70 Comments

1. Pathfinder says:

   October 25, 2010 at 10:28 am

   So .. where is Schenn?

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2. MR King says:

   October 25, 2010 at 10:29 am

   I’m glad Richardson is getting rewarded for his great play and effort last game.

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3. lafan13 says:

   October 25, 2010 at 10:29 am

   omg, Lokti needs some skill on that 4th line with him!!!

   If only clifford and westgarth could punch their way to the net. so lokti could have some skate room….

   I dont like this 4th line, its too much useless muscle… Westy hasnt gotten in a fight all season, and neither has clifford. Having both in the lineup at the same time serves little/no purpose IMO (i am semi expecting clifford back to JR’s). Lokti is guna be skating the puck all by his lonesom tonite.

   I personally felt that BSchenn had a better defensive game the other night. Wonder why the bench???

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   lafan13 Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 10:33 am

   @lafan13,
   acully had an after thought…

   This might be good acully, Bscheen gets tired by the 3rd peroid, and so did lokti while playing 15 min on 1st line. Rest will help both of them on this road trip. Schenn getting night off, lokti getting ice time cut in half. we got big games vs chicago and dallas soon. Cant have anyone snoozing those nights.

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   Jay Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 10:41 am

   @lafan13, Great observations man. It’s not like those guys are getting demoted or in the doghouse or something. Seems plain and simple, they are still young guys…Lokti was playing almost 20 minutes with pp and 1st line stuff…probably not at all prepared for that. Richie played well swap em and give Lokti a night of rest on the 4th line and Schenn a night off.

   I dunno about Schenn…could he be sent back to Juniors you think?

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   lafan13 Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 11:02 am

   @Jay,
   I say no, Schenn does look alittle young out there, but hes not guna progress hockey wise in jr’s. He will get bigger, perhaps stronger. But the level of play in the JR’s wont Challenge him enough.

   I think Clifford might go back down if anyone. Clifford is a kid in a man’s body. But he doesnt seem to have the confidence, or skill to impress me right now. Id like to see him go down, and play a 1st line roll. Get alittle bit of swagger in his play.

   

   Michael_DD8 Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 11:08 am

   @lafan13,

   Right on the head about Clifford. No confidence, he needs more time. Confidence is the #1 you need to be successful. I was worried lokti didnt have it at first, but he built it as he went on, and you can see how more confident he is with the puck now. Good stuff happening.

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   Shakes Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 11:32 am

   @lafan13,
   great read about keeping the guys fresh for this stretch of games lafan13. my gut reaction was the same as your initial post, but i hadn’t even thought about your follow-up point.

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4. Kevin says:

   October 25, 2010 at 10:29 am

   pressbox.

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5. jason says:

   October 25, 2010 at 10:29 am

   no schenn, dumb

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   Jay Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 10:42 am

   @jason, cause he has been an offensive powerhouse for us right? Still young, I like what Murray is doing. Giving him nights off to watch the game from the box…I am certain someone is up there giving him pointers.

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6. Stuart says:

   October 25, 2010 at 10:30 am

   Anybody know if this 4th line skated together at all at Man?

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   slovenian fan Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 10:42 am

   @Stuart,
   clifford was never member of Manchester. He is still junior.

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   mcsorleyfan Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 10:45 am

   @slovenian fan, Clifford joined Manchester for playoffs; as to the line, I don’t think so but not sure.

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   slovenian fan Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 11:28 am

   @mcsorleyfan,
   i think that was Muzzin, who is 21.
   I am not 100% familiar with kings prospects but Clifford is still only 19 years (year of birth 1991 – same as Schenn) and as I know north american skaters can not go at this age at AHL (European can – example of Loktionov or Voynov). So if management decides to send one or both them down, they can only go to Juniors.

   

   slovenian fan Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 11:31 am

   @mcsorleyfan,
   sorry I double checked and Clifford really played 7 playoff games for Monarchs.

   

   Marc Nathan Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 11:28 am

   @Stuart, during the playoffs Clifford and Loktionov did play a bit together, both 5 on 5 and on the PP, but Westie… not so much

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7. Michael_DD8 says:

   October 25, 2010 at 10:31 am

   Good to see Richardson stay with the first line. Even though im huge on Lokti, Richardson had a tremendous game. Lokti however has played terrific, getting a goal and a assist, and making great plays with Kopi. He will still get PP1 time. Schenn as been kind of invisible in the last few games. Good to hear about Doughty. There is no way there going to risk him, so if hes cleared to play, then hes good to go! Hope to see him in Chicago.

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   sstephen17 Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 11:10 am

   @Michael_DD8, IMO this can be counter productive to Loktionov’s development. He adjusted for a couple of games to play LW with Kopitar as well as play on the first PP unit. Now he’s going to center a 4th line? Richardson is playing extremely well and I have no qualms about him being put on the 1st line. Why not have Schenn center the 4th line and have Loktionov play LW with Clifford or Westgarth?

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   Michael_DD8 Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 11:23 am

   @sstephen17,

   I was thinking that too, but i think TM is sitting Schenn with a reason behind it. Whatever that reason may be, could be many different things. Either way, You cant-put lokti on line 2, there doing great, lokti on 3 wont happen, so its just him on the fourth, and hell still get PP time. But yes, unfortunate that he just gotten broken into LW, and he was just getting very comfortable..And, don’t get me wrong, i am a huge lokti fan, and i thought he was doing great on line 1. I’m sure we will see it again soon.

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8. Purple Ghost says:

   October 25, 2010 at 10:33 am

   Expected change. Fourth line center choice between Loktionov and Schenn. TM may still want to use Loktionov on the powerplay. Hence, Schenn is in the pressbox.

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   King John Reply:
   October 25th, 2010 at 2:59 pm

   @Purple Ghost,

   We could have Schenn & Lokti both playing on the 4th line….

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9. BringBackTheShieldJersey says:

   October 25, 2010 at 10:40 am

   The abyss that is the Kings’ 4th line welcomes you, Andrei.

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10. Cricket says:

    October 25, 2010 at 10:44 am

    Makes sense. If Richardson isn’t clicking tonight for any particular reason, he can be swapped with Loktionov. Couldn’t do that with Schenn.

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11. JB says:

    October 25, 2010 at 10:46 am

    How about lotki on lw with Schenn at center and Westy on the right? Personally I like Clifford out there better than Westy but don’t know that I would want him on right wing.

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    lafan13 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 11:07 am

    @JB, That line wont be able to cycle the puck, wont be grinding pucks outa the corner. those 3 youngsters cant out muscle the other teams D yet. I still do see alittle panicing when either schenn lokti or westgarth (lol the breakaway) get the puck.

    all in all, that line of 3 rookies would be destined for failure

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12. AZ King says:

    October 25, 2010 at 10:47 am

    I have a feeling Schenn is going back to Juniors this year. He looked really good in the first couple games, but since then he just looks out of place. Sounds like conditioning might be an issue if, as TM said, he is getting winded in the 3rd period. He’s got the goods for sure, just a little more seasoning. Too bad he can’t go to Manchester, that’s where he belongs.

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    nykingfan Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 11:21 am

    @AZ King,

    I agree AZ King…I was hoping he would be able to stick. I like the future he has, but he really doesn’t look ready to play an 82 game schedule in the NHL.
    I would rather see him in Manchester as ell. I think he would be able to develop his game a lot mroe than skating circles around the juniors.

    Remember at the start of the season he had Schenn on the PP? That didn’t last very long at all. I wonder what TM saw or didn’t see that made him go away from that quickly?

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    Matt Reitz Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    @nykingfan, Schenn was getting all the PP time in the first 2 games when Loktionov was a healthy scratch. When he was put into the lineup against Atlanta, the team liked what they saw and Loktionov got the spot.

    I still think he’s been making plays and is one of the Kings best 12 forwards… but I just dont know where they put him. If he’s going to play on the 4th line, like 8 minutes per game with someone like Kevin Westgarth, then I’d rather they didnt burn a year of eligibility. 26 year old Schenn will be more valuable than 19 year old Schenn. Even if it sucks to say that as a fan right now….

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    nykingfan Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 2:16 pm

    @Matt Reitz,

    agree

    

    Doc. Mark 1968 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 11:46 am

    @AZ King,

    Yes, he is one of those players who could really get some good work in at Manch. I am not sure what good it will do for Muzz though because he is already NHL ready.

    The question that keeps arising in my mind is, did management take all of this into account when they drafted Schenn?

    It sure does not look like it.

    There is a great behind the scenes documentary show called “Oil Change” on TSN. It’s about Oil management and all the decisions they made leading up to the draft this year. I would love to be in on the King’s decision making with a show like this about them. If you haven’t seen “OIl Change,” check it out; it has educational value for those of us who love the NHL.

    (The poor Oil look like they are in for another tough year.)

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13. jayhay says:

    October 25, 2010 at 10:52 am

    we all like Lok, but Kop needs to get going, so lets see what Richie can up there. besides Sat nite, there’s been success there before.

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    Jay Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 11:10 am

    @jayhay,

    Kopi has 6 points in 7 games and is a +3. Seems like he is doing well enough. Can’t expect him to put up Stamkos like numbers. After all his line mates are not St. Louis and Lecavalier.

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14. roadtripper says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:06 am

    This is weird. I like the BR move to the top, now we’ll have 3-guys on our first line instead of 2+. I know we fans are split on the Lokti vs Schenn debate, but I just don’t see what the heck this 4th line is gonna bring at all, except someone grabbing Lokti and getting in a cheap shot if Westy & Cliff start to get ugly out there. IMHO it doesn’t really matter where you put Lokti, Schenn will fit there better!

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15. lafan13 says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:10 am

    If schenn goes back to jr’s we wont see him for 2-3 years.

    He will play in brandon again for a year, then become AHL eligible and knowing DL and TM. They will bury him in manchester.

    As young and inexperienced as he looks right now, I belive this route is the fast tracked way to being a full time player in the NHL for him.

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    FKA PakiFro Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 11:33 am

    @lafan13,

    I don’t neccessarily see the problem with him playing in AHL next year if he goes back to junior this year. Not every teenager is going to be NHL ready. Bobby Ryan will tell you that his years in junior/minors helped him a great deal.

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    lafan13 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 12:22 pm

    @FKA PakiFro,

    For Schenns sake, AHL + juniors wouldnt be a terrible thing…Im sure it would play out well.

    But for the LA kings, I dunno for how many more seasons we plan to keep stoll and Zues around. The way i see it, Lokti is Stoll’s replacement on L2 and Schenn Destined to take over for Zues in that Defensive/checking roll (hence TM’s Emphasis on on Schenns playing without the puck)

    Id like to see atleast lokti and schenn stick around, and get their feet wet in the playoffs this year. Win or Lose, Think these kids will Learn way more from 1 NHL play off game, then 100 Junior/AHL playoff games.

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    BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 1:10 pm

    @lafan13,

    I respectfully disagree.

    I see the need for Schenn to be able to DRIVE the bus, not be a passenger on it. He clearly can play in the NHL, right now, but he must be a top 6 forward to choose to burn a year on his contract.

    He must demonstrate that 4th and 5th gear the top players show, night in and night out. It’s the consistency that’s lacking, IMHO.

    Better to be the biggest fish in a small pond, until he’s ready to lead the NHL school of much bigger, stronger fish.

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16. kylecliffordfan says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:10 am

    I think the 4th line is better. I am not sure if I agree with Lokti being on it. If it gets rough out there, what is he going to do? But on the flip side, if someone lays out Lokti with a hit, they will have to answer to Clifford or westie, since they will be on the ice.

    For those calling out Westgarth for not fighting, you sound ridiculous. The Kings haven’t played a team that has dressed a willing heavy weight enforcer yet.

    I think Clifford will drop the Gloves tonight.

    I like seeing Richardson on the first line. I think he fits in better. Brown can go in and take the body and create the loose puck, and Richardson isn’t afraid to go in there and battle for it. That’s what that line needs (Kind of like what Williams does on the Smyth- Stoll line). Then Kopi can be the skill playmaker and sniper.. I like it and it clicked real good last game.

    Can’t wait to see Clifford drop the gloves tonight, it has to happen.

    And the talk about Schenn, I have said it before on here, I think it’s just a case of dollars. Schenn is going to be a big cap hit if they keep him around this season. You don’t want to have a big cap it for a 4th line player playing only 7 mins. Doesn’t make sense especially if you want to add some cap down the road to make a run. That’s why you have 4th line energy players, cheap cap it, and they take the body for 7 – 8 mins a game. Now if only ours can start to click and prevent giving up goals.

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    lafan13 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    @kylecliffordfan,

    Schenns cap hit, aint Sh!t. Its packed loaded full of bonuses which is highly unlikely he will get. Only problem with keeping him around is it will burn off 1 year of his ELC.

    Id like to see someone scrap it up, I saw westy trying to get something going last game, but no one wanted a peice. Instead They chose to get physical with the Man made of Glass (J williams)

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17. Barry's Mullet says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:21 am

    We can speculate all day long. I’ve seen a few nice shifts out all the young players but nothing consistent that would stop me from sending any one of these guys back down and bringing up someone with a hot hand.

    Our depth in Manchester is getting better so don’t assume even if we send Lokti back for any reason he is the first guy called back.

    I think the first 20 games is more of an experiment to see where the team is at and if any of these kids can play now.

    A) Lets see what these kids can do and are any of them ready for prime time?

    B) Make sure when you do give the kids with junior eligibility a chance (10 games)they are well rested (like Schenn tonight)

    C) Evaluate where we are at around the 20 game mark and make changes.

    D) If nothing else, we just showcased a bunch of our younger talent in the event a trade for a top LW can be made.

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    Marc Nathan Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 11:30 am

    @Barry’s Mullet, I agree with the statement about “first guy recalled,” because guys like Meckler, Kozun and King have all had standout starts to the Monarchs season, and any one of them could fill a particular need if the Kings were to face an injury that required a callup. BUT… I wouldn’t send Loktionov back to Manchester before I sent either Clifford or Schenn back to Juniors OR Trevor Lewis back to Manchester (with the waiver risk.)

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18. BigMikeonD says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:24 am

    On another topic, is anyone else stoked now we didn’t sign Kovie?

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    lafan13 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 12:27 pm

    @BigMikeonD,

    Just watch, With NJ doing as bad as it is… Kovi will retire durring the all-star break, and go play in the KHL

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    CupRun2011 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 1:09 pm

    @BigMikeonD,

    I like our new sniper on LW

    Gm G A P +- Sht S% ’10 Cap Hit
    Brad Richardson 7 3 1 4 +1 12 25.0 $ 900,000
    vs.
    Ilya Kovalchuk 8 3 3 6 -3 29 10.3 $6,666,666

    For the money, Kovi should be 7x more productive than Richie…

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    puck73 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    @BigMikeonD, Kovalspsank would created resentment in the locker room with the money he got. Now some of you might say, big deal their pros they can handle it but believe me there would definately be some resentment. Then later on it would hurt our negotiations with other players. IMO, Lou didnt want this train wreck but he was overruled by Vanderbeek who needed a star to sell seats and possibly higher TV ratings and now they have a mess on their hands so I am definately with you…I am glad this is not the Kings problem!

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    lafan13 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 3:38 pm

    @puck73,

    Maybe Lu is on his way out of NJ soon, to another atlantic team… and he wanted to sabatoge the Devis before he left…

    Rookie coach… Check…
    Salary Cap Problems for next 15 years… Check…

    Inc Job proposal from NY rangers.

    [Reply]
19. I'm Just Saying" says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:28 am

    Its all patch work…Smoke and mirrors….Go get a legit scoring winger..This who plays well on game night gets to play with Kopi is just stupid. Richie gets rewarded and that is great, but he is no first line guy on any team but the Kings…Maybe NEW JERSEY..LOL..and that only because of his salary..LOL

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    fsd1 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 11:38 am

    @I’m Just Saying”, if all it is is “smoke and mirrors” then I’m all for giving TM a 3 year extension!

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    puck73 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 3:13 pm

    @fsd1, You just made a very saliant point ! obtw..TM called and says your hired as his new agent! lol

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20. Kingsfanone says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:32 am

    FYI NHL Network @ 3 pm Pacific
    Off The Ice – Luc Robitaille

    I don’t know if this is a repeat, but I haven’t seen it yet. Just wanted to put it out if someone is interested.

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21. Brett says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:34 am

    Rich,

    Regarding TV for tonight, why is it that Bob and Jim NEVER mention when a game is on another network? They won’t even mention IF it’s on TV. All they say is that they aren’t doing the game.

    I’m assuming it’s a FSW thing since the Kings schedule press release mentions the other networks, but I find it quite irritating.

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    goldielocks Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 11:39 am

    @Brett, I believe Bob said it will be on Versus a couple of times.

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    Brett Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 11:50 am

    @goldielocks, Hmm. All I heard him say was that THEY wouldn’t be doing it. Oh well. I guess I stand corrected.

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    IceGuy Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    @Brett,
    Bob and Foxy mentioned that tonights game would be on VS. “We’ll be back at the United Center in Chicago!”

    

    bmova Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    @Brett, Bob definitely said it was VS game!

    

    lafan13 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 12:29 pm

    @Brett,

    Last telecast they said

    “we cant tell you where to see the game, but we can give you a hint. It will be the kings VERSUS! the wild.”

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22. MiniKing says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:40 am

    Shuffling lines is okay when your not winning and they aren’t clicking. But Murray hasn’t allowed the lines that have been winning to even click before shuffling.

    I love Richardson and all, but if he’s our first line winger, we are in trouble folks!

    Also glad the Devils suck, they thought they were nifty with their 6.66 million dollar cap hit on Kovi lol. Suckers

    Now trade Kovi to LA for a 1st round pick you lost for being a cluster $*%& team in the summer.

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    fsd1 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    @MiniKing, shuffling lines is ok when your winning too

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    lafan13 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 12:31 pm

    @fsd1,

    When you have such a Strict offensive and defensive system, where everyone has rolls on the ice. Switching the lines up shouldnt be that big of a deal.
    Everyone knows how the system works. And no matter who is on the ice, If the players are all following TM’s system, Goals will be scored.

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    fsd1 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 3:02 pm

    @lafan13, agree

    

    puck73 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 3:16 pm

    @MiniKing, Believe me, you dont want that contract and that distraction with the Kings.

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23. lex says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:41 am

    It should be lokti-schenn-wes

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24. goldielocks says:

    October 25, 2010 at 11:56 am

    Did anyone watch NHL live today? They (with Nick Nickson on the phone) were discussing about if Kings can sign Brad Richards. He can generate more scoring chance for Kopi, Brown, Smyth for sure (Nick said it would be a perfect fit for the Kings). For me, it sounds like a better idea than getting self centered 40+ goal scorer.

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    puck73 Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    @goldielocks, Sounds great but let me ask you these 2 questions…#1 With Dallas playing well early why would they want to trade them to a team in their own division? #2 And if they did, who do you suppose they would want in return? I am not knocking you on wanting Richards at all, I am just saying he is an elite player and right now early in the season I would think the price tag would be huge!

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25. Kings x says:

    October 25, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    We still need a scoring LW. D man and prospect for a top six forward. Too bad it won’t be until trade deadline. Until then it’s line juggling and mixing in kids to find an inconsistent line. One solid player and we have two solid scoring lines a shut down line and a decent 4th line. G is solid. Anything left to be said?

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26. We B Ilya'n says:

    October 25, 2010 at 12:09 pm

    Congrats to Richie for having the game of his life. He’s earned the chance to stay on the 1st line at least until Parse gets into the lineup and shows us he is worthy of the spot.

    Don’t break up the current 2nd line. Stoll finally looks like the 2nd line center he needs to be.

    Sending Schenn down doesn’t make any sense. Leave him as 4th line center so he can gain NHL experience until next year.

    Parse or Richardson looks good next to him with Westy.

    Until Parse returns, I think we keep Loki as the 4th line left winger and Clifford goes to Juniors and then Loki to press box.

    Lewis most likely gets sent down too.

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    King John Reply:
    October 25th, 2010 at 3:11 pm

    @We B Ilya’n,

    My thoughts too!

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27. number1fan says:

    October 25, 2010 at 12:13 pm

    Schenn and Clifford are not going to be sent back to Juniors. TM is set in his approach that these young kids made it out of training camp and they can’t learn any more in juniors. They will start to grasp the game better as the season goes along and start to show some production I have no doubt about that. I really hope Parse comes back healthy and soon because I think he is one of the more skilled guys in our lineup and with a season under his belt already I see him going nowhere but up. I think he could really help us. I do agree with Kings x though. I think we still need a highly skilled 1st line winger to play along side Kopi. Stoll has been doing a great job thus far as the 2nd line winger, so lets hope he continues his production. I don’t think we will need a 2nd line center if he keeps playing well, but we will see what DL does at the trade deadline.

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28. kylecliffordfan says:

    October 25, 2010 at 12:57 pm

    Clifford will drop the Gloves tonight!! Too many players on the Wild that are willing. If Staub wants to get Crazy, he will answer to Clifford or Westgarth. Lets hope Lokti can handle himself when it gets rough out there…

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