Alec Martinez arrived in Montreal on Nov. 23 without much fanfare. He had played well in Manchester, but it’s fare to say that his promotion to the Kings had more to do with some recent wobbles in the game of rookie Jake Muzzin. The two defensemen swapped places, Martinez went into the lineup the next night, scored a goal against the Canadiens and hasn’t left the lineup since, as he is averaging more than 17 minutes per game, with two goals and four assists in 22 games. There have been some rough moments along the way, including a mistake that led a Toronto goal on Monday night, but overall, Terry Murray said he has been pleased with Martinez…
MURRAY: “Overall, his game is really good. Martinez has been a great surprise for us this year. He brings the elements of speed and quickness. He has the ability to carry the puck, to make plays. He’s a good defending player, and he can really do a good job in the defensive zone in low, 1-on-1. This is part of the growing phase that young defensemen are going to go through, as they try to take the game on their own shoulders in tough situations, and it ends up with that result. You can’t go through three or four guys. You’ve got to make the play, go around, go through, let the puck do the work for you. You have to go through some pain in order to figure that part of it out.”
When is Dean going to pull off a trade to get us out of this slump and over the hump?
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chuckrocks Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 10:36 am
@chuckrocks, Oh ya, and this Martinez kid looks pretty dam good to.
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RabidZiggy Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 10:36 am
@chuckrocks, When there is a 1st line left wing available for peanuts, I’m sure he will.
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FKA PakiFro Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 10:36 am
@chuckrocks, With Martinez’s play, they Kings have a spare D-man in Drewiske, who could be packaged off with a good prospect/pick for a rental. The real question is, who is available?
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src Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 10:40 am
@FKA PakiFro,
He also makes Hickey and Voynov very tradable.
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jayhay Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
@src,
i’d at least like to see Voynov and Hickey for 10-15 games at the NHL level before we ship them out. suppose we shipped out Martinez before he came up this year, we woulda been killin DL for that. Voynov is a 2 time AHL all-star, i understand he has some defensive liabilities, but i also understand thats improving. Hickey was a 4th overall draft pick and captain of a Canadian WJ team. neither has played an NHL game, plus, despite our 18 and 20-nothing defensemen that have come in in the last couple years, NHL defensemen do develope/mature several years into their pro careers. this is probably part of the reason the defense/penalty kill is so bad when WM is out.
chuckrocks Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 10:41 am
@FKA PakiFro, I know, but Dean should be able to pull someone worth having away from some team out there team with the crap load of talent the Kings have down in the minors. This team needs a shake up they are becoming stale and predictable.
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chuckrocks Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 10:43 am
@chuckrocks, oops I have no ida why the other team word is in there. sometimes I type faster than I think.
Mike J Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 11:01 am
@chuckrocks,
Just name one player worth pursuing that is available… yeah, I didn’t think so. There’s no one out there available because the Playoff races are so tight and who on these bad teams do you really want. They wouldn’t be bad teams if these “players” were better. I think the only person I’d pursue would be Kessel out of Toronto.
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Kings Fan Vancouver, WA Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 11:25 am
@Mike J, Penner is a RFA at the seasons end and woulkd be a good LW next to Kopi…IMO
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FKA PakiFro Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 11:33 am
@Kings Fan Vancouver, WA,
He’d be nice fit I think.
I’ve also heard Ales Hemsky’s name linked to the Kings by Helene Elliot of all people (it was in an article, I dont have a link).
src Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 11:35 am
@Kings Fan Vancouver, WA,
Penner has 2 years left and is UFA upon completion. Not a bad choice, but alot of talk about him being disengaged and tendency to disappear at times.
src Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 11:37 am
@Kings Fan Vancouver, WA,
Not to mention that EDM is looking for defensive blood. And we got lots of that in the ranks.
I dont see Hickey replacing Martinez or Muzzin.
Take your choice: Hickey or Voynov for Penner and a middle rounder.
King o' Philly Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 11:56 am
@Kings Fan Vancouver, WA,
i think penner has some small upside, he shown brief flashes in his career — but largely, he’s another middling, lateral move for a team that needs a real sniper-type. a patrick sharp, phil kessel, claude giroux (RW, i know!) but you get the idea.
oenner ain’t anywhere close to the answer.
i watched the flyers take on buffalo yesterday, and it was sad to see HOW FAR THE KINGS REALLY ARE from being a genuine contender. wow.
the flyers are the real deal this year, man. 3 lines that score, they play as a five man unit, they can beat you up or razzle-dazzle you. sorry to say it folks, but the kings are YEARS AND YEARS away
Michael J. Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 11:59 am
@Kings Fan Vancouver, WA,
Personally, I think Edmonton would want at least two top prospects for a proven NHL-level commodity.
I like both Muzzin and Martinez. Too bad, we don’t have enough room for Muzzin, and Martinez deserves to stay and play with us.
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I think that is an accurate assessment by Murray. Overall, he has been pretty good, but still makes some mistakes (although not many). Things that stand out to me about Martinez, he looks very small but takes hits better than the bigger guys. Hes a great skater, great puck mover, great passer and is not afraid to shoot. He needs to get a little bigger and a little tougher but overall he has been a great surprise this year.
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Muzzin has missed almost a month due to injury, but in emailing Ian Clark of the Manchester Union Leader, he replied today that they expect Muzz back by this weekend. He is skating, but hasn’t resumed contact drills with the team.
Also, Rich… He had played well in Manchester, but it’s fare to say that his promotion to the Kings had more to do with some recent wobbles in the game of rookie Jake Muzzin.
fair to say… not fare to say
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@Crown Royal, well said Crown. I guess everybody know its not the players it the system. Face the boards and play hockey.
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Please change the system and let players do the thing and save your job.
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Rich-
“but it’s fare to say that his promotion to the Kings had more to do ”
I think it’s “fair” to say
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Martinez is doing a good job, let him develop and give him moderate 5v5 time and lost PP time.
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Odd timing for this. It was three mistakes that led to two goals last game…
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 11:37 am
Oh, and it might also be fare to say…
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 11:50 am
@What’s the frequency, Kenneth?, yea but u expect mistake to a rookie give the kid a break
look at Doughty he not a rookie anymore and he pretty much doing worse than Martinez did in that game
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
@KingsFanFTW, I never said my expectations were higher. I said it was odd timing. It’s also insane to say Doughty played worse than Martinez in that game. Martinez cost us two goals on three errors.
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The guy reminds me of Mr. Kyle Quincey. Same style and body type.
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I’m guessing that the discussion of race is now prohibited on this blog? Oh wait, this must fall under the “similar debates” rule, i.e. the “If I feel uncomfortable then I’ll delete it” rule. It was a reasonable and respectful discussion. I do not respect this decision. And Crown Royal, I’d be happy to discuss it anytime. Just click me.
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Crown Royal Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
@wavesinair,
My comment about L.A. needing a “Latino” hockey star had only to do with the Kings being third in sports interest in L.A. behind the Dodgers and Lakers. When Scott Gomez was a free agent there was buzz the Kings and Sharks and Ducks would like to have a “Latino” player to draw more fan interest from the large California Spanish speaking population. The same is true when the Coyotes acqired Al Montoya from the Ranges. There was buzz in Phoenix about that. Personally I don’t care about race as an issue in sports one way or the other.
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