contract done now as opposed to later? My thinking it seems that having one more year to work with on a long term contract would allow you to keep the cap hit per year that much less? Not to mention ward off any crazy offers he might get from some rouge GM that we might have to match.

Answer: There’s a big wild card in all this, and it’s worth a separate blog post in the near future. The CBA expiration in 2012 has the potential to be a huge disaster. So you’ve got Drew Doughty, arguably one of the top five young players in the game, and his contract is up in 2011. You’ve got a GM and an agent staring at each other, thinking, “What in the world are we going to do?” The landscape of the league could look completely different after the summer of 2012, so we don’t even know in whose best interests it would be for Doughty to sign a long-term contract. This has bigger implications for the Kings than it does for some other teams, given that they also have players such as Simmonds and Johnson coming up. The 2012 labor stuff is a huge unknown, so it’s possible that both sides are looking for a little more clarity before they talk long-term commitment.

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LB asked: Rich, would you say Frolov ever “fit” on this team over the past few years? With regard to what Lombardi says about players, how they have to be the right “fit”.

Answer: No, given the type of game/attitude that Lombardi references when he talks about “fit,” I don’t think Frolov ever really fit with either Lombardi or Terry Murray. That’s all very subjective, of course, but the one thing that Murray and Lombardi say they value, more than anything, is 100-percent buy-in and effort, and from their perspective, I don’t think they ever saw it consistently from Frolov.

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Dale asked: Making the playoffs last year was great, but in your opinion, can the Kings make it to the finals? There doesn’t really seem to be a great team in the conference, Chicago lost a lot, and isn’t San Jose getting old?

Answer: This is going to sound like a trite answer, but there’s no question that the Kings can make it to the Finals, in the sense that every playoff-caliber team has a chance to make it to the Finals. A year ago — or even at the start of the playoffs, for that matter — would you have guessed that the Flyers would make the Finals? I certainly wouldn’t have put them among the favorites, but that’s how the league goes. You go through the regular season to put yourself in the best-possible spot (home-ice advantage, etc.) and then you roll the dice. If you’re asking about the Kings being favorites, I don’t think I’d go quite that far. San Jose and Chicago are still strong, as are Detroit and Vancouver, just to name two others. The Kings certainly have the ability to put themselves in the conversation, though, and like I said, once you’re into the playoffs, anything can happen.

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IStillBelieve asked: Mikus? Where is Mikus?

Answer: Probably somewhere in Slovakia, trying to explain why people on a blog in America were comparing him to someone named Chuck Norris.

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Goon Squad asked: Rich, my question is how did they determine which players attended the “rookie” camp? You have Holloway there, but not Azevedo. You have Mullen and Kolomatis there, but no Martinez. Was this optional for guys who have approximately one year of Manchester experience? Or did management make the decisions outright? Is Cliche out injured?

Answer: I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules in terms of which players are considered for the camp. Holloway was actually not at the rookie camp this year. I didn’t go through every single player, but my guess would be that you’re correct in that players who have more than one year of pro experience are no longer considered for the camp. There might be some exceptions there. Cliche is healthy, to my knowledge, and will be at camp.

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meman asked: I don’t believe the Fox TV schedule has come out yet but, Any word on the games in Canada being televised this year?

Answer: I haven’t seen the TV schedule yet, but I’m certain that at least some of the Canada games will be televised this year.

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Cortex949 asked: With the fiasco regarding a certain long term contract finally wrapped up, what effect do you see this having on the next CBA? Do you feel there will be more provisions set in place? Higher cap limit? Lower cap limit?

Answer: As I alluded to earlier, I see the potential for big problems in 2012, especially if Donald Fehr unites the players and tries to make a tough stand against the league. I can envision the league wanting to lower the cap ceiling drastically, and I don’t think that would go over very well with the players. The stuff about cap circumvention and all that has been interesting, but I think the issues in 2012 will be much deeper and scary.

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JDizzle asked: Is it possible to give us a rundown of all of the guys physical test scores today? I’m sure it would have to be very general because detailing everything would take forever, but I’m just curious if that would be possible in any manner. It would be very interesting to find out what kind of shape everyone has showed up in and how they all compare. Thanks for all you do!

Answer: Those numbers would certainly be interesting, but I’m fairly certain that they’ll never see the light of day, because they would also be a great scouting tool for 29 other teams. In general, you might hear things about the team’s fitness level, but I doubt you’ll hear much specific from any of the coaches.

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gene asked: Rich Question?????????????? With the team as it is right now, do you feel are are tough enough to stand up to the Ducks or any of 20 or so other teams who are much bigger and have some big tuff fighters? I believe we are going to get run from alot of teams.

Answer: That’s tough to answer, given that I don’t really agree with your premise that there are “20 or so teams“ much bigger than the Kings. I don’t know how much of an upgrade you can make to a group that has a heavyweight, a couple potential middleweights and a third line of three players who are all 6-foot-2 or taller. At the end of the day, the goal is to beat the other team, not beat them up, right? When I’m looking at the Kings’ roster, I see secondary scoring as a much, much bigger challenge than “toughness.”

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Harry asked: Paul Mara signed with the Ducks for 750k, one year, one way contract… I know the Kings have their top 4 D looking good, and I believe they tried to sign him before Witchell… but do you know if Paul didn’t wanna come to LA?

Answer: Unless I missed something, I’m not aware of any interest the Kings had in Paul Mara. Perhaps you’re thinking of Paul Martin?