The road trip is underway, here in cold Pittsburgh. My LAKings.com feature for this week is on Andrei Loktionov, whose road to the NHL has had some bumps, both at the rink and away from it. If you’re so inclined, please give it a read!
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How is it that the Monarchs released this hours ago??
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Let the kid play!
That is all.
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Kingme20 Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
@Dan H.,
^ This.
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I loved this piece. Really great, and moving.
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he’s the Larionov…plays just like him
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puck73 Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 4:53 pm
@Paul G, With any luck at all !
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nice read, thanks rich
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Cooke out for 4 games. Nice pick-up by the Schmucks. Come on TM, get that trade in high gear!!! We got games to win!
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Dominick Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
@crashin’ da net,
I thought Cooke would be suspended for the Kings match up for the knee on knee attempt he made on Ovie. Turns out he didn’t get it, but being the moron he is, he turned right around and got suspended for something else.
Soooo glad he’s not playing against the Kings. That would have been as good a reason as any to have an enforcer in the line up. If anything to take him off the ice before he hurt someone.
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puck73 Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 4:57 pm
@Dominick, I wish knuckleheads like him were not in the league. I think back to the 90′s when we had to deal with cheap shot artists like…Karpa, Claude Lemieux, Marchment, Ulf Sammuelson, Muni, Kasparitis, Geoff Courtnall. By all means, if their are some that I missed then add below ! lol
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tornado12 Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
@puck73, esa tikkanen?
Goring 19 Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
@puck73, Scott Stevens?
Player-X Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 5:40 pm
@puck73, Craig Muni from Edmo was as bad as Brian Marchment (spelling?) but was a bigger person. I think he wore a knee brace, too, and was always to be counted on for a knee on knee when playoffs rolled around.
crashin' da net Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 7:19 pm
@puck73, Ty Domi
Mark Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 8:07 pm
@puck73, Don’t forget Sergio Momeso. I remember him spitting in Granato’s face. He was as cheap shot as it gets.
Dominick Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
@puck73,
Sean Avery
crashin' da net Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 9:17 pm
@puck73, cheap shot artist sack of S#%t Corey Perry
Bailey Fan Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
@puck73, Chris Simon, Andy Sutton, and of course, Pronger
Dan H. Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 8:00 am
@Dominick,
I think Matt Cooke is still looking over his shoulder every time he plays the Kings from the hit Dustin Brown layed on him a couple of seasons ago. One of my favorite youtube videos to watch.
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OneTimer Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 8:34 am
@Mark,
“Sergio Momesso” … now THERE’s a name I had forgotten, and happily so. (Maybe by some subliminal mind-force.) Wow.
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Anyone else see that Anaheim just picked up Beauchemin again from the Leafs for Lupul and Jake Gardiner? I think this is a good deal long term for the Ducks, but Gardiner was supposed to be one of their top D prospects. I’m disapointed, because in three days, the Ducks have acquired a reliable backup goalie who can be dangerous in the playoffs and a proven defenseman.
I heard DL will be active come the trade deadline, so I hope that he will address the left wing position. Hopefully Penner or David Booth
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pr0cess Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
@Bailey Fan, we will get forsberg, he is old and would follow suit on what we get most of the time.
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
@pr0cess, Forsberg playing for Avs just barley goingback to them i dont think we have any plans for a trade in deadline
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Dominick Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
@Bailey Fan,
Emery is more to bolster their ranks with the Crunch, since their goalie prospects are only average at best. Also the Crunch sucks. He has a 2 way contract, but it remains to be seen if he can successfully play at an NHL level after major hip surgery and an extremely long lay off.
The Beachemin signing was a good one though IMO.
The left winger position probably won’t be adressed until DL gets a good look at Sturm. Probably 10 to 14 days, and 6 to 8 games. That still leaves 4 to 8 days to broker a deal, if need be.
If Sturm has any set backs you might just get your wish.
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xeropoint Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
@Dominick, I don’t think Sturm will factor into any potential moves. There doesn’t seem to be a real pressing need, either on Defense or bottom 6. If something lines up where they can acquire a top level winger, look for at least 1 roster spot to be moved in that deal.
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Dominick Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
@xeropoint, You have a point. Some analysts believe even with Sturm in the line up, the Kings will still be shopping for a top end left winger.
lafan13 Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
@Bailey Fan, ewww, penner will be this teams new frolov/poni
he’d better come reallll cheap.
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Loskingpride Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
@Bailey Fan, I would like to see Booth here and it’s quite possible with DL liking to get players with concussion problems
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Dominick Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
@Loskingpride, Now that’s funny!
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puck73 Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
@Bailey Fan, Emery is all washed up. Beauchemin may help short term…we will see.
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he has been througj a lot for his age. Hope he makes it.
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At this point and with the roster the way it is, Lokti would have to score a hat trick in his next three games to have any chance of staying up with the Kings once Sturmm comes back. My question is, when the roster limit is no longer an issue, would there be any restrictions in bringing him back up?
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Dominick Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
@tornado12, no.
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Dominick Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 4:55 pm
@tornado12, I have a feeling he will be the designated hitter to bolstrer an already dangerous Manchester line up. If Sturm doesn’t pan out, Dl might still make a trade to bolster the Kings line up. So for all intents and purposes, Lokti will be sent down till next season.
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tornado12 Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
@Dominick, Sturms knee(s) may be the key to the season then eh? I love DL and what he has done here, but I dont have much faith in his trade acumen. But I would be very happy if he proved me wrong
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the way the Kings keep playing we might finish the same spot as last year 6th place i hope we do then we can at least watch the kings in the playoffs
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Poor Loktionov, and poor Voynov. Why not get a better look at these guys. I know they’re young but there is a lot of pressure on young guys, especially Russians, to perform at the highest level. Voynov couldn’t be better in the AHL. If, God forbid, we see an injury to Doughty or Johnson I would like to trade for a veteran D man and also recall Voynov for the offensive side o things.
Scoring, however, remains our worst hole and Loktionov could fill it.
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jet Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
@Jonesy, I think you made the case for not playing them in the NHL pretty well. The are young, undersized and playing in the NHL would bring a great deal of pressure. DL’s formula of givign the kids a taste with the Kings for a season or two has worked out very well. Why deviate now? See DD2, Marty, Lewis, and Parse. We are in playoff mode now, so this is not the time to look at the kids, w/plyoff pressure on their shoulders.
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Beauchemain is a DUCK again: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=353098
Lupul, Gardiner & a 4th in 2013.
First Emery and now Francois….The Ducks are sure trying.
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Dan H. Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 9:23 am
@Cynic,
With their MVP in Hiller down they needed some back end help bad. Emery is depth but Beauchemain is a nice pickup.
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Nice story Rich
Good luck to the kid. I hope he makes it.
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Here’s from the outside looking in http://bleacherreport.com/articles/602032-trades-and-playoffs-and-the-la-kings-oh-my
They have a decent idea of what we need but no concept as to how to get it. Still a good read.
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Totally off topic but it’s “Old Time Hockey” at the Montreal/Boston game tonight – Price & Thomas even involved in a wrestling match earlier in the game . . . with less than a minute to go there aren’t many players left on the benches.
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KDinUT Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 6:59 pm
@KDinUT, And in between the fights there were 14 goals scored (8-6 Boston) . . .
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pr0cess Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
@KDinUT, what a crazy game!
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leo of pico Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 7:25 pm
@KDinUT, and it made you think how this LA team is built and now you can see how soft this team is it would be a very sad site to see this team in a game like that only the kid Clifford and maybe Green other then them it is a pretty boy team no Randy Holt to help out now again this team needs tough players in the bottom six charter guys but really after watching the game this has got to be one of the soft LA Kings team of all time
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Side note:
The Hawks just got a Frolik for basically prospects. Why didn’t we compete here, we have better prospects we could of traded here. Frolik is a solid 20-25g scoring LW and a pretty solid guy..seems like someone DL would’ve been working on..but nope.
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What a great read, Rich! To me Loki should be our second line center maybe even first line!
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kingsxstevenxkings Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 7:22 pm
@THEROCKNROLL80S,
Replacing Kopi??
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we’re gonna be odd man out again on the trades, you watch…….sheeeeesh!
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kingsxstevenxkings Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 7:25 pm
@crashin’ da net,
Seems like it..I really think Frolik would’ve been a good pick up
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As a Monarchs season ticket holder (we just lost to those $%^# Hershey Bears in the shootout tonight), I love watching this kid on the ice. So skilled. Lokti and Oscar Moller make a few plays every game that clearly separate them from most AHL players. I also think the Kings have done a fantastic job with developing quality goaltenders in the past few years – Martin Jones is unexpectedly playing great hockey and is an AHL All Star, while Jeff Zatkoff has been rock-solid recently after a rough start and losing his starting job to Jones.
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Hang in there everyone. Loktionov will probably be a full time King within the next year or two and the lack of trade rumors involving the Kings is a good indicator that DL is working on something (remember, we didn’t hear anything until the Sturm deal was pretty much done). We are in the run for the play-offs so we need to reduce the experimentation and establish some consistency with our offense. Hopefully DL can find us that special addition we need.
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Everyone who should have lost tonight, won. Kings can’t buy a break. They really gotta take advantage of the games in handmaid
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crashin' da net Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 9:19 pm
@FKA PakiFro, yYp. And schmucks are gonna win again tonight. Pull the trigger TM. It only hurts for a moment
)
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USHA#17 Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
@FKA PakiFro,
Yep, everyone ahead Of LA in the standings won tonight. Worst outcome that could be expected. What are the odds?
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
@FKA PakiFro, yea but i said that what the Kings get for going to slumps that they shouldnt have in the first place
there no break in life they just got to win games and keep winning no more loosing streaks if that comes again its will be done deal for sure so their own faith lay in their own very hands
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Everyteam we needed to lose tonight Won. Make that ALL west teams moving forward!! The east coast is to blame for why our standings are so close. The west is sooo much better.
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Michael_DD8 Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 10:42 pm
@Michael_DD8,
Lmao as i look up, he said the same exact thing!
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First, Rich, I apologize for this being off topic, and a response to your Loktionov Feature, which is great.
I’m not a crazy rumor starter.. I am just wondering what other Kings fans thoughts would be on trading Wayne Simmonds for Kris Versteeg. I know Burke likes Simmonds, and I think it would be a solid hockey trade, and wouldn’t be a bad business trade for LA. Versteeg is very good. Simmonds is also very good, they play a different style of game, both 2nd to 3rd line type players. But Versteeg is a very patient offensive play-maker and I think he would add some scoring opportunities while staying responsible defensively. He did win a ring with Chicago last year. People usually respond negatively to fan trade proposals, but anyone have any thoughts?
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TheRussianKing Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 1:38 am
@Scot, As long as his cap hit isn’t ridiculous and he can find it in him to produce some offense, I’d give it a look but I would hate to lose simmer for him.
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PaulHB Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 2:23 am
@Scot, While I wouldn’t mind acquiring Versteeg I wouldn’t trade Simmonds for him. Maybe something like Loktionov and a draft pick but not Simmonds. He plays too unique a game and the Kings need that type of sandpaper.
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Scot Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 8:50 am
@PaulHB,
Just adding to a healthy debate.. I love Simmonds too man.. But I do think we Kings fans tend to overrate him a little bit. He seems to get muscled off the puck by a lot of the NHL, and I agree with a few of the below posts, his development has regressed or gone sideways a little bit. I think management was expecting a lot more offense AND sandpaper out of him this year.
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jason Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 4:32 am
@Scot, who is simmons? is he playing this season? lol Hes been probably the most unnoticeable kings this season… If Lokti misses 1 shift people are talking on forums..If simmons missed a whole game i think many people wouldnt even notice
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nykingfan Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 6:08 am
@jason,
in all fairness..Lotki hasn’t been lighting the lamp either.
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USHA#17 Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 7:04 am
@nykingfan, Both Loki & Simmonds are playing on a team that is currently 4-1-1 & on which no one is standing out.
Token Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 7:02 am
@Scot, I would trade him in a heartbeat, but I must admit I was never a big fan.
He did improve allot last season, but is flat this year. This could be a reflection of the role he has been assigned, I don’t know for sure.
I guess I want more upside to his game than just the roleplaying.
If he continues to stagnate, it will be only a matter of time before prospects surpass him.
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USHA#17 Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 7:14 am
@Token,
“the role he was assigned” Like most I can’t put a finger on why the play this season is so weird. We know this team can play like champs…but so can others and at least 8 other teams in the west seen to do so with more frequency but all the players seem off this year. Since the team was loyal to the system last year and is the same this year I believe the problem lays in the system (and needed sniper) not Simmonds or most other players
Perhaps like the year the Lakers struggled with the triangle
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Token Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 8:04 am
@USHA#17, I have a theory but I’m not entirely sure on it’s merits.
Both Zeus and Simmonds were 20g/40p guys. Frolov was in that same ballpark, depending on enigma level.
Poni has also been a 20g/40p guy for years.
Letting Fro walk took a good 30 goals out of that line, i.e. half the scoring from the 3rd left the building. Fro, faults and all, made the third line better and more productive.
We are missing Fro’s point production more than we realize. He was an enigma vs Poni who is just consistently underperforming.
Crashin'da net Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 8:15 am
@USHA#17, first glance, I would not oppose.
Dan H. Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 9:48 am
@Token,
If you get that done just get Crosby out of Pittsburgh for Simmonds straight up too.
No way Versteeg comes one up for Simmonds.
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I am really looking forward to seeing Loktionov continue his development. He’s got the skills and the creativity to be a factor in the NHL. But, for now, I don’t think he’s been a good fit on the first line left wing. That combo of him with Kopi and Brown hasn’t produced much.
- I think though, that his play in a prolific role on the #2 Powerplay unit has been very promising. There he gets a bit more room to move the puck around and make plays. Against the Flames “his” unit produced 2 goals.
I wouldn’t mind seeing him center the 4th line and playing on the 2nd PP Unit. But, I’d rather see a healthy Sturm/Parse or trade acquisition on that 1st line LW spot. I fear though that he’s not he type of player that Murray wants on his 4th line.
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USHA#17 Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 7:20 am
@Bo Siemsen,I know Parse has looked good on paper but visually, on the ice he seems very average. And, this late in the season I question if a recovering Sturm is a wise investment of a roster position.
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puck73 Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 8:10 am
@USHA#17, Scott Parse is very underrated IMO. He scored 11 goals and was a plus 13 last season and remember this.. he did that playing limited minutes, and also NOT on the 1st line. And this season in 5 games he was a plus 5 in 5 games, but MORE importantly…Brown and Kopitar were flying out there and had more room to operate when he was playing with them. I am not saying that he is Parise or Nash, what I am saying is that he has clearly made a difference when he has played. Fact is…the Kings have a winning record when he plays, and just as importantly he FITS within the team concept.
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Michael J. Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 8:33 am
@puck73, Well stated.
Bo Siemsen Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
@puck73,
Thank you, that was exactly what I meant. It’s not about the individual Scott Parse, it’s about making the line combination work.
The line with Kopi-Brown was clearly more effective when Parse (or later, Sturm) was riding on the wing. They were producing points and creating chances. With Loktionov that hasn’t been the case. Maybe it’s the speed, positioning or another thing … it just hasn’t clicked with Loktionov.
There’s no doubt Loktionov is a talented young player, but he hasn’t been able to make that line click like Parse/Sturm did.